§ 159

Law § 159 of Hammurabi's Code

Translation
If a man who had dispatched a marriage-gift to his father-in-law’s estate and given the bride-price has become attracted to another woman and said to his father-in-law “I will not marry your daughter,” the daughter’s father will keep for himself whatever was brought to him.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Family Abuse and Marriage

Cuneiform

Law § 159 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 20, col. R X, lns. 33–46)

Transliteration

šum-ma a-wi-lum ša a-na É e-mi-šu bi-ib-lam ú-ša-bi-lu ter-ḫa-tam id-di-nu a-na MUNUS ša-ni-tim up-ta-al-li-is-ma a-na e-mi-šu DUMU.MUNUS-ka ú-ul a-ḫa-az iq-ta-bi a-bi DUMU.MUNUS mi-im-ma ša ib-ba-ab-lu-šum i-tab-ba-al

Source: Huehnergard (2011, p. 383)

Normalization

šumma awīlum ša ana bīt emīšu biblam ušābilu terḫatam iddinu ana sinništim šanītim uptallis-ma ana emīšu “māratka ul aḫḫaz” iqtabi, abi mārtim mimma ša ibbablūšum itabbal.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 101)

Translation

If a man who had dispatched a marriage-gift to his father-in-law’s estate and given the bride-price has become attracted to another woman and said to his father-in-law “I will not marry your daughter,” the daughter’s father will keep for himself whatever was brought to him.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 101)

Citation

MLA 9

Dedović, B. "§ 159 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 3 Nov. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/159. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2026]

APA 7

Dedović, B. (2023, November 3). § 159 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/159

CMS 16

Dedović, Boban. "§ 159 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created November 3, 2023. Modified December 29, 2024. Accessed November 14, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/159.

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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