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ABSTRACT

There are various problems of social justice, and among all corollaries of injustice, one is the problem of uneven distribution of wealth which affects numerous people around the world. In the history of human beings, how to distribute wealth well has been a notorious problem throughout centuries. Although many people have tried to establish an ideal society, the problem of wealth distribution still has not been solved. Ancient kings tried to overcome these problems through their wise reigns whereas the Scriptures provide important concepts to deal with them. On the other hand, the transmutation of the old into new economic system, from a society of even distribution of lands to a society of commercial, also led to the problem of debt. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize the spirit of the laws in the Bible so that we can grasp the idea of how God expects people to solve this problem. The principles behind these texts will serve as standards for both ancient and contemporary to learn how to deal with the problem of debt and to understand God’s consideration concerning social justice on this topic. This paper will focus on the problem of debt and will analyze ancient law codes to understand how legislative systems treated these problems; the concepts concerning these issues in the Bible will be probed in order to grasp the spirit of the Scriptures. This paper will conclude that merciful actions within the covenant relationship, depending on God’s blessing, serve as the resolution to this perplexity through the years.

撮 要

關於社會公義，充斥着各式各樣的問題，然而當中有一個重要的影響在於財富分配不均，此議題影響着無數的人，不同經濟體系的轉變，也容易帶來債務的問題，故而在歷史中，許多人都在嘗試尋找如何妥善分配資源的方式，但在各樣的嘗試之後，此議題卻似乎仍無法得到完全的解決。就在古代許多帝王嘗試通過他們的政策來解決此事時，聖經亦提供了重要的思考線索。因此，認識聖經中關於律法的精神，能夠幫助人知道神希望人如何解決此問題，經文背後的原則成為古代與當代學習如何處理債務的重要依據，也能以此知道神期盼人如何考慮社會正義。於是本文將透過債務問題的相關討論，分析古代法典以了解立法系統如何處理這些問題；並且將進一步探討聖經中有關此議題的概念，以掌握當中重要的精神。最終本文將論述：在盟約關係中的憐憫，將帶來神的賜福，成為解決此問題的核心概念。

原載於《建道學刊》60期（2023年7月），頁1-22。