§ 274. If a man hires an artisan, he shall give per day as the wages of a ..... 5 She; as the wages of a brick-maker, 5 She of money; as the wages of a tailor, 5 She of silver; as the wages of a stone-cutter, ...... She of silver; ............ She of silver; ............ She of silver; ............ of a carpenter, 4 She of silver; as the wages of a ...... 4 She of silver; as the wages of a ...... She of silver; the wages of a builder, ...... She of silver.
§ 275. If a man hires a boat (?) to go upstream (?), its hire is 3 She of silver per day.
§ 276. If he hires a boat to float downstream, he shall pay as its hire 2½ She of silver per day.
§ 277. If a man hires a boat of 60 Gur burden, he shall pay ⅙ of a shekel of money per day.
There are no parallels to these laws in the Bible, as the Old Testament does not attempt to regulate prices. When one considers the customs of trade all over the Orient, and the time fruitlessly consumed in making bargains, one does not wonder that the practical sovereign of a great commercial people, such as the Babylonians were, should regulate prices by law. As a rule, to this day, a purchaser begins by offering only a fraction of what he is willing to give, and the seller by asking at least twice as much as he is willing to take. A long psychological battle follows, during which there are many victories and capitulations on each side. This law was designed to put an end to this time-consuming custom.
When the Sales of Slaves are Void
§ 278. If a man buys a male or a female slave and before a month is past he has an attack of rheumatism (?), he shall return to the seller, and the purchaser shall receive back the money that was paid.
§ 279. If a man buys a male or a female slave, and another has a legal claim upon him, the seller shall be responsible for that claim.
§ 280. If a man, while in a foreign country, purchases a male or a female slave of a man, and, when he returns home, the former owner of the male or the female slave recognizes his slave, if that male or female slave is a native of the land, he shall give it its freedom without recompense.
§ 281. If they are natives of another country, the purchaser shall declare in the presence of a god the price that he paid, and the former owner of the male or female slave shall pay the price to the merchant, and shall receive back his slave.