Compare the Law Code of Hammurabi to the Hebrew law set forth in the Torah. Answer: The ideal response would include the following:

Question

Please provide the best answer for the statement.

Answer 1

1. Hammurabi (r. 1792–1750 BCE) ordered the construction of a giant stele, on which is inscribed the so-called Law Code of Hammurabi, a record of decisions and decrees made by the ruler over the course of 40 years. The Law Code is the first set of laws to have continued in force after the death of the ruler who imposed them.
2. Do these articles actually constitute a code of law? If by code we mean a comprehensive, systematic, and methodical compilation of all aspects of Mesopotamian law, then they do not. This code is highly selective in the issues it addresses, and many of its articles seem to be “reforms” of already existing law. Chief among these is the principle of talion—an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—which Hammurabi introduced to Mesopotamian law. This principle punished the violence or injustice perpetuated by one free person on another, but violence by an upper-class person on a lower-class person was penalized much less severely. The code’s strongest concern is the maintenance and protection of the family, though trade practices and property rights are also of major importance.
3. The Code was repeatedly copied for more than 1,000 years, and it established the rule of law in Mesopotamia for a millennium. Its significance lay in the fact that, from this point on, the authority and power of the ruler could no longer be subject to his whim. The law, prescribed in writing, was now also much less flexible. Exceptions to the rule were few and difficult to justify.
4. The Hebrews forged the principal tenets of a new religion that would eventually be based on the worship of a single god. This God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, carved onto stone tablets, which were the centerpiece of the Torah, or Law (literally “instructions”). Subsequently, the Hebrews carried the commandments in a sacred chest, called the Ark of the Covenant. Their monotheistic religion was thus an ethical and moral system derived from an omnipotent God.
5. The body of laws outlined in the Torah is quite different from the code of Hammurabi. The code was essentially a list of punishments for offenses rather than an ethical code, like the Torah. Perhaps because the Hebrews were once themselves aliens and slaves, their law treats the lowest members of society as human beings, and punishment was levied equally.