it more like seduction, which falls into the category of minor harm
(see below).8.6.2.5 Perjury and Slander^65
False accusation was considered particularly appropriate for talionic
punishment: the accuser suffered the penalty that he had sought for
the accused (LL 17; LH 1–4; Deut. 19:16–21). Slanderous remarks
impugning the sexual honor of a man or a woman led to various
penalties, especially flogging and shaming punishments (LH 127;
MAL A 17–19; Deut. 22:13–19).8.6.2.6 Theft^66
Theft is, of course, not defined but seems to have covered not only
actual removal but also fraudulent misappropriation of goods left in
one’s care or found and not reported to the authorities. The fraud-
ulent receiver of stolen goods was treated in the same way as the
thief.
As in modern law, the gravity of the offense could vary greatly
according to the circumstances, especially the value of the object
stolen. Aggravated forms were treated as severely as homicide or
adultery, while the treatment of petty theft comes close to that of
minor harm (see below).
The standard penalty for simple theft was a multiple of the value
of the object stolen, but fixed sums are found as well. If the thief
failed to pay, it became a debt for which he could be taken into
debt bondage or sold into slavery, depending on the seriousness of
the offense and the policy of the legal system. A thief at Emar gave
his sister into slavery in place of himself (Emar 257).
Examples of aggravated theft were kidnapping of persons for sale
into slavery (and their purchase), theft from a temple, and using
fraudulent weights, all punishable by death. Where a multiple pay-
ment was imposed, the alternative for an aggravated offense was
death (e.g., fraudulent avoidance of a debt-release decree: AS 7). It
was thus the equivalent of fixed payment in lieu of revenge.
Two theft-related scholarly problems are found in several law
codes: the innocent receiver of stolen goods (LH 9–12; HL 57–70;(^65) Lafont, Femmes.. ., 237–88.
(^66) Westbrook, Studies.. ., 111–31.
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