§ 166

Law § 166 of Hammurabi's Code

Translation
If a man got wives for the sons he had (but) did not get a wife for his youngest son, after the father has gone to his fate, when the brothers take shares, they will set up out of the father’s property bride-price silver as an additional sum to his share for their young brother who does not have a wife, and obtain a wife for him.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Inheritance

Cuneiform

Law § 166 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 21, col. R XI, lns. 51–73)

Transliteration

šum-ma a-wi-lum a-na DUMU.MEŠ ša ir-šu-ú aš-ša-tim i-ḫu-uz a-na DUMU-šu ṣe-eḫ-ri-im aš-ša-tam la i-ḫu-uz wa-ar-ka a-bu-um a-na ši-im-tim it-ta-al-ku i-nu-ma aḫ-ḫu i-zu-uz-zu i-na NÍG.GA É A.BA a-na a-ḫi-šu-nu ṣe-eḫ-ri-im ša aš-ša-tam la aḫ-zu e-li-a-at zi-it-ti-šu KUG.BABBAR ter-ḫa-tim i-ša-ak-ka-nu-šum-ma aš-ša-tam ú-ša-aḫ-ḫa-zu-šu

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 107)

Normalization

šumma awīlum ana mārī ša iršû aššātim īḫuz ana mārīšu ṣeḫrim aššatam lā īḫuz warka abum ana šīmtim ittalku inūma aḫḫū izuzzū ina makkūr bīt abim ana aḫīšunu ṣeḫrim ša aššatam lā aḫzu eliāt zīttīšu kasap terḫatim išakkanūšum-ma aššatam ušaḫḫazūšu

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 107)

Translation

If a man got wives for the sons he had (but) did not get a wife for his youngest son, after the father has gone to his fate, when the brothers take shares, they will set up out of the father’s property bride-price silver as an additional sum to his share for their young brother who does not have a wife, and obtain a wife for him.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 107)

Citation

MLA 9

Dedović, B. "§ 166 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 4 Nov. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/166. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2026]

APA 7

Dedović, B. (2023, November 4). § 166 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/166

CMS 16

Dedović, Boban. "§ 166 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created November 4, 2023. Modified January 1, 2025. Accessed November 14, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/166.

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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