Table of Contents

Abbreviations

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part I. Civil Law

Chapter I. Biblical Contract Law and Biblical Tort Law

A. Biblical Contract Laws

B. Biblical Tort Laws and Remedies

C. Biblical Law and Modern Law

Chapter II. Transfer of Property by Inheritance and Bequest

A. Property Subject to Transfer

B. Inheritance: Descent of Property through Intestate Succession

C. Wills or Bequests and Inter-vivos Gifts

D. Conclusions

Part II. Criminal Law

Chapter III. Biblical Trial Scenes

A. Genesis 38:24-26: Tamar's Evidence

B. 2 Samuel 12:1-16: David as Judge and Nathan's Parable

C. 2 Samuel 14:1-11: Mitigation and Alternative Sentencing

D. I Kings 3:16-28: A Maternity Suit

E. I Kings 21:1-16: A Case of Malicious Prosecution

F. Jeremiah 26:17-24: Defendant Testimony and Argument from Precedent

G. Leviticus 24:10-23: A Case of Blasphemy

H. Numbers 15:32-36: A Case of Possible Sabbath Violation

I. Susanna, vv. 28-62: Cross Examination Catches the Culprit in the Courtroom

Chapter IV. Impartial Judgment and Equal Protection of the Laws

A. Impartial Judgment

B. Protected Classes

Chapter V. Capital Punishment

A. Against Capital Punishment

B. Capital Punishment and Rationales for Execution

Chapter VI. Due Process Protections

A. Places or Cities of Refuge: Interim Protection for Offenders Awaiting Trial

B. "Diligent Inquiry": Investigation, Hearings and Evidence

C. Witnesses

D. The Punishment Phase: Sentencing Guidelines

Chapter VII. Criminal Law in the Bible and Contemporary Application

A. Modern Interpretation of Biblical Texts

B. The Basic Value of Human Life

C. The Critical Importance of Not Executing Innocent Persons

Part III. Social Legislation

Chapter VIII. Biblical Social Welfare Legislation

A. Protections against Injustice and Mistreatment

B. Laws Calling for Affirmative Action by Private Persons

Chapter IX. Biblical Social Welfare Laws and Modern Social Policy

Chapter X. Concluding Observations

Index(es)

Promotional Information

The theory and praxis of biblical law in the historical and contemporary landscape of American law and culture is contentious and controversial. Richard Hiers provides a new consideration of the subject with an emphasis upon the underlying justice and compassion implicit within. Special consideration is given to matters of civil law, the death penalty, and due process. An analysis of various biblical trial scenes are also included. The book draws on, and in turn relates to three areas of scholarship and concern: biblical studies, social ethics, and jurisprudence (legal theory).

About the Author

Richard H. Hiers, Professor of Religion, Emeritus, and Affiliate Professor of Law, Emeritus, University of Florida.

Reviews

The connections - and disconnections - between religion and law are often assumed but rarely grasped. Justice and Compassion presents in a delightfully accessible form a multitude of common elements between western law and biblical sources. Richard Hiers crafts a carefully nuanced approach in a field too frequently known for its dogmatism rather than its doctrines and insights. His frames of reference open the door to new insights into enduring truths.
*Frank S. Alexander, Emory University School of Law, Atlanta, GA, USA.*

Justice and Compassion in Biblical Law is an enlightening book. Hiers' project is to examine Biblical law through the lens of contemporary American law. By so doing, Hiers not only makes clear many central elements of the Biblical legal system but also reveals some of the core values animating both legal systems. Whether one's goal is to better understand ancient Biblical law or to gain a new light on contemporary legal and social discourse, readers of Justice and Compassion in Biblical Law will be richly rewarded.
*Jonathan R. Cohen, Levin College of Law, University of Florida, USA.*

Richard Hiers' Justice and Compassion in Biblical Law offers an extraordinarily thorough analysis of Old Testament legal texts, organized around the categories of civil law, criminal law, and social welfare legislation. Employing a methodology that analyzes biblical legal texts according to their likely development over time, Hiers assesses these texts in light of western/American categories of legal thought. In so doing, he shows that these oft-neglected materials not only have considerable moral depth and contemporary relevance, but that they also played a role in shaping American public life from our earliest days as a people. Writing with great scholarly self-discipline and staying tightly focused on his task, Hiers' research ends up leading him to offer stinging challenges to our political, academic, and popular cultures, which are losing the transcendent and other-regarding moral vision that undergirds any sustainable human community. This excellent book makes an indispensable contribution to both biblical scholarship and contemporary social ethics.
*David P. Gushee, Mercer University, Atlanta, GA, USA.*

Hiers introduces people engaged in Christian or Jewish ethics to some norms or standards of justice and compassion found in biblical laws relating to the interactions of people in society. Readers might be surprised by the frequent call for compassion, he suggests, and secular humanists particularly startled to discover how often the concerns and values implicit in biblical laws are congruent with their own convictions and social policy agendas. Most of the study is devoted to criminal law, with discussions of biblical trial scenes, impartial judgment and equal protection, capital offenses, due process protections, and contemporary application. A section on civil law covers contract and tort law and the transfer of property by inheritance and bequest. A final section looks at social legislation in terms of protecting against injustice and mistreatment, and affirmative actions by private people.
*BOOK NEWS, Inc.*

Justice and compassion in Biblical Law exhibits technical skill, sensibly differentiates between different traditions in biblical law, and offers a useful overview of the subject.
*Theological Book Review*