Kilchor, Benjamin2020-09-182020-09-182019Benjamin Kilchör, “The Pater Familias as a Landowner in the Context of the Slave Laws of the Pentateuch. A Brief Response to Esias E. Meyer,” Old Testament Essays 32 no. 1 (2019): 256-262. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2019/v32n1a14.1010-9919 (print)2312-3621 (online)10.17159/2312-3621/2019/v32n1a14http://hdl.handle.net/2263/76186In his review essay on my dissertation, Esias E. Meyer dedicates an important part to discussing the slave laws in the Pentateuch. A key role in his critique is played by his understanding of the term pater familias as “a man with a woman and children.” This, however, is not how I used the term; rather, a pater familias is the head of an extended family with land possession. In this response, I show that landownership is the key to understanding the relationship between the slave laws of the Pentateuch.en© Old Testament Society of South Africa (OTSSA). Article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.Pater familiasLandownershipSlave lawsPentateuchHumanities articles SDG-10SDG-10: Reduced inequalitiesArticle