Biblical Judgments: New Legal Readings in the Hebrew Bible

Biblical Judgments invites readers to consider today's timeless dilemmas of law and government, social justice, and human rights, through the perspective of a text that has helped shape western society: the Hebrew Bible. By focusing on biblical narratives and literature rather than on traditional interpretations of biblical law, Daphne Barak-Erez is able to look beyond specific legal norms to concentrate on what the stories can reveal about the "big" issues. She discusses questions such as: What can modern-day governmental regulation learn from the exercise of food rationing in Egypt as a response to Pharaoh's dream of a future famine? How does social distancing in the time of Covid-19 compare with people sent outside the camp as a precautionary measure against bible-era plagues? What can promoters of social justice glean from the demands made to Moses that daughters should also inherit from their father when biblical law did not recognize inheritance rights of women?

Rather than offering a historical study, Barak-Erez draws upon famous court decisions from around the world to root her analysis in modern law. Organized by subject matter, Biblical Judgments analyzes how the themes of law and government, judging and judges, human rights and social justice, criminal law, private law, and family and inheritance law are presented through a number of different stories. In recounting the compelling narratives of the Hebrew Bible, Biblical Judgments exposes their inherent legal tensions and what we can learn from them and with them about legal dilemmas today.

Author: Daphne Barak-Erez
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Published: 01/09/2024
Pages: 400
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.98w x 0.94d
ISBN: 9780472056583

About the Author
Daphne Barak-Erez is a Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel. She was formerly Dean and Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law of Tel Aviv University.