Hammurabi First Class

v Classes

ÿ The law seems to recognize three, defined as

ß Free born

ß Freed

ß Slave

ÿ The Britannica article recognizes three, defined as

ß Amelu: Patrician? Includes artisans

ß Muskinu: Landless man?

ß Ardu: Slave

ÿ The Britannica isnπt limited to the codeãlots of other surviving material.

v Making sense of quantities, prices, etc.

ÿ Problems

ß Different units

∑ Mina

∑ Shekels

∑ Gerah

∑ Gur of corn

∑ Ka of corn

ß Units of weight used as money

∑ Mina of gold

∑ Mina of silver

∑ Mina of money???

∑ Mina

∑ Shekel, Gerah similarly

ÿ Solutions:

ß Web search which tells us

∑ Mina about a poundãsurviving weights!

∑ 60 shekels to the mina

∑ 20 Gerah to the shekel, at least in Israel

∑ gur = aprox 300 liters

∑ sar = 36 square meters

∑ gold about 12 times the value of silver by weight

ß Internal consistency

∑ Some wages are given in gur of corn/year, some in gerah/day

® So you can calculate a conversion between them

® Assuming how many days people work

® And from that to shekels

∑ Hire of oxen, cart and driver is 180 ka of corn/day

® Ox for threshing 20 ka

® cart alone is 40 ka

® so driver is 100 ka/day

ÿ if we assume two oxen

ÿ and assume that oxen for threshing cost the same rental as oxen to draw a cartãwhich may be wrong

® 60 ka/day if four oxen, other assumptions the same

® which should be around 60-100 shekels/year, the ordinary wage rate suggested from other sources

∑ fines in mina and closely related fines in shekels

® striking the body of another

ÿ 1 gold mina for freeborn striking body of another free born of equal rank

ÿ 10 shekels if freed man strikes the body of another freed man

ÿ so shekel must be gold shekel, makes it 1/3 instead of 1/36 the amount.

® Strike a woman, she loses the child

ÿ 10 shekels if a free born woman

ÿ 5 shekels if freed

∑ fines in mina of gold and closely related fines in mina

® Accidental death from injury in a quarrel, free born, 1/2 mina

® Putting out the eye of a freed man, 1 gold mina

® Suggests that ≥mina≤ means gold

® Goring ox kills a free born man, 1/2 mina in money

® Suggests that that also means gold.

ß Conclusion:

∑ Mina is always gold unless specified as silver

∑ Ditto for shekel

ÿ Wages?

ß 1 calculation suggests 60-100 shekels/year, but ä

ß A boat with displacement of 20 tons only two shekels to build?

ß Hire of a boat about a shekel a week!

ß Serious injury (eye or fracture) of a freed man 60 shekelsãfits.

ß Negligently killing a free born man, 30 shekelsãtoo low.

ß Strikes a woman, she loses her child, 5-10 shekels.

ß If she dies, 20-30 shekels

ß Physician heals a fracture, 2-5 shekels, operation 2-10 shekels

∑ Depending on rank of patient

∑ Risk of losing his hands if he kills or blinds the patient

∑ Or having to replace patient if a slave (or half if lost an eye)

ÿ Value of life

ß For upper class, eye for an eye for serious offenses

ß Fines start at 1 mina for freed, 1/2 mina for free born woman

v Analyzing the code

ÿ Sort it into criminal, tort, property, family, etc.

ÿ Try to make sense of each

ÿ Recognizing that our classification may not fit theirs very well.

v Criminal

ÿ Death penalty for lots of things

ß Ensnare but not proofãsome sort of false accusation

ß Bring a capital accusation but not prove it

ß Steal the property of temple or courtãor receive the stolen property

∑ But steal cattle, sheep, ass, pig or goat

® from god or court, pay thirty fold

® ten fold if a freed man of the king (?)

® death if he canπt pay

ß merchant who sells stolen property

ß or possessor if he canπt prove he bought it from a merchant

ß or putative owner, if he canπt prove he owned it!

ß Buying something from someoneπs son or slave without witness or contract, a thief, capital

ß Stealing a minor son

ß Taking someone elseπs slave (court or freed man) outside the city gates

ß Harboring such a slave

ß Breaking into a house

ß Caught committing a robbery.

ÿ Trial by ordealãleap into the river.

ÿ Accuser gets the fine!

ÿ Judge who is culpably wrong pays 12 times the fine, is fired