Comparing Ancient Law Codes

Directions: Read the following

documents and answer the
processing questions that follow
using complete sentences.
Remember to answer all parts of
the question.
 Mesopotamian
Law
About 1750 B.C.
Mesopotamia was
conquered by Hammurabi,
who established his capital
at Babylon on the
Euphrates. To help unify
his empire, he collected
existing Mesopotamian
laws into a single code of
around 300 specific laws.
The code regulated not
only crime but also a
variety of other areas. He
engraved this Code of
Hammurabi on stone
pillars (or stelas) and
placed them throughout
his empire. The following
regulations from
Hammurabi’s Code deal
with marriage and the
family, personal injury,
and trade.

Mesopotamian Law Questions
Answer in complete sentences
What general moral principle underlies many of the
specific regulations in the code of Hammurabi?
● Its along the lines of if I do something bad,
unfair, unequal to someone else I must pay
back my actions somehow.
What class system is indicated in Hammurabi’s Code?
● If people are in the same class they get the same type
of damage they have done. If its a class lower than
you have to pay a big amount to pay back you
damage. If a slave then a small amount needs to be
paid.
How does this structure affect the law?
● It’s effective because it teaches these people
how it is to get a taste of their own medicine.
How fair or unfair does Hammurabi's Code seem to
women?
● It isn’t fair.
EXPLAIN
● It's not fair because when a woman breaks the
code she gets a punishment. When a man breaks
the code he only needs to pay silver.
Why do you think Hammurabi’s stela (the image on
the very first slide with the activity’s instructions) was
topped by a carving of him and the sun god Shamash?
● I honestly have no clue but I’m guessing it has
something related to showing how people got
punished equally to the wrong they have done.
 The Ten
Commandments
According to the “Book
of Exodus in the Bible,
the Jews were rescued
from slavery in Egypt
by their leader Moses
with God’s help.
Afterwards Moses led
them through the
desert to Mount Sinai to
meet with God. In this
passage from Exodus,
God uses Moses as an
intermediary to give the
Jews the Ten
Commandments, the
core of their religious
law.
 How are the Ten Commandments organized?
● They were separated into two stone tablets. 5 on
Answer in complete sentences each. They went in the order of God first, then
The Ten Commandments
respecting your family, then respecting the
community.
What types of behavior are dealt with in different
sections?
● The behavior is in the order of respecting god
and your parents then showing kindness to
people around and knowing what good is from
bad.
The first commandment forbids the making of a
“graven image.” What is being prohibited?
● Graven image meaning not to have any other
idea or picture of god then just what he is.
What does this passage from Exodus indicate about
God’s character and standards of justice?
● God’s character is portrayed as a higher being
that should be the only one you believe in and
he even says he is jealous of the other godly
beings that aren’t real and how people praise
and pray to them as if that statue was a god.
In general, is it a good or bad thing to attempt to
depict spiritual beings in art? Why or why not?
● I don’ t think there is anything wrong with
expressing what estimation you have of a godly
being as long as it’s respectful and and culture
appropriate.
 Explain two ways these documents are similar
1. They both have rules and regulations. In the 10
Answer in complete sentences
Comparing the documents
commandments it has rules of believing in one
god and respecting other people. In the
Mespotamian law it talks about how people
get equal act that they did, so it kept people
from doing any of those things.
2. They also helped keep their community from
chaos. Both had an effect to help keep people safe and
less dramatic.
Explain two SIGNIFICANT differences between these
documents (be sure to explain the difference in the
context of each document individually
1. Both documents have laws for completely
different reasons. The 10 commandments were
rules to stay faithful to God. The Mespotamian
law were just laws to avert chaos.
2. The Mespotamian law had punishments that
involved getting your hands cut off and death. While
the 10 commandments acted as guidelines to prove to
God your faith.