*This article serves to provide more details on the historical context of the Laws in the Old Testament.
The Old Testament period occurred from 4000 BC (at least) through to 430 BC¹, a timeline which scholars call the Ancient Near Eastern time in human history. This period was described as the ‘cradle of civilization,’ and began with the development of the world’s first writing, cities, government and laws². The Ancient Near East period is considered by many to cover the Biblical history in the Old and New Testaments².
In an effort to better understand the Old Testament times, we will examine characteristics of that era and the laws that governed their lives. One such set of laws is the Code of Hammurabi. There are similarities and differences between this code and the Laws of Moses which we will explore in a later article.
The Code of Hammurabi
The Code of Hammurabi was one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes to govern a people. It was proclaimed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi, who reigned from 1792 to 1750 B.C³. Although this is often cited as the oldest written laws on record, it is predated by at least two other ancient codes of conduct from the Middle East — the Sumerian Codes of Ur-Nammu and Code of Lipit-Ishtar⁴. These three bear striking similarities, and since The Code of Hammurabi is the most complete of these³, we will focus on it.
The Code was inscribed on a stela, a large upright slab of stone, which was discovered by a French expedition in 1901 and translated a year later⁵. Scholars soon discovered many connections between it and Biblical laws, which showed that the Code of Hammurabi and the Bible were part of the larger legal tradition of the Ancient Near East. Also, King Hammurabi is thought to be the same as King Amraphael/Amraphel of Shinar (of Babylonia), one of the kings Abraham rescues his nephew Lot from in Genesis 14⁶ ⁷. If that is the case, then the Code of Hammurabi precedes Moses’ time, and provides a context for the laws which governed many towns in Biblical times, and even the Laws in Exodus.
The Code of Hammurabi and God’s Law through Moses
The Ten commandments and the other laws listed in Exodus 20:19–23:33 are called the “Covenant Code” by scholars because they present an aspect of ancient Israel’s covenant relationship with God⁵. These Laws form part of the larger legal traditions of the Ancient Near East, and many scholars believe that the Laws in Exodus reflect the influence of the much older Code of Hammurabi.
If the scholars are right, what would this mean? For some people, this would throw some doubt on the divine inspiration of Scripture. For me, it does not. I agree that the Code of Hammurabi was so widespread that its expectations influenced the way the human authors of the Bible transcribed the divine message. In the next article, I will look at the similarities and differences between these sets of laws. The similarities will show this influence of the Code. I believe, however, that these similarities by no means subtract from the divine inspiration of Scripture as I will later seek to demonstrate. God knew the prevalence of these traditions and worked through this already established system to make His will known through the Israelites in those times.
Bibliography
- Bible Hub. (n.d.). Bible Timeline. biblehub.com. Retrieved April 24, 2021, from https://biblehub.com/timeline/old.htm
- John Jay College of Criminal Justice. (2020, December 1). Middle East, Near East and North Africa: Ancient Near East. Lloyd Sealy Library. Retrieved April 24, 2021, from https://guides.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/middleeast/AncientNearEast
- History.com Editors. (2009, November 9). Code of Hammurabi. HISTORY. Retrieved April 24, 2021, from https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/hammurabi
- Andrews, E. (2017, December 17). 8 Things You May Not Know About Hammurabi’s Code. HISTORY. Retrieved April 24, 2021, from https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-hammurabis-code
- Society of Biblical Literature. (n.d.). The Bible, Hammurabi’s Code and Law in the Ancient Near East. Religious Freedom Center. Retrieved April 24, 2021, from https://www.religiousfreedomcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SBL_GA3RS_Lesson2.pdf
- Amraphael or Amraphel. (2021). Amazing Bible Timeline. Retrieved April 24, 2021, from https://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/amraphael-or-amraphel/
- Duncan, G. (1904). The Code of Moses and the Code of Hammurabi. The Biblical World, 23(3), 188–193. Retrieved April 25, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3140703
