The Neo-Babylonian Trial Procedure

FAIN: RZ-50877-08

Saint Joseph's University (Philadelphia, PA 19131-1308)
Bruce Wells (Project Director: November 2007 to November 2010)

Continuing work on the transcription, computer encoding, translation, and analysis of about 1,500 cuneiform clay tablets of Neo-Babylonian litigation documents. (36 months)

This project seeks to understand and describe the features and procedures of the trial court system from ancient Mesopotamia (southern Iraq) during the seventh to fifth centuries BCE (the Neo-Babylonian period). This effort includes: (1) analyzing the 1,466 Neo-Babylonian documents that the project has already identified as potentially related to trial proceedings from that period; (2) encoding a large number of these texts with the Unicode encodings for cuneiform signs; (3) mining these texts for legal and historical content; and (4) compiling and organizing the encoding data and the legal-historical analysis in the University of Chicago's OCHRE system, a Unicode-based and internet-based system designed specifically for the study of ancient Near Eastern texts and artifacts. The ultimate goal of the project is to produce a written presentation of the findings in book form and to make available a free website with encoded Neo-Babylonian texts, searchable by individual cuneiform signs.

Associated Products

The Case for Adversarial Yahad (Article)
Title: The Case for Adversarial Yahad
Author: Shalom Holtz
Abstract: published in Vetus Testamentum 59 (2009): 211-221
Year: 2009
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Vetus Testamentum

A Comparative Note on the Demand for Witnesses in Isa 43:9 (Article)
Title: A Comparative Note on the Demand for Witnesses in Isa 43:9
Author: Shalom Holtz
Abstract: Published in Journal of Biblical Literature 129 (2010): 457-461
Year: 2010
Periodical Title: Journal of Biblical Literature

"Neo-Babylonian Trial Records, Legal Storytelling Conventions, and Job's Compositional History" (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: "Neo-Babylonian Trial Records, Legal Storytelling Conventions, and Job's Compositional History"
Author: F. Rachel Magdalene
Abstract: This paper was presented at the 2009 international meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Rome.
Date: 07/02/2009
Conference Name: International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature

"A Question of Method: Legal Anthropology and Understanding Achaemenid Use of Law to Control the Empire's Periphery" (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: "A Question of Method: Legal Anthropology and Understanding Achaemenid Use of Law to Control the Empire's Periphery"
Author: F. Rachel Magdalene
Abstract: This paper was presented at the 2009 international meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Rome.
Date: 07/03/2009
Conference Name: International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature

"Slavery between Babylon and Judah: The Exilic Experience" (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: "Slavery between Babylon and Judah: The Exilic Experience"
Author: F. Rachel Magdalene
Abstract: This paper was presented at the Oriental Institute Seminar at the University of Chicago.
Date: 03/06/2010
Conference Name: Slaves and Households in the Near East

"The Judean Legal Texts from Rural Babylonian: Assessing the Implication in Regard to Biblical Law in the Exilic and Post-Exilic Periods" (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: "The Judean Legal Texts from Rural Babylonian: Assessing the Implication in Regard to Biblical Law in the Exilic and Post-Exilic Periods"
Author: F. Rachel Magdalene
Abstract: This paper was presented at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia for the conference, Jerusalem in Babylonia: New Discoveries from the Exilic Period.
Date: 03/22/2010
Conference Name: Jerusalem in Babylonia: New Discoveries from the Exilic Period

"Case and Narration in the Book of Job" (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: "Case and Narration in the Book of Job"
Author: F. Rachel Magdalene
Abstract: This paper was presented at Philipps-Universität in Marburg, Germany, for the conference, Abstract Law and Case Narrative in the Bible and in Neighbouring Ancient Cultures.
Date: 09/07/2009
Conference Name: Abstract Law and Case Narrative in the Bible and in Neighbouring Ancient Cultures

"Legal Science Then and Now: Method and Theory in the Work of Raymond Westbrook" (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: "Legal Science Then and Now: Method and Theory in the Work of Raymond Westbrook"
Author: F. Rachel Magdalene
Abstract: This paper was presented at the 56th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale in Barcelona.
Date: 07/29/2010
Conference Name: Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale

"Retributive or Restorative Justice: Reading the Nature of God, Justice, and Humanity in the Book of Job" (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: "Retributive or Restorative Justice: Reading the Nature of God, Justice, and Humanity in the Book of Job"
Author: F. Rachel Magdalene
Abstract: This paper was presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Christian Theological Research Fellowship.
Date: 11/23/2009
Conference Name: Christian Theological Research Fellowship

A Common Set of Trial Terms (Article)
Title: A Common Set of Trial Terms
Author: Shalom Holtz
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to draw on the formulation of Neo-Babylonian trial records in order to identify a linguistically and conceptually parallel set of trial terms in Dtn 17:4, Jer 8:6 and Job 5:27. The Hebrew and Akkadian texts provide evidence for a common convention of trial description. According to this convention, trials begin with a spoken report, followed by “hearing”, all of which result in “established” facts.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: https://www.academia.edu/1516332/_A_Common_Set_of_Trial_Terms_
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Zeitschrift für altorientalische und biblische Rechtsgeschichte

The Career of a Neo-Babylonian Court Scribe (Article)
Title: The Career of a Neo-Babylonian Court Scribe
Author: Shalom Holtz
Abstract: This article traces the career of a scribe who began work in the vicinity of Babylon as a member of a limited group of court scribes who recorded legal proceedings overseen by the Neo-Babylonian royal judges. Later in life he moved from the Babylon region to Uruk, where he advanced beyond his original position as scribe. His career sheds light on the administration of justice outside of Babylon proper, and provides an example of how a career as a scribe was the first step towards a more advanced legal vocation in Neo-Babylonian Mesopotamia. Journal of Cuneiform Studies 60 (2008), 81-85
Year: 2008
Primary URL: https://www.academia.edu/403404/The_Career_of_a_Neo-Babylonian_Court_Scribe
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Journal of Cuneiform Studies

Administration of the Judicial System in the Late Babylonian Period (Article)
Title: Administration of the Judicial System in the Late Babylonian Period
Author: F. Rachel Magdalene
Abstract: This article deals with twenty-one texts related to the administration of the judicial system in the Late Babylonian period. These texts are in the nature of an ancient “contempt of court” citation when an individual’s actions might interfere with the smooth and efficient operation of the court system. Zeitschrift für altorientalische und biblische Rechtsgeschichte 20 (2014): 47–66.
Year: 2014
Primary URL: https://www.academia.edu/10419072/2014_Administration_of_the_Judicial_System_in_the_Late_Babylonian_Period
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Zeitschrift für altorientalische und biblische Rechtsgeschichte

A Slave Is Not Supposed to Wear Such a Garment! (Article)
Title: A Slave Is Not Supposed to Wear Such a Garment!
Author: F. Rachel Magdalene
Author: Cornelia Wunsch
Abstract: Kaskal 9 (2012), 99–120
Year: 2012
Primary URL: https://www.academia.edu/8908384/_2012_A_Slave_Is_not_Supposed_to_Wear_such_a_Garment_mit_F._Rachel_Magdalene_
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Kaskal

Trying the Crime Abuse of Royal Authority in the Divine Courtroom and the Incident of Naboth Vineyard (Book Section)
Title: Trying the Crime Abuse of Royal Authority in the Divine Courtroom and the Incident of Naboth Vineyard
Author: F. Rachel Magdalene
Editor: Shalom E. Holtz
Editor: Ari Mermelstein
Abstract: In S. A. Mendenstein and S. E. Holtz (eds.), The Divine Courtroom in Comparative Perspective (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2014), 167–245
Year: 2014
Primary URL: https://www.academia.edu/5517776/2014_Trying_the_Crime_Abuse_of_Royal_Authority_in_the_Divine_Courtroom_and_the_Incident_of_Naboth_Vineyard
Publisher: Brill
Book Title: The Divine Courtroom in Comparative Perspective
ISBN: 9789004281639

Freedom and Dependency: Neo-Babylonian Manumission Documents with Oblation and Service Obligation (Book Section)
Title: Freedom and Dependency: Neo-Babylonian Manumission Documents with Oblation and Service Obligation
Author: F. Rachel Magdalene
Author: Cornelia Wunsch
Editor: Charles E. Jones
Abstract: In: M. Kozuh with W. Henkelman, C. E. Jones, and C. Woods (eds.), Extraction and Control: Studies in Honor of Matthew W. Stolper (Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilizations 68; Chicago: Oriental Institute Press, 2014), 337–346
Year: 2014
Primary URL: https://www.academia.edu/1266774/2014_Freedom_and_Dependency_Neo-Babylonian_Manumission_Documents_with_Oblation_and_Service_Obligation
Publisher: Oriental Institute Press
Book Title: Extraction and Control: Studies in Honor of Matthew W. Stolper
ISBN: 9781614910015

Through a Glass Lawyerly: Reading Law in the Book of Job (Book Section)
Title: Through a Glass Lawyerly: Reading Law in the Book of Job
Author: F. Rachel Magdalene
Editor: Klaus-Peter Adam
Abstract: In: Law and Narrative in the Bible and in Neighbouring Ancient Cultures, eds.: Klaus-Peter Adam, Friedrich Avemarie, Nili Wazana, Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2 Reihe 54, Mohr-Siebeck Tübingen, 2012, pp. 123-38
Year: 2012
Primary URL: https://www.academia.edu/1846127/2012_Through_a_Glass_Lawyerly_Reading_Law_in_the_Book_of_Job
Publisher: Mohr-Siebeck
Book Title: Law and Narrative in the Bible and in Neighbouring Ancient Cultures
ISBN: 9783161508431

Slavery Between Babylon and Judah: The Exilic Experience (Book Section)
Title: Slavery Between Babylon and Judah: The Exilic Experience
Author: F. Rachel Magdalene
Author: Cornelia Wunsch
Editor: Laura Culbertson
Abstract: in Slaves & Households in the Ancient Near East (ed. Laura Culverson; Oriental Institute Seminar Series 7; Chicago: Oriental Institute, 2011), 113–34
Year: 2011
Primary URL: https://www.academia.edu/1090375/2011_Slavery_Between_Babylon_and_Judah_The_Exilic_Experience
Publisher: Oriental Institute Press
Book Title: Slaves & Households in the Ancient Near East
ISBN: 97818859238

Is It Law or Religion? Legal Motivations in Deuteronomic and Neo-Babylonian Texts (Book Section)
Title: Is It Law or Religion? Legal Motivations in Deuteronomic and Neo-Babylonian Texts
Author: Bruce Wells
Editor: Anselm Hagedorn
Abstract: Pages 287–309 in Law and Religion in the Eastern Mediterranean: From Antiquity to Early Islam. Edited by A. C. Hagedorn and R. G. Kratz. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Year: 2013
Primary URL: https://www.academia.edu/7102274/Is_It_Law_or_Religion_Legal_Motivations_in_Deuteronomic_and_Neo-Babylonian_Texts
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Book Title: Law and Religion in the Eastern Mediterranean: From Antiquity to Early Islam
ISBN: 9780199550234

Neo-Babylonian Laws (Book Section)
Title: Neo-Babylonian Laws
Author: Cornelia Wunsch
Author: F. Rachel Magdalene
Author: Bruce Wells
Editor: Brent Strawn
Abstract: In Encyclopedia of the Bible and Law. Edited by B. Strawn. New York: Oxford University Press
Year: 2015
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Book Title: Encyclopedia of the Bible and Law
ISBN: 9780199843305

The Grammar of the Neo-Babylonian Assertory Oath (Article)
Title: The Grammar of the Neo-Babylonian Assertory Oath
Author: Bruce Wells
Author: Cornelia Wunsch
Author: F. Rachel Magdalene
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to review grammatical constructions that can function as assertory oaths. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 71: 275–283
Year: 2012
Primary URL: https://www.academia.edu/2105094/The_Grammar_of_the_Neo-Babylonian_Assertory_Oath
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Journal of Near Eastern Studies

Legal Narrative in Neo-Babylonian Trial Documents. Text Reconstruction, Interpretation, and Assyriological Method (Book Section)
Title: Legal Narrative in Neo-Babylonian Trial Documents. Text Reconstruction, Interpretation, and Assyriological Method
Author: Cornelia Wunsch
Editor: Klaus-Peter Adam
Abstract: In Klaus-Peter Adam, Friedrich Avemarie, Nili Wazana (eds.), Law and Narrative in the Bible and in Neighbouring Ancient Cultures. Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck 2012, pp. 3–34
Year: 2012
Primary URL: https://www.academia.edu/1224520/_2012_Legal_Narrative_in_Neo-Babylonian_Trial_Documents._Text_Reconstruction_Interpretation_and_Assyriological_Method
Publisher: Mohr-Siebeck
Book Title: Law and Narrative in the Bible and in Neighbouring Ancient Cultures
ISBN: 9783161508431

YOS 6 225: A Dispute about a Sesame Delivery (Book Section)
Title: YOS 6 225: A Dispute about a Sesame Delivery
Author: Cornelia Wunsch
Author: Muhammad A. Dandamayev
Editor: Ludek Vacín
Abstract: In: Ludek Vacín (ed.) U4 DU11-GA-NI SÁ MU-NI-IB-DU11. Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Memory of Blahoslav Hruška. Dresden: ISLET 2011, pp. 61–72
Year: 2011
Primary URL: https://www.academia.edu/1221602/_2011_YOS_6_225_A_Dispute_about_a_Sesame_Delivery
Publisher: ISLET
Book Title: U4 DU11-GA-NI SÁ MU-NI-IB-DU11. Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Memory of Blahoslav Hruška
ISBN: 97839808466

The Whole Truth: Forensic Rituals and Forensic Evidence in Ancient Near Eastern Courtrooms (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: The Whole Truth: Forensic Rituals and Forensic Evidence in Ancient Near Eastern Courtrooms
Abstract: Paper presented at the David M. Kennedy Center for International Relations, Brigham Young University. Provo, Utah
Author: Bruce Wells
Date: 6/1/2011
Location: Brigham Young University. Provo, Utah

Is It Law or Religion? Legal Motivations in Deuteronomic and Late Babylonian Texts (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Is It Law or Religion? Legal Motivations in Deuteronomic and Late Babylonian Texts
Abstract: Presentation at the Institute for Advanced Study, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Author: Bruce Wells
Date: 2/19/2009
Location: Institute for Advanced Study, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Fault, Responsibility, and Administrative Law in Late Babylonian Legal Texts (Book)
Title: Fault, Responsibility, and Administrative Law in Late Babylonian Legal Texts
Author: Wells, Bruce
Author: Magdalene, F. Rachel
Author: Wunsch, Cornelia
Abstract: This book (ca. 720 pages in length) presents a reassessment of the governmental systems of the Late Babylonian period, specifically those of the Neo-Babylonian and early Persian empires, and provides evidence demonstrating that these were among the first to have developed an early form of administrative law. The study revolves around a particular expression that, in its most common form, reads ḫīṭu ša šarri išaddad and can be translated as “he will be guilty (of an offense) against the king.” The authors analyze ninety-six documents, thirty-two of which have not been previously published, discussing each text in detail as well as the role of this clause and its legal consequences. Placing these documents in their historical and institutional contexts and drawing on the theories of Max Weber and S. N. Eisenstadt, the authors aim to show that the administrative bureaucracy underlying these documents was a more complex, systematized, and rational system than has previously been recognized. Accompanied by extensive indexes, as well as transcriptions and translations of each text analyzed here, the book breaks new ground in the study of ancient legal systems.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: http://www.eisenbrauns.org/books/titles/978-1-57506-990-6.html
Access Model: Book
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Type: Multi-author monograph
ISBN: 978-1-57506-99
Copy sent to NEH?: No

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