§ 135

Law § 135 of Hammurabi's Code

Translation
If a man was taken captive and there is not enough to eat in his house, (and) therefore (or, before his return) his wife has entered another’s house and has born children, (and) later her husband has returned and reached his town, that woman will return to her first husband; the children will follow their father.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Family and Divorce

Cuneiform

Law § 135 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 16, col. R VI, lns. 37–56)

Transliteration

šum-ma a-wi-lum iš-ša-li-il-ma i-na É-šu ša a-ka-li-im la i-ba-aš-ši a-na pa-ni-šu aš-ša-sú a-na É ša-ni-im i-te-ru-ub-ma DUMU.MEŠ it-ta-la-ad i-na wa-ar-ka mu-sà it-tu-ra-am-ma URU-šu ik-ta-áš-dam MUNUS ši-i a-na ḫa-wi-ri-ša i-ta-ar DUMU.MEŠ wa-ar-ki a-bi-šu-nu i-il-la-ku

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 102)

Normalization

šumma awīlum iššalil-ma ina bītīšu ša akālim lā ibašši, ana pānīšu aššassu ana bīt šanîm īterum-ma mārī ittalad, ina warka mussa ittūram-ma āl(ā)šu iktašdam, sinništum šī ana ḫāwirīša itâr; mārū warki abīšunu illakū.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 102)

Translation

If a man was taken captive and there is not enough to eat in his house, (and) therefore (or, before his return) his wife has entered another’s house and has born children, (and) later her husband has returned and reached his town, that woman will return to her first husband; the children will follow their father.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 102)

Citation

MLA 9

Dedović, B. "§ 135 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 1 Nov. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/135. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2026]

APA 7

Dedović, B. (2023, November 1). § 135 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/135

CMS 16

Dedović, Boban. "§ 135 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created November 1, 2023. Modified December 27, 2024. Accessed November 14, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/135.

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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