The Code of Hammurabi — Foundation of Near Eastern Law
חוקי חמורבי
Author: Hammurabi, roi de Babylone (c. 1792–1750 av. J.-C.)
Date: c. 1750 av. J.-C.
Preservation: Musée du Louvre (Paris)
deposited on April 16, 2026 · History register · custodian, not owner
❧ Description
The Code of Hammurabi, engraved on a 2.25-meter diorite stele discovered at Susa, is Antiquity's most famous law code. Its parallels with biblical legal codes — the Covenant Code, Deuteronomic laws, Holiness Code — are both striking and revelatory, attesting to a common Near Eastern legal heritage while revealing the Torah's distinctive egalitarian ethic.
In history
Critical research
Dating
English
The Code of Hammurabi, engraved on a 2.25-meter diorite stele discovered at Susa, is Antiquity's most famous law code. Its parallels with biblical legal codes — the Covenant Code, Deuteronomic laws, Holiness Code — are both striking and revelatory, attesting to a common Near Eastern legal heritage while revealing the Torah's distinctive egalitarian ethic.