Question:  My counselor in History said "Hammurabi wrote the 10 Commandments."  Is this true?  I Thought Moses did?

Answer:

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant -the Ten Commandments. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant. (NIV)

Historical facts: Before Israel, there were other people who lived by laws. There are several ancient law codes that are dated earlier than the time of Moses. When you compare these ancient laws to the Old Testament laws, you will notice the advancement and progress of the Mosaic Law from other ancient law codes. One area of progress is on the way it deals with the life and value of human beings. One example is the famous 'Law Code of Hammurabi.' Hammurabi was a Babylonian king that enacted these sets of laws in 1726 B.C. It is true that Hammurabi 'wrote' laws or commandments for people to follow in his kingdom but to say that he also wrote the 10 commandments is not true and it is deceiving.