Jewish Criminal Law and Legal Procedure

Abstract

It is significant for the close relationship that exists between Jewish ethics and Jewish law that both emerge from the same source: the religious code. Jewish law is sacred, Divine law. Its basis is the Bible and Talmud. Though both are primary sources for the knowledge of Jewish law, it must be borne in mind that it was the task of the Talmud to interpret God's word as proclaimed in the Bible. The Talmud, on the other hand, not only interprets but also extends the scope of the Biblical teachings in accordance with the social and economic conditions that prevailed during the long period in which this g gantic work came into being. The dominant idea in Biblical law was the lex talionis. Since the first century B. C., however, the Rabbis tried to modify this principle with the result that the Pharisees almost abolished it. Their views became Jewish criminal law. The Sadducees, however, insisted upon its application. It would indeed be strange if the idea of retaliation were missing from ancient Jewish law, for it was prevalent in the very early beginnings of communal existence. It was thus present as well in Egyptian, Indian and Greek jurisprudence and is preserved today. For retaliation is still the first instinc-