The book of Deuteronomy is not an orphan. It belongs to a diverse family of legal traditions and cultures in the world of the Bible. The Social World of Deuteronomy: A New Feminist Commentary brings these traditions and cultures to life and uses them to enrich our understanding and appreciation of Deuteronomy today. Don C. Benjamin uses social-scientific criticism to reconstruct the social institutions where Deuteronomy developed, as well as those that appear in its traditions. He uses feminist criticism to better understand and appreciate how powerful elite males in Deuteronomy view not only the women, daughters, mothers, wives and widows in their households but also their powerless children, liminal people, slaves, prisoners, outsiders, livestock and nature. Through the lens of feminist theory, Benjamin explores important aspects of the daily lives of these often overlooked peoples in ancient Israel.

Getting a fix on the social context of the Hebrew Bible is imperative for anyone reconstructing either the "story" of the text or the "history" behind the text. Resources in this area often prove overspecialized and arcane, and can require highly sophisticated skills in cultural anthropology or Semitic languages just to read the table of contents. "Social World of Ancient Israel, 1250-587 BCE" offers those interested in learning about the biblical world a more user-friendly framework for viewing the broader picture; at the same time it relies upon the latest methodologies of cultural anthropology and biblical analysis in its presentation. Painting a picture in broad but precise strokes, the authors portray the landscape of ancient Israel in new and exciting colors that expert and student alike will appreciate.
"Social World of Ancient Israel "takes a unique look at the most prominent social institutions of the world of early Israel and the period of the monarchy, and then shows how properly understanding these social institutions is essential for sound biblical interpretation. Immersing the reader into five major areas of daily life in antiquity--politics, economics, diplomacy, law, and education--Matthews and Benjamin explore the ways in which knowing how "players" function in these institutions, such as "father/mother," "prophet/wise one," "host/stranger," can shape our understanding of earliest Israel. Perhaps most significantly, the book gently exposes the inefficiency of past anthropological models for interpreting the relationships, attitudes and social conventions of earliest Israel. Its corrective insights will enable scholar and student alike to plot new approaches for studying the Hebrew Bible and the ancient people of Israel.