Abraham was considered to be a contemporary or near-contemporary of Hammurabi, the great king of the First Dynasty of Babylon.
Hammurabi to 2356–2301
Abraham including the use of the popular date of 1446 for the Exodus and 645 years between Abraham and the Exodus. Using this method one will date Abraham’s 75th year in the year 2091 during the Ur III period.
date of 1491 for the Exodus and 645 years Abraham would have entered Canaan in the year 2136 during the reign of the Gutium.
Abraham lived during Ur III or Isin-Larsa
One of the biggest pieces of evidence used for dating Abraham to the Isin-Larsa period is the fact that Abraham fought a coalition of four kings from the East during a period when each city-state had its own ruling dynasty of kings (see Genesis 14).
King Hammurabi of Babylonia
King Hammurabi was the great ruler of Babylonia credited with the famous law code named Code of Laws. He was the sixth king of the first Babylonian dynasty. It is thought that he ruled for 55 years but the period of time he reigned as king is still debatable. But he supposedly reigned during the time the nations of Sumer and Akkad were ruled by the kingdom of Elam.
Hammurabi was credited with the Code of Laws which was thought to be the first and oldest code of law. It was found in the old capital city of Elam, Susa.
He was also credited for establishing the Babylonia as a united kingdom and built its capital city at Babylon.
King Amraphel associated with other names
King Amraphel of Shinar was usually connected to King Hammurabi of Babylonia. Babylonia was a divided kingdom. It was ruled by two kings. Aside from King Amraphel ruling Shinar, there was King Arioch heading Ellasar. The two leaders recognized the dominance of the King of Elam.
It is presently acknowledged by the majority of the Biblical scholars and theologians that King Hammurabi and King Amraphel was one person. This assumption was first asserted by Schrader. Though the names of the two matched phonetically, this assumption is still subject for further clarifications.
There were also speculations that King Amraphel is Khammu-rabi who united the two kingdoms of Babylonia under his leadership after he won the battle against Arioch. He founded his capital at the city of Babylon.
Shinar and Babylonia
Shinar was also a nation associated with Babylonia. It is written a number of times in the Bible under the Old Testament. It was the spot where the shrine for a woman named Wickedness was constructed. The infamousTower of Babel was also constructed from the bitumen gotten from the sea of Shinar. And after the Great Flood, it was where the survivor families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth went after they first settled in uplands of Armenia. Shinar was an area situated in Mesopotamia with no definite boundaries.
Babylonia was an old kingdom located at the central-southern of Mesopotamia where the modern day Iraq is presently found. Its capital city was Babylon founded by King Hammurabi after he defeated the Akkadian Empire. The oldest account relating to Babylon was written in a tablet during the time of the Akkadian Sargon. It is thought to be dated from the 13th century BC.
When Hammurabi turned eighteen years old, his father became very sick. Soon his father died and young Hammurabi was crowned king of the city-state of Babylon. At this time, Babylon was a fairly small kingdom. There were many other larger kingdoms surrounding Babylon including Assyria, Mari, Larsa, and Eshnunna. It was now Hammurabi's job to keep the city safe and help it to prosper. This may sound like a daunting task for an eighteen year-old, but Hammurabi was not scared. He was confident he could lead and he had a plan.
Improving Babylon For the first several years of Hammurabi's reign, he concentrated on improving the city of Babylon. Hammurabi knew he needed peace to make these improvements so he established treaties with the most powerful nations in Mesopotamia. Once he felt the city was safe, he went to work. Hammurabi worked to improve the defenses and infrastructure of the city. He strengthened the city walls, improved the city's irrigation system, and built new temples to the gods. The city became prosperous and grew in power.
War After several years of building, Hammurabi's peace came to an end. The powerful kingdom of Elam invaded Mesopotamia and conquered the kingdom of Eshnunna. The city of Babylon was next in their path. Hammurabi called on his ally of Larsa to help and then he gathered his army to fight the Elamites. Hammurabi and his army faced the Elamites. He expected an army from Larsa to arrive, but it never did. However, Hammurabi had done a good job in preparing Babylon for battle. His army crushed the Elamites.
Founding an Empire After defeating the Elamites, Hammurabi turned his attention to his former ally Larsa. He was not happy that they had betrayed him. He invaded Larsa and took control of their cities. He then turned his army to the north and began conquering more cities and nations. Soon Hammurabi controlled all of Mesopotamia. He had established the first Babylonian Empire and was king of "the four quarters of the world."
KINGS OF THE NORTH
When Hammurabi turned eighteen years old, his father became very sick. Soon his father died and young Hammurabi was crowned king of the city-state of Babylon. At this time, Babylon was a fairly small kingdom. There were many other larger kingdoms surrounding Babylon including Assyria, Mari, Larsa, and Eshnunna. It was now Hammurabi's job to keep the city safe and help it to prosper. This may sound like a daunting task for an eighteen year-old, but Hammurabi was not scared. He was confident he could lead and he had a plan.
Improving Babylon For the first several years of Hammurabi's reign, he concentrated on improving the city of Babylon. Hammurabi knew he needed peace to make these improvements so he established treaties with the most powerful nations in Mesopotamia. Once he felt the city was safe, he went to work. Hammurabi worked to improve the defenses and infrastructure of the city. He strengthened the city walls, improved the city's irrigation system, and built new temples to the gods. The city became prosperous and grew in power.
War After several years of building, Hammurabi's peace came to an end. The powerful kingdom of Elam invaded Mesopotamia and conquered the kingdom of Eshnunna. The city of Babylon was next in their path. Hammurabi called on his ally of Larsa to help and then he gathered his army to fight the Elamites. Hammurabi and his army faced the Elamites. He expected an army from Larsa to arrive, but it never did. However, Hammurabi had done a good job in preparing Babylon for battle. His army crushed the Elamites.
Founding an Empire After defeating the Elamites, Hammurabi turned his attention to his former ally Larsa. He was not happy that they had betrayed him. He invaded Larsa and took control of their cities. He then turned his army to the north and began conquering more cities and nations. Soon Hammurabi controlled all of Mesopotamia. He had established the first Babylonian Empire and was king of "the four quarters of the world."
KINGS OF THE NORTH
Genesis Chapter XIV
1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;
2 (K) That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboim, and the king of Belah, which is Zoar.
3 All these joined forces together in the valley of Siddim, which is the Sea of Salt.
4 Twelve years they served Kedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5 And in the fourteenth year came Kedorlaomer, and the kings who were with him, and defeated the Raphaim in Ashteroth-Karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-Kiriatayim,
6 And the Horites in their Mount Seir, to Elparan, which is by the wilderness.
7 And they returned, and came to Ein-Mishpat, which is Kadesh, and struck all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in Hazezon-Tamar.
8 (K) And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboim, and the king of Belah, the same is Zoar, and they joined battle with them in the valley of Siddim;
9 With Kedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.
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