Sex Crimes in the Laws of the Hebrew Bible
Although biblical texts identify a range of sexual behavior as illicit, adultery is the only sexual act addressed in the law collections of the Hebrew Bible as a crime – i.e., as a serious harm against another person for which punishments beyond financial compensation are allowed. Some scholars have...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
University of Chicago Press
2015
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In: |
Near Eastern archaeology
Year: 2015, Volume: 78, Issue: 4, Pages: 294-300 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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Summary: | Although biblical texts identify a range of sexual behavior as illicit, adultery is the only sexual act addressed in the law collections of the Hebrew Bible as a crime – i.e., as a serious harm against another person for which punishments beyond financial compensation are allowed. Some scholars have argued that the treatment of adultery in biblical law is better and more favorable toward women than that found in the cuneiform law collections; others have argued precisely the opposite. What is more likely is that biblical law is largely in keeping with how ancient Near Eastern societies other than Israel and Judah handled adultery and should not necessarily be evaluated as either better or worse from a modern perspective. |
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ISSN: | 2325-5404 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Near Eastern archaeology
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.5615/neareastarch.78.4.0294 |