the book of laws
The first five books of the Bible are called the Pentateuch by Christians. They are called the Torah in Hebrew, and include the books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
In Hebrew, these five books are characterized by incipits that function like sub-titles announcing the purpose of each:
- Genesis: Beginnings—primeval and ancestral history
- Exodus: From slavery to Promised Land
- Leviticus: Rituals, rules, and laws
- Numbers: Culmination of exodus and wandering: Promise
- Deuteronomy: Admonitions upon entering the Promised Land; review of rituals, rules, and laws. Passing of the mantle from Moses to Joshua, and Moses’ death.
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are full of laws; laws of the Temple, laws of cleanliness, laws of birth and death, giving and taking, working and not working. During my years of Bible scholarship, I found these books tedious and nearly entirely uninspiring. I avoided reading them.
One year, though, I felt impressed to dedicate time to them. My intention was to read them with love and an attentiveness that expects a blessing. I read and thought about each book in present-day terms rather than relegating their message the to the ancient past. I began to see patterns and deep truths in the laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, and even the counting and classifying book of Numbers. These laws and accountings had purpose and meaning and were not merely constructs of an ancient, backward people.
the rule of witnesses
One law of which I’m especially fond is the rule of witnesses in Deuteronomy, which states that “on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.” 1 This doctrine is applied throughout the Old and New Testaments.
Two or three witnesses: keep this in mind.
That year when I dedicated my attention to these most boring books of the Bible, though, to my great surprise I realized that these ancient laws could inform modern practice. If I paid attention, I would notice facts and truths queueing up in twos and threes, small bands of witnesses marching in formation, verifying what my experience, perception, or intuition had already established as true.
Facts come with two or three witnesses. What this means, among other things, is that whenever truth wells up within me, or comes at me from the outside, it will come in two or three ways. I may (meaning: will) miss it if it shows itself only once, but the universe is bountiful and just. I am always given more than one opportunity to verify truth.
when people show you who they are
Maya Angelou famously advised, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.”
Over time, she has been widely mis-quoted to have added, “… believe them the first time,” but she added no numerical value to her maxim. She said, quite simply and directly: … believe them.
The phrase “the first time” was added by Oprah Winfrey in 2018, as can be seen in this video as she talks about one of her “all-time favorite lessons.” The same video includes an earlier clip of Angelou’s original advice. Oprah, though, admitted that it’s difficult to believe a thing about someone the first time one sees it. We don’t want to see the shadow of that dear friend, that family member, the co-worker. If we believe them the first time, we may have made a rush to judgment. We don’t want to believe what we see the first time we see it, or the first time they show or confess it to us.
After relaying the number of times she has failed to accept such truths, though, Oprah asked, “Why must you be shown 29 times before you can see who they are? Why don’t you get it the first time?”
Why, indeed. We’re fallible. We’re taught to believe the best about others and extend mercy, most particularly if we’re religious. What the law of witnesses enjoins is: If in doubt, wait and see.
This is my gift to you today, dear reader: the law of witnesses. When someone shows or tells you who they are, believe them. Don’t forget what they did or said, but do wait to confirm.
Try this out. See how it works for you. How many times of seeing something does it take before you see that you see it? I think that two or three times is fair.
After that, believe the truth.
endnotes
- The biblical law of witnesses states, “out of the mouths of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (Deuteronomy 19:15). ↩︎
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