Front cover image for Studies in Biblical Law : From the Hebrew Bible to the Dead Sea Scrolls

Studies in Biblical Law : From the Hebrew Bible to the Dead Sea Scrolls

Gershon Brin examines the development of biblical law, suggesting that it may be due to different authors with different legal outlooks, or that the differing policies were required in response to different social needs, etc. Biblical laws appearing in the Dead Sea Scrolls literature are treated in a separate unit. Study of this subject can shed light both on the biblical laws as such, as well as on the manner of their reworking by the Judaean Desert sect. Brin also discusses here questions of the style, the idea, and the historical and ideological background underlying the reworking of these
eBook, English, 1994
Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 1994
1 online resource (320 pages).
9780567490179, 0567490173
1049861306
Preface
Previously Published Material
Abbreviations
INTRODUCTION: ISSUES IN BIBLICAL LAW
PART I: Selected Problems in Biblical Law
Chapter 1 DOUBLE LAWS IN THE BIBLE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOME BIBLICAL LAWS
1. Alternative Methods of Execution Traceable to an Original Duplication within the Law
2. Doubling as an Expression of Development in the Law
3. Alternative Laws Directed towards the Poor
4. Laws Doubled through the Addition of a Sanction against Non-Compliance with the Basic Law
5. Doubling in the Laws of Sacred Things-Leviticus 27. 6. Evidence for Double Laws in the Ancient Near East
7. Summary
Chapter 2 THE FORMULA 'IF HE SHALL NOT (DO)', AND THE PROBLEM OF SANCTIONS IN BIBLICAL LAW
1. Introduction: The Use of Terms of Sanction in Law and the Use of 'If Not' as a Language of Oath
2. The Meaning of the Clause 'If he will not (do)' in Obligatory Laws
3. The Significance of the Clause, 'If he will not (do)' in Voluntary Obligation
4. The Combination 'If Not' and its Substitutes for Designating Inability to Fulfil the Law. 5. The Formula, 'If ... ' as an Alternative Language for Non-Fulfilment of the Law, and the Use of 'If Not' for Emphasis Per Se
6. Languages of 'If Not' in Non-Legal Material
7. Summary
Chapter 3 CARING FOR THE POOR IN BIBLICAL LAW
1. Leniencies in the Laws for Economic Reasons
2. Consideration of Economic Situation in the Formulation of Alternative Options in the Laws
3. Laws Directed to the Poor
Chapter 4 THE USES OF [omitted] ('OR') IN BIBLICAL LEGAL TEXTS
1. [omitted] to Extend the Applicability of the Law
2. [omitted] to Facilitate Clarification of the Law. 3. [omitted] as Indicating the History of the Formation of the Law
4. Auxiliary Conclusions
5. Appendix: Waw in the Sense of 'Or' in the Bible
Chapter 5 BIBLICAL LAWS IN THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS
1. The Law of Passover
2. Laws of Prohibited Marriage in the Temple Scroll
3. Prohibited Unions in 4Q251
4. Issues concerning Prophets (Studies in 4Q375)
5. Summary
Part II: The Laws of the First-Born
Introduction
Chapter 6 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAWS OF THE FIRST-BORN
1. The General Status of the Passage in Exodus 13.1-2. 2. The Status of the Phrase, 'You shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb' (Exod. 13.12a)
3. The 'General Formula' in Laws of the First-Born
4. The Relation of General Formulae to Specific Languages in the Laws of the First-Born
5. The Order of Components in the Laws of the First-Born
Chapter 7 THE FIRSTLING OF CLEAN ANIMALS
1. Introduction
2. The Reason Given for the Sanctity of Firstlings and the Applicability of the Law of Firstling Animals
3. The Meaning of the Laws of Firstlings of Clean Animals
4. Summary: Laws of Firstlings of Clean Animals
Chapter 8 THE FIRSTLING OF UNCLEAN ANIMALS