and veterinary surgeons. For example, "If a physician cause a man a
severe wound with a bronze lancet and cause the man's death, or, in
opening an abscess of a man with a bronze lancet, destroy the man's
eye, they shall cut off his fingers" (218). 226, 227, Unlawful
branding of slaves; 228-233, Liability of negligent builders. For
example, "If a builder build a house for a man, and do not make its
construction firm, and the house which he has built collapse and cause
the death of the owner of the house, that builder shall be put to
death" (229). 234-252, Hired animals--the injuries they cause or
suffer; 253-277, Rights and duties of workmen; 278-282, Selling and
treatment of slaves. In addition to this very complete code there is a
vast amount of information from both early and late periods concerning
legal practices, to be gathered from the thousands of tablets recording
business and legal transactions of various sorts: Marriage and dowry
contracts, partnership agreements, records of debts and promissory
notes, leases of land, houses, or slaves; records of sales of all kinds
of property, mortgages, documents {195} granting the power of attorney;
concerning adoption, divorce, bankruptcy, inheritance--in short, almost
every imaginable kind of contract.

Over against this complex legal system of Babylonia we may place the
legal literature of the Hebrews.[26] Anyone who approaches the study
of Hebrew laws is met by two difficulties. In the first place, the
legal portions do not form separate books, but are embodied in writings
belonging to other kinds of literature; in the second place, there is a
lack of system in the arrangement of the laws. The abrupt transitions
from one subject to another are almost as marked as they are in the
book of Proverbs. "Civil and ceremonial, criminal and humane, secular
and religious, ancient and late laws and precedents are all mingled
together, with little trace of systematic arrangement."

The legal literature is found mainly in the books of Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy; outside the Pentateuch the most important
piece of legislation is Ezek. 40-48. This legal material may be
separated from its surroundings and arranged by itself. Indeed, this
has been done, and modern scholars are quite generally agreed that the
Pentateuch contains several distinct legal codes belonging to different
periods in the history of Israel and reflecting different stages of
political, s