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Proverbs places the honest weights regulated by Hammurabi under God's judgment. Fair dealing becomes a duty before God as well as a matter for the courts, so cheating remains wrong even when the merchant escapes a public penalty.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Code of Hammurabi 1:105
Babylonian Legal Text
Ancient Near East
82 If a merchant lends grain or silver at interest, and when he makes the loan he pays out the silver by the small weight or the grain by the small measure, but when he is repaid he takes the silver by the large weight or the grain by the large measure, that merchant forfeits whatever he lent. 83 If a merchant lends ... at interest, ... he forfeits whatever he gave. 84 If a man borrows grain or silver from a merchant and has no grain or silver with which to repay, but does have other goods, he shall give his merchant whatever he has on hand, before witnesses, according to its value; the merchant shall not object, and he shall accept it.
Proverbs 11:1
Hebrew Bible
1 The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but an accurate weight is his delight. 2 After pride came, disgrace followed; but wisdom came with humility. 3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. 4 Wealth does not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. 5 The righteousness of the blameless will make their way smooth, but the wicked will fall through their own wickedness. 6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, but the treacherous will be ensnared by their own desires. 7 When a wicked person dies, his expectation perishes, and hope based on power has perished.
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Notes and References
“... 11:1. cheating in the marketplace. The practice of using “dishonest scales” was a temptation for shopkeepers and bankers. Within the civil authority of the state, the Babylonian Law Code of Hammurabi attempted to curtail this illegal practice by threatening forfeiture of an investment by a corrupt banker. In the realm of wisdom admonition, however, people are encouraged to strive for proper behavior. Thus the “eloquent peasant” of Egyptian wisdom literature advises the king and his officials of a dangerous situation in which “those authorized to give full measures short their people.” The assumption is that the king will see the wisdom of eliminating such harmful practices. See the comments on Amos 8:5-6 for discussion of dishonest business practices in eighth century Israel. ...”
Walton, John H.
The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
(p. 565) InterVarsity Press, 2000
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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