§ 161

Law § 161 of Hammurabi's Code

Translation
If a man sent a marriage-gift to his father-in-law’s house, gave a bride-price, and then his colleague has slandered him (and) his father-in-law has said to the wife’s lord “you will not marry my daughter,” he will return twice what was brought to him; and his colleague will not marry his wife.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Family Abuse and Marriage

Cuneiform

Law § 161 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 20, col. R X, lns. 60–77)

Transliteration

šum-ma a-wi-lum a-na É e-mi-šu bi-ib-lam ú-ša-bíl ter-ḫa-tam id-di-in-ma i-bi-ir-šu uk-tar-ri-sú e-mu-šu a-na be-el aš-ša-tim DUMU.MUNUS-i ú-ul ta-aḫ-ḫa-az iq-ta-bi mi-im-ma ma-la ib-ba-ab-lu-šum uš-ta-ša-an-na-ma ú-ta-ar ù aš-ša-sú i-bi-ir-šu ú-ul i-iḫ-ḫa-az

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 124)

Normalization

šumma awīlum ana bīt emīšu biblam ušābil, terḫatam iddim-ma, ibiršu uktarrissu, emūšu ana bēl aššatim “mārtī ul taḫḫaz” iqtabi, mimma mala ibbablūšum uštašannā-ma utār; u aššassu ibiršu ul iḫḫaz.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 124–125)

Translation

If a man sent a marriage-gift to his father-in-law’s house, gave a bride-price, and then his colleague has slandered him (and) his father-in-law has said to the wife’s lord “you will not marry my daughter,” he will return twice what was brought to him; and his colleague will not marry his wife.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 125)

Citation

MLA 9

Dedović, B. "§ 161 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 4 Nov. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/161. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2026]

APA 7

Dedović, B. (2023, November 4). § 161 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/161

CMS 16

Dedović, Boban. "§ 161 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created November 4, 2023. Modified December 29, 2024. Accessed November 14, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/161.

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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