What are the moral laws of the ancient Hebrews?

Answer 1

We'll list a few of them here, if you promise not to laugh. Remember that these were

simple, unsophisticated people, mostly shepherds and farmers, with a culture based on

no more than the myths and legends that uneducated parents were able to pass on to

their children. These ancient customs sound quaint and a little weird now, to our modern

sophisticated ears, and we wonder how people could have ever taken this stuff seriously

and tried to live like this. But they actually did.

-- give your parents honor and respect

-- visit sick people

-- help widows, orphans, poor people, and travelers passing through

-- don't steal or kill

-- don't look at your neighbor's wife and daydream about it

-- when a thief is caught, he pays back double what he stole; if he hasn't got it to pay back, he works it off

-- if you come upon a man at the side of the road with his car or his mule broke down, stop and help him

-- people may work for other people, but nobody owns them

-- nobody has the authority to require anyone to work 7 days straight without a day off

-- when a man works for you, feed him and pay him

-- keep your gas pump and your scale calibrated; deliver what you charge for

-- teach your children

-- pray for the leaders of your country

-- if a man has built a new house, planted a field, been recently married, or is scared, he has no military obligation, and is sent home when he reports for duty

-- honor and protect women

-- a bride gets a written contract, that legally binds her husband to provide for her

-- express gratitude before you eat, and again after you eat

-- be holy