Interesting differences between the two law codes:
All Ancient Law Codes were not Created Equal
Van A. Mobley
Hammurabi’s “Law Code” and the “Decalogue” are two of the most important documents to survive the Ancient period. On the surface, the two law codes appear quite similar. After all, both purport to provide guidelines for human conduct. Upon closer inspection, however, it is clear the two documents are very different. Whereas Hammurabi’s “Law Code” fails to address how the relationship between individual human beings and God (or the gods) should be structured, instructions concerning how the relationship between human beings and God should be structured are the foremost concern of the “Decalogue.”
The difference in emphasis between the two documents can be partially explained by the different religious perspectives inherent within them. The references to “Anu,” “Bel,” and “Marduk” make it clear that Hammurabi’s “Law Code” emerged within a polytheistic framework, and nothing within the “Law Code” suggests that polytheism is erroneous.(1) On the other hand, while it is clear that the “Decalogue” also emerged within a polytheistic context, the central message of the “Decalogue” is that polytheism is false. It is clear from various statements that the Author of the “Decalogue” will not countenance polytheism: “I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery,” (Exodus 20:2) and “There will be no other god for you before me [Yahweh]” (Exodus 20:3).(2) To drive this point home, Yahweh also commands in the “Decalogue” that human beings ought not “make for yourself any idol” or “bow down” to anyone or thing other than the true God.(3) The monotheism of the “Decalogue” stands in stark contrast to the polytheism of Hammurabi’s “Law Code.”
The two documents also have two very different types of authors. At the beginning of his “Law Code,” Hammurabi claims, “Marduk sent me to rule over men,” thus giving himself a type of divine sanction.(4) But Hammurabi does not claim the “Law Code” he promulgated for the benefit of his subjects was itself of divine origin. Instead, Hammurabi eagerly draws attention to his own wisdom, and claims that he, and no one else, devised the laws.(5) On the other hand, God is identified as the author of the “Decalogue”: “God spoke all these words.”(6) Moses, who carried God’s words to the people, was the messenger who delivered, not the one who was the author of, the “Decalogue.” Thus, whereas Hammurabi’s “Law Code” creates a sort of direct covenant between Hammurabi and his human subjects, the laws of the “Decalogue” create a direct covenant between God and his human subjects.
Finally, the way in which the two documents are arranged clearly shows the difference in emphasis between them. The first four commandments in the “Decalogue” outline how the relationship between human beings and God should operate. Humans should have no other gods besides God, make no idols, refrain from using God’s name in vain, and “remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”(7) On the other hand, the first four laws in Hammurabi’s “Law Code” forbid people from attempting to “ensnare” one another (or accusing one another of launching ensnarement efforts), outline the adjudication process that should be followed when individuals accuse one another of evils, and state what should happen to judges if judges decide legal cases erroneously.(8) The arrangement of the “Decalogue” suggests that the most important relationship human beings have is not the relationship they have with other human beings, but instead the relationship they have with God. Intentionally or inadvertently, Hammurabi’s “Law Code” neglects to discuss the relationship between human beings and the polytheistic gods identified in its introduction, and focuses entirely on how humans should conduct themselves vis-Ã -vis other human beings.
The foremost objective of the “Decalogue” is to provide guidelines for human beings concerning how they ought to conduct themselves in relationship to God. But the focus in the “Decalogue”on the relationship between God and human beings does not prevent it from outlining how human beings should arrange their relationships with one another.(9) Instead, the arrangement of the “Decalogue” seems to suggest that if the relationship between human beings and God is in order, the relationships among human beings will be in order as well. Such a profound concept is not present in Hammurabi’s “Law Code.” Not surprisingly, it is easy for someone familiar with the basic tenets of Christianity to identify the striking differences between Hammurabi’s “Law Code” and the “Decalogue.”
