The Code of Hammurabi was carved on diorite. This is a very hard stone that would have taken considerable skill and energy to carve. It was originally erected in Sippar in the 17th century BC but was carried off as booty to Susa by the Elamites in the 12th century BC. The French discovered the stele in Susa while excavating there in the mid-1800’s. They carried it off to the Louvre where it stands to this day. The stele depicts Shamash, the sun god, presenting Hammurabi the circle and the stick, symbols of kingship.
The inscription begins with the king declaring that he has been given responsibility by the gods to uphold justice in the land. There follows a list of laws, which take the form of case law. “If someone does such and such…. then the penalty will be such and such.”
The Code begins with a case of sorcery. The one who is charged with sorcery is to fling himself into the Euphrates. If he lives he is innocent and if he dies then he is guilty. The River, which was thought of as a deity, becomes the judge in such cases.
The Code seeks to protect the vulnerable: soldiers away on campaigns or missing in action, an orphaned son who cannot yet provide for himself, the widow and the debtor. We find laws against lying, cheating, stealing, murder and even sloth! Property rights are taken seriously. Much of the code pertains to regulating property rights and relations between individuals: husband and wife, father and son, master and slave, lender and debtor, etc. However, no provisions are made for the stranger in ones midst.
An oath made ‘before god’ is taken very seriously, as is the status of a priestesses, but otherwise, the code does not touch on religious affairs. One gets the impression of a highly stratified and regulated society where everything is fixed “according to the ratio set by the king.” One can easily see how land and silver would have flowed into the hands of an aristocracy under this system. Indeed, many of the laws assume that individuals farmed land that belonged to the temple or palace.
The Law of Moses
Much has been made of the similarities between the Law of Moses and the Code of Hammurabi. Some of the case laws are identical. For example, if the owner of a bull who knows that his bull is aggressive, but fails to take proper precautions and the bull kills another person, then the owner of that bull should also die. This law is based on the principle of ‘lex talionis‘ or the ‘law of retaliation’. In the Bible it is expressed in terms of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
The Biblical code is stricter in some cases, particularly when it comes to human life. Thus, for example, in the Code of Hammurabi, if a man strikes a pregnant woman causing her to miscarriage, the man is required to pay ten shekels of silver if she is of the aristocracy, five shekels if she is a commoner, and two shekels if she is a slave. According the Law of Moses, the penalty is death regardless of the circumstances.
Hammurabi’s Code does not contain apodictic law which takes the form of “Thou shalt not…” This form of law is absent in other ancient near eastern law codes as well. since it forms the basis for a moral order that applies to everyone equally.
The Code of Hammurabi was carved on diorite. This is a very hard stone that would have taken considerable skill and energy to carve. It was originally erected in Sippar in the 17th century BC but was carried off as booty to Susa by the Elamites in the 12th century BC. The French discovered the stele in Susa while excavating there in the mid-1800’s. They carried it off to the Louvre where it stands to this day. The stele depicts Shamash, the sun god, presenting Hammurabi the circle and the stick, symbols of kingship.
The inscription begins with the king declaring that he has been given responsibility by the gods to uphold justice in the land. There follows a list of laws, which take the form of case law. “If someone does such and such…. then the penalty will be such and such.”
The Code begins with a case of sorcery. The one who is charged with sorcery is to fling himself into the Euphrates. If he lives he is innocent and if he dies then he is guilty. The River, which was thought of as a deity, becomes the judge in such cases.
The Code seeks to protect the vulnerable: soldiers away on campaigns or missing in action, an orphaned son who cannot yet provide for himself, the widow and the debtor. We find laws against lying, cheating, stealing, murder and even sloth! Property rights are taken seriously. Much of the code pertains to regulating property rights and relations between individuals: husband and wife, father and son, master and slave, lender and debtor, etc. However, no provisions are made for the stranger in ones midst.
An oath made ‘before god’ is taken very seriously, as is the status of a priestesses, but otherwise, the code does not touch on religious affairs. One gets the impression of a highly stratified and regulated society where everything is fixed “according to the ratio set by the king.” One can easily see how land and silver would have flowed into the hands of an aristocracy under this system. Indeed, many of the laws assume that individuals farmed land that belonged to the temple or palace.
The Law of Moses
Much has been made of the similarities between the Law of Moses and the Code of Hammurabi. Some of the case laws are identical. For example, if the owner of a bull who knows that his bull is aggressive, but fails to take proper precautions and the bull kills another person, then the owner of that bull should also die. This law is based on the principle of ‘lex talionis‘ or the ‘law of retaliation’. In the Bible it is expressed in terms of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
The Biblical code is stricter in some cases, particularly when it comes to human life. Thus, for example, in the Code of Hammurabi, if a man strikes a pregnant woman causing her to miscarriage, the man is required to pay ten shekels of silver if she is of the aristocracy, five shekels if she is a commoner, and two shekels if she is a slave. According the Law of Moses, the penalty is death regardless of the circumstances.
Hammurabi’s Code does not contain apodictic law which takes the form of “Thou shalt not…” This form of law is absent in other ancient near eastern law codes as well. since it forms the basis for a moral order that applies to everyone equally.