The Role of Legal Texts in Mesopotamian Scribal Education
Mesopotamian scribal education in the Old Babylonian (OB) period included exposure to a wide range of legal-oriented texts, including sample or “model contracts,” “model cases” (or fictional cases), legal phrasebooks, and short series of laws. Although not all of these texts had immediate application, a number of them had ties to law on the ground. Sumerian model contracts, the fictional cases, and legal phrasebooks all include contractual clauses that mirror those used in actual OB contracts. The student exercise known as Laws about Rented Oxen likewise exhibits parallels with actual contracts of hire. When this diverse content is examined as a whole, it becomes apparent that the legal-pedagogical texts reflect a cultural matrix unto themselves, with copious cross-references and abundant links to law beyond the educational sphere. This legal-pedagogical content provides a crucial foundation for the reassessment of the origins of biblical law.