§ 1

Law § 1 of Hammurabi's Code

Summary
the punishment for a false murder charge is execution.
Translation
If a man accused a man and laid (a charge of) murder against him but has not convicted him, his accuser will be executed. · ·
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Unsubstantiated Allegations
Inscription

Cuneiform

Law § 1 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 4, col. V, lns. 26–32)

Transliteration

šum-ma a-wi-lum a-wi-lam ú-ub-bi-ir-ma ne-er-tam e-li-šu id-di-ma la uk-ti-in-šu mu-ub-bi-ir-šu id-da-ak

Source: Huehnergard (2011, p. 277)

Normalization

šumma awīlum awīlam ubbir-ma nērtam elīšu iddī-ma lā uktīššu, mubbiršu iddâk.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 64)

Translation

If a man accused a man and laid (a charge of) murder against him but has not convicted him, his accuser will be executed.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 64)

Cuneiform

Signs for Law § 1

  • Source: Rmn-GrandPalais (2019)
    Cuneiform
    Law § 1: stone inscription of cuneiform signs
    Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 4)
    Cuneiform
    Law § 1: cuneiform line art
    Source: Harper (1904, p. [pl. VII])
    Cuneiform
    Law § 1: line art of cuneiform

Inscription

Location of Law § 1 · Powered by Stele3DSM

Orientation Front
Side(s) Side 2
Column(s) Col. 5
Line(s) Lns. 26–31
Key
Law § 1
Prologue
Laws
Epilogue
Damage
Open Law § 1 in Stele3DSM

Logic

Logic Map for § 1 · Powered by LawgicSnifferSM

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Steps

Vocabulary

Akkadian Words · Powered by GrammarSnifferSM

šumma (conditional Particle) "if; whether"

awīlum (Noun form) Masculine Singular Nominative of awīlu "man"

awīlam (Noun form) Masculine Singular Accusative of awīlu "man"

ubbirma (Verb form) of ubburu "to accuse" + -ma "and"

nērtam (Noun form) Singular Accusative of nērtu "murder"

elīšu (Preposition form) of eli "against" + -šu "his"

iddīma (G-Stem Preterite Verb form) 3rd Person Common Singular of nâdu "to lay down" + -ma "and"

lā (negation Particle) "not, no, nor; (negation)"

uktīššu (Verb form) of kânu "to be firm" + -šu "his"

mubbiršu (Verb form) Singular Nominative of mubbiru "accuser" + -šu "his"

iddâk (N-Stem Durative Verb form) 3rd Person Common Singular of dâku "to kill"

Staff notes

  1. 'Surprises and violence'
    Added on March 22, 2024 by eHammurabi Staff

    It is both surprising and informative that the first provision of the entire law code concerns murder. While this seems agreeable to us moderns, we may remark that the second provision concerns accusations of witchcraft. In any case, if we should agree that the ordering of the provisions suggests their priority, then we are inclined if not obliged to regard homicide as a chief concern for Babylonians at this time. Moreso, this statute begs the following question: what was the burden of proof required for 'convicting' individuals of murder?

    See also: § 2 · Unsubstantiated Allegations · lex talionis

Citation

Dedović, B. "§ 1 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 10 Oct. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/1. [Accessed 3 Nov. 2024]

MLA 9

Dedović, B. (2023, October 10). § 1 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/1

APA 7

Dedović, Boban. "§ 1 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created October 10, 2023. Modified September 4, 2024. Accessed November 3, 2024. https://ehlaw.org/law/1.

CMS 16

Bibliography

Abulhab, Saad D. The Law Code of Hammurabi: Transliterated and Literally Translated from its Early Classical Arabic Language. New York, NY: Blautopf, 2017.

ACH

Bergmann, Eugen. Codex Ḫammurabi: Textus Primigenius. Rome, Italy: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum, 1953.

CHTP

Huehnergard, John. A Grammar of Akkadian (Third Edition). Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011.

HAG3

Huehnergard, John. Key to a Grammar of Akkadian (Third Edition). Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013.

HKEY3

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "OMNIKA: Digital Mythology Library & Search Engine." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation, accessed November 14, 2023. https://omnika.org. [Visit]

–

Richardson, Mervyn E.J. Hammurabi's Laws: Text, Translation and Glossary. New York, NY: T & T Clark International, 2004.

RHL

Sound of Text Contributors. "Sound of Text: AI Text-to-Speech." Accessed November 14, 2023. https://soundoftext.app. [Visit]

SoT

eHammurabi Glossary

The § symbol commonly denotes "a shorthand notation for the word 'section'."

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eHammurabi Glossary

The term Cuneiform commonly means "an ancient writing system used by various cultures around Mesopotamia."

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eHammurabi Glossary

The term Normalization commonly means "the application of grammatical rules unto transliterated sound values."

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eHammurabi Glossary

The term Translation commonly means "the conversion of linguistic contents and their meanings from one language into another."

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eHammurabi Glossary

The term Transliteration commonly means "the conversion of sound values from one writing system into another."

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