By Anonymous
(Fragment)
§ 1. If a man weave a spell and
put a ban upon a man, and has not justified himself, he that wove the spell
upon him shall be put to death.
§ 2. If a man has put a spell
upon a man, and has not justified himself, he upon whom the spell is laid shall
go to the holy river, he shall plunge into the holy river, and if the holy
river overcome him, he who wove the spell upon him shall take to himself his
house. If the holy river makes that man to be innocent, and has saved him, he
who laid the spell upon him shall be put to death. He who plunged into the holy
river shall take to himself the house of him who wove the spell upon him.
§ 3. If a man, in a case pending
judgement, has uttered threats against the witnesses, or has not justified the
word that he has spoken, if that case be a capital suit, that man shall be put
to death.
§ 4. If he has offered corn or
money to the witnesses, he shall himself bear the sentence of that case.
§ 5. If a judge has judged a
judgement, decided a decision, granted a sealed sentence, and afterwards has
altered his judgement, that judge, for the alteration of the judgement that he
judged, one shall put him to account, and he shall pay twelvefold the penalty
which was in the said judgement, and in the assembly one shall expel him from
his judgement seat, and he shall not return, and with the judges at a judgement
he shall not take his seat.
§ 6. If a man has stolen the
goods of temple or palace, that man shall be killed, and he who has received
the stolen thing from his hand shall be put to death.
§ 7. If a man has bought silver,
gold, manservant or maidservant, ox or sheep or ass, or anything whatever its
name, from the hand of a man’s son, or of a man’s slave, without witness and
bonds, or has received the same on deposit, that man has acted the thief, he
shall be put to death.
§ 8. If a man has stolen ox or
sheep or ass, or pig, or ship, whether from the temple or the palace, he shall
pay thirtyfold. If he be a poor man, he shall render tenfold. If the thief has
nought to pay, he shall be put to death.
§ 9. If a man who has lost
something of his, something of his that is lost has been seized in the hand of
a man, the man in whose hand the lost thing has been seized has said, ‘A giver
gave it me,’ or ‘I bought it before witnesses,’ and the owner of the thing that
is lost has said, ‘Verily, I will bring witnesses that know my lost property,’
the buyer has brought the giver who gave it him and the witnesses before whom
he bought it, and the owner of the lost property has brought the witnesses who
know his lost property, the judge shall see their depositions, the witnesses
before whom the purchase was made and the witnesses knowing the lost property
shall say out before God what they know; and if the giver has acted the thief
he shall be put to death, the owner of the lost property shall take his lost
property, the buyer shall take the money he paid from the house of the giver.
§ 10. If the buyer has not
brought the giver who gave it him and the witnesses before whom he bought, and
the owner of the lost property has brought the witnesses knowing his lost
property, the buyer has acted the thief, he shall be put to death; the owner of
the lost property shall take his lost property.
§ 11. If the owner of the lost
property has not brought witnesses knowing his lost property, he has lied, he
has stirred up strife, he shall be put to death.
§ 12. If the giver has betaken
himself to his fate, the buyer shall take from the house of the giver fivefold
as the penalty of that case.
§ 13. If that man has not his
witnesses near, the judge shall set him a fixed time, up to six months, and if
within six months he has not driven in his witnesses, that man has lied, he
himself shall bear the blame of that case.
§ 14. If a man has stolen the son
of a freeman, he shall be put to death.
§ 15. If a man has caused either
a palace slave or palace maid, or a slave of a poor man or a poor man’s maid,
to go out of the gate, he shall be put to death.
§ 16. If a man has harboured in
his house a manservant or a maidservant, fugitive from the palace, or a poor
man, and has not produced them at the demand of the commandant, the owner of
that house shall be put to death.
§ 17. If a man has captured
either a manservant or a maidservant, a fugitive, in the open country and has
driven him back to his p. 6master, the owner of the slave shall pay him two
shekels of silver.
§ 18. If that slave will not name his owner he
shall drive him to the palace, and one shall enquire into his past, and cause
him to return to his owner.
§ 19. If he confine that slave in
his house, and afterwards the slave has been seized in his hand, that man shall
be put to death.
§ 20. If the slave has fled from
the hand of his captor, that man shall swear by the name of God, to the owner
of the slave, and shall go free.
§ 21. If a man has broken into a
house, one shall kill him before the breach and bury him in it (?).
§ 22. If a man has carried on
brigandage, and has been captured, that man shall be put to death.
§ 23. If the brigand has not been
caught, the man who has been despoiled shall recount before God what he has
lost, and the city and governor in whose land and district the brigandage took
place shall render back to him whatever of his was lost.
§ 24. If it was a life, the city
and governor shall pay one mina of silver to his people.
§ 25. If in a man’s house a fire
has been kindled, and a man who has come to extinguish the fire has lifted up
his eyes to the property of the owner of the house, and has taken the property
of the owner of the house, that man shall be thrown into that fire.
§ 26. If either a ganger or a
constable, whose going on an errand of the king has been or- dered, goes not,
or hires a hireling and sends him in place of himself, that ganger or constable
shall be put to death; his hireling shall take to himself his house.
§ 27. If a ganger or a constable,
who is diverted to the fortresses of the king, and after him one has given his
field and his garden to another, and he has carried on his business, if he
returns and regains his city, one shall return to him his field and his garden,
and he shall carry on his business himself.
§ 28. If a ganger or a constable
who is diverted to the fortresses of the king, his son be able to carry on the
business, one shall give him field and garden and he shall carry on his
father’s business.
§ 29. If his son is young and is
not able to carry on his father’s business, one-third of the field and garden
shall be given to his mother, and his mother shall rear him.
§ 30. If a ganger or a constable
has left alone his field, or his garden, or his house, from the beginning of
his business, and has caused it to be waste, a second after him has taken his
field, his garden, or his house, and has gone about his business for three
years, if he returns and regains his city, and would cultivate his field, his
garden, and his house, one shall not give them to him; he who has taken them
and carried on his business shall carry it on.
