Judaism
Biblical and rabbinic terms describe wrongdoing, iniquity, rebellion, or transgression. Ethical duties toward people and obligations toward God both matter; “sin” is not a single undifferentiated category.
Examples of wrongdoing
- Theft and withholding what is owed to another person.
- False witness and harmful speech.
- Idolatry and breaches of covenantal obligations.
Intention & context
Deliberate wrongdoing and inadvertent transgression are distinguished. Responsibility depends on the act, knowledge, and circumstances; movements differ on the application of particular commandments.
Repentance & repair
Teshuvah means return: stop the wrongdoing, acknowledge it, regret it, and resolve to change. Harm to another person requires restitution and seeking their forgiveness; Yom Kippur does not replace that responsibility.
Differences within the tradition
Biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and contemporary accounts differ. Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and other Jewish communities do not apply every obligation identically.
Satan or an equivalent?
In Job and Zechariah, the accuser is under divine authority. Jewish accounts of temptation and evil vary; wrongdoing is not simply blamed on the Christian devil.