§ 48

Law § 48 of Hammurabi's Code

Translation
If a man has incurred a debt and The Storm has eroded away his field, or a flood has overwhelmed it, or if grain has not been produced from the field because of a lack of water, he need not repay grain to his creditor for that year. He shall moisten32 the tablet and pay no installment for that year.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Agricultural Tenants

Cuneiform

Law § 48 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 10, col. XIII–XIV, lns. 71–73; 1–17)

Transliteration

šum-ma a-wi-lum ḫu-bu-ul-lum e-li-šu i-ba-aš-ši-ma eḳil-šu iluAdad ir-ta-ḫi-iṣ u lu-u bi-ib-bu-lum it-ba-al u lu-u i-na la me-e šeʾum i-na eḳlim la it-tab-ši i-na ša-at-tim šu-a-ti šeʾam a-na be-el ḫu-bu-ul-[li] u-ul u-ta-ar dup-pa-šu u-ra-ad-da-ab u ṣi-ib-tam ša ša-at-tim šu-a-ti u-ul i-na-ad-di-in

Source: Abulhab (2017, p. 42)

Normalization

šumma awīlum ḫubullum187 elišu ibaššīma eqelšu Adad irtaḫiṣ u lu bibbulum itbal u lu ina la mê šeʾum ina eqlim la ittabši ina šattim šuāti šeʾam ana bēl ḫubullišu ul utâr. ṭuppašu uraṭṭab u ṣibtam ša šattim šuāti ul inaddin.

Source: Richardson (2004, p. 58)

Translation

If a man has incurred a debt and The Storm has eroded away his field, or a flood has overwhelmed it, or if grain has not been produced from the field because of a lack of water, he need not repay grain to his creditor for that year. He shall moisten32 the tablet and pay no installment for that year.

Source: Richardson (2004, p. 59)

Citation

MLA 9

Dedović, B. "§ 48 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 26 Oct. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/48. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2026]

APA 7

Dedović, B. (2023, October 26). § 48 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/48

CMS 16

Dedović, Boban. "§ 48 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created October 26, 2023. Modified January 2, 2025. Accessed November 14, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/48.

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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