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). Modern legal categories often illuminate the nature of biblical law: for instance, by distinguishing between inheritance and bequests or wills (a distinction not found in traditional biblical commentaries), and by identifying the meaning or function of biblical laws by using such categories as 'contract' and 'tort' law, 'due process', 'equal protection', and 'social welfare legislation'. Several discussions throughout the book compare or contrast biblical laws with modern Anglo-American law or social policies.Each chapter begins with two or three relevant quotations: one or two from biblical texts, and sometimes from one or two relevant latter-day sources, notably, Magna Carta, the United States Constitution, and writings by Ayn Rand, and Robert Bellah. Although modern law usually shows greater compassion, biblical law often combines concern for both justice and compassion in ways that sometime provide grounds for critiquing modern counterparts.

Justice and Compassion in Biblical Law and A Nation of Immigrants

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There is a received wisdom that the God encountered in the Old Testament is somewhat less enlightened that the nice God of the New Testament. Marcion may be the most famous early proponent of this idea, but it has persisted in the church (and outside) ever since. Richard Hiers sees in the Old Testament legal system a rich source of ethics, and one which is commonly overlooked. He does not seek to suggest that Old Testament law can be simply applied into modern day life, but he does suggest that it provides a useful framework for critiquing modern values. In doing this, he traces the development of the law over time (he assumes a period of development of 600 - 700 years). In undertaking this task, Hiers groups the law into three broad ares: Civil Law (contract, tort and inheritance); Criminal Law (trials, impartiality of judgment, capital offence, protection for the accused); and a miscellany of laws which might be categorised as Social Legislation. In doing this, he asserts that justice and compassion go hand in hand. The bulk of the book is taken up with the discussion sketched out above, and each chapter is detailed and clearly argued as befit an author who is both a Professor of Religion and an Affiliate Professor of Law. He concludes that the Biblical legal ethic provides a strong counter argument against (post)modern relativism and self interest and that, contrary to the assumptions of a liberal society, the Old Testament has much to commend it.

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