Albright: liberation in law

Thursday, November 8, 2018
    Feast of Saints & Martyrs of England
Meditation:
    If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest.
    —Exodus 22:25 (NIV)
Quotation:
    One of the most remarkable features of Mosaic legislation... is its humanity to man. It is the most humanitarian of all known bodies of laws before recent times. The laws about slavery, which envisage the liberation of Hebrew slaves after seven years, are a good example. But there are also laws protecting the poor: interest (always high in the ancient East) was prohibited, and again there was a moratorium after a term of years... Even strangers, who normally had very little protection in antiquity, except when they were citizens of a strong neighbouring state which might step in and protect them by force of arms, are exceptionally well cared for by Mosaic law.
    ... William Foxwell Albright (1891-1971), Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1968, reprinted, Eisenbrauns, 1990, p. 181 (see the book)
    See also Ex. 21:2; 22:25; 23:9; Lev. 25:10; Deut. 10:19
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have freed Your people. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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