Name: Veronica Vasquez
Professor: Theodore Sanders
Class: WOH 1012 History of World Civilization to 1500
Date: October 15th, 2015
Code of Hammurabi Vs. The Ten Commandments.
Picture a king so ahead of his time and so powerful that he was aware of the importance and sense of urgency behind establishing laws to ensure the growth of civilization and humanity. His name was Hammurabi and he was the king of Babylon. He reigned from 1792 B.C. all the way to 1750 B.C. As an innovative and feared king he created 282 laws for everyone to follow, as gruesome as "an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" and as political as ranking people from nobles to slaves and everything in between, he started a new era for Central Mesopotamia then, and all of humanity now. (Edgar et al) As unimaginable as it sounds for someone to come up with a simple 282 laws for a just way of living; at a later time in Egypt there was someone else coming up with a more spiritual way of life. The Ten Commandments, although history says that Moses discovered the stone some time in 1400 B.C., 300 years after, it has been said that these commandments were known about since the beginning of time from a Higher Power. Moses was a former Egyptian prince and later became a Prophet. The bible quotes Moses as one of the greatest Prophets of history. Facing Pharaoh Ramses and freeing the Jews from slavery, he was one of the most important religious leaders of all time. These commandments explain a better
My Research Question: How does the Hammurabi code of law compare to today’s legal system?
Nearly 4,000 years ago, a man named Hammurabi became king of babylonia. He ruled for 42 years. During that time, he became the ruler of much of Mesopotamia, which had an estimated population of 1,000,000 people or more. In his 38th year, Hammurabi made a set of 282 laws called a code that he had engraved on a stone stele. He did this to bring order and fairness to all. There has been some debate about the justness of this code. In my opinion, Hammurabi’s code was not just because of it’s family law, property law, and personal injury law.
To begin Hammurabi’s Code was not just because all of his rules were very strict. For example in Document C If a woman was caught with another man then they shall be tied together and be drowned in a lake. Also if a son struck his dad his hands would be caught off. I think that these rules are too harsh because they all lead to death. Another example that Hammurabi's code was not just was that instead of killing a person he could just put the person in jail.
The Ten Commandments brought to us through Moses were said to be man's first laws. According to the Bible society was devoid of morality with the people running rampant. There were no laws to govern the actions of society and this created a hedonistic environment with people doing whatever they wanted without regard to the ramifications of such behavior. Obviously unable to govern their own impulses and without any moral compass the society was in danger of breaking down completely. According to Moses' account God spoke to him through a burning bush and voila the Ten Commandments were born. I believe these to be a good example of Divine Command Theory. Of course, there are problems with this
Hammurabi's code was unjust because the laws were unfair,and very strict. For example ,law number 6 states that if anyone steals the property of a temple he shall be put to death,and the one who receives the stolen item from him shall be put to death. This law is unjust because both of who stole it shall be put to death,and also the one who receives it,and if the one who receives it gives it to someone else. Another example is law number 48,this law says that if a man borrows money to plant his fields,and a storm has flooded his field he doesn't have to give back the money. This law is unjust because it is not the man's fault that the storm happened, so he has to give back the money. The final example is law number 260,this
Eye for eye to keep the kingdom just. When Hammurabi become ruler of babylon he made 292 laws to keep the order in his new kingdom straight, he got those rules from shamash the god of justice so that the law would be fair to everyone in the kingdom. This king ruled an extremely large class in babylon and he lasted for a very long time. Just means that something is fair to both people that committed or got committed crimes on, so i will be discussing weather hammurabi's laws are just. I believe that hammurabi's codes of laws are just. In this essay i will be discussing if hammurabi's codes are
Hammurabi, King and ruler of Babylon from 1792-1750 B.c at the beginning of his rein, Mesopotamia was divided into many city states, all with their own patterns of shifting rules, but Hammurabi eventually brought the entire region under his control, he collected laws from varied city states, and wrote down a set of codes, that soon governed the entire area (King 56). Hammurabi’s written code allowed lot to be a matter of public knowledge and so help advance the rule of law in society. Babylon’s great monuments make a strong impression of the biblical scribes, but the most enduring legacy surviving to this day, is the Babylonian intervention far more impression still, the Rule of Law (King 56). Babylon was the first civilization on earth to have a written legal code ( King 56) . The original carb stone is in an astonishing relic, lost for hundreds of years it will emerge in the late 19 century, a stone engraved with one of the most important legal documents of all time (King 58). 12 hundred years before the issue relies was taking captive a Babylonian king who had the stone carb with the laws, the barriers name Hammurabi’s code (King 61).
The first set of laws that were recorded were from ancient Babylon by the King, at the time, Hammurabi (1795 - 1750 BCE). These laws were written because the laws became more complex and more abundant over time. Finally choosing to write them down, Hammurabi and his people had some unorthodox feelings towards those who disobeyed the law. The large differences between then and now prove that society has evolved and beliefs have changed drastically from what they once were.
If a son hits his father, his hands shall be cut off. If anyone commits robbery and is caught, he shall be put to death. Hammurabi’s Laws were harsh and put people in much danger. The laws made people very aware of what would happen if they committed any type of crime. Hammurabi lived in the kingdom of Babylon and Ruled there for 42 years. He wrote a set of 282 laws on a large pillar-like stone. A God, by the name of Shamash, gave Hammurabi the right to write these laws. In this Essay I will discuss the question, Was Hammurabis Code Just? You may be wondering what “just” means and it is simply another word for fair. So, I will be determining if Hammurabi’s code was fair or unfair. In my opinion Hammurabi’s code
Humanities brings students a very important understanding that there is a big difference between understanding history and understanding culture. In history we learn about certain events, wars, treaties, plagues, etc. With humanities, we can come to understand the culture behind the history, how people behaved in a certain time period, what they believed in, what they created. This gives us a deeper understanding into how history was shaped, and the more we learn about other cultures the more we can respect each other as human beings.
The hebrews were people who were forced out of their homeland in mesopotamian basin. The hebrews focused on the commandments of their god no matter what. The ten commandments was the centerpiece of the Torah and it was literally an instruction manual. The way the Torah is written is different from the code of Hammurabi. Because hebrew and mesopotamian laws are different they did not contain the same thing. The code of hammurabi was consisted of a list of punishments if you did not comply. Being that the hebrews knew how it felt to be alienated their laws were made for all humans and they didn't care if you were rich or poor, everyone was held to the same standards. “You will not cheat the poor among you of their rights of law” (Exodus 23:6,
Goring Ox Law Many people do not realize how many laws people had to follow in the ancient east. The Hammurapi’s Laws and the readings from Exodus 21-23 have many similar qualities. But just like everything else they can be analyzed differently when they are being compared. While throughout both readings they talk about the goring ox law.
Let us begin our study by looking at the historical setting of the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 20:1, we read, “Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.” The word “then” implies that something happened previously. Three months earlier God miraculously delivered the people of Israel from Egypt. The Ten Commandments were given to the people of Israel as they were leaving Egypt and journeying to the Promised Land. (Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy
The Law of the Ten Commandments is not an arbitrary decree, imposed on disgusted subjects. It is above all the Law of life, without which national existence, personal security, human freedom and even civilization, would be impossible.
God instituted all authority. Sometimes we suffer from our governmental officers and at other times we thrive and are blessed. Exodus 20:1-2 says, “And God spoke all these words, saying, 'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.'” The Israelites were to obey God because He “is” God! Even when the authorities are oppressive or overextending their power, we are still required to obey. The only time we must disobey is when they command us to do something God has strictly