God's people in God's land : family, land, and property in the Old Testament / Christopher J.H. Wright. [print]

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I. Part One: The Centrality of the Family in the social, economic, and religious life of Israel 1. The Land Israel's Relationship to God Appendix: Yaweh of Sinai and the gift of the land 2. Land and Family Appendix: Was tribal territory subject to communal ownership and periodic reallotment? 3. The Family and Israel's relationship to Yaweh

II. Part Two: Land and property ethics 4. Property owners' rights 5. Property owners' responsibilities Appendix: Exegesis of Deuteronomy 15:1-2

III. Part Three: Dependent persons as property 6. Wives 7. Children 8. Slaves.

In recent sociological approaches to the Old Testament, Christians have been finding unexpected resources for their ethical reflection and action relative to the modern world's pressing social and economic dilemmas. This unique survey by Christopher Wright examines life in Old Testament Israel from an ethical perspective by considering how the economic facts of Israel's social structure were related to the people's religious beliefs. Observing the centrality of the family in the social, economic and religious spheres of Israelite life, Wright analyzes Israel's theology of land, the rights and responsibilities of property owners, and the socioeconomic and legal status of dependent persons in ancient Israel - wives, children, and slaves - showing the mutual interaction between such laws, institutions, and customs and the nation's covenant relationship with God. While primarily exegetical, God's People in God's Land contains many useful insights for Christian social ethics: Wright suggests how the ethical application of his findings might proceed as Christians with different theological perspectives and cultural contexts seek to work out the relevance of the Old Testament for today.

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Christopher J. H. Wright (Ph.D., Cambridge) was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His doctorate is in Old Testament ethics. He taught Old Testament in India for five years (1983-1988) at Union Biblical Seminary, and then returned to the faculty of All Nations Christian College, a missionary training school in England, where he was principal from 1993-2001. Wright is now the international director of the Langham Partnership International (known in the United States as John Stott Ministries), providing literature, scholarships and preaching training for pastors in Majority World churches and seminaries. He has written several books including commentaries on Deuteronomy and Ezekiel, Old Testament Ethics for the People of God and Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. An ordained Anglican, he serves on the staff of All Souls Church, Langham Place, London, England.