Hebrew law served as the personal and national guide for living under God’s authority. It directed the moral, spiritual, and social life. Its purpose was to produce better understanding of God and greater commitment to him.
Meaning: Direction, Guidance, Instruction
Significance: Need for law in general; a command from a higher person to a lower
Meaning: Commandment, Command
Significance: God’s specific instruction to be obeyed rather than a general law; used of the Ten Commandments
Meaning: Judgment, Ordinance
Significance: Refers to the civil, social, and sanitation laws
Meaning: Admonition, Testimony
Significance: Refers to God’s law as he deals with his people
Meaning: Statutes, Oracles
Significance: Dealt with the royal pronouncements; mainly connected to worship and feasts
Meaning: Orders, Precepts
Significance: Used often in the Psalms to describe God’s orders and assignments
Meaning: Word
Significance: Used to indicate divine oracles or revelations of God
Meaning: Royal Edict, Public Law
Significance: Refers to the divine law or Jewish religious traditions in general