Really, I'm a good king! And here's proof…

The relief at the top of the stele of Hammurabi depicts the king standing before the god Shamash, the deity responsible for order and justice. Hammurabi is accountable to the gods in general and Shamash in particular to be a wise king as he establishes and maintains justice in the land. This practice of wisdom is the basis for his continued investiture (remember the symbols of investiture held by Shamash, signifying his right to designate Hammurabi as king). In the prologue and epilogue, Hammurabi recounts how he has been favored by the gods and installed by them and how he has maintained justice by means of the wisdom they have granted him. The 282 legal sayings are provided as evidence of his judicial wisdom—representing at times verdicts that have actually been handed down and at other times what the verdict would be if such a case were to come before the king. All are there to give evidence of his wisdom. All people (as well as the gods) should consider the stele as proof that Hammurabi is indeed a wise king. Judges would learn wisdom from this list, and people would be convinced that the king has been working tirelessly on their behalf to provide order for them.—Walton and Walton, The Lost World of the Torah, 35