THE CONCEALED CRIME OF THE NADĪTU PRIESTESS IN §110 OF THE LAWS OF HAMMURABI
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/1013-8471/3441Abstract
LH 110 is part of the ancient Near Eastern scholarly debate regarding the function and role of the nadiÄtu-priestess groups in Old Babylonian society. Seemingly, LH 110 forbids the uncloistered nadÄ«tu from opening up or entering a business place associated with the sÄbÄ«tu; the penalty for such a crime is public execution by burning. Mainstream scholars view the nadiÄtu through the lens of either (a) indulging in illicit behaviour or (b) that LH 110 reflects a prohibition for the nadÄ«tu to compromise her chastity. In contrast, Martha Roth (1999) opines that LH 110 is an economic regulation of the nadÄ«tu, prohibiting her from overshadowing the money-lending business of the sÄbÄ«tu. However, what poses a problem is the horrific penalty, which seems to suggest and be justification for a seemingly terrible crime committed in concealment. I propose that when this prohibition is transgressed, a horrific crime is committed – tax evasion – which is a furtive crime that endangers the continuous welfare of the king/state. LH 110 is a fiscal regulation protecting the state/king’s revenues. The intention is to prevent a specific group of the nadiÄtu – an uncloistered priestess – to enter or open an enterprise, which the OB state administration is unable to regulate. Consequently, the nadÄ«tu could effortlessly conceal her yielded profits and thus evade paying tax to the king/state.
Metrics
References
Ankum, J A, Feenstra, R & Leemans, WF 1970. Symbolae Iuridicae et Historicae Martino David Dedicatae, JAOS 90/2:243–256.
Assante, J 1998. The kar-kid/ḫarimtu, prostitute or single woman. Ugarit-Forschungen Band 30. Munster: Ugarit-Verlag. 2003. From whores to hierodules: the historiographic invention of Mesopotamian female sex professionals, in Donohue and Fullerton 2003:13–47. 2006. Undressing the nude: problems in analyzing nudity in ancient art with an Old Babylonian case study, in Schroer 2006:177–208. 2007. What makes a “prostitute†a prostitute? Modern definitions and ancient meanings, review article L in Faraone & McClure 2006:117–132. 2009a. Inside and out: extra-dimensional aspects of the Mesopotamian body, with Egyptian parallels, MARG 20:1–17. 2009b. Bad girls and kinky boys? The modern prostituting of Ishtar, her clergy and her cults, in Kaniuth 2009:23–54.
Boecker, H J 1980. Law and the administration of justice in the Old Testament and ancient East. London: Augsberg Publishing House.
Bromberg, B 1942. The origin of banking: religious finance in Babylonia, The Journal of Economic History 2/1:77–88. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S002205070005230X
Brooks, B A 1921. A contribution to the study of the moral practices of certain social groups in Ancient Mesopotamia. D.Phil published dissertation, Bryn Mawr College: Leipzig.
Brooks, B A 1923. Some observations concerning ancient Mesopotamian women, The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 39/3:187–194. Claassens (Van Wyk), S J 2010. The so-called Mesopotamian law codes: what is in a name? JSem 19/2:461–478. 2013. Old Babylonian Nippur solutions between beneficiaries in a deceased estate division agreement, JSem 22/1:56–89. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/369984
Cooper, J 2006. Definition of prostitution ANE, Reallexikonder Assyriologie Und Vorderasiatischen Archaologie 12–21.
Diakonoff, I M 1986. Women in Old Babylonia not under patriarchal authority, JESHO 29/3:225–238. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/156852086X00144
Donohue, A A and Fullerton M D (eds.) 2003. Ancient art and its historiography. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.
Driver, G R and Miles, J C 1952. The Babylonian laws. Clarendon Press: Oxford.
Ellis, M De J 1974. Taxation in ancient Mesopotamia: the history of the term miksu, JCS 26/4:211–250. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1359443
Faraone, C and McClure, L 2006. Prostitutes and courtesans in the ancient world. Madison: Historiae.
Finkelstein, J J 1970. Review article: on some recent studies in Cuneiform law, in Ankum, Feenstra & Leemans 1970:243–256. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/598140
Fisher, E 1976. Cultic prostitution in the ancient Near East: a reassessment, Biblical Theology Bulletin 6:229–236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/014610797600600306
Gallery, M 1979. Review of recent contributions to Old Babylonian studies: studies in Old Babylonian history by Marten Stol; Ancient Sippar : a demographic study of an Old-Babylonian city by Rivkah DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/598951
Harris, JAOS 99/1:73–80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00007611-198701000-00027
Goetze, A 1965. Tavern keepers and the like in ancient Babylonia, in Guterbock and Jacobsen 1965:211–216.
Goddeeris, A 2002. Economy and society in Northern Babylonian in the early Old Babylonian period (ca. 2000-1600 BC). Leuven: Peeters.
Goddeeris, A 2007. The Old Babylonian economy, in Leick 2007:198–209.
Guterbock, H G and Jacobsen T 1965. Studies in honor of Benno Landsberger on his seventy-fifth birthday. Chicago Press: Chicago.
Harris, R 1961. The nadītu. Laws of the Code of Hammurapi in Praxis, Orientalia NS 30:163–169.
The organisation and administration of the cloister in ancient Babylonia, JESHO 6/2:121–157. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/156852063X00040
_______ 1964. The nadītu woman. Studies Oppenheim Chicago, 106–135.
______ 1968. Some aspects of the centralization of the realm under Hammurapi and his successors, JAOS 88:727–732. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/598118
______ 1969. Notes on the Babylonian cloister and hearth: a review article, Orientalia 38:133–145.
______ 1975. Ancient Sippar: a demographic study of an Old-Babylonian city, 1894–1595 BC. Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut: Istanbul.
______ 1976. On kinship and inheritance in Old Babylonian Sippar, Iraq 38/2:129–132. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/4200036
______ 1977. Notes on the slave names of Old Babylonian Sippar, JCS 29/1:46–51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1360003
______ 1989. Independent women in ancient Mesopotamia, in Lesko 1989:145–156 and responses, 157–165.
______ 2000. Gender and aging in Mesopotamia. The Gilgamesh Epic and other ancient literature. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman: USA.
Hibbits, B J 1992. “Coming to our senses†communication and legal expression in 418 performance cultures, Emory L.J. 41/4:873–960.
Huehnergard, J 2005. A grammar of Akkadian. 2nd edition. Eisenbrauns. Winona Lake.
Jursa, M 2011. Taxation and service obligations in Babylonia from Nebuchadnezzar to Darius and the evidence for Darius’ tax reform, in Rollinger, Truschnegg & Bichler 2011:431–448.
Kaniuth, K (ed.) 2009. Tempelprostitution im Altertum. Fakten und fiktionen. Verlag Antike: Stuttgart, Germany.
Klengel, H 1971. Drei altbabylonische Urkunden betreffend Felder von ugbabtum-Priesterinnen, JCS 23/4:124–129. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1359403
Launderville, D 2010. Celibacy in the ancient world. Its ideal and proactive in pre-Hellenistic Israel, Mesopotamia and Greece. Liturgical Press: Minnesota.
Leemans, W F. 1950. Old Babylonian merchant. His business and his social position. EJ Brill: Leiden.
Leick, G (ed.) 2007. The Babylonian world. Routledge: New York.
Lerner, G 1986. The origin of prostitution in Ancient Mesopotamia, Signs 11/2:236–254. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/494218
Lesko, B S (ed.) 1989. Women’s earliest records: from Egypt and Western Asia. Atlanta: Brown Judaic Studies.
Malul, M 1988. Studies in Mesopotamian legal symbolism. Neukirchener Verlag Neukirchen-Vluyn: Verlag Butzon & Bercker Kevelaer.
Malul, M 1989. Susapinnu: The Mesopotamian paranymph and his role, JESHO 32/3:241–278. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3631998
_______ 2002. Knowledge, control and sex: studies in biblical thought, culture, and worldview. Tel Aviv-Jaffa: Archaeological Center Publication.
McGee, R W (ed.) 2012. The ethics of tax evasion: perspectives in theory and practice. Florida, USA: Springer Media. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1287-8
Mobley, G 2006. Samson and the liminal hero in the Ancient Near East. USA: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Oppenheim, A 1947. A fiscal practice of the ancient Near East, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 6/2:116–120. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/370823
_______ (ed.) 1958. The Assyrian dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago
(CAD) E Volume 4. Chicago: Oriental Institute.
_______ (ed.) 1965. The Assyrian dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD) B Volume 2. Chicago: Oriental Institute.
______ (ed.) 1968. The Assyrian dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD) A Part 2 Volume 1. Chicago: Oriental Institute.
Pecha, L 2005. Zum Altbabylonischen Agabensystem: Die Nēmettum-agabe, Reallexikonder Assyriologie Und Vorderasiatischen Archaologie 99:39–56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3917/assy.099.0039
Pollock, S 1999. Ancient Mesopotamia. The Eden that never was. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Reiner, E (ed.) 1980a. The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD) N Part 1 Volume 11. Chicago: Oriental Institute.
Reiner, E (ed.) 1980b. The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD) N Part 2 Volume 11. Chicago: Oriental Institute.
Reiner, E (ed.) 1984. The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD) S Volume 15. Chicago: Oriental Institute.
Reiner, E (ed.) 1992. The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD) Å Volume 17 Part 2. Chicago: Oriental Institute.
Renger, J M 1967. Untersuchungen zum Priesterum in der Altbabylonischen Zeit, RA 58:134–176. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/zava.1967.58.1.110
Rollinger, R, Truschnegg, B & Bichler, R (eds) 2011. Internationalen Kolloquiums zum Thema “Vorderasien im Spannungsfeld klassischer und altorientalischer Überlieferungen†Innsbruck, 24–28. November 2008. Akten Des 3. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
Roth, M T 1995. Law collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. Chicago: Society of Biblical Literature Scholars Press.
_______ 1999. The priestess, the prostitute and the tavern: LH §110. Munuscula Mesopotamica, Alter Orient und altes Testament 267:445–464.
_______ (ed.) 2005. The Assyrian dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD) P Volume 12. Chicago: Oriental Institute.
_______ (ed.) 2010. The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD) U & W Volume 20. Chicago: Oriental Institute.
Seri, A 2005. Local power in Old Babylonia Mesopotamia. Equinox. London.
Scheepers, C 2010. Neo-Assyrian non-interference policy, OTE 23/2:350–366.
Schroer, S (ed.) 2006. Images and gender. Contributions to the hermeneutics of reading ancient art. Gottingen/Fribourg: Academic Press/Vandenboeck & Ruprecht.
Slater, W J 1991. Dining in classical contexts. Michigan: University of Michigan Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.23429
Sterba, R L A 1976. The organization and management of the temple corporations in ancient Mesopotamia, The Academy of Management Review 1/3:16–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1976.4400578
Stol, M 1976. Studies in Old Babylonian history. PIHANS. XL. Istanbul: Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut.
_______ 1995. Women in Mesopotamia, JESHO 38/2:123–144. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/1568520952600524
_______ 1998. The care of the elderly in the ancient Near East, in Stol and Vleeming 1998:59–117.
Stol, M and Vleeming, SP (eds.) 1998. Studies in the history and culture of the ancient Near East. Volume 14. Leiden: Brill.
Stone, E C 1981. Texts, architecture and ethnographic analogy: patterns of residence in Old Babylonian Nippur, Iraq 43/1:19–33. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021088900004873
_______ 1982. The social role of the nadītu women in Old Babylonian Nippur, JESHO 25/1:50–70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/156852082X00076
______ 1987. Nippur neighbourhoods. Illinois: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago University Press.
Van de Mieroop, M 2005. King Hammurabi of Babylon: a bibliography. Malden, USA: Blackwell. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470696095
Van Wyk, S J 2014a. Contractual maintenance support of a priestess-sister in three Old Babylonian Sippar division agreements, JSem 23/1:195–236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25159/1013-8471/2812
_______ 2014b. Lost in translation: present-day terms in the maintenance texts of the nadiÄtu from Old Babylonian Nippur, JSem 23/2:443–483. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25159/1013-8471/3501
_______ 2015. Revisiting the status and role of the nadiÄtu in Old Babylonia, JNSL (forthcoming).
Westenholz, J G 1989. Tamar, Qedesa, Qadištu, and sacred prostitution in Mesopotamia, The Harvard Theological Review 82/3:245–265. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0017816000016199
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
