Similarities Between the Edicts of Ashoka, the Bible, and Hammurabi’s Code Essay Example

was willing to forgive as far as he could, but then there must be punishment for wrong doing. He said his subjects must “reform, lest they be killed. ” Rebels and malefactors received what they deserved under Ashoka’s reign. God’s justice in the Bible is illustrated in the Old Testament Law when He explains the punishments that certain crimes would incur. Murder, adultery, and idolatry, for example, were punishable by death. God is a holy and just Entity and can not let sin go unpunished.

In Isaiah 30:18, the Bible clarifies that “the Lord is a God of justice. ” Justice is also greatly emphasized in Hammurabi’s Code as can be seen in its principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. ” The Code constructed a very efficient court system to provide the administration of justice to everybody, and if anybody was found to have submitted false testimony, they were executed. Justice was held up by these three sets of laws as a quality of utmost importance. One of Ashoka’s most convicting beliefs was the abstention of harming any living being.

This is evident by his conversion to peace loving Buddhism after the gruesome Kalinga war. However, he did make it clear that if his subjects did not reform or submit to his rule, he would have to punish them accordingly. This is a perfect parallel with God in the Old Testament. God included “thou shalt not murder” in the Ten Commandments as a law for the Israelites and the rest of the world to follow, but it is apparent in other places of the Bible that God

has holy wrath and must punish the people who rebel against Him with eternal death.

There are also many instances in the Bible where God has ordered the Israelites to go to war and not spare anyone. Hammurabi’s Code showed some kindness in that it allows for cases of high importance to be appealed directly to the king. Hammurabi himself also demonstrated that he did not want harm to come to his subjects by openly involving himself in even the smallest affairs of his kingdom. Therefore, the Bible and Hammurabi’s Code show that they respected life as much as the Edicts of Ashoka.

In conclusion, it is clear that the Edicts of Ashoka are analogous to the Bible and Hammurabi’s Code on the importance of self-control, justice, and the abstention of harming living beings. They all set forth guidelines concerning how a person is to live a moral and righteous life, but they also explain the punishments for those who do not obey. These three sets of laws are timeless in their content, and are still looked upon today as the foundation for modern laws.