Customer Reviews

The Codes of Hammurabi and Moses (With Copious Comments,Index, and Bible References)

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Reading law codes is tedious just given the nature of the material, but this book is still worth the read especially if the reader is familiar with Old Testament law. The comparison makes Old Testament law seem merciful -- "an eye for an eye" is quite different than Hammurabi's frequent death sentences for mere theft of property (a human life for a boat?). Also, the principle that "all men are created equal" is not part of Hammurabi's law -- social ranking determined punishments. The book is an interesting read especially because we have the benefit of a variety of law codes for comparison.

Great book to compare the code against the bible. Whatever rules man may think up for civilization it still is grounded in the writings that God gave Moses.

Recommended for anybody studying ancient history. I used the book as a source for a paper explaining, in part, how the old testament was written by man (and not a god) and how the codes of Hammurabi and the books of Moses were the beginning of misogyny. I also recommend "Inventing God's Law: How the Covenant Code of the Bible Used and Revised the Laws of Hammurabi" by David P. Wright (I also used this book for my paper).