Human Rights in Deuteronomy: With Special Focus on Slave Laws (Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift Fur Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft): 464

260 Pages·2014·1.22 MB·English

by  Daisy Yulin Tsai

Daisy Yulin Tsai
Human Rights in Deuteronomy
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift
für die alttestamentliche
Wissenschaft
Edited by
John Barton, Ron Hendel,
Reinhard G. Kratz and Markus Witte
Volume 464
Daisy Yulin Tsai
Human Rights
in Deuteronomy
With Special Focus on Slave Laws
DE GRUYTER
ISBN978-3-11-036320-3
e-ISBN978-3-11-036442-2
ISSN0934-2575
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BibliographicInformationpublishedbytheDeutscheNationalbibliothek
TheDeutscheNationalbibliothekliststhispublicationintheDeutscheNationalbibliografie;
detailedbibliographicdataareavailableintheInternetathttp://dnb.dnb.de.
©2014WalterdeGruyterGmbH,Berlin/Boston
Printing and binding:CPIbooksGmbH, Leck
♾Printedonacid-freepaper
PrintedinGermany
www.degruyter.com
To David Ding-Hwang (定煌, 小ㄈㄜ), my younger brother,
who passed away during the pursuit of this study

Preface
Thisvolumepresentsanewapproachtothecomparativelegalstudyofthebib-
lical and the ANE slave laws. It adopts a multidimensional examination that
comparesnotonlylawswithsimilarsubjectmatterofslavery,butalsotheirrhet-
orical techniques, methods of law grouping, arrangements of law collections,
andtherationaleoflegalphilosophybehindthelawbooks.Bythisexamination,
oneisabletocomparedegreesofsimilarityanddissimilaritybetweenthebibli-
cal and the ANE slave laws.
The biblical laws examined present two diverse rationales of legal philoso-
phy in contrast tothe ANE ones:(1) all agents (e.g., slaves,captives,and crimi-
nals)areregardedaspersonsandshouldbetreatedaccordingly,and(2)alllegal
subjectsareseenasfree,dignified,andself-determininghumanbeings.Inaddi-
tiontothesetwoextraordinarylegalphilosophies,thebiblicallawsoftendistin-
guishanoffender’s“criminalintent,”bywhichacriminal’srightsarealsocon-
sidered. Based on these two distinctive legal philosophies and also the
distinctionofcriminalintent,thebiblicallawsareabletoarticulateYHWH’shu-
manitarian concerns and the basic concepts of human rights presented in Deu-
teronomy.
Viatheseapproaches,Deuteronomyisfoundtobepurposefullyconstructed
toreflectthelegalpositionthatlawsshouldcarrythefunctionofmoralityshap-
ing.YHWH is identified as that personal monarch that establishes a covenantal
relationship so that he can interact with his legalsubjects relationally toshape
their peoplehood and promotethe ethicalvalues ofhishumanitarian concerns.
Deuteronomy proclaims that the one who reveres YHWH by obeying his words
underhiscovenantalrelationshipcouldassumemoralstrengthandconvictions,
becauseYHWHandhiswordsaretheuniversaloriginsandnormsofrighteous-
ness and justice. In this way,byobeyinghis words and laws, Israel would also
learnofGod’scharacterandinturnbeshapednotonlyintheirmoraldevelop-
ment and betterment of interpersonal relationships with the slaves in Israelite
society, but as to function as whole moral persons in spirit and in deed. This
monographisarevisedversionofmydissertationwhichwasexaminedin2011.
To my husband Lewis and my daughter Katherine, my parents and other
family members in Taipei I owe a debt greater than can be reckoned. I have
beenencouragedinmyworkbyDr.RichardE.Averbeck,ahumbleandrigorous
scholar, and Dr.Willem A.VanGemeren, a father-like and wise advisor. Special
thanks to Dr. Choon-Leong Seow for his recommendation so that this work
canbepublishedintheseriesoftheZeitschriftfürdiealttestamentlicheWissen-
schaft. Mygratitude also goes to several couples,who supported me with their
VIII Preface
generosityandprayers.TheyareHueilingandChengyuChen,PatrickandJoyce
Chen, Linda and Percy Deng, Chunju and Jichong Liu, and Zijuan and Jinmu
Yang.
Contents
Abbreviations XV
 Introduction and Methodological Considerations 1
Review of Literature 3
Problem Statement 9
Research Methodology 10
Projection of Research Significance 24
 Exegesis of Deuteronomic Slave Laws 25
The Arrangement of Deuteronomic Slave Laws 25
Association of Elements Approach 25
Decalogue Correspondence Approach 26
The Limits and Problems of the Two Approaches 28
Chiastic Framework Approach 31
TheLandandAgrarianSymbolsinDeuteronomywithReferencetoItsSlave
Laws 34
Indebted Hebrew Slave Law (Deut 15:12–18) 39
The Structure of Deut 15:1–16:17 40
היָּרִבְעִהָ וֹא ירִבְעִהָ ךָיחִאָ and ישִׁ פְחָ 41
היָּרִבְעִהָ וֹא ירִבְעִהָ ךָיחִאָ 41
ישִׁ פְחָ 46
The Identification of Enslaved Members in the Indebted Family 48
The Provision for the Manumitted Slave in Deut 15:13–14 49
The Motive Clauses in Deut 15:15, 18 and Their Relationship with Deut
15:16–17 52
The Motive Clause in 15:15 in View of the Deuteronomic Pattern
Language 53
The Relationship between the Motive Clauses in 15:15, 18 and the
Exceptional Case in 15:16–17 58
The Meaning of הנֶשְׁ מִ and the Somatic Vocabulary in 15:18 60
Exegesis of Fugitive Slave Law (Deut 23:16–17) 62
Inner-ComparativeStudybetweenDeut15:12–18andDeut23:16–17 65
Summary and Conclusion 66
X Contents
 Comparative Studies of Biblical Slave Manumission Laws 68
Deut 15:12–18 and Exod 21:2–11 68
Changes of Personsand Verbsfrom the Buyer’s to the Seller’s Pointof
View 69
Response to Van Seters’ Point of View 70
The Second Person Addressed in the Legislative Texts 73
The Polyvocality of Combined Discoursesin the Legislative
Texts 76
Reading the Law in Its Context 78
The Distinction of Verbs on Released Action 78
The Differences Regarding Female Slaves Manumission 79
Reading Exod 21:2–6 as a Gender-Inclusive Law 81
Separating Exod 21:2–6 and 7–11 as Two Different Laws 83
The Term המָאָ in Exod 21:7 84
The Special Marital Sale and Redemption in Exod 21:7–11 85
The Term היָּרִבְעִ in Dt 15 and the Terms תבַּ and המָאָ in Ex 21 Denote
Different Situations 89
Reading the Law in Its Context 90
Dissimilar Accounts and Ceremonies fora Permanent Slave 91
The Value and the Interest That the Law Promotes and
Protects 91
Similar Ceremonies with Different Expressions 95
DiscerningtheSimilaritiesandDifferencesbetweenDt15andEx21with
the Legal Categorizational System 97
Deut 15:12–18 and Lev 25:39–55 99
The Different Length of Term in Lev 25 100
The Types of Debt Slave in Lev 25 104
The Gender Inclusive Release in Lev 25 106
The Acquisition of Permanent Slaves in Lev 25 106
Problems Concerning the Claim of Supersession between the
Laws 109
Discerning the Similarities and Differences between Dt 15 and Lev 25
with the Legal Categorizational System 110
Summary and Conclusion 111
 Comparative Studies of ANE Slave Laws 113
Terminology of Slave and the Slave Systems in the ANE 114
The Terms for Slave in the ANE 115
The Roles of the Household and Merchant in the Economic and Slave
Systems 117