The Babylonian king of truth Ammurabi and his newly discovered legislation in comparison with the legislation of Moses

Every year the ancient east attracts more and more attention; and it fully deserves this, because, representing the cradle of man, it still contains in its depths secrets that can serve to clarify the primitive life and historical destinies of mankind. To the place where the earthly paradise was located, not only archaeological scientists, but also the eyes of politicians and the entire modern society are now turning their attention. In a region that recently was still a desert, in which only bandits of Bedouins pranced, as if out of boredom, every now and then they carried out skirmishes and entire battles among themselves, the governments of the newest states one after another send scientific expeditions to study its antiquities, and to facilitate relations, they build railways, on which many millions are spent. Apparently this world, long buried under the ruins, is rising to life again, and perhaps the time is not far when new life will begin to boil there again after so many millennia of dead grave peace. But this new life will hardly be equal to the ancient life that was in full swing there thousands of years ago. Until now, judging only from brief fragmentary information about the life of these countries, found in Greek and Roman writers, we could not even imagine what kind of life flourished there, but now the latest discoveries made by expeditions of various scientific societies give us the opportunity to penetrate into the depths of this life in all its details, and one cannot help but be amazed at how in such a distant time, approximately 3000 years BC, life was in full swing there, which is hardly inferior the exuberance of life at the present time with its celebrated modern culture. Among the many important discoveries and research in this area, a particularly remarkable discovery was made recently by a French expedition sent to explore the mounds and ruins of the ancient Elamite capital of Susa. Investigating numerous remains in this once glorious capital, the researchers incidentally found one large slab, which, as it turned out after reading it, is a statement of the laws of the famous Babylonian king Ammurabi, who lived 2400–2300 years BC. King Ammurabi was known before as one of the most famous Babylonian kings of the first dynasty. This is none other than Amraphel, the king of Shinar, mentioned in the XIV chapter of the book of Genesis, which describes how he, in alliance with other kings, made an invasion of Palestine, plundered the city of Sodom and other cities allied with it, took Abraham's nephew Lot with him captive and was overtaken and defeated by Abraham 1. This event dates back to the time when he was a young prince. A Semite by birth, he belonged to a tribe that very likely invaded the fertile region of Mesopotamia with its regions of Sumer in the south and Akkad in the north and, having conquered the local rulers, settled there. Subsequently, having strengthened politically, he expelled the Elamite dynasty, which had hitherto dominated Babylonia, and uniting the scattered fiefs into one monarchy, became a powerful sovereign and took possession of the entire known civilized world of that time (with the exception of Egypt) from Persia to the Mediterranean Sea. This, of course, required numerous wars, the details of which we do not know, and only the incident told in the XIV book of Genesis sheds some light on these events. And it is from this king that a most remarkable monument has been preserved, which gives us the opportunity to penetrate into the historical destinies of this distant era. This monument is precisely the code of laws of King Ammurabi, written on a large slab and recently discovered, as stated above, by a French scientific expedition in Susa, where it was transported, in all likelihood, during one of the many Elamite invasions of Babylonia as a victorious trophy. This code is extremely important. Until now, we have known several codes of legislation, namely the main one contained in the Bible, i.e. the Mosaic legislation, and then the Justinian code, which became the source of all modern legislation: in addition to these, three other less important sets of laws inscribed on stone were discovered through excavations: the Greek code containing the edicts of Aegina, the Phoenician code representing the rules of sacrifice and a code of laws on the so-called Marseilles inscription, and the Palmyra Codex, the 6-lingual column of which concerns various details of the trading life that was in full swing in this center of ancient trade and industry. But none of these codes (with the exception of Moses) can be equal in completeness and breadth to the newly discovered Code of Ammurabi. It is inscribed on a huge tablet, 2 containing 16 rows of text on the front side and 28 rows on the back side, it is the oldest known document of this kind and is of great importance not only because of the conclusions it gives regarding Babylonian cultural life and its development, but also because it sheds light on the deepest recesses of human history in general. Before the discovery of this magnificent codex, all that was known about its author, King Ammurabi, was that he was a brave warrior and at the same time a pious builder of churches to the gods, and also actively cared for the welfare of his people; he, by the way, cared about increasing the fertility of the country’s soil, which, although it was extremely grateful by nature, however, in order to maintain its fertility, needed constant labor on the part of man. By the way, Ammurabi built canals to irrigate the country and generally left behind the memory of a kind and beneficent king. So, by the way, he, to regulate the floods of the river. Tigris, dug large canals on one side to drain water during floods, and on the other to irrigate the soil during drought, which, by the way, he himself says in his inscription: “When the gods Anu and Bel gave me control of the lands of Sumera and Akkad (the southern and bad regions of Babylonia) and put the reins of governing them in my hands, then I dug a canal named Ammurabi - this is a blessing to the people, bringing abundant water to the countries of Sumer and Akkad, for I turned their shores into convenient land, gathered wheat harvests there and supplied Sumer and Akkad with water for future generations. The lands of Sumera and Akkad, whose divided populations I united, I provided with food and drink, I shepherded them with blessing and abundance; I gave them a peaceful place to live.” That Ammurabi was not only a brave warrior, but also a wise statesman, wholly devoted to the welfare of his people, is fully confirmed by a new discovery. On the same slab where the code with 282 laws is contained in 44 columns, there is a bas-relief that represents a picture of how the king receives a blessing, and perhaps the very tablet of laws, from the Sun God, and he stands in the pose of reverent humility with which kings usually approached the gods. In conclusion, in the epilogue of the laws, which is a prayer for blessing to those of his successors who will observe his laws and preserve his monument, as well as formidable curses on anyone who would overthrow these laws or depersonalize the stone itself. Ammurabi mentions three times the name under which he would like to be known to posterity and remembered in it. It is he who says: “By the command of Shamash (the sun god), great among heaven and earth, let righteousness spread on earth; by order of Lord Merodach (or Marduk), let this monument of mine not be subjected to any destruction. In the church of E-Sagil, which I love, let my name be remembered forever and let every oppressed person who needs the protection of the law come and stand before this image of me as the king of righteousness, and let him read this inscription, my precious words, and this inscription will explain to him his case, and he will know what justice is, and his heart will rejoice, so that he will say: King Ammurabi is a ruler who, like a father to his subjects, kept the words Merodach, in fear and honor, with the help of Merodach, made conquests in the north and south, delighted the heart of his master Merodach, endowed his subjects with benefits always and everywhere, and established order in the country... When he reads this inscription, let him from the fullness of his heart pray to Merodach, my lord, and Zarpanita, my mistress, and then all the protective deities and gods residing in the church of Sagil will satisfy the desires daily expressed to Merodach my lord and Zarpanita my mistress. In this inscription, the title “king of truth” is especially interesting: it involuntarily reminds us of the king of truth who appears in the book of Genesis in the very chapter where Ammurabi or Amraphel is mentioned. There, by the way, it says that when Abraham was returning after the defeat of the enemies, “Melchisidek, king of Salem, came out to meet him and brought out bread and wine: he was a priest of the Most High God, and he blessed him and said: Blessed is Abraham of the Most High God, Lord of heaven and earth; and blessed be the Most High God, who hath delivered thy enemies into thy hand.” This Melchizedek, as his very name means, is the “king of righteousness,” just as Ammurabi calls himself in his inscription. The fact is extremely remarkable, and the assumption involuntarily suggests itself that Ammurabi, the king of Sumer or Shinar, taking part in the campaign of Chedorlaomer, the king of Elam, to Palestine, had the opportunity to see Melchizedek there, and was so amazed by the greatness of the personality of this “king of truth” that his image was forever imprinted in his memory and, when starting to draw up his legislation, he could not choose for himself a better title, namely the title "king of truth" How much he valued this title can be seen from the following passage in the epilogue to his legislation: “I, Ammurabi, am the king of truth, to whom God Shamash granted the right or law. My words are well thought out: my deeds have no equal and are intended to humiliate those who are high, and to humble those who are arrogant, to drive out insolence. If the subsequent ruler takes into account my words that I wrote in my inscription, if he does not destroy my law, does not distort my words and does not replace my monument, then may God Shamash prolong the reign of this king in the same way as my reign, the king of righteousness, and may he reign in righteousness over his subjects.” But this king of truth, law and justice, like Melchisidek of Salem (Salem also means peace), was also a “king of peace,” as can be seen from the whole purpose of his legislation, as he himself speaks of it in the following words: “In the future, during all the generations to come, let every king who is in this country listen to the words of truth that I have written on this memorial stone of mine. Let him not change the laws of the country that I have established, the decrees that I have issued; Let him not erase my monument. If such a ruler has wisdom and wants to keep his country in order, then let him consider the words that I have written; the rules and regulations of the law of the land that I have given, the decisions that I have decreed, this inscription will show him; let his subjects not prevent him from ruling in accordance with this law, speaking the truth, making right decisions, expelling troublemakers and criminals from this land and providing benefits to his subjects.” And indeed the country, using the wise laws of the “king of truth,” enjoyed peace and prosperity for five centuries, until a new invasion of Babylonia and Assyria took place from the mountains of Elam, as a result of which these rich and comfortable countries were subjected to severe devastation. Code c. Ammurabi shows us exactly what laws governed the peoples of the historical east 2300 years BC. This code at the same time served as a source of influence of Babylonian culture on the surrounding peoples, as a result of which the thought involuntarily suggests itself whether it was not also the primary source from which the legislation of Moses originated. Of course, writers were not slow to appear in biblical critical literature who directly seized on this idea and began to argue that the legislation of Moses was borrowed precisely from the Code of Ammurabi. A whole literature has already appeared on this subject, which causes a lot of confusion, especially in the West. But in order to be able to compare these two legislations, it is necessary to become familiar with the Code of Ammurabi itself, which, in any case, represents a highly striking fact in ancient Babylonian culture. Hitherto, Ammurabi was known as one of the most glorious kings of Babylon, and the now newly discovered legislation immediately brought him to the wide arena of world history and made him one of the most remarkable representatives of universal human culture, and the study of his legislation in comparison with the legislation of Moses became one of the indispensable tasks of comparative law and biblical science. This comparative study has already begun and has caused a lively debate between two camps of scholars, some of whom claim that the Mosaic legislation is entirely borrowed from the Code of Ammurabi. These are those scientists for whom fashionable conclusions and spectacular paradoxes are more valuable than historical truth; and the truth is that, for all its merits, the legislation of King Ammurabi still stands immeasurably lower than the Mosaic legislation, and the latter in all respects bears the indelible stamp of the highest divine origin. In three significant respects, the Mosaic legislation is superior to the legislation of Ammurabi. His first and most remarkable advantage is his humanity, which rises to a degree to which, if we mean philanthropy and piety, the humanity of the Greeks is far from reaching. Concern for the situation of poor widows and orphans, foreigners and slaves and even livestock appears there every now and then with such force that leaves nothing much to be desired. All injustice to the weak is there condemned as outrageous wickedness and ruthlessness, subject to the punishment of God, and by granting the slaves a week's Sabbath rest, Moses established an institution, the beneficial consequences of which are only now beginning to be appreciated by all. No people, no time, had anything like this. All competent Assyriologists consider it an unforgivable mistake on the part of Prof. Delich, when he wanted to attribute the establishment of the Sabbath to the Babylonians. So prof. Oppert, concluding his criticism of the alleged Babylonian origin of the Sabbath, expressed himself in the following words: “The proof of the Babylonian origin of Israelite culture rests on this syllogism: we can present the proof that the Babylonians had a nose on their faces; the Jews also have something similar; hence the nose of the Jews is of Babylonian origin.” The second important advantage of the Mosaic Law is its monotheism. This monotheism was in itself a condition for the vital existence of the entire higher civilization in primitive Asia, as a counterbalance to the principle by which man. sacrifices and prostitution - for both men and women - were one of the main elements and features of the cults of these countries. In Ammurabi's legislation, the dedicated harlots, spoken of in the Bible and mentioned by Herodotus, were recognized as a legitimate class of people with their own special rights. Next to them are also mentioned virgins who, like the Roman Vestals, apparently took a vow of chastity. In addition, monotheism is the basic condition of scientific knowledge, because as long as dozens of gods argue and compete with each other about the possession of the world, and as long as all the elements do not lead to one common root of being, there can be no question of natural causation. Among the Greeks, this condition was provided by philosophy, which the peoples of primitive Asia did not have. The newest atheism is nothing more than a distorted monotheism, which, although it can more or less rationally imagine the process of physical phenomena, suffers a pathetic defeat when it comes to explaining organic life, and especially the life of the spirit, which, however, is the main essence of the issue. The third advantage of the Mosaic Law is its prophetic character. In one liberal leaflet, one of the newest Babylonians (or, in other words, followers of Delitzsch’s Babylonophilia) imagined that he had found the squaring of the circle when he ended his liberal chatter with the blasphemous words: “Thanks be to God (or rather to Delitzsch!), the superstitious concept of an imaginary revelation has been destroyed. The Bible is now nothing more than a web of Babylonian myths and laws.” However, all this Babylonian splendor had long since faded away, although Ammurabi imagined that he and his proud successors would reign forever. This Ammurabi is exhausted in praise of himself and in censing his own person, both in the preface to the collection of his laws and in its conclusion, while the biblical writers are distinguished by precisely the opposite character - humility and modesty. He threatens with the most terrible punishments anyone who dares to change his laws or touch his monument and calls upon them all the thunderous curses of numerous gods and goddesses for exemplary punishment. And, however, all this did not in the least prevent the Elamite conqueror from completely plundering Babylon, taking the column of Ammurabi to his capital Susa, where it was found, erasing several lines on it and writing his own name in their place. That Babylon was completely destroyed, that the predictions of the prophet Isaiah in the 13th and 14th chapters of his book against the proud monarchs of this state were fulfilled with literal accuracy, while the laws of Moses in essential parts remained in force for both Jews and Christians to the present day and with their two tablets govern the world even now - what more tangible proof is needed of the supernatural origin of the Bible? After these preliminary remarks, we move on to a presentation of the legislation of the Babylonian “king of truth” Ammurabi, in order to subsequently move on to a detailed systematic study of it in comparison with the Mosaic legislation. II. Code of the Babylonian “king of truth” Ammurabi The presentation of legislation is preceded by a long introduction, which is very important for characterizing the Babylonian king-legislator. In it, Ammurabi speaks about himself: “When Anu the exalted, the king of the Anunnaki 3, and Bel, the lord of heaven and earth, who determines the fate of the earth, gave Marduk, the powerful son of Ea, dominion over earthly humanity, made him great among the Igigi 4, called Babylon by his glorious name, exalted it on earth and founded in it an eternal kingdom, the foundations of which are laid as firmly as the foundations of heaven and land, then Anu and Bel called me by name - Ammurabi, the exalted God-fearing king, in order to establish the law of righteousness in the country, to destroy the worthless and evil, so that the strong would not harm the weak, so that I, like Shamash 5, rising above the black-headed ones, would illuminate the earth. And here I am, Ammurabi the king, called by White, exuding wealth and abundance, abundantly supplying Nippur and Duranki with everything possible, the high trustee of E-Kur 6, the brave king, who again restored Eris and purified the cult of E-apsu 7, who conquered the four countries of the world, who exalted the name of Babylon, who rejoiced the heart of his master Marduk, I who pray daily in Sagile 8, the royal descendant created by Sin, who enriched Ur 9, the humble, pious, wealth-bringing Gish-shir-gal 10, the wise king, whom Shamash listens to, the mighty one, who again laid the foundation of Sippar, clothed the tombstones of Malkat with greenery 11, made great E-Babbar 12, which is, as it were, the building of heaven, - the warrior who protected Larsa 13 and renewed E-Babbar Shamasha, his assistant, - the ruler who gave new life to Uruk, supplied its inhabitants with abundant water, raised the head of E-anna 14, poured out the fullness (abundance) for Anu and Nana, the cover of the earth, again uniting the scattered inhabitants of Isin and richly rewarding E-galmah 15 - the protective king of the city, brother the god Zamama 16, who firmly established the settlement places of Kish, surrounded E-me-te-ursag with splendor, expanded the great shrines of Nana, manages the church of Garsag-kalama 17, this grave of enemies, whose help gives victory; expanded the place of Kuta 18, made everything majestic in E-shidlami, - the mighty ox, overthrowing enemies, the favorite of the god Tu-tu 19, who delighted the population of Borzippa 20, the exalted one, who tirelessly stands for E-zidda, - the divine king of the city, wise, intelligent, who expanded agriculture in Dilbat 21, accumulated grain for Urash: strong the ruler to whom the scepter and crown befits, whom the wise Ma-ma created, who determined the church district of Kish, enriched the sacred meals of Nintu 22, the prudent, caring one, who arranged pastures and watering places for Lagash and Girsu, delivered large sacrificial gifts for the “church of the fifty” 23, took captive enemies, - the chosen one of the soothsayer, who fulfilled the prediction Gallaba, who rejoiced the heart of Anunita 24 , a pure king, whose prayers are recognized by Adad 25 and who satisfied the heart of Adad, the warrior, in Karkar, restored the liturgical vessels in E-ud-gal-gal; the king who gave life to the city of Adab, the leader of E-maha, the royal ruler of the city, the irresistible warrior who gave life to the population of Mashkanshabri and created rich abundance for the church of Shidlam 26 - wise, active, who, having invaded the den of robbers, saved the inhabitants of Malki from misfortune 27, firmly founded their home in wealth for Ea and Dam-gal-nun-na, who forever exalted his kingdom, established pure sacrificial gifts; the dedicatory ruler of the city, who subjugated the areas along the Ud-kib-nun-na canal (on the Euphrates) to the power of Dagon 28, his creator, who spared the inhabitants of Mera and Tulul 29; the exalted king who makes Ninni’s face shine, bring the holy. meals to the deity Nin-a-zu, cared for its inhabitants in their need, gave them a share in Babylon in the world, shepherd of the oppressed and slaves, whose deeds found favor with Anunita and who cared for Anunita in the church of Dumash in the suburbs of Haggadah; the one who proclaims the truth, rules, according to the law, returned the city of Assur 30 to its beneficent patron god, established the name of Istara in Nineveh in E-mish-mish, - an exalted king, humbled before the great gods, the successor of Sumul-il, the mighty son of Sin-muballit, the royal offspring of eternity, the mighty king, the sun of Babylon, pouring out his light on the land of Sumer and Akkad, the king to whom the four countries of the world obey, Ninni’s favorite - that’s who I am! “When Marduk sent me to rule the people and give the land legal protection, then I put law and truth into the mouths of the people, and brought prosperity to the oppressed.” Then follows the legislation itself, which we present in full, in the order of its articles as they are set out on the Babylonian tablet 31: 1) If anyone accuses another of witchcraft, but cannot prove it, then the one who did it must be put to death. 2) If someone accuses another of witchcraft and the accused goes to the river and throws himself into it, and if he drowns in the river, then his accuser must take possession of his house; but if the river shows that the accused is innocent and he escapes unharmed, then the one who brought the accusation against him must be put to death, and the one who threw himself into the river must take possession of the house that belonged to his accuser. 3) If anyone accuses someone of any crime before the elders and does not prove what he accused, then he should be put to death if it is a trial for life. 4) If he acts as a witness (in a court case) for bread and money (silver), he will have to suffer the punishment that will be imposed by the court. 5) If a judge, while considering a case, gives a decision and sets out a sentence in writing, and if later there turns out to be some error in his decision and, moreover, through his own fault, then he must pay 12 times the fine that he assigned in the case, must be publicly removed from the judge’s seat and never again sit on it for legal proceedings. 6) If anyone steals anything from the property of a church or court (royal), he must be put to death, just as the one who accepts a stolen thing from him must be put to death. 7) If anyone buys from the son or slave of another person, without witnesses or a contract, silver or gold, a male or female slave, an ox or a sheep, a donkey or anything else, or if he takes it as collateral, then he must be considered a thief and he must be put to death. 8) If anyone steals from a cattle, or a sheep, or a donkey, or a pig, or a boat, and if it belongs to God 33 or the court, then the thief must pay 30 times for it; if these things belong to a freedman (the king), then he must pay 10 times 34: if the thief has nothing to pay, then he must be put to death 35. 9) If someone loses a thing and finds it in the possession of another, if the person in whose possession the thing is found says: the merchant sold it to me, I paid for it in the presence of witnesses, and if the owner of the thing says: “I want to bring witnesses who know my lost property”: then the buyer must bring the seller who sold it to him, and the witnesses in whose presence he bought it, and the owner must bring witnesses who recognize his property. The judge must examine their testimony - both those witnesses in whose presence the money was paid, and those witnesses who admit the lost item under oath. The seller will then be found to be a thief and must be put to death; the owner of the missing item receives his item, the buyer receives the money he paid from the seller’s estate. 10) If the buyer does not bring the seller and the witnesses in whose presence he bought the thing, and its owner brings witnesses who recognize it, then the buyer is a thief and must be put to death, and the owner receives his lost thing. 11) If the owner does not bring witnesses to acknowledge the missing thing, then he is a malicious person, he has slandered and must be put to death. 12) If the seller died, then the buyer must receive from the seller's house 5 times the penalty. 13) If there are no witnesses, the judge must set a period of 6 months; If witnesses do not appear within 6 months, then he is a villain and will be punished during the trial. 14) If anyone steals a young son from another, he must be put to death 36. 15) If anyone takes a male or female slave of the court, or a male or female slave of a free person outside the city gates, he shall be put to death. 16) If anyone accepts into his house a runaway male or female slave of the royal court or a freedman and does not bring him out when publicly called by the ruler of the house, then the owner of the house must be put to death. 17) If someone catches a male or female slave in an open field and brings him to his master, then the slave’s master must give him 2 shekels of silver. 18) If this slave does not tell the name of his master, then he must be brought to the courtyard, where further investigation will be carried out, and the slave must be returned to his master. 19) If he keeps this slave in his house and he is found there, then he must be put to death. 20) If a slave runs away from the one who caught him, then the latter must swear this to the owner of the slave and will be free from all guilt. 21) If someone makes a hole in the house (breaks it in with the aim of stealing something), then they must put him to death at this very hole and immediately bury him 37. 22) If anyone is caught committing theft, he must be put to death. 23) If the robber is not captured, then the one who was robbed must declare under oath the amount of his loss, and the community and…….. 38, in whose jurisdiction this happened, must reward him for the stolen property. 24) If several persons are robbed, then the community and the local elder must pay one mina of silver to their relatives. 25) If there is a fire in the house and one of those who came to extinguish it, casts his gaze on the property of the owner of the house and takes from the property of the owner of the house, then he must be thrown into that very fire. 26) If a chief or (common) man (ordinary warrior), who was ordered to go to the high path of the king, 39 does not go himself, but takes a mercenary and withholds his wages, then this chief or man must be put to death, and the one who was for him must take possession of his house. 27) If a chief or (common) man 40 is captured during the defeat of the king (i.e., captured during the battle) and if his field and garden are given to another and he takes possession of them, then when he returns and reaches his place, his field and garden must be returned to him, he must take them back for himself. 28) If a chief or (common) man is captured when the king is defeated, and his son is able to take over, then the field and garden should be given to him, he should take upon himself the maintenance of his father. 29) If his son is still small and cannot take over, then a third of the field and garden should be given to his mother, and she should raise him. 30) If a chief or (common) man leaves his house, garden and field and gives them to rent and someone else takes possession of his house, garden and field and uses them for three years: if the first owner returns and lays claim to his house, garden and field, then he should not give them to him, but the one who took possession of them and uses them should continue to use them. 31) If he rents them out for one year and then returns, then the house, garden and field must be given to him, and he must own them again. 32) If a ruler or a (common) person captured on the royal road (in war), some merchant redeems his freedom and brings him back to his place, and if he has the means to redeem his house and his freedom, then he must redeem himself for freedom; if he has nothing in his house with which he could buy his freedom, then he must be redeemed for his freedom with the funds of the church of his community; if there is nothing in the church to redeem him for freedom, then the (royal) court must redeem his freedom: his field, garden and house should not be given to redeem his freedom. 33) If any... or any... 41 evades military service and instead of himself puts a mercenary on the royal path, and he leaves, then that... or that... must be put to death. 34) If any... or any... seizes the property of the boss, causes damage to the boss or gives the boss as a day laborer, gives the boss in legal proceedings to any nobleman, takes a gift given to him by the king, then such... or such... must be put to death. 35) If anyone buys from the boss the cattle or small livestock that the king gave him, then he loses his money 42 . 36) The field, garden and house of the chief, (common) person or tenant cannot be sold. 37) If someone buys a field, a garden or a house of a chief, a man or a tenant, then the bill of sale is broken 43 and he loses his money; the field, garden and house go to his master. 38) A chief, a man or a tenant cannot take over anything from his field, garden or house and the possessions of his wife or daughter, and cannot give it as security for debt obligations. 39) From the field, garden and house that he bought (and owns them as property), he can assign to his wife and daughter and give as security for his debt. 40) But he can sell his field, garden and house to a commission agent 44 or another government official; the buyer receives for his use the field, garden and house that he bought. 41) If someone fences off any field, garden or house of a chief, man or tenant and adds new stamens to it: meanwhile the chief, man or tenant returns to the field, garden or house, then these stamens that were added must become his property. 42) If someone takes a field for cultivation and does not receive any grain from this field, then he must be brought to court for the fact that he did not do any work in the field, and he must give the owner of the field as much grain as his neighbor produced. 43) If he does not cultivate the field and leaves it alone, then he must give the owner of the field grain, as he did with his neighbor, and the field that he left without cultivation must be plowed, sowed and returned to the owner. 44) If someone takes an empty field to cultivate for three years, but turns out to be lazy and does not cultivate the field, then in the fourth year he must plow this field, harrow it, cultivate it, and return it to the owner and for every 10 ganas measure out 10 gurs of bread 45. 45) If someone rents out his field for a certain fee and receives rent for his field, but bad weather comes and destroys the harvest, then the damage must be attributed to the tenant. 46) If he does not receive any payment for his field, but gives it away for half or a third of the income, then the grain that is in the field must be divided by the tenant and the owner according to their shares. 47) If a tenant, having not received a profit in the first year, gives the field to others to cultivate, then the owner should not make any reproach to the tenant for this: his field was surrendered and at the harvest he receives grain in accordance with the concluded conditions. 48) If someone has a debt, and bad weather devastates his fields, or destroys the harvest, or, due to lack of moisture, grain does not grow in the field, then this year he should not give grain to the creditor: his debt table should be washed with water 46 and he should not pay interest for this year. 49) If someone takes money from an industrialist and gives this industrialist a field suitable for sowing grain or sesame 47 , he allows him to cultivate this field, and the grain or sesam that will be in this field is to be compressed and taken for himself; If then the tenant sows grain or sesame in the field, and at harvest the owner of the field receives the grain or sesame that is in the field, then the grain for the money taken from the industrialist, together with interest, and for processing expenses must be given to the industrialist. 50) If someone leases a field sown with grain and sesame, then the owner of the field must receive the grain or sesame that is on the field, and he must return the money along with interest to the industrialist. 51) If someone does not have money to pay back, then he must give the grain or seeds at their price to the industrialist for the money he received from the latter with interest, in accordance with the royal tariff. 52) If the tenant has not sowed grain or sesame in the field, then his (the debtor’s) contract does not lose force. 53) If someone is too lazy to keep his dam in proper condition and does not keep it in this condition: if then a break occurs in his dam and the grain field is flooded with water, then the one in whose dam the break occurred must compensate for the grain that he destroyed. 54) If he cannot replace this bread, then he must sell it and his property for money and divide it among the villagers whose bread is flooded with water. 55) If someone opens his water hole 48 but does not watch it, and water floods his neighbor’s field, then he must allocate bread to him in accordance with his neighbor’s income. 56) If someone releases water and the water floods the cultivated field of his neighbor, then he must measure out 10 gur of bread for every 10 gans. 57) If a shepherd 49, in order to feed small livestock with grass, without having received permission from the owner of the field, grazes his small livestock in his field without the owner’s consent, then the owner must compress his field, and the shepherd who grazed his livestock in this field without the owner’s permission, in addition, must pay the owner 20 gur of grain for every 10 gans. 58) If, after the small livestock has left the field and passed by the city gate, and the shepherd still continues to keep his small livestock in the field and graze it in this field, then such a shepherd must take over the field in which he grazed, and at the harvest, measure out to the owner of the field for every 10 ganas 60 gurs of grain. 59) If someone cuts down trees in someone’s garden without the knowledge of the owner of the garden, he must pay half a mina of silver. 60) If someone gives a field to a gardener to plant a garden on it, and the latter plants the garden and takes care of it for 4 years, then in the fifth year the owner and the gardener must share the income together, and the owner of the garden must receive his share of the income. 61) If the gardener does not finish planting the field and leaves part of it uncultivated, then this part must be left to him as his share. 62) If he does not plant a garden in the field given to him and if it remains under sowing, then the gardener must, during the years when it remains so, give the income from the field to the owner in accordance with the neighboring plot, put the field in proper order and return it to the owner. 63) If he turns an empty place into a field suitable for cultivation and returns it to the owner, then the latter must pay 10 gur of grain for 10 gans in one year. 64) If someone gives his garden to a gardener for cultivation, then the gardener, while he maintains the garden, must give two parts of the income from the garden to the owner and take the third for himself. 65) If the gardener does not cultivate the garden, income decreases as a result, then the gardener must measure income by the income of the neighboring plot 50 ………. 100)…..Interest on the money, as much as he received, he must give a note for it and pay it to the industrialist on the day the term ends. 101) If where he came he does not find anything to do, then the money he received must be left intact by the intermediary and returned to the industrialist. 102) If an industrialist lent money to a small trader for an enterprise and he suffers damage where he goes, then he must reimburse the capital to the industrialist. 103) If during a journey some enemy takes away from him what he had with him, then the merchant must declare this under an oath before God and be free. 104) If an industrialist gives a small merchant bread, wool, butter or any other product for sale, then the merchant must submit an invoice of income and return everything to the industrialist. He must then receive a receipt for the money he gives to the industrialist. 105) If a merchant delays and does not receive receipts for the money he gave to the industrialist, then he cannot receive the money for which no receipt is given into his own property. 106) If a merchant, having received money from an industrialist, argues with him (refuses), then the industrialist must bring the merchant to trial before God and witnesses regarding the borrowed money, and the latter must pay him three times the money that he received from him. 107) If an industrialist deceives a small merchant, and the latter has already returned everything that the industrialist gave him, and the industrialist demands from the small merchant what the latter has already given to him, then the merchant must bring the industrialist to trial before God and witnesses, and the latter, for disputing from the merchant everything that he has already received, must pay him 6 times. 108) If the owner of a tavern does not accept bread by weight in payment for drinks, but accepts silver, and the price of the drink in relation to the price of bread is lower, then she must be brought to trial for this and thrown into the water. 109) If conspirators gather in the house of an innkeeper, and these conspirators are not arrested and do not surrender to the court, then such an innkeeper must be put to death. 110) If someone dedicated to God (who is no longer able to get married) opens an inn or enters an inn to drink 51, then this woman must be burned. 111) If the innkeeper gives out 60 ka of drinks for…….., then at the harvest she should receive 50 ka of bread. 112) If someone, while traveling, entrusts silver, gold and precious stones or other movable property (literally: hand-made property or hand-made jewelry, such as rings, wrists, etc.) and instructs him to bring all this to his home 52; if this one, everything that he should bring, does not hand over to a certain place, but appropriates it for himself, then this person, who did not hand over what was entrusted to him, should be arrested and he must return to the owner of the parcel 5 times more than what was given to him. 113) If someone makes a demand for bread or silver against another, and he takes bread from a storehouse or barn without the owner’s knowledge, then he, for taking bread from a storehouse or barn without the owner’s knowledge, must be brought to justice and return the bread that he took; at the same time he loses everything that he himself gave to someone. 114) If someone does not have the right to demand grain or silver from another, and yet declares him to be his debtor, then he must pay ⅓ mina of silver for each case. 115) If someone makes a demand on another for bread or silver and declares it owed to himself, if the arrested person dies a natural death in a prison house, then this matter should not have any further consequences. 116) If an arrested person dies in the house of arrest from beatings or ill-treatment, then the master of the arrested person 53 must bring his industrialist to trial; if he is free-born, then his (the industrialist’s) son must be killed; if he is a slave, then the industrialist must pay ⅓ mina of silver, and he (the industrialist) must lose everything that he gave. 117) If someone is subject to a demand for payment of a debt and sells his wife, son and daughter for silver or gives them to forced labor, then they must work for 3 years in the house of their buyer or owner, and in the fourth year he must free them. 118) If he gives a slave or slave to forced labor, and the industrialist gives them further, sells them for silver, then one cannot object to this. 119) If someone is required to pay a debt, and he sells his slave, who bore him children, for silver, then the silver that the industrialist paid must be paid by the master of the slave and set his slave free. 120) If someone stores his bread for safekeeping in the house of another, and the bread is spoiled, or the owner of the house opens the granary and takes the bread, or generally disputes that the bread is stored in his house, then the owner of the bread must (sworn) before God declare a claim to his bread, and the owner of the house, without any derogation, must return the bread that he took to its owner. 121) If someone stores his bread in the house of another, then he must give him 5 ka of bread per year for 1 gur as payment. 122) If someone gives silver and gold or anything else to another for safekeeping, then everything that he gives must be shown to a third-party witness, conclude a contract and then give for safekeeping. 123) If he gives for safekeeping without witnesses and a contract, and where he gave, I begin to refuse, then he cannot demand legally. 124) If someone gives silver, gold or anything else to another for safekeeping in the presence of a witness, and the latter refuses, then he must be brought to trial and everything that he refuses must be returned without derogation. 125) If someone gives his property for safekeeping and there, through burglary or robbery, his property perishes along with the property of the owner of the house, then the owner of the house, who is guilty of oversight, must compensate and return everything that was given to him for safekeeping and that was lost. The owner of the house, for his part, must try to return all his lost property to himself and take away his things from the thief. 126) If someone, without losing his property, says that it is lost from him, and falsely shows the damage he has suffered, if he declares his property, even if it is not lost, as lost and swears about his loss before God, then he must fully compensate him for the damage in everything for which he claims 54. 127) If someone puts out a finger against an initiated woman or against the wife of someone (insults her) and does not prove it, then this person should be sent to a judge and his forehead should be branded 55 . 128) If someone takes a wife, but does not enter into any conditions with her, then this woman is not yet his wife 56. 129) If someone’s wife is caught lying with another, then they must both be taken and thrown into the water, unless the wife’s husband has mercy on his wife, and the king has mercy on his slave 57. 130) If someone disgraces the wife of another, who has not yet known her husband and is still living in her father’s house, and sleeps with her and he is captured on the spot, then this person must be put to death, but the woman is innocent. 131) If a wife is slandered by her own husband, and she is not caught sleeping with another, then she must swear before God 58 and can return to her home. 132) If a finger is raised against someone’s wife because of another man (cf. § 127), and she is not caught sleeping with another, then she must throw herself into the river for her husband 59 . 133) If someone is taken captive 60 and there are provisions of life in his house, and his wife leaves the house and yard and goes to another house, then because this wife did not preserve her yard and went to another house, she must be tried and thrown into the water. 134) If someone is captured and there are no provisions in his house and his wife goes to another house, then this wife must be found innocent. 135) If someone is in captivity and there is no supply of life in his house and his wife goes to another house and gives birth to children, and if then her husband returns and comes to his homeland, then this woman should return to her husband, and the children should go to their father. 136) If someone leaves his homeland, runs away and then his wife goes to another house, if then he returns and wants to take his wife, then since he broke with his homeland and ran away, the wife of the fugitive should not return to her husband. 137) If someone intends to leave a bastard wife who bore him children, or a legitimate wife who gave him children, then he must return her dowry to his wife and give her a share in the use of the field, garden and estate so that she can raise her children. If she raised her children, then in everything that her children received, she should give her a share equal to the share of her son: she can marry the husband of her heart 61 . 138) If someone leaves his wife who bore him children, then he must give her the entire ransom amount 62 and return to her the dowry that she brought from her father’s house and so let her go. 139) If there was no redemption amount, then he must give her one mina of silver as a leave gift. 140) If he is a freedman, he must give her one-third of a mina of silver. 141) If someone’s wife, living in his house, intends to leave him and produces waste, ruins her house, neglects her husband, then she must be subjected to judgment. If her husband agrees to her dismissal, then he must let her go on her way, but not give her anything as a dismissal gift. If the husband does not want to let her go and takes another wife, then she must be a servant in her husband’s house. 142) If a wife argues with her husband and says: “You have no fellowship with me,” then she must provide evidence to support this neglect of her; if she is innocent, there is no wrongdoing on her part, her husband himself leaves her, neglects her greatly, then this woman should not bear any guilt, she should take her dowry and return to her father's house. 143) If she is not innocent, if she leaves, squanders the wealth of her home, neglects her husband, then this woman should be thrown into the water. 144) If someone takes a wife, and the wife gives her husband a maidservant and has children from her, 63 but the husband intends to take another side wife, then this should not be allowed to him, he cannot take such a side wife. 145) If someone takes a wife and she does not give him children, and he intends to take a bastard wife: if he takes a bastard wife and brings her to his house, then this bastard wife should not be equal to his lawful wife. 146) If someone takes a wife and she gives her husband a maidservant as a wife and (the maidservant) bears children for him, then this maidservant is equal to her mistress 64; but since she gave birth to children, the master should not sell her for money, he should turn her into slavery and count her among his maidservants. 147) If she has not given birth to children, then her mistress must sell her for money. 148) If someone takes a wife and she gets sick, if he then intends to take another wife, then he should not reject his first wife who got sick, but should keep her in the house he built and support her as long as she lives. 149) If this woman does not want to stay in her husband’s house, then he must return her the dowry that she brought from her father’s house, and she must leave. 150) If someone gives his wife a field, a garden, a house and an estate and gives her a certificate for this, if then after the death of her husband her sons do not make any claims to all this, then the mother can give what is left to her to one of her sons whom she prefers, and can give nothing to his brothers (her other sons). 151) If a wife who lives in her husband’s house obliges her husband to declare that the creditor cannot impose payment of the amount on her and that he gives her a document for this: if this husband, before marrying her, had debt obligations, then the creditor cannot make claims against the wife. But if the wife, before entering her husband’s house, had debts, then her creditor cannot impose the payment of this money on her husband. 152) If, after the wife has entered her husband’s house, both have debt obligations, then both must pay the industrialist. 153) If someone’s wife allows her husband to be killed for the sake of another, then she must be impaled. 154) If someone knows 65 his daughter, then he should be expelled from his place of residence 66. 155) If someone betroths a girl to his son, 67 and his son has no communication with her, and he himself then sleeps with her and is captured on the spot, then he must be tied up and thrown into the water. 156) If someone betroths a girl to his son, his son does not know her, but he himself sleeps with her, then he must pay her half a mina of gold and return everything that she brought from her father’s house to her. She can marry the husband of her heart. 157) If anyone after his father sleeps with his mother, then both of them must be burned. 158) If anyone after his father is captured from his main wife 68, who bore him children, then he must be expelled from his father’s house 69. 159) If someone, having brought movable property to his father-in-law’s house and given the ransom payment, looks at someone else’s wife and says to his father-in-law: “I don’t want to take your daughter,” then the girl’s father must receive everything that he brought. 160) If someone brought movable property to the house of his father-in-law and paid the redemption fee, and the girl’s father says: “I don’t want to give you my daughter,” then he must give back everything that was brought to him without delay. 161) If someone brought movable property to his father-in-law's house and paid the ransom fee, if then his friend slandered him and his father-in-law says to the groom: “You should not marry my daughter,” then everything that was brought to him must be returned without delay and his bride cannot marry his friend. 162) If someone takes a wife and she bears him sons, if then this wife dies, then her father cannot have claims to her dowry, it belongs to her sons. 163) If someone takes a wife, she will not give him sons; if then this woman dies, if the ransom payment that he paid to the house of his father-in-law is returned to him by the latter, then her husband has no right to her dowry of this woman, it belongs to her paternal house. 164) If his father-in-law does not return the ransom payment to him, then he must count out the amount of the ransom payment from this dowry and then return the dowry to her father’s house. 165) If someone gives his son, whomever he chooses, a field, a garden and a house and gives him a certificate for this, and if later his father dies and the brothers are divided among themselves, then they must first give him the father’s gift and he must take it; in addition, they must divide their father's property among themselves. 166) If someone takes wives for the sons he has, but does not take a wife for his still minor son, and if the father then dies: if the sons divide among themselves, then they owe their minor brother, who has not yet taken a wife, in addition to his share, to give money for the ransom payment and allow him to take the wife. 167) If someone takes a wife and she bears him children, if this wife dies and after her he takes a second wife and she bears him children: if then the father dies, then the sons should not be divided among their mothers, they should only take each of their mother’s dowry, and their father’s estate should be divided among themselves 70 . 168) If someone intends to abandon his son and declares to the judge: “I want to abandon my son,” then the judge must examine his reasons for this: if the son does not have any grave guilt on himself that would give the father the right to abandon his son, then the father should not abandon him. 169) If he has a grave guilt on himself, which authorizes his father to reject sonship, then he (the father) must forgive him for the first time; if (the son) incurs heavy guilt for the second time, then the father can deprive his son of sonship 71 . 170) If his wife gave birth to sons to someone, or his maid gave birth to sons, and the father during his lifetime says to the children whom the maid gave birth to: “my sons,” and counts them among the sons of his wife: if then the father dies, then the sons of the wife and the maid must jointly share their father’s property. The wife's son has the right to divide and choose. 171) But if during his lifetime the father did not say to the sons whom the maidservant bore to him, “My sons,” and then the father dies, then the sons of the maidservant do not share in the house with the sons of the wife, but the freedom of the maidservant and the sons must be established. The sons of the wife shall have no right to servitude in relation to the sons of the maid; the wife must take her dowry and the gift that her husband gave her and recorded for her with a special certificate, and she can remain in her husband’s dwelling; while she lives, she must use it, must not pass it on to a maid, her inheritance belongs to her children. 172) If her husband did not give her a gift, then her gift should be returned to her and she should receive a share of her husband’s property as a child. If her sons are pushing her to get her out of the house, then the judge should investigate the matter, and if the blame falls on the sons, then the wife should not leave her husband at home. If the wife intends to leave him, then the gift that her husband gave her, she must pass on to her sons, and take the gift from her father's house for herself. She can marry the man of her heart. 173) If this woman, where she goes, gives birth to sons to her second husband and then dies, then her gift should be divided between her former and later sons. 174) If she does not bear sons to her second husband, then the sons of her (first) husband should receive her gift. 175) If a state slave or a slave of a freedman marries the daughter of someone (free) and children are born to him, then the master of the slave should not have any claims to enslave the children of freemen. 176) But if a government slave or a freedman's slave marries someone's daughter and after the wedding she, along with the gift of her father's house, goes to the groom's house, if she settles in it and establishes a household, acquires property, and then that slave dies, then the freeborn must take her gift and everything that her husband and she acquired after settling here must be divided into two parts, of which the master of the slave must take one half, and the freeborn the other, for your children. If the freeborn woman did not have a gift, then everything that her husband and she acquired since their settlement should be divided into two parts, of which the master of the slave should take one half, and the freeborn woman should take the other half for her children. 177) If a widow, whose children have not yet grown up, intends to enter into another marriage, then she should not enter into it without the knowledge of the judge. If she enters the house of another, then the judge must examine the inheritance of her former husband's house. Then the house of her former husband must be transferred to the management of the second and the wife herself, and she must make a statement about this. They must keep the house in order, raise children and not sell household goods. The buyer who buys the household goods of the widow's children loses his money, and the property goes back to its owners. 178) If an initiate or a harlot 72 to whom her father gave a gift and made a certificate about it, but in the certificate given to her did not notice that she could bequeath her inheritance to whomever she pleased and did not give her free disposal of it; If then the father dies, then her brothers should receive her field and her garden and, according to her share, give her bread, butter and milk so that she is satisfied. If her brothers do not give her bread, butter and milk, and do not satisfy her according to her share, then her field and garden must be given to a tenant 73 whom she likes, and the tenant must support her. She must use the field, garden and everything that she received from her father during her life, but must neither sell nor give it to anyone else. Her inheritance belongs to her brothers. 179) If an initiate or a harlot, to whom the father gave a “gift” and made a certificate for it, noting that she can bequeath her inheritance to whomever she pleases and gave her free disposal of it; if the father then dies, then she can bequeath her inheritance to whomever she pleases. Her brothers cannot object to this. 180) If a father gives a gift to his daughter, who is capable of marriage, or to a harlot, 74 and then dies, then she must receive a share of the father’s property as a child and use it for life. What remains after her belongs to her brothers. 181) If a father makes his daughter a church servant (harlot) or a church virgin 75 , dedicates her to God and does not give her any gift, and if then the father dies, then she must receive from the inheritance of her father's house her ⅓ of the child's share and enjoy it for life. Her inheritance belongs to her brothers. 182) If the father, having dedicated his daughter to the service of Marduk of Babylon, does not give her a gift or give her a certificate, and if then the father dies, then she must receive a share from the inheritance of her father's house ⅓, her children's share, which her brothers must allocate to her; but she should not have control in it. Marduk's wife can bequeath her property after herself to whomever she pleases. 183) If someone gives a gift to his daughter from his bastard wife, and she gives it to her husband, and she is given a certificate of this, and if then the father dies, then she should not receive a share of her father’s inheritance. 184) If someone does not give his daughter any gift from his bastard wife, and she does not give it to her husband, and if then the father dies, then her brothers must give her a gift according to the father's property, and she can give it to her husband 76. 185) If someone adopts a child in his name as a son and raises him, then this pet cannot be demanded back. 186) If someone adopts a child as a son, and when he has taken it, he (the adopted one) commits a crime against his adoptive father and mother, then that pet must return to his paternal home. 187) The son of a fornicator in the palace service or a harlot cannot be demanded back. 188) If any artisan takes in a child and teaches him his craft, then he cannot be demanded back. 189) If he has not taught him his craft, then the pupil can return to his father’s home. 190) If someone has adopted a child as a son and raised him, but does not keep him with his children, then this pupil can return to his father’s house. 191) If someone, having accepted a child as his son and raised him, establishes a farm and settles children on it, and wants to expel that pupil, then this son should not go his own way (without anything): his teacher must allocate ⅓ of his children's share from his property and then he can go. Nothing should be given to him from the field, garden and home. 192) If the son of a fornicator or a harlot says to his adoptive father or adoptive mother: “You are not my father and you are not my mother,” then his tongue must be cut out. 193) If the son of a fornicator or harlot wants to return to his father’s house, turns away from his former father and adoptive mother and goes to his father’s house, then his eye must be plucked out. 194) If someone gives his child to a mother, and the child dies in her arms, and the mother feeds another child without the knowledge of the father and mother, then she should be put on trial for feeding another child without the knowledge of the father and mother, and her breast should be cut off. 195) If a son beats his father, then his hands must be cut off 77. 196) If someone gouges out another’s eye, then his eye must be gouged out. 197) If he breaks another’s bone, then he should also break his bone 78 . 198) If he gouges out a freedman’s eye or breaks a freedman’s bone, he must pay one mina of silver. 199) If he hurts the eye of someone's slave, or breaks the bone of someone's slave, he must pay half of its value. 200) If someone knocks out the tooth of someone equal to himself, then his tooth should also be knocked out. 201) If he knocks out a freedman’s tooth, he must pay ⅓ mina of money (silver). 202) If someone bruises the body of another who is higher than him, he should publicly give him 60 lashes with a cowhide whip. 203) If a freeborn damages the body of a freeborn of the same condition as himself, he must pay one mina of silver. 204) If a freedman strikes the body of a freedman, he must pay 10 shekels of silver. 205) If a slave of a free man strikes the body of a free man, then his ear must be cut off. 206) If someone hits another in a dispute and inflicts a wound on him, he must swear: “I hit him unintentionally” and pay the doctor 79. 207) If the beaten person dies from that blow, then he must swear the same, and if he is freeborn, then pay ½ mina of silver. 208) If it was a freedman, then he must pay one third of a mina. 209) If someone strikes a freeborn woman so that she loses her unborn child, then he must pay 10 shekels of silver 80 for her child. 210) If this woman dies, then his daughter must be killed. 211) If a freed woman loses her unborn child due to a blow, she must pay 5 shekels of silver. 212) If this woman dies, then he must pay half a mina. 213) If he hits someone's maid and she loses her unborn child, then he must pay 2 shekels of silver. 214) If this maid dies, then he must pay ⅓ mina. 215) If a doctor gives someone a serious wound with an operating bed and heals him, or if he opens an abscess (on someone’s eye) with an operating knife and saves his eye, then he must receive 10 shekels in money 81. 216) If the patient is a freedman, then he (the doctor) receives 5 shekels. 217) If he is someone's slave, then his owner must pay the doctor 2 shekels. 218) If a doctor makes a large incision with an operating knife and kills a patient, or if opening an abscess with an operating knife injures an eye, then his hands must be cut off. 219) If a doctor makes a large cut to the slave of a free man and kills him, he must compensate the slave with another slave. 220) If he opened an abscess with an operating knife and damaged his eye, he must pay half of its price. 221) If a doctor heals a broken bone or a sore soft part of a person, then the patient must pay 5 shekels in money. 222) If he is a freedman, he must pay 3 shekels. 223) If he is a slave, then his owner must pay the doctor 2 shekels. 224) If a veterinarian performs a serious operation on a donkey or an ox and cures it, the owner must pay the doctor ⅙ part of a shekel as payment. 225) If he performs a serious operation on a donkey or an ox and kills it, he must pay the owner part of its value. 226) If a barber, without the knowledge of the slave’s master, puts on him the mark of an unsellable slave, then that barber’s hands must be cut off. 227) If someone deceives a barber and tells him to put on the sign of an unsold slave, then he must be killed and buried in his house. The barber must swear: “I put a mark on him without knowing it,” and will be innocent. 228) If an architect builds a house for someone and finishes it, he must give him 2 shekels of silver as a reward for each sar of the built surface. 229) If a builder builds a house for someone and it turns out to be weak, and the house he built collapses and kills the owner, then that builder must be put to death. 230) If a house kills the son of the owner, then the son of that builder must be killed. 231) If a house kills the owner's slave, then the builder must give the owner of the house a slave for the slave. 232) If property is destroyed by destruction, then the builder must compensate for everything that was destroyed, and since the house was built and was built so weakly that it collapsed, then the builder must rebuild the destroyed house at his own expense. 233) If a builder is building a house for someone and when he has not yet completely built it, and the wall collapses, then the builder must build the walls firmly with his own money. 234) If a shipbuilder 82 builds a ship for someone that costs 60 gur, then he must give him 2 shekels of silver 83 as a gift. 235) If a shipbuilder builds a ship for someone and makes it fragile, if in the same year the ship turns out to be unusable (and is damaged during the journey), then the shipbuilder must break this ship and firmly build another from his own material, he must give the durable ship to the owner of the ship. 236) If someone gives his ship to a shipbuilder for hire, and the shipbuilder treats it carelessly, and the ship is wrecked or goes to the bottom, then the shipbuilder must give the owner of the ship a new ship. 237) If someone hires a shipbuilder and his ship, loads it with bread, clothing, oil, dates and everything else that relates here, and if this shipbuilder is careless, as a result of which the ship is wrecked and all the cargo is lost, then the shipbuilder must compensate the ship that he caused to wreck and everything that perished in it. 238) If a shipbuilder wrecks someone’s ship but saves him, he must pay half of its value in silver. 239) If someone hires a sailor, he must pay him 6 gur of bread per year. 240) If a merchant ship runs into a carrier and causes a wreck, then the owner of the ship that was wrecked must seek judgment before God, the owner of the merchant ship who wrecked the carrier must compensate him for his ship and everything that was lost on it. 241) If anyone forces an ox to work excessively, he must pay ⅓ mina of silver. 242) If someone hires oxen for one year, he must pay 4 gur in bread for a field ox. 243) For a herd ox the owner must pay 3 gur of grain. 244) If someone hires an ox or a donkey and a lion kills it in the field, the loss falls on its owner. 245) If someone hires an ox and kills it by ill-treatment or beating, he must compensate the owner of the ox for the ox. 246) If someone hires an ox and breaks its leg or cuts its neck, then he must compensate the owner of the ox for the ox. 247) If someone hires an ox and knocks out its eye, he must give the owner half of its value. 248) If someone hires an ox and breaks its horn, cuts off its tail or damages its muzzle, then he must pay ¼ of its value in silver. 249) If someone hires an ox and God strikes it so that it dies, then the hirer must swear before God and will be innocent. 250) If an ox is walking down the street and gores someone and kills him, then a lawsuit cannot arise from this. 251) If someone’s ox is prone to goring and its tendency to gore is declared, and the owner does not bend its horn and does not tie this ox, and the ox gores a free person and kills him, then the owner must pay ½ mina of silver. 252) If he kills someone's slave, he must pay ⅓ mina 84. 253) If someone hires another to maintain his fields, gives him seed, entrusts him with a yoke of oxen and obliges him to cultivate the field, and he appropriates the grain or plants and takes them for himself, then his hands must be cut off. 254) If he takes the grain given to him for sowing and does not use oxen, then he must return the seed given to him for sowing. 255) If he rents out cattle to someone else, or steals grain seed, or does not cultivate anything in the field, then he must be put on trial, and he must pay 60 gurs of grain for every 100 gans. 256) If his community does not want to pay for him 85, then he must leave him in this field with cattle (i.e. at work). 257) If someone hires a field worker, he must pay him 8 gur of bread per year. 258) If someone hires an ox driver, he must pay him 6 gur of bread per year. 259) If anyone steals a water wheel from a field, he must pay the owner 5 shekels of silver. 260) If he steals a bucket or a pole 86, he must pay 3 shekels of silver. 261) If someone hires a shepherd to tend cattle or small livestock, then he must pay him 8 gur of bread per year. 262) If someone kills a cow or a sheep... (followed by a destroyed place on the slab). 263) If someone destroys the ox or sheep given to him, he must compensate them to the owner, ox for ox, and sheep for sheep. 264) If the shepherd, who is entrusted with grazing horned or small livestock, having received his full payment according to the condition, and being completely satisfied, reduces the number of horned or small livestock, does not give any increase (through birth), then he must, in accordance with the condition, give out the increase and income. 265) If a shepherd, who is entrusted with grazing cattle and flocks, commits deception, makes false statements of natural growth, or sells them for silver, then he must be subjected to trial and he must compensate the owner of the cattle and flocks tenfold. 266) If a blow from God (misfortune) occurs in the stall, or a lion kills (cattle), then the shepherd must cleanse himself before God (prove his innocence) and the misfortune that occurred in the stall must be borne by the owner. 267) If the shepherd fails to take care of something and a misfortune occurs in the stall, then the shepherd is guilty for the damage he caused in the stall, and must compensate the owner for the cattle or sheep. 268) If someone hires an ox for threshing, then the rent should be 20 ka of grain bread. 269) If someone hires a donkey for threshing, then the payment should be 20 ka of grain bread. 270) If he hires a young animal for threshing, then the payment is 10 ka of grain bread. 271) If someone hires an ox, a cart and a driver, he must pay 180 ka of grain bread per day. 272) If someone hires only a cart, he must pay for it 40 ka of grain bread per day. 273) If someone hires a day laborer, he must pay him from the new year until the 5th month 6 ger of silver per day: from the 6th month until the end of the year he must pay him 5 ger per day 87. 274) If someone hires a craftsman, he must pay…..5 ger, a potter 5 ger, a tailor 5 ger,…..? ger, …..ger,…..? ger, carpenter 4 gers, ropemaker 4 gers, …..? ger, mason...? ger per day 88. 275) If anyone hires a transport ship, he must pay 3 geras per day. 276) If he hires a cargo ship, he must pay 2½ geras per day. 277) If someone hires a ship for 60 gur, he must pay ⅙ shekel per day for the hire. 278) If someone buys a male or female slave and before the end of the month they are diagnosed with Benu disease, then he must return the slave to the seller and receive back the money he paid. 279) If someone buys a male or female slave and a claim is made against them 89, then the seller is liable. 280) If someone in a foreign country buys a slave or slave of another 90, and upon his return to his country, the owner recognizes his slave or slave, and if the slave or slave is a native of that country, then he must return them without monetary compensation. 281) If they come from another land, then the buyer must declare to God the silver that he paid for them, and the owner must give the silver paid for them to the merchant, and keep the male or female slave for himself. 282) If a slave says to his master: “You are not my master,” and if he is brought to trial for this, then the master must cut off his ear. “These are the laws that Ammurabi establishes. a wise king to teach the country right law and godly statutes. I, Ammurabi, am the protector king. I did not distance myself from the people given to me by heaven, whose management Marduk entrusted to me, I was neither lazy nor slow, I created for them a refuge of peace, I resolved all difficulties, shed light on them. With the mighty weapon that Zamama and Istar gave me, with the sharp gaze given to me by God Ea, with the wisdom given to me by Marduk, I destroyed the enemies above and below (in the north and south), subdued the land, bestowed prosperity on the country, provided the inhabitants with security in their homes, and did not tolerate troublemakers. The great gods called me: I am the shepherd (lord) who brings salvation, whose staff (scepter) is straight (right), a good cover spread over my city; On my chest I cherish the inhabitants of the land of Sumera and Akkad (the two halves of Babylonia - northern and southern), under my protection I gave them the opportunity to rest in peace, in my wisdom I hid them. To prevent the strong from oppressing the weak, to ensure the position of orphans and widows, I raised their head in Babylon, the city of Anu and Bel, in the church of Sagil, the foundations of which are solid as heaven and earth, to proclaim truth in the land, to resolve controversial issues, to compensate for damages, I wrote these precious sayings of mine on my memorial stone in front of my image as the king of truth 91. “I am a king, outstanding among the city princes. (In Babylonia, the system of city princes dominated at that time, that is, each city had its own prince or king). My words are well thought out, my wisdom is unparalleled. By order of Shamash, the great ruler of heaven and earth, truth must be established in the country; according to the promise of my lord Marduk, no destruction shall befall my monument. In my beloved Sagil, my name will forever be pronounced, and everyone who has a judgment case must come to my image, as the king of truth, read the inscription, perceive my precious words, and the inscription explain his case to him, he will see his right, his heart will rejoice (and he will say): “Ammurabi is the ruler who, like a father to his subjects, established reverence for the word of Marduk, won victory for Marduk above and below (in the north and south), he rejoiced the heart of his lord Marduk, forever created prosperity for his subjects and established order in the country.” When he has read this testimony, he must pray with all his heart before Marduk, my lord, and Zarpanita, my mistress, and then the patron deities and gods who visit Sagil will graciously grant the petitions made daily before Marduk, my lord, and Zarpanita, my mistress. “In future times, forever and ever, the king of this land must observe the words of truth that I wrote on my memorial stone: let him not change the laws of the country that I gave, the decisions that I decreed, and let him not damage my monument. If this sovereign has wisdom and wants to keep his country in order, then he must observe the words that I set out in this inscription: the government, the decree and the law of the land that I gave, the decisions that I decreed, all this will be shown to him by this inscription, according to it he must govern his subjects, do justice to them, give decisions, exterminate villains and criminals in his country, create prosperity for his subjects.” “I, Ammurabi, am the king of truth, to whom Shamash gave truth. My words are well weighed, my deeds have no equal, they are intended to humiliate the high, humble the proud, and destroy arrogance. If the sovereign listens to my words, which I wrote in my inscription, does not distort my law, erase my words, change my monument, then may Shamash extend to this sovereign, like me, the king of truth, his rule, and may he govern his subjects in truth. If this sovereign does not observe my words, which I set out in my inscription, treats my curses with contempt, does not fear the curse of God, destroys the law given by me, replaces my words, changes my monument, erases my name and writes his name 92, or puts these curses on another, then such a person, whether he is a king or a lord, a prince or a citizen, no matter what he is called, may the great God Anu 93 - the father of the gods, who established my dominion, may he take away the splendor of the kingdom from him, break his scepter, curse his fate; Mr. Bel, who determines fate, whose commands are unchangeable, who has exalted my kingdom, may he raise a rebellion that his hand will not restrain; may the wind for his destruction send upon his dwelling, may he doom as his fate years of reign in sighs, an insignificant life expectancy, years of hunger, darkness without light, death with open eyes; may he, with his Mighty lips, judge the destruction of his city, the dispersion of his subjects, the overthrow of his dominion and the oblivion of his name in the country. Beltis, the great mother, whose commands are so weighty in E-Kur 94, the mistress who treats my desires with kind attention, in the place of judgment and decision 95 must conduct his case badly in the face of Bel, devastate his country, destroy his subjects and pour his life like water into the mouth of Bel the king. Let the great ruler, from whom decisions in fate come, the thinker among the gods, who knows everything, lengthen the days of my life, take away his reason and wisdom, subject him to oblivion, close his rivers above the springs and not allow grain or human food to grow in his country. Let Shamash, the great judge of heaven and earth, sustainer of all vitality, master of worldly courage, shatter his kingdom, destroy his laws, upset his ways, make the campaign of his armies futile, send him in visions omens of the overthrow of the very foundations of his throne and the destruction of his country. Let the condemnation of Shamash follow him everywhere, and let him be deprived of water above among the living and spirit below on earth. Let Sin (the moon god), lord of the sky, the divine father, whose sickle spreads light among the gods, take away from him the crown and the royal throne; Yes, laying heavy guilt on him will subject him to great decline, so that nothing will be lower than him. May he spend the days, months and years of his reign in sighs and tears, may the burden of rule be aggravated for him, may fate determine for him a life similar to death. Adad, lord of fertility, ruler of heaven and earth, my assistant, may he deprive him of rain from the sky, keep the springs of water from him, ravaging his land with hunger and thirst; let his wrath be furious over his city and turn his land into alluvial hills 96 . Zamama, the great warrior, the firstborn son of E-Kur, who walks with me at my right hand, may he destroy his weapon on the battlefield, turn day into night for him, and may his enemy triumph over him. Istar, mistress of battles and strife, unleashing my weapons, my kind protective spirit, loving my government, in her angry heart, in her great rage, may she curse his kingdom and let her turn her mercy into disaster, in the place of battle and struggle may she crush his weapons, may she create disorder and treason for him, may she strike his warriors so that the earth is saturated with their blood, and may she create heaps of corpses from his warriors on the field; may he not be granted a merciful life, may he be delivered into the hands of his enemies and taken captive to the country of his enemies 97 . Nergal, mighty among the gods, irresistible in the struggle, who in his great power gives me victories, may he burn his subjects like insignificant reeds, with his mighty weapon may he cut off his limbs and break him like an earthen image. Nintu, the exalted mistress of the countries, the giving birth mother, may she deny him a son, may she not preserve his name, may she not give him a successor among the people. May Nin-karak, daughter of Anu, who does me mercy in E-Kure, send him a severe illness, an evil fever, purulent wounds that cannot be healed, the essence of which the doctor does not know and cannot treat with a bandage, which, like the bite of death, cannot be eliminated, and these wounds will strike his members until they completely destroy his life. Let him complain of the exhaustion of his vitality, and let the great gods of heaven and earth, the Anunnaki, all together pronounce a curse on him and bring evil to the very limits of the church, to the walls of this Ebarra 98, to his possessions, to his land, to his warriors, his subjects and his troops. Bel yes will curse him with the mighty curse of his immutable lips, and let these curses fall upon him immediately.” With such formidable curses, the Babylonian king of truth protects his laws from violation of them in his descendants. And in that distant era, when the moral foundations of statehood were not yet clear enough in the minds of the people, such reinforcements of legislative wisdom were necessary. After all, it was found necessary for the Mosaic legislation to be reinforced upon entering the Promised Land with a solemn act of blessings on its performers and curses on its violators 99 . But, nevertheless, it is already evident here how the spirit of the Mosaic legislation is higher than the legislation of King Ammurabi. In general, even with a cursory comparison of these two legislations, there are obvious points of contact between them. These points were partly noted above in the footnotes to the text of the legislation of Ammurabi itself, but they can be specified even more, so that a comparison involuntarily arises with the legislation of Moses 100, but this is by no means to the detriment of the latter. On the contrary, through this comparison the Mosaic legislation gains even more in its incomparable greatness. The Code of Ammurabi bears the stamp of everyday materialism and is entirely occupied with everyday relationships, family and household affairs, property and crafts, agriculture and cattle breeding, trade and crafts. Religion and morality seem to be a foreign matter for him, and he does not have that religious spirit that permeates the legislation of Moses. The entire religious element in it is limited to concern for church property, church servants and harlots. The moral states assumed by the Ammurabi code rest on human nature untouched by higher culture, on his cruelty, selfishness, and exploitation of the economically weak by the strong. Ammurabi, who calls himself a father, as it were, the parent of his people, with his legislation only stated the current state of his people and could hardly raise them to the highest level of development. Along with humane decrees, such as the abolition of slavery for debts in the fourth year, exemption from paying interest in case of crop failure, there are cruelties and savagery, of which there is not a trace in the legislation of Moses. It is noteworthy, however, that in the Ammurabi code there is no bloody vengeance, which finds a place in the Mosaic law, although with its limitation and mitigation through the admission of the right of refuge. But this apparent advantage of the Ammurabi code is actually in a social, and not a moral, relation. Mosaic law presupposes the social and clan division of the people; in the code of Ammurabi we have the beginnings of a state, which, as the guardian of law, pursues bloody revenge and replaces it with the threat of justice. But the discovery of the Ammurabi Code is still important from another side. The very fact that a thousand years before Moses there was written legislation is of extreme importance. This discovery completely overthrows the most fashionable theory of Kühnen-Wellhausen, which asserted that the Mosaic legislation can no longer be genuine because in the time of Moses there was no writing at all, and all the less therefore it is possible to assume the possibility of issuing a whole set of laws, which is the Mosaic legislation. The first assumption of this theory was refuted several years ago, when a whole diplomatic correspondence was opened in Tel Amarna (in Egypt), from which it became clear that in the time of Moses, writing was already at a high level of prosperity and there were lively written communications between Egypt on the one hand and Babylonia and Assyria on the other. Confounded by this discovery in its first assumption, the said theory seized on another assumption, and began to assert that although writing existed, it was impossible to suppose that such a harmoniously developed code as the Mosaic legislation could appear in such a distant time. Denying the historical authenticity of the Mosaic legislation, Wellhausen even found it possible to show off sarcasm, declaring that considering Moses the author of the legislation known under his name would mean the same thing as recognizing “the Lord Jesus Christ as the compiler of the statutes of the Lower Hessian spiritual consistory.” Alas, this sarcasm suffered a complete defeat due to the discovery of the Code of Ammurabi, and, of course, now Wellhausen would be glad if some new Elamite warrior, like the one who took the tablet of Ammurabi to Susa and erased several lines on it to insert his own name and his own wisdom, destroyed this scathing expression of the critic; but, alas, what is now written on a mortal piece of paper holds more firmly than in ancient times what was carved on a granite slab, according to the Russian proverb: “what is written with a pen cannot be cut out with an ax.” And this biting expression of Wellhausen, whom Harnack not so long ago praised as the author of the “classical history of the people of Israel,” will serve as an eternal reproach to the hasty haste of the illustrious critic, as well as a general warning against hasty conclusions in such a highly important field of knowledge as Biblical history. In any case, the legend that Moses was not only a judge and legislator, but also the author of a code of laws - a codifier - found new and irrefutable proof with the discovery of the code of King Ammurabi. As for the reasons for the similarity between the codes of laws of Moses and Ammurabi, it finds a sufficient explanation not only in the general principle of the foundations of the moral law inherent in the human soul, as the source of all legislation, but also in the historical points of contact between the peoples of the ancient East. This interesting question will be the subject of research in articles in the books of the Wanderer magazine for 1904. In the XIV chapter. book Genesis we read: “And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goim, that they went to war against Berah king of Sodom,” etc. Previous critics attributed this whole story to the realm of legends, but recent discoveries have shown how frivolously they acted. This tablet, or rather granite block or slab, is 1½ fathoms high and up to ¾ fathoms wide (ranging from 1.65 meters at the top and 1.90 meters at the bottom). But in some places it has been destroyed over time and the inscription has been damaged, as a result of which it has become unreadable. The Anunnaki are good spirits who live between heaven and earth. The Igigi are evil spirits who made up the dark kingdom opposite to the kingdom of the Anunnaki. Nippur is a city dedicated to the cult of Bel. Duranki-Ziggurat, i.e. ledge-shaped tower and E-Kur = church in Nippur. Eridu is a city dedicated to the cult of Ea, Eapsu “House of the Ocean” is the local church in honor of Ea. Church of Marduk or Merodach in Babylon. The city of the Moon cult is “Sina” in southern Babylonia. Church in honor of the Moon in the city of Ur. Malkata is the “wife” of the solar god in the city of Sippar, there is dead nature, Istara in the underworld, the winter sun, which by the solar god awakens to new life, Kore-Persephone, which through the annual marriage becomes green nature, Ceres. Green is the symbol and color of resurrection. Church of the Sun in Sippar, the city of the Shamash cult in northern Babylonia. The city of Shamasha in southern Babylonia also has the church of E-bab-bar. Church of Istara-Nan in Uruk, where she was venerated along with her father and husband Awu. Kin city and church in Kita. City and church in Nergal, near Babylon. Another form of the name Marduk. A city related to Babylon with the cult of Heaven in the church of E-zid. A North Babylonian city with the cult of Urash and his wife Ma-ma, another form of Ninib - the highest solar god, male Ceres: hence the allusion to arable farming. Church of Ningirsu in Lagash (Telloh ruins). It is assumed that he was called through the prophecy of Anunita of Gallab to establish some rules for the conduct of war, which he carried out with success. Next to Anunit is the god Gallaba. The city was obviously threatened by gangs of robbers; This is how states often arose in the east. Dagon is the Canaanite name of this deity, in essence it was equivalent to Bel. Ammurabi, therefore, speaks here as a Canaanite. Obviously, these are cities located in the named water basin, which were treated gently during the conquest. Here is the first mention of this city, which, therefore, already at this distant time belonged to the kingdom of Ammurabi. The Code of King Ammurabi already exists in several translations: French Fr. Sheil, member of the French, scientific expedition to Susa, German Winkler, member, “German. eastern Society", English by Jones and Boscawen - English scientists, Assyriologists, etc. In our presentation we use all these translations. Apparently it should be understood in the sense: the entire amount with the addition of 12% to it. That is, the church and the priests serving with it. The laws of Ammurabi distinguish the following parties in legal cases: 1) the church or the god of the church that belongs to it, as well as the priesthood serving under it. 2) the royal court, which means the government, the state in general; 3) freedmen, actually royal ones, who are therefore something of a kind of nobles; 4) free people and 5) slaves. In parallel to this, one can cite the biblical law: “if someone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, then five oxen will be paid for the ox and 4 sheep for the sheep” (Exodus 22:1). “Concerning every thing in dispute: about a will, about a donkey, about a sheep, about clothing, about every thing that is lost, about which someone will say that it is his, the case of both must be brought before the judges. Whoever the judges accuse will pay his neighbor double” (Exodus 22:9). This decree finds a parallel in the following biblical law: “whoever steals a person (from the children of Israel) and, having enslaved him, sells him or he is found in his hands, must put him to death.” Ex.21:16. The biblical parallel to this passage reads like this: “If someone catches a thief digging in and hits him so that he dies, then the blood is not imputed to him, but if the sun has risen on him, then it is imputed to him. The one who stole must pay, and if there is nothing, then let him be sold to pay for what was lost” (Ex. 22: 2 and 3). This word is not clear due to the unclear outline of it on the slab. That is, to war: among the Mohammedans, war is called “the path of Allah,” and Allah takes the place of the king. Of course, people obliged to military service. There are spaces here; but from the context one might think that here, of course, there is a person of higher rank than a simple boss. By “boss” here we mean a kind of village elder. That is, it is declared invalid. This is how the word tamkar is translated here, for which it is difficult to find a more precise word. He plays the role of a merchant or industrialist who, on behalf of the government, travels around the large commercial and industrial centers of the country, as well as in rural communities, observing the flow of trade and industry and making transactions on loans and mortgages when it turns out to be not hopeless for the government (and sometimes for his own pocket) - which he succeeded in all the more often because he, as a government agent, enjoyed significant advantages over ordinary commission agents and merchants. Gan is a measure of surface, gur is a measure of granular solids. Obviously a symbolic action to indicate the reason for the impossibility of fulfilling the contract; the canceled contract table was usually broken (cf. §37). A special field plant in the east is sesame. Of course, these are obviously Babylonian irrigation pits, which lie above the field and are fed by the river, and not pits intended to be drained from water. Of course, the owner of the herd, or better yet, the merchant of herds, who stands in the same relation to the large owner of the herd as a tenant stands to the owner of the property. Five engraved rows of text are missing at this point; In view of the assumption that the gap is approximately 3 paragraphs, the count continues from § 100. Hotels or taverns apparently played a very suspicious role in Babylonia; It’s interesting that the laws only talk about landowners, and not about hotel keepers. It is obviously about trade travel, etc. A merchant sometimes sends money home with a caravan, while he himself may remain in a foreign land. What is obviously meant here is an arrest for debts, which is accompanied by an obligation to work. The lien is maintained in the home (or possession) of the lender. See §§ 116–117. An oath before God was considered a trace, certainly sufficient evidence. Literally: shave his forehead. It is impossible to say with certainty whether this means cutting off the hair on the forehead or cutting out some kind of sign. Compare § 127 et seq. From this it is clear that the marriage was concluded through a special contract in the presence of witnesses. That is, a person who has committed a crime, as a subject who has offended the law of the kings, can only receive pardon from the king. Bring the matter to the court of God, as in § 2. Captured and taken from his homeland and foreign land, unlike 27. That is, she has the right to remarry her loved one. That is, the amount that he, as a groom, paid for his bride. Therefore, it is assumed here that, according to the law, a servant can be a bastard wife or a second bastard wife only if the legal wife remains childless, as is known from the Old Testament history (Sarah, Rachel). To clarify the matter, some examples from the time and life of Ammurabi can serve, such as. the following case: Shamash-nuru, daughter of Ibishan, bought from her father Ibishan Bunene-abi and Belishuna (his wife?) - for Bunene-abi as a wife, and for Belishuna as a servant. If Shamashnura tells Belishuna to her mistress: “You are not my mistress,” then she (the mistress) must cut her hair and sell her for money (cf. Art. Law 147). Compare the story of Hagar and Sarah in the book. Gen.16:4. This Babylonian expression obviously has a close relationship with the biblical one (cf. § 130). He becomes a rootless man, like Cain, as a result of the fratricide he committed. Betrothal (buying a wife) makes her the property of her husband and does not yet constitute a marriage, which may follow later. When a son is betrothed, it happens that his wife can remain in her parents’ house (in her tribe), and he can also live in the house of her parents in her tribe, as we see more than once in the biblical narrative, for example, in the story of Jacob, who lived with Laban, and in the story of Moses, who lived with Jethro. In the previous chapter we talked about the blood mother, who may also be a side wife; here of course the main wife, who is called in relation to the secondary wife, legal wife, in biblical gebira, Gen. 16:4; the criminal is not her blood son. He will be deprived of his family, not his homeland (cf. v. 154). The paternal inheritance should not be divided into two “maternal shares”, but should be divided into as many equal parts as there are sons. Maternal dowries go to the sons of each mother. Sonship is here understood in the sense of inheritance. About the initiates compare. § 110: the harlot is the opposite of her; in relation to both, custom required that he not marry (§§ 180 and 181). Apparently, it is necessary to distinguish between the ordinary puella publica and the one dedicated to the church (§ 181). This occupation did not enjoy good fame or honor. Wed. Zona in V. Testament. A tenant or lessee who takes charge of the household for a known annual fee. Wed. § 47. The latter, therefore, was considered incompetent to marry. These are two opposites, although both live at the church. As someone who has dedicated herself to serving the church and renounced the world, she no longer receives a full share of the inheritance. The presentation of many of the provisions in the Code of Ammurabi is very unclear and often does not lend itself to legally accurate translation into modern languages ​​- partly due to the archaic peculiar way of expressing the Babylonian original, partly to the lack of clarity in the text of the laws itself, and the same word or concept can be read in several different ways, and, finally, due to the corruption of the inscription in many places. That is why many of the provisions of the code have to be reproduced by guesswork. The biblical parallel to this decree is: “Whoever strikes his father or his mother must be put to death.” Exodus 21:15. The biblical parallel to this law: “Give life for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise” Ex. 21:23–25. Wed. also Lev.24:20 Deut.19:21 (Matt.5:38). Obviously, jus talionis, the law of retribution, was in effect in both legislations. A biblical parallel to this law: “When (two) people quarrel and one person hits the other with a stone or fist, he will not die, but will go to bed, then if he gets up and leaves the house with a stick, the one who hit him will not be guilty of death; just let them pay for stopping his work and give him for his treatment.” Ex.21:18. The biblical parallel to this law: “When people fight and hit a pregnant woman, she throws a child, but there is no other harm, then take from the guilty the penalty that the husband of that woman imposes on him, and he must pay it through intermediaries. And if there is harm, then give soul for soul.” Exodus 21:22 and 23. rar is very high. Wed. 199 and 207 Shipbuilder and shipbuilder are meant by the same word. Comp. § 228. Two shekels, of course, for every 60 gur, which were considered a measure for a ship (just as this measure is currently considered tons). The ships were from 60 to 5 gur. Biblical parallels to these decrees of King Ammurabi: “If an ox gores a man or woman to death, then the ox is stoned and its meat is not eaten, and the owner of the ox is not to blame. But if the ox is gore both yesterday and the next day, and its owner, having been notified of this, did not guard it, and he killed a man or woman, then stone the ox and put his owner to death. If a ransom is imposed on him, he will give a ransom for his soul, whatever is imposed on him. Whether a son is gored, or a daughter is gored, it is the same law to deal with him. If an ox gores a male or female slave, then pay their master 30 shekels of silver, and stone the ox.” Exodus 21:28–82. Consequently, the community or village was responsible for each of its members according to the principle of mutual responsibility. Now called shaduf - a bucket on a pole, which serves to draw water from a river or canal for watering the field located above. This six is ​​driven by man, and the scooping wheel is driven by horses, oxen or donkeys. For the first 5 months - from April to August - the pay is higher due to the long days and the difficulty of field work; but at the same time, such a division also has a calendar and astronomical basis. Thus, the months are divided into 2 groups of 5 and 7. This division by place is still observed when hiring apartments and workers. Hera constitutes a certain, not yet fully defined part of the shekel. It can be assumed that this coin is equivalent to the Jewish gera and then, according to an approximate calculation, it costs 4 kopecks. See Bible. History" A.P. Lopukhin, 2nd ed. 1896 V. Head. page 449. From any third party. That is, on the monument he is depicted precisely as the “king of truth” - the legislator. All this was practiced in ancient times and all this was done with the monument of Ammurabi by the Elamite conqueror Shurguk-Nakhunte, or at least he intended to do so. God Anu is the second in the rank of Babylonian gods. E-Kur is the region of the world in which the gods live, a kind of Babylonian Olympus. Bel was considered the decider of all matters that happen on earth, as well as throughout the world. All of Mesopotamia is covered with such hills or mounds, so-called bodies, and entire cities lie buried under them. The local population thinks about these mounds that they were caused by a flood. It is interesting to compare this curse with the fate of defeated kings, as we often see in images on Assyrian monuments. That is, the solar church of Siipara, where this same Ammurabi slab stood. For clarity, we present these parallels between the Mosaic legislation and the code of King Ammurabi. Here it is: Ex.21:2 –K. A. 117; Ex.21:7 –K. A. 117; Ex.21:8 –K. A. 280; Ex.21:11 –K. A. 171; Ex.21:15 –K. A. 195; Ex.21:16 –K. A. 14; Ex.21:18, 19 –K A. 206; Ex.21:22 –K. A. 209: Exodus 21:26 –K. A. 199; Ex.21:28 –K. A. 250, Exodus 21:29 –K. A. 251; Ex.21:32 –K. A. 252; Ex.21:37 –K. A. 262; Ex.2:1 –K. A. 22; Ex.22:2 –K. A. 8; Ex.22:4 –K. A. 57; Ex.22:6 –K. A. 125; Ex.22:8 –K. A. 9; Ex.2:9, 10 – K.A. 266; Ex.22:11 –K. A; 267; Ex.22:12 –K. A. 244; Ex.22:15 –K. A. 130; Ex.22:25 –K. A. 241. Ex.23:8 –K. A. 4, etc. Several parallel passages are also found in Lev. 17–26 ch. and Deuteronomy 12–26.