§ 151

Law § 151 of Hammurabi's Code

Translation
If a woman living in a man’s house has contracted (with) her husband to make out a tablet so that a creditor of her husband may not seize her, if that man owed a debt before he married that woman, his creditors will not seize his wife; and if that woman owes a debt before she enters the man’s house, her creditors will not seize her husband.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Family and Divorce

Cuneiform

Law § 151 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 19, col. R IX, lns. 26–51)

Transliteration

šum-ma MUNUS ša i-na É a-wi-lim wa-aš-ba-at aš-šum be-el ḫu-bu-ul-lim ša mu-ti-ša la ṣa-ba-ti-ša mu-sà úr-ta-ak-ki-is DUB-pa-am uš-te-zi-ib šum-ma a-wi-lum šu-ú la-ma MUNUS šu-a-ti i-iḫ-ḫa-zu ḫu-bu-ul-lum e-li-šu i-ba-aš-ši be-el ḫu-bu-ul-li-šu aš-ša-sú ú-ul i-ṣa-ba-tu ù šum-ma MUNUS ši-i la-ma a-na É a-wi-lim i-ir-ru-bu ḫu-bu-ul-lum e-li-ša i-ba-aš-ši be-el ḫu-bu-ul-li-ša mu-sà ú-ul i-ṣa-ba-tu

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 77)

Normalization

šumma sinništum ša ina bīt awīlim wašbat aššum bēl ḫubullim ša mutīša lā ṣabātīša muṣa urtakkis ṭuppam uštēzib, šumma awīlum šū lāma sinništam šuāti iḫḫazu ḫubullum elīšu ibašši, bēl ḫubullīšu aššassu ul iṣabbatū; u šumma sinništum šī lāma ana bīt awīlim irrubu ḫubullum elīša ibašši, bēl ḫubullīša mussa ul iṣabbatū.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 78)

Translation

If a woman living in a man’s house has contracted (with) her husband to make out a tablet so that a creditor of her husband may not seize her, if that man owed a debt before he married that woman, his creditors will not seize his wife; and if that woman owes a debt before she enters the man’s house, her creditors will not seize her husband.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 78)

Citation

MLA 9

Dedović, B. "§ 151 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 3 Nov. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/151. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2026]

APA 7

Dedović, B. (2023, November 3). § 151 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/151

CMS 16

Dedović, Boban. "§ 151 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created November 3, 2023. Modified December 29, 2024. Accessed November 14, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/151.

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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