Property rights and institutions in biblical society: The purchase of the Cave of the Patriarchs

Jacob Rosenberg; Avi Weiss

doi:10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2012.01.002

Property rights and institutions in biblical society: The purchase of the Cave of the Patriarchs

Jacob Rosenberg, Avi Weiss

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

A market economy and civil society require specification and certification of property rights. Where property rights are recognized, allowable transactions are also institutionally specified. In this paper we describe and analyze the earliest documented transfer of property rights to land, in Hebron in the 17th century BCE when Abraham purchased the Cave of the Patriarchs from Ephron the Hittite. We show how a property right perspective with institutional constraint on permissible transactions resolves the puzzles that have been previously noted in the bargaining between the buyer and seller.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	279-285
Number of pages	7
Journal	European Journal of Political Economy
Volume	28
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2012.01.002
State	Published - Sep 2012

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We thank the editor and two anonymous referees for comments and ideas. Financial assistance from the Adar Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.

Keywords

Cave of the Patriarchs
Property rights

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10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2012.01.002

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Property rights and institutions in biblical society: The purchase of the Cave of the Patriarchs

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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