§ 51

Law § 51 of Hammurabi's Code

Translation
If he does not have the silver for the repayment he shall give the merchant (grain or)35 sesame at their current prices for the silver which he received from the merchant and the interest on it, in accordance with the decision of the king.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Agricultural Tenants

Cuneiform

Law § 51 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 10, col. XIV, lns. 56–66)

Transliteration

šum-ma kaspam a-na tu-ur-ri-im la i-šu šamaššammam a-na ma-ḫi-ra-ti-šu-nu ša kaspi-šu u ṣi-ib-ti-šu ša it-ti tamkarim il-ku-u a-na pî ṣi-im-da-at šar-ri-im a-na tamkarim i-na-ad-di-in

Source: Abulhab (2017, p. 43)

Normalization

šumma kaspam ana turrim la išu [šeꜥam u lu]191 šamaššammī ana maḫīrātišunu ša kaspišu u ṣibtišu ša itti tamkārim ilqû ana pī ṣimdat šarrim ana tamkārim inaddin.

Source: Richardson (2004, p. 60)

Translation

If he does not have the silver for the repayment he shall give the merchant (grain or)35 sesame at their current prices for the silver which he received from the merchant and the interest on it, in accordance with the decision of the king.

Source: Richardson (2004, p. 61)

Citation

MLA 9

Dedović, B. "§ 51 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 26 Oct. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/51. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2026]

APA 7

Dedović, B. (2023, October 26). § 51 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/51

CMS 16

Dedović, Boban. "§ 51 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created October 26, 2023. Modified December 16, 2024. Accessed November 14, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/51.

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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