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5 - Economics and the Law

from Part I - Legal Ethics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2021

By
Albino Barrera
Edited by
C. L. Crouch
C. L. Crouch
Affiliation:
Fuller Theological Seminary, California
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Summary

Care for the poor has been widely viewed as a defining characteristic feature of Hebrew ethics. There is a wealth of normative prescriptions across the law, the prophets, and the wisdom writings on the proper treatment of the marginalized and the vulnerable. Economic morality is not a peripheral concern in the Hebrew Scriptures. This essay considers the law’s teachings on economic life. Economic norms are found in the Decalogue (Exod 20:2–17; Deut 5:6–21), the Covenant Code (Exod 20:22–23:33), the Deuteronomic Code (Deuteronomy 12–26), and the Holiness Code (Leviticus 17–26). These laws are an expression of God’s moral will and articulate ideals on how Israel should live as the chosen people of God – but these laws, including the prescriptions on economic life, should not be taken as descriptions of the nation’s actual practice.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to the Hebrew Bible and Ethics , pp. 68 - 82
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

Further Reading

Ahmed, A. R. Vargas Hill, L. Smith, D. Wiesmann, , and Frankenberger, T., The World's Most Deprived: Characteristics and Causes of Extreme Poverty and Hunger. 2020 Discussion Paper no. 43. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute, 2007.Google Scholar
Aquinas, T. Summa Theologica. Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province. 3 vols. New York: Benzinger Brothers Aquinas, 1947–1948.Google Scholar
Gemser, B. “The Importance of the Motive Clause in Old Testament Law.” Pages 50–66 in Congress Volume, Copenhagen, VTSup 1 Leiden: Brill, 1953.Google Scholar
Hardin, G. “The Tragedy of the Commons,” Science 162 (1968): 1243–8.Google Scholar
Lohfink, N. “Poverty in the Laws of the Ancient Near East and of the Bible,” TS 52 (1991): 34–50.Google Scholar
Pettifor, A. “The Jubilee 2000 Campaign: A Brief Overview,” in Sovereign Debt at the Crossroads: Challenges and Proposals for Resolving the Third World Debt Crisis. Edited by Jochnich, C. and Preston, F.. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.Google Scholar
Phan, P. Social Thought. Message of the Fathers of the Church 20. Delaware: Michael Glazier, 1984.Google Scholar
Pius, XI. Quadragesimo Anno. Boston: Daughters of St. Paul, 1931.Google Scholar
Schottroff, W. “The Prophet Amos: A Socio-Historical Assessment of His Ministry,” in God of the Lowly: Socio-Historical Interpretations of the Bible. Edited by Schottroff, L. and Steggemann, W.. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1984.Google Scholar
von Waldow, H. E. “Social Responsibility and Social Structure in Early Israel,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 32 (1970): 182–204.Google Scholar

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  • Economics and the Law
  • Edited by C. L. Crouch, Fuller Theological Seminary, California
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to the Hebrew Bible and Ethics
  • Online publication: 05 February 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108562072.007
Available formats
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  • Economics and the Law
  • Edited by C. L. Crouch, Fuller Theological Seminary, California
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to the Hebrew Bible and Ethics
  • Online publication: 05 February 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108562072.007
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Economics and the Law
  • Edited by C. L. Crouch, Fuller Theological Seminary, California
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to the Hebrew Bible and Ethics
  • Online publication: 05 February 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108562072.007
Available formats
×