The Ancient Near East: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Phoenicia, Israel 21a sense of grudging duty, but in awe of God’s majesty
and holiness, and in gratitude for God’s blessings. This
concept of righteousness as an essential duty, together
with many of the specific ethical principles enshrined in
the Torah, or first five books of the Jewish Bible, would
later be adopted by both Christianity and Islam. The in-
fluence of Mosaic Law on Western thought and society
has therefore been incalculable.
The Social and Economic Structures of Ancient Israel
The society that produced these revolutionary concepts
was not in other respects much different from its neigh-
bors. From a federation of nomadic herdsmen initially
organized into twelve tribes, the earliest Jews evolved
into settled agriculturalists after their arrival in Canaan.
Tribal survivals such as the communal ownership of re-
sources gave way to a system of private property in
which land and water were generally owned by fami-
lies. Inevitably, some families were more successful than
others, and many became substantial landholders with
tenants and perhaps a few slaves. As in Mesopotamia,
these families were often extended and always patriar-
chal in organization. A gradual process of urbanization
increased the importance of crafts and trade, but the
basic family structure remained.
In earliest times, fathers held absolute authority
over wives and children. As ethical standards evolved,
patriarchy was increasingly tempered by a sense of re-
sponsibility and mercy. However, the status of women
was lower in ancient Israel than among the Hittites,
the Egyptians, or the Mesopotamians. Under the
Judges who ruled Israel from the invasion of Canaan
to the emergence of the monarchy, women presided
as priestesses over certain festivals. As interpretation
of the Mosaic Law evolved, their participation in reli-
gious life was restricted (see document 1.6). The wor-
ship of Yahweh demanded purity as well as holiness,
and women were regarded as ritually impure during
menstruation and after childbirth. They were also ex-
empted from regular prayer and other rituals on the
theory that they should not be distracted from child
care. In effect, they were excluded from direct partici-
pation in all public rites and were segregated from
men even as observers because their presence was
thought to be distracting. The proper role of women
was in the home.
The home, however, was central to religious life.
Marriages were arranged between families and sealed
by contract as in Babylon, but only men could initiate
DOCUMENT 1.6
Leviticus: The Impurity of Women
These passages of the Mosaic Law are part of a much longer
section concerned with impurity; that is, those conditions un-
der which performing religious rituals is not permissible. Note
that, although men, too, could be impure, the purification of
women took longer and the amount of time required for purifi-
cation after the birth of a girl was twice as long as that for a
boy.12:2–5. If a woman conceives and bears a male
child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven
days; as at the time of her menstruation she shall
be unclean. On the eighth day the flesh of his
foreskin shall be circumcised. Her time of blood
purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not
touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary,
until the days of her purification are completed. If
she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two
weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood
purification shall be sixty-six days.
15:12–22. If a man has an emission of semen,
he shall bathe his whole body in water, and be un-
clean until the evening. Everything made of cloth
or skin on which the semen falls shall be washed
with water and be unclean until the evening. If a
man lies with a woman and has an emission of se-
men, both of them shall bathe in water and be un-
clean until the evening. When a woman has a
discharge of blood that is her regular discharge
from her body, she shall be in her impurity for
seven days, and whoever touches her shall be un-
clean until the evening. Everything on which she
lies during her impurity shall be unclean; every-
thing also on which she sits shall be unclean.
Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes,
and bathe in water, and be unclean until the
evening. Whoever touches anything on which she
sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and
be unclean until the evening.From the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible,copyright
1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permis-
sion. All rights reserved.