§ 13

Law § 13 of Hammurabi's Code

Summary
the punishment for buying stolen property and not providing witnesses within six months is a default judgment of guilt.
Translation
If that man’s witnesses are not nearby, the judges will set for him a period of six months, and if in six months he has not brought forward his witnesses, that man is a liar; he will bear the penalty of that case.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Theft, Kidnapping, Robbery

Cuneiform

Law § 13 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 5–6, col. VIII, lns. 14–24)

Transliteration

šum-ma a-wi-lum šu-ú ši-bu-šu la qer-bu da-a-a-nu a-da-nam a-na ITI.6.KAM i-ša-ak-ka-nu-šum-ma šum-ma i-na ITI.6.KAM ši-bi-šu la ir-de-a-am a-wi-lum šu-ú sà-ar a-ra-an di-nim šu-a-ti it-ta-na-aš-ši

Source: Huehnergard (2011, p. 414)

Normalization

šumma awīlum šū šībūšu lā qerbū, dayyānū adānam ana šeššet warḫī išakkanūšum-ma, šumma ina šeššet warḫī šībīšu lā irdeam awīlum šū sar; aran dīnim šuāti ittanašši.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 112)

Translation

If that man’s witnesses are not nearby, the judges will set for him a period of six months, and if in six months he has not brought forward his witnesses, that man is a liar; he will bear the penalty of that case.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 112)

Citation

MLA 9

Dedović, B. "§ 13 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 24 Oct. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/13. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2026]

APA 7

Dedović, B. (2023, October 24). § 13 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/13

CMS 16

Dedović, Boban. "§ 13 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created October 24, 2023. Modified December 15, 2024. Accessed November 14, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/13.

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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