interested in the highest welfare of his
people, and persistently laboring for the improvement of their
conditions. The Bible student has a special interest in Hammurabi,
however, because in all {189} probability he is no other than the
Amraphel of Gen. 14. 1.

The monument on which the code is engraved was found during the winter
1901-1902 by a French excavator in the acropolis of Susa, the scene of
the book of Esther. It is a block of black diorite, about eight feet
in height. When found it was in three pieces, which, however, were
easily joined. On the obverse is a bas relief representing the king as
receiving the ruler's staff and ring from the sun-god Shamash, "the
judge of heaven and earth." Then follow on the obverse sixteen columns
of writing, containing 1,114 lines. There were five more columns on
this side, but they were erased and the stone repolished, probably by
the Elamite conqueror who carried the monument to Susa. On the reverse
are twenty-eight columns with more than 2,500 lines of inscription.
The English Assyriologist, C. H. W. Johns, estimates that originally
the inscription contained forty-nine columns, 4,000 lines, and about
8,000 words. About 800 lines are taken up by the prologue and
epilogue, setting forth the king's titles, his glory, the extent of his
rule, his care for his subjects, and devotion to his gods. The
inscription opens with a statement of his call by the gods to be the
ruler of Babylon: "When the lofty Anu, king of the Anunaki, and Bel,
lord of heaven and earth, he who determines the destiny {190} of the
land, committed the rule of all mankind to Marduk, the chief son of Ea;
when they made him great among the Igigi; when they pronounced the
lofty name of Babylon, when they made it famous among the quarters of
the world, and in its midst established an everlasting kingdom, whose
foundations were firm as heaven and earth--at that time, Ami and Bel
called me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, the worshiper of the gods, to
cause justice to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and the
evil, to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak, to go forth like
the sun over the blackhead race, to enlighten the land and to further
the welfare of the people."

According to the closing statement of the prologue he faithfully
executed this commission: "When Marduk sent me to rule the people and
to bring help to the country, I established law and justice in the land
and promoted the w