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be treated as a thief if he does not report it to the authorities.^136 A
complicated case reported in a letter (Assur 3 no. 1) illustrates this
rule: one Abî-ilî tracks down some lost oxen, which he finds in the
hands of their herdsman. He incarcerates him along with the ani-
mals, then delivers them to Adad-uballi†. The latter, however, seems
to have pledged the thief and the oxen to a third party. The writer
complains that he has had to bear responsibility for this unautho-
rized disposal by another.^137
An owner’s right to trace his property into the hands of whoever
was in possession may possibly have been recognized in Assyrian
law.^138 This conclusion is based on the reconstruction of the very
damaged MAL C+G 6. It seems that the owner had the right to
seize the object, at least from a possessor in good faith, for exam-
ple, if it had been sold by someone other than the owner (MAL
C+G 4) or if the stolen property had been handed over by a wife
(MAL A 6). The receiver is presumed to be in bad faith when goods
are deposited with him by someone lacking legal capacity (wife, son,
slave) and he does not alert the owner (MAL C+G 9).8.3 Adultery
8.3.1 A married woman who has sexual relations with a man other
than her husband is put to death. Her paramour suffers the same
fate if he knew that she was married (MAL A 13 and 15). If he did
not, he is innocent (MAL A 14). Where both are caught by the hus-
band in flagrante delicto, they may be executed after a public trial
in the absence of the husband (MAL A 15:41–46),^139 or judged and
punished in a trial conducted by the husband himself to establish
the guilt of the paramour (MAL A 15:47ff.). The guilty couple are
treated with strict equality: they receive the same punishment or are(^136) Cardascia, Lois.. ., 75, for whom MAL C+G 6 concerns loss of property.
(^137) Ll. 17–23: “Question Adad-uballi†at A““ur. (He will say:) ‘(I swear) that I
gave the thief as a pledge to A““ur-apla-iddin.’ They wish to charge me with the
crime with which he is charged” (pu-u’-ti.la/ i-nauru.“à.uru “a-’a-al/ “um-ma sa-ra a-
na qa-ta-te/a-napda-“ur-IBILA-SÌ-na at-ta-din/ sa-ar-ta “a am-me-a/ a-na e-ma-di-ni a-
na ia-a-“i/ li-me-du-un-ni). For the meaning of ll. 21–23, cf. Freydank, “Anmerkungen...
2,” 229–30 and n. 2.
(^138) Contra Cardascia, Lois.. ., 74–75, 305–6, but his conclusion is based on a
reconstruction of the very damaged MAL C+G 6.
(^139) Lafont, Femmes.. ., 71–72.
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