The impact of the U.S disorders of the 1960s

Apart from the division of the law into two types, the laws have been variously classified into several categories. Though some scholars classify the law into three, namely moral, civil and ceremonial (Hays, 2001).

However, the classification of Fee and Stuart (1993) would be adopted here.

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Benevolence Laws

These are the laws that deal exclusively with the humane treatment of the poor and the helpless. They also deal with the issue of kindness towards animals. The following are examples of such laws:

a. This law states that animals were to be fed in proportion with the work they had done (Deuteronomy 25:4) and they were to observe the Sabbath law too (Exodus 20:8-11).

b. This law states that widows, orphans and foreigners were to be taken care of (Exodus 22:22-24); travellers were also granted the right to enter a farm and eat to their fill provided they take no extra out of the farm (Deuteronomy 23:24-25).

c. This law also states that servants were to be treated kindly (Leviticus 25:39-43) and that the freeborn could not be sold into slavery (Exodus 21:16).

Ceremonial Laws

These are the laws that guide the worship life of the individual and the nation as a whole they contain moistly the procedures governing the preservation of sacred objects. Examples of this type of law include:

a. The laws governing the ark of covenant and the rules concerning its movement (Exodus 25:10-22).

b. The laws governing the Levites and the rules they also had to keep in order to keep themselves pure for their service (Leviticus 10:8-11) as well as the laws regarding the priests.

Civil Laws

For the Israelites, obedience to God did not end in the religious life alone; it extended to their entire life. The civil laws are those that are concerned exclusively with the army, the court system and the political leadership.

The followings are examples of civil laws:

a. The Army: though Israel was allowed to raise an army for her defence (Numbers 2:14-33), it was not to be a professional army.

Men over 20 years of age are drafted into the army except Levites (Numbers 1:47-49); and to stop them from becoming greedy and professional warriors, they were not allowed to keep war horses (Deuteronomy 17:16) or spoils of war.

b. The Court System: Israel had a dual system of court, namely the civil and the religious. The Levites judged on religious matters

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(Deuteronomy 17:8-13) and some elders are appointed judges on civil matters (2 Chronicles 19:8-11). The laws regarding witnesses and leniency are included in this category too.

c. The Political Leadership: examples of this includes the barring of people with physical defects and those with mixed blood from taking leadership offices.

Criminal Laws

These laws cover several types of crimes like crimes against individuals, morality, property, religion and also against the society as a whole. For example, bearing false witness or false testimony is a crime against the individual as well as the society while worshipping of idols is a crime against God. Laws regarding sexual sanctity are also regarded as anti-society.

Dedication Laws

These cover the laws of dedication of every first born of every family (Exodus 4:22-23; Numbers 3:40-41; 8:18). These also include the laws governing tithing.

Dietary Laws

In demonstrating the uniqueness of the Israelites, God gave them laws on what to eat and what not to eat sometimes with reasons. These include abolition of improperly butchered meat (Leviticus 7:22-27); abolition of blood because it is life (Deuteronomy 12:23) and because it is a covering for sin (Leviticus 17:11) and abolition of animal fat, for it is offered to God alone (Leviticus 7:23).

Personal and Family Right Laws

The Bible closely guards the rights of the individual as well as those of their families. Children, for example, are expected to obey their parents and parents are to raise their children in the fear of the Lord. This law also covers the dignity of slaves as human beings. In fact, Exodus 21:20 classified those who dealt with their slaves to the point of death as murderers. Also included here is the family inheritance laws (Deuteronomy 21:15-17; 25:6). A daughter could inherit where there is no son but had to pay by marrying one from her own tribe so as to keep the property within the family (Numbers 27:7-8; 36:1-12)

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Quarantine Laws

These are the health-related laws concerned with rule about death, illness, childbirth and a woman‟s menstrual period which could make persons unclean and unfit for worship. For example, anyone who touched a corpse could not go to the Temple until he/she become ritually clean (Leviticus 22:3-7).

Religious Obligation Laws

These are laws that state the responsibilities of the people to God. This is because all people owed their lives to Yahweh, and the community expected them to serve God and remain loyal to God‟s people. This includes the commandment to study, remember and teach the law (Deuteronomy 4:2; Numbers 15:37-41; Leviticus 18:4-5).

Religious Symbolism Laws

These are the laws concerned with the dressing of the Israelites to show their dedication to Yahweh. Jewish men wear phylacteries (Exodus 13:9;

Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18) and tie them to their foreheads or left hands. They also wear blue fringes on their garments (Numbers 15:37-41; Deuteronomy 22:12).

Having finished with the classification of the laws we can now proceed to study the traditional interpretation of the laws before considering the right way to interpret these laws.

Self-Assessment Exercise

Cite five categories of the Old Testament laws and cite an example each.