CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 Gift in memory of 
 
 MARY STEPHENS SHERk AN, '13 
 
 from 
 
 JOHN H. SHERMAN, 11 
 
Cornell University Library 
 DS 68.H22 1905 
 
 Codes of Hammurabi and Mofes: 
 
 3 1924 028 541 856 
 
The original of tliis bool< is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028541856 
 
The 
 
 Codes of Hammurabi 
 
 and Moses 
 
 WITH COPIOUS COMMENTS, INDEX, 
 AND BIBLE REFERENCES 
 
 By 
 
 W. W. DAVIES, PH.D. 
 
 Professor of Hebrew in the Ohio Wesleyan University 
 
 ,\i V 
 
 
 CINCINNATI: JENNINGS AND GRAHAM 
 NEW YORK: EATON AND MAINS 
 
COPYRIGHT, igoS, BY 
 JENNINGS AND GRAHAM 
 
JHfl Jig MBt 
 
 Affectionately Dedicated 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Codes op Hammurabi and Moses, - 5 
 
 The Prorogue, - - - 15 
 
 The Text of the Hammurabi Code with 
 
 ParalleIvS and Comments, - - 19 
 
 The Hammurabi Code, - - - - 21 
 
 Epilogue, - - - - - 105 
 
 IviST op Authorities Consulted, i 1 1 
 
 General Index, - - 113 
 
 Index op Biblical Passages, - 121 
 
 Weights and Measures, - 124 
 
The Codes of Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 The discovery of the Hammurabi Code is one 
 of the greatest achievements of archaeology, and is 
 of paramount interest, not only to the student of 
 the Bible, but also to all those interested in ancient 
 history. This document carries us back to gray 
 antiquity; to what was once regarded as prehistoric 
 times ; to a period long antedating the promulgation 
 of the laws of Moses ; no matter whether we accept 
 the traditional or the so-called critical view. 
 The laws of Hammurabi were venerable with age 
 centuries before the Tel-el-Amarna correspondence 
 had its origin; for it is generally agreed that the 
 El-Amarna tablets or letters were written about 
 1500 B. C, whereas the great ruler Hammurabi 
 flourished about 2250 B. C. There is, too, a very 
 general consensus of opinion that the Hammurabi 
 of our Code, the sixth king of the first Babylonian 
 dynasty, often referred to in the cuneiform texts, 
 is no other than the Amraphel mentioned in the 
 fourteenth chapter of Genesis as the ally of Chedor- 
 laomer, who, with other kings, conducted a military 
 campaign against, and subdued, several petty rulers 
 of tribes or nations on either side of the Jordan and 
 the Dead Sea, and who continued his victorious 
 march, at least, as far south as Kadesh-Barnea. His 
 long reign of fifty-five years was celebrated for its 
 
 7 
 
The Codes oe Hammurabi and MosES. 
 
 brilliant achievements, high civilization, and exten- 
 sive literature. No wonder, indeed, that he styled 
 himself the "Sun of Babylon." But what makes 
 him of special interest to the Biblical student is the 
 fact that he was the monarch who ruled over "Ur 
 of the Chaldees" when Abraham left that ancient 
 city to establish himself in the land of Canaan. 
 Hammurabi, the great world-ruler, was a contem- 
 porary of Abraham, the Father of the Faithful. 
 This fourteenth chapter of Genesis, dry as it may 
 seem to the average reader of the Bible, is a pre- 
 cious piece of ancient history ; for though chronicling 
 events of the days of Abraham, it now, after a 
 silence of nearly five thousand years, finds a most 
 remarkable confirmation from a most unexpected 
 source; and thus puts forever a stop to the flip- 
 pant destructive criticism, which, only a few years 
 ago, delighted in relegating Abraham and his imme- 
 diate descendants to the realm of myth or legend. 
 This school of critics were wont to insist that a 
 collection of laws as perfect as those found in the 
 Pentateuch could not have been produced as early 
 in the world's history as the middle of the second 
 millennium before Christ, the time assigned by con- 
 servative Bible scholars to Moses and the Exodus. 
 Here is a code antedating the laws of Moses by 
 nearly one thousand years. Though proceeding 
 from a polytheistic people and a purely secular docu- 
 ment, it shows a high degree of civilization. This 
 fact has impressed Bible scholars, and so, too, has 
 the wonderful correspondence between the Mosaic 
 
 8 
 
The Codes of Hammurabi and MosEs. 
 
 and Hammurabic codes in many of their laws. 
 These similarities prove to the more liberal critics 
 that the Hebrews borrowed their religious ideas and 
 laws wholesale from the Babylonians. This they 
 maintain in spite of the great superiority of Hebrew 
 institutions over those of the Babylonians. There 
 is, however, not a scintilla of proof that the Penta- 
 teuch owes anything to Babylon. Many of the laws 
 in both codes are the common property of mankind, 
 and are such as would have naturally suggested 
 themselves to any civilized people. Then again, it is 
 exceedingly probable that away down the ages before 
 the Semitic tribes had separated and left their central 
 home in Arabia, they had an advance system of laws, 
 which the several tribes carried with them whither- 
 soever they emigrated. 
 
 It has been known for a score or more years 
 that Hammurabi was a great ruler, that he had 
 extended his conquests far and wide; that the 
 civilization in his age presupposed the existence of 
 just such a code of laws as the one recently dis- 
 covered. Delitzsch and other Assyriologists had 
 pointed out the greatness of this ruler, and the ad- 
 vanced stage of culture prevailing in his empire. The 
 publication, by L. W. King, of "Letters and Inscrip- 
 tions of Hammurabi," in three volumes (London, 
 1 898- 1 900), shed a flood of light upon the glorious 
 reign of this mighty king, who towers up as one of 
 the few great rulers of the world. He built a large 
 number of palaces and temples to various gods, re- 
 stored and remodeled many more. He promoted 
 
 9 
 
The Codes op Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 commerce and agriculture over his vast empire, and 
 distinguished himself in various v^^ays. Indeed, these 
 letters and business documents bear eloquent testi- 
 mony to the justice of his reign and general pros- 
 perity of his subjects. We have in them incidental 
 references to courts of justice, a regular standing 
 army, a State religion, and a very extensive and 
 perfect system of commerce. All these presuppose 
 a stable government, and the existence of a code 
 precisely like the one under discussion. 
 
 We may incidentally compare these references 
 to Hammurabi and his laws to similar ones 
 in the poetical and historical books of the Old Testa- 
 ment to the legislation of Moses. Do not these 
 references favor the conclusion that the code existed 
 before the letters and contracts referring to it? If 
 so, why should some Biblical critics ask us to believe 
 that the historical, prophetical, and devotional liter- 
 ature of the Hebrews preceded the so-called laws 
 of Moses ? 
 
 The Code of Hammurabi, though written in 
 Babylonian script and language, strange as it may 
 seem, was discovered not in Babylonia or Assyria, 
 but in Susa, Persia. Susa, the Shushan of the Bible, 
 was for a long time a royal residence. Its location 
 made it a central battlefield of the nations; this 
 accounts for the fact that it was captured and re- 
 captured repeatedly. 
 
 Elam and Babylonia had frequent wars. The 
 Elamites conquered Babylonia more than once. It 
 was probably during one of these invasions that the 
 
 lO 
 
Thb Codes of Hammurabi and MosES. 
 
 Hammurabi stele was transferred in triumph to the 
 Elamite capital, and placed in one of its great tem- 
 ples as a trophy of war. Modern as well as ancient 
 history furnish many parallels. When Napoleon 
 captured Berlin many trophies were carried to Paris. 
 When, however, sixty-four years later, the trium- 
 phant Germans entered the French capital, these pre- 
 cious objects were at once restored. Others take a 
 different view of the matter, and suggest that Ham- 
 murabi had several copies of his code made, so that 
 one could be set up in all the important centers of 
 his vast realm. If this supposition be true, then it 
 is quite possible that an exact copy of Hammurabi's 
 laws was found in the city of Ur, the home of Abra- 
 ham. Be that as it may, it is more than probable 
 that Abraham was well acquainted with the code 
 and all its enactments. This view is favored by the 
 fact that mutilated portions of the code have been 
 found elsewhere; e. g., in the library of Assurbani- 
 pal, who reigned i,6oo years after the time of Ham- 
 murabi. Again, small duplicate fragments of the 
 epilogue have been actually discovered in Susa itself. 
 The discovery of the Hammurabi Code at Susa 
 was a matter of surprise to all concerned. It was 
 made by that veteran archaeologist, M. de Morgan, 
 so well and favorably known for his many brilliant 
 achievements among the ruins of Egypt. This 
 learned Frenchman had been sent to Persia to carry 
 on excavations among the ruins of the old Elamite 
 capital, and nothing could have been farther from 
 his thoughts than the discovery of a system of laws 
 ' II 
 
The Codes op Hammurabi and Mosfis. 
 
 which were in vogue in the days of the great Ham- 
 murabi. What has been appropriately called "the 
 oldest code of laws in the world" was discovered 
 on three fragments of a rude stone block in the latter 
 part of December, 1901, and in the early part of 
 January, 1902. The text on the stele was tran- 
 scribed, translated into French, and edited by Father 
 Scheil, the learned French Roman Catholic Assyri- 
 ologist and archaeologist. This appeared in "Me- 
 moir es de la Delegation en Perse, Texte Blamites 
 Semitiques." Vol. IV: Paris, 1902. 
 
 The astounding information that a long code of 
 laws, dating back to a time nearly one thousand 
 years before the age of Moses, had been discovered 
 produced great excitement among Bible students the 
 world over. Theologians, historians, and archse- 
 ologists of all schools commenced to study this an- 
 cient document with great interest and thoroughness. 
 Numberless articles, learned and unlearned, ap- 
 peared in our newspapers and magazines ; brochures 
 and booklets came out in several modern languages. 
 
 The stele, or stone, on which these laws were 
 written, or rather cut, is a rude piece of black diorite, 
 slightly rounded at the top, nearly eight feet high, 
 and rather more than seven feet in width. Both 
 sides of the monument are covered with the inscrip- 
 tion. Hammurabi is represented as standing before 
 Shamash, the Sun-god of Sippar, the ancient seat 
 of the Hammurabi dynasty. The god is seated upon 
 his throne, and is in the very act of delivering this 
 code to the king, who humbly and reverently stands 
 
 la 
 
The Codes oe Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 before him. Shamash is clad in loose-flowing robes, 
 and so is Hammurabi, his representative on earth. 
 Both god and king wear long beards. The former 
 holds something in his hand, which many have re- 
 garded as a scepter, while others call it a stylus, 
 symbolic of wisdom. 
 
 Directly under this pictorial representation, on 
 the obverse, follow sixteen columns of cuneiform 
 writing, making 1,114 lines. It is much to be re- 
 gretted that five columns on this side have been 
 erased, so that no one can indulge in a happy guess 
 at the meaning. Nothing but the discovery of an- 
 other copy can replace these lost lines. Why and 
 when the erasure was made can be a matter of con- 
 jecture only. The reverse has twenty-eight columns, 
 which make a little more than 2,500 lines. The code 
 as we now have it contains 247 distinct laws. The 
 number is sometimes given as 282, but from this lat- 
 ter number we must deduct 35, the supposed number 
 of laws erased. The laws are numbered i — 66 to the 
 erased portion, then 100 — 283 to the end. Of these 
 247 laws, by far the greater number have been cor- 
 rectly deciphered, and the correct meaning has been, 
 without doubt, ascertained. 
 
 The first translation into a modern language was 
 made by Scheil. This was into French. Like almost 
 everything rendered into this language, fidelity to 
 the original is sacrificed to elegance of diction. The 
 following criticism of his work is quite just: "The 
 rendering of the eminent French savant, while dis- 
 tinguished by that clear, neat phrasing, which is so 
 
 13 
 
The Codes oe Hammurabi and MosES. 
 
 charming a feature of all his [Scheil's] work, is 
 often rather a paraphrase than a translation." The 
 next original translation, though naturally a 
 little dependent upon that of Scheil's, is from the 
 pen of Dr. Hugo Winckler ; this, as the name indi- 
 cates, was into German, and appeared first in "Der 
 alte Orient" 4^ Jahrgang, Heft 4. Several editions 
 have already appeared, as well as a number of trans- 
 lations. We desire to acknowledge our special obli- 
 gations to this brochure. This was followed by 
 a translation into English by Mr. C. H. W. 
 Johns, M. A., Edinburgh, 1903. Mr. Johns, 
 in the preface to his translation, says: "Dr. 
 H. Winckler's rendering of the code came into 
 my hands after this work was sent to the pub- 
 lishers, and I have not thought it necessary to with- 
 draw any of my renderings." Dr. Francesco Marl 
 has given an Italian version, and Professor R. F. 
 Harper, of the University of Chicago, has produced 
 an elegant volume, entitled : "The Code of Hammu- 
 rabi, King of Babylonia, about 2250 B. C. : Auto- 
 graph Text, Transliteration, Translation, Glossary, 
 Index of Subjects, Lists of Proper Names, Signs, 
 Numerals, Corrections and Erasures, with Map, 
 Frontispiece and Photograph of Text." This, we 
 are informed, is to be followed in the near future 
 by another large volume by Professor Harper and 
 his brother, President W. R. Harper, which is in- 
 tended as an exhaustive commentary on the code. 
 The above is a short and correct description of 
 the external appearance of the document, the time 
 
 14 
 
The Codes of Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 and place of its discovery; let us now proceed to 
 the examination of its contents. 
 
 The text of the monument may be divided into 
 three parts, i. The Prologue; 2. The Code itself; 
 and 3. The Epilogue. 
 
 The Prologue and Epilogue contain much, as we 
 shall see, which sounds very like braggadocio. This 
 may seem obnoxious to an American ear of our day, 
 but it was in perfect keeping with the language of 
 an Oriental ruler of the third millennium before our 
 era. The Prologue is quite lengthy — seven hundred 
 lines. We can do no better than to reproduce it in 
 full, so that every reader may have the opportunity 
 of studying it for himself. 
 
 It is needless to say that in the preparation of 
 this little work we have made abundant use of all 
 the Hammurabi literature which has come to our 
 hands, as well as of some suggestions gained from 
 the lectures of Professor Friedrich Delitzsch at the 
 University of Berlin, in the summer of 1902. We 
 have always desired to give due credit. 
 
 Ohio Wesleyan University. W. W. DA VIES. 
 
 15 
 
THE PROLOGUE. 
 
 When Anu/ the majestic, King of the Anunnaki,' and 
 Bel,' the I<ord of Heaven and Earth, who established the fate 
 of the land, had given to Marduk,* the ruling son of Ea," 
 dominion over mankind, magnified him among the Igigi;° 
 and called Babylon by his great name; when they made it 
 great upon the earth by founding therein an eternal kingdom, 
 whose foundations are as firmly grounded as are those of heaven 
 and earth, — it was then that Anu and Bel called me, Hammu- 
 rabi, the exalted prince, a God-fearing man, by name, to cause 
 justice to be practiced in the land, to destroy the wicked and 
 the evil [alike], to prevent the strong from oppressing the 
 weak, so that I might go forth like Shamash' to rule over the 
 Black-haired people, to give light to the land, and, like Anu 
 and Bel, promote the welfare of mankind. 
 
 I am Hammurabi, the prince called by Bel to pour out 
 riches and abundance, procuring everything possible for Nip- 
 pur* and Durilu,' the majestic patron of E-kur," the brave 
 king, who restored Eridu," and purified the cult of E-apsu ;'" 
 who subjected the four quarters of the world, and made great 
 the name of Babel, and made glad the heart of Marduk, his 
 
 I Or Ilu, the father of Ishtar, worshiped very early at Uruk. 
 ' The evil spirits, visible in the black clouds of the heavens. 
 ' A god, worshiped at Nippur and elsewhere. 
 
 *The God of Babylon; it is the Merodach, often found in compound 
 names in the Bible. 
 
 ' God of the waters ; its chief seat of worship was Eridu. 
 
 • The kind spirits, personified by the white clouds of the heavens. 
 'The Sun-god, which had famous temples at Larsa and Sippar. 
 
 " A celebrated city of Babylonia, called also Nuffar. Extensive ex- 
 cavations have been made here by the University of Pennsylvania. 
 
 • A celebrated city of Babylonia, or, according to others, it is the 
 «iggurat at Nippur and called Duranku. 
 
 10 Bel's temple at Nippur. 
 
 II Place celebrated for the worship of Ea. 
 
 " Literally, " House of the Ocean," a temple of Ea at Eridu. 
 
 3 I? 
 
The Codes oe Hammurabi and MosES. 
 
 lord ; and who daily worships in Esagila," the royal scion, be- 
 gotten by Sin," who enriched Ur;'" the pious, the submissive 
 one, who brings riches to Gish-shir-gal ;" the wise king favored 
 by Shamash ; the powerful one, who laid again the foundations 
 of Sippar:" who clothed with green the tomb [or shrines] of 
 Malkatf' who beautified E-bab-bar," which is built like a 
 heavenly place; the warrior, who protected Larsa," and re- 
 built E-bab-bar for Shamash, his helper; the lord, who gave 
 life to the city of Uruk;" and brought abundance of waters 
 to its inhabitants; who built up the towers of E-anna,^ who 
 brought riches to Anu and Nana;"' the shield of the land; 
 who again reassembled the scattered inhabitants of Isin' 
 [Nisin], who enriched E-gal-mah ;" the patron king of the 
 city, the brother of Za-ma-ma;'" who firmly established the 
 settlements of Kish;" who surrounded E-me-te-ur-sag" with 
 glory; who increased the sacred treasures of Nana, the patron 
 of the temple of Harsag-Kalama," the grave of the enemies; 
 whose help brings victory f who enriched the places of Cutha ;" 
 who made everything glorious in E-shid-lam ;''' the mighty 
 
 "Marduk's temple at Babylon. 
 
 " The Moon-god, which had a famous temple at Ur. 
 
 16 A well-known city, called el-Mugheir at present. 
 
 w Written also E-gisgirgal, temple of Sin at Ur. 
 
 " A city, perhaps the Abu Habba of our time. 
 
 '' The consort of Shamash, or inanimate nature. 
 
 "The temple of Shamash in Sippar, and also at I<arsa. 
 
 20 A city famous for the worship of Shamash, perhaps the Elassar of 
 Gen. xiv, i. 
 
 '1 The Erech of Gen. x, lo. It is now called Warka. 
 
 " The temple of Ishtar, wife of Anu, at Uruk. 
 
 2»The same as Anna or Ishtar ; she was the daughter of Anu. 
 
 "Isin or Nisin, supposed by some to be Bismaya, where the Univer- 
 sity of Chicago is now excavating ; others think it the same as Abu 
 Habba. 
 
 ® A temple at Isin. 
 
 '« The goddess of Kish. 
 
 "A city of Babylonia. 
 
 »» A city near Kish, or a temple of that place. 
 
 »>A temple of Kish. 
 
 s" Harper's marginal reading, " whose help enables one to attain his 
 desire." 
 
 " A city or region in Babylonia. 
 
 " A temple of Nergal. 
 
 i8 
 
The Prologue. 
 
 bull," which trampled down his foes, the favorite of the god 
 Tu-tu;" who made the city of Borsippa fruitful; the majestic, 
 who is untiring in his efforts for E-zida;" the divine king 
 of the city, the wise, the clever one, who extended the culti- 
 vation of the ground at Dilbat ;'° who gave abundant grain for 
 Urash ;'' the lord, to whom belongs scepter and crown ; whom 
 the wise Ma-ma" created, who determined the boundaries of 
 the temple of Kish ; who provided abundantly for the sacred 
 feasts of Nin-tu ;" the cautious, the careful, who provided food 
 and drink for Lagash" and Girsu;" who furnished the temple 
 of Nin-girsu" with abundance of sacrificial offerings; who 
 arrested the enemies ; the elect of the oracle, whieh fulfilled 
 the word of Hallab;" who rejoiced the heart of An unit," the 
 pure prince, whose prayers are heard by Adad ;** who pacifies 
 the heart of Adad, the warrior in Karkar ;" who restored the 
 sacred vessels in E-ud-gal-gal ;" the king who gave life to the 
 city of Adab;" the leader of Emach;" the princely king of the 
 city; the irresistible warrior who gave life to the inhabitants 
 of Mashkan shabri,°° and superabundance to the temple of 
 Shidlam ; the wise, the active, who penetrated the hiding-place 
 of the bandits ; who gave a hiding-place to the people of Malka" 
 in their misfortune, and established their habitation in riches ; 
 
 "An appellation of Mardulc. The bull is a frequent figure for 
 «trength in Semitic literature. 
 
 "Some god, perhaps another name for Marduk. 
 
 ■"The temple in Nebo in Borsippa. 
 
 "A city of Northern Babylonia, famous for the cult of Urash. 
 
 " A solar deity, called also Ninib. 
 
 » The consort of Urash. 
 
 ^ A goddess worshiped at Kish. 
 
 'X>A city of Babylonia, called also Shirpuria, identified as Telloh of our 
 day. 
 
 <i A city of Babylonia. 
 
 "Harper has for Nin-Girsu, " The Temple of the Fifty. 
 
 *^ A city, perhaps the same as the modern Aleppo. 
 
 **One of the appellations of Ishtar. 
 
 «The god of the tempest, worshiped at Hallab. 
 
 " A city of Babylonia. 
 
 *' A celebrated temple of Karkar. 
 
 M Identified by some with Bismaya. 
 
 *»A chapel within Marduk's temple, Ssagila. 
 
 M A city not identified. 
 
 Bi A city not identified. 
 
 19 
 
The Codes oe Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 who endowed Ea" and Dam-gal-nun-na ;" who had made the 
 kingdom great and lasting, with abundance of sacrificial gifts ; 
 the princely king of the city, who subjected the districts on 
 the Ud-kib-nun-na" Canal to the dominion of Dagon" [Dagan], 
 his creator ; who spared the inhabitants of Mera" and Tutul ;" 
 the majestic prince, who caused the face of Ninni" to shine; 
 who gave sacred meals to the divinity Ni-na-zu ;" who took 
 care of the inhabitants in their need, and provided in peace 
 their portion in Babylon; the shepherd of his subjects, whose 
 deeds are ~well-pleasing to Anunit; who made provision for 
 Anunit in the temple of Dumash," in the suburb of Agade; 
 who proclaims the right ; who brings in law ; who restored to 
 Ashur'" its benevolent, protecting god ; who permitted the name 
 of Ishtar of Nineveh to dwell in E-mish-mish ;" the majestic, 
 who humbles himself to the great gods; the successor of 
 Sumula-il ;°' the mighty son of Sin-muballit ;" the royal scion 
 of Eternity; the mighty king; the sun of Babylon, who shed 
 its bright rays over the land of Sumer" and Akkad;" the king 
 obeyed by the four quarters of the world, the favorite of 
 Ninni am I. 
 
 When Marduk sent me to rule over men, to grant pro- 
 tection to the land, then I put law and righteousness in the 
 mouth of the people, and brought well-being to my subjects. 
 
 "A god worshiped at Eridu. 
 
 '^A goddess of the Babylonians. 
 
 '• Or along the Euphrates. 
 
 C' A Canaanite god, perhaps the same as the Babylonian Bel. 
 
 "Cities, but not identified. 
 
 "^ A goddess known also as Bnanna. 
 
 " A goddess. 
 
 5» A temple of Anunit in Agade. 
 
 «0A famous city, once the capital of Assyria, famous for its many 
 temples. Its mention here proves its great antiquity. 
 
 " A temple of Ishtar, in Nineveh. 
 
 " A former king of Babylon. 
 
 " The father of Hammurabi ; likewise a king of Babylon. 
 
 M Sumer and Akkad were very ancient names for entire Babylonia 
 though there is no agreement as to what portion was called Sumer and 
 what Akkad. Many regard the Sumerians and Akkadians as the 
 non-Semitic settlers, who preceded the Semites in Babylonia. But 
 where is the evidence to show that the Semitic people did not occupy 
 Babylonia at the very time when the Sumerians and Akkadians are sup- 
 posed to have occupied that country ? 
 
 30 
 
The Text of the Hammurabi Code 
 with Parallels and Comments. 
 
 The text of the Hammurabi Code is printed in 
 the following pages in small pica type, the parallels 
 from the Old Testament in long primer, while still 
 another type (brevier) is employed for remarks and 
 comments. Such an arrangement must prove help- 
 ful to the reader. We have given section by section, 
 and have endeavored, as far as possible, to point 
 out the resemblances as well as the dissimilarities 
 between the laws of Hammurabi and those of Moses. 
 The author has made good use of much of the ex- 
 cellent literature published on the subject, and has 
 incorporated many of the ideas found in books and 
 pamphlets. It has been his aim, however, to ac- 
 knowledge real obligation, but not to parade in foot- 
 notes the names of a multitude of learned pamphlets 
 and books pertaining to the subject under discus- 
 sion. A list of the more helpful books, brochures, 
 and pamphlets will be found in the Appendix, which 
 must prove useful to those who desire to enter into 
 a profounder study of the Code of Hammurabi. 
 
 No doubt a more thorough study of this ancient 
 document and a more diligent examination of the 
 Old Testament will suggest additional contrasts and 
 parallels. The author will regard it as a special 
 favor to have any one apprise him of an)^hing which 
 might be profitably inserted after any section. 
 
/- 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 I. 
 
 If a man make a false accusation against a man, 
 putting a ban upon him, and can not prove it, then 
 the accuser shall be put to death. 
 
 Johns renders the first clause : "If a man weave a spell ;" 
 Harper renders the second clause, "and charge him with a 
 [capital] crime." There can be, however, little doubt but that 
 this law was directed against witchcraft or magic. 
 
 The Hebrews legislated as follows : 
 
 Thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to live. (Ex. 
 22:18.) 
 
 And also: 
 
 A man or a woman that hath a familiar spirit, or •^' 
 that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death ; they shall 
 stone them with stones. (Lev. 20:27. See also Lev. 
 19:26-31.) 
 
 The fact that the code opens with laws against magic or 
 sorcery seems to prove the prevalence of such practices among 
 the early Babylonians, and the severity of the penalty is a 
 clear proof that the people were superstitiously afraid of those 
 who practiced magic. 
 
 If a man charge a man of being a sorcerer, and "^ 
 is unable to sustain such a charge, the one who is 
 accused shall go to the river, he shall plunge himself 
 into the river, and if he sink into the river, his ac- 
 
 23 
 
The Codes of Hammurabi and MosEs. 
 
 cuser shall take his house. If, however, the rivef 
 show forth the innocence of this man, and he escape 
 unhurt, then he who accused him of sorcery, shall 
 be put to death, while he who plunged into the river 
 shall appropriate the house of his accuser. 
 
 It will be noticed that the Babylonians employed ordeals 
 to test the guilt or innocence of persons suspected of, or 
 charged with, sorcery, and also in connection with women 
 charged with marital infidelity. Such tests or ordeals in some 
 form or another have been common to most nations, even 
 down to comparatively recent times. They are still employed 
 in Bible lands. We have all heard of the ordeal by fire, and 
 also by water, which were practiced in England in the Dark 
 Ages. It is not recorded that the Hebrews did at any time in 
 their history plunge suspected parties into the water, but the 
 same principle is illustrated in the so-called "waters of jeal- 
 ousy," so fully described in Num. 5:11-31, where we read 
 that any woman suspected of infidelity to her husband had to 
 drink a large quantity of water prepared in a certain manner. 
 It is possible that the Hebrews employed other forms of 
 ordeal. The name En-Mishpat, "well of judgment," may have 
 originated from such a practice. See also Psa. 109:18; Prov. 
 6 :27-2g. 
 
 It is remarkable that the victim, and not the sorcerer, was 
 to plunge into the water. The principle, of course, is the same, 
 for the sacred water will save and protect the innocent. 
 
 3- 
 
 If a man (in a case pending judgment) threaten 
 the witnesses, or do not establish that which he has 
 testified, if that case be a case involving life, that 
 man shall be put to death. 
 
 The corresponding law in the Mosaic Code is : 
 If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man 
 24 
 
Th:^ Hammurabi Code. 
 
 to testify against him of wrong doing; then both the 
 men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand 
 before the Lord, before the priest and the judges who 
 shall be in those days ; and the judges shall make dili- 
 gent inquisition ; and, behold, if the witness be a false 
 witness and hath testified falsely against his brother; 
 then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to do 
 unto his brother. (Deut. 19:16-19.) 
 
 If a man offer as a bribe grain or money to wit- 
 nesses, he himself shall bear the sentence of the court 
 in that case. 
 
 We read in Ex. 23 :8 : 
 
 And thou shalt take no gift; for a gift blindeth 
 them that have sight, and perverteth the word of the 
 righteous. 
 
 5- 
 
 If a judge pass judgment, render a decision, de- 
 liver a verdict, signed and sealed, and afterwards 
 alter his judgment which he has rendered, he shall 
 be called to account for the alteration of the judg- 
 ment, and he shall pay twelve-fold the penalty which 
 was in the said judgment; and, in the assembly, they 
 shall expel him from his judgment seat, and he shall 
 not return, and he shall no more take his seat with 
 the judges in a case. 
 
 This particular law finds no exact parallel in Hebrew 
 legislation, though bribery and unfairness in legal proceedings 
 are constantly condemned throughout the historical and pro- 
 
 25 
 
The Codes of Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 phetical books. Indeed, the frequency with which bribery 
 and perversions of justice are mentioned prove very clearly that 
 rulers and those in power were much addicted to corrupt 
 practices. (See Ex. 23:6-8; i Sam. 8:3; 12:3; Isa. 1:23; 
 Ezek. 22:12; Amos S :i2.) 
 
 6. 
 
 If a man steal the property of a temple, or 
 
 [royal] palace, that man shall be put to death, and 
 
 so, too, he who may receive from his hand stolen 
 
 goods shall be put to death. 
 
 We have no record in the Old Testament that the death 
 penalty was inflicted for mere theft, unless in such cases as 
 that of Achan (Josh. 7:25), where the theft was really from 
 God; for the things taken by Achan were "devoted" to God. 
 Passages like Gen. 31 :32, and 44 :9, leave us to infer that in 
 patriarchal times those guilty of stealing sacred things were 
 subjected to the death penalty. The purloining of Laban's 
 gods might be regarded in the same light as the robbing of a 
 temple; and as Joseph acted in the capacity of vice-general, 
 the stealing of his cup was a crime against the palace or 
 Egyptian court, therefore worthy of the severest penalty. See 
 Ex. 22:2, where a thief is killed at night while breaking into 
 a house. 
 
 7- 
 
 If a man buy silver, gold, slave, male or female, 
 ox, sheep, ass, or anything whatsoever from the son 
 or slave of any person, without witness or contract, 
 or receive the same on deposit, he is regarded as a 
 thief, and shall be put to death. 
 
 The object of this law is evident, namely, to prevent 
 underhanded buying and selling by or from irresponsible chil- 
 dren and faithless slaves or those unaccustomed to business. 
 Attention may be called to the business-like proceedings in 
 the case of Boaz and Ruth. (See Ruth 4:2ff.) Boaz appears 
 
 26 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 at the gate, the usual place for transacting legal business, 
 where he meets the other kinsman of Ruth; then, before the 
 elders of the city of Bethlehem, a contract is drawn up before 
 witnesses. 
 
 It seems clear, from the above section, that slaves were 
 competent to act as agents for their masters, but only in the 
 presence of witnesses and when a contract was duly drawn up. 
 
 8. 
 
 If a man steal an ox, or sheep, or ass, or pig, K 
 
 or boat, from a temple or palace, he shall pay thirty- v/ 
 
 fold; if it be from a freeman, he shall pay tenfold. 
 
 If the thief has nothing with which to pay, he shall 
 
 be put to death. 
 
 Notice the grades of punishment. Objects contributed for 
 the support of a temple were held as very sacred, and as the 
 king was God's immediate representative here on earth, his 
 property, too, was regarded as sacred. There was a wide range 
 in the Babylonian laws of restitution in cases of theft, any- 
 where from thirty to two. (See 124 and 126.) According to 
 Hebrew laws and customs it ranged from seven (Prov. 6:1) 
 to two (Ex. 22:1). The Hebrew law reads thus: 
 
 If a man shall steal an ox or a sheep, and kill it, 
 or sell it, he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four 
 sheep for a sheep. ... If the theft be found in 
 his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep, he 
 shall pay double. (Ex. 22 :i and 4.) 
 
 In the time of David, a stolen lamb was to be restored 
 fourfold. (2 Sam. 12:6.) This fourfold restoration was in 
 vogue in the time of our Savior (Luke 19:8), and prevails to 
 this day among the Bedouin of the desert. 
 
 9. 
 
 If a man who has lost any article find it in the 
 
 hands of another ; and the man with whom the lost 
 
 37 
 
The Codes oe Hammurabi and MosES. 
 
 article is found say, "A merchant sold it to me in 
 the presence of witnesses," and the owner of the 
 article say, "I can produce witnesses who know rtiy 
 lost property," then shall the buyer bring the mer- 
 chant who sold it to him, and the witness before 
 whom it was purchased, and the owner shall bring 
 witnesses who know the lost property. The judge 
 shall examine their evidence before God [i. e., in 
 open court] , and both of the witnesses before whom 
 the price was paid, and of the witnesses who identify 
 the lost article. [If] the merchant is then proven 
 to be a thief, he shall be put to death. The owner 
 of the lost article receives his property, the buyer 
 shall recover the money he paid for the same from 
 the estate of the seller. 
 
 10. 
 
 If the buyer can not produce the one who sold it 
 arid the witnesses before whom he bought the article, 
 but its owner bring witnesses who identify it, then 
 the buyer is put to death as the thief, and the owner 
 of the lost article shall take back his property. 
 
 II. 
 
 If the owner [claimant, H.] of the lost article 
 do not produce witnesses to identify said article, he 
 
 28 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 is malevolent and guilty of fraud ; he shall be put 
 to death. 
 
 See remarks under Section 3. 
 
 If the seller have died, the buyer shall recover 
 from the estate of the seller fivefold damages. 
 
 The Hebrews, too, had their laws concerning lost prop- 
 erty and articles found. They are fully stated in both Exodus 
 and Leviticus. This is from the Book of the Covenant : 
 
 For every matter of trespass [violation of property 
 rights, especially theft], whether it be for ox, for ass, 
 for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, 
 whereof one saith, This is it ; the cause of both parties 
 shall come before God [to open trial], he whom God 
 [the judges] condemns shall pay double unto his 
 neighbor. (Ex. 22:9.) 
 
 We further read in Lev. 6 :2-5 : 
 
 If any one sin, and commit a trespass against the 
 Lord', and deal falsely with his neighbor in a matter 
 of deposit, or of bargain [pledge], or of robbery, or 
 have oppressed his neighbor ; or have found that which 
 was lost, and deal falsely therein, and swear to a lie; 
 in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: 
 then it shall be, if he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he 
 shall restore that which he took by robbery, or the 
 thing which he hath gotten by oppression, or the de- 
 posit which was committed to him, or the lost thing 
 which hath found, or anything about which he hath 
 sworn falsely ; he shall even restore it in full, and shall 
 add the fifth part more thereto : unto him it appertain- 
 
 29 
 
The Codes oe Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 eth shall he give it, in the day of his being found 
 guilty. 
 
 Indeed, the Hebrew law went still farther, for it was 
 directly commanded that those finding strayed animals, or 
 lost articles of any kind, should make diligent effort to find 
 the owner so as to restore to him that which had been lost. 
 
 13. 
 
 If the witnesses of that man be hot at hand, the 
 
 judge shall put off the case for six months; and if 
 
 then he do not produce his witnesses within these 
 
 six months, that man is malevolent, he himself shall 
 
 bear the penalty in that case. 
 
 ,/" The reader will at once perceive that the laws of Hammu- 
 / rabi which pertained to theft were much harsher than those 
 of the Hebrews. This is natural, for they point to a more 
 \ developed commercial and business system than that which 
 obtained in Israel. Not only was theft of a certain kind 
 punishable with death, but the receiver of stolen goods was 
 subject to the same penalty as the thief himself, 
 
 14. 
 
 If a man steal the minor son of a freeman, he 
 shall be put to death. 
 
 Kidnaping was a capital offense in Israel too. The law 
 reads : 
 
 And he that stealeth a man and selleth him, or if 
 he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death. 
 (Ex. 21 :i6.) 
 
 In Deuteronomy the law seems to be confined to the steal- 
 ing of Israelitish children, as it was in Babylonia to freemen, 
 which goes to show that the Hebrews made a distinction be- 
 tween kidnaping from Israelites and foreigners. We read : 
 
 30 
 
The^ Hammurabi Code. 
 
 If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of 
 the children of Israel, and he deal with him as a slave, 
 or sell him, then that thief shall die. (Deut. 24:7.) 
 
 15. 
 
 If any man take a male or female slave of the 
 [royal] palace, or the male or female slave of a 
 freeman outside the gates of the city, he shall be 
 put to death. 
 
 16. 
 * If a man conceal in his house a male or female 
 slave, a fugitive from the palace, or from a free- 
 man, and do not produce the same at the order of 
 the officer, the master of that house shall be put to 
 death. 
 
 The Babylonian law made it exceedingly difficult to harbor 
 or aid in any way runaway slaves. It will be noticed tTiat the 
 extreme penalty of the law was inflicted in all cases, regard- 
 less of the fact as to whether the slave was that of the king 
 or of some ordinary citizen. Such laws made the condition 
 of those in slavery extremely hard. In Israel, on the other 
 hand, the provisions of the laws relating to fugitive slaves 
 were very mild. To recover or capture a Hebrew slave was 
 a difficult task; the owner of such a slave would therefore, 
 in the nature of things, endeavor to make his lot tolerable. 
 Here is the Deuteronomic law : ' 
 
 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master a servant 
 which is escaped from his master unto thee; he shall 
 dwell with thee, in the midst of thee, in the place 
 which he shall choose, within one of thy gates, where 
 it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him. (Deut. 
 23:15, 16.) 
 
 31 
 
The Codes oi? Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 It may be observed that the phrase "in the midst of thee," 
 signifies anywhere in Israel. Many think that this law was 
 enacted for foreigners or non-Israelites, for they argue that, 
 according to Lev. 25 :39, a Hebrew is not to be made a bond- 
 servant, but, at the most, a hired man or day laborer for a 
 limited time. We read : 
 
 Of the nations that are round about you, of them 
 
 shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. (Lev. 25 :44.) 
 
 17- 
 
 If a man find a fugitive slave, male or female, 
 in the open country, and brings the same to the 
 owner, the owner of said slave shall pay that man 
 two shekels of silver. 
 
 18. 
 
 If that slave refuse to give the name of his 
 
 master, he shall be brought to the palace ; an inquiry 
 
 shall be made into his past, and he shall be restored 
 
 to his owner. 
 
 Here again we see another proof of the law favoring the 
 rich rather than the poor, the master rather than the slave; 
 the reward oilered for the restoration of a fugitive slave could 
 not but have served as an inducement for the capture of those 
 slaves who had deserted their posts. It is probable that 
 Israel, too, had similar laws. See the account of Shimei and 
 his two fugitive slaves, I Kings 2 :39ff. 
 
 19. 
 
 If he forcibly detain that slave in his house, and 
 that slave be caught later in his house, then that man 
 shall be put to death. 
 
 32 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 This is not a case of harboring a slave, but rather one 
 of theft, or kidnaping. As in the case of concealing stolen 
 goods, the penalty was death. (See Section 6.) 
 
 20. 
 
 If a slave escape from the one who has captured 
 him, that man shall swear, by the name of God to 
 the owner of the slave, then he shall be acquitted of 
 all blame. 
 
 21. 
 
 If a man make a breach into a house, one shall 
 kill him in front of the breach, and bury him in it. 
 
 This passage is not quite clear, "To make a breach," 
 corresponds, no doubt, to our phrase, "to break into." "To 
 kill in front of the breach," probably means to kill on the spot, 
 without giving the thief any chance whatever to escape; i. e., 
 without ceremony or trial. To bury the culprit in a hole in 
 front of the breach seems to point to a custom of burying 
 burglars, wherever killed. Such a custom was known to the 
 Germans during the Middle Ages. Some have suggested that 
 the belief was indulged in that the dead man's spirit would 
 protect that house from further burglaries. (See Cook, p. 213.) 
 
 In Israel, too, the penalty for housebreaking "before the 
 sun be risen" — t. e., at night — was death. This is perfectly 
 natural, for burglars have all the advantage in the darkness 
 of the night; their apprehension is very difficult, and their 
 identification always all but impossible. Moreover, a burglar, 
 in case of an effort to capture him, seldom hesitates to resort 
 to extreme measures. The Hebrew law reads thus : 
 
 If the thief be found breaking in, and be smitten 
 that he die, there shall be no bloodguiltiness [no charge 
 of murder against the one that killed him] for him. 
 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be no blood- 
 guiltiness for him. (Ex. 22 :2, 3.) 
 
 3 33 
 
The Codes op Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 22. 
 
 If a man carried on highway robbery and be 
 captured, he shall be put to death. 
 
 33. 
 
 If the highwayman be not captured, he Avho has 
 been robbed shall declare before God [under oath in 
 open court], the amount lost; then the place and 
 official in whose territory and district the robbery 
 took place shall compensate him for that which he 
 lost. 
 
 34. 
 
 If it be a life, the place and official shall pay one 
 mina of silver to his people. 
 
 This is rather obscure. Winckler renders: "If people are 
 stolen, then shall the community and official pay one silver 
 mina to the relatives." Have we reference here to murder 
 or kidnaping? Cook evidently regards the first clause as 
 having reference to murder. He says : "The code placed upon 
 the city and the governor the responsibility for brigandage 
 carried on within its limits. . . . And if it was a life, the 
 city and the governor were required to pay one mina of silver 
 to the people of the murdered man." The law has Semitic 
 analogies, and, as Dareste has pointed out, recurs not in- 
 frequently in ancient codes. "In Arabia the responsibility for 
 homicide, where the murderer was unknown, was cast, in the 
 first instance, upon the nearest community ; but under Islam, 
 blood money in these circumstances, was paid by the state." 
 (Page 2SSf.) 
 
 The Hebrew law in case the murderer were not known is 
 stated at length in Deut. 21:1-9, to which the reader is re- 
 ferred, as our space forbids its insertion here. 
 
 34 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 35- 
 
 If a fire break out in a man's house, and any one 
 who goes to put out the fire shall lift up his eyes 
 towards the owner's property and take any prop- 
 erty [furniture] of the owner of the house, he shall 
 be cast into that same fire. 
 
 It is clear, from the wording of this law, that the owner 
 of the house on fire had the right to take the law into his own 
 hands, and punish the thief on the spot, just as in the case of 
 housebreaking at night mentioned in Section 21. We find no 
 parallel to this in the Mosaic Code, nor any reference to such 
 practice anywhere in the Old Testament. It will be admitted, 
 however, that a man mean enough to steal under such circum- 
 stances deserved summary punishment. 
 
 26. 
 
 If an officer or man [common soldier] who has 
 been ordered to proceed on the king's business, go 
 not, but hire a substitute whom he sends in his place, 
 that officer or man shall be put to death, his substi- 
 tute shall take possession of his house. 
 
 The contrast between this severe law and that of Deuter- 
 onomy in regard to soldiers and army officers is marked. The 
 Hebrew law reads : 
 
 When a man taketh a new wife, he shall not go 
 out in the host, neither shall he be charged with any 
 business: he shall be free at home one year, (Deut. 
 24:5. See also 20:5-9.) 
 
 It is not quite clear what is meant by the terms ofUcer 
 and man in this section, nor yet on what business they were 
 
 35 
 
The Codes oe Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 dispatched by the king. Some regard the reference to soldiers 
 and officers in time of war, while others maintain that the culti- 
 vation of public lands is the subject in question. 
 
 We now come to a number of laws (27-41) having refer- 
 ence to what may be called crown-lands, or land held in fee 
 by the State. We know that Israel, too, had such lands at one 
 time or another under the monarchy. It is to this custom that 
 Samuel refers when he says to the delegation which waited 
 upon him to demand a king : 
 
 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, 
 and your olive-yards, even the best of them, and give 
 to his officers, and his servants, (i Sam. 8:14.) 
 
 The words of Jezebel concerning Naboth's vineyard prove 
 clearly that the prophecy of Samuel was not a mere threat 
 (I Kings 21:7; Ez. 46:16-18.) 
 
 37. 
 
 If an ofificer or a man be captured in the garrison 
 of the king, and subsequently his field and garden 
 have been given to another, and this one take pos- 
 session; if he [the former owner] return and reach 
 his place, his field and garden shall be restored to 
 him, and he shall take it again. 
 
 28. 
 
 If an ofificer or a man be captured in the garrison 
 of the king, if his son be able to take charge of his 
 business, the field and the garden shall be given to 
 him, and he shall take his father's field. 
 
 36 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 39. 
 
 If his son be a minor, not able to take charge 
 of the business, the third of the field and garden shall 
 be given to his mother, and she shall bring him up. 
 
 30. 
 
 . If an officer or a man neglect his field, garden, 
 
 or house, instead of taking care of them ; if another 
 take his field and garden and house and care for 
 them three years ; if the owner return and claim his 
 field and garden and house, they shall not be given 
 to him, but he who has taken them and cared for 
 them shall continue to take care of them. 
 
 31. 
 
 If he abandoned them one year, and return, then 
 the field, garden, and house shall be given back to 
 him, and he shall take them again, 
 
 33. 
 
 If an officer or a man be captured on an errand 
 of the king, and a merchant ransom him, and bring 
 him back to his locality; if he have in his house 
 means for his ransom, so shall he ransom himself; 
 if there be no means in his house for his ransom, so 
 shall he be ransomed by the temple of his com- 
 munity; if in the temple of his community there be 
 no means to ransom him, then the palace [the king] 
 shall ransom him. His field, garden, and house shall 
 not be given for his ransom. 
 
 37 
 
Th^ Codb;s of Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 33- 
 
 If either a governor or magistrate have taken to 
 
 himself the men of the levy, or accepted, and sent 
 
 on the king's errand, hired substitute, that governor 
 
 or magistrate shall be put to death. 
 
 Winckler maintains that it is an impossibility to get at 
 the exact meaning of the words translated "governor and 
 magistrate" in this or the following section. He thinks, how- 
 ever, that the reference must be to military men of some kind. 
 We have followed Harper. 
 
 34' 
 
 If a governor or a magistrate take the property 
 of an officer, plunder an officer, hire out an officer 
 as slave, or deliver an officer in a lawsuit to a tyrant, 
 take away from an officer a gift given him by the 
 king; that governor or magistrate shall be put to- 
 death. 
 
 Harper's rendering is nearly the same as the above; but 
 Johns gives the following translation : "If either a governor or 
 magistrate has taken to himself the property of a gauger, has 
 plundered a gauger, has given a gauger to hire, has stolen 
 from a gauger any judgment by high-handedness, has taken 
 to himself the gift the king has given the gauger ; that gov- 
 ernor or magistrate shall be put to death." 
 
 35- 
 
 If any one buy the cattle or sheep from an officer, 
 which were intrusted to him by the king, he [the 
 buyer] shall forfeit his money. 
 
 The property above mentioned belonged evidently to the 
 royal flocks, intrusted to the care of government officials 
 
 38 
 
The; Hammurabi Code. 
 
 The Hebrew kings, too, had their royal domains, consisting 
 of vineyards, olive-yards, flocks, herds, etc. (See i Chron. 
 27:25-31.) 
 
 36. 
 
 The field, garden, or house of an officer, sub- 
 officer [constable], or a tributary [tax-gatherer, 
 H.], may not be sold for money. 
 
 37- 
 
 If a man buy the field, garden, or house of an 
 officer, sub-officer, or tributary, the sale is void [the 
 tablet recording the sale shall be broken], and he 
 forfeits his money. The field, house, or garden shall 
 be given back to the owner. 
 
 38. 
 
 An officer, sub-officer, or tributary may not trans- 
 fer in writing his field, garden, or house to his wife 
 or daughter, nor may he assign them for debt. 
 
 The reference in this section is not to property inherited, 
 or even acquired by purchase, but most probably to lands and 
 houses intrusted to a man while filling some government or 
 municipal office; or, as Professor Harper suggests, property 
 "which is his by virtue of his office." If this theory be correct, 
 we may infer that a son might also inherit certain offices. 
 
 39. 
 
 He may, however, transfer in writing a field, 
 garden, or house, which he has acquired by pur- 
 chase, and possesses, to his wife or daughter, or may 
 assign for debt. 
 
 .^9 
 
The Codes of Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 Daughters, according to Hebrew law, too, could, under 
 certain circumstances, inherit the property of their father. 
 See Num. 27:1-11, where the case of Zelophehad's daughters is 
 discussed. 
 
 40. 
 
 He may sell field, garden, and house to a royal 
 agent [tamkar], or any other State official ; the buyer 
 holding field, garden, and house for its usufruct. 
 
 This section is obscure. It is probable that the law refers 
 to one public official transferring public properties or ben- 
 efices to another agent of the State. 
 
 Harper's and Johns's translations are essentially dif- 
 ferent. We reproduce that given by Harper : "A woman, 
 merchant, or other property-holder may sell field, garden, or 
 house. The purchaser shall conduct the business of the field, 
 garden, or house which he has purchased." 
 
 Johns has votary — i. e., a temple prostitute — for woman, 
 and foreign-sojourner for property-holder; otherwise he agrees 
 with Harper. 
 
 41. 
 
 If any one fence in the field, garden, or house 
 of an officer, sub-officer, or tributary, and furnish 
 the fencing material therefor, when the ofificer, sub- 
 officer, or tributary return to the field, garden, and 
 house, the fencing material becomes his property. 
 
 The translations of both Johns and Harper differ widely 
 from the above, though agreeing very closely with one another. 
 Johns renders thus : "If a man has bartered for a field, garden, 
 or house of a gauger, constable, or tributary, and has given 
 exchanges, the gauger, constable, or tributary shall return to 
 his field, garden, or house, and shall keep the exchanges given 
 him." 
 
 40 
 
The; Hammurabi Code. 
 
 43. 
 
 If a man rent a field for tilling and raise no 
 crops; then he shall be called to account for not 
 having cultivated the field, and [if convicted] he 
 shall deliver grain to the owner of the field, in pro- 
 portion to the yield of the adjacent fields. 
 
 This law is eminently just, for instead of fining the neg- 
 lecter any fixed sum, he simply has to pay the amount for 
 which he is justly responsible. That is, the fine is based upon 
 the yield in near-by fields that same year. This law finds an 
 exact parallel in Hebrew legislation, though the following more 
 than covers it : 
 
 Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor 
 and needy; whether he be of thy brethren or of thy 
 strangers that are within thy gates. (Deut. 24:14.) 
 
 43. 
 
 If he do not till the field, but neglect it, he must 
 give grain to the owner of the field to the same 
 amount that his neighbor produced; and the field 
 which he has not tilled, he must plow and harrow 
 and give back to the owner of the field. 
 
 44- 
 
 If a man rent for three years a piece of waste , 
 land to make it productive, but is too lazy to till it, 
 so as to make it arable, in the fourth year he must 
 plow it, harrow it, and till it, and give it back to the 
 owner, and for each year he must measure out ten 
 Gur of grain for each ten Gan. 
 
The Code;s op Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 A Gan was about 6f acres, and a Gur a little more than 
 eight bushels. 
 
 45. 
 
 If a man let his field to another for a fixed rent, 
 and has received the rent for the field, but storms 
 come and destroy the crops, the loss falls upon the 
 renter. 
 
 This law is eminently unjust, and proves clearly that the 
 rich man had advantage over the poor, and yet the same 
 custom prevails to-day in our own land. 
 
 46. 
 
 But if he have not received a fixed rent for his 
 field, but has let it out for one-half or one-third [of 
 the crop], so the grain on the field shall be divided 
 proportionately between the renter and the owner 
 of the field. 
 
 47. 
 
 If the renter, because in the first year he did not 
 gain sustenance, has given the field into the charge 
 of another, the owner shall not object; the field has 
 been cultivated, and he shall take his share of the 
 grain according to the contract. 
 
 This section is not free from obscurity. Johns renders 
 the first part, "If the cultvator, because in the former year he 
 did not set up his dwelling;" and Scheil, "because he did not 
 go to his farm." 
 
 48. 
 If any owe a debt on which he pays interest, 
 and a storm devastate his field and destroy the 
 
 43 
 
The; Hammurabi Code. 
 
 grain, or, owing to a scarcity of water, the grain 
 
 have nqtjgrown in the field; in that year he need 
 
 not give any grain to the creditor ; he shall moisten 
 
 his contract tablet in water, and need pay no interest 
 
 this year. 
 
 To moisten the tablet in water was symbolical. We learn 
 from Section 37 that tablets were also destroyed. 
 
 49. 
 
 If a man have taken money from a merchant, 
 and have given [as security] the merchant an arable 
 field, to be planted in grain or sesame, and have said 
 to him. Plant grain or sesame in the field and take 
 the crop; if the cultivator produce grain or sesame 
 in the field, then at the harvest the grain or sesame 
 that the field has produced shall be the property of 
 the owner of the field, and he shall pay grain for the 
 money he received from the merchant, and for the 
 interest and for the support of the renter. 
 
 We know, from other inscriptions, that interest, amount- 
 ing to what would now be regarded as usury, was charged 
 in ancient Babylonia. The rate, as a rule, was ii§ or I3i per 
 cent, though some tablets record interest at 20 per cent. In- 
 terest was often paid in money, but quite commonly in grain, 
 fruit, or vegetables. The contracting of debt was regarded 
 by the Hebrew law as a misfortune ; consequently those having 
 anything to lend were exhorted to be generous. We read: 
 
 If thou lend money to any of my people with thee 
 that is poor, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor; 
 neither shall ye lay upon him usury. (Ex. 22:25.) 
 
The Codes oe Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 It must be noticed, however, that the Hebrews made a 
 distinction between a native Israelite and a foreigner, in money- 
 lending matters ; for we further read : 
 
 i'.'.t 
 
 Thou shalt not lend on usury to thy brother, usury \/ 
 
 of money, usury of victuals, usury of anything that is 
 
 lent on usury ; unto a foreigner thou mayest lend upon 
 usury, but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend on 
 usury. (Deut. 23:19, 20.) 
 
 The reader must bear in mind that the word usury is 
 employed here, as everywhere in the Old Testament, as the 
 exact synonym of interest, and therefore should never be re- 
 garded as an excessive rate of interest. Driver observes, very 
 justly, that Hebrew legislation, in condemning interest on any- 
 thing lent, agrees perfectly with the thinkers of Greece and 
 Rome, as well as those of the early Christian Church. The 
 fact, however, is, that it was very uncommon in ancient times 
 to borrow money simply for the sake of speculation, or mere 
 investment in some business project. A clear-cut distinction 
 should be made between the ancient charitable loan and the 
 modern commercial loan. Our Savior, though acquainted with 
 purely commercial loans, did not speak in unmeasured terms 
 of condemnation. (See Matt. 25:27!!.) Nor must we think 
 that it was ever a general practice among the Jews to receive 
 no interest, accept no pledges, or demand no security. Indeed, 
 we know that debtors were sold (for a limited period) as 
 slaves. (See 2 Kings 4:1; Neh. 5:5, 6; Isa. 50:1.) The 
 seventh year, the so-called year of release, is known to us 
 all. (See Deut. 15 :i-6; and Ex. 21 :2.) 
 
 SO. 
 
 If the field of grain or the field of sesame were 
 already planted when he gave it [as security], the 
 grain or sesame in that field shall belong to the 
 owner of that field, and he shall return the money 
 with interest to the merchant. 
 
 44 
 
Ths Hammurabi Code. 
 
 51. 
 
 If he have no money to pay back, he shall give 
 the merchant grain or sesame according to the cur- 
 rent price for the money, and also interest accord- 
 ing to the royal tariff [i. e., the sum legally fixed by 
 the authorities] . 
 
 52. 
 
 If the renter have not planted grain or sesame 
 in the field, his [the debtor's] contract is not an- 
 nulled. 
 
 Harper has, "do not secure a crop," instead of "have not 
 planted." 
 
 The above laws seem exceedingly fair. Poor crops result- 
 ing from natural causes excused the poor man or renter from 
 part of the rental; but carelessness or indolence were treated 
 with no leniency. 
 
 The next four laws concern dams, dykes, or canals. In 
 the very nature of the case, the hills of Palestine exclude the 
 necessity for legislation suitable only to level or low lands, 
 such as Mesopotamia. Babylonia was almost as dependent 
 upon its canals as is Holland to-day. They needed constant 
 care and repairing. Those living alongside of them were held 
 responsible for any damage which might result from a breach. 
 The severity of the law, as we shall see, for neglecting them, is 
 a certain proof of the damage caused by inundations. 
 
 53- 
 
 If any one neglect to keep his dyke in proper 
 condition and do not strengthen his dyke, and if a 
 breach take place, and the meadow-land be inun- 
 dated by the water, the man in whose dyke the 
 
 45 
 
The Codes of Hammurabi and MosES. 
 
 breach has taken place, shall pay back for the grain 
 which was thereby destroyed, 
 
 54- 
 
 If he be unable to replace the grain, he shall be 
 sold, and also his property for money, and the farm- 
 ers whose grain the waters destroyed shall share 
 the proceeds. 
 
 ^ 55. 
 
 ( If a man have opened his trenches for irrigation 
 Jin such a careless way as to overflow his neighbor's 
 /field, he shall pay his neighbor in grain [the amount 
 Lbeing based on the adjoining fields]. 
 
 56. 
 
 / If a man let in the water and the water carry off 
 I the crop of the adjoining field, he shall measure ten 
 .GuR of grain for every ten Gan of land. 
 
 As already said, the Hebrews had no legislation concern- 
 ing canals or dykes. They did, however, recognize damages^ 
 arising from neglect. Thus when a cistern or pit was not 
 properly covered, the owner of the same was to make good the , 
 loss arising from the neglect. (Ex. 2i :33.) So also in th/ 
 case of fire. The law reads : 
 
 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the 
 shocks of corn, or the standing corn in the field, be 
 consumed; he that kindled the fire shall surely mak^ 
 restitution. (Ex. 22:6.) 
 
 57. 
 
 If a shepherd, without the consent or permission 
 of the owner of a field, have pastured his sheep upon 
 
 46 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 the growing grain; the owner shall reap his field, 
 and the shepherd, who without his permission has 
 pastured his flock in the field, shall pay in addition 
 [as damage] twenty Gur of grain for every ten 
 Gan. 
 
 The Hebrew law presents the following parallel : 
 
 If a man shall cause a field or a vineyard to be 
 eaten, and shall let his beast loose, and if it feed in 
 another man's field; of the best of his own field and 
 of the best of his vineyard shall he make restitution. 
 (Ex. 22:5.) 
 
 58. 
 If after the sheep have left the meadow, and have 
 been shut up in the common fold at the city gate, 
 the shepherd turn the sheep into the field, to pasture 
 the sheep on the field; the shepherd shall take the 
 field which he has suffered to be grazed, and besides 
 he shall pay the owner sixty Gur of grain for every 
 ten Gan. 
 
 The translations of both Johns and Harper differ a little 
 from the above. That of Johns reads thus : "If from the time 
 that the sheep have gone up from the meadow, and the whole 
 flock has passed through the gate, the shepherd has laid his 
 sheep on the field and has caused the sheep to feed off the field, 
 the shepherd who has made them feed off the field one shall 
 watch, and at harvest time he shall measure out sixty Gur of 
 corn per Gan to the owner of the field." 
 
 The reader will have doubtless observed the above law is 
 very obscure. It probably refers to a shepherd who turned 
 his flock into the field of his neighbor at night. 
 
 47 
 
h 
 
 Th:^ Codes o? Hammurabi and MosSS. 
 
 59- 
 
 If a man without the knowledge of the owner 
 of an orchard cut down a tree in that orchard, he 
 shall pay one-half mina of silver. 
 
 It may be inferred, from Ex. 22:5!, that trees could not 
 be wantonly destroyed. This was unlawful even in the time 
 of war or during a siege. (See Deut. 20:i9f.) 
 
 60. 
 
 If a man have given a field to a gardener to 
 
 / plant as an orchard, and this one care for it, he shall 
 
 care for the orchard four years ; in the fifth year the 
 
 owner of the land and the gardener shall share 
 
 equally ; the owner of the orchard shall take his part. 
 
 We have the following parallel in Hebrew legislation; 
 though not exact, it has much in common : 
 
 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall 
 have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall 
 count the food thereof as uncircumcision ; three years 
 shall they be as uncircumcision unto you ; it shall not 
 be eaten. But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof 
 shall be holy for giving praise unto the Lord. And in 
 the fifth year ye shall eat of the fruit thereof, that it 
 may yield unto you the increase thereof. (Lev. 19: 
 23-25-) 
 
 The general meaning of both laws is clear : The first three 
 years produced little or no fruit; in the fourth year, accord- 
 ing to Hebrew law, Jehovah was to receive a portion. (See 
 Deut. 26:2.) From the fourth year on, the owner was to 
 receive his full portion, the tenth of course excepted. 
 
 48 
 
J 
 
 The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 6i. 
 
 If the gardener have not planted the entire field, 
 
 but have left a part waste, this part shall be included 
 
 in his share. 
 
 That is, the gardener is held responsible for his negli- 
 gence, and the amount which the neglected part of the field 
 might have produced is deducted from his share when the 
 division is made. 
 
 62. 
 
 If he have not planted as orchard the field which ^ 
 
 was given him, if it be arable land [suitable for j 
 
 grain] the gardener shall pay the owner produce for ^ 
 
 the years he left it uncultivated proportionate to the 
 
 yield in the adjoining fields, [and] he shall put the 
 
 field in an arable condition and give it back to the 
 
 owner of the field. 
 
 63. 
 If the field be unreclaimed land, he shall do the 
 ordered work on the field, and give it back to the 
 owner of the field, and measure out ten Gur of grain 
 for each ten Gan, for every year. 
 
 64. 
 
 If a man give his orchard to a gardener for cul- 
 tivation, the gardener shall, as long as he has the 
 orchard, give the owner two-thirds of the produce 
 of the orchard, and retain one-third for himself, 
 
 65. 
 
 If the gardener do not take proper care of the 
 
 orchard, and the produce fall short, he shall, never- 
 4 49 
 
The; Cooes o^ Hammurabi and MosES. 
 
 theless, measure out the yield of the orchard, ac- 
 cording as [things have grown in] the neighbor's 
 [garden] . 
 
 Here, as we have already observed in the introduction, 
 we find that five columns or rows of the text have been 
 erased. This was without doubt the work of some conqueror 
 in later ages, who by inscribing his name, titles, etc., 
 desired to perpetuate his own glory and renown. 
 Why the space was not filled up, but left blank, can 
 only be a matter of conjecture; nor can we form any idea 
 of who the king or general might have been who perpetrated 
 this piece of vandalism. What is still worse, we can form no 
 correct idea of the nature of the laws thus erased. Pere 
 Scheil — and most other translators agree — thinks that no less 
 than thirty-five laws were erased. This accounts for our 
 passing from the sixty-fifth to the hundredth section. From 
 Hammurabi tablets, found in the library of Assurbanipal, it 
 has been inferred that the following might have formed a 
 part of the erased portion. We give them as translated 
 by Johns : 
 
 A. If a man has taken money from a merchant, 
 and has given a plantation of dates to the merchant, 
 has said to him, The dates that are in my plantation 
 take for thy money; that merchant shall not agree, 
 the dates that are in the plantation the owner of the 
 plantation shall take, and he shall answer to the 
 merchant for the money and its interests according 
 to the tenor of his bond. The dates that are over, 
 which are in the plantation, the owner of the plan- 
 tation shall take forsooth. 
 
 B. . . . the man dwelling (in the house) 
 
 50 
 
Ths Hammurabi Code. 
 
 has given to the owner (of the house) the money 
 of its rent in full for the year, the owner of the house 
 has ordered the dweller to go out when his days are 
 not full, the owner of the house, because he has 
 ordered the dweller to leave when his days are not 
 full, (shall give) of the money which the dweller 
 gave him. . . . 
 
 C. If a man has to pay, in money or corn, but 
 has not money or corn to pay with, but has goods, 
 whatever is in his hands, before witnesses, according 
 to what he has brought, he shall give to his mer- 
 chant. The merchant shall not object; he shall 
 receive it. 
 
 We now resume the Hammurabi Code. Whether A. B. C. 
 are a part of the original code or whether they have any rela- 
 tion to it, is a question which with our present data can not 
 be answered. 
 
 lOO. 
 
 . . . interest for the money as much as re- 
 ceived, he shall give his note for it, and on the day 
 agreed upon he shall pay the merchant. 
 
 It is generally agreed that the above and the few next fol- 
 lowing sections refer to merchants and clerks in their employ, 
 especially to traveling salesmen, or those transacting business 
 at a distance. 
 
 lOI. 
 
 If there be no business openings in those places 
 to which he has gone [i. e., if unsuccessful], the 
 
 51 
 
The Codes oe Hammurabi and MoseS. 
 
 agent shall leave intact the money which he received, 
 and give it back to the merchant. 
 
 Harper has, instead of "shall leave intact the money," 
 "shall double the amount of money." 
 
 If a merchant have given money for investment 
 
 to an agent, and the latter suffer loss in the place 
 
 whither he went, he shall return the principal in full 
 
 to the merchant. 
 
 Both Harper and Johns have "as a favor," instead of 
 "for investment." 
 
 103. 
 
 If, while on a journey, an enemy rob a man 
 [i. e., agent] of anything which he may have, the 
 agent shall take an oath [by the name of God], and 
 shall be acquitted. 
 
 104. 
 
 If a merchant have given an agent grain, wool, 
 oil, or any other goods for trading purposes, the 
 agent shall give in writing a receipt [make an in- 
 voice] for the amount and give to the merchant. 
 Then he shall receive a receipt from the merchant 
 for the money paid the merchant. 
 
 Johns rendering of the last clause is as follows : "The 
 agent shall take a sealed memorandum of the price which he 
 shall give to the merchant." Harper's rendering is virtually 
 the same. 
 
 52 
 
Ths Hammurabi Code. 
 
 los. 
 
 If an agent have neglected to take a receipt for 
 the money he gave the merchant, he may not place 
 the money for which he has no receipt to his own 
 account. 
 
 io6. 
 
 If an agent obtain money from a merchant and 
 dispute it with the merchant, the latter shall charge 
 the agent before God and witnesses [in open court] 
 with having the money. Then [in case of convic- 
 tion] the agent shall pay three times the amount 
 given him. 
 
 107. 
 
 If a merchant have cheated the agent, and the 
 agent have returned already all which the merchant 
 had given him, but the merchant deny having re- 
 ceived what was returned to him, then the agent 
 shall accuse the merchant before God and witnesses. 
 The merchant, because he denied having received all 
 that he had received, shall pay the agent six times 
 the amount. 
 
 108. 
 
 If a [female] tavern-keeper do not accept grain 
 according to gross weight as pay for drinks, but take 
 silver; and the price of the drink as compared with 
 that of the grain is less, she shall be convicted and 
 thrown into the water. 
 
 53 
 
The Codes of Hammurabi and MosES. 
 
 Harper's rendering of the second clause is: "or make the 
 measure for drink smaller than the measure for corn." The 
 meaning of this law is not quite clear; but the severity of the 
 penalty shows clearly that the tavern-keeper took great advan- 
 tage of her customer. 
 
 Execution by throwing into the water — that is, by drown- 
 ing — was very common in Babylonia. (See 129, 133, 143, ISS, 
 etc.) Taverns or saloons were kept by women. Compare the 
 case of Rahab, the harlot. (Josh. 2:iff.) 
 
 109. 
 
 , If conspirators assemble in the house of a tavern- 
 1 keeper, who are not captured and delivered to the 
 bourt, that tavern-keeper shall be put to death. 
 
 no. 
 
 If a votary open a tavern, or enter a tavern for 
 the purpose of drinking, that woman shall be burnt 
 to death. 
 
 Burning to death was a mode of punishment practiced in 
 Israel, too, for certain crimes: for incest (Lev. 20:14), and 
 for unchastity in the daughter of a priest. (Lev. 21 .g). 
 
 The word rendered votary probably signifies a woman. 
 
 III. 
 
 If a female tavern-keeper give 60 ka of usa- 
 kani for drink, she shall receive 50 ka of grain at 
 harvest. 
 
 This section is obscure. Usa-kani was the name of a 
 well-known drink at the time when this law was made. Johns 
 renders usa-kani, best beer. 
 
 112. 
 
 If any one on a journey intrust silver, gold, 
 precious stone, or any treasure of his hand, to a man 
 
 54 
 
The Hammurabi Codb. 
 
 for transportation, if this man [the carrier] do not 
 bring all that was to be transported to the appointed 
 place, but appropriates them, then this man who 
 did not deliver the goods intrusted to him shall be 
 called to account, and he shall pay the owner of the 
 goods to be transported, fivefold, for all that in- 
 trusted to him. 
 
 The above law refers to goods intrusted to persons travel- 
 ing, as common carriers. There is no exact parallel in Hebrew 
 legislation, though the following seems to cover the same 
 ground : 
 
 If any one sin and commit a trespass against the 
 Lord, and deal falsely with his neighbor in a matter 
 of deposit, . . . then shall it be, if he has sinned 
 and is guilty, that he shall restore the deposit which 
 was committed to him ; ... he shall even restore 
 it in full, and shall add the fifth part more thereto. 
 (Lev. 6:2-5.) 
 
 This restoration was to be followed by a religious cere- 
 mony. (Lev. 6 :6f.) 
 
 II3- 
 
 If any one have a claim for grain or money on 
 another man, and he shall take from the grain-heap 
 or granary without the knowledge of the owner, that 
 man shall be charged before the court with having 
 taken, without the knowledge of the owner, grain 
 from the grain-heap or granary, and he shall restore 
 the grain which he took. He shall forfeit all that 
 was due him [the entire amount of his debt]. 
 
 55 
 
^Ths Codes of Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 114. 
 
 If a man have no claim for grain or money upon 
 another, and levy a distraint, he shall pay one-third 
 of a mina of silver in each case of distraint. 
 
 115' 
 
 If a man have a claim for grain or money upon 
 another, and levy a distraint, and the man thus 
 seized die a natural death in the house of his dis- 
 trainer, that case has no penalty. 
 
 4 
 
 116. 
 
 If the one seized die of blows or of bad treat- 
 ment in the house of his distrainer, the owner of the 
 one seized shall bring the merchant to account; if 
 he be the son of a freeborn man, then the son of 
 the merchant shall be put to death ; if he be a slave, 
 he shall pay one-third of a mina of silver, and he 
 [the distrainer] shall forfeit all that he gave as a 
 loan. 
 
 Here we have a most literal carrying out of the ledetalionis, 
 'eye for eye, and tooth for tooth," or rather sori'Tor''^on. 
 We have no evidence that the Hebrew law ever authorized the 
 punishing of a child for the sin of his parent. It is true that 
 children providentially have to suffer physical pain, etc., for 
 the transgression of their parents. (Ex. 20 :s and 34:7.) They 
 suffer by the "self-acting operation of natural laws." In the 
 providence of God the natural ties uniting a family are such 
 that it is difficult for one member to escape entirely the conse- 
 quenes of another's sins. In ancient times it was not uncom- 
 mon to punish an entire family for the sins of one member 
 
 56 
 
Tne Hammurabi Codb. 
 
 (See Est. 9:i3f-; Dan. 6:25; Herodotus III, 119.) The hu- 
 mane law of the Hebrews contrasts well with the above. We 
 read: 
 
 y/ The fathers shall not be put to death for the chil- 
 /dren, neither shall the children be put to death for.the 
 / fathers : every man shall be put to death for his own 
 V^n. (Deut. 24:16.) 
 
 117. 
 If a man incur a debt and sell his wife, son, or ''^ 
 daughter for money, or bind them out to forced 
 labor, three years shall they work in the house of 
 their taskmaster; in the fourth year they shall be 
 set free. 
 
 The Hebrew law is as follows: 
 
 If thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew 
 woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years: 
 then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free 
 from thee. (Deut. 15 :i2. See also Ex. 21 :2.) 
 
 Though the term of service was longer in Israel than in 
 Babylonia, the end thereof was tempered with abundant mercy, 
 as the following clearly shows : 
 
 And when thou lettest him go free from thee, thou 
 shalt not let him go empty: thou shalt furnish him 
 liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing- 
 floor, and out of thy wine-press ; as the Lord thy God 
 redeemed thee. (Deut. I5:i3f.) 
 
 118. 
 
 If he bind a male or female slave to forced labor, 
 and the merchant let them out to another for pay, 
 no objections can be made. 
 
 57 
 
The CodBs op Hammurabi and MoseIS. 
 
 119. 
 
 If a man incur debt, and sell for money a female 
 
 slave, who has borne him children ; the money which 
 
 the merchant has paid shall be returned by the owner 
 
 of the slave, and he shall ransom his female slave. 
 
 The Hebrew law also favored concubines. The law con- 
 cerning women taken captives in war and forced to concu- 
 binage read thus: 
 
 And it shall be if thou have no delight in her, then 
 thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt 
 not sell her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her. 
 (Deut. 21 :i4. See also Ex. 21 :7-ii.) 
 
 120. 
 
 If a man store his grain in the house of another, 
 
 and some damage happen to the stored grain, or if 
 
 the owner of the house open the granary and take 
 
 some of the grain, or dispute concerning the quantity 
 
 of grain stored in his house ; then the owner of the 
 
 grain shall claim the grain before God [in open 
 
 court] , the owner of the house shall return the grain 
 
 in full [double the amount, H.] to the owner of 
 
 the grain. 
 
 For the general law of the Hebrews covering all kinds 
 of deposit, see Ex. 22 :7-io. 
 
 121. 
 
 If a man store grain in the house of another, he 
 shall pay storage price of one Gur for every Ka 
 per year. 
 
 58 
 
Ths Hammurabi Code. 
 
 12:2. 
 
 If a man deposit silver, gold, or anything what- 
 soever, all that he may deposit he shall show to wit- 
 nesses, make a contract, and then he shall deposit. 
 
 We find no exact parallel in Hebrew legislation. See, 
 however, Lev. 6 :2-7. 
 
 123. 
 
 If a man deposit anything without witnesses and 
 contract, and they at whose place the deposit was 
 made, deny it, there is no legal redress in that case. 
 
 124. 
 
 If a man deposit silver, gold, or anything whatso- 
 ever with another in the presence of witnesses, and 
 the depositary deny it, he shall be brought before 
 the court, and whatever he has denied he shall pay 
 in full [if convicted] . 
 
 Harper renders the last clause : "he shall double whatever 
 he has disputed, and repay it." 
 
 125. 
 
 If a man deposit anything, and at the depositary, 
 through burglary or robbery, his property, in com- 
 mon with that of the owner of the place be lost, 
 then the owner of the place, through whose careless- 
 ness the loss occurred, must compensate in full the 
 owner of the [stolen] goods. The owner of the 
 place shall follow up and try to recover the lost prop- 
 erty, and take it from the thief. 
 
 59 
 
The Codes op Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 The Hebrew law, as already pointed out, was quite sim- 
 ilar. (See Ex. 227, 8.) 
 
 126. 
 
 If a man, who has not lost anything, say that he 
 has lost something, and puts forth false claims, he 
 shall make known his [pretended] loss in the pres- 
 ence of God [before a court of law], then he shall 
 be fully compensated for all his alleged loss. 
 
 Harper's rendering of the latter part of this law is : "he 
 shall double and pay for the (alleged) loss the amount for 
 which he had made claim." 
 
 This law, if the above translation be correct, seems strange 
 and unfair. Nevertheless we must remember that perjury 
 was not as common then as in later ages. To swear was a 
 religious act, a most solemn thing; thus to swear falsely was 
 very risky. All the Semitic people recognized the sacredness 
 of an oath. They superstitiously believed that an oath taken 
 at a holy place, before some divinity, would be speedily and 
 certainly avenged in case of perjury. The custom of swear- 
 ing or declaring upon oath at a sanctuary in order to declare 
 one's innocence, was known also to Israel. We read in 
 I Kings 8 :3i : 
 
 If a man sin against his neighbor, and an oath be 
 laid upon him to cause him to swear before Thine altar 
 in this house; then hear Thou in heaven, and do, and 
 judge Thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring 
 his way upon his own head ; and justifying the right- 
 eous, to give to him according to his own righteous- 
 ness. (See also Ex. 22:11.) 
 
 127. 
 
 If a man point his finger at [slander] a votary 
 or at a man's wife, but can not prove his charge, 
 
 60 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 he shall be taken before the judge, and shall be 
 branded on his forehead. 
 
 The literal translation of the phrase "branded on his fore- 
 head" is "to shear the brow." Cook has the following remark : 
 "The precise nature of the penalty is not clear. It is conceiv- 
 able that the forelock, the mark of a freedman, was cut off; 
 but the same word is used elsewhere of the branding of 
 slaves. 
 
 128. 
 
 If a man marry a wife, but have made no con- 
 tract with her, this woman is not a [legal] wife. 
 
 The object of this law was perhaps to protect one against 
 a secret marriage. 
 
 129. 
 
 '^ If a man's wife be caught lying with another 
 man, both shall be bound and thrown into the water, 
 unless the husband of that woman desire to pardon 
 his wife, or the king his servant. 
 
 The Hebrew law for adultery has much in common with 
 the above. It reads : 
 
 And the man that committeth adultery with an- 
 other man's wife, even he that committeth adultery 
 with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulter- 
 ess shall surely be put to death. (Lev. 20:10.) 
 
 The law as given in Deut. 22 :22, reads : 
 
 If a man be found lying with a woman married to 
 an husband, then they shall both of them die. 
 
 Though the Hebrew law makes no provision for pardon 
 in any case, by either husband or king, we know that the hus- 
 band did sometimes pardon his wife. (See Hos. I and II.) 
 
 61 
 
The Codes oe Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 130. 
 
 If any one violate the wife [betrothed] of a 
 man, who has not known a man, but who is still 
 living in the house of her father, and he lie with her 
 and be caught, he shall be put to death, but the 
 woman shall go free. 
 
 The reference here is, without doubt, to a betrothed 
 maiden violated against her will. The Hebrew law is almost 
 identical. It reads : 
 
 But if the man find the damsel that is betrothed in 
 the field, and the man force her, and lie with her : then 
 the man only that lay with her shall die : but unto the 
 damsel they shall do nothing, there is in the damsel no 
 sin worthy of death. (Deut. 22 •.25.) 
 
 In case the damsel was not betrothed, her seducer was 
 forced to marry her without the possibility of a divorce, and 
 pay her father a large sum of money as penalty. (See Deut. 
 
 22:28f.) 
 
 Jeremias thinks that the above section proves that child- 
 marriages were in vogue. 
 
 131. 
 
 If a man have accused his own wife, but she has 
 not been caught lying with another man, she shall 
 swear by the name of God, and then may return to 
 her [father's] house. 
 
 In Israel the woman was subjected to an ordeal; and in 
 case the charge against her could not be proved, the husband 
 was fined one hundred shekels, and had to live with his wife. 
 (Deut 22:19. See next section.) 
 
 62 
 
1 
 
 Tne Hammurabi Code. 
 
 132. 
 
 If the finger have been pointed against a man's 
 wife [i. e., if she have been suspected], but she have 
 not been caught lying with another man, she sha!.l 
 plunge into the river for her husband's [satisfa^- 
 [Jion]. 
 
 This was evidently a case where a woman had fallen, 
 justly or unjustly, into bad repute, when the scandal had be- 
 come public property. To prove her innocency she must seek 
 the justice of the river-god, whose duty it was to protect the 
 innocent, and punish the guilty, by swallowing them up. The 
 Hebrews, too, had their ordeals, and indeed in cases where 
 women were suspected of infidelity to their husbands, they 
 were forced to drink the so-called waters of bitterness. The 
 Hebrew law is too lengthy to insert in this place, so the reader 
 is referred to Num. 5:12-28. 
 
 133. 
 
 If a man be taken captive in war, and there is 
 sustenance in his house, and his wife have left his 
 house and court and have entered the house of an- 
 other, because that woman has not guarded her 
 body, but entered another's house, she shall be con- 
 demned according to law and thrown into the waters. 
 
 The punishment is the same as in the case of flagrant 
 adultery. The wife should have awaited the return of her 
 husband, or at least till there was no food in her house. 
 
 134- 
 
 If a man have been taken captive in war, and 
 there be no sustenance in his house, when the wife 
 
 63 
 
The; Codes o? Hammurabi and MosES. 
 
 of tilis man enter another's house [marry another 
 man] ; this woman incurs no penalty. 
 
 / 135. 
 
 , If a man have been taken captive in war, and 
 there be no sustenance in his house, when his wife 
 have entered into the house of another, and have 
 borne children, and if the first husband return later 
 and come to his home, that woman shall return to 
 her first husband, but the children shall follow their 
 father [the second husband] . 
 
 136. 
 
 If a man leave his native place and flee away, 
 and his wife subsequently enter into another's house 
 [marry another man], but if then he return and 
 desire to take his wife; because he left his native 
 place and ran away, this wife shall not return to 
 him. 
 
 137. 
 
 If a man have made up his mind to separate from 
 a concubine, who has borne him children, or from 
 his wife who has borne him children, then he shall 
 give back to that woman her dowry, and the usu- 
 fruct of the field, garden, and property, so that she 
 may bring up her children; when she shall have 
 brought up the children she shall have a share equal 
 
 64 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 to that of a son, of all that has been given to her 
 
 children. She may marry the man of her choice. 
 
 The Hebrew law reads : 
 
 When a man taketh a wife and marrieth her, it 
 shall be if she find no favor in his eyes, because he has 
 seen some unseemly thing in her, that he shall write 
 her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and 
 send her out of his house, and when she is departed 
 out of his house, she may go and be another man's 
 wife. (Deut. 24: iff.) 
 
 From the language of Rachel and Leah (Gen. 31:14-16), 
 as Cook observes, it may be legitimately inferred that in Israel, 
 too, it was customary for fathers to give marriage portions 
 to their daughters. 
 
 138. 
 
 If a man put away his wife who has not borne 
 
 him children, he must give her the amount of the 
 
 purchase money [as much as he paid her father 
 
 when he married her], and the dowry which she 
 
 brought from the house of her father ; then he may 
 
 put her away. 
 
 It is not stated what the ground of divorce was in this 
 case, though we may infer that it was the barrenness of the 
 wife. (See under 131.) 
 
 139- 
 
 If there were no purchase money, he shall give 
 her one mina of silver for a divorce. 
 
 A mina was one-sixtieth of a talent, or about $30 in our 
 
 money. 
 
 65 
 
Tne Codes o? Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 140. 
 
 If he be a freedman, he shall give her one-third 
 
 of a mina of silver. 
 
 141. 
 
 If a man's wife, living in his house, has made 
 up her mind to leave that house, and through ex- 
 travagance run into debt, have wasted her house, 
 and neglected her husband, one may proceed judi- 
 cially against her; if her husband consent to her 
 divorce, then he may let her go her way. He shall 
 not give her anything for her divorce. If her hus- 
 band do not consent to her divorce and take another 
 wife; the former wife shall remain in the house as 
 a servant. 
 
 142. 
 
 If a wife quarrel with her husband, and say, 
 Thou shalt not possess me ; then the reasons for her 
 prejudices must be examined. If she be without 
 blame, and there be no fault on her part, but her 
 husband have been tramping around, belittling her 
 very much ; then this woman shall be blameless, she 
 shall take her dowry and return to the house of her 
 father. 
 
 143. 
 
 If she be not frugal, if she gad about, is ex- 
 travagant in the house, belittle her husband, they 
 shall throw that woman into the water. 
 
 66 
 
Thb Hammurabi Cods. 
 
 144. 
 
 If any one take a wife, and this wife give a maid 
 to her husband, and the latter bear children, but this 
 man make up his mind to take another concubine, 
 one shall not countenance him. He may not take 
 a concubine. 
 
 Though not clearly stated, tlie implication is, that the wife 
 mentioned in the above section was childless. Hence her 
 willingness to give her husband a maidservant as concubine. 
 The fact that this concubine had borne children, made it illegal 
 for the husband to take another concubine. The children of 
 a concubine could be regarded as those of a legal wife. There 
 would thus be an added barrier to divorce. Childlessness, 
 occasioned by the barrenness of the wife, has always been re- 
 garded in the East, among Semitic people, a sufficient cause 
 for divorce. Keeping this in mind, the words of Leah are 
 easily understood: 
 
 And Leah said, God has endowed me with a good 
 dowry, now will my husband dwell with me, because 
 I have borne him six sons. (Gen. 30:20. See also 
 29:34.) 
 
 145. 
 
 If a man take a wife, and she bear him no chil- 
 dren, and he make up his mind to take a concu- 
 bine; if he take a concubine and bring her to his 
 house, this concubine shall not stand on equality 
 
 with his wife. 
 
 146. 
 
 If a man take a wife and she give her husband 
 
 a maid-servant for a wife, and this one bear him 
 
 children, and then this maid-servant have tried to 
 
 67 
 
Tut Codes of Hammurabi and MosES. 
 
 make herself equal with her mistress, because she 
 
 has borne children, her mistress may not sell her 
 
 for money, but 'may make her a servant, and count 
 
 her as one of her servants. 
 
 The Bible reader will recall the story of Sarah and Hagar, 
 which offers a striking parallel to the above section. Indeed, 
 \ it is more than probable that Abraham's treatment of Hagar 
 i was in strict accordance with the Babylonian law governing 
 
 \ such cases. (See Gen. i6:iff., and the case of Rachel, 3o:iff.) 
 
 ) 
 \ 
 
 147. 
 
 If she have not borne children, then the mistress 
 
 may sell her for money. 
 
 The Hebrews forbade the selling of a concubine to for- 
 eigners. 
 
 To sell unto a strange nation, he shall have no 
 power. (Ex. 21 :8.) 
 
 148. 
 
 If a man take a wife, and sickness attack her, 
 if he then set his face to take a second one, he may ; 
 but he shall not put away his wife, whom disease 
 has attacked; on the other hand, she shall dwell in 
 the house he has built, and he shall support her as 
 long as she lives. 
 
 149. 
 
 If this woman be unwilling to dwell in her hus- 
 band's house, then he must give back to her the 
 dowry which she brought from her father's house, 
 and she may go. 
 
 68 
 
Thk Hammurabi Code. 
 
 150. 
 
 If a man give his wife a field, garden, house, or 
 
 goods, and give her a sealed deed for the same, 
 
 then, after the death of her husband, her sons can 
 
 not present claims; the mother may will what she 
 
 leaves to that one of her sons whom she may prefer, 
 
 but to the brothers [her other sons] she need not 
 
 give. 
 
 Harper renders the last clause, "but to a brother she may 
 not," and similarly Johns : "to brothers she shall not give." 
 If their translations be the correct one, then the import of the 
 section is, that the estate must be kept in the husband's family, 
 but can not be willed to the wife's relatives. (See Section 
 I7iff.) 
 
 151. 
 
 If a woman dwelling in the house of a man have 
 contracted with her husband that no creditor of his 
 can arrest her [for his obligations], and has forced 
 from him a contract to this effect, so, if that man 
 had a debt before he had taken this wife, the creditor 
 can not hold the wife for it ; and if this woman had 
 a debt before she entered her husband's house, the 
 creditor may not hold the husband responsible. 
 
 152. 
 
 If a debt have been contracted after the woman 
 entered the house of a man [after marriage] , both 
 of them are responsible to the merchant. 
 
The Codes op Hammurabi and MosES. 
 
 153. 
 
 If a man's wife, on account of another, cause 
 
 the death of her husband, she shall be impaled. 
 
 Neither impaling nor hanging was ever practiced in Israel, 
 though impaling was not uncommon in Assyria. It is true 
 that we sometimes read of bodies being hanged or placed upon 
 trees, but this was, without doubt, after the malefactor had 
 been previously put to death. There is no explicit law in 
 Hebrew legislation against a wife murdering her husband, 
 which goes to prove that such a crime must have been ex- 
 ceedingly uncommon, if it ever happened. 
 
 154. 
 
 If a man have known his daughter, he shall be 
 driven from his city [the place he lives in]. 
 
 155. 
 
 If a man have betrothed a girl to his son, and 
 his son have known her, but he [the father] after- 
 wards lie with her, and be caught with her, they shall 
 bind him and throw him into the water. 
 
 The last clause in the original has her and not him. This 
 accounts for Johns's correct rendering, "and cast her into the 
 waters." The "her" is probably a textual error for "him." 
 (See Section 130.) Harper, Winckler, Lagrange, and Scheil 
 substitute "him" for the "her" of the text. Notwithstanding 
 the array of authority for substituting "him," one can not 
 resist the temptation to suggest the substitution of "them." 
 As the law now reads nothing is said of the punishment of 
 the woman. The Hebrew law reads thus : 
 
 And if a man lie with his daughter-in-law, both of 
 them shall be surely put to death. (Lev. 20:12.) 
 
 70 
 
Ths Hammurabi Code. , 
 
 The reader shall have noticed also that the Babylonian 
 and Hebrew custom of a father selecting a wife for his son 
 is the same. (See Gen. 24:4; 38:6; and 2 Kings 14:9.) 
 
 156. 
 
 If a man have betrothed a bride to his son, and 
 his son has not known her, but he [the father] after- 
 wards He with her, he shall pay one-half mina of sil- 
 ver, and return to her all she brought from her 
 father's house. She may marry the man of her 
 choice. 
 
 Hebrew legislation offers no exact parallel. We know, 
 however, that the violation of a virgin was a grave offense in 
 Israel. We read in Deut. 22 :28, 29 : 
 
 If a man finds a damsel that is a virgin, which is 
 not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, 
 and they be found ; then the man that lay with her 
 shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of sil- 
 ver, and she shall be his wife, because he hath hum- 
 bled her. 
 
 157. 
 
 If a man after his father [is dead?] lie with his 
 mother, one shall burn them both. 
 
 Burning to death was a penalty known to Israel, too, as 
 we see from the following: 
 
 If a man take a wife and her mother, it is wicked- 
 ness ; they shall be burnt with fife, both he and they. 
 (Lev. 20:14.) 
 
 We further read: 
 
 And the daughter of any priest, if she profaneth 
 herself by playing the harlot, she profaneth her father ; 
 she shall be burnt with fire. (Lev. 21 :g.) 
 
The; Codes of Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 This was a horrible mode of punishment, and many com- 
 mentators, to avoid the severity of such a law, suggest that 
 the burning took place only after death by stoning, as in the 
 case of Achan. (Josh. 7:25.) 
 
 158. 
 
 If a man, after his father [is dead], be surprised 
 lying with a wife of his father, who has borne chil- 
 dren, he shall be driven out of the house of his 
 father. 
 
 This and the preceding sections are very similar. In 157 
 we have reference to one's own mother, and in 158 to a step- 
 mother, or foster-mother. This is evident from the difference 
 in degree of punishment. It seems that the death penalty was 
 inflicted in Israel for incest, whether with one's own mother or 
 step-mother. The law reads : 
 
 The nakedness of thy father, even the nakedness 
 
 of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover. (Lev. 18:7.) 
 
 Then again : 
 
 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not 
 uncover. (Lev. 18:8.) 
 
 The phrase, "to uncover the nakedness'' is a Hebraism 
 for to have carnal intercourse. This is clear from Lev. 20:11, 
 where we read : 
 
 And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath 
 uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall 
 be put to death. 
 
 The phrase, "to be driven out of his father's house," 
 means about the same as "to be disinherited" in our country. 
 
 159- 
 
 If a man, who has brought a present into his 
 father-in-law's house, and given the dowry, look 
 
 72 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 upon another woman, and say to his father-in-law, 
 "I will not take thy daughter to wife," the father of 
 the maiden shall keep all that he brought him. 
 
 The giving of presents to the prospective wife and her 
 relatives is a custom still extensively observed in Oriental 
 lands. We all remember the gifts of Isaac's servant to Re- 
 bekah and her people. (Gen. 24:53!) 
 
 160. 
 
 If a man bring presents into the house of his 
 father-in-law, and give a dowry; if then the girl's 
 father say, "I will not give my daughter to you;" 
 then he shall give back fully all that was given him. 
 
 Harper renders the last clause : "he [the father-in-law] 
 shall double the amount which was brought to him, and 
 return it." 
 
 161. 
 
 If a man bring a present into the house of his ww 
 father-in-law, and give a dowry, and a friend slan- 
 der him; and his father-in-law say to the young ||j||| 
 suitor, "You shall not have my daughter;" then he 
 shall give back fully all that was brought to him 
 [double the amount, Harper] ; but the friend may 
 not marry his wife. ^^^^^^ 
 
 162. 
 
 If a man take a wife and she bear him children, 
 and if that woman die, her father may have no claim 
 on her dowry. It belongs to her children. 
 
 1% 
 
The Codes op Hammurabi and MosBS. 
 
 163. 
 
 If a man take a wife, and she bear him no chil- 
 dren, and if that woman die; if the father-in-law 
 return the dowry which that man brought to his 
 house [house of the father-in-law], the husband has 
 no claim upon the marriage portion of that woman. 
 It belongs to the house of her father. 
 
 164. 
 
 If his father-in-law do not return the dowry, he 
 may deduct the price of the marriage portion from 
 her dowry, and give [the balance of] the dowry to 
 the house of her father. 
 
 165. 
 
 If a man give his son, whom he prefers, a field, 
 garden, or house, and draw up a sealed deed for the 
 same; if afterwards the father die, and the brothers 
 divide [the property] they shall give him the present 
 of his father, and he shall take it; and they shall 
 share equally with him in the paternal possessions 
 [which are left] . 
 
 Harper renders the second part of this section thus : "He 
 shall take the present which the father gave him, and over and 
 above they shall divide the goods of the father's house equally." 
 Johns virtually agrees with Harper's translation. 
 
 Partiality to favorite sons was often shown by Hebrew 
 fathers too. We see this in the history of Jacob (Gen. 48:19), 
 and of David (i Kings i :ii-i3) ; and this, too, in spite of the 
 fact that the law gave the first-born a double portion. (Deut. 
 21 :i5ff.) 
 
 74 
 
The Hammurabi Codb. 
 
 166. 
 
 If a man take wives for his sons, but not for his 
 minor son, and then die ; when the sons divide [the 
 property], they shall give to the minor son, who has 
 not taken a wife, in addition to his share, money 
 for purchase money [to pay the father-in-law], and 
 they shall help him to take a wife. 
 
 Notice a similar law for a sister, Section 184. 
 
 167. 
 
 If a man take a wife, who bear him children, 
 and that woman die, and he take a second wife, who 
 bear him children, and then the father die ; the chil- 
 dren shall not partition the estate according to the 
 mothers; they shall take only the marriage portion 
 of their mothers [the two sets of children shall di- 
 vide their mother's property] , but the goods of their 
 father all share equally. 
 
 The above law is perfectly clear and just: The children 
 share equally in paternal property; whereas a mother's dowry 
 can be divided between her own children only, but none of it 
 may be given to step-children. 
 
 168. 
 
 If a man decide to thrust out [disinherit] 
 his son, and say to the judge, "I will thrust out my 
 son;" then the judge shall examine into his reasons, 
 and if the son have no grievous fault, which justifies 
 his being thrust out, the son may not be cut off from 
 sonship. 
 
The Codes of Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 169. 
 
 ,/ If he have committed a grave fault, which may 
 / justify the father in cutting him off from sonship, 
 Vfie shall pardon the first offense; but if he have com- 
 mitted a grave fault the secOnd time, the father may 
 deprive him of sonship. 
 
 170. 
 
 If a man's wife bear him children, or his maid- 
 servant bear him children, and the father during his 
 lifetime say to the children whom his maid-servant 
 has borne him, "My children," and count them with 
 the children of his wife, after the death of the father, 
 the children of his wife and those of his maid-servant 
 shall share equally in the goods of the father's 
 house. The children of the wife have to divide and 
 to choose. 
 
 The probable meaning of the last clause is, that the chil- 
 dren of the first wife have the first choice in case of dispute, 
 when the final distribution of property is made. 
 
 171. 
 
 If the father during his lifetime have not said 
 to the children, whom the maid-servant has borne 
 him, "My children," after the father dies, the chil- 
 dren of the maid-servant shall not share with those 
 of the wife. The maid-servant and her children 
 shall be given their freedom, the children of the wife 
 may have no claim for servitude upon the children of 
 
 76 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 the maid-servant. The wife shall receive her dowry 
 and the marriage portion which her husband gave 
 and deeded her, and she shall remain in the house 
 of her husband as long as she lives, and shall enjoy 
 [the properly left her]. She can not sell it for 
 money. What she leaves belongs to her children. 
 
 Though a Hebrew father might give gifts to the children 
 of concubines (Gen, 25 :6), it seems that they had not the right 
 to any inheritance from the father's estate. (Gen. 24:36; 
 Judg. II :2.) 
 
 172. 
 
 If her husband have not given her a gift, they 
 shall restore her dowry, and she shall receive from 
 the property of her husband a share equal to that 
 of a son. If her sons worry her, so as to drive her 
 out of the house, then the judge shall inquire into 
 the matter, and if the sons be to blame, the wife 
 shall not leave her husband's house, but if the wife 
 be determined to leave the house, she must leave 
 to her sons the gift which her husband gave her, 
 but the present from her father she may take. She 
 may marry the man of her heart [choice]. 
 
 173. 
 
 If that woman bear children to her second hus- 
 band in the place whither she went, and then die, 
 the former and the later children shall share her 
 dowry. 
 
 77 
 
The Codes of Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 174. 
 
 If she bear no children to her second hus- 
 band, the children of her first husband shall have her 
 
 dowry. 
 
 175. 
 
 If a slave of the palace, or a slave of a freedman, 
 
 take to wife the daughter of a freeman and beget 
 
 children, the master of the slave shall have no claim 
 
 for service upon the children of this free woman. 
 
 It is not always possible in Assyrian any more than in 
 Hebrew to draw a clear-cut distinction between the words 
 rendered slave and servant There were evidently several 
 grades of slaves among all the Semitic peoples. "The Mosaic 
 law contrasts most favorably with the laws of contemporary 
 nations in its humanity towards slaves." As in Babylonia, so 
 in Israel too, slaves or servants were allowed to marry the 
 daughters of freemen. We read in I Chron. 2:35, that She- 
 shan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant to wife. Abra- 
 ham, too, was pained at the thought of the possibility of having 
 to leave all his property to Eliezer, his chief servant. (Gen. 
 15 :2.) 
 
 176. 
 
 If a slave of the palace, or a slave of a freedman, 
 
 take to wife the daughter of a freeman [gentleman, 
 
 Johns], and if, when he marries her, she enter the 
 
 house of the slave of the palace or the slave of a 
 
 freedman with a dowry from her father's house, 
 
 and from the time they set up housekeeping and 
 
 acquire property; if later on the slave of the palace 
 
 or the slave of the freedman die, then she who was 
 
 free-born may receive her dowry, and all which she 
 
 78 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 and her husband had acquired since they were united 
 together shall be divided into two equal parts; the 
 owner of the slave shall take one part, and the free- 
 born woman shall take the other for her children. 
 If the free-born woman had no dowry, she shall 
 divide into two equal parts all that she and her hus- 
 band had acquired since their being united together; 
 the owner of the slave shall receive one-half, and the 
 free-born woman shall take the other for hef chil- 
 dren. 
 
 We have the following provision in Hebrew legislation: 
 
 If he [a slave] come in by himself, he shall go out 
 by himself; if he be married, then his wife shall go 
 out with him. If his master give him a wife, and she 
 bear him sons or daughters ; the wife and her children 
 shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. 
 (Ex. 21 :3f.) 
 
 177. 
 
 If a widow, whose children are minors, desire 
 to enter another house [remarry], she shall 
 not do so without the consent of the judges. 
 If she enter into another house, the judges shall 
 examine into that left by her former husband, and 
 they may give over the house of the former husband 
 to the new husband and that woman, to be man- 
 aged by them, and they [the judges] shall cause 
 them to draw up a contract. They shall keep the 
 house in order, and bring up the children, but may 
 
 79 
 
The Codes oE Hammurabi and MosES. 
 
 not sell the household goods for money. Whoever 
 may buy the household goods of a widow's chil- 
 dren shall forfeit his money, and the goods shall 
 revert to their owners. 
 
 178. 
 If [there be] a votary or a sacred prostitute [one 
 connected with some temple] to whom her father 
 has given a dowry and a deed for the same, but have 
 not stated in the deed, which he has drawn up for 
 her, that she may bequeath her estate to whomso- 
 ever she please, and have not explicitly granted her 
 full power for disposing of it ; if her father die, her 
 brothers shall take her field and her garden, and they 
 shall give her grain, oil, and wool according to the 
 value of her portion, they shall satisfy her. If her 
 brothers do not give her grain, oil, and wool accord- 
 ing to the value of her portion, and do not satisfy 
 her, she may give her field and garden to a renter, 
 whom she may select, and this renter shall support 
 her. Field and garden, and all which her father 
 gave her, she shall enjoy as long as she lives. She 
 may not sell or transfer it to any other. What she 
 has inherited belongs to her brothers. 
 
 179. 
 
 If a votary or sacred prostitute, to whom her 
 father has given a dowry and a deed for the same, 
 
 80 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 and has stated in the deed that she may bequeath 
 her estate to whomsoever she please, and have 
 granted her full powers to dispose of it; after her 
 father dies, she may bequeath her estate to whom- 
 soever she please. Her brothers have no claim 
 
 thereto. 
 
 1 80. 
 If a father do not give his daughter — marriage- 
 able or sacred prostitute [therefore unable to marry] 
 — a dowry, and then die, she shall receive from the 
 paternal estate a share like that of a son, to enjoy it 
 as long as she lives. .After her [death] it belongs 
 
 to her brothers. 
 
 181. 
 
 If a father devote a temple-maid or temple- 
 virgin to a god, and give her no dowry, after the 
 death of her father she shall receive from the estate 
 of her father as her share, one-third of a son's por- 
 tion, to enjoy it as long as she lives. After her it 
 belongs to her brothers. 
 
 The exact meaning of the words rendered above temple- 
 maid and temple-virgin is not known. Harper translates the 
 first "devotee" and transliterates the second Nu-par. Johns 
 has, votary, hierodule, or Nu-bar. We have followed Scheil's 
 rendering. The section evidently refers to two different 
 classes of women consecrated to the temple service. (See no.) 
 
 182. 
 
 If a father do not give his daughter, a votary of 
 Marduk of Babylon, a dowry and a deed for the 
 fi 81 
 
Th^ Codes o^ Hammurabi and MosES. 
 
 same, after her father dies she shall receive from her 
 brothers, as her share of the paternal estate, one- 
 third of a son's portion ; but she shall not have the 
 management of this. A votary of Marduk may be- 
 queath her estate to whomsoever she please. 
 
 183. 
 
 If a man give his daughter by a concubine a 
 dowry, and give her to a husband, and a written 
 deed [regarding the dowry] ; if then the father die, 
 she shall not have a share of her father's estate. 
 
 184. 
 
 If a man give his daughter by a concubine no 
 dowry, and do not give her to a husband ; if then the 
 father die, her brothers shall give her a dowry ac- 
 cording to the property of her father, and they shall 
 give her a husband. 
 
 185. 
 
 If a man take a child in his name, adopt and rear 
 him as a son, this grown-up son may not be de- 
 manded back. 
 
 There is no reference in the Hebrew law to immediate 
 adoption, though it is morally certain that where the interests 
 of orphans were so protected as they were in Israel, the prac- 
 tice of adopting children must have obtained. What might be 
 construed as regular adoptions are the cases of Moses by 
 Pharaoh's daughter (Ex. 2:10); Genubath (i Kings 11:20); 
 and that of Esther by Mordecai (Esth. 2:7). These, however, 
 are all exceptional cases. St. Paul, no less than five times, 
 
 82 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 uses the term adoption in his epistles, to denote the privilege 
 of sonship, bestowed by our Heavenly Father upon His chil- 
 dren. It is quite uncertain whether he bases his figure upon 
 Hebrew or Gentile practice. In the absence of data, we may 
 conclude that the Babylonians possessed more legislation con- 
 cerning adoption than did the Israelites. 
 
 186. 
 
 If a man ^o^a child as his son, and after he 
 has taken him, he transgress against his foster- 
 father ; that adopted son shall return to the house of 
 his own father. 
 
 The above differs from both Johns and Harper. Johns 
 renders the second clause : "when he took him, his father and 
 mother rebelled." 
 
 187. 
 
 The son of Ner-se-ga in the palace service, or 
 
 the son of a prostitute can not be demanded back. 
 
 It is quite uncertain what the term Ner-se-ga means, but 
 probably is the appellation given to some officer connected 
 with the royal palace. 
 
 188. 
 
 If an artisan adopt a child and teach him his 
 trade, no one can demand him back. 
 
 189. 
 
 If he have not taught him a trade, the adopted 
 child may return to his father's house. 
 
 190. 
 
 If a man do not treat as one of his own sons the 
 child whom he has adopted as a son and reared, 
 that adopted son may return to his father's house. 
 
 8 5 
 
The Codes oe Hammurabi and MosES. 
 
 191. 
 
 If a man, who has adopted a son and brought 
 him up, found his own house, and have children 
 after the adoption of the former, and set his face 
 to thrust out the adopted son, that son shall not 
 simply go his way, his foster-father shall give him 
 one-third the share of a son, then he may go. He 
 shall not give him of the field, garden, or house. 
 
 19a. 
 
 If the son of a Ner-se-ga, or a sacred prostitute, 
 say to a foster father or mother, "Thou art not my 
 father," "Thou art not my mother," one shall cut 
 out his tongue. 
 
 193. 
 
 If the son of a Ner-se-ga, or a sacred prostitute, 
 
 long for his father's house, and run away from his 
 
 foster-father and foster-mother and go back to his 
 
 father's house, one shall pluck out his eye. 
 
 Instead of "'run away/' both Harper and Johns have 
 "hate[d] the father that brought him up." The putting out 
 of an eye was not known in Israel as the penalty for violating 
 any law, but rather as retaliation, "eye for an eye." (Sec Num. 
 16 :i4 ; Judg. 16 :4i ; 2 Kings 25 7.) 
 
 194. 
 
 If a man give his child to a wet nurse, and that 
 child die on her hands, and the wet nurse, without 
 the knowledge of the father and the mother, substi- 
 
 84 
 
The Hammurabi Cods. 
 
 tute another child, one shall charge her with having 
 nursed another child, and because she procured an- 
 other child without the knowledge of father or 
 mother, one shall cut ofif her breast. 
 
 195. 
 
 If a son strike his father, one shall cut off his 
 
 hands. 
 
 The Hebrew law was still more severe : 
 
 He that striketh his father or his mother shall 
 surely be put to death. (Ex. 21 :i5.) 
 
 Even the cursing of a parent was punishable with death. 
 (Ex. 21 :i7; Lev. 20:9.) So was also disobedience and rebel- 
 lion. (Deut. 21 :i8ff.) 
 
 196. 
 
 ■^ If a man destroy the eye of another man, one 
 
 shall destroy his eye. 
 
 Here we have precisely the same law as in Israel, the 
 well-known "Lex Talionis," common without doubt to all the 
 Semitic peoples. 
 
 Thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for 
 tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burn- 
 ing, wound for wound, strike for strike. (Ex. 21 : 
 24, 25. See also Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21.) 
 
 We see the extension of this famous law in many indi- 
 rect ways : The tongue guilty of insolence and impudence was 
 cut ofl ( 192) ; the breasts of the nurse who practiced deception 
 were cut, so that she could deceive no more (194) ; and even 
 the hands of the unsuccessful surgeon were cut off, so that 
 he could do no more damage in his profession (218). 
 
 8=; 
 
The Codes of Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 197. 
 
 If any one break a man's bone, one shall break 
 
 his bone. 
 
 198. 
 
 If he destroy the eye of a freedman, or break 
 the bones of a freedman, he shall pay one mina of 
 silver. 
 
 199. 
 
 If he destroy the eye of a man's slave, or break 
 the bone of a man's slave, he shall pay one-half his 
 value. 
 
 Here again we see that Hebrew legislation contrasted 
 most favorably with that of ancient Babylonia, where the 
 slave was regarded as a mere chattel or piece of property, 
 and not as a man deserving consideration and humane treat- 
 ment. The reader can not but notice the general tone of kind- 
 ness in the following Hebrew law : 
 
 If a man smite the eye of his servant or the eye of 
 his maid, and destroy it, he shall let him go free for his 
 eye's sake ; if he smite out his man servant's tooth, he 
 shall let him go free for his tooth's sake. (Ex. 21 : 
 
 26f.) 
 
 Such a law as the above would make the master exceed- 
 ingly careful in the treatment of his slave. 
 
 200. 
 
 If a man knock out the teeth of a man who is his 
 equal in rank, one shall knock out his teeth. 
 See above notes under 196. 
 
 86 
 
The Hammurabi Cods. 
 
 201. 
 
 If he knock out the teeth of a freedman, he shall 
 pay one-third mina of silver. 
 
 202. 
 
 If a man strike a man of higher rank than him- 
 self, one shall give him sixty strokes with a cow- 
 hide whip in public. 
 
 It seems that public whipping was practiced in Israel 
 too, as in the case of the husband who falsely accused his 
 wife or betrothed of unchastity. (Deut. 22:18.) Some kind 
 of fornication was likewise punished with public whipping. 
 (Lev. 19:20.) 
 
 203. 
 
 If a free-born man strikes a man of his own rank, 
 he shall pay one mina of silver. 
 
 204. 
 
 If a freeman strike a freeman, he shall pay ten 
 
 shekels of silver. 
 
 205. 
 
 If the slave of a freeman strike a freeman, one 
 
 shall cut off his ear. 
 
 206. 
 
 If one man strike another in a quarrel and wound 
 him, he shall swear, "I did not strike him intention- 
 ally," and he shall pay the physician. 
 
 There is a great similarity between the above law and the 
 Mosaic legislation on the same subject. The Hebrew law 
 reads : 
 
 87 
 
This Codes of Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 If men strive together and one smite another with 
 a stone or with his fist, and he die not, but he keepeth 
 his bed, if he rise again and walk about upon his staff, 
 then shall he that smote him be quit ; only he shall pay 
 for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thor- 
 oughly healed. (Ex. 21 :i8f.) 
 
 The above section and several of the following ones relate 
 to physicians and the fees paid them. We have no direct 
 parallels in the Hebrew law, though there can be no doubt 
 that Israel, too, had a class of men who practiced the healing 
 art. This is clearly implied from the language of the law 
 quoted above, for the clause, "he shall cause him to be thor- 
 oughly healed," can have no other meaning than that the 
 smiter is responsible for the surgeon's bill in full. We read 
 in 2 Chron. 16:12, that Asa, who was troubled with some 
 disease of the feet, sought not to Jehovah, but to physicians. 
 Some diseases, like leprosy, were healed by the priest. In our 
 Savior's time physicians must have been numerous. (See 
 Luke 8:43.) 
 
 207. 
 
 If the man die of his wounds, he shall likewise 
 
 swear, and if he [the victim] be a free-born man, 
 
 he shall pay one-half mina of silver. 
 
 The Hebrew law inflicted the extreme penalty, which 
 goes to show the high regard in which human life was held 
 by the Hebrews. The law reads : 
 
 He that smiteth a man so that he die, shall surely 
 be put to death. (Ex. 21 :i2.) 
 
 208. 
 
 If he be a freedman, he shall pay one-third mina 
 of silver. 
 
 88 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 The Hebrew law concerning the killing of servants was 
 as follows : 
 
 And if the man smite his servant, or his maid, with 
 a rod, and he die under his hand, he shall surely be 
 punished. (Ex. 21 :20.) 
 
 209. 
 
 If a man strike a free-born woman, and produce 
 a miscarriage, he shall pay ten shekels of silver for 
 the loss [of that in her womb]. 
 
 The Hebrews, too, had their law for such a case. It reads: 
 
 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so 
 that the fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief 
 follow, he shall be surely punished, according as the 
 woman's husband will lay upon him, and he shall pay 
 as the judge determine. (Ex. 21 :22.) 
 
 3IO. 
 
 If that woman die, one shall put his daughter to 
 death. 
 
 This is an extreme application of the lex talionis: daugh- 
 ter for daughter. The Hebrew law also inflicted the death 
 penalty, but not on the innocent child of the perpetrator, but 
 direct on the guilty himself. The Hebrew law reads : 
 
 And" if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give 
 life for life, etc. (Ex, 21:23!) 
 
 If a free-born woman suffer miscarriage on ac- 
 count of having been struck by a man, he shall pay 
 five shekels of silver. 
 
 8q 
 
Th^ Codks op Hammurabi and MosES. 
 
 312. 
 
 If that woman die, he shall pay one-half mina of 
 
 silver. 
 
 313. 
 
 If a man strike the maid-servant of a freeman, 
 
 and thus produce a miscarriage, he shall pay two 
 
 shekels of silver. 
 
 314. 
 
 If that maid-servant die, he shall pay one-third 
 mina of silver. 
 
 The reader can not but be impressed with the scale of 
 damages in the above cases, everything depending upon the 
 rank of the woman injured or killed. We notice the same 
 thing in the next few sections, which relate to the pay awarded 
 physicians in successful cases, and the fines imposed when the 
 operations were not successful. (See also 25 iff.) 
 
 /■ 215. 
 
 If a physician treat a man for a severe wound 
 
 f 
 
 with a bronze knife and heal the man, or if he open 
 
 an abscess [near the eye] with a bronze knife, and 
 
 save the eye, he shall receive ten shekels of silver. 
 
 The exact nature of these operations can only be guessed 
 at. Cook suggests that the word na-gab-ti, translated abscess 
 by both Johns and Harper, should be rendered film; ». e., 
 cataract. • 
 
 316. 
 
 If he (the patient) be a freedman, he shall re- 
 ceive five shekels. 
 
 317. 
 
 If it be a man's slave, his owner shall pay the 
 physician two shekels of silver. 
 
 90 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 218. 
 
 / If a physician treat a man for a severe wound 
 with a bronze knife and kill him, or if he open an 
 abscess [near the eye] and destroy the eye, one shall 
 cut off his hands. 
 
 One peculiar offense was punished by the Hebrews, too, 
 ^by cutting off the hand. (See Deut. 2S:iif.) 
 
 219. 
 
 If a physician treat the slave of a freeman for 
 
 a severe wound with a bronze knife, and kill him, 
 
 he must replace the slave with another [of course 
 
 of equal value]. 
 
 220. 
 
 If he open an abscess [near the eye] with a 
 bronze knife, and destroy the eye, he shall pay one- 
 half what the slave was worth. 
 
 221. 
 
 If a physician heal the broken limb of a man, or 
 
 cure his diseased bowels, the patient shall pay five 
 
 shekels of silver. 
 
 The Assyrian word rendered "diseased bowels" in the 
 above section, means, according to Winckler, soft parts of the 
 body as distinguished from bones. 
 
 222. 
 
 If he be a freedman, he shall pay three shekels 
 of silver. 
 
 QI 
 
The Codes oe Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 323. 
 
 If he be a slave, his owner shall pay the physician 
 two shekels of silver. 
 
 334. 
 
 If a cow-doctor or an ass-doctor treat a cow or 
 
 an ass for a severe wound, and cure the animal, the 
 
 owner shall pay the doctor one-sixth of a shekel of 
 
 silver as fee. 
 
 335. 
 
 If he treat a cow or ass for a severe wound, and 
 
 kill it, he shall pay the owner one-fourth its valiie. 
 
 336. 
 
 If a brander, without the knowledge of the owner 
 of a slave, brand a slave with the mark of a slave, 
 who can not be sold, the hands of that brander shall 
 be cut oflf. 
 
 Winckler renders gallabum barber, or shearer. The He- 
 brew word gallab is also translated barber. It is possible that 
 barbers practiced surgery on a small scale, as they do to this 
 day in Bible lands. 
 
 337. 
 
 If a man deceive a brander and cause him to 
 brand a slave with the mark of a slave who can not 
 be sold, he shall be put to death and buried in his 
 own house, but the brander shall swear, "I did 'not 
 brand him wittingly;" then he may go free. 
 
 92 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 If a builder build a house for any one and finish 
 it, he shall be paid two shekels of silver for each 
 SAR of surface. 
 
 A sar, according to the best authorities, was about eighteen 
 square yards. 
 
 229. 
 
 If a builder build a house for any one and do\ 
 not build it solid ; and the house, which he has built, ( 
 fall down and kill the owner ; one shall put that / 
 builder to death. 
 
 Hebrew legislation oflfers no exact parallel, though the 
 following belongs to the same class of laws : 
 
 When thou buildest a new house, then shalt thou 
 make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not 
 blood upon thy house, if any man fall from thence. 
 (Deut. 22:8.) 
 
 A prohibition of similar import is found in Ex. 22 :33f. 
 
 330. 
 
 If it kill a son of the owner of the house, one 
 shall put to death the son of the builder. 
 
 A literal execution of the lex talionis, son for son. (See 
 remarks under 116.) 
 
 331. 
 
 If it kill a slave of the owner of the house, he 
 shall give the owner of that house another slave. 
 
 Q^ 
 
The Codes op Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 If it destroy any property, he shall compensate 
 for all that it destroyed, and because he did not build 
 the house solid, and because it fell down, he shall 
 rebuild the house from his own goods [i. e., at his 
 own expense] . 
 
 ^33- 
 
 If a builder build a house for any one, and have 
 
 not entirely completed the work ; if the wall become 
 
 rickety, the builder shall strengthen that walL at his 
 
 own expense. 
 
 Harper renders the second clause : "and do not make its 
 construction meet the requirements, and a wall fall in." 
 
 334. 
 
 If a boat-builder build a boat of sixty gur for 
 
 any one, he shall pay him two shekels of silver as 
 
 pay. 
 
 Johns rendering is very different : "If a boatman has 
 navigated a ship," etc. A gur is supposed to have been about 
 five hundred pounds, or a little over eight bushels. 
 
 335- 
 
 If a boat-builder build a boat for a man, and 
 do not make it tight [seaworthy] ; if in that same 
 year the boat be sent on a trip, and be damaged, the 
 boat-builder shall rebuild that boat, and make it 
 strong at his own expense, he shall give the recon- 
 structed boat to the owner. 
 
Thb Hammurabi Coog. 
 
 236. 
 
 If a man let his boat to a boatman, and the boat- 
 man act carelessly, and wreck or sink that boat, the 
 boatman shall give the owner of the boat another 
 one as compensation. 
 
 237- 
 
 If a man hire a boatman and his boat and load 
 it with grain, clothing [wool?], oil, dates, or any- 
 freight whatever; if that boatman be careless and 
 wreck that boat, and lose the cargo, the boatman, 
 who wrecked that boat and lost the cargo, shall 
 replace the boat, and all the cargo he caused to be 
 
 lost. 
 
 238. 
 
 If a boatman wreck another man's boat, but re- 
 float it, he shall pay the half of its value in silver. 
 
 239- 
 
 If a man hire a boatman, he shall pay him six 
 GUR of grain per year. 
 
 Six GUR would be about fifty bushels. Thus the pay- 
 ment for such services would be about one bushel a week, or 
 at present price of wheat, one dollar, about fifteen cents a day, 
 counting holidays. 
 
 240. 
 
 If a boat run against another boat at anchor 
 and sink it, the owner of the sunken boat shall de- 
 clare before God [in open court] the extent of his 
 
The Codes of Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 loss ; the owner of the boat, which ran down the one 
 
 at anchor shall make reparation for the boat and all 
 
 that was lost. 
 
 It is impossible to say whether boats of different sizes are 
 intended. It seems, however, from 275 and 276, where the 
 same terms are employed, that one boat was larger than the 
 other. At any rate the hire or rent paid for their use differed 
 quite a little. (See these sections.) 
 
 241. 
 
 If a man take an ox on distraint, he shall pay 
 one-third mina of silver. 
 
 Winckler reads : "If a man take an ox for forced labor." 
 The reference is to the custom of mortgaging, or rather of 
 foreclosing a mortgage, for debt. To take a poor man's ox, 
 would be to rob him of the very thing which enabled him 
 to make a living so as to support himself and family. There 
 is a passage in Job which recalls this barbarous custom : 
 
 They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take 
 the widow's ox for a pledge. (Job 24 :3.) 
 
 It was forbidden by Hebrew law for a creditor to take 
 the garment of a poor man over night, or to take the little 
 hand-mill which was daily used for grinding corn. (Deut. 
 24:6, I2ff.) The necessity for such legislation becomes evi- 
 dent on readirig passages like Job 22 ;6 ; Prov. 22 127, and 
 Amos. 2 :8. 
 
 243. 
 
 If a man hire [an ox] for one year, he shall pay 
 the owner four Gur of grain for a working ox. 
 
 243. 
 
 As pay for an ox of the herd, he shall pay three 
 GUR of grain. 
 
 96 
 
Ths Hammurabi Code. 
 
 This section is a puzzle. Johns renders : "If a milch-cow 
 he shall give three gur of corn to its owner." Harper has 
 "ox (?)." 
 
 244. 
 
 If a man hire an ox or an ass, and a lion kill 
 
 it in the field, the owner shall bear the loss. 
 
 We have the following parallel in Ex. 22:13: 
 
 If it [a beast] be torn in pieces, let him bring it for 
 a witness : he shall not make good that which was torn. 
 
 345- 
 
 i/' 
 
 If a man hire an ox and by neglect, or bad treat- 
 ment, kill it, he shall give its owner another ox of 
 like value in its place. 
 
 The Hebrew law offers an almost exact parallel to Sections 
 245-249. It reads: 
 
 And if a man borrow aught of his neighbor, and 
 it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof not being with it, 
 he shall surely make restitution. If the owner thereof 
 be with it, he shall not make it good ; if it be an hired 
 thing, it came for its hire. (Ex. 22:i4f. See 263.) 
 
 246. 
 
 If a man hire an ox, and he break its leg or cut 
 
 off the muscles of its neck [ham-string, Harper] , 
 
 he shall give its owner an ox of like value in its 
 
 place. 
 
 347. 
 
 If a man hire an ox and destroy its eye, he shall 
 
 pay its owner one-half of its value. 
 
 7 97 
 
The Codes oe Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 248. 
 
 If a man hire an ox and break off its horn, or 
 cut off its tail, or injure its nostrils, he shall pay 
 one-quarter of its value. 
 
 349. 
 
 If a man hire an ox, and a god strike it, and it 
 die, the man who hired it shall swear before God [in 
 open court] and he shall be acquitted. 
 
 See note under 244. 
 
 ^^-^ ' 250. 
 
 If an ox, while passing through the streets 
 [market], gore and kill a man, this case is not sub- 
 ject to litigation. 
 
 The Hebrew is more severe. It runs thus : 
 
 And if an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die, 
 the ox shall be surely stoned, and its flesh shall not be 
 eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit. (Ex. 
 V^i :28.) 
 
 251. 
 
 If a man's ox were known to gore, and he had 
 
 been notified that it was a gorer, and he have not 
 
 wound up its horns, and have not shut it up, and 
 
 the ox gore a free-born man, and kill him, he shall 
 
 pay one-half mina of silver. 
 
 The Hebrew law is much more severe, showing dearly 
 \ that a higher value was set upon life in Israel than in Baby- 
 lonia. We read : 
 
 98 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 But if the ox were wont to, gore in time past, and 
 it hath been testified to its owner, and he hath not kept 
 him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman : the 
 ox shall be stoned and his owner also shall be put to 
 death. (Ex. 21 -.2^.) 
 
 35a. 
 
 If it kill the slave of a man, he [the owner] shall 
 
 pay one-third mina of silver. 
 
 The penalty or fine, unless the price of silver varied, was 
 considerably higher in Israel. The Hebrew reads thus : 
 
 If the ox gore a man-servant or a maid-servant ; he 
 shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, 
 and the ox shall be stoned. (Ex. 21 :32.) 
 
 Notice the last clause especially. 
 
 353- 
 
 If a man hire a man to tend his field [farm], 
 furnish him seed, intrust him with oxen, and engage 
 him to cultivate the field ; if he steal grain or plants, 
 and they be found in his hand», one shall cut off his 
 hands. 
 
 354- 
 
 If he take the seed-grain, and do not work the 
 oxen, he shall replace the quantity of grain received 
 for sowing. 
 
 We have given Winckler's translation. Both Harper and 
 Johns give a very different rendering. The former has : "If 
 he take the seed-grain and overwork the oxen, he shall restore 
 the quantity of grain which he has hoed." Johns has : "If he 
 has taken the seed, worn out the oxen, from the seed which 
 he has hoed he shall restore." 
 
 QQ 
 
The CoDies oif Hammurabi akd Mosfis. 
 
 ass- 
 
 If he sublet the oxen of the man, or steal the 
 
 seed-grain, and do not cultivate the field, he shall 
 
 be indicted, and shall pay sixty GUR of grain per 
 
 ten CAN. 
 
 Winckler has : "for one hundred gan he shall pay sixty 
 gur of grain." 
 
 256. 
 
 If his community be not able to pay for him, he 
 
 shall be left with the cattle on the field. 
 
 Both Harper and Johns render the above differently. We 
 subjoin Harper's translation: "If he be not able to meet his 
 obligation, they shall leave him in that field with the cattle." 
 Winckler, in a note, says that the community was responsible 
 for the individual. The section is very obscure. 
 
 357. 
 
 If a man hire a field-laborer, he shall pay eight 
 GUR of grain per year. 
 
 258. 
 If a man hire an ox-driver, he shall pay him six 
 GUR of grain a year. 
 
 359. 
 If a man steal a water-wheel [a machine for irri- 
 gation], from a field, he shall pay the owner five 
 
 shekels of silver. 
 
 260. 
 
 If he steal a watering-bucket or a plow, he shall 
 pay three shekels of silver. 
 
 100 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 361. 
 
 If a man hire a shepherd to pasture cattle or 
 sheep, he shall pay him eight gur of grain a year. 
 
 262. 
 
 If a man, an ox or a sheep to . . . [the in- 
 scription is defective here and can not be read] . 
 
 263. 
 
 If he lose an ox or sheep intrusted to him, he 
 shall compensate the owner, ox for ox, sheep for 
 sheep. 
 
 We have the following in Hebrew legislation : 
 
 If a man deliver unto his neighbor an ass, or an 
 ox, or a sheep, or any beast to keep ; and it die, or be 
 hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it, the oath of the 
 Lord shall be between them both, whether he hath not 
 put his hand unto his neighbor's goods ; and the owner 
 thereof shall accept it, and he shall not make restitu- 
 tion. But if it be stolen from him, he shall make 
 restitution unto the owner thereof. If it be torn in 
 pieces, let him bring it for witness ; he shall not make 
 good that which was torn. And if a man borrow aught 
 of his neighbor, and it be hurt, or die, the owner 
 thereof not being with it, he shall surely make resti- 
 tution. If the owner thereof be with it, he shall not 
 make it good; if it be an hired thing, it came for its 
 hire. (Ex. 22:10-15.) 
 
 264. 
 
 If a shepherd to whose care cattle or sheep have 
 been intrusted, who received his wages according 
 
The Codes oe Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 .'to the stipulated pay, allow the number of cattle or 
 sheep to decrease, or lessen the increase by birth, he 
 shall make good the increase and produce according 
 
 , to the wording of his contract. 
 
 265. 
 
 If a shepherd to whom cows and sheep have 
 been given to pasture act fraudulently, or make false 
 returns regarding the increase, or sell them for 
 money, he shall be indicted, and shall render to their 
 owner oxen and sheep tenfold for what he has 
 stolen. 
 
 Hebrew legislation offers the following parallel: 
 
 If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, 
 or sell it; he shall pay five oxen for an ox and four 
 sheep for a sheep. ... If the theft be found in 
 his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep ; he 
 shall pay double. (Ex. 22:1 and 4.) 
 
 In case the thief had nothing wherewith to pay, he might 
 be made a slave. (See Gen. 44:17.) 
 
 266. 
 
 If a stroke df God [any accident] happen in a 
 stable, or a lion kill it [any beast], the shepherd shall 
 declare his innocence before God, and the owner of 
 the stable shall suffer the loss. 
 
 367. 
 
 If a shepherd overlook anything, and an acci- 
 dent take place in a stable, the shepherd shall make 
 
 102 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 good in cattle or sheep the damage for which he is 
 
 at fault, and give to the owner. 
 
 Nearly the same law is enforced among the Bedouins to 
 this day. (See Ex. 22:12, and remarks under 263 and 265.) 
 
 368. 
 
 If a man hire an ox to thresh, the pay is twenty 
 
 KA of grain. 
 
 269. 
 
 If a man hire an ass to thresh, the pay is twenty 
 
 K,A of grain. 
 
 Both Harper and Johns have ten ka for twenty. 
 
 270. 
 
 If a man hire a young animal to thresh, the pay 
 
 is ten KA of grain. 
 
 Lalit, rendered young animal in this section, may be a 
 young calf or goat. Both Harper and Johns have one ka 
 for ten. 
 
 371. 
 
 If a man hire oxen, cart and driver, he shall pay 
 one hundred and eighty ka of grain a day. 
 
 373. 
 
 If a man hire a cart only, he shall pay forty ka 
 
 of grain a day. 
 
 373. 
 
 If a man hire a laborer from new year to the fifth 
 
 month [April to August], he shall pay six SE of 
 
 silver a day; from the sixth month to the end of 
 
 10^ 
 
The Cod^s o? Hammurabi and Mos:es. 
 
 the year [September to April] he shall pay five se 
 
 of silver a day. 
 
 The stele is so mutilated here that it is not possible to 
 read the inscription with any degree of accuracy. We sub- 
 join the section as given by Johns : 
 
 374. 
 
 If a man shall hire an artisan, — 
 
 (a) the hire of a , five SB of silver, 
 
 (b) the hire of a brickmaker, five SE of 
 
 silver, 
 
 (c) the hire of a tailor, five SE of silver, 
 
 (d) the hire of a stone-cutter, SS- of 
 
 silver, 
 
 (e) the hire of a , SE of silver, 
 
 (f ) the hire of a , s:e of silver, 
 
 (g) the hire of a carpenter, four SE of silver, 
 
 (h) the hire of a , four SE of silver, 
 
 (i) the hire of a SE of silver, 
 
 (j) the hire of a builder, SE of silver, — 
 
 per diem he shall give. 
 
 Here Johns enumerates five kinds of mechanics, or just 
 one-half what was on the stele when first written. Harper 
 gives four, and omits six. Enough, however, is given to show 
 that skilled mechanics received between four and five sE per 
 day. There were 180 SE in a shekel : thus five sE would be 
 1/3S of a shekel. If a shekel was equal to about sixty-five 
 cents in our money. It will be seen that wages were excessively 
 low; and yet the intrinsic value of the money must be dis- 
 tinguished from its purchasing power. Thus, if the wages 
 of a mechanic were not quite two cents a day, no doubt wheat 
 and other products were sold at very low prices. 
 
 104 
 
The Hammurabi Code. 
 
 375. 
 
 If a man hire a , its hire shall be three St 
 
 of silver a day. 
 
 Owing to the mutilated condition of the text, the exact 
 kind of boat can only be a matter of conjecture. 
 
 376. 
 
 If a man hire a row-boat, he shall pay two and 
 
 a half SE of silver per day. 
 
 Here again the kind of boat is very uncertain. Both Scheil 
 and Johns have "a fast ship;" Harper has "sail-boat." (See 
 remarks under 240.) 
 
 377. 
 
 If a man hire a boat of sixty GUR, he shall pay 
 one-sixth shekel per day as its hire. 
 
 378. 
 If a man buy a male slave or a female slave, and, 
 before a month has elapsed, the slave be attacked 
 by the bennu sickness, he shall bring back the slave 
 to the seller, and the buyer shall get back the money 
 he paid. 
 
 The word bennu has puzzled translators. Scheil suggests 
 paralysis. Harper has "bennu fever." 
 
 379. 
 
 If a man buy a male slave or a female slave, and 
 another claim the same, the seller has to satisfy the 
 claim. 
 
 TOC 
 
The Codes of Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 280. 
 
 If a man buy in a foreign country a male slave 
 
 or a female slave, and he return to his own land, and 
 
 the former owner of this male slave or female slave 
 
 recognize the same, if the male slave or female slave 
 
 be a native of the country, he shall give them back 
 
 without compensation in money. 
 
 Both Harper and Johns translate the last clause quite 
 differently : "He shall grant them their freedom without money 
 (price)." 
 
 281. 
 
 If they be natives of another country, the buyer 
 
 shall declare before God [in open court] the sum 
 
 of money he paid for them, and the former owner 
 
 of the male slave or female slave shall give to the 
 
 merchant the money paid for them, and he [the 
 
 former owner] shall recover his male or his female 
 
 slave. 
 
 282. 
 
 If a slave say to his master, "Thou art not my 
 
 master," if his master shall prove him to be his slave, 
 
 he may cut off his ear. 
 
 106 
 
Epilogue. 
 
 The just laws, which Hammurabi, the wise king, estab- 
 lished. He taught the land a just law and a pious statute. 
 Hammurabi, the protecting king, am I. I have not withdrawn 
 myself. I have not been neglectful of the Black-haired people 
 which Bel presented me, whose rule Marduk gave me. I pro- 
 cured for them a peaceful habitation. I opened up steep 
 passes. I made the light to shine upon them. With the mighty 
 weapons which Zamama and Ishtar' delivered to me, with the 
 keenness of vision which Ea endowed me, with the wisdom 
 which Marduk bestowed upon me, I have exterminated the 
 enemy above and below [north and south], subdued the earth, 
 brought well-being to the land, caused the inhabitants to dwell 
 securely and I tolerated no disturber of their rest. 
 
 The great gods called me, and I am the salvation-bringing 
 shepherd [ruler], whose scepter is straight [righteous], and 
 whose good protection extends over my city. In my breast 
 I cherish the inhabitants of Sumer and Akkad; in my pro- 
 tection have I caused them to rest in peace ; in my wisdom 
 have I hidden them. That the strong might not injure the 
 weak, and that the widow and the orphan might be safe, I 
 have in Babylon, the city of Anu and Bel, who raised her high 
 head [towers] in E-sa-gi-la, the temple whose foundations 
 are firm as the heavens and the earth, in order to administer 
 justice in the land, to decide disputes, to heal injuries, my 
 precious words written upon my monument, before my image 
 as king of righteousness have I set up. 
 
 The king, who towers up among city-kings am I. My 
 words ha ve been wel l considere d, my wi sdom i s beyond co m- 
 p areTBy the com mand ot tihamash, the great judge of heave n 
 and earth, may nghteousness ansT oviiT^ ^Jaai^ By tfie 
 order ot Mariduk, my Lord, let no damage be done to my 
 
 1 Ishtar was the daughter of Anu. 
 
 I07 
 
Thb Codes op Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 monument. In E-sa-gi-la, which I love, let my name be re- 
 membered forever. Let the oppressed, who has a lawsuit, 
 come before my image as king of righteousness. Let him 
 read the inscription on my monument, and understand my 
 precious words. Let my inscription throw light upon his case, 
 and may he discover his rights, and let his heart be made glad : 
 so that he may say: Hammurabi is a Lord, who is a father 
 to his subj ects : he has obtained reverence for the words of 
 Marduk: he has achieved victory for Marduk above and 
 below [north and south]. He rejoices the heart of Marduk; 
 his Lord, he has brought happiness to his subjects forever, 
 and has given order to the land. When he reads the document, 
 let him pray out of a full heart, before Marduk, my Lord, and 
 Zarpanit [Marduk's consort], my Lady: then shall the tutelary 
 deities and the gods who enter E-sa-gi-Ia graciously recommend 
 his thoughts every day to Marduk, my Lord, and to Zarpanit, 
 my Lady. 
 
 For the future, always and forevermore: may the king, 
 who is in the land observe the words of righteousness, which 
 I have inscribed upon my monument, let him not alter the 
 law of the land, which I have given, or the decisions which 
 I have rendered, and let him not injure [deface] my monu- 
 ment." If such a prince have wisdom and be able to maintain 
 order in his land, let him observe the words which I have in- 
 scribed on this monument; for this inscription will show him 
 the rule of conduct, the statutes, the laws of the land which 
 I have given, and the decisions which I have rendered. He 
 shall rule his subjects according to them; he shall administer 
 law to them, render decisions, and he shall exterminate the 
 wicked and criminals out of his land, and grant prosperity to 
 his subjects. 
 
 Hammurabi, the king ofjightggusness jtjjj^^ligin^h^^ 
 has_gran]^iOi3teflil§aess^-*^ ^^y words are well consid- 
 ered; my deeds are beyond compare, to bring low (?) the 
 high, to humble the proud, and to drive out insolence. 
 
 If that prince heed my words which I have written upon 
 
 •This, unfortunately, is the very thing: which after the lapse of a^es 
 some conqueror did. Had Hammurabi's wishes been complied with, we 
 should to-day have about thirty-five more sections of the original code. 
 
 io8 
 
Epii<ogue. 
 
 my monument, do not injure [efface] my law, do not change 
 my words, nor alter my inscription : t hen may, Sh amash pro- 
 l ong his rule as he has mi n e ,_ [whR.am ]_ the_king_of ri^h^^^ 
 ness. that he may rule his, subjects , in rigl},|^ou^^s. If that 
 prmce pay no attention to my words, which I have written 
 in my inscription, if he despise my curses, and fear not the 
 curse of God, as well as the law I have given, change my 
 words, and alter my inscription, efface my name [from the 
 monument], and write his own name thereon; or, fearing 
 the curses, may commission another to do so, that man, be 
 he king or Lord, patesi [ruler of the priestly class] or com- 
 moner, or whatsoever he may be, may the great god [Anu], 
 the father of the gods, who has decreed my reign, withdraw 
 from him the glory of his kingdom, break in pieces his scepter, 
 and curse his destiny. 
 
 May Bel, the Lord who decides destiny, whose command 
 is immutable, who has made my kingdom great, order against 
 him a rebellion which his hand can not control. May he 
 cause the wind (?) of his destruction to blow against his 
 habitation; may he ordain, as his destiny, years of groaning 
 in his kingdom, shortness of life, years of famine, darkness 
 without light, a death visible to his eyes. May he decree by 
 his omnipotent command [mouth] the destruction of his city, 
 the dispersion of his subjects, the cutting off of his dominion, 
 and the obliteration of his name and memory from the land. 
 
 May Belit [consort of Bel], the grta.t mother, whose com- 
 mand is powerful in Ekur [Bel's temple at Nippur], the lady 
 who hearkens graciously to my wishes, frustrate his plans 
 before Bel at the place of judgment and of decision. May she 
 put in the mouth of Bel, the king, the devastation of his land, 
 the annihilation of his subjects, and the pouring out of his 
 life as water. 
 
 May Ea, the great prince, whose decrees govern destiny, 
 have precedence; may Ea, the leader of the gods, who is 
 omniscient, who prolongs the days of my life, deprive him of 
 understanding and wisdom, lead him into forgetfulness, dam 
 up his streams at their sources, and not allow grain, the life 
 of man, to grow in his land. 
 
 May Shamash, the great judge of heaven and earth, thei 
 supporter of every living thing, the lord of [living] courage,' 
 
 109 
 
The Codes o^ Hammurabi and Moses. 
 
 (Shatter his kingdom; may he not execute his laws, destroy 
 [his path, undo the march of his troops; may he give him, in 
 jhis visions, evil premonitions, foreboding the extirpation of 
 the very foundations of his kingdom and the destruction of 
 lis land. May the judgments of Shamash overtake him 
 quickly above [on earth] among the living, and may he deprive 
 [lis spirit of water down below the earth. 
 
 May Sin, the lord of heaven, the great father, whose sickle 
 shines among the gods, deprive him of his crown and royal 
 throne, impose upon him grievous guilt, the great transgres- 
 sion which will not leave him ; may he finish the days, months, 
 years of his reign in sighs and tears; may he increase the 
 burdens of his dominion; may he inflict upon him life that is 
 like unto death. 
 
 May Adad, the god of storms, the lord of fertility, the 
 prince of heaven and earth, my helper, withhold from him 
 rain from the sky, the floods of water in their springs; may 
 he destroy his land by famine and want, rage furiously over 
 his city, and make his land a heap.' 
 
 May Zamama, the great warrior, the first-bom son of 
 Ekur, who marches at my right hand break in pieces his armor 
 on the battlefield, turn his day into night, and give his enemy 
 victory over him. 
 
 May Ishtar, the lady [goddess] of battle and combat, 
 who loosens my weapons, my gracious protecting deity, who 
 loves my reign, in her angry heart, in her great wrath, curse 
 his kingdom, turn his good into evil, and shatter his weapcms 
 on the field of battle and combat; may she create disorder 
 and uproar for him, strike down his warriors, that the ground 
 may drink their blood ; may she throw down in large numbers 
 the bodies of his warriors on the [battle] field; may she not 
 grant him a life of mercy, but deliver him into the hands of 
 his enemies, and bring him captive into the land of his enemies. 
 
 May Nergal, the mighty one among the gods, who is 
 irresistible in battle, who grants me victory, in his great power 
 burn up his subjects like a slender reed-stock, cut off his limb 
 with a mighty weapon, and shatter him like an earthen image. 
 
 •Winckler renders the word Sintfiuthiigeln ; i. c, heaps or mounds 
 caused by vast floods, as by the Noachian Deluge, Harper renders the 
 same word " heap left by a whirlwind." 
 
 IIO 
 
Epilogue. 
 
 May Nintu, the daughter of Anu, the exalted mistress 
 of countries, the child-bearing mother, deny him a son; may 
 she not grant him a name; may she give him no progeny 
 upon the earth. 
 
 May Nin-karak, the daughter of Anu, who promises me 
 mercy in Ekur, cause upon his members grievous diseases, 
 violent fevers, bad wounds which can not be healed, the nature 
 of which are not known to the physicians, which he can not 
 treat with bandages, wrhich, like the bite of death, can not be 
 removed till they destroy his life; may he lament the loss of 
 his vital powers. 
 
 May the great gods of heaven and earth, all the Anunnaki, 
 bring a curse and an evil upon the outskirts of the temple, 
 the walls of this E-barra, and upon his reign, his land, his 
 warriors, his subjects, and his troops. 
 
 May Bel curse him with a powerful curse from his mouth, 
 which is irrevocable, and may it overtake him speedily. 
 
 Ill 
 
List of Authorities Consulted in the Prep- 
 aration of this Work. 
 
 V. Scheil. Delegation en Perse. Memoires publics sous 
 la direction de M. de Morgan, d616gu6 general. Tome IV. 
 Textes Elamites-Semitiques. Paris, 1902. 
 
 Hugo Winckler. Die Gesetze Hammurabis, Konig von 
 Babylon. Third edition. Leipzig, 1903. 
 
 Johannes Jeremias. Moses und Hammurabi. Leipzig, 
 1903. 
 
 D. S. Oettli. Das Gesetz Hammurabi und die Thora 
 Israels. Leipzig, 1903. 
 
 C. H. W. Johns. The Oldest Code of Laws m the World. 
 Edinburgh, 1903. 
 
 S. A. Cook. The Laws of Moses and the Code of Ham- 
 murabi. London, 1903. 
 
 R. F. Harper. The Code of Hammurabi. Chicago, 1903. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 l|he numbers refer to the section In the Code. 
 
 Abatement of rent, 45, 46; interest, 48. 
 
 Accidental loss caused by storm, 45, 48. 
 
 Adjournment of court to produce witness, 13. 
 
 Adoption of a child, 185-193. 
 
 Adultery, a capital crime punished by drowning, 129; husband 
 may pardon his wife, 129; king may pardon his servant, 
 129; wife suspected of adultery, 131, 132. 
 
 Agents. Laws governing agents in their relation to their 
 employers, 100-107. 
 
 Alimony of a divorced wife, 137. 
 
 Assault of freeman upon freeman, 202, 203; of a poor man 
 upon a poor man, 204 ; of a freeman by a slave, 206 ; upon 
 a pregnant woman, 209, 211, 213; upon a pregnant woman 
 resulting in her death, 210, 212, 214. (See Fines, Retali- 
 ation.) 
 
 Backbiting, 161. 
 
 Betrothal. Present made to the bride's father, 159-161 ; be- 
 trothed maiden lived in her father's house, 130. 
 
 Bigamy of woman, punished with death, 133; but sometimes 
 condoned, 134. 
 
 Bigamy of men, allowed if wife be barren, 145; or an in- 
 valid, 148; first wife may return to her father's house, 149. 
 
 Boats, 234-240 ; stealing a boat, 8 ; pay for building, 234 ; dam- 
 ages for collision, 240; boatman's pay, 239; wreck, 235, 
 236. 
 
 Bond, 7, 9, 10, 120-124. (See Breach of Contract.) 
 
 Branding, for slander, 127; slaves, 226, 227. 
 
 Brawling, in liquor shops, 109. 
 
 Breach of contract, by renter, 42, 44, 256 ; by gardener, 62, 63, 
 6s ; by those engaged to be married, 159-161. 
 
 Breasts, cut oflf, 194. 
 
 Bribes, 4. 
 
General Index. 
 
 Brothel. (See Prostitutes.) 
 Builders, laws governing, 228-233; of boats, 234. 
 Burning as punishment, thief at fire, 25; of votary in certain 
 cases, no; mother and son for incest, i57- 
 
 Capital punishment, inflicted for witchcraft, i, 2; intimidating 
 witness, 3 ; perj ury, 3 ; theft of sacred property, 6 ; receiv- 
 ing stolen property, 6, 10, 11; illegal business with slave, 
 7; selling stolen or lost property, 8, 9; kidnaping, 14; 
 aiding slaves to flee, 15; concealing fugitive slaves, 16; 
 detaining captured slaves, 19 ; housebreaking, 21 ; highway 
 robbery, 22; theft at fire, 25; for neglect of official duty, 
 26; for sending substitutes, 26; stealing the government 
 taxes, 33; oppressing subordinates, 34; dishonesty of a 
 ■wine-shop keeper, 108; allowing seditious assemblies, 109; 
 a votary entering a liquor-shop, no; adultery of a certain 
 kind, 129; rape of a betrothed maiden, 130; wife of a cap- 
 tive husband in certain cases, 133 ; gadding and gossiping 
 wife, 143; wife who helps or plans for the murder of her 
 husband, 153 ; for carnal intercourse with one's daughter- 
 in-law, 155; incest of mother and son, 157; causing the 
 death of a pregnant woman, 210; for getting a slave il- 
 legally branded, 227; for building an insecure house, 229, 
 230. (See also Burning, Droviming, and Impalement.) 
 
 Captives, 133, 280. 
 
 Carriers, laws governing, 112. 
 
 Changeling, foisted on parents, 194. 
 
 Children of second marriages, 13s, 166; share at father's death, 
 165; of different mothers, 167; of maid-servants, 171, i; 
 slave and free mother, 175. 
 
 Collision of boats, 240. 
 
 Commission of agents, 100-105. 
 
 Concubine, rights of divorced, 137, 144, 145 ; inferior to wife, 
 14s ; claims on father's estate at his death, 183, 184. 
 
 Conjugal rights, 142. 
 
 Corn land, cultivation of, 62. 
 
 Courtship, 159-161. 
 
 Crops, assigned for debt, 49, 50, 51; damages based on, 42-44, 
 55-58, 62, 65. 
 
 Cutting down trees, 59. 
 
 116 
 
General Index. 
 
 Damages, for breach of contract, 42, 44. 
 
 Daughter, can not inherit her father's office, 38; may share in 
 the division of property, 36, 180-182; may be sold into 
 service, 117; unmarried daughter may receive special gifts, 
 178. 
 
 Death penalty. (See Capital Punishment.) 
 
 Debt, may be canceled or lessened on account of drought, 48; 
 law governing collection of, 113; paid by service, 115-117; 
 treatment of those serving for, 116, 117; contracted before 
 marriage, 151. 
 
 Defamation of character, 127, 161. 
 
 Deposits, laws governing, 7, 122, 124, 125. 
 
 Desertion, of wife by her husband, 133, 136; of husband by 
 wife, 133, 141-143 ; of adopted parents, 193. 
 
 Disinheritance of a son, 159, 168. 
 
 Distraint, for debt, 114-116; not allowed in certain cases, 114, 
 120 ; working ox could not be taken, 241. 
 
 Devotee, or sacred prostitute (see prostitute) ; may not enter 
 liquor-shop, no; may not be slandered, 127; may receive 
 a dowry, 178 ; may receive part of the paternal estate, 180 ; 
 she may not bequeath property, 180, 181 ; may be a priestess 
 of Marduk, 182. 
 
 Divorce, of wife by her husband, 137-140; money paid divorced 
 wife, 137, 139, 140; bad wife may be drowned, 143; sick- 
 ness no ground for divorce, 148. (See, too, 141, 149.) 
 
 Doctor, fees of, 215-223 ; malpractice by, 218-220 ; ass or cow 
 doctor, 224, 225. 
 
 Dowry, 137, 138; refunded, 142, 149, 156; of wife goes to chil- 
 dren at her death, 162 ; if no children, reverts to her father, 
 163, 164. 
 
 Drowning, the penalty for certain kind of adultery, 129; for 
 incest with son's wife, 155; for negligent wife, 143; for 
 violation of liquor-laws, 109; for deserting husband while 
 he is away from home, 133. (See Capital punishment.) 
 
 Dyke, laws governing, 53. ' 
 
 Ear, cutting off the, 205, 282. 
 Exile for incest, 154. 
 
 117 
 
Generai^ Index. 
 
 Eye, torn out as penalty, 193; loss by assault, 196, 198, 199; 
 disease of the, 215 ; fees for treating, 215-217 ; malpractice, 
 218, 220. 
 
 False accusation, I, 2, 127, 131. 
 
 False claims, 10, 11, 13, 106, 107, 126. 
 
 Fatal assault, 207, 208. 
 
 Favorite son, may receive special gift from father in addition 
 to his regular portion, 165; from mother, 150. 
 
 Fees, for medical aid, 215, 216, 221-223; for treating oxen or 
 sheep, 224; for building a house, 228; for storage, 121. 
 
 Fines, for illegal restraint, 114; for seduction of a daughter- 
 in-law, 156; for assault and battery, 203, 204; for fatal 
 assault, 207, 208; for assault upon a pregnant woman, re- 
 sulting in miscarriage, 209, 211, 213; resulting in death, 
 212, 214; for causing death of ox or sheep, 225; for taking 
 an ox by distraint, 241 ; for mutilating hired ox, 248 ; for 
 death caused by a goring ox, 251, 252; for stealing com, 
 etc., 25s; for stealing a watering-wheel, 259; for stealing 
 other objects, 260. 
 
 Fire, theft at, 25. 
 
 Floods, caused by storms, 45, 46, 48 ; caused by not caring for 
 dykes, 53-56. 
 
 Forfeits, in cases of unlawful sales, 35, ZT, 41, I77; for failure 
 to cultivate orchard or land, 42-44, 62, 63 ; for taking one's 
 goods illegally, 113; in case of extreme cruelty, 116. 
 
 Foster-mother, duties, etc., 194. 
 
 Fugitive slaves, laws concerning, 16-20; aiding to escape or 
 detaining, punished with death, 15, 16, 19. 
 
 Gan. (See Table of Weights and Measure.) 
 
 Goring by ox, 250-252. 
 
 Granary, laws regarding, 113, 120, 121. 
 
 Hands cut off, for striking one's father, 195; for malpractice, 
 218; for branding slaves, 226. 
 
 Highway robbery, 22-24. 
 
 Hire, paid in grain, to a boatman, 239; reaper, 257; thresher, 
 258 ; shepherd, 261 ; for a draught ox, 242 ; milch cow, 
 243; ass, 269; calf, 270; oxen and cart, 271 ; cart alone, 272; 
 118 
 
General Index. 
 
 paid in silver, laborers of various kinds, 273, 274; for boat, 
 275-277. 
 House-breaking, 21, 125. 
 
 Identification of stolen or lost property, 9-13; of slave, 18, 
 
 280-282. 
 Impalement, one mode of death penalty, 153. 
 Incest, laws relating to, 154-158. 
 
 Inheritance, laws concerning, 150, 162, 163, 165-184, 191. 
 Interest, 49-51, 100; remitted, 48. 
 Intimidation of witnesses, 3. 
 Irrigation, laws concerning, 53-56; damages in case of loss 
 
 caused by, 52, 56. 
 
 Judges, duties of, 13, 127, 168, 169, 172, 177; punished for alter- 
 ing a decision, 5. 
 
 Kidnaping, punishable with death, 14. 
 
 Lease of field or garden, 42, 44, 60, 64; lessee's duties and pen- 
 alties, 42-47, 60-64. 
 
 Libel, of votary or devotee, 127; of wife, 132; of a fiance, 161. 
 
 Lion, spoken of, 244, 266. 
 
 Liquor laws, 108-111. 
 
 Loss, of crops, 45; by stealing, 125; by revolt, 125; by hired 
 animals, 226, 244, 245, 249, 266. 
 
 Lying, 10-12. 
 
 Maid, or female slave, may be given by a childless wife to her 
 husband, 144; the position of such a maid inferior, 146; 
 may not be sold if she have borne children, 146; children 
 of such maids, 170, 171. 
 
 Manslaughter, penalty for, 116, 206-208, 210, 212, 214, 218, 219. 
 
 Marriage portion, given by father (see Dowry) ; given by 
 bridegroom to bride, 150, 171, 172. 
 
 Merchants and agents, 100-107. 
 
 Merchants as money lenders, 49, 116, 118, 119; must accept 
 grain as payment, 49; must remit part of interest when 
 season is bad, 48; subject to certain laws, 113-119. 
 
 Minors, laws regarding, 7, 14, 29, 136, 166, 177, 186-191. 
 
 Miscarriage, 209, 211, 213. 
 
 119 
 
General Index. 
 
 Money. (See Table at the end.) 
 
 Mortgage, 49, 50, 118, 119. 
 
 Mother, when she may be custodian of children, 29, 144; may 
 will or deed property, 150; her dowry reverts to children, 
 167, 173-175 ; burnt to death for incest, 157. 
 
 Mutilation, as punishment — ear cut off, 205, 282; eye p'.ucked 
 out, 193 ; breast cut off, 194 ; fingers cut off, 19s, 218, 226, 
 253; slanderers branded, 127; slaves branded, 226, 227; 
 punishment for mutilating animals, 246-248. 
 
 Negligence, of duty punished with death, 26; of farmers 
 to attend to their fields, 42-44, 47; of dykes, 53, 55, 
 56 ; of rented gardens, 61-63, 65 ; of common carrier, 
 112; of builders, 229-233; of boatmen, 235-237, 240; of 
 animals by shepherds, etc., 245, 263, 264, 267 ; of goring ox, 
 251, 252. 
 
 Oaths, witnesses were sworn, 9; various oaths for purgation, 
 20, 103, 131, 206, 207, 227, 249, 266; for losses of different 
 kinds, 23, 103, 126, 240, 249. 
 
 Officials, duties of, 26-31, 33-35 ; the ransom of, 32. 
 
 Ordeal, 2, 132. 
 
 Oxen, laws relating to, 241-255, 268, 271. 
 
 Penalty remitted, 129. 
 
 Perjury, 3, 4, 9-13, 106, 107. 
 
 Pregnant woman, 209-214. 
 
 Priestess, 182. (See Devotee and Prostitute.) 
 
 Prostitute, no, 127, 178-182, 192, 193. 
 
 Ransom of officials, 32. 
 
 Rape, punished by death, 130, 155 ; by fine, 156. 
 
 Receipts, required of minors or slaves, 7; given to agents, 
 
 104-107; given to depositors, 120, 122-126. 
 Receiving stolen property or goods punished by death, 6, 8, 10. 
 Recovery of stoJen property, laws relating to the, 9, 10, 17, 18, 
 
 23, 263. 
 Redemption, iig. ^ 
 
 Remarriage of a woman, 136, 137, 172-174, 177. 
 Rents. (See Lease.) 
 
 120 
 
General Index. 
 
 Repudiating of parents, 192. 
 
 Restitution, simple, 9, 10, 12; slave for slave, 219, 231; goods 
 for goods, 232; animal for animal, 24s, 246, 263, 265, 267 
 (see also 235-240); threefold, 106; fivefold, 112; sixfold, 
 107 ; tenfold, 8, 265 ; twelvefold, S ; thirty-fold, 5. 
 
 Retaliation, limb for limb, 196, 197, 200; blow for blow, 202; 
 child for child, 116, 210, 230; servant for servant, 219, 231 ; 
 hfe for life, 229. (See also i-S, and 11, 13.) 
 
 Risks, of landlords and tenants, 45, 46, 48, 52 ; of common car- 
 riers, 112; of merchants and storage men, 103, 120, 125. 
 
 Robbery or theft, 22, 23. 
 
 Scourging with ox-hide whip, 202. 
 
 Seduction. (See Rape.) 
 
 Separation of husband and wife, 136-142. 
 
 Slave, may make contracts under certain limitations, 7; pun- 
 ishment for seducing from his master, 15; laws relating 
 to fugitive, 16-20; may be let out to pay off debt, 118; may 
 marry a free woman, 175 ; children of such marriages free, 
 17s; the value of the eye or limb of a, 199; may be 
 branded, 226, 227 ; native may not be sold to foreign lands, 
 280. 
 
 Stolen goods, sale or purchase of the same as theft, 10. 
 
 Storage. (See Deposits.) 
 
 Surgeon. (See Doctor.) 
 
 Sworn depositions. (See Oaths.) 
 
 Tablets, used for deeds and contracts, 37, 48. 
 
 Temple property, held specially sacred, 6, 8. 
 
 Theft, laws relating to, from the king or the temple, 6, 8, 33, 
 
 34; ordinary theft, 9, 125, 253, 255, 259, 260; punished by 
 
 death, 10, 14, 19, 22, 25, 33. 
 Tongue cut out, 192. 
 Treason, 109. 
 
 Veterinary doctor, 224, 225. 
 
 Votary. (See Devotee and Priestess.) 
 
 Wages. (See Hire.) 
 
 Weights. (See Table at the end.) 
 
 121 
 
General Index. 
 
 Widow, laws relating to, 171-177. 
 
 Wife, laws relating to, 127-129, 131-14S, 148-151 ; impaled for 
 causing the death of her husband, 153. 
 
 Wine-seller. (See Liquor Laws, 108-in.) 
 
 Witchcraft, laws relating to, i, 2. 
 
 Witness, intimidation of, 3 ; bribing of, 4 ; indispensable in cer- 
 tain transactions, 7, 9-13, 123, 124; time given to hunt 
 up, 13. 
 
 122 
 
INDEX OF BIBLICAL PASSAGES. 
 
 Genesis. 
 
 Exodus. 
 
 
 SECTION. 
 
 
 SBCTION. 
 
 15:2 
 
 174 
 
 21 : 29 
 
 251 
 
 16: Iff 
 
 146 
 
 21 :32 
 
 252 
 
 24:4 
 
 155 
 
 21:33 
 
 56 
 
 24:36 
 
 171 
 
 22: Iff 
 
 8,26s 
 
 24:53 
 
 159 
 
 22 : 2 
 
 6 
 
 25:6 
 
 171 
 
 22 : 2, 3 
 
 21 
 
 29:34 
 
 144 
 
 22 : 5 
 
 57. 59. "6 
 
 30: Iff 
 
 146 
 
 22 : 6 
 
 56 
 
 30:20 
 
 144. 
 
 22 : 7-10 
 
 120, 125 
 
 31 : 14-16 
 
 137 
 
 22 : 9 
 
 12, 112 
 
 31 :32 
 
 6 
 
 22 : 10-15 
 
 263 
 
 38:6 
 
 155 
 
 22 : II 
 
 126 
 
 44:17 
 
 265 
 
 22 : 12 
 
 267 
 
 48:19 
 
 16S 
 
 22: 13 
 
 244 
 
 2 : 10 
 20:5 
 
 Exodus. 
 
 i8S 
 116 
 
 22 : 18 
 
 22 : 25 
 
 23 :6-S 
 23:8 
 
 I 
 
 49 
 5 
 4 
 
 21 : 2f 
 21 :3f 
 21:8 
 
 49. 117 
 176 
 
 147 
 
 34 : 7 "6 
 Leviticus. 
 
 21 : 7-11 
 
 119 
 
 6:2-5 
 
 12 
 
 21 : 12 
 
 207 
 
 6:2-7 
 
 112, 122 
 
 21 : 15, 17 
 
 195 
 
 16 : 14 
 
 193 
 
 21 : 16 
 
 14 
 
 18 : 7, 8 
 
 158 
 
 21 : i8f 
 
 206 
 
 19:20 
 
 202 
 
 21 : 20 
 
 208 
 
 19 : 23-25 
 
 60 
 
 21 : 22 
 
 209, 252 
 
 19 : 26-31 
 
 I 
 
 21 : 23f 
 
 210 
 
 20 : 9 
 
 195 
 
 21 : 24, 25 
 
 196 
 
 20 : 10 
 
 129 
 
 21 : 26f 
 
 199 
 
 20: II 
 
 158 
 
 21 :28 
 
 250 
 
 12 
 
 20 : 12 
 
 155 
 
Index of Biblical Passages. 
 
 
 Leviticus. 
 
 
 Deuteronomy. 
 
 
 
 SECTION. 
 
 
 
 SECTION. 
 
 20 
 
 14 
 
 1 10, 157 
 
 24 
 
 14 
 
 42 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 I 
 
 24 
 
 : 16 
 
 116 
 
 21 
 
 9 
 
 1 10, 157 
 
 25 
 
 I If 
 
 218 
 
 22 
 
 7,8 
 
 125 
 
 26 
 
 2 
 
 60 
 
 24 
 
 20 
 
 196 
 
 
 
 Joshua. 
 
 25 
 
 39 
 
 16 
 
 2 : 
 
 Iff 
 
 108 
 
 25 
 
 44 
 
 16 
 
 7 
 
 25 
 
 6, 157 
 
 
 Numbers. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Judges. 
 
 5 
 
 11-31 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 12-28 
 
 132 
 
 II 
 
 2 
 
 171 
 
 16 
 
 14 
 
 193 
 
 16 
 
 41 
 
 193 
 
 27 
 
 i-ii 
 
 39 
 
 
 
 Ruth. 
 
 
 Deuteronomy. 
 
 4 
 
 2ff 
 
 7 
 
 15 
 
 1-6 
 
 49 
 
 
 
 I Samuei,. 
 
 15 
 
 12 
 
 117 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 I3ff 
 
 117 
 
 8 
 
 14 
 
 26 
 
 19 
 
 16-19 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 2 Samuei,. 
 
 19 
 
 21 
 
 196 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 20 
 
 5-9 
 
 26 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 I9f 
 
 59 
 
 
 
 I Kings. 
 
 21 
 
 1-9 
 
 24 
 
 I 
 
 11-13 i6s 
 
 21 
 
 14 
 
 116 
 
 2 
 
 39ff 
 
 18 
 
 21 
 
 isff 
 
 165 
 
 8 
 
 31 
 
 126 
 
 21 
 
 i8ff 
 
 195 
 
 II 
 
 : 20 
 
 185 
 
 21 
 
 24 
 
 119 
 
 21 
 
 7 
 
 26 
 
 22 
 
 8 
 
 202, 229 
 
 
 
 2 Kings. 
 
 22 
 
 18 
 
 202 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 49 
 
 22 
 
 19 
 
 131 
 
 14 
 
 9 
 
 15S 
 
 22 
 
 22 
 
 129 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 7 
 
 193 
 
 22 
 
 25 
 
 130 
 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 28 
 
 130 
 
 
 I 
 
 Chronici,es. 
 
 22 
 
 28,29 
 
 156 
 
 2 
 
 35 
 
 175 
 
 23 
 
 I5f 
 
 16 
 
 27 
 
 25-3 
 
 c 35 
 
 23 
 24 
 
 19-20 
 Iff 
 
 49 
 137 
 
 
 2 
 
 Chronicles. 
 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 26 
 
 16 
 
 12 
 
 206 
 
 24 
 
 6-12 
 
 241 
 
 
 
 Nehemiah. 
 
 24 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 5 
 
 • sf 
 
 49 
 
 124 
 
Index of Biblical Passages. 
 
 
 Esther. 
 
 EzEBaEL. 
 
 
 SBCTION. 
 
 SBCTIOM 
 
 2:7 
 
 185 
 
 22 : 12 5 
 
 9:13 
 
 116 
 
 46 : 16-18 26 
 
 
 Job. 
 
 Daniei,. 
 
 22 : 6 
 
 241 
 
 6 : 25 117 
 
 24:3 
 
 241 
 
 Hosea. 
 
 
 PSAtMS. 
 
 Chapters I and II 129 
 
 109 : 18 
 
 2 
 
 Amos. 
 
 
 Proverbs. 
 
 2:8 245 
 
 6:1 
 
 8 
 
 5:12 5 
 
 6 : 27-29 
 
 2 
 
 Matthew. 
 
 22:27 
 
 HI 
 
 25 : 27ff 49 
 
 
 Isaiah. 
 
 Luke. 
 
 1:23 
 
 5 
 
 8 : 43 206 
 
 50:1 
 
 49 
 
 19:8 8 
 
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 
 
 Th£ subject of weights and measures is one of great 
 difficulty, and the farther we go back in the history of the 
 world the harder it becomes to speak with any degree of 
 certainty. We begin with the shekel (of silver) : 
 Shekel=i8o she, or grains of wheat. 
 Mina=6o shekels. 
 
 There was a heavy as well as a light Babylonian weight. 
 According to the heavy weight, a shekel would be equal to a 
 little, over 252 Troy grains, and the light weight just exactly 
 one-half. We must always be mindful of these double and 
 single standards. 
 
 According to Dr. R. F. Harper, the following Babylonian 
 terms to denote weight or measure may be expressed in Eng- 
 lish as follows : 
 
 Ka=one liter, or about 990 grams. 
 
 Gur=300 Ka, or about 500 pounds, or a little more than 
 8 bushels of wheat. 
 
 Gan and Sar are surface measures. 
 Sar=about 18 square yards. 
 Gan=i,8oo Sar, or 63 acres. 
 
 126 
 
i 
 
 
 ,{1 
 
 iii 
 
 P 
 
 iiJl 
 
 i 
 
 Hill 
 
 iiiii; 
 
 lliiii 
 
 m 
 
 M 
 ill 
 
 m 
 
 uai 
 
 11 
 
 ml 5 m 
 
 I 
 
 I