Awards

• Winner of Winner, R.B.Y. Scott Award, Canadian Society of Biblical Studies.

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9780190911805

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"""A new approach to the family laws of Deuteronomy has long been overdue. Older models unjustly primitived and deintellectualized this fascinating group of laws. Sara Milstein's innovative work provides a fresh path forward. Drawing upon her expertise in cuneiform law and scribal practice, she proposes a new way of understanding the composition and social location of these texts. In the process, she raises important broader questions about biblical law and pedagogy."" -- Bernard M. Levinson, author of Legal Revision and Religious Renewal in Ancient Israel ""Milstein expertly draws attention to Mesopotamian legal-pedagogical expressions, finding that Hebrew scribes displayed knowledge and interest in sophisticated legal reasoning. For the Hebrew Legal Fictions in the Deuteronomic Code (Dt 12-26), she draws on Mesopotamian model court cases. The Mesopotamian scribal practice of clustering related sets of provisions suggests a reassessment of the legal expressions in the Covenant Code (Ex 20-23). This volume provides a powerful and important contribution to the nature of biblical law within its ancient Near Eastern intellectual milieu."" -- Martha T. Roth, author Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor ""This book is a tour de forceDLa landmark study that reshapes our understanding of biblical law. Milstein shows that biblical legal codes draw upon cuneiform legal-pedagogical texts rather than the Code of Hammurabi. ÂBy demonstrating the central role that scribal pedagogy and education play in biblical law, her study should have wide-ranging implications for the whole field in the next generation."" -- William M. Schniedewind, Professor of Biblical Studies & NWS Languages, Director of Graduate & Undergraduate Studies, Near Eastern Languages & Cultures Department, UCLA ""Milstein's claims will prove controversial but in the best possible sense. Her efforts to bind the origins of key pentateuchal provisions to the exercises and basic texts of scribes-in-training will force many of us to reexamine how we understand the nature of biblical law. Most crucially, Milstein's work will serve to redirect our attention back to the entire oeuvre of Near Eastern legal texts, which is where it should have been all along."" -- Bruce Wells, Associate Professor, Dept. of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas at Austin"

A new approach to the family laws of Deuteronomy has long been overdue. Older models unjustly primitived and deintellectualized this fascinating group of laws. Sara Milstein's innovative work provides a fresh path forward. Drawing upon her expertise in cuneiform law and scribal practice, she proposes a new way of understanding the composition and social location of these texts. In the process, she raises important broader questions about biblical law and pedagogy. -- Bernard M. Levinson, author of Legal Revision and Religious Renewal in Ancient Israel Milstein expertly draws attention to Mesopotamian legal-pedagogical expressions, finding that Hebrew scribes displayed knowledge and interest in sophisticated legal reasoning. For the Hebrew Legal Fictions in the Deuteronomic Code (Dt 12-26), she draws on Mesopotamian model court cases. The Mesopotamian scribal practice of clustering related sets of provisions suggests a reassessment of the legal expressions in the Covenant Code (Ex 20-23). This volume provides a powerful and important contribution to the nature of biblical law within its ancient Near Eastern intellectual milieu. -- Martha T. Roth, author Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor This book is a tour de forceDLa landmark study that reshapes our understanding of biblical law. Milstein shows that biblical legal codes draw upon cuneiform legal-pedagogical texts rather than the Code of Hammurabi. ABy demonstrating the central role that scribal pedagogy and education play in biblical law, her study should have wide-ranging implications for the whole field in the next generation. -- William M. Schniedewind, Professor of Biblical Studies & NWS Languages, Director of Graduate & Undergraduate Studies, Near Eastern Languages & Cultures Department, UCLA Milstein's claims will prove controversial but in the best possible sense. Her efforts to bind the origins of key pentateuchal provisions to the exercises and basic texts of scribes-in-training will force many of us to reexamine how we understand the nature of biblical law. Most crucially, Milstein's work will serve to redirect our attention back to the entire oeuvre of Near Eastern legal texts, which is where it should have been all along. -- Bruce Wells, Associate Professor, Dept. of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas at Austin

A new approach to the family laws of Deuteronomy has long been overdue. Older models unjustly primitived and deintellectualized this fascinating group of laws. Sara Milstein's innovative work provides a fresh path forward. Drawing upon her expertise in cuneiform law and scribal practice, she proposes a new way of understanding the composition and social location of these texts. In the process, she raises important broader questions about biblical law and pedagogy. * Bernard M. Levinson, author of Legal Revision and Religious Renewal in Ancient Israel * Milstein expertly draws attention to Mesopotamian legal-pedagogical expressions, finding that Hebrew scribes displayed knowledge and interest in sophisticated legal reasoning. For the Hebrew Legal Fictions in the Deuteronomic Code (Dt 12-26), she draws on Mesopotamian model court cases. The Mesopotamian scribal practice of clustering related sets of provisions suggests a reassessment of the legal expressions in the Covenant Code (Ex 20-23). This volume provides a powerful and important contribution to the nature of biblical law within its ancient Near Eastern intellectual milieu. * Martha T. Roth, author Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor * This book is a tour de force-a landmark study that reshapes our understanding of biblical law. Milstein shows that biblical legal codes draw upon cuneiform legal-pedagogical texts rather than the Code of Hammurabi. ABy demonstrating the central role that scribal pedagogy and education play in biblical law, her study should have wide-ranging implications for the whole field in the next generation. * William M. Schniedewind, Professor of Biblical Studies & NWS Languages, Director of Graduate & Undergraduate Studies, Near Eastern Languages & Cultures Department, UCLA * Milstein's claims will prove controversial but in the best possible sense. Her efforts to bind the origins of key pentateuchal provisions to the exercises and basic texts of scribes-in-training will force many of us to reexamine how we understand the nature of biblical law. Most crucially, Milstein's work will serve to redirect our attention back to the entire oeuvre of Near Eastern legal texts, which is where it should have been all along. * Bruce Wells, Associate Professor, Dept. of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas at Austin *

Author Information

Sara J. Milstein is Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in the Department of Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Her last monograph, Tracking the Master Scribe: Revision through Introduction in Biblical and Mesopotamian Literature (OUP, 2016) was the recipient of ASOR's Frank Moore Cross Award. Milstein's research has been funded byÂthe Mellon Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies, the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, the Killam Foundation, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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