The Oldest Code of Laws in the World, King of Babylonia Hammurabi [best books to read for women .txt] 📗

the first in his eyes, field, garden, and house, has written him a sealed deed, after the father has gone to his fate, when the brothers divide, the present his father gave him he shall take, and over and above he shall share equally in the goods of the father’s house.

§ 166.  If a man, in addition to the children which he has possessed, has taken a wife, for his young son has not taken a wife, after the father has gone to his fate, when the brothers divide, from the goods of the father’s house to their young brother who has not taken a wife, beside his share, they shall assign him money as a dowry and shall cause him to take a wife.

§ 167.  If a man has taken a wife, and she has borne him sons, that woman has gone to her fate, after her, he has taken to himself another woman and she has borne children, afterwards the father has gone to his fate, the children shall not share according to their mothers, they shall take the marriage portions of their mothers and shall share the goods of their father’s house equally.

§ 168.  If a man has set his face to cut off his son, has said to the judge ‘I will cut off my son,’ the judge shall enquire into his reasons, and if the son has not committed a heavy crime which cuts off from sonship, the father shall not cut off his son from sonship.

§ 169.  If he has committed against his father a heavy crime which cuts off from sonship, for the first time the judge shall bring back his face; if he has committed a heavy crime for the second time, the father shall cut off his son from sonship.

§ 170.  If a man his wife has borne him sons, and his maidservant has borne him sons, the father in his lifetime has said to the sons which the maidservant has borne him ‘my sons,’ has numbered them with the sons of his wife, after the father has gone to his fate, the sons of the wife and the sons of the maidservant shall share equally in the goods of the father’s house; the sons that are sons of the wife at the sharing shall choose and take.

§ 171.  And if the father in his lifetime, to the sons which the maidservant bore him, has not said ‘my sons,’ after the father has gone to his fate the sons of the maid shall not share with the sons of the wife in the goods of the father’s house, one shall assign the maidservant and her sons freedom; the sons of the wife shall have no claim on the sons of the maidservant for servitude, the wife shall take her marriage portion and the settlement which her husband gave her and wrote in a deed for her and shall dwell in the dwelling of her husband, as long as lives she shall enjoy, for money she shall not give, after her they are her sons’ forsooth.

§ 172.  If her husband did not give her a settlement, one shall pay her her marriage portion, and from the goods of her husband’s house she shall take a share like one son.  If her sons worry her to leave the house, the judge shall enquire into her reasons and shall lay the blame on the sons, that woman shall not go out of her husband’s house.  If that woman has set her face to leave, the settlement which her husband gave her she shall leave to her sons, the marriage portion from her father’s house she shall take and she shall marry the husband of her choice.

§ 173.  If that woman where she has entered shall have borne children to her later husband after that woman has died, the former and later sons shall share her marriage portion.

§ 174.  If she has not borne children to her later husband, the sons of her bridegroom shall take her marriage portion.

§ 175.  If either the slave of the palace or the slave of the poor man has taken to wife the daughter of a gentleman, and she has borne sons, the owner of the slave shall have no claim on the sons of the daughter of a gentleman for servitude.

§ 176.  And if a slave of the palace or the slave of a poor man has taken to wife the daughter of a gentleman and, when he married her, with a marriage portion from her father’s house she entered into the house of the slave of the palace, or of the slave of the poor man, and from the time that they started to keep house and acquired property, after either the servant of the palace or the servant of the poor man has gone to his fate, the daughter of the gentleman shall take her marriage portion, and whatever her husband and she from the time they started have acquired one shall divide in two parts and the owner of the slave shall take one-half, the daughter of a gentleman shall take one-half for her children.  If the gentleman’s daughter had no marriage portion, whatever her husband and she from the time they started have acquired one shall divide into two parts, and the owner of the slave shall take half, the gentleman’s daughter shall take half for her sons.

§ 177.  If a widow whose children are young has set her face to enter into the house of another, without consent of a judge she shall not enter.  When she enters into the house of another the judge shall enquire into what is left of her former husband’s house, and the house of her former husband to her later husband, and that woman he shall entrust and cause them to receive a deed.  They shall keep the house and rear the little ones.  Not a utensil shall they give for money.  The buyer that has bought a utensil of a widow’s sons shall lose his money and shall return the property to its owners.

§ 178.  If a lady, votary, or a vowed woman whose father has granted her a marriage portion, has written her a deed, in the deed he has written her has not, however, written her ‘after her wherever is good to her to give,’ has not permitted her all her choice, after the father has gone to his fate, her brothers shall take her field and her garden, and according to the value of her share shall give her corn, oil, and wool, and shall content her heart.  If her brothers have not given her corn, oil, and wool according to the value of her share, and have not contented her heart, she shall give her field or her garden to a cultivator, whoever pleases her, and her cultivator shall sustain her.  The field, garden, or whatever her father has given her she shall enjoy as long as she lives, she shall not give it for money, she shall not answer to another, her sonship is her brothers’ forsooth.

§ 179.  If a lady, a votary, or a woman vowed, whose father has granted her a marriage portion, has written her a deed, in the deed he wrote her has written her ‘after her wherever is good to her to give,’ has allowed to her all her choice, after the father has gone to his fate, after her wherever is good to her she shall give, her brothers have no claim on her.

§ 180.  If a father to his daughter a votary, bride, or vowed woman has not granted a marriage portion, after the father has gone to his fate, she shall share in the goods of the father’s house a share like one son, as long as she lives she shall enjoy, after her it is her brothers’ forsooth.

§ 181.  If a father has vowed to God a votary, hierodule, or nu-bar, and has not granted her a marriage portion, after the father has gone to his fate she shall share in the goods of the father’s house one-third of her sonship share and shall enjoy it as long as she lives, after her it is her brothers’ forsooth.

§ 182.  If a father, to his daughter, a votary of Marduk, of Babylon, has not granted her a marriage portion, has not written her a deed, after the father has gone to his fate, she shall share with her brothers in the goods of the father’s house, one-third of her sonship share, and shall pay no tax; a votary of Marduk, after her, shall give wherever it is good to her.

§ 183.  If a father to his daughter, a concubine, has granted her a marriage portion, has given her to a husband, has written her a deed, after the father has gone to his fate, she shall not share in the goods of the father’s house.

§ 184.  If a man to his daughter, a concubine, has not granted a marriage portion, has not given her to a husband, after the father has gone to his fate, her brothers according to the capacity of the father’s house, shall grant her a marriage portion and shall give her to a husband.

§ 185.  If a man has taken a young child ‘from his waters’ to sonship, and has reared him up, no one has any claim against that nursling.

§ 186.  If a man has taken a young child to sonship, and when he took him his father and mother rebelled, that nursling shall return to his father’s house.

§ 187.  The son of a ner-se-ga, a palace warder, or the son of a vowed woman no one has any claim upon.

§ 188.  If an artisan has taken a son to bring up, and has caused him to learn his handicraft, no one has any claim.

§ 189.  If he has not caused him to learn his handicraft, that nursling shall return to his father’s house.

§ 190.  If a man the child whom he took to his sonship and has brought him up, has not numbered him with his sons, that nursling shall return to his father’s house.

§ 191.  If a man, after a young child whom he has taken to his sonship and brought him up, has made a house for himself and acquired children, and has set his face to cut off the nursling, that child shall not go his way, the father that brought him up shall give to him from his goods one-third of his sonship, and he shall go off; from field, garden, and house he shall not give him.

§ 192.  If a son of a palace warder, or of a vowed woman, to the father that brought him up, and the mother that brought him up, has said ‘thou art not my father, thou art not my mother,’ one shall cut out his tongue.

§ 193.  If a son of a palace warder, or of a vowed woman, has known his father’s house, and has hated the father that brought him up or the mother that brought him up, and has gone off to the house of his father, one shall tear out his eye.

§ 194.  If a man has given his son to a wet nurse, that son has died in the hand of the wet nurse, the wet nurse without consent of his father and his mother has procured another child,