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levels—from one to four thousand shekels or (less frequently) from one to
four hundred shekels. No rationale is evident for the lower rate, which does
not necessarily reflect the value of the property. It is possible that these
penalties reflect a guarantee of the buyer’s title by the authorities to whom
they are payable.- An atypical document, Emar 156, recording the sale of a house as between
brothers, provides for the continued residence of a widow (probably their
mother) for life and her support by the buyer.
7.1.1.3 Two special clauses found in tablets of both traditions are
the statement that the purchaser bought “like a stranger” (kì(ma)
nikari) and references to the fact that the purchase took place at a
time of war and famine (see 7.5 below).7.1.2 Slaves
Documents recording the purchase of slaves are styled from the
seller’s point of view.^70 Sale into slavery has been discussed above
(4.3.2). The only special feature from the point of view of the law
of sale is one instance of parents who sold their children, making
an imprint in clay of the children’s feet.^71 Documents recording the
sale of existing slaves have, apart from the operative clause, only a
warranty of title.^727.2 Loan
7.2.1 Terminology
Two basic formats from earlier Mesopotamian practice are found:
“A has received (Sum. “u ba.an.ti) silver/grain/etc. from B” (ASJ
13:33, 34; Ekalte 29; Emar 24—ma¢rati) or an acknowledgement
that the loan was owed (ana mu¢¢i) by the debtor (Emar 75; RE 72,
75; Ekalte 69). A third form is known from the neo-Assyrian period:
the borrower is said to have taken silver or barley “in exchange”
(ana pù¢i—Emar 119, 120). From the neo-Assyrian parallels, it wouldsales by the city is to Ba"laka or to Ba"laka and the city, but once to Ba"laka and
the palace (Ekalte 62) and once to the king, Ba"laka, and the city (Ekalte 7). In a
private sale, the penalty is to the “brothers” (Ekalte 50).(^70) Except Emar 224, a brief memorandum.
(^71) Emar 217–20. See Zaccagnini, “Feet of Clay...”
(^72) Emar 214; Dalley 5. Emar 211 contains a penalty on the slaves for denying
their status.
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