READING THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT IN PARALLEL WITH HAMMURABI'S LAW CODE

The Book of the Covenant and the law code of Hammurabi are closely connected. The comparisons between the Book of the Covenant and the Hammurabi’s law code have revealed there is a moderate positive relationship between them. The similarities between them have proven that there is a literary dependence of the Book of the Covenant on a version of the Hammurabi’s law code and other law codes. This in turn has demonstrated that the Book of the Covenant is a rewriting of a version of the Hammurabi’s law code and other older law codes. However it is considered a rewriting (a translation and an adaptation) of a version of the Hammurabi’s law code. The translation is indirect because of the claims to divine inspiration in both texts. The two texts were inspired by different deities. Thus they have different theological concepts.