§ 250. If a wild bull in his charge has gored a man and caused him to die, that case has no remedy.
§ 251. If the ox has pushed a man, by pushing has made known his vice, and he has not blunted his horn, has not shut up his ox, and that ox has gored a man of gentle birth and caused him to die, he shall pay half a mina of silver.
§ 252. If a gentleman’s servant, he shall pay one-third of a mina of silver.
§ 253. If a man has hired a man to reside in his field and has furnished him seed, has entrusted him the oxen and harnessed them for cultivating the field—if that man has stolen the corn or plants, and they have been seized in his hands, one shall cut off his hands.
§ 254. If he has taken the seed, worn out the oxen, from the seed which he has hoed he shall restore.
§ 255. If he has hired out the oxen of the man or has stolen the corn and has not caused it to grow in the field, that man one shall put him to account and he shall measure out sixty gur of corn per gan of land.
§ 256. If his compensation he is not able to pay, one shall remove the oxen from that field.
§ 257. If a man has hired a harvester, he shall give him eight gur of corn per year.
§ 258. If a man has hired an ox-driver, he shall give him six gur of corn per year.
§ 259. If a man has stolen a watering machine from the meadow, he shall give five shekels of silver to the owner of the watering machine.
§ 260. If he has stolen a watering bucket or a harrow, he shall pay three shekels of silver.
§ 261. If a man has hired a herdsman for the cows or a shepherd for the sheep, he shall give him eight gur of corn per annum.
§ 262. If a man, ox, or sheep to [this section is defaced].
§ 263. If he has caused an ox or sheep which was given him to be lost, ox for ox, sheep for sheep, he shall render to their owner.
§ 264. If a herdsman who has had cows or sheep given him to shepherd, has received his hire, whatever was agreed, and his heart was contented, has diminished the cows, diminished the sheep, lessened the offspring, he shall give offspring and produce according to the tenour of his bonds.
§ 265. If a shepherd to whom cows and sheep have been given him to breed, has falsified and changed their price, or has sold them, one shall put him to account, and he shall render cows and sheep to their owner tenfold what he has stolen.
§ 266. If in a sheepfold a stroke of God has taken place or a lion has killed, the shepherd shall purge himself before God, and the accident to the fold the owner of the fold shall face it.
§ 267. If a shepherd has been careless and in a sheepfold caused a loss to take place, the shepherd shall make good the fault of the loss which he has caused to be in the fold and shall pay cows or sheep and shall give to their owner.
§ 268. If a man has hired an ox, for threshing, twenty ka of corn is its hire.
§ 269. If he has hired an ass, for threshing, ten ka of corn is its hire.
§ 270. If he has hired a calf (goat?), for threshing, one ka of corn is its hire.
§ 271. If a man has hired oxen, a wagon, and its driver, he shall give one hundred and eighty ka of corn per diem.
§ 272. If a man has hired a wagon by itself, he shall give forty ka of corn per diem.
§ 273. If a man has hired a labourer, from the beginning of the year till the fifth month, he shall give six še of silver per diem; from the sixth month to the end of the year, he shall give five še of silver per diem.
§ 274. If a man shall hire an artisan—
(a) the hire of a . . . five še of silver
(b) the hire of a brickmaker five še of silver
(c) the hire of a tailor . five še of silver
(d) the hire of a stone-cutter . še of silver
(e) the hire of a . . . še of silver
(f) the hire of a . . . še of silver
(g) the hire of a carpenter four še of silver
(h) the hire of a . . . four še of silver
(i) the hire of a . . . še of silver
(j) the hire of a builder. . . še of silver per diem he shall give.
§ 275. If a man has hired a (boat?) per diem, her hire is three še of silver.
§ 276. If a man has hired a fast ship, he shall give two and a half še of silver per diem as her hire.
§ 277. If a man has hired a ship of sixty gur, he shall give one-sixth of a shekel of silver per diem as her hire.
§ 278. If a man has bought a manservant or a maidservant, and he has not fulfilled his month and the bennu sickness has fallen upon him, he shall return him to the seller, and the buyer shall take the money he paid.
§ 279. If a man has bought a manservant or a maidservant and has a complaint, his seller shall answer the complaint.
§ 280. If a man has bought in a foreign land the manservant or the maidservant of a man, when he has come into the land, and the owner of the manservant or the maidservant has recognised his manservant or his maidservant, if the manservant or maidservant are natives without price he shall grant them their freedom.
§ 281. If they are natives of another land the buyer shall tell out before God the money he paid, and the owner of the manservant or the maidservant shall give to the merchant the money he paid, and shall recover his manservant or his maidservant.
§ 282. If a slave has said to his master ‘Thou art not my master,’ as his slave one shall put him to account and his master shall cut off his ear.
* * * * *
The judgements of righteousness which Hammurabi the mighty king confirmed and caused the land to take a sure guidance and a gracious rule.
The following three sections, which are known to belong to the Code from copies made for an Assyrian king in the seventh century b.c., are given here for the sake of completeness. They obviously come within the space once occupied by the five erased columns.
§ X. If a man has taken money from a merchant and has given a plantation of dates to the merchant, has said to him, ‘The dates that are in my plantation take for thy money,’ that merchant shall not agree, the dates that are in the plantation the owner of the plantation shall take, and he shall answer to the merchant for the money and its interests according to the tenour of his bond. The dates that are over, which are in the plantation, the owner of the plantation shall take forsooth.
§ Y. . . . the man dwelling (in the house) has given to the owner (of the house) the money of its rent in full for the year, the owner of the house has ordered the dweller to go out when his days are not full, the owner of the house, because he has ordered the dweller to leave when his days are not full, (shall give) of the money which the dweller gave him. . . .
§ Z. If a man has to pay, in money or corn, but has not money or corn to pay with, but has goods, whatever is in his hands, before witnesses, according to what he has brought, he shall give to his merchant. The merchant shall not object, he shall receive it.
The numbers refer to the sections of the Code.
Abatement, of rent, for loss of crop, 45,
46.
of interest, 48.
Accidental loss, by storm or deluge, falls on tenant, 45.
shared by landlord, if before rent is paid, 46.
by drought, storm, or deluge, postpones payment of debt,
48.
Adjournment, for production of witnesses, 13.
not to exceed six months, 13.
Adoption, of natural son, 185.
of child of living parents, 186.
parents may object, 186.
votary or palace official cannot object,
187.
by artisan, 188.
no one can reclaim child, if he has been
taught handicraft, 188.
otherwise can be reclaimed, 189.
adopted son must be formally acknowledged,
190.
if not, returns to real parents on death
of adoptive father, 190.
adopted son cannot be cut off without
legal process, 191.
has one-third child’s share, 191.
but no part of estate, 191.
repudiation by adopted son severely punished,
192 ff.
Adultery, 129.
penalty, drowning, 129.
Agent, relation
to principal or merchant—
must keep accounts, 100.
of money received, 100.
of interest due, 100.
if unsuccessful, repays capital only, 101.
if a loser, repays capital in full, 102.
if robbed, can be excused payment, 103.
must keep account of goods, 104.
stating money value, 104.
take inventory, 104.
give receipt, 104.
pays threefold for his defaults, 106.
Allotment, to ganger, constable, or tributary, 30. See Benefice.
Allowances, to divorced wife, 137.
usufruct of field, garden, and goods.
Alteration of date for repayment, 48.
called ‘wetting tablet,’ 48.
Approving lease, 44. See Lease.
Assault, of gentleman by gentleman, 202,
203.
in a quarrel, 206.
of poor man by poor man, 204.
of gentleman by slave, 205.
of pregnant woman, causing miscarriage—
gentle woman, 209.
poor woman, 211.
slave, 213.
causing her death—
gentle woman, 210.
poor woman, 212.
slave, 214.
See under Fines.
Assessment of damages—
by sheep to growing crops, 57.
,, to ripe crops, 58.
for cutting down tree in orchard, 59.
for not carrying out terms of lease, 42,
44.
for assault. See Fines.
for carelessness.
See Neglect.
for culpable lack of skill. See Doctor.
Assignment for debt—
of bare field, 49.
of corn field, 50.
of date plantation, X.
of crop, Y.
of wife, child, or slave, to work off debt, 115.
Average yield, assessed damages, 42, 43, 44, 55, 62, 65.
Backbiting, 161.
Bailiff. See Reeve, Ganger, Constable, Benefice.
Bailment, without witness or deed—
from domestic inferior=theft, 7.
Banishment. See Exile.
Bearing sentence sought to be obtained. See Retaliation.
Benefice, the land, house, garden, and stock—
assigned by king to ganger, constable, or tributary, 30.
inalienable, 32,
36, 37.
sale, or purchase, forbidden, 35.
price paid forfeited, 35.
not to be exchanged, 41.
not to be devised to females, 38.
may be deputed, 27.
hereditary, 28.
forfeited, by disuse, 30.
may not be pledged, 38.
saleable to other official (?), 40.
Betrothed, maiden lived in father’s house, 130.
Bigamy, in ignorance, 135.
Blood money. See Wit.
Boatmen, their duties and privileges, 234-241.
same word denotes boat-builder (Winckler’s tr.).
Boats, passenger, 276.
freight boat, 277.
building, 234.
of 60
gur, built, 234
(Winckler’s tr.)
collision of, 241.
wreck of, 235,
236.
Bond, a written deed or contract—
needed for legal purchase, 7.
for debt, 52.
for storage, 122.
for legal marriage, 128.
shepherd’s, 264.
Branding, brander, 226,
227.
on forehead, for slander, 127.
slave without consent of owner, 226,
227.
Brawling, in wine shop, 109.
Breach of contract—
by lessee, 42,
44, 256.
See Lease, Metayer, Neglect.
of promise, 159.
Breasts, cut off, 194.
Bride-price, a present to prospective father-in-law—
usually returned with wife to bridegroom, 163.
given back by husband to divorced wife, if not a mother,
138.
returned to suitor, if not accepted, 160,
161.
forfeited if suitor changes his mind, 159.
if not given back to bridegroom with wife, deducted from
marriage portion repaid to father-in-law, on death of wife, without
children, 164.
assessed at one mina of silver, for gentleman, 139.
,, one-third mina, for poor man, 139.
to be set aside for unmarried son, by his brothers, on
division of father’s property, 166.
Brothel (?). See Wine shop.
Builder’s duties and privileges, 228.
of boats, 234
(Winckler’s tr.).
Burning, as penalty—
for votary, opening or entering wine shop, 110.
man and mother in incest, 157.
thief at fire, 25.
Business. See Agent, Merchant, Office.
Buyer of benefice must discharge duties, 40.
Calling to account, 42, 108, 112, 113, 116, 124, 133, 141, 194, 255, 265.
Capital suit, 3.
Carrier’s privileges and responsibilities, 112.
Cattle, damage feasant pauperies, 57.
Changeling, foisted on parents, 194.
Charges, for warehousing, 121.
one-sixtieth value, 121.
Children. See Custody, Mother, Remarriage, Widow.
born of wife remarried, uuder impression her husband was
dead, stay with second husband, 135.
not to dispute mother’s settlement, 150.
share equally at father’s death, 165.
reserving settlements by deed, 165.
of second marriage to be furnished with bride-price, or
portion, 166.
of different mothers, share separately own mother’s
portions, 167.
but father’s property equally, 167.
of bride and maid share equally, if latter acknowledged
as sons in father’s lifetime, former having preference, 170.
otherwise, children of maid do not share,
171.
of slave woman and free father are free, 171.
of slave man and free mother are free, 175.
these take half father’s goods at death, 175.
Collision, 241.
Commission, trade on, 100-105. See Agent, Merchant.
Compensation, for eviction of tenant, Y.
for highway robbery, 23.
Composition, for loss of life, 224.
for bride-price, 139.
Concubine, divorced, 137.
not allowed,
if wife provides maid, 144.
allowed, if votary wife has no children, 145.
not to rival wife, 145.
father may give daughter as, 183.
and give marriage portion, 183.
if so, she has no share of his goods at his death, 183.
otherwise, brothers must give her a portion, 184.
Conjugal rights, denial of, 142.
Conscript. See Militia.
Constable, or bailiff, runner, 36-41.
not to depute duty, 26.
in enforced absence on royal business, 27.
may depute, and resume on return, 27.
son may be deputy, 28.
provision for child, in absence, 29.
neglect of benefice, 30.
three years’ limit, 30.
one year does not forfeit, 31.
captured abroad on king’s business, 32.
to be ransomed, 32.
benefice inalienable, 33.
benefice protected, 34.
not to be hired out, 35.
plundered, 35.
oppressed, 35.
sale of benefice illegal, 35.
benefice not to be exchanged, 41.
Contract. See Bond.
Corn land, 62.
Corvée. See Militia.
Cow, in milk, hire of, 243.
Creditor. See also Merchant.
must not ill treat pledge for debt, 116.
must release at end of three years, 117.
may sell
pledged slave, on removal, 118.
may not repay himself from debtor’s goods, 113.
Crop, assigned for debt, 51.
sold at king’s price, 51.
Crown, man’s. See Strength.
Cultivation of fields—
operations needful, 43.
Custody of child, in mother, 29.
Cutting down trees—
assessment of damage, half mina of silver per tree, 59.
Damage to crops, by sheep—
assessed at twenty gur
per gan, 57.
to ripe crops, at sixty gur
per gan, 58.
by flooding field, 56.
by cutting down trees, assessed at half mina of silver
per tree, 59.
Damages, for breach of contract, 42,
44.
for eviction from purchase, 12.
for eviction from house, Y.
Damnum sine injuria, 115, 118, 123, 250.
Date palm, plantation of, X.
Daughter cannot inherit benefice, 38.
Death penalty, inflicted for—
witchcraft, 1.
threatening witnesses, 3.
perjury, 3.
theft, 4.
receiving stolen goods, 4.
buying from domestic inferior, 7.
taking on deposit from domestic inferior, 7.
in default of multiple restitution, for theft of second
order, 8.
appropriation of lost properly, 9.
selling lost property, 10.
vexatious claim of property as lost, 11.
kidnapping,
14.
procuring desertion of slave, 15.
harbouring fugitive slave, 18.
,, of defaulting militia, 16.
detaining fugitive slave, 18.
keeping recaptured slave, 19.
housebreaking, 21.
highway robbery, 22.
theft at fire, 25.
allowing seditious brawling in wine shop, 109.
rape of betrothed maiden, 130.
for ganger, constable, neglecting duty, 26.
,, ,, sending substitutes, 26.
causing death of pregnant woman by assault, 210.
for getting a slave branded unknown to owner, 227.
for building so badly as to cause death of owner, 229.
See also Burning, Drowning, Impalement.
Death of defendant, 12.
Debt, abatement for damage by storm, deluge, and drought, 48.
not to be repaid from debtor’s goods, without his
consent, 113.
hostages for, 117.
to be well treated, 118.
released after three years, 117.
of man before marriage, not binding on wife, 151.
of woman before marriage, not binding on husband, 151.
of both after marriage, binding on both, 151.
Debtor’s risk, 48.
privileged to pay in kind, Z.
Defamation, 161.
Deferred foreclosure, 48.
Degradation from office, 5.
Deification of river Euphrates, 2.
Delegatus non potest delegare, 26, 33.
Deposit. See Storage, Trust, Warehouse, 7.
not recoverable
unless witnessed and sealed for, 123.
from domestic inferior, illegal without witnessed contract,
7.
Desertion, by husband, of wife—
involuntary, 133.
of city and wife, 136.
of adoptive parents, 193.
Detention of fugitive slave punished, 19.
Disinheritance, for incest, 159.
of son, 168.
not without legal process and for good cause, 168.
Distraint for debt, 114,
115.
unjustified, fine one-third mina of silver, each time,
114.
death of person taken in, 115,
110.
not allowed on warehoused goods, 120.
of working ox fined, 241.
District liable, for highway robbery, 23.
for ransom of official, 32.
Diverted to, perhaps ‘captured in,’ Winckler’s tr.
Divorce, 137,
138.
wife takes her bride-price, 137.
or fixed sum, one mina of silver from gentleman, 139.
or fixed sum, one-third mina from poor man, 140.
Doctor, privileges and responsibilities, 215-221.
fees for cures, 215,
221.
causes death, 218-220.
paid by assailant, 206.
Domestic inferior. See Minor.
Dowry. See Bride-price.
Drowning, as penalty for—
selling drink too cheap, 109.
adultery, 129.
bad wife, 143.
incest with daughter-in-law, 155.
deserting
husband’s house in his enforced absence, being provided with proper
maintenance, 133.
Dyke, 53.
Ear cut off as penalty, 205.
Endowment of office. See Benefice.
Equals, assault of, 200, 203, 206.
Evicted purchaser reimbursed, 9.
tenant reimbursed, Y.
Exchange, of benefice illegal, 41.
Exile, penalty for incest, 154.
Eye, torn out as penalty, 193.
struck out in assault, 196.
disease of, 215.
cure of, fee for, ten shekels of silver, 215.
loss of eye, assessed at five shekels of silver, 220.
False judgement, penalty for, 5.
claims for money or goods, 106,
107, 126.
accusation of adultery, 131.
Farm. See Lease.
Fatal assault of gentleman by gentleman, 207.
of gentleman by poor man, 208.
Favourite son, may be gifted by father, 165.
in his lifetime, 165.
by written deed, 165.
other children no claim against, 165.
takes equal share with them on father’s death, 165.
Fees for curing wound, or disease of eye, by surgical operation—
gentleman pays ten shekels of silver,
215.
poor man pays five shekels of silver,
216.
slave pays two shekels of silver, 216.
cure of broken limb or diseased bowel—
gentleman pays five shekels, 221.
poor man pays three shekels, 222.
slave pays two shekels, 223.
cure
of bad wound of ox or sheep, one-sixth of shekel, 224.
for building house, two shekels per
sar, 228.
to boatman for navigating boat, two shekels,
234.
warehousing goods, one-sixtieth value,
121.
Fines imposed for—
unlawful distraint, one-third mina, 114.
seducing daughter-in-law before marriage, half mina, 156.
aggravated assault, gentleman on gentleman, one mina, 203.
aggravated assault, poor man on poor man, ten shekels,
204.
fatal wound in quarrel, gentleman to gentleman, half mina,
207.
fatal wound in quarrel, poor man to poor man, third mina,
208.
assault on pregnant gentlewoman, causing miscarriage, ten
shekels, 209.
assault on pregnant poor woman, causing miscarriage, five
shekels, 211.
assault on pregnant slave, causing miscarriage, two shekels,
213.
assault on pregnant poor woman, causing her death, half
mina, 212.
assault on pregnant slave, causing her death, third mina,
214.
causing death of ox or sheep, by careless operation, quarter
price, 225.
distraint on working ox, one-third mina, 241.
mutilation of hired ox, quarter price, 248.
letting vicious ox gore a man to death, half mina, 251.
stealing corn or plants, on metayer, sixty gur
of corn per gan, 255.
letting oxen, taken on metayer, sixty gur
of corn per gan, 255.
theft of watering machine, five shekels, 259.
theft
of water bucket, or plough, (harrow?), three shekels, 260.
(N.B.—Fines reckoned in
silver, 60 shekels to the mina.)
Fires, theft at, 25.
Forfeit of price paid in illegal purchase, 35,
37, 177.
oxen and field, for neglect to cultivate, 256.
Forfeiture of claim—
by self-help, 113.
by cruelty, 116.
Fortress of the king, may be ‘defeat of the king,’ Winckler’s tr.
Foster mother, duties and liabilities, 194.
Freedom, of hostage for debt, after three years, 117.
to marry, as she chooses, on part of divorced wife, after
bringing up children, 137.
daughter-in-law, seduced before marriage, 158.
widow, leaving settlement to children, 172.
Free-men sold into slavery, to pay fine, 54.
Fugitive, slave, 16,
17.
poor man, 16.
Ganger, associated with constable, q.v.
Gentleman, one of three estates, contrasted with poor man and slave, 196, 197, 199, etc.
Gift. See Favourite son.