The Hammurabi Code and Mosaic Law Essay Example

respect are given to people based on the kind of social class they belong, while in the Mosaic Law every individual is treated fair and equal.

They we both received in a similar way by their people. The Hammurabi code was received through divine intervention and written down by Hammurabi, the Babylonian king ("The Avalon Project : Code Of Hammurabi"). The king was given the codes by sun god, known as Shamash at the mountain top while the Mosaic Law was written by the Yahweh, the God of the Israelites, They received the laws through Moses when he went up to Mt. Sinai to speak to Yahweh.

Both laws had a similar way of dealing with slaves, in Hammurabi’s code if a man sold himself as a slave to pay off his debt he would work for three years and in the fourth year he would be considered as slave free (Fish, p.79). While in the Mosaic Law if a Hebrew worked as a servant in order to pay off his debts, he would work for six years and the seventh year he would be considered a free man.

Differences

Both laws have different structures. The Mosaic Law was very direct as well as simple. It consists of the Ten Commandments that are governed by moral behavior. The commandments integrates the older civilizations legal codes and traditions such the way they dealt with adultery, family affairs and theft. Moral rules and behaviors were also stated simple and direct. While in Hammurabi code the punishments where based on the principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth ("The Avalon Project : Code Of Hammurabi"). Crimes

such as harboring slavery, adultery, incest and theft were considered to be severely punishable and were dealt with severely with death being the only way to punish the criminals. Another difference in terms of punishment is that an individual’s class was considered before punishment so the people of higher classes were exempted from punishments.

Slavery was another factor to be considered by the laws. The Mosaic Law allowed ownership of slaves that’s if they were taken from the surrounding territories and not from the Hebrews themselves. The law allowed this because the slaves were considered to be personal property, the owner was allowed to beat the slave as a form of punishment, but if the slave died as a result of beating the owner would be punished. While the Hammurabi’s law addressed the concept of slavery in a different way for example if a slave married a free man’s daughter their children were considered to be free, also if a man sold himself to pay off a debt, he was to work for the debt for three years and the fourth year he was considered to be free man ("The Avalon Project : Code Of Hammurabi")..

Theft was not a factor that was considered lightly in these two laws. In the Mosaic Law if a person was caught stealing he has to make a restitution for whatever he had stolen (Fish, p.70). If the thief stole one sheep and killed it he had to repay it with four sheep’s that acted as a representative of each crime committed, but if the sheep was found in the criminals property, the criminal was required to pay back two sheep’s.

The difference between the Mosaic Law and Hammurabi’s code is that if the criminal was caught stealing he was killed on the spot, also if the criminal lacked the resources to pay off, he was also killed or if he had resources he would pay thirty times for the crime.In short judgment was based upon social class.

Conclusion

Of the two laws Hammurabi’s code has proved to be the strictest with severe punishment while the Mosaic Law has proved to be the most lenient. This may perhaps be the main difference between the two. Mosaic Law when compare to Hammurabi’s code has specified between intentionally doing something and accidentally doing it. While Hammurabi, on the other hand has not made any distinctions, but instead Hammurabi used the concept of economics to determine an individual’s worth rather than recognizing their value intrinsically because all human beings were created in the image and likeness of God. So the Mosaic Law reflects justice while the Hammurabi’s code reflects punishment.

Work Cited

1. "The Avalon Project : Code Of Hammurabi". Avalon.law.yale.edu. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Aug. 2016.
2. Fish, M. J. (2008). An eye for an eye: Proportionality as a moral principle of punishment. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 28(1), 57-71.