Robert D. Miller II, O.F.S., is Ordinary Professor of Old Testament at the Catholic University of America and a research affiliate with the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Pretoria.
In this eye-opening work, Robert Miller applies his deep understanding of oral tradition and performance to the study of biblical law. Among the very important aspects of the subject that Miller illuminates are the nature of customary law, the dependence of biblical law on law elsewhere in the ancient Near East, and the interpenetration of law and proverbial wisdom. Lucidly written and well-referenced, this book should be required reading for students and scholars.--Edward L. Greenstein, Bar-Ilan University, emeritus Oral Law of Ancient Israel combines Miller's specializations (Israelite history, ethnographic analogy, and comparative anthropology) together with an energetic imagination in an investigation that few scholars could have done. The result is new light on the oral-and-written hybrid society of pre-exilic Israel in a plausible reconstruction that must now be taken into consideration by all who seek to understand the Israelite instructional material.--Bill T. Arnold, Asbury Theological Seminary