ABSTRACT
The major concern in the explanation of these laws must be the legal definition of the terms “to strike,” and “to curse.” Article 195 of the Code of Hammurabi is the only analogous case known from the legal collections of the Ancient Near East. This law provides: “If a son strikes his father they shall cut off his hand.” The laconic language of this provision raises question similar to those raised above with regard to the biblical law. According to Mishnaic law, a person is not obligated under the law of striking the parents, unless he caused a haburah “a wound.”An examination of the sociological circumstances under which such a crime could take place is very likely to help people clarify the hypothetical situation in which a person is likely to strike his parent.
