Similarities Of Religous Documents Essay Research Paper

Similarities Of Religous Documents Essay, Research Paper

A society that consists of complex organization is defined as a civilization.

A civilization is made up of different factors, including government, religion, and culture. Through these factors evolved a set of principles for the people to live by. These were called codes of conduct. Through the examination of the Judgments of Hammurabi, the Egyptian “Negative Confessions,” and the Ten

Commandments, inferences will be drawn to explain the reasoning that may have

promoted their creation and the similarities among others.

In the eighteenth century BC the Babylonian king, Hammurabi, conquered

the Sumerians. Government, religion, and culture dictated life in Mesopotamia.

Each city-state was ruled by a monarch, king, or priest-kings. These rulers were highly worshipped and seen as intermediaries between the Sumerians and their gods. (Craig, 7) The kings controlled the economy. Detailed examination was taken before the applying of any idea, such as the distribution of crops. The Sumerians practiced polytheism. Their gods were of human form, “only differing from humans in their greater power and immortality.”(Craig, 8) The people concentrated on satisfying their gods during their present life. Therefore, Sumerians cultivated several methods of divination to discover the wills and intention of the gods. They studied the internal organs of animals to better understand abnormalities and they gave rise to astrology by the examination of the heavenly bodies. (Craig, 8) The people’s culture was based around the family unit, commerce, and agriculture. The Codes of Hammurabi revolved around this culture. (Craig, 8)

The Code of Hammurabi was created during Hammurabi’s reign from 1792-1750 BC. According to Alfred J. Andrea, “the laws were inscribed in a stone pillar that measured over seven feet in height and more than six feet in circumference.”(Andrea, 12) The code stated the laws the society was obligated

to obey. Hammurabi stated the purpose of his laws were, “to promote the welfare

of the people, to cause justice to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil, that the strong may not oppress the weak.” (Andrea, 12) The society was left in chaos after the fall of the Ur Dynasty. Hammurabi created his codes to reestablish order.

One of the major factors in Sumerian civilization was the family unit.

Many of the laws created by Hammurabi focused on the family. One of the laws

stated in his code was, “If a man marries a wife, and sickness has seized her, and he has decided to marry another, he may marry, but his wife whom the sickness has seized he shall not divorce. She shall dwell in the house he has built and he shall support her while she lives.”(Andrea, 15) This law shows a man cannot decide to leave his present wife over sickness but he must preserve his marriage until she dies. From this law can be determined that some of the Sumerian society was infected with long-term illnesses. Wives who were ill were often abandoned by their husbands. The husband’s reason of abandonment could be his sick wife no longer satisfied him. There would be no purpose for her since she could no longer be a caretaker nor produce child for the husband. Yet, at the same time, it can be understood a man is allowed to remarry in hopes of forming a new family with his new wife. Due to the abandonment of wives, many were probably left without homes or money leading them into poverty. The suggested reasoning behind this law was to reduce divorce, poverty, and abandonment among sick wives.

Through the examination of Hammurabi’s codes, it is clear that commerce was very important in Sumerian society. The third largest category under Hammurabi’s code was commerce. Certain sections of the codes dealt with regulating builders, surgeons, and other professions. (Craig, 8) Hammurabi created a code which stated, “If a builder has built a house for a man, and his work is not strong, and if the house he has built falls in and kills the house holder that

builder shall be slain.”(Andrea, 16) Through a critique of this law, several

conclusions can be drawn. It may be presumed that builders were not responsible

in their building. If a person puts their profession into practice, it should be because they studied and mastered it. Therefore, no such misfortune should occur. Hammurabi believed this to be true so the law was created.

The Sumerians depended highly on farming as their source of food, so

agriculture was important. Thus, many of the laws contained within Hammurabi’s

code of conduct pertained to agricultural matters. Even though the society used a monetary system, crops such as corn and sesame were valued. One of

Hammurabi’s code stated “If anyone open his ditches to water his crop, but is

careless, and the water flood the field of his neighbor, then he shall pay his

neighbor corn for his loss.” (Counsel, 1) Hammurabi thought people should be

responsible for their actions as seen through most of his laws. If the person who flooded his neighbor did not make an amends for ruining the field, the person whose field was flooded would go hungry. Therefore, if the laws were not put into effect, no one would care about the agriculture and the soci

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