THE KING-JUDGE: ANCIENT LAW

 Seat of Honor/Judgement at the gate of Dan

The king or governor of a city-state was responsible for administrating the laws. These laws were often spelt out for the populace on stone steles, so that anyone who was literate could read them. The Stele of Hammurabi, for example, detailed the laws of Hammurabi's empire.

Like the Ten Commandments, Hammurabi's Code was said to have come from a divine source, in this case Shamash the sun-god. It lists the laws first, then gives details of punishments for transgressions.

Like the Ten Commandments, the Code is not a complete system of law, but it covers a wide range of subjects, giving us an idea of the structure of society at the time.

THE DEATH PENALTY

The death penalty was common, used not only for such crimes as murder, rape and desertion in military service, but also for a wife's flagrant extravagance or, a serious crime indeed, watering down beer.

Trial by ordeal was used, but only as a last resort, when both parties seemed to be lying under oath.

Justice was administered in public, for all to see. This was the reason for the Seat of Honor found at the gates of Dan. Here a governor or petty king heard cases and judged them, with due ceremony.

The illustration below is Egyptian. Though more lavish than the Seat of Honor would have been in a provincial city like Dan, it gives some idea of the structure that once stood on the four carved stones found at the entrance of Dan. 

Egyptian ceremonial throne and canopy

The Code of Hammurabi
Hammurabi stands before the sun-god Shamash, receiving the laws

For more on the laws of ancient Israel, see 'The Stone Tablets of Moses'