The
Code of Hammurabi
(with a comparison to the Commandments Given to Moses)
There
are notable similarities between the Code of Hammurabi and certain Israelite
legal materials, especially the Book of the Covenant. For instance, as in
Israelite law, the Code of Hammurabi contains the law of retribution in kind (lex
talionis), which prescribes proportional punishment: an eye for an eye, a
tooth for a tooth.
If a man has destroyed the eye of another man, they shall destroy his eye. If he
has broken another man's bone, they shall break his bone. (196-97)
Book
of the Covenant
If any injury occurs, you shall take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for
tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, beating for
beating. (21:23-25)
While such physical retaliation may seem brutal, in fact, it was humane in its day. Specifying restitution in kind prevented resort to harsher punishments for such offenses, typically the death penalty. The existence of this code and others like it demonstrate that Israel shared with her neighbors an ideal of justice that would be administered by a righteous king. In Israel, David and Solomon were thought to epitomize this ideal.
There
are notable similarities between the Code of Hammurabi and certain Israelite
legal materials, especially the Book of the Covenant. For instance, as in
Israelite law, the Code of Hammurabi contains the law of retribution in kind (lex
talionis), which prescribes proportional punishment: an eye for an eye, a
tooth for a tooth.
The commandments begin
with God's self-identification and also evoke the exodus.
1 And Elohim spoke all
these words, saying, 2 "I am YHWH your Elohim, who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of enslavement.
(20:1-2)
This prologue to the commandments emphasizes the loving character and concern of
God in rescuing the Israelites from slavery. First he delivered them from
slavery, then he came to them with a covenant. The implication of this prologue
is that obedience to these commands would be Israel's expression of
appreciation, and not an onerous imposition from a distant and demanding God.
3 "You may not have any
other Elohim (translated as either "gods" or "God") except me."
(20:3)
This command prohibits devotion to any deity but Yahweh. Perhaps to your
surprise, it does not categorically deny the reality of other gods.
4 "You may not make for
yourself a sculpted image, or any representation of anything that is in heaven
above, or on the earth below, or in the water under the earth. 5 You
may not bow down to them or serve them; for I YHWH your Elohim am a possessive
god, visiting the guilt of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and the
fourth generation of those who disown me, 6 but showing loyalty to
the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments."
(20:4-6)
This command prohibits using any physical form to represent Yahweh. Nothing that
God has created could ever adequately represent him. The only thing that bears a
likeness to God is humankind, which was created in his image, "after his
likeness," according to Genesis 1. This command to appropriately honor God
stresses the seriousness with which God treats loyalty and disloyalty. The
reference to heaven above, earth below, and water under the earth in the
formulation of this command is evidence that the Israelites had a tri-level
concept of the cosmos. This is also evident in the creation narrative of the
Priestly source (see Chapter 1.1).
7 "You may not take the
name of YHWH your Elohim in vain; for YHWH will not hold him guiltless who takes
his name in vain." (20:7)
This command originally intended to prohibit taking false oaths. More than that,
it also forbade disrespect shown to God by using his name wrongly or
frivolously. God's name was special. It was the nearest the Israelites came to
possessing any part of God, and had to be treated with the utmost care. Later
Jewish practice takes this prohibition so seriously that the name of God, and
even the word God, was never spoken, with phrases such as "the Lord" and "the
Name" used in its place, and G_d used in print.
8 "Remember to keep the
Sabbath day holy. 9 Six days you may work, and do all your jobs;
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to YHWH your Elohim; in it you shall
not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your
female servant, or your cattle, or the resident alien who lives with you;
11 for in six days YHWH made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in
them, and ceased from work on the seventh day; by doing this YHWH blessed the
Sabbath day and made it a holy day."
(20:8-11)
The Sabbath command institutionalizes a periodic cessation of typical daily
work. The Hebrew term shabbat literally means "cease, stop, rest." The
warrant for such a time of inactivity is the pattern of creation in which God
completed his efforts in six days and ceased work by the seventh. The
explanation from creation was added by the Priestly writer to provide the reason
for Sabbath observance. The Deuteronomy 5 restatement of this command warrants
Sabbath rest by recalling Israel's period of slavery in Egypt and God's
deliverance from it. In this light, Sabbath rest commemorates Israel's freedom
rather than God's creation.
12 "Honor your father and
your mother, so that your days in the land which YHWH your Elohim gives you may
be numerous." (20:12)
Respect must be shown to ancestors and especially parents. A high social value
was placed on children's duty to care for parents, and veneration of ancestors,
even dead ones, was broadly practiced in the ancient Middle East. Note that this
is the only command that is future oriented and holds the promise of blessing
attached to its observance. The blessing is evidently one of communal more than
individual application, assuring lasting possession of the Promised Land.
13 "You must not murder."
(20:13)
This is a prohibition of murder, and not of killing generally. Capital
punishment was mandated for a variety of offenses in the Hebrew Bible (for
example, see 21:12-17).
14 "You must not commit
adultery." (20:14)
In its original setting this command primarily prohibited sexual relations with
another man's wife. This prohibition against the sexual promiscuity of married
persons is aimed to protect the blood line of offspring. This was a crucial
issue in matters of inheritance where a father wants to be sure he and not
someone else has sired his heir.
15 "You must not steal."
(20:15)
Stealing in the first instance probably applied to persons rather than property
in the biblical world. Kidnapping was a common ancient practice (see 21:16 where
the same Hebrew verb is used) and this commandment was intended to provide for
personal security. Later it was extended to material property.
16 "You must not bear
false witness against your neighbor."
(20:16)
Here deceitfulness and perjury are in view, perhaps first of all in a judicial
setting. However, the commandment extends to a general protection of personal
reputation, which is crucial for maintaining social order.
17 "You must not covet
your neighbor's estate: that is, you must not covet your neighbor's wife, or his
male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that
belongs to your neighbor." (20:17)
This is the only command that was intended to regulate attitude rather than
behavior. The reason is clear: coveting, or deeply desiring what is not one's
own, is a state of mind that often leads to other prohibited behaviors.
Contentment with what God has already provided is implicitly enjoined.
The commands naturally divide into two general categories.
The first commands define behaviors that apply to the people's relationship with
God. This relationship is an exclusive one that demands total loyalty. The
latter commands define behaviors which apply to relationships within the
community. Both categories of behavior together constitute the essence of
covenant. Put positively they command this: Love God and your neighbor as
yourself (see Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18).
Most of the Ten Commandments take the form of absolute law, also termed apodictic law. The commands, in other words, are unconditional. They apply with no "ifs, ands, or buts." Even though most of these commands are negative in form ("do not do this"), this does not imply that God's requirements were oppressively restrictive. In fact, they merely placed certain general types of actions and attitudes out of bounds. Beyond that they leave a rather wide latitude for freedom of action. They were certainly not perceived as oppressive by the Israelites, who found delight in God's law (for example, see Psalms 1 and 119). Although cast in the negative, they can be considered general policy statements which were intended to shape the broader religious and moral character of the nation.