The Goring Ox

Judgments for comparable cases sorted by severity

Case	Judgment Hammurabi	Judgment Eshnunna	Judgment Covenant Code
Murder citizen	Death ¶1 60ש if unsolved ¶23-24	Death	Death 21:12-14, 18-19
Murder slave	20ש if distrained ¶116		Avenged if immediate 21:20-21
Negligence wall	Death builder ¶229-31	Capital case for owner (referred to king) ¶58	[Death if extrapolate from 21:29-30]
Negligence ox citizen	30ש ¶251-252	40ש ¶54 (Similarly dogs ¶56)	Ox killed, owner killed or ransomed Same if minor is killed, cf. LH ¶230 21:29-31
Brawl	30ש ¶207	40ש ¶47A	Asylum 21:12-14, 18-19
Negligence ox slave	20ש ¶252	15ש ¶55 (Similarly dogs ¶57)	30ש 21:32
Negligence non-ox property	Market value (slaves)		Market value 21:33-24
Accident ox human	Nothing ¶250		Ox stoned, not eaten 21:28

Would you rather be an ancient Israelite or an ancient Babylonian?
Relative to Babylonian Law, is it always or generally true that life is sacred to the Israelites? In what ways?
Specifically, is life ever given a monetary value?
Is there a distinctive view of mirror punishments?
What does ransom accomplish?

The value of a shekel ש

Leviticus 27:2-7 (applies to redeeming vows, not death)

Hammurabi

¶24 life lost in robbery = 60 shekels (payable by city)
¶59 date tree = 30 shekels
¶114 unjust distrain = 20 shekels
¶116 death of slave = 20 shekels
¶139-140 divorce settlement = 60 shekels for awilu, 20 for commoner
¶156 sleeping with son’s fiancé = 30 shekels
¶198 bone or eye of commoner = 60 shekels (¶199 might imply life of commoner = 120)
¶201 tooth of commoner = 20 shekels
¶203 honor awilu = 60 shekels
¶204 honor commoner = 10 shekels
¶207 manslaughter awilu = 30 shekels
¶208 manslaughter commoner = 20 shekels
¶209 fetus = 10 shekels (5 for commoner)

Eshnunna