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Secondary sourceBook1903

The Laws of Moses and the Code of Hammurabi

Stanley A. Cook · 1903

An English scholarly study from 1903 comparing the laws of Moses with Hammurabi's ancient Babylonian legal code.

This study analyses Hammurabi's legal code, treating him as the originator of one of the oldest known law collections.

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The Laws of Moses and the Code of HammurabiPDF · 336 pages
Stanley A. Cook, The Laws of Moses and the Code of Hammurabi, 1903. Internet Archive (scanned book, PDF).

About this source

What it is

This is a scanned book written by Stanley A. Cook, published in 1903, which compares the laws of Moses with the Code of Hammurabi, the Babylonian king. The scanned PDF is held by the Internet Archive.

Why it matters

Written shortly after Hammurabi's code was rediscovered, this study shows how scholars of the early twentieth century placed the Babylonian king's laws into a wider history of ancient law, connecting Hammurabi to debates about Moses and biblical tradition. It reflects how new archaeological finds reshaped ideas about the ancient world.

Look closer

  • Why would a book about Moses and the Bible spend so much time studying a Babylonian king's laws?
  • What biases might an author have in 1903 when comparing non-biblical and biblical law?
  • What questions does this comparison raise about which ancient civilisation influenced which?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Hammurabi on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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