Commentaries on the Laws of the Ancient Hebrews (1853): With an Introductory Essay on Civil Society and Government

by E. C. Wines

Overview

Wines’s book was well-received by contemporary readers; Benjamin Butler, Levi Woodbury and William Kent were among its admirers. It begins with the assumption that “next to the birth and mission of Jesus Christ, the existence and institutions of the Hebrew people are the most important event in universal history” (Preface, iii). Its exploration of the Hebraic experience finds a senate, commons, and Chief Magistrate. The divine origin of these institutions is emphasized, along with their relation to the social and legal order. xvi, 640 pp.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781584775270
Publisher:	Lawbook Exchange, Limited, The
Publication date:	09/10/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	646
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.56(d)

About the Author

E.C. Wines [1806-1879] was an expert on penology and the author of more than a dozen works on legal and religious subjects. He was a Congregational pastor, professor of ancient languages at Washington College, Pennsylvania, and president of the City University of St. Louis.

Table of Contents

Introductory Essay on Civil Society and Government

Book I Preliminary

I. Introductory observations

II. Moses as a Man and a lawgiver

III. Uncertainty of early profane history

IV. Credibility of Moses as a historian

V. Divine legation of Moses

VI. Objections considered and answered

VII. Influence of the laws and writings of Moses on the subsequent civilization of the world

VIII. Review of the leading constitutions of gentile antiquity with special reference to the question, how far civil liberty was secured by them

IX. Geographical limits and population of Palestine

BOOK II. Organic law of the Hebrew state

I. Fundamental principles

II. The Hebrew theocracy

III. General idea of the hebrew constitution

IV. The Hebrew Chief Magistrate

V. The Hebrew Senate

VI. The Hebrew Commons

VII. The Hebrew Oracle

VIII. The Hebrew Priesthood

IX. The Hebrew prophets

X. Conclusion