Did Hammurabi's Code Protect the Weak from the Strong?

Here, Hammurabi states that he wants "to make justice visible in the land, to destroy the wicked person and the evil-doer, that the strong might not injure the weak." The laws themselves support this compassionate claim, and protect widows, orphans and others from being harmed or exploited.

Was Hammurabi's Code effective?

The Code endured even after Babylon was conquered.

Nevertheless, Hammurabi's Code proved so influential that it endured as a legal guide in the region for several centuries, even as rule over Mesopotamia repeatedly switched hands. Copying the Code also appears to have been a popular assignment for scribes-in-training.

What did Hammurabi's Code inspire?

Known today as the Code of Hammurabi, the 282 laws are one of the earliest and more complete written legal codes from ancient times. The codes have served as a model for establishing justice in other cultures and are believed to have influenced laws established by Hebrew scribes, including those in the Book of Exodus.