What was the main idea behind the Hammurabi Code?

bigponder

An eye for an eye. Jul 14 05, 7:49 PM

bloomsby

There was a bit more to it than that. See this link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi Jul 14 05, 9:59 PM

bloomsby

PS. Here's a link to a translation of what is preserved of the code: http://www.constitution.org/ime/hammurabi.htm Jul 14 05, 10:18 PM

Arpeggionist

The idea was that it was a legal code presented by Hammurabi to his kingdom, which emphasized the importance of doing justice and paying damage. Interestingly enough, Hammurabi's idea of justice - often compared with Exodus 21-23 and not unlike it - is still a bit more strict than the idea of "an eye for an eye". Hammurabi's code uses the death penalty as a deterant from all sorts of crimes, which makes the book of Exodus seem quite liberal in comparison. Jul 15 05, 1:54 AM

H0T-Lead

Seems to me that the main idea behind the code was twofold: 1) by writing it in stone it became immutable, and 2) by posting it in the open it made the workings of the law open to all and no excuse would be allowed for ignorance. The central theme of the codex was an entrenchment of the class structure, where stiffer penalties were incurred by lower class persons offending upper class persons and lighter penalties prevailed when the situation was reversed. Jul 18 05, 7:34 AM

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