Judaism: Crime and Punishment | Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B (1RB0)
Judaism: Crime and Punishment
- 98 questions
- 8 subtopics
- Judaism, one religion of seven
- Paper 2
Judaism: Crime and Punishment is examined in Paper 2, Area of Study 2: Religion, Peace and Conflict, if Judaism is the religion studied for that area.
It covers Jewish attitudes to justice, Jewish attitudes to crime and its causes, Jewish teachings on good, evil and suffering, Jewish teachings on punishment, the aims of punishment in Judaism, Jewish teachings on forgiveness and restorative justice, Jewish teachings on the treatment of criminals and Jewish attitudes to the death penalty.
Sample questions from Judaism: Crime and Punishment
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Jewish attitudes to justice
Why does Deuteronomy 19:19–21 say the false witness must be punished?
Show the answer
The punishment purges evil from among the people. Justice is restored when the deceiver bears the harm he planned for another. -
Jewish attitudes to crime and its causes
How does Deuteronomy 11 teach Jews to guard against wrongdoing?
Show the answer
Deuteronomy 11:18–19 tells Jews to fix God's words on their hearts and teach them to their children. Knowledge of the Torah helps people resist wrongdoing. -
Jewish teachings on good, evil and suffering
How do Jews believe evil actions are punished?
Show the answer
Evil actions may be punished in this life, through courts or consequences, or after death. God judges all actions and always offers the chance to repent. -
Jewish teachings on punishment
What does Leviticus 24:23 record?
Show the answer
Leviticus 24:23 records the people carrying out God's sentence on a man who blasphemed. The passage shows the community enforcing God's law. -
The aims of punishment in Judaism
What is reparation, and why does Jewish law stress it?
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Reparation means the offender making up for the harm done, often by paying compensation. Jewish law requires offenders to repair the damage done to victims. -
Jewish teachings on forgiveness and restorative justice
What is teshuvah?
Show the answer
Teshuvah means “returning” or repentance, turning back to God and away from sin. Teshuvah includes regret, confession and resolving not to repeat the sin. -
Jewish teachings on the treatment of criminals
Why does Jewish law not accept a confession as evidence?
Show the answer
The Talmud rules that a person cannot testify against himself. A confession might be forced or come from despair, so it cannot convict. -
Jewish attitudes to the death penalty
What did Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon say in Mishnah Makkot 1:10?
Show the answer
Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon said that had they sat on the Sanhedrin, no one would ever have been executed. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel replied that they would have multiplied murderers.
The 8 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Jewish attitudes to justice | Tzedek, Deuteronomy 16:18–20 on judges and 19:19–21 on false witnesses, equal justice for rich and poor, the five payments for injury, the Beth Din today, and Humanist views. | 12 |
| Jewish attitudes to crime and its causes | Obeying the law of the land, the yetzer ha-ra, Deuteronomy 11:26–28 and the choice set before the people, the Torah on theft, Jewish Care, and the part synagogues and children's education play in preventing crime. | 12 |
| Jewish teachings on good, evil and suffering | Moses asking to see God's glory in Exodus 33, how evil is punished, why God permits evil choices, the Deuteronomic view, the Book of Job, free will and hester panim, and Humanist and atheist accounts. | 12 |
| Jewish teachings on punishment | Leviticus 24:19–23 and the rabbis' reading of an eye for an eye, one law for all, punishment fitting the crime, limits on flogging, Cain in Genesis 4, and Orthodox and Reform views today. | 12 |
| The aims of punishment in Judaism | Retribution, deterrence, reform, protection and reparation in Jewish law, Genesis 9:1–6 on bloodshed and its reading today, the Noahide laws, Orthodox and Reform emphases, and reform as justice. | 12 |
| Jewish teachings on forgiveness and restorative justice | Psalm 130 and Isaiah 55:6–8 on God's forgiveness, teshuvah and Maimonides' test of whether it is complete, how often to ask a victim, community forgiveness, restorative justice, and Wiesenthal's The Sunflower. | 12 |
| Jewish teachings on the treatment of criminals | The dignity of criminals, Deuteronomy 19:15 on conviction, the cities of refuge, why a confession is not evidence, torture and Israel's 1999 Supreme Court ruling, ancient courts, trial by jury, and prison chaplains. | 13 |
| Jewish attitudes to the death penalty | Exodus 21:12 and 21:23–25 and their rabbinic reading, Mishnah Makkot 1:10 with Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon, the strict conditions for a death sentence, Israel's law, and Orthodox, Reform and Humanist views. | 13 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 5,266 questions with their answers.