§ 135

Law § 135 of Hammurabi's Code

Translation
If a man was taken captive and there is not enough to eat in his house, (and) therefore (or, before his return) his wife has entered another’s house and has born children, (and) later her husband has returned and reached his town, that woman will return to her first husband; the children will follow their father.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Family and Divorce
Inscription

Cuneiform

Law § 135 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 16, col. R VI, lns. 37–56)

Transliteration

šum-ma a-wi-lum iš-ša-li-il-ma i-na É-šu ša a-ka-li-im la i-ba-aš-ši a-na pa-ni-šu aš-ša-sú a-na É ša-ni-im i-te-ru-ub-ma DUMU.MEŠ it-ta-la-ad i-na wa-ar-ka mu-sà it-tu-ra-am-ma URU-šu ik-ta-áš-dam MUNUS ši-i a-na ḫa-wi-ri-ša i-ta-ar DUMU.MEŠ wa-ar-ki a-bi-šu-nu i-il-la-ku

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 102)

Normalization

šumma awīlum iššalil-ma ina bītīšu ša akālim lā ibašši, ana pānīšu aššassu ana bīt šanîm īterum-ma mārī ittalad, ina warka mussa ittūram-ma āl(ā)šu iktašdam, sinništum šī ana ḫāwirīša itâr; mārū warki abīšunu illakū.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 102)

Translation

If a man was taken captive and there is not enough to eat in his house, (and) therefore (or, before his return) his wife has entered another’s house and has born children, (and) later her husband has returned and reached his town, that woman will return to her first husband; the children will follow their father.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 102)

Cuneiform

Signs for Law § 135

  • Unavailable
    Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 16)
    Cuneiform
    Law § 135: cuneiform line art
    Source: Harper (1904, p. [pl. XXXVI])
    Cuneiform
    Law § 135: line art of cuneiform

Inscription

Location of Law § 135 · Powered by Stele3DSM

Orientation Back
Side(s) Side 5
Column(s) Col. 29
Line(s) Lns. 37–56
Key
Law § 135
Prologue
Laws
Epilogue
Damage
Open Law § 135 in Stele3DSM

Logic

Logic Map for § 135 · Powered by LawgicSnifferSM

#
Steps
  • 1 if:start If
  • 2 condition:start
  • 3 party:1 a man
  • 4 action was taken captive
  • 5 condition:end
  • 6 and and there
  • 7 condition:start
  • 8 negation is not
  • 9 item:1 enough
  • 10 action to eat in
  • 11 party:1 his
  • 12 item:2 house,
  • 13 condition:end
  • 14 and (and)
  • 15 condition:start
  • 16 result therefore
  • 17 or or,
  • 18 undefined before
  • 19 party:1 his
  • 20 action return
  • 21 party:1 his
  • 22 party:2 wife
  • 23 action has entered
  • 24 party:3 another's
  • 25 item:2 house
  • 26 condition:end
  • 27 and and
  • 28 condition:start
  • 29 party:2 [she]
  • 30 action has born
  • 31 party:4 children,
  • 32 condition:end
  • 33 and (and)
  • 34 condition:start
  • 35 undefined later
  • 36 party:2 her
  • 37 party:1 husband
  • 38 action has returned
  • 39 condition:end
  • 40 and and
  • 41 condition:start
  • 42 party:1 [he]
  • 43 action reached
  • 44 party:1 his
  • 45 item:3 town,
  • 46 condition:end
  • 47 then:start [then]
  • 48 result:start
  • 49 party:2 that woman
  • 50 action will return to
  • 51 party:2 her
  • 52 party:1 first husband;
  • 53 result:end
  • 54 and [and]
  • 55 result:start
  • 56 party:4 the children
  • 57 action will follow
  • 58 party:4 their
  • 59 party:3 father.
  • 60 result:end
  • 61 then:end
  • 62 if:end

Citation

Dedović, B. "§ 135 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 1 Nov. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/135. [Accessed 7 Nov. 2026]

MLA 9

Dedović, B. (2023, November 1). § 135 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/135

APA 7

Dedović, Boban. "§ 135 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created November 1, 2023. Modified December 27, 2024. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/135.

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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