Compare And Contrast The Law Code Of Hammurabi

976 Words2 Pages

HIST 1111 – 71326 – Fall2014
Mid-Term Exam Ancient civilizations offer insights about their respective societies through various ways. One if those ways can be seen through the law codes of the society. The Code of Hammurabi, The Torah: Laws, and the Twelve Tables were the law codes of the Babylonian law code of ancient Mesopotamia, the Hebrews, and the Romans, respectively. These documents were written for their respective civilization and was publicly displayed. Although these law codes span from 1754 BC to 449 BC, these three law codes offer insights about the similarities and differences of each civilizations. From these documents, one can reflect and determine many things about religion, social class, the legal proceedings, and family …show more content…

In the Code of Hammurabi, no laws about religion is mentioned. The same is true in the Twelve Tables, commissioned by the Roman magistrates. The Code of Hammurabi was composed by Hammurabi, the sixth Babylonian king, to “attain appropriate behavior” and for the “well-being of the people” (Brophy, et. al., 25). However, religion is the basis for The Torah. It was written to rule the relationship the Hebrew had with God and the behavior they exhibit among one another (Brophy, et. al., 64). The exclusion of religion in the law codes of ancient Mesopotamia and Romans does not mean those civilizations did not value religion. The Torah was written for the early Jewish people, those chosen by …show more content…

In ancient Mesopotamia, women were seen as properties that can be used to pay off debt for three years and marriage was understood as a contract (Brophy, et. al., 26). Inheritance in ancient Mesopotamia can be left to the wife if there is a document after his death leaving property to the wife and the children cannot make a claim against it ((Brophy, et. al., 27). In The Torah, family was respected. It mentions, not once, but twice, that cursing your father or mother results in death ((Brophy, et. al., 66-67). In the Twelve Tables, inheritance is also mentioned. However it is for the validity of the inheritance. In Table IV, it mentions that “a child born ten months after the father’s death will not be admitted into legal inheritance” (Brophy, et. al., 158). These law codes allow readers to view some of the family dynamic the three civilization

Show More
Related

  • The Importance Of Women In The Hebrew Bible

    2675 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Apostle Paul, urged wives to obey their husbands and husband to respect their wives. This sums up the traditional idea of the family throughout Jewish history as pictured in the Bible. The man was the head of the house, however both man and woman worked together for the benefit of the family. In Ancient Israel, it was the parents who used to find a suitable match for their daughters’. One the suitable match is found, the bride’s family gives the daughter to the groom’s family and in return they were given a gift – a dowry. A married couple was an economic partnership, that is, if the man ended up penniless, his wife would be sold in slavery along with him. The wife’s first duty in the family was to give birth. A boy would’ve been preferred in order to continue her husband’s name. Children were taught by their mothers’ the required technical skills needed to participate in and eventually take over the productive and processing tasks of the family household. If a wife couldn’t conceive, she would give the family’s slave to her husband and any offspring would give the wife the ...

    Read More

  • Hammurabi's Code: Was It Just?

    454 Words  | 1 Pages

    Does he have mercy,she cheated on my husband so they tied up and through in the river. Hammurabi,he was a ruler. He wrote a 292 laws down on stone and was going to make life fair, These laws was harsh, but I believe they were fair. We will be disgusting if Hammurabi's code was Just or unjust. in other words fair,Was Hammurabi’s code FAIR? Was Hammurabi’s laws fair or unfair to the people.I believe that Hammurabi’s code was JUST. In this essay I will be discussing my reasons why I think Hammurabi’s code was just.

    Read More

  • Hammurabi Vs. Modern Day Law

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    Back in the days, during the time of ancient Greece, or as it was so famously called Mesopotamia. There was a king named Hammurabi whom created a set of laws to govern the people. This laws were called the code of Hammurabi. In this essay i am going to be talking about the differences and the similarities between the law of hammurabi and our modern day law. In my view, the difference between hammurabi’s law and the law we use today are; the strictness of hammurabi’s law, the barbaric nature of the law, and the possibility of inheriting another man’s property legally over trial. However they are some similarities between the two different laws. The similarities are; the both set of laws are written laws, both laws punished criminals, both have instructions for police officers, judges, and witnesses to follow.

    Read More

  • Was Hammurabi's Code Fair Or Unfair?

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hammurabi’s code fair or unfair. Hammurabi’s code is a set of laws. Hammurabi was the leader of Babylon; he ruled for 42 years 40 centuries ago. Hammurabi ruled one million people. Hammurabi’s code was it just? In this question key terms to it is code and just. Code means a set of laws, and just means fair. In paragraph one it will state that Hammurabi’s code was unjust because of its harsh punishments. In paragraph 2 it will state that Hammurabi’s code was unjust because of its non-equality to people. In paragraph 3 it will state that Hammurabi’s code was unjust because of its unfair reasoning of having that law.

    Read More

  • Code of Hammurabi: DBQ Analysis

    399 Words  | 1 Pages

    “That the strong might not injure the weak, in order to protect widows and orphans.” First Hammurabi was the ruler of Babylonia for 42 years. In addition he created 282 laws with the god of justice Shamash. He created these laws to keep order to Babylonia. Hammurabi's code is just because of the personal injury laws and the property laws.

    Read More

  • Compare The Epic Of Gilgamesh And Hammurabi Code

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    His law code provides us with a rare insight into the daily life of ancient urban society. The Code has 282 specific legal codes. A few of the subjects carried out in the code are property and theft, economics and contracts, family and marriage, assault and personal injury, and responsibility and liability. Hammurabi’s code tells us a lot about early Mesopotamian law and culture. The code reveals a strict punishment, typically resulting in death, for individuals committing theft. Keeping to one’s own material possessions was extremely important. Furthermore, when a man alters the economic success of another individual, he must repay that person for their lost. Equality was extremely important when it came to following the law, so that others would not suffer financially as a result. For example, if a man cuts down a tree in another man’s orchard without the permission of the owner of the orchard, he shall weigh and deliver 30 shekels of silver. Surprisingly, Hammurabi’s Law also protected the right of woman more than I had anticipated when it pertained to marriage and family. Men were not favored more than their female counterparts. As well, assaulting another individual meant even more physical harm to the individual performing the act. These assault and personal injury reflected the philosophy, treat others the way you want to be treated. Finally, individuals

    Read More

  • The Laws Of Hammurabi

    1843 Words  | 4 Pages

    Separation of church and state has become the ideal sense of government in the Modern Era, specifically in America since the late 1700s. Secular governments seek to improve the nature and well being of the individual, in hopes to benefit the society as a whole. Secular law seeks to use moral guidelines to benefit the citizens of the nation, making crimes such as theft, murder, and physical harms highly punishable. However, where do these law codes get their structure? What, before the separation, influenced these legal structures and developed society? The answer is simple, religious law. Throughout time law and religion have parallel one another. Many secular law codes share the same moral values that religious law used to unify a society.

    Read More

  • The Code of Hammurabi

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    The form of the Code of Hammurabi is significant in the way that it is written. The simple language used to write the Code allowed the average member of Babylonian society to understand the expectations placed on them. Each of 282 laws was written separately with specific examples of indiscretions that were illegal, and the precise form of punishment that would occur. The Code also sets guidelines for the fees that were paid to doctors, veterinarians, shipbuilders, ferryboat operators, and to the owners of rented livestock.

    Read More

  • Hammurabi's Code

    958 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although there are similarities between both laws there are more differences between the two. Although the Code of Hammurabi was said to be given to them by the god of Lipit-Ishtar, which resembles the Jewish belief, the Codes of Hammurabi were mainly derived by the king and enacted by the king. The laws of the Jews were laws given to them by God and these laws were followed whole heartily, and enacted in every aspect of their lives and culture. Though the laws resemble each other they are different and share only symbolic similarities while the literal understanding of them or reasoning for them may be different.

    Read More

  • Hammurabi Research Paper

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hi everyone! My name is Tom and today I'll be talking about the Code of Hammurabi. Imagine what it would be like if we didn't have any laws. If people did just as they pleased without any regard for others, life would probably get pretty chaotic. Law is one of society's most basic and necessary institutions. It establishes a person’s duties and obligations. The law also sets penalties for those who violate the rules. It helps teach us right from wrong. One of the earliest known written set of laws was composed by Hammurabi. Today my speech will cover who Hammurabi was, what his codes were, examine some of his most important and influential laws, and finally I'll discuss the significance it had moving forward.

    Read More

  • Hammurabi's Code

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    This may surprise you but the meaning of justice and punishments for not following the law do not change over time. Started in 3,500 B.C.E., the Babylonian empire was part of Mesopotamia after the Akkadian empire. One of their kings, Hammurabi, came to power 4,000 years ago. Today we know him best because he wrote a set of laws called Hammurabi's Code of Laws. We know that he is famous today for his set of laws that he wrote at around 1754 B.C.E, but not a lot of us know if Hammurabi's Code of Laws was fair so the question is: Was Hammurabi's set of laws fair to all the people of his empire? Fair means reasonable to everyone. Hammurabi's Code of Laws was fair to everyone in his empire because three sections of his Code of Laws proves that all of his laws were unbiased.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The 12 Table Of The Roman Law

    756 Words  | 2 Pages

    The twelve tables of the roman law a document detailing laws in Ancient rome that the people went by. Code of Hammurabi was harsh penalties document in Babylon during king Hammurabi reign. Code of Assura document penalizing women for cheating or hitting husband but if proven men were also found guilty. All these laws help as a hole to shape today’s world. twelve table of Rome and code of Assura, Hammurabi are different as twelve table of rome is democratic law and allowed to defend yourself in court while code of Assura, Hammurabi is to break law you are given harsh penalties and man was seen higher than women.

    Read More

  • Hamurabi's Code: Similarities And Differences Of The Hammurabi Code

    1266 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both the Hammurabi Code and the Mosaic Law were received by their peoples in similar ways. The Hammurabi Code was written by the Babylonian king, Hammurabi. He received these codes through divine intervention. He was given these codes by the sun god, Shamas atop a mountain. Mosaic Law was written by the God of the Hebrews. They received this law when Moses, the leader of the Jewish nation, was led up Mt. Sinai by Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Code Of Hammurabi And The Ten Commandments

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    The ten commandments originated from God to Moses it was  given around 1513 BC; where god stated a set of duties and responsibilities for the people in order them to go to heaven. Moses was to deliver these commandments to the people of Egypt which would lead them to the path of righteousness. Some of these rules stated that the people of God should only praised to him and only him and not other Gods and to not kill or commit any other fouls that would disgrace them as individuals. On the other hand, the ten codes of Hammurabi originated from the Hammurabi King which was inscribed on stone. It was inscribed around 1750 BC. for the purpose of describing the time Hammurabi first became king, and to state the laws in which corresponded to human problems. It described almost everything including: marriage to family relations; protection for women and kids; poverty; protection of property and many more in which the people were influenced to follow in order to do good in society. Both the Code of Hammurabi and the Ten Commandments were set of rules given to the people of their land to foll...

    Read More

  • The Similarities Between Hebrew Law And Hammurabi

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    Yahweh (the Hebrew God) on the Hebrew belief was always concerned for the wellbeing and overall success of his followers. Yahweh gives moral pronouncements to the Jewish people in the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) with the preface “You shall not...” with the addition of positive obligations towards others. Hammurabi’s Code was a Babylonian set of laws to govern the Babylonian people nearly three hundred years before Moses did the same for his people. There are many similarities between the Hebrew laws and Hammurabi’s Code, but by far the most significant difference is the negative frame surrounding Hammurabi’s Code. Hammurabi’s Code was very clear cut to the Babylonian people about if they committed a certain crime what the punishment would be. The Torah gave ethical guidelines to for the Hebrews to build their lives on, with consequences for disobeying the ethical guidelines. A very reasonable answer to why the Hebrews followed the laws given to them so closely was because the punishment for disobeying was

    Read More

More about Compare And Contrast The Law Code Of Hammurabi

Open Document