Rick Sumner

Just read a snazzy book on Hammurabi and the Covenant Code, David Wright's Inventing God's Law: How the Covenant Code of the Bible Used and Revised the Laws of Hammurabi (or via: amazon.co.uk) (OUP, 2009).

Wright argues not that the Covenant Code was influenced by Hammurabi (which I don't think anyone would deny), nor even that they represent similar milieus (which would probably get even less argument). Rather he contends that the CC was written with a copy of Hammurabi open in front of the author.

Applying what I know from NT criticism, the argument seems sound, and I can even see a few points that would be helped by Goodacre's "editorial fatigue." But I'm well over half a millenium outside of my usual bailwick here, so can't really assess the material too critically. I tell in broad strokes that it's not outright crap, but lack the critical experience in this area to tell if the nuances of the argument will hold up.

So I wonder if anyone has read the book and has any opinions on it--in particular any caveats in it (I have to assume that most of the evidence in his favor he will have cited, so it's the contrary evidence I'm interested in here).

If not, is anyone aware of any difficulties, out of the gate, for the possibility?

Thanks in advance,
Rick Sumner

neilgodfrey

Have not read the book but interested. I found a bibliography of a discussion about this thesis:

Other publications of this author are here, and maybe the Dicky Duck titles are his too.

What I like best about him, though, is that he was kicked out of the Mormon Church -- if indeed it is the same person.

N