ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses comparative materials for the different legal topics addressed under Mosaic Law. The comparison will first summarize the biblical laws, then Ancient Near East comparative materials, then Greek comparative materials. It presents the evidence for direct literary dependence of Pentateuchal law on earlier written sources, whether on Greek sources such as Plato's Laws or Ancient Near Eastern law collections or both. Biblical laws on homicide have almost nothing in common with the Ancient Near East. Ancient Near Eastern law collections, homicide was treated as an offense of one class against another or as a property crime. Greek laws dealing with assault took into account whether the injuries were curable or incurable, whether the injured party suffered shame and disgrace and whether the injuries inflicted was deliberate or malicious. Various parallels between biblical and Greek laws have been noted in comparative studies of the past, including those regarding levirate marriage, blood avengers, exile in homicide cases and many others.
