Law in the New Testament

by J. Duncan M. Derrett

Hardcover with dust jacket. Good. Clean text, sound binding. Dust jacket is quite chipped, edge-worn and creased with tears to the head and foot of the spine. Boards are good, some edgewear.

503 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2005

About the author

John Duncan Martin Derrett was Professor of Oriental Laws in the University of London from 1965 to 1982, whereupon he became Emeritus Professor. He has published mainly in the fields of law and the history of systems of law, comparative religion (especially Christianity and Buddhism), and a number of translations into English.

Reviews

[Raully · Rating 4 out of 5]

A curious book I happened upon in the basement shelves of the seminary library. Loved reading the whole thing.

Here's the premise: a historian and expert in ancient Near Eastern law and modern Indian law comes as an outsider to comment on how the Law functions in the Gospels as actual law, not just "religious law" (a category that makes little sense in that historical community). Ever wonder how exactly ancient investment law plays into the parable of the talents? Or how ancient inheritance law plays into the widow with her two mites? Or how kosher laws might have circumscribed the actions of the Levite in the Good Samaritan story? This book is full of such insights.