Source of Law in the Biblical 329 wife, and thus save her life and that of her adulterer (24). Biblical law provides only for death in such a case. Since value judgments are obviously subjective, it seems to me that this criterion cannot be used as the crucial distinguishing factor between the biblical and other ancient Near Eastern law. The distinction regarding the source of law between the Israelite and the cuneiform collections does, however, have far-reaching consequences with respect to the philosophical concepts, procedures and punish- ments in each legal system. 3. Fundamental attributes of biblical and cuneiform law a) Redressing of “Harm” One of the philosophical foundations of the cuneiform law is the aim of redressing the harm caused to another member of society. This is attained by pecuniary composition of the damage, with or without an additional fine. In occurrences that are prima facie inappropriate for compensation, such as rape or murder, the redress is accomplished through an equitable punishment, inflicting the same harm on the offender (25). In some cases it is the injured party who chooses between revenge and composition. It is thus the injured party who assesses, according to his or her own perception, what is the greater harm — the emotional grief, resolved by the act of revenge, or the economic loss caused by the killing of a working member of the family, compensated by a suitable payment (26). Both avenues have the identical philoso- phical motive of rectifying the harm endured by the injured party. There is no offence involved against a higher authority, the state or the gods (27), in the harm that was done, and the episode is conclusively settled after suitable redress. In some of the cuneiform rules there is a (24) LH 129. (25) For example, according to the Assyrian rule in MAL A 55, the father of an unmarried daughter who has been raped takes the wife of the fornicator and hands her over to be raped. If he has no wife, he must pay a “triple” indemnifi- cation to her father and marry the daughter, if the father wishes. (26) MAL 10 grants to the head of the household the choice to kill the murderer of a household member, or receive pecuniary compensation. (27) L.J. BORD, “La loi, le droit et la justice. Réflexions sur le droit cunéiforme et biblique, à propos de deux livres récents”, Bib 82 (2001) 100 states that in contrast to Rome, the Mesopotamian civilizations have not left any doctrinal opus of the law.