Homicide in the Biblical World

Pamela Barmash9780521834681, 0521834686

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.