§ 273. If a man hires a field-laborer from the beginning of the year until the fifth month, he shall pay him 6 _She_ of silver per day; from the sixth month to the end of the year, 5 _She_ of silver per day he shall pay. § 274. If a man hires an artisan, he shall give per day as the wages of a ..... 5 _She_; as the wages of a brick-maker, 5 _She_ of money; as the wages of a tailor, 5 _She_ of silver; as the wages of a stone-cutter, ...... _She_ of silver; ............ _She_ of silver; ............ _She_ of silver; ............ of a carpenter, 4 _She_ of silver; as the wages of a ...... 4 _She_ of silver; as the wages of a ...... _She_ of silver; the wages of a builder, ...... _She_ of silver. § 275. If a man hires a boat (?) to go upstream (?), its hire is 3 _She_ of silver per day. § 276. If he hires a boat to float downstream, he shall pay as its hire 2½ _She_ of silver per day. § 277. If a man hires a boat of 60 _Gur_ burden, he shall pay ⅙ of a shekel of money per day. There are no parallels to these laws in the Bible, as the Old Testament does not attempt to regulate prices. When one considers the customs of trade all over the Orient, and the time fruitlessly consumed in making bargains, one does not wonder that the practical sovereign of a great commercial people, such as the Babylonians were, should regulate prices by law. As a rule, to this day, a purchaser begins by offering only a fraction of what he is willing to give, and the seller by asking at least twice as much as he is willing to take. A long psychological battle follows, during which there are many victories and capitulations on each side. This law was designed to put an end to this time-consuming custom. When the Sales of Slaves are Void § 278. If a man buys a male or a female slave and before a month is past he has an attack of rheumatism (?), he shall return to the seller, and the purchaser shall receive back the money that was paid. § 279. If a man buys a male or a female slave, and another has a legal claim upon him, the seller shall be responsible for that claim. § 280. If a man, while in a foreign country, purchases a male or a female slave of a man, and, when he returns home, the former owner of the male or the female slave recognizes his slave, if that male or female slave is a native of the land, he shall give it its freedom without recompense. § 281. If they are natives of another country, the purchaser shall declare in the presence of a god the price that he paid, and the former owner of the male or female slave shall pay the price to the merchant, and shall receive back his slave. No laws similar to these are found in the Old Testament. The Penalty for Renouncing a Master § 282. If a slave shall say to his owner: “Thou art not my owner,” they shall make him submit as his slave, and shall cut off his ear.