Essential Questions: Why do societies need laws? Where do laws come from?

Focus Skill: Collaborative Conversations

In the book of Exodus (in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Torah) the Israelites stopped at
the foot of Mount Sinai and Moses went up the mountain to meet with God. Moses came down
the mountain with two stone tablets that are ten laws. The Commandments and other laws told
the Israelites how to behave towards God and one another. These laws are still important to
Jews and to many other people today.

(Source Document) The Ten Commandments

1. I am the Lord thy God... You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not worship false idols(Not worship other things)
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain...
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother...
6. You shall not kill.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor ( lie).
10. You shall not covet (desire)... anything that is thy neighbors.

Practicing Collaborative Conversations

Directions: Before you practice your collaborative conversations in
your group, write down THREE Commandments in your own words
and why do you think they are important to a Civilization or Society.

Directions: Pick 3 Commandments and write them in YOUR OWN WORDS. And explain why you
think they are important.

________________________________________________________________

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Essential Questions: Why do societies need laws? Where do laws come from?
Skill Focus: Supporting ideas from examples in the text

Introduction: Laws are a complex institution of civilizations. They are designed to do many
thingssettle conflicts between individuals, provide citizens with guidance on proper behavior,
and outline an individuals relationship with the government. Thus, laws are important for
building stable civilizations.

You will compare and contrast Hammurabis Code and Excerpts from the
Torah (The old testament). Answer the questions below.

Source: Hammurabis Code (1775 B.C.) DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTIONS

If a son has struck his father, they 1. In your own words (paraphrase) some
of the laws written in Hammurabis
shall cut off his hand.
Code.
If a [noble] has destroyed the eye
of a [noble], they shall destroy ________________________________
his eye.
If he has broken another [nobles] ________________________________
bone, they shall break his bone.
________________________________
If he has destroyed the eye of a
commoner or broken the bone ________________________________
of a commoner, he shall pay one
mina of silver. ________________________________
If he has destroyed the eye of a
[nobles] slave or broken the
2. Is the Code applied equally to all
bone of a [nobles] slave, he
people? Explain your answer.
shall pay one- half [the slaves]
value. ________________________________
If a [noble] has knocked out the
tooth of a [noble], they shall ________________________________
knock out his tooth.
________________________________
If he has knocked out a commoners
tooth, he shall pay one-third ________________________________
mina of silver.

Essential Questions: Why do societies need laws? Where do laws come from?
Skill Focus: Supporting ideas from examples in the text

Source: Old Testament (Part of the DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTIONS

Torah) (around 600 B.C)

Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall 1. Describe some of the punishments of
be put to death. But if he did not lie in these laws.
wait for him, but God let him fall into
his hand, then I will appoint for you a _________________________________
place to which he may flee. . . .
Whoever strikes his father or his mother _________________________________
shall be put to death. . . . Whoever
curses his father or his mother shall _________________________________
be put to death. When men quarrel
and one strikes the other with a stone _________________________________
or with this fist and the man does not
die but keeps his bed, then if the man 2. How is the treatment of slaves in
rises again and walks abroad with his Hammurabis Code and the Old Testament
staff, he that struck him shall be laws similar? How is it different?
clear; only he shall pay for the loss of
his time. . . . _________________________________
When a man strikes his slave, male or
female, with a rod and the slave dies _________________________________
under his hand, he shall be punished.
When a man strikes the eye of his slave, _________________________________
male or female, and destroys it, he
shall let the slave go free for the _________________________________
eyes sake. If he knocks out the tooth
of his slave, male or female, he shall _________________________________
let the slave go free for the tooths
sake.

On page _________, it said.

The author wrote
According to the text.
From the reading, I know that
Based on what I read
For example
Visual Study Guide
Directions: Read the question or statement and fill in the blank below
According to ancient Hebrew
history, who made the first
covenant with god, which
promised the Hebrews the
Promised Land?
According to Jewish Scripture
God gave these laws to the
Hebrews. (what are the laws
called?)
The belief in ONE God which is one
of the central beliefs of Judaism is
called..
According to Jewish scripture
Gods laws were delivery by
whom?
What is the promised land called
that God promised Abraham and his
people? Moses led the Israelites from
(Hint: Between Egypt and Egypt. This event is also called
Mesopotamia) the..
2nd King
of the Israelites
who brought to-
gether the 12
tribes of Israel
A Jewish holiday that remembers the Exodus