Prawo boskie i prawo ludzkie. Sądownictwo starożytnego Izraela na tle praktyki mezopotamskiej

Abstract

The aim of this article is to confront Biblical and Mesopotamian lawsuits in order to find similarities and differences between them. However there are many works about laws, only few of them concern trial rules and judicial proceedings as well. The research on this field is a bit problematic because of lack of sources telling us about trials. This article is based mainly on Pentateuch and Laws of Hammurabi as the main sources, while other Mesopotamian codes and the Old Testament’s books are only mentioned. Because of similarities in laws and traditions there are also some notes about Roman law as the base of contemporary judicial proceeding’s tradition, to show how old some principles of society living are. In my research I concluded, that Biblical and Mesopotamian trials are very similar, with only few differences. We can reconstruct it due to following stages: Trial started with accusation in front of an official, priest, old tribemen or judge (depend on times and circumstances), which must have been proved by accuser. The most important proof was the hearing of witnesses (at least two) or (especially in civil trial) written agreement. After proving guilty judges must have assisted the penalty execution, which could be corporal, financial (rather rare) or capital. We can also point out, that people often tried to change the judges’ decision by the means of various gifts. We don’t know it explicitly, however in our sources some bad judges’ behaviors are mentioned – changing the verdict after the end of the trial, unjust verdicts in favor of rich and well-established men and against poor, orphans, widows etc. As the effect of such research, a very short but important question occurs. Are this law traditions different, and we should try to find similarities between them, or maybe – does the Biblical and Mesopotamian law have the roots of the same tradition (Amorite’s?), and we should rather look for differences between them as signs of different ways of development?