The two-tier judiciary and its jurisdiction — 'Whenever a case comes to you from your colleagues who live in their cities, whether bloodshed or other concerns of the law or commandment, statutes or ordinances, you must instruct them so that they do not incur guilt before the LORD and wrath does not come on you and your colleagues' (וכל ריב אשר יבא אליכם מאחיכם הישבים בעריהם בין דם לדם בין תורה למצוה חקים ומשפטים תהזהירום ולא יאשמו ליהוה וקצף לא יהיה בכם ובאחיכם). The comprehensive jurisdiction ('blood, law, commandment, statutes, ordinances') encompasses both capital crimes and religious law; the system integrates civil and cultic jurisprudence. The obligation to instruct (הזהיר) suggests that the supreme court serves as teacher, not merely arbiter — judicial function includes prophetic education. The invocation of collective guilt and divine wrath emphasizes that the entire judicial order stands under divine scrutiny.

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