Hammurabi's Code

136

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156

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176

And if a palace or a private slave has married the daughter of a free man and when they married she entered his house with a dowry from her father's house and they set up a household and acquired property, after the palace slave or the private slave has gone to his fate the daughter of the free man shall take her dowry and whatever she and her husband have acquired shall be divided into two parts, and the owner of the slave shall take one half and the daughter of the free man shall take one half for her children. If she had no marriage portion, whatever her husband and she from the time they started have acquired shall be divided into two parts, half for the owner of the slave and half for her and her children.

Literally what is it?

Hammurabi's Code is 44 columns of text, 28 paragraphs of which contain the actual code. There are 282 laws (possibly more have been rubbed off) that probably amend common Babylonian law rather than define it. It describes regulations for legal procedure, fixes rates on services performed in most branches of commerce and describes property rights, personal injury, and penalties for false testimony and accusations. It has no laws regarding religion.

What is it?

Hammurabi's code is the oldest set of laws known to exist. Hammurabi, king and chief priest of Babylonia from 1792-1750 B.C., expanded his empire greatly before focusing his energies toward wealth and justice for his people. He created a code protecting all classes of Babylonian society, including women and slaves. He sought protection of the weak from the powerful and the poor from the rich. It was carved on stone in cuneiform.

229

If a builder has built a house and not made his work strong and the house he built has fallen and so has caused the death of the owner of the house, that builder shall be put to death.

233

If a builder has built a house for a man and has not jointed his work, and the wall has fallen, that builder shall repair the wall at his own cost.

117

If a debt came due against a man, and he has given his wife, his son, his daughter for the money, or handed himself over to work off the debt, for three years they shall work in the house of their buyer or exploiter; in the fourth year they shall be set free.

215

If a doctor has treated a gentleman for a severe wound, with a bronze lancet and has cured him, or has opened an abscess of the eye for the gentleman with the bronze lancet and has cured the eye of the gentleman, he shall take ten shekels of silver.

48

If a man has a debt upon him and a thunderstorm ravaged his field or carried away the produce, or the corn has not grown for lack of water, in that year he shall make no return of corn to his creditor; he shall alter his contract-table and he shall not pay interest for the year.

133

If a man has been taken captive and in his house their is maintenance, if his wife has gone out from her house and entered into the house of another, because that woman has not guarded her body and has entered into the house of another, they shall prove it against that woman and throw her into the waters.

135

If a man has been taken captive and in his house there is no maintenance, if his wife has entered the house of another and has borne children and afterwards her husband returns and regains his city, that woman shall return to her first husband, the children shall go after their father.

155

If a man has betrothed his bride to his son, and his son has known her, and the man afterwards has lain in her bosom and they have caught him, that man they shall bind and throw into the water.

127

If a man has caused the finger to be pointed against a nun, a man's wife, and has not justified himself, that man shall be thrown down before a judge and brand his forehead.

196

If a man has caused the lose of a gentleman's eye, they shall cause him to lose one eye.

137

If a man has decided to put away his concubine who has borne him children or his wife who has granted him children, to that woman he shall return her marriage portion and shall give her half of the field, orchard and goods, and she shall bring up her children. From the time that her children are grown up, from whatever is given to her children they shall give her a share like that of one son, and she shall marry the husband of her choice.

130

If a man has forced the wife of another man, who has had no intercourse with a male and is dwelling in her father's house, and has lain in her bosom, and he has been caught, that man shall be killed, the woman will go free.

154

If a man has known his daughter (had sex with her), that man shall be expelled from the city.

200

If a man has made the tooth of a man that is his equal fall out, they shall make his tooth fall out.

128

If a man has married a wife and has not drawn up the contract, that woman is no wife.

138

If a man has put away his bride who has not borne him children, he shall return her dowry and pay her marriage portion which she brought from her father's house, and shall put her away.

209

If a man has struck a gentleman's daughter and caused her to have a miscarriage, he shall pay ten shekels of silver for what was in her womb.

195

If a man has struck his father, his hand shall be cut off. * How lovely.*

153

If a man's wife has caused her husband to be killed on account of another man, they shall impale that woman on a stake.

157

If a man, after his father, has lain in the bosom of his mother, they shall burn both of them together,

110

If a nun, a lady of god, who is not living in the convent, has opened the door of a wine shop or has entered the wine shop for a drink, that woman shall be burned.

131

If a wife has been accused by her husband and she has not been caught lying with another male, she shall swear by God and return to her house.

132

If a wife has the finger pointed against her on account of another male but has not been caught lying with another male, for the sake of her husband she shall throw herself into the holy river.

109

If a wine merchant has collected outlaws in her house and has not seized those outlaws and driven them to the palace, that wine merchant shall be put to death.

142

If a woman hates her husband and has said, "You shall not possess me," they shall inquire into her record and if she has been economical and has no vice and her husband has gone out and greatly belittled her, that woman has no blame, she will take her marriage portion and go off to her father's house.

211

If by his blows he has caused the daughter of a commoner to have a miscarriage, he shall pay five shekels of silver.

175

If either a palace slave or a private slave has married the daughter of a free man and she has borne him children, the owner of the slave shall have no claim on the children of the daughter of a free man for servitude.

198

If he has caused a commoner to lose his eye or shattered a commoner's limb, he shall pay one mina of silver.

232

If he has caused the lose of goods, he shall restore whatever loses he has caused, and because he did not make strong the house he built and it fell, he shall rebuild the houses that fell at his own cost.

199

If he has caused the loss of an eye of a gentleman's servant or has shattered his limb, he shall pay one mina of silver.

231

If he has caused the slave of the owner of the house to die, he shall give slave for slave the owner of the house.

230

If he has caused the son of the owner of the house to die, they shall put to death the son of the builder.

201

If he has made the tooth of a commoner fall out, he shall pay one third of a mina of silver.

197

If he has shattered a gentleman's limb, they shall shatter his limb.

213

If he has struck a gentleman's slave and caused a miscarriage, he shall pay two shekels of silver.

140

If he is a poor man, he shall give her one third of a mina of silver.

143

If she has not been economical, a gadabout, has neglected her house and humiliated her husband, that woman they shall throw into the waters.

214

If that slave has died, he shall pay one third of a mina of silver.

212

If that woman has died, he shall pay half a mina of silver.

210

If that woman has died, they shall put to death his daughter.

129

If the wife of a man has been caught lying with another man, they shall bind them and throw them in the waters. If the owner of the wife would save his wife then in turn the king could save his servant.

141

If the wife of a man who is living in the house of her husband has made up her mind to leave the house to engage in business and has acted the fool, neglecting the house and humiliating the husband, it shall be proved against her; and if her husband has said, "I put her away," he shall put her away and she shall go her way, and he shall not give her anything for her divorce.

139

If there was no dowry, he shall give her one mina of silver for a divorce.

It is significant because?

Its creation allowed men, women, slaves, and all others to read and understand the laws that governed their lives in Babylon. It is unique in that laws of other civilizations were not written down, and thus could be manipulated to suite the rulers that dictated them. The Code is particularly just for its time. Although it follows the practice of "an eye for an eye", it does not allow for vigilante justice, but rather demands a trial by judges. It also glorifies acts of peace and justice done during Hammurabi's rule. It symbolizes not only the emergence of justice in the minds of men, but also man's rise above ignorance and barbarism toward the peaceful and just societies still pursued today. In the words of Hammurabi as carved on the stone, "Let any oppressed man who has a cause come into the presence of my statue as king of justice, and have the inscription on my stele read out, and hear my precious words, that my stele may make the case clear to him; may he understand his cause, and may his heart be set at ease!"

When was it written?

c. 1700 BCE

134

if a man has been taken captive and in his house there is no maintenance, and his wife has entered into the house of another, that woman has no blame.