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The Laws of Moses and the Code of Hammurabi
Mohsin Jaffery
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Jewish Studies,
Old Babylonian period,
Ancient Israel
An analysis of the similarities and differences between the Mosaic Law and the Code of Hammurabi.
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According to the theological perspective many Jewish scholars andbelievers hold, the Hebrew Bible is a divine scripture which holds authority. This initiates the premise that all the narratives in the Torah such as thenarrative on the creation o Adam and ve, !oah”s Ar#, $odom and%omorrah and many others are divinely inspired. However, throughout thecourse o history, there have been many disputes within the credibility andauthority o the Torah and i it is truly written by &oses. $cholars such as Julius ‘ellhausen introduced the documentary hypothesis which suggestedthat the (entateuch was not entirely written by &oses) rather post*&oasicauthor”s contributed to writing the narratives and parallels within the Torah.+onseuently, the denial o the authenticity o &osaic authorship has beenan ongoing discussion within the -eld o Ancient sraelite studies. t is vital torecogni/e that since the &osaic 0aw”s ound throughout the Torah hold divineauthority within Jewish traditions, academics and theological scholars haveinvestigated whether or not these laws have been reiterated or plagiari/edrom other religious and political authorities. ‘ithin the discourse regardingthe authenticity o the 0aw o &oses, scholars have argued that most o the&osaic 0aws share many similarities with the +ode o Hammurabi which werea set o laws established by a Babylonian ing by the name o Hammurabiwho ruled 233 years beore &oses was born. This investigation began a ewyears ater the +ode o Hammurabi was discovered in $usa in 1431 and
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1435.
This analytical paper will attempt to discuss the #ey similarities aswell the diferences between the 0aws o &oses and The +ode oHammurabi, as well as the scholarly views on which stance within thisdiscourse is historically and logically correct.Hammurabi is considered the si6th #ing o the -rst Babylonian dynasty whoruled rom 1748 to 1783 B.+. Assyriologists state that during the reign oHammurabi, there was a triumph o $emitic authority due to his conuestsand destructions o anti*$emitic states.
The code o Hammurabi which wasound in $usa is one o the most ancient writings within Babylonian cultureand consists o laws written by Hammurabi. This code contains 15 sections inwhich there are appro6imately 578 to 233 laws. This code consists o lawsregarding social, political and theological issues in which the depiction oBabylonian traditions and culture can be perceived. These laws which wereinscribed on a $teele were erected within the temple and were considered tohave authority within the Babylonian society o the time. Although there isnot su9cient proo, scholars agree on the act that the laws o Hammuarabiwere reerred to during trials and yet again, were considered as an authoritysince the actions people too# in society were not meant to con:ict with theselaws.
t is vital to recogni/e that not only was the military and political reign
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Inventing Gods Law: How the Covenant Code of the Bible Used andRevised the Laws of Hammurabi
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The Law of Hammurabi and its audience 9!
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o Hammurabi considered a legacy within &esopotamia , but so were hislaws since they were applied within matters o Babylonian legal issues aterhis demise.&any o the laws o Hammurabi however, share a resemblance withthe &osaic law within the Hebrew Bible. Though Hammurabi received hiscode rom the $un %od and &oses rom the ;ne %od o the sraelites, both o these codes share similarities not only within the 0aws but also manyproclamations o their %od”s. An e6ample o this can be ound in the prologueto the code o Hammurabi which states, <‘hen Anu the $ublime, ing otheAnuna#i, andBel, the lord o Heaven and earth, who decreed the ate othe land, assigned to&ardu#, the over*ruling son oa, %od orighteousness, dominion over earthly man, and made him great amongthegigi, they calledBabylon by his illustrious name, made it great on earth,and ounded an everlasting #ingdom in it, whose oundations are laid sosolidly as those o heaven and earth) thenAnu andBel called by name me,Hammurabi, the e6alted prince, who eared %od, to bring about the rule orighteousness in the land, to destroy the wic#ed and the evil*doers) so thatthe strong should not harm the wea#) so that should rule over the blac#*headed people li#e$hamash, and enlighten the land, to urther the well*being o man#ind=. A similar passage to this can be ound in the boo# o6odus in which &oses proclaims the divine authority o >ahweh in which hesays, <And he passed in ront o &oses, proclaiming, <The 0
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, thecompassionate and gracious %od, slow to anger, abounding in love and