We have spent the better part of a month reading parts of Hammurabi’s Code to determine whether it was just or unjust. Here is what a few of us have decided:
Hammurabi was a terrible man. His laws did not come from a god of justice . They came from a god of Unfairness. Hammurabi became the king of Babylon 4,000 years ago and made the first complete laws. Was Hammurabi’s code fair? There are three areas of the law where Hammurabi Code can be shown to be unjust. These laws don’t protect the weak, have harsh punishment, and have inconsistent punishment.
Examples of unjust can be first found in the area of family law. First Hammurabi was not protecting the weak because if a woman is caught cheating she shall be blinded and thrown into the water and he not protecting the weak by throwing her into the water. Second he wasn’t protecting the weak because if a son struck his father his hand shall be cut off [law 195]. These examples show that Hammurabi’s code was unjust because if a son struck his father his hands shall be cut off the punishment the son could have got was not cutting off his hands. Hammurabi’s code is also unjust because he didn’t protect the weak he said that he would protect the weak but he never did.
Examples of injustice can be found in the area of property law. First Hammurabi had cruel and harsh punishments for example in law 21 if a man made a hole in the wall to rob someone they shall pierce him or hang him on the wall the robber made. What the robber could do instead of being pierced or being hung on the wall they could rebuild the wall and then be taken to jail. These examples show that Hammurabi’s code was unjust because if a man has made a hole in the wall to rob someone he shouldn’t be hung or pierced on the wall he has made. What he could do is rebuild the wall and then go to jail.
Examples of injustice can be found in the area of personal injury law. First, he was being unfair to the weak because in law 199 it says is you knock out a slave eye you have to pay half the price. Second, if you knock out a free man’s eye, there eye shall be knocked out. These examples show that Hammurabi’s code was unjust because the slave man and the other man they should pay the same price because they should be treated equally. Everyone should be treated equally.
Indeed these are the laws Hammurabi made. The whole point of this lesson is to not bring this cruelty in the future. So we won’t treat people the way Hammurabi treated people in the kingdom. So think about it and decide yourself.
-M.L. (3rd Block)
Hammurabi’s Code was written by a terrible man who did not care about the justice of other people. Hammurabi’s code was made around 1792 BCE. The laws were made in Babylonia. There are exactly 282 laws. Hammurabi’s code was not fair to all people. There are three areas of law where Hammurabi’s code can be shown to be unfair to slaves, an unprotecting king, and having too harsh of punishments.
Examples of injustice can first be found in the area of family law. Hammurabi was not being fair to slaves because in laws 209 and 213 if a free woman was pregnant and a man hit her and her baby died she got ten shekels of silver, but if a slave woman is hit and her baby dies she only gets two shekels of silver. It is also unfair to slaves because in law 196 and 199 if a man knocks out the eye of a free man than his eye gets knocked out also, but if he knocks out the eye of a slave he only has to pay half his value. These examples show that Hammurabi’s code was unjust because they are treating free people better than they are treating the slaves, I believe that all people should be treated the same way.
Examples of injustice can be found in the area of family law. Hammurabi was not being a protecting king because, in the background essay it say that Hammurabi killed many people to conquer their city-state. I believe that Hammurabi killed too many people to care about protecting them. Another way Hammurabi was not being a protecting king Because, Law 195 says that if a son has struck his father his hands should be cut off. I believe that the son would have the right to hit his father if he was hitting him or his mother. These examples show that Hammurabi’s code was unjust because he hurt innocent people who did not deserve to be hurt.
Examples of injustice can be found in the area of family law. Hammurabi is giving too harsh punishments because in law 129 it says that if a married woman is caught with another man they shall bind them and cast them into the water. Hammurabi is also giving too harsh punishments because in law 218 it says that if a surgeon performs an surgery and kills the patient then his hands shall be cut off. I believe that the man did no know that he was going to kill the patient. These examples show that Hammurabi’s code was unjust because the people did simple things and were punished like they were charged with first degree murder.
Indeed, there are laws in the code that may seem unjust for example, punishments too harsh, unfair to slaves, and not being a protecting king. However, the three examples presented above,punishments too harsh, unfair to slaves, and not being a protecting king, show that Hammurabi’s code was unjust.
-T.D. (3rd Block)
Hammurabi was a terrible man. His laws did not come from a god of justice. They came from a god of unfairness. Hammurabi became the king of Babylon 4,000 years ago and made the first complete laws. Was Hammurabi’s code fair? There are three areas of the law where Hammurabi Code can be shown to be unjust. These laws don’t protect the weak, have cruel and harsh punishment, and are unfair to the weak.
Examples of injustice can be first found in the area of family law. First Hammurabi was not protecting the weak because if a woman is caught cheating she shall be blinded and thrown into the water and he not protecting the weak by throwing her into the water. Second he was not protecting the weak because if a son struck his father his hand shall be cut off [law 195]. These examples show that Hammurabi’s code was unjust because if a son struck his father his hands shall be cut off the punishment the son could have got was not cutting off his hands. Hammurabi’s code is also unjust because he didn’t protect the weak he said that he would protect the weak but he never did.
Examples of injustice can be found in the area of property law. First Hammurabi had cruel and harsh punishments for example in law 21 if a man made a hole in the wall to rob someone they shall pierce him or hang him on the wall the robber made. What the robber could do instead of being pierced or being hung on the wall they could rebuild the wall and then be taken to jail. Second he doesn’t. These examples show that Hammurabi’s code was unjust because if a man has made a hole in the wall to rob someone he shouldn’t be hung or pierced on the wall he has made. What he could do is rebuild the wall and then go to jail.
Examples of injustice can be found in the area of personal injury law . First he was being unfair to the weak because in law 199 it says is you knock out a slave eye you have to pay half the price. These examples show that Hammurabi’s code was unjust is unjust because the slave man and the other man they should pay the same price because they should be treated equally. Everyone should be treated equally.
Indeed there are laws that are unjust for example, in law 195 if a son struck his father his hands shall be cut off. However, the three examples presented above, not protecting the weak, giving cruel and harsh punishment, and being unfair to the weak. Hammurabi never protected the weak. Hammurabi’s laws should never be written again because they were horrible.
-D.M. (3rd Block)
INSTA.RAMS 