§ 157

Law § 157 of Hammurabi's Code

Summary
The punishment for incest between a man and his mother following the death of the man's father is execution for both the man and his mother.
Translation
If a man has had intercourse with his mother after the death of his father, they will both be burned.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Family Abuse and Marriage

Cuneiform

Law § 157 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 19–20, col. R X, lns. 18–23)

Transliteration

šum-ma a-wi-lum wa-ar-ki a-bi-šu i-na sú-un um-mi-šu it-ta-ti-il ki-la-li-šu-nu i-qal-lu-ú-šu-nu-ti

Source: Huehnergard (2011, p. 401)

Normalization

šumma awīlum warki abīšu ina sūn ummīšu ittatīl, kilallīšunu iqallûšunūti.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 106)

Translation

If a man has had intercourse with his mother after the death of his father, they will both be burned.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 106)

Citation

MLA 9

Dedović, B. "§ 157 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 3 Nov. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/157. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2026]

APA 7

Dedović, B. (2023, November 3). § 157 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/157

CMS 16

Dedović, Boban. "§ 157 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created November 3, 2023. Modified December 29, 2024. Accessed November 14, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/157.

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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