Laws and Punishments in the Babylonian Civilization and Hebrew Civilization (MLA essay)

     In the ancient world, in which people lived close to one another, conflicts and disagreements were unavoidable. To prevent chaos, a set of law must be introduced and abided. “Hammurabi's Code: Laws on Society and Family Life” and “Book of Exodus: Moses Leads the Hebrews from Egypt”, the two documents that appear in the book, “Source of world society” by author Walter D. Ward, provide a clear insight of the similarities and the differences of the law and punishments in the Babylonian civilization and Hebrew civilization. The two civilizations are similar in terms of the purpose of the law, and they differ in terms of their commandment and class structures.

     It can be seen in both documents that the main function of the law in Hebrew and Babylon is to protect the rights of the individual. For example, in the Book of Exodus, people were forbidden from and would be heavily punished for killing, cheating, stealing, or lying to ones’ neighbor (39). Moreover, they encouraged morality and ethic among one another, especially to the parents. In the Book of Exodus, it is clearly stated that “Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death” (40). Similarly in the Hammurabi’s code, “If a son has struck his father, they shall cut off his hand” (26). Additionally, the concept of an eye for an eye can be seen in both civilizations.
     According to the Hammurabi's code, “if he has destroyed the eye of a member of the aristocracy, they shall destroy his eye” (27). This also applies to their slaves. As can be seen in the Book of Exodus, if a man has destroyed the eye or tooth of his slave, the slave shall be released for the sake of the eye or tooth (40). Overall, it may seem that the laws in both civilizations are strict and harsh, but they prevent people from causing any sort of harm to other people, no matter what class or gender.

Looking closely at both laws, there are some major differences in terms of their commandments. Hammurabi's code, which was written by King Hammurabi himself, mostly deals with issues within families and marriage as well as criminal and civil law. For instance, “If the wife of a seignior has been caught while lying with another man, they shall bind them and throw them into the water…”(24). It also distinguishes between the different social classes and gender of the Babylonian society. For example, if a seignior has knocked out a tooth of another seignior, his tooth will also be knocked out as his punishment. However, if he did the same thing to a commoner’s tooth, he only had to pay one-third mina of silver (27). Apparently, the social system of this civilization did not treat all the Babylonians equally.

     The Hebrews, on the other hand, did not differentiate between class structure and were much less biased. For example, a person had to be responsible for his ox even if it had killed a man or a woman, a man’s son or daughter, a male or female slave (40). Additionally, considering the fact that Hebrew law was given to Moses directly from God, it rather includes religious commandments. For instance, the Book of Exodus mentions Sabbath day, a day when everyone is not obliged to work because that day is blessed by the Lord. It also specifically prohibits people from praying to other gods (38). This may explain that if the Hebrews worshiped the god and lived up to a high moral standard, he would protect them all from their enemies.

     In conclusion, for a law to be effective in the ancient civilization, the civilians needed to have very good reasons to obey. This is why the Hammurabi's code and the Book of Exodus had to have law that were both harsh and extreme and, at the same time, relevant to the people. It is also interesting to note that for two civilizations that were close to each other, the contents of their laws were slightly different. This was because the law also had to fit in the society at that period of time as one included law to support their religion and the other focused on how different people should be treated.

Works cited

Ward, Walter D., and Denis Gainty. Sources of World Societies. Vol. 1: To 1600. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St.Martins's, 2012. Print.