§ 179

Law § 179 of Hammurabi's Code

Summary
women of certain classes are entitled to their dowry if a contract exists.
Translation
If an entum, nadītum, or sekretum whose father gave her a dowry and wrote (it on) a tablet for her, (and) in the tablet that he wrote for her he wrote for her to give her inheritance wherever was pleasing to her, and gave her full discretion, after the father has passed on, she may give her inheritance wherever it is pleasing to her; her brothers will not sue her.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Inheritance

Cuneiform

Law § 179 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 24, col. R XV, lns. 20–42)

Transliteration

šum-ma NIN.DINGIR LUKUR ù lu sekretum (míZI.IK.RU.UM) ša a-bu-ša še-ri-ik-tam iš-ru-ku-ši-im ku-nu-kam iš-ṭú-ru-ši-im i-na DUB-pí-im ša iš-ṭú-ru-ši-im wa-ar-ka-sà e-ma e-li-ša ṭa-bu na-da-nam iš-ṭur-ši-im-ma ma-la li-ib-bi-ša uš-tam-ṣí-ši wa-ar-ka a-bu-um a-na ši-im-tim it-ta-al-ku wa-ar-ka-sà e-ma e-li-ša ṭa-bu i-na-ad-di-in aḫ-ḫu-ša ú-ul i-ba-aq-qá-ru-ši

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 73)

Normalization

šumma entum nadītum ū lū sekretum ša abūša šeriktam išrukūšim kunukkam išṭurūšim ina ṭuppim ša išṭurūšim warkassa ēma elīša ṭābu nadānam išṭuršim-ma mala libbīša uštamṣīši, warka abum ana šīmtim ittalku warkassa ēma elīša ṭābu inaddin; aḫḫūša ul ibaqqarūši.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 73)

Translation

If an entum, nadītum, or sekretum whose father gave her a dowry and wrote (it on) a tablet for her, (and) in the tablet that he wrote for her he wrote for her to give her inheritance wherever was pleasing to her, and gave her full discretion, after the father has passed on, she may give her inheritance wherever it is pleasing to her; her brothers will not sue her.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 74)

Citation

MLA 9

Dedović, B. "§ 179 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 4 Nov. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/179. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2026]

APA 7

Dedović, B. (2023, November 4). § 179 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/179

CMS 16

Dedović, Boban. "§ 179 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created November 4, 2023. Modified January 4, 2025. Accessed November 14, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/179.

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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