Much of any society’s view of law and justice is strongly influenced by their mainstream religious worldview. Regardless of how secular the style of a law code is, the concepts and philosophies behind any particular law code has strong roots in a culture’s religious worldview. The laws of some cultures, especially Islamic countries, have obvious religious roots, while others view their laws as strictly secular. In the United States, while priding ourselves on a strongly secular code of law, it is popularly recognized that the origins of much of our law is Christian, but in fact the roots are far more Hebrew/Jewish than Christian.
The impact and influence of the Hebrew Covenant Code (generally defined as Exodus 20:22-23:19) as put forth in Exodus is strong and obvious, not just in the form of specific codes but also in the concepts behind the laws; in particular, the concept that the law applies (or should apply) equally to all regardless of social status. Despite the fact that both the Constitution and the Covenant Code recognize differences between slaves and free persons, this concept was groundbreaking at the time of Exodus, and is a fundamental part of modern day law and justice in America. Before the Covenant Code, most of the common law codes active at the time made distinctions based on the rank of the victim and/or accused. For example, in the Code of Hammurabi, a widely influential law code at the time, most criminal penalties were determined by the victim’s social rank (Isser). In Hammurabi’s codes #211-214, causing a miscarriage required compensation of ten shekels if the pregnant woman was a seignior (high rank), five shekels for a commoner, and two shekels if the victim was a slave (Isser). In the Covenant Code, as in modern-day laws, the penalty is generally the same regardless of the rank of the victim, although both provide for some discretion regarding the severity of the penalty (Fretheim). One difference, however, is in Hammurabi’s code the victim (or victim’s family) could accept “redemption” (a payment) in lieu of the death penalty (Berlin 153). Exodus does not “permit compensation of the victim’s family for economic loss instead of capital punishment” (Berlin 153). In modern-day American courts, judges can adjust the penalty based on “victim impact statements” and other factors, which is more similar to “ancient Near Eastern and Arabic laws” than to Exodus’s code (Berlin 153). The concept that the penalty should fit the crime – not the victim or the criminal – is distinctly a result of the Covenant Code’s influence.
What we as a society consider criminal in today’s modern law code has strong roots in the Hebrew Covenant Code. The intent and causation behind a criminal act can strongly influence whether or not a specific act is even considered criminal. For example, both the Code and modern day laws recognize killing a person as criminal, yet both recognize that there are differences in intent and causation of a death. “You shall not murder” (Ex 20:13, Berlin 150) sounds very clear-cut, yet Ex 21:13 recognizes the concept of negligent homicide: that sometimes the cause of a death is unintentional and accidental and that unintentional deaths are not necessarily criminal (Berlin 153, Collins). In fact, the “Hebrew bible makes a distinction between murdering and killing” and “notes that murder is always a heinous sin, while killing is sometimes necessary” (Wikipedia). Both the Covenant Code and modern day laws provide for minimal to no penalty at all in the case of self-defense (Berlin, Lexis, Collins). Colorado Statutes[1] 18-1-704 states “a person is justified in using physical force upon another person in order to defend himself or a third person from what he reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by that other person” (Lexis). Self-defense is a recognizable defense against criminal charges of murder, one recognized as a non-criminal act in both the Covenant Code and modern-day laws. Exodus 21:14, like modern day laws, however, consider premeditation as a far more serious criminal act (Berlin 153, Lexis). Exodus 21:14 provides that a person who premeditates and conspires to kill someone, they shall be “put to death” – and Colorado Statutes provide the death penalty for those that premeditate murder (Berlin 153, Lexis). The concept that the intention behind a death be considered when determining whether a crime has been committed clearly originates in Hebrew law.
Exodus 22:1 is strikingly similar to modern so-called “Make My Day” laws. It states that “if the thief is seized while tunneling (breaking into a house), and he is beaten to death, there is no bloodguilt” (on the part of the homeowner’s part for killing a person breaking into his house) (Berlin 153). Colorado statutes 18-4-704 allow for the use of physical force in defending one’s home from a criminal, although they specify that “(D)eadly physical force may be used only if a person reasonably believes…(the criminal is) about to use physical force against an occupant of a dwelling or business establishment while committing or attempting to commit burglary” (Lexis). While Exodus 22:1 permits the use of deadly force against any burglar, Colorado statutes only permit the use of deadly force if the burglar appears to intend to use physical force. This is a distinct difference: modern day laws allow for meeting physical force with reasonably equivalent physical force, (you can’t respond to a slap across the face with a gunshot to the face), but the concept of a homeowner having the right to physically defend their home with physical force is clearly entrenched in Exodus.
Exodus 22:5 recognizes that starting a fire is legal, but failing to keep the fire under control is criminal. “When a fire is started and spreads… he who started the fire must make restitution” (Berlin). This is eerily precognitive of the Hayman fire in Colorado two years ago, when a woman started a “small” fire to burn letters, but failed to keep the fire under control resulting in millions of dollars worth of damage to homes, businesses, and the forest cover. Both Colorado and Federal laws were used to convict the perpetrator, and she not only is required to repay the victims for the damage she caused, but also must serve twelve years in prison. The concept that one’s actions or lack of action resulting in damage to another’s property or person (modern day negligence laws) can be considered criminal is clearly a result of Hebrew law influence.
There are significant other similarities between the Covenant Code and modern-day laws. Exodus 21:28, which deals with an ox goring a person and causing damage, is very similar to modern-day dangerous animal laws (Berlin 154-155). If an owner knows their animal is dangerous and/or vicious by the animal’s prior actions, he is liable and can be charged with a crime, but if he didn’t know the animal is vicious, it is not a criminal act (although may be required to pay for damages) (Lexis). This is similar to the “one free bite” dog laws common throughout the United States – the idea that an owner’s liability is minimal the first time a dog bites a person, but significantly higher should the dog bite again (Lexis). Modern day negligence laws providing for the failure to take reasonable actions to create a safe environment, especially in construction areas, are remarkably similar to Exodus 21:33, when one “opens a pit, or digs a pit and does not cover it…the one responsible for the pit must make restitution” (Lexis, Berlin 155). Modern day perjury laws have obvious roots in Exodus 23:1-3 “…you shall not join hands with the guilty to act as a malicious witness” and 23:7 “(K)eep far from a false charge; do not bring death on those who are innocent” (Berlin 158). Clearly, many of today’s laws have their roots in Hebrew law as presented in Exodus’s Covenant Code.
Law defines a society. When a group of people develop and agree to a set of rules and laws to live by, they are also defining themselves as a society separate from other societies. This is not just a political or geographical declaration; it is also a cultural declaration strongly influence by the society’s religious worldview. When Moses brought to his people the laws received from Yahweh, he also brought them a formal declaration and definition of who they are (Collins). In 1787, when the Philadelphia Convention finished drafting the U.S. Constitution, they presented the rest of the United States with a formal declaration and definition of who we, as a country, are to be (Wikipedia.org). While we may believe that much of our legal code has a Christian heritage, clearly, our legal heritage has distinctly strong roots in Hebrew laws, a heritage far more influenced by our religious worldview than the secular-style wording of our laws indicates.
Works Cited
Berlin, Adele and Marc Zvi Brettler, eds. The Jewish Study Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. pp 152-158.
Collins, John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Minnesota: Fortress Press, 2004. pp. 126-134.
Lexis-Nexis.com. Colorado State Statutes. 19 November 2005. http://198.187.128.12/colorado/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=fs-main.htm&2.0
Fretheim, Terence E. Exodus: Interpretation A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1991. pp.239-254.
Isser, Stanley. “Two Traditions: The Law of Exodus 21:22-23 Revisted.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly: Jan 1990, Vol. 52, Issue 1. EbscoHost Research Database. http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=9604083677
Wikipedia.org. United States Constitution. 23 November 2005. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Us_constitution
[1] Examples of modern-day criminal acts are generally universally accepted as criminal throughout the United States, however, I will be quoting exclusively from Colorado State Statutes for expediency’s sake.
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