HAMMURABI.  An usurper king of Babylon, of Kassite origin.  He defeated Rimsin, king of Larsa, and erected a capital city at a place then called Dindur, the name of which he changed to Bab-ili, the "Gate of God," the Babylon of history.  He erected or rebuilt a great temple there, called Bit-saggal, to the god Merodach, and dug a great canal named Hammurabi-nuhusnishi, "Hammurabi the Delight of Men."  He then erected many great temples and a splendid palace, which was afterwards repeatedly restored by his successors on the throne of Babylon.  He also built a palace at Kilmed, near Bagdat, and a great tower to the deity Zamana near Hymer.  Hammurabi further embanked the river Tigris with a great wall, to restrain the inundations.  The length of his reign is not known. (An Archaic Dictionary, Cooper, 1876). 

    The name Hammurabi may be written in Babylonian either cha-mu ra bi or cha-am-mu-ra-bi.
    If we transcribe these syllables in Hebrew script, we would get either חָמֻרָבִ or חַמֻּרָבִ.
    The Biblical name is Amraphel or אַמְרָפֶל.
    A comparison shows that only two consonants are common to both names: mr = מר.
    The difficulties of this identification, then, consist in the equation of the Babylonian cham (חם) = Hebr. am (אם) and of the Babylonian bi (בִ) = Hebr. phel (פל).
    The name Hammurabi is in Babylonian a foreign name, for we have a syllabary in which it is explained by kimtu rapashtu, i.e., "the great or extended family."  The Babylonian scribes, then, saw in this name two elements, one meaning, "family," the other "great."  These two elements are chammu + rabi... (The Open Court, Carus, v.17, 1903)