קונגרס העולמי ה-18 למדעי היהדות

“How Much Will She Cost?” A Comparison of Six Ancient Near East Laws Relating to Bride Price, Dowry, and Female Slaves

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Although archaeology has recovered meaningful data relating to some aspects of Ancient Israelite life, the scarcity of ancient Israelite extra-biblical excavated artifacts, works of art (reliefs, sculptures, seals), and legal texts limits scholars from reconstructing and describing non-cultic laws. As a result, the Pentateuch remains the single most important source for the study of Ancient Israel’s society and culture. Fortunately, that is not the case throughout the rest of the Ancient Near East. This paper is part of a larger study which examines some of the secular “law collections” as they pertain to women.
Ancient Near East legal documents pertaining to women are not abstract, philosophical, or theological. They are rules which define permissible and the forbidden alliances; bride-price; dowry; marriage; remarriage; divorce; inheritance; and the penalties involved for violation of these laws. In some cases the laws differ depending upon the woman’s status (i.e., wealthy, poor, “free”, indentured, servant, slave, virgin, widow, minor, elderly, etc.). In all cases, however, the laws are detailed. This paper focuses on the Laws of Ur-Nammu (21st century BCE), the Laws of Lipit-Ishtar (c. 1950 BCE), the Laws of Eshnunna (c. 1800 BCE), the Laws of Hammurabi (c. 1792–1750 BCE), Assyrian Laws (c. 1400–1100 BCE), Hittite Laws (c. 1400–1300 BCE), and the Hebrew Bible (c. 900 BCE) concerning bride-price, dowry, and female slavery. I shall analyze them in terms of their similarities, differences, and potential implications.