more merciful view with respect to the weak, and powerless. It is a matter of dispute whether the author knew the Covenant Code and Ritual Decalogue as separate works, or after they had been united into JE, as rather than copying, the laws of the Deuteronomic Code are variously free modification or enlargement of them. Consequently, amongst critical scholarship, some think it to be simply an enlarged edition of the old code, whereas others feel it to have been intended as a replacement. In the Deuteronomic Code, it is strictly laid down that sacrifice is to be offered at a single central sanctuary. However, in the Tanakh, from the Book of Joshua to the Books of Kings (I Kings 6), sacrifices are frequently described as offered in various parts of the land, without any suggestion, by either the characters present in the narrative, or the narrator themselves, that any law, such as that of Deuteronomy, is being broken. Other laws appear to more specifically point to a terminus post quem, after which the code must have been composed. The law concerning the king, and the prohibitions against "multiplying horses", "multiplying wives", and "multiplying silver and gold", at Deuteronomy 17:14-20, appears to be coloured by reminiscences of Solomon (c. 950 bce), and the forms of idolatry referred to, especially worship of the "host of heaven", as described at Deuteronomy 17:3, appear to refer to behaviour during the reign of Ahaz (c. 730 bce). The Deuteronomic Code is composed of several mitzvot or commandments, approximately one third of the mitzvot in the Torah, and is therefore a major constituent of Jewish Law. While several of the laws are repetitions of those present elsewhere in the Torah, many have notable variations, and there are additionally many further laws which are unique to the code. Laws similar to those elsewhere in the Torah Laws of religious observance Against worshipping other gods and committing human sacrifice, at Deuteronomy 12:29-31 Prohibiting deliberate disfigurement as an act of mourning, at Deuteronomy 14:1-2 Concerning clean and unclean animals, at Deuteronomy 14:3-20 Prohibiting the consumption of animals who have not been killed by mankind, at Deuteronomy 14:21 Against Asherah groves and ritual pillars, at Deuteronomy 16:21-22 Against blemished sacrifices, at Deuteronomy 17:1 Laws concerning officials Ordering impartiality of judges, at Deuteronomy 16:19-20 Criminal law Concerning witnesses, at 19:15-21 Concerning adultery and seduction, at Deuteronomy 22:22-29 Against kidnap, at Deuteronomy