The system of punishments in the Ancient Near East: A history of research

Authors

  • Адель Владимировна Немировская St. Petersburg State University, 7–9, Universitetskaya nab., St. Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation

Abstract

In early 20th century, Biblical law (Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy) was the main object of research on Ancient Near Eastern law. In 1930–1940s, scholars shifted the focus of their studies to cuneiform. Until 1980s, the principal matter for discussions was still the law of retaliation. A concept by American historian Raymond Westbrook (1988) became a new milestone in studying Ancient Near Eastern law. He stated that talion was merely a part of “the revenge and ransom system” that existed throughout the Ancient Near East. In the Bible, talion is a didactic figure expressing the idea of divine justice and inevitable retribution; hence there are no details on fines in Biblical law.

Keywords:

the Ancient Near East, Biblical law, Hammurabi’s Code, talion

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Published

2010-03-22

How to Cite

Немировская, А. В. (2010). The system of punishments in the Ancient Near East: A history of research. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Asian and African Studies, (1), 53–69. Retrieved from https://aasjournal.spbu.ru/article/view/1858

Issue

No. 1 (2010): Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Series 13. Asian Studies. African Studies

Section

History and source studies

License

Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Asian and African Studies" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.