Quiz created: 111102

Budge: Laws of Hammurabi (Open Book)

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In chapter 7, Budge provides some examples of the widely admired maneh or laws of Hammurabi in order to "illustrate their general character." The following questions are probably best done with the text available in front of you. They are not intended to test recall but to highlight some of the provisions of Hammurabi's law in a way that makes them easier to remember.
1. The opening two laws in the list of laws deal with
taxes  theft  murder  marriage  sorcery  No Answer
2. According to Law 5, a judge who reverses a verdict after he once pronounces it
has the second opinion prevail 
is removed from office 
forfeits the money he earned from the first verdict 
is killed 
No Answer
3. Law 7 provides that a person who buys something from the son or slave of a man
requires a written contract 
must pay a tax 
must have a witness 
must have full adult status or else the agreement is invalid 
is killed 
No Answer
4. Law 8 provides monetary penalties for theft. A poor thief pays less than one with more money. A thief with no money
pays nothing 
pays with labor to the aggrieved party 
is sold into slavery and the sale price used to pay the aggrieved party 
is killed 
No Answer
5. According to Law 40, a person who sells is business to a buyer
must agree to work for the buyer for 10 weeks 
may charge no more than one year's income 
is permitted to do so 
is killed 
No Answer
6. Law 109 provides that a wine-merchant who allows "riotous men" to assemble in his house
is responsible for damage they may do to others 
must not permit them to mingle with women of his household or of his neighbors' households 
may be sent out of the town if the neighbors complain of the noise 
is killed 
No Answer
7. When a married woman is caught in adultery, Law 129 provides that she and her lover shall be "cast into the water" (i.e., drowned). However the woman can be saved by
surviving the ordeal, proving her innocence 
the king if he wants her for his harem 
her husband 
her father if he is willing to reclaim her and return the brideprice he was paid for her 
having learned to swim when she was in the Campfire Girls 
No Answer
8. Laws 133-134 cover cases in which a man is captured (supposedly in war, but possibly imprisoned), leaving his wife behind. In general, if there is wealth left to sustain her, she is expected to await his return. But if not, and if she abandons him and marries another and bears him children, then when the husband eventually returns
the kids are his 
he gets back the wife but not the kids 
he gets back neither wife nor kids but is allowed to take another woman as his primary wife 
he is permitted by take back his wife, but only by paying brideprice to her new husband and paying a fee for each child he wishes to "purchase" from their father 
No Answer
9. If a man divorces his wife because she is childless, Laws 137-139 provide that he must repay her dowry two-fold (or pay an equivalent), but if she has had children and he divorces her he
must keep the kids 
must return the dowry and pay child support while she keeps the kids 
keeps the kids but must pay four times the dowry to be rid of her 
is killed 
No Answer
10. According to Law 195, if a man strikes his father
he is sold into slavery 
his hands are cut off 
he must pay a tax 
is killed 
No Answer
11. Laws 196-212 deal with interpersonal violence and generally provide that if I break your arm, my arm will be broken as a punishment, and the like. However not all cases are identical. In general
rich people are not punished 
poor people are not punished 
punishments are more physical for people less able to pay monetary compensation 
punishments are less severe for injuring people below you in social class than people above you 
No Answer
12. Laws 229-231 deal with faulty construction of houses. In general, if a house falls in and kills somebody, the builder is in big trouble. For example, if a house falls down and kills a slave of the householder, then
the mason is killed 
the mason's son is killed 
a slave of the mason is killed 
the mason must pay three times the value of the slave as compensation 
the mason's house is knocked down with his family and slaves inside, who may or may not be killed that way 
No Answer
13. Laws 324-249 deal with hiring boats or oxen belonging to others. In the case of oxen, they may sometimes be injured in the course of their use. The law provides compensation when this happens unless
the ox is secretly injured by its owner to win compensation 
the ox was sick when it was hired 
the ox is unruly or attacks the renter 
God strikes it and it dies 
No Answer

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This consummately cool, pedagogically compelling, self-correcting,
multiple-choice quiz was produced automatically from
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of April 25, 2010.