Biblical Law Ancient Near Eastern Parallels

Hammurabi’s Code Material - Polished Black Diorite Pillar Old Babylonian Approx Date: 1790 BC Height: 2.26 m ( inches) Width: 2 feet Depth: 1.5 feet Text: Cuneiform Babylon, Iraq Excavated in ancient Susa (Shushan) by French Archaeologists Location: Louvre Museum, France

This shining black diorite pillar called the Hammurabi Stele, was discovered in 1901 at the acropolis of ancient Susa by a French archaeological expedition under M. J. de Morgan. The stele is decorated with a bas-relief of Hammurabi being commissioned by the sun god Shamash to inscribe the laws. The code contains nearly 4,000 lines of text containing around 282 laws, a historical prologue, and a literary and religious epilogue. Hammurabi was the king of Babylon around 1800 BC and a contemporary of Abraham, the first Hebrew and he is identified by scholars as the "Amraphel" of the Bible (Genesis 14) who was one of the kings who captured Abraham's nephew Lot. The discovery of the Hammurabi Stele was one of the most important discoveries in Biblical Archaeology. It is an original document from the time of Abraham, bearing testimony of a highly advanced system of law and a remarkably advanced time period.

King Hammurabi וַיְהִי בִּימֵי אַמְרָפֶל מֶלֶךְ שִׁנְעָר אַרְיוֹךְ מֶלֶךְ אֶלָּסָר כְּדָרְלָעֹמֶר מֶלֶךְ עֵילָם וְתִדְעָל מֶלֶךְ גּוֹיִם: (בראשית יד:א)

The upper portion of the famous Law Code Stele of Hammurabi (above) shows Hammurabi standing before the sun god Shamash, the god of justice.

Cuneiform Script Akkadian Language

Death Penalty 3. If a citizen commits perjury before the city assembly in a case involving the death penalty, then the sentence is death. דברים פרק יט (טז) כִּי יָקוּם עֵד חָמָס בְּאִישׁ לַעֲנוֹת בּוֹ סָרָה: (יז) וְעָמְדוּ שְׁנֵי הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר לָהֶם הָרִיב לִפְנֵי יְדֹוָד לִפְנֵי הַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַשֹּׁפְטִים אֲשֶׁר יִהְיוּ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם: (יח) וְדָרְשׁוּ הַשֹּׁפְטִים הֵיטֵב וְהִנֵּה עֵד שֶׁקֶר הָעֵד שֶׁקֶר עָנָה בְאָחִיו: (יט) וַעֲשִׂיתֶם לוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר זָמַם לַעֲשׂוֹת לְאָחִיו וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרָע מִקִּרְבֶּךָ: (כ) וְהַנִּשְׁאָרִים יִשְׁמְעוּ וְיִרָאוּ וְלֹא יֹסִפוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת עוֹד כַּדָּבָר הָרָע הַזֶּה בְּקִרְבֶּךָ: (כא) וְלֹא תָחוֹס עֵינֶךָ נֶפֶשׁ בְּנֶפֶשׁ עַיִן בְּעַיִן שֵׁן בְּשֵׁן יָד בְּיָד רֶגֶל בְּרָגֶל:

Death Penalty If a citizen kidnaps and sells a member of another citizen’s household into slavery, then the sentence is death. דברים פרק כד:ז כִּי יִמָּצֵא אִישׁ גֹּנֵב נֶפֶשׁ מֵאֶחָיו מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהִתְעַמֶּר בּוֹ וּמְכָרוֹ וּמֵת הַגַּנָּב הַהוּא וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרָע מִקִּרְבֶּךָ:

Monetary Law 94. If bankers use a light scale to measure the grain or the silver that they lend and a heavy scale to measure the grain or the silver that they collect then they shall forfeit their investment. דברים פרק כה (יג) לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ בְּכִיסְךָ אֶבֶן וָאָבֶן גְּדוֹלָה וּקְטַנָּה: (יד) לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ בְּבֵיתְךָ אֵיפָה וְאֵיפָה גְּדוֹלָה וּקְטַנָּה: (טו) אֶבֶן שְׁלֵמָה וָצֶדֶק יִהְיֶה לָּךְ אֵיפָה שְׁלֵמָה וָצֶדֶק יִהְיֶה לָּךְ לְמַעַן יַאֲרִיכוּ יָמֶיךָ עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר יְדֹוָד אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ:

Slavery 15. If a citizen helps state slaves or household salves to escape then the sentence is death. 16. If a citizen harbors slaves who have run away from the state or from a household, and if the citizen disobeys a court order to extradite them, then the sentence is death. 17. If any one find runaway male or female slaves in the open country and bring them to their masters, the master of the slaves shall pay him two shekels of silver. 18. If the slave will not give the name of the master, the finder shall bring him to the palace; a further investigation must follow, and the slave shall be returned to his master. 19. If he hold the slaves in his house, and they are caught there, he shall be put to death. 20. If the slave that he caught run away from him, then shall he swear to the owners of the slave, and he is free of all blame. דברים פרק כג (טז) לֹא תַסְגִּיר עֶבֶד אֶל אֲדֹנָיו אֲשֶׁר יִנָּצֵל אֵלֶיךָ מֵעִם אֲדֹנָיו: (יז) עִמְּךָ יֵשֵׁב בְּקִרְבְּךָ בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר בְּאַחַד שְׁעָרֶיךָ בַּטּוֹב לוֹ לֹא תּוֹנֶנּוּ:

Slavery If a slave say to his master: "You are not my master," if they convict him his master shall cut off his ear. דברים פרק טו (טז) וְהָיָה כִּי יֹאמַר אֵלֶיךָ לֹא אֵצֵא מֵעִמָּךְ כִּי אֲהֵבְךָ וְאֶת בֵּיתֶךָ כִּי טוֹב לוֹ עִמָּךְ: (יז) וְלָקַחְתָּ אֶת הַמַּרְצֵעַ וְנָתַתָּה בְאָזְנוֹ וּבַדֶּלֶת וְהָיָה לְךָ עֶבֶד עוֹלָם וְאַף לַאֲמָתְךָ תַּעֲשֶׂה כֵּן:

Why the Ear? תוספתא מסכת בבא קמא (ליברמן) פרק ז הלכה ה ורצע אדניו את אזנו במרצע וכי מה נשתנה אזן לרצע מכל איברין לפי ששמעה מהר סיני כי לי בני ישראל עבדים ופרק ממנו עול שמים והמליך עליו עול בשר ודם לפיכך אמ' הכת' תבוא אזן ותרצע שלא שמרה מה ששמעה

Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 As recently as 1850, U.S. Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Law. Only four congressmen voted against the measure. The law stated that in future any federal marshal who did not arrest an alleged runaway slave could be fined $1,000. People suspected of being a runaway slave could be arrested without warrant and turned over to a claimant on nothing more than his sworn testimony of ownership. A suspected black slave could not ask for a jury trial nor testify on his or her behalf. Any person aiding a runaway slave by providing shelter, food or any other form of assistance was liable to six months' imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. Those officers capturing a fugitive slave were entitled to a fee and this encouraged some officers to kidnap free black people and sell them to slave-owners.

Vicarious Punishment 229 If a builder build a house for some one, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built fall in and kill its owner, then that builder shall be put to death If it kill the son of the owner the son of that builder shall be put to death. דברים פרק כד (טז) לֹא יוּמְתוּ אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים וּבָנִים לֹא יוּמְתוּ עַל אָבוֹת אִישׁ בְּחֶטְאוֹ יוּמָתוּ:

Law in Action מלכים ב פרק יב (כא) וַיָּקֻמוּ עֲבָדָיו וַיִּקְשְׁרוּ קָשֶׁר וַיַּכּוּ אֶת יוֹאָשׁ בֵּית מִלֹּא הַיּוֹרֵד סִלָּא: (כב) וְיוֹזָבָד בֶּן שִׁמְעָת וִיהוֹזָבָד בֶּן שֹׁמֵר עֲבָדָיו הִכֻּהוּ וַיָּמֹת וַיִּקְבְּרוּ אֹתוֹ עִם אֲבֹתָיו בְּעִיר דָּוִד וַיִּמְלֹךְ אֲמַצְיָה בְנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו: מלכים ב פרק יד (ה) וַיְהִי כַּאֲשֶׁר חָזְקָה הַמַּמְלָכָה בְּיָדוֹ וַיַּךְ אֶת עֲבָדָיו הַמַּכִּים אֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ אָבִיו: (ו) וְאֶת בְּנֵי הַמַּכִּים לֹא הֵמִית כַּכָּתוּב בְּסֵפֶר תּוֹרַת מֹשֶׁה אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְדֹוָד לֵאמֹר לֹא יוּמְתוּ אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים וּבָנִים לֹא יוּמְתוּ עַל אָבוֹת כִּי אִם אִישׁ בְּחֶטְאוֹ יוּמָת :

Patria Potestas (Latin: “power of a father”), in Roman family law, power that the male head of a family exercised over his children and his more remote descendants in the male line, whatever their age, as well as over those brought into the family by adoption. This power meant originally not only that he had control over the persons of his children, amounting even to aright to inflict capital punishment, but that he alone had any rights in private law. Thus, acquisitions of a child became the property of the father. The father might allow a child (as he might a slave) certain property to treat as his own, but in the eye of the law it continued to belong to the father.

Bavli Sanhedrin 71a Just because he ate a large portion of meat and drank half a log of Italian wine, may his father and mother take him out to be stoned? The correct interpretation is that there never was a case of the Wayward and Rebellious Son [put to death] and there never will be - בן סוֹרר וּמוֹרה לא היה וְלא עתיד לִהיוֹת. The reason it was written in Scripture is that one may study it and receive benefit.