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Rabbinic Civil Law in the Context of Ancient Legal History: A Legal Compendium to the Bavot Tractates of the Talmud Yerushalmi

Cooperative research project with Prof. Dr. Catherine Hezser, SOAS, University of London, UK, funded by the AHRC and the DFG.

Overview:
The main objective of the project is to integrate Jewish civil law, as it developed in Roman Palestine in late antiquity (3rd-4th c. CE) and is codified in the Bavot tractates of the Talmud Yerushalmi, within ancient legal history. Scholars of ancient legal history generally deal with Roman law as the basis of modern European law, whereas rabbinic law is studied in the context of Jewish Studies. Ancient rabbis were legal adjudicators who devised rules and precedents in areas of civil law that have analogies in non-Jewish legal traditions, especially Hellenistic and Roman law. Compiled in the Bavot tractates of the Talmud, rabbinic civil law constitutes a significant Near Middle Eastern corpus of ancient civil law. The analysis and comparison of rabbinic with (mostly Egyptian) Hellenistic and with Roman civil law will enable us to overcome the inappropriate division between Jewish and non-Jewish, eastern and western legal traditions and enable an integrated approach to ancient law. The project examines the impact of Roman law on the eastern provinces in the context of Roman imperialism and the development of a legal hybridity in local Near Middle Eastern societies.

German project team, funded by the DFG:
research assistant: Ref. iur. Lisa Nardone
student assistant: cand. iur. Katharina Harder
Former team members
student assistant: cand. iur. Laura Anne Gold (September 2023 - March 2024)
acting professor: PD Dr. Thomas Pierson, M.A. (December 2023 - February 2024)
acting professor: Dr. Carsten Schirrmacher (October 2023 - December 2023)

News and Events

  • Workshop "Baba Batra in Context", SOAS, University of London, 19 September 2024

    On 19 September 2024, the second project workshop "Baba Batra in Context" was hosted at SOAS, University of London. After a general introduction to the project, participants discussed legal issues between neighbours such as the consequences of smoke emanating from an oven, inheritance rights of daughters, and the role and duties of market supervisors, both in Talmud Yerushalmi Baba Batra and in Roman (and Hellenistic) legal texts.

    Participants: Tali Artman Partok (Leo Baeck College London), Kate Cooper (Royal Holloway London), Laura Gold (University of Marburg), Catherine Hezser (SOAS, University of London), Lisa Nardone (University of Marburg), Dominic Rathbone (King’s College London), Benet Salway (University College London), Joe Sampson (Trinity College, University of Cambridge), Ben Spagnolo (Trinity College, University of Cambridge), and Constantin Willems (University of Marburg).

  • Poster Presentation at Deutscher Rechtshistorikertag, University of Frankfurt, 18 September 2024

    On 18 September 2024, the project featured in a poster presentation section at the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory (MPILHLT) in the ambit of the 44th Deutscher Rechtshistorikertag, hosted at the University of Frankfurt. Professor Willems was happy to answer questions and to discuss the project with the participants of this international conference.

  • Romani Iuris Officina, Abbazia di Novacella, 21 to 25 July 2024

    From 21 to 25 July 2025, an international group of Roman lawyers, both professors and PhD students, from Italy, Germany, Poland, and Croatia, gathered at Novacella Abbey (Italy) in order to discuss current research questions. In the ambit of this first "Romani iuris officina" conference, which had the general topic "Il processo civile a Roma e nelle province", Lisa Nardone gave a paper on "Frauen im römischen Erbrecht – Der Einfluss von Frauen auf die erbrechtliche Reskriptenpraxis am Beispiel von Nov.Val. 21,2 (a. 446)" and Professor Willems, who was also member of the organizing committee, gave a paper with the title "Zivilprozesse apud Iudaeos? CTh. 2.1.10 und CI. 1.9.8 als Beispiel für Diversity Management im römischen Zivilprozessrecht".

  • International Conference, Marburg, 23 to 26 June 2024

    From 23 to 26 June 2024, the first international and interdisciplinary conference, "The Talmud Yerushalmi’s Civil Law in Its Ancient Legal Context: Rabbinic Law – Roman Law – Hellenistic Law", was hosted at the University of Marburg.

    This conference, which took place in the new "Creative Space" of the University, was meant to go beyond the focus on Yerushalmi Neziqin and to explore the relationship between rabbinic discussions of civil law and their treatment in other ancient legal sources, whether part of legal compendia or papyrological evidence. In doing so, the conference aimed at revealing similarities in the form of shared values and concerns, similar solutions to common legal problems, and attention to the same details, but also significant and interesting differences. All papers presented at the conference were supposed to be comparative, taking both rabbinic and other ancient legal traditions into account. Participants were invited to either present papers on more theoretical issues of legal comparison, integrating rabbinic law and the province of Roman Palestine into ancient legal history, or to deal with specific comparative legal issues based on the literary and papyrological evidence available for that time period. The papers covered a vast array of legal matters, such as delict, property, contract, family, and succession, including issues of civil procedure. At the welcoming dinner, Prof. Dr. Gert Bange, the University vice president for research, stressed the importance of international and interdisciplinary research, while the dean of the law department, Prof. Dr. Markus Roth, remembered the importance of doing research in legal history in Marburg, the place where the famous jurist Friedrich Carl von Savigny began his scientific career.

    Participants: Dr. Mariateresa Amabile (Università degli Studi di Salerno, Italy), Prof. Dr. Martin Avenarius (Universität zu Köln, Germany), Prof. Dr. Doris Forster, Doris (Université de Genève, Switzerland), Prof. Dr. Yair Furstenberg (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel), Laura Gold (Philipps-Universität Marburg, project assistant), Katharina Harder (Philipps-Universität Marburg, project assistant), Prof. Dr. Catherine Hezser (SOAS, University of London, United Kingdom, PI), Prof. Dr. Francesco Lucrezi (Università degli Studi di Salerno, Italy), Dr. Orit Malka (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel), Lisa Nardone (Philipps-Universität Marburg, project assistant), Dr. Yakir Paz (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel), Prof. Dr. Kai Ruffing (Universität Kassel, Germany), Prof. Dr. Angela Standhartinger (Philipps-Universität Marburg), and Prof. Dr. Constantin Willems (Philipps-Universität Marburg, PI).

    For a detailed conference report, see Laura Gold/Lisa Nardone, Conference Report: "The Talmud Yerushalmi's Civil Law in Its Ancient Legal Context: Rabbinic Law - Roman Law - Hellenistic Law", Marburg, 23 - 26 June 2024, in: AOM-AME 1.2 (2024) III, 1-2 (accessible here).

  • Project Presentation at HRP research seminar, London, 5 June 2024

    On 5 June 2024, Professors Catherine Hezser and Constantin Willems (who joined the meeting via video link) presented their collaborative project in the ambit of the research seminar of the School of History, Religions and Philosophies at SOAS, University of London. After a short overview of the project, a case study was presented and discussed with the participants.

  • Project Presentation at Jour Fixe of GRK 2844, Marburg, 30 April 2024

    On 30 April 2024, Professors Constantin Willems and Catherine Hezser (who joined the meeting via video link) presented their collaborative project to the members of the DFG-Graduiertenkolleg "Inszenierung religiöser Atmosphäre in antiken Kulturen" in the ambit of the Kolleg's newly established "Jour Fixe". Discussing materials and methods with an interdisiplinary group of scholars based in Marburg proved to give fruitful insights for both projects.

  • "Comitato Scientifico" of new jounal "Antico Oriente Mediterraneo", since March 2024

    In 2024, a new scientific journal "Antico Oriente Mediterraneo" (AMO) has come to life. The journal aims at being a research laboratory for studies on the history, economics, law, literature, and religion of the Ancient Mediterranean East, including Roman and rabbinic law, from an interdisciplinary perspective. The open access version can be found here. The journal is directed by Ariel Lewin (Università degli Studi della Basilicata), Francesco Lucrezi (Università degli Studi di Salerno), and Samuele Rocca (Ariel University). Besides other scholars from various countries, also Professors Catherine Hezser (SOAS, University of London) and Constantin Willems (University of Marburg) are members of the "comitato scientifico" of the new journal.

  • Kick-off-Workshop, Marburg, 28 and 29 September 2023

    On 28 and 29 September 2023, the kick-off workshop to the project was hosted at the University of Marburg, including the UK and German project team as well as scholars of religious studies and Roman law from Marburg and abroad.

    In the course of the workshop, the project was presented and selected passages from the Yerushalmi tractate Baba Qamma were discussed against the background of Roman civil law. Subsequent to introductions to the Talmud Yerushalmi and rabbinic legal sources and to the legal background of Roman law and its sources, participants discussed issues of damages caused by animals that are harmless or attested dangers (e.g. negligence of the owners and punishment of the animals), questions of "cumulative" and "overtaking" causation, the responsibility for damage caused by a fire (esp. intent, negligence, and vis maior), and double (etc.) indemnity for theft.

    Participants: Prof. Dr. Tommaso Beggio (Roman Law, Università di Trento), Laura Gold (project assistant, Roman Law, Philipps-Universität Marburg), Prof. Dr. Catherine Hezser (PI, Jewish Studies, SOAS, University of London), Philipp Huber (New Testament, Philipps-Universität Marburg), Thabo Huntgeburth (project administrator, SOAS, University of London), Thabo Huntgeburth (project administrator, SOAS, University of London),  Lisa Nardone (project assistant, Roman Law, Philipps-Universität Marburg), Prof. Dr. Thomas Rüfner (Roman Law, Universität Trier), Prof. Dr. Angela Standhartinger (New Testament, Philipps-Universität Marburg), and Prof. Dr. Constantin Willems (PI, Roman Law, Philipps-Universität Marburg).