Dark Lord Of The Sith

Dark Lord Of The Sith

The Inferiority of Near Eastern Law Codes to Biblical Law

It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to compare the laws enacted by the Amorite King Hammurabi to the Babylonians during the 1700’s B.C. with what the Holy Scriptures are to Christians today. The Code of Hammurabi was a set of laws written by King Hammurabi, who began ruling the Babylonian Empire in about 1800 B.C. Hammurabi came to power using his strengths as a military leader, conquering many smaller city-states to create his Empire. Hammurabi believed that the gods appointed him to bring justice and order to his people, and was found to take this duty very seriously. Not long after he came to power, he decided created his Code, 282 laws written to define all relationships and aspects of life in his new kingdom. The laws were displayed in a public place so that all the people could have the opportunity to study them. The laws applied to everyone, though application of the laws and punishment differed according to social class. The punishments for disobeying the laws were harsh and often brutal which was found to further encouraging compliance.
Hammurabis’ laws were found to have their origin from a body of long-standing Sumerian laws that he used to summarize the code of laws he enacted. The Code of Hammurabi was an “attempt to incorporate every phase of life into law, covering topics like: commerce, trade, parental and domestic relations, slavery, libel, slander, theft, marriage, adultery, divorce, property rights and ownership, and employer-employee regulations”. Hammurabi like his predecessors attempted to appease the deities, while protecting the people through alliances and war. He managed to have a peaceful reign until the last decade of his life when he fought with his enemies and expanded his empire. He combined the newly acquired territory with his inherited lands to form a United Kingdom and his codes were enforced there also. Although Hammurabis’ reign was conquered and declined...