Abstract

KILCHOR, Benjamin. The Pater Familias as a Landowner in the Context of the Slave Laws of the Pentateuch. A Brief Response to Esias E. Meyer. Old testam. essays [online]. 2019, vol.32, n.1, pp.256-262. ISSN 2312-3621.  https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2019/v32n1a14.

In his review essay on my dissertation, Esias E. Meyer dedicates an important part to discussing the slave laws in the Pentateuch. A key role in his critique is played by his understanding of the term pater familias as "a man with a woman and children." This, however, is not how I used the term; rather, a pater familias is the head of an extended family with land possession. In this response, I show that landownership is the key to understanding the relationship between the slave laws of the Pentateuch.

Keywords : pater familias; Landownership; slave laws; Pentateuch.

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