E-Book Overview
Homicide in the Biblical World analyzes the treatment of homicide in the Hebrew Bible and demonstrates that it is directly linked to the unique social structure and religion of ancient Israel. Close parallels between biblical law and ancient Near Eastern law are evident in the laws of the ox that gored and the pregnant woman who is assaulted, but, when the total picture of the process by which homicide was adjudicated comes into view, what is most noticeable is how little of it is similar to ancient Near Eastern law. This book reconstructs biblical law from both legal texts and narrative texts and analyzes both the law collections and documents from actual legal cases from the ancient Near East.
E-Book Content
This page intentionally left blank Homicide in the Biblical World Homicide in the Biblical World analyzes the treatment of homicide in the Hebrew Bible and demonstrates that it is directly linked to the unique social structure and religion of ancient Israel. Close parallels between biblical law and ancient Near Eastern law are evident in the laws of the ox that gored and the pregnant woman who was assaulted, but when the total picture of the process by which homicide was adjudicated comes into view, what is most noticeable is how little of it is similar to ancient Near Eastern law. This book reconstructs biblical law from both legal and narrative texts and analyzes both law collections and documents from actual legal cases from the ancient Near East. Pamela Barmash is Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible and Biblical Hebrew at Washington University in St. Louis. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University and her rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. She has published in various journals, including Vetus Testamentum, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Jewish Quarterly Review, Journal of Biblical Literature, and Hebrew Studies. Hom