§ 179

Law § 179 of Hammurabi's Code

Summary
women of certain classes are entitled to their dowry if a contract exists.
Translation
If an entum, nadītum, or sekretum whose father gave her a dowry and wrote (it on) a tablet for her, (and) in the tablet that he wrote for her he wrote for her to give her inheritance wherever was pleasing to her, and gave her full discretion, after the father has passed on, she may give her inheritance wherever it is pleasing to her; her brothers will not sue her.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Inheritance
Inscription

Cuneiform

Law § 179 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 24, col. R XV, lns. 20–42)

Transliteration

šum-ma NIN.DINGIR LUKUR ù lu sekretum (míZI.IK.RU.UM) ša a-bu-ša še-ri-ik-tam iš-ru-ku-ši-im ku-nu-kam iš-ṭú-ru-ši-im i-na DUB-pí-im ša iš-ṭú-ru-ši-im wa-ar-ka-sà e-ma e-li-ša ṭa-bu na-da-nam iš-ṭur-ši-im-ma ma-la li-ib-bi-ša uš-tam-ṣí-ši wa-ar-ka a-bu-um a-na ši-im-tim it-ta-al-ku wa-ar-ka-sà e-ma e-li-ša ṭa-bu i-na-ad-di-in aḫ-ḫu-ša ú-ul i-ba-aq-qá-ru-ši

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 73)

Normalization

šumma entum nadītum ū lū sekretum ša abūša šeriktam išrukūšim kunukkam išṭurūšim ina ṭuppim ša išṭurūšim warkassa ēma elīša ṭābu nadānam išṭuršim-ma mala libbīša uštamṣīši, warka abum ana šīmtim ittalku warkassa ēma elīša ṭābu inaddin; aḫḫūša ul ibaqqarūši.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 73)

Translation

If an entum, nadītum, or sekretum whose father gave her a dowry and wrote (it on) a tablet for her, (and) in the tablet that he wrote for her he wrote for her to give her inheritance wherever was pleasing to her, and gave her full discretion, after the father has passed on, she may give her inheritance wherever it is pleasing to her; her brothers will not sue her.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 74)

Cuneiform

Signs for Law § 179

  • Unavailable
    Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 24)
    Cuneiform
    Law § 179: cuneiform line art
    Source: Harper (1904, p. [pl. LIII])
    Cuneiform
    Law § 179: line art of cuneiform

Inscription

Location of Law § 179 · Powered by Stele3DSM

Orientation Back
Side(s) Sides 4 – 5 (overflow)
Column(s) Col. 38
Line(s) Lns. 20–42
Key
Law § 179
Prologue
Laws
Epilogue
Damage
Open Law § 179 in Stele3DSM

Logic

Logic Map for § 179 · Powered by LawgicSnifferSM

#
Steps
  • 1 if:start If
  • 2 condition:start
  • 3 party:1 an entum,
  • 4 or [or]
  • 5 party:1 nadītum,
  • 6 or or
  • 7 party:1 sekretum
  • 8 party:2 (whose) father
  • 9 action gave
  • 10 party:1 her
  • 11 item:1 a dowry
  • 12 condition:end
  • 13 and [and]
  • 14 condition:start
  • 15 party:2 [he]
  • 16 action wrote it on
  • 17 item:2 a tablet
  • 18 party:1 (for) her,
  • 19 condition:end
  • 20 and and in
  • 21 condition:start
  • 22 item:2 the tablet (that)
  • 23 party:2 he
  • 24 action wrote
  • 25 party:1 (for) her
  • 26 party:2 he
  • 27 action wrote
  • 28 party:1 for her
  • 29 action to give
  • 30 party:1 her
  • 31 item:1 inheritance
  • 32 action wherever was pleasing to
  • 33 party:1 her,
  • 34 condition:end
  • 35 and and
  • 36 condition:start
  • 37 party:2 [he]
  • 38 action gave
  • 39 party:1 her
  • 40 undefined full discretion,
  • 41 condition:end
  • 42 and [and] after
  • 43 condition:start
  • 44 party:2 the father
  • 45 action has passed on
  • 46 condition:end
  • 47 then:start [then]
  • 48 result:start
  • 49 party:1 she
  • 50 action may give
  • 51 party:1 her
  • 52 item:1 inheritance
  • 53 action wherever it is pleasing to
  • 54 party:1 her;
  • 55 result:end
  • 56 and [and]
  • 57 result:start
  • 58 party:1 her
  • 59 party:3 brothers
  • 60 negation will not
  • 61 action sue
  • 62 party:1 her.
  • 63 result:end
  • 64 then:end
  • 65 if:end

Vocabulary

Akkadian Words · Powered by GrammarSnifferSM

šumma (conditional Particle) "if; whether"

entum (Noun form) Feminine Singular Nominative of entu "high priestess"

nadītum (Noun form) Feminine Singular Nominative of nadītu "temple priestess"

sekretum (Noun form) Feminine Singular Nominative of sekretu "cloistered woman"

Citation

Dedović, B. "§ 179 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 4 Nov. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/179. [Accessed 7 Nov. 2026]

MLA 9

Dedović, B. (2023, November 4). § 179 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/179

APA 7

Dedović, Boban. "§ 179 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created November 4, 2023. Modified January 4, 2025. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/179.

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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