The Laws of the Imperialized

Engaging deeply with both ancient texts and modern theories, Anna Lo shows how biblical authors of early Israelite laws dealt with the pre existing legal traditions of the ancient Near East. She emerges with significant wisdom on an important topic for the church: how inspired authors wrestled with imperialpressures and influences. For anyone interested in the tensions between oppression and liberation in a postcolonial context, this important new study is a must-read.

Christopher B. Hays, PhD
D. Wilson Moore Professor of Old Testament and ANE Studies,
Fuller Theological Seminary, California, USA

Imperial powers tend to pay attention to laws and laws tend to facilitate imperialism. Anna Lo captures this relationship in her careful examination of biblical legal codes. She shows both the conservativism of local elites and their resistance to imperial domination through their development of laws as modeled by empires. This book paves the way for future work on biblical legal texts and postcolonial studies.

Steed Vernyl Davidson, PhD
Professor of Hebrew Bible,
McCormick Theological Seminary, Illinois, USA

Lo offers us a rare find – an extensive study of the Book of the Covenant in Exodus that takes seriously both legal data and sociological theory. Her nuanced presentation is sensitive to the range of viewpoints current in scholarship, and she stakes out her own position by drawing on methods from postcolonial studies and applying them to her investigation in an impressively careful and judicious manner. Lo’s contribution is a most welcome addition to the ongoing discussion.

Bruce Wells, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Middle Eastern Studies,
University of Texas at Austin, USA

Chung Man Anna Lo’s book is a marvelous postcolonial study of the laws in Exodus 19–24. Many readers have wondered about the puzzling way these laws combine visionary insights and oppressive constraints. In a general sense, Jesus explains why they do: the Torah combines God’s creation vision with his making allowance for human hardness of heart. Chung Man Anna Lo gives us a concrete twenty-firstcentury take on that dynamic.

John Goldingay, PhD
Senior Professor,
Fuller Theological Seminary, California, USA

1. Abbreviations
2. Introduction
1. Topic
2. Methods and Historical Context (Chapters 1–2)
3. Scope and Key Arguments (Chapters 3–5)
3. Chapter 1 Responses of the Imperialized to Empires
1. 1.1 Introduction
2. 1.2 Characteristics of Colonized Peoples’ Discourse in General
3. 1.3 Legal Discourse of the Colonized
4. 1.4 Implications for Analysis of Exodus 19–24
5. 1.5 Chapter Conclusions
4. Chapter 2 Relationship of Exodus 19–24 to Cuneiform Law Collections
1. 2.1 Introduction
2. 2.2 Meta-Traditions, Direct Dependence, or Response of the Imperialized?
3. 2.3 Relationship of the People of Israel and Judah to Empire
4. 2.4 Purposes of Exodus 19–24
5. 2.5 Authors’ Social Location and Positions toward the Empire
6. 2.6 Chapter Conclusions
5. Chapter 3 Slaves and Women in the Ordinances (Exodus 21:2–22:16)
1. 3.1 Introduction
2. 3.2 Ordinances on Slaves
3. 3.3 Ordinances on Women
4. 3.4 Chapter Conclusions
6. Chapter 4 Yhwh, the Marginalized, and Enemies in the Commandments (Exodus 20:23‒21:1 and 22:17‒23:33)
1. 4.1 Introduction
2. 4.2 Services to Yhwh or the Gods
3. 4.3 Care for the Marginalized
4. 4.4 Fighting against Enemies
5. 4.5 Chapter Conclusions
7. Chapter 5 Yhwh, Moses, and the People in the Narrative (Exodus 19:1‒20:22 and 24:1‒18)
1. 5.1 Introduction
2. 5.2 Gods, Human Leaders, and the People in the Pronouncement of the Law
3. 5.3 Chapter Conclusions
8. Chapter 6 Conclusions
1. 6.1 From the Colonized in Modern Contexts to the Imperialized in Israel and Judah
2. 6.2 The Wrestling of the Imperialized
3. 6.3 Implications
9. Bibliography