The Laws of the Israelites

(from the Oxford English translation of the Bible, 1973)

The Ten Commandments: Exodus, 20: 1-17

Then God spoke all these words:

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to worship them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of their parents, to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses His name.

Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work - you, your son or daughter, your male or female slaves, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.

Honor your father and mother so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

You shall not kill.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Laws about slavery and criminality: Exodus 21 - excerpted

These are the ordinances that you shall set before the people:

When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, but in the seventh he shall go out a free person without debt. If he comes in single, he shall go out single. If he comes in married, his wife shall go out with him. If the master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, then the wife and the children shall belong to the master, and the slave shall go out alone. But if the slave declares: "I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out a free person," then his master shall bring him before God. He shall brought to the door or doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him for life.

When a man sells his daughter into slavery, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. If she does not please her master, who claims her for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed; he shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt unfairly with her. If he designates her for his son, he shall treat her as a daughter. If a man takes another wife, he shall not diminish the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife. And if he does not do these things for her, she may go out free without debt.

(12-14 excerpted)

Whoever strikes his father or mother shall be put to death.

Whoever kidnaps a person, whether that person has been sold or is free, shall be put to death.

Whoever curses his father or mother shall be put to death.

(18-19 excerpted)

When a slaveowner strikes a male or female slave with a rod, and the slave dies immediately, the owner shall be punished. But if the slave survives a day or two, there is no punishment; for the slave is the owner's property.

Rules about Sexuality and Purity: Leviticus 15: (excerpted)

The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

When a man has a discharge from his member, his discharge makes him ceremonially unclean. Every bed on which he lies shall be unclean, and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. Anyone who touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and will be unclean until the evening. All who touch anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening. Any earthen vessel that this one touches must be broken, and every vessel of wood must be rinsed in water.

When the one with the discharge is cleansed of his discharge, he shall count seven days for his cleansing; he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in fresh water, and he shall be clean. On the eighth day he shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and come before the Lord to the entrance of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest. The priest shall offer them, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his discharge.

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 unclean until the evening. Everything upon which she lies during her impurity shall be unclean. If any man lies with her, and her impurity falls on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.