Cuneiform law
Cuneiform law is generally classified separately from later Middle Eastern law, but has been viewed as a predecessor of Biblical and Jewish law. The communities of the Middle East that made use of cuneiform law were generally all in contact with one another, and developed similar cultures. Akkadian, a cuneiform language, was used throughout the entire area, and even as far as Egypt, for diplomatic communications during the Amarna Period.
As (cuneiform)
The cuneiform as sign, also aṣ, and az, is found in both the 14th century BC Amarna letters and the "Epic of Gilgamesh". As "as" and "az" in the Amarna letters it appears identical in form in both Amarna letters EA 365, and EA 362. In the photo of the bottom half of Amarna letter EA 365 (subject corvée farm work), it is used to name the workers as: LÚ-MEŠ-(plural)–ma-as-sà-meš-(plural), (amēlu-massu)