Jehoshaphat establishes a supreme court in Jerusalem — 'Also in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and priests and heads of families of Israel to give judgment for the LORD and to settle disputes among the inhabitants of Jerusalem' (וגם בירושלים העמיד יהושפט מן הלוים והכהנים וראשי האבות לישראל לדין יהוה ולריב השבים בירושלם). The triad of judicial authority (Levites, priests, family heads) reflects the post-exilic recognition of these orders. The phrase 'to give judgment for the LORD' (לדין יהוה) explicitly theologizes the judicial function — it is YHWH's judgment realized through human instrumentality. This two-tier system (local judges in fortified cities and a Jerusalem court) prefigures later administrative and religious centralization.

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