Codes of Conduct

517 Words3 Pages
Codes of Conduct Written laws are established to set guidelines for people to live by. It’s important to have written laws because it keeps the society organized. If there weren't written laws in place then the society could not function and it would be chaotic. These written laws are called Codes of Conduct. Three examples of Codes of Conduct are Negative Confessions, Decalogue (Ten Commandments), and Hammurabi’s Code. Following different Gods the Hebrews, Egyptians, and Mesopotamian's laws were very similar. These written laws are insight into the life of these civilizations. They represent advance in the development of human right in ancient times. The written laws had established penalties for murder, theft, incest, adultery, assault, battery, and many other crimes. These three Codes of Conduct had something in there laws about theft. In the Negative Confessions a dead soul would have recite I have not committed theft (p53). In the Decalogue one of the Ten Commandments is thou shalt not steal. In the Code of Hammurabi clause 8 says “If a man has stolen an ox, or sheep or and ass, or a pig or a goat, either from god or a palace, he shall pay thirty-fold. If he is a plebeian, he shall render ten-fold. If the thief has nothing to pay, he shall be slain.” (p27). The written laws of the Hebrews greatly resembled those of the Mesopotamian s. Both the Code of Hammurabi and Ten Commandments deal with social obligations. There is a major difference between the Ten Commandments and the Code of Hammurabi. The Code of Hammurabi punishment varied according to social class. The Hebrew law was meant to be applied equally to all classes. God frequently reminded the Hebrews that they were once aliens and slaves themselves, so they must treat lower classes as also worthy human beings (p31). The Negative Confessions differed from the Code of Hammurabi and the Ten Commandments.
Open Document