Law Groups in Hammurabi's Code
The Law Code of Hammurabi's 282 recognized laws may be organized into sixteen (16) distinct groups.
Most scholars recognize that the Law Code of Hammurabi contains between 15–20 distinct law groups. The original inscription did not describe law groups. The same is said for distinguishing between each of the 282 recognized statutes. Instead, scholars had to make their own determinations. The approach adopted by scholars has been to create categories based on the theme, or content, of the laws.
The sixteen law groups presented in eHammurabi follow the same time-honored approach. The methodology for determining these groups relied on comparing the categories put forth by prior scholars. However, only a handful of full translations of the Law Code of Hammurabi categorize the statutes into law groups. Some translations that provide an index of law groups include:
- Johns, Claude H.W. Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1904.
- Richardson, Mervyn E.J. Hammurabi's Laws: Text, Translation and Glossary. New York, NY: T & T Clark International, 2004.
- OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "OMNIKA DataStore: Mythology Datasets." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation, accessed November 14, 2023. https://omnika.org/datastore.
- Handcock, Percy S.P. The Code of Hammurabi. New York, NY: Macmillan, 1920.
- Abulhab, Saad D. The Law Code of Hammurabi: Transliterated and Literally Translated from its Early Classical Arabic Language. New York, NY: Blautopf, 2017.
Law groups comparison table
Law Groups in Hammurabi's Law Code
# |
MicroSetSM
A small albeit important dataset compiled from several other sources.
Source
16 groups · OMNIKA Foundation (2024)
Laws
Title
|
Source data
The original data from the sources used to compile the MicroSet dataset.
Source #1
15 groups · Richardson (2004, pp. 25–27)
Laws
Title
Source #2
39 groups · Abulhab (2017, p. 7)
Laws
Title
Source #3
18 groups · Handcock (1920, pp. 4–5)
Laws
Title
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
§§ 1–5
Unsubstantiated Allegations
|
§§ 1–5
Unsubstantiated Allegations
|
§§ 1–5
Courts and Judiciary Affairs
|
§§ 1–5
Penalties for false accusation, false
evidence, and wrong legal decisions
|
|
| 2 |
§§ 6–25
Theft, Kidnapping, Robbery
|
§§ 6–25
Theft
|
§§ 6–13
Stolen and Missing Property
|
§§ 6–14
Penalties for theft
|
|
| 3 |
§§ 26–41
Agricultural Obligations
|
§§ 26–75
Agriculture
|
§ 14
Stealing Children
|
§§ 15–20
Harbouring an escaped slave
|
|
| 4 |
§§ 42–56
Agricultural Tenants
|
§§ 76–107
The Merchant
|
§§ 15–20
Stealing, Hiding, and Finding Slaves
|
§§ 21–25
highway robbery, and robbery at a fire
|
|
| 5 |
§§ 57–75
Livestock, Fields, Land
|
§§ 108–11
Selling Alcohol
|
§§ 21–24
Home Invasion, Robbery, Deadly Assault, and Liability
|
§§ 26–41
Privileges and obligations of royal servants, judges, etc.
|
|
| 6 |
§§ 76–107
Merchants
|
§§ 112–26
Other People's Property
|
§ 25
Stealing by Fire Fighters
|
§§ 42–65
Laws relating to landlord and tenant
|
|
| 7 |
§§ 108–11
Selling Alcohol
|
§§ 127–95
Women and Children
|
§§ 26–41
Military Officers and Government Officials Special Laws
|
§§ 66–99
Erased [sic]
|
|
| 8 |
§§ 112–26
Other Peoples' Property
|
§§ 196–252
Compensation and Fees
|
§§ 42–58
Fields Contracts and Liability
|
§§ 100–26
Laws relating to trade and commerce
|
|
| 9 |
§§ 127–52
Family and Divorce
|
§§ 253–58
Casual Labour
|
§§ 59–66
Orchards Contracts and Liability
|
§§ 100–07
Laws relating to a merchant and his agent
|
|
| 10 |
§§ 153–64
Family Abuse and Marriage
|
§§ 259–60
Fines for Stolen Implements
|
§§ 67–69
Real Estate and Tenant Affairs
|
§§ 108–11
Laws relating to wine-merchants
|
|
| 11 |
§§ 165–84
Inheritance
|
§§ 261–67
Herdsmen and Shepherds
|
§§ 70–76
Merchants Lending and Profits
|
§ 112
Liabilities in respect of loss in the transport of goods
|
|
| 12 |
§§ 185–95
Children
|
§§ 268–73
Hire of Animals and Equipment
|
§§ 77–??
Merchants Partnership
|
§§ 113–19
Laws relating to debt and distraint
|
|
| 13 |
§§ 196–216
Assault
|
§ 274
Tradesmen's Rates
|
§§ ??–108
Merchants and Jobbers Relations
|
§§ 120–26
Law of bailment
|
|
| 14 |
§§ 217–40
Compensation and Fees
|
§§ 275–77
Rates for Boats
|
§§ 109–11
Alewife and Alcohol Sale
|
§§ 127–93
Family law
|
|
| 15 |
§§ 241–52
Value of Animals
|
§§ 278–82
Slaves Unable to Work
|
§ 112
Cargo Transportation
|
§§ 194–233
Criminal law: penalties for assaults, etc.
|
|
| 16 |
§§ 253–82
Labor, Equipment, Fees
|
§§ 113–19
Loan Fulfillment and Hostage Taking
|
§§ 234–40
Laws relating to navigation
|
||
| 17 |
§§ 120–26
Storage and Lodgment
|
§§ 241–77
Rates of payment for hire of animals, for work done, etc.
|
|||
| 18 |
§§ 127–52
Family, Divorce, Wife Adultery, and Dishonor
|
§§ 278–82
The law as affecting slaves
|
|||
| 19 |
§§ 153–58
Sexual Assault, Daughter Abuse, and Murdering Husband
|
||||
| 20 |
§§ 159–64
Marriage, Dowry and Marriage Endowments
|
||||
| 21 |
§§ 165–84
Inheritance
|
||||
| 22 |
§§ 185–94
Adoption and Wet Nurse
|
||||
| 23 |
§§ 195–216
Assault
|
||||
| 24 |
§§ 217–25
Doctors and Veterinarians
|
||||
| 25 |
§§ 226–27
Slave Branding
|
||||
| 26 |
§§ 228–33
Homes, Builders, and Liability
|
||||
| 27 |
§§ 234–40
Boats, Boatmen, and Liability
|
||||
| 28 |
§§ 241–49
Oxen and Donkeys Renting and Liability
|
||||
| 29 |
§§ 250–52
Ox Liability
|
||||
| 30 |
§§ 253–56
Field Laborers, Contractors and Liability
|
||||
| 31 |
§ 257
Unskilled Workers Hiring
|
||||
| 32 |
§ 258
Cattle Herdsman Hiring
|
||||
| 34 |
§§ 259–60
Stealing Field Equipment
|
||||
| 35 |
§§ 261–67
Cattle and Sheep Overseer Hiring and Liability
|
||||
| 36 |
§§ 268–73
Working Animals and Carriage Renting
|
||||
| 37 |
§ 274
Skilled Workers Hiring
|
||||
| 38 |
§§ 275–77
Boats Renting
|
||||
| 39 |
§§ 278–82
Slaves Buying and Ownership
|
||||
The data below are a MicroSet from the OMNIKA DataStore. A MicroSet is a small albeit important dataset related to one specific topic. Data from sources are compiled and statistically compared. The recommendations reflect the latest, most authoritative scholarship.
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Citation
Dedović, B. "Law Groups - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 10 Oct. 2023, ehlaw.org/lch/law-groups. [Accessed 23 Oct. 2026]
Dedović, B. (2023, October 10). Law Groups - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/lch/law-groups
Bibliography
Abulhab, Saad D. The Law Code of Hammurabi: Transliterated and Literally Translated from its Early Classical Arabic Language. New York, NY: Blautopf, 2017.
Bergmann, Eugen. Codex Ḫammurabi: Textus Primigenius. Rome, Italy: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum, 1953.
Handcock, Percy S.P. The Code of Hammurabi. New York, NY: Macmillan, 1920.
Harper, Robert F. The Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon, about 2250 B.C.: Autographed Text, Transliteration, Translation, Glossary, Index of Subjects, Lists of Proper Names, Signs, Numerals, Corrections and Erasures, with Map, Frontispiece and Photograph of Text. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1904.
Huehnergard, John. A Grammar of Akkadian (Third Edition). Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011.
Johns, Claude H.W. Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1904.
Johns, Claude H.W. The Oldest Code of Laws in the World. Edinburgh, Scotland: T. & T. Clark, 1911.
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. A Comprehensive Grammar to Hammurabi's Stele. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2014.
Richardson, Mervyn E.J. Hammurabi's Laws: Text, Translation and Glossary. New York, NY: T & T Clark International, 2004.
Roth, Martha T., and Harry A. Hoffner. Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. Edited by Piotr Michalowski. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press: 1995.
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