There is a dramatic difference in perspective between Hammurabi and Moses. Such a principle as this was utterly unknown to the Babylonians as seen in their law code.” The great fundamental principle of the laws of God in the Hebrew Bible may be summed up in the words: ‘Be ye holy, for I am holy’. Such a thought is entirely lacking in Hammurabi’s Code. In his book Highlights of Archaeology in Bible Lands, Fred Wight writes, “The Mosaic Law gives strong emphasis to the recognition of sin as being the cause of the downfall of a nation. The spiritual dimension is what makes the Law of Moses unique. The Mosaic Law elevates the value of human life, and its whole tenor is more compassionate than that of the Hammurabian Code. As a result, the Mosaic Law dealt with the cause of crime, not just its effects. The Law of Moses provided justice, but it also dealt with spiritual laws and personal and national holiness. In this way, Hammurabi has more in common with Draco than with Moses.
#Eye for an eye bible leviticus code#
The Code of Hammurabi focused exclusively on criminal and civil laws and meted out harsh, and sometimes brutal, punishments. The Hammurabian Code and other ancient laws do not do this. The Law of Moses is more than a legal code it speaks of sin and responsibility to God. The moral principles of the Old Testament are based on a righteous God who demanded that mankind, created in His image, live righteously. For example, the Law of Moses went far beyond the Code of Hammurabi in that it was rooted in the worship of one God, supreme over all (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). The differences between Mosaic Law and the Hammurabian Code are equally significant. Should one country not prosecute a crime simply because another country has a similar law? Both Babylon and Israel had laws against murder, but it doesn’t follow that one stole the idea from the other. Similarity in penal codes should be expected in civil societies. Such parallels certainly don’t prove plagiarism. Even today, countries throughout the world have similar laws. What the similarities do show is that murder, theft, adultery, and kidnapping are problems in every society and must be addressed. There are other examples, but in all truth, such resemblances do not demonstrate that Moses plagiarized Hammurabi’s Code. Statute 206 of the Hammurabian Code says, “If during a quarrel one man strike another and wound him, then he shall swear, ‘I did not injure him wittingly,’ and pay the physicians.” The Law of Moses is comparable: “If people quarrel and one person hits another with a stone or with their fist and the victim does not die but is confined to bed, the one who struck the blow will not be held liable if the other can get up and walk around outside with a staff however, the guilty party must pay the injured person for any loss of time and see that the victim is completely healed” (Exodus 21:18-19). Also, there are similarities in the law of retaliation, such as “an eye for an eye” (Leviticus 21:23-25 cf. If they’re right, and Moses simply stole from the Babylonians, then the whole episode at Mount Sinai is false (Exodus 34), and the inspiration of Scripture is suspect.īoth Levitical law and Hammurabi’s Code impose the death penalty in cases of adultery and kidnapping (Leviticus 20:10 Exodus 21:16 cf.
Because the Mosaic Law contains some similarities to Hammurabi’s Code, some critics of the Bible believe that Moses copied from the Hammurabian Code. The complexity of the laws and their subject matter reveal much about ancient Babylonian culture.Ībout 300 years after Hammurabi, in 1440 B.C., Moses recorded the Law for the Israelites. The Code is primarily a case-by-case formula of customary law covering administrative, civil, and criminal issues. The Hammurabian Code is divided into 12 sections and consists of 282 laws, 34 of which are unreadable. The Code of Hammurabi, discovered on a stele in 1901, is one of the best preserved and comprehensive of ancient writings of significant length ever found. He is remembered today for promoting and enforcing an organized code of laws. Hammurabi was a Babylonian king who reigned from 1795 to 1750 B.C.
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