The foundation of all law-making in Babylonia from about the middle of

the twenty-third century B.C. to the fall of the empire was the code of

Hammurabi, the first king of all Babylonia.  He expelled invaders from his

dominions, cemented the union of north and south Babylonia, made Babylon the

capital, and thus consolidated an empire which endured for almost twenty

centuries.  The code which he compiled is the oldest known in history, older

by nearly a thousand years than the Mosaic, and of earlier date than the

so-called Laws of Manu.  It is one of the most important historical landmarks

in existence, a document which gives us knowledge not otherwise furnished of

the country and people, the civilization and life of a great centre of human

action hitherto almost hidden in obscurity.  Hammurabi, who is supposed to be

identical with Amraphel, a contemporary of Abraham, is regarded as having

certainly contributed through his laws to the Hebrew traditions.  The

discovery of this code has, therefore, a special value in relation to biblical

studies, upon which so many other important side-lights have recently been

thrown.

     The discovery was made at Susa, Persia, in December and January, 1901-2,

by M. de Morgan's French excavating expedition.  The monument on which the

laws are inscribed, a stele of black diorite nearly eight feet high, has been

fully described by Assyriologists, and the inscription transcribed.  It has

been completely translated by Dr. Hugo Winckler, whose translation (in Die

Gesetze Hammurabis, Band IV, Heft 4, of Der Alte Orient) furnishes the basis

of the version herewith presented.  Following an autobiographic preface, the

text of the code contains two hundred and eighty edicts and an epilogue.  To

readers of the code who are familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures many biblical

parallels will occur.

Preface

     When Anu the Sublime, king of the Anunaki, and Bel [god of the earth],

the Lord of Heaven and earth, who decreed the fate of the land, assigned to

Marduk [or Merodach, the great god of Babylon] the over-ruling son of Ea [god

of the waters], God of righteousness, dominion over earthly man, and made him

great among the Igigi, they called Babylon by his illustrious name, made it

great on earth, and founded an everlasting kingdom in it [Babylon], whose

foundations are laid so solidly as those of heaven and earth; then Anu and Bel

called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared God, to bring

about the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the wicked and the

evil-doers; so that the strong should not harm the weak; so that I should rule

over the black-headed people like Shamash [the sun-god], and enlighten the

land, to further the well-being of mankind.

     Hammurabi, the prince, called of Bel am I, making riches and increase,

enriching Nippur and Dur-ilu beyond compare, sublime patron of E-kur [temple

of Bel in Nippur, the seat of Bel's worship]; who reestablished Eridu and

purified the worship of E-apsu [temple of Ea, at Eridu, the chief seat of Ea's

worship]; who conquered the four quarters of the world, made great the name of

Babylon, rejoiced the heart of Marduk, his lord who daily pays his devotions

in Saggil [Marduk's temple in Babylon]; the royal scion whom Sin made; who

enriched Ur [Abraham's birthplace, the seat of the worship of Sin, the

moon-god]; the humble, the reverent, who brings wealth to Gish-shir-gal; the

white king, heard of Shamash, the mighty, who again laid the foundations of

Sippana [seat of worship of Shamash and his wife, Malkat]; who clothed the

gravestones of Malkat with green [symbolizing the resurrection of nature]; who

made E-babbar [temple of the sun in Sippara] great, which is like the heavens;

the warrior who guarded Larsa and renewed E-babbar [temple of the sun in

Larsa, biblical Elassar, in Southern Babylonia], with Shamash as his helper;

the lord who granted new life to Uruk [biblical Erech], who brought plenteous

water to its inhabitants, raised the head of E-anna [temple of Ishtar-Nana at

Uruk], and perfected the beauty of Anu and Nana; shield of the land, who

reunited the scattered inhabitants of Isin; who richly endowed E-gal-mach

[temple of Isin]; the protecting king of the city, brother of the god Zamama

[god of Kish]; who firmly founded the farms of Kish, crowned E-me-te-ursag

[sister city of Kish] with glory, redoubled the great holy treasures of Nana,

managed the temple of Harsag-kalama [temple of Nergal at Cuthah]; the grave of

the enemy, whose help brought about the victory; who increased the power of

Cuthah; made all glorious in E-shidlam [a temple], the black steer [title of

Marduk] who gored the enemy; beloved of the god Nebo, who rejoiced the

inhabitants of Borsippa, the Sublime; who is indefatigable for E-zida [temple

of Nebo in Babylon]; the divine king of the city; the White, Wise; who

broadened the fields of Dilbat, who heaped up the harvests for Urash; the

Mighty, the lord to whom come sceptre and crown, with which he clothes

himself; the Elect of Ma-ma; who fixed the temple bounds of Kesh, who made

rich the holy feasts of Nin-tu [goddess of Kesh]; the provident, solicitous,

who provided food and drink for Lagash and Girsu, who provided large

sacrificial offerings for the temple of Ningirsu [at Lagash]; who captured the

enemy, the Elect of the oracle who fulfilled the prediction of Hallab, who

rejoiced the heart of Anunit [whose oracle had predicted victory]; the pure

prince, whose prayer is accepted by Adad [god of Hallab, with goddess Anunit];

who satisfied the heart of Adad, the warrior, in Karkar, who restored the

vessels for worship in E-ud-gal-gal; the king who granted life to the city of

Adab; the guide of E-mach; the princely king of the city, the irresistible

warrior, who granted life to the inhabitants of Mashkanshabri, and brought

abundance to the temple of Shidlam; the White, Potent, who penetrated the

secret cave of the bandits, saved the inhabitants of Malka from misfortune,

and fixed their home fast in wealth; who established pure sacrificial gifts

for Ea and Dam-gal-nun-na, who made his kingdom everlastingly great; the

princely king of the city, who subjected the districts on the Ud-kib-nun-na

Canal [Euphrates?] to the sway of Dagon, his Creator; who spared the

inhabitants of Mera and Tutul; the sublime prince, who makes the face of Ninni

shine; who presents holy meals to the divinity of Nin-a-zu, who cared for its

inhabitants in their need, provided a portion for them in Babylon in peace;

the shepherd of the oppressed and of the slaves; whose deeds find favor before

Anunit, who provided for Anunit in the temple of Dumash in the suburb of

Agade; who recognizes the right, who rules by law; who gave back to the city

of Assur its protecting god; who let the name of Istar of Nineveh remain in

E-mish-mish; the Sublime, who humbles himself before the great gods; successor

of Sumula-il; the mighty son of Sin-muballit; the royal scion of Eternity; the

mighty monarch, the sun of Babylon, whose rays shed light over the land of

Sumer and Akkad; the king, obeyed by the four quarters of the world; Beloved

of Ninni, am I.

     When Marduk sent me to rule over men, to give the protection of right to

the land, I did right and righteousness in . . . , and brought about the

well-being of the oppressed.

Hammurabi's Code

Author:      Hammurabi

Date:        2250 B.C.

Code Of Laws: Part II (150-282)

Code Of Laws: Part I (1-149)

     1. If any one ensnare another, putting a ban upon him, but he cannot

prove it, then he that ensnared him shall be put to death.

     2. If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to

the river and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall

take possession of his house.  But if the river prove that the accused is not

guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who had brought the accusation shall be

put to death, while he who leaped into the river shall take possession of the

house that had belonged to his accuser.

     3. If any one bring an accusation of any crime before the elders, and

does not prove what he has charged, he shall, if it be a capital offence

charged, be put to death.

     4. If he satisfy the elders to impose a fine of grain or money, he shall

receive the fine that the action produces.

     5. If a judge try a case, reach a decision and present his judgment in

writing; if later error shall appear in his decision, and it be through his

own fault, then he shall pay twelve times the fine set by him in the case, and

he shall be publicly removed from the judge's bench, and never again shall he

sit there to render judgment.

     6. If any one steal the property of a temple or of the court, he shall be

put to death, and also the one who receives the stolen thing from him shall be

put to death

     7. If any one buy from the son or the slave of another man, without

witnesses or a contract, silver or gold, a male or female slave, an ox or a

sheep, an ass or anything, or if he take it in charge, he is considered a

thief and shall be put to death.

     8. If any one steal cattle or sheep, or an ass, or a pig or a goat, if it

belong to a god or to the court, the thief shall pay thirtyfold therefor; if

they belonged to a freed man (of the king) he shall pay tenfold; if the thief

has nothing with which to pay he shall be put to death.

     9. If any one lose an article, and find it in the possession of another:

if the person in whose possession the thing is found say "A merchant sold it

to me, I paid for it before witnesses," and if the owner of the thing say "I

will bring witnesses who know my property," then shall the purchaser bring the

merchant who sold it to him, and the witnesses before whom he bought it, and

the owner shall bring witnesses who can identify his property.  The judge

shall examine their testimony - both of the witnesses before whom the price

was paid, and of the witnesses who identify the lost article on oath.  The

merchant is then proven to be a thief and shall be put to death.  The owner of

the lost article receives his property, and he who bought it receives the

money he paid from the estate of the merchant.

     10. If the purchaser does not bring the merchant and the witnesses before

whom he bought the article, but its owner bring witnesses who identify it,

then the buyer is the thief and shall be put to death, and the owner receives

the lost article.

     11. If the owner do not bring witnesses to identify the lost article, he

is an evil-doer, he has traduced, and shall be put to death.

     12. If the witnesses be not at hand, then shall the judge set a limit, at

the expiration of six months.  If his witnesses have not appeared within the

six months, he is an evil-doer, and shall bear the fine of the pending case.

[Note: There is no #13 in text.]

     14. If any one steal the minor son of another, he shall be put to death.

     15. If any one take a male or female slave of the court, or a male or

female slave of a freed man, outside the city gates, he shall be put to death.

     16. If any one receive into his house a runaway male or female slave of

the court, or of a freedman, and does not bring it out at the public

proclamation of the major domus, the master of the house shall be put to

death.

     17. If any one find a runaway male or female slave in the open country

and bring them to their masters, the master of the slaves shall pay him two

shekels of silver.

     18. If the slave will not give the name of the master, the finder shall

bring him to the palace; a further investigation must follow and the slave

shall be returned to his master.

     19. If he hold the slaves in his house, and they are caught there, he

shall be put to death.

     20. If the slave that he caught run away from him, then shall he swear to

the owners of the slave, and he is free of all blame.

     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.

     22. If any one is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be

put to death.

     23. If the robber is not caught, then shall he who was robbed claim under

oath the amount of his loss; then shall the community, and . . . on whose

ground and territory and in whose domain it was compensate him for the goods

stolen.

     24. If persons are stolen, then shall the community and . . . pay one

mina of silver to their relatives.

     25. If fire break out in a house, and some one who comes to put it out,

cast his eye upon the property of the owner of the house, and take the

property of the master of the house, he shall be thrown into that self-same

fire.

     26. If a chieftain or a man [common soldier], who has been ordered to go

upon the king's highway [for war] does not go, but hires a mercenary, if he

withholds the compensation, then shall this officer or man be put to death,

and he who represented him shall take possession of his house.

     27. If a chieftain or man be caught in the misfortune of the king

[captured in battle], and if his fields and garden be given to another and he

take possession, if he return and reaches his place, his field and garden

shall be returned to him, he shall take it over again.

     28. If a chieftain or a man be caught in the misfortune of a king, if his

son is able to enter into possession, then the field and garden shall be given

to him, he shall take over the fee of his father.

     29. If his son is still young, and cannot take possession, a third of the

field and garden shall be given to his mother, and she shall bring him up.

     30. If a chieftain or a man leave his house, garden and field and hires

it out, and some one else takes possession of his house, garden and field and

uses it for three years: if the first owner return and claims his house,

garden and field, it shall not be given to him, but he who has taken

possession of it and used it shall continue to use it.

     31. If he hire it out for one year and then return, the house, garden and

field shall be given back to him, and he shall take it over again.

     32. If a chieftain or a man is captured on the "Way of the King" [in

war], and a merchant buy him free, and bring him back to his place; if he have

the means in his house to buy his freedom, he shall buy himself free: if he

have nothing in his house with which to buy himself free, he shall be bought

free by the temple of his community; if there be nothing in the temple with

which to buy him free, the court shall buy his freedom.  His field, garden and

house shall not be given for the purchase of his freedom.

     33. If a . . . or a . . . [from the connection, some man higher in rank

than a chieftain] enter himself as withdrawn from the "Way of the King," and

send a mercenary as substitute, but withdraw him, then the . . . or . . .

shall be put to death.

     34. If a . . . [same as in 33] or a . . . harm the property of a captain,

injure the captain, or take away from the captain a gift presented to him by

the king then the . . . or . . . shall be put to death.

     35. If any one buy the cattle or sheep which the king has given to

chieftains from him he loses his money.

     35. The field, garden and house of a chieftain, of a man, or of one

subject to quit-rent, cannot be sold.

     37. If any one buy the field, garden and house of a chieftain, man or one

subject to quit-rent, his contract tablet of sale shall be broken [declared

invalid] and he loses his money.  The field, garden and house return to their

owners.

     38. A chieftain, man or one subject to quit-rent cannot assign his tenure

of field, house and garden to his wife or daughter, nor can he assign it for a

debt.

     39. He may, however, assign a field, garden or house which he has bought,

and holds as property, to his wife or daughter or give it for debt.

     40. He may sell field, garden and house to a merchant [royal agents] or

to any other public official, the buyer holding field, house and garden for

its usufruct.

     41. If any one fence in the field, garden and house of a chieftain, man

or one subject to quit-rent, furnishing the palings therefor; if the

chieftain, man or one subject to quit-rent return to field, garden and house,

the palings which were given to him become his property.

     42. If any one take over a field to till it, and obtain no harvest

therefrom, it must be proved that he did no work on the field, and he must

deliver grain, just as his neighbor raised, to the owner of the field.

     43. If he do not till the field, but let it lie fallow, he shall give

grain like his neighbor's to the owner of the field, and the field which he

let lie fallow he must plow and sow and return to its owner.

     44. If any one take over a waste-lying field to make it arable, but is

lazy, and does not make it arable, he shall plow the fallow field in the

fourth year, harrow it and till it, and give it back to its owner and for each

ten gan [a measure of area] ten gur [dry measure] of grain shall be paid.

     45. If a man rent his field for tillage for a fixed rental, and receive

the rent of his field, but bad weather come and destroy the harvest, the

injury falls upon the tiller of the soil.

     46. If he do not receive a fixed rental for his field, but lets it on

half or third shares of the harvest, the grain on the field shall be divided

proportionately between the tiller and the owner.

     47. If the tiller, because he did not succeed in the first year, has had

the soil tilled by others, the owner may raise no objection; the field has

been cultivated and he receives the harvest according to agreement.

     48. If any one owe a debt for a loan, and a storm prostrates the grain,

or the harvest fail, or the grain does not grow for lack of water; in that

year he need not give his creditor any grain, he washes his debt-tablet in

water [a symbolic action indicating the inability to pay] and pays no rent for

this year.

     49. If any one take money from a merchant, and give the merchant a field

tillable for corn or sesame and order him to plant corn or sesame in the

field, and to harvest the crop; if the cultivator plant corn or sesame in the

field, at the harvest the corn or sesame that is in the field shall belong to

the owner of the field and he shall pay corn as rent, for the money he

received from the merchant, and the livelihood of the cultivator shall he give

to the merchant.

     50. If he give a cultivated corn-field or a cultivated sesame-field, the

corn or sesame in the field shall belong to the owner of the field, and he

shall return the money to the merchant as rent.

     51. If he have no money to repay, then he shall pay in corn or sesame in

place of the money as rent for what he received from the merchant, according

to the royal tariff.

     52. If the cultivator do not plant corn or sesame in the field, the

debtor's contract is not weakened.

     53. If any one be too lazy to keep his dam in proper condition, and does

not so keep it; if then the dam break and all the fields be flooded, then

shall he in whose dam the break occurred be sold for money, and the money

shall replace the corn which he has caused to be ruined.

     54. If he be not able to replace the corn, then he and his possessions

shall be divided among the farmers whose corn he has flooded.

     55. If any one open his ditches to water his crop, but is careless, and

the water flood the field of his neighbor, then he shall pay his neighbor corn

for his loss.

     56. If a man let in the water, and the water overflow the plantation of

his neighbor, he shall pay ten gur of corn for every ten gan of land.

     57. If a shepherd, without the permission of the owner of the field, and

without the knowledge of the owner of the sheep, lets the sheep into a field

to graze, then the owner of the field shall harvest his crop, and the

shepherd, who had pastured his flock there without permission of the owner of

the field, shall pay to the owner twenty gur of corn for every ten gan.

     58. If after the flocks have left the pasture and been shut up in the

common fold at the city gate, any shepherd let them into a field and they

graze there, this shepherd shall take possession of the field which he has

allowed to be grazed on, and at the harvest he must pay sixty gur of corn for

every ten gan.

     59. If any man, without the knowledge of the owner of a garden, fell a

tree in a garden he shall pay half a mina in money.

     60. If any one give over a field to a gardener, for him to plant it as a

garden, if he work at it, and care for it for four years, in the fifth year

the owner and the gardener shall divide it, the owner taking his part in

charge.

     61. If the gardener has not completed the planting of the field, leaving

one part unused, this shall be assigned to him as his.

     62. If he do not plant the field that was given over to him as a garden,

if it be arable land [for corn or sesame] the gardener shall pay the owner the

produce of the field for the years that he let it lie fallow, according to the

product of neighboring fields, put the field in arable condition and return it

to its owner.

     63. If he transform waste land into arable fields and return it to its

owner, the latter shall pay him for one year ten gur for ten gan.

     64. If any one hand over his garden to a gardener to work, the gardener

shall pay to its owner two-thirds of the produce of the garden, for so long as

he has it in possession, and the other third shall he keep.

     65. If the gardener do not work in the garden and the product fall off,

the gardener shall pay in proportion to other neighboring gardens.

     [Here a portion of the text is missing, apparently comprising thirty-five

paragraphs.]

     100. . . interest for the money, as much as he has received, he shall

give a note therefor, and on the day, when they settle, pay to the merchant.

     101. If there are no mercantile arrangements in the place whither he

went, he shall leave the entire amount of money which he received with the

broker to give to the merchant.

     102. If a merchant intrust money to an agent [broker] for some

investment, and the broker suffer a loss in the place to which he goes, he

shall make good the capital to the merchant.

     103. If, while on the journey, an enemy take away from him anything that

he had, the broker shall swear by God [take an oath] and be free of

obligation.

     104. If a merchant give an agent corn, wool, oil or any other goods to

transport, the agent shall give a receipt for the amount, and compensate the

merchant therefor.  Then he shall obtain a receipt from the merchant for the

money that he gives the merchant.

     105. If the agent is careless, and does not take a receipt for the money

which he gave the merchant, he cannot consider the unreceipted money as his

own.

     106. If the agent accept money from the merchant, but have a quarrel with

the merchant [denying the receipt], then shall the merchant swear before God

and witnesses that he has given this money to the agent, and the agent shall

pay him three times the sum.

     107. If the merchant cheat the agent, in that as the latter has returned

to him all that had been given him, but the merchant denies the receipt of

what had been returned to him, then shall this agent convict the merchant

before God and the judges, and if he still deny receiving what the agent had

given him shall pay six times the sum to the agent.

     108. If a tavern-keeper [feminine] does not accept corn according to

gross weight in payment of drink, but takes money, and the price of the drink

is less than that of the corn, she shall be convicted and thrown into the

water.

     109. If conspirators meet in the house of a tavern-keeper, and these

conspirators are not captured and delivered to the court, the tavern-keeper

shall be put to death.

     110. If a "sister of a god" [one devoted to the temple] open a tavern, or

enter a tavern to drink, then shall this woman be burned to death.

     111. If an inn-keeper furnish sixty ka of usakani-drink to . . . . she

shall receive fifty ka of corn at the harvest.

     112. If any one be on a journey and intrust silver, gold, precious

stones, or any movable property to another, and wish to recover it from him;

if the latter do not bring all of the property to the appointed place, but

appropriate it to his own use, then shall this man, who did not bring the

property to hand it over be convicted, and he shall pay fivefold for all that

had been intrusted to him.

     113. If any one have a consignment of corn or money, and he take from the

granary or box, without the knowledge of the owner, then shall he who took

corn without the knowledge of the owner out of the granary or money out of the

box be legally convicted, and repay the corn he has taken.  And he shall lose

whatever commission was paid to him, or due him.

     114. If a man have no claim on another for corn and money, and try to

demand it by force, he shall pay one-third of a mina of silver in every case.

     115. If any one have a claim for corn or money upon another and imprison

him; if the prisoner die in prison a natural death, the case shall go no

further.

     116. If the prisoner die in prison from blows or maltreatment, the master

of the prisoner shall convict the merchant before the judge.  If he was a

free-born man, the son of the merchant shall be put to death; if it was a

slave, he shall pay one-third of a mina of gold, and all that the master of

the prisoner gave he shall forfeit.

     117. If any one fail to meet a claim for debt, and sell himself, his

wife, his son and daughter for money or give them away to forced labor: they

shall work for three years in the house of the man who bought them or the

proprietor and in the fourth year they shall be set free.

     118. If he give a male or female slave away for forced labor, and the

merchant sublease them, or sell them for money, no objection can be raised.

     119. If any one fail to meet a claim for debt, and he sell the maid

servant who has borne him children, for money, the money which the merchant

has paid shall be repaid to him by the owner of the slave and she shall be

freed.

     120. If any one store corn for safe keeping in another person's house,

and any harm happen to the corn in storage, or if the owner of the house open

the granary and take some of the corn, or if especially he deny that the corn

was stored in his house: then the owner of the corn shall claim his corn

before God [on oath], and the owner of the house shall pay its owner for all

of the corn that he took.

     121. If any one store corn in another man's house he shall pay him

storage at the rate of one gur for every five ka of corn per year.

     122. If any one give another silver, gold or anything else to keep, he

shall show everything to some witness, draw up a contract, and then hand it

over for safe keeping.

     123. If he turn it over for safe keeping without witness or contract, and

if he to whom it was given deny it, then he has no legitimate claim.

     124. If any one deliver silver, gold or anything else to another for safe

keeping, before a witness, but he deny it, he shall be brought before a judge,

and all that he has denied he shall pay in full.

     125. If any one place his property with another for safe keeping, and

there, either through thieves or robbers, his property and the property of the

other man be lost, the owner of the house, through whose neglect the loss took

place, shall compensate the owner for all that was given to him in charge.

But the owner of the house shall try to follow up and recover his property,

and take it away from the thief.

     126. If any one who has not lost his goods, state that they have been

lost, and make false claims: if he claim his goods and amount of injury before

God, even though he has not lost them, he shall be fully compensated for all

his loss claimed [i.e., the oath is all that is needed].

     127. If any one point the finger [slander] at a sister of a god or the

wife of any one, and cannot prove it, this man shall be taken before the

judges and his brow shall be marked [by cutting the skin, or perhaps hair].

     128. If a man take a woman to wife, but have no intercourse with her,

this woman is no wife to him.

     129. If a man's wife be surprised with another man, both shall be tied

and thrown into the water, but the husband may pardon his wife and the king

his slaves.

     130. If a man violate the wife [betrothed or child-wife] of another man,

who has never known a man, and still lives in her father's house, and sleep

with her and be surprised, this man shall be put to death, but the wife is

blameless.

     131. If a man bring a charge against one's wife, but she is not surprised

with another man [delit flagrant is necessary for divorce], she must take an

oath and then may return to her house.

     132. If the "finger is pointed" at a man's wife about another man, but

she is not caught sleeping with the other man, she shall jump into the river

for her husband [prove her innocence by this test].

     133. If a man is taken prisoner in war, and there is a sustenance in his

house, but his wife leave house and court, and go to another house: because

this wife did not keep her court, and went to another house, she shall be

judicially condemned and thrown into the water.

     134. If any one be captured in war and there is no sustenance in his

house, if then his wife go to another house, this woman shall be held

blameless.

     135. If a man be taken prisoner in war and there be no sustenance in his

house and his wife go to another house and bear children; and if later her

husband return and come to his home: then this wife shall return to her

husband, but the children follow their father.

     136. If any one leave his house, run away, and then his wife go to

another house, if then he return, and wishes to take his wife back: because he

fled from his home and ran away, the wife of this runaway shall not return to

her husband.

     137. If a man wish to separate from a woman who has borne him children,

or from his wife who has borne him children: then he shall give that wife her

dowry, and a part of the usufruct of field, garden and property, so that she

can rear her children.  When she has brought up her children, a portion of all

that is given to the children, equal as that of one son, shall be given to

her.  She may then marry the man of her heart.

     138. If a man wishes to separate from his wife who has borne him no

children, he shall give her the amount of her purchase money [amount formerly

paid to the bride's father] and the dowry which she brought from her father's

house, and let her go.

     139. If there was no purchase price he shall give her one mina of gold as

a gift of release.

     140. If he be a freed man he shall give her one-third of a mina of gold.

     141. If a man's wife, who lives in his house, wishes to leave it, plunges

into debt, tries to ruin her house, neglects her husband, and is judicially

convicted: if her husband offer her release, she may go on her way, and he

gives her nothing as a gift of release.  If her husband does not wish to

release her, and if he take another wife, she shall remain as servant in her

husband's house.

     142. If a woman quarrel with her husband, and say: "You are not congenial

to me," the reasons for her prejudice must be presented.  If she is guiltless,

and there is no fault on her part, but he leaves and neglects her, then no

guilt attaches to this woman, she shall take her dowry and go back to her

father's house.

     143. If she is not innocent, but leaves her husband, and ruins her house,

neglecting her husband, this woman shall be cast into the water.

     144. If a man take a wife and this woman give her husband a maid-servant,

and she bear him children, but this man wishes to take another wife, this

shall not be permitted to him; he shall not take a second wife.

     145. If a man take a wife, and she bear him no children, and he intend to

take another wife: if he take this second wife, and bring her into the house,

this second wife shall not be allowed equality with his wife.

     146. If a man take a wife and she give this man a maid servant as wife

and she bear him children, and then this maid-assume equality with the wife:

because she has borne him children her master shall not sell her for money,

but he may keep her as a slave, reckoning her among the maid-servants.

     147. If she have not borne him children, then her mistress may sell her

for money.

     148. If a man take a wife, and she be seized by disease, if he then

desire to take a second wife he shall not put away his wife, who has been

attacked by disease, but he shall keep her in the house which he has built and

support her so long as she lives.

     149. If this woman does not wish to remain in her husband's house, then

he shall compensate her for the dowry that she brought with her from her

father's house, and she may go.

     150. If a man give his wife a field, garden and house and a deed

therefor, if then after the death of her husband the sons raise no claim, then

the mother may bequeath all to one of her sons whom she prefers, and need

leave nothing to his brothers.

     151. If a woman who lived in a man's house, made an agreement with her

husband, that no creditor can arrest her, and has given a document therefor:

if that man, before he married that woman, had a debt, the creditor cannot

hold the woman for it.  But if the woman, before she entered the man's house,

had contracted a debt, her creditor cannot arrest her husband therefor.

     152. If a