What is the difference between the Torah and the Code of Hammurabi?
The most significant difference between the Torah and the Code is how they came into existence. Hammurabi, who was appointed King by the Gods, wrote the Code as law. The Torah is actually written as the word of God. In the Torah, the verse “And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe” (Exodus 21:23-25) is similar to “If a man has destroyed the eye of another free man, his own eye shall be destroyed. If he has broken the bone of a free man, his bone shall be broken” (Hammurabi, 196-197:15). Although similar in appearance, the verse from the Torah is the word of God and the laws from Hammurabi are the words of a man. To break a law from the Torah is to directly disobey a command from God. The Code also has different punishments depending on the class of the person committing the crime. “If a man has knocked out the teeth of a man of the same rank, his ow
