"The foundation for all scholarly study in biblical law is the shared assumption that the Covenant Code, as contained in Exodus 20:23-22:33, is the oldest code of laws in the Hebrew Bible and that all other laws are later revisions of that code. In A Law Book for the Diaspora, John Van Seters strikes at that foundation. He argues that those laws in the Covenant Code that are similar to Deuteronomy and the Holiness Code are in fact later than both of these, dependent on them as sources, and therefore cannot be taken as the foundation of Hebrew law."--BOOK JACKET.