Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor, Second Edition [Paperback]

Martha T. Roth (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1997 | ISBN-10: 0788503782 | ISBN-13: 978-0788503788 | Edition: 2

The law collections presented in this volume are compilations, varying in legal and literary sophistication, recorded by scribes in the schools and the royal centers of ancient Mesopotamian and Asia Minor from the end of the third millennium through the middle of the first millennium B.C.E. Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Hittite texts, with accompanying English translations, are included. Some of the collections, like the famous Laws of Hammurabi, achieved a wide audience; others, like the Laws about Rented Oxen, were scribal exercises limited to a local school center. All, however, reflected contemporary legal practice in the scribes' recordings of contracts, administrative documents, and court cases and also provide historians with evidence of abstractions of legal rules from specific cases. In addition to the texts and translations, the volume includes a list of sources, bibliography, glossary, and numerous indexes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...a must for students interested in the ancient Near East and law. -- Religious Studies Review

...highly recommended to every student of the Bible and the ancient Near East. -- Journal of Semitic Studies

Language Notes

Text: English, Greek, Hebrew --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Society of Biblical Literature; 2 edition (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0788503782
• ISBN-13: 978-0788503788
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #748,433 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent blend of scholarship and readability, August 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor, Second Edition (Paperback)

Roth presents the Sumerian and Akkadian texts of the various law codes from Mesopotamia, translating clearly and indexing by legal categories. Chapter on Hittite laws (Asia Minor, c. 1650 BC) was written by Harry Hoffner, whose recent scientific edition "Laws of the Hittites. A Critical Edition" is published by Brill in 1997. Separate indexes for the Hittite laws. Excellent background for understanding Biblical laws.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Collection of Ancient Near Eastern Law Codes, February 28, 2009

By 

John O. Freed (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor (South Florida-Rochester-Saint Louis Studies on Religion and) (Paperback)

This work contains translations of all the known "law codes" in the Sumerian, Akkadian and Hittite languages. The book has a transliteration of the text on the left hand side of the page and an English translation on the right hand side of the page. Additionally, the book contains very useful glossaries and an excellent bibliography.

The texts included in this volume are: "The Laws of Ur-Nammu", "The Laws of Lipit-Ishtar", "The Laws of Eshunna", "Hammurabi's Law Code", "Middle Assyrian Laws", Middle Assyrian Palace Decrees" and "Hittite Laws" among others.

The book is a simply published volume, in paperback and with a glued spine which, unfortunately, does not allow the book to be opened flat.

I recommend this volume if you are interested in Mesopotamian literature or if you are learning Sumerian, Akkadian or Hittite. Since the transliterations are included, this book can be used as a source of more advanced translation practice for students of any of these languages.