familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures many biblical parallels will
occur.


When Anu the Sublime, king of the Anunaki, and Bel [god of the earth],
the Lord of Heaven and earth, who decreed the fate of the land, assigned
to Marduk [or Merodach, the great god of Babylon] the over-ruling son of
Ea [god of the waters], God of righteousness, dominion over earthly man,
and made him great among the Igigi, they called Babylon by his
illustrious name, made it great on earth, and founded an everlasting
kingdom in it [Babylon], whose foundations are laid so solidly as those
of heaven and earth; then Anu and Bel called by name me, Hammurabi, the
exalted prince, who feared God, to bring about the rule of righteousness
in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil-doers; so that the
strong should not harm the weak; so that I should rule over the
black-headed people like Shamash [the sun-god], and enlighten the land,
to further the well-being of mankind.

Hammurabi, the prince, called of Bel am I, making riches and increase,
enriching Nippur and Dur-ilu beyond compare, sublime patron of E-kur
[temple of Bel in Nippur, the seat of Bel's worship]; who reëstablished
Eridu and purified the worship of E-apsu [temple of Ea, at Eridu, the
chief seat of Ea's worship]; who conquered the four quarters of the
world, made great the name of Babylon, rejoiced the heart of Marduk, his
lord who daily pays his devotions in Saggil [Marduk's temple in
Babylon]; the royal scion whom Sin made; who enriched Ur [Abraham's
birthplace, the seat of the worship of Sin, the moon-god]; the humble,
the reverent, who brings wealth to Gish-shir-gal; the white king, heard
of Shamash, the mighty, who again laid the foundations of Sippana [seat
of worship of Shamash and his wife, Malkat]; who clothed the gravestones