This study is devoted to three interrelated subjects: We seek to understand the theory of Jewish criminal punishment, we shall endeavor to describe the role of pain and suffering in punishment, and we wish to present an encyclopedic view of Jewish penology, the history of criminal punishment among the Jews throughout history. We intend to point out that there was more than one system of Jewish penology. We will elaborate upon the existence of a classical system – retributory and expatiatory – related to a self-perfecting society. Only such a society would ordain a painless penalty for death for criminals guilty of the most serious crimes with malice and forethought and a painful punishment with immediate restoration to one's community for criminals guilty of lesser crimes. Criminal penalties for the purposes of deterrence (private or public) or of social rehabilitation are minor considerations. In addition to and alongside the classical penological system, we will be detailing other systems of a more practical nature: one governed by the King's law and others emerging from rabbinical ad hoc jurisdiction and communal legislation. These systems are less governed by the classical motivations of strict retribution and religious expiation (which continue to play a role – albeit a relatively minor one); deterrence and social rehabilitation, law and order, are their dominant considerations. Moreover the varying degrees of judicial autonomy granted to the Jewish community by the non-Jewish governments resulted in variations in penal practices among the various communities themselves. A summery in English at the end of the book.

This is a sociologic study of the role of the Roman Familia in legal and commercial transactions in classical times. The Roman "family" included slaves and freedmen as well as wives, children and relatives and served as the basis for legal and quasi-legal activities. In this study, socio-economic data sheds light on the legal aspects of the extended family.