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Judicial System in Biblical Israel and the Ancient Near East
(1,094 words)

[German Version]

The judicial system in the ancient Near East and biblical Israel was shaped by its political context. In the ancient Near East, the king, acting for the gods to establish law (Law and legislation: III) and dispense justice (I, 1), was the supreme judge, so that when the king delegated judicial authority, the judiciary operated under his oversight. In Egypt (II, 1), central viziers' courts in Upper and Lower Egypt supervised the local lay courts. The courts were bound by the legal edicts of the king; their capital penalties had to be conf…

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Otto, Eckart, “Judicial System in Biblical Israel and the Ancient Near East”, in: Religion Past and Present. Consulted online on 28 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1877-5888_rpp_SIM_08465>
First published online: 2011
First print edition: ISBN: 9789004146662, 2006-2013



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