Between Servitude, Slavery, and Enslavement in Exodus 21 and the Code of Hammurabi 117-118

• In Event: Law, Culture and the Bible

Abstract

The servitude or slavery laws outlined in Exodus 21:1-11 have long been a subject of comparison with the Code of Hammurabi 117-118 (CH). Indeed, scholars such as David Wright have argued that the casuistic laws in the Covenant Code (CC) rely directly on the Code of Hammurabi itself. One of the most obvious points of comparison between Exodus 21:1-11 and CH 117-118 is the maximum length of service, which is three years in the CH and seven years in the CC. This disparity has led Frank Crüsemann and others to argue that the CC could have been a “significant step backward for the slaves” from earlier and more forgiving debt-slavery standards.

However, many comparisons between standards of debt slavery in CC and CH do not fully take into account how kiššātum functions in CH 117-118, as well as the legal, economic, and social realities of kiššātum. In this paper, I will evaluate the ancient Near Eastern evidence for kiššātum in legal codexes and praxis, and will demonstrate that there are significant discontinuities between the context and content of Exodus 21:1-11 and CH 117-118. In doing so, I will also argue that this revised understanding of the relationship between CC and CH has broader implications for our understanding of Pentateuchal slavery legislation and its ancient Near Eastern context.

Author

• Michael Leff, The University of Texas at Austin