David Daube

Regius Professor of Civil Law, Oxford

(1) The Deed and the Doer in the Bible (2) Law and Wisdom in the Bible

In his first series of lectures, Daube explores the responsibility of individuals for their actions in biblical and legal terms, through themes of causation, intent, negligence, and instigation versus perpetration. He makes clear the significance of biblical anthropology, attending closely to the question of God’s role in human action. In his second series, Daube surveys the relationship between law and wisdom in ancient literature by asking, what is right and how can we know it?

Biography

David Daube was born on 8 February 1909 in Freiburg, Germany. He was the twentieth century’s foremost scholar of ancient law. In 1933, he left Germany as Hitler came to power, studying Roman law at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Made Fellow and then Lecturer, he taught Roman law from 1938 to 1951, briefly interned in 1940. Professor of Jurisprudence at Aberdeen in 1951 and Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford from 1955 to 1970, he resigned and became Professor in Residence at Boalt Hall School of Law, UC Berkeley, where he remained.

Joint Director of the Robbins Collection at UC Berkeley, he was also made Fellow of the British Academy and awarded honorary degrees from several institutions, notably the Sorbonne. Fluent in German, French, Latin, ancient Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, he published more than 150 essays. Notable works include Studies in Biblical Law (1947), The New Testament and Rabbinic Judaism (1953), Studies in the Roman Law of Sale (1959), The Exodus Pattern in the Bible (1963), Civil Disobedience in Antiquity (1972), and Ancient Jewish Law (1981).

Published/Archival Resources

Published as The Deed and Doer in the Bible, Law and Wisdom in the Bible.