Code of Hammurabi, the book of Exodus and the Epic of Creation
Where Do You Come From? For the following, use the attached primary sources: 1. In general, how does the Code of Hammurabi relate to the Book of Exodus? Specifically, how are they similar? – come up with at least three (3) concrete examples. 2. What lessons of gender can you learn from the Epic of Creation? Can you see any advice here (or conclusion) as to the proper roll of men and women?
The Epic of Creation c. 1800 b.ce.
Egyptian Scribal Exercise Book Twelfth Century b.c.e.
Foundations of Western Civilization, c. 4000-1000 b.c.e.
Summary The roots of Western culture cut across distant lands and ancient societies. The five documents in this chapter expose the fundamental features of these early civilizations as they developed between the twentieth and tenth centuries B.C.E. The evidence reveals that on the one hand, peoples then living in the Near East, Africa, and the Mediterranean developed their own distinctive beliefs, mythologies, customs, and sense of identity. On the other, they shared many attributes, such as large urban populations, the use of writing, devotion to religion, and economies based on trade and agriculture. This unique mixture of cross-cultural similarities and differences forged the path for the future.
Code of Hammurabi, the book of Exodus and the Epic of Creation
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Code of Hammurabi and the book of Exodus
One among many gods in Babylon namely the god of justice commissioned King Hammurabi to write the Hammurabi code. This is in stark contrast to the inspiration received from the only legitimate God that Moses believed in to write the Ten Commandments for the Israelites. It is however noteworthy that the commissioning of both writings is similar in the sense that Hammurabi and Moses were both divinely commissioned. The intent of the Hammurabi was to guide interactions among people of different classes such as slaves and free people. The Mosaic Law depicted in Exodus also serves the role of guiding people’s interactions with one another as a way of ensuring protection and justice although the promise of becoming God’s chosen people compelled Israelites to follow it. This indicates that exodus had a spiritual dimension as opposed to the Hammurabi code which only focused one the consequences of breaking civil and criminal procedures.
Hammurabi inscribed the code on a stone pillar just like the inscription of the Ten Commandments upon a stone. Both the code of Hammurabi indicate that those that strike their parents deserve punishment. In the Hammurabi, one that strikes his father has his hand cut off while in Exodus one deserves being put to death. Another similarity is the permission to revenge in certain circumstances. In Exodus, it is allowed for a husband to consult judges for an eye to an eye proposition when another man hurts his expectant wife. In the Hammurabi, there are numerous situations where a seignior may receive the same manner of treatment a...