The Beatitudes, The Ten Commandments And The Code Of Hammurabi

Hammurabi’s code is believed to be the first form of written law. It consists of a set of 282 laws written by Hammurabi, the king of Babylon circa 1792 BCE, that established a written social contract amongst the people of Babylonia. It was written on a stone stele that stands more than eight feet tall and weighs over 4 tons (doc A). According to the stele, Hammurabi was instructed to create the code by Shamash, the god of justice (doc B). However, it introduces conflicting ideas about justice that are arguable to this day. Were his rules unethical or his punishments too severe? Hammurabi’s code may be seen as unfair by today’s standards, but in solving matters that involve family, property, and health issues of his time, Hammurabi’s code was just because it utilizes negative reinforcement to implement positive results in society.

Drowning, cutting off hands, and hangings were all punishments in Hammurabi’s code. Given to him by Shamash, the god of justice, the code was carved on a stone stele and consisted of 282 laws. The laws were just for Hammurabi’s time period, but they would not be considered just by today’s standards. Compared to people today, Hammurabi and his subjects have a more impulsive mindset; their society is adverse to the works of society today. In that case it is expected that certain components, like laws, will be viewed differently over time.

Hammurabi had some unjust codes that were harsh and unfair. For example, if a man had broken into another man’s house and were to break through the wall, they would whether get put to death and pierced or hung where they had broken the wall [law 21]. This punishment seems really harsh and rude because they could’ve just paid a certain amount of money and fixed the wall or something. Personally, I think that Hammurabi could be a little less harsh on the laws and be nicer about them because I have noticed that more of the harsher punishment went toward the woman and not the men. Woman and men should be treated the same way no matter what. That’s

Hammurabi’s code included some gruesome punishments, some that might be believed as unruly, but is still just. Hammurabi’s code was just in many ways pertaining to their time. These laws are not the oldest set, but they were possibly the most strict from the ancient world. The punishments for breaking some laws are different for the multiple classes on the social structure and genders. Also, during his time, Hammurabi was known more as a builder and conqueror than a law-giver. All in all, the laws abiding in Hammurabi’s code are just because of its personal injury and family laws.

Around 4,000 years ago Hammurabi’s code was created by Hammurabi the king of Babylonia with the goal of bringing justice to his kingdom. He even claimed that Shamash the god of justice commanded him to make these laws. Then his laws were carved into large stone’s called steles, written in the ancient cuneiform written, and then put up throughout all major communities of Babylonia. However, these ancient laws were not fair for everyone in his kingdom. Hammurabi’s Code was unjust because the laws pertaining to family life, property law, and personal injury were unfair.

The Code of Hammurabi from the ancient Babylonian civilization, and the Twelve Tables from Ancient Rome society were both sets of laws from by which their societies had to abide. The Ancient Babylonian society abided by the Code of Hammurabi while the Ancient Romans abided by The Twelve Tables. Although they both served as promising laws to live by, they also served as tools that defined and distinguished each citizen’s position in the social order. Depending on where they stood in the social order, any criminal punishment would be tailored to that specific class. In Mesopotamian history, the most consummate code of law was the Code of Hammurabi, engendered by the King Hammurabi. The Twelve Tables was created by the Roman elites in order to create justice and fairness between the plebian and patricians. Both these sets of laws, although belonging to different societies, sought to create the illusion of fairness and equality outwardly towards the people, and inwardly, reward the rich and elite of their respective social class with power. Although these sets of laws belonged to different societies, they both casted an illusion of fairness and equality. However, in actuality these regulations only benefited the rich and elite.

Hammurabi’s code influenced the people of his kingdom greatly, he set valuable legitimate standards that have lasted to this day. Not only did this code set standards but it also includes a modern-day take of court and justice procedures. The Ten Commandment shaped people’s belief not only for Christians, it also shaped morality in all cultures and religions. Because of the two laws/codes, civilizations learnt what was right and what was wrong; the two laws influenced them to do the same. What would happen if one disobeyed the rules? It would count as a sin or be punished, which is also the way legal judiciaries do, however the punishments are not so brutal. Why? Because people have learnt how to be wise with the decisions they make, civilizations have gotten a moral sense because of these laws. In addition to the last point stated, the two laws give a basic and complex legal code that defends the innocent, punishes the guilty, it establishes a right to own and regulate private land, allows for self-defense, enforces the law to treat people with respect etc. All of the laws stated above apply to modern day society and culture, especially in judicial

The code of Hammurabi is the most remarkable and complete code of ancient law that we have. The code can be found on a stele, a stone slab usually to commemorate military victories in the ancient world. His code, a collection of 282 laws and standards, stipulated rules for commercial interactions and set fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice. Most punishments resulting of death or loss of limb if a law was broken. The edicts ranged from family law to professional contracts and administrative law, often outlining different standards of justice for the three classes of Babylonian society. The Hammurabi Code was issued on the three classes of Babylonian Society, property owners, freemen and slaves. It was important as it organized the most civilized empire at that times , and Hammurabi made many copies of it and distributed them in the most important cities of the empire , so it represented a great progress to the human

The Code of Hammurabi was a strict, harsh, and unequal way of punishment that focused on current attainable penalties for Mesopotamian society. The society wasn’t religious, they did not have any affiliations with spiritual beings, which is why punishments were needed for the specific moment

The Code of Hammurabi was made more to put order in the Babylonian civilization and it also is more straight forward. Even though it has religious reasons and was made by a very religious man, it was still mostly made to keep order in the civilization. The Code of Hammurabi even addresses how much things can be bought and sold for. Number 239, “If a man hire a salor, he shall pay him six gur of corn per year”, another example is number 243, “As rent of heard cattle he shall pay three gur of corn to the owner. The Code of Hammurabi also has more of a revenge seeking tone to it. Just in number one is the perfect example for people to get revenge. “If any one enshare another, putting a ban upon him, but he cannot prove it, then he that ensured him shall be put to death.” Another example of revenge is number 218, “If an physician make a large incision with the operating knife, and cut out the eye, his hands shall be cut off.” This document for the most part was mostly a way to punish people or bring justice to the people. It also talks about going

Hammurabi's code was just, because it protected people and was fair. For most of the 282 laws in hammurabi's code they were in the best interest of helping and protecting the week, sick, poor, and the vast majority of babylonia. The laws were mostly fair to the people because usually the punishment was something of equal or greater harm than which the crime was committed. The only concern of mine is how harsh some laws were, because the punishment was way worse than the crime, but it was in a good cause so if the punishment was not death that the criminal was taught a good lesson, and if it was death the people didn't have to worry about the criminal that was killed because the criminal would be dead.

He set this laws on extensive stone pieces around the realm. I don't think it was all in all correct to rebuff individuals who couldn't read the code on the stones. Hammurabi said that his code was intended to secure the powerless, however the greater part of the laws are more uncalled for the slaves and lower class men then the privileged men, if an average person were to carry out a wrongdoing, their hands would be cut off. In the event that somebody of a higher status carried out A similar wrongdoing, they would simply need to pay a little fine. Hammurabi said that the god Shamash gave him the laws, however in a similar discourse he said that "I set up these valuable words, composed upon my remembrance stone".

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

Code of Hammurabi The Code of Hammurabi, in today’s terms, would seem to be a very violent and almost barbaric way of punishing people for their crimes. Even though this may be true, this code of laws tells the modern world a vast amount about the culture, social classes, religious beliefs, and gender roles from the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations. In this culture, when it comes to someone being wronged or taken advantage of in some way, the primary goal was to repay the wronged person and then punish someone for the crime. The code also tells the reader how the Mesopotamians dealt with the stealing which shows a lot about their views of personal property and punishment, but it also tells the reader their system of trade and markets. The Code also reveals many details about how important slavery was to the culture, and the way a family was organized in a patriarchy.

Although both codes lay out instructions against crimes like theft, murder, and adultery, it does not mean the Mosaic Law copied from Hammurabi’s Code. It just goes to show that both