§ 117

Law § 117 of Hammurabi's Code

Translation
If financial difficulty has seized a man and he sold his wife, his son, and his daughter, or he has been sold into debt servitude, they will work in the house of their buyer or debt-exactor for three years; in the fourth year their freedom will be established.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Other Peoples' Property

Cuneiform

Law § 117 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 14, col. R III, lns. 54–67)

Transliteration

šum-ma a-wi-lam e-ʾì-il-tum iṣ-ba-sú-ma DAM-sú DUMU-šu ù DUMU.MUNUS-sú a-na KUG.BABBAR id-di-in ù lu a-na ki-iš-ša-a-tim it-ta-an-di-in MU.3.KAM É ša-a-a-ma-ni-šu-nu ù ka-ši-ši-šu-nu i-ip-pé-šu i-na re-bu-tim ša-at-tim an-du-ra-ar-šu-nu iš-ša-ak-ka-an

Source: Huehnergard (2011, p. 368–369)

Normalization

šumma awīlam eʾiltum iṣbassū-ma aššassu mār(ā)šu u mārassu ana kaspim iddin ū lū ana kiššātim ittandin, šalāš šanātim bīt šayyāmānīšunu ū kāšišīšunu ippešū; ina rebūtim šattim andurāršunu iššakkan.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 95)

Translation

If financial difficulty has seized a man and he sold his wife, his son, and his daughter, or he has been sold into debt servitude, they will work in the house of their buyer or debt-exactor for three years; in the fourth year their freedom will be established.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 95)

Citation

MLA 9

Dedović, B. "§ 117 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 1 Nov. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/117. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2026]

APA 7

Dedović, B. (2023, November 1). § 117 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/117

CMS 16

Dedović, Boban. "§ 117 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created November 1, 2023. Modified December 25, 2024. Accessed November 14, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/117.

Bibliography

ACH

Abulhab, Saad D. The Law Code of Hammurabi: Transliterated and Literally Translated from its Early Classical Arabic Language. New York, NY: Blautopf, 2017.

CHTP

Bergmann, Eugen. Codex Ḫammurabi: Textus Primigenius. Rome, Italy: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum, 1953.

HAG3

Huehnergard, John. A Grammar of Akkadian (Third Edition). Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011.

HKEY3

Huehnergard, John. Key to a Grammar of Akkadian (Third Edition). Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013.

–

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "OMNIKA: Digital Mythology Library & Search Engine." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation, accessed November 14, 2023. https://omnika.org. [Visit]

RHL

Richardson, Mervyn E.J. Hammurabi's Laws: Text, Translation and Glossary. New York, NY: T & T Clark International, 2004.

SoT

Sound of Text Contributors. "Sound of Text: AI Text-to-Speech." Accessed November 14, 2023. https://soundoftext.app. [Visit]

eHammurabi Glossary

The § symbol is a shorthand notation for the word 'section'.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Cuneiform is an ancient writing system used by various cultures around Mesopotamia.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Normalization is the application of grammatical rules unto transliterated sound values.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Translation is the conversion of linguistic contents and their meanings from one language into another.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Transliteration is the conversion of sound values from one writing system into another.

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