Hammurabi First Class

v     Classes

¯     The law seems to recognize three, defined as

¤        Free born

¤        Freed

¤        Slave

¯     The Britannica article recognizes three, defined as

¤        Amelu: Patrician? Includes artisans

¤        Muskinu: Landless man?

¤        Ardu: Slave

¯     The Britannica isnÕt limited to the codeÑlots of other surviving material.

v     Making sense of quantities, prices, etc.

¯     Problems

¤        Different units

á        Mina

á        Shekels

á        Gerah

á        Gur of corn

á        Ka of corn

¤        Units of weight used as money

á        Mina of gold

á        Mina of silver

á        Mina of money???

á        Mina

á        Shekel, Gerah similarly

¯     Solutions:

¤        Web search which tells us

á        Mina about a poundÑsurviving weights!

á        60 shekels to the mina

á        20 Gerah to the shekel, at least in Israel

á        gur = aprox 300 liters

á        sar = 36 square meters

á        gold about 12 times the value of silver by weight

¤        Internal consistency

á        Some wages are given in gur of corn/year, some in gerah/day

¬      So you can calculate a conversion between them

¬      Assuming how many days people work

¬      And from that to shekels

á        Hire of oxen, cart and driver is 180 ka of corn/day

¬      Ox for threshing 20 ka

¬      cart alone is 40 ka

¬      so driver is 100 ka/day

¯     if we assume two oxen

¯     and assume that oxen for threshing cost the same rental as oxen to draw a cartÑwhich may be wrong

¬      60 ka/day if four oxen, other assumptions the same

¬      which should be around 60-100 shekels/year, the ordinary wage rate suggested from other sources

á        fines in mina and closely related fines in shekels

¬      striking the body of another

¯      1 gold mina for freeborn striking body of another free born of equal rank

¯     10 shekels if freed man strikes the body of another freed man

¯     so shekel must be gold shekel, makes it 1/3 instead of 1/36 the amount.

¬      Strike a woman, she loses the child

¯     10 shekels if a free born woman

¯     5 shekels if freed

á        fines in mina of gold and closely related fines in mina

¬      Accidental death from injury in a quarrel, free born, 1/2 mina

¬      Putting out the eye of a freed man, 1 gold mina

¬      Suggests that ÒminaÓ means gold

¬      Goring ox kills a free born man, 1/2 mina in money

¬      Suggests that that also means gold.

¤        Conclusion:

á        Mina is always gold unless specified as silver

á        Ditto for shekel

¯     Wages?

¤        1 calculation suggests 60-100 shekels/year, but É

¤        A boat with displacement of 20 tons only two shekels to build?

¤        Hire of a boat about a shekel a week!

¤        Serious injury (eye or fracture) of a freed man 60 shekelsÑfits.

¤        Negligently killing a free born man, 30 shekelsÑtoo low.

¤        Strikes a woman, she loses her child, 5-10 shekels.

¤        If she dies, 20-30 shekels

¤        Physician heals a fracture, 2-5 shekels, operation 2-10 shekels

á        Depending on rank of patient

á        Risk of losing his hands if he kills or blinds the patient

á        Or having to replace patient if a slave (or half if lost an eye)

¯     Value of life

¤        For upper class, eye for an eye for serious offenses

¤        Fines start at 1 mina for freed, 1/2 mina for free born woman

v     Analyzing the code

¯     Sort it into criminal, tort, property, family, etc.

¯     Try to make sense of each

¯      Recognizing that our classification may not fit theirs very well.

v     Criminal

¯     Death penalty for lots of things

¤        Ensnare but not proofÑsome sort of false accusation

¤        Bring a capital accusation but not prove it

¤        Steal the property of temple or courtÑor receive the stolen property

á        But steal cattle, sheep, ass, pig or goat

¬      from god or court, pay thirty fold

¬      ten fold if a freed man of the king (?)

¬      death if he canÕt pay

¤        merchant who sells stolen property

¤        or possessor if he canÕt prove he bought it from a merchant

¤        or putative owner, if he canÕt prove he owned it!

¤        Buying something from someoneÕs son or slave without witness or contract, a thief, capital

¤        Stealing a minor son

¤        Taking someone elseÕs slave (court or freed man) outside the city gates

¤        Harboring such a slave

¤        Breaking into a house

¤        Caught committing a robbery.

¯     Trial by ordealÑleap into the river.

¯     Accuser gets the fine!

¯     Judge who is culpably wrong pays 12 times the fine, is fired