Ancient History- Week 4

In the Mesopotamia area, other empires invaded and new rulers were put into place. A new

civilization began to flourish called Babylonia. (The Babylonians from the Old Testament)

One of the more famous leaders of this empire was Hammurabi.

He lived from 1792-1750 BC.

We know a lot about him because in 1901 archaeologists unearthed a 7 foot high stone

monument which had written on it was a code to 300 laws by Hammurabi.

The code itself explains that laws were written “to cause justice to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and to further the welfare of the people.”

One of the ways that men live alongside one another in peace is to have laws that everyone agrees to live by.

Before these laws were discovered, historians thought that there must not have been any laws in existence in early history.

Hammurabi proved them wrong.In the code, this King set standards for land

deals, trading, loans, debts, wages, and even witchcraft.

What should be done to the man who builds a house that falls & kills the owner?

What should be done about a wife who ignores her duties & belittles her husband?

What happens if a man is unable to pay his debts?

What should happen to a boy who slaps his father?

How is the truth determined when one man brings an accusation against another?

The significance of these laws becomes clearer when you stop to think about Moses. God was giving him the laws for the Israelites near this time in history as well.

There are similarities in the Code of Hammurabi and the law God gave Moses, but there are

some differences as well.

LeviticusExodus

Numbers Deuteronomy

The Ten Commandments and other laws God gave Moses had to with worship of one God as well as with relationships between man.

Hammurabi doesn’t address the worship of one God. Moses gave God all the glory in the laws he recorded.

Hammurabi gave glory to himself.

God’s laws are always right, with the consequences to sin being just and fair.

Hieroglyphics were pictures that the Egyptians drew and carve into items to communicate

words of their language.

They were used for thousands of years.Inside the tombs and pyramids, on vases and

statues, these carvings were made that communicated stories of the Egyptian life.

These pictures tell us about their life and beliefs.