Texts in Conversation
Exodus gives God the speaking role where Hammurabi claims to write laws under a god's command. The difference presents the law as God's own speech, rather than a king's work in turning divine approval into written rules.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Code of Hammurabi 1:23
Babylonian Legal Text
Ancient Near East
When Marduk sent me to rule over men and to give the land the protection of justice, I did what was right and just and promoted the well-being of the oppressed. 1 If anyone accuses another of a capital crime but cannot prove it, the accuser shall be put to death. 2 If anyone brings an accusation against a man, and the accused goes to the river and leaps into it: if he sinks in the river, his accuser shall take possession of his house. But if the river proves him innocent and he escapes unhurt, the one who brought the accusation shall be put to death, and the one who leaped into the river shall take possession of his accuser's house.
Exodus 20:22
Hebrew Bible
22 The Lord said to Moses, “Thus you will tell the Israelites: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken with you from heaven. 23 You must not make gods of silver alongside me, nor make gods of gold for yourselves. 24 “‘You must make for me an altar made of earth, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be honored I will come to you and I will bless you. 25 If you make me an altar of stone, you must not build it of stones shaped with tools, for if you use your tool on it you have defiled it. 26 And you must not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness is not exposed.’
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Notes and References
“... According to this, Marduk, who had been placed in supreme position over Babylon by Anu and Enlil according to the first part of the prologue, commanded Hammurabi to provide justice. Marduk does not reveal the law; he only commands the promulgation of justice. It is Hammurabi who translates this ideal into reality by formulating law. ...”
Wright, David P.
Inventing God's Law: How the Covenant Code of the Bible Used and Revised the Laws of Hammurabi
(p. 288) Oxford University Press, 2009
* 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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