In Egypt, see, for example, The Instruction of Amen-emOpet, XVII: 18–22, “Tamper not with the scales, nor falsify the kite-weights, nor diminish the fractions of the corn measure…. Do not lean on the scales nor falsify the weights”; compare XVIII:4–XIX:3.25 It is also very prevalent in Mesopotamian texts.26 ■ 6* These unscrupulous traders in grain also trade in human traffic: “Buying the poor for silver, the needy for a perquisite.” Although the expression has already appeared in 2:6*, this
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