§ 51

Law § 51 of Hammurabi's Code

Translation
If he does not have the silver for the repayment he shall give the merchant (grain or)35 sesame at their current prices for the silver which he received from the merchant and the interest on it, in accordance with the decision of the king.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Agricultural Tenants
Inscription

Cuneiform

Law § 51 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 10, col. XIV, lns. 56–66)

Transliteration

šum-ma kaspam a-na tu-ur-ri-im la i-šu šamaššammam a-na ma-ḫi-ra-ti-šu-nu ša kaspi-šu u ṣi-ib-ti-šu ša it-ti tamkarim il-ku-u a-na pî ṣi-im-da-at šar-ri-im a-na tamkarim i-na-ad-di-in

Source: Abulhab (2017, p. 43)

Normalization

šumma kaspam ana turrim la išu [šeꜥam u lu]191 šamaššammī ana maḫīrātišunu ša kaspišu u ṣibtišu ša itti tamkārim ilqû ana pī ṣimdat šarrim ana tamkārim inaddin.

Source: Richardson (2004, p. 60)

Translation

If he does not have the silver for the repayment he shall give the merchant (grain or)35 sesame at their current prices for the silver which he received from the merchant and the interest on it, in accordance with the decision of the king.

Source: Richardson (2004, p. 61)

Cuneiform

Signs for Law § 51

  • Unavailable
    Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 10)
    Cuneiform
    Law § 51: cuneiform line art
    Source: Harper (1904, p. [pl. XXII])
    Cuneiform
    Law § 51: line art of cuneiform

Inscription

Location of Law § 51 · Powered by Stele3DSM

Orientation Front
Side(s) Side 3
Column(s) Col. 14
Line(s) Lns. 56–66
Key
Law § 51
Prologue
Laws
Epilogue
Damage
Open Law § 51 in Stele3DSM

Logic

Logic Map for § 51 · Powered by LawgicSnifferSM

#
Steps
  • 1 if:start If
  • 2 condition:start
  • 3 party:1 he
  • 4 negation does not
  • 5 action have
  • 6 item:1 the silver
  • 7 action for the repayment
  • 8 condition:end
  • 9 then:start [then]
  • 10 result:start
  • 11 party:1 he
  • 12 action shall give
  • 13 party:2 ther merchant
  • 14 item:2 sesame at their current prices
  • 15 undefined for
  • 16 item:1 the silver
  • 17 undefined which
  • 18 party:1 he
  • 19 action received
  • 20 undefined from
  • 21 party:2 the merchant
  • 22 and
  • 23 item:3 the interest
  • 24 undefined on
  • 25 item:1 it,
  • 26 undefined in accordance with the decision of
  • 27 party:3 the king.
  • 28 result:end
  • 29 then:end
  • 30 if:end

Citation

Dedović, B. "§ 51 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 26 Oct. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/51. [Accessed 7 Nov. 2026]

MLA 9

Dedović, B. (2023, October 26). § 51 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/51

APA 7

Dedović, Boban. "§ 51 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created October 26, 2023. Modified December 16, 2024. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/51.

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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