Abstract
Biblical literature (c. 900 B.C.-A.D. 100) reflects a chain reaction of major developments in the history of ideas. At root, the Bible is a study of the fortunes of an extended family. The family is that of Abraham and his descendants, and its predicaments are subject to recurring, searching analyses. In addition, there is advice on how to deal with those predicaments, plus observations on the guidelines that should regulate relationships between family members.
We have been turned out of Paradise. We have neither eternal life nor unlimited means of gratification. Everywhere we turn, if we choose one thing we must relinquish others which, in different circumstances, we would wish not to have relinquished. Scarcity of means to satisfy ends of varying importance is an almost ubiquitous condition of human behaviour. — Lionel Robbins, An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science
The author is indebted to Professor Roman A. Ohrenstein, Nassau College,New York, for his helpful suggestions regarding rthis chapter.
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Gordon, B. (1987). Biblical and Early Judeo-Christian Thought: Genesis to Augustine. In: Todd Lowry, S. (eds) Pre-Classical Economic Thought. Recent Economic Thought Series, vol 10. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3255-5_4
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