How Exodus Revises the Laws of Hammurabi
The author of the Covenant Collection in Exodus knew the Laws of Hammurabi and revised them to fit with Israelite legal and ethical conceptions. This is clear when we compare their laws of assault in each.
David P. Wright
Brandeis University
Prof. David P. Wright is Professor of Bible and Ancient Near East at Brandeis University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and he is author of Inventing God’s Law: How the Covenant Code of the Bible Used and Revised the Laws of Hammurabi (2009), Ritual in Narrative: The Dynamics of Feasting, Mourning, and Retaliation Rites in the Ugaritic Tale of Aqhat (2001), and The Disposal of Impurity: Elimination Rites in the Bible and in Hittite and Mesopotamian Literature (1987).
Last Updated: April 17, 2026
Books by the Author
Inventing God's Law: How The Covenant Code Of The Bible Used And Revised The Laws Of Hammurabi
Ritual in Narrative: The Dynamics of Feasting, Mourning, and Retaliation Rites in the Ugaritic Tale of Aqhat
The Disposal of Impurity: Elimination Rites in the Bible and in Hittite and Mesopotamian Literature
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