"Highly recommended for those concerned about the intersection of law and power in ancient Israel." Gale A. Yee, Nancy W. King Professor of Biblical Studies, Episcopal Divinity School "Building painstakingly on archaeological data and social-anthropological theory, Knight exposes the gap between biblical rhetoric and historical reality." Philip R. Davies, Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies, University of Sheffield "A superb study of the legal texts of the Hebrew Bible and of the practice of law in ancient Israel." Norman K. Gottwald, Professor Emeritus, New York Theological Seminary "Knight offers an excellent treatment of the laws of ancient Israel and provides a significant methodological model for future scholarly discussions of these laws." Cheryl B. Anderson, Associate Professor of Old Testament, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary "This book represents the first social history of biblical law. It demonstrates how the legal system functioned within the society of ancient Israel. Although the starting point of the book is the social world of ancient Israel, it also informs the reader in a well-founded and reliable manner about the legal literature of the Hebrew Bible. In addition, it keeps in mind the archaeology of Palestine and the legal history of the Ancient Near East. A most welcome book." Eckart Otto, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen "Knight goes beyond a careful reading of ancient texts to reconstruct a compelling and realistic picture of legal systems at work in the villages, cities, and cultic settings of ancient Israel." D. Don Welch, Professor of Law and Professor of Religion, Vanderbilt University. "Knight's book fills a large gap in the study of the legal systems of ancient Israel." Patrick D. Miller, Professor Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary