Texts in Conversation
The demand for honest measurements in Leviticus shares Hammurabi's concern with fair measures in lending. False weights take another person's goods without open theft, making accuracy a duty to one's neighbor rather than only a business rule.
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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.
Leviticus 19:35
Hebrew Bible
32 You must stand up in the presence of the aged, honor the presence of an elder, and fear your God. I am the Lord. 33 When a resident foreigner lives with you in your land, you must not oppress him. 34 The resident foreigner who lives with you must be to you as a native citizen among you; so you must love the foreigner as yourself, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. 35 You must not do injustice in the regulation of measures, whether of length, weight, or volume. 36 You must have honest balances, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt.
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Notes and References
“... 19:35-36. honest measurements. The injunction to deal in honest weights and measures when doing business is directly related to the laws in 19:11-18, which require fair dealing and an internalized sense that your neighbor is to be treated as you would want to be treated. Standardization of weights and measures was required in *Hammurabi’s code with regard to repayment of debts in grain or silver, and involving the measuring out of grain to pay for wine. Penalties for violators ranged from forfeiture of property to execution. ...”
Walton, John H.
The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
(p. 135) 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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