Law 1: On false accusation

Here is Law 1 of king Hammurabi's collection, in photograph and cuneiform font. Try to transliterate, normalise and translate it with the help of the vocabulary below. Then compare the results with the Level 4 solutions page.

Photo of Law 1 from Scheil, MDP 4 (1902), pl. 4–5 (column V 26–32). View large image.

V 26. 𒋳 𒈠 𒀀 𒉿 𒈝 𒀀 𒉿 𒇴

27. 𒌑 𒌒 𒁉 𒅕 𒈠

28. 𒉈 𒅕 𒌓 𒂊 𒇷 𒋗

29. 𒀉 𒁲 𒈠

30. 𒆷 𒊌 𒋾 𒅔 𒋗

31. 𒈬 𒌒 𒁉 𒅕 𒋗

32. 𒀉 𒁕 𒀝

Vocabulary

• abārum, G-stem "to embrace" (i/i); D-stem "to denounce"
• kuānum, G-stem "to be(come) permanent", D-stem "to establish, to prove"
• mubbirum, "denouncer"
• nadûm, "to throw, to accuse" (i/i)
• nērtum, "murder"

Content last modified on 10 Jan 2017.