Book

Law and Gender in the Ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible

This book examines how gender relations were regulated in ancient Near Eastern and biblical law. The textual corpus examined includes the various pertinent law collections, royal decrees and instructions from Mesopotamia and Hatti, and the three biblical legal collections. The book explores issues beginning with the wide societal perspective of gender equality and inequality, continuing to the institutional perspective of economy, palace and temple, the family, and lastly, sex crimes. This book offers an invaluable resource for anyone working on ancient Near Eastern society and culture, and gender in the ancient world more broadly.

Author

Ilan Peled

Date

29 September 2025

Links

Publisher: Routledge

Law and Gender in the Ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible

This volume examines how gender relations were regulated in ancient Near Eastern and biblical law. The textual corpus examined includes the various pertinent law collections, royal decrees and instructions from Mesopotamia and Hatti, and the three biblical legal collections.

Peled explores issues beginning with the wide societal perspective of gender equality and inequality, continues to the institutional perspective of economy, palace and temple, the family, and lastly, sex crimes. All the texts mentioned or referred to in the book are given in an appendix, both in the original languages and in English translation, allowing scholars to access the primary sources for themselves.

Law and Gender in the Ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible offers an invaluable resource for anyone working on Near Eastern society and culture, and gender in the ancient world more broadly.