Today the rules, morals, and beliefs we have did not just develop in present times. The laws
that are present in today’s world have derived from past beliefs and ancient laws. Of course,
the ideas of the laws have changed due to maturity of times, but the ideal purpose of these
laws has not changed. Whether or not religion is a basis in a person’s life, every person has a
level of morals and principles to regulate one’s behavior and understands how to determine
right from wrong. A society lacking morals, principles, ethics, or conduct regulation is
condemned for chaos and downfall. With these consequences in mind, rulers or persons of
regulation over time have produced sets of guidelines for a group of people to live by. These
rules have been altered over time and are used today. Primary laws are The Code of
Hammurabi and The Ten Commandments; these two documents are the basis of where laws
have came to be today in the United States and all over the world.
Laws are put into place to keep the people of society in good standing, they are written as a guideline of
crimes and subsequent punishments that create a sort of moral code by which citizens should live by.
One of the earliest and most famous law codes created was that of Hammurabi, a Babylonian king. The
law code of Hammurabi originates in ancient Babylon and dates to 1760 BC; this predates the law code of
Moses which dates to 1312 BCE. When one is to compare these two ancient codes it is quite easy to see
their shocking similarities. Both of these codes have religious backgrounds, Hammurabi receiving the
laws from the god Shamash, and Moses receiving his code of law from God. In fact some scholars argue
that due to their similarities these two different bodies of work may in fact be related to one another, the
thought is that Hammurabi’s code was a direct predecessor of Moses’ law. These two works have
influenced lawmakers of governments to this day, although the punishments of old are much more severe,
the presumption of innocence and the thought of a trial were given birth to in these two early codes. In
the following we will take an in depth look at the vast array of similarities and differences in these two
codes, and also a look at the two men who delivered them.
Hammurabi was a Babylonian king; he was the best known ruler from the Amorite dynasty. Little
is known of Hammurabi’s early life, until the time he inherited the throne in 1792 BC at a particularly
young age. Known mostly for his code of laws which were “once considered the oldest promulgation of
laws in human history” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010) Hammurabi strived to be a just ruler, which was
commonplace for all Mesopotamian rulers at the time. His code of laws were “inscribed on a diorite stela
set up in Babylon’s temple of Marduk, the national god of Babylonia” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010) so
that all citizens could see them. In all there were 282 case laws that varied from family law, criminal law,
economic provisions, and civil law, the punishments set forth in his laws are considered extremely harsh
in current times.
Moses, most known for his delivery of the Ten Commandments, was born of Hebrew descent in a
time where all Hebrew male children were to be killed as ordered by the pharaoh of Egypt, through some
luck Moses was raised in the pharaoh’s palace and was taught many things. After some time of living in
Egypt after witnessing a Hebrew slave being brutally beaten Moses fled Egypt to become a herdsman in
the desert. Moses was then chosen to deliver the Hebrew people from slavery, and also was in charge of
being their chief lawmaker, where upon Mt. Sinai God himself instructed Moses of the Ten
Commandments. Later Moses would more in depth create a code of laws in five books, which are
published in the old testament of the bible.
One common occurrence found with Moses and Hammurabi are the laws about the respect one
should show for their parents. In these ancient times family interaction was a part of everyday life, and
their were many laws governing family affairs. In both codes we can see that the father of a household
was the primary decision maker and overall leader of the unit, and disrespect towards him was
intolerable. Law 195 of Hammurabi’s code states that “If a son strikes his father, his hands shall be hewn
off. “ (King, 1910) with this law we can already begin the see the seriousness of the offence. According
to Moses’ law "Anyone who attacks his father or his mother must be put to death." (The Holy Bible,
Exodus 21:15)
Another area that is touched upon by both codes of law is that which pertains to thievery. A mans
possessions are considered sacred in ancient times as they are today, taking that which is not rightfully
yours is considered the utmost of disrespect and was considered a very serious offense. An example of
this can be seen in Law 14 of Hammurabi’s code which states “If any one steals the minor son of another,
he shall be put to death.” (King, 1910). In comparison to the Law of Moses which states “If a man is
caught kidnapping one of his brother Israelites and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must
die.” (The Holy Bible, Deut. 24:7). This principal does not only apply to the theft of a person but to the
theft of a persons belongings, Hammurabi Law 21 “If any one break a hole into a house (break in to
steal), he shall be put to death before that hole and be buried.” (King, 1910) this law does differ from the
Law of Moses which states “"If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is
not guilty of bloodshed; but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed. A thief must certainly
make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft." (The Holy Bible, Exodus
22:2-3), where no matter the instance the offender should be put to death according to Hammurabi’s law
we see in Moses’ law that depending on the time of the day the offender may only be required to pay back
what was taken, if he could not he would be sold into slavery, also it is important to note in Moses’ code
that if the offender was killed in daylight hours than the defender would be held accountable for his death.
A very famous quote that is said to this day is “an eye for and eye”, this quote in fact originated
with the Law of Hammurabi. In ancient times ones personal body was considered to be a temple, and any
assault on it in any fashion was the highest of crimes. We can see this illustrated in the Law of
Hammurabi which says “If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out….If he break
another man's bone, his bone shall be broken. …If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall
be knocked out.” (King, 1910) this law almost directly mirrors the Law of Moses which states "If anyone
injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, and
tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured." (The Holy Bible, Leviticus 24:19-20)
the only difference here is that with the Law of Hammurabi if the offender is of higher social status than
he who he injured, the offender may be required to pay only a fine for his offense.
As we can see in the quotes from the previous paragraphs there is a distinct similarity in a general
perspective of law in ancient times according to Hammurabi and Moses. It is until we take an even
deeper look do we see that in actuality there are subtle differences that set these two codes of law apart,
and create with that great uniqueness to both works. Although both codes were spiritually derived, the
Law of Moses was the only to touch upon religious proceedings and the proper way to go about them,
giving specific instructions on special feasts and on the proper practices of sacrifice, the law of
Hammurabi does not in an in-depth fashion touch upon religious ceremonies in any form. Also
differences can be seen in the unique punishments given for certain offenses committed, where as one
may be put to death for a crime according to the law of Moses the offender may only be fined according
to the law of Hammurabi. In the end we can see how the morals and values of ancient times were fairly
similar across the board, we can now see that after taking a closer look at these two codes of law that they
were obviously created in two different time periods with two separate understandings of what was
deemed suitable punishment for a certain crime, but without a doubt it is quite easy to see the moral
similarities these two different people shared.
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