ABSTRACT
Direct Greek influences on biblical legal content can be tested only by a systematic comparative study of Greek and Jewish constitutional legal content and institutions. This chapter explores parallels between Pentateuchal legal institutions and those found in the Greek world, especially in Greek constitutional literature. These parallels indicate a systematic indebtedness of the constitutional features of the nation founded by Moses and Joshua in the biblical account to Greek political and legal institutions. Some aspects of the biblical accounts point to a particular influence from Athenian legal institutions. The absence of direct contact between Athens and Judea in either pre-Hellenistic or Hellenistic times suggests that the influence of Athenian constitutional features on the biblical legal system was mediated by exposure to Greek literature on political topics during the Hellenistic Era. True citizenship was a characteristically Greek notion that went beyond national or ethnic identity.
