The foundation for all study of biblical law is the assumption that the Covenant Code is the oldest legal code in the Hebrew Bible and that all other laws are revisions of that code. This book sets forth the radical hypothesis that those laws in the covenant code that are similar to Deuteronomy and the Holiness Code are in fact later than both of these, and therefore can't be taken as the foundation of Hebrew Law.

"Those who have come to expect a provocative and stimulating challenge of the status quo from John Van Seters will not be disappointed in this book."

"The effect of the book is to overturn more than a century of critical scholarship and to call for a complete reassessment of the standard positions on the development of the Bible and the history of Israel. The argumentation is detailed, careful and meticulous; the scholarship is top-shelf. It builds a compelling and revolutionary case, the importance of which can hardly be overstated."

"In his characteristically incisive manner, John Van Seters proposes that the Book of the Covenant is not the oldest legal collection in the Hebrew Bible but arose centuries later as "a law for the diaspora." His argument, developed through careful comparison with other legal texts, turns long-held notions on their head. Van Seters has once again challenged biblical scholars to rethink their fundamental assumptions."

John Van Seters, Formerly James A. Gray, and University Distinguished Professor of Biblical Literature, University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill