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There is substantial disagreement between scholars about what the proper focus for the study of ‘Hebrew Bible Ethics’ or ‘Old Testament Ethics’ should be. The subject of ethics in ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible is a difficult one to enter for a number of reasons. For example, there is considerable uncertainty about what we mean when we use an expression like ‘the ethics of the Hebrew Bible’. Are we interested in the beliefs of all or most ancient Israelites, the views of certain biblical authors, or indeed the ethical outlook of the whole Hebrew Bible? This chapter discusses ancient Israelite ethics in a social context, descriptive ethics and normative ethics, moral horizons and social groups, social stratification and moral worlds, and the social location of biblical literature.

This chapter starts with a discussion of how moral action begins at a young age. It then explains young people's realization that there is more than one moral world and the definition of moral systems by identifying what constitutes authentic human flourishing and values. It also outlines a secular ideal of human fulfillment based on achievement, knowledge, recognition, and expenditure of resources on family and those who are less fortunate in society.

This chapter examines Paul's moral world, which covers his fellow workers and their respective communities. It introduces the concept of reference groups, which enlighten the broad moral horizons of Pauline Christianity. The next section focuses on Paul's Christian letters, where it is possible that he assumed or even proposed certain reference individuals or groups. These letters include 1 Thessalonians.

This chapter begins by describing two practical issues faced by young adults in their latter teens and in their twenties: the sexual hook-up and cheating in exams. It then discusses how annoying behaviors can affect the heart of a relationship; and moral worlds among friends.

The clash of cultures, between societies and within societies, with both negative and positive results, is an underlying theme in much of what Bujold has written. This chapter examines this theme primarily as it appears in Bujold's science fiction. It shows that one of the main purposes of the theme of culture clash in Bujold's works is to cast light upon the societies of her readers: satire, in its original and broadest sense, is thus one of Bujold's concerns. Satire invariably has an ethical or moral dimension (the humorous dimension is often there in Bujold, but critics have not seen humor as an indispensible element of satire); and the moral world that Bujold builds is a significant part of her achievement. In most, but not in all, cases, Bujold lets us know clearly whose moral point of view we are supposed to support.

This chapter first discusses how every individual has an aptitude for excellence. It then explains the meaning of morality and the moral world; good and bad ways to pursue forms of excellence; and making choices in order to pursue values or particular forms of human excellence.