The Historical Development of Hebrew Law 
By Hugh E. Willis, Professor of Law in Indiana University 
Hebrew law was a matter of growth and development the 
same as Roman law and Anglo-American law. In many ways 
its historical development reminds one of the historical devel- 
opment of these other systems of law. In other ways its his- 
torical development had peculiarities. But the history of 
Hebrew law and the fundamental principles of law evolved 
therein are interesting, both from their similarities to and 
their dissimilarities from those of these other systems of law. 
Hebrew law, sometimes called the Mosaic law, was not the 
product of Moses, altho he had much to do with the shaping 
of its principles. The work of Moses in shaping the prin- 
ciples of Hebrew law can be compared with the work of John 
Marshall in shaping the principles of United States consti- 
tutional law, or with the work of Lord Mansfield in shaping 
the principles of the English common law. He has, there- 
fore, deservedly been called the great “Hebrew lawgiver”. 
Hebrew law had made considerable development in the time 
of Moses, but Hebrew law in its final form no more resembles 
the law of Moses’ day than does our law today resemble the 
English law of the time of William the Conqueror . 1 
Hebrew law was almost altogether a matter of judge-made 
law. It was created and developed by the decision of case 
after case, as cases involving different points of law arose. 
Probably under no other method is there a greater chance for 
legal progress. This was the characteristic of Hebrew law for 
the first six centuries of Hebrew history. A like development 
occurred in Anglo-American law in the history of equity and 
the common law. Moses is probably entitled to the credit for 
establishing this system of deciding cases and of making law, 
altho he received the suggestion from his father-in-law, Jethro. 
In the eighteenth chapter of Exodus 2 occurs an account of 
the origin of this judicial system, and its foundations were 
so well laid then that it continued thru all the succeeding 
1 See article by the author published in 1907 in 41 Am. Law Rev. 711. 
2 18 Exod. 13-27. 
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