The Origins of the Laws

doi:10.1017/9781108636322.007

4 - The Origins of the Laws

from Part II - The Biblical Legal Collections

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 April 2024

Sara J. Milstein

Edited by

Bruce Wells

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Bruce Wells: Affiliation:
University of Texas, Austin

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Summary

This chapter looks at potential sources that can account for the provisions in the biblical law collections such as previous legal collections, practical legal documents (e.g., contracts), and fictional court cases. Some biblical laws may have originated as stand-alone fictional court cases, akin to the Mesopotamian legal-pedagogical genre of model cases.

Keywords

case law legal fictions pedagogical texts scribal exercises

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Companion to Law in the Hebrew Bible , pp. 76 - 94

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108636322.007 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2024

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References

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