page_title: Shofetim (parsha)
section_title: First reading — Deuteronomy 16:18–17:13
hierarchical_section_title: Shofetim (parsha) / Readings / First reading — Deuteronomy 16:18–17:13
caption_attribution_description: Statue of Israel King David in Copenhagen, Denmark. Sculptor: F. A. Jerichau (1860)
context_page_description: Shofetim or Shoftim is the 48th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the Book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9. The parashah provides a constitution — a basic societal structure — for the Israelites. The parashah sets out rules for judges, kings, Levites, prophets, cities of refuge, witnesses, war, and unsolved murders.
  This parashah has 5590 letters, 1523 words, 97 verses, and 192 lines in a sefer Torah. Jews generally read it in August or September.
context_section_description: In the first reading, Moses directed the Israelites to appoint judges (שֹׁפְטִים‎, shophṭim) and officials for their tribes to govern the people with justice, with impartiality, and without bribes. "Justice, justice shalt thou follow", he said. A closed portion ends here.
  In the continuation of the reading, Moses warned the Israelites against setting up a sacred post beside God's altar or erecting a baetylus. A closed portion ends here with the end of chapter 16.
  In the continuation of the reading, Moses warned the Israelites against the korban (sacrifice) of an ox or sheep with any serious congenital disorder. Another closed portion ends here.
  And as the reading continues, Moses instructed that if the Israelites found a person who worshiped other gods — the sun, the moon, or other astronomical object — then they were to make a thorough inquiry, and if they established the fact on the testimony of two or more witnesses, then they were to stone the person to death, with the witnesses throwing the first stones. The first open portion ends here.
  In the continuation of the reading, Moses taught that if a legal case proved too baffling for the Israelites to decide, then they were promptly to go to Temple in Jerusalem, appear before the kohenim or judge in charge, and present their problem, and carry out any verdict that was announced there without deviating either to the right or to the left. They were to execute any man who presumptuously disregarded the priest or the judge, so that all the people would hear, be afraid, and not act presumptuously again. The first reading and a closed portion end here.
caption: King David (statue by F.A. Jerichau)
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "DSC-P100", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2005:05:11 17:16:45", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 50, 53, 48, 0, 0, 2, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0]", "Image ExifOffset": "256", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Make": "SONY", "Thumbnail Model": "DSC-P100", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail DateTime": "2005:05:11 17:16:45", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "2482", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5198", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/100", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2005:05:11 17:16:45", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2005:05:11 17:16:45", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "79/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2592", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1944", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "2276"}