8.6.1.1 Offenses against the Gods
Offenses against the gods constitute what, in modern parlance, would
be called sins. Examples of direct harm to a god’s interests are blas-
phemy, sacrilege, and (in a monotheistic system) apostasy, which was
an elevated form of treason. Disobedience could be offenses against
cultic rules or taboos (in Israel, work on the Sabbath), or breach of
an oath sworn by a god. Practices displeasing to the gods were witch-
craft, abortion, sexual aberrations such as incest and bestiality (homo-
sexuality in some but not all systems), and adultery. Some of the
latter could be victimless crimes.
The offended god would, of course, wreak divine punishment on
the offender, but the consequences could be worse. Many of these
offenses were thought to cause “pollution” of the surrounding area,
which in itself invoked divine wrath. Pollution could affect the culprit’s
family or home, the local town, or even the whole populace if the
culprit were a representative, such as a king. Divine punishment
could then be collective, in the form of drought, pestilence, or defeat
in war.
The human reaction, which is relevant to our history of law, was
to forestall divine punishment by killing the offender, his family, or
even a whole city (e.g., where implicated in apostasy), or else to sep-
arate the offender from the polluted area by banishment. Juridical
distinctions were made between offenses that required collective pun-
ishment and those where only the offender would be affected (e.g.,
MAL A 2). So feared was the danger to the population from the
former category that individuals were obliged to report cases of witch-
craft, for example, to the authorities. Purification rituals might fol-
low execution of the sentence.
To some extent these measures can be called punishment, but an
equally valid analogy would be to drastic public health precautions.8.6.1.2 Offenses against the King
Offenses against the king were treason, sedition, disobedience of
orders, and breach of an oath taken in the name of the king.
Corruption by royal officials would also fall under this heading. The
king could impose punishment at his discretion. Treason typically
involved death and confiscation of the traitor’s property; it could
occasionally include execution of the traitor’s family (e.g., the priests
of Nob, 2 Kings 9:26). In the New Kingdom Harem Conspiracy
Trial, punishments ranged from enforced suicide through mutilation
to a mere rebuke.76
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