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diff --git a/38732.txt b/38732.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..eca7ef5 --- /dev/null +++ b/38732.txt @@ -0,0 +1,24505 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Old Testament In the Light of The +Historical Records and Legends of Assyria and Babylonia by Theophilus +Goldridge Pinches + + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no +restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under +the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or +online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license + + + +Title: The Old Testament In the Light of The Historical Records and Legends + of Assyria and Babylonia + +Author: Theophilus Goldridge Pinches + +Release Date: January 31, 2012 [Ebook #38732] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: US-ASCII + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE OLD TESTAMENT IN THE LIGHT OF THE HISTORICAL RECORDS AND LEGENDS OF ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA*** + + + + + + The Old Testament + + In the Light of + + The Historical Records and Legends + + of Assyria and Babylonia + + By + + Theophilus G. Pinches + + LL.D., M.R.A.S. + + Published under the direction of the Tract Committee + + Third Edition--Revised, With Appendices and Notes + + London: + + Society For Promoting Christian Knowledge + + 1908 + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +Foreword +Chapter I. The Early Traditions Of The Creation. +Chapter II. The History, As Given In The Bible, From The Creation To The +Flood. +Chapter III. The Flood. + Appendix. The Second Version Of The Flood-Story. +Chapter IV. Assyria, Babylonia, And The Hebrews, With Reference To The +So-Called Genealogical Table. + The Tower Of Babel. + The Patriarchs To Abraham. +Chapter V. Babylonia At The Time Of Abraham. + The Religious Element. + The King. + The People. + "Year of Samas and Rimmon." +Chapter VI. Abraham. + Salem. +Chapter VII. Isaac, Jacob, And Joseph. +Chapter VIII. The Tel-El-Amarna Tablets And The Exodus. +Chapter IX. The Nations With Whom The Israelites Came Into Contact. + Amorites. + Hittites. + Jebusites. + Girgashites. + Moabites. +Chapter X. Contact Of The Hebrews With The Assyrians. + Sennacherib. + Esarhaddon. + Assur-Bani-Apli. +Chapter XI. Contact Of The Hebrews With The Later Babylonians. +Chapter XII. Life At Babylon During The Captivity, With Some Reference To +The Jews. +Chapter XIII. The Decline Of Babylon. +Appendix. The Stele Inscribed With The Laws Of Hammurabi. +Appendix To The Third Edition. +Notes And Additions. +Index. +Footnotes + + + + + + + [Plate I.] + + Bas-relief and inscription of Hammurabi, generally regarded as the + Biblical Amraphel (Gen. xiv. 1), apparently dedicated for the saving of +his life. In this he bears the title (incomplete) of "King of Amoria" (the +Amorites), _lugal Mar[tu]_, Semitic Babylonian _sar mat Amurri_ (see page + 315). + + +"There is a charm in finding ourselves, our common humanity, our puzzles, +our cares, our joys, in the writings of men severed from us by race, +religion, speech, and half the gulf of historical time, which no other +literary pleasure can equal."--ANDREW LANG. + + + + + +FOREWORD + + +The present work, being merely a record of things for the most part well +known to students and others, cannot, on that account, contain much that +is new. All that has been aimed at is, to bring together as many of the +old discoveries as possible in a new dress. + +It has been thought well to let the records tell their story as far as +possible in their own way, by the introduction of translations, thus +breaking the monotony of the narrative, and also infusing into it an +element of local colour calculated to bring the reader into touch, as it +were, with the thoughts and feelings of the nations with whom the records +originated. Bearing, as it does, upon the life, history, and legends of +the ancient nations of which it treats, controversial matter has been +avoided, and the higher criticism left altogether aside. + +Assyriology (as the study of the literature and antiquities of the +Babylonians and Assyrians is called) being a study still in the course of +development, improvements in the renderings of the inscriptions will +doubtless from time to time be made, and before many months have passed, +things now obscure may have new light thrown upon them, necessitating the +revision of such portions as may be affected thereby. It is intended to +utilize in future editions any new discoveries which may come to light, +and every effort will be made to keep the book up to date. + +For shortcomings, whether in the text or in the translations, the author +craves the indulgence of the reader, merely pleading the difficult and +exacting nature of the study, and the lengthy chronological period to +which the book refers. + +A little explanation is probably needful upon the question of +pronunciation. The vowels in Assyro-Babylonian should be uttered as in +Italian or German. _H_ is a strong guttural like the Scotch _ch_ in +"loch"; _m_ had sometimes the pronunciation of _w_, as in Tiamtu (= +Tiawthu), so that the spelling of some of the words containing that letter +may later have to be modified. The pronunciation of _s_ and _s_ is +doubtful, but Assyriologists generally (and probably wrongly) give the +sound of _s_ to the former and _sh_ to the latter. _T_ was often +pronounced as _th_, and probably always had that sound in the feminine +endings _-tu_, _-ti_, _-ta_, or _at_, so that Tiamtu, for instance, may be +pronounced Tiawthu, Tukulti-apil-Esarra (Tiglath-pileser), +Tukulthi-apil-Esarra, etc., etc., and in such words as _qata_, "the +hands," _sumati_, "names," and many others, this was probably always the +case. In the names Abil-Addu-nathanu and Nathanu-yawa this transcription +has been adopted, and may be regarded as correct. _P_ was likewise often +aspirated, assuming the sound of _ph_ or _f_, and _k_ assumed, at least in +later times, a sound similar to _h (kh)_, whilst _b_ seems sometimes to +have been pronounced as _v_. _G_ was, to all appearance, never soft, as in +_gem_, but may sometimes have been aspirated. Each member of the group +_ph_ is pronounced separately. _T_ is an emphatic _t_, stronger than in +the word "time." A terminal _m_ represents the _mimmation_, which, in +later times, though written, was not pronounced. + + + The second edition, issued in 1903, was revised and brought up to + date, and a translation of the Laws of Hammurabi, with notes, and + a summary of Delitzsch's _Babel und Bibel_, were appended. For the + third edition the work has again been revised, with the help of + the recently-issued works of King, Sayce, Scheil, Winckler, and + others. At the time of going to press, the author was unable to + consult Knudtzon's new edition of the Tel-el-Amarna tablets beyond + his No. 228, but wherever it was available, improvements in the + translations were made. In addition to revision, the Appendix has + been supplemented by paragraphs upon the discoveries at + Boghaz-Keui, a mutilated letter from a personage named Belshazzar, + and translations of the papyri referring to the Jewish temple at + Elephantine. + + New material may still be expected from the excavations in + progress at Babylon, Susa, Hattu, and various other sites in the + nearer East. + + +THEOPHILUS G. PINCHES. + + + + + +CHAPTER I. THE EARLY TRADITIONS OF THE CREATION. + + + The Hebrew account--Its principal points--The Babylonian account--The + story of the Creation properly so called--The version given by the + Greek authors--Comparison of the Hebrew and the Greek accounts--The + likenesses--The differences--Bel and the Dragon--The + epilogue--Sidelights (notes upon the religion of the Babylonians). + + + + +To find out how the world was made, or rather, to give forth a theory +accounting for its origin and continued existence, is one of the subjects +that has attracted the attention of thinking minds among all nations +having any pretension to civilization. It was, therefore, to be expected +that the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians, far advanced in civilization +as they were at an exceedingly early date, should have formed opinions +thereupon, and placed them on record as soon as those opinions were +matured, and the art of writing had been perfected sufficiently to enable +a serviceable account to be composed. + +This, naturally, did not take place all at once. We may take it for +granted that the history of the Creation grew piece by piece, as different +minds thought over and elaborated it. The first theories we should expect +to find more or less improbable--wild stories of serpents and gods, +emblematic of the conflicting powers of good and evil, which, with them, +had their origin before the advent of mankind upon the earth. + +But all men would not have the same opinion of the way in which the +universe came into existence, and this would give rise, as really happened +in Babylonia, to conflicting accounts or theories, the later ones less +improbable than, and therefore superior to, the earlier. The earlier +Creation-legend, being a sort of heroic poem, would remain popular with +the common people, who always love stories of heroes and mighty conflicts, +such as those in which the Babylonians and Assyrians to the latest times +delighted, and of which the Semitic Babylonian Creation-story consists. + +As the ages passed by, and the newer theories grew up, the older popular +ones would be elaborated, and new ideas from the later theories of the +Creation would be incorporated, whilst, at the same time, mystical +meanings would be given to the events recorded in the earlier legends to +make them fit in with the newer ones. This having been done, the scribes +could appeal at the same time to both ignorant and learned, explaining how +the crude legends of the past were but a type of the doctrines put forward +by the philosophers of later and more enlightened days, bringing within +the range of the intellect of the unlearned all those things in which the +more thoughtful spirits also believed. By this means an enlightened +monotheism and the grossest polytheism could, and did, exist side by side, +as well as clever and reasonable cosmologies along with the strangest and +wildest legends. + +Thus it is that we have from the literature of two closely allied peoples, +the Babylonians and the Hebrews, accounts of the Creation of the world so +widely differing, and, at the same time, possessing, here and there, +certain ideas in common--ideas darkly veiled in the old Babylonian story, +but clearly expressed in the comparatively late Hebrew account. + +It must not be thought, however, that the above theory as to the origin of +the Hebrew Creation-story interferes in any way with the doctrine of its +inspiration. We are not bound to accept the opinion so generally held by +theologians, that the days of creation referred to in Genesis i. probably +indicate that each act of creation--each day--was revealed in seven +successive dreams, in order, to the inspired writer of the book. The +opinion held by other theologians, that "inspiration" simply means that +the writer was moved by the Spirit of God to choose from documents already +existing such portions as would serve for our enlightenment and +instruction, adding, at the same time, such additions of his own as he was +led to think to be needful, may be held to be a satisfactory definition of +the term in question. + +Without, therefore, binding ourselves down to any hard and fast line as to +date, we may regard, for the purposes of this inquiry, the Hebrew account +of the Creation as one of the traditions handed down in the thought of +many minds extending over many centuries, and as having been chosen and +elaborated by the inspired writer of Genesis for the purpose of his +narrative, the object of which was to set forth the origin of man and the +Hebrew nation, to which he belonged, and whose history he was about to +narrate in detail. + +The Hebrew story of the Creation, as detailed in Genesis i., may be +regarded as one of the most remarkable documents ever produced. It must +not be forgotten, however, that it is a document that is essentially +Hebrew. For the author of this book the language of God and of the first +man was Hebrew--a literary language, showing much phonetic decay. The +retention of this matter (its omission not being essential at the period +of the composition of the book) is probably due, in part, to the natural +patriotism of the writer, overruling what ought to have been his inspired +common-sense. How this is to be explained it is not the intention of the +writer of this book to inquire, the account of the Creation and its +parallels being the subject in hand at present. + +The question of language apart, the account of the Creation in Genesis is +in the highest degree a common-sense one. The creation of (1) the heaven, +and (2) the earth; the darkness--not upon the face of the earth, but upon +the face of the deep. Then the expansion dividing the waters above from +the waters below on the earth. In the midst of this waste of waters dry +land afterwards appears, followed by the growth of vegetation. But the sun +and the moon had not yet been appointed, nor the stars, all of which come +into being at this point. Last of all are introduced the living things of +the earth--fish, and bird, and creeping thing, followed by the animals, +and, finally, by man. + +It is noteworthy and interesting that, in this account, the acts of +creation are divided into seven periods, each of which is called a "day," +and begins, like the natural day in the time-reckoning of the Semitic +nations, with the evening--"and it was evening, and it was morning, day +one." It describes what the heavenly bodies were for--they were not only to +give light upon the earth--they were also for signs, for seasons, for days, +and for years. + +And then, concerning man, a very circumstantial account is given. He was +to have dominion over everything upon the earth--the fish of the sea, the +fowl of the air, the cattle, and every creeping thing. All was given to +him, and he, like the creatures made before him, was told to "be fruitful, +and multiply, and replenish the earth." It is with this crowning work of +creation that the first chapter of the Book of Genesis ends. + +The second chapter refers to the seventh day--the day of rest, and is +followed by further details of the creation, the central figure of which +is the last thing created, namely, man. This chapter reads, in part, like +a recapitulation of the first, but contains many additional details. "No +plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb ... had sprung up: +for the Lord God had not caused it to rain ..., and there was not a man to +till the ground." A mist, therefore, went up from the earth, and watered +all the face of the ground. Then, to till the earth, man was formed from +the dust of the ground, and the Lord God "breathed into his nostrils the +breath of life, and man became a living soul." + +The newly-created man was, at this time, innocent, and was therefore to be +placed by his Creator in a garden of delight, named Eden, and this garden +he was to dress and keep. A hidden danger, however, lay in this pleasant +retreat--the tree of knowledge of good and evil, of which he was forbidden +to eat, but which was to form for him a constant temptation, for ever +testing his obedience. All might have been well, to all appearance, but +for the creation of woman, who, giving way to the blandishments of the +tempter, in her turn tempted the man, and he fell. Death in the course of +nature was the penalty, the earthly paradise was lost, and all chance of +eating of the tree of life, and living for ever, disappeared on man's +expulsion from his first abode of delight. + +In the course of this narrative interesting details are given--the four +rivers, the country through which they flowed, and their precious mineral +products; the naming of the various animals by the man; the forming of +woman from one of his ribs; the institution of marriage, etc. + +Such is, in short, the story of the Creation as told in the Bible, and it +is this that we have to compare with the now well-known parallel accounts +current among the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians. And here may be noted +at the outset that, though we shall find some parallels, we shall, in the +course of our comparison, find a far greater number of differences, for +not only were they produced in a different land, by a different people, +but they were also produced under different conditions. Thus, Babylonian +polytheism takes the place of the severe and uncompromising monotheism of +the Hebrew account in Genesis; Eden was, to the Babylonians, their own +native land, not a country situated at a remote distance; and, lastly, but +not least, their language, thoughts, and feelings differed widely from +those of the dwellers in the Holy Land. + +The Babylonian story of the Creation is a narrative of great interest to +all who occupy themselves with the study of ancient legends and folklore. +It introduces us not only to exceedingly ancient beliefs concerning the +origin of the world on which we live, but it tells us also of the +religion, or, rather, the religious beliefs, of the Babylonians, and +enables us to see something of the changes which those beliefs underwent +before adopting the form in which we find them at the time this record was +composed. + +A great deal has been written about the Babylonian story of the Creation. +As is well known, the first translation of these documents was by him who +first discovered their nature, the late George Smith, who gave them to the +world in his well-known book, _The Chaldean Account of Genesis_, in 1875. +Since that time numerous other translations have appeared, not only in +England, but also on the Continent. Among those who have taken part in the +work of studying and translating these texts may be named Profs. Sayce, +Oppert, Hommel, and Delitzsch, the last-named having both edited the first +edition of Smith's book (the first issued on this subject on the +Continent), and published one of the last and most complete editions of +the whole legend yet placed before the public. To Prof. Sayce, as well as +to Prof. Hommel, belongs the honour of many brilliant suggestions as to +the tendency of the texts of the creation as a whole: Prof. Oppert was the +first to point out that the last tablet of the series was not, as Smith +thought, an "Address to primitive man," but an address to the god Merodach +as the restorer of order out of chaos; whilst Delitzsch has perhaps (being +almost the last to write upon it) improved the translation more than many +of his predecessors in the work. + +Before proceeding to deal with the legend itself, a few remarks upon the +tablets and the text that they bear will probably not be considered out of +place. There are, in all likelihood, but few who have not seen in the +British Museum or elsewhere those yellow baked terra-cotta tablets of +various sizes and shapes, upon which the Babylonians and Assyrians were +accustomed to write their records. And well it is for the science of +Assyriology that they used this exceedingly durable material. I have said +that the tablets are yellow in colour, and this is generally the case, but +the tint varies greatly, and may approach dark grey or black, and even +appear as a very good sage-green. The smaller tablets are often +cushion-shaped, but, with some few exceptions, they are rectangular, like +those of larger size. The writing varies so considerably that the hand of +the various scribes can sometimes be distinguished. In the best class of +tablets every tenth line is often numbered--a proof that the Assyrians and +Babylonians were very careful with the documents with which they had to +deal. The Babylonian tablets closely resemble the Assyrian, but the style +of the writing differs somewhat, and it is, in general, more difficult to +read than the Assyrian. None of the tablets of the Creation-series are, +unfortunately, perfect, and many of the fragments are mere scraps, but as +more than one copy of each anciently existed, and has survived, the +wanting parts of one text can often be supplied from another copy. That +copies come from Babylon as well as from Nineveh is a very fortunate +circumstance, as our records are rendered more complete thereby. + +Of the obverse of the first tablet very little, unfortunately, remains, +but what there is extant is of the highest interest. Luckily, we have the +beginning of this remarkable legend, which runs, according to the latest +and best commentaries, as follows-- + + + "When on high the heavens were unnamed, + Beneath the earth bore not a name: + The primaeval ocean was their producer; + Mummu Tiamtu was she who begot the whole of them. + Their waters in one united themselves, and + The plains were not outlined, marshes were not to be seen. + When none of the gods had come forth, + They bore no name, the fates [had not been determined]. + There were produced the gods [all of them?]: + Lahmu and Lahamu went forth [as the first?]: + The ages were great, [the times were long?]. + Ansar and Kisar were produced and over th[em].... + Long grew the days; there came forth (?)... + The god Anu, their son..... + Ansar, the god Anu......" + + +Such is the tenor of the opening lines of the Babylonian story of the +Creation, and the differences between the two accounts are striking +enough. Before proceeding, however, to examine and compare them, a few +words upon the Babylonian version may not be without value. + +First we must note that the above introduction to the legend has been +excellently explained and commented upon by the Syrian writer Damascius. +The following is his explanation of the Babylonian teaching concerning the +creation of the world-- + +"But the Babylonians, like the rest of the Barbarians, pass over in +silence the one principle of the Universe, and they constitute two, Tauthe +and Apason, making Apason the husband of Tauthe, and denominating her the +mother of the gods. And from these proceeds an only-begotten son, Moumis, +which, I conceive, is no other than the intelligible world proceeding from +the two principles. From them, also, another progeny is derived, Dache and +Dachos; and again a third, Kissare and Assoros, from which last three +others proceed, Anos, and Illinos, and Aos. And of Aos and Dauke is born a +son called Belos, who, they say, is the fabricator of the world, the +Creator." + +The likeness of the names given in this extract from Damascius will be +noticed, and will probably also be recognized as a valuable verification +of the certainty now attained by Assyriologists in the reading of the +proper names. In Tiamtu, or, rather, Tiawthu, will be easily recognized +the Tauthe of Damascius, whose son, as appears from a later fragment, was +called Mummu (= Moumis). Apason he gives as the husband of Tauthe, but of +this we know nothing from the Babylonian tablet, which, however, speaks of +this Apason (_apsu_, "the abyss"), which corresponds with the "primaeval +ocean" of the Babylonian tablet. + +In Dache and Dachos it is easy to see that there has been a confusion +between Greek {~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER LAMDA~} and {~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER DELTA~}, which so closely resemble each other. Dache and +Dachos should, therefore, be corrected into Lache and Lachos, the Lahmu +and Lahamu (better Lahwu and Lahawu) of the Babylonian text. They were the +male and female personifications of the heavens. Ansar and Kisar are the +Greek author's Assoros and Kisare, the "Host of Heaven" and the "Host of +Earth" respectively. The three proceeding from them, Anos, Illinos, and +Aos, are the well-known Anu, the god of the heavens; Illil, for En-lila, +the Sumerian god of the earth and the Underworld; and Aa or Ea, the god of +the waters, who seems to have been identified by some with Yau or Jah. Aa +or Ea was the husband of Damkina, or Dawkina, the Dauke of Damascius, from +whom, as he says, Belos, _i.e._ Bel-Merodach, was born, and if he did not +"fabricate the world," at least he ordered it anew, after his great fight +with the Dragon of Chaos, as we shall see when we come to the third tablet +of the series. + +After the lines printed above the text is rather defective, but it would +seem that the god Nudimmud (Ae or Ea), "the wise and open of ear," next +came into existence. A comparison is then apparently made between these +deities on the one hand, and Tiamtu, Apsu, and Mummu on the other--to the +disadvantage of the latter. On Apsu complaining that he had no peace by +day nor rest by night on account of the ways of the gods, their sons, it +was at last determined to make war upon them. + + + "They have become hostile, and at the side of Tiamtu they advance, + Storming, planning, not resting night and day, + They make ready for battle, wrathful (and) raging. + They assemble themselves together, and make ready (for) the + strife. + + Ummu Hubur, she who created everything, + Added irresistible weapons, produced giant serpents, + Sharp of tooth, unsparing (their) stings (?) + She caused poison to fill their bodies like blood. + + Raging dragons clothed she with terrors, + She endowed (them) with brilliance, she made (them) like the high + ones (?) + 'Whoever sees them may fright overwhelm, + May their bodies rear on high, and may (none) turn aside their + breast.' + + She set up the viper, the pithon, and the Lahamu, + Great monsters, raging dogs, scorpion-men, + Driving demons, fish-men, and mountain-rams, + Bearing unsparing weapons, not fearing battle; + + Powerful are (her) commands, and irresistible, + She made altogether eleven like that, + Among the gods her firstborn, he who had made for her a host, + Kingu, she raised among them, him she made chief. + + Those going in front before the army, those leading the host, + Raising weapons, attacking, who rise up (for) the fray, + The leadership of the conflict + She delivered into his hand, and caused him to sit in state (?). + 'I have set firm thy word, in the assembly of the gods I have made + thee great, + + The rule of the gods, all of them, have I delivered into thy hand, + Only be thou great--thou, my only husband-- + Let them exalt thy name over all the heavenly ones (?)' + She gave him then the tablets of fate, she placed them in his + bosom: + 'As for thee, thy command shall not be changed, may thy utterances + stand firm!' + + Now Kingu is exalted, he has taken to him the godhood of Anu, + Among the gods her sons he determines the fates. + 'Open your mouths, let the Firegod be at rest. + Be ye fearful in the fight, let resistance be laid low (?).' " + + +Such are the last verses of the first tablet of the so-called story of the +Creation as known to the Babylonians, and though it would be better named +if called the Story of Bel and the Dragon, the references to the creation +of the world that are made therein prevent the name from being absolutely +incorrect, and it may, therefore, serve, along with the more correct one, +to designate it still. As will be gathered from the above, the whole story +centres in the wish of the goddess of the powers of evil to get +creation--the production of all that is in the world--into her own hands. In +this she is aided by certain gods, over whom she sets one, Kingu, her +husband, as chief. In the preparations that she makes she exercises her +creative powers to produce all kinds of dreadful monsters to help her +against the gods whom she wishes to overthrow, and the full and vigorous +description of her defenders, created by her own hands, adds much to the +charm of the narrative, and shows well what the Babylonian scribes were +capable of in this class of record. + +The first tablet breaks off after the speech of Tiamtu to her husband +Kingu. The second one begins by stating how Aa or Ea heard of the plot of +Tiamtu and her followers against the gods of heaven. When his first wrath +on account of this had somewhat abated, he went and related the whole, in +practically the same words as the story is given on the two foregoing +pages, to Ansar, his father, who in his turn became filled with rage, +biting his lips, and uttering cries of deepest grief. In the mutilated +lines which follow Apsu's subjugation seems to be referred to. After this +is another considerable gap, and then comes the statement that Ansar +applied to his son Anu, "the mighty and brave, whose power is great, whose +attack irresistible," saying that if he will only speak to her, the great +Dragon's anger will be calmed and her rage disappear. + + + "(Anu heard) the words of his father Ansar, + (Took the ro)ad towards her, and descended by her path, + Anu (went),--he examined Tiamtu's lair, and + (Not having power to resist her?), turned back." + + +How the god excused himself to his father Ansar on account of his +ignominious flight we do not know, the record being again defective at +this point. With the same want of success the god Ansar then, as we learn +from another part of the narrative, applied to the god Nudimmud, a deity +who is explained in the inscriptions as being the same as the god Aa or +Ea, but whom Professor Delitzsch is rather inclined to regard as one of +the forms of Bel. + +In the end the god Merodach, the son of Aa, was asked to be the champion +of the gods against the great emblem of the powers of evil, the Dragon of +Chaos. To become, by this means, the saviour of the universe, was +apparently just what the patron-god of the city of Babylon desired, for he +seems immediately to have accepted the task of destroying the hated +Dragon-- + + + "The lord rejoiced at his father's word, + His heart was glad, and he saith to his father: + 'O lord of the gods, fate of the great gods! + If then I be your avenger, + (If) I bind Tiamtu and save you, + Assemble together, cause to be great, (and) proclaim ye, my lot. + + In Upsukenaku assembled, come ye joyfully together, + Having opened my mouth, like you also, let me the fates decide, + That naught be changed that I do, (even) I. + May the word of my lips neither fail nor altered be!' " + + +Ansar, without delay, calls his messenger Gaga, and directs him to summon +all the gods to a festival, where with appetite they may sit down to a +feast, to eat the divine bread and drink the divine wine, and there let +Merodach "decide the fates," as the one chosen to be their avenger. Then +comes the message that Gaga was to deliver to Lahmu and Lahamu, in which +the rebellion of Tiamtu is related in practically the same words as the +writer used at the beginning of the narrative to describe Tiamtu's revolt. +Merodach's proposal and request are then stated, and the message ends with +the following words-- + + + "Hasten, and quickly decide for him your fate-- + Let him go, let him meet your mighty foe!" + + +Lahmu and Lahamu having heard all the words of Ansar's message, which his +messenger Gaga faithfully repeated to them, they, with the Igigi, or gods +of the heavens, broke out in bitter lamentation, saying that they could +not understand Tiamtu's acts. + +Then all the great gods, who "decided the fates," hastened to go to the +feast, where they ate and drank, and, apparently with loud acclaim, +"decided the fate" for Merodach their avenger. + +Here follow the honours conferred on Merodach on account of the mighty +deed that he had undertaken to do. They erected for him princely chambers, +wherein he sat as the great judge "in the presence of his fathers," and +they praised him as the highest honoured among the great gods, +incomparable as to his ordinances, changeless as to the word of his mouth, +uncontravenable as to his utterances. None of them would go against the +authority that was to be henceforth his domain. + + + "Merodach, thou art he who is our avenger, + (Over) the whole universe have we given thee the kingdom." + + +His weapons were never to be defeated, his foes were to be smitten down, +but as for those who trusted in him, the gods prayed him that he would +grant them life, "pouring out," on the other hand, the life of the god who +had begun the evil against which Merodach was about to fight. + +Then, so that he should see that they had indeed given him the power to +which they referred, they laid in their midst a garment, and in accordance +with their directions, Merodach spoke, and the garment vanished,--he spoke, +and it reappeared-- + + + " 'Open thy mouth, may the garment be destroyed, + Speak to it once more, and let it be restored again!' + He spoke with his mouth, and the garment was destroyed, + He spoke to it again, and the garment was reproduced." + + +Then all the gods called out, "Merodach is king!" and they gave him +sceptre, throne, and insignia of royalty, and also an irresistible weapon, +which should shatter his enemies. + + + " 'Now, go, and cut off the life of Tiamtu, + Let the winds bear away her blood to hidden places!' + (Thus) did the gods, his fathers, fix the fate of Bel. + A path of peace and goodwill they set for him as his road." + + +Then the god armed himself for the fight, taking spear (or dart), bow, and +quiver. To these he added lightning flashing before him, flaming fire +filling his body; the net which his father Anu had given him wherewith to +capture "_kirbis Tiamtu_" or "Tiamtu who is in the midst," he set north +and south, east and west, in order that nothing of her might escape. In +addition to all this, he created various winds--the evil wind, the storm, +the hurricane, "wind four and seven," the harmful, the uncontrollable (?), +and these seven winds he sent forth, to confuse _kirbis Tiamtu_, and they +followed after him. + +Next he took his great weapon called _abubu_, and mounted his dreadful, +irresistible chariot, to which four steeds were yoked--steeds unsparing, +rushing forward, flying along, their teeth full of venom, foam-covered, +experienced (?) in galloping, schooled for overthrowing. Merodach being +now ready for the fray, he fared forth to meet the Dragon. + + + "Then, they clustered around him, the gods clustered around him, + The gods his fathers clustered around him, the gods clustered + around him. + And the lord advanced, Tiamtu's retreat regarding + Examining the lair of Kingu her consort." + + +The sight of the enemy was so menacing, that even the great Merodach began +to falter and lose courage, whereat the gods, his helpers, who accompanied +him, were greatly disturbed in their minds, fearing approaching disaster. +The king of the gods soon recovered himself, however, and uttered to the +demon a longish challenge, on hearing which she became as one possessed, +and cried aloud. Muttering then incantations and charms, she called the +gods of battle to arms, and the great fight for the rule of the universe +began. + + + "The lord spread wide his net, made it enclose her. + The evil wind following behind, he sent on before. + + Tiamtu opened her mouth as much as she could. + He caused the evil wind to enter so that she could not close her + lips, + + The angry winds filled out her body, + Her heart was overpowered, wide opened she her mouth." + + +Being now at the mercy of the conqueror, the divine victor soon made an +end of the enemy of the gods, upon whose mutilated body, when dead, he +stood triumphantly. Great fear now overwhelmed the gods who had gone over +to her side, and fought against the heavenly powers, and they fled to save +their lives. Powerless to escape, however, they were captured, and their +weapons broken to pieces. Notwithstanding their cries, which filled the +vast region, they had to bear the punishment which was their due, and were +shut up in prison. The creatures whom Tiamtu had created to help her and +strike terror into the hearts of the gods, were also brought into +subjection, along with Kingu, her husband, from whom the tablets of fate +were taken by the conqueror as things unmeet for Tiamtu's spouse to own. +It is probable that we have here the true explanation of the origin of +this remarkable legend, for the tablets of fate were evidently things +which the king of heaven alone might possess, and Merodach, as soon as he +had overcome his foe, pressed his own seal upon them, and placed them in +his breast. + +He had now conquered the enemy, the proud opposer of the gods of heaven, +and having placed her defeated followers in safe custody, he was able to +return to the dead and defeated Dragon of Chaos. He split open her skull +with his unsparing weapon, hewed asunder the channels of her blood, and +caused the north wind to carry it away to hidden places. His fathers saw +this, and rejoiced with shouting, and brought him gifts and offerings. + +And there, as he rested from the strife, Merodach looked upon her who had +wrought such evil in the fair world as created by the gods, and as he +looked, he thought out clever plans. Hewing asunder the corpse of the +great Dragon that lay lifeless before him, he made with one half a +covering for the heavens, keeping it in its place by means of a bolt, and +setting there a watchman to keep guard. He also arranged this portion of +the Dragon of Chaos in such a way, that "her waters could not come forth," +and this circumstance suggests a comparison with "the waters above the +firmament" of the Biblical story in Genesis. + +Passing then through the heavens, he beheld that wide domain, and opposite +the abyss, he built an abode for the god Nudimmud, that is, for his father +Aa as the creator. + + + "Then measured the lord the abyss's extent, + A palace in its likeness he founded:--Esarra; + The palace Esarra, which he made, (is) the heavens, + (For) Anu, Bel, and Aa he founded their strongholds." + + +With these words, which are practically a description of the creation or +building, by Merodach, of the heavens, the fourth tablet of the Babylonian +legend of the Creation comes to an end. It is difficult to find a parallel +to this part of the story in the Hebrew account in Genesis. + + ------------------------------------- + + [Plate II.] + + Plate II. Fragments of tablets (duplicates), giving the words for the +different fasts, festivals, etc., of the Babylonians and Assyrians. Line 4 + of the small piece, and 16 of the large one, have the words _um nuh + libbi_, "day of rest of the heart," explained by _sapattum_ (from the + Sumerian _sa-bat_, "heart-rest"), generally regarded as the original of +the Hebrew _Sabbath_. _Sapattum_, however, was the 15th day of the month. + The nearest approaches to Sabbaths were the 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th, and +19th, which were called _u-hul-gallu_ or _umu limnu_, "the evil day" (the + 19th being a _week of weeks_, from the 1st day of the preceding month), + because it was unlawful to do certain things on those days. + + +The fifth tablet of the Babylonian story of the Creation is a mere +fragment, but is of considerable interest and importance. It describes, in +poetical language, in the style with which the reader has now become +fairly familiar, the creation and ordering, by Merodach, of the heavenly +bodies, as the ancient Babylonians conceived them to have taken place. The +text of the first few stanzas is as follows-- + + + "He built firmly the stations of the great gods-- + Stars their likeness--he set up the Lumasi, + He designated the year, he outlined the (heavenly) forms. + He set for the twelve months three stars each. + From the day when the year begins, ... for signs. + He founded the station of Nibiru, to make known their limits, + That none might err, nor go astray. + The station of Bel and Aa he placed with himself, + Then he opened the great gates on both sides, + Bolts he fixed on the left and on the right, + In its centre (?) then he set the zenith (?). + Nannaru (the moon) he caused to shine, ruling the night, + So he set him as a creature of the night, to make known the days, + Monthly, without failing, he provided him with a crown, + At the beginning of the month then, dawning in the land, + The horns shine forth to make known the seasons (?), + On the 7th day crown (perfect)ing (?). + The [Sa]bbath shalt thou then fall in with, half-monthly, + When the sun (is) in the base of the heavens, at thy [approach?]. + ...... hath caused to be cut off and + ... nearing the path of the sun. + [The ...]th [day] shalt thou then fall in with, the sun shall + change (?)... + ...... the sign seeking its path. + ... cause to approach and give the judgment. + ........................ to injure (?) + ........................... one." + + +The final lines of this portion seem to refer to the moon on the 7th and +other days of the month, and would in that case indicate the quarters. +"Sabbath" is doubtful on account of the mutilation of the first character, +but in view of the forms given on pl. II. and p. 527 (_sapattu__m_, +_sapatti_) the restoration as _sapattu_ seems possible. It is described on +p. 527 as the 15th of the month, but must have indicated also the 14th, +according to the length of the month. + +An exceedingly imperfect fragment of what is supposed to be part of the +fifth tablet exists. It speaks of the bow with which Merodach overcame the +Dragon of Chaos, which the god Anu, to all appearance, set in the heavens +as one of the constellations. After this comes, apparently, a fragment +that may be regarded as recording the creation of the earth, and the +cities and renowned shrines upon it, the houses of the great gods, and the +cities Nippuru (Niffer) and Asshur being mentioned. Everything, however, +is very disconnected and doubtful. + +The sixth tablet, judging from the fragment recognized by Mr. L. W. King, +must have been one of special interest, as it to all appearance contained +a description of the creation of man. Unfortunately, only the beginning of +the text is preserved, and is as follows:-- + + + "Merodach, on hearing the word of the gods, + His heart urged him, and he made [cunning plans]. + He opened his mouth and [said] to the god Ae-- + [What] he thought out in his heart he communicates ...: + 'Let me gather my blood and let me ... bone, + Let me set up a man, and let the man .... + Let me make then men dwelling .... + May the service of the gods be established, and as for them, let + .... + Let me alter the ways of the gods, let me chan[ge their paths]-- + As one let them be honoured, as two let them be ....' + Ae answered him, and the word he spake." + + +Here come the remains of ten very imperfect lines, which probably related +the consent of the other gods to the proposal, and must have been followed +by a description of the way in which it was carried out. All this, +however, is unfortunately not preserved. That the whole of Merodach's work +received the approval of "the gods his fathers" is shown by the remains of +lines with which the sixth tablet closes:-- + + + "They rejoiced .................... + In Upsukenaku they caused ............. + Of the son, the hero, who brought back [benefit for them] + 'As for us, whom, succouring, he ...........' + They sat down, and in their assembly they proclaimed + ... they all announced ..............." + + +What they proclaimed and announced was apparently his glorious names, as +detailed in the seventh and last tablet of the series, which was regarded +by George Smith as containing an address to primitive man, but which +proves to be really an address to the god Merodach praising him on account +of the great work that he had done in overcoming the Dragon, and in +thereafter ordering the world anew. As this portion forms a good specimen +of Babylonian poetry at its best, the full text of the tablet, with the +exception of some short remains of lines, is here presented in as careful +a translation as is at present possible. + + + The Seventh Tablet Of The Creation-Series, Also Known As The + Tablet Of The Fifty-One Names. + + 1 Asari, bestower of planting, establisher of irrigation. + + 2 Creator of grain and herbs, he who causes verdure to grow. + + 3 Asari-alim, he who is honoured in the house of counsel, [who + increases counsel?]. + + 4 The gods bow down to him, fear [possesses them?]. + + 5 Asari-alim-nunna, the mighty one, light of the father his + begetter. + + 6 He who directs the oracles of Anu, Bel, [and Aa]. + + 7 He is their nourisher, who has ordained.... + + 8 He whose provision is fertility, sendeth forth.... + + 9 Tutu, the creator of their renewal, [is he?]. + + 10 Let him purify their desires, (as for) them, let them [be + appeased]. + + 11 Let him then make his incantation, let the gods [be at rest]. + + 12 Angrily did he arise, may he lay low [their breast]. + + 13 Exalted was he then in the assembly of the gods.... + + 14 None among the gods shall [forsake him]. + + 15 _Tutu._(1) "Zi-ukenna," "life of the people" + + 16 "He who fixed for the gods the glorious heavens;" + + 17 Their paths they took, they set + + 18 May the deeds (that he performed) not be forgotten among men. + + 19 _Tutu._ "Zi-azaga," thirdly, he called (him),--"he who effects + purification," + + 20 "God of the good wind," "Lord of hearing and obedience," + + 21 "Creator of fulness and plenty," "Institutor of abundance," + + 22 "He who changes what is small to great," + + 23 In our dire need we scented his sweet breath. + + 24 Let them speak, let them glorify, let them render him + obedience. + + 25 _Tutu._ "Aga-azaga," fourthly, May he make the crowns glorious, + + 26 "The lord of the glorious incantation bringing the dead to + life," + + 27 "He who had mercy on the gods who had been overpowered," + + 28 "He who made heavy the yoke that he had laid on the gods who + were his enemies, + + 29 (And) for their despite (?), created mankind." + + 30 "The merciful one," "He with whom is lifegiving," + + 31 May his word be established, and not forgotten, + + 32 In the mouth of the black-headed ones (mankind) whom his hands + have made. + + 33 _Tutu._ "Mu-azaga," fifthly, May their mouth make known his + glorious incantation, + + 34 "He who with his glorious charm rooteth out all the evil ones," + + 35 "Sa-zu," "He who knoweth the heart of the gods," "He who + looketh at the inward parts," + + 36 "He who alloweth not evil-doers to go forth against him," + + 37 "He who assembleth the gods," appeasing their hearts, + + 38 "He who subdueth the disobedient,"... + + 39 "He who ruleth in truth (and justice"), ... + + 40 "He who setteth aside injustice," ... + + 41 _Tutu._ "Zi-si" ("He who bringeth about silence"), ... + + 42 "He who sendeth forth stillness." ... + + 43 _Tutu._ "Suh-kur," "Annihilator of the enemy," ... + + 44 "Dissolver of their agreements," ... + + 45 "Annihilator of everything evil." ... + + +About 40 lines, mostly very imperfect, occur here, and some 20 others are +totally lost. The text after this continues:-- + + + 107 "Then he seized the back part (?) of the head, which he + pierced (?), + + 108 And as Kirbis-Tiamtu he circumvented restlessly, + + 109 His name shall be Nibiru, he who seized Kirbisu (Tiamtu). + + 110 Let him direct the paths of the stars of heaven, + + 111 Like sheep let him pasture the gods, the whole of them. + + 112 May he confine Tiamtu, may he bring her life into pain and + anguish, + + 113 In man's remote ages, in lateness of days, + + 114 Let him arise, and he shall not cease, may he continue into + the remote future + + 115 As he made the (heavenly) place, and formed the firm (ground), + + 116 Father Bel called him (by) his own name, "Lord of the World," + + 117 The appellation (by) which the Igigi have themselves (always) + called him. + + 118 Aa heard, and he rejoiced in his heart: + + 119 Thus (he spake): "He, whose renowned name his fathers have so + glorified, + + 120 He shall be like me, and Aa shall be his name! + + 121 The total of my commands, all of them, let him possess, and + + 122 The whole of my pronouncements he, (even) he, shall make + known." + + 123 By the appellation "fifty" the great gods + + 124 His fifty names proclaimed, and they caused his career to be + great (beyond all). + + ------------------------------------- + + 125 May they be accepted, and may the primaeval one make (them) + known, + + 126 May the wise and understanding altogether well consider + (them), + + 127 May the father repeat and teach to the son, + + 128 May they open the ears of the shepherd and leader. + + 129 May they rejoice for the lord of the gods, Merodach, + + 130 May his land bear in plenty; as for him, may he have peace. + + 131 His word standeth firm; his command changeth not-- + + 132 No god hath yet made to fail that which cometh forth from his + mouth. + + 133 If he frown down in displeasure, he turneth not his neck, + + 134 In his anger, there is no god who can withstand his wrath. + + 135 Broad is his heart, vast is the kindness (?) of (his) ... + + 136 The sinner and evildoer before him are (ashamed?)." + + +The remains of some further lines exist, but they are very uncertain, the +beginnings and ends being broken away. All that can be said is, that the +poem concluded in the same strain as the last twelve lines preserved. + +In the foregoing pages the reader has had placed before him all the +principal details of the Babylonian story of the Creation, and we may now +proceed to examine the whole in greater detail. + +If we may take the explanation of Damascius as representing fairly the +opinion of the Babylonians concerning the creation of the world, it seems +clear that they regarded the matter of which it was formed as existing in +the beginning under the two forms of Tiamtu (the sea) and _Apsu_ (the +deep), and from these, being wedded, proceeded "an only begotten son," +_Mummu_ (Moumis), conceived by Damascius to be "no other that the +intelligible world proceeding from the two principles," _i.e._ from Tiamtu +and _Apsu_. From these come forth, in successive generations, the other +gods, ending with Marduk or Merodach, also named Bel (Bel-Merodach), the +son of Aa (Ea) and his consort Damkina (the Aos and Dauke of Damascius). + +Judging from the material that we have, the Babylonians seemed to have +believed in a kind of evolution, for they evidently regarded the first +creative powers (the watery waste and the abyss) as the rude and barbaric +beginnings of things, the divine powers produced from these first +principles (Lahmu and Lahamu, Ansar and Kisar, Anu, Ellila, and Aa, and +finally Marduk), being successive stages in the upward path towards +perfection, with which the first rude elements of creation were ultimately +bound to come into conflict; for Tiamtu, the chief of the two rude and +primitive principles of creation, was, notwithstanding this, ambitious, +and desired still to be the creatress of the gods and other inferior +beings that were yet to be produced. All the divinities descending from +Tiamtu were, to judge from the inscriptions, creators, and as they +advanced towards perfection, so also did the things that they created +advance, until, by contrast, the works of Tiamtu became as those of the +Evil Principle, and when she rebelled against the gods who personified all +that was good, it became a battle between them of life and death, which +only the latest-born of the gods, elected in consequence of the perfection +of his power, to be king and ruler over "the gods his fathers," was found +worthy to wage. The glorious victory gained, and the Dragon of Evil +subdued and relegated to those places where her exuberant producing power, +which, to all appearance, she still possessed, would be of use, Merodach, +in the fulness of his power as king of the gods, perfected and ordered the +universe anew, and created his crowning work, Mankind. Many details are, +to all appearance, wanting on account of the incompleteness of the series, +but those which remain seem to indicate that the motive of the whole story +was as outlined here. + +In Genesis, however, we have an entirely different account, based, +apparently, upon a widely different conception of the origin of the +Universe, for one principle only appears throughout the whole narrative, +be it Elohistic, Jehovistic, or priestly. "In the beginning God created +the heavens and the earth," and from the first verse to the last it is He, +and He alone, who is Creator and Maker and Ruler of the Universe. The only +passage containing any indication that more than one person took part in +the creation of the world and all that therein is, is in verse 26, where +God is referred to as saying, "Let US make man," but that this is simply +the plural of majesty, and nothing more, seems to be proved by the very +next verse, where the wording is, "and God made man in HIS own image," +etc. There is, therefore, no trace of polytheistic influence in the whole +narrative. + +Let us glance awhile at the other differences. + +To begin with, the whole Babylonian narrative is not only based upon an +entirely different theory of the beginning of all things, but upon an +entirely different conception of what took place ere man appeared upon the +earth. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," implies +the conception of a time when the heavens and the earth existed not. Not +so, seemingly, with the Babylonian account. There the heavens and the +earth are represented as existing, though in a chaotic form, from the +first. Moreover, it is not the external will and influence of the Almighty +that originates and produces the forms of the first creatures inhabiting +the world, but the productive power residing in the watery waste and the +deep: + + + "The primaeval ocean (_apsu restu_) was their producer (lit. + seeder); + Mummu Tiamtu was _she who brought forth_ the whole of them." + + +It is question here of "seeding" (_zaru_) and "bearing" (_aladu_), not of +creating. + +The legend is too defective to enable us to find out anything as to the +Babylonian idea concerning the formation of the dry land. Testimony as to +its non-existence at the earliest period is all that is vouchsafed to us. +At that time none of the gods had come forth, seemingly because (if the +restoration be correct) "the fates had not been determined." There is no +clue, however, as to who was then the determiner of the fates. + +Then, gradually, and in the course of long-extended ages, the gods Lahmu +and Lahamu, Ansar and Kisar, with the others, came into existence, as +already related, after which the record, which is mutilated, goes on to +speak of Tiamtu, Apsu, and Mummu. + +These deities of the Abyss were evidently greatly disquieted on account of +the existence and the work of the gods of heaven. They therefore took +counsel together, and Apsu complained that he could not rest either night +or day on account of them. Naturally the mutilated state of the text makes +the true reason of the conflict somewhat uncertain. Fried. Delitzsch +regarded it as due to the desire, on the part of Merodach, to have +possession of the "Tablets of Fate," which the powers of good and the +powers of evil both wished to obtain. These documents, when they are first +spoken of, are in the hands of Tiamtu (see p. 19), and she, on giving the +power of changeless command to Kingu, her husband, handed them to him. In +the great fight, when Merodach overcame his foes, he seized these precious +records, and placed them in his breast-- + + + "And Kingu, who had become great over (?) them-- + He bound him, and with Ugga (the god of death) ... he counted him; + From him then he took the Fate-tablets, which were not his, + With his ring he pressed them, and took them to his breast." + + +To all appearance, Tiamtu and Kingu were in unlawful possession of these +documents, and the king of the gods, Merodach, when he seized them, only +took possession of what, in reality, was his own. What power the "Tablets +of Fate" conferred on their possessor, we do not know, but in all +probability the god in whose hands they were, became, by the very fact, +creator and ruler of the universe for ever and ever. + +This creative power the king of the gods at once proceeded to exercise. +Passing through the heavens, he surveyed them, and built a palace called +E-sarra, "The house of the host," for the gods who, with himself, might be +regarded as the chief in his heavenly kingdom. Next in order he arranged +the heavenly bodies, forming the constellations, marking off the year; the +moon, and probably the sun also, being, as stated in Genesis, "for signs, +and for seasons, and for days and years," though all this is detailed, in +the Babylonian account, at much greater length. Indeed, had we the whole +legend complete, we should probably find ourselves in possession of a +detailed description of the Babylonian idea of the heavens which they +studied so constantly, and of the world on which they lived, in relation +to the celestial phenomena which they saw around them. + +Fragments of tablets have been spoken of that seem to belong to the fifth +and sixth of the series, and one of them speaks of the building of certain +ancient cities, including that now represented by the mounds known by the +name of Niffer, which must, therefore, apart from any considerations of +paleographic progression in the case of inscriptions found there, or +evidence based on the depth of rubbish-accumulations, be one of the oldest +known. It is probably on account of this that the Talmudic writers +identified the site with the Calneh of Gen. x. 10, which, notwithstanding +the absence of native confirmation, may very easily be correct, for the +Jews of those days were undoubtedly in a better position to know than we +are, after a lapse of two thousand years. The same text, strangely enough, +also refers to the city of Assur, though this city (which did not, +apparently, belong to Nimrod's kingdom) can hardly have been a primaeval +city in the same sense as "Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh." + +The text of the Semitic Creation-story is here so mutilated as to be +useless for comparative purposes, and in these circumstances the bilingual +story of the Creation, published by me in 1891, practically covering, as +it does, the same ground, may be held, in a measure, to supply its place. +Instead, therefore, of devoting to this version a separate section, I +insert a translation of it here, together with a description of the tablet +upon which it is written. + +This second version of the Creation-story is inscribed on a large fragment +(about four and a half inches high) of a tablet found by Mr. Rassam at +Sippar (Abu Habbah) in 1882. The text is very neatly written in the +Babylonian character, and is given twice over, that is, in the original +(dialectic) Akkadian, with a Semitic (Babylonian) translation. As it was +the custom of the Babylonian and Assyrian scribes, for the sake of giving +a nice appearance to what they wrote, to spread out the characters in such +a way that the page (as it were) was "justified," and the ends of the +lines ranged, like a page of print, it often happens that, when a line is +not a full one, there is a wide space, in the middle, without writing. In +the Akkadian text of the bilingual Creation-story, however, a gap is left +in _every_ line, sufficiently large to accommodate, in slightly smaller +characters, the whole Semitic Babylonian translation. The tablet therefore +seems to be written in three columns, the first being the first half of +the Akkadian version, the second (a broad one) the Semitic translation, +and the third the last half of the Akkadian original text, separated from +the first part to allow of the Semitic version being inserted between. + +The reason of the writing of the version already translated and in part +commented upon is not difficult to find--it was to give an account of the +origin of the world and the gods whom they worshipped. The reason of the +writing of the bilingual story of the Creation, however, is not so easy to +decide, the account there given being the introduction to one of those +bilingual incantations for purification, in which, however, by the +mutilation of the tablet, the connecting-link is unfortunately lost. But +whatever the reason of its being prefixed to this incantation, the value +and importance of the version presented by this new document is +incontestable, not only for the legend itself, but also for the linguistic +material which a bilingual text nearly always offers. + +The following is a translation of this document-- + + + "Incantation: The glorious house, the house of the gods, in a + glorious place had not been made, + A plant had not grown up, a tree had not been created, + A brick had not been laid, a beam had not been shaped, + A house had not been built, a city had not been constructed, + A city had not been made, no community had been established, + Niffer had not been built, E-kura had not been constructed, + Erech had not been built, E-ana had not been constructed, + The Abyss had not been made, Eridu had not been constructed, + (As for) the glorious house, the house of the gods, its seat had + not been made-- + The whole of the lands were sea. + When within the sea there was a stream, + In that day Eridu was made, E-sagila was constructed-- + E-sagila, which the god Lugal-du-azaga founded within the Abyss. + Babylon he built, E-sagila was completed. + He made the gods (and) the Anunnaki together, + The glorious city, the seat of the joy of their hearts, supremely + he proclaimed. + Merodach bound together a foundation before the waters, + He made dust, and poured (it) out beside the foundation, + That the gods might sit in a pleasant place. + He made mankind-- + Aruru made the seed of mankind with him. + He made the beasts of the field and the living creatures of the + desert, + He made the Tigris and the Euphrates, and set (them) in (their) + place-- + Well proclaimed he their name. + Grass, the marsh-plant, the reed and the forest, he made, + He made the verdure of the plain, + The lands, the marsh, the thicket also, + The wild cow (and) her young the steer; the ewe (and) her + young--the sheep of the fold, + Plantations and forests also. + The goat and the wild goat multiplied for him (?). + Lord Merodach on the sea-shore made a bank, + ... (which) at first he made not, + ... he caused to be. + (He caused the plant to be brought forth), he made the tree, + (Everything?) he made in (its) place. + (He laid the brick), he made the beams, + (He constructed the house), he built the city, + (He built the city), the community exercised power, + (He built the city Niffer), he built E-kura, the temple, + (He built the city Erech, he built E-a)na, the temple," + + + ------------------------------------- + +Here the obverse breaks off, and the end of the bilingual story of the +Creation-story is lost. How many more lines were devoted to it we do not +know, nor do we know how the incantation proper, which followed it, and to +which it formed the introduction, began. Where the text (about half-way +down on the reverse) again becomes legible, it reads as follows-- + + ------------------------------------- + + + "Thy supreme messenger, Pap-sukal, the wise one, counsellor of the + gods. + Nin-aha-kudu, daughter of Aa, + May she make thee glorious with a glorious lustration (?), + May she make thee pure with pure fire, + With the glorious pure fountain of the abyss purify thou thy + pathway, + By the incantation of Merodach, king of the universe of heaven and + earth, + May the abundance of the land enter into thy midst, + May thy command be fulfilled for ever. + O E-zida, seat supreme, the beloved of Anu and Istar art thou, + Mayest thou shine like heaven; mayest thou be glorious like the + earth; mayest thou shine like the midst of heaven; + May the malevolent curse dwell outside of thee. + Incantation making (the purification of the temple). + Incantation: The star ... the long chariot of the heavens." + + +The last line but one is apparently the title, and is followed by the +first line of the next tablet. From this we see that this text belonged to +a series of at least two tablets, and that the tablet following the above +had an introduction of an astronomical or astrological nature. + +It will be noticed that this text not only contains an account of the +creation of gods and men, and flora and fauna, but also of the great and +renowned sites and shrines of the country where it originated. It is in +this respect that it bears a likeness to the fragmentary portions of the +intermediate tablets of the Semitic Babylonian story of the Creation, or +Bel and the Dragon, and this slight agreement may be held to justify, in +some measure, its introduction here. The bilingual version, however, +differs very much in style from that in Semitic only, and seems to lack +the poetical form which characterizes the latter. This, indeed, was to be +expected, for poetical form in a translation which follows the original +closely is an impossibility, though the poetry of words and ideas which it +contains naturally remains. It is not unlikely that the original Sumerian +text is in poetical form, as is suggested by the cesura, and the recurring +words. + +In the bilingual account of the Creation one seems to get a glimpse of the +pride that the ancient Babylonians felt in the ancient and renowned cities +of their country. The writer's conception of the wasteness and voidness of +the earth in the beginning seems to have been that the ancient cities +Babel, Niffer, Erech and Eridu had not yet come into existence. For him, +those sites were as much creations as the vegetation and animal life of +the earth. Being, for him, sacred sites, they must have had a sacred, a +divine foundation, and he therefore attributes their origin to the +greatest of the gods, Merodach, who built them, brick, and beam, and +house, himself. Their renowned temples, too, had their origin at the hands +of the Divine Architect of the Universe. + +A few words are necessary in elucidation of what follows the line, "When +within the sea there was a stream." "In that day," it says, "Eridu was +made, E-sagila was constructed--E-sagila which the god Lugal-du-azaga +founded within the Abyss. Babylon he built, E-sagila was completed." The +connection of E-sagila, "the temple of the lofty head," which was within +the Abyss, with Eridu, shows, with little or no doubt, that the Eridu +there referred to was not the earthly city of that name, but a city +conceived as lying also "within the Abyss." This Eridu, as we shall see +farther on, was the "blessed city," or Paradise, wherein was the tree of +life, and which was watered by the twin stream of the Tigris and the +Euphrates. + +But there was another E-sagila than that founded by the god Lugal-du-azaga +within the Abyss, namely the E-sagila at Babylon, and it is this fane that +is spoken of in the phrase following that mentioning the temple so called +within the Abyss. To the Babylonian, therefore, the capital of the country +was, in that respect, a counterpart of the divine city that he regarded as +the abode of bliss, where dwelt Nammu, the river-god, and the sun-god +Dumuzi-Abzu, or "Tammuz of the Abyss." Like Sippar too, Babylon was +situated in what was called the plain, the _edina_, of which Babylonia +mainly consisted, and which is apparently the original of the Garden of +Eden. + +The present text differs from that of the longer (Semitic) story of the +Creation, in that it makes Merodach to be the creator of the gods, as well +as of mankind, and all living things. This, of course, implies that it was +composed at a comparatively late date, when the god Merodach had become +fully recognized as the chief divinity, and the fact that Aa was his +father had been lost sight of, and practically forgotten. The goddess +Aruru is apparently introduced into the narrative out of consideration for +the city Sippar-Aruru, of which she was patron. In another text she is +called "Lady of the gods of Sippar and Aruru." There is also a goddess +(perhaps identical with her) called Gala-aruru, "Great Aruru," or "the +great one (of) Aruru," who is explained as "Istar the star," on the tablet +K. 2109. + +After the account of the creation of the beasts of the field, the Tigris +and the Euphrates, vegetation, lands, marshes, thickets, plantations and +forests, which are named, to all appearance, without any attempt at any +kind of order, "The lord Merodach" is represented as creating those things +which, at first, he had not made, namely, the great and ancient shrines in +whose antiquity and glorious memories the Babylonian--and the Assyrian +too--took such delight. The list, however, is a short one, and it is to be +supposed that, in the lines that are broken away, further cities of the +kingdom of Babylon were mentioned. That this was the case is implied by +the reverse, which deals mainly--perhaps exclusively--with the great shrine +of Borsippa called E-zida, and identified by many with the Tower of Babel. +How it was brought in, however, we have no means of finding out, and must +wait patiently for the completion of the text that will, in all +probability, ultimately be discovered. + +The reverse has only the end of the text, which, as far as it is +preserved, is in the form of an "incantation of Eridu," and mentions "the +glorious fountain of the Abyss," which to was to "purify" or "make +glorious" the pathway of the personified fane referred to. As it was the +god Merodach, "the merciful one," "he who raises the dead to life," "the +lord of the glorious incantation," who was regarded by the Babylonians as +revealing to mankind the "incantation of Eridu," which he, in his turn, +obtained from his father Aa, we may see in this final part of the legend +not only a glorification of the chief deity of the Babylonians, but also a +further testimony of the fact that the composition must belong to the +comparatively late period in the history of Babylonian religion, when the +worship of Merodach had taken the place of that of his father Aa. + +Of course, it must not be supposed that the longer account of the Creation +was told so shortly as the bilingual narrative that we have introduced +here to supply the missing parts of the longer version. Everything was +probably recounted at much greater length, and in confirmation of this +there is the testimony of the small fragment of the longer account, +translated on p. 28. This simply contains the announcement that Merodach +had made cunning plans, and decided to create man from his own blood, and +[to form?] his bones, but there must have been, in the long gap which then +ensues, a detailed account of the actual creation of the human race, +probably with some reference to the formation of animals. One cannot base +much upon this mutilated fragment, but, as the first translator has +pointed out, the object in creating man was seemingly to ensure the +performance of the service (or worship) of the gods, and the building of +their shrines, prayer and sacrifice, with the fear of God, being duties +from which there was no escape. + +In the last tablet of the series--that recording the praises of Merodach +and his fifty new names,--there are a few points that are worthy of +examination. In the first place, the arrangement of the first part is +noteworthy. The principal name that was given to him seems not to have +been Merodach, as one would expect from the popularity of the name in +later days, but Tutu, which occurs in the margin, at the head of six of +the sections, and was probably prefixed to at least three more. This name +Tutu is evidently an Akkadian reduplicate word, from the root _tu_, "to +beget," and corresponds with the explanation of the word given by the list +of Babylonian gods, K. 2107; _muallid ilani, muddis ilani_, "begetter of +the gods, renewer of the gods"--a name probably given to him on account of +his identification with his father, Aa, for, according to the legend, +Merodach was rather the youngest than the oldest of the gods, who are even +called, as will be remembered, "his fathers." In the lost portion at the +beginning of the final tablet he was also called, according to the tablet +here quoted, Gugu = _muttakkil ilani_, "nourisher of the gods"; Mumu = +_muspis ilani_, "increaser (?) of the gods"; Dugan = _bani kala ilani_, +"maker of all the gods"; Dudu = _muttarru ilani_, "saviour (?) of the +gods"; Sar-azaga = _sa sipat-su ellit_, "he whose incantation is +glorious"; and Mu-azaga = _sa tu-su ellit_, "he whose charm is glorious" +(cf. p. 31, l. 33). After this we have Sa-zu or Sa-sud = _mude libbi +ilani_ or _libbi ruku_, "he who knoweth the heart of the gods," or "the +remote of heart" (p. 31, l. 35); Zi-ukenna = _napsat naphar ilani_, "the +life of the whole of the gods" (p. 30, l. 15); Zi-si = _nasih sabuti_, "he +who bringeth about silence" (p. 31, l. 41); Suh-kur = _muballu aabi_, +"annihilator of the enemy" (p. 31, l. 43); and other names meaning +_muballu naphar aabi, nasih raggi_, "annihilator of the whole of the +enemy, rooter out of evil," _nasih naphar raggi_, "rooter out of the whole +of the evil," _esu raggi_, "troubler of the evil (ones)," and _esu naphar +raggi_, "troubler of the whole of the evil (ones)." All these last names +were probably enumerated on the lost part of the tablet between where the +obverse breaks off and the reverse resumes the narrative, and the whole of +the fifty names conferred upon him, which were enumerated in their old +Akkadian forms and translated into Semitic Babylonian in this final tablet +of the Creation, were evidently repeated in the form of a list of gods, on +the tablet in tabular form from which the above renderings are taken. + +Hailed then as the vanquisher of Kirbis-Tiamtu, the great Dragon of Chaos, +he is called by the name of Nibiru, "the ferry," a name of the planet +Jupiter as the traverser of the heavens (one of the points of contact +between Babylonian and Greek mythology), the stars of which he was +regarded as directing, and keeping (lit. pasturing) like sheep. (Gods and +stars may here be regarded as convertible terms.) His future is then +spoken of, and "father Bel" gives him his own name, "lord of the world." +Rejoicing in the honours showered on his son, and not to be outdone in +generosity, Aa decrees that henceforth Merodach shall be like him, and +that he shall be called Aa, possessing all his commands, and all his +pronouncements--_i.e._ all the wisdom which he, as god of deep wisdom, +possessed. Thus was Merodach endowed with all the names, and all the +attributes, of the gods of the Babylonians--"the fifty renowned names of +the great gods." + +This was, to all intents and purposes, symbolic of a great struggle, in +early days, between polytheism and monotheism--for the masses the former, +for the more learned and thoughtful the latter. Of this we shall have +further proof farther on, when discussing the name of Merodach. For the +present be it simply noted, that this is not the only text identifying +Merodach with the other gods. + +The reference to the creation of mankind in line 29 of the obverse (p. 31) +is noteworthy, notwithstanding that the translation of one of the +words--and that a very important one--is very doubtful. Apparently man was +created to the despite of the rebellious gods, but there is also just the +possibility that there exists here an idiomatic phrase meaning "in their +room." If the latter be the true rendering, this part of the legend would +be in striking accord with Bishop Avitus of Vienne, with the old English +poet Caedmon, and with Milton in his _Paradise Lost_. In connection with +this, too, the statement in the reverse, lines 113 and 114, where "man's +remote ages" is referred to, naturally leads one to ask, Have we here +traces of a belief that, in ages to come ("in lateness of days"), Merodach +was to return and live among men into the remote future? The return of a +divinity or a hero of much-cherished memory is such a usual thing among +popular beliefs, that this may well have been the case likewise among the +Babylonians. + +The comparison of the two accounts of the Creation--that of the Hebrews and +that of the Babylonians, that have been presented to the reader--will +probably have brought prominently before him the fact, that the Babylonian +account, notwithstanding all that has been said to the contrary, differs +so much from the Biblical account, that they are, to all intents and +purposes, two distinct narratives. That there are certain ideas in common, +cannot be denied, but most of them are ideas that are inseparable from two +accounts of the same event, notwithstanding that they have been composed +from two totally different standpoints. In writing an account of the +Creation, statements as to what are the things created must of necessity +be inserted. There is, therefore, no proof of a connection between two +accounts of the Creation in the fact that they both speak of the formation +of dry land, or because they both state that plants, animals, and man were +created. Connection may be inferred from such statements that the waters +were the first abode of life, or that an expansion was created dividing +the waters above from those below. With reference to such points of +contact as these just mentioned, however, the question naturally arises, +Are these points of similarity sufficient to justify the belief that two +so widely divergent accounts as those of the Bible and of the Babylonian +tablets have one and the same origin? In the mind of the present writer +there seems to be but one answer, and that is, that the two accounts are +practically distinct, and are the production of people having entirely +different ideas upon the subject, though they may have influenced each +other in regard to certain points, such as the two mentioned above. For +the rest, the fact that there is-- + + + No direct statement of the creation of the heavens and the earth; + + No systematic division of the things created into groups and + classes, such as is found in Genesis; + + NO REFERENCE TO THE DAYS OF CREATION; + + No appearance of the Deity as the first and only cause of the + existence of things-- + + +must be held as a sufficient series of prime reasons why the Babylonian +and the Hebrew versions of the Creation-story must have had different +origins. + +As additional arguments may also be quoted the polytheism of the +Babylonian account; the fact that it appears to be merely the setting to +the legend of Bel and the Dragon, and that, as such, it is simply the +glorification of Merodach, the patron divinity of the Babylonians, over +the other gods of the Assyro-Babylonian Pantheon. + + + + +Sidelights:--Merodach. + + +To judge from the inscriptions of the Babylonians and Assyrians, one would +say that there were not upon the earth more pious nations than they. They +went constantly in fear of their gods, and rendered to them the glory for +everything that they succeeded in bringing to a successful conclusion. +Prayer, supplication, and self-debasement before their gods seem to have +been their delight. + + + "The time for the worship of the gods was my heart's delight, + The time of the offering to Istar was profit and riches," + + +sings Ludlul the sage, and one of a list of sayings is to the following +effect-- + + + "When thou seest the profit of the fear of God, + Thou wilt praise God, thou wilt bless the king." + + +Many a penitential psalm and hymn of praise exists to testify to the piety +of the ancient nations of Assyria and Babylonia. Moreover, this piety was, +to all appearance, practical, calling forth not only self-denying +offerings and sacrifices, but also, as we shall see farther on, lofty +ideas and expressions of the highest religious feeling. + +And the Babylonians were evidently proud of their religion. Whatever its +defects, the more enlightened--the scribes and those who could read--seem to +have felt that there was something in it that gave it the very highest +place. And they were right--there was in this gross polytheism of theirs a +thing of high merit, and that was, the character of the chief of their +gods, Merodach. + +We see something of the reverence of the Babylonians and Assyrians for +their gods in almost all of their historical inscriptions, and there is +hardly a single communication of the nature of a letter that does not call +down blessings from them upon the person to whom it is addressed. In many +a hymn and pious expression they show in what honour they held them, and +their desire not to offend them, even involuntarily, is visible in +numerous inscriptions that have been found. + + + "My god, who art displeased, receive (?) my (prayer?), + My goddess, who art wroth, accept (my supplication)-- + Accept my supplication, and let thy mind be at rest. + My lord, gracious and merciful, (let thy mind be at rest). + Make easy (O my goddess) the day that is directed for death, + My god, (grant that I be?) free (?). + My goddess, have regard for me, and receive my supplication. + Let my sins be separated, and let my misdeeds be forgotten-- + Let the ban be loosened, let the fetter fall. + Let the seven winds carry away my sighing. + Let me tear asunder my evil, and let a bird carry it aloft to the + sky. + Let a fish carry off my trouble, and let the stream bear it away. + Let the beasts of the field take (it) away from me. + Let the flowing waters of the stream cleanse me. + Make me bright as a chain of gold-- + Let me be precious in thy eyes as a diamond ring! + Blot out my evil, preserve my life. + Let me guard thy court, and stand in thy sanctuary (?). + Make me to pass away from my evil state, let me be preserved with + thee! + Send to me, and let me see a propitious dream-- + Let the dream that I shall see be propitious--let the dream that I + shall see be true, + Turn the dream that I shall see to a favour, + Let Masara (?), the god of dreams, rest by my head, + Make me to enter into E-sagila, the temple of the gods, the house + of life. + Deliver me, for his favour, into the gracious hands of the + merciful Merodach, + Let me be subject to thy greatness, let me glorify thy divinity; + Let the people of my city praise thy might!" + + +Here the text breaks off, but sufficient of it remains to show of what the +devotion of the Babylonians and Assyrians to their gods consisted, and +what their beliefs really were. For some reason or other, the writer +recognizes that the divinity whom he worships is displeased with him, and +apparently comes to the conclusion that the consort of the god is +displeased also. He therefore prays and humbles himself before them, +asking that his misdeeds may be forgotten, and that he may be separated +from his sins, by which he feels himself to be bound and fettered. He +imagines to himself that the seven winds, or a little bird, or a fish, or +a beast of the field, or the waters of a stream, may carry his sin away, +and that the flowing waters of the river may cleanse him from his sin, +making him pure in the eyes of his god as a chain of gold, and precious to +him as the most precious thing that he can think of, namely, a diamond +ring (upon such material and worldly similes did the thoughts of the +Babylonians run). He wishes his life (or his soul--the word in the original +is _napisti_, which Zimmern translates _Seele_) to be saved, to pass away +from his evil state, and to dwell with his god, from whom he begs for a +sign in the form of a propitious dream, a dream that shall come true, +showing that he is in reality once more in the favour of his god, who, he +hopes, will deliver him into the gracious hands of the merciful Merodach, +that he and all his city may praise his great divinity. + +Fragment though it be, in its beginning, development, and climax, it is, +to all intents and purposes, perfect, and a worthy specimen of +compositions of this class. + +It is noteworthy that the suppliant almost re-echoes the words of the +Psalmist in those passages where he speaks of his guarding the court of +the temple of his god and dwelling in his temple (E-sagila, the renowned +temple at Babylon), wherein, along with other deities, the god Merodach +was worshipped--the merciful one, into whose gracious hands he wished to be +delivered. The prayer that his sin might be carried away by a bird, or a +fish, etc., brings up before the mind's eye the picture of the scapegoat, +fleeing, laden with the sins of the pious Israelite, into the desert to +Azazel. + +To all appearance, the worshipper, in the above extract, desires to be +delivered by the god whom he worships into the hands of the god Merodach. +This is a point that is worthy of notice, for it seems to show that the +Babylonians, at least in later times, regarded the other deities in the +light of mediators with the chief of the Babylonian Pantheon. As +manifestations of him, they all formed part of his being, and through them +the suppliant found a channel to reconciliation and forgiveness of his +sins. + +In this there seems to be somewhat of a parallel to the Egyptian belief in +the soul, at death, being united with Osiris. The annihilation of self, +however, did not, in all probability, recommend itself to the Babylonian +mind any more than it must have done to the mind of the Assyrian. To all +appearance, the preservation of one's individuality, in the abodes of +bliss after death, was with them an essential to the reality of that life +beyond the grave. If we adopt here Zimmern's translation of _napisti_ by +"soul," the necessity of interpreting the above passage in the way here +indicated seems to be rendered all the greater. + +The Creation legend shows us how the god Merodach was regarded by the +Babylonians as having attained his high position among the "gods his +fathers," and the reverence that they had for this deity is not only +testified to by that legend, but also by the many documents of a religious +nature that exist. This being the case, it is only natural to suppose, +that he would be worshipped both under the name of Merodach, his usual +appellation, and also under any or all of the other names that were +attributed to him by the Babylonians as having been conferred upon him by +the gods at the time of his elevation to the position of their chief. + +Not only, therefore, was he called Marduk (Amaruduk, "the brightness of +day"), the Hebrew Merodach, but he bore also the names of Asaru or Asari, +identified by the Rev. C. J. Ball and Prof. Hommel with the Egyptian +Osiris--a name that would tend to confirm what is stated above concerning +the possible connection between the Egyptian and Babylonian beliefs in the +immortality of the soul. This name Asaru was compounded with various other +(explanatory) epithets, making the fuller names Asari-lu-duga (probably +"Asari, he who is good"), Asari-lu-duga-namsuba ("Asari, he who is good, +the charm"), Asari-lu-duga-namti ("Asari, he who is good, the life"), +Asari-alima ("Asari, the prince"), Asari-alima-nuna ("Asari, the prince, +the mighty one"), etc., all showing the estimation in which he was held, +and testifying to the sacredness of the first component, which, as already +remarked, has been identified with the name of Osiris, the chief divinity +of the Egyptians. Among his other names are (besides those quoted from the +last tablet of the story of the Creation and the explanatory list that +bears upon it) some of apparently foreign origin, among them being Amaru +(? short for Amar-uduk) and Sal-ila, the latter having a decidedly western +Semitic look.(2) As "the warrior," he seems to have borne the name of +Gusur (? "the strong"); another of his Akkadian appellations was Gudibir, +and as "lord" of all the world he was called Bel, the equivalent of the +Baal of the Phoenicians and the Beel of the Aramaeans. In astronomy his name +was given to several stars, and he was identified with the planet Jupiter, +thus making him the counterpart of the Greek and Latin Zeus or Jove. + +As has been said above, Merodach was the god that was regarded by the +Babylonians and Assyrians as he who went about doing good on behalf of +mankind. If he saw a man in affliction--suffering, for instance, from any +malady--he would go and ask his father Aa, he who knew all things, and who +had promised to impart all his knowledge to his royal son, what the man +must do to be cured of the disease or relieved of the demon which troubled +him. The following will give some idea of what the inscriptions detailing +these charms and incantations, which the god was supposed to obtain from +his father, were like-- + + + "Incantation: The sickness of the head hath darted forth from the + desert, and rushed like the wind. + Like lightning it flasheth, above and below it smiteth, + The impious man(3) like a reed it cutteth down, and + His nerves like a tendril it severeth. + (Upon him) for whom the goddess Istar hath no care, and whose + flesh is in anguish, + Like a star of heaven it (the sickness) flasheth down, like a + night-flood it cometh. + Adversity is set against the trembling man, and threateneth him + like a lion-- + It hath stricken that man, and + The man rusheth about like one who is mad-- + Like one whose heart is smitten he goeth to and fro, + Like one thrown into the fire he burneth, + Like the wild ass that runneth (?), his eyes are filled with + cloud, + Being alive, he eateth, yet is he bound up with death. + The disease,(4) which is like a violent wind, nobody knoweth its + path-- + Its completed time, and its connection nobody knoweth." + + +(Here come abbreviations of the set phrases stating that the god Merodach +perceived the man who was suffering, and went to ask his father Aa, +dwelling in the Abyss, how the man was to be healed of the sickness that +afflicted him. In the texts that give the wanting parts, Aa is represented +as asking his son Merodach what it was that he did not know, and in what +he could still instruct him. What he (Aa) knows, that Merodach shall also +know. He then tells Merodach to go and work the charm.) + + + "The haltigilla plant groweth alone in the desert + Like the sun-god entering his house, cover its head with a + garment, and + Cover the haltigilla plant, and enclose some meal, and + In the desert, before the rising sun + Root it out from its place, and + Take its root, and + Take the skin of a young goat, and + Bind up the head of the sick man, and + + May a gust (?) of wind carry it (the disease) away, and may it not + return to its place. + O spirit of heaven, exorcise; spirit of earth, exorcise." + + +The numerous incantations of this class, in which the god Merodach is +represented as playing the part of benefactor to the sick and afflicted +among mankind, and interesting himself in their welfare, are exceedingly +numerous, and cover a great variety of maladies and misfortunes. No +wonder, therefore, that the Babylonians looked upon the god, their own +god, with eyes of affection, and worship, and reverence. Indeed, it is +doubtful whether the Hebrews themselves, the most God-fearing nation of +their time, looked upon the God of their fathers with as much affection, +or reverence, as did the Babylonians regard the god Merodach. They show it +not only in the inscriptions of the class quoted above, but also in +numerous other texts. All the kings of Babylonia, and not a few of those +of Assyria, with one consent pay him homage, and testify to their +devotion. The names of princes and common people, too, often bear witness +to the veneration that they felt for this, the chief of their gods. +"Merodach is lord of the gods," "Merodach is master of the word," "With +Merodach is life," "The dear one of the gods is Merodach," "Merodach is +our king," "(My, his, our) trust is Merodach," "Be gracious to me, O +Merodach," "Direct me, O Merodach," "Merodach protects," "Merodach has +given a brother" (Marduk-nadin-ahi, the name of one of Nebuchadrezzar's +sons), "A judge is Merodach," etc., etc., are some of the names compounded +with that of this popular divinity. Merodach was not so much in use, as +the component part of a name, as the god of wisdom, Nebo, but it is not by +any means improbable that this is due to the reverence in which he was +held, which must, at times, have led the more devout to avoid the +pronunciation of his name any more than was necessary, though, if that was +the case, it never reached the point of an utter prohibition against its +utterance, such as caused the pronunciation of the Hebrew Yahwah to become +entirely lost even to the most learned for many hundred years. Those, +therefore, who wished to avoid the profanation, by too frequent utterance, +of this holy name, could easily do so by substituting the name of some +other deity, for, as we have seen above, the names of all the gods could +be applied to him, and the doctrine of their identification with him only +grew in strength--we know not under what influence--as time went on, until +Marduk or Merodach became synonymous with the word _ilu_, "God," and is +even used as such in a list where the various gods are enumerated as his +manifestations. The portion of the tablet in question containing these +advanced ideas is as follows-- + + + 81-11-3, 111. + + "... is Merodach of planting. + Lugal-a-ki- ... is Merodach of the water-spring. + Ninip is Merodach of the garden (?). + Nergal is Merodach of war. + Zagaga is Merodach of battle. + Bel is Merodach of lordship and dominion. + Nebo is Merodach of wealth (or trading). + Sin is Merodach the illuminator of the night. + Samas is Merodach of truth (or righteousness). + Rimmon is Merodach of rain. + Tishu is Merodach of handicraft. + Sig is Merodach of.... + Suqamuna is Merodach of the (irrigation-) reservoir." + + +As this tablet is not complete, there is every probability that the god +Merodach was identified, on the lost portion, with at least as many +deities as appear on the part that time has preserved to us. + +This identification of deities with each other would seem to have been a +far from uncommon thing in the ancient East during those heathen times. A +large number of deities of the Babylonian Pantheon are identified, in the +Assyrian proper names, with a very interesting divinity whose name appears +as Aa, and which may possibly turn out to be only one of the many forms +that are met with of the god Ya'u or Jah, who was not only worshipped by +the Hebrews, but also by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Hittites, and other +nations of the East in ancient times. Prof. Hommel, the well-known +Assyriologist and Professor of Semitic languages at Munich, suggests that +this god Ya is another form of the name of Ea, which is possible, but any +assimilation of the two divinities is probably best explained upon the +supposition that the people of the East in ancient times identified them +with each other in consequence of the likeness between the two names. + +In any case, the identification of a large number of the gods--perhaps all +of them--with a deity whose name is represented by the group Aa, is quite +certain. Thus we have Assur-Aa, Ninip-Aa, Bel-Aa, Nergal-Aa, Samas-Aa, +Nusku-Aa, Sin-Aa, etc., and it is probable that the list might be greatly +extended. Not only, however, have we a large number of deities identified +with Aa, but a certain number of them are also identified with the deity +known as Ya, Ya'u, or Au, the Jah of the Hebrews. Among these may be cited +Bel-Yau, "Bel is Jah," Nabu-Ya', "Nebo is Jah," Ahi-Yau, "Ahi is Jah," a +name that would seem to confirm the opinion which Fuerst held, that _ahi_ +was, in this connection, a word for "god," or a god. In Ya-Dagunu, "Jah is +Dagon," we have the elements reversed, showing a wish to identify Jah with +Dagon, rather than Dagon with Jah, whilst another interesting name, Au-Aa, +shows an identification of Jah with Aa, two names which have every +appearance of being etymologically connected. + +There is then but little doubt that we have in these names an indication +of an attempt at what may be regarded as concentration--a desire and +tendency towards monotheism. When this began, and what the real opinions +of the more thoughtful upon the subject of the unity or the plurality of +the deity may have been, we have at present no means of finding out. There +can be no doubt, however, that it sprang from more than one cause--the +desire not to offend either heavenly or earthly powers by seeming to +favour one divinity more than another, the difficulty of dividing and +apportioning the domain in nature of every divinity, the wish to identify +the divine patrons of the various nationalities with a view to +understanding what they really were, and describing their nature for +either religious or political purposes--all these things, and probably +others, would tend to counteract not only polytheistic bigotry, but also +the exclusive appropriation by one tribe or people of any particular +divinity, who was their own special helper against their enemies, and to +whose particular protection they defiantly laid claim. When in conflict or +in dispute with another, there is no doubt that the man bearing the name +of Samas-nuri, for instance, would be met with the fierce taunt, "The +Sun-god is not more thy light than he is mine," and, as an answer to +Ya-abi-ni, "Jah is our father too, and more so than he is yours," would at +once spring to the lips of any Jew with whom the bearer of the name may +have had a dispute. + +For the thoughtful, God was one, and all the various gods of the heathen +were but His manifestations, misconceived and misunderstood by the +ignorant and thoughtless, but, rightly regarded, full of deep +significance. The Jews in later times had, in all probability, no tendency +to polytheism, yet it is certain that they had but little objection to +bearing heathen names, and of all the examples that might be adduced, +there is probably not one that is more noteworthy than Mordecai, or +Mardecai, the worshipper of Merodach as typical of the God beside whom +there was none other, of whom, as we have seen,--and that from a Babylonian +tablet,--all the other deities of the Babylonian Pantheon were but +manifestations. + + + + +The God Aa, Ae, Or Ea. + + +As the primitive deity of the Babylonian Pantheon, and as apparently +closely identified with the well-known deity Jah, who was worshipped by a +large section of the Semitic nations, and whose name is one of the words +for "god" in the Assyro-Babylonian language, the god Ea, Ae, or Aa, +deserves notice here not only on account of his being the creator of all +the gods, but also on account of his fatherhood to Merodach, who, in +Babylonian mythology, was conceived as supplanting him--not by any unfair +means, but by the right of being the fittest to exercise power and +dominion over the world, the universe, and even over "the gods his +fathers." + +Assyriologists early recognized the attributes of the god whose name they +then read Hea. They saw that he was regarded by the ancient Babylonians +and Assyrians as the god of streams, rivers, seas, and the watery abyss of +the under-world--the waters under the earth. Of the god Ae or Ea all sorts +of wonderful stories were told by the Babylonians, who attributed to him, +as the god of wisdom and knowledge, the origin of the civilization which +they enjoyed. His name, as god of deep wisdom, was Nin-igi-azaga, "the +lord of the bright eye," a name which would seem to show that the +Akkadians (the names of most of the deities of the Assyro-Babylonian +Pantheon are written in Akkadian) associated, as we also do at the present +day, intelligence with brightness of the eyes, or, more correctly, with +alertness of appearance. + +But this god had many other names than those mentioned above. He was +En-ki, "lord of the world"; Amma-ana-ki, "lord of heaven and earth"; +Engur, "god of the Abyss"; Nudimmud, "god of creation"; Nadimmud, "god of +everything"; Nun-ura, "god of the potter"; Nin-agal, "god of the smith"; +Dunga, "god of the singer" (?); Nin-bubu, "god of the sailor"; +Kuski-banda, "god of goldsmiths";--in fact, he seems to have been the god +of arts and crafts in general. He was also called Ellila-banda, "the +powerful lord"; En-uru and Nin-uru, "the protecting lord"; Lugal-ida, +"king of the river"; Lugal, En, Nuna, and Dara-abzu, "king," "lord," +"prince," and "ruler of the abyss"; Dara-dim, Dara-nuna, and Dara-banda, +honorific titles as "creator," "princely ruler," and "powerful ruler"; +Alima-nuna, Alima-banda, and Alima-sum-ki, "princely lord," "powerful +lord," and "lord disposer of the earth." He bore also besides these a +large number of names, among which may be cited, as an example of his +many-sidedness, the following-- + + + Sarsara, apparently "the overwhelmer," probably as lord of the sea + and its teeming myriads. + En-ti, "lord of life." + Gana-si, probably "the enclosure full (of life)." + Nam-zida, "righteousness." + Idima (Akk.) or Naqbu (Bab.), "the deep." + Sa-kalama, "ruler of the land." + Sanabaku and Sanabi, the god "40." + + +That the sea was the abode of the god of knowledge seems to have been the +belief of the Babylonians from the earliest times. According to Berosus, +whose record has been preserved by Apollodoros, Abydenus, and Alexander +Polyhistor, there appeared more than once, from the Erythraean Sea (the +Persian Gulf), "the Musaros Oannes, the Annedotos," a creature half man +and half fish, probably conceived in shape of the deity answering to this +description found on certain Babylonian cylinder-seals, in a sculpture +with representations of marine monsters, now preserved in the Louvre, and +in the divine figures in the shape of a man clothed with a fish's skin, +preserved in the form of clay statuettes and large sculptures +(bas-reliefs) in the British Museum. Abydenus apparently understands +Berosus differently, for he makes Annedotos and Oannes to be different +personages. All those who have quoted Berosus, however, agree in the main +point, that these beings, half man and half fish, came out of the sea to +teach mankind. There is hardly any doubt that in some of these cases the +deity that is intended is the god whose name is now read Ae or Ea, who was +called Aos by Damascius. After the appearance of the fourth Annedotos, +there came another person, also from the Erythraean Sea, named Odakon, +having, like the former, the same complicated form, between a man and a +fish. To these names Abydenus, still quoting Berosus, adds those of four +more "double-shaped personages" named Euedocos, Eneugamos, Eneuboulos, and +Anementos. These last came forth in the reign of Daos (probably Dumuzi +(Duwuzi) or Tammuz) the shepherd, of Pantibiblon (Sippar or Sippara), who +reigned for the space of ten sari (360,000 years)! "After these things was +Anodaphos, in the time of Euedoreschos." + +Besides his son Merodach, who, in Babylonian mythology, became "king of +the gods,"--like Jupiter, in the place of his father--Ae or Ea was regarded +as having six other sons, Dumu-zi-abzu, "Tammuz of the abyss"; Ki-gulla, +"the destroyer of the world"; Nira (meaning doubtful); Bara, "the +revealer" (?); Bara-gula, "the great revealer (?)"; and Burnunta-sa, "the +broad of ear." One daughter is attributed to him, her name being +Hi-dimme-azaga, "the glorious spirit's offspring," called, in one of the +incantations (W.A.I. iv., 2nd ed., col. ii., line 54), "the daughter of +the abyss." He had also two bull-like guardians (probably those composite +creatures, winged bulls with human heads, representations of which guarded +the approaches to the Assyrian palaces), one seemingly named Duga, "the +good," and the other Dub-ga, apparently meaning "he who causes (the bolt) +to be raised," giving the suppliant access to the palace of his lord. To +all appearance, the gates giving access to his domain were guarded by +eight porters, the names of most of whom are unfortunately broken away on +the tablet that gives these details, but one of them seems to have borne +the name of Eniw-hengala, "the bespeaker of fertility," whilst another was +named Igi-hen(?)gala, "the eye of fertility," and the third had a name +beginning, like that of the first, with the element Eniw, a circumstance +which would lead one to ask whether this may not be the element Eneu found +in the names of the two creatures Eneugamos and Eneuboulos, mentioned by +Berosus. + +His consort was called Damkina, "the lady of the earth," the Dauke of +Damascius, or Dam-gala-nuna, "the great princely lady." She likewise had +two bull-like attendants, A-eru and E-a-eru, of whom but little or nothing +is known. + +The tablet already quoted (W.A.I. iv., pl. 1, col. ii., ll. 36-39) names +Engur (the deep) as being the mother of Ae or Ea, and attributes to him +another daughter, Nina, with whom the name of Nineveh is apparently +connected. + +Down in the Abyss, in the city called Eridu, "the good city," there dwelt +Ae, with all his court. Sitting on his throne, he waited for the time when +his son Merodach, the good of heart, came to ask him for those +health-bringing incantations for the benefit of mankind. Sometimes, +seemingly, instead of Merodach, his sixth son Burnunsia (Burnunta-sa), +"the broad of ear," would perform this office. Ae was always ready to help +with his counsels, and no one whose case Merodach forwarded was spurned by +the King of the Abyss. + +Here, too, dwelt "Tammuz of the Abyss," one of Ae's sons, but whether this +was the well-known Tammuz who was the husband of the goddess Ishtar, is +uncertain. Judging from the legends of the Babylonians, Ishtar's husband +descended, not to the abode of the lord of the deep, but to the realms of +the Babylonian Persephone, the consort of Nergal, in Hades, "the land of +no return," whither Ishtar once descended in search of him. Concerning the +Babylonian paradise, where Ae dwelt, see the following chapter. + +The second month of the Babylonian year, Iyyar, corresponding to +April--May, was dedicated to Ae as lord of mankind, though in this the +records contradict each other, for the Creation-stories of the Babylonians +attribute the creation of mankind to Merodach, who has, therefore, the +best right to be regarded as their lord. + + + + +Ansar And Kisar (pp. 16, 17, 20, etc.). + + +Ansar, "host of heaven," and Kisar, "host of earth," are, it will be +remembered, given in the Semitic Babylonian account of the Creation as the +names of the powers that succeeded Lahmu and Lahamu, according to +Damascius, the second progeny of the sea and the deep (Tiamtu and Apsu). +The Greek forms, Assoros and Kisare, imply that Damascius understood the +former to be masculine and the latter feminine, though there is no hint of +gender in the wedge-written records. That the Babylonians regarded them as +being of different genders, however, is conceivable enough. The Greek form +of the first, Assoros, moreover, implies that, in course of time, the _n_ +of Ansar became assimilated with the _s_ (as was usual in Semitic +Babylonian), and on account of this, the etymology that connects Ansar +with the name of the Assyrian national god Assur, is not without +justification, though whether it be preferable to that of Delitzsch which +makes Assur to be really Asur, and connects it with _asaru_, meaning +"holy," is doubtful. In favour of Delitzsch, however, is the fact that the +Assyrians would more probably have given their chief divinity the name of +"the Holy one" than that of one of the links in the chain of divinities +which culminated in the rise of the god Merodach to the highest place in +the kingdom of heaven. + +The question naturally arises: Who were these deities, "the host of +heaven" and "the host of earth"? and this is a question to which we do not +get a very complete answer from the inscriptions. According to the +explanatory lists of gods (as distinct from the mythological texts proper) +Kisar is explained as the "host of heaven and earth" and also as Anu and +Antum, in other words, as the male and female personifications of the +heavens. Strange to say, this is just the explanation given in the +inscriptions of the names Lahmu and Lahamu, for though they are not "the +host of heaven and earth," they are the same, according to the lists of +gods, as the deities Anu and his consort Antum. This probably arises from +the worship of Anu, the god of the heavens, and his consort, at some +period preceding that of the worship of Merodach, or even that of his +father Aa or Ea, whose cult, as we have seen, was in early times abandoned +for that of the patron god of the city of Babylon. Concerning this portion +of the legend of the Creation, however, much more light is required. + +Besides the simple form Kisar, there occurs in the lists of gods also +Kisaragala, which is likewise explained as a manifestation of Anu and +Antum, and described moreover as "Anu, who is the host (_kissat_) of +heaven and earth." In addition to Ansar and Kisar, the deities Ensara and +Ninsara are mentioned. These names are apparently to be translated "lord +of the host" and "lady of the host" respectively, and are doubtless both +closely connected with, or the same as, the Ansar and Kisar of the +Babylonian story of the Creation, in close connection with which they are, +in fact, mentioned. En-kisara is given, in W.A.I., III., pl. 68, as one of +the three _mu-gala_ (apparently "great names") of Anu, the god of the +heavens. Another Nin-sara (the second element written with a different +character) is given as the equivalent of both Antum and Istar, the latter +being the well-known goddess of love and war, Venus. + + + + +Tiamat. + + +Tiamat is the common transcription of a name generally and more correctly +read as Tiamtu. The meaning of this word is "the sea," and its later and +more decayed pronunciation is _tamtu_ or _tamdu_, the feminine _t_ having +changed into _d_ after the nasal _m_, a phenomenon that also meets us in +other words having a nasal before the dental. As this word is the Tauthe +of the Greek writer Damascius, it is clear that in his time the _m_ was +pronounced as _w_ (this peculiarity is common to the Semitic Babylonian +and Akkadian languages, and finds its converse illustration in the +provincialism of _mir_ for _wir_, "we," in German), though the decayed +word _tamtu_ evidently kept its labial unchanged, for it is difficult to +imagine _w_ changing _t_ into _d_, unless it were pronounced in a way to +which wee are not accustomed. We have here, then, an example of a +differentiation by which one and the same word, by a change of +pronunciation, forms two "vocables," the one used as a proper noun and the +other--a more decayed form--as a common one. + +Tiamtu (from the above it may be supposed that the real pronunciation was +as indicated by the Greek form, namely, Tiauthu), meaning originally "the +sea," became then the personification of the watery deep as the producer +of teeming animal life such as we find in the waters everywhere. +Dominating and covering at first the whole earth, it was she who was the +first producer of living things, but when the land appeared, and creatures +of higher organization and intelligence began, under the fostering care of +the higher divinities, to make their appearance, she saw, so the +Babylonians seem to have thought, that with the advent of man, whom the +gods purposed forming, her power and importance would, in a short time, +disappear, and rebellion on her part was the result. How, in the +Babylonian legends, this conflict ended, the reader of the foregoing pages +knows, and after her downfall and destruction or subjugation, she retained +her productive power under the immediate control and direction of the gods +under whose dominion she had fallen. + +Tiamtu is represented in the Old Testament by _tehom_, which occurs in +Gen. i. 2, where both the Authorised and Revised Versions translate "the +deep." The Hebrew form of the word, however, is not quite the same, the +Assyrian feminine ending being absent. + +To all appearance the legend of Tiamtu was well known all over Western +Asia. As Gunkel and Zimmern have shown, there is a reference thereto in +Ps. lxxxix. 10, where Rahab, who was broken in pieces, is referred to, and +under the same name she appears also in Isaiah li. 9, with the additional +statement that she is the dragon who was pierced; likewise in Job xxvi. 12 +and ix. 13, where her followers are said to be referred to; in Ps. lxxiv. +14 the dragon whose heads (a plural probably typifying the diverse forms +under which Nature's creative power appears) are spoken of. Tiamtu, as +Rahab and the dragon, therefore played a part in Hebrew legends of old as +great, perhaps, as in the mythology of Babylonia, where she seems to have +originated. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. THE HISTORY, AS GIVEN IN THE BIBLE, FROM THE CREATION TO THE +FLOOD. + + + Eden--The so-called second story of the Creation and the bilingual + Babylonian account--The four rivers--The tree of life--The + Temptation--The Cherubim--Cain and Abel--The names of the Patriarchs + from Enoch to Noah. + + +"And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the +man whom He had formed." There also He made every pleasant and good tree +to grow, including the tree of life, and the tree of knowledge of good and +evil. A river came out of Eden to water the garden, and this river was +afterwards divided into four smaller streams, the Pishon, flowing round +"the Hawilah," a land of gold (which was good) and bdellium and onyx +stone; the Gihon, flowing round the whole land of Cush; the Hiddekel or +Tigris, and the Euphrates. + +It is to be noted that it was not the garden itself that was called Eden, +but the district in which it lay. The river too seems to have risen in the +same tract, and was divided at some indeterminate point, either in the +land of Eden or on its borders. + +The whereabouts of the Garden of Eden and its rivers has been so many +times discussed, and so many diverse opinions prevail concerning them, +that there is no need at present to add to these theories yet another, +more or less probable. Indeed, in the present work, theories will be kept +in the background as much as possible, and prominence given to such facts +as recent discoveries have revealed to us. + +It had long been known that one of the Akkadian names for "plain" was +_edina_, and that that word had been borrowed by the Babylonians under the +form of _edinnu_, but it was Prof. Delitzsch, the well-known +Assyriologist, who first pointed out to a disbelieving world that this +must be the Eden of Genesis. The present writer thought this +identification worthless until he had the privilege of examining the +tablets acquired by Dr. Hayes Ward in Babylonia on the occasion of his +conducting the Wolfe expedition. Among the fragments of tablets that he +then brought back was a list of cities in the Akkadian language (the +Semitic Babylonian column was unfortunately broken away) which gave the +following-- + +Transcription. Translation. +Sipar, D.S. Sippara. +Sipar Edina, D.S. Sippara of Eden. +Sipar uldua, D.S. Sippara the everlasting. +Sipar Samas, D.S. Sippara of the Sun-god. + +Here at last was the word Eden used as a geographical name, showing that +the explanation of Delitzsch was not only plausible, but also, in all +probability, true in substance and in fact. Less satisfactory, however, +were the learned Professor's identifications of the rivers of Eden, for he +regards the Pishon and the Gihon as canals--the former being the Pallacopas +(the Pallukatu of the Babylonian inscriptions), and the latter the Guhande +(also called the Arahtu, now identified with a large canal running through +Babylon). He conjectured that it might be the waterway known as the Shatt +en-Nil. Whatever doubt, however, attaches to his identifications of the +rivers, he seems certainly to be right with regard to the Biblical Eden, +and this is a decided gain, for it locates the position of that district +beyond a doubt. + +To Prof. Sayce belongs the honour of identifying the Babylonian story of +the nature and position of Paradise as they conceived it, and here we have +another example of the important details that the incantation-tablets may +contain concerning beliefs not otherwise preserved to us, for the text in +question, like the bilingual story of the Creation, is simply an +introduction to a text of that nature. This interesting record, to which I +have been able to add a few additional words since Prof. Sayce first gave +his translation of it to the world, is as follows-- + + + "Incantation: '(In) Eridu a dark vine grew, it was made in a + glorious place, + Its appearance (as) lapis-lazuli, planted beside the Abyss, + Which is Ae's path, filling Eridu with fertility. + Its seat is the (central) point of the earth, + Its dwelling is the couch of Nammu. + In the glorious house, which is like a forest, its shadow extends, + No man enters its midst. + In its interior is the Sun-god Tammuz. + Between the mouths of the rivers (which are) on both sides.' " + + +The lines which follow show how this plant, which was a miraculous remedy, +was to be used in the cure of a sick man. It was to be placed upon his +head, and beneficent spirits would then come and stay with him, whilst the +evil ones would stand aside. + +From the introductory lines above translated, we see that Eridu, "the good +city," which Sir Henry Rawlinson recognized many years ago as a type of +paradise, was, to the Babylonians, as a garden of Eden, wherein grew a +glorious tree, to all appearance a vine, for the adjective "dark" may very +reasonably be regarded as referring to its fruit. Strange must have been +its appearance, for it is described as resembling "white lapis-lazuli," +that is, the beautiful stone of that kind mottled blue and white. The +probability that it was conceived by the Babylonians as a garden is +strengthened by the fact that the god Ae, and his path, _i.e._ the rivers, +filled the place with fertility, and it was, moreover, the abode of the +river-god Nammu, whose streams, the Tigris and Euphrates, flowed on both +sides. There, too, dwelt the Sun, making the garden fruitful with his +ever-vivifying beams, whilst "the peerless mother of heaven," as Tammuz +seems to be called, added, by fructifying showers, to the fertility that +the two great rivers brought down from the mountains from which they +flowed. To complete still further the parallel with the Biblical Eden, it +was represented as a place to which access was forbidden, for "no man +entered its midst," as in the case of the Garden of Eden after the fall. + +Though one cannot be dogmatic in the presence of the imperfect records +that we possess, it is worthy of note that Eden does not occur as the name +of the earthly paradise in any of the texts referring to the Creation that +have come down to us; and though it is to be found in the bilingual story +of the Creation, it there occurs simply as the equivalent of the Semitic +word _serim_ in the phrase "he (Merodach) made the verdure of the +_plain_." That we shall ultimately find other instances of Eden as a +geographical name, occurring by itself, and not in composition with +another word (as in the expression _Sipar Edina_), and even a reference to +_gannat Edinni_, "the Garden of Eden," is to be expected. + +Schrader(5) has pointed out that whilst in Eden the river bears no name, +it is only after it has left the sacred region that it is divided, and +then each separate branch received a name. So, also, in the Babylonian +description of the Eridu, the rivers were unnamed, though one guesses that +the Tigris and the Euphrates are meant. The expression, "the mouth of the +rivers [that are on] both sides" (_pi narati ... kilallan_), recalls to +the mind the fact, that it was to "a remote place at the mouth of the +rivers" that the Babylonian Noah (Pir-napistim) was translated after the +Flood, when the gods conferred upon him the gift of immortality. To all +appearance, therefore, Gilgames, the ancient Babylonian hero who visited +the immortal sage, entered into the tract regarded by the Babylonians of +old times as being set apart for the abode of the blessed after their +journeyings on this world should cease. + +The connection of the stream which was "the path of Ae" with Eridu, seems +to have been very close, for in the bilingual story of the Creation the +flowing of the stream is made to be the immediate precursor of the +building of Eridu and Esagila, "the lofty-headed temple" within it-- + + + "When within the sea there was a stream, + In that day Eridu was made, Esagila was built-- + Esagila which the god Lugal-du-azaga had founded within the + Abyss." + + +In this Babylonian Creation-story it is a question of a stream and two +rivers. In Genesis it is a question of a river and four branches. The +parallelism is sufficiently close to be noteworthy and to show, beyond a +doubt, that the Babylonians had the same accounts of the Creation and +descriptions of the circumstances concerning it, as the Hebrews, though +told in a different way, and in a different connection. + +Two trees are mentioned in the Biblical account of the Creation, "the tree +of life" and "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." By the eating +of the former, a man would live for ever, and the latter would confer upon +him that knowledge which God alone was supposed to possess, namely, of +good and evil, carrying with it, however, the disadvantage of the loss of +that innocence which he formerly possessed. Like the Hebrews, the +Babylonians and Assyrians also had their sacred trees, but whether they +attached to them the same deep significance as the Hebrews did to theirs +we do not know. Certain, however, it is, that they had beliefs concerning +them that were analogous. + +The most familiar form of the sacred tree is that employed by the +Assyrians, to a certain extent as a decorative ornament, on the sculptured +slabs that adorned the walls of the royal palaces. This was the curious +conglomeration of knots and leaves which various figures--winged genii with +horned hats emblematic of divinity, eagle-headed figures, etc.--worship, +and to which they make offerings, and touch with a conical object +resembling the fruit of the fir or pine. An ingenious suggestion has been +made to the effect that the genius with the pine-cone is represented in +the act of fructifying the tree with the pollen (in an idealized form) +from the flowers of another tree, just as it is necessary to fructify the +date-palm from the pollen of the flowers growing on the "male" tree. This, +however, can hardly be the true explanation of the mystic act represented, +as similar genii are shown on other slabs not only holding out the conical +object as if to touch therewith the figure of the king, but also doing the +same thing to the effigies of the great winged bulls. Of course, the +fructification of the king would be not only a possible representation to +carve in alabaster, but one that we might even expect to find among the +royal sculptures. The fructification of a winged bull, however, is quite a +different thing, and in the highest degree improbable, unless the divine +bull were a kind of representation of the king, which, though possible, is +at present unprovable. + +This symbolic scene, therefore, remains still a mystery for scholars to +explain when they obtain the material to do so. It seems to be a +peculiarly Assyrian design, for the offering of a pine-cone or +similarly-shaped object to the sacred tree has not yet been found in +Babylonian art. The Babylonian sacred tree is, moreover, a much more +natural-looking object than the curious combination of knots and +honeysuckle-shaped flowers found in the sculptures of Assyria. As in the +case of the tree shown in the picture of the Temptation, described below, +the sacred tree of the Babylonians often takes the form of a palm-tree, or +something very like one. (See pl. III.) + +As has been already remarked, the tree of Paradise of the Babylonians was, +to all appearance, a vine, described as being in colour like blue and +white mottled lapis-lazuli, and apparently bearing fruit (grapes) of a +dark colour. That the Babylonian tree of life was a vine is supported by +the fact that the ideograms composing the word for "wine" are _ges-tin_ +(for _kas-tin_), "drink of life," and "the vine," _gis ges-tin_, "tree of +the drink of life." In the text describing the Babylonian Paradise and its +divine tree, the name of the latter is given as _kiskanu_ in Semitic, and +_gis-kin_ or _gis-kan_ in Akkadian, a word mentioned in the bilingual +lists among plants of the vine species. Whether the Hebrews regarded the +tree of life as having been a vine or not, cannot at present be decided, +but it is very probable that they had the same ideas as the Babylonians in +the matter. + +It is noteworthy, in this connection, that the Babylonians also believed +that there still existed in the world a plant (they do not seem to have +regarded it as a tree) which "would make an old man young again." Judging +from the statements concerning it, one would imagine that it was a kind of +thorn-bush. As we shall see later, when treating of the story of the +Flood, it was this plant which the Chaldean Noah gave the hero Gilgames +instructions how to find--for the desire to become young again had seized +him--and he seems to have succeeded in possessing himself of it, only to +lose it again almost immediately, for a lion, coming that way at a time +when Gilgames was otherwise occupied, carried it off--to his own benefit, +as the hero remarks, for he naturally supposed that the lion who had +seized the plant would have his life renewed, and prey all the longer upon +the people. + +The title of a lost legend, "When the _kiskanu_ (? vine, see above) grew +in the land" (referring, perhaps, to the tree of life which grew in +Eridu), leads one to ask whether "The legend of Nisaba (the corn-deity) +and the date-palm," and "The legend of the _luluppu_-tree" may not also +refer to sacred trees, bearing upon the question of the tree of knowledge +referred to in Gen. ii. As, however, the titles (generally a portion of +the first line only) are all that are at present preserved, there is +nothing to be done but wait patiently until it pleases Providence to make +them further known to us. + +The _kiskanu_ was of three kinds, white (_pisu_), black (_salmi_), as in +the description of the tree of Paradise, and grey or blue (_sami_). In +view of there being these three colours, it would seem that they refer +rather to the fruit of the tree than to the tree itself. Now the only +plant growing in the country and having these three colours of fruit, is +the vine. Of course, this raises the question whether (1) the _kiskanu_ is +a synonym of _gistin_ or _karanu_, or (2) the word _gistin_, which is +generally rendered "vine," is, in reality, correctly translated. Whatever +be the true explanation, one thing is certain, namely, that in the +description of Paradise, the word black or dark (_salmu_), applied to the +tree there mentioned, cannot refer to the tree itself, for that is +described as being like "white lapis" (_uknu ebbu_), a beautiful stone +mottled blue and white. + + [Plate III A.] + +Babylonian Mythological Composition. Impression of a cylinder-seal showing +a male figure on the right and a bull-man on the left, holding erect bulls + by the horns and tails. In the centre is a form of the sacred tree on a + hill. Date about 2500 B.C. British Museum. + + + [Plate III B.] + +Babylonian Mythological Composition. Impression of a cylinder-seal showing +Istar, goddess of love and of war as archeress, standing on the back of a +lion, which turns its head to caress her feet. Before her is a worshipper + (priest) and two goats (reversed to form a symmetrical design), leaping. + Behind her is a date-palm. Date about 650 B.C. British Museum. + + +Among other trees of a sacred nature is "the cedar beloved of the great +gods," mentioned in an inscription of a religious or ceremonial nature, +though exactly in what connection the imperfectness of the document does +not enable us to see. It would seem, however, that there were certain +priests or seers to whom was confided the "tablet of the gods," containing +the secret of the heavens and earth (probably the "tablet of fate," which +Merodach took from the husband of Tiamat after his fight with her for the +dominion of the universe). These persons, who seem to have been the +descendants of En-we-dur-an-ki (the Euedoranchos of Berosus), king of +Sippar, were those to whom was confided "the cedar beloved of the great +gods"--perhaps a kind of sceptre. They had, however, not only to be of +noble race, but also perfect physically and free from every defect and +disease. Moreover, one who did not keep the command of Samas and Addu +(Hadad) could not approach the place of Ae, Samas, Marduk, and Nin-edina, +nor the number of the brothers who were to enter the seership; they were +not to reveal to him the word of the oracle, and "the cedar beloved of the +great gods" was not to be delivered into his hands. + +There is hardly any doubt, then, that we have here the long-sought +parallel to the Biblical "tree of knowledge," for that, too, was in the +domain of "the lord of knowledge," the god Ae, and also in the land which +might be described as that of "the lord of Eden," the "hidden place of +heaven and earth" for all the sons of Adam, who are no longer allowed to +enter into that earthly Paradise wherein their first parents gained, at +such a cost, the knowledge, imperfect as it must have been, and evidently +undesirable, which they handed down to their successors. + + + + +Adam. + + +The name of the first man, Adam, is one that has tried the learning of the +most noted Hebraists to explain satisfactorily. It was formerly regarded +as being derived from the root _adam_, "to be red," but this explanation +has been given up in favour of the root _adam_, "to make, produce," man +being conceived as "the created one." This etymology is that put forward +by the Assyriologist Fried. Delitzsch, who quotes the Assyrian _admu_, +"young bird," and _admi summati_, "young doves," literally, "the young of +doves," though he does not seem to refer the Assyrian _udumu_, "monkey," +to the same root. He also quotes, apparently from memory, the evidence of +a fragment of a bilingual list found by Mr. Rassam, in which Adam is +explained by the usual Babylonian word for "man," _amelu_. + +The writer of Genesis has given to the first man the name of Adam, thus +personifying in him the human race, which was to descend from him. In all +probability, the Babylonians had the same legends, but, if so, no fragment +of them has as yet come to light. That the Hebrew stories of the Creation +had their origin in Babylonia, will probably be conceded by most people as +probable, if not actually proven, and the fact that the word _a-dam_ +occurs, as Delitzsch has pointed out, in a bilingual list would, supposing +the text to which he refers to be actually bilingual, be a matter of +peculiar significance, for it would show that this word, which does not +occur in Semitic Babylonian as the word for "man," occurred in the old +Akkadian language with that meaning. + +And the proof that Delitzsch was right in his recollection of the tablet +of which he speaks, is shown by the bilingual Babylonian story of the +Creation. There, in lines 9, 10, we read as follows-- + + + Akkadian (dialectic): Uru nu-dim, a-dam nu-mun-ia. + Babylonian: Alu ul epus, nammassu ul sakin. + + +"A city had not been made, the community had not been established." + +Here we have the non-Semitic _adam_ translated by the Babylonian +_nammassu_, which seems to mean a number of men, in this passage something +like community, for that is the idea which best fits the context. But +besides this Semitic rendering, the word also has the meanings of +_tenisetu_, "mankind," _amelutu_, "human beings." + +The word _adam_, meaning "man," is found also in Phoenician, Sabean, and +apparently in Arabic, under the form of _atam_, a collective meaning +"creatures." + +The possibility that the Babylonians had an account of the Fall similar to +that of the Hebrews, is not only suggested by the legends treated of +above, but also by the cylinder-seal in the British Museum with what seems +to be the representation of the Temptation engraved upon it. We have there +presented to us the picture of a tree--a palm--bearing fruit, and on each +side of it a seated figure, that on the right being to all appearance the +man, and that on the left the woman, though there is not much difference +between them, and, as far as the form of either goes, the sexes might +easily be reversed. That, however, which seems to be intended for the man +has the horned hat emblematic of divinity, or, probably, of divine origin, +whilst from the figure which seems to be that of the woman this head-dress +is absent. Behind her, moreover, with wavy body standing erect on his +tail, is shown the serpent, towering just above her head, as if ready to +speak with her. Both figures are stretching out a hand (the man the right, +the woman the left) as if to pluck the fruit growing on the tree. +Notwithstanding the doubts that have been thrown on the explanation here +given of this celebrated and exceedingly interesting cylinder, the subject +and its arrangement are so suggestive, that one can hardly regard it as +being other than what it seems to be, namely, a Babylonian representation +of the Temptation, according to records that the Babylonians possessed. +The date of this object may be set down as being from about 2750 to 2000 +B.C. + +Future excavations in Babylonia and Assyria will, no doubt, furnish us +with the legends current in those countries concerning the Temptation, the +Fall, and the sequel thereto. Great interest would naturally attach to the +Babylonian rendering of the details and development of the story, more +particularly to the terms of the penalty, the expulsion, and the nature of +the beings--the cherubim--placed at the east of the garden, and "the flaming +sword turning every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." + +Though the Babylonian version of this Biblical story has not yet come to +light, the inscriptions in the wedge-writing give us a few details bearing +upon the word "cherub." + +The Hebrews understood these celestial beings as having the form which we +attribute to angels--a glorified human appearance, but with the addition of +wings. They are spoken of as bearing the throne of the Almighty through +the clouds ("He rode upon a cherub, and did fly"), and in Psalm xviii. 11 +he is also represented as sitting upon them. In Ezekiel i. and x. they are +said to be of a very composite form, combining with the human shape the +face of a cherub (whatever that may have been), a man, an ox, a lion, and +an eagle. It has been supposed that Ezekiel was indebted to +Assyro-Babylonian imagery for the details of the cherubic creatures that +he describes, but it may safely be said that, though the sculptures +furnish us with images of divine creatures in the form of a man with the +face of an eagle, or having a modification of a lion's head, and bulls and +lions with the faces of men, there has never yet been found a figure +provided with a wheel for the purpose of locomotion, and having four +heads, like those of which the prophet speaks. We may, therefore, safely +conclude, that Ezekiel applied the word _kerub_ (cherub) to the creatures +that he saw in his vision, because that was the most suitable word he +could find, not because it was the term usually applied to things of that +kind. It is hardly likely that the guardians of the entrance into the +earthly Paradise and the creatures that bore up the throne of the Almighty +were conceived as being of so complicated a form as the cherubim of +Ezekiel. + +Whatever doubt may exist as to the original form of this celestial being, +the discussion of the origin of the Hebrew word _kerub_ may now be +regarded as finally settled by the discovery of the Assyro-Babylonian +records. It is undoubtedly borrowed from the Babylonian _kirubu_, a word +meaning simply "spirit," and conceived as one who was always in the +presence (_ina kirib_) of God, and formed from the root _qarabu_, "to be +near." The change from _q_ (qoph) to _k_ (kaph) is very common in +Babylonian, and occurs more frequently before _e_ and _i_, hence the form +in Hebrew, _kerub_ (cherub--the translators intended that _ch_ should be +pronounced as _k_) for _qerub_ (which the translators would have +transcribed as _kerub_). + +Originally the Assyro-Babylonian word _kirubu_ seems to have meant +something like "intimate friend," or "familiar," as in the expression +_kirub sarri_, "familiar of the king," mentioned between "daughter of the +king," and "the beloved woman of the king." An illustration of its +extended meaning of "spirit," however, occurs in the following lines from +"the tablet of Good Wishes"-- + + + "In thy mouth may there be perfection of speech + (_lu asim dababu_); + In thine eye may there be brightness of sight + (_lu namir nitlu_); + In thine ear may there be a spirit of hearing" + (_lu_ KIRUB _nismu_, lit. 'a cherub of hearing')." + + +The cherubim were therefore the good spirits who performed the will of +God, and, in the minds of the Assyrians and Babylonians, watched over and +guarded the man who was the "son of his God," _i.e._ the pious man. + +The cherub upon which the Almighty rode, and upon whom he sat, corresponds +more to the _guzalu_ or "throne-bearer" of Assyro-Babylonian mythology. +They were apparently beings who bore up the thrones of the gods, and are +frequently to be seen in Babylonian sculptures thus employed, at rest, and +waiting patiently, to all appearance, until their divine master, seated on +the throne which rests on their shoulders, should again give them word, or +make known that it was now his will to start and journey forth once more. + +The story of Cain and Abel, and the first tragedy that occurred in the +world after the creation of man, has always attracted the attention of the +pious on that account, and because the first recorded murder was that of a +brother. This is a story to which the discovery of a Babylonian parallel +was least likely to be found, and, as a matter of fact, none has as yet +come to light. Notwithstanding this, a few remarks upon such remote +parallels which exist, and such few illustrations of the event that can be +found, may be cited in this place. + +These are contained in the story of Tammuz or Adonis, who, though not +supposed to have been slain by his brother, was nevertheless killed by the +cold of Winter, who might easily have been regarded as his brother, for +Tammuz typified the season of Summer, the Brother-season, so to say, of +Winter. As is well known, the name Tammuz is Akkadian, and occurs in that +language under the form of Dumu-zi, or, more fully, Dumu-zida, meaning +"the everlasting son," in Semitic Babylonian _ablu kenu_. It is very +noteworthy that Prof. J. Oppert has suggested that the name of Abel, in +Hebrew Habel, is, in reality, none other than the Babylonian _ablu_, +"son," and the question naturally arises, May not the story of Cain and +Abel have given rise to the legend of Tammuz, or _Ablu kenu_, as his name +would be if translated into Semitic Babylonian? + +Unless by a folk-etymology, however, the Semitic Babylonian translation of +the name of Tammuz can hardly be a composition of Abel and Cain, because +the first letter is _q_ (qoph) and not _k_ (kaph), the transcription Cain +for Kain or Kayin being faulty in the A.V. Still, we feel bound to +recognize that there is a possibility, though naturally a remote one, that +the legend of Tammuz is connected with that of Cain and Abel, just as the +division of the Dragon (in the Babylonian story of the Creation) by the +god Merodach into two halves, with one of which he covered the heavens, +leaving the other below upon the earth, typifies the division of the +waters above the earth from those below in the Biblical story of the same +event. + +There is a legend, named by me (for want of a more precise title) "The +Lament of the Daughter of the god Sin," in which the carrying off (by +death?) of "her fair son" is referred to. Here we have another possible +Babylonian parallel to the story of the death of Abel, in which the +driving forth of her who makes the lament from her city and from her +palace might well typify the expulsion of Eve from Paradise, and her +delivery into the power of her enemy, who is, to all appearance, the king +of terrors, into whose hands she and her husband were, for their +disobedience, consigned. In this really beautiful Babylonian poem her +"enemy" seems to reproach her, telling her how it was she, and she alone, +who had ruined herself. + +Though there may be something in the comparisons with the story of Cain +and Abel which are quoted here, more probably (as has been already +remarked) there is nothing, and the real parallels have yet to be found. +In any case, they are instances of the popularity among the Babylonians +and Assyrians of those stories of one, greatly beloved and in the bloom of +youth, coming, like Abel, to an untimely end through the perversity of +fate, and by no fault of his own. Though neither may be the original of +the Biblical story nor yet derived from it, they are of interest and value +as beautiful legends of old time, possibly throwing light on the Biblical +story. + +As yet the Babylonian and Assyrian records shed but little light on the +question of the patriarchs of the early ages succeeding Adam, the details +that are given concerning them, and their long lives. Upon this last point +there is only one remark to be made, and that is, that the prehistoric +kings of Babylonia likewise lived and reigned for abnormally long ages, +according to the records that have come down to us. Unfortunately, there +is nothing complete in the important original of the Canon of Berosus +first published by the late G. Smith, and the beginning is especially +mutilated. + +The likeness between Enoch and the Akkadian name of the city of Erech, +Unug, has already been pointed out, and it has been suggested that the two +words are identical. This, however, can hardly be the case, for the Hebrew +form of Enoch is Hanok, the initial letter being the guttural _heth_, +which, notwithstanding the parallel ease of Hiddekel, the Akkadian Idigna +(the Tigris), weakens the comparison. The principal argument against the +identification, however, is the fact that, in the bilingual story of the +Creation, the god Merodach is said to have built the city, and such was +evidently the Babylonian belief.(6) + +The name of Enoch's great-grandson, Methusael, finds, as has many times +been pointed out, its counterpart in the Babylonian Mut-ili, with the same +meaning ("man of God"). + + [Plate IV.] + +Lower part of the obverse of a terra-cotta tablet from Nineveh, inscribed +with the names of Babylonian kings in Sumerian and Semitic Babylonian. The +13th line (that running across two columns) has the statement, "These are + the kings who were after the Flood. They are not written in their proper + order." The names of Sargina (Sargon of Agade) and Hammurabi (Amraphel) + also occur. Found by Sir A. H. Layard and Hormuzd Rassam. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. THE FLOOD. + + + The Biblical account--Its circumstantial nature and its great + length--The Babylonian account--The reason of the Flood and why + Pir-napistim built the Ark--His devotion to the God Ea--Ea and + Jah--Ea's antagonism to Bel--The bloodless sacrifice--Ea's gift of + immortality--Further observations--Appendix: The second version of + the Flood-story. + + +Noah, son of Lamech, had reached the age of five hundred years, and had +three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japhet; and at this time men had begun to +multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them; then +"the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they +took them wives of all that they chose." + +The question naturally arises, "Who were these sons of God?" According to +Job xxxviii. 7, where we have the statement that "The morning stars sang +together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy," it would seem to be +the angels that are intended by these words, and this is apparently the +opinion generally held by scholars and divines on the subject. This view +seems to be favoured by the Second Epistle of Peter (ii. 1), though, as +the words do not actually agree with those of the text of Genesis quoted +above, nothing very positive can be maintained concerning the apostle's +dictum--in fact, his words in the passage referred to, "for if God spared +not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them +into chains and darkness, to be reserved unto judgment," can much more +reasonably be regarded as referring, and therefore giving authority to, +the story of the fall of the angels, as indicated in Avitus, Caedmon, and +Milton, a legend of which the germs are found in the Babylonian account of +the Creation, referred to in Chapter I. The other passages of Job where +this expression occurs (i. 6, and ii. 2) are not conclusive as to the +meaning "angels," for the expressions "sons of God," in those passages, +who are said to have come before the Almighty, may very well have been +merely men. + +However the matter may stand, for the passages in Job, there is every +probability that it is not the angels that are intended in the description +we are examining as to the reasons of the coming of the Flood. As the late +George Bertin was the first to point out, the Babylonians often used the +phrase "a son of his god," apparently to designate "a just man," or +something similar. The connection in which this expression occurs is as +follows-- + + + "May Damu, the great enchanter, make his thoughts happy, + May the lady who giveth life to the dead, the goddess Gula, heal + him by the pressure of her pure hand, + And thou, O gracious Merodach, who lovest the revivification of + the dead, + With thy pure incantation of life, free him from his sin, and + May the man, the son of his god, be pure, clean, and bright." + + +In this passage the phrase in question is (in Akkadian) _gisgallu dumu +dingirana_, and (in Assyrian) _amelu mar ili-su_. It is a frequent +expression in documents of this class, and always occurs in a similar +connection. In some cases, instead of "the man, the son of his god," the +variation "the king, the son of his god" occurs, and is apparently to be +paraphrased in the same way, and understood as "the pious king." + +May it not be, then, that "the sons of God," who saw that the daughters of +men were fair (lit. good), and took of them as many wives as they wanted, +were those who were regarded as the pious men of the time? For who among +the angels would at any time have thought of allying himself with an +earthly and mortal spouse, and begetting children--offspring who should +turn out to be "mighty men which were of old, men of renown," as verse 4 +has it? In this case, the "daughters of men" would be children of common +people, not possessing any special piety or other virtue to recommend +them, the only thing being that their daughters were fair, and good +enough, in the opinion of those "sons of God," to have as their wives. + +It is apparently given as the result of these unions between the pious men +and the daughters of the people that wickedness became rife in the earth, +and man's imagination continually evil; and this was so to such an extent +that the Almighty repented of having created man, and decided to destroy +the wicked generation--both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of +the air--dwelling upon the earth--all except Noah, who found favour in the +eyes of Yahwah. + +Having decided to destroy the life of the world by means of a flood, God +communicated His intention and the reason thereof to the patriarch, and +instructed him to build an ark in which he was to save both himself and +his family from the impending destruction. The vessel is to be built of +gopher-wood, to have rooms in it, and to be pitched within and without +with pitch. The dimensions also are specified. Its length was to be three +hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. He +was to make the ark "with light" ({~HEBREW LETTER TSADI~}{~HEBREW LETTER HE~}{~HEBREW LETTER RESH~} or {~HEBREW LETTER RESH~}{~HEBREW LETTER HE~}{~HEBREW LETTER TSADI~}), that is, with windows, and +their length or height, apparently, was to be a cubit. The vessel was to +have a door, and to be built with three stories, lower, second, and third. +In accordance with God's covenant with the patriarch, he, his sons, and +his sons' wives were to be saved, along with every living thing, male and +female of each kind. For all this great multitude a sufficiency of food +was directed to be provided. + +Then comes the command (the ark having been duly built, and all the +directions followed) to enter into the vessel, and further instructions +are given with regard to the creatures that are to be saved, with a slight +modification in the numbers, for the clean beasts are to be taken in "by +sevens," and all the rest, "the unclean," by pairs. God then announces +that in seven days' time He will cause rain to come upon the earth for +forty days and forty nights. "All the fountains of the great deep" were +broken up, and the Lord shut up those upon whom He had favour in the ark. + +Then, as the rain continued, the waters "prevailed exceedingly" upon the +earth, and the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered, +the depth of the waters being "fifteen cubits and upwards." Everything was +destroyed, "Noah alone remained alive, and those who were with him in the +ark." + +"And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days." + +The "fountains of the deep" and "the windows of heaven" having been +stopped, and the "rain from heaven" restrained, the waters abated, leaving +the ark high and dry upon the mountains of Ararat; and after the tops of +the mountains were seen, Noah looked out of the window that he had made. +He then sent forth a raven and a dove, and the latter, not finding a +resting-place, returned to him, to be sent forth again at the end of +another week. The dove again returned bearing in her beak an olive-leaf. +Seven days more passed, and the dove, having been sent out a third time, +returned to him no more. Recognizing that the waters were now all returned +into their old channels, and that the land was dry enough for him and his, +Noah removed the covering of the vessel, and saw that his supposition was +correct, and having received the command to come forth from the ark, which +had been his abiding-place for so long, and to send forth the living +creatures that were with him, the patriarch obeyed, and, when on dry land, +built an altar to Yahwah, and offered burnt offerings thereon of every +clean beast and every clean fowl. + +"And the Lord smelled a sweet savour (lit. a savour of rest); and the Lord +said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's +sake, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth.... While +the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer +and winter, and day and night shall not cease." + +Then comes, in the ninth chapter, the blessing of God, with a charge +concerning the shedding of blood. He makes also a covenant with Noah, by +the sign of the rainbow, declaring that a like calamity shall never again +come upon the earth to destroy all life that is upon it. + +Such is, in short, the Bible story of the great flood that destroyed, at a +remote age of the world, all life upon the earth. It is a narrative +circumstantially told, with day, month, and year all indicated, and it +forms a good subject for comparison with the Babylonian account, with +which it agrees so closely in all the main points, and from which it +differs so much in many essential details. + +As in the case of the Babylonian story of the Creation, it has been +thought well not only to give a fairly full translation of the Babylonian +story of the Flood, but also to indicate under what circumstances that +story appears in the series of tablets in which it is found. + +The first to detect the nature of the series of tablets giving the story +of the Flood was the late George Smith, who had unrivalled opportunities +of making himself thoroughly acquainted with the treasures of the British +Museum in the matter of Assyrian records. As the story runs, it was whilst +searching for the fragments of the Creation-series that he came across a +fragment of a tablet mentioning that "the ship rested on the mountain of +Nisir," and this at once suggested to him that this was a reference to the +Flood, as, in fact, it turned out to be. Continued and unremitting +research among the treasures of the Department in which he was employed +enabled him to bring together a large number of other fragments of the +series, leaving, in fact, very little indeed for any future student to do +in the way of collecting together texts from the fragments that he had an +opportunity of examining. The _Daily Telegraph_ expedition to Assyria, +which was conducted by Mr. Smith himself, enabled him to add many other +fragments to those which he had already recognized in the Oriental +Department of the British Museum, and Mr. Rassam's very successful +excavations in the same place have since very considerably increased the +list of additions. + +The story of the Flood, as known to the Babylonians and Assyrians, is one +chapter or book of a legend consisting of twelve similar divisions, the +first line of the series beginning with the words _Sa naqba imuru_, "He +who saw everything," and to this is added in the colophons, "the legend of +Gilgames." The number of fragments extant is large, but the individual +tablets are very imperfect, that giving the account of the Flood being by +far the most complete, though even that has very regrettable lacunae. +Incomplete as the legend is as a whole, an attempt will nevertheless be +made here to give some sort of a connected story, which may be regarded as +accurate in all its main details. + +The first tablet begins with the words that have been quoted above, "He +who saw everything, [who] ... the land." This is followed, it would seem, +by a description of the hero, who, apparently, knew "the wisdom of the +whole (of the lands?)," and "saw secret and hidden things.... He brought +news of before the flood, went a distant road, and (suffered) dire fatigue +(?)." All his journeyings and toils were, apparently, inscribed on tablets +of stone, and records thus left for future ages. + +Gilgames, as we learn in the course of the narrative, was lord or king of +_Uruk supuri_, or "Erech the walled," and at the time when the story +begins, the fortifications were in a ruinous state, and the treasury (?) +of the sanctuary E-anna, the temple of the goddess Istar, which is +mentioned in the legend immediately after, was, we may suppose, empty. +Other details of the desolation of the temple are given, and the ruinous +state of the walls of the city are spoken of, together with the decay of +their foundations. + +No other fragment of Col. I. of the first tablet of the Legend of Gilgames +seems to have been recognized, so that the further references to the city +are lost. An interesting piece that Mr. G. Smith thought to be part of the +third column of this text refers to some misfortune that came upon the +city when the people moaned like calves, and the maidens grieved like +doves. + + + "The gods of Erech the walled + Turned to flies, and hummed in the streets; + The winged bulls of Erech the walled + Turned to mice, and went out through the holes." + + +The city was, on this occasion, besieged for three years, until at last +the god Bel and the goddess Istar interested themselves in the state of +things. As to who the enemy was who brought the people into such distress, +there is no means at present of finding out, but Mr. G. Smith suggested, +with at least some show of probability, that they were the Elamites under +Humbaba, who appears later as the opponent of our hero. The indifference +of the gods and the divine bulls that were supposed to protect the city is +well expressed in the statement that they respectively turned into flies +and mice, buzzing about and active, but doing no good whatever. + +After the reference to the state of Erech, the text is exceedingly +mutilated, and the sense difficult to gather, but it would seem to have +contained a further description of the hero, who, according to Jensen's +translation, is described as "two parts god and the third part man." To +all appearance there was none in all his realm like him, and also no +consort suitable for him, though he collected to him all the young men and +maidens in the land. This was a matter for grief, which the (divine powers +?) heard, and they called upon the goddess Aruru to make another in his +likeness. This being was Ea-bani,(7) the mighty one, to all appearance +made to be the rival of Gilgames, but if this be the case, he did not +fulfil his destiny, for his delight was to remain with the beasts of the +field. All his body was covered with hair, and he had long tresses on his +head, like those of a woman (recalling Samson's luxuriant locks). Far, +too, from being the rival of Gilgames, he became his most devoted friend +and companion. + + + " 'Thou, Aruru, hast created (mankind), + Now make thou (one in) his likeness. + The first day let his heart be (formed?), + Let him rival (?) and let him overcome (??) Erech.' + Aruru hearing this, + Made the likeness of Anu in the midst of her heart. + Aruru washed her hands, + She pinched off some clay, she threw it on the ground-- + (Thus?) Ea-bani she made, the warrior, + The offspring, the seed, the possession of Ninip. + Covered with hair was all his body, + He had tresses like a woman, + The amount (?) of his hair grew thick like corn. + He knew not (?) people and land. + Clothed with a garment like the god Gira. + With the gazelles he eateth the grass, + With the wild beasts he drinketh drink, + With the dwellers in the water his heart delighteth. + The hunter, the destroyer, a man, + Beside the drinking-place he came across him, + The first day, the second day, the third day, beside the + drinking-place he came across him. + The hunter saw him, and his (Ea-bani's) countenance became stern, + (He) and his wild beasts entered his house, + (He became an)gry, stern, and he called out." + + +Apparently he did not like being watched so long by the hunter, and +becoming suspicious of his intentions, showed resentment, and tried to +drive him away. It may be noted by the way, that this description of +Ea-bani would answer excellently to the state attributed for a time to +Nebuchadnezzar in the Book of Daniel. + +The hunter has a conversation with his father, who was with him, and the +upshot of it is that they decide to communicate to Gilgames an account of +the terrible man whom they had seen. It was therefore decided to try to +catch or, rather, entice him to Erech by means of a female named Samhat. +In accordance with the instructions received, therefore, the hunter took +with him the woman who was intrusted to him, and they awaited Ea-bani in +the same place, by the side of the water. After watching for him for two +days, they got into communication with him, and the woman asked him why he +dwelt with the wild animals, depicting at the same time all the glory of +Erech the walled and the nobility of Gilgames, so that he soon allowed +himself to be persuaded, and, in the end, went and took up his abode +there. + +Various things are then narrated, the most important of them being the +episode of the Elamite Humbaba, the same name, though not the same person, +as the Kombabos of the Greeks. + +Gilgames seems to have gone to a place where there was a forest of +cedar-trees, accompanied by Ea-bani. Near this place, apparently, there +was a splendid palace, the abode (?) of a great queen. Judging from what +remains of the text, they ask their way of her, and she it is who seems to +tell them how to reach the dominions of the potentate whom they seek. + + + "A distant road is the place of Humbaba. + A conflict that he (Gilgames) knoweth not he will meet, + A road that he knoweth not he will ride, + As long as he goeth and returneth, + Until he reach the forest of cedars, + Until the mighty Humbaba he subdueth, + And whatever is evil, what ye hate, he shall destroy in the + l(and)." + + +Evidently, from the extent of the record in this place, many adventures +befell them, but the fragmentary lines and the numerous lacunae make a +connected narrative absolutely impossible, and it is not until we reach +the first column of what Mr. G. Smith regarded as the fifth tablet that we +get something more satisfactory than this. The hero has apparently come +within measurable distance of his goal-- + + + "They stood and looked on the forest, + They regarded the height of the cedar, + They regarded the depth of the forest, + Where Humbaba walked, striding high (?), + The roads prepared, the way made good. + They saw the mountain of the cedar, the dwelling of the gods, the + shrine of the god Irnini, + Before the mountain the cedar raised its luxuriance-- + Good was its shade, full of delight." + + +They had still a long way to go, however, and many things, seemingly, to +overcome, before they should reach the abode of the dreaded Elamite ruler, +but unfortunately, the details of their adventures are so very fragmentary +that no connected sense whatever is to be made out. The last line of the +tablet referring to this section, mentioning, as it does, the head of +Humbaba, leads the reader to guess the conclusion of the story, whatever +the details may have been. + +It is with the sixth tablet that we meet, for the first time, almost, with +something really satisfactory in the matter of completeness, though even +here one is sometimes pulled up sharp by a defective or doubtful passage. + +Apparently, Gilgames had become, at the time to which this tablet refers, +very prosperous, and that, combined with his other attractions, evidently +drew upon him the attention of the goddess Istar-- + + + "Come, Gilgames, be thou the bridegroom, + Give thy substance to me as a gift, + Be thou my husband, and let me be thy wife. + I will cause to be yoked for thee a chariot of lapis-lazuli and + gold, + Whose wheels are gold and adamant its poles. + Thou shalt harness thereto the white ones, the great steeds. + Enter into our house mid the scent of the cedar." + + +At his entering, the people were to kiss his feet, and kings, lords, and +princes do him homage, and lastly, he was to have no rival upon the earth. + +In the mutilated passage that follows, Gilgames answers the goddess, +reproaching her with her treatment of her former lovers or husbands, which +seems to have been far from satisfactory. Reference to a "wall of stone," +and to "the land of the enemy," seem to point to imprisonment and +expulsion, and the words "Who is the bridegroom (whom thou hast kept?) for +ever?" indicate clearly the opinion in which the hero held the goddess. +From generalities, however, he proceeds to more specific charges-- + + + "To Tammuz, the husband of thy youth, + From year to year thou causest bitter weeping. + Thou lovedst the bright-coloured Allala bird, + Thou smotest him and brokest his wings, + He stayed in the forests crying, 'My wings!' + Thou lovedst also a lion, perfect in strength, + By sevens didst thou cut wounds in him. + Thou lovedst also a horse, glorious in war, + Harness, spur, and bit (?) thou laidest upon him, + Seven _kaspu_ (49 miles) thou madest him gallop, + Distress and sweat thou causedst him, + To his mother Silili thou causedst bitter weeping. + Thou lovedst also a shepherd of the flock, + Who constantly laid out before thee rich foods (?), + Daily slaughtering for thee suckling kids, + Thou smotest him and changedst him to a jackal, + His own shepherd-boy drove him away, + And his dogs bit his limbs. + Thou lovedst also Isullanu, thy father's gardener, + Who constantly transmitted (?) thy provisions (?), + Daily making thy dishes bright. + Thou raisedst thine eyes to him, and preparedst food. + 'My Isullanu, divide the food, let us eat, + And stretch forth thine hand, and taste of our dish.' + Isullanu said to thee: + 'Me, what (is this that) thou askest me? + My mother, do not cook (this), I have never eaten (of it)-- + For should I eat foods of enchantments and witcheries? + [Food bringing?] cold, exhaustion, madness (?)?' + Thou heardest this [the speech of Isullanu], + Thou smotest him, and changedst him into a statue (?), + Thou settest him in the midst of (thy) dom(ain?), + He raiseth not the libation-vase, he descendeth (?) not.... + And as for me, thou wouldst love me and (make me) even as these!" + + +Istar being angry at these reproaches and accusations of the Babylonian +hero, immediately ascended to heaven and complained to her father Anu and +her mother Anatum that Gilgames had reproached her with her enchantments +and witcheries, and after a long conversation, a divine bull is sent +against the hero and his friend. The heavenly animal is overcome, +principally by the activity of Ea-bani, who after its death, when the +goddess Istar was lamenting its overthrow, cut off a portion of the body, +and threw it at her. Great were the rejoicings at Erech the walled at the +triumph of the hero and his counsellor, and after the feast that was held, +they all lay down to sleep. Ea-bani also lay down with the rest, and +during the night he saw a dream, of the details of which nothing is known, +though, from the words with which it seems to be introduced, "My friend, +on account of what do the gods take counsel," it may be supposed that the +defiance and opposition which these mortals had offered to the goddess +Istar was engaging the attention of the heavenly powers with a view to +some action being taken. As it is with these words that Ea-bani begins to +tell his dream to Gilgames, there is no doubt that the Babylonians +regarded the former as having been admitted, whilst asleep (as in the case +of the Babylonian Noah), into the councils of the gods. The solitary line +that is quoted above is the first of the seventh tablet. + +The details of the legend now again become obscure, but thus much can be +gathered, namely, that Gilgames in his turn had a dream, and that, all +appearance, Ea-bani interpreted it. Later on, Ea-bani falls ill, and lies +without moving for twelve days. Though unwilling to regard his friend as +dead, Gilgames mourns for him bitterly, and decides to make a journey, +apparently with the object of finding out about his friend Ea-bani, and +ascertaining whether there were any means of bringing him back to earth +again. + +He sets out, and comes to the place where the "scorpion-men," with their +heads reaching to heaven, and their breasts on a level with Hades, guarded +the place of the rising and the setting sun. The horror of their +appearance, which was death to behold, is forcibly described on the +tablet. The hero was struck with terror on seeing them, but as he was of +divine origin ("his body is of the flesh of the gods," as the scorpion-man +says to his female), death has no power over him on account of them. He +seems to describe to them his journey, and the object he had in view. +Pir-napistim, the Babylonian Noah, is mentioned in the course of the +conversation, and it may be supposed that it is on account of his desire +to visit him that he asks these monsters for advice. He afterwards comes +into contact with the goddess Siduri, "who sits upon the throne of the +sea," and she, on seeing him, shuts her gate. He speaks to her of this, +and threatens to break it open. Having gained admission, he apparently +tells the goddess the reason of his journey, and she, in return, describes +to him the way that he would have to take, the sea that he would have to +cross, and of the deep waters of death that bar the way to the abode of +the Babylonian Noah, who had attained unto everlasting life, and whose +pilot or boatman, Ur-Sanabi, was to take the Erechite hero to his +presence. + +After a long conversation with Ur-Sanabi, concerning the road that they +will take, they start together, and after passing through a forest, they +embark in a ship, and reach, at the end of a month and ten days, the +"waters of death." There Gilgames does something a number of times, and +afterwards sees afar off Pir-napistim, the Babylonian Noah, who apparently +communes with himself concerning the visitor who has come to his shores. +The conversation which follows is very mutilated, but in the course of his +explanation of the reason of his visit, Gilgames relates all his +adventures--how he had traversed all the countries, and crossed difficult +mountains, his visit to Siduri, and her refusal to open the door to him, +with many other things. The conversation apparently, after a time, becomes +of a philosophical nature, for, in the course of it, Pir-napistim says-- + + + "Always have we built a house, + Always do we seal (?) (the contract). + Always have brothers share together, + Always is the seed in (the earth?), + Always the river rises bringing a flood." + + +He then discourses, apparently among other things, of death, and says-- + + + "The Anunnaki, the great gods, are assembled (?). + Mammitum, maker of fate, sets with them the destinies. + They have made life and death, + (But) the death-days are not made known." + + +With these words the tenth tablet of the Gilgames series comes to an end. + + + + +The Eleventh Tablet Of The Gilgames Series, Containing The Story Of The +Flood. + + +As this tablet is the most complete of the series, it may not be +considered out of place to give here a description of the outward +appearance of the document--or, rather, of the documents, for there are +many copies. This description will serve, to a certain extent, for all the +other tablets of the series, when in their complete state. + +The size of the document which best shows the form is about 8-1/2 inches +wide, by 5-7/8 inches high. It is rectangular in form, and is inscribed on +both sides with three columns of writing (six in all). The total number of +lines, as given in the text published in the second edition of the fourth +vol. of the _Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia_, is 293, including +the catch-line and colophon, but as many of these lines are, in reality, +double ones (the scribes frequently squeezed two lines into the space of +one, so as to economize space), the original number of the lines was +probably nearer 326, or, with the catch-line and colophon, 330. It is +probable that the other tablets of the series were not so closely written +as this, and in these cases the number of lines is fewer. + +The tablet opens with the continuation of the conversation between +Gilgames and "Pir-napistim the remote"-- + + + "Gilgames said also to him, to Pir-napistim the remote: + 'I perceive thee, O Pir-napistim, + Thy features are not changed--like me art thou, + And thou (thyself) art not changed, like me art thou. + Put an end in thine heart to the making of resistance, + (Here?) art thou placed, does that rise against thee, + (Now?) that thou remainest, and hast attained life in the assembly + of the gods?' + + Pir-napistim said also to him, to Gilgames: + 'Let me tell thee, Gilgames, the account of my preservation, + And let me tell thee, even thee, the decision of the gods. + Surippak, the city which thou knowest, + Lies (upon the bank) of the Euphrates. + That city was old, and the gods within it. + The great gods decided in their hearts to make a flood. + There (?) was (?) their father Anu, + Their counsellor, the warrior Ellila, + Their throne-bearer, Ninip, + Their leader, En-nu-gi. + Nin-igi-azaga, the god Ae, communed with them, and + Repeated their command to the earth: + "Earth, earth! Town, town! + O earth, hear: and town, understand! + Surippakite, son of Umbara-Tutu, + Destroy the house, build a ship, + Leave what thou hast (?), see to thy life. + Destroy the hostile and save life, + Take up the seed of life, all of it, into the midst of the ship. + The ship which thou shalt make, even thou, + Let its size be measured, + Let it agree (as to) its height and its length; + (Behold) the deep, launch her (thither)." + I understood and said to Ae, my lord: + "[Behol]d, my lord, what thou, even thou, hast said, verily (?) + It is excellent (?), (and) I will do (it). + (How?) may I answer the city--the young men and the elders?" + Ae opened his mouth and spake, + He said to his servant, to me: + "Thus, then, shalt thou say unto them; + 'It has been told me (that) Ellila hates me, + I will not dwell in ... and + In the territory of Ellila I will not set my face-- + I will descend to the deep, with (Ae) my lord I shall (constantly) + dwell. + (As for) you, he will cause abundance to rain down upon you, and + (Beasts and?) birds (shall be) the prey (?) of the fishes, and + ... he will enclose, (?), and + ... of a storm (?), + (In the night) the heavens will rain down upon (y)ou + destruction." ' " + + +With these words the second paragraph comes to an end, the total number of +lost or greatly mutilated lines being about nine. Very little of the +contents of these lines can be made out, as not much more than traces of +words remain. Where the lines begin to become fairly complete, the text +seems to refer to the building of the ship, upon which four days had +already been spent, its form being laid down on the fifth day. The +description of the building, which is somewhat minute, is exceedingly +difficult to translate, and any rendering of it must therefore, at the +present time, be regarded as tentative. Its bulwarks seem to have risen +four measures, and a deck (apparently) is mentioned. Its interior was +pitched with six _sar_ of bitumen, and its outside with three _sar_ of +pitch, or bitumen of a different kind. The provisionment of the vessel is +next described, but this part is mutilated. A quantity of oil for the crew +and pilot is referred to, and oxen were also slaughtered, apparently as a +propitiatory sacrifice on the completion of the vessel. Various kinds of +drink were then brought on board, both intoxicating and otherwise, +plentiful (this may be regarded as the word to be supplied here) "like the +waters of a river." After this we have references to the completion of +certain details--holes for the cables above and below, etc., and with this +the third paragraph comes to an end. + +In the next paragraph Pir-napistim collects his goods and his family, and +enters into the ark:-- + + + "All I possessed I transferred thereto, + All I possessed I transferred thereto, silver, + All I possessed I transferred thereto, gold; + All I possessed I transferred thereto, the seed of life, the whole + I caused to go up into the midst of the ship. All my family and + relatives, + The beasts of the field, the animals of the field, the sons of the + artificers--all of them I sent up. + The god Samas appointed the time-- + _Muir kukki_--In the night I will cause the heavens to rain + destruction, + Enter into the midst of the ship and shut thy door." + "That time approached-- + _Muir kukki_--In the night the heavens rained destruction. + I saw the appearance of the day: + I was afraid to look upon the day-- + I entered into the midst of the ship, and shut my door. + For the guiding of the ship, to Buzur-Kurgala, the pilot, + I gave the great house with its goods. + + At the appearance of dawn in the morning, + There arose from the foundation of heaven a dark cloud: + Rimmon thundered in the midst of it, and + Nebo and Sarru went in front + Then went the throne-bearers (over) mountain and plain. + Ura-gala dragged out the cables, + Then came Ninip, casting down destruction, + The Anunnaki raised (their) torches, + With their brilliance they illuminated the land. + Rimmon's destruction reached to heaven, + Everything bright to darkness turned, + ... the land like ... it ... + The first day, the storm (?) ... + Swiftly it swept, and ... the land (?).... + Like a battle against the people it sought.... + Brother saw not brother. + The people were not to be recognized. In heaven + The gods feared the flood, and + They fled, they ascended to the heaven of Anu. + The gods kenneled like dogs, crouched down in the enclosures. + Istar spake like a mother.(8) + The lady of the gods(9) called out, making her voice resound: + 'All that generation has turned to corruption. + Because I spoke evil in the assembly of the gods, + When I spoke evil in the assembly of the gods, + I spoke of battle for the destruction of my people. + Verily I have begotten (man), but where is he? + Like the sons of the fishes he fills the sea.' + The gods of the Anunnaki were weeping with her. + The gods had crouched down, seated in lamentation, + Covered were their lips in (all) the assemblies, + Six days and nights + The wind blew, the deluge and flood overwhelmed the land. + The seventh day, when it came, the storm ceased, the raging flood, + Which had contended like a whirlwind, + Quieted, the sea shrank back, and the evil wind and deluge ended. + I noticed the sea making a noise, + And all mankind had turned to corruption. + Like palings the marsh-reeds appeared. + I opened my window, and the light fell upon my face, + I fell back dazzled, I sat down, I wept, + Over my face flowed my tears. + I noted the regions, the shore of the sea, + For twelve measures the region arose. + The ship had stopped at the land of Nissir. + The mountain of Nisir seized the ship, and would not let it pass. + The first day and the second day the mountain of Nisir seized the + ship, and would not let it pass, + The third day and the fourth day the mountain of Nisir, etc., + The fifth and sixth the mountain of Nisir, etc., + The seventh day, when it came + I sent forth a dove, and it left, + The dove went, it turned about, + But there was no resting-place, and it returned. + I sent forth a swallow, and it left, + The swallow went, it turned about, + But there was no resting-place, and it returned. + I sent forth a raven, and it left, + The raven went, the rushing of the waters it saw, + It ate, it waded, it croaked, it did not return. + I sent forth (the animals) to the four winds, I poured out a + libation, + I made an offering on the peak of the mountain, + Seven and seven I set incense-vases there, + In their depths I poured cane, cedar, and rosewood (?). + The gods smelled a savour, + The gods smelled a sweet savour, + The gods gathered like flies over the sacrificer. + Then the goddess Mah, when she came, + Raised the great signets that Anu had made at her wish: + 'These gods--by the lapis-stone of my neck--let me not forget, + These days let me remember, nor forget them forever! + Let the gods come to the sacrifice, + But let not Ellila come to the sacrifice, + For he did not take counsel, and made a flood, + And consigned my people to destruction.' + Then Ellila, when he came, + Saw the ship. And Ellila was wroth, + Filled with anger on account of the gods and the spirits of + heaven. + 'What, has a soul escaped? + Let not a man be saved from the destruction.' + Ninip opened his mouth and spake, + He said to the warrior Ellila: + 'Who but Ae has done the thing + And Ae knows every event.' + Ae opened his mouth and spake, + He said to the warrior Ellila: + 'Thou sage of the gods, warrior, + Verily thou hast not taken counsel, and hast made a flood. + The sinner has committed his sin, + The evildoer has committed his misdeed, + Be merciful--let him not be cut off--yield, let (him) not perish. + Why hast thou made a flood? + Let the lion come, and let men diminish. + Why hast thou made a flood? + Let the hyaena come, and let men diminish. + Why hast thou made a flood? + Let a famine happen, and let the land be destroyed (?). + Why hast thou made a flood? + Let Ura (pestilence) come, and let the land be devastated (?). + I did not reveal the decision of the great gods-- + I caused Atra-hasis to see a dream, and he heard the decision of + the gods.' + When he had taken counsel (with himself), + Ae went up into the midst of the ship, + He took my hand and he led me up, even me + He brought up and caused my woman to kneel (?) at my side; + He touched us, and standing between us, he blessed us (saying): + 'Formerly Pir-napistim was a man: + Now (as for) Pir-napistim and his woman, let them be like unto the + gods, (even) us, + And let Pir-napistim dwell afar at the mouths of the rivers.' + He took me, and afar at the mouths of the rivers he caused me to + dwell. + Now as for thee, who of the gods shall restore thee to health? + That thou see the life that thou seekest, even thou? + Well, lie not down to sleep six days and seven nights, + Like one who is sitting down in the midst of his sorrow (?), + Sleep like a dark cloud hovereth over him. + Pir-napistim then said to his wife: + 'See, the hero who desireth life, + Sleep like a dark cloud hovereth over him.' + His wife then said to Pir-napistim the remote: + 'Touch him, and let him awake a man-- + Let him return in health by the road that he came, + Let him return to his country by the great gate by which he came + forth.' + Pir-napistim said to his wife: + 'The suffering of men hurteth thee. + Come, cook his food, set it by his head.' + And the day that he lay down in the enclosure of his ship, + She cooked his food, she set it by his head: + And the day when he lay down in the enclosure of his cabin + First his food was ground, + Secondly it was sifted, + Thirdly it was moistened, + Fourthly she rolled out his dough, + Fifthly she threw down a part, + Sixthly it was cooked, + Seventhly he (or she) touched him suddenly, and he awoke a man! + + Gilgames said to him (even) to Pir-napistim the remote: + 'That sleep quite overcame me + Swiftly didst thou touch me, and didst awaken me, even thou.' " + + +Pir-napistim, in answer to this, tells Gilgames what had been done to him, +repeating the description of the preparation of his food in the same words +as had been used to describe the ceremony (for such it apparently is), and +ending by saying, "Suddenly I touched thee, (even) I, and thou awokest, +(even) thou." Thus putting beyond question the personality of the one who +effected the transformation which was brought about, though he leaves out +the word "man," which hid from the hero the fact that a transformation had +in consequence taken place in him. The ceremonies were not by any means +finished, however, for the boatman or pilot had to take him to the place +of lustration to be cleansed, and for the skin, with which he seems to +have been covered, to fall off. The Babylonian patriarch then tells him of +a wonderful plant which would make an old man young again, and Gilgames +gets possession of one of these. On his way to his own country in the +company of the boatman or pilot, he stops to perform what seems to be a +religious ceremony, at a well, when a serpent smells the plant,(10) and, +apparently in consequence of that, a lion comes and takes it away. +Gilgames greatly laments his loss, saying that he had not benefited by the +possession of this wonderful plant, but the lion of the desert had gained +the advantage. After a journey only varied by the religious festivals that +they kept, they at length reached Erech, the walled. Here, after a +reference to the dilapidation of the place, and a statement seemingly +referring to the offerings to be made if repairs had not, during his +absence, been effected, the eleventh and most important tablet of the +Gilgames series comes to an end. + +Of the twelfth tablet but a small portion exists, though fragments of more +than one copy have been found. In this we learn that Gilgames still +lamented for his friend Ea-bani, whom he had lost so long before. Wishing +to know of his present state and how he fared, he called to the spirit of +his friend thus-- + + + "Thou restest not the bow upon the ground, + What has been smitten by the bow surround thee. + The staff thou raisest not in thine hand, + The spirits (of the slain) enclose thee. + Shoes upon thy feet thou dost not set, + A cry upon earth thou dost not make: + Thy wife whom thou lovest thou kissest not, + Thy wife whom thou hatest thou smitest not; + Thy child whom thou lovest thou kissest not, + Thy child whom thou hatest thou smitest not. + The sorrowing earth hath taken thee." + + +Gilgames then seems to invoke the goddess "Mother of Nin-a-zu," seemingly +asking her to restore his friend to him, but to all appearance without +result. He then turned to the other deities--Bel, Sin, and Ea, and the +last-named seems to have interceded for Ea-bani with Nerigal, the god of +the under-world, who, at last, opened the earth, "and the spirit of +Ea-bani like mist arose (?)." His friend being thus restored to him, +though probably only for a time, and not in bodily form, Gilgames asks him +to describe the appearance of the world from which he had just come. "If I +tell thee the appearance of the land I have seen," he answers, "... sit +down, weep." Gilgames, however, still persists--"... let me sit down, let +me weep," he answers. Seeing that he would not be denied, Ea-bani complies +with his request. It was a place where dwelt people who had sinned in +their heart, where (the young) were old, and the worm devoured, a place +filled with dust. This was the place of those who had not found favour +with their god, who had met with a shameful death (as had apparently +Ea-bani himself). The blessed, on the other hand-- + + + "Whom thou sawest [die] the death (?) [of] . .[I see]-- + In the resting-place of .... reposing, pure water he drinketh. + Whom in the battle thou sawest killed, I see-- + His father and his mother support his head + And his wife sitteth [? beside him]. + Whose corpse thou hast seen thrown down on the plain, I see-- + His spirit on earth reposeth not. + Whose spirit thou sawest without a caretaker, I see-- + The leavings of the dish, the rejected of the food, + Which in the street is thrown, he eateth." + + +And with this graphic description of the world of the dead the twelfth and +concluding tablet of the Gilgames series comes to an end. + +With the Gilgames series of tablets as a whole we have not here to concern +ourselves, except to remark, that the story of the Flood is apparently +inserted in it in order to bring greater glory to the hero, whom the +writer desired to bring into connection with one who was regarded as the +greatest and most renowned of old times, and who, on account of the favour +that the gods had to him, had attained to immortality and to divinity. +Except the great Merodach himself, no divine hero of past ages appealed to +the Babylonian mind so strongly as Pir-napistim, who was called +Atra-hasis, the hero of the Flood. + +The reason of the coming of the Flood seems to have been regarded by the +Babylonians as two-fold. In the first place, as Pir-napistim is made to +say (see p. 100), "Always the river rises and brings a flood"--in other +words, it was a natural phenomenon. But in the course of the narrative +which he relates to Gilgames, the true reason is implied, though it does +not seem to be stated in words. And this reason is the same as that of the +Old Testament, namely, the wickedness of the world. If it should again +become needful to punish mankind with annihilation on account of their +wickedness, the instrument was to be the lion, or the hyaena, or +pestilence--not a flood. And we have not to go far to seek the reason for +this. By a flood, the whole of mankind might--in fact, certainly would--be +destroyed, whilst by the other means named some, in all probability, would +escape. There was at least one of the gods who did not feel inclined to +witness the complete destruction of the human race without a protest, and +an attempt on his part to frustrate such a merciless design. + +Little doubt exists that there is some motive in this statement on the +part of the Babylonian author of the legend. It has been already noted +that Merodach (the god who generally bears the title of _Bel_, or "lord") +was, in Babylonian mythology, not one of the older gods, he having +displaced his father Ea or Ae, in consequence of the predominance of +Babylon, whose patron god Merodach was. Could it be that the Babylonians +believed that the visitation of the flood was due to the vengeful anger of +Merodach, aroused by the people's non-acceptance of his kingship? It seems +unlikely. Pir-napistim was himself a worshipper of Ae, and on account of +that circumstance, he is represented in the story as being under the +special protection of that god. To all appearance, therefore, the reason +which Pir-napistim is represented as having given, for the building of the +ship, to his fellow-townsmen, was not intended to be altogether false. The +god Ellila hated him, and therefore he was going to dwell with Ae, his +lord--on the bosom of the deep which he ruled. An announcement of the +impending doom is represented as having been made to the people by the +patriarch, and it is therefore doubly unfortunate that the next paragraph +is so mutilated, for it doubtless gave, when complete, some account of the +way in which they received the notice of the destruction that was about to +be rained down upon them. + +It has been more than once suggested, and Prof. Hommel has stated the +matter as his opinion, that the name of the god Ae or Ea, another possible +reading of which is Aa, may be in some way connected with, and perhaps +originated the Assyro-Babylonian divine name Ya'u, "God," which is cognate +with the Hebrew Yah or, as it is generally written, Jah. If this be the +case, it would seem to imply that a large section of the people remained +faithful to his worship, and the flood of the Babylonians may symbolize +some persecution of them by the worshippers of the god Ellila, angry at +the slight put upon him by their neglect or unwillingness to acknowledge +him as the chief of the Pantheon. Some of the people may, indeed, have +worshipped Ae or Aa alone, thus constituting a kind of monotheism. This, +nevertheless, is very uncertain, and at present unprovable. It is worthy +of note, however, that at a later date there was a tendency to identify +all the deities of the Babylonian Pantheon with Merodach, and what in the +"middle ages" of the Babylonians existed with regard to Merodach may very +well have existed for the worship of Ae or Ea at an earlier date. The +transfer, in the Semitic Babylonian Creation-story, of the name of Ae to +his son Merodach may perhaps be a re-echo of the tendency to identify all +the gods with Ae, when the latter was the supreme object of worship in the +land. There is one thing that is certain, and that is, that the Chaldean +Noah, Pir-napistim, was faithful in the worship of the older god, who +therefore warned him, thus saving his life. Ae, the god who knew all +things, knew also the design of his fellows to destroy mankind, and being +"all and always eye," to adopt a phrase used by John Bunyan, he bore, as a +surname, that name Nin-igi-azaga, "Lord of the bright eye," so well +befitting one who, even among his divine peers, was the lord of +unsearchable wisdom. + +It is unfortunately a difficult thing to make a comparison of the ark as +described in Genesis with a ship of the Babylonian story. It was thought, +by the earlier translators of the Babylonian story of the Flood, that its +size was indicated in the second paragraph of the story (p. 102, ll. 11, +12), but Dr. Haupt justly doubts that rendering. If the size of the vessel +were indicated at all, it was probably in the next paragraph, where the +building of the ship is described. This part, however, is so very +mutilated, that very little clear sense can be made out of it. The +Babylonian home-land of the story seems certainly to be indicated by the +mention of two kinds of bitumen or pitch for caulking the vessel, +Babylonia being the land of bitumen _par excellence_. Those who were to +live on board were to sustain themselves with the flesh of oxen, and to +all appearance they cheered the weary hours with the various kinds of +drink of which they laid in store. They were not neglectful, either, of +the oil that they used in preparing the various dishes, and with which +they anointed their persons. All these points, though but little things in +themselves, go to show that the story, in its Babylonian dress, was really +written in the country of that luxury-loving people. The mention of holes +for the cables, too, shows that the story is the production of maritime +people, such as the Babylonians were. + +Apparently the Babylonians found there was something inconsistent in the +patriarch being saved without any of his relatives (except his sons), and +the artificers who had helped him to build the ship which was to save him +from the destruction that overwhelmed his countrymen and theirs. For this +reason, and also because of the relationship that might be supposed to +exist between master and servant, his relatives and the sons of the +artificers(11) are saved along with his own family, which, of course, +would not only include his sons, but their wives also. On this point, +therefore, the two accounts may be regarded as in agreement. + +When all was ready, the Sun-god, called by the usual Semitic name of +Samas, appointed the time for the coming of the catastrophe. This would +seem to be another confirmation of the statement already made, that the +Babylonians, like the Hebrews (see Gen. i. 14-18), regarded one of the +uses of the sun as being to indicate seasons and times. It was a great and +terrible time, such as caused terror to the beholder, and the patriarch +was smitten with fear. Here, as in other parts of the Babylonian version, +there is a human interest that is to a large extent wanting in the precise +and detailed Hebrew account. Again the maritime nation is in evidence, +where the consigning of the ship into the care of a pilot is referred to. +Of course such an official could do but little more than prevent +disastrous misfortune from the vessel being the plaything of the waves. In +the description of the storm, the terror of the gods, Istar's grief, and +Mah's anger at the destruction of mankind, we see the production of a +nation steeped in idolatry, but there are but few Assyro-Babylonian +documents in which this fact is not made evident. + +We have a return to the Biblical story in the sending forth of the birds, +and the sacrifice of odoriferous herbs, when the gods smelled a sweet +savour, and gathered like flies over the sacrificer. In the signets of +Mah, "the lady of the gods," by which she swears, we may, perhaps, see a +reflection of the covenant by means of the rainbow, which the Babylonians +possibly explained as being the necklace of the goddess. Instead of the +promise that a similar visitation to destroy the whole of mankind should +not occur again, there is simply a kind of exhortation on the part of the +god Ae, addressed to Ellila, not to destroy the world by means of a flood +again. To punish mankind for sins and misdeeds committed, other means were +to be employed that did not involve the destruction of the whole human +race. + +Noah died at the age of 950 years (Gen. ix. 29), but his Babylonian +representative was translated to the abode of the blessed "at the mouths +of the rivers," with his wife, to all appearance immediately after the +Flood. In this the Babylonian account differs, and the ultimate fate of +the patriarch resembles that of the Biblical Enoch, he who "was not, for +God took him" (Gen. v. 24). + + + + +Appendix. The Second Version Of The Flood-Story. + + +This was found by the late George Smith at Nineveh when excavating for the +proprietors of the _Daily Telegraph_, and was at first supposed to belong +to the text translated on pp. 101-109. This, however, is impossible, as +the narrative is in the third person instead of the first, and in the form +of a conversation between Atra-hasis (= Pir-napistim) and the god Ae-- + + + Tablet D. T. 42. + + ...................... + ....... may it be + ....... like the vault of + ....... may it be strong above and below. + Enclose the ... and ............... + [At] the time that I shall send to thee + Enter [the ship] and close the door of the ship, + Into the midst of it [take] thy grain, thy furniture, and [thy] + goods, + Thy . . ., thy family, thy relatives, and the artisans; + [The beasts] of the field, the animals of the field, as many as I + shall collect (?), + [I will] send to thee, and thy door shall protect them. + + [Atra]-hasis opened his mouth and spake, + Sa]ying to Ae, his lord: + "...... a ship I have not made ....... + Form [its shape (?) upon the gr]ound. + Let me see the [plan], and [I will build] the ship. + [Form] ...... on the ground ........ + ........ what thou hast said ....... + ......................... + + +It is not improbable that the fragment published by the Rev. V. Scheil, O. +P., belongs to this legend (see _The King's Own_,(12) April 1898, pp. +397-400). + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. ASSYRIA, BABYLONIA, AND THE HEBREWS, WITH REFERENCE TO THE +SO-CALLED GENEALOGICAL TABLE. + + + The Akkadians--The Semitic Babylonians--The Hebrews--Nimrod--Assur--The + Tower of Babel and the confusion of tongues--Babylonian + temple-towers--How the legend probably arose--The Patriarchs to the + time of Abraham. + + +"And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. + +"He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as +Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord. + +"And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and +Calneh, in the land of Shinar. + +"Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city +Rehoboth (or, the streets of the city), and Calah. + +"And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city." + +Such is the Biblical account of the origin of the two most powerful states +of the ancient East, Babylonia and Assyria. It has been many times quoted +and discussed, but there seems always to be something new to say about it, +or to add to it, or what has already been said may be put in another and +clearer way. It is for one or more of these reasons, as well as for the +completeness of this work, that the author ventures again to approach the +well-worn problems that these verses present. + +Every reader, on taking up a book dealing with this period of ancient +Eastern history, will probably have noticed, that the word which most +frequently meets his eye (if the book be an English one) is Akkad, the +Semitic equivalent of the Biblical Accad. If, however, it be a continental +work, the equivalent expression will be Sumer--which word, indeed, he will +meet with also in English works, if the writer be at all under German or +other foreign influence. + +The reason for this divergence of opinion is very simple, the fact being +that there were two tribes or nationalities, Sumer being before Akkad when +the two countries are mentioned together, and as it is regarded as +identical with the Shinar of Gen. x. 10, Sumer and Sumerian may possibly +be preferable, but in all probability Akkad and Akkadian are not wrong. + +As we see from the chapter of Genesis referred to, there were many +nationalities in the Euphrates valley in ancient times, and the expression +"Cush begat Nimrod," would imply that the inhabitants of Babylonia were +all Cushites. Yet the great majority of the inscriptions found in that +country of a later date than about 2000 B.C. are Semitic. + +Large additions have of late years been made to the number of ancient +remains from Babylonia, and most of these are of a very early period. We +are thus in a position to compare not only the different types of that +early period with each other, but also with the sculptures of later date. +The cylinder-seals show us a comparatively slim race, long-bearded, erect +and dignified, and these characteristics are also recognizable among the +various types revealed to us by the still earlier sculptures. The +representations of kings and deities are often heavily bearded, but, on +the other hand, high officials and others are generally clean shaven. +These peculiarities, with the difference of costume, especially the +thick-brimmed hats, would seem to imply distinct foreign influence, or, +rather, in combination with the differences of racial type exhibited, +considerable foreign admixture. Perhaps, however, the true explanation is, +that the plain of Shinar represents the meeting-point of two different +races--one Cushite and the other Semitic. + +And this fact, as is well known, is confirmed by the existence of what is +regarded as the language of the Akkadians, and also of a dialect of the +same. This is not the place to discuss the question whether these +non-Semitic idioms be really languages or only cryptographs--the author +holds, in common with Sayce, Oppert, Hommel, and all the principal +Assyriologists, that they are real languages--but a reference to the few +passages where these idioms are spoken of may not be without interest. + +One of these is the fragment known as S. 1190 in the British Museum, where +the contents of the tablet of which it formed a part are referred to as +"Two Sumerian incantations used" (seemingly) "for the stilling of a +weeping child." Another tablet refers to the languages, and states that +the tongue of Sumer was like (the tongue of) Akkad, or assumed a likeness +to it at some time or other. This document also refers to another form of +speech that was the tongue of the prince, chief, or leader. Yet another +fragment refers to Akkad as below (? to the south) and Sumer above (? to +the north),(13) but it is doubtful whether this refers to the position of +the country. A fourth large fragment written partly in the "dialect" is +referred to as a "Sumerian" text. + +Both from the ethnographical and the linguistic side, therefore, ample +testimony to the existence of a non-Semitic race (or non-Semitic races) in +the plain of Shinar in ancient times is at hand. As to the language +intended in the expression "Two Sumerian incantations" (spoken of above) +there can be no doubt, the original idiom in question being the +non-Semitic tongue already referred to--that tongue which was like the +tongue of Akkad, of which it was apparently a more decayed form. The title +given cannot refer to the translation into Assyro-Babylonian which +accompanies it, as this is undoubtedly of later date than the composition +itself. + +There is then no doubt that the Akkadians and the Sumerians were two +tribes of the same race, probably intermixed to a certain extent with +foreign elements (people with oblique eyes being depicted on at least two +of the sculptures of the early period from Tel-Loh), and speaking a +language differing entirely from that of their Semitic +fellow-countrymen,--a language which was of an agglutinative nature, +introducing into its verbal forms whole rows of analytical particles, +which sometimes gave to the phrase a precision of meaning to which the +Semitic Babylonian has but little pretension, though Sumero-Akkadian is +generally difficult enough in other respects, in consequence of the +excessive number of the homophones that it contains. Indeed, it is +sometimes difficult to see how the speakers of the latter language could +have understood each other without resorting to some such distinctive aids +similar to the tones used in modern--as probably also in ancient--Chinese, +of which Sumero-Akkadian is regarded by the Rev. C. J. Ball as an +exceedingly ancient form. + +The question of the origin of the Akkadians is one concerning which there +has been and is still much uncertainty, and which presents many problems +for the future. It has been remarked that the fact that there is no +special ideograph for "river," and the fact that "mountain" and "country" +are represented by the same character, imply that the people with whom the +cuneiform script originated came from a mountainous country--probably the +tract to the east or the north-east. This assumption, however, is not +wholly dependent on what is here stated, for it is a well-known and +admitted fact that the ideograph generally used for "Akkad" stands also +for other tracts that are largely mountainous, namely, Phoenicia and +Ararat. + +It may be of interest here to quote the passage referring to this. + +The text in question is the exceedingly important syllabary designated by +Prof. Fried. Delitzsch "Syllabary _B_." The text is unfortunately +defective in the British Museum copy, but a duplicate found at Babylon by +the German explorers completes it as follows:-- + +Uri [Cuneiform] Akkadu +Ari [Cuneiform] Amurru +Tilla [Cuneiform] Urtu. + +From this we see that the ideograph for Akkad not only stood for that +country, but also for the land of the Amorites (Amurru), and for Ararat +(Urtu), both of them being more or less mountainous districts. That the +ancient home of the Akkadians was of the same nature is, therefore, more +than probable. + +That the Akkadians were a conquering race is indicated by the legend of +the god Ura, generally called "the Dibbara Legend," where the hero, "the +warrior Ura," is represented as speaking prophetically as follows-- + + + "Tamtu with Tamtu, + Subartu with Subartu, + Assyrian with Assyrian, + Elamite with Elamite, + Kassite with Kassite, + Sutite with Sutite, + Qutite with Qutite, + Lullubite with Lullubite, + Country with country, house with house, man with man, + Brother with brother, shall not agree: let them annihilate each + other, + And afterwards let the Akkadian come, and + Let him overthrow them all, and let him cast down the whole of + them." + + +The Akkadians had dominion, at one time or another, over all the above +nationalities, some of whom were permanently subjected. Tamtu, the region +of the Persian Gulf, was under their domination constantly, though the +inhabitants were apparently rather turbulent, and unwilling subjects. The +Assyrians were apparently for a time under Akkadian (Babylonian) rule, but +threw it off at a very early period, and later on conquered Akkad itself. +The Elamites, too, were for a while conquered by the inhabitants of +Babylonia, and the Sutites (people of Suti) are said to have been all +transported by Kadasman-Murus (he reigned about 1209 B.C., according to +Hilprecht). It will thus be seen that they played an important part in the +history of the plain of Shinar where they settled, and to all appearance +introduced their civilization. + +In the earliest ages known to us, the land of Akkad was a collection of +small states resembling the Heptarchy. These states differed considerably +in power, influence, and prosperity, and the passing centuries brought +many changes with them. From time to time one of the kings or viceroys of +these small states would find himself more powerful than his +contemporaries, and would gradually overcome all the others. One of the +earliest instances of this is the ruler Lugal-zag-gi-si, whose reign is +placed by Hilprecht at about 4500 B.C. He was son of Ukus (the reading is +doubtful), viceroy (_patesi_) of a district which seems to be that of +which Kis was capital. "He had conquered all Babylonia and established an +empire extending from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea" +(Hilprecht). + +Whether he and his successors were able to maintain real dominion over all +this extensive tract or not, we do not know, but a few hundred years later +we find Sargon of Agade (known as "Sargani king of the city") subduing the +land of the west in the 11th year of his reign, and placing the districts +under one control, whilst his son, Naram-Sin, apparently added Elam to his +dominions, and Uruwus (whom Prof. Sayce suggests as the original of the +Horus of Pliny), at a later date, led a warlike expedition thither, and +brought away much spoil, some of which is still extant as a lasting +testimony to the reality of this historical fact. + +Among the states which existed in Akkad before the whole country was +united under one king may be mentioned Isin or Karrak, Ur (the supposed Ur +of the Chaldees), Kes, Nippur (or Niffur), the modern Niffer, Lagas, +Eridu, Erech, and Larsa (identified with Ellasar), with some others. Akkad +and Babylon were always important centres, the former being supreme before +the date of the dynasty of Babylon (about 2200 B.C.), and the latter +afterwards. + +Until about the time of the dynasty of Babylon, the language principally +used was to all appearance the non-Semitic Babylonian or Akkadian--in any +case, the numerous texts (mainly temple-accounts) of the period of Dungi, +Bur-Sin, Gimil-Sin, and Ibi-Sin are written in that tongue. Nevertheless, +Akkadian seems to have been the official language of the country for a +considerable time after, if we may judge from the contracts, and +especially the historical dates of these documents, which are always +written in Akkadian. The names, too, which were before this period wholly +Akkadian, gradually become more and more Semitic (Assyro-Babylonian), and +finally the Akkadian element only exists as a remnant of the non-Semitic +tongue which prevailed before the Semitic Dynasty of Babylon--that to which +Hammurabi or Amraphel belonged--made the Semitic tongue, spoken by Sargon +of Agade more than 1500 years before, the official language of the +country. + +Such, then, is the history of the ancient Akkadians, from whose +intermingled stock the later Semitic Babylonians sprang, and who +inherited, at the same time, their method of writing, their literature, +their arts and sciences, and also, to a great extent, their manners, +customs, and religion. It was to all appearance with the Semitic dynasty +of Hammurabi that the change from non-Semitic to Semitic predominance took +place. This change must have been slow enough, and in all probability it +occurred without any national upheaval, and without any interruption of +the national life. Semitic names gradually replaced the Akkadian ones, +most of the religious works, incantations, national histories, bilingual +lists, and syllabaries were supplied with Semitic translations, and legal +precedents in Semitic Babylonian for the information of the judges of +later times were drawn up, whilst the old Akkadian laws, though retained, +were translated for the use of students who no longer learned Akkadian as +their mother-tongue, and who committed them to memory at the same time as +they learned the set phrases they would have to use when, their education +completed, they should attain to the dignity of full-fledged ministers to +the legal needs of the community. By this time, or somewhat later, the +racial type must have become fixed, for the sculptures from the thirteenth +century B.C. downwards no longer show the slim, elegant form of the +Akkadians, but the thick-set, well-developed figure of the Semites, such +as at least some of the native Christians of Baghdad and the neighbourhood +show at the present day. + +As has been already noticed, the Assyrians spoke the same language, and +had practically the same religion and literature (including the ancient +Akkadian classics) as the Babylonians, whom they resembled in manners, +customs, and outward appearance. The old translation of the verse +referring to Assyria, "Out of that land (Babylonia) went forth Assur," is, +in all probability, perfectly correct, whatever may be the arguments in +favour of the rendering, "He (Nimrod) went out into Assyria," for it is +exceedingly likely that the Babylonian civilization of Assyria is wholly +due to emigration of settlers from Babylonia. Moreover, as will be seen +later on, the enigmatical Nimrod is none other than the well-known head of +the Babylonian Pantheon, Merodach, who is actually stated to have built +Babel (= the city Babylon), Erech, and Niffer (identified in Rabbinical +tradition, which in this case is probably correct, with Calneh). The +Babylonian tradition as to the foundation of the city of Akkad is still +wanting, but that its origin was attributed to Merodach is more than +probable. If, however, there had been any grounds for honouring Calah, +Nineveh, and Resen with the same divine origin, the Assyrians would +certainly not have allowed the tradition to go unrecorded. Properly +speaking the "land of Nimrod" (Micah v. 6) is Babylon, notwithstanding all +arguments to the contrary, for that was the land which he loved, the land +whose great cities he was regarded as having founded and as still +favouring, and the land where, if we may trust the language of his name +(in Akkadian it means "the brightness of day"), he ruled when he was king +upon earth--the land, in fact, which gave him birth. + +At first governed by _patesis_, or viceroys (many Assyriologists call them +priest-kings or pontiffs), this title was abandoned for that of _sarru_, +"king," between 1600 and 1800 B.C. The use of the title _patesi_ (in +Assyrian _issaku_, "chief") implies that the earlier rulers of Assur +acknowledged some overlord, and in all probability this overlord was the +paramount king of Babylonia at the time. If we regard Nimrod (Merodach) as +the first king of Babylonia (or the first really great ruler of the +country), then it is certain that it was not he who founded the great +cities of Assyria, for they can have no pretensions to the same antiquity +as the great cities of Babylonia, any more than Assyrian civilization can +be of the same period. Of course it is probable that the cities of Assyria +were founded at an exceedingly early date, perhaps many of them are as old +as any Babylonian foundation, but their importance was nothing like so +great as those of Babylonia until the latter had already been renowned +many hundreds--perhaps many thousands--of years, and to attribute the origin +of these unimportant places to Nimrod would bring him no honour, even if +it were probable that he had founded them. + +The founder of Nineveh, Calah, Rehoboth Ir, and Resen was either a +Babylonian emigrant named Asshur, the first viceroy of the district, or +else Asshur, in the tenth chapter of Genesis, stands for the Assyrian +nation. It is noteworthy that, in the verse in question, there is no +mention of the foundation of the old capital, the city of Assur. This is +probably to be explained by the fact that the book of Genesis was compiled +at a time when the primaeval capital had already fallen into the +background, and Nineveh, the city first mentioned in the enumeration, had +assumed the first place--indeed, the fact that it is mentioned first seems +to prove this contention. + +Being far away from the centre of civilization, and apparently mingling +with barbarous races to the north--the people of Urartu (Ararat), Van, +Ukka, Musasir, etc.--in all probability the ancient Assyrians lost what +polish they had brought with them from Babylonia, and, like all pioneers, +developed into hardy, fearless, and cruel warriors, constantly striving +for the mastery over all the other tribes and nationalities around. Thus +it came to pass that, having ascertained her strength, Assyria refused to +acknowledge the overlordship of the kings of Babylonia, and the rulers of +the country abandoned the title of _patesi_ or _issaku_ for that of +_sarru_ or "king." The country from which the Assyrians had sprung did not +long remain secure from the attacks of her offspring, and the conquest of +Babylonia by the Assyrians took place more than once. Brave, warlike, and +cruel, the Assyrians at last possessed for a time not only Babylonia, with +the overlordship of Elam, but also the whole of Western Asia as far as the +Mediterranean and Cyprus, and a large part of Egypt. Notwithstanding the +polish that they had attained during the last years of the empire, the +nations around remembered against them all the cruelties that they had +committed during the foregoing centuries, and when the time of weakness +came, when the ruling mind that should have held the empire together, and +turned the tide of disaster into the channel of success, was wanting, then +came the chance of the nations that had known the Assyrian empire in +former ages, and the end of the seventh century before Christ saw the last +of the power that had dominated Western Asia so long and so successfully. + +Yet Assyria was a most remarkable power, and produced a number of really +great rulers and generals. The Assyrian kings retained for a long time +their dominion over fairly distant tracts, and made themselves greatly +feared by all the nations around. As is well known, they had made great +advances in the art of sculpture, so much so that visitors to the British +Museum, on seeing the wonderful hunting-scenes in the Assyrian +side-gallery, have been heard to express the opinion that Greek artists +must either have originated them, or influenced their production. Their +literature was naturally influenced by that of Babylonia, but one has only +to read the historical records of Tiglath-pileser I., who declaims his +successes in forceful and elegant paragraphs; Sennacherib, with his wealth +of words; or Assur-bani-apli, who in moderate and elegant phrases tells of +the successes of his soldiers and generals, to see that, when occasion +arose, they could produce literary works as good as the best of ancient +times. + +It will probably be a matter of regret to many people, but the name of +Nimrod, which we have been accustomed to associate with the pleasures and +perils of the chase for so many hundred years, must now be relegated to +the domain of words misunderstood or purposely changed for reasons that +can without much difficulty be divined. + +It is not Nimrod alone that comes under this category--Nibhaz (2 Kings +xvii. 31), judging from the Greek, is in the same case, Nisroch (2 Kings +xix. 37) is certainly so, and Abed-nego for Abed-nebo is a well-known +instance. + +But why, it will be asked, should these names have been intentionally +changed? The answer is simple. All these names were, or contained, the +names of heathen deities, and this offended the strongly monotheistic +Hebrew scribe who, at a certain period, was copying the portions of the +Hebrew Bible in which they occur, so he defaced them, adding or changing a +letter, and thus making them unrecognizable, and in all probability +ridiculous as well. A different punctuation (vowelling) completed the +work, and the names were then in such a form that pious and orthodox lips +could pronounce them without fear of defilement. + +Nibhaz is probably for some such name as Aba-hazar, Nisroch is for Assur +or Assuraku, and Nimrod is, by similar changes, for Amaruduk or Amarudu +(original Akkadian), Maruduk or Marduk (Assyro-Babylonian). The change was +brought about by making the root triliteral, and the ending _uk_ (_ak_ in +Merodach-baladan) disappearing first, Marduk appeared as Marad. This was +connected with the root Marad, "to be rebellious," and the word was still +further mutilated, or, rather, deformed by having a (_ni_) attached, +assimilating it to a certain extent to the "niphal forms" of the Hebrew +verbs, and making a change altogether in conformity with the genius of the +Hebrew language. This alteration is also clearly visible in Nibhaz and +Nisroch, which fully confirm the explanation here given. + +From a linguistic point of view, therefore, the identification of Nimrod +as a changed form of Merodach is fully justified. + +But there is another and a potent reason for eliminating Nimrod from the +list of Babylonian heroes, and that is, the fact that his name is nowhere +found in the extensive literature which has come down to us. His +identification with Gisdubar was destroyed when it was discovered that the +true reading of that doubtful name was not, as it was expected that it +would be, a Babylonian form of Nimrod, but something entirely different, +namely, Gilgames. Moreover, there is some doubt whether the personage +represented on the cylinder-seals struggling with lions and bulls be +really Gilgames (Gisdubar)--his prowess in hunting does not seem to be +emphasized in the legend recounting his exploits (see pp. 92-111)--he is in +all probability the wild man of the woods who became his great friend and +counsellor, the satyr-like figure who is represented as accompanying and +imitating the hunter being simply one of those beings who, the Babylonians +imagined, existed in wild and waste places, for that this creature is not, +as was at first supposed, Ea-bani, the friend of Gilgames, is not only +proved by the fact that in the legend he is described as a man with hairy +body and hair long like that of a woman, but also by the incontestable +circumstance that this satyr-like creature is, on certain cylinders, +represented more than once, and in such a way that the repetition cannot +be attributed to the exigencies of the design. Moreover, he is sometimes +represented in positions that seem to have no connection with the +Gilgames-legend at all. + +It would seem therefore to be certain that Gilgames is not Nimrod; that as +he had little or no fame as a "great hunter before the Lord," it cannot be +he who is represented on the cylinder-seals; and that, in all probability, +the hunter there represented is Ea-bani, who overcame the divine bull +before Erech, and a lion after the defeat of Humbaba, in both cases, +however, assisted by his royal patron. + +But, it may be asked, how is it that Nimrod, otherwise Merodach, is +described as "the mighty hunter before the Lord"? + +The explanation is very simple, and remarkably conclusive in its way. +Merodach, in the legend of the Creation, there appears as the greatest +hunter (using the word in the Hebrew sense of "entrapper") that ever +lived. For did he not, when Tiamtu, the great dragon of chaos and +disorder, tried to usurp the dominion of the gods, and bring ruin on their +fair work, chase and entrap her, thereby winning the throne of the kingdom +of heaven, and laying the universe under an everlasting debt to him? With +his net he caught and held her fast, and, standing on her body, slew her. +This was the feat of a real _gibbor sayid_, a "hero in hunting," or +entrapping with a net, for _sayid_, "hunting," is from the same root as +Sidon, the name of the ancient "fishing town," renowned of old, and still +existing at the present day. + + + + +The Tower Of Babel. + + +There is no doubt that one of the most striking and attractive episodes of +the sacred narrative of Genesis is the Tower of Babel. It has attracted +the attention of all from its circumstantial details, and has, as an +authoritative narrative, had the full belief of all the faithful for many +thousand years. This being the case, it is needful to go rather carefully +into the matter, not only to try to account for its origin, but also to +satisfy the believer of to-day with regard to the story being a real +historical fact. + +"Of these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands,"--"These +are the sons of Ham, after their families,"--"These are the sons of Shem, +after their families," says the author of Genesis in ch. x. 5, 20, and 31, +and then he adds, in slightly varying words, "after their tongues, in +their lands, in their nations." + +Yet, after this (ch. xi. 1) we have the statement, "And the whole earth +was of _one_ language, and of _one_ speech." Moreover, how was it possible +that the whole of the nations of the earth there enumerated in the tenth +chapter should have had their origin at Babel, the beginning of Nimrod's +(Merodach's) kingdom, coeval with Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, in the land of +Shinar? The effect of such a statement as this would surely be to make the +language of Nimrod the primitive language of the world, unless, indeed, +all the languages of the earth resulting from the confusion of tongues +were regarded as new, the primitive speech of man having been destroyed on +that occasion. Then, again, as we know, the building of the city was not +stopped, for it continued until it became the greatest and most important +centre in the known world when it was at the height of its glory. + +With the best will in the world, therefore, there seems to be no escape +from regarding both the story of the Tower of Babel, and the reference to +Nimrod and Asshur in the foregoing chapter as interpolations, giving +statements from ancient and possibly fairly well-known records, recording +what was commonly believed in the ancient East in those early ages. It is +also noteworthy, that both extracts, referring as they do, to Babylonia, +are probably on that account from a Babylonian source. May it not be +possible, that they have been inserted in the sacred narrative as +statements of what was the common opinion among the more well-informed +inhabitants of Western Asia at the time, without any claim to an inspired +authority being either stated or implied? This would seem to be the most +reasonable way of looking at the matter, and would take away what might +well be regarded as a great difficulty to the believer in good faith. + +If this be conceded, we can with the greater ease analyze this portion of +the eleventh chapter of Genesis, and estimate it at its true value. + +In any case, there is great improbability that the statement that the +whole earth was of one language and of one speech, was ever believed, by +thinking men at the time as an actual historical fact. A better +translation would be "the whole land," that is, the whole tract of country +from the mountains of Elam to the Mediterranean Sea, rather than "the +whole earth." The same word is used when the "land" of Israel is spoken +of, and also when "the land of Egypt" is referred to. It will thus be seen +that no violence whatever is done to the text if the restricted use of the +word be accepted. + +That this is, in a sense, provable as an historical fact, we shall see in +the sequel. + +Having thus in a measure cleared the way, the various points of the first +nine verses of the eleventh chapter of Genesis may be taken in order. + +"As they journeyed in the east" apparently refers to the remembrance of +the migrations that many a nation, handing down its traditions from mouth +to mouth, must have preserved in ancient times. Whilst thus engaged, "they +found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there"--a statement +which would seem to point to the migrants having been wandering about in +various districts, some of them mountainous--like Armenia on the north of +Assyria, and Elam and other mountainous tracts on the east. This would +seem to agree with the migration which, from the evidence of the monuments +of Babylonia, the Akkadians apparently made before they settled in that +country. And here it may be noted, in support of that fact, that the +ideograph(14) for Akkad, Uri or Ura in Akkadian, and Akkadu in Semitic +Babylonian, not only stood for Akkad, but also (often used in the Assyrian +letters) for Ararat (Urtu), and likewise (this in a syllabary only) for +Amurru, the land of the Amorites, or Phoenicia. Both these being districts +more or less mountainous, it is only reasonable to suppose that the +original home of the Akkadians was likewise of the same nature, and that +they were not aborigines of the Babylonian plain. The Akkadians at least, +therefore, "journeyed in the east." + +In the expression "they found a plain in the land of Shinar," we have a +reference to the old name of a district of Babylonia, generally regarded +as the Sumer of the Babylonian inscriptions, called Kingi or Kengi "the +country" _par excellence_ in the native tongue of the inhabitants. The +land of Shinar here spoken of, if this explanation be correct, not merely +contained a plain--it was, in fact, itself a large plain, through which the +rivers Tigris and Euphrates ran, and it was covered, when the land had +been brought into a really good state of cultivation, by a network of +canals connected with them. It must, when the ancient Akkadians first +settled there, have been a land of remarkable fertility, and would be so +still were it brought into the same efficient state of cultivation, with +irrigation and drainage, such as the old inhabitants effected. + +Here, having settled down, they built a city and a tower, using brick for +stone, and bitumen for mortar--just as they are proved to have done from +the remains of cities found in the country at the present day. That +Babylon was the site of the first settlement of the nature of a city is +conceivable, and it is very possible that the first tower in Babylonia, +which in later times had many towers, as had also Assyria, was situated in +that ancient city. Everything points, therefore, to the correctness of the +statements made in this portion of the sacred narrative. According to +native tradition, however (and this seems to be supported by the +statements in ch. x. 10), there were other important cities on the +Babylonian plain of almost equal antiquity, namely, Erech, Akkad, and +Calneh, which last is identified with Niffer (see p. 126). Notwithstanding +the extensive ruins, proof of the same remote date for Babylon will +doubtless be difficult to obtain, on account of the country around and a +large portion of the site of the city being so marshy. The result of this +condition of things will in all probability be, that very few remains of a +really ancient date will be discovered in a condition to render services +to archaeology. To this must also be added the fact, that the city, being +the capital for some thousands of years, underwent many changes at the +hands of its various kings, partly from the necessity of keeping in good +repair the many comparatively perishable brick monuments that the city +contained, and partly from a desire to add more to the glories of the city +than any of their predecessors had done. + +"And they said, Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, and its top +(lit. head) shall be in the heavens." To all appearance, this means simply +that they would build a very high structure,--to many a student of the +sacred text it has seemed that the writer only intended to say, that the +tower (_migdol_) that they were about to build was to be very high. The +mountains of Elam were not so very far off, and travellers from that part +would have been able to assure them that the heavens would not be +appreciably nearer on account of their being a few hundred cubits above +the surface of the earth, even if traditions of their fathers' wanderings +had not assured them of the same thing. They wished simply to make them a +name and a rallying-point, "lest," as the sacred text has it, "we be +scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." + +And here a few remarks upon the temple-towers of the Babylonians might not +be out of place. + +As has already been stated, most of the principal towns of Babylonia each +possessed one. That of Babylon (called Su-ana in the list published in the +_Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia_, vol. ii., pl. 50) was named +E-temen-ana, "the temple of the foundation-stone of Heaven"; that of +Borsippa, near to Babylon, was called E-ur-imina-ana, generally translated +"the temple of the seven spheres of heaven," on account of its being +dedicated to the sun, moon, and planets. This was a high and massive tower +in seven stages, each coloured with an emblematic tint indicating the +heavenly body with which each stage was associated. At Niffer the tower +seems to have had three names, or else there were three towers (which is +unlikely), the principal one being Im-ur-sag. Agade, the Akkad of Gen. x. +10, had two of these temple-towers, E-Dadia, apparently meaning "the +temple of the (divine) Presence," and E-su-gala or E-igi-e-di, the latter +apparently meaning "the temple of the wonder (of mankind)," which was +dedicated to the god Tammuz. At Cuthah there was the temple of Nannara +(Nan-naros); at Ur the temple E-su-gan-du-du; at Erech E-gipara-imina, +"the temple of the seven enclosures"; at Larsa E-dur-an-ki, "the Temple of +the bond of heaven and earth." + +The only temple-tower that contains in its name a distinct reference to +the seven stages of which it was composed, is that at Borsippa, though +that at Erech may possibly have in its name "seven enclosures" a +suggestion of something of the kind. As, however, the ruins of the towers +at Dur-Sargina (Khorsabad) in Assyria, Erech, Niffer, and elsewhere, show +distinctly this form of architecture, there is every probability that they +were all, or almost all, built on the same plan. In his description of the +glories of Babylon, Herodotus gives details, in his usual minute way, of +the temple of Belos (E-sagila) there. He describes it as having eight +stages (the platform upon which the tower proper was built being counted +as one), and judging from his description, this building must have +differed somewhat from the others, the various platforms being connected +by a gradually rising ascent, arranged spirally as it were, so that by +constantly walking upwards, and turning at the corners of the edifice, one +at last reached the top. About the middle of this long ascending pathway +there was a stopping-place, with seats to rest upon. Having reached the +top of the structure, the visitor came upon a cell, within which there was +a couch and a golden table. Here it was supposed that the god descended +from time to time to dwell. Below, he relates, there was another cell, +wherein was a large statue of Zeus (Belos) sitting. This image was of +gold, as were also the table in front of it, the god's footstool, and his +seat. It is probable that at the time to which the narrative in Genesis +refers, the tower was neither so high, nor the workmanship so splendid and +valuable, as in later times. + +But was this the Tower of Babel? We do not know. The general opinion is +that the great and celebrated temple-tower at Borsippa, extensive remains +of which still exist, was that world-renowned erection. Its name, however, +was E-zida, and it was not situated within Babylon. Notwithstanding the +fact, therefore, that Borsippa, the town on the outskirts of the great +city, was called "the second Babylon," and that tradition associates the +site of the Tower of Babel with that spot, it must still be held to be +very doubtful whether that was really the place. Neither the renown of +E-zida nor that of E-sagila prove that either of them must have been the +place, for the populace is fickle-minded in this as in other matters, and +holy fanes have the periods when they are in fashion, just like anything +else. + +This being the case, the question is, what was that E-temen-ana-kia which +is apparently mentioned in the list of temple-towers quoted above? In many +an inscription of Nebuchadnezzar, this temple-tower is referred to, though +very shortly, as having been restored by him. Thus, in the great cylinder +of Nebuchadnezzar, 85-4-30, I, the following occurs-- + + + "I caused the fanes of Babylon and Borsippa to be rebuilt and + endowed. + E-temen-ana-kia, the temple-tower of Babylon; + E-ur-imina-ana-kia, the temple-tower of Borsippa, all their + structure with bitumen and brick + I made, I completed." + + +In the above E-temen-ana-kia takes the place of E-sagila, and +E-ur-imina-ana-kia that of E-zida, implying that they respectively +belonged to each other. The passage corresponding to the above in the +India House Inscription is greatly expanded, and recounted with much +detail. The portion referring to E-temen-ana-kia is as follows-- + + + "The vessels of the temple E-sagila with massive gold-- + the bark Ma-kua (Merodach's shrine) with electrum and stones-- + I made glorious + like the stars of heaven. + The fanes of Babylon + I caused to be rebuilt and endowed. + Of E-temen-ana-kia + with brick and bright lapis stone + I reared its head. + To rebuild E-sagila + my heart urged me-- + constantly did I set myself," etc., etc. + + +According to the plan of Babylon drawn up by Weissbach, one of the German +explorers, E-temen-ana-kia was situated to the north of E-sagila, which +latter was evidently the temple connected with it. As both were dedicated +to Merodach (Bel), they practically formed one centre of worship, and it +is possibly on this account that the Tower is called "the Temple of Belus" +in Herodotus. The description, from a Babylonian tablet probably in +private hands, published by the late George Smith, agrees well with that +given by Herodotus, but has some noteworthy differences--the great height +of the lowest stage, the sloping (?) sides of the second stage, and the +buildings grouped near it. Unfortunately, the baked brickwork of +E-temen-ana-kia has been cleared away, practically destroying the remains. + +Concerning the miracle of the confusion of tongues, there is, of course, +no historical reference. The Babylonian inscriptions know nothing of it. +Yet the stranger visiting Babylon could not have been otherwise than +struck by the number of languages spoken there. There was the religious +tongue, which is called by modern scholars Akkadian or Sumerian, and its +dialect, together with the language known as Assyrian, or, more correctly, +Semitic Babylonian. Besides this, there were various Aramaic +dialects--Chaldee, Aramean (Syriac), and the language of the dockets on the +trade-documents, which is also found in Assyria. In addition to these, the +Elamite and Kassite conquerors of Babylonia brought with them large +numbers of people, and each of these nations naturally introduced, in +larger measure than before, the use of their respective languages. +Speakers of other tongues long since dead must also have visited the city +for the purposes of trade, and of this the so-called Hittite is in all +probability an example (in the researches of Profs. Sayce and Jensen we +shall, perhaps, see the beginnings of the recovery of this tongue), and a +docket in an unknown script implies that yet another language heard there +in later times has to be discovered, though this may simply be some other +way of writing one of the tongues spoken there that is already known to +scholars. With regard to the oneness of the language of the rest of the +earth, in all probability this expression referred, as has been already +remarked, to the tract enclosed between the mountains of Persia on the +east, the Mediterranean on the west, Asia Minor and Armenia on the north, +and Arabia on the south--a tract in which the _lingua franca_ of diplomacy +was, as is proved by the Tel-el-Amarna tablets, the tongue now called +Assyrian, which could easily have been regarded as the proofs and the +remains of the thing that had been. + +To recapitulate: The story of the Tower of Babel is a break in the +narrative of the genealogies, so striking that any thinking man must have +been able to recognize it easily. It is a narrative that practically +glorifies Babylonia, making it the centre of the human race, and the spot +from which they all migrated after the dispersion caused by the confusion +of tongues. It was probably given for, and recognized as, the legend +current in Babylonia at the time, and must, therefore, have been +recognized and valued by the people of the time at its true worth. + + + + +The Patriarchs To Abraham. + + +Little information is unfortunately to be obtained from Assyro-Babylonian +sources concerning the patriarchs from Shem to Abraham. It is true that +certain comparisons can be made in the matter of the names, but these, +when more precise information comes to light, may be found to be more or +less erroneous. As a matter of fact, with one or two exceptions, it is +probable that we have nothing from Babylonian sources bearing on the +patriarchs who preceded Abraham at all. + +Nevertheless, there are one or two things that may be put forward in a +more or less tentative way, and these may well be discussed with this +reservation in this place. + +As we have seen, it was the custom of the early Babylonians to deify the +early rulers of their race, and as a well-known example of this, the case +of the god Merodach will at once occur to the mind. As has been shown, +this deity is none other than the long-known and enigmatical hero Nimrod, +and it is probable that, if we had more and more complete sources of +information, other instances would be found. This being the case, it may +be permitted to the student to try to find similar instances of +deification by the Babylonians of the men of old who were their ancestors +in common with the Jews and other nations of the ancient East. + +To begin with Shem, the name of the ancestor of the Semitic race. As a +word, this means, in Hebrew, "name." Now, the Assyro-Babylonian equivalent +and cognate word is _sumu_, "name," and this naturally leads one to ask +whether Shem may not have been designated "He of the Name" _par +excellence_, and deified under that appellation. If this be the case, we +may perhaps see the word Shem in certain names of kings and others of the +second dynasty of Babylon (that to which Hammurabi or Amraphel belonged, +and which held the power from about 2230 to 1967 B.C.). Sumu-abi, the name +of the first ruler of the dynasty, would then mean "Shem is my father," +Sumu-la-ili would mean "a name to his god," with a punning allusion to the +deified ancestor of the Semitic nations. + +Other names, not royal, are Sumu-Upe, apparently, "Shem of Opis"; +Sumu-Dagan, "Shem is Dagon," or "Name of Dagon"; Sumu-hatnu, "Shem is a +protection"; Sumu-atar, "Shem is great," and the form Samu-la-ili for +Sumu-la-ili leads one to ask whether Samia may not be for Sumia, "my +Shem," a pet name abbreviated from a longer one similar to those already +quoted; Sumu-ya (= Sumia) also occurs. All these forms, being written with +s, instead of s, like Samsu-iluna for Samsu-iluna, betray foreign +(so-called Arabic) influence, and are not native Babylonian. That the +Babylonians had at this time names compounded with the native +representative of Sumu is shown by the contracts of that time, where the +name Sumum-libsi, "let there be a name," occurs. Many later instances of +this are to be found.(15) + +From other than Bible sources there is but little that can be gathered +concerning the descendants of Shem, though in this, as in many other +things, one lives in hopes of something coming to light later on. And such +a record, as may readily be imagined, would be of the greatest interest +and value. Shem, as one of those born before the Flood, must certainly on +that account have been renowned (as we have just seen he was, if it be +true that he was deified) among other nations of Semitic stock than the +Hebrews. To all appearance, the lives of the patriarchs decreased greatly +after the Flood, and are represented, in the Bible narrative, as gradually +assuming the average duration of those who attain a hoary old age at the +present day. It is noteworthy that his eldest son was born two years after +the Flood, and if this have any ethnic meaning, it ought to point to the +foundation of the settlement known as Arpachshad at about that period, +though it could not have attained to the renown of a well-known and +recognized community until some time after that date. + +The theory that Arpachshad represents a community is rather supported by +the fact that it is mentioned in Gen. x. 22, where it is accompanied by +the names of Elam, Asshur, Lud, and Aram, which were later, as we know, +names of nationalities. Indeed, the long lives of the patriarchs of this +exceedingly early period are best explained if we suppose that they +represent a people or community. + +There is a considerable amount of difference of opinion as to the correct +identification of the Arpachshad of Gen. ix. 10, though nearly every +critic places the country it represents in the same tract. It has been +identified with Arrapkha, or Arrapachitis, in Assyria. Schrader makes it +to be for Arpa-cheshed, "the coast of the Chaldeans." Prof. Hommel, who is +always ready with a seductive and probable etymology, suggests that +Arpachshad is an Egyptianized way of writing Ur of the +Chaldees--Ar-pa-Cheshed, for Ur-pa-Cheshed. + +This, it must be admitted, is a possible etymology, for Egyptianized words +were really used in that district in ancient times. This is shown in the +name of Merodach, Asari, which is apparently connected with the Egyptian +Osiris, just as one of the names of the Sun-god Samas, Amna, is probably +an Akkadianized form of the Egyptian Ammon, and even the Egyptian word for +"year," _ronpet_, made, probably by early Babylonian scribes, into a kind +of pun, became, by the change of a vowel, _ran pet_, "name of heaven," +transcribed, by those same scribes, into _mu-anna_, which, in its ordinary +signification, means likewise "name of heaven," in Akkadian; the whole +being used with the meaning of _ronpet_, _i.e._ "year." It will thus be +seen that there is but little that is unlikely in Prof. Hommel's etymology +of Arpachshad, and that the explanation which he gives may turn out to be +correct.(16) + +In any case, we may take it that the consensus of opinion favours the +supposition that the name in question refers to Babylonia, and if this be +the case, Abraham, the father of the Hebrew nation, as well as of other +peoples, was really, as has been supposed, of Babylonian or Chaldean +origin. This is also implied by the statement in Gen. xi. 28, that Ur of +the Chaldees was the land of the nativity of Haran, Abraham's brother, who +died in the country of his birth before the family of Terah went to settle +at Haran, on the way to Canaan. The theory of the identity of Arpachshad +is moreover important, because it is contended that Ur of the Chaldees was +not in Babylonia, but is to be identified with the site known as Urfa, in +Mesopotamia. + +Concerning the names of Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, and Nahor, there +is not much that can be said. To all appearance they are not Babylonian +names, or, rather, they receive little or no illustration from Babylonian +sources. Nothing is recorded concerning these patriarchs except their ages +at the time their eldest sons were born, and at what age they died. The +question whether the Hebrews derived their name from their ancestor Eber +is not set at rest by any passage in the Bible, nor is there any statement +in secular literature which would enable this to be decided. To all +appearance, it is needful to keep the name of Eber distinct from that of +the Hebrews, notwithstanding that they are from the same root. If, +however, the Hebrews were "the men from beyond," then Eber may well have +been "the man from beyond," indicating for his time a migration similar to +that of Abraham. In this way, if in no other, the names may be connected. + +We have seen that in many cases the names of these "genealogical tables" +are regarded as nationalities, and, indeed, there is sufficient +justification for such a theory on account of many of the names appearing +as those of well-known nations. This being conceded, it would probably not +be too much to regard the names of the patriarchs from Shelah to Serug as +indicating ethnical historical events. Thus Shelah might mean "extension," +indicating the time when the Semitic race began to go beyond its ancient +borders. Treating the other names in the same way, Eber would mean the +period when that race crossed some river into another district; Peleg +would mean that, at the time referred to, that race, or a portion of it, +was divided into small states, as Babylonia was at the period preceding +that of the dynasty of Amraphel; whilst Reu would mean "friendliness," +denoting the time when those states were united under one head, and the +old dissensions ceased. Serug would then mean something like +"interweaving," perhaps referring to the time when the various races (? of +Babylonia) intermingled. These explanations of the names receive a certain +amount of confirmation from the parallel list in Gen. x. 25, where to the +name Peleg the note is added, "for in his days was the earth divided." + +With regard to Nahor and his son Terah the Jews had other traditions, and +they speak thus concerning them-- + +"Terah, son of Nahor, was the chief officer of king Nimrod, and a great +favourite with his royal master. And when his wife Amtheta, the daughter +of Kar-Nebo, bare him a son, she called his name Abram, meaning 'great +father.' And Terah was seventy years old when his son Abram was born." + +Here we have, in Amtheta, a doubtful Babylonian name, in Kar-Nebo a +possible Babylonian name, and in the meaning of Abram a signification that +does not militate against the indications given by the tablets of +Babylonia and Assyria. This being the case, it would seem that there were +trustworthy data to go upon for certain facts connected with Abraham's +ancestors, and that these facts were known to the Jews of earlier ages. +The Talmudic account of the wonders seen at the birth of Abram, however, +are not sufficiently worthy of credence to allow of repetition here, +notwithstanding their reference to Terah and Abraham's youth. + +Eusebius quotes the following from Eupolemus concerning Abraham-- + +"He saith, moreover, that in the tenth generation in a city of Babylonia, +called Camarina (which, by some, is called the city of Urie, and which +signifyeth a city of the Chaldeans), there lived, the thirteenth in +descent, (a man named) Abraham, a man of a noble race, and superior to all +others in wisdom. + +"Of him they relate that he was the inventor of astrology and the Chaldean +magic, and that on account of his eminent piety he was esteemed by God. It +is further said that under the directions of God he removed and lived in +Phoenicia, and there taught the Phoenicians the motions of the sun and moon, +and all other things; for which reason he was held in great reverence by +their king" (_Praep. Evan._ 9). + +Nicolas of Damascus, apparently wishing to glorify his own city, states +that Abram was king of Damascus, and went there, with an army, from that +part of the country which is situated above Babylon of the Chaldeans, +afterwards transferring his dwelling to the land which was at that time +called Canaan, but is now called Judea. Justin also states that Abraham +lived at Damascus, from which city he traces the origin of the Jews. + +According to the most trustworthy traditions, therefore, as well as from +the Bible itself, Abraham was of Chaldean or Babylonian origin. If the +city of Urie or Ur be, as he says, that which was also called Camarina, +this would in all probability be the Aramean form of the Arabic _qamar_, +"the moon," and the name Camarina would be due to the fact that the +Moon-god, Sin or Nannara, was worshipped there. It is also noteworthy that +the city whither the family of Terah emigrated, Haran (in +Assyro-Babylonian, Harran), was likewise a centre of lunar worship, and +some have sought to see in that a reason for choosing that settlement. In +connection with this it may be remarked, that in the Talmud Terah, the +father of Abraham, is represented as an idolater, reproved by his son +Abraham for foolish and wicked superstition. + +We see, therefore, from the eleventh chapter of Genesis, that Abraham was +a Babylonian from Ur, now known as Mugheir (Muqayyar), or (better still) +from that part of the country which lay north of Babylon, known by the +non-Semitic inhabitants as Uri, and by the Semitic population as Akkad. As +the family of Terah was a pastoral one, they must have pastured their +flocks in this district until they heard of those more fruitful tracts in +the west, and decided to emigrate thither. And here it may be noted that +they did not, by thus quitting their fatherland, go to swear allegiance to +another ruler, for the sway of the king of Babylon extended to the +farthest limits of the patriarch's wanderings, and wherever he went, +Babylonian and Aramean or Chaldean would enable him to make himself +understood. He was, therefore, always as it were in his own land, under +the governors of the same king who ruled in the place of his birth. + +The name of the patriarch, moreover, seems to betray the place of his +origin. The first name that he bore was Abram, which has already been +compared with the Abu-ramu, "honoured father," of the Assyrian +eponym-lists (in this place an official by whose name the year 677, the +5th year of Esarhaddon, was distinguished). At an earlier date than this +the name has not been found, and the element _ram_, _ramu_, _rame_, etc., +seems to be rare. Ranke's list gives only _Sumu-rame_, "the name is +established," or "Sumu (? Shem) is established," or something similar, but +_rame_ here is probably not connected with the second syllable of Abram's +name. The name of Sarah has been compared with the Assyro-Babylonian +_sarratu_, "queen," but seems not to occur in the inscriptions. Isaak is +also absent, but Ishmael, under the form of _Isme-ilu_ (meaning "(the) god +has heard") occurs, as well as others in which _ilu_ is replaced by Ea, +Sin, and Addu or Adad (Hadad). + +When, however, it was revealed to Abram that he was to stay in the +Promised Land, a change was made in his name--he was no longer known by the +Assyro-Babylonian name Abram, "honoured father," but, in view of the +destiny appointed for him, he was to be called Abraham, "father of a +multitude of nations." + +The first stratum of the Hebrew nation was, therefore to all appearance, +Babylonian, the second stratum Aramean, probably a kindred stock, whilst +the third was to all appearance Canaanitish. All these must have left +their trace on the Hebrew character, and, like most mixed races, they +showed at all times superior intelligence in many ways. They were good +diplomates, brave warriors, divine lawgivers, and they excelled in +literary skill. One great defect they had--among their many defects--they +were stiffnecked to a fatal degree. Had their kings been less obstinate +and better rulers, conciliating their subjects instead of exasperating +them, the nation might have outlasted the power of Rome, and built upon +its ruins in their land a kingdom dominating the Semitic world in the +nearer East to the present day. + +Of all the characters of early Bible history, there is hardly one which +stands out with greater prominence than the patriarch Abraham. And not +only is it his history and personality that is important--the historical +facts touched upon in the course of his biography are equally so. Facts +concerning the ancient East, from Babylonia on the east to Egypt on the +west, face the reader as he goes through that attractive narrative, and +make him wonder at the state of society, the political situation, and the +beliefs of the people which should have made his migrations possible, +brought about the monotheistic belief which characterizes his life and +that of his descendants, and enabled him and his sons after him to attain +such a goodly store of the riches of this world. + +To begin with Babylonia, his native place. As is well known, that country +had already been in existence as a collection of communities far advanced +in arts, sciences, and literature, at an exceedingly early date, and many +of the small kingdoms of which it consisted had become united under +Hammurabi (Amraphel) into one single state, making it one of the greatest +powers at the time. Of course, it is not by any means improbable that +something similar to this had existed before, but if so, we have no record +of the fact, though it is certain that different states had from time to +time become predominant and powerful to an extent hardly conceivable. The +influence, if not the sway, of Sargon of Agade, who reigned about 3800 +years before Christ, for example, extended from Elam on the east to the +Mediterranean on the west--a vast tract of territory to acknowledge the +suzerainty of so small a state. + +Babylonia, therefore, with a long history behind it, was beginning to +feel, to all appearance, a new national life. It had passed the days when +the larger states boasted strength begotten of mere size, and when the +smaller states sought mutual protection against the larger, finding in +that alone, or in the acknowledgment of an overlord, the security upon +which their existence as separate states depended. There is every +probability that it was at this time that the legends which formed the +basis of Babylonian national literature were collected and copied, thus +assuring their preservation. It is also probable that the translations +from Akkadian of the numerous inscriptions written in that language, and +the bilingual lists, syllabaries, and other texts of a similar nature, +belong to this period. + +The social condition of Babylonia itself at this time is now fairly well +known. The ancient Akkadian laws were still in force, but as they did not +provide for all the possibilities that might arise, a large series of +legal enactments was compiled, in which points were decided in a very +common-sense and just manner. It is noteworthy that the number of tablets +of a legal nature is very numerous, and arouses the suspicion that the +Babylonians were exceedingly fond of litigation, due, no doubt, to the +tendency they had to overreach each other. It is therefore very probable +that this is the reason why we meet with that remarkable contract of the +purchase of the field of Machpelah from the children of Heth. One would +have imagined that the frequent protestations, made by the head of the +tribe there located, to the effect that he gave the field and the cave to +Abraham, would have been sufficient, especially at that solemn moment of +the burial of Sarah, and that the matter could have been put upon a legal +footing later on. But no, the patriarch was determined to have the matter +placed beyond dispute there and then, and knowing how prone the +Babylonians (with whom he had passed his youth) were to deny a contract, +and try to get back again, by perjury, what they had already parted with +for value, the matter was at once placed beyond the possibility of being +disputed in any court of law.(17) + + + + + +CHAPTER V. BABYLONIA AT THE TIME OF ABRAHAM. + + + The first dynasty of Babylon--The extent of its dominion--The + Amorites--Life in Babylonia at this time--The religious element--The + king--The royal family--The people--Their manners and customs as + revealed by the contract-tablets--Their laws. + + +Much has been learnt, but there is still much to learn, concerning the +early history of Babylonia. + +During the period immediately preceding that of the dynasty of Babylon--the +dynasty to which Amraphel (Hammurabi) belonged--there is a gap in the list +of the kings, which fresh excavations alone can fill up. Before this gap +the records, as far as we know them, are in the Akkadian language. After +this gap they are in the Semitic-Babylonian tongue. To all appearance, +troublous times had come upon Babylonia. The native rulers had been swept +away by the Elamites, who, in their turn, had been driven out by the +Semitic kings of Babylonia, but those Semitic kings were not Babylonians +by origin, notwithstanding that the native scribes, who drew up the lists +of kings, describe them as being a Babylonian dynasty. + + [Plate V.] + +Envelope (Printed upside down on account of seal-impressions 2 to 4) of a + contract-tablet recording a sale of land by Sin-eribam, Pi-sa-nunu, and + Idis-Sin, three brothers, to Sin-ikisam. Reign of Immerum, contemporary +with Sumula-ilu, about 2100 B.C. Seal Impressions. 1. (Here reversed.) Two + deities, one (in a flounced robe) holding a sceptre. On the left, a +worshipper; on the right, a man overcoming a lion. This scene is repeated, +less distinctly, on the left. 2. Left: Two deities, one holding a sceptre +and a weapon; right: deity, divine attendant adoring, and worshipper (?). +3. Men overcoming lions; winged creature devouring a gazelle. 4. Figure on +plinth, holding basket and cup; worshipper; deity, holding sword; lion (or + dog); deity, holding weapon. Inscription: Aa (the moon-goddess), Samas + (the sun-god). (Tablet 92,649 in the British Museum (Babylonian and + Assyrian Room, Table-case A, No. 62). The edges have also some very fine + impressions.) + + +The change may have been gradual, but it was great. Many of the small +states which had existed at the time of Dungi, Bur-Sin, Gimil-Sin, +Ibi-Sin, and their predecessors had to all appearance passed away, and +become part of the Babylonian Empire long before the dynasty of Babylon +came to an end, though some at least were in existence in the time of the +great conqueror Hammurabi. But the change was, as it would seem, not one +of overlordship only--another change which had been gradually taking place +was, by this, carried one step farther, namely, the Semiticizing of the +country. Before the period of the dynasty of Babylon, the two races of +Akkadians and Semitic Babylonians had been living side by side, the former +(except in the kingdom of which Sippar was the capital) having the +predominance, the records being written in the Akkadian language, and the +kings bearing mainly Akkadian names, though there were, for the Semitic +inhabitants, translations of those names. Translations of the inscriptions +and legends, as well as the old Akkadian laws, probably did not (except in +the Semitic kingdom of Agade) exist. + +How it came about is not known, but it is certain that, about 2200 years +B.C., a purely Semitic dynasty occupied the throne of the chief ruler in +Babylonia. The first king was Sumu-abi, who reigned 14 years. This monarch +was followed by Sumu-la-ili and Zabu, 36 and 14 years respectively. Then +come two rulers with Babylonian names--Abil-Sin and Sin-mubalit, 18 years +and 20 years. These are followed, in their turn, by Hammurabi (43), +Samsu-iluna (38), Ebisum (25), Ammi-titana (25), Ammi-zaduga (21), and +Samsu-titana (31 years). This dynasty, therefore, lasted about 285(18) +years, and with two exceptions, Abil-Sin and Sin-mubalit, the names, +though Semitic, are not Babylonian. + +Yet it was called by Babylonians "the dynasty of Babylon!" + +And this, in all probability, is correct. The dynasty must, on account of +the name given to it, have come from that city, but was, at the same time, +of foreign origin, its kings being descended from another dynasty which +came from some other part of the Semitic world of that time. This is +indicated by the following facts. + +Three of the tablets of which we shall learn something more farther on, +and which are preserved in the British Museum, have invocations of a +personage, apparently a king, named Anmanila. The name of this ruler +naturally recalls the Anman of the dynasty following that of +Babylon--namely, the dynasty of Uru-ku; but the style of the writing of +these three documents is not that of the later period, but of the +beginning of the dynasty of Babylon, and there is, on that account, every +probability that Anmanila was one of the predecessors of Sumu-abi, the +first king of the dynasty of Babylon. It is, of course, possible that this +ruler was simply a co-regent with one of the kings already known, like +Immerum, who lived at the time of Sumu-la-ila, or Buntahun-ila,(19) +another associate with Sumu-la-ila on the throne, but there is a certain +amount of improbability in this, as Anmanila is named alone, and not in +connection with any other. Moreover, it is probable that, in the case of +the two co-regents here mentioned, we have examples of sons associated +with their father, and one replacing the other on account of the early +death of his brother. Another ruler, probably of the period preceding that +of the dynasty of Babylon, is Manamaltel, whose name is found on a tablet +belonging to the Rev. Dr. J. P. Way, head-master of Rossall School, and it +is noteworthy that one of the tablets bearing the name of Anmanila gives, +among the witnesses, a certain Sumuentel,(20) a name having the same +termination as Manamaltel, a component which seems to have been common at +this early period, and rare or non-existent later. Most, if not all, the +above are foreign names. + +The next question that arises is, what was the nationality of these +rulers, who, though belonging to what was called "the dynasty of Babylon," +were not really of Babylonian origin? + +The key to the matter is probably furnished by the following inscription +of Ammi-titana, the ninth king of the dynasty-- + +"Ammi-ti(tana), his(?) ... +the powerful king, (in) a seat of gladness +king of Babylon, he has made him sit. +king of Kis, +king of Sumer and (Akkad), +king of the vast land of +Amoria, +am I; its wall. +descendant Asari-lu-duga (Merodach) +of Sumu-la-ili, has revealed him as his + worshipper-- +eldest son(21) may his name be established +of Abesu',(22) am I, in heaven and earth. +Obedient(?) (to) Bel "(Inscription) of Bel-usallim, +the seat(?)" son of ... -bi, the + enchanter." + +In this inscription, Ammi-titana calls himself not only "king of Babylon," +and other important places in Babylonia, but "king of Amoria" (if the +coining of a word for the district be allowed) also. Now, as we know from +the Tel-el-Amarna tablets, Amurru is the name that the Babylonians used +for "the west," which Assyriologists formerly read (on account of the +polyphony of the Babylonian system of writing) Aharru. In reality, +however, this word, Amurru, stands for the land of the Amorites, and the +probability is, that the land of the Amorites belonged to the Babylonian +Empire because it formed part of the original domain of the rulers of +Babylonia at this time, who, if not of Amorite descent, may at least have +had Amorite connections. + +In any case, there is but little doubt that the population of Babylonia +was very mixed 2000 years before Christ. As we know from the tablets, +Amorites were, during this period, numerous in Babylonia, and the god +whose name is written with the characters MARTU (a common group for +Amurru)--the fact is revealed by one of the tablets of late date published +by Reisner--are to be read Amurru, and the best translation is "the Amorite +god," whose name and worship seem to have been introduced into the +Babylonian Pantheon at a much earlier date, and was known to the Akkadians +under the name of Martu. It is noteworthy that, in the text in question +(_Mitteilungen aus den orientalischen Sammlungen_, Heft. x. pl. 139, +147-81), the Akkadian Martu and Babylonian Amurru is called "lord of the +mountain," probably because the country of the Amorites, especially when +compared with Babylonia, is mountainous. + +In addition to the god Amurru, other deities of western origin appear in +the inscriptions (generally in the names) from time to time. Thus we have +Abdu-Istara, interesting as giving an early form of the name Astarte +(Ashtoreth), before it received the feminine termination; Usur-Malik, +probably "protect, O Malik" (Moloch), Nabu-Malik, probably "Nebo is Malik" +(Moloch), or "Nebo is king"; Ibi-San, probably "speak, O Shan," which +reminds the reader of Beth-Shean, the modern Beisan; and there are also, +in all probability, other Amorite deities whom we cannot identify, on +account of their names not occurring in other ancient literatures than the +Babylonian. Ibaru, found in the name Arad-Ibari, "servant of Ibari," Aba, +in the name Arad (Abdi)-Aba, Alla, in the name Ur-Alla, "man of Alla" +(though this is possibly a Babylonian [Akkadian] name), etc., are probably +non-Babylonian, but not Amorite. + +Besides the names of west Semitic deities, however, the names of west +Semites themselves occur, and show that there was a considerable +immigration in those ancient days into the country. Thus the word Amurru, +"the Amorite," is exceedingly common, and one is not surprised to learn +that, in consequence of the Amorites being so numerous, there was an +Amorite district in the neighbourhood of Sippar. Other names of men which +are apparently from the country spoken of are, Sar-ili, probably "prince +of God," and the same as Israel; Karanatum (probably for Qaranatum), which +would seem to mean "she of the horned deity" (compare Uttatum, "he of the +sun," Sinnatum, "he of the moon"), and reminds us of Ashteroth Karnaim, +"Ashteroth of the two horns," the well-known site in Palestine. Besides +these, we meet more than once with such names as Ya'kub, Jacob, with its +longer form, Ya'kub-ilu, Jacob-el; and in like manner the name of Joseph +and its longer form Joseph-el occur--Yasup and Yasup-ilu. Esa, the father +of a man named Siteyatum, reminds us of Esau; Abdi-ili, "servant of God," +is the same as Abdeel; and Ya'zar-ilu, "God has helped" (compare Azrael), +Yantin-ilu, "God has given" (compare Nethanel), with many others similar, +receive illustration. In all probability, too, many of the bearers of +names compounded with Addu (Hadad), Amurru, and other names of deities +naturalized in Babylonia, as well as some of the bearers of true +Babylonian names, were, in reality, pure west Semites. Further examples +will be found in the texts translated farther on, and the more noteworthy +will be pointed out when they occur. + +It will thus be seen that the population of Babylonia 2000 years before +Christ had a considerable admixture of west Semites, many of whom would +come under the designation of Amorites; besides other nationalities, such +as Armenians or people of Aram-Naharaim (Mesopotamia)--at least two tablets +refer exclusively to transactions between members of this northern +race--Sutites, and Gutites, who were low-class people seemingly +light-haired, "fair Gutian slaves" being in one place spoken of. + +Life in Babylonia at this early period must have been exceedingly +primitive, and differed considerably, as the East does even now, from what +we in Europe are accustomed to. The city of which we can get the best +idea, Sippar, the Sippara of the Greeks, generally regarded (though +probably wrongly) as the Sepharvaim of the Bible, now represented by the +mounds known as Abu-habbah, whence most of the early contract-tablets +revealing to us the daily life of these ancient Babylonians came, was +situated on the Euphrates, "the life of the land." The name of this river +is written, when phonetically rendered, by the characters Purattu +(probably really pronounced Phuraththu), in Akkadian Pura-nunu, "the great +water-channel," often expressed (and then, of course, not phonetically) +with characters meaning "the river of Sippar," showing in what estimation +the ancient Babylonians held both river and city. The mound of Abu-habbah +is four miles from the river Euphrates, and situated, in reality, on the +canal called Nahr-Malka, "the royal river," which runs through it; but the +tablets of the period of which we are now speaking refer not only to the +city itself, but to the district all round from the Tigris on the east to +the Euphrates on the west. + +The following paragraph from Mr. Rassam's _Asshur and the Land of Nimrod_ +will give a fair idea of what this district is like:-- + +"It is most interesting to examine this canal (the Nahr-Malka) all the way +between the Euphrates and the Tigris, as it shows the magnitude of the +Babylonian agricultural industry in days gone by, when it irrigated +hundreds of miles of rich alluvial soil. The remains of countless large +and small watercourses, which intersect the country watered by those two +branches(23) of Nahr-Malka, are plainly seen even now. Vestiges of +prodigious basins are also visible, wherein a surplus supply must have +been kept for any emergency, especially when the water of the Euphrates +falls low in summer." + +The digging of canals, which was an exceedingly important work in those +days, as indeed it is now, was evidently very systematically done, and the +king often, to all appearance, made a bid for increased popularity by +digging an important new canal for irrigation purposes, to which his name +was attached. Thus we find the work of Sumu-la-ilu, Sin-mubalit, +Hammurabi, Samsu-iluna, and other kings recorded and chosen as the event +of the year to date by. This, with the rebuilding or new decoration of the +temples and shrines, endeared the king to the people and the priesthood, +ensuring for him the faithful service of both, and willing submission to +his rule. Indeed, there is but little doubt that the presence of foreign +rulers in the country was often due to their having made friends of the +priestly classes, and afterwards of the people, in this way. + + + + +The Religious Element. + + +As may be judged from the specimens of Babylonian names already given, the +inhabitants of this part of the world were exceedingly religious. In every +city of the land there were great temples, each of which made its claim on +the people who formed the congregation--in other words, the whole +population. In the district of which we are at present treating--the tract +where the majority of early contract-tablets were found, namely, +Sippar--the chief objects of worship were the Sun-god Samas; his consort, +the Moon-goddess, Aa; Bunene, a deity of whom but little is known; +Anunitum, a goddess identified with Istar or Venus; Addu or Rammanu (Hadad +or Rimmon), and, in later times at least, among others, "the divine +Daughters of E-babbarra.(24)" All these deities were worshipped in the +temple of the place, called E-babbarra, "the (divinely) brilliant house," +the earthly abode of the god Samas and his companions. In addition to this +great and celebrated temple, of such renown in later times that even +Egyptians, sun-devotees in their own country, attended the services and +made gifts, temples were erected to the other gods of Babylon, notably +Sin, the Moon-god; to Merodach, the chief deity of Babylon; and likewise +in all probability to Merodach's consort, Zer-panitum, who was worshipped +along with him. There was probably hardly a town in ancient Babylonia and +Assyria where one or more of these gods were not honoured--indeed, the sun +had also another centre of worship, namely, Larsa, the Ellasar of Gen. +xiv. 1, as well as less renowned shrines. Istar was venerated at Erech +along with Anu; Sin, the moon, under the name of Nannar, had a great and +celebrated temple at Ur (generally regarded as Ur of the Chaldees), and +also at Haran, the city of Abraham's sojourning; Nebo was worshipped at +Borsippa; Nergal at Cuthah; Gula, goddess of healing, at Babylon; E-girsu +("the lord of Girsu") at the city of Girsu, apparently a part of Lagas; Ea +and Tammuz at Eridu, etc. + +In the province of which Sippar was capital, however, the people were more +than usually religious, or else more records of their piety have come down +to us. Numerous persons, more especially women, are described as devotees, +or perhaps priestesses, of the Sun-god there, and sometimes similar +devotees of Merodach are mentioned. Though we have no certain information, +it is very probable that there were all over the country people dedicated +to the various deities, "the gods of the land," for what was customary in +the district of Sippar (Sippar-Amnanu and Sippar-Ya'ruru) was in all +probability equally so in the other provinces of the empire. From the +earliest times the temples acquired and held large tracts of land, which +the priests let to various people, agriculturists and others, to +cultivate, a certain proportion of the produce being paid to them, added +to the revenues of the temples, and passed into the treasury of the god. +To this lucrative business of land-letting was added that of +money-lending, and interest in the weaving-industry of the place, both of +which increased enormously in later times. That the temples received from +time to time rich gifts from the king, goes without saying, for the +colophon-dates record many instances of this. Sumu-abu, for instance, +rebuilt or restored the temples of the Lady of Isin, and the temple E-mah +of Nannar (the Moon-god); Sumu-la-ila made a throne of gold and silver for +the great shrine of Merodach; Abil-Sin seems to have given a similar +object to the temple of the Sun at Babylon; Hammurabi restored or gave +thrones to the temples of Zer-panitum, Istar of Babylon, Nannar (the +moon), and built a great shrine for Bel. Samsu-iluna, likewise, was not +negligent of the gods, for it is related of him that he dedicated a bright +shining mace (?) of gold and silver, the glory of the temple, to Merodach, +and made E-sagila (the great temple of Belus at Babylon) to shine like the +stars of heaven. It is needless to say, that the long lists of the pious +works of the rulers of Babylon would be much too long to enumerate here. + +All this the kings did from motives of policy, to conciliate the priests, +and, through them, the people. Sometimes, though, they had need of the +priests, who were able to render them service, and then, naturally, they +bought their good-will cheerfully. The service which the priests rendered +in return was to pray to the gods for the king's health and his success +against his enemies, or in any undertaking in which he might be engaged, +and to inquire of the gods for him whether he would be successful. Many, +too, were the ceremonies and festivals in which king, priests, and people +took part, and the king (who was himself a priest) and the priesthood +thrived exceedingly. + +Sometimes, too, it happened that a devotee or servant of another god than +that which was the divinity of the place, struck with the neglect of the +deities whom he worshipped, would decide to remedy that defect, and to +this end he would found a small temple himself, and endow it. The +following will show in what way this took place-- + +"Nur-ili-su has built for his god the temple of Sarru and Sullat. One +_sar_ (is the measure of) the temple of his god--he has dedicated it for +his life. Pi-sa-Samas is the priest of the temple. Nur-ili-su shall not +make a claim against the priesthood (_i.e._ demand the restitution of the +property he has given). He is an enemy of Samas and Suma-ilu who brings an +action. + + + "Before Bur-nunu, son of Ibubu (?); + before Ibik-istar, son of Ibubu; + before Sin-rabu, son of Aba-Ellila-kime; + before Idin-Sin, son of Ilu-malik; + before Sin-idinnassu, son of Lu-Ninsah; + before Ahum-hibum, son of Ahu-sina; + before Sin-idinnassu, son of Pi-sa-Nin-Karak," + + +"The light of his god," Nur-ili-su apparently wished to justify his name, +and to show what a faithful servant he was, and he therefore dedicated the +temple to the deity mentioned. This, according to the inscriptions, should +be Merodach, one of whose titles was _sarru_, "the king." It is to be +noted, however, that in the district of Sippar the Sun-god was "king," and +if this be the case, the pious giver of the temple, instead of wishing to +honour the patron god of another district, merely intended to honour the +patron god of his own in another aspect, namely, as king in the heavens, +along with his consort, here called Sullat, a name which, to all +appearance, simply means "the bride." That the Sun-god was intended seems +to be indicated by the name of the priest, Pi-sa-Samas, "Word of the +Sun-god," though it was not by any means impossible for a man bearing the +name of another god as part of his own to officiate in this capacity, +especially in the case of Merodach, for the latter was, in many respects, +a sun-god, and therefore identified with Samas. In any case, the new +temple was under the protection of the Sun-god, as the statement ("he is +an enemy of Samas and Suma-ilu") shows. It is noteworthy that, in the +names of the witnesses, Samas does not occur as a component part in any +case. + +But a small foundation like this must have had but little influence beside +the great temple of the Sun-god at Sippara, with its revenues from lands, +dues on grain, tithes, free-will offerings, and gifts on special +occasions. In addition to all that has been mentioned above, the temple of +the Sun-god was the great court of justice, and the people resorted +thither to settle their disputes, and in all probability gifts were made +to the Sun-god on those occasions. The gates of the city, too, were +favourite places for this, especially that of Samas, and there is every +probability that gifts to the god had to be made there also. The power and +influence of the places of worship on account of all these temporal and +sacerdotal duties invested in them can be easily imagined. + + + + +The King. + + +Around the Babylonian king is hedged a certain amount of mystery, for we +see him but dimly. What he did year by year we know, but what his general +way of life was the tablets do not reveal to us. He lived in a "great +house," _e-gala_ in Akkadian, _ekallu_ in Semitic Babylonian, and there is +hardly any doubt that the people looked upon him as a great high-priest, +and often as being himself divine. Indeed, some, if not many, of the +Babylonian kings were regarded as gods, and had their worshippers, +apparently whilst they were still inhabitants of this earth. The +deification of the early Babylonian kings is made known to us by the +scribes placing the usual divine prefix before their names, and with +certain rulers this is seldom or never wanting. Thus we know that Dungi +(about 2650 B.C.) was deified, as were also Bur-Sin, Gimil-Sin, and +Ibi-Sin. This custom seems to have been continued until later times, for +Rim-Sin of Larsa, the opponent of Hammurabi or Amraphel, was thus +honoured, and even Hammurabi himself, who never has this divine prefix +before his name, was sometimes paid this exceptional tribute, as such +names as Hammurabi-Samsi, "Hammurabi is my Sun," or "my Sun-god," show. +The East was ever the home of flattery, which could hardly reach a higher +point than that of deification. + + [Plate VI A.] + + The Adoration of a Deified King. Impression of a cylinder inscribed + "Danatum, son of Sin-taar, servant ( = worshipper) of Rim-Sin" (see p. +164). Published by permission of the owner, Mr. J. Offord, and the Society + of Biblical Archaeology. + + + [Plate VI B.] + + The Adoration of a God. Impression of a cylinder-seal inscribed with the +name of Appani-il (see p. 555). (The figure on the left has been added by + a later hand to obliterate part of the inscription.) Published by + permission of the owner, Mr. J. Offord, and the Society of Biblical + Archaeology. + + +Yet the king does sometimes come forth from his shell, and then we see him +in his two aspects--as king, giving his orders to the officials of his +court and army, and as the chief citizen of the country over which he +ruled. The former is illustrated by the despatches and letters in which +his name occurs, and the latter by such references to him as we find in +the contracts--and these are very few, as the colophon-dates and +invocations of his name in the legal oaths do not count. + +Many letters of Hammurabi have been found, and indicate how active he was +as a ruler. These texts, which, as far as they are published, are +generally in a very incomplete state, nevertheless show that this most +successful king paid every attention to the welfare of his subjects, even +those in distant parts of the country. Thus in one of these communications +he gives instructions to Sin-idinnam (who was apparently military governor +of Larsa or Ellasar) to pronounce judgment against a certain person who +laid claim to a field. Another letter to the same person refers to grain +taken by Awel-ili, concerning which the king says, "I have seen these +reports. The grain of the recorder (?), which Awel-ili has taken, let him +return to the recorder." In another place he writes to his officer rather +angrily because Inuh-samar, apparently Sin-idinnam's lieutenant, had taken +away from Sin-magir certain documents signed by the king. He asks +Sin-idinnam why he had done this (placing the blame directly upon him), +and concludes, "The documents, the property of Sin-magir ... with the +impress of my seal, which thou hast taken, restore to him." If Sin-idinnam +had not been a very high-placed official, he would in all probability have +been dismissed. + +The following is a letter from king Ammi-titana to his agent-- + +"To the agent of Sippar-Ya'rurum say thus: 'It is Ammi-titana. The +wool-merchant has thus informed me: "I keep sending to the purveyor of +Sippar-Ya'rurum concerning the wool ordered from him, to cause (it) to be +sent to Babylon, but he has not caused the wool ordered from him to be +sent." Thus he informs me. Why hast thou not caused the wool ordered from +thee to be sent to Babylon? As thou hast not feared to do this, when thou +seest this tablet, cause the wool ordered from thee to be brought to +Babylon.' " + +It will thus be seen that the early kings of Babylonia identified +themselves with the people of the country over which they ruled much more +than the sovereigns of Europe have for many hundreds of years been +accustomed to do. More than this--their families were accustomed to +intermarry with the people, as did Elmesu--"Diamond" or "Crystal," daughter +of Ammi-titana-- + +("Tablet of) Elmesum, daughter of Ammi-tit[ana the king], whom Kizirtum, +daughter of Ammi-titana the king, by the consent of Sumum-libsi, her +brother, Samas-lipir, son of Ris-Samas, and Taram-sullim (?), his wife, +have married to Ibku-Annunitum, their son, as (his) consort. Four shekels +of silver, the wedding-gift of Elmesu, daughter of Ammi-titana, the king, +Sumum-libsi, son of Ammi-titana, the king, and Kizirtum, his sister, have +received. If Ibku-Annunitum, son of Samas-lipir, say to Elmesum, his wife, +'Thou art not my wife,' he shall pay (1)[1/2] (?) mana of silver. If Elmesum +say to Ibku-Annunitum, her husband, 'Thou art not my husband,' to.... +Before Utul- ...; before ... -semi, son of ... -um; before Ibni-Addu, son +of ... -um; before Summa-lum- ..., (son of) Ili-bani; before Addu-sarrum, +son of Ris-Samas; before Basi-ilu (?), son of ... -mar; before Nabi-ilu +(?), (son of) ... -be (?); before ... -pi- .... + +"Month Sebat, day 2nd, year Ammi-titana the king built (?) Kar- ... (and) +the wall of...." + +This is not only a curious document--it is also an interesting one, and +shows under what conditions a woman of royal blood and race could in +ancient Babylonia be wedded to a commoner. To all appearance the king +himself, Elmesu's father, had nothing to do with the transaction--perhaps +he purposely held aloof--and this being the case, it is the bride's brother +and sister who have charge of the ceremony and contract; and, with the +bridegroom's father and mother, marry her as consort to Ibku-Annunitum. +The wording differs from that used in ordinary cases, and is more elegant +and select. A wedding-gift of four shekels of silver is hardly, perhaps, +what one would expect to be made to a royal bride, but perhaps it was the +customary amount in such cases. The penalty if the husband afterwards +divorced his wife was, as usual, a money-payment, but the amount is +doubtful, though it seems to be above the average. The penalty if Elmesu +forsook her husband is unfortunately wanting by the mutilation of the +document, but in ordinary cases it was generally death. + +Naturally, the members of the king's family were rich, and had a tendency +to "add field to field," for their own advantage. Or they would, like +other people of means, hire land adjoining their own, in order to +cultivate them both together, as did Iltani, daughter of king Abesu'-- + +"1/3 _gan_, a field in the good tract, beside the field of the king's +daughter, its first end (_i.e._ front) the river (or canal) Pariktum, from +Melulatum, sun-devotee, daughter of Ibku-sa, owner of the field, Iltani, +the king's daughter, has hired the field for cultivation, and for profit. +At harvest-time, (upon) every _gan_, she will pay six _gur_ of grain, the +due of the Sun-god, in Kar-Sippar. + +"Before Edi- ..., (son of) ...-te (?); before Abil (?)- ... (son of) ... +-aqar; before Sumu-libsi, son of Pi-sa-Sin; before Addu-napisti-iddina, +the scribe. + +"Month Nisan, day 2nd, year Abesu', the king (made ?) an image (?) of +(gold) and silver." + +Thirty years, or thereabouts later, Iltani (or a younger namesake, +daughter of Ammi-zaduga) is found providing the wherewithal for +agricultural operations-- + +"One _gur_ of grain, the property of the Sun-god, for the reaper, which +was from Iltani, sun-devotee, daughter of the king, Seritum, son of +Ibni-Amurru, has received. At harvest-time, (in) the month Adar, he will +come--(if) he come not, he shall be like a king's thrall. + +"Before Idin-Marduk, the officer, son of Idin-ili-su; before Ina-lali-su, +son of Ibni-Marduk. + +"Month Adar, day 25th, year Ammi-zaduga the king (made ?) a weapon (?) of +gold." + +This contract is not quite clear without a little explanation. The grain +advanced was, to all appearance, from the storehouse of the temple of the +Sun-god at Sippara, and Iltani, as a sun-devotee, seems to have had it at +her disposal for the benefit of the temple. In any case, the amount came +from her, and was received by Seritum, who seems to have been the reaper +referred to. He promises to come to do the work in Adar, that very month, +when the grain would have to be reaped, and the penalty for failing to +fulfil his contract was apparently slavery. Evidently the work was urgent. + +It is needless to say, that interesting as these texts are, they are very +incomplete, and leave a great deal to the imagination, and still more +altogether unrecorded. Nevertheless, they are very valuable as far as they +go, and show us the royal family of Babylonia at the time working among +the people as members of the community. Each one, however, evidently +worked for his or her own interest, or for the interest of the religious +community to which he or she belonged, and not for the people at large. It +was only the king who worked for his people, and he did it, it is hardly +going too far to say, because it was his interest to do so. Most people, +however, acted for their own interest in those days, as now. + + + + +The People. + + +In all probability the Babylonians consisted of what may be called the +original Semites of that tract, with the Akkadians, also aboriginal, with +whom they lived and had already, at the time of the dynasty of Babylon, +mingled to such an extent that they must have become a homogeneous people, +notwithstanding the racial differences which were probably noticeable at +certain points--for example, a more strongly-marked Semitic type at Sippar +and in that neighbourhood, and a more strongly-marked Akkadian type in the +State to which Lagas belonged. Other invasions, however, seem to have +taken place, the principal being that of the Amorites, to which allusion +has already been made--an invasion which the tablets of this period +indicate to have been sufficiently numerous, and which must have left its +mark on the population, to all appearance increasing the Semitic +preponderance, and emphasizing the type. The existence of an "Amorite +tract" in the district of Sippar, and the fact that Sin-idinnam, +Hammurabi's general, is designated by the characters GAL-MAR-TU, in +Semitic Babylonian _Rab-Amurri_, "chief of the Amorite(s)," are in +themselves sufficient testimony to this invasion. It is noteworthy, too, +that the dynasty to which Hammurabi belonged is apparently that described +by Berosus as "Arabic," in which case we should have to recognize yet +another invasion of Semites; but there is just the probability, that +"Arabic" and "Amorite" were interchangeable terms, the Amorites being +regarded as a collection of wandering hordes of whom a portion entered the +country, and took possession of the government. In any case, they shared +the fate of all invaders of the kind referred to, for they were speedily +conquered by the superior civilization of the conquered, and became so +naturalized that notwithstanding their western names, they were called by +the Babylonians "the dynasty of Babylon." This Amorite element was to all +appearance a sufficiently large one, as the more easily recognizable names +show. Thus we have _Amurru-bani_, _Karasumia_, _Asalia_, _Kuyatum_, +_Bizizana_, _Izi-idre_, _Sumu-rak_, _Betani_, _Sar-ili (Israel)_, +_Awel-Addi_ ("man of Hadad," described an Amorite,) with many others, +though the different nationalities cannot always be distinguished, as many +Amorites bore Babylonian names, and _vice versa_. + +Naturally other nationalities than the Babylonians, Akkadians, Sumerians, +and Amorites were represented in the country--Elamites from the invasions +of earlier centuries, Kassites and Sutites who came, in all probability, +to trade, Qutites or Gutians brought into the country as slaves, or +possibly living there as freemen--all these and others helped to increase +the confusion of tongues which existed in the land from remote ages, and +reminded people of the legend of the Tower of Babel, when "the Lord did +there confound the language of all the earth."(25) + +Documents of an earlier date than those now under our notice indicate that +Babylonian civilization goes back no less than three thousand years before +the period of the dynasty of Babylon, and this, in consideration of the +date calculated for the foundation of Niffer (another three thousand years +earlier), must be regarded as a moderate estimate. Babylonian civilization +was already, at the time now treated of, exceedingly ancient. The early +village settlement of primitive houses, clustered around an equally +primitively-constructed temple, had grown into a large city, with many +fanes therein. The scattered outlying smaller villages around this +primitive settlement had gradually been incorporated with it, and formed +its suburbs, each retaining its ancient name. Villages of more recent +foundation were scattered all over the land, and the whole country was +instinct with national life, due to the increase of importance which the +comparatively recent union of several small states in a single large and +therefore powerful kingdom had brought into existence. + +Thus we find Babylonia at the period of the dynasty of Babylon. It could +even then look back into a past stretching back into a remote and dim +antiquity. Its laws, manners, customs, and religion were already old, and +were our knowledge of this interesting period complete, we should probably +find that there was much that was excellent in their laws, and interesting +and instructive in the administration of those laws, as well as in their +manners and customs with regard to legal matters in general. + +Something of what the tablets of the period are able to inform us +concerning the sacred person of the king and the position of his family +has already been treated of, and we have now to turn to the next in the +social scale--the people of the middle class. To this class belonged the +priests, the leaders of the troops, the landowners, the employers of +labour, the scribes, the physicians, the land-hirers, and the small +farmers. In all probability artists and artisans also formed part of it, +though their position may have been sometimes as bad as that of many who +toiled in servitude, for the slaves seem, on the whole, to have been +exceedingly well treated. + +With regard to the scribes at least, the head and beard were shaven, they +wore a simple garment like a toga thrown over the left shoulder, leaving +the right arm free, and in all probability had on their feet no shoes, but +sandals, though this point is doubtful. + +A member of this upper class was polite in his address. When he wrote to a +friend, whether on business or otherwise, he said, "to so and so, whom +Merodach preserve," and after saying who it was who was writing, added, +"may the Sun-god and Merodach grant thee to live for length of days--mayest +thou have peace, mayest thou have life, may the god thy protector preserve +thy head (_res-ka_) for happiness. I have sent to ask after thy +health,--may thy health before the Sun-god and Merodach be lasting." Other +forms of address are found, generally shorter, but this may be taken as a +fair specimen of the general style, which, however, seems to have been +regulated by established usage, the form quoted here being that used in +addressing a personage named Episu, and it is always the same, though the +letters, four or five in number, all come from different persons. + +The following letter from a son to his father will show the general style +of these missives-- + +"Say to my father thus: 'It is Elmesum.'(26) + +"May Samas and Merodach cause my father to live enduring days. My father, +mayest thou have health and life. The god protecting my father preserve my +father's happy head. I have sent (to ask) after my father's health--may my +father's health before Samas and Merodach be lasting. + +"From (the time) Sin and Amurru recorded thy name, my father, and I humbly +(?) answered, thou, my father, hast said thus: 'As I am going to +Dur-Ammi-zaduga on the river Sarqu, one sheep with five mana of silver (?) +I will cause to be brought for the young man (?).' This, my father, thou +saidst--my ear, my father, I made to attend--and thou hast not caused (these +things) to be brought. And when thou, my father, sentest to the presence +of Taribu, the queen, I caused a tablet to be brought to the presence of +my father. My father, thou didst not (even) ask (concerning) the +information of my tablet, when I caused the tablet of my father to be +brought to the city, and he took it to my father for a shekel of silver. +Like thy brother, thou hast not caused (the things) to be brought. Like +Merodach (?) and Sin Amurru who are gracious to my father, my ears are +attentive. My father, cause (the things) to be brought, and my heart will +not be downcast--Before Samas and Merodach for my father let me plead." + +Such is the way in which a son writes to his father, or to one who, from +his age, might have stood in that relationship. It is one of the less +difficult of a number of exceedingly difficult texts, and the translation +is therefore given with all reserve. As, however, the words and phrases +are for the most part fairly familiar, it is believed that the general +drift of the whole is correctly indicated. Although it is a letter in +which the writer seems to believe that he has just reason to find fault, +the respectful and apparently reverent tone of the whole is very +noteworthy. + +In all probability the Babylonian household consisted of the man and his +wife, children if he had any, and as many servants or slaves as he could +afford. A second wife was taken if the man was rich enough to afford such +an addition, though he seems to have sometimes married again for economic +reasons, namely, the acquisition of a suitable attendant for his first +wife without having to pay her wages. + +The following is an example of the ordinary wedding contract-- + +"Ana-Aa-uzni is daughter of Salimatum. As Salimatum has set her free, she +has given her in marriage to Bel-sunu, son of Nemelum. Ana-Aa-uzni is a +virgin--no one has anything against Ana-Aa-uzni. They have invoked the +spirit of Samas, Merodach, and Sumu-la-ilu (the king). Whoever changes the +words of this tablet (shall pay the penalty). + +"Before Libit-Istar; before Bur-nunu; before Amurru-bani; before +Rammanu-remeni; before Nida-dum; before Samas-emuki; before Imgurrum; +before Sin-ikisam; before Belizunu; before Aa-siti; before Lamazi; before +Hunabia; before Betani; before Amat-Samas; before Nabritum; before +Sad-Aa." + +Sometimes, however, the wedding contract contains severe penalties in case +the newly-wedded wife should prove to be unfaithful, as in the following +text-- + +"Ahhu-ayabi is daughter of Innabatum. Innabatum, her mother, has given her +in marriage to Zukania. Should Zukania forsake her, he shall pay one mana +of silver. Should Ahhu-ayabi deny him, he may throw her down from the +tower. As long as Innabatum lives, Ahhu-ayabi shall support her, and +Innabatum afterwards (shall have nothing?) against Ahhu-ayabi, ... (They +have invoked the spirit of the Sun-god and Zabi)um (the king). Whoever +changes the words of (th)is (tablet) (shall pay the penalty"). + +Here follow the names of sixteen witnesses--seven males and nine females, +one of the former being the priest of the devotees of the Sun-god. + +When there were two wives, a marriage contract was given to each, and by a +fortunate chance, the British Museum possesses two documents connected in +this way, which have come together, though acquired at different +times.(27) The following is the document drawn up for the principal wife-- + +"Arad-Samas has taken in marriage Taram-Sagila and Iltani, daughter of +Sin-abu-su. (If) Taram-Sagila and Iltani say to Arad-Samas, their husband, +'Thou art not (our) husband,' he may throw them down from the tower; and +(if) Arad-Samas say to Taram-Sagila or Iltani, his wives, 'Thou art not my +wife,' she shall depart from house and goods. And Iltani shall wash the +feet of Taram-Sagila, shall carry her seat to the house of her god; Iltani +shall put on Taram-Sagila's ornaments, shall be well inclined towards her, +shall not destroy her (marriage) contract, shall grind (?) her meal (?), +and shall obey (?) her." + +Here follow the names of nine witnesses. + +The marriage contract drawn up for Iltani, the second wife, is as follows-- + +"Iltani is sister of Taram-Sagila. Arad-Samas, son of Ili-ennam, has taken +them in marriage from Uttatum, their father. Iltani, her sister, shall +prepare her food, shall be well inclined towards her, (and) shall carry +her seat to the temple of Merodach. The children, as many as have been +born, and they shall bear, are their children. (If) Taram-Sagila say to +Iltani, her sister, 'Thou art not my sister,' (then) ... (If Iltani say to +Arad-Samas, her husband), 'Thou (art not my husband),' he may shave (her +head), and sell her for silver. And (if) Arad-Samas say to his wives, +'(Ye) are not my wives,' he shall pay one mana of silver. And they, (if) +they say to Arad-Samas, their husband, 'Thou art not our husband,' he may +strangle (?) them, and throw them into the river." + +This document is attested by eleven witnesses. + +To all appearance there was a kind of adoption of Iltani as daughter of +Uttatum (she is called daughter of Sin-abu-su in the first text), and +having thus been raised in position so as to be somewhat the equal of +Taram-Sagila in rank, she could become the second wife of Arad-Samas, to +live with and wait upon her adopted sister. + +The household itself, however, seldom or never meets our gaze in these +texts, though we get glimpses of it from time to time. One of the best is +in all probability the following for the insight it gives-- + +"... He has made him his adopted son. The field, plantation, goods, and +furniture of his house, which Etel-pi-Sin and Sin-nada, his wife, +possess--Etel-pi-Sin and Sin-nada have five sons--to Bel-ezzu, their son, +like a son, they will give. If Bel-ezzu say to Etel-pi-Sin, his father, +and Sin-nada, his mother, 'Thou art not my father--thou art not my mother,' +they may sell him for silver. And if Etel-pi-Sin, and Sin-nada, his wife, +say to Bel-ezzu, their son, 'Thou art not my son,' field, plantation, and +goods, his share, he may take, and may carry away. He (apparently +Etel-pi-Sin) has invoked the spirit of the king." + +"Before Lugal-gistug, the lord of the oracle; Lu-Dingira, the inspector(?) +of the deep(?); Ilu-dakullu, do.; Nidnat-Sin, do.; Sili-E-kisnugal, do.; +Mu-batuga, son of Azagga-Innanna; Zarriqu, son of Nannara-mansum; Aappa, +son of Sin-eribam; Nur-ili-su, the ...; Erib-Sin, the scribe; ... -Ningal, +the sword-bearer; ... -Sin, son of Zazia;" + +"(The seal of) the contracting parties (has been impressed)." + +(The remainder of the text, containing the date, is lost.) + +The above tablet from Tel-Sifr gives a most complete statement of the +circumstances attending the adoption of a son (a very common thing during +this period in Babylonia), omitting only the reason for this step. It is +to be noted, however, that five of the witnesses belong, apparently, to +the priestly class, and this may, perhaps, have been the reason, their +influence being, at this time, to all appearance, very great, and the +necessity for appeasing them proportionately so. + +The following is an example under different conditions, and presents other +points of interest-- + +"Arad-Ishara is son of Ibni-Samas. Ibni-Samas has taken him as his son. +The day that Arad-Ishara says to Ibni-Samas his father, 'Thou art not my +father,' he may put him into fetters and sell him for silver. And (if) +Ibni-Samas say to Arad-Ishara, his son, 'Thou art not my son,' he shall +depart from the house and the goods. And he may have sons, and with his +sons he shall share." (This last phrase is expressed clearer on the +envelope of the tablet as follows: "And Ibni-Samas may beget sons, and +Arad-Ishara shall share like one.") + +The names of ten witnesses are attached to this document. + +In this case the reason for the adoption of Arad-Ishara probably was, that +Ibni-Samas had no sons, though there was a possibility that he would have +some later on. + +The following refers to the adoption of a daughter, which was also a +common custom-- + +"Karanatum is daughter of Nur-Sin, with his sons and his daughters. No one +has anything against Karanatum, daughter of Nur-Sin. Damiqtum is sister of +Karanatum. He (Nur-Sin) will give her to a husband." + +Here follow the names of five witnesses. + +Though the inscription is short, it is sufficient to suggest that Nur-Sin +adopted Karanatum for some special reason, though what that reason may +have been is uncertain. Probably it was in order that she should accompany +Damiqtum as second wife of a man who wished to marry two women, as in the +case of Iltani and Taram-Sagila. + +Tablets referring to adoption are, however, very numerous, and do not +furnish much variety. Considerations of space also forbid any great +multiplication of examples, so that it is needful to pass to the next +stage, namely, the inscriptions referring to inheritance, which, though +containing less information, are not without interest. + +On the death of the father of the family, his children to all appearance +met and divided his property as agreed upon, or in accordance with the +will of their father. Thus we have the record of the three brothers +Sin-ikisam, Ibni-Samas, and Urra-nasir, who divided their inheritance +after the death of their father-- + + + +1. + + +"1 SAR, a dwelling-house (and) domain, beside the house of Ibni-Samas, and +beside the house of the street, its exit (being) to the street, is the +share of Sin-ikisam, which he has shared with Ibni-Samas and Urra-nasir. +From the word to the gold the division of the property is completed. They +shall not make claim against each other. They have invoked the spirit of +Samas, Aa, and Sin-mubalit (the king). + +"Before Lisirammu; before Sin-putram, son of Ea-balati (?); before +Sin-idinnam, son of Mannia; before Arad-ili-su, son of Nur-Sin; before +Sa-Ishara, son of Ila; before Sin-magir, son of Etelum; before +Arad-Amurri, before Sin-ilu, sons of Upia; before Libur-nadi-su, son of +Ustasni-ili; before ... ; before ... ; before ... . Year of the river +(canal) Tutu-hengal." + + + +2. + + +"1 SAR, a dwelling-place (and) domain, beside the house of Sin-ikisam, and +beside the house of Istar-umma-sa, the second exit to the street, is the +share of Ibni-Samas, which he has shared with Sin-ikisam and Urra-nasir. +From the word to the gold they have shared the (property). They shall not +make claim against each other. They have invoked the spirit of Samas, Aa, +Marduk, and Sin-mubalit. + +"Before Sin-putram; before Sin-idinnam; before Lisirram; before +Arad-ili-su; before Sa-Ishara; before Sin-magir; before Arad-Amurri; +before Sin-ilu; before Libur-nadi-su. Year of the river Tutu-hengal." + + + +3. + + +"1 SAR, a dwelling-house and domain, beside the house of Ubarria, and +beside the house of Putur-Sin, the second exit to the street, is the share +of Urra-nasir, which he has shared with Sin-ikisam and Ibni-Samas. From +the word to the gold the division is completed. They shall not make claim +against each other. They have invoked the spirit of Samas, Aa, Marduk, and +Sin-mubalit. + +"Before Sin-putram; before Lisirram; before Sin-magir; before Sin-idinnam; +before Arad-ili-su; before Sa-Ishara; before Arad-Amurri; before Sin-ilu; +before Libur-nadi-su. Year of the river Tutu-hengal." + + ------------------------------------- + +That the first tablet translated above was that first written is proved by +the fact that the fathers' names of several of the witnesses are given, +and by the blank spaces with the word "before," showing that the scribe +did not know exactly how many witnesses there would be. In the other two +documents he had the right number, and did not therefore write the word in +question too many times. In all probability the three brothers are +mentioned in the first document in the order of their age, and it is +naturally the title-deed of the eldest which is written first. All three +documents are attested by the same witnesses. + +The following tablet in the possession of Sir Cuthbert Peek, Bart., shows +a division of property consisting of goods and chattels, as well as land-- + +"3 GAN, a field by the territory of Kudma-bani, with 1 GAN, a field which +(was) the share of Ahhati-sunu, (situated) beside the field of Amat-Samas, +daughter of Libit-Istar, and beside the field of Bel-sunu, its first end +(being) the river Euphrates, (and) its second end the common. 2/3 of a SAR +(and) 5 ZU (of ground by) the temple of Sippara, 1-1/2 SAR (by) the temple +of Kudma-bani, 1 ox, 1 young bull, 1 _'ikuse_ stone--all this is the share +of Kubbutu, which, along with Ibku-Annunitum, Bel-sunu, Bel-bani, +Il-su-bani, Remum, and Marduk-nasir, they have divided. The division is +complete. They are satisfied. From the word to the gold they shall not at +any future time bring claims against each other. They have invoked the +spirit of Samas, Aa, Marduk, and Samsu-iluna the king. + +"Before Dadu-sa, son of Ahum; before Taridum, the scribe; before +Sin-idinnam, son of Ibku-Sala; before Anatum, son of Sin-abu-su; before +Samas-nasir-abli. + +"Month Iyyar, day 18th, second year after the completion (?) of the temple +of Bel." + +Where the division of the property and the drawing up of the tablets took +place is uncertain, there being in the documents translated above no +indication. In the case of the three brothers Urra-kaminisi, Ris-Urra, and +Buria, the declaration of the division of the property which they +inherited, and possibly the drawing up of their respective tablets as +well, took place in the Beth-el (_bet ili_) of the city, where legal +matters were often transacted. Whether this Beth-el was the temple of the +Sun and the Moon, where solemn contracts were also made, is uncertain, but +not improbable. + +It is noteworthy that there is sometimes a statement indicating that the +inheritors chose their lots-- + +"1 SAR, a dwelling-house beside the house of Belaqu, and beside +Awel-Nannara, is the share of Eristum, the sodomite, daughter of +Ribam-ili, which she has shared with Amat-Samas, the priestess of the sun, +her sister. The division is complete. From the word to the gold they shall +not bring claim against each other. Choice of Amat-Samas, her sister. (The +envelope has: Her choice--the place (which seems) good unto her she will +give.) (They have invoked) the spirit of Samas, Merodach, Sin-mubalit (the +king), and the city of Sippar." + +Here follow the names of eighteen witnesses, all of them, apparently, men. + +Another tablet, referring to the sharing of property, shows how brothers +sometimes cared for their sister, all the property (at least in this case) +being in their hands-- + +"Tablet (referring to) 1 GAN, a field in the _kare_, beside (the field of) +Ahi-daani (?) and Enkim-ilu, Kis-nunu, Imgurrum, and Ilu-abi, her +brothers, have given to Hudultum, daughter of Inib-nunu, as her share. + +"Before Maspirum (var. Masparum), son of Uslu-rum; before Bur-ya, son of +Munawirum; before Hayabum, (before) Kiranum (?), sons of Sin-ennam; before +Sin-nasir. + +"Year Sumulel the king built the wall of Sippar." + +Thus, in varying ways, did the ancient Babylonians live and wed, adopt +children and inherit. Other incidents were there in their lives also, as +when a man divorced his wife--an unpleasant experience for them both, in +all probability--though often enough this must have taken place to the +great joy of one or the other, or possibly of both, for it must have been +a much less solemn thing with them than with us--the marriage tie. It is +gratifying to know that documents referring to divorce are comparatively +rare, though they are to be met with sometimes, as the following text +shows-- + +"Samas-rabi has divorced Naramtum his wife. She has taken away her +property (?) and received her portion (as a woman divorced). (If) Naramtum +wed another, Samas-rabi shall not bring action against her. They have +invoked the spirit of Samas, Aa, Marduk, and Sin-mubalit." + +(Here follow the names of ten witnesses.) + + + + +"Year of Samas and Rimmon." + + +Sometimes the even tenor of early Babylonian life was interrupted by a +lawsuit on the part of a relative (often one who ought to have known +better), and, though less of a family convulsion than a divorce, it must +have been sufficiently annoying, especially when the plaintiff was one's +own father. The following gives details of such a case-- + +"(Tablet concerning) one slave, her maid, whom Ayatia, her mother, left to +Hulaltum, her daughter, and Hulaltum (on that account) supported Ayatia, +her mother. And Sin-nasir (was) husband of Ayatia. Ayatia left to her +(Hulaltum), in the 20th year, that which was in the city Buzu, but there +was no tablet (?) (documentary evidence) concerning Ayatia's property. +After Ayatia died, Sin-nasir brought an action against Hulaltum on account +of the maidservant, and Isarlim, scribe of the city of Sippar and the +court (?) of Sippar, caused them to receive judgment. He declared him +(Sin-nasir) to be in the wrong. He is not again to bring action in the +matter. (They have invoked) the spirit of Samas, Merodach, and Hammurabi. +Judgment of Isarlim; Awat-Samas, the merchant; Itti-Bel-kinni; Bur-Sin; +Gimil-bani. Month Adar, year of the canal Tisida-Ellilla." + +Many documents of this kind exist, though people did not generally bring +actions against their own (step-) daughters, as Sin-nasir is recorded as +having done. The ancient Babylonians were at all times, however, very keen +in standing up for their own rights, and went to law on the slightest +provocation. The following records a claim upon some property, and its +issue, which was as unsuccessful as that translated above-- + +"Sin-eribam, son of Upe-rabi, laid claim to the house of Sumu-rah, which +is beside the house of Nidnu-sa and beside the house (temple) of Allat; +and they went before the judges, and the judges pronounced judgment. And +as for Sin-eribam, they declared him to be in the wrong, and made him +deliver a document which could not be proceeded against. He shall not +bring action, and Sin-eribam shall not again lay claim to the house of +Sumu-rah. + +"They have invoked the spirit of Samas, Zabium (the king), and the city of +Sippar." + +It is noteworthy that the name of the first of the twelve witnesses +attached to the document is Ya'kub-ilu, or Jacob-el, which is supposed to +be connected with the name of the patriarch Jacob. + +As in these days, many a man in those ancient times, for the better +conducting of his business, would enter into partnership. As usual, all +would go well for a time, but at last, in consequence of disagreements or +disputes or some unpleasantness, they would decide to part. Several texts +of this class exist, of which the following is a typical example-- + +"Sili-Istar and Iribam-Sin made partnership, and, to dissolve it, they had +a judge, and they went down to the temple of Samas, and in the temple of +Samas the judge caused them to receive judgment. They give back their +capital, and receive back their shares, 1 male-slave Lustamar-Samas, with +a chain (?), and 1 female-slave Lislimam, the share of Iribam-Sin; 1 +male-slave Ibsina-ilu, and 1 female-slave Am-anna-lamazi, the share of +Sili-Istar, they have received as their shares. In the temple of the +Sun-god and the Moon-god they declared that they would treat each other +well. One shall not bring action against the other, nor act hostilely +towards him. There is no cause for action on the part of the one against +the other. They have invoked the spirit of Nannara, Samas, Merodach, +Lugal-ki-usuna, and Hammurabi the king. + +"Before Utuki-semi, son of Awiatum; before Abil-Sin, son of +Nannara-mansum; before Sin-eres, the provost; before Ipus-Ea, the +_du-gab_; before Samasmubalit, the priest of Gula; before Nabi-Sin, son of +Idin-Sin; before Sin-uzeli, son of Sili-Istar; before Ubar-Sin, son of +Sin-semi; before Sin-gimlanni, the attendant of the judges. + +"He has impressed the seal of the contracting parties. + +"Month Adar, year Hammurabi the king made (images of) Istar and +Nanaa."(28) + +Iribam-Sin, however, seems not to have been satisfied that he had been +fairly dealt with, for notwithstanding that they were not to act hostilely +towards each other, he immediately brought an action to get possession of +property belonging to Sili-Istar and his brothers, the result of which was +the following declaration on the part of the latter-- + +"Concerning 1 SAR, a dwelling-house, and 2 SAR, a large enclosure, which +Sili-Isstar and Awel-ili, his brother, sons of Ili-sukkalu, bought from +Sin-mubalit and his brothers, sons of Pirhum. In the temple of the Sun-god +Sili-Istar said thus: 'I verily bought (it) with the money of my mother--it +was not bought with the money that was ours in common. Iribam-Sin, son of +Ubar-Sin, has no share in the house and large enclosure.'(29) He has +invoked the spirit of the king. + +"Before Utuki-semi, son of Awiatum; before Abil-Sin, son of +Nannara-mansum; before Sin-eres, the provost; before Sin-uzelli, son of +Nur-ili; before Ipus-Ea, the _du-gab_; before Nabi-Sin, son of Idin-Sin; +before Ubar-Sin, son of Sin-semi, his father; before Samas-mubalit, the +priest of Gula; before Singimlanni, the attendant of the judges. They have +impressed the seal of the parties. + +"Month Adar, year of the (images of) Istar and Nanaa." + +The day of the month is not given, so that we are in doubt as to whether +the second tablet preceded the first or followed it. In all probability +the latter was the case, or else the two actions were simultaneous, and +the fact that the witnesses and officials of the court are the same in +both documents speaks in favour of this. + +In Babylonia, as in all the ancient East, there was the great blot upon +their civilization which has not even at the present time, the dawn of the +twentieth century, disappeared from the earth, namely, that of slavery. +Throughout the long ages over which Babylonian domestic literature +extends, the student finds this to be always present, and one of the most +striking examples is contained in the following document, which exhibits +the blot with all its possible horrors-- + +"(Tablet of) Samas-nuri, daughter of Ibi-San. Bunini-abi and Belisunu have +bought her from Ibi-San, her father--for Bunini-abi a wife--for Belisunu a +servant. The day Samas-nuri says to Belisunu, her mistress, 'Thou art not +my mistress,' they shall shave off her hair, and sell her for silver. As +the complete price he has paid five shekels of silver. He has taken the +key.(30) The affair is concluded. He is content. (At no future time) shall +one bring a claim against the other. They have invoked the spirit of +Samas, Aa, Marduk, and Hammurabi." + +(Here follow the names of seven witnesses.) + +"Month Iyyar, day 3rd, year of the throne of Zerpanitum" (the 12th year of +Hammurabi or Amraphel). + +That a father should part with his daughter for money in order that that +daughter should become the wife of a man already married, agreeing at the +same time that the young woman should become the slave of the first wife, +would seem to the ordinary Western mind at the present day most barbarous. +That it was not the lowest depth, however, is implied by the condition +attached to the contract, and containing a kind of penalty, namely, that +if the new wife denied that the first wife was her mistress, she might be +sold as a slave. In what her position differed from that of a thrall, +however, does not appear. + +Naturally the case of Hagar, the slave of Sarah, Abraham's wife, will at +once occur to the reader, though the two differ somewhat. Nevertheless, it +is not improbable that the well-known Bible-story explains that of the +tablet, in giving a reason for the purchase of Samas-nuri--namely, in order +to give the purchaser, Bunini-abi, a chance of having offspring, which, in +all probability, his first wife Belisunu had not brought him. It is +difficult to imagine that she would consent to the introduction of a rival +for any other reason. Of course, the new wife may have been well treated, +but a transaction of the kind here recorded naturally gave an opening to +all possible abuses. Another case of the taking of a second wife, with the +proviso that she is to be the servant of the first, is that of Iltani (see +pp. 174-175), who, however, was not a slave, and had a regular +marriage-deed. Moreover, she is described as the sister (_ahat_), not the +slave (_amat_) of the first wife. + +On the same plate of the British Museum publication from which the +foregoing is taken, there is a more ordinary document referring to +slavery, and in this case it is to all appearance the sale of a real +slave-woman and her child-- + +"1 slave-woman, Belti-magirat by name, and her child, handmaid of +Sarrum-Addu and Hammurabi-Samsi, Nabium-malik, son of Addu-nasir, has +bought from Sarrum-Addu, son of Addu-nasir, and Hammurabi-Samsi, his wife. +As the complete price he has paid 18-1/2 shekels of silver. At no future +time shall they make claim against each other. They have invoked the +spirit of Marduk and Hammurabi." + +(Here follow the names of eight witnesses, including two brothers of the +contracting parties.) + +"Month Tebet, day 21st, year Hammurabi the king destroyed, by command of +Anu and Bel, the fortification of Mair, and Malgia." + +Tablets referring to the sale and purchase of slaves are numerous, and do +not present much variety, being nearly all written in accordance with the +usual legal forms. In the _hiring_ of slaves, however, there is a little +more dissimilarity-- + +"Awel-Addi, son of Sililum, has hired Arad-ili-remeanni from Eristi-Samas, +sun-devotee, daughter of Sin-bel-abli, for a year. The hire for a year, 5 +shekels of silver, he will pay. A first instalment of the sum, 2 shekels +of silver, she has received. He will be clothed by his hirer. + +"He entered (upon his duties) on the 16th of Elul. + +"Before Samas, Aa; before Taribatum; before Nur-Marduk; before Lahutum. + +"Year Samsu-iluna (made) a throne of gold (shining like the stars, for +Nin-gala"). + +The following is a similar text with additional clauses-- + +"Asir-Addu, son of Libit-Urra, has hired Samas-bel-ili from Ahatani, +sun-devotee, daughter of Samas-hazir, for his first year. As hire for his +first year, he shall pay 3-1/2 shekels of silver. He shall clothe himself. +He entered (on his duties) on the 4th of the month Dur-Addi, in the month +Mamitu he will complete (his term), and may leave. + +"Before Asirum, son of Ea-rabi; before Nin-gira-abi, son of Eribam; before +Arad-Sin, son of Sin-idinnam. + +"The year of Samsu-iluna, the king." + +(The accession-year of Amraphel's successor.) + +In the following the slave is hired for produce-- + +"Ris-Samas, son of Marduk-nasir, has hired Nawir-nur-su from Subtum for a +year. He will pay 20 _qa_ of oil as his hire for the year. He will clothe +him. He entered in the month Elul, in the month Tirinu he may go forth. + +"Before Risutum; before Eristi-Aa. + +"Year the great fortification...." + +When a man had no master--was his own master, in fact--he was hired "from +himself"-- + +"Idin-Ittum has hired for wages Naram-ili-su from himself, for six months. +He will receive 2 shekels of silver as wages for the six months. + +"Before Etel-pi-Uras, before Sin-ilu, before Ahum, the scribe. + +"Month Nisan, day 20th, year the throne ... was...." + +Servants were not only hired from their masters and themselves, but also +from their fathers, mothers, brothers, and whoever else might have charge +of them. There are also lists of workmen hired for various purposes in +batches. Those who went about doing reaping seem to have been of various +nationalities, and interesting names are on that account found in the +lists from time to time. + +In all probability the towns at that early period resembled closely those +of the Semitic East at the present day, the streets being as a rule narrow +(from the necessity of obtaining protection from the excessive heat of the +sun during the hot season) and exceedingly dirty. This is shown by the +excavations at Niffer, where, at the earliest period, when the street in +question was constructed, the houses were entered by going up a few steps. +Later on, in consequence of the accumulations, the footpath became level +with the floor of the house, and, at a later period still, a little +staircase had to be built leading down into the building. As may easily be +imagined, the conditions in which the ancient Babylonians lived were in +the highest degree insanitary, and such as would probably not be tolerated +for a day in Europe at the present time. + +Judging from the remains of private houses which have been found, these +buildings were not by any means large. In fact, they must have contained +only a few small rooms. Where, however, there was space--as, for example, +when the house was built in the middle of a field--the rooms were probably +moderately large, and more numerous. They were of either unburnt or burnt +brick, and the roofs were supported by beams. The floors seem to have been +generally the bare earth. + +Many lists of the furniture of these dwelling-places are extant, and allow +us to estimate to a certain extent the amount of comfort which their +inhabitants enjoyed. They reclined upon couches, and sometimes--perhaps +often--it happened that the owner of the house possessed several of these +articles of furniture. Apparently, too, it was their custom to sit upon +chairs, and not upon the ground, as they do in the East at the present +day, and have done for many centuries. Various vessels, of wood, +earthenware, and copper, were also to be found there, together with +measures of different kinds,(31) implements needed in the trade of the +owner, and certain objects of stone. In some cases things of precious +stone are referred to, a circumstance which points to a considerable +amount of prosperity on the part of the owner of the house and its +contents. + +As will be seen farther on, when Babylonian life of a later period comes +to be treated of, the leasehold system, with all its disadvantages, was in +full force, and there is just the possibility that it was already in use +during the time of the dynasty of Babylon. Even at this early date the +question of party walls was an important one, as the tablet of +Samas-in-matim and Eristi-Aa, daughter of Zililum, shows. They were to set +up the dividing wall (_gusuru_, apparently palings) _ahum mala ahim_, lit. +"brother as much as brother," _i.e._ one as much as the other. They +managed things differently in ancient Babylonia, and if this was the usual +arrangement, it must have given rise to endless disputes. + +It is probable that, before the time of Hammurabi, the ancient Babylonians +had no code of laws in the true sense of the term. All the legal decisions +known seem to have been decided on their merits by the judges who tried +the cases, and in such actions in which the judges could not come to a +decision, the matter seems to have been referred to the king, whose word +was, to all appearance, final. Naturally an enormous responsibility rested +on the judges on account of this, but they were not entirely without help +in the matter of deciding difficult and unusual questions. Lists of +precedents were kept, and to these, in all probability, they constantly +referred--indeed, the tablets of legal precedents were held in such high +esteem, that copies of them were kept in the libraries of Assyria, and in +Babylonia also, in all probability, until long after the destruction of +the Assyrian power, notwithstanding that legal use and wont had by that +time somewhat changed. One or two examples of these legal precedents may +here be quoted to show their nature:-- + +"If a son say to his father, 'Thou art not my father,' they may shave him, +put him in fetters, and sell him for silver. + +"If a son say to his mother, 'Thou art not my mother,' they may shave off +his hair, lead him round the city, and drive him forth from the house. + +"If a wife hate her husband, and say to him, 'Thou art not my husband,' +they may throw her into the river. + +"If a husband say to his wife, 'Thou art not my wife,' he shall pay her +half a mana of silver. + +"If a man hire a slave, and he dies, is lost, runs away, gets locked up, +or falls ill, he shall pay as his hire every day half a measure of grain." + +Thus did the ancient Babylonians punish those who offended against their +laws, and protect property (for the slave-hirer was undoubtedly saddled +with a heavy responsibility). Was it that the death of a hired slave was +regarded as testifying to the severity of his temporary hirer? In all +probability it was so, and in that case, one cannot help regarding the law +as a wise one. To all appearance, also, illness was attributed to his +employer's cruelty. As to his running away, or falling into the hands of +the police, these things would prove that his employer was not watchful +enough with regard to him. A modern European lawyer would most likely not +regard this particular law as being very exactly worded (there is no limit +of time during which the slave's wages were payable, and one can only +_guess_ that the term of his service with his hirer was understood), but +there seems to be no doubt as to its intention--to safeguard the slave, and +his owner at the same time, by making his hirer responsible for every +mishap and accident which might happen to him whilst he was with his +temporary master. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. ABRAHAM. + + + A short account of this period, with the story of Chedorlaomer, + Amraphel, Arioch, and Tidal. + + +Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his +nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees, and afterwards Terah took Abram his son, +Lot, his grandson, and Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth +from Ur of the Chaldees to go to Canaan. Arriving at Haran, they dwelt +there until Terah died at an exceedingly advanced age. + +There have been many discussions as to the position of Ur of the Chaldees. +Some, on account of the distance from Canaan, apparently, have contended +that Ur of the Chaldees is the same as the site known for many hundreds of +years as Urfa, in Mesopotamia--the district in which the proto-martyr, St. +Stephen (Acts vii. 2, 41), places it. Mesopotamia, however, is an +appellation of wide extent, and altogether insufficiently precise to +enable the exact locality to be determined. To all appearance, though, +Urfa or Orfa, called by the Greeks Edessa, was known as Orrha at the time +of Isidore of Charax (date about 150 B.C.). Pocock, in his Description of +the East, states that it is the universal opinion of the Jews that Orfa or +Edessa was the ancient Ur of the Chaldees, and this is supported by local +tradition, the chief place of worship there being called "the Mosque of +Abraham," and the pond in which the sacred fish are kept being called +_Bahr Ibrahim el-Halil_, "the Lake of Abraham the Beloved." The tradition +in the Talmud and in certain early Arabian writers, that Ur of the +Chaldees is Warka, the {~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER OMICRON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~} of the Greeks, and {~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER OMICRON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~} of the Septuagint, +need not detain us, as this site is certainly the Erech of Gen. x. 10, and +is excluded by that circumstance. + +Two other possibilities remain, the one generally accepted by +Assyriologists, the other tentatively put forward by myself some years +ago. The former has a series of most interesting traditions to support it, +the latter simply a slightly greater probability. The reader may adopt +that which seems to him best to suit the circumstances of the case. + +The identification generally accepted is, that Ur of the Chaldees is the +series of mounds now called Mugheir, or, more in accordance with correct +pronunciation, Muqayyar, "the pitchy," from the noun _qir_, "pitch," that +material having been largely used in the construction of the buildings +whose ruins occupy the site. The identification of these ruins with those +of Ur-kasdim or Ur of the Chaldees was first proposed by Sir Henry +Rawlinson in 1855, on the ground that the name of the city on the bricks +found there, which he read Hur, resembled that of the name as given in +Gen. xi. 28 and 31. As a matter of fact, the Semitic Babylonian form of +the name approaches even nearer than the celebrated Assyriologist then +thought, for it is given in the bilingual texts as _Uru_. The Akkadian +form (which is most probably the more ancient of the two), on the other +hand, is not so satisfactory, as it contains an additional syllable, the +full form being _Uriwa_ (the vowel before the _w_ only is a little +doubtful). This, with the absence of any addition corresponding to the +Hebrew _Kasdim_, is the principal flaw in what would otherwise be a +perfect philological comparison. + +Ur or Uriwa, the modern Mugheir, is situated about 140 miles S.E. of +Babylon, and about 560 miles S.E. of Haran. In ancient days it was a place +of considerable importance, and the site of a celebrated temple-tower +called E-su-gan-dudu, probably the E-gis-nu-gala(32) of other texts, the +shrine of the god Nannara, also called Sin, the Moon-god, whose worship +had gained considerable renown. + + + "Father Nannar, lord of Ur, prince of the gods, in heaven and + earth he alone is supreme; + + Father Nannar, lord of E-gis-nu-gala, prince of the gods, in + heaven and earth he alone is supreme: + + Father Nannar, lord, bright-shining diadem, prince of the gods, in + heaven and earth he alone is supreme; + + Father Nannar, whose dominion is greatly perfect, prince of the + gods, in heaven and earth he alone is supreme; + + Father Nannar, who in a princely garment is resplendent, prince of + the gods, in heaven and earth he alone is supreme," etc. + + +The above is the beginning of a long hymn written in the Sumerian dialect, +in which an ancient Babylonian poet praises him, and in many another +composition is his glory sung, and in adversity his name invoked-- + + + "The temple of the Life of Heaven is destroyed--who, in the day of + its glory, has cut off its glory? + The everlasting temple, the building of Uriwa, + The everlasting temple, the building of E-kis-nu-gala. + The city Uriwa is a house of darkness in the land-- + E-kis-nu-gala (and) Nannara." + + "Let heaven rest with earth, heaven enclosed with earth. + Father Nannar, lord of Uriwa, + To the great lady, the lady of E-kis-nu-gala, give thou rest. + To heaven with earth, heaven and earth, (give thou rest). + To the heaven of Uras, at _se-gu-nu_, + The god Enki, the goddess Ninki, the god Endu, the goddess Nindu, + The god En-da-u-ma, the goddess Nin-da-u-ma, + The god En-du-azaga, the goddess Nin-du-azaga, + The god En-u-tila, the god En-me-sarra, + The princess of the Life of Heaven, the lady of the mountain." + + "... he will restore the site of E-kis-nu-gala."(33) + + +Thus does the poet of ancient days, in a composition in the non-Semitic +idiom of his time, lament the misfortunes which had come over the temple +and city--how, whether by was by famine, or by some other mischance, we +know not. It serves to show, however, not only the poetical spirit which +animated the Akkadians at the time, but also the high esteem in which the +temple and the deities venerated therein were held, and the power +attributed to the Moon-god in the centre of his worship. The fact that Ur +(Mugheir) was an important place for the worship of the Moon-god has been +not seldom quoted in support of the identity of this city with Ur of the +Chaldees, because Haran, the city to which Abram migrated with his father +Terah, was also a centre of the worship of Sin. This, in itself, is not at +all improbable, the Jewish tradition being, that Terah was an +idolater.(34) That Terah should go 560 miles simply for this reason, when +he might have found a suitable settlement nearer, seems to be in the +highest degree unlikely, minor shrines of the Moon-god being, in all +probability, far from rare in Babylonia.(35) He simply sojourned there +because, in his journeyings, it suited him to stay there. If he were a +devotee of the Moon-god, he was in all probability the more pleased to +take up his abode there. But he may not have worshipped that divinity at +all, or if he did do so, may not have honoured him more than the Sun-god, +Anu, the god of the heavens, or the goddess Istar. + +Many legends concerning Abram--legends of sufficiently high +antiquity--exist, but how far they are trustworthy must always be a matter +of opinion. In any case, the writers had the advantage--if advantage it +was--of living 2000 years nearer to Abraham's time than we have. Thus +Eupolemus (as has already been pointed out on p. 146) states, that in the +tenth generation, in the city of Babylonia called Camarina (which by some +is called Urie, and which signifies a city of the Chaldeans), there lived, +the thirteenth in descent, Abraham, a man of a noble race, and superior to +all others in wisdom. They relate of him that he was the inventor of +astrology and Chaldean magic, and that on account of his eminent piety he +was esteemed by God. It is said, moreover, that under the direction of God +he departed and lived in Phoenicia, and there taught the Phoenicians the +motions of the sun and moon, and all other things, and was on that account +held in great reverence by their king. + +All this, naturally, points to Babylonia and the city of Uru or Uriwa as +the original dwelling-place of Abram, Camarina being connected with the +Arabic _qamar_, "the moon," which, as we have seen, was the deity +worshipped there. It is noteworthy that the transcription of the +Babylonian name of the city, Urie, contains traces of the Akkadian +termination _-iwa_ (_Uriwa_) which is absent in the Hebrew form Ur. This +is important, as it shows that at a comparatively late date (Eupolemus +lived just before the Christian era), the ending in question made itself +felt in the transcription of the word, and that the form in Genesis, Ur, +does not quite agree, as traces of that termination (two syllables in the +Akkadian form) are altogether wanting in it. There can be no doubt, +therefore, that the theory that Abram lived and passed his earlier years +at the Ur which is now represented by the ruins of Mugheir, originated +with the Jews during their captivity at Babylon and in the cities of +Babylonia. Eupolemus, as a student of Jewish history, would naturally get +his information from a Jewish source, and the Jews had, in common with +most of the nations of the earth, a tendency to attribute to their own +forefathers, whom they venerated so highly, the glory of being connected +with any renowned city or great discovery of earlier ages. Thus it arises +that Eupolemus, following his Jewish informant, makes Abraham to be the +inventor of astrology and Chaldean magic; and to have dwelt at Ur. It must +have been the Jewish captives exiled in Babylonia who first identified Ur +with the renowned city Uru or Uriwa, quite forgetting that the form of the +name could not have been Ur in Hebrew, and that there was another Ur, much +more suitable as the dwelling-place of a nomad family like that of Terah +and his sons, namely, the country of Akkad itself, called, in the +non-Semitic idiom, Uri or Ura, a tract which included the whole of +northern Babylonia. + +In whatever part of Babylonia, however, the patriarch may have sojourned, +of one thing there is no doubt, and that is, that if he dwelt there, the +life which he saw around him, and in which he must have taken part, was +that depicted by the tablets translated in the foregoing chapter. He saw +the idolatry of the people, and the ceremonies and infamies which +accompanied it; he saw the Babylonians as they were in his day, with all +their faults, and all their virtues--their industry, their love of trade, +their readiness to engage in litigation, and all the other interesting +characteristics which distinguished them. He must have been acquainted +with their legends of the Creation, the Flood, and all their gods and +heroes, and the poetry for which the Hebrew race has always been renowned +must have had its origin in the land of Nimrod, whence Abraham of old went +forth free, and his descendants, a millennium and a half later, returned +as captives. + +How it came about (if it be really true) that Terah was an idolater, +whilst his son Abram was a monotheist, will probably never be known. It is +only reasonable to suppose, however, that among a people so intelligent as +the Babylonians, there were at least some who, thinking over the nature of +the world in which they lived and the destiny of mankind, saw that the +different gods whom the people worshipped could not all be governors of +the universe, but, if they existed at all, must be only manifestations of +the Deity who held the supreme power. Indeed, it was, to all appearance, +this doctrine which really prevailed, as is shown by the text translated +on p. 58. Whether taught generally to the learned class (the scribes) or +not, is not known, but it must have been very commonly known to those who +could read, otherwise it is hardly likely that such a tablet would have +been drawn up and written out again at a later date (the text we possess +being but a copy of a lost original). As the divinity with whom the others +are identified is Merodach, it is most likely that this special doctrine +of the unity of the Deity became general some time after the commencement +of the Dynasty of Babylon (that to which Hammurabi or Amraphel belonged), +when the city of Babylon became the capital of the country. Abram's +monotheism would, therefore, naturally fit in with the new doctrine which +apparently became the general belief of the learned class at this +time.(36) + +Concerning the journey of Abraham, there is naturally nothing to be said, +the Bible narrative merely stating that Terah and his family migrated to +Haran. The only thing worth noting is, that the distance they had to +travel was sufficiently great--about 560 miles from Uriwa (Mugheir), and +about 420 miles from Babylon, from the neighbourhood of which the family +must have started if the Ur mentioned in Genesis be the Uri or Ura of the +inscriptions, which was equivalent to the land of Akkad. The whole of this +district was, in all probability, at this time, as later, under Babylonian +rule, a state of things which must have contributed in some measure to the +safe transit of the household to Haran, and also that of Abraham later on +to Canaan, which, as we know from the inscriptions(37) and from Gen. xiv., +acknowledged Babylonian overlordship. + +With regard to Haran, it is very probable that this ancient city was, by +turns, under the rule either of Babylonia or Assyria until the absorption +of the former power into the great Persian Empire, when Haran likewise, in +all probability, shared the same fate. Concerning the early history of the +city very little is known, but it is not improbable that it was an ancient +Babylonian foundation, the name being apparently the Babylonian word +_harranu_, meaning "road." The name given to this "road-city" is explained +as originating in the fact, that it lay at the junction of several +trade-routes--an explanation which is very probable. + +The city itself was, at the time of its greatest prosperity, a +considerable place, as the remains now existing show. There are the ruins +of a castle, with square columns 8 feet thick, supporting a roof of 30 +feet high, together with some comparatively modern ruins. The ancient +walls, though in a very dilapidated state, are said to be continuous +throughout. No houses remain, but there are several ruins, one of great +interest, and considerable extent, which Ainsworth considered to be a +temple. A rudely sculptured lion, found outside the walls, is regarded as +giving evidence of Assyrian occupation, which, however, is otherwise known +to have been an historical fact. + +In Abraham's time the place had, in all probability, not attained its +fullest development, and must have been a small city. The plain in which +it is situated is described as very fertile, but not cultivated to its +fullest extent, on account of half the land remaining fallow because not +manured. This, at least, was the state of the tract 72 years ago, but it +is very probable that, in the "changeless East," the same description +applies at the present day. That it was of old, as now, a fertile spot, +may be gathered from the fact that the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser I. +speaks of having taken or killed elephants in that district-- + + + _Esrit pire buhali dannuti_ Ten powerful bull-elephants + _ina mat Harrani u sidi nar_ in the land of Haran and on + _Habur_ the banks of the Habour + _lu-aduk; irbit pire baltuti_ I killed; four elephants alive + _lu-usabita. Maskani-sunu_ I took. Their skins, + _sinni-sunu itti pire_ their teeth, with the living + _baltuti, ana ali-ia Assur elephants, I brought to my + ubla._ city Asshur. + + +If there were elephants in "the land of Haran" 1100 years before Christ, +it is very probable that they were to be found in the neighbourhood a +thousand years earlier, but notwithstanding any disadvantage which may +have been felt from the presence of these enormous beasts, it was in all +probability a sufficiently safe district for one possessing flocks and +herds. There is no reason to suppose that the presence of elephants around +Haran in any way influenced the patriarch to leave the place, for these +animals were to be found (according to an inscription supposed to have +been written for the same Assyrian king, Tiglath-pileser I.) in Lebanon, +and therefore in the country where Abraham settled after quitting Haran. + +As has already been noted, this was the centre of the worship of the +Moon-god Sin or Nannaru,(38) and Terah and his family, in settling in this +place, doubtless saw the same ceremonies in connection with the worship of +this deity as they had been accustomed to see in Babylonia, slightly +modified; and this would be the case whether Terah's family came from +Uriwa or not, the Moon-god being worshipped in more cities than one in +Babylonia. Something of the importance of the shrine of Nannaru at Haran +may be gathered from the fact, that the Assyrian king Esarhaddon (to all +appearance) was crowned there. As the text recording this is very +interesting, and reveals something of the beliefs of the Assyrians and the +natives of Haran, I quote here the passage referring to the ceremony, +restoring the wording where defective. The writer is apparently addressing +Assur-bani-apli, "the great and noble Asnapper"-- + +"When the father of the king my lord went to Egypt, he was crowned (?) in +the _qanni_ of Haran, the temple (lit. 'Bethel') of cedar. The god Sin +remained over the (sacred) standard, two crowns upon his head, (and) the +god Nusku stood before him. The father of the king my lord entered, (and) +he(39) placed (the crown?) upon his head, (saying) thus: 'Thou shalt go +and capture the lands in the midst.' (He we)nt, he captured the land of +Egypt. The rest of the lands not submitting (?) to Assur and Sin, the +king, the lord of kings, shall capture (them"). + +[Here follow an invocation of the gods, and wishes for a long life for the +king, the stability (?) of his throne, etc.] + +In addition to the god Sin, the above extract refers to the deity known as +Nusku, as being venerated there. That this was the case, is confirmed by +several inscriptions of the time of Assur-bani-apli, who seems to have +restored his temple. This fane, which the Assyrian king is said to have +made to shine like the day, was called E-melam-anna, "the temple of the +glory of heaven," and the presence of its name in a list of the temples of +Babylonia and Assyria testifies to its importance. + +The temple of Sin or Nannaru, as we learn from the inscriptions of +Nabonidus, was called E-hulhul, "the temple of (great) joy." The fane +having been destroyed by the Medes, Nabonidus received, in a dream, +command to rebuild it, and it is interesting to learn that, when the work +was in progress, the records which Assur-bani-apli had placed there, +according to custom, when restoring it, came to light. The letter of which +an extract is given above was probably written to the Assyrian king upon +this occasion. + +So renowned was the place as a centre of heathen worship, that at a +comparatively late date--running far into the Christian era, namely, the +fifth century A.D.--the worship of heathen deities was still in full +progress there, though the god Sin had fallen, to all appearance, somewhat +into the background, and Bel-shamin, "the lord of the heavens," _i.e._ the +Sun-god, generally known as Shamash or Samas, and called later on by the +Greek name of Helios, had taken his place. They also worshipped a goddess +called Gadlat, generally identified with the Babylonian goddess Gula, and +Atargatis, the feminine counterpart of Hadad, whose name is often found in +Aramean inscriptions under the form of 'Atar-'ata.(40) This goddess is +called Derketo(41) by Ktesias, and appears as Tar-'ata in Syriac and in +the Talmud. According to Baethgen, Atargatis, or, better, Attargatis, was +a double divinity, composed of Istar and 'Ata or 'Atta (Attes). In +consequence of the worship of the sun, the moon, and the planet Venus +('Atar = Istar), a second centre of the worship denominated Sabean (which +originated in south-west Arabia, the country of the Sabeans) was founded +in Haran, where its devotees are said to have had a chapel dedicated to +Abraham, whose renown had, to all appearance, brought to his memory the +great honour of deification. + +It was after a long sojourn at Haran that Abraham set out for his journey +westwards, the patriarch being no less than seventy-five years old when he +left that city. The next episode in his life was his journey, in obedience +to the call which he had received, to Canaan, going first to Shechem, +"unto the oak (terebinth) of Moreh," afterwards to the mountain on the +east of Bethel, and thence, later, towards the south. A famine caused him +to continue his travels as far as Egypt, where the incident of Sarai being +taken from him, in consequence of the deceit practised by him in +describing her as his sister, took place. + +This portion of the patriarch's history is not one which can be very +easily dealt with, the incident being told very shortly, and no Egyptian +names being given--in fact, it is altogether destitute of "local colouring" +necessarily so, from the brevity of the narrative. + +At Haran, the patriarch and the members of his family probably saw people +to a great extent of the type to which they had been accustomed in +Babylonia, but in the land of Canaan they would notice some difference, +though they all spoke a Semitic language, like themselves. Indeed, it is +not at all improbable that wherever the ancestor of the Hebrews went, he +found the Semitic Babylonian language at least understood, for as the +Babylonian king claimed dominion over all this tract as far as the +Mediterranean, the language of his country was fast becoming what it +certainly was a few hundred years later, namely, the _lingua franca_ of +the whole tract as far as Egypt, where also, to all appearance, Abraham +and his wife had no difficulty in making themselves understood. + +According to Gen. x. 6, Canaan, into whose country Abraham journeyed with +the object of settling, was the descendant of Cush, and the inhabitants +ought therefore to have spoken a Hamitic language. Historically, however, +this cannot be proved, but it is certain that if the Canaanites spoke a +Hamitic language, they soon changed it for the speech which they seem to +have used as far back as history can go, this speech being closely akin to +Hebrew. In fact, there is very little doubt that Abraham and his +descendants, forsaking their mother-tongue, the language of Babylonia, +adopted the dialect of the Canaanitish language, which they afterwards +spoke, and which is so well known at the present day as Hebrew. To all +appearance Abraham's relatives, who remained in Mesopotamia, in "the city +of Nahor," spoke a dialect of Aramaic, a language with which Abraham +himself must have been acquainted, and which may have been spoken in +Babylonia at that early date, as it certainly was, together with Chaldean, +later on. + +It is noteworthy, that the country to which Abraham migrated, and which is +called by the Hebrew writers Canaan, is called by the same name in the +Tel-el-Amarna letters, and the fact that the Babylonian king Burra-burias +uses the same term shows that it was the usual name in that part of the +world. Among the Babylonians, however, it was called _mat Amurri_, "the +land of Amoria," the common expression, among the Babylonians and the +Assyrians, for "the West." In later times the Assyrians designated this +district _mat Hatti_, "the land of Heth," the home of the Hittites. The +inference from this naturally is, that at the time when the Babylonians +became acquainted with the country, the Amorites were the most powerful +nationality there, whilst the Hittites had the dominion, and were in +greater force later on, when the Assyrians first traded or warred there. +These two linguistic usages show, that the two great races in the country, +both of them Hamitic, according to Gen. x. 15, 16, were the Amorites (who +spread as far as Babylonia, and even had settlements there), and the +Hittites, whose capital was Hattu (_Pterium_, now _Boghaz-keui_) in Asia +Minor, and whose rule extended south as far as Carchemish and Hamath. + +In addition to the above indications from the historical inscriptions of +Assyria, and the contract-tablets of Babylonia belonging to the first +dynasty of Babylon (a number of which are translated in Chap. V.), we have +also the indications furnished by the bilingual geographical lists. + +As these lists are of great importance for the geography of the ancient +Semitic East, with special reference to Western Asia, it may be of +interest, and perhaps also serve a useful purpose, to give, in the form in +which they occur on the tablets, such portions as may bear on the question +of the knowledge of the Babylonians of the countries which lay around +them. + +The most important of these geographical documents is that published in +the _Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia_, vol. ii. p. 50. This text +begins, as would be expected from the hand of a patriotic scribe, with the +towns and cities of his own land, in two columns, Akkadian, and the +Semitic equivalent. This was followed, in the same way, by the provinces +of his country, ending with the two principal, Kengi-Ura, translated by +Sumer and Akkad. This is followed by the four Akkadian groups for the land +of Subartum and Gutium, probably a part of Media. + +To all appearance a new section begins here, the scribe introducing in +this place the four Akkadian words or groups for "mountain." The text then +proceeds as follows-- + +KUR MAR-TU sad A-mur-ri-e Mountain of Amoria +KI (the Amorite + land). +KUR TI-ID-NU-UM sad A-mur-ri-e Mountain of +KI Amoria. +KUR GIR-GIR sad A-mur-ri-e Mountain of +KI Amoria. +KUR SU-RU sad Su-bar-ti Mountain of +KI Subarti. +KUR NUM-MA sad Elamti Mountain of Elam. +KI +KUR Gu-ti-um sad Gu-ti-i Mountain of Gutu +KI or Gutium. +KURZAG Gu-ti-um sad pa-at Gu-ti-i Mountain of the +KI border of Gutium. +KUR si-rum sad Si-ri-i [?] Mountain of Siru. +KI +KUR [GIS] ERI-NA sad E-ri-ni Mountain of Cedar. +KI +KUR MAR-HA-SI KI sad Pa-ra-si-i Mountain of + Parasu. +KUR Sir-rum sad Bi-ta-lal Mountain of +KI Bitala. (Kastala + is possible.) +KUR E-AN-NA sad Bi-ta-lal Mountain of +KI Bitala. +KUR HE-A-NA sad Ha-ni-e Mountain of Hanu. +KI +KUR Lu-lu-bi sad Lu-lu-bi-e Mountain of +KI Lulubu. + +Here follows a list of adjectives combined with the word for country, +forming descriptions such as "safe country," "low-lying country," etc. + +In the above list of countries, the land of the Amorites holds the first +place, and is repeated three times, there having, to all appearance, been +three ways of writing its name in Akkadian. Why this was the case--whether +in the older Akkadian literature the scribes distinguished three different +districts or not, is not known, but is not at all improbable. The first of +the three ways of designating the country is the usual one, and apparently +means the land of the Amorites in general, the other two being less used, +and possibly indicating the more mountainous parts. What the mountains of +Suru or Subartu were is uncertain, but it may be supposed that, as this +group is used in the late Babylonian inscriptions (as shown by the text +containing the account of the downfall of Assyria) for the domain over +which the kings of Assyria ruled, there is hardly any doubt that it stands +for the Mesopotamian tract, extending from the boundaries of the Amorites +to the frontiers of Babylonia. This would include not only Assyria, but +also Aram-naharaim, or Syria, and is in all probability the original of +this last word, which has given considerable trouble to students to +explain. + +In all probability, Siru, like Gutium and the border of Gutium, was a +tract in the neighbourhood of Elam, which precedes. A comparison has been +made between this Sirum and the Sirrum of the eleventh line of the +extract, but as the spelling, and also, seemingly, the pronunciation, is +different, it is in all likelihood a different place. The mountain of +Cedar, however, is probably Lebanon, celebrated of old, and sufficiently +wooded, in the time of Assur-nasir-apli, to give cover to droves of +elephants, which the Assyrian king hunted there. _Marhasi_ (Akk.) or +_Parasi_ (Assyr.) seems to have been a country celebrated for its dogs. +Concerning Bitala or Kastala nothing is known, but Hane is supposed to +have lain near Birejik on the Orontes.(42) Lulumu, which is apparently the +same as Lulubu, was an adjoining state, which the Babylonians claim to +have devastated about the twenty-eighth century before Christ, a fact +which contributes to the confirmation of the antiquity of Babylonian +geographical lore, and its trustworthiness, for the nation which invades +another must be well aware of the position and physical features of +territory invaded. + +It is interesting to note, that one of the ordinary bilingual lists +(W.A.I. II. pl. 48) gives what are apparently three mountainous districts, +the first being Amurru, translating the Akkadian GIRGIR, which we are told +to pronounce Tidnu (see above, pp. 122, 206, and below, p. 312), the +second Urtu (Ararat), which we are told to pronounce in Akkadian Tilla, +and the third Qutu, in Akkadian Gisgala su anna, "the district with the +high barriers," likewise a part of the Aramean mountains. + +After returning from Egypt, Abraham went and dwelt in the south of Canaan, +between Bethel and Ai, Lot quitting him in consequence of the quarrel +which took place between their respective herdsmen. Concerning the +Canaanite and the Perizzite, who were then in the land, the Babylonian +inscriptions of this period, as far as they are known, say nothing, but +there is hardly any doubt that these nationalities were known to them, +this tract being within the boundaries of the Babylonian dominions. That +these names do not yet occur, is not to be wondered at, for the +Babylonians had been accustomed to call the tract Amurru, and names which +have been long attached to a country do not change at all easily. The next +resting-place of the patriarch was by the oaks or terebinths of Mamre in +Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord. + +At this point occurs Gen. ch. xiv., which contains the description of the +conflict of the four kings against five--evidently one of the struggles of +the Amorites and their allies to throw off the yoke of the Babylonians, +who were in this case assisted by several confederate states. + +Much has been written concerning this interesting chapter of the Bible. +The earlier critics were of opinion that it was impossible that the power +of the Elamites should have extended so far at such an early epoch. Later +on, when it was shown that the Elamites really had power--and that even +earlier than the time of Abraham--the objection of the critics was, that +none of the names mentioned in the fourteenth chapter of Genesis really +existed in the inscriptions. The history of Abraham was a romance, and the +names of the Eastern kings with whom he came into contact equally so. It +was true that there were Elamite names commencing with the element Kudur, +the Chedor of the sacred text, but Chedorlaomer did not occur, Amraphel +and Tidal were equally wanting, and that Arioch was the same as Eri-Aku or +Rim-Aku could not be proved. + +The first step in solving the riddle was that made by Prof. Eberhard +Schrader, who suggested that Amraphel was none other than the well-known +Babylonian king Hammurabi. This, naturally, was a theory which did not +soon find acceptance--at least by all the Assyriologists. There were, +however, two things in its favour--this king ruled sufficiently near to the +time of Abraham, and he overcame a ruler named Rim-Sin or Rim-Aku, +identified by the late George Smith with the Arioch of the chapter we are +now considering. Concerning the latter ruler, Rim-Aku, there is still some +doubt, but the difficulties which attended the identification of Hammurabi +with Amraphel have now practically disappeared. The first step was the +discovery of the form Ammurabi in one of the numerous contracts drawn up +during his reign at Sippara, the city of the Sun-god. This form shows that +the guttural was not the hard guttural _kh_, but the softer _h_. Yet +another step nearer the Biblical form is that given by Asaridu, who, in a +letter to "the great and noble Asnapper," writes as follows-- + + + Ana sarri beli-ia To the king, my + lord, + arad-ka, (A)saridu. thy servant Asaridu. + Nabu u Marduk ana Nebo and Merodach to + sar matati the king of the + countries, + beli-ia likrubu. my lord, be + favourable. + Duppi sa sarru The tablet which the + ippusu king makes + ...-tu u ul-salim. is bad(?) and + incomplete. + (A)du duppi. Now a tablet, + (la)biru sa Ammurapi an old one, of + sarru. Ammurapi the king + (e)pusu-ma altaru-- I have made and + written out-- + (la?) pani Ammurapi it is of the time + sarru. (?) of Ammurapi the + king. + Ki aspuru As I have sent (to + inform the king), + ultu Babili from Babylon + attasa I will bring (it). + Sarru nipisu The king (will be + able to do) the work + [ina] pitti at once. + + [Here several lines are broken away.] + + ........................... ............................. + sa A-................... which + A-....................... + qat ....................... the hand + of.................... + ulla ...................... then (?) + ...................... + anaku ..................... I + ............................. + likipanni. may he trust me. + + +As this is a late reference to Hammurabi, it is noteworthy not only on +account of the form the name (which agrees excellently with the Biblical +Amraphel) had assumed at the time (the hard breathing or aspirate having +to all appearance completely disappeared), but also as a testimony to the +esteem in which he was held a millennium and a half after his death. How +it is that the Hebrew form has _l_ at the end is not known, but the +presence of this letter has given rise to numerous theories. One of these +is, that Amraphel is for _Hammurabi ilu_, "Hammurabi the god," many of the +old Babylonian kings having been deified after their death. Another (and +perhaps more likely) explanation is, that this additional letter is due to +the faulty reading of a variant writing of the name, with a polyphonous +character having the value of _pil_ as well as _bi_,--which form may, in +fact, still be found. However the presence of the final (and apparently +unauthorized) addition to the name be explained, the identification of +Amraphel and Hammurabi is held to be beyond dispute. + +Thanks to important chronological lists of colophon-dates and to a number +of trade-documents from Tel-Sifr, Sippara, and elsewhere, which are +inscribed with the same dates in a fuller form, the outline of the history +of the reign of Hammurabi is fairly well known, though it can hardly be +said that we have what would be at the present time regarded as an +important event for each year, notwithstanding that they may have been to +the ancient Babylonians of all-absorbing interest. The following is a list +of the principal dates of his reign, as far as they can at present be made +out-- + + + 1 Year of Hammurabi the king. + 2 Year he performed justice in the land. + 3 Year he constructed the throne of the exalted shrine of Nannar + of Babylon. + 4 Year he built the fortification of Malgia. + 5 Year he constructed the ... of the god. + 6 Year of the fortification of (the goddess) Laz. + 7 Year of the fortification of Isinna. + 8 Year of the ... of Emutbalum. + 9 Year of the canal Hammurabi-hegalla. + 10 Year of the soldiers and people of Malgia. + 11 Year of the cities Rabiqa and Salibi. + 12 Year of the throne of Zer-panitum. + 13 Year (the city) Umu (?) set up a king in great rejoicing.(43) + 14 Year of the throne of Istar of Babylon. + 15 Year of his 7 images.(44) + 16 Year of the throne of Nebo. + 17 Year of the images of Istar and Addu (Hadad).... + 18 Year of the exalted shrine for Ellila. + 19 Year of the fortification Igi-hur-sagga. + 20 Year of the throne of Merri (Rimmon or Hadad). + 21 Year of the fortification of Basu. + 22 Year of the image of Hammurabi king of righteousness. + 23 Year of the ... of Sippar. + 24 Year of the ... for Ellila. + 25 Year of the fortification of Sippar. + 26 Year a great flood (?).... + 27 Year the supreme (?).... + 28 Year of the temple of abundance.(45) + 29 Year of the image of Sala (spouse of Rimmon or Hadad). + 30 Year the army of Elam.... + 31 Year of the land Emutbalu. + 32 Year the army of.... + 33 Year of the canal _Hammurabi-nuhus-nisi_. + 34 Year of Istar and Nanaa. + 35 Year of the fortification of.... + 36 Lost. + 37 Practically lost. + 38 Year the great.... + 39 Practically lost. + 40 Lost. + 41 Lost. + 42 Practically lost. + 43 Year dust (? ruin) overwhelmed Sippar and the city Ul-Samas. + + +In the gaps indicated by the words "lost," and "practically lost," the +following entries ought, perhaps, to be inserted, though it is to be noted +that some of them may be merely additions to, or other forms of, dates +preserved by the list-- + + + "Year he (_i.e._ the king) built the supreme shrine of Bel." [? + the eighteenth year.] + + "Year of the ... of the fortification of Sippar." [? the 25th + year.] + + "Year he made supplication to the goddess Tas-metu." + + "Year of the river (canal) Tisida-Ellilla" (p. 182). + + "Year the soldiers of Esnunna were smitten by the sword." + + "Year Hammurabi the king, by command of Anu and Bel, destroyed the + wall of Mair and Malgia" (p. 187). + + "Year Hammurabi the king renewed the temple E-me-temena-ursag, and + raised the head of the temple-tower, the supreme seat of Zagaga, + high like heaven." + + "Year Hammurabi the king raised the top of the great wall on the + bank of the Tigris high like a mountain, and caused its name to be + called the embankment of the Sun." + + +Besides these, there are additions in the entries in the chronological +list, some of which are of sufficiently great importance-- + + + "Year 31: Year Hammurabi the king, by the command of Anu and Bel, + established his advantage (and) captured the land Yamutbalum and + the king Rim-Sin." + + "Year 34: Year Hammurabi the king made [images of] Istar and + Nanaa." + + +Whether the following be another form of this date, or a different one +altogether is uncertain: + + + "Year Hammurabi the king renewed E-tur-kalama for Anu, Istar, and + Nanaa." + + +Year 38, which, in the chronological list, is called the year of the great +... is possibly to be completed, in accordance with the indications from +the colophon-dates: "Year of Hammurabi the king (when) a great flood +destroyed Esnunna." + +With regard to the other undecided dates, it is practically certain that +the three long ones--those which record the destruction of the wall of Mair +and Malgia, the restoration of the temple E-me-temena-ursag and the temple +tower dedicated to Zagaga, and the construction of the great dam of the +Tigris--come into the gaps after the entry for the thirty-first year. The +reason for this assumption is, that the thirty-first year of Hammurabi was +the date of his conquest of Rim-Sin, in whose dominions the town +represented by the ruins of Tel-Sifr (the place whence the tablets came +which bear these dates) lay. All the tablets from this place, bearing +dates of the reign of Hammurabi, therefore belong to the thirty-first year +of his reign and later. + +In all probability there is one thing that will be considered as +noteworthy, and that is, that as far as our records go, there is no +reference whatever to any expedition to the West-land, and if that be due +simply to the imperfection of the records which have come down to us, all +that can be said is, that it is a noteworthy coincidence.(46) It must not +be supposed, however, that it in any wise invalidates the trustworthiness +of the narrative in the 14th chapter of Genesis--there is plenty of room in +the mutilated list (of which I have given such a translation as is +possible) for a date referring to this to have been recorded, though we +must keep in mind the possibility, that if the Babylonian king considered +that disaster had in any way overtaken his arms, he may not have recorded +it at all. Then there is the fact, that the expedition was undertaken in +conjunction with allies--Chedorlaomer, Tidal, and Arioch--for none of whom, +in all probability, Hammurabi had any sympathy. The Elamite was a +conqueror from a land over which the Babylonians of earlier ages had held +sway, and Arioch had dominion over a neighbouring tract, to which +Hammurabi himself laid claim, and over which, as the texts above +translated show, he afterwards ruled. Hammurabi, moreover, claimed also +the West-land--_mat Amurri_, the land of Amurru--as his hereditary +possession, and he found himself obliged to aid Chedorlaomer, Tidal, and +Arioch to subjugate it--indeed, it was Chedorlaomer whom the five kings had +acknowledged for twelve years as their overlord, and against whom, in the +thirteenth, they rebelled. It is, therefore, likely that Hammurabi +regarded himself as having been forced by circumstances to aid +Chedorlaomer to reconquer what really belonged to Babylonia, and the +probability that he would cause it to be used as one of the events to date +by, is on that account still less, even if the news of any success which +he might have considered himself entitled to reached his own domain in +time to be utilized for such a purpose. + +It has been shown on p. 155 that Ammi-titana, the third in succession from +Hammurabi, claimed the sovereignty of the land of Amurru, and from an +inscription accompanying a portrait of Hammurabi discovered by Mr. Rassam, +we learn that he, too, claimed sovereignty over it. Sargon of Agade held +sway over the tract centuries before, so that he probably reckoned that, +by right of inheritance, it was his. It would therefore be natural that he +should omit to mention as an event to be remembered, an expedition to a +country which ought never to have thrown off his dominion. + +Of course, one of the principal things confirming the identification of +Hammurabi with Amraphel would naturally be the occurrence of one or more +of the names recorded in Gen. xiv., in conjunction with his, or in such a +way that a connection could be established. This, naturally, is difficult, +principally on account of our having no continuous history of the period +to which these rulers belong. Nevertheless, a close examination of the +inscriptions suggests in what way confirmation of the events narrated with +reference to Amraphel and his allies might be sought. + +Reference has already been made to Rim-Sin, king of Yamutbalu (or +Emutbalu), who appears to have been defeated by Hammurabi in the +thirty-first regnal year. From this time the dominions of Rim-Sin +evidently formed part of the Babylonian Empire, and were never again +separated from it as long as it existed. + +Notwithstanding the early identification of Rim-Sin with Eri-Sin or +Eri-Aku by the late George Smith, considerable doubt has been thrown on +the identity of these two names by the fact, that in inscriptions +containing the name of Kudur-mabuk, the father, the name of his son is +written with _Eri_ as the first element--not _Rim_. This, it must be +admitted, is a considerable difficulty. Winckler, however, in the +_Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek_, Band III., 1 Haelfte, pp. 88-89, publishes +a text given by Lenormant, _Textes Inedits_, No. 70, in which the name of +the son of Kudur-mabuk is written Ri-im-Sin, and if this be correctly +copied, it would seem to settle the matter of their identity. It is to be +noted that they are both called king of Uriwa, king of Larsa, and king of +Sumer and Akkad. In the inscriptions Eri-Aku or Eri-Sin also calls himself +_adda Emutbala_, "father of Yamutbalu," and, as the colophon-date of the +31st year of Hammurabi shows, Rim-Sin or Rim-Aku was also king of that +region. + +In these circumstances, there is hardly any doubt that they were at least +closely connected, if not (as has been supposed since the time of the +Assyriologist George Smith) actually identical. It is therefore worthy of +mention, that M. F. Thureau-Dangin, the well-known French Assyriologist, +suggests that Eri-Aku and Rim-Sin were brothers, sons of Kudur-mabuk, and +successively kings of Larsa (_Les Inscriptions de Sumer et d'Akkad_, p. +300, n. 3). This would not only account for their having the same +parentage, but also for their claiming the same titles. It can therefore +not be said, that Hammurabi became the enemy of his old ally--it was +against his brother that he fought. + +The date quoted on p. 214 (year 31) seems to include Rim-Sin in the +capture of the land of Yamutbalum, but this is not confirmed by the new +Chronicle, which states that Hammurabi, king of Babylon, gathered his +soldiers and went against Rim-Sin, king of Larsa. His hand captured Ur and +Larsa, he carried off their goods to Babylon, and overthrew and carried +away other things--what they were the mutilation of the record does not +allow us even to guess. It is noteworthy also that the mention of Ur as +one of the cities of Rim-Sin shuts out that state from the tract which, +from the 14th chapter of Genesis, would otherwise be included in Shinar, +and seems also to explain why Ur is designated as being "of the Chaldees." + +If, however, the colophon-date be right, and Rim-Sin was really made +prisoner, he must either have escaped, or been set at liberty again, for +Samsu-iluna, son of Hammurabi, when he became king, had apparently to +resist another attack on the part of that ruler, who seems to have been +captured, and "(? burnt) alive in his palace." + +With regard to the names Eri-Aku and Rim-Sin, one Sumero-Akkadian, and the +other Semitic, the former means, as was thought from the first, "Servant +of the Moon-god," whilst the sense of the latter, as is made clear by the +variant spelling in the new Babylonian chronicle, is "Sin's (the +Moon-god's) wild bull." A similar name is that of Rim-Anu, another king of +Larsa--"Anu's (the Heaven-god's) wild bull." These are paralleled by such +names as Bur-Sin, "Sin's young steer," in which the bearer is compared +with a strong and willing animal of service. Possibly the substitution of +the word for "wild bull" in Rim-Sin and Rim-Anu is symbolical of reckless +courage. + +Very little is known of the state of which Larsa (in Sumero-Akkadian +Ararma) was the capital. It is interesting to note, however, that this +city was a centre of the worship of the Sun-god Samas, as was also Sippar +(now Abu-habbah). The temple in both cities bore the same name, E-bara +(-para) or E-babbara (-barbara), "the house of brilliant light." With the +exception of Eri-Aku or Arioch, whose name is Sumero-Akkadian, all the +rulers have Semitic names--Rim-Anu, Nur-Rammani or Nur-Addi, "light of +Rimmon" or "of Hadad," Sin-idinnam, "Sin has given," and Rim-Sin. If +Eri-Aku was called, in the Semitic tongue, Arad-Sin, "Servant of Sin," as +is possible, this name must be added too, but in that case his +identification with Arioch would be less probable. As he was of Elamite +origin, his bearing a Sumero-Akkadian or a Semitic name was probably due +to motives of policy, and one which, when written, could be read either +way would give pleasure to both sections of the people, Sumero-Akkadian +and Semitic. + +The following inscriptions record architectural works of Kudur-mabuk, and +his sons Eri-Aku and Rim-Sin:-- + + + Tablet Of Kudur-Mabuk Mentioning Eri-Aku. + + (Dingir) Nannara To Nannara + lugala-ni-r his king, + Kudur-mabuk Kudur-mabuk, + adda kura Martu father of Amoria, + dumu Simti-silhak son of Simti-silhak. + Ud (dingir) Nannara When Nannara + arazu-ni his prayer + mu-igi-ginna received, + ne-zila-maha ne-zila-maha + (dingir) Nannara-kam for Nannara + nam-tila-ni-su for his life, + u nam-ti and the life + Eri-Aku dumu-ni of Eri-Aku, his son, + lugal Ararma-su king of Larsa, + munanindu. he made. + + "To Nannara, his king, Kudur-mabuk, father of the land of the + Amorites, son of Simti-silhak. When Nannara received his prayer he + made for Nannara _ne-zila-maha_ for his life and the life of his + son Arioch, king of Larsa." + + Tablet Of Eri-Aku Mentioning Kudur-Mabuk, His Father. + + Eri-(dingir) Aku Eri-Aku + us kalagga powerful hero + siba nig-zi everlasting shepherd + ua Uri-(D. S.)-wa installed by Bel + (dingir) Ellilli nourisher of Uriwa + garra + lugal Arar-(D. king of Larsa + S.)-ma + lugal Kiengi-(D. king of Sumer (and) + S.)-Uragi Akkad + dumu Kudur-mabuk son of Kudur-mabuk + Adda Emutbala-men father of Yamutbalu + am I. + Uriwa (D. S.) In Uriwa broad, + dagal-e-ne + mu maha dudune possessing an + exalted name, + + Col. II. + + usu-na-bi to the peerless (?) + ugul-immangaga supplication I have + made. + (dingir) Nannara Nannara my king + lugala-mu + musinse I have obeyed (?): + bad gala hursag A great wall, high + illa-dim su-nu-tutu like a mountain, + impregnable, + im-bi dul ea inspiring (?) its + fear, + munadu have I made, + uru-ni himmira its city may it + protect. + bada-ba That wall + (dingir) Nannara "Nannara the + suhus mada gengen consolidator of the + foundation of the + land" is + mu-bi-im its name. + + "Arioch, the powerful hero, the everlasting shepherd installed by + Bel, the nourisher of Uriwa, the king of Larsa, the king of Sumer + and Akkad, the son of Kudur-mabug, the father of Yamutbalu, am I. + In broad Uriwa, possessing an exalted name, to the peerless one + (?) have I made supplication, Nannara, my king, have I obeyed (?). + The great wall, high like a mountain, impregnable, inspiring (?) + its fear, have I built--may it protect its city. The name of that + wall is 'Nannara the consolidator of the foundation of the + land.' " + + [The above inscription is not without its difficulties, some of + them formidable enough, but the general sense of the whole may be + regarded as correctly made out.] + + Tablet Of Rim-Sin. + + (Dingir) Nin-sah To Ninsah + en galla abba age great lord, beloved + father + saga-gu-sag-gi knowing the + gala-zu supplication of the + heart + sukkala maha exalted messenger, + sa-kussa dingira (giving) heart-rest, + galla great god + dugga-ni si tul-du he who sends forth + his hidden word + lugal-a-ni-ir his king + (dingir) Rim-Sin. + Rim-(dingir) Sin + + siba gu kalama Nipri shepherd of all the + (D. S.) people of Nippur + me giskin he who fulfils the + Gurudug-(D. S.)-ga word of the vine of + su-dudu Eridu + ua Uri-(D. S.)-wa nourisher of Uriwa + e-ud-da-im-te-ga (and) E-udda-imtega + lugal Arar-(D. king of Larsa + S.)-ma + + Col. II. + + lugal Kengi-(D. king of Sumer and + S.)-Ura-gi Akkad. + Ud Ana (dingir) When Anu, Bel, + Ellila + (dingir) En-ki (and) Ea, + dingir-galgalene the great gods, + Unuga (D. S.) uru du Erech, the ruined + (?) city, + su-mu-su into my hands + manin-si-esa delivered + (dingir) Ninsah to Ninsah, my king, + lugala-mu-r + gu-sagsaggi-da-mu-ta after my making + supplication; + e-da-agga-summu E-dagga-summu, + ki-dura ki-agga-ni his beloved + resting-place, + nam-ti-mu-su for my life + munadu. I built. + + "To Ninsah, the great lord, the beloved father, he who is aware of + the supplication of the heart; the exalted messenger, (giving) + rest to the heart, the great god who sendeth forth his hidden + word--his king, Rim-Sin, shepherd of all the people of Niffer, who + fulfilleth the word of the vine of Eridu, nourisher of Uriwa (and) + E-udda-imtega, king of Larsa, king of Sumer and Akkad. When Anu, + Bel, and Ea, the great gods, delivered Erech, the ruined (?) city, + into my hands, I built to Ninsah, my king, after making + supplication, E-dagga-summu, his beloved seat, for (the saving of) + my life." + + +This last text was found in the mound of Mugheir (Uriwa), and is of great +interest, as it is dedicated to Ninsah, the great messenger of the gods, +and not to the god Sin or Nannara, the chief patron-deity of the city. It +has also an interesting reference to the vine of Eridu (see pp. 71 ff.), +and apparently to his capture of the city of Erech, delivered into his +hands by the gods Anu, Bel, and Ea. That he should represent himself as +taking possession of the city by the will of Anu, the chief god of the +city, whose name he mentions before the other two divinities, sheds a +certain light upon the character of the man, whilst his military exploits, +both at home and in the west, must have made him, like Chedorlaomer his +fellow-countryman, and Hammurabi his rival, one of the heroes of his time. + +There now remain to be treated of Chedorlaomer and Tidal, the remaining +two of the four allies who fought in that memorable conflict by the Dead +Sea to bring into subjection their revolted vassals. + +From the time of their first discovery it has been felt that the +occurrence of names containing the element Kudur--Kudur-mabuk, +Kudur-Nanhundi, Kudur-Nahhunte, etc.--was, in itself, excellent testimony +to the correctness of the narrative in the 14th chapter of Genesis, where +an Elamite king having _Chedor_ as the first element of his name, attacks +and conquers, in alliance with certain kings of Babylonia, five petty +rulers of a district on the shores of the Dead Sea. It was, however, +naturally a matter of disappointment that the name of Chedorlaomer himself +did not occur, for it was soon recognized that the identification, made by +Sir Henry Rawlinson, of Kudur-mabuk (read Kudur-mapula) with Chedorlaomer +could not be sustained. What was wanted, was some such name as +Kudur-Lagamar or Kudur-Lagamal, the second element having been recognized +in other texts as the name of the Elamite deity Lagamaru. It was to all +appearance thought to be probable that the name of Tidal would be found. + +Accordingly, when two tablets were referred to at the Congress of +Orientalists held at Geneva in 1894 as containing the names Tudhula, +Eri-Eaku (Eri-Ekua), and another name read doubtfully as Kudur-lah(gu)mal, +no publicly-expressed objection to their possible identification with +Tidal, Arioch, and Chedorlaomer was made. The names were placed before the +Semitic section of the Congress of Orientalists referred to, as recent +discoveries, which were certain as far as they went, their identification +being a matter of opinion. + +None of these documents are in a state of completeness, though one of +them, a kind of poem, contains no less than 76 lines, more or less well +preserved. The other two are of the nature, apparently, of historical +legends, though they may be true historical documents, and, though +imperfect, are of great importance. Concerning the names which are +contained in these texts there is but little or no doubt, though there may +be doubt as to the way in which they ought to be read in consequence of +the fanciful way in which they are written. + +The first document is Sp. III. 2, and contains all three names--or, rather, +the names Tudhula (Tidal), Eri-Eaku's son Durmah-ilani, and Kudur-lahmal. +The first portion of this text refers to the gods: "Samas, illuminator (of +the earth)," "the lord of lords, Merodach, in the faithfulness of his +heart," aided (probably) his servant to subdue (?) some region, "all of +it." Then there is a reference to (soldiers) whom some ruler "caused to be +slain," and as the name of Durmah-ilani son of Eri-(E)aku follows, there +is every probability that it was he who is referred to in the preceding +lines. The carrying off of goods (?) is next spoken of, and waters which +to all appearance came over Babylon and the great temple-tower called +E-saggil (more usually written in earlier times E-sagila). The next line +has an interesting reference to "the son (?)" of some one, who +"slaughtered him like (?) a lamb with the weapon of his hands." After +this, we are told that "the elder and the child (were killed) with the +sword." To all appearance, another division of the subject begins with the +next line, though the text goes on recording things of the same +nature--"the child he cut off." This is immediately followed by the words +"Tudhula the son of Gazza- ..," or "Tidal son of Gazza(ni?)," who, like +Durmah-ilani (if we may form any opinion from the fact that the wording of +the line following the mention of Tidal is the same as that following the +name of the son of Eri-Eaku), carried off goods (?), and waters (he caused +to flow?) over Babylon and E-saggil, the great temple of the city. The +parallel between these two passages is still further emphasized by the +words in the line immediately following, which says that "his son fell +upon him with the weapon of his hand." The next line is the last of the +obverse, and speaks of ("the proclamation," perhaps) of "his dominion +before the temple of Annunit," where we have the interesting archaism, +_An-nu-nit_ for D.P. (_i.e._ the determinative prefix indicating that the +name of a deity follows) _A-nu-nit_. + +The reverse begins with a reference to Elam, and some one (perhaps the +king of that country) who "spoiled from the city Ahhe (?) to the land of +Rabbatum." Something was made, apparently by the same personage, into +heaps of ruins, and the fortress of the land of Akkad, and "the whole of +Borsippa(?)" are referred to. At this point comes the line mentioning +Kudur-lahmal, supposed to be Chedorlaomer. It reads as follows-- + +"Kudur-lahmal, his son, pierced his heart with the steel sword of his +girdle." + +After this there is a passage where the various kings mentioned seem to be +referred to, and it is stated that Merodach, the king of the gods, was +angry against them, and they were, to all appearance, made to suffer for +what they had done. The scribe who had composed this record now speaks, in +favourable words, of the king then reigning, and seems to refer to the +restoration of the inscription to its place by the person (prince) who, in +later days, should find it (as was the custom among the Babylonians and +Assyrians). He ends with a pious wish that a sinful man might not exist, +or something to that effect. + +The second tablet, though in a more satisfactory state of preservation, is +still sufficiently incomplete, none of the lines being altogether perfect. + +After referring to Babylon, and to the property of that city, "small and +great," it is said that the gods (apparently) + + + "in their faithful counsel to Kudur-lahgumal, king of the land of + Elam ... said 'Descend.' The thing which unto them was good (he + performed, and) he exercised sovereignty in Babylon, the city of + Kar-Dunias." + + +It would therefore appear that this Elamite ruler, by the will of the gods +(such was the way with conquerors in those days--they annexed other +countries to their dominions by the will of the gods of the lands +annexed), took possession of Babylon, capital (such seems to be the +meaning of the phrase) of Kar-Dunias. This is followed by a long passage +in which animals and birds, apparently the favourites of the Elamite king, +are referred to, and the idea which one gains by reading it is, that he +attended to these rather than to the welfare of his realm. This being the +case, it is natural that something about the remissness of the king should +follow, and this seems to be, in fact, intended in the next line, where +some one whose name is lost seems to ask: "What king of Elam is there who +has (erected?) the chapel (?) (it was something made of wood, as the +determinative prefix shows) of E-saggil?" It was the Babylonians, the text +seems to say, who had done things of this kind. The speaker then seems to +begin to talk of "their work," when another gap destroys the remainder of +the phrase. He then speaks about "(a let)ter (?) which thou hast written +thus: 'I am a king, the son of a king,' " but whether it is the same +personage who says that he is "the son of the daughter of a king, who has +sat on the throne of dominion," is doubtful--it may be a similarly boasting +reply to the statement put into the mouth of the first speaker. The line +which follows has the name of Durmah-ilani, son of Eri-Ekua (Eri-Eaku of +the other historical text), who seems to have carried away spoil, but +whether it is he who is referred to in the next line as having sat on the +throne of dominion is doubtful. This is followed by the expression of the +wish that the king might come who from eternal days ... was proclaimed +lord of Babylon. The closing lines of the obverse, which is here +described, do not give any clear sense, but there is a reference to the +months Kislev and Tammuz, probably in connection with festivals, also +(apparently) to certain priests, and to the taking of spoil. The remains +of the reverse are too scanty to gather what the text inscribed upon it +really refers to. + +It is naturally difficult to judge which of these two inscriptions came +first. Both of them seem to have a kind of peroration at the end +containing similar phrases referring to the city of Babylon and its +well-being, and either might therefore be the last tablet of a series. To +all appearance, the order of the two records turns upon the question +whether Durmah-ilani is the one who is referred to as having written a +certain communication, or whether it is about him that some one has +written. As he seems to be referred to in the third person, the +probability is that "Durmah-ilani, son of Eri-Eaku, who (carried away?) +the spoil of ... ," is not the person speaking, but the person spoken of. +In this case he was not necessarily alive at the time, and the order of +the two tablets as here printed may be the correct one. + +How far the record which they contain may be true is with our present +knowledge impossible to find out. The style of the writing with which they +are inscribed is certainly very late--later, in all probability, than the +Persian period, and the possibility that it is a compilation of that +period has been already suggested. That it is altogether a fiction, +however, is in the highest degree improbable. If we have in the three +names which these two tablets contain the Babylonian prototypes of Tidal, +Arioch, and Chedorlaomer, they must refer to the events which passed +between the first and thirty-first years of the reign of Amraphel or +Hammurabi, in which it would seem that both Durmah-ilani and Tudhula +attacked and spoiled Babylon, cutting the canals so that the town and the +temple were both flooded. Both of these royal personages, who, be it +noted, are not called kings, were apparently killed by their sons, and +Kudur-lahmal seems to have been a criminal of the same kind, if we may +judge from the words "Kudur-lahmal, his son, pier(ced?) his heart with the +steel sword of his girdle." That three royal personages, contemporaries, +should all dispose of their fathers in the same way seems, however, in the +highest degree improbable. It also seems to be in an equal degree +impossible that (as has been suggested) the tablets in question should +refer to Tidal, Arioch, and Chedorlaomer, but not the _same_ Tidal, +Arioch, and Chedorlaomer as is spoken of in Genesis, unless it be meant +thereby that the Biblical personages of that name are the historical ones, +whilst those of the two tablets belong to the realm of fiction. The +greater probability is, that they are the same personages, but that the +accounts handed down to us on these two tablets are largely legendary. + +And that this is the case is made more probable by the third document, +couched in poetical form, which I have entitled _The Legend of +Chedorlaomer_. The following are extracts from this remarkable piece-- + + + "... and they pressed on to the supreme gate. + He threw down, removed, and cast down the door of Istar in the + holy places, + He descended also, like Ura the unsparing, to Du-maha; + He stayed also in Du-maha, looking at the temple; + He opened his mouth, and spake with the children (of the place). + To all his warriors (then) he hastened the message:-- + 'Carry off the spoil of the temple, take also its goods, + Destroy its barrier, cause its enclosures to be cut through.' + To the channel ... they pressed on...." + + +(Here comes a mutilated passage apparently referring to the destruction +which he wrought.) + + + "He drove away the director's overseer, he took away the vail. + The enemy pressed on evilly to Ennun-dagalla. + The god was clothed with light before him, + He flashed like lightning, and shook the (holy) places. + The enemy feared, he hid himself. + There descended (?) also its chief man, and he spake to him a + command. + ... the god was clothed with light, + (He flashed like lightning), and shook the (holy) places. + '(Draw near unto?) Ennun-dagalla, remove his crowns! + (Enter into?) his temple, seize his hand!' + ..., he did not fear, and he regarded not his life. + '(He shall not approach?) Ennun-dagalla, he shall not remove his + crowns.' " + + +(Here follows another mutilated passage, describing how "the Elamite, the +wicked man," proclaimed something to the lands, and how he dwelt and +stayed in Du-maha.) + +(At this point is the end of the obverse, and there is a considerable gap +before there are any further fairly complete passages.) + + + "When the guardian spoke peace (to the city) + The guardian-bulls of E-sarra, [the temple of the host of the + gods], departed. + The enemy, the Elamite, multiplied evils, + And Bel allowed evil to be planned against Babylon." + + "When righteousness was absent (?), then was decided (?) also the + destruction + Of E-sarra, the temple of the host of the gods, the guardian-bulls + departed. + The enemy, the Elamite, took its goods-- + Bel, dwelling upon it, had displeasure." + + "When the magicians repeated their evil words (?), + Gullum(47) and the evil wind performed their evil (?). + Then their gods departed--they departed like a torrent. + Storm and evil wind went round in the heavens. + Anu, their creator, had displeasure. + He made pale their face, he made desolate his place, + He destroyed the barrier in the shrine of E-anna, + (He overthrew?) the temple, and the platform shook." + + " .... he decreed destruction, + ..... he had disfavour. + The people (?) of Bel of E-zida barred (?) the road to Sumer. + Who is Kudurlahgu(mal), the doer of the evils? + He has gathered also the Umman-man(da against?) the people (?) of + Bel-- + He has laid in ruin . . . by their side." + + "When (the enclosure) of E-zida (was broken down?), + And Nebo was ruler of the host, there (came) down his (winged + bulls). + Down to Tiamtu he se(t his face). + Ibi-Tutu, whom the Sun-god (?) hastened within Tiamtu, + Entered Tiamtu, and founded a pseudo-capital. + The enclosure of E-zida, the everlasting temple, was caused to be + broken through." + + "(The enemy), the Elamite, caused his yoke of horses to be + directed, (and) + Set his face (to go) down to Borsippa. + He traversed also the road of darkness, the road to Mesech. + The tyrant (?) Elamite destroyed the palace (?), + He subdued the princes of ... with the sword, + He carried off the spoil of all the temples. + He took their goods, and carried them away to Elam. + .... ruler, he destroyed the ruler (?), + .......... filled also the land." + (The remainder is wanting.) + + +Apparently this is a poetical reproduction of the tablets of which +translations have already been given. The enemy entered Babylon, according +to the nine lines of the earlier portion of the inscription which are +preserved, and spoiled and ravaged the place. The mention of the channel +(iku, irrigation-channel) suggests a comparison with the first of the two +historical fragments, where waters over Babylon and E-sagila are referred +to, and cause one to ask whether Durmah-ilani and Tudhula were not the +lieutenants of Kudur-lahgumal. + +The description of the conditions under which the entry into Babylon was +effected, when the god (possibly Ennundagalla) was clothed with light, +flashed like lightning and shook the holy places, suggests that a severe +thunderstorm acted on the superstitious hopes of the Babylonians, and the +equally superstitious fears of their foes, so much so, that the Elamite +did not carry out his intention of carrying away the crowns of the statue +of the god. He seems, however, to have taken and retained possession of +the place, and to have continued to extend his operations. + +The reverse apparently states why all these misfortunes came, and what +further happened. It was because they accepted a foreign ruler (he spoke +peace to the city, and thereby became its master); because there was +denial of righteousness or justice (righteousness was absent?); because +the magicians repeated evil words. Even in the temple of Anu at Erech (the +shrine called E-anna, "the temple of heaven," or "of Anu") the god of +heaven was displeased, and caused something very like an earthquake. Some, +however, were found who were willing to try to bar the passage of the +conqueror, who had gathered the Umman-manda (barbarian hordes), possibly +his followers and those of Tudhula or Tidal, against the people (?) of Bel +(the Babylonians), and laid everything in ruins. + +When the enclosure of E-zida (the great temple-tower of Borsippa, +identified with the tower of Babel by modern scholars) was broken down, +Ibi-Tutu, apparently a Babylonian prince, fled to Tiamtu, the region of +the Persian Gulf, and there founded a temporary capital. The invader +thereupon seems to have proceeded to Borsippa, and to have taken the road +to Mesech--that is to say, to the north--where he continued his ravages. +That he intended to go so far as Mesech, however, is very unlikely, his +object being to subdue the princes of the immediate neighbourhood of +Babylon, and after collecting the spoil and goods of all the temples, he +carried them away with him to Elam. + +Cyrus, when he entered Babylon, spoke peace to the city, and promised +peace to all the land. In later documents even than the time of Cyrus, +"the enemy, the Elamite," is spoken of, and there is every probability +that the legend here recounted was popular with the Babylonians as long as +any national feeling was left, hence these incomplete remains which have +come down to us--due, perhaps, to some period when the old hostility was +aroused by some inroad from the mountains on the east, where the Elamites +held sway apparently to a comparatively late date. + +Whether Eri-Eaku (or Eri-Aaku), Tudhula, and Kudur-lahgumal be Arioch, +Tidal and Chedorlaomer respectively, I leave to the reader to decide for +himself. The first of these will probably be regarded as sufficiently near +to be exceedingly probable. With regard to the two others, it may be noted +that Tidal was pronounced, in Hebrew, Tidghal, as the Greek Thargal (for +Thadgal, _d_ and _r_ being so much alike in Hebrew as to be easily +interchanged) shows, and Chedorlaomer was Chedorlaghomer, as the Greek +Chodollogomar likewise indicates. Doubt concerning the reading can only be +entertained with regard to this last name.(48) + +Whatever may be thought about the interesting and remarkable inscriptions +of which an account has just been given, of one thing there can be no +doubt, and that is, that the Elamites and Babylonians were quite powerful +enough, at the time of Abraham, to make an expedition of the magnitude +described in Genesis xiv. Sargon of Agade held sway over this district, +and he reigned, according to Nabonidus's indications, more than 1500 years +earlier. His son, when he came to the throne, added Elam to his dominions +as well. That the position should, at a considerably later period, be +reversed, is easily conceivable, and it was to all appearance the Elamites +who held sway in a part of Babylonia, of which country many of the states +undoubtedly acknowledged Elamite overlordship, though with exceeding +unwillingness. One point of the undoubted history is noteworthy. +Kudur-mabuk, son of Simti-silhak, who ruled at Larsa, bears, like his +father, an Elamite name. His son, Eri-Aku, has an Akkadian name--perhaps, +as already suggested, from motives of policy, and likely enough from the +same motive, he may have Semitizised it later on, making it Arad-Sin. +Eri-Ekua (-Eaku) is likewise an Akkadian name, and must be a fanciful +variant of that of Eri-Aku or Arioch. His son, however, bears the Semitic +name of Durmah-ilani, "the bond with the gods." This is apparently a case +of carrying the policy of conciliation a step farther, for by doing this +he not only bears a native name, but also claims to be the intermediary +with the gods of his country. + +After the retreat of the conquering army of Elamites and Babylonians with +their booty, with Lot, Abraham's nephew, as prisoner, and his goods as +part of the spoil, comes the interesting account of the way in which +Abraham rescued his relative and recovered his property, with a portion of +that belonging to the king of Sodom. On his return with the spoil, +Melchizedek king of Salem meets him, offering him bread and wine, and +blessing him as Abraham of El-Elyon, "the most high god." Certain supposed +confirmatory statements in the correspondence of Abdi-taba, ruler of +Jerusalem, which was found among the Tel-el-Amarna tablets, has been the +subject of much discussion, and it is apparently regarded as being of much +importance, though there are various opinions concerning it. The prince in +question, when writing to his suzerain, the reigning king of Egypt, makes +the remarkable statement that it was not his father nor his mother who had +set him in that place (_i.e._ Uru-salim or Jerusalem) as king, but "the +mighty king"-- + +"Behold, this land of Jerusalem, neither my father nor my mother gave (it) +to me--the hand (arm(49)) of the mighty king gave it to me."--(Tablet, +_Berlin_, 103.) + +"Behold, I am not a prefect, I am an employe of the king my lord,--behold, +I am an officer of the king, and one who brings the tribute of the king. +Neither my father nor my mother, (but) the arm of the mighty king has set +me in the house of my father."--(Tablet _B._ 104.) + +"Behold, I, neither my father nor my mother set me in this place. The arm +of the mighty king caused me to enter into the house of my +father."--(Tablet _B._ 102.) + +As Abdi-taba then goes on to emphasize his faithfulness to the king of +Egypt, apparently on account of his having been made ruler of Jerusalem by +him, these passages merely resolve themselves, to all appearance, into a +statement of the writer's indebtedness to his royal master. It may be +disappointing, but to all appearance the "mighty king" is the king of +Egypt, and not the god of Uru-salim. + +Nevertheless, the description of Melchizedek in Heb. vii. 3, "without +father, without mother," makes it a quite legitimate question to ask: may +not Abdi-taba, in what he said to his suzerain, have made some mental +reservation when writing what he did? Or is it not possible that, when +speaking about his independence of his father and his mother for the +position that he occupied, he was unconsciously making use of words +familiar to him, and recorded in some document of the archives of the +city? We have yet to learn the history of the preceding period--we know not +whether Abdi-taba had really a right to the position which he occupied (he +seems to have been placed as ruler of Jerusalem by the foreign power to +which he refers), and until we get more information, there is no escape +from the necessity of regarding him, from his own letters, as being in a +different position from that which, in the fourteenth chapter of Genesis, +Melchizedek occupies. + +In connection with the question as to what divinity was worshipped at +Jerusalem, the tablet known as _B._ 105 is of importance. Line 14 of the +letter in question reads: "The city of the land of Jerusalem, its name is +Bit-Ninip, the city of the king, is lost--(it is) a place of the men of +Kelti." What was this "city of the king," or "royal city"? The general +opinion at first was, that the place meant was Jerusalem itself, for that +must have been from the earliest times "a royal city" _par excellence_. +Winckler, however, translates "_A_ city of the land of Jerusalem," which +certainly seems a reasonable rendering. Properly speaking, however, the +idiomatic Semitic Babylonian expression for "_a_ city" would be _isten +alu_, "_one_ city." Though Winckler's rendering is a perfectly reasonable +one, therefore, the first translation is not excluded, and in any case +there remains the clear statement that a city of the territory of +Jerusalem--that is to say a city which owned the sway of her +kings--possessed, as its patron-deity, the god whom the Babylonians and +Assyrians called Ninip, and worshipped under many names. Among these may +be mentioned Madanunu, explained as "the proclaimed (?), the renowned, the +high"; En-banda, probably meaning "the distinguished lord," a name which +he bore as "Ninip, he who takes the decision of the gods." Another of his +names was Halhalla, "Ninip, protector of the decision, father of Bel"; +and, more interesting still, he was called Me-maha ("supreme word"), as +"Ninip, guardian of the supreme commands." The Assyrians worshipped him +both under the name of Ninip and Apil-Esarra, "son of the house (temple) +of the host." It is this deity whose name occurs in the Assyrian royal +names Tukulti-Ninip and Tukulti-apil-E-sarra, or Tiglath-pileser. + +On these points, as on many others, we must wait for more light from the +East. + +In the matter of Sarai, Abraham's wife, giving her handmaid Hagar to +Abraham as a second or inferior wife, because she had no children herself, +it is not improbable that we have a record of what was a common custom at +the time. On p. 174 ff. translations of Babylonian tablets are given, +which seem to have some analogies with what is stated in the Biblical +narrative. In these inscriptions, however, the woman of inferior position, +though she is expected to be the servant of the other, is raised, to all +appearance, into a higher position, and described as the sister of the +first wife, apparently by adoption, this supposition being based on the +statement that Iltani was daughter of Sin-abu-su, though both Iltani and +Taram-sagila were taken in marriage from Uttatum, their father. Apparently +there was to be no difference in the status of the children of either of +them, and it was apparently on account of the hope that Hagar's son would +be as her own, that the patriarch's wife acted as she did. + +With regard to the contract at Machpelah, that is, as has already been +noticed more than once, evidently a legal document, or at least an +abstract of such a document, and bears some likeness to the ancient +contracts of Assyria and Babylonia, though the latter are generally +composed in much shorter form, and with different phraseology. The +descriptions of landed property given on pp. 167, 178 ff., and also such +sales of land as the following give material for comparing the document in +question-- + +"1/4 of a gan, a field by the crossing, in the upper district of Tenu, +beside (the property of) Qaranu the son of the palace, and beside (the +property of) Ili-midi, its first end the road Astaba(tum ?), its second +end the property of the enclosure Tenunam, Il-su-bani has bought from +Nannara-mansum and Sin-bani, his brother, sons of Sin-abu-su, for its +complete price. He has paid the money, he has passed the barrier, his +transaction is complete--the silver, the price of their field, is complete, +they are content. They shall not say 'We have not received the money'--they +have received it before the witnesses. At no future time shall +Nannara-mansum and Sin-bani make claim upon the field. They have invoked +the spirit of Samas, Merodach, and Zabium (the king). + +"Claim of his brothers and his sisters [this would be better 'their +brothers and their sisters'], children of Sin-abu-su, Nannara-mansum and +Sin-bani shall answer for. + +"Before Ili-'adiwa, son of Amurru-bani; before Nannara-itti, son of +Sin-nasir; before Sin-remeni, son of Isme-Sin; before Nannara-ki-aga (?), +son of Sin-idinnam; before Munawirum; before Sin-bel-ili; before +Sin-ublam; before Nannara-mansum; before Ubar-Ninip, the scribe, before +Sin-eribam." + +In the following text the nature of the trees on the ground sold is +specified-- + +"12 measures, a date-palm plantation, beside the plantation of Ris-Samas, +priest of the Sun-god, son of the woman Sala, its first end (the property +of) Girum, Ahatani, sun-devotee, daughter of Marum, has bought for its +price in silver from Ris-Samas, son of Sala. She has paid the money, (and) +is content--she has passed the barrier. The transaction is ended. At no +future time shall they make claim against each other. (They have invoked) +the spirit of Samas, Merodach, and Hammurabi (Amraphel). + +"Before Amri-ili-su, son of Naram-Ea; before Yati-ilu, son of Abil-Sin; +before Ibi-Samas, before Etil-sep-Samas (?), sons of Buzia; before +Izi-zare; before Erib-Sin, son of Sarabi; before Manum, son of +Sin-idinnam; before Itur-asdum, son of Ilu-ma-rabi (?); before Ili-abu-Sin +(?); before Erib-Sin, son of Su-...; before Samas-bini-pi-ia; before +Dimahum; before Ris-Samas; before Ikunia, (son of?) ...-ninibu." + +A comparison of these inscriptions, which are types of hundreds of others +known to Assyriologists, with the transaction between Abraham and the +Hittite Ephron, shows noteworthy differences. The boundaries are usually +stated in the Babylonian documents with sufficiently great precision; but, +on the other hand, the nature of the land is generally not stated except +if it be actually under cultivation, and any trees growing on it are +apparently mentioned only on account of their commercial value--when, for +instance, they are fruit-bearing trees, as in the reference to the +date-palms in the second document here translated. In Babylonia, as in +Palestine, contracts and transactions of a legal nature often took place +in the open space by the gate of the city in or near which the contracting +parties lived, and where witnesses to the transaction could easily be +found among those who passed in and out, or who had business in the +neighbourhood. In the record contained in the 23rd chapter of Genesis, the +names of the witnesses are naturally not given, but it is expressly stated +that the contract was made "in the presence of the children of Heth, +before all that went in at the gate of his city." + + + + +Salem. + + +One of the most interesting points revealed by the Tel-el-Amarna tablets, +is the fact that the name of Jerusalem occurs, and is not called simply +Salem (as in Gen. xiv. 18), but Uru-salim, the Aramaic (Syriac) +_Uri-shalem_, a form which confirms the translation given to it, namely, +"city of peace," though the writing of the word in the Tel-el-Amarna +tablets suggests the suppression of the particle "of," making "the city +Peace" simply, which would, perhaps, be to a certain extent a counterpart +to or an explanation of the form Salem, "Peace," in Genesis. + +There is no doubt that the name is an exceedingly interesting one. Prof. +Sayce has suggested that there was a god named Salem, or "Peace," and that +the city was so called as being the abode of that deity. This, of course, +is by no means improbable, but in no place where the name occurs--neither +in the Tel-el-Amarna tablets nor in the historical inscriptions of +Sennacherib--has the element _salim_ (in Sennacherib's texts _salimmu_) the +divine prefix before it. That the divine prefix should be omitted in the +inscriptions of Sennacherib is easily understood, as the name in question +would be a foreign one to the Assyrian scribes of his time. To the writers +of the letters from Jerusalem, however, it was a native name, and one +would certainly expect the name of the city, in such documents, to be +given fully at least once. + +Nevertheless, that there was a god of peace among the Semites, is proved +by the name of the Assyrian god Sulmanu or Shalman, a component part of +the name Shalmaneser, the Assyrian Sulmanu-asarid. It is noteworthy that +there were no less than four Assyrian kings of this name, and that it +means "the god Shalman is chief." _Sulmanu_ or _Salmanu nunu_, "Shalman +the fish," also occurs, as the name of one of the gods of the city Tedi, +or, as Prof. Sayce reads it, Dimmen-Silim (better Temmena-silima), but +this latter reading would only be the correct one if the characters Tedi +are to be read as an Akkadian group. + +It is therefore very doubtful whether the element _salim_ in the name of +Jerusalem be the name of a god, notwithstanding the love that the peoples +of the Semitic East naturally had for the blessings which the word +implies. It formed part, as in Arabic at the present day, of many a +greeting, and is one of the most noteworthy points of the Semitic +languages. A poetic composition, apparently of the time of the dynasty of +Babylon--probably contemporaneous with Abraham--seems to read as follows-- + + + Mazzazam isu, It has the + resting-place, + Padanam isu-- It has the roadway, + Bab ekalli salim; The gate of the + palace is sound-- + Sulmu parku sakin. Perfect (?) + soundness exists; + Martum salmat The gall is sound, + Ubanum salmat The peak is sound, + Hasu (?) u libbu (?) Entrails and heart + salmu are sound-- + Sinserit tiranu. 12 (are) the + coverings (?). + + Tertum immer izzim (If) the viscera (?) + of a healthy sheep + (?) + Salmat Be sound, + Mimma la tanakkud. Naught shalt thou + fear. + + +The above probably represents the signs which the _extispices_ or +"entrails-inspectors" looked for when working out their forecasts. A +better translation than "peace" for _salim_ would therefore probably be +"safe and sound," "intact," or something similar (see the 13th edition of +Gesenius's Lexicon, edited by Prof. F. Buhl, with the collaboration of +Socin and Zimmern, also Fried. Delitzsch, _Assyrisches Handwoerterbuch_), +but the old and more poetic expression "peace," "to be at peace," may be +held to sufficiently express the meaning. + +With regard to the first element of the name Jerusalem, Uru-salim in +Assyrian, that is to all appearance the Sumero-Akkadian _uru_ (from an +older _guru_), "city," in the dialect _eri_, from which the Hebrew _'ir_, +"city," has to all appearance come. The vowel-change from _u_ to _e_ or +_i_ is shown in _tu_, dialectic _te_, "dove"; _uru_, dial. _eri_, +"servant"; _duga_, dial. _siba_, "good," etc. As is usual with two +nationalities dwelling at no great distance from each other, borrowings of +words took place between the Semites on the one hand and the +Sumero-Akkadians on the other, which have left traces on the vocabularies +of both. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. ISAAC, JACOB, AND JOSEPH. + + + Jacob, Yakub, and Yakub-ilu--Joseph, Yasup, and Yasup-ilu--Other + similar names--The Egyptian monuments and the Semites. + + +With the disappearance of Abraham from the scene of his earthly +wanderings, a prominent figure connecting Babylonia with Palestine +vanishes from history. His son Isaac and his grandson Jacob retain, +however, their connection with those of the family who resided at Haran, +taking their wives from among their relatives there--Isaac because his +father wished it, Jacob because the souls of his father and mother were +vexed on account of the daughters of Heth whom Esau, Jacob's brother, had +married. In this primitive story of three generations of a primitive +family there is much to interest the student of ancient west Semitic +manners and customs--the love of Isaac for Esau, because Isaac loved the +savoury venison which the former provided for him; how Jacob, "the +supplanter," obtained his brother's birthright and the blessing which he +ought to have had; Laban's covetousness and duplicity--all these things +furnish material for the student of manners and customs and of human +nature, but very little for the comparative archaeologist who wishes to +find connections between Abraham's descendants and the country which gave +their father (or their grandfather) birth. Nevertheless there are points +which deserve illustration. + +To all appearance the manners and customs of the families of the +patriarchs had not changed since they came out of Babylonia. There is the +same pastoral life, the same dislike (and probably mistrust) of strangers +and foreigners, the same freedom on the part of the men, even the most +honoured among them, with regard to the marriage-tie, the same tendency to +add to this world's goods, and to become great and mighty chiefs in the +land (would that Jacob had done this otherwise), as at first. The +Babylonian spirit of commerce and the desire for "supplanting" was well +developed in the father of the twelve tribes, and may be regarded as +adding, as far as it goes, to the confirmation of the theory (but the +question is more one of fact than of theory) that Abraham was of +Babylonian race. + +Exceedingly interesting are all the names borne by the patriarchs, and the +reasons why they were given to them. Indeed, the punning references to +circumstances concerning their birth are similar in their character to +those of the patriarchs before the Flood. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy +that many of the names found in this part of the sacred narrative are not +by any means unique. Thus the name of Jacob occurs many times in the +tablets of the period of the first dynasty of Babylon under the forms of +_Yakubu_, _Yakubi_, etc., and there are also forms with the word _ilu_ +attached--_Ya'kubi-ilu_, _Yakub-ilu_, etc. In like wise we find what is +apparently the same name as that of Joseph, namely, _Yasupum_ with its +longer form _Yasup-ilu_, types of many others, such as _Yakudum_, +_Yakunam_, etc., _Yabnik-ilu_, _Yagab-ilu_ son of _Yakub-ilu_, etc. As far +as I have at present been able to find out, however, none of the names of +this class, except _Yakub-ilu_ and _Yasup-ilu_, have as yet been +discovered in both forms (_i.e._ with and without the element _ilu_), +which may turn out to be of importance, or may be simply a remarkable +coincidence. + +This, naturally, leads to the question: What are the meanings of these +names? According to Genesis, Jacob means supplanter, or, rather, "he has +supplanted," and the further query then arises: What does the name mean +when _ilu_ is added to it? The meaning in this case ought to be "God has +supplanted," which clearly will not fit. + +The best explanation probably is, that the name of Jacob was never +Ya´kub-ilu, but Ya´kub simply, meaning, "he has supplanted," and +referring, naturally, to the person who bore the name. As the name +"Supplanter" is not one which a man would be proud to bear, in all +probability it was seen that it would be taken for the usual abbreviation +for Ya´kub-ilu, with the probable meaning of "God hath restrained" +(another signification of the root ´aqab), and thus it may be that there +is no record of any one having reproached him on account of it, except the +members of his own family, who knew why it was given to him, and +recognized in his character as a man something which corresponded with the +name given to him because of what was said to have happened at his birth. + +Notwithstanding the two etymologies of the name of Joseph which are given +(Gen. xxx. 23, 24), "He (God) hath taken away," and "He (God) hath added," +there is but little doubt that the latter rendering is the correct one, +agreeing, as it does, better with the root _yasaph_, from which it is +derived, the other rendering, from the root _asaph_, "to take away," being +due to a kind of pun. (The former rendering is explained as being from the +Elohist narrative, the other from that of the Jehovist, but it seems not +at all improbable that a woman, even a Canaanitess of those primitive +ages, should have made a joke sometimes--they seem always to have been +given to making strange comparisons with regard to words, and even the +ancient Babylonians were not free from that failing, as at least one of +the bilingual tablets shows.) The meaning of the name Joseph is therefore +"He (God) hath added," corresponding with that of the Yasup-ilu, "God hath +added," of the tablets of the time of the dynasty of Babylon. The use of +_s_ for _s_ must be due to the fact that _Yasup-ilu_ was, for the +Babylonians, a foreign name, and that, in Assyro-Babylonian, _sin_ was +pronounced like _samech_ and _samech_ like _sin_, as a general rule. + +Besides the names of the patriarchs Jacob and Joseph, the name Sar-ili, +"prince of God," suggests a comparison with Israel, which is written +Sir´ilaa, "Israelites," in the time of Shalmaneser II. The meaning +attributed to this name would seem to be somewhat strained, as it would +signify rather "God hath striven," than "he hath striven with God." That +word-play exists also here, and that the name was a changed form of +Sar-ili, "prince of God," is possible, and is at least justified as a +suggestion by the form recorded by Shalmaneser II. already referred to. + +The name of his brother Esau may possibly exist in the Babylonian Ese, +found on a tablet dated in the reign of Samsu-iluna. Laban does not occur, +except as the name of a god in a list of deities worshipped in the city of +Assur. With regard to Bethuel, one cannot help thinking that it must be +the same as the place-name Bethel, the terminal _u_ of the nominative +being retained in the name of Abraham's nephew. If this be the case, he +may have been so named after the "Bethel of cedar" (see p. 201), though +there is just the possibility that, as Gesenius suggests, Bethuel may be +for Methuel, the Babylonian _Mut-ili_, "man of god." That the Bethel of +Haran was a heathen place of worship, however, can hardly be regarded as +any objection to one of the family to which Abraham and his descendants +belonged bearing such a name. If the Hebrew text be correct, therefore, it +is probably an abbreviation, forming part of a name similar to +E-sagila-zera-epus, "E-sagila (the temple of Belus at Babylon) has created +a name," and others like it. It is also to be noted, that the name given +by Leah to the son which Zilpah her handmaid bore to Jacob after she +herself left off bearing was Gad, rendered in the Hebrew itself by +"Fortunate," and probably the name of a west Semitic deity, Gad, the god +of good fortune. + +But the heathenism of the portion of the family living at or near Haran is +clearly proved by the matter of the teraphim, which Rachel stole from her +father Laban. It is true that they are generally regarded as figures used +for the purpose of magic, but as Laban himself calls them his "gods," +there is every probability that they were worshipped as such. It is to be +regarded as simply an indication of the difficulty which most dwellers in +the midst of polytheism in those days must have found in dissociating +themselves from the practices of those with whom they came daily into +contact. They may have had all the tendencies possible towards monotheism, +but how were they to embrace it in all its perfection in the midst of a +population recounting from time to time the many wonderful things which +their gods and protecting genii did for them, and which the hearer had no +opportunity of probing to the bottom and estimating at their true value? +As these people were, to all appearance, but simple shepherds (though +sufficiently wealthy), it is hardly to be expected of them that they would +go deeply into philosophical considerations concerning the Deity, +especially when we remember that the family of Laban was in close contact +with the idolatry of Haran. + +With regard to the teraphim which Rachel took with her when Jacob fled +from her father, there is not much that can be said. Figures so called +were in common use among the Jews and other nations for purposes of magic, +and to all appearance they were statues of deities (as indicated in the +passage now under consideration) which were consulted by some means when +anything of importance was about to be undertaken. To all appearance they +were the household gods, like the Lares and Penates of the Romans, though +they were also used when on expeditions, as when Nebuchadnezzar is +represented (Ezekiel xxi. 21-26 in the Heb.) standing at the parting of +the ways to use divination, shaking arrows to and fro, consulting the +teraphim, and looking at a liver to decide what his success in the +operations which he was about to undertake against Jerusalem would be. In +Zechariah x. 2 also, there is a reference to the teraphim, which, as +oracles, had "spoken vanity," and the diviners had "seen a lie." Little +doubt exists, therefore, as to what these things were used for. With +regard to their form, it is supposed that they were similar to the small +figures found in the ruins of the ancient palaces of Assyria, generally +under the pavement, in all probability images of the gods of Assyria who, +by their effigies, were supposed to protect the palace and its +inhabitants. Some of these are four-winged figures similar to those found +on the bas-reliefs, whilst others are representations of a deity, probably +the god Ea or Ae, the god of the sea, who is represented clothed with a +fish's skin, etc. The size of these teraphim must have differed greatly; +that which was placed in David's bed by Michal, his wife, to deceive +Saul's messengers, must necessarily have been of considerable +height--probably not much under that of a man. Those hidden by Rachel when +her father came to look for them, however, must have been comparatively +small, and the figures found in the foundations of the Assyrian palaces +rarely measure more than six inches in height. + +In the light of what this incident of the teraphim reveals, it is not to +be wondered at that Jacob, when about to go up to Bethel from Shechem, +after the treacherous spoiling of the city by his sons, should have said, +"Put away the strange gods that are among you," and it shows also a +considerable amount of tolerance on the part of the patriarch. Did he, +too, believe that the gods which his relatives and dependents worshipped +were in any sense divine beings? In any case, it is to be noted that, +after they were given to him, he did not destroy them, but hid them, with +the trinkets which they possessed--in all probability in many cases heathen +emblems--under the terebinth-tree which was by Shechem. + +To all appearance they were allowed to keep these strange gods and heathen +emblems until they set out on the journey to make the commanded sacrifices +to the God who had revealed Himself to Jacob at Bethel. + +It was after this sacrifice at Bethel that God again revealed Himself as +El-shaddai, His name in the text of "the priestly narrator" (Gen. xvii. +1), and in many other passages. The word Shaddai here is generally +connected with the root _shadad_, "to act powerfully," and the translation +"God Almighty" is based on this. As the word is a very difficult one, +however, there have been many attempts to find a more satisfactory +etymology. It is to be noted, therefore, that there is in Semitic +Babylonian a word _sadu_, often applied to deities, and expressed, in the +old language of Akkad, by means of the same ideograph (KURA) as is used +for mountain (_sadu_ or _saddu_ in Semitic Babylonian). This word _sadu_, +applied to divinities, Prof. Fried. Delitzsch regards as being distinct +from the word for mountain, notwithstanding that they are both expressed +by the same word in Akkadian, and renders it by the words "lord," +"commander." + +Have we, in this word, an Assyro-Babylonian form of the Hebrew Shaddai? We +do not know, but the likeness between the two is worth referring to. The +god Bel, for example, is called _sadu rabu_, "the great mighty one," and +Sin, with other deities, bears a similar title, found in such names as +Sin-sadunu, "the Moon-god is our lord." That the idea of almightiness +should be expressed by means of the borrowed Akkadian idiomatic use of the +word KURA, "mountain," as that which towers up commandingly, a mighty +mass, would seem to offer an acceptable explanation of what has long been +felt as a difficulty. "But God knows best." + +After a long and noteworthy account of Esau and his descendants, the +interest of the narrative shifts, and is transferred to Joseph, the +youngest but one of Jacob's twelve sons, though the narrative is for a +time interrupted by the story of Judah. + +With the transfer of the interest of the narrative to Joseph, Egypt, the +country into which he was sold as a slave, becomes the scene of the +action. Here a vast and interesting store of material meets the student, +which, unfortunately, we can only very imperfectly touch upon, partly from +considerations of space, and partly because the present work is intended +to be more the story of the Hebrews in connection with Babylonia and +Assyria. It is necessary, however, to speak of Egypt not only on account +of the continuity of the narrative, but also as an introduction to the +chapter in which the Tel-el-Amarna tablets are examined--documents found in +Egypt, and addressed to an Egyptian king. + +There is no doubt, that in the story of Joseph there exists a considerable +amount of what is known as "local colour." This is shown by the freedom +which the women of Egypt evidently enjoyed (as exhibited in the story of +Potiphar's wife), the matter of Joseph shaving himself before going to see +Pharaoh, the many undoubtedly Egyptian names, etc. These, of course, are +undeniable points in favour of the authenticity of the narrative, which, +perfect as it is, omits one important thing, namely, the name of the +Pharaoh who ruled at the time. That there should be such an omission in +the comparatively unimportant references to the visits of Abraham and +Isaac to Egypt is, perhaps, not so very strange, but that there should be +no clue to the identity of the Egyptian ruler under whom Joseph entered +Egypt, nor to the persecutor of the Israelites under whose reign they went +forth from what had become to them practically a hostile land, is +noteworthy, and a matter for great regret. It is, therefore, not to be +wondered at that scholars have arisen who doubt the whole story, for the +least flaw in a narrative in the present day, when unbelief and the desire +for scientific proof meet one on every hand, will cause a thinking man to +doubt anything and everything. + +The degree of civilization to which Egypt had attained at this period, and +probably thousands of years earlier, is so remarkable that it is difficult +for us at this distance of time to realize it. Whether the country was in +reality more civilized than Babylonia is a matter of doubt--possibly we +regard their civilization as superior on account of the monuments being so +much better preserved, and because, in consequence of the nature of the +climate (which is such as to preserve even perishable things), an untold +wealth of material exists. This was not the case with Babylonia, in which +country the annual rains have caused almost all woodwork to decay, and +only objects of stone and clay, and much more rarely metal, remain, even +these being in many instances more or less damaged and therefore defective +as really useful historical documents. + +Egyptian antiquities testify to the civilization of the Egyptians, as has +already been remarked, from remote ages, and the inscriptions show that +the kingdom was well organized, and governed by rulers whose sway was +popular and in accordance with the wishes of the priesthood. This state of +things lasted, according to Prof. Flinders Petrie, until about 2098 B.C., +when suddenly this exceedingly conservative nation, possessing as great a +dislike for foreigners as do the Chinese at the present time, found itself +attacked and invaded by barbarian hordes from Western Asia. From what +district these people came is not known. According to Josephus, they were +regarded by some as Arabians, but Josephus himself regarded them as being +of his own race, _i.e._ Jewish. Quoting from Manetho, he shows that, under +a ruler called Timaios, these people from the east, "men of an ignoble +race," invaded the land, and easily made themselves master of it without a +battle. When the rulers of Egypt fell into their hands, they burned the +cities, destroyed the temples of the gods, and inflicted every kind of +indignity upon the inhabitants. At last they raised one of themselves +named Salatis (a name evidently derived from the Semitic root _salat_, "to +rule") to the throne. This king made Memphis his capital, both Upper and +Lower Egypt become tributary to him, and he stationed garrisons in those +places which were most suitable for the purpose. One interesting point is, +that he directed his attention especially to the security of the eastern +frontier, because he feared the Assyrians, who, he foresaw, would one day +undertake an invasion of his kingdom. This, to all appearance, refers to +the Babylonian dominion, which, as we have seen (see pp. 124 and 155) +extended to the Mediterranean. As far as our historical knowledge extends, +his fears were groundless, as no serious attempt (and certainly no +successful attempt) to conquer Egypt was made until long after the time of +Salatis, when Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, succeeded in subjugating the +country, which remained under Assyrian overlordship until the reign of his +son Assur-bani-apli. + +Salatis ruled 19 years, and was succeeded by a king named Beon or Bnon, +who reigned 44 years. The next ruler of this race bears the +Egyptian-sounding name of Apakhnas, and ruled for 37 years and 7 months. +Next came Apophis, the Apepi of modern scholars, who occupied the throne +no less than 61 years, Ianias, who ruled for 50 years and 1 month, having +also a very long reign. After all these ruled Assis, 49 years and 2 +months. These six, says Manetho, were the first of their rulers, and +constantly strove to exterminate the Egyptians by making war upon them. +Hyksos, or Shepherd kings, and their successors, he goes on to say, +retained possession of Egypt 511 years. + +In the end the kings of Thebais, and of other provinces of Egypt, arose +against the Shepherds, and a long and mighty war was carried on between +them, until the Shepherds were overcome by a king whose name was +Misphragmouthosis, who, having expelled them from other parts of Egypt, +shut them up in Avaris, a tract consisting of about 10,000 acres. All this +tract the Shepherds fortified with great strength, whilst Thummosis, son +of Misphragmouthosis, tried to force them to surrender by a siege, and +surrounded them with an army of 480,000 men. He was beginning to despair +of being able to reduce them, when they agreed to capitulate, stipulating +that they should be permitted to leave Egypt, and go with all their +families whithersoever they pleased. This was agreed to, and they bent +their way through the desert towards Syria. Fearing the Assyrians +(Babylonians), however, who then had dominion over Asia, they built a city +in the country called Judea, of sufficient size to contain them all (they +numbered not less than 240,000), and named it Jerusalem. + +From this it would appear that, taking advantage of the disorganized state +of Egypt about 2100 years before Christ, these Shepherd kings invaded the +country, and gradually consolidated their power there. In process of time +they had the whole of the country in their possession, and such rulers as +remained were allowed to retain their provinces only as vassals, being +really princes only in name. It is also very probable that if, as really +appears, they were barbarians on entering Egypt, they became civilized by +intercourse with the nation which they had conquered. This having been +done, the monarchy which they established conformed more and more with +that of the native Egyptian kings, so that their court and manner of +administration were, to all intents and purposes, Egyptian; native +administrators being appointed to many important posts in order to obtain +the willing obedience of the people. + +As the rule of these Shepherd kings began about 2100 B.C., and finished +about 1587 B.C. (Petrie), it is clear that the visits of Abraham, Isaac, +and Joseph, including Jacob and his family, all fall within this period. +As will easily be understood, such a synchronism is not without its value, +especially when considering the historical authority of the Pentateuch. +That it was during the dominion of the above-named rulers that Joseph +entered Egypt is or has been the opinion of all the best students of +Egyptian history--Birch, Brugsch, Maspero, Naville, Wiedemann, and many +others--and there can be but little doubt of its correctness. It is +remarkable that there is no native record of Joseph's administration, but +this is, after all, hardly to be wondered at, especially when we consider +the disturbed state of the country at a later date, when many records, +especially those of the hated conquerors, must have been destroyed, and in +any case there is the ever-present chance of some untoward fate overtaking +them, by which such documents, if they really existed, may have become +lost to the world for ever. + +The strange thing about the foreign rulers who held possession of Egypt so +long is, as has already been pointed out by Prof. Petrie, that they +remained throughout to all intents and purposes a distinct nationality. +Intermarriage between the two races, even when they were on the most +friendly terms, must have been comparatively rare, and it is on this +account that the native princes succeeded at last in ridding the land of +the "impure," as the native recorder has it. From this same record we get +the information that one of the Shepherd kings was 'Apop'i (Apepy), the +Apophis of the Greeks, and that he ruled at Hawar, a town which is +identified with Avaris. The only god which this ruler served was Sutekh, +identified with Ra or Re (in earlier times also, to all appearance, +pronounced Ria), the Egyptian Sun-god. According to the Sallier papyrus, +from which the above details are taken, it would seem that Ra-'Apop'i, as +he is there called, sent to Seqnen-Re, "king of the South," proposing that +the latter should clear away all the hippopotamuses on the canals of the +country, in order that Ra-'Apop'i might sleep. If the king of the South +did not succeed in doing this, then he was to embrace the worship of +Sutekh, but if he did succeed, then Ra-'Apop'i promised not to bow down +before any other god of Egypt except Amon-Ra, the king of the gods. + +This, of course, was a distinction without a difference, and is evidently +put forward by the writer as such, for the worship of Sutekh in all +probability meant the renouncing of the worship of all the other gods of +Egypt, a thing which no Egyptian was likely to consent to. On the other +hand, the worship of Amon-Ra by the Hyksos king would have been no great +hardship, as it would in all probability not have involved any change in +his faith, seeing that it was generally recognized that this deity and +Sutekh were identical. + +The end of this story is lost, so that there is no means of finding out +how matters were brought to a head, and the flame of revolt kindled which +ended in the expulsion of Egypt's Semitic invaders. What the historical +value of the fragment may be is uncertain, as it reads more like a romance +than a true history. In all probability, however, its greatest importance +will be found to lie in its local colour.(50) + +Joseph, on arriving in Egypt, therefore, found himself, to all intents and +purposes, among friends. The man to whom the Ishmaelites sold him was, as +stated in the sacred narrative, Potiphar, "an officer of Pharaoh's, +captain of the guard, an Egyptian." The writer of the narrative evidently +wished to convey the idea that a man in the service of the king of Egypt, +and bearing an Egyptian name, was not necessarily a native of the country. +One in the favour of the Semitic ruler of the country, and enjoying his +confidence, would naturally be favourably disposed towards a person of +Semitic race falling into his hands, and this was actually the case with +the Hebrew youth, who "found grace in his sight," and became overseer of +all his house. Indeed, it is possibly on account of this kindly +disposition towards him (though also, and perhaps chiefly, on account of +his being of the same race as the then ruler of Egypt), that Joseph was +not at once put to death by his enraged master on hearing his wife's lying +accusation against him, for no man, in those days, would have looked +leniently upon such a crime as that with which Joseph was charged. In +connection with this, it is noteworthy that he is said to have been +consigned to "the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were +bound." Here, being of Semitic race, and helped by his God, he obtained +the favour of the keeper of the prison, whose trusted deputy he became. +Later on, after interpreting to the king's imprisoned chief butler his +dream, he asks this official, when he should again be restored to his +place, to make mention of him to Pharaoh, stating that he had been stolen +away out of the land of the Hebrews, and had also done nothing to merit +being detained a prisoner in that place. To all appearance he firmly +believed that his nationality would favour him. + +In accordance with his wish, so it turned out, for after two years mention +was made of him by the chief butler to Pharaoh, and he is careful to state +that Joseph was "an Hebrew." When called, by the ruler of Egypt, in +accordance with the custom of the country, Joseph shaved himself, and put +on other clothes, before entering the royal presence. The sympathy of the +king towards him was manifested immediately after his interpretation of +his dreams, and he was at once, with Oriental promptitude, made governor +of all the land of Egypt, receiving from the king his ring in token of the +authority conferred upon him. The hero's complete Egyptianizing is to all +appearance terminated by his receiving an Egyptian name, Zaphnath-paaneah, +and marrying an Egyptian wife, Asenath, daughter of Poti-phera, priest of +On. + +There are a great many points for consideration in these few statements. + +As has been remarked, it was doubtless due to the custom of Egyptian +etiquette that Joseph shaved himself, setting aside his Semitic prejudices +to the fashion, for it is supposed that Semites abhorred such a ceremony. +Surely, it might be objected, the Semitic ruler of Egypt would have liked +Joseph none the worse if he had retained his hair, and thus proclaimed his +nationality, as it were, on this occasion. And such an objection would +possess a certain amount of force. There is hardly any doubt, however, +that Semitic abhorrence to the practice has been greatly exaggerated, for +it was the custom for high-placed personages in Babylonia, in Joseph's +time, to do this, and it remained the custom in that country until a very +late date. This was, in all probability, a sacred duty with certain +classes of people, such as priests and those dedicated to a divinity. A +Hebrew at that time would probably have had no objection, therefore, to +adopting the practice, especially in such a climate as that of Egypt, +where the necessity of keeping as cool as possible would probably be +recognized. + +That it should be desired that the new viceroy should try to assimilate +himself as much as possible with the natives of the country was probably +the reason of Joseph's assuming an Egyptian name and taking an Egyptian +wife. A great deal of uncertainty exists, however, as to the true Egyptian +form and meaning of the name Zaphnath-paaneah (better +Zaphenath-pa'eneakh). Many conjectures have been made as to its true +Egyptian form and meaning, but that of Steindorff, "(God), the living one, +has spoken," is undoubtedly the best of all.(51) The meaning generally +given to the name of Asenath, his wife, is "Belonging to (the goddess) +Neith," but a certain amount of doubt is attached to this rendering. As +for the name of Poti-phera, her father, of that there is but little doubt: +it is the Egyptian Pa-ti-pe-Ra', "the gift of Ra," or "of the Sun," and +was naturally a very appropriate name for the priest of On, or Heliopolis, +the centre of the worship of the Sun-god. Potiphar, the name of the +Egyptian who bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites, is regarded as being a +shortened form of this same name. + +Another point, and that a very interesting one, is the question of the +derivation of the word _abrech_, which the criers were ordered to call out +before the newly-chosen viceroy. Professor Sayce compares this expression, +with a great amount of probability, with the Babylonian _abriqqu_, from +the Akkadian _abrig_, the meaning which he attributes to it being "seer." +He also refers to another word, namely, _abarakku_ (fem. _abarakkatu_). Of +these two, the latter etymology, on account of the consonants, is the more +preferable, though the former one would probably suit better in the matter +of vowels. But which is the right word?--they cannot both have been the +original of _abrech_. The meaning of _abriqqu_ is "wise one," and that of +_abarakku_ "seer," a high official of the Assyrian (and probably also the +Babylonian) court. The Tel-el-Amarna tablets show that Assyro-Babylonian +literature was known and studied in Egypt, and this would account for the +word being introduced into Egyptian. It must be confessed, however, that +seductive though these comparisons may be, the forms hardly fit, otherwise +nothing would seem to be more appropriate than that a crier should be sent +to precede Joseph during his triumphal progress through the streets of On +or Avaris, announcing that this was the new grand vizier, or the great +seer, who had successfully interpreted the king's dream. One would like to +have, moreover, at least one instance of the occurrence of the word in +Egyptian literature. + +Naturally the Jews of later days were very much exercised in their minds +that one of the favourites and primitive heroes of their race should have +married a heathen woman, daughter of the priest of the Sun at On, and +legends seem to have been invented to account for this undesirable +circumstance and explain it away. It is regarded as being due to this that +there exists a Christian legend, preserved in Greek, Syriac, Armenian, and +Latin, purporting to give the history of Asenath. She is represented as +the proud and beautiful daughter of Pentephres (Poti-phera), of +Heliopolis, who lived in magnificent exclusion, and despised all men. Her +parents wished her to marry Joseph, the great prime minister, but this she +would not do. In the course of his visits to collect corn, Asenath sees +him, and at once falls in love with him. Joseph, however, will have +nothing to do with her because she worships idols. Shutting herself up for +seven days in sackcloth and ashes, she threw her idols out of the window, +and performed a strict penance. An angel in the form of Joseph then visits +her, and blesses her, giving her to eat a mystic honeycomb, signed with +the sign of the cross. Asenath, thus accepted, arrays herself in beautiful +garments, and goes forth to meet Joseph. He had returned to the house in +her parents' absence, but notwithstanding this, the betrothal at once +takes place, and afterwards their marriage in the Pharaoh's presence. Her +subsequent adventures include an attempt to carry her off on the part of +Pharaoh's first-born, aided by Dan and Gad, and in this attempt the heir +to the throne loses his life. The original legend made Asenath a Jewess by +birth. (See Smith's _Dictionary __ of Christian Biography_, and Hastings's +_Dictionary of the Bible_, sub voc.) + +To what has already been said about the points tending to show that Joseph +was viceroy in Egypt under one or more of the Hyksos or Shepherd kings, +may be added the fact that, when his father and brethren came to settle in +the land, they were instructed to say that they were shepherds, though it +is at once added that "shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians." +The only thing, to all appearance, that can be argued from this is, that +however the native Egyptians might be inclined to look upon the +new-comers, the ruler of the land (who is also represented as being +pleased that Joseph's brethren had come) had no objection to them on that +account. In support of the contention that the period of Joseph was the +Hyksos period, it must also be pointed out that this new viceroy +introduced at least one measure which might be regarded as somewhat harsh. +He appropriated the surplus produce of the seven years of plenty, and when +the years of famine came, he compelled the Egyptians to buy back, "even to +their own impoverishment,"(52) what they had themselves previously parted +with for nothing. The reason for this, however, seems to be clear. The +Pharaoh upon the throne was of the same race as himself, and he and all +Semitic foreigners in the land, including his father and brethren, were +dependent on the same state of things continuing. What he then did would +have the effect of placing the native Egyptians still more in the power of +their ruler, consolidating the dynasty of Semites to which he belonged, +and going far, therefore, to ensure the permanency of its rule. In acting +as he did, Joseph was only doing what any other man in his position and of +his race would have done. + +As has been frequently pointed out, famines occurred from time to time in +Egypt, and records of them are in existence. Even before the time of the +Hyksos kings, a failure of the waters of the Nile to rise to their +ordinary height would bring great want and distress. At such times the +governors of the various provinces of the kingdom gloried, as Ebers says, +in helping their subjects, and saving them from distress. Thus Ameni or +Amen-em-ha, whose tomb is at Benihasan, praises himself in the following +words-- + +"I cultivated the entire nome of Mah with many workpeople, I troubled no +child and oppressed no widow, neither did I keep a fisherman from his +fishing, or a herdsman from his herd. There was no head of the village +whose people I had taken away for compulsory labour, and there was no one +unhappy in my days or hungry in my time. When, however, a famine arose, I +tilled all the fields in the nome of Mah, from its southern to its +northern boundary, and gave nourishment and life to its inhabitants. So +there was no one in the nome who died of hunger. To the widow I allowed as +much as to the wife of a man, and in all that I did I never preferred the +great man to the small one. When the Nile rose again, and everything +flourished--fields, trees, and all else--I cut off nothing from the +fields."--Ebers in Baedeker's _Upper Egypt_, 1892, p. 15. + +Amen-em-ha departed this life in the 43rd year of Usertesen I., or about +2714 B.C. + +More interesting still, however, is the famine which occurred in the time +of Baba, or Beby, as his name is also written. This functionary actually +lived during the period of the dominion of the later Hyksos kings, and +therefore very close to the time of Joseph. According to Brugsch, Baba +lived and worked under the native king Ra-seqenen or Seqenen-Re III., at +the city now represented by the ruins of El-Kab. Though the famine of +which he speaks lasted "many years," and notwithstanding that the ruler +whom he served was a contemporary of 'Apop'i, the Apophis of Josephus, in +whose reign, according to this Jewish historian, Joseph lived, it is +thought that there is no reason to regard the calamity here referred to as +being the famine of which so full an account is given in Genesis--such a +supposition is "entirely gratuitous," according to the writer in Baedeker's +_Upper Egypt_. However this may be, there is no doubt that it is a very +important parallel, and would imply that two disastrous famines took place +in Egypt in close succession. + +The following is Brugsch's translation of this text-- + +"The chief of the table of princes, Baba, the risen again, speaks thus: 'I +loved my father, I honoured my mother; my brother and my sisters loved me. +I stepped out of the door of my house with a benevolent heart; I stood +there with refreshing hand, and splendid were the preparations of what I +collected for the feast-day. Mild was my heart, free from noisy angers. +The god bestowed upon me a rich fortune on earth. The city wished me +health and a life full of freshness. I punished the evildoers. The +children who stood opposite me in the town during the days which I have +fulfilled were, small as well as great, 60; there were prepared for them +as many beds, chairs (?) as many, tables (?) as many. They all consumed +120 ephas of durra, the milk of three cows, 52 goats, and nine she-asses, +of balsam a hin, and of oil two jars. + +" 'My speech may appear a joke to some opponent. But I call as witness the +god Month that my speech is true. I had all this prepared in my house; in +addition I gave cream in the pantry and beer in the cellar in a more than +sufficient number of hin measures. + +" 'I collected the harvest, a friend of the harvest-god. I was watchful at +the time of sowing. And now, when a famine arose, lasting many years, I +issued corn to the city at each famine.' "(53) + +As, in Hebrew, "seven" is often a round number, equivalent to the English +"several," the parallel is noteworthy. An additional remark upon the +subject of the Pharaoh of Joseph by Ebers (Smith's _Dict. of the Bible_, +vol. i. pt. ii. p. 1729) is sufficiently striking. He says that the +Byzantine chronographer who is known under the name of Syncelles (he held +the office of Syncellus or suffragan in his monastery), like Josephus and +others, calls the Pharaoh of Joseph Apophis. Now Arab tradition, "in which +little or no reliance can be placed," says that he was an Amalekite of the +name of Raian ibn el-Walid, and Naville, when excavating for the Egypt +Exploration Fund, at Bubastis, found a block with the name of Apophis, and +near it the lower part of a statue of black granite with the name of +Ian-Ra or Ra-ian, in hieroglyphics. In consequence of this, Dr. Rieu and +Mr. Cope Whithouse maintain that this Arab tradition was founded on fact. +"We must therefore leave it uncertain," adds Prof. Ebers, "whether Joseph +came down into Egypt in the reign of Apophis, or in the reign of the +hitherto unknown Raian." Perhaps both are right, and Joseph was in Egypt +during the reigns of two or more Egyptian kings. Traditions are sometimes +strangely correct, in certain points, though grossly untrustworthy in +others. + +In Ebers's article to which reference has already been made, the writer is +of opinion that Joseph met the king of Egypt on the occasion of the +interpretation of the latter's dream, either at Tanis, the Zoan of the +English translation (better So'an), the Arab. San, borrowed to all +appearance from the Coptic Dzhane (Dzhani, Dzhaane, Dzhaani), from the +Egyptian Dzha'an, or at Bubastis, the Egyptian Pi-Bast, the Pi-Beseth of +Ezekiel xxx. 17, or at Memphis, the Egyptian Men-nofr, the Biblical Moph +or Noph. Of these three sites the first (Tanis) is considered the most +probable. It is situated at the north-east of the Delta, and was founded, +according to Numbers xiii. 22, seven years after Hebron. From this +statement, one would think that there must be some connection between +these two places, or else some historical fact is to be associated with +it. One thing is certain, and that is, that Tanis was the residence of the +Hyksos kings, who held court there for a considerable period, as did also +many who preceded and followed them. The ruins are extensive, and the +place is noted for its Hyksos sphinxes, in whose faces "the coarse Hyksos +type" is strongly marked. The officers under the Pharaoh of the Exodus +speak, in their letters, of the life there as being sweet, and praise the +neighbourhood for its fertility and the abundance of the food it produced +(Ebers). + +Nevertheless, Bubastis (the modern Tel-Basta) may have been the place +where Joseph saw Pharaoh for the first time, as it was a place of great +importance, and had a celebrated temple dedicated to the goddess Bast. +Memphis, too, may be regarded as having claims, on account of its being +situated so near to On, the abode of Joseph's father-in-law. + +On, where Potiphera ("dedicated to the Sun") was priest, was the +celebrated city of the Sun-god in Egypt, whose foundation went back to an +exceedingly remote antiquity. Besides Ra, Tum or Tmu (the evening sun), +Ra-Harmachis (the morning sun), his companion Thoth, Sehu and Tefnut, +children of Tum, and Osiris, who was venerated there as the soul of Ra, +were among the deities of the place. To these must be added Horus, son of +Osiris and Isis, god of the upper world or region of light. His mother +Isis was worshipped at On under the name of Isis-Hathor, corresponding +with Venus Urania. Besides these deities, various animals were held in +honour, among them being two lions, perhaps representing Sehu and Tefnut, +who were worshipped under the form of these animals; the bull Mnevis, +sacred to Ra or Re; and the Phoenix, called by the Egyptians _Bennu_, the +bird of Ra, which was supposed to bring the ashes of its father to On once +every 500 years, after the latter had been consumed by fire. Other sacred +animals in this city were cats and a white sow. No wonder the Israelites +of old winced at the thought that their hero Joseph, so perfect in +character, wedded the daughter of a priest of this idolatrous city. + +The shrine here was immensely wealthy. The staff of priests, officials, +and subordinates connected with the temple is said to have numbered no +less than 12,913. As the embodiment of the god Ra on earth, the king of +the land naturally gave this shrine predominance, and increased its wealth +by his gifts. This, added to the fact that the place had the honour of +giving him a title ("Lord of On") of which he, in his turn, was naturally +proud, added greatly to the renown of the city. Besides the great temples, +it is said to have been also "full of obelisks," which were dedicated to +the Sun-god in consequence of their being emblematic of his rays. +"Cleopatra's Needle" on the Embankment, the obelisk bearing the same name +at Cairo, the Flaminian obelisk at Rome, and probably many others, all +came from this city. According to Herodotus, the priests of Heliopolis or +On were renowned above all others in Egypt for learning. + +The Hyksos who held rule in Egypt for so many centuries are regarded as +having been wandering hordes of Bedouin Asiatics, called by the Egyptians +"the impure," though they also spoke of them under their name of Amu, +regarded as being a word derived from the Semitic 'Am, from the root +_'amam_, meaning "people." How early they entered the country is not +exactly known, but Petrie's estimate, 2097 B.C., may be taken as the +nearest at present possible. In connection with this it may be noted that, +at the modern fishing-village of San, the present representative of the +ancient Tanis, which was the city of the Hyksos kings described above, the +faces and figures of the inhabitants are strange and unlike those of the +remainder of Egypt. They call themselves Melakiyin, _i.e._ Melekites or +"Royalists," a name applied in the Christian period to a sect of the +orthodox Church. They were anciently known as Pi-shemer, corrupted to +Bashmurites, and also as Pi-Amu, corrupted to Biamites. There is, +therefore, hardly any doubt that these people, the descendants of the wild +and turbulent Bashmurites and Biamites who gave so much trouble to the +khalifs Merwan II. (744-750) and Mamun (813-822), may claim for their +ancestors either such of the followers of the Hyksos kings who, on the +expulsion of the latter, decided to remain in the country, or else of +those Semites whom the Hyksos found in Egypt when they conquered the +country, and who helped them to consolidate their dominion, partly from +sympathy and partly from interest. + +Notwithstanding Joseph's long residence in Egypt, it is noteworthy that, +like the Hyksos rulers of the land, he did not, to all appearance, become +in any sense Egyptianized, but retained his Semitic nationality to the +last, as is shown by his command to his Hebrew fellow-subjects to carry +his remains away with them when they, in the fulness of time, should leave +the country. This being the case, Kalisch has asked, very naturally, "Why +did not Joseph, like Jacob, order his body to be conveyed at once to +Canaan?" In all probability the explanation is, that the Apophis referred +to by the Greek writers was, as has been suggested, a contemporary of +Seqnen-Re III., and therefore quite close to the end of the Hyksos period. +Joseph must, then, have passed at least part of his life under native +Egyptian rule, and at this time national feeling must have been more +violently anti-Semitic than ever. It may therefore be supposed that it +would not have been by any means politic for him to proclaim his +nationality in this way, for this might have the effect of endangering the +lives and prospects of his surviving countrymen, who were all related to +him, by attracting to them the attention of the hostile populace and +court--a thing which would, and did, happen soon enough. + +A still more difficult question to answer would be, "Why did not the +Hebrews go out of Egypt with the Hyksos?" The answer probably is, that +Joseph was, to all appearance, still known and honoured by the native +Pharaoh, when he came to the throne, for what he had done for the country. +It was seemingly not until after Joseph's death that a Pharaoh arose who +knew him not. It may therefore be supposed that, until that time, the +Hebrews lived unmolested in the land which they had so long made their +home. + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. THE TEL-EL-AMARNA TABLETS AND THE EXODUS. + + + Egypt and Syria before the Exodus--The testimony of the + Tel-el-Amarna tablets--The relations between the two countries + during the reigns of Amenophis III. and IV.--Burra-burias of + Babylonia, Asur-ubalit of Assyria--Yabitiri, and others in + Palestine--The Habati and the Habiri--The Letters of Abdi-taba + (Ebed-tob, Abd-hiba)--The Pharaoh and the prince of the + Amorites--Mahler and the date of the Exodus. + + +"Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than +we. Come, let us deal with them wisely, lest they multiply, and it come to +pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they also join themselves unto +our enemies, and fight against us: and get them out of the land." + +Such are the words which the new king who knew not Joseph, when he came to +the throne, spoke to his people with regard to the alien population which +had been allowed during a former reign to settle in the land of Goshen, a +fruitful district on the north-east of Egypt, east of Bubastis (Zakazik). +It is the speech of one who feared that, if nothing were done to prevent +them from becoming too powerful, they would be a source of danger to the +state, as they might join, with every chance of success, in any attack +which might be made on the kingdom over which he ruled. It was, in all +probability, the presence of a similar foreign (Semitic) population in or +near this district, about 2100 years B.C., which had contributed--or +perhaps even made--the success of the Hyksos invaders, through which Egypt +had been ruled by an alien dynasty for five hundred years. The repetition +of such a catastrophe was at all hazards to be prevented. It would seem, +therefore, that the persecution of the Hebrews was not undertaken +altogether wantonly, but with the object of turning aside a possible +misfortune. + +As the historical nature of the Exodus has not as yet been absolutely +disproved, it is here taken to be a matter of history, and this being the +case, it is necessary to try to identify, or, rather, to state what are +the most probable opinions, as to the rulers of Egypt at the time of the +Oppression and the Exodus. Ramses II. of the nineteenth dynasty is +generally held to be the Pharaoh of the Oppression, and Meneptah, his son +and successor, the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Lieblein, however, would regard +this latter event as having occurred during the reign either of Amenophis +III., or his son, Amenophis IV., of the eighteenth dynasty. This latter +theory is based on the Tel-el-Amarna letters, which speak of the Habiri, +roving bodies of men which went about Palestine stirring up the people, +and even compelling them by force to renounce Egyptian rule (which +extended in those days over the whole of this district). It will be part +of the scope of the present work to examine into this question. + +After the death of Seqnen-Re in battle (see p. 255), he was buried in the +usual way at Thebes, implying, as Petrie points out, that the Egyptians +had pushed their frontier some way to the north, "so that ceremonials at +Thebes were uninterrupted." Further advance, he thinks, was made in the +reign of Kames, "the valiant prince," as he calls himself, because Aah-mes +was able to besiege the stronghold of the Hyksos down in the Delta at the +beginning of his reign, about 1585 B.C. It is to be noted that two names +come, to all appearance, between those of Kames and Aah-mes, but these are +probably not those of important kings, though a part of the honour of the +progress made ought to be accredited to them. To all appearance it was the +efforts of the Thebans, who had been pushing their way northwards during +these last three years, which prepared the way for the successes of +Aah-mes--successes which placed him on the throne of Egypt, thus making him +the founder of the eighteenth dynasty. + +Before he became Pharaoh, he succeeded, within four or five years, not +only in getting rid of the overlordship of the Hyksos kings, but also in +driving them out of the Nile valley, taking possession of Avaris, and +pursuing them into Palestine. Here, in the fifth year, he was able to +capture Sharhana or Sharuhen, some miles south of Lachish. He then went on +to Zahi (Phoenicia), and later defeated the Mentiu of Setet (the Bedouin of +the hill-country), attacking afterwards the Anu Khenti. On his return to +Egypt, he found that he had to deal with two outbreaks on the part of +those of the Hyksos (probably half-breeds) who remained, and these having +been reduced to subjection, there was apparently no further trouble from +the Asiatics remaining in the country. So popular was this founder of a +new dynasty in Egypt, that both he and his queen had divine honours paid +to them beyond those rendered to any other Egyptian ruler. His son +Amen-hotep I. shared largely in these testimonies of popular esteem. + +After this the power of Egypt increased. The venerable captain of marines, +Aah-mes, relates that 'Aa-kheper-ka-Re (Thothmes I.) went against the +Rutennu (Syrians) for the purpose of taking satisfaction, and marched as +far as Naharaina (Upper Mesopotamia), where he found that an enemy had +plotted conspiracy. On this occasion Thothmes gained many victories and +took many captives. Another official mentioning the Syrian campaigns of +this ruler is Pen-nekheb, who accompanied him to Naharaina. Thothmes III. +also refers to his grandfather's conquest in Syria, stating that he placed +another inscription where the tablet of his father 'Aa-kheper-ka-Re was, +and adds that "his majesty came to the city of Niy on his return. Then his +majesty set up his tablet in Naharaina to enlarge the frontiers of Kemi," +_i.e._ Egypt. Niy was in the region of Aleppo, on the Euphrates. + +Thothmes II. (1516-1503, Petrie) retained those portions of Syria which +his father had conquered. An expedition thither is also mentioned by +Pen-nekheb, who says: "I followed the king 'A-kheper-en-Re (Thothmes II.), +the blessed one. I brought away from the land of the Shasu (Bedouin, +apparently the same tribes as those to which the Hyksos or _hak shasu_ +belonged) very many prisoners--I cannot reckon them.... The king +'A-kheper-en-Re gave me two gold bracelets, six collars, three bracelets +of lapis-lazuli, and a silver war-ax." + +Thothmes III. (1505-1449), son of Thothmes II., had one of the longest and +most glorious reigns in all Egyptian history. He was born at Thebes, and +crowned when about nine years old. On the death of Hatshepsut, the queen +regent, his father's first wife, who, however, was not his own mother, his +warlike expeditions began, and he assembled an army on the frontier of +Zalu, preparatory to an expedition against the chiefs of Southern Syria, +who had rebelled. This was his twenty-second year. Next year, on his +coronation-day, he found himself, after a long march, at Gaza, on the way +to Carmel and Megiddo, where he defeated the assembled Syrian chiefs, and +utterly routed them on the plain of Esdraelon. The allies then took refuge +in the town, which was besieged, and they were obliged to capitulate. +Enormous spoils from this place, as well as from the other cities of +Syria, was the result. This expedition was repeated in the two following +years. + +In his twenty-ninth year he made his fifth expedition to the Syrian +hill-country, Tunep, Arvad, and Phoenicia, from which latter district much +spoil was obtained. The two following years found him in the same region. +In his thirty-third year he set up a tablet on the boundaries of +Naharaina. The next year he made a campaign to, and received tribute from +Syria, Phoenicia, and Cyprus. In his thirty-fifth year he went to Phoenicia, +and received tribute from Naharaina. The year following this he received +tribute from Cyprus. After this he again went to Phoenicia, and he is +supposed to have received tribute from Cyprus, Syria, and the Hittites in +the fortieth and forty-first years of his reign. In his forty-second year +there was an expedition to Tunep, Kadesh, etc. Besides the above, he +either made himself, or dispatched, under his generals, during his long +reign (fifty-four years) many expeditions into other lands than those +mentioned above, and also took part in numerous works and public functions +in his own country. + +The expeditions in Syria made by this king are told very graphically and +at great length. The march to Megiddo, the council of war, and the +dispositions for the attack, are given in full, and the king claims to +have himself protected his army when going through a narrow defile in +which all might have been lost had the enemy against whom they were +marching made an onslaught. Representations of the spoil taken accompany +the lists enumerating the amount, and show that the ancient Syrians had +attained to a skill, in the arts as then known, equal, if not superior, to +that of the Egyptians. Among the places mentioned are Arvad, Kadesh, Gaza, +Yemma, etc. Besides Thothmes III.'s own annals, there is an inscription of +one of his officers, Amen-em-heb, who gives his version, which, however, +is not divided into different years. This text mentions the Negeb, where +he took some captives; Carchemish, from which place he obtained spoil, and +other places. He speaks also of Thothmes III. having hunted elephants in +the land of Niy, one hundred and twenty in number, for their tusks. This +agrees with what has been stated from the Assyrian inscriptions (pp. 200, +201) concerning the existence of these animals in the Lebanon and around +Haran. + +Thothmes III. was succeeded by Amenophis II., a warlike and vigorous +ruler, who followed in his father's footsteps, and by so doing maintained +the power and influence of his country. Petrie (_History_, ii. p. 154) +argues with great probability that he was not of age when he came to the +throne, and that he was apparently not the eldest of his father's sons. +His first expedition, which was a raid in Asia "to establish his renown," +was probably, as Prof. Petrie says, in the first or second year of his +reign. "His majesty had success (in Shemesh-atuma of South Galilee), his +majesty himself made captives there.... Account of what his majesty +himself took in this day: living prisoners Satiu 18, oxen 19." Later on he +had some further success, and took spoil from the Satiu with whom he +fought. + +In his second year, six months after the above expedition, he seems to +have made a promenade in force as far as the frontiers of the Egyptian +domains in Asia, in order to assert his power, and as a check to any +disaffection which might exist. After this there was a triumphal return to +Egypt, where he held a festival on the occasion of the laying of the +foundation-stone of the temple of Amadeh. Among the captives sent to Egypt +were seven chiefs of the territory of Takhsi, near Aleppo, who were hung +up by the feet on the fore-part of the king's barque. Of these six were +afterwards hung up on the wall of Thebes in the same manner, a +circumstance which suggests that the Egyptians were upon about the same +level as the Assyrians with regard to their barbarous customs in war, +notwithstanding their civilization and polish in other things. + +He claims as his own nearly all the lands which his father had +conquered--the South land, the Oases, the Lybians, Nubians, Semites, Kefto +(according to W. Max Mueller, Cilicia), and the Upper Rutennu, or district +of Megiddo. + +Amenophis II. died in 1423 B.C., and was succeeded by his son, Thothmes +IV. His earlier years seem to have been occupied in asserting his power in +Syria, and his later years were devoted to Nubia. Naharaina and the Kheta +or Hittites occur in inscriptions referring to the former period. +According to Manetho, he reigned nine years and eight months. He was +succeeded by his son, Amenophis III. (1414-1379, according to Petrie). + +At this time Syria was completely in the hands of the Egyptians. Constant +intercourse went on between the princes of the two countries, who in Syria +seem to have been contented with their subordinate position. It is during +this reign that the now celebrated Tel-el-Amarna tablets come to our aid, +and show how this was brought about. Alliance between the two countries by +marriage had taken place, and the royal and various princely families were +therefore related. Besides this, there was naturally reluctance on the +part of a prince of Syria to take up a hostile attitude with regard to the +king who had taken his daughter in marriage, as he would always be in fear +of endangering his daughter's safety, and for the same cause he would +naturally try to restrain the petty rulers of his own district, including +those of his neighbours who were more of the nature of equals. In addition +to this, the sons of the Syrian chiefs were sent to be educated in Egypt, +and as the Egyptian ruler at the time had married Syrian princesses, it is +probable, as Petrie says, that the sons of Syrian chiefs, educated in +Egypt, were married to Egyptians at the close of their education. As it +was only stipulated that they should be restored to their native country +to succeed their fathers, they may, it is thought, have lived in Egypt +until middle life. This being so, the rulers of Syria would naturally +become imbued with the thoughts and ways of the Egyptians, and undesirous, +therefore, of throwing off the yoke. If, however, things were all really +as thus depicted, there is one thing which is strange, namely, that the +correspondence which was carried on between the two districts was not in +Egyptian (which the princes of Syria ought to have known sufficiently well +to write), but in Assyro-Babylonian, which was a foreign tongue to them +all, especially the king of Mitanni, whose native language was not even +Semitic. That the kings of Babylonia should correspond with the king of +Egypt in Babylonian was to be expected, but if the kings of Syria, or +their sons, were educated in Egypt, it is remarkable that we find so many +letters in the Babylonian language. + +Apparently, therefore, everything pointed to a continuance of the state of +things which existed at the time of the king's accession to the throne. It +was evidently his desire that nothing should occur to change the cordial +relations which existed between himself and the Egyptian dependencies, +hence the mild suzerainty exercised. There was an Ethiopian campaign in +his fifth year, after which, to all appearance, no warlike expeditions +were undertaken--in fact, it was considered that there was no need for +them. + +The first wife of Amenophis III. was Teie, as the Tel-el-Amarna tablets +call her, the Teyi of the Egyptian monuments. She was daughter of Yewea +and Tewa, and was to all appearance of Asiatic nationality. Prof. Petrie +thinks that she may have been of Syrian race, and as a matter of fact, her +portrait shows her with a pleasant face of Semitic type and a pointed +chin. To all appearance, she was a personage of great importance in the +land, and when negotiations with the princes of the north were being +carried on, she was one of those who were taken into consideration by the +outlanders. + + [Plate VII.] + + Colossal statue of Hadad, dedicated by Bar-Rekub, King of Sam'allu, to + Hadad. El, Rekub-el, Shamash, and the gods of Yadi, in memory of his + father, Panammu, about 730 B.C. The horned cap which the god wears +probably shows Assyro-Babylonian influence. Gerchin N.E. of Zenjirli. From +_Mittheilungen aus den Orientalischen Sammlungen_, Part XI., by permission + of the publishing-house of Georg Reimer, Berlin. + + +In one of the tablets from Tel-el-Amarna, it would appear that, besides +Teie, Amenophis III. had married a sister of Dusratta, king of Mitanni, +named Gilu-hepa, for news of whom Dusratta wrote to the Pharaoh, sending +presents to him, as well as to his sister. Later on, the Egyptian king +asks Dusratta for one of his daughters, sending a messenger named Mane +with a tablet to that effect. As Dusratta in his letter to the Pharaoh +Nimmuaria (Neb-mut-Ra,(54) Amenophis III.) refers to her as the (future) +mistress of Egypt, it is clear that she was intended as the consort of his +son, Amenophis IV. From other letters which passed between them, it would +seem that the princess in question was named Tadu-hepa, called, in +Egyptian, Nefer-titi (perhaps a translation of her Mitannian name). It was +to all appearance the custom in those days, as at the present time, for +the kings of the various states to ally themselves by marriage with other +royal houses; and at a time when kings, at least, were allowed more wives +than one, it was possible for them to take pledges for the preservation of +peace by making use of the privilege. Quite in accordance with this are +the statements contained in other texts concerning intermarriages of this +kind, both Amenophis III. and IV. having likewise espoused Babylonian +princesses, daughters of Kallima-Sin and Burra-burias, the son of the +latter being at the same time betrothed to Amenophis IV.'s daughter. They +were also constantly making presents to each other, each trying to get as +much as he possibly could of the things which were not common in his own +land--gold, much gold, being the commodity that the king of Egypt was +expected to supply. The other kings sent him, in return, various stones +(lapis-lazuli being often mentioned), chariots, horses, and other things, +both natural and manufactured products. The women by whose means these +friendly relations had been established, made use of the messengers sent +to their fatherland to transmit messages to their relatives and ask after +their health. + +From these tablets we obtain certain details as to the state of the Holy +Land and the surrounding country before the entry of the Israelites. +Besides the kingdom of Mitanni mentioned above, there were the states of +Alasia (supposed to be Cyprus), Ziri-basani (plain of Bashan), Hazor, +Askelon, Lachish, Gaza, Qatna (west of Damascus), Accho, Simyra, Tyre, +Sidon, the Amorites, the Hittites, Dunip (Tenneb), Jerusalem, etc., etc. +Many of them were small states with the cities after which they are named +as capital, and naturally were obliged to enter into a league for their +common protection, or else accept the suzerainty of some more powerful +state, falling, if its protector went under, into the power of the common +invader. It must have been in consequence of this state of things in the +east Mediterranean littoral that Egypt was able to extend her power so +far, and subdue this large district. + +From these tablets we learn something of their religion. To all appearance +one of the gods most worshipped in the extreme west of Asia was Rimmon, +the Rammanu ("thunderer") of the Assyrians and Babylonians, the Addu or +Hadad of the Semitic nations of this district (the name Addu afterwards +became general as the appellation of the god in Babylonia and Assyria), +and the Tesupa or Tesub of Mitanni (Aram-Naharaim) and district to the +north (Armenia). At Tyre they seem to have worshipped a personage or deity +called Salmayatu, whilst the Phoenician Astarte is commemorated in al +Astarti, "the city of Astartu," perhaps Ashtaroth, 29 miles east of +Tiberias (Petrie). As the word Ashtoreth is evidently a lengthening of the +name of the Assyro-Babylonian goddess Istar, it is not to be wondered at +that this goddess should be mentioned by the king of Mitanni, Dusratta, +who refers to a statue of Istar of Nineveh, which had been sent to Egypt, +and requests that it may be returned to him soon. The name of Nergal, +also, was evidently familiar to the king of Alasia, for he speaks of the +hand of that god as having killed all his people, when wishing to refer to +the prevalence of a pestilence there, Nergal being the Assyro-Babylonian +god of disease and death. In the same way Dusratta speaks of Samas, the +Assyro-Babylonian Sun-god, but he refers to him more as the luminary which +men love than as a god, though there is every probability that he was +worshipped in Mitanni.(55) Another Assyro-Babylonian deity whose name +occurs is Ninip, once in the name of Abdi-Ninip, "servant of Ninip," +apparently a Gebalite, and again in _al Beth-Ninip_, "(city of) the temple +of Ninip," in a district which Abdi-Asirta called upon to unite against +Gebal--perhaps the Beth-Ninip in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. In the +name of Abdi-Asirta it is to be noted that we have here, to all +appearance, the name of the _asherah_ or "grove" of the Authorised +Version, the "token" of the goddess Istar,(56) with the ideogram for which +the word once interchanges. The Egyptian god Amana (Amon) is mentioned +several times, invoked apparently as a god in whom the writer believed, +though he was the special god of the Egyptians and the Egyptian king. In +addition to the above deities, the names of men reveal Uras, the god of +Dailem near Babylon, Bidina, another Babylonian deity, and Merodach, the +principal god of the Babylonians. Among west Semitic deities may be +mentioned Dagan (Dagon), Milku (Melech, Moloch), and others. + +Notwithstanding a considerable period of Egyptian rule, therefore, +Babylonian influence, which had been predominant in the tract for many +centuries, still held the upper hand. Merodach was to all appearance +venerated, Nergal was worshipped as the god of death and disease, Istar +was held in high esteem. It must have been during those centuries of +Babylonian rule that the worship of Tammuz or Adonis got into the country, +becoming one of the stumbling-blocks of the Israelites in later days, when +Hebrew women lamented for him, hidden in the realm of darkness where dwelt +Persephone (Eres-ki-gala, "the lady of the great domain" of the +Babylonians), into whose realm, at great risk, Istar, his spouse, +descended to seek him, but only escaped from the rival's clutches by the +intervention of the gods. + +Exceedingly interesting are the various forms of government in Western +Asia at this period. Among hereditary chiefs may be mentioned Etakama of +Gidsi (Kadesh), Sum-addu, who is probably the same as Samu-Addu, prince of +Samhuna, Mut-zu'u (see p. 286), and Azru, though this last is doubtful, as +in one of the letters he calls himself a governor installed by the king of +Egypt. The best example of an elected chief, however, is in all +probability Yabitiri, governor of Gaza and Jaffa, who, when young, went +down to Egypt and served in the Egyptian army, being afterwards appointed +to the posts which he held later. The power of the Egyptian kings of a +period somewhat preceding this is well exemplified by the fact, that +Addu-nirari of Assyria attributes to an Egyptian ruler the appointment of +his grandfather and father as kings of Nuhasse, on account of which all +three rulers seem to have acknowledged Egyptian overlordship. An +interesting instance of female rule is that of Nin-Urmuru (?),(57) who, in +her letters, mentions Ajalon and Sarha (identified with Zorah), probably +lying in her district. + +Most interesting of all, however, is the case of Jerusalem, whose ruler, +as will be seen from the letters quoted later on, was apparently elected +by some of the magnates of the district which acknowledged his sway, and +who were probably the members of a religious community. Nothing, however, +is known of the electorate or the system of election employed--all that can +be said is, that the ruler was not placed there by virtue of his father or +his mother, but by the "mighty king." + +The matter of the government of Dunip, one of the most important towns of +ancient Palestine, is also of importance, as it does not seem to have +possessed an autocratic head of any kind, and may have been a kind of +republic. Its government was probably similar to that of Irqata, which was +ruled over by its elders, acknowledging the overlordship of the Egyptian +king. A similar state of things seems to have prevailed in Babylonia, +where, however, the king of Babylon was naturally recognized as lord of +the country. In all probability the towns governed by their elders were +regarded as royal cities of Egypt, whilst the others were semi-independent +states. + +The relations of the Egyptian king with foreign states is well illustrated +by the following-- + +Letter From The Babylonian King Burra-Burias (Burna-Burias) To Amenophis +IV. King Of Egypt. + +"(To) Naphu'ruria the king of Egypt, my brother, say also thus: 'It is +Burra-burias, king of the land of Karu-dunias, thy brother. My health is +good. To thee, thy country, thine house, thy wives, thy sons, thy great +men, thine horses, thy chariots, may there be very good health. + +"I and my brother have spoken friendship with each other, and we said as +follows: 'As our fathers were with each other, let us be friendly.' Now my +merchants, who went with Ahi-tabu, remained in the land of Kinahhi +(Canaan) for trade. After Ahi-tabu proceeded to my brother,(58) in the +city Hinnatunu of the land of Kinahhi (Canaan), when Sum-adda, son of +Malumme, (and) Sutadna, son of Saratum, of the city of Akka (Accho), sent +their people, they killed my merchants, and took their money away. When I +have sent (Azzu (?)) to thy presence, ask him, and let him tell thee." + +(Reverse) + +"(Ki)nahhi is thy land, and (its) king(s are thy servants). In thy land +have I been ill-treated--res(train them): make (up) the money which they +have taken away; and kill the people who have killed my subjects, and +avenge them. And if thou kill not these people, they will return, and both +kill my caravans and thy messengers, and the messenger will be broken off +between us, and if (this happen), they will fall away from thee. One man +(of) mine, when Sum-adda had cut off his feet,(59) he held him prisoner; +and another man, when Sutadna, the Akkaite (Acchoite), had caused him to +be placed with the servants, became a servant before him.(60) Let (them +take) those men to thee, and see thou to (it). And mayest thou know how I +fare. I have caused to be brought to thee 1 mana of lapis-stone (as a +gi)ft. (Let) my (messe)nger (come back) quickly. Let me know how my +brother fares. Do not de(tain) my (mess)enger--let him come (back) +quickly." + +It is clear from this, and from other inscriptions of the series, that a +kind of international law existed among the nations of the ancient East, +by which they were expected to protect the caravans passing through each +other's territory, and, in fact, see that no harm came to any of each +other's subjects. They were expected to punish all persons who may have +attacked and ill-treated or murdered them, and make restitution of +property stolen. The law (probably an unwritten one) was evidently much +the same as prevails among civilized nations at the present day. That +these ancient rulers always obtained from their "brothers" the redress +which they demanded, is more than doubtful. Burra-burias's entreaty that +his messenger might be returned to him quickly points to vexatious delays +on former occasions, and probable failure to obtain any justice or redress +whatever. + +The relations of Egypt with Assyria were similar to those with Babylonia, +except that the Assyrian king, as has been shown, was, in some respects, a +vassal. + +Letter From The Assyrian King Asur-Uballit To Amenophis IV. King Of Egypt. + +(Divided into paragraphs in accordance with the indications of the +original text.) + +"To Naphuri, (the great king?), the king of Egypt, my brother, (say) thus: +'It is Asur-uballit, king of Assur, the great king, thy brother.' + +"To thee, to thy house and thy country, may there be peace. + +"When I saw thy messengers, I rejoiced greatly. Thy messengers are staying +with me for a time. + +"I have caused to be brought to thee as thy gift a fine royal chariot of +my y(ok)e, and 2 white horses of m(y y)oke, and one chariot without yoke, +and 1 seal of fine lapis-lazuli. + +"The great king's return-gift may be thus: Gold in thy land is (as) +dust--they gather it up. Why should it go round into thine eyes? I have +undertaken to build a new palace. Cause gold, as much as its over-laying +and its need (requires), to be sent. + +"When Asur-nadin-ahi, my father, sent to the land of Egypt, they caused to +be sent to him 20 talents of gold. + +"When the Hanigalbatian king sent to Egypt to thy father, he caused 20 +talents of go(ld) to be brought to him. + +"(Behold), thou hast caused to be brought ... gold to the +Hani(gal)ba(tian) king ... and to me, (but f)or the going and returning it +suffices (?) not for wages for my messengers. + +"If friendship be desirable unto thee, cause much gold to be brought; and +as it will be thy house, send, and let them take what thou desirest. + +"We are distant countries--in this wise let our messengers go about. + +"Those who delayed thy messengers were the Sutites, their persecutors; +dead (was I) until I had sent, and they had taken the persecuting Sutites. +Their bands (?) shall verily not delay my messengers. + +"As for messengers abroad, why should they be detained and die there? If +they stay abroad, the king will have the advantage, so let him stay and +let him die abroad--let the king then have the advantage. And if not, why +should the messengers whom we send die abroad? ... attack the messengers +and cause them to die abroad." + +The last paragraph is difficult to understand on account of its being so +mutilated, but the sense of the whole seems now to be fairly clear. +Asur-uballit desires to be on friendly terms with Egypt, but he is anxious +to get, above all, the precious metal which was said to be so plentiful +there, and for which all the rulers of Western Asia seem to have hungered. +And this leads to the interesting statement in the fifth paragraph, in +which gold in Egypt is said to have been as dust; and there is the +question, "Why should it go round into thine eyes?" (_Ammini ina ene-ka +isahhur?_) implying that, being dust, it behaved as dust, and was in that +respect undesirable, and therefore to be got rid of. He would like to have +some for the decoration of his palace--his father, and the king of +Hanigalbat had been favoured in this way. Let it not be as little +(apparently), as that sent to the Hanigalbatian king, for that would not +suffice to pay his messengers. The interchange of things needed as +presents made good friends. It was a lawless band of Sutites who had +detained the Egyptian king's messengers, and he was as one dead until his +people had stopped their depredations. It was useful to a king that his +ambassadors lived and died abroad, but not that they should be attacked +and killed there. + +The relations of Egypt with another class of ruler is well illustrated by +the following letter from a prince or governor brought up in Egypt-- + +Yabitiri Asserts His Faithfulness, And Touches Upon His Early Life. + +"To the king my lord, my gods, my Sun-gods, say also thus: '(it is) +Yabitiri thy servant, the dust of thy feet. At the feet of the king my +lord, my gods, my Sun-gods, seven times, and twice seven times I fall. +Furthermore, behold, I am a faithful servant(61) of the king my lord. I +look here, and I look there,(62) and it is not clear; then I look upon the +king my lord, and it is clear. And the brick-foundation may give way from +beneath its wall, but I will not give way from beneath the feet of the +king my lord. And the king my lord may ask Yanhama, his official, +(concerning) when I was young, and they sent me down to Egypt, where I +served the king my lord, and stood in the city-gate of the king my lord. +And the king my lord may ask his official when I guard the city-gate of +Azzati (Gaza) and the city-gate of Yapu (Jaffa). And I am with the hired +troops of the king my lord, where they go, I am with them, and I am also, +therefore, with them now. The yoke of the king my lord is on my neck, and +I bear it.' " + +Apparently there had been spread abroad some statement reflecting on the +faithfulness of the writer, who seeks to justify himself by appealing to +his former services to the Egyptian king. His letter has a ring of +sincerity in it which is wanting in many of the communications of this +nature. + +Reference has already been made to the caravans which passed through the +territory of the various rulers, and the protection which those rulers +were supposed to extend to them. Burra-burias, in his letter translated +above, complains that Babylonian caravans had been attacked in the land of +Canaan, and asks for the punishment of the persons involved. To all +appearance the protection of the caravans was entrusted to certain chiefs, +owing allegiance to the Egyptian king, who always held themselves ready to +perform this duty. The following translation shows how one of the chiefs +or governors of a Canaanitish district looked after the caravans, as his +father did before him-- + +Letter From Mut-Zu'u To The King Of Egypt. + +"To the king, my lord and my sun, say thus: 'It is Mut-zu'u(63) thy +servant, the dust of thy feet, the earth for thee to tread upon. Seven +times, twice seven times, I fall down at the feet of the king my lord.' + +"The king my lord has sent by Haya to speak of the Hana-galbat(64) +caravan. This I have dispatched and have directed it. Who am I, that I +should not dispatch the caravans of the king my lord? Behold, (Lab)'aya, +my father, (who was faithful) to the king his lord, used to send (a +caravan, and give directions concerning it. The cara)vans (which) the king +(di)rected to the land of Hana-galbat (and) to the land of Kara-dunias let +the king my lord send. (As to) the caravan, I will bring it so that it is +safe." + +As will be seen from this, Mut-zu'u was one of the humble vassals of "the +king his lord," who at that time--evidently the peaceful days of Amenophis +III.--was the happy possessor of many such. As examples of the relations +between the smaller rulers and their suzerain, may be quoted two of the +numerous letters of Yidia of Askelon, who provided the necessaries for the +Egyptian army in Palestine. + +Yidia, The Askelonite, Concerning The King's Representative. + +"To the king, my lord, my Sun, the Sun who (cometh) from the heavens, (say +also) thus: '(It is) Yidia, the Askelonite, thy servant, the dust of thy +feet, thy charioteer.(65) I fall down before the feet of the king my lord +seven times and twice seven times, back and breast.' + +"Now (for) my (lord), (for) the gods of the king my lord, my god, my Sun, +I guard this city, and again ... let me protect all his land. + +"I have heard the words of the king my lord to his representative, when he +is not able to protect the country of the king my lord. So now the king my +lord has appointed Rianappa, the representative of the king my lord, to +whom(66) I will bring (?) good fortune for the king. + +"Whatever cometh out of the mouth of the king my lord, lo, that will I +keep day and night." + +Yidia Concerning The Commissariat. + +"To the king my lord, my Sun, my god, the Sun who (cometh) from the +heavens, (say also) thus: '(it is) Yidia thy servant, the dust of thy +feet, thy charioteer. I fall down at the feet of the king my lord seven +times and twice seven times, back and breast. Behold, I am keeping the +commands of the king my lord, the son of the Sun, and behold, I have +provided the food, drink, oil, grain, oxen, (and) sheep, for the soldiers +of the king my lord--provisions, every kind, for the soldiers of the king +my lord. Who would be a vassal, and not obey the words of the king my +lord, the son of the Sun?' " + +Letters similar to the above are numerous, and show that Egyptian rule was +not regarded as burthensome--indeed, it may have been even welcome, tending +in all probability to the preservation of peace. It must have been +difficult, however, for the Egyptian king to hold the scales of justice +always even, for among the governors were always men who professed +faithfulness, but who aimed at throwing off the Egyptian yoke, light as it +was. + +In all probability the trouble began in the north, that district being +farthest from the Egyptian marches, and what was going on there was on +that account longer in reaching the knowledge of the king. Judging from a +letter from Ili-rabih, written from Gebal, Etakama, of Kinza and Kadesh, +smote the whole of the lands of Amki, "the territory of the king." "And +now," the inscription continues, "he has sent his people to seize the +lands of Amki and the places. Further, the king of the land of Hatta +(Heth), and the king of the land of Narima (Naharaim), have been +unsuccessful (?), and" (here the writer breaks off the narrative). + +Another account of this affair is as follows-- + +Beri (Or Bieri) To The King About The Attack On Amki. + +"To the king, my lord, (my god, my sungod), say then thus: 'It is Beri, +(thy servant), the Hasabite.' Down to the dust of the feet of the king my +lord 7 (times) and 7 (times) I fall. Behold, we occupy, in Amki, the +cities of the king, my lord, and Edagama, the Kinzite, has gone to meet +the soldiers of Hatta (Heth), and set (the cities) of the king my lord on +fire. And may the king my lord know, and may the king (my) lord give +field-soldiers. And we will occupy the cities of the king my lord, and we +will dwell in the cities of the king my lord, my god, my sungod." + +This and two other accounts, one of which is from "Ilu-daya, the Hazite," +all agree, and show that three officials were occupying cities in the +territory known as Amki (identified with _'Amq_, a plain by Antioch, or +_'Amqa_, N.E. of Akka), when Edagama (whose name also appears as Etagama, +Etakkama, Itatkama, Itakama, Aitugama, and Aidaggama) joined the Hittite +troops who were hostile to Egypt. It was in consequence of this, in all +probability, that the three officials decided to write to the king of +Egypt to let him know how things were going, and this they did in +identical terms, with the same expressions, and the same peculiarities of +spelling, pointing to the probability that the same scribe wrote all three +communications. In the letter of Ili-rabih, from which a quotation is +given on p. 288, Amki is called "the king's territory," implying that it +was a tract acknowledging Egyptian supremacy, which Etagama was trying to +wrest from the Pharaoh's grasp. It was the king's friends who were +occupying the king's cities (as Beri, Ilu-daya, and the unknown writer +call them), because they desired to hold them against this active enemy. +With help from the Egyptian king, they thought that they would be able to +do this without difficulty. There seems to be (as far as can at present be +judged) no reason to suppose that the beginning of the expulsion of the +Egyptians from Palestine was due to the over-zeal of the supporters of +Egyptian rule in that country, who, striving to extend the influence and +the dominions of their suzerain, drew down upon him, and upon themselves, +the hostility of all the independent states of Western Asia, as well as of +those which wished to throw off the Egyptian yoke. The Egyptian kings +would surely have warned their vassals in Palestine against the danger of +such action on their part. + +As an additional light upon the events here referred to, the following +extract from a letter from Akizzi of Qatna to Amenophis III. may be of +interest:-- + +"O lord, Teu(w)atti of the city L(apa)n(a) and Arzauia of the city Ruhizzu +are setting themselves with Aitugama (Etagama) and the land of (U)be. He +is burning the territory of my lord with fire. + +"O lord, as I love the king my lord, and likewise the king of the land +Nuhasse, the king of the land of Ni, the king of the land of Zinzar, and +the king of the land of Tunanat; and all these kings are for the king my +lord serviceable. + +"If the king my lord will, then he will go forth. (But they say) thus: +'The king my lord will not go forth.' Then let my lord send out +field-troops, and let them come, since this land, as also, my lord, these +kings, is well disposed towards him. (They are) my lord's great ones, and +whatever their gifts (contributions), let him speak, and they will give +(them). + +"O lord, if this land is to be off the mind of my lord, then let my lord +send forth field-troops, and let them come. The messengers of my lord have +arrived. + +"O lord, if Arzauia of the city of Ruhizzu and Teuwatti of the city Lapana +remain in the land of Ube, and Dasa remain in the land of Amki, then may +my lord know concerning them, that the land of Ube is not my lord's. They +send to Aitugama every day saying thus: 'Come and take the land of Ube +completely.' + +"O lord, as the city Timasgi in the land of Ube is at thy feet, so also is +the city Qatna at thy feet. And, my lord, with regard to my messenger, I +ask for life, (and a)s I do not fear with regard to the field-troops of my +lord, that the field-troops of my lord will come, as he will send (them) +forth to me, I shall re(tire) into the city Qatna." + +Thus the trouble spread, and the Hittites and their allies took possession +of the territories south of the tracts referred to, trying, at the same +time, to win over to their side the governors who were faithful. All this +time posing as a friend of the Pharaoh, Etagama complained of the others, +particularly Namya-waza, one of Egypt's most trustworthy allies, who, in a +letter couched in the usual humble style of the period, announces his +readiness to serve "with his horses and chariots, and with his brothers, +and with his SA-GAS, and with his Sutites, along with the hired soldiers, +whithersoever the king his lord should command him." + +Now in this letter there is one noteworthy fact, and that is, that the +SA-GAS and the Sutites are mentioned together as the allies of an +important vassal of the Egyptian king, the latter being apparently +wandering hordes of plunderers (see above, p. 283), whom Kadasman-Murus, +king of Babylonia, sent from east to west "until there were no more." This +took place at a somewhat later date, so that they still roamed about the +eastern portion of the country, between Palestine and Babylonia, +apparently giving their services to any power which might desire to make +use of them. + +The question of the identification of the troops or bands of warriors +designated by the Akkadian compound SA-GAS is, however, of still greater +importance. Most Assyriologists regard them as being identical with the +Habiri, mentioned in the letters of Abdi-tabu or Ebed-tob. This, of +course, is possible, but it is unfortunate that no direct confirmation of +this identification exists. In the bilingual lists of Babylonia and +Assyria, the expression SA-GAS, duly provided with the determinative +prefix indicating a man or a class of men, occurs, and is always +translated by the word _kabbatu_, the probable meaning of which is +"robber," from the root _habatu_, "to plunder". It is also noteworthy that +there is a star called SA-GAS, and this is likewise rendered by the same +word, namely, _habbatu_. The fact that it is once provided with the +determinative _ki_ ("place") does not help us, for this may be simply an +oversight or a mannerism of the scribe. Moreover, the difficulty of +identifying the SA-GAS with the _Habiri_ of the inscriptions of Abdi-taba +is increased by the word occurring in these texts (Winckler's No. 216, l. +11), followed by the explanation (_ameluti habati_), an arrangement which +we find in others of these letters, when an ideograph has to be explained; +and when they are, as here, Akkadian ideographs and Babylonian words, the +second is always the pronunciation of the first--never the alternative +reading. Indeed, in the present case, such an explanation would be +misleading instead of helpful (were the word SA-GAS to be read _Habiri_), +for the scribe tells you to read it _habati_--the same word as is given in +the bilingual lists, but spelled with one _b_ instead of two. + +In all probability, therefore, the _habati_ were wandering hordes +differing from the Sutites in not having any special nationality, and +being composed of the offscourings of many peoples of the ancient East. +They were probably included in the _habiri_, together with the nations +with which they were afterwards associated. The _habiri_ were not the +Hebrews, neither the word nor the date being what we should expect for +that nationality, who were still in Egypt. The best identification as yet +published is that of Jastrow, who connects it with the Hebrew Heber, the +patronymic of various persons. Better still, however, would be the Heb. +_haber_, pl. _haberim_, "companions," also used of tribes joined together +to form a nation. Whether an advance guard of the Hebrews is to be +included in this term or not, must be left to the judgment of the student. + +The gradual loss of the districts south of Damascus in all probability +followed. A letter from Mut-Addu (the only one from him) to Yanhamu speaks +of the cities of the land of Garu (identified--though the identification is +not quite satisfactory--with the Heb. Gur), namely Udumu (identified by +Petrie with Adamah, though the form does not agree so well as might be +wished, and Udumu is the usual way of rendering the word Edom, which is +referred to in the cuneiform inscriptions both as a land and a city), +Aduri (Petrie: et-Tireh), Araru (Petrie: Arareh), Mestu (Petrie: Mushtah), +Magdali (Magdala), Hini-anabi (Ain-anab, if rightly identified--there is a +certain difficulty in the word possessing a guttural at the beginning and +not likewise as the first letter of the second component--probably 'Anab, +south-west of Hebron, the Anab of Josh. xi. 21), and Sarki. At this time, +according to the tablet, Hawani and Yabisi (Jabesh) had been captured. It +is probably on account of the occupation of the country by so many hostile +tribes that the protest of Burra-burias of Babylonia (see p. 281) was +sent, but it was in all probability exceedingly difficult for the Egyptian +king to afford any protection whatever to the caravans which passed +through the disaffected area. + +One of the things which the Tel-el-Amarna letters show very clearly is, +that it must have been very difficult for the Pharaoh to know who were his +friends and who were his enemies among the rulers of the Philistines. The +Amorite Abdi-Asirta and his allies were from the first desirous to throw +off the Egyptian yoke, but this prince at the same time constantly sent +letters to Amenophis IV. protesting his fidelity. Other chiefs who were +hostile to Egypt are Etakama, the sons of Lab'aya, Milkili, Yapa-Addu, +Zimreda of Sidon, Aziru, and others. On the king's side were Namyawaza, +who held Kumidi (Petrie: Kamid-el-Lauz), Rib-Addi, whose chief cities were +Gebal, Beyrout, and Simyra, Zimreda of Lachish, and Abdi-taba of +Jerusalem. Numbers of chiefs, at first faithful, went over to the enemy +when they saw the success of the league against the foreign power. + +It is impossible to suppose that the letters now known (about three +hundred in number) represent all the correspondence which passed between +Palestine and Egypt concerning the state of the country during the reigns +of Amenophis III. and IV., and from the time the troubles there commenced, +complaints and applications for help must have claimed the attention of +the Egyptian translator literally in shoals. One of the most remarkable of +these is the letter from the people of Dunip, who say that, in consequence +of the state of things in Palestine, they belong no longer to the king of +Egypt, to whom they had been sending for twenty years, but their +messengers had been retained. Their prince (to all appearance) had been +taken back to Egypt by the king's orders, after he had allowed him to +return to his country, so that they had not seen him again. "And now +Dunip, thy city, weeps, and its tears flow, and there is no one to take +our hands (_i.e._ help us). We have sent to the king, the lord, the king +of Egypt, and not a single word from our lord hath reached us." + +Were they really sorry to be no longer under Egyptian rule? or were they +merely desirous that their prince should be restored to them? + +During this period, naturally enough, recriminations were going on on +every side. Those who were faithful very properly made complaints and +uttered warnings concerning those who were unfaithful. The waverers, the +unfaithful, and the hostile, on the other hand, were continually asserting +their fidelity, and accusing those who were really well-disposed towards +Egypt of all kinds of hostile acts against the supreme power. This is +evident from the correspondence of Abdi-taba of Jerusalem, who, in one of +his letters, writes as follows-- + +"(T)o the king my lord say also thus: 'It is Abdi-taba, thy servant. At +the feet of my lord the king twice seven times and twice seven times I +fall. What have I done against the king my lord? They back-bite--they +slander(67) me before the king my lord, (saying): "Abdi-taba has fallen +away from the king his lord." Behold, (as for) me, neither my father nor +my mother set me in this place--the arm of the mighty king caused me to +enter into the house of my father. Why should I commit a sin against the +king my lord? As the king my lord lives, I said to the commissioner of the +king (my) lord: "Why love ye the Habiri and hate the gover(nors)? it is on +account of this that they utter slander before the king my lord." Then he +said: "The countries of the king my lord have rebelled, therefore they +utter slander to the king my lord." ' " + +The ruler of Jerusalem then seems to say, that the king had placed a +garrison in some city or other, but it had been taken, apparently by +Yanhamu--there was no longer a garrison (in that place). The king's cities +under Ili-milku had revolted, the whole of the land of the king was lost, +so let the king have care for his land. He would like to go to the king, +to urge him to take action, but the people in his district were too mighty +for him, and he could not leave it. As long as the king lived, and as long +as he sent a commissioner, he would continue to give warning. If troops +were sent that year, things would be saved, otherwise the king's lands +would be lost. Abdi-taba ends with an appeal to the scribe to place the +matter clearly before the king. + +Another very important letter from Abdi-taba is as follows-- + +"(T)o the king my lord, (my) Sun, (say also) thus: 'It is Abdi-taba, thy +servant. Twice seven times and twice seven times I fall down before the +feet of the king my lord. Behold, the king my lord has set his name to the +rising of the sun and the setting of the sun. The slandering which they +slander against me! Behold, I am not a governor, the king my lord's +magnate. Behold, I am an officer of the king, and have brought the tribute +of the king. (As for) me, it was not my father nor my mother--it was the +arm of the mighty king who set me in the house of my father. (When so and +so),(68) the commissioner of the king, returned to me, 13 prisoners (?) +(and a certain number(69)) of slaves I gave. Suta, the commissioner of the +king, came (back t)o me; 21 girls (and) 20(70) (?) prisoners I gave (in)to +the hand of Suta (as) a gift for the king my lord. Let the king take +counsel with regard to his land--the land of the king, all of it, has +revolted, it has set itself against me.(71) Behold, (as for) the lands of +Seri (Seir) as far as Guti-kirmil (Gath-Carmel), the governors have allied +themselves(72) and there is hostility against me. Even though one be a +seer, one wishes not to see the tears of the king my lord, when enmity +exists against me. As long as ships were in the midst of the sea, the +power of the mighty king took Nahrima (Naharaim) and the land of +Kassi,(73) but now the Habiru have taken the cities of the king. There is +not one governor for the king my lord--all have rebelled. Behold, Turbazu +has been killed at the gate of the city Zilu, (and) the king (?) remained +inactive. Behold, (as for) Zimreda of the city of Lakisu (Lachish), (his) +servants lay in wait for him (?), they took (him) to kill (?) (him). +Yapti'-Addu has been killed (at) the gate of the city of Zilu, (and) the +king remained inactive ... ask (?) him ... (let) the kin(g have care for +his land, and let) the king give attention ... (let him send) troops to +the land of (the city of Jerusalem, (?), and) if there are not troops this +year, the whole of the lands of the king my lord are lost. They do not +tell the king my lord (this). When the country of the king my lord is +lost, then are lost (also) all the governors. If there be not troops this +year, let the king direct his commissioner and let him take me--(send him) +to me with my brothers, and we will die with the king my lord.' (To the) +scribe of the king my lord (say also thus): 'It is Abdi-taba, (thy) +servant. (I fall down) at (thy) feet. Cause (my) words to enter (pl)ainly +to the king (my lord). I am thy (faith)ful servant.' " + +The final phrase resembles that of an English letter. + +According to Petrie, Seri is Shaaraim (Josh. xv. 36), now _Khurbet +es-Sairah_. If the character read as _gu_ in Guti-Kirmil (Winckler, +Gin(?)ti-Kirmil) be correctly drawn in the official published copy, there +is considerable doubt as to the reading of the first syllable of this +interesting name. Zilu, where Turbazu and Yapti'-Addu were killed, is +identified by Petrie with Zelah, north of Jerusalem. This letter gives an +excellent illustration of the state of the country at the time. + +In another letter Abdi-taba explains how all the lands had concluded a +bond of hostility against him, and the districts of Gezer, Askelon, and +Lachish had supplied these people with food. After this comes the usual +request for troops, and the indication that, if troops be sent "this +year," the situation would be saved--next year there would be neither +countries nor governors for the king (in Palestine). "Behold, this land of +the city of Jerusalem, neither my father nor my mother gave it to me--the +power of the mighty king gave it to me, (even) to me." "See," he +continues, "this deed is the deed of Milki-ili, and the deed of the sons +of Lab'aya, who have given the land of the king to the Habiri." He then +goes on to speak of the Kasi, who seem to have supported the confederates +with food, oil, and clothes. Next follows what Paura, the king's +commissioner, had told him about the disaffection of Adaya. Caravans had +been robbed in the field of the city of Yaluna (Ajalon), but Abdi-taba +could not prevent this: "(I mention this) in order to inform thee." +"Behold, the king has placed his name in the land of Jerusalem for ever, +and the forsaking of the lands of Jerusalem is not possible." After this +comes the usual note to the scribe in Egypt, followed by a postscript +referring to the people of Kasi, disclaiming some evil deed which had been +done to them. "Do not kill a worthy servant (on that account"). + +Yet another letter refers to Milki-ili and Lab'aya: "Behold, has not +Milki-ili fallen away from the sons of Lab'aya and from the sons of Arzawa +to ask the land of the king for them?(74) A governor, who has done this +deed, why has the king not called him to account for this?" The narrative +breaks off where Abdi-taba begins to relate something further concerning +Milki-ili and another named Tagi. When the text again becomes legible, +Abdi-taba is again referring to the fact that there is no garrison of the +king in some place whose name is lost. "Therefore--as the king lives--Puuru +(= Pauru) has entered it--he has departed from my presence, (and) is in the +city of Gaza. So let the king indicate to him (the necessity) of a +garrison to protect the country. All the land of the king has rebelled. +Send Ya'enhamu (Yanhamu), and let him become acquainted with (lit. let him +know) the country of the king (_i.e._ the true state of affairs"). Here +follows a note to the scribe in Egypt similar to that translated above. + +One of the most interesting and instructive of the letters of Abdi-taba is +that which Petrie regards as the latest of the series; and on account of +its importance, it is given in full here-- + +"(To) the king, my lord, (s)ay also thus: 'It is (Abdi)-taba thy servant. +At the feet of the (ki)ng my lord twice seven times and twice seven times +I fall down. (Behold, the deed) which Milki-ili and Su-ardatum have done +to the land of the king my lord has been successful (?). The men of the +city of Gazri (Gezer), the men of the city of Gimti (Gath), and the men of +the city of Kilti (Keilah) have been captured. The land of the city of +Rubute has revolted. The land of the king (belongs to) the Habiri. And +now, moreover, a city of the land of Jerusalem, the city Beth-Ninip +("House" or "Temple of Ninip")--(this is) its name--has revolted to the +people of Kilti. Let the king hearken to Abdi-taba thy servant, and let +him send hired soldiers, and let me bring back the land of the king to the +king. And if there be no hired soldiers, the land of the king will go over +to the men, the Habiri. This deed (is the deed of) Su-ardatum (and) +Milki-ili ... city ... and let the king care for his land.' " + +Whether the fall of Jerusalem followed or not is doubtful; nor is it +certain that the Egyptians were ultimately driven out. Other letters seem +to show how the influence of those whom Abdi-taba calls the Habiri, and +others the Habati--the "confederates" and the "plunderers"--spread still +farther southward. Naturally more information is required to enable it to +be known in what manner the Egyptians tried to retrieve their position, +and how it was that Amenophis IV. delayed so long the sending of troops. +All the governors who were in the least degree faithful to Egypt united in +repeatedly warning him as to what was taking place, and urging him to send +troops. Had the rebellion or invasion--whichever it was--been nipped in the +bud, Palestine would have remained a faithful Egyptian province. All the +king did, however, was to send his commissioner, and, occasionally, +exhorting and even threatening letters, which had in all probability +little or no effect, except to excite a little mild amusement on account +of their erratic spelling. A very noteworthy communication of this class +is the following-- + +The King Of Egypt Rebukes The Prince Of The Amorites. + +"(To) the Amorite say then thus, ('It is the king'). The king thy lord +(hath hear)d thus: 'The Gebalite whose brother drove him from the gate +(hath spoke)n to thee thus: "Take me and cause me to enter into my city, +(and a reward) then let me give thee--yea, however much, (though) it be not +with me." Thus did he speak to thee.' + +"Writest thou (no)t to the king thy lord (th)us: 'I am thy servant like +all the former governors who (were each) in the midst of his city'? But +thou doest wrong to receive a governor whose brother hath driven him from +his gate out of his city. + +"And (whilst) dwelling in Sidon, thou deliveredst him to the governors as +was thy will. Knewest thou not the hatred of the people? + +"If thou be in truth a servant of the king, why hast thou not made +possible his transmission to the presence of the king thy lord, (saying) +thus: 'This governor sent to me thus: "Take me to thee, and cause me to +enter into my city" '? + +"And if thou hast done according to right, then all the matters are not +true concerning which thou wrotest: 'They are trustworthy,' for the king +thought thus: 'All that thou hast said is not correct.' + +"And behold, the king hath heard thus: Thou art in agreement with the man +of Kidsa (Kadesh), food and drink together have ye supplied. And be it +true, why doest thou thus? why art thou in agreement with a man with whom +the king is on bad terms? And if thou hast done according to right, and +hast regard to thy opinion, then his opinion existeth not. Thou hast no +care for the things which thou hast done from the first. What hath been +done to thee among them (the disaffected ones), that thou art not with the +king thy lord? + +"Behold, those who attract(?) thee to themselves seek to throw thee into +the fire; and it is kindled, and thou findest everything very +satisfactory. + +"And if thou do homage to the king thy lord, what is there which the king +would not do for thee? If on account of anything thou wish to work evil, +and if thou set evil, and words of hate, in thine heart, then by the +king's ax shalt thou die, together with all thy family. + +"So do homage to the king thy lord, and thou shalt live. And thou knowest, +even thou, that the king desireth not to attack the land of Kinahhi +(Canaan), the whole of it. + +"And as thou hast sent thus: 'Let the king leave me this year, and let me +come in the second year before the king, my lord--my son is not here to +...;' behold, then, the king thy lord will grant thee this year, according +as thou hast said. Come thou (or if thy son, send), and thou shalt see the +king at the sight of whom all the lands live. And say not thus: 'Let him +leave me this year in addition.' If it be not possible to go into the +presence of the king thy lord, direct thy son to the king thy lord +instead. He (need) not (stay with thee), let him come. + +"And, behold, the king thy lord hath heard that thou hast written to the +king thus: 'Let the king my lord allow Hanni, the king's messenger, to +come a second time and let me cause the enemies of the king to be taken +back by his hand.' Behold, he hath come to thee, as thou hast said, and +leave not one of them behind. Behold, the king thy lord causeth to be +brought to thee the names of the enemies of the king in this letter at the +hands of Hanni, the king's messenger, so cause them to be brought to the +king thy lord, and do not leave one of them (behind). And brazen bonds +shall be placed on their feet. Behold, the men whom thou shalt cause to be +sent to the king thy lord (are): + + + "Sarru with all his sons; + Tuya; + Leya with all his sons; + Wisyari with all his sons; + The son-in-law of Mania (or Ma-ili-ia) with his sons, (and) with + his wives; + The _pa-maka_ of Hanni the _pa-iteiu_ (? messenger) who reads + (this) message; + Da-sarti; Paluma; + Nimmahe, the _kapadu_ in the land of Amurru. + + +" 'And mayest thou know: well is the king, like the Sun in Heaven; his +soldiers and chariots are many. From the upper country as far as the lower +country, (from) sunrise as far as sunset (_i.e._ from the extreme east to +the extreme west), great is the prosperity.' " + +To all appearance Amenophis IV. trusted too much to his own prestige, and +that of the country over which he ruled. He was "the son of the Sun," +"like unto the Sun in Heaven," "the king at the sight of whom all the +lands live," and naturally took it for granted that he was everywhere +looked upon with the same veneration as in his own country. + + ------------------------------------- + +As may easily be imagined, the expulsion of the Egyptians from Palestine +left the country in a very disturbed state, and marauding bands, having no +longer anything to do in the way of wresting territory from the Egyptians, +must have given considerable trouble to the native princes and governors, +now once more independent in their own territories. + +The loss of Palestine, on the other hand, probably brought with it a +certain amount of loss of prestige to Egypt, which must have endured for +some time. In any case, the Egyptian kings who succeeded Amenophis IV. +seem to have made no attempt to regain the lost provinces. + +Ankh-kheperu-Ra, the king who succeeded the ruler just named, lived for a +while at Tel-el-Amarna, during which time, in all probability, the tomb of +his predecessor's six daughters was finished. Several rings of this king +exist, on two of which he calls himself "beloved of Nefer-kheperu-Ra" (or, +in accordance with the indications of the Tel-el-Amarna tablets: +Nafar-khoperu-Ria) and "beloved of Ua-en-Ra," names of Amenophis IV. +During his reign the worship of the sun's disc (Aten, or, if the +derivation from the Semitic Adon, "lord," be correct, Aton) began to give +way to that of the national gods of Egypt. He reigned thirteen years +(1365-1353 B.C.), and was succeeded by Ra-kheperu-neb (1353-1344). The +paintings in the tomb of Hui at Thebes show that tribute was still +received from the Syrians (Rutennu), as well as from the people of Kush in +the Soudan. Evidently the road was being paved for the conquest of the +lost provinces of Syria. + +After this came a ruler who seems to have held the throne only on account +of his wife being of royal blood. According to Petrie, he was "divine +father Ay," and his wife's name was Ty. He reigned thirteen years +(1344-1332 B.C.). During his reign a complete reversion to the old worship +took place. + +Ay's successor, Ra-ser-kheperu (Hor-em-heb), 1332-1328 B.C., was +apparently also a commoner, and is identified (Petrie) with the Hor-em-heb +who was general in an earlier reign. He is represented being adored by +negroes and Asiatics. + +One or two other obscure names occur, and then begins the reign of king +Rameses I., who came to the throne about 1300 B.C. This reign was short +enough, but there is hardly any doubt that in it the prosperity of Egypt +was renewed. From the treaty of the Khita with Rameses II., the grandson +of Rameses I., we learn that the latter had a war with the Khita, and from +the fact that he founded a storehouse for the temple of his divine father +Hor-khem, and filled it with captive men-servants and maid-servants, we +may conclude that he was fairly successful in his warlike expeditions. + +With his son, Seti (Sethos) I., or Meneptah ("beloved of Ptah"), we attain +firmer ground. In the very first year of his reign he warred in the east, +among the Shasu Bedouin, "from the fortress of Khetam (Heb. Etham) in the +land of Zalu, as far as Kan'ana (Canaan)." Kadesh, at that time a city of +the Kheta (it had apparently fallen into the hands of the Hittites during +the reign of Amenophis IV.), was conquered by him. Not only the Hittites, +however, but also Naharain (Naharaim), the country of which Dusratta of +old had been king, upper and lower Rutennu (Canaan and North Syria), +Sinjar, the island of Cyprus, and Cappadocia, felt the force of his arms. +His son, Rameses II., was associated with him on the throne, and +afterwards succeeded him. This took place about 1300 B.C. It is to this +ruler that the glory of the name of Rameses is principally due, and his +grandfather, the first who bore it, shines mainly with a reflected light. + +It is impossible here to do more than touch upon such of the details of +his career as are essential in the present work. In all probability he is +best known on account of his expedition into Syria, and the conquest of +the Hittites, who, as recorded in the celebrated heroic poem of Pentaur, +were allied with a number of other tribes, including the people of +Naharaim, Aleppo, Gauzanitis, the Girgashites (?), Carchemish, etc. The +result was success for the Egyptian arms, and the Hittites, on the whole, +submitted, though some of the towns acknowledging Hittite rule, notably +Tunep, refused to accept Egyptian suzerainty, necessitating another +expedition, the result of which was, that the Egyptians found no more +opposition to their overlordship. In his eighth and succeeding years he +fought against the Canaanites, and in his descriptions of his operations +there, many familiar names are to be found--names of great interest to all +students of ancient Oriental history. It was in his eighth year, according +to the texts in the Ramesseum, that he conquered Shalam (Salamis W. of +Capernaum, according to Prof. Flinders Petrie), Marom (Merom), the spring +of Anamimi (identified with Anamim), Dapur (identified with Tabor by +Brugsch), and many other places. + +Rameses II. is generally regarded as the Pharaoh of the Oppression, and +one of the tasks placed upon the oppressed Israelites was the building of +his store-cities, Pithom (Pi-tum, discovered by M. Naville when excavating +for the Egypt Exploration Fund) and Raamses, the Pi-Ramessu of the +inscriptions, concerning which there is a very interesting letter by an +Egyptian named Panbesa, who visited it. As Brugsch says: "We may suppose +that many a Hebrew, perhaps Moses himself, jostled the Egyptian scribe in +his wandering through the gaily-dressed streets of the temple-city." + +The successor of Rameses, Meneptah II., is hardly the son which one would +expect to follow such a father. According to Brugsch, he does not rank +with those Pharaohs who transmitted their remembrance to posterity by +grand buildings and the construction of new temples. And the monolith +found by Petrie in 1896 seems to imply that his lists of conquests were +not always so trustworthy as could be wished. Nevertheless, the reign of +Meneptah is one of the greatest importance, for it was he, to all +appearance, who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, as seems also to be proved +by the same document. As this is a text of the very first importance, a +translation of the concluding lines is given here-- + +"Kheta (the land of the Hittites) is in peace, captive is Canaan and full +of misery, Askelon is carried away, Gezer is taken, Yennuamma is +non-existent, Israel is lost, his seed is not,(75) Syria is like the +widows of Egypt. The totality of all the lands is at peace, for whoever +rebelled was chastised by king Meneptah." + +Now the statement concerning Israel has given rise to a considerable +amount of discussion. Naville regards the reference to the condition in +which the Israelites were as indicating that they had left Egypt, and were +wandering, "lost" in the desert. There is also some probability that the +expression, "his seed is not," may be a reference to the decree of the +king, who commanded the destruction of the male children of the Hebrews, +which command, he may have imagined, had been finally carried out. The +question also naturally arises, whether the last phrase, "whoever rebelled +was chastised by king Meneptah," may not have a reference to the +Israelites, who, from their own showing, were sufficiently peremptory in +their demands to be allowed to proceed into the wilderness to sacrifice to +their god, to bring down upon themselves any amount of resentment. + +Exceedingly noteworthy, and in many respects startling, however, are the +researches and statements of Dr. Edouard Mahler. Following Spiegelberg as +to the meaning of the phrase containing the name of the Israelites, +"Jenoam has been brought to naught; Israel, the horde, destroyed his +crops"--a statement which hardly seems worthy of the honour of being +inscribed on the memorial stele of a king of Egypt--is the rendering he +suggests. The translation of the word _feket_ (which is rendered by other +Egyptologists as "annihilated, lost," or in some similar way) by "horde," +allows the learned chronologist to suggest, that the ideographs +accompanying the word Israelites indicate that they had already entered +the Holy Land, and were trying to obtain a foothold there. + +Having made these statements, he proceeds to examine the whole question. +He asserts the correctness of the view, that Amosis, the founder of the +eighteenth dynasty, was the prince who knew not Joseph. The first king of +this new dynasty, he calculates, came to the throne two years after +Joseph's death. With regard to the reign of Rameses II., he refers to the +festival of the Sothis period which was celebrated in the thirtieth year +of his reign. Starting from this period,(76) which, according to Oppolzer, +was renewed in the year 1318 B.C., he calculates that the first year of +Rameses II. was 1347 B.C., and that the Exodus took place in his +thirteenth year, _i.e._ 1335 B.C. + +According to the _Pirke di Rabbi Elieser_, Dr. Mahler says, the departure +of the Israelites is said to have taken place on a Thursday. "This view is +also held in the Talmud (cf. Sabbath 87B), and the _Shulchan-Aroch_ also +maintains that _the 15th Nisan, the day of the Exodus, was a Thursday_. +This all agrees with the year B.C. 1335, for in that year the 15th Nisan +fell on a Thursday, and indeed on _Thursday the 27th of March (Julian +calendar)_." + +If we accept the theory that Rameses II. was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, +and that the Exodus took place in 1335 B.C., then Moses, who was eighty +years old at the time of the Exodus, must have been born in the year 1415 +B.C., _i.e._ the fifteenth year of Amenophis III. Now the chief wife of +this ruler was queen Teie (see p. 275), a woman who was certainly of +foreign, probably Asiatic, race. In all probability, therefore, Teie, +being an alien and of a different religion from the Egyptians, was not by +any means in favour with the Egyptian priesthood, however much the Pharaoh +may have delighted in her. The daughter of such a woman, as will easily be +understood, would find little or no opposition to the adoption by her of a +child of one of the Hebrews, an Asiatic like her mother. This, of course, +would explain excellently how it was that Moses came to be adopted and +educated by an Egyptian princess at her father's court, and that he had no +real sympathy with the people among whom he lived, though it raises +somewhat of a difficulty, for it is hard to understand how the Egyptian +king, sympathizing, as we may expect him to have done, with Asiatics, +should have ordered the destruction of their children. Nevertheless, +circumstances may easily have arisen to cause such a decree to be issued. +Another difficulty is, to explain who the people hostile to Moses were, +who in the thirteenth year of Rameses II. died (Exod. iv. 19). This has +generally been understood to be the king and one or more of his advisers, +though this objection, like the other, really presents no difficulty +worthy of the name, as there was no indication that the king was included. + +Of course there is no statement to the effect that Pharaoh was killed with +his army by the returning flood after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea +(in Ps. cxxxvi. 15 he must be regarded as having been overwhelmed therein +in the persons of his warriors, who suffered the fate which ought to have +stricken also the king), so that little or no difficulty exists in this +portion of the narrative.(77) On the other hand, a difficulty is got rid +of if we suppose that the Exodus took place in the time of Rameses II. Dr. +Mahler points out, that Meneptah was succeeded by his son and heir, +User-kheperu-Ra', who did not die, but reigned thirty-three years. The +eldest sons of Rameses II., on the other hand, all died during their +father's lifetime, and it was the fourteenth of his numerous progeny who +ultimately came to the throne. + +Dr. Mahler clinches the matter by making the plague of darkness to have +been a solar eclipse. + +Whatever may be the defects of Dr. Mahler's seductive theory, it must be +admitted that it presents fewer difficulties than any other that has yet +been put forward, and on that account deserves special attention. + + + + + +CHAPTER IX. THE NATIONS WITH WHOM THE ISRAELITES CAME INTO CONTACT. + + + The Amorites--The Hittites--The Jebusites--The Girgashites--Moab. + + + + +Amorites. + + +The earliest mention of the Amorites in the Old Testament is the passage +in Gen. x. 16, where the name occurs along with that of the Jebusites and +the Girgashites, from which may be gathered that they were all three very +powerful tribes, though their power is in all probability not to be +measured by the order of their names, the most important of the three +being the Amorites, whose name comes second. They were regarded by the +ancient Jews as an iniquitous and wicked people (Gen. xv. 6; 2 Kings xxi. +11), though they may not, in reality, have been worse than other nations +which were their contemporaries. That they were a powerful nation is +implied by the statement in Gen. xlviii. 22, where Jacob speaks of the +tract which he had taken out of the hand of the Amorite with his sword and +his bow, as a feat of which a warrior might be proud. + +The Amorites in Babylonia have already been referred to in Chap. V., and +from that part of the present work it will easily be understood that they +were an extensive and powerful nationality, capable, with organization, of +extending their power, as they evidently did from time to time, far and +wide. Indeed, as has been pointed out, there is great probability that the +Babylonian dynasty called by Berosus Arabic, was in reality Amorite. In +any case, the kings of this dynasty held sway over Amoria, as the +inscription of Ammi-titana, translated on p. 155, clearly shows. The +importance of this nationality in the eyes of the Babylonians is proved by +the fact that their designation for "west" was "the land of Amurru," and +the west wind was, even with the Assyrians, "the wind of the land of +Amurru" (though the Hittites, in Assyrian times, seem to have been the +more powerful nation), and this designation of the western point of the +compass probably long outlived the renown of the nationality from which +the expression was derived. Among other Biblical passages, testifying to +the power of the Amorites, may be quoted as typical Amos ii. 9, 10, and in +this the Babylonian and the Hebrew records are quite in agreement. + +As has been pointed out by Prof. Sayce, in process of time a great many +tribes--Gibeonites, Hivites, Jebusites, and even Hittites--were classed as +Amorites by the ancient Jewish writers, a circumstance which likewise +testifies to the power of the nationality. These identifications must be +to a large extent due to the fact that all the tribes or nationalities +referred to were mountaineers, and, as we have seen (p. 122), the Akkadian +character for a mountainous region or nationality, stood not only for +Armenia, and the land of the Amorites, but also for the land of Akkad, +because the Akkadians came from a mountainous country, perhaps somewhere +in the neighbourhood of the mountains of Elam. This character was +pronounced Ari when it stood for Amoria, but ceased to be used for that on +account of its signifying also the mountainous region of Armenia, and +Akkad, for which it still continued to be employed, and it is only the +context, in many cases, which enables the reader to gather which is meant. +Other groups used for Amoria were the sign for foot, twice over (sometimes +with one of them reversed), [Cuneiform], and [Cuneiform], the ordinary +pronunciation of which is Sarsar, though it is probable that the latter +was pronounced, in Akkadian, like the former, _i.e._ Tidnu. In the +inscriptions of Gudea, viceroy of Lagas about 2700 B.C., there occurs the +name of a country called Tidalum, "a mountain of Martu," from which a kind +of limestone was brought. This Hommel and Sayce regard as another form of +Tidnu, by the interchange of _l_ and _n_, which is not uncommon in +Akkadian. The fact that Martu is also used in the inscriptions for Amurru, +(the land of) the Amorites, and also, with the prefix for divinity, for +the Amorite god (_ilu Amurru_), which was introduced into Babylonia at an +exceedingly early date, confirms this explanation. In all probability +there is not at present sufficient data for ascertaining the dates when +these names first appear, but Tidnu or Tidalu was probably the earlier of +the two. + +What the exact boundaries of the district were are doubtful. Prof. Sayce, +after examining the Tel-el-Amarna tablets, comes to the conclusion that it +denoted the inland region immediately to the north of the Palestine of +later days. In this Petrie concurs, the country being, according to him, +the district of middle and lower Orontes, and certainly covering a large +area. This, of course, would be the position of the tract over which they +held sway in the earlier ages, but later they must have extended their +power so as to embrace the Jebusites (Jerusalem), and even Mamre in Gen. +xiv. 13. From this wide extension of the dominions of the Amorites in the +book of the Bible dealing with the earliest period of Jewish history, and +from the fact that the Assyro-Babylonians used the word to indicate the +west in general, it is clear that the Amorites occupied a wide tract in +the earlier ages, and must have been pushed gradually back, probably by +the Babylonians under Sargon of Agade, leaving, however, centres of +Amorite influence in the south, which, when the power of Egypt, which +followed that of Babylonia, waned and disappeared, left certain +independent states under Amorite rulers. It is thus that, at the time of +the Exodus, we find Og ruling at Bashan, who had threescore cities, all +the region of Argob, his chief seats being Edrei and Ashtaroth. This ruler +and his people were of the remnant of the Rephaim, regarded by Sayce as of +Amorite origin (Hastings's _Dictionary of the Bible_, under "Amorites"). +Whatever doubt there may be, however, about the origin of the Bashanites, +there is none concerning Sihon king of the Amorites dwelling more to the +south. A man of great courage and daring, he had driven the Moabites out +of their territory, obliging them to retreat across the Arnon. On the +entry of the Israelites, he gathered his troops and attacked them, but was +defeated and killed. Josephus (_Ant._ iv. 5, sect. 2) has some curious +details of this battle, in which he states that the Amorites were unable +to fight successfully when away from the shelter of their cities, but in +view of their successes against the Moabites, we may be permitted to doubt +this. + +In the Tel-el-Amarna tablets the ruler of the Amorites is apparently +Abdi-Asirti,(78) who, with his son Aziru, warred successfully against +Rib-Addi (Rib-Hadad), governor of Phoenicia, driving him from Sumuru and +Gublu (Gebal), which last city was occupied, according to Petrie's +analysis, by the two hostile parties in turn. Naturally there are a great +many recriminations on the part of Rib-Addi against Abdi-Asirti on account +of the hostility between them, and the former is constantly complaining to +the Pharaoh of what the latter had done, frequently calling him a dog, and +once seemingly referring to the Amorites as "dogs." (Elsewhere Abdi-Asirti +applies this word to himself as an expression of humility.) His letters to +the king of Egypt, however, are merely assurances of fidelity, and are all +short:-- + +"To the king my lord say then thus: '(It is) Abdi-Astarti, the king's +servant. At the feet of the king my lord I fall down--seven (times at) the +feet of the king my lord, and seven times again (?) both front part and +back. And may the king my lord know that strong is the hostility against +me, and let it be acceptable before the king my lord, and let him direct +one of the great men to protect me.' + +" 'Secondly, the king my lord has sent word to me, and I have heard--I have +heard all the words of the king my lord. Behold, the ten women forgotten +(?) I have brought' " (?). + +(It is here worthy of note, that he does not, in this letter, call himself +Abdi-Asirti, "servant of the Ashera," but Abdi-Astarti, "servant of +Astarte," using the Assyro-Babylonian ideograph for Istar, the original of +the goddess in question. On another document from him, the word is spelled +out, Ab-di-as-ta-ti, in which the scribe intended to write +Ab-di-as-ta-ar-ti, but omitted the last character but one. Yet another +letter gives his name as Abdi-As-ra-tum, in the second element of which we +must see another form of Abdi-Asirti, unless the scribe has also made a +mistake in this case, and written Asratum for Astaratum, which is just +possible. In any case, it shows a close connection between the goddess +Astarte or Istar, and the Ashera, which was in Palestine, at that date, +and for centuries before and after, her emblem. To be the servant of the +one was to be the servant of the other, though the bearer of the name +seems to have the desire rather to be considered the priest of the +goddess. Even unintentional variants in names furnish valuable +contributions at times to comparative mythology.) + +If there are but few letters from the father, there is a sufficient +number, and of considerable extent, from the son. He, too, is the faithful +servant of the Pharaoh, and he writes also to Dudu (a form of the name +David) and Hai, telling of the difficulties which he had with regard to +the king of the Hittites. It is apparently this prince to whom the Pharaoh +writes in the letter translated on pp. 300-302, a circumstance which leads +to the belief that the complaints of Rib-Addi with regard to Abdi-Asirti +and his son Aziru were well-founded. That the king of Egypt asks therein +for the delivery to him of certain persons whom he names, implies that he +had trustworthy information as to who the intriguers were, and though +apparently willing to give Aziru the benefit of the doubt, he certainly +did not hold him blameless. + +It will probably be long ere the true order of these letters is known, and +until this be found, much of the history of the period to which they refer +must necessarily remain uncertain. + + + + +Hittites. + + +Another nationality which took a predominant part in the politics of +ancient Palestine is the Hittites. To all appearance they were a later +power than the Amorites, as their name does not occur in the inscriptions +of Babylonia and Assyria until a comparatively late date, whilst the +Amorites are mentioned 2200 years before Christ, and their name had become +the common Assyro-Babylonian expression for "the west." That the Hittites +were nevertheless of considerable antiquity, however, is implied by the +presence of the sons of Heth at Mamre in the time of Abraham, who +purchased from Ephron the Hittite the cave of Machpelah in that place. It +is difficult to assign to these people any definite limits, especially in +early times, but it seems certain that they began to act far in the north, +and gradually extended their power southwards. In the times of Joshua, the +tract between the Lebanon and Euphrates is described as theirs, and their +domain was, in fact, the country to the north of Palestine. It was no +doubt due to their predominating power that the Assyrians of later days +called the whole of Palestine "the land of Hatti," a designation not +altogether correct, but sufficient for their purpose, namely, that of +indicating the position of the nationalities enumerated. Nevertheless, it +had some justification, several colonies of these people inhabiting that +district, as is indicated by Gen. xxiii. 3, xxv. 10; Numbers xiii. 29, +etc. The statement in Ezekiel xvi. 3, that the father of Jerusalem was an +Amorite and its mother a Hittite, shows what was the opinion of the more +learned Jews of the time in the matter. + +The earliest mention of the Hittites outside the Bible is in the Egyptian +monuments, where, in the annals of Thothmes III., it is recorded for the +year 1470 B.C., that the king proceeded to the banks of the Euphrates, and +received tribute from "the greater" land of the Hittites. In the year 1463 +B.C., the king of this district again paid tribute. During the reign of +Thothmes IV., grandson of Thothmes III., the relations between the two +countries must have changed, and the Egyptian king had to repel an attack +made by the Hittites upon Tunib (now Tennib) in Northern Syria. This +hostile policy was continued by them also at a later date, for the +successors of Thothmes IV., Amenophis III. and his son, Amenophis IV., had +often to oppose the Hittite king, who either attacked Northern Syria, or +stirred up strife among the Egyptian vassals in Canaan. + +Here, again, the Tel-el-Amarna tablets come in, and supply a mass of +details. At times the Hatti still send tribute, both to Amenophis III. and +IV., but at the close of the reign of the former, hostilities again broke +out, the Hittites being, to all appearance, the aggressors. Dusratta, king +of Mitanni, writes that he sends to the king of Egypt tribute of the +spoils which he had taken from the Hatti; and the king of Nuhasse, who +bears the Assyrian name of Addu-nirari, and whose grandfather had been +appointed by Thothmes III., complains that the king of the Hatti is +against him, and asks for help. From these and other statements it would +seem, that whoever was on the side of the king of Egypt was the enemy of +the Hittites, and therefore to be attacked by them. Akizzi, king of Qatna, +complains in one of the letters that the Hatti had burned down a city, and +reports in another that they had tried to win him over to their side. +Aziru, another prince in the neighbourhood, complains that the king of +Hatti has entered Nuhasse, and for this reason he could not leave his own +territory to go to the king of Egypt. At the end of one of his +communications, Akizzi states that the Sun-god had taken away the king of +the Hatti, but as no name is given, any historical importance which this +fact might have is greatly minimized. In other letters they are spoken of +as despoiling the princes of Gebal, capturing a personage named Lupakku +and the cities of Amki "even from the cities of Aaddu" (or Bin-Addu = +Ben-Hadad). As we have seen (pp. 288-289), at least a portion of them was +led by Etakama of Kinza. + +As is well known, a large number of hieroglyphic inscriptions of a people +regarded as the Hittites exist, and many attempts have been made to +translate them. In addition to these, there are many sculptures, mostly on +rocks, and still _in situ_. The most remarkable of these are at Bogaz +Keui, Eyouk, Iasili-Kaia, Ghiaour-kalesi, Doganlu-deresi, Ibriz, +Eflatun-bunar, Karabeli, and elsewhere in Asia Minor, as well as at +Jerabis (anciently called Carchemish), Hamah (Hamath), and monuments of +the Hittites have even been found at Babylon. How they came to this last +place is not at present known, but they may have formed part of the spoils +brought from the west by any of the later conquerors (such a supposition +would probably be better than attributing to them a very early date), or +sent thither as presents or as specimens of Hittite work. It is noteworthy +that the inscriptions, with the exception of the bowl brought from +Babylon, are all in relief and boustrophedon. A large number of seals, +both of the ordinary kind and cylindrical, are known, and though there are +bilingual inscriptions (Hittite and Babylonian), none of them are of +sufficient length to make them really serviceable in translating other +texts in the same character. + +Notwithstanding the great difficulty attending such a task as the +translation of these inscriptions, a certain amount of success has been +attained. Those who have advanced the study most are Prof. Sayce in +England, and Profs. Jensen and Hommel in Germany. It will be many years, +however (unless some unexpected help come to light), before renderings in +any real sense of the word useful can be made. + +In the opinion of Prof. Sayce, Cappadocia was the earliest home of this +nationality, which spread thence in every direction (except, perhaps, +northwards), and made itself master of a part of Palestine, from which +circumstance the district came to have, in Assyrian literature, the name +of "the land of Hatti." Though later than the Amorite invasion, it +nevertheless took place at a very early date, as is shown by the fact that +Abraham had dealings with Ephron, a Hittite or "son of Heth." + +Coming down to a later date, it is interesting to see what is said about +them by the kings of Assyria. Tiglath-pileser I. (about 1120 B.C.) says as +follows-- + + + "... 4000 Kaskaians (and) Urumaians, people of the land of Hatte, + disobedient, who in their strength had taken the cities of + Subarte, subject unto the god Asur, my lord, heard of my march to + Subarte; the brilliance of my power overwhelmed them, they feared + the conflict, my feet they embraced. With their goods and II. + _sos_ (120) of chariots of their system of yoking(79) I took from + them, and delivered to the people of my land." + + +Farther on in his record, Tiglath-pileser I. states that he collected his +chariots and warriors, and took to the desert, going to the border-people +of the Arameans, enemies of Asur his lord. From before the land of Suhi +(the Shuhites) as far as the city Carchemish of the land of Hatte, he +boasts of having plundered in a single day, slaughtering their soldiers, +and taking back to his own country all their property. Some of them fled +across the Euphrates, followed by the Assyrians in boats of skins, and the +result of this flight to seek safety was, that six of their cities at the +foot of the mountain known as Bisru, were taken, plundered, and destroyed. + +In other passages of his record also, this king refers to certain +districts which were undoubtedly Hittite, but without calling them by that +name. One of these--the interesting description of his operations in +Commagene--is especially worthy of notice. It reads as follows-- + +"In those days the people of Qurhe, who had come with the people of +Kummuhi to save and help the land of Kummuhi, I caused to go down like +_sube._(80) The corpses of their warriors I heaped up in heaps on the tops +of the mountains, the carcases of their warriors the river Name took forth +to the Tigris. Kili-Tesub son of Kali-Tesub, whom Irrupi put to flight +(?), their king, my hand took in the midst of the battle. His wives, +children, offspring of his heart, his force, III. _sos_ (180) plates of +copper, 5 censers of bronze, with their gods, (objects) of gold and +silver, and the best of their property, I carried off. Their spoil and +their goods I sent forth, that city and its palace I burned with fire, +destroyed (it), laid (it) waste. + +"The city Urrahinas, their stronghold, situated in the land of Panari, +fear dreading(81) the glory of Asur, my lord, overwhelmed them; to save +their lives they carried away their gods (and their goods), they fled to +the peaks of the lofty mountains like a bird. I collected my chariots and +troops, (and) crossed the Tigris, Sa-di-Tesub, son of Hattu-sar, king of +Urrahinas, not to be captured in his own country, took my feet. The +children, offspring of his heart, and his family, I took as hostages. I. +_sos_ (60) plates of copper, libation-vases of bronze, offering-dishes of +bronze, great ones, with II. _sos_ (120) men, oxen, sheep, tribute and +gifts, he brought, (and) I received it. I had mercy on him, spared his +life, (and) set the heavy yoke of my dominion over him for ever. I +captured the wide land of Kummuhi to its (whole) extent (and) made it +submit to my feet. At that time I offered one bronze offering-dish and one +bronze libation-vase of the spoil and gifts of the land of Kummuhi to Asur +my lord, (and) I. _sos_ of copper plates, with their gods, I presented to +Hadad who loveth me." + +In the above extract the names containing that of the god Tesub show +clearly that we have here to do with nationalities in the neighbourhood of +Mitanni (see p. 277), and a close relation with the Hittites is suggested +by the other name Hattu-sar, father of Sadi-Tesub, which is an analogous +formation to Hattu-sil, the Kheta-sir of Egyptologists, with whom Rameses +II. made a treaty (cf. p. 304). Another reading of Hattu-sar is Hattuhi, a +name which Prof. Sayce translates, "the Hittite," in the second series of +the _Records of the Past_, vol. i. p. 97, note 2. In the same passage he +analyzes the name of the city Urrahinas as being derived from Urra, with +the termination _hi-nas_, denoting in Vannite, "the place of the people +of." + +Another interesting reference to the Hittites is that of the Assyrian king +Assur-nasir-apli, renowned for his cruelty. The king ruling at the time +was Sangara, who had as his capital the city of Carchemish. The text reads +as follows-- + +"I drew near to the land of Carchemish. The tribute of Sangara, king of +the land of Hatte--20 talents of gold, bangles (?) of gold, rings of gold, +swords of gold, 100 talents of bronze, 250 talents of iron, dishes of +bronze, vases of bronze, libation-vases of bronze, a brazier of bronze, +and the numerous vessels of his palace, the weight of which was not taken; +couches of oak, chairs of oak, tables of oak and ivory inlaid, 200 +slave-girls (or virgins), cotton stuffs, woollen cloth, white and black +and white and grey, white marble (?), tusks of elephants, a white chariot, +an umbrella of gold filled with overlaying (?), the ornament of his +royalty, I received. The chariots, horses, (and) grooms of the city +Carchemish, (of the Hittites(82)) I set (aside) for myself." + +The riches and importance of the city of Carchemish are here well +indicated, and to all appearance the place maintained its position to the +end, long after the power of the Hittites had completely disappeared. +Indeed, as will be recognized from the above, Sangara has every appearance +of having been a local ruler, implying that the district under Hittite +control was already broken up into small states practically independent of +each other. Another prince of the Hittites, in the neighbourhood of +Diarbekir, from whom this Assyrian king received tribute was "the son of +Bahiani." Apparently he was called thus on account of his ancestor, +Bahiani, being chief of a tribe, the district over which he ruled bearing, +in Assur-nasir-apli's second reference to it, the name of Bit-Bahiani, +"the house of Bahiani." The special products of this tract are well +indicated by the nature of the gifts sent to the Assyrian king: "chariots, +harness, horses, silver, gold, lead, bronze, and vessels of bronze." That +these Hittite districts paid tribute so submissively would seem to +indicate that they had no coherence among themselves, and did not feel +called upon to aid each other in time of need. + +Sargon of Assyria, who claims to have subjugated all the land of the +Hittites, speaks, as do other Assyrian kings, of the people of Hamath, and +what he did to Ilu-bi'idi or Yau-bi'idi, their king. This, too, was the +capital of a Hittite principality, and it is in the modern town of Hamah, +in which form the name still survives, that the so-called "Hamah-stones," +now generally regarded as Hittite, were found. + +The disappearance of the Hittite confederate states (if such they really +were), and the rise in their place from time to time of other powers, +caused the Assyrians, who regarded this territory as their own special +possession, won by conquest, to apply to the whole district the name of +mat _Hatti_, "the land of Heth," which would seem to have included +(probably in its extended sense) Samaria, Sidon, Arvad, Gebal, Ashdod, +Beth-Ammon, Moab, Edom, Askelon, and Judah.(83) It thus, to all +appearance, took the place of the ancient "land of the Amorites" (not, +however, when indicating the points of the compass), and in this the +inscriptions of Esarhaddon and Assur-bani-apli agree. + +What the influence of the Hittites over the nations contemporary with them +may have been is difficult to estimate. The Assyrians, to all appearance, +borrowed from them a certain style of architecture, used for the +entrance-hall of the royal palaces. Their style of art, of which numerous +examples are preserved, shows that they had made considerable progress, +and that they had individuality as artists. Neither in sculpture nor in +engraving of hard stone, however, did they ever attain to the exquisite +fineness and finish of the best work of the artists of Babylonia and +Assyria. The subjects, too, seem to be usually more grotesque, though this +suggestion, which their work gives, may be due merely to our ignorance of +their religious beliefs and the legends on which the designs were probably +based. + +The inscribed vase in the British Museum, and the inscribed figure found +by the German explorers at the same place have already been referred to +(pp. 317-318), and it has been suggested as probable that they were sent +as presents to one or more of the Babylonian kings, though the possibility +that they were part of the spoils of an expedition to that part of the +world, or specimens of Hittite art carried off at a later date, when the +nations producing them had passed away, are also probable explanations. In +any case, they seem to show that there were, at some period or other, +political relations between the Hittites and the Babylonians. + + + + +Jebusites. + + +The importance of the Jebusites, who were, to all appearance, but a small +tribe, lies in the circumstance, that their capital and stronghold, at the +time the Israelites entered the Holy Land, was Jerusalem. In consequence +of this, Jerusalem is mentioned, in one or two places (Jud. xix. 10; 1 +Chron. xi. 4, 5, etc.), apparently poetically, under the name of Jebus, +perhaps so called by the Jebusites because of its being the capital of +their tribe. The original name of the city, however, as we know from Gen. +xiv. and the Tel-el-Amarna tablets (see p. 239), was Uru-salim. When the +Jebusites took possession of the city, however, is unknown, but in all +probability neither Melchizedek nor Abdi-taba belonged to the race. + +Apart from the references to this tribe in connection with Jerusalem, +there is no indication as to its origin and race. The name of their ruler, +Adoni-zedek, however, seems to show clearly that they were Semites, and we +may suppose, with Driver, that they were Canaanites (Hastings, _Dict. of +the Bible_, s.v.). It is apparently one of the tribes of which the +Babylonian and Assyrian inscriptions know nothing as a body, but the name +of Yabusu, which would be the old form of Jebus, occurs in a contract +tablet of the time of the first dynasty of Babylon (about 2200 B.C.), and, +if really the name of the tribe, as it would seem to be, confirms its +antiquity, as indicated by the references to it in Genesis. + +It is not improbable that future discoveries will give us more information +concerning this tribe, interesting principally on account of its having +come into contact with the Jews. + + + + +Girgashites. + + +This nation, descended from the fifth son of Canaan, seems to have +inhabited the tract on the western bank of the Jordan, and on that account +was not within easy reach of the Babylonians and Assyrians. The name, it +is thought, is closely connected with that of Gergesa, where Christ healed +the demoniac, and allowed the evil spirits to enter into the herd of swine +which then ran down the slope into the sea. This Gergesa has, in its turn, +been identified with Kersa, a ruined town near the mouth of the Wady +Samakh. If this be the case, there is some probability that the +Girgashites are the Kirkisati of a tablet from Assyria which seemingly +contains an early historical record, or an historical legend. Whether the +Kirkisati be identical with the Girgashites or not, the text is of +sufficient importance to make it a valuable record, and a translation of +the more perfect and interesting of the lines is given here-- + + + "Gazzani to the resting-place he has decided upon,(84) + to the fortress camp of Kirkisati, + to Zakar-gimilli (king?) of the Sihites, + to wide-spreading Kirkisati, + to Harri-si'isi, to Dur-Dungi, + and the neighbourhood of Tengurgur (?) may he go forth, and + to the land of Halman, the place to which his eyes are set, may he + go. + By the command of the enemy, the Lullubite, may he accomplish + (it)-- + As for him, his horses, his soldiers, his chariots, in peace to + the land of Halman have approached, and the enemy, the + Lullubite, + whether from before him, or from beside him, or from his right, + or from his left, did not cease (?) from him, and shall not + destroy him, + shall not make him fail, shall not cause him to diminish." + + +That the majority of the countries mentioned are near to Babylonia, is +against the probability that Kirkisati (if it be a country) is the land of +the Girgashites, unless Halman be Aleppo, and not the Mesopotamian tract +of the same name; or unless, being a "numerous people," they had sent out +colonies to the neighbourhood of Babylonia, as did the Amorites; or +emigrants, like the Jebusites. Whatever be the explanation, however, the +above fragment is exceedingly interesting, the more so, that in the first +line of the extract as given above, the person spoken of is to all +appearance Gazzani, which is possibly the completion of the name of the +father of Tudhula, and is written, as far as it is preserved, in the same +way.(85) + +It is noteworthy that the prefix for country is absent in every case, +except that of Halman. + + + + +Moabites. + + +Concerning the early history and state of the Moabites we get no +information from the inscriptions of Babylonia and Assyria, though the +name Muab occurs on the base of one of the six colossal inscriptions at +Luxor (_Patriarchal Palestine_, p. 21). For a time, in all probability, it +was like an Egyptian province, or, at least, greatly under Egyptian +influence. It is not until comparatively late times that the Moabites come +before us in Assyrian history, and the same thing may be said with regard +to the Edomites, Ammonites, and other petty states. As these will be +referred to incidentally in the chapters which follow, it has been thought +well not to treat of them here, in order to avoid repetition as much as +possible. + + + + + +CHAPTER X. CONTACT OF THE HEBREWS WITH THE ASSYRIANS. + + + Assur-nasir-apli II.--Shalmaneser II.--Tiglath-pileser III. + (Pul)--Shalmaneser IV. + (Elulaeus)--Sargon--Sennacherib--Esarhaddon--Assur-bani-apli (the + great and noble Asnappar)--The downfall of Assyria. + + +The Hebrew commonwealth had come into being, and given place to a +monarchy, which, passing through many vicissitudes, reached its highest +pitch of glory in the time of David and Solomon, to suffer, after the +death of the latter, diminution by the falling away of the ten tribes. +Thus weakened, the two parts of what had been erstwhile a powerful whole +became tempting morsels to any power whose ruler was ambitious of +conquest. It was probably more from unwillingness to attack with but +little chance of success than inability from inherent weakness which +caused the Assyrians to refrain whilst the nation was united. Generally, +the kings of Assyria preferred making conquests nearer home, and +Tukulti-Ninip I., who reigned in the 13th century B.C., annexed Babylonia +and ruled there for seven years, Assyrian predominance in that land coming +to an end on his death, which was due to a revolt, in which his son, +Assur-nasir-apli, took part. Though this was a check to Assyrian ambition +in that quarter, its kings returned from time to time to the attack, but +with very varying success, which probably caused them to turn their +attention to other districts as the field of their warlike zeal. +Tukulti-Ninip II. (891-885 B.C.) and his son, Assur-nasir-apli II., +therefore aimed at the conquest of the north and west, and though the +latter came into conflict with Babylonia, no permanent accession of +territory resulted therefrom. + +It seems not to have been until somewhat late in his reign that he +reached, in his numerous expeditions, the Mediterranean Sea, "the great +western sea," or "the great sea of the land of Amurru,"(86) as he calls +it. Here, after performing ceremonies to the gods of Assyria, he received +the tribute of the kings of the sea-coast--"of the land of the Tyrians, the +land of the Sidonians, the land of the Gebalites, the land of the +Mahallatites, the land of the Maizites, the land of the Kaizites, the land +of the Amorites, (and) the city of Arvad, which is amid the sea." This is +followed by a list of the objects received, and the statement that they +(the rulers) paid him homage. Having thus spied out the nakedness of the +land, and ascertained the willingness of the rulers to give tribute, the +Assyrian king proceeded to the mountains of Hamanu (Amanus), and cut beams +of cedar, cypress, and other wood for the temple E-sarra, for his house or +temple (apparently that in which he worshipped), "a house of rejoicing, +(and) for the temple of the moon and the sun, the glorious gods." + +Shalmaneser II., son of Assur-nasir-apli, during the first six years of +his reign, warred, like his father, on the north and west, his object +being to complete what his father had begun, namely, the subjugation of +the territory of Ahuni, son of Adini, king of Til-barsip. This having been +successfully accomplished, he was free to turn his attention to the more +southern regions of the old land of the Amorites. In the year 854 B.C., +therefore, he marched against Giammu, a ruler whose land lay on the river +Belichus. To all appearance this chief wished to resist, but his people +feared the power of the Assyrian king, and put Giammu to death. Taking +possession of the district, he then proceeded to further successes, and +after crossing the Euphrates again in boats of skins, he received the +tribute of the kings on the farther side--Sangara of Carchemish, Kundaspu +of Commagene, Aramu the son of Gusu, Lallu the Milidian, Haianu the son of +Gabaru, Kalparuda of the Patinians, and Kalparuda of the Gurgumians, "(at) +the city Assur-uttir-asbat, of the farther side of the Euphrates, which is +upon the river Sajur, which the men of the Hittites call the city Pitru" +(Pethor). Having reached Aleppo, he received also tribute there, and +offered sacrifices before Hadad of Aleppo. + +Next came the turn of Irhuleni of Hamath (Amataa), whose cities Adennu, +Parga, and Argana were captured and spoiled, and his palaces set in +flames. + +"From Argana I departed, to Qarqara I drew near: Qarqara, his royal city, +I ravaged, destroyed, (and) burnt with fire. One thousand two hundred +chariots, 1200 yoke of horses, 20,000 trained soldiers of Adad-'idri (= +Bin-Adad-idri = Ben-Hadad) of Sa-imerisu (= the province of Damascus); 700 +chariots, 700 yoke of horses, (and) 10,000 soldiers of Irhuleni of the +land of the Hamathites; 2000 chariots (and) 10,000 men of Ahabbu (regarded +as Ahab) of the land of the Sir'ilites (regarded as the Israelites); 500 +men of the Guites; 1000 men of the Musrites; 10 chariots (and) 10,000 men +of the Irqanatites; 200 men of Matinu-ba'ali of the city of the Arvadites; +200 men of the land of the Usanatites; 30 chariots (and) 10,000 men of +Adunu-ba'ali of the land of the Sianians;(87) 1000 camels of Gindibu'u of +the Arbaa (regarded as the Arabians); ... 00 men of Ba'asa son of Ruhubu +of the land of the Amanians (Ammonites)--these 12(88) kings he took to aid +him, (and) to make war and battle they advanced against me. With the +supreme powers which Assur, the lord, has given; with the mighty weapons +which _ura-gala_ (Nergal(89)) going before me, has presented (me), I +fought with them. From the city Qarqara as far as the city Gilzau(90) I +made an end of them. Fourteen thousand of their warriors I caused to be +slain with the sword. Like Hadad I caused a torrent to rain down upon +them...." + +Such is the account of the first recorded contact of the Assyrians with +the Jews--that is, if Sir'ilaa be rightly rendered "Israelites"; as to +Ahab, there may have been more than one of the name, just as there were +two Kalparudas, he of the Patinians, and he of the Gurgumians. +Nevertheless, the probability that it really is Ahab of Israel is great, +and this theory is held by most Assyriologists. + +In truth, however, the Hebrew and the Assyrian histories of this period +are not altogether easy to reconcile. Ben-Hadad II., the son and successor +of Ben-Hadad I., was in almost continual conflict with the Israelites. The +story is told in 1 Kings xx., according to which Ben-Hadad entered into an +alliance with thirty-two other kings, who, with their armies, horses, and +chariots, besieged Samaria. Too full of confidence, he sent to Ahab of +Israel, who was in the besieged city, demanding his surrender, the second +time with terms more than usually humiliating. In consequence of the words +of a prophet who is unnamed, the rejection of these terms was followed by +a sortie of the inhabitants, who seem to have taken the besiegers +unawares, whilst they were feasting and drinking in their over-confidence. +The result was the raising of the siege, and the complete defeat of the +allied forces. + +The next attack of Ben-Hadad upon Ahab was at Aphek, he hoping to obtain a +victory over the Israelites because he considered their God to be a god of +the mountains, and that they would not be under his protection in the +plains. Here, too, the Israelites were victorious, and Ben-Hadad +submitted, and agreed to restore cities taken by his father (xx. 34), and +to allow the Israelites to build streets at Damascus (probably as a +quarter for Jewish merchants). + +Admitting the correctness of the general opinions of Assyriologists +concerning _Ahabbu mat Sir'ilaa_, it must have been between this period +and his death that he joined the Syrian league against Shalmaneser II. of +Assyria, with a force only half that of Ben-Hadad, though his chariots +were nearly twice as many. Notwithstanding this, however, the Israelitish +troops were sufficiently numerous, and the defeat of such a large army as +that of the allies of the Syrian league, and the slaughter of a total of +14,000 men among them (another account says 20,500), many of them in all +probability Israelites, finds no place, strange to say, in the sacred +record, notwithstanding that the Hebrew writers do not, as a rule, in the +least object to mentioning national defeat, and in this case it would have +been a most important thing to refer to, the danger which threatened them +and their allies being such as promised to overthrow their national +existence altogether. Perhaps the compiler of the sacred record, however, +did not realize to the full what the Assyrian invasion meant; or he may +not have desired to justify Ahab's policy (which, in view of the danger +which threatened, was a sound one), and so discredit with the people the +fanatical behaviour and tragic warning of the prophet who reproached the +king so mercilessly because he had made friends with Ben-Hadad instead of +pressing on against him in hostility, even to the death. + +The Rev. Joseph Horner (_Proceedings of the Society of Biblical +Archaeology_, 1898, p. 244), besides bringing in the chronological +difficulty, which is very real, in spite of Prof. Oppert's _Noli me +tangere_ (P.S.B.A., 1898, pp. 24-47), notes (pp. 237, 238) the difficulty +of the name. This is the only place where Israel is called in the Assyrian +inscriptions Sir´ilaa--in all other passages it is _bit Humri_, "the house +of Omri," or _mat bit Humri_, "the land of the house of Omri," and he +regards it as incredible that a name never used before, and never +afterwards found, should be employed. Elsewhere, when speaking of Jehu, +Shalmaneser calls him "son" or "descendant of Omri," apparently intending +thereby to indicate his nationality, for, as is well known, the +relationship expressed is not correct. + +Nevertheless, allowance must be made for the uncertainty attending the +introduction into the literature of a country of a name with which the +people, including the scribes, are unfamiliar. Humri or Omri may have +been, to the scribe who composed the account given by the Black Obelisk, +very much easier to remember than the comparatively unfamiliar Sir´ilaa, +and it may have been felt that the form used was not by any means +certain--Isra´ilaa would, in fact, have been much better. The scribe of the +monolith, however, may have inserted what he felt to be the +Assyro-Babylonian form of the name, for something very similar to Sir´ilaa +(or Ser´ilaa) exists in the Sar-ili of a contract tablet of the reign of +Ammi-zaduga, translated in the _Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society_, +1897, pp. 594-595 (cf. p. 157). + +But, as before remarked, the chronological difficulty still remains, the +date, from Hebrew sources, being, according to Prof. Oppert, before 900 +B.C. (the last year of Ahab), whilst, according to Assyrian chronology, it +should be 853 B.C. (cf. Sayce in Hastings's _Dictionary of the Bible_, +vol. i. p. 272). + +The importance of the city of Hamath is well indicated not only by the +above extract, but also by the numerous other passages where Irhuleni (or +Urhileni) of Hamath is referred to. The Guites were regarded by the late +Geo. Smith as the Biblical Goim--a rather doubtful identification. As for +the Musrites, the same scholar thought them to be the Egyptians, Musraa, +"Musrites," coming apparently from Musur, the name of Egypt in the +Assyrian inscriptions. Others regard them as being a people of the north, +and this is more probable, though it would perhaps be better to regard the +name as unidentified. The mention of "camels" in connection with Gindibu'u +of the Arbaa is regarded as stamping the nationality referred to as being +Arabic, and this is very probable. In Ba'asa son of Ruhubu of the +Ammonites we have the comparatively familiar Biblical names Baasha and +Rehob in their Assyrian forms. It will therefore be seen that the extract +translated above is of considerable interest quite independently of its +historical bearings, which are of great importance, whatever may be the +ultimate opinion concerning them. + +During the next three years Shalmaneser was occupied on the west and +north-west and in Babylonia, so that it was not until 850 B.C. that he was +again able to turn his attention to the neighbourhood of Palestine. + +The clemency of Ahab towards Ben-Hadad had apparently ended, as has been +seen, in an alliance between the two nationalities, but that alliance did +not, to all appearance, last very long. There is every probability that it +was an unwilling one on the part of Ben-Hadad, and in all probability he +took advantage of the death of Ahab to repudiate it. In any case, +Ben-Hadad is represented in 2 Kings vi. 24 ff., as again besieging +Samaria, but with disastrous results. What interval there was between his +raising the siege of Samaria and his death, the sacred narrative does not +say, but according to Assyrian chronology, there should be from four to +six years at least (850-846 B.C.). + +In the tenth year of his reign Shalmaneser II. of Assyria crossed the +Euphrates for the eighth time, and advanced against Sangara of Carchemish, +whose cities he destroyed, made waste, and burned in the flames. After +this came the turn of Arame, whose capital city, with one hundred other +places around it, was laid in ruins. Adad-idri of Damascus (Imeri-su), +however, set himself, with Irhuleni of Hamath, and twelve of the kings of +Syria, to resist the Assyrian king. Shalmaneser claims to have defeated +them, put them to flight, and captured their chariots, horses, and +war-material. + +There is hardly any doubt, however, that his success was not by any means +what he desired and expected, for he found himself obliged to march again +to the same region in his eleventh year, when he crossed the Euphrates for +the ninth time. On this occasion he says that he destroyed ninety-seven +cities of Sangara of Carchemish and one hundred cities of Arame. Having +reached the edge of the Hamanu (Amanus) range of mountains, he traversed +the portion named Yaraqu, and descended to the land of the Hamathites, +where he captured the city Astamaku and ninety-nine other places, +defeating their armies with great slaughter. Again he met Adad-idri, with +Irhuleni of Hamath and the twelve "kings of the sea-coast." In the battle +which follows he claims to have defeated them and killed 10,000 of their +fighting-men with the sword. He also states that he took their chariots, +horses, and war-material. On his way back he again turned his attention to +Arame, capturing his capital Apparazu. At that time he likewise received +the tribute of Kalparundu of the Patinians, consisting of silver, lead, +gold, horses, oxen, sheep, and textile fabrics. Ascending again into the +Amanus mountains, he brought away a further supply of cedar-wood for his +palaces. + +In the two following years (648 and 647 B.C., according to Assyrian +reckoning), Shalmaneser was not to all appearance engaged in any +expeditions of importance, or at least their importance is unknown. In his +fourteenth year, 846 B.C., however, he crossed the Euphrates again, and +met Ben-Hadad for the last time. As before, the latter was in alliance +with Irhuleni of Hamath and the "twelve kings of the sea-coast above and +below." Again the Assyrian king fought with them and defeated them, +destroying their chariots and teams, and capturing, as before, their +war-material, and "to save their lives, they fled." + +Naturally all these historical details are of great interest and value. +The question naturally arises whether, being so much alike in wording and +results, they may not all refer to the same expedition, which the Assyrian +king repeated to fill up his annals? As a rule, however, the annals of the +Assyrian rulers are exceedingly correct, and there is consequently but +little reason to doubt the accuracy of Shalmaneser's statements. It is +noteworthy that, in all these descriptions of expeditions to the west, +twelve kings are mentioned, whilst in the first instance eleven only are +enumerated, and in the other two the twelve are spoken of as if in +addition to Adad-idri and Irhuleni of Hamath. Ought we, therefore, to +translate "the twelve kings," meaning the eleven which are referred to +along with and including Ahabbu of the Sir'ilaa, or are the twelve kings +referred to in the account of the second and third encounters with +Ben-Hadad merely an indefinite number, meaning "a dozen," _i.e._"twelve +more or less"? As it is impossible that Ahab of Israel should have been +one of the Syrian league all this time, the latter must be held to be the +more probable explanation--"In those days Adad-idri of the land of Imeri-su +(and) Irhuleni of the land of Hamath with a dozen kings of the sea-coast +trusted each other's might, and came against me to make war and battle." + +Notwithstanding all his efforts, however, as detailed in his annals, +Shalmaneser II. was still very far from the subjugation of the +"sea-coast," as he calls Palestine and Syria, and realizing that he had a +hard task before him, he returned to his own country and occupied himself +in the two following years in Mesopotamia, Ararat, and Namri, south-east +of Assyria. The following year, 843 B.C., for the first time during his +reign, he was at peace, superintending the felling of trees in the Amanus +mountains for use in the palaces of Assyria. This period of rest was in +all probability necessary to enable the army to be reorganized for further +campaigns in that part of the world which he seems to have set his heart +upon subjugating. + +This being the case, he set out, in his eighteenth year (842 B.C.), and +crossed the Euphrates for the sixteenth time. This expedition, however, +was not against his old foe, Ben-Hadad or Adad-idri, but against +Haza'-ilu, the Hazael of 2 Kings viii. 8, etc., who had treacherously +murdered his master, as related in this passage, and seized the throne. +Hearing of the advance of the Assyrian army, he prepared for resistance, +as is related in the following narrative. + + [Plate VIII.] + + Plates of Chased Bronze, which covered the Doors of an Enclosure at + Balawat. (Left-hand portions, from right-hand leaf.) (Found by Mr. H. + Rassam, in 1878, and now in British Museum, Assyrian Saloon.) I_a_.--The + expedition of Shalmaneser II. to the land of Nairi (Mesopotamia). +Sacrificing to the gods by throwing meat-offerings into the lake. March of + the army over the mountains. I_b_.--Siege and capture of the city Suguni, + in Ararat. II_a_.--Bringing to Shalmaneser "_the tribute of the ships of + Tyre and Sidon_." II_b_.--March against the city Hazizi. Procession of + prisoners. III_a_. and III_b_.--Crossing the tributaries of the Euphrates + by pontoon bridges. Receiving tribute from Adinu, son of Dakaru, of + Enzudu. (Page 337.) + + +"In my 18th year I crossed the Euphrates for the 16th time. Haza-'ilu of +the land of Imeri-su trusted to the might of his troops, and called his +troops together in great number. Saniru, the peak of a mountain which is +before Lebanon, he made his stronghold. I fought with him, I accomplished +his defeat: 16,000 of his fighting-men I slew with the sword: 1121 of his +chariots, 470 of his horses, with his camp, I captured. He fled to save +his life--I set out after him. I besieged him in Dimasqu (Damascus), his +royal city. I cut down his orchards; I went to the mountains of the land +of Hauranu (the Hauran), cities without number I destroyed, wasted, and +burned in the flames. Untold spoil I carried away. I went to the mountains +of Ba'ali-ra'asi" (Aramaic: "lord of the promontory"), "which is a +headland" (lit., "head of the sea")--"I set up an image of my majesty +therein. In those days I received the tribute of the Tyrians, Sidonians, +(and) of Yaua, son of Humri." + +The description of this campaign given by the Black Obelisk is as follows-- + +"In my 18th year I crossed the Euphrates for the 16th time. Haza'-ilu of +the land of Imeri-su came forth to battle: 1121 of his chariots, 470 of +his horses, with his camp, I took away from him." + +These two documents, as will easily be seen, are in perfect accord, and +the story they have to tell agrees in its turn with that of the preceding +years of Shalmaneser's reign. Indeed, this text may be regarded as +confirming the opinions hitherto held concerning the identity of Ahabbu +mat Sir'ilaa with Ahab of Israel, and Adad-idri with Ben-Hadad of +Damascus. This, be it noted, is due to the fact that, like Ben-Hadad, +Adad-idri was succeeded by Hazael, who, in both the Bible narrative and +the annals of Shalmaneser, is a contemporary of Jehu (Yaua, son of Humri +or Omri). The Black Obelisk, probably for the sake of economizing space, +does not refer to the receipt of tribute from Jehu when speaking of the +battle with Hazael, on account of the bas-relief thereon referring to that +event. The following is the translation of the epigraph in question which +I gave in 1886(91)-- + +"The tribute of Yaua, son of Humri: silver, gold, a golden cup, golden +vases, golden vessels, golden buckets, lead, a staff for the hand of the +king (and) sceptres, I received." + +The account of the conflict with Hazael indicates that certain changes had +taken place in the Mediterranean coast-lands since Shalmaneser's former +campaigns thither. It was no longer against the kings of Damascus and +Hamath with "a dozen kings" in alliance with them, but against Hazael +alone. Had they broken with Ben-Hadad? or did they hold aloof because they +had no sympathy with his murderer? In any case, it would seem to be +certain that they no longer feared the Assyrian king, who, they must have +felt, had his hands full. In Israel, too, there had been changes, Ahab +having been succeeded by Ahaziah, who, after a reign of one year, was +succeeded by Jehoram. The latter tried to reduce Mesha king of Moab again +to subjection, but without success. Ben-Hadad's attempt to capture Samaria +was made during his reign, and the non-success of the Syrian king was +probably the cause of Jehoram's attempt to recover Ramoth-gilead, where +Ahab had found his fate some years before. The king of Israel did not fall +on the field of battle, but received there a wound which obliged him to +return to Jezreel. His death at the hands of Jehu in Naboth's vineyard is +one of the most dramatic incidents of Israelitish history. + +Jehu's payment of tribute to the Assyrian king in 842 B.C. was probably +due to a question of policy, and in the main it may be considered as a +cheap way of avoiding misfortune, for he might easily have been worsted in +an encounter with Shalmaneser. What Tyre and Sidon thought fit to do, +could hardly but be recognized as policy for Israel as well. It was +important for Jehu that he should consolidate his power, hence this +submission, though, to say the truth, he could not have been certain that +he would be attacked. Was it that he felt strong enough to resist the +Assyrian king which made him withhold the payment of tribute when, in 839 +B.C., Shalmaneser again marched against Hazael? It would seem so. On this +occasion four towns of the king of Damascus were captured, and tribute +again received from Tyre and Sidon, Gebal likewise buying peace in the +same way. + +That Jehu, who destroyed the house of Omri, should be called "son of Omri" +in the inscriptions of Shalmaneser II. of Assyria, is strange, and needs +explanation. Perhaps the successor of a king could loosely be spoken of as +his son, as occupying the place of such a relative; and, as is well known, +Belshazzar, in the book of Daniel, is called son of Nebuchadnezzar, which, +according to the Babylonian inscriptions, he certainly was not. That Jehu +may have been in some way related with Jehoram, and therefore a descendant +of Omri, is possible and even probable. That he was not descended from him +in a direct line is certain. + +It is noteworthy that the Assyrian form of the name, Yaua, shows that the +unpronounced aleph at the end was at that time sounded, so that the +Hebrews must have called him Yahua (Jehua). Omri was likewise pronounced +in accordance with the older system, before the ghain became ayin. Humri +shows that they said at that time Ghomri. + +After the rebellion which embittered the closing years of Shalmaneser's +life, the great Assyrian king died, and his crown went to his younger son +Samsi-Adad III. (825-812 B.C.). The first work of the new ruler was the +pacification of his country, and this having been successfully done, he +tried to restore Assyrian influence beyond the borders of his kingdom. +During his reign of about thirteen years, he warred on the N., N.E., N.W. +and S. (Babylonia), but never came nearer to Syria than Kar-Shalmaneser on +the Euphrates, near Carchemish. + +His son, Adad-nirari, who reigned from 812 to 783 B.C., followed in his +footsteps, and began by making conquests on the east. The north and +north-west, however, also felt the force of his arms. The only campaign of +which details are given is one against Syria, the date of which, however, +is not known. G. Smith thought that this could not have taken place +earlier than 797 B.C., during the time of Amaziah king of Judah and Joash +king of Israel--a conjecture which is based, to all appearance, upon the +comparison of Mansuate with Manasseh. As the Assyrian form of this name is +Minse or Minase, such an identification is impossible, and this being the +case, it is more probable that the expeditions to the Holy Land and Syria +took place either in 806, when he went to Arpad, 805, when he was at Haza, +or 804, when he marched against Ba'ali, the name, apparently, of a +Phoenician city. The next year he went to the sea-coast, but whether this +was the Mediterranean or not is not indicated, though it may be regarded +as very probable, and if so, 803 B.C. must be added to the dates already +named, or the operations to which he refers in his slab-inscription may +have extended over one or more of the years here referred to. + +So, when he was young and enthusiastic, King Adad-nirari III. of Assyria +had the inscription carved of which the following is a translation, as far +as it is at present known-- + +"Palace of Adad-nirari, the great king, the powerful king, king of the +world, king of the land of Assur; the king who, in his youth, Assur, king +of the Igigi, called, and delivered into his hand a kingdom without equal; +his shepherding he (Assur) made good as pasture for the people of the land +of Assur, and caused his throne to be firm; the glorious priest, patron of +E-sarra, he who ceaseth not to uphold the command of E-kura, who +continually walketh in the service of Assur, his lord, and hath caused the +princes of the four regions to submit to his feet. He who hath conquered +from the land of Siluna of the rising of the sun, the mountains (?) of the +land of Ellipu, the land of Harhar, the land of Arazias, the land of Mesu, +the land of the Medes, the land of Gizil-bunda, to its whole extent, the +land of Munna, the land of Parsua (Persia), the land of Allapria, the land +of Abdadana, the land of Na'iru (Mesopotamia), to the border of the whole +of it, the land of Andiu, whose situation is remote, the range (?) of the +mountains, to its whole border, as far as the great sea of the rising of +the sun (the Persian Gulf); from the river Euphrates, the land of Hatti +(Heth, the Hittites), the land of Amurri (Amoria, the Amorites), to its +whole extent, the land of Tyre, the land of Sidon, the land of Humri +(Omri, Israel), the land of Edom, the land of Palastu (Philistia) as far +as the great sea of the setting of the sun (the Mediterranean), I caused +to submit to my feet. I fixed tax and tribute upon them. I went to the +land of Sa-imeri-su (Syria of Damascus); Mari'u, king of Sa-imeri-su, I +shut up in Dimasqu (Damascus), his royal city. The fear and terror of +Assur, his lord, struck him, and he took my feet, performed homage. Two +thousand three hundred talents of silver, 20 talents of gold, 3000 talents +of bronze, 5000 talents of iron, cloth, variegated stuffs, linen, a couch +of ivory, an inlaid litter of ivory, (with) cushions (?), his goods, his +property, to a countless amount I received in Damascus, his royal city, in +the midst of his palace. All the kings of the land of Kaldu (the Chaldean +tribes in Babylonia) performed homage, tax and tribute for future days I +fixed upon them. Babylon, Borsippa, Cuthah, brought the overplus (of the +treasures) of Bel, Nebo, (and) Nergal, (made) pure offerings...." + +(The remainder of the inscription is said to be still at Calah, not yet +uncovered.) + +Schrader, in his _Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Old Testament_, makes the +campaign against Syria to have taken place in 803 B.C., and sees in +Adad-nirari the deliverer sent by Yahwah in answer to the prayers of +Jehoahaz. According to 2 Kings xiii. 3, the Israelites were subject to +Hazael and Ben-Hadad, his son, all their days. There is every probability +that the successor of the latter was the Mari'u mentioned in the +translation given above, and the same inscription would seem to indicate +that the Israelites submitted to the Assyrian king, and paid him tribute +in order to secure his intervention, which, judging from the enormous +amount of spoil which he secured, he did not regret. The saviour having +come, and the tribute paid, "Israel dwelt in their tents, as beforetime" +(2 Kings xiii. 5). Verses 22-25 are to all appearance a recapitulation, +probably extracted from another source. They show that Joash, son of +Jehoahaz, rebelled, and took from Ben-Hadad the cities which the +last-named had captured from Israel, and defeated him three times (see +ver. 19). Apparently "all their days" in ver. 3 is not to be taken +literally, as the war of the Israelites against Syria took place before +the death of Ben-Hadad III. It may also be conjectured that the reason of +there being no more than three defeats of the Syrians was due to the death +of Ben-Hadad, and his sceptre passing into younger and more vigorous +hands, so that "a saviour" was still needed, and found in the person of +the Assyrian king, as suggested by Schrader. The Syrian forces not being +in a condition, after their defeats by the Israelites, to offer battle to +Adad-nirari, apparently submitted without fighting, and after such a visit +the country had too much need for peace to allow of reprisals being made +against the Israelites. + +The fame of Adad-nirari was great, and his queen seems to have shared in +it. She was named Sammu-ramat, "(the goddess) Sammu loveth (her)," a name +which is generally regarded as the original of the somewhat mythical +Semiramis of Herodotus. That she was looked up to by the subjects of her +royal spouse, however, is proved by the two statues in the British Museum +(there were in all four of them, erected at Calah). According to the +inscription on them, they were made and dedicated for one of the chief +officers of the kingdom, Bel-tarsi-ili-ma ("a lord before God"), who +furnished them with the following dedication-- + +"To Nebo, mighty, exalted, son of E-saggil,(92) the wise one, +high-towering, the mighty prince, son of Nudimmud, whose word is supreme; +prince of intelligence, director of the universe of heaven and earth, he +who knoweth everything, the wide of ear, he who holdeth the tablet-reed +(and) hath the stilus; the merciful one, he who decideth, with whom is +(the power of) raising and abasing; the beloved of Ea, lord of lords, +whose power hath no equal, without whom there would be no counsel in +heaven; the gracious one, pitiful, whose sympathy is good; he who dwelleth +in E-zida, which is within Calah--the great lord, his lord--for the life of +Adad-nirari, king of the land of Assur, his lord, and the life of +Sammu-ramat, she of the palace, his lady, Bel-tarsi-ili-ma, ruler of the +city of Calah, the land of Hamedu, the land of Sudgana, the land of +Temeni, the land of Yaluna, for the saving of his life, the lengthening of +his days, the adding of days to his years, the peace of his house and his +people (not the one evil to him), he has caused (this statue) to be made +as a gift. Whoever (cometh) after: Trust to Nebo--trust not another god." + +It is rare that an Assyrian queen is mentioned in the inscriptions, +especially on almost equal terms with the king, and additional interest is +added by the fact, that she bears a name commonly regarded as the same as +that of Semiramis. In Assyrian and Babylonian history, it is always the +king who is the ruler, whatever influence his spouse may have had in +determining his policy as such being always unmentioned, and therefore +unknown to the world at large. The present inscription, however, seems to +testify that Sammu-ramat was known outside the walls of the palace, and +that one of the greatest in the kingdom thought fit to do her honour by +associating her with the king in the dedication to Nebo which he made for +the preservation of the lives of the king, the queen, and himself. Whether +the history of Sammu-ramat, queen of Assyria, was laid under contribution +to furnish details for the legend of Semiramis, will probably never be +known; but it is nevertheless unfortunate that the slab recounting the +warlike exploits of Adad-nirari, king of Assyria, her husband, should +break off in the middle of his account of his successes in Babylonia. + +Adad-nirari reigned 29 years, and was succeeded by Shalmaneser III. in 783 +B.C. The expeditions of this king were principally against Armenia and +Itu'u, a region on the Euphrates. In the year 775 B.C. he went to the +cedar-country, but whether the mountain region of the Amanus, Lebanon, or +of a district called Hasur be intended, is unknown. The necessity of +expeditions against Syria, however, still continued, for in 773 B.C. we +find Shalmaneser at Damascus, probably to bring the king then ruling there +again into subjection. + +Although doubt is now expressed as to whether Hatarika, whither +Shalmaneser III. marched in 772 B.C., the last year of his reign, be +really Hadrach (Zech. ix. 1) or not (the consonants do not agree so well +as they ought to do), in all probability it was a district not far from +Damascus to which he went. + +Assur-dan, his successor, ascended the throne in the following year, and +at once began warring in Babylonia and on the east. In 765 B.C. he marched +to Hatarika. Signs of revolt seem at this time to have broken out in +Assyria, probably on account of the pestilence with which the land was +afflicted, and it must have been for this reason that no expedition was +undertaken in the year 764 B.C. Next year the rising, which was evidently +expected, took place in the city of Assur, and there was an eclipse of the +sun in the month Sivan, an important astronomical occurrence which has +been identified with an eclipse which passed over Assyria on the 15th of +June, 763 B.C., and was supposed by Mr. Bosanquet to be referred to in +Amos viii. 9, "I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and will darken +the earth in the clear day." + +To all appearance this eclipse, taken in conjunction with the presence of +pestilence and rebellion, was regarded as an evil omen. This revolt lasted +into the next year, and spread, in 761 B.C., into Arrapha, where it +continued three years. In 759 the revolt reached Gozan, and there was a +recrudescence of the plague. There is no reference to the stamping out of +the revolt in Assyria, but it seems very probable that the king and his +supporters were active to that end, as he was able to march in the year +758 B.C., to Gozan, after which there is the entry, "Peace in the land." +Two years were to all appearance occupied in reorganizing the country and +providing against a repetition of such risings, unless it be that +Assur-dan was too ill to take the field, for according to the received +chronology, he died in 755 B.C. when Assur-nirari II. ascended the throne. + +This new ruler is represented to have made two expeditions, one in the +year of his accession, to Hatarika, and the other, in 754 B.C., to Arpad. +What the additional statement, "Return from the city of Assur," really +refers to, is exceedingly doubtful--perhaps troops had been stationed there +during the whole period since the breaking out of the revolt there in 763 +B.C. + +For four years no expeditions were made, pointing to a continued ferment +of discontent in Assyria. In 749 and 748 B.C., however, Assur-nirari made +expeditions to Namri, south-west of Media. It is significant, however, +that the Canon has, for the next year (747 B.C.), the usual words ("In the +land") when no expedition took place, the reason probably being the +unsettled state of the country. The entry for the next year is "Revolt in +Calah," which, as has already been seen, was one of the principal cities +of the kingdom. After this is the usual division-line, indicating the end +of a reign, followed by the words "(Eponymy of Nabu-bel-usur, governor of) +Arrapha. In the month Aaru (Iyyar), day 13, Tiglath-pileser sat upon the +throne. In the month Tisritu (Tisri) he made an expedition to (the +district) between the rivers." This corresponds with 745 B.C. + +Thus is ushered in, in the Eponym Canon, one of the most important reigns +in Assyrian history. By what right Tiglath-pileser III. took the throne is +not known. To all appearance, he was not in any way related to his +predecessor, Assur-nirari, and it is therefore supposed that he was one of +the generals of that king, who, taking advantage of the rising in Assur +(of which he may, indeed, have been the instigator), made away with his +sovereign, and set himself in his place. Further light, however, is needed +upon this period, before anything can be said as to the circumstances +attending Tiglath-pileser's accession to the throne. + + [Plate IX.] + + Tiglath-pileser III. in His Chariot. British Museum, Nimroud Central + Saloon. + + +Though all Tiglath-pileser's inscriptions are imperfect, and most of them +very fragmentary, they nevertheless contain enough to show of what +enormous value they are. Their incompleteness and the absence of dates +consequent thereon is fortunately compensated somewhat by the fact that +the Eponym Canon is perfect in the part which refers to this king, and +that we are therefore able to locate with certainty all the events of his +reign. + +As the entry translated above shows, his first campaign was "between the +rivers," that is, to Babylonia, the land lying between the Tigris and the +Euphrates. His object in leading his forces thither was to break the power +of the Aramean tribes, with the Arabs and others who were in alliance with +them. Going first south-east, he subjugated the Chaldean tribes, including +the Pekodites; turning afterwards west, he went against the Arameans, +capturing Sippar, Dur-Kuri-galzu, and other Babylonian cities, and it is +supposed that it was on this occasion that he assumed the title "king of +Sumer and Akkad." To all appearance, however, he was not recognized by the +Babylonians themselves as king, Nabonassar being then on the throne. There +is hardly any doubt, however, that Babylonia acknowledged Assyrian +overlordship on this occasion, thus giving Tiglath-pileser some +justification for assuming the title. + +Having arranged things to his satisfaction in Babylonia, Tiglath-pileser +turned his attention to the East (Namri, 744), Ararat (743), and Arpad +(same year), the last being his objective up to and including the year 740 +B.C. Sardurri of Ararat, however, saw his influence threatened by this +move, for he, too, was a conqueror, and had had such success, that he felt +justified in calling himself "king of Suri," or North Syria. How matters +fell out is not known, but it may be supposed that the Assyrian king went +and besieged Arpad, was attacked whilst doing so by Sardurri and his +allies, and compelled to raise the siege. A pursuit of the Armenian forces +by the Assyrians was the result of this attack, the end being, in all +probability, a decisive victory for Tiglath-pileser. This, according to +Rost, would seem to be the most reasonable supposition, for the Assyrian +king was able to besiege Arpad again next year without any hindrance. The +capture of the city in the third year brought the rulers of the district +in which it stood to the feet of the Assyrian king--all except one, Tutamu +king of Unqu, who was defeated and captured, and his territories annexed +to Assyria. + +During the campaigns in the north at the end of 739 B.C., risings took +place in Syria and North Phoenicia, and this gave Tiglath-pileser the +wished-for opportunity to bring these districts again under his sway. The +Eponym Canon gives for this year the simple entry, "He captured the city +of Kullanu," which Rost supposes to have been in the neighbourhood of +Hamath, and if so, must be the Calne of Isaiah x. 9, which is there +mentioned with Hamath, Carchemish, Arpad, Samaria, and Damascus as having +been subdued by Assyria. The mention of Kullanu as the object of the +expedition is probably due to its having been one of the chief factors in +the disturbances which took place. It would also seem that Azariah of +Judah took part in the attempt to get rid of Assyrian influence, and +though this was fully recognized by Tiglath-pileser, the Assyrian king to +all appearance did not come into direct contact with his country. + +Azriau or Izriau (Azariah--Rost's collation of the squeezes shows that both +spellings of the name were used) of Judah is mentioned at least four +times. The earlier references, however, are so very fragmentary that +nothing certain can be said concerning their connection--in one of the +passages containing his name the wording leads one to imagine that he was +captured by the Assyrian king, though, as Rost has shown, this may simply +mean that certain sympathizers of his had taken his part. But whatever may +have taken place in Judah, Azariah's sympathizers did not get on so well +as their leader. No less than nineteen places were captured by the +Assyrian king, including "Usnu, Siannu, Simirra (Simyra), Raspuna, on the +sea-coast, together with the cities of the Saue-mountains (mountains which +are in Lebanon), Ba'ali-sapuna (Baal-zephon) as far as Ammana (Amanus, or +according to Winckler, the anti-Lebanon), the mountain of _urkarinu_-wood, +the whole of the land of Sau, the province of Kar-Adad (fortress of +Hadad), the city of Hatarikka, the province of Nuqudina, Hasu with the +cities which are around it, the cities of Ara, and the cities which are on +each side of it, with the cities (= villages) which are around them, the +mountain Sarbua to its whole extent, the city Ashanu, the city Yadabu, the +mountain Yaraqu to its whole extent, the city ... -ri, the city +Elli-tarbi, the city Zitanu as far as the city Atinnu, the city ... (and) +the city Bumamu--XIX. districts of the city of Hamath, with the cities +which were around them, of the sea-coast of the setting of the sun, which +in sin and wickedness had taken to Azriau, I added to the boundary of +Assyria. I set my commander-in-chief as governor over them, 30,300 people +I removed from the midst of their cities and caused the province of the +city of Ku- ... to take them." + +Notwithstanding that there is no reference to the above in the Old +Testament, there is no reason to doubt that it is substantially correct. +Its omission is in all probability due to the fact, that neither Judah nor +Israel were menaced by the forces of the Assyrian king. Notwithstanding +this, the expedition and the success of Tiglath-pileser had its effect, +the result being that all the princes of middle and north Syria showed +their submission to the Assyrian king by paying tribute, thus ensuring the +safety of their territory, at least for a time. This took place after the +defeat of Kisi, the Aramean, and his forces, together with several other +districts, and the transportation of the inhabitants from their homes to +districts in other principalities, a proceeding calculated to destroy +national feeling and thus contribute to the safety of the empire by +rendering rebellion more unlikely. The following is the list of the +princes who secured immunity from attack by paying tribute:-- + +"Kustaspu of the city of the Comagenians; Rasunnu (Rezon) of the land of +the Sa-Imerisuites (Syria); Menihimme (Menahem) of the city of the +Samarians; Hirummu (Hirom) of the city of the Tyrians; Sibitti-bi'ili of +the city of the Gebalites; Urikku of the Kuites; Pisiris of the +Carchemishites; Eni-ilu of the city of the Hammatites; Panammu of the city +of the Sam'allites; Tarhulara of the land of the Gurgumites; Sulumal of +the land of the Melidites; Dadi-ilu of the land of the Kaskites; Uassurme +of the land of the Tabalites; Ushitti of the land of the Tunites; Urballa +of the land of the Tuhanites; Tuhamme of the city of the Istundites; +Urimme of the city of the Husimnites; Zabibe, queen of the land of Arabia. +Gold, silver, lead, iron, elephant-skins, ivory, variegated cloth, linen, +violet stuff, crimson stuff, terebinth-wood, oak (?), everything costly, +the treasure of a kingdom, fat lambs whose fleeces were coloured crimson, +winged birds of heaven, whose feathers were coloured violet, horses, +mules, oxen and sheep, male camels and female camels with their young, I +received." + +It was a rich booty, and was probably held to be a sufficient return for +all the expense, and trials, and hardships of the campaign. Though the +kingdom of Judah seems not to have suffered (we must not be too hasty to +assume that this was the case, as the Assyrian records are exceedingly +defective), Israel, as is mentioned above, paid tribute. It does not +appear from the Assyrian account that Tiglath-pileser went against +Samaria, but notwithstanding this, 2 Kings xv. 19 has the following-- + +"There came against the land Pul the king of Assyria; and Menahem gave Pul +1000 talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the +kingdom in his hand. And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all +the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to +the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not +there in the land." + +It is to be noted that there is here nothing about buying the Assyrian +king off--the money was paid him to confirm the kingdom in Menahem's hand. +The writer apparently assumed that the Assyrian king might not altogether +be hostilely inclined, notwithstanding that "he came against the land." +Perhaps by "land" we are to understand "district." In any case, the two +accounts can hardly be said to disagree. He did not war there, but he +received Menahem's tribute--it was therefore needless to mention his visit, +if such it was. Many a ruler in this district must have done the same +thing on this occasion, and there could have been no reason to mention one +more than the other--hence, probably, the absence of references to any +threatening approach to the borders of Israel and other states on the part +of the Assyrian king. + +But whilst absent in the west, rebellion was rife nearer home, and was put +down with vigour by the governors of the provinces of Lullumu and Na'iru +(Mesopotamia). This led to further transportations of the inhabitants, who +were sent west to Simirra (Simyra), Arka, Usnu, Siannu, Tu'immu, and other +places in Syria. Next year Tiglath-pileser himself marched to Madaa (the +Medes), where he had a very successful campaign. As some of the places +mentioned have the element Kingi as part of the name, it has been +suggested that in all probability the Sumerians, whose Babylonian home was +called Kingi, had their original seat in Media. + +Campaigns against the district of the mountains of Nal and Ararat, the +former as a preparation for the latter, follow, after which comes, +according to the Eponym Canon, an expedition to the land Pilista. This is +set down as the event of 734 B.C. There is, it is needless to say, some +uncertainty in this expression, as the question naturally arises, What is +really included in the term? Assuming, with Rost, that the statements in +the Canon indicate the point intended to be reached, and not the farthest +point attained, it is very probable that Israel did not come into the +sphere of the Assyrian king's operations, and this is all the more +probable in that Rost's collation of one of the squeezes in the British +Museum shows that instead of the Assyrian form of Abel-Beth-Maachah, we +have to read Abil-akka, to which is added, however, the description "on +the boundary of Israel (Bit-Humria)." It will be seen, therefore, that +though he may not have entered the country, or, at least, made any warlike +operations there, he approached well within striking distance of its +borders. On this occasion it would seem that he found it necessary to +install six new governors so as to ensure the due obedience of the +inhabitants. After this, Tiglath-pileser goes on to speak of Hanon of +Gaza, who on seeing the approach of the Assyrians fled to Egypt, leaving +his capital at the mercy of the invader. Having captured the city, +Tiglath-pileser entered Hanon's royal palace, taking possession of all his +property, and setting therein his royal couch. He speaks of having +delivered something to the gods of the land, and of having laid upon its +inhabitants (the payment of tribute and gifts). Further mutilated lines +follow, referring to the spoil taken, and there is a reference to the land +of Israel (mat Bit-Humria). After this comes the words, "the whole of his +people, (with their property) I sent to Assyria." The gap between the +reference to Israel and this line, however, makes it doubtful to what it +really refers. The record immediately goes on, however, to speak of the +death of Pekah. + +In the Eponym Canon the entries for the two years following the campaign +to Pilista (_i.e._ 733-732 B.C.) are, "to the land of Dimasqa." It would +therefore seem that, having assured himself of the submission of his +north-Phoenician vassals, Tiglath-pileser attacked the northern district of +Israel, taking Ijon, Abel-beth-maachah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, +Galilee, and all the land of Naphtali (2 Kings xv. 29). No account of +this, however, occurs in the Assyrian inscriptions,(93) which, as already +pointed out, are very mutilated for this period. It is possible that the +reference to Israel, in the mutilated passage quoted above, relates to +this invasion, and possibly also to the payment of tribute by Pekah in +order to secure himself against further attacks. + +Whether before or after the above is not known, but possibly on the +departure of the Assyrians, Rezin (Rezon), king of Syria, made alliance +with Pekah, and their combined forces invaded Judah. Ahaz, who was at this +time king of Judah, was apparently besieged in Jerusalem, and the king of +Syria took advantage of this opportunity to recover possession of Elath, +which never fell into the hands of the Jews again (2 Kings xvi. 6). + +There is no doubt that Ahaz was hard pressed, and hearing, to all +appearance, that the Assyrians were again in the neighbourhood, he sent to +Tiglath-pileser a humble message: "I am thy servant, and thy son; come up, +and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of +the king of Israel, which rise up against me." This would in all +probability have had but little effect, had it not been accompanied by a +goodly amount of gold and silver, taken not only from his own treasury, +but also from that of the Temple at Jerusalem. The result was, that +Tiglath-pileser went up against Damascus. The Syrian king, however, +decided to resist, and a battle was fought in which he was defeated, and +obliged to seek safety in flight. With a grim, not to say barbarous, +humour, Tiglath-pileser describes his flight and the treatment of his +supporters-- + +"... (like) a mouse he entered the great gate of his city. His chiefs (I +took) alive with my hands, (and) I caused them to be raised up and to view +his land (on) stakes: 45 camps of soldiers I collected (in the provin)ce +of his city, and shut him up like a bird in a cage. His plantations, +(fields, orchards (?), and) woods, which were without number, I cut down, +and did not leave one ... (the city) Hadara, the house (= dwelling-place) +of the father of Rasunnu (Rezon) of the land of the Sa-imerisuites, (the +place where) he was born, I besieged, I captured: 800 people with their +possessions, ... their oxen, their sheep, I carried off: 750 prisoners of +the city Kurussa, ... (prisoners) of the city of the Irmaites, 550 +prisoners of the city Metuna, I carried off: 591 cities ... of 16 +districts of the land of Sa-imerisu I destroyed like flood-mounds."(94) + +This is immediately followed by an account of the operations against +Samsi, queen of Arabia, and the tribes connected with that over which she +held sway. After this he states that he set Idi-bi'ilu as governor over +the land of Musru. All these passages, however, are exceedingly +incomplete, as is also that referring to Samaria, which follows. The +shorter account of the expeditions of Tiglath-pileser gives in this place +lines of which the following is a translation-- + +"They overthrew Paqaha (Pekah), their king, and I set Ausi'a (Hosea) (upon +the throne) over them. Ten talents of gold, ... talents of silver, ... +their (tribute), I received, and (brought) them (to the land of Assyria)." + +The longer account, from which most of the above extracts have been made, +may therefore be completed, with Rost, provisionally, as follows-- + +"(Pekah, all of whose) cities (I had captured) in my earlier campaigns, +and had given over (as a prey, and whose spoi)l I had carried off, +abandoned the city of Samerina (Samaria) alone. (Pekah), their king, (they +overthrew, and like) a hurricane (I ravaged the land)." + +As will be seen, the above agrees closely with the statement in 2 Kings +xv. 30-- + +"And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of +Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the +20th year of Jotham the son of Uzziah." + +Mutilated details concerning other cities captured by Tiglath-pileser +follow the above extract from his annals, after which the narrative +continues-- + +"(Mitinti, of the land) of the Askelonites, (sinned) against (my) +agreement, (and revolted against me). He saw (the overthrow of Ra)sunnu +(Rezon), and failure (of understanding (?) fell upon him (?), and Rukipti, +the son of Mitinti), sat upon the throne...." + +In the account of the flight and death of Pekah, the Assyrian king +suggests that the abandonment of the king of Israel of his capital was due +to the fear of capture at his hands. One may also suppose that he wished +it to be understood that Pekah incurred the displeasure of his subjects by +his flight, and that they pursued after him, and having overtaken him, put +him to death. As a matter of fact, Pekah must really have fled on account +of the rebellion led by Hoshea, who, on learning of his flight, in all +probability pursued after him, and thus encompassed his death. Hoshea +then, by a payment of tribute to Tiglath-pileser, secured from the +Assyrian king his recognition as king of Israel, and at the same time +assured himself against attack at his hands. + +Imitating Hoshea, Rukipti, the new king of Askelon, also paid tribute, and +thus secured his recognition. As to Rezon, the Assyrian text does not +enable us to see what was his ultimate fate, but as it was such, +apparently, as to terrify Mitinti of Askelon into madness, it may be +supposed that it was death at the orders of the Assyrian king, as recorded +in 2 Kings xvi. 9. + +Tiglath-pileser was now complete master of the land of Sa-imeri-su or +Syria, and all the princes of the west acknowledged his overlordship. This +being the case, it is only natural that Ahaz of Judah should visit and pay +him homage at Damascus, the capital of the new province, as related in 2 +Kings xvi. 10, and probably it was to that city that many of the other +subject princes went for that purpose, and to offer him their tribute. The +further result of the visit of Ahaz is detailed in the succeeding verses +of the passage in 2 Kings referred to. + +Thus ended Tiglath-pileser's successful expedition to Pilista and +Damascus, and there is no record that he ever went westward again. The +Chaldeans, in combination with the Arameans, had made use of his absence +to engage in new advances against Babylon. Nabonassar, the king of that +country, had died, and been succeeded by his son, Nabu-nadin-zeri, who, +however, only reigned two years, and gave place to Nabu-sum-ukin, who +murdered him. This last, however, only held the throne for somewhat more +than two months, and Ukin-zer, chief of the Chaldean tribe Bit-Amukkani, +took possession of the throne, and ruled for three years--much against the +inclination of the Babylonians, who, to all appearance, had no love for +the Chaldean tribes inhabiting certain tracts of the country. The +interference of Tiglath-pileser was therefore looked on with favour by the +Babylonians, who welcomed him as a deliverer. Ukin-zer (the Chinzeros of +Ptolemy) was besieged in his capital, Sapia, though that city was not +taken until the year 729 B.C. The result of this was, the submission of +all the Chaldean tribes, including that of which Merodach-baladan (then +only a young man) was the chief. Entering Babylon, Tiglath-pileser, in +accordance with the custom, "took the hand of Bel," an expression +apparently meaning that he performed the usual ceremonies, and was +accepted by the god--and the priesthood--as king. This also took place again +next year, from which it may be supposed that one acknowledged as king of +Babylon had to perform the ceremony yearly in order to fulfil the +conditions imposed upon all who held the reins of power. An entry in the +Canon for this year suggests that there was a rebellion (?) in a city of +which only the first character is preserved--possibly to be completed Dir, +and perhaps situated in Babylonia. Operations against this place, in all +probability, were taken in hand next year (727 B.C.), but whilst they were +in progress, Tiglath-pileser died, and Shalmaneser IV. mounted the throne. + +How it is that Tiglath-pileser III. of Assyria was called Pulu is not +known. The name only occurs, in native documents, in the Babylonian Canon +of kings--to all appearance that from which the Canon of Ptolemy was +copied. It is therefore practically certain that he only bore this name +officially in Babylonia. Probably the most likely explanation is, that it +was his original name, though it may have been given him by the compiler +of the canon (supposing that he was a man who had no great admiration for +the Assyrian conqueror) as a scornful expression, _bulu_ (which may also +be read _pulu_) meaning "the wild animal." It occurs, however, as a +personal name in the inscriptions of Assyria at least twice, the bearer of +it being in one case a charioteer, one of nine officials of "the +Huhamite." + +The fact that the name Pulu (in the Canon of Ptolemy Poros), applied to +Tiglath-pileser, occurs only in a Babylonian document, suggests that the +reference to the Assyrian conqueror in 2 Kings xv. 19 and 1 Chron. v. 26 +are due to a Babylonian source, though, as it is the name by which he is +at first called by the writer of the 2nd Book of Kings, this is a +confirmation of the explanation that it was his original name. The glory +attached to the name Tiglath-pileser in Assyrian history probably accounts +for his having ultimately adopted the latter. + +"On the 25th day of Tebet Sulmanu-asarid (Shalmaneser) sat on the throne +in Assyria. He destroyed Sabara'in." (Babylonian Chronicle.) + + + "In the eponymy of Bel-harran-bel-usur, of the city of Gozan, To + the city ... Salmanu-asarid sat upon the throne. + + In the eponymy of Marduk-bel-usur, of the city of Amedi, In the + land. + + In the eponymy of Mahde, of the city of Nineveh, To.... + + In the eponymy of Assur-halsani (?), of the city of Kalzi, To.... + + In the eponymy of Salmanu-asarid, king of Assyria, To...." + + (Eponym Canon with historical notices.) + + +These two extracts give practically all that is known of the important +reign of Shalmaneser IV. from native sources. The first is from the +Babylonian Chronicle, and its brevity in all likelihood indicates the +amount of sympathy that the Babylonians had for this king. Short as it is, +however, it is probably of as much value historically as the Assyrian +Eponym Canon in its present state, even including the restorations from +that without historical notices. The completion of this important document +from additional fragments and duplicates is greatly to be wished. + +It is therefore from the Old Testament and Josephus that we get the +fullest history of the reign of this king. How it is that no records have +been found is not known. They may have been destroyed, or nothing very +extensive may have been written. That at least something of the kind +existed is indicated by the fact that the late George Smith refers to at +least one document, the whereabouts of which at present is not known. + +What may have been the relationship of Shalmaneser IV. of Assyria to +Tiglath-pileser does not appear. There is every probability that, like his +great predecessor, he was an adventurer who, taking advantage of his +popularity with the army, and the failing powers of his royal master, +seized the throne. As will be seen from the Eponym Canon, an expedition +was in progress when he assumed the reins of power, so that he may have +taken advantage of the absence of Tiglath-pileser to carry out his design. +Tebet being the tenth month of the Assyro-Babylonian year, the time of his +accession corresponds with the winter of 727 B.C., a period at which +warlike operations were impossible. In the year 726 B.C. also he remained +at home, as was to be expected, consolidating his power. + +His first campaign must therefore have taken place in 725 B.C., when, as +recorded in 2 Kings xvii. 3, he went against Hoshea, who paid him homage +and became tributary. Hearing that the king of Israel had sent privately +to So,(95) king of Egypt, asking for his help against the Assyrian king, +Shalmaneser threw Hoshea into prison, and advancing against Samaria, +called upon the city to surrender. Submission being refused, he laid siege +against it, and although Josephus relates that he ultimately took it, this +must be due simply to an inference, as there is no statement to that +effect in the Book of Kings, the words recording the event being simply +"the king of Assyria took Samaria," and, as we know from the inscriptions, +it is Sargon, successor of Shalmaneser, who claims the honour of capturing +the city (see below, p. 363).(96) + +During the siege, however, the Assyrian king busied himself with the +subjugation of all the surrounding district. It was probably in the same +year (725 B.C.) that he sent his army against Elulaeus, king of Tyre, +whose king had just been very successful in subjugating the Cittaeans +(people of Cyprus). According to Josephus (or, rather, Menander, whom he +quotes), Phoenicia submitted (Menander tells the story from the native +point of view, and states that "he soon made peace with them all"), but +Sidon, Accho, and Old Tyre (Palaetyrus) revolted (this probably means +"joined the Assyrians"), and several other cities yielded to the king of +Assyria. Finding that the Tyrians(97) would not submit, the Assyrian king +returned against them (this must have been in the year 724 B.C.), and +attacked them again, being aided on this occasion by the Phoenicians, who +furnished him with threescore ships, and 800 men to row them. The attack +of the Assyrian allies, however, must have been a very half-hearted one, +for the Tyrians advanced against them with only twelve ships, and +dispersed those of the enemy, taking 500 men prisoners. + +The reputation--and also the confidence--of the citizens of Tyre being thus +greatly increased, they continued their resistance, and Shalmaneser found +himself obliged, in consequence of the inefficiency of his allies, to +content himself with a mere blockade of the city, and the placing of +guards over the water supply, so as to reduce the inhabitants of Tyre by +thirst. The latter, however, dug wells, and were thus enabled to continue +their resistance, which Meander states lasted all the time of the siege, +namely, five years--_i.e._ until two years after the death of Shalmaneser. + +To all appearance the Sabara'in of the Babylonian Chronicle is the place +which should be supplied in the historical Eponym Canon, but, if so, the +form is a strange one. One would rather expect mat Bit-Humri, "the land of +Beth-Omri," Pilista, "Philistia," or al Surri, "the city of Tyre." There +is also the possibility that one of these names may have appeared in each +of the three lines which require completing, indicating three different +stages of his conquests. Samerina, "Samaria," may also have been the word, +or one of the words, to be restored. In this last case, Delitzsch's +suggestion that Sabara'in ought to be read Samara'in, and regarded as the +Babylonian form of the Heb. Shomeron, "Samaria," is worthy of note. The +Babylonians do not state that he captured Sabara'in or Samara'in, but only +that he destroyed (perhaps the word means "ravaged") it, and the city may +not have really fallen into the hands of the Assyrians until Sargon was +actually on the throne. + +"In the 5th year Sulmanu-asarid died in the month Tebet. Sulmanu-asarid +had ruled the kingdom of Akkad and Assur for five years. In the month +Tebet, the 12th day, Sargon sat on the throne in Assur, and in the month +Nisan Marduk-abla-iddina (Merodach-baladan) sat on the throne in Babylon." + +Thus does the Babylonian Chronicle record the change of rulers, which was +to have wide-reaching results for both countries. + +What the verse in Hoshea, "All thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman +spoiled Beth-arbel in the day of battle," refers to, is not known. There +is every probability that Shalman stands for Shalmaneser IV., but which is +the Beth-arbel which is spoken of? There were two places of the name in +Palestine, one west of the Sea of Galilee, and the other at the extreme +north of Gilead. Both are now called Irbid. If it be one of these, the +verse probably refers to some incident of Shalmaneser's invasion. George +Smith, however, thought that the reference may have been due to some +domestic strife in Assyria at the close of the reign of Shalmaneser, in +which the Assyrian city of Arbela was involved. That it was one of the two +places in Palestine, however, is more probable. + +The month which, five years earlier, had seen the death of +Tiglath-pileser, saw the departure of Shalmaneser IV. of Assyria to the +abode of his god, and in Sargon, who succeeded him, the kingdom to all +appearance accepted for the third time a ruler who might be described as +an adventurer. Whether he, too, changed his name, in order to shine in +borrowed plumes before the people, is unknown, but this is certain, that +"Sargon the Later," as he called himself, by assuming that style and +title, challenged comparison with an old Babylonian king of great renown, +who made the little state which was his original principality the centre +of a wide-spreading domain. + +Strange as it may seem, until the discovery of the Assyrian inscriptions +and their decipherment, nothing was known of this ruler outside of the Old +Testament, his name being regarded as another name of Shalmaneser in the +passage (Isa. xx. 1) where it occurs. Scholars did not realize that the +Arkeanos of Ptolemy was the king here mentioned, and that the change in +the form of his name was simply due to the change of the initial _s_ into +a breathing, according to a rule which is common in Greek etymology. + +On assuming the government of the country, Sargon threw himself with +energy into the Syrian war, though in his slab-inscription found at +Nimroud, and in his annals, he makes his campaign against Humbanigas of +Elam to precede his operations in the west. The following is the text of +his "State-Inscription"-- + +"From the beginning of my reign to the 15th of my regnal-years, I +accomplished the overthrow of Humbanigas the Elamite in the suburbs of +Deru. I besieged and captured Samerina (Samaria): 27,290 people dwelling +in the midst of it I carried off. Fifty chariots I collected among them, +and allowed them to have the rest of their goods. My commander-in-chief I +placed over them, and imposed upon them the tribute of the former king. + +"Hanunu (Hanon), king of Hazitu (Gaza), advanced against me with Sib'e, +the Field-marshal of the land of Musuru (Egypt), to make war and battle in +Rapihu (Raphia). I defeated them.(98) Sib'e feared the sound of my weapons +and fled, and his place was not found. Hanunu of Hazitu I took with my +hands. I received the tribute of Pir'u, king of the land of Musuru, Samse, +queen of the land of Aribu (Arabia), (and) It'amara, of the land of the +Saba'aa (Sabeans)--gold, the produce of the mountains, horses, (and) +camels." + +"Yau-bi'idi of the land of the Amataa (Hamathites), a loose fellow, a +usurper, a frivolous, evil man, set his heart on the dominion of the land +of Amattu (Hamath), and caused Arpadda (Arpad), Simirra (Simyra), Dimasqa +(Damascus), (and) Samerina (Samaria) to revolt against me, and caused them +to agree together, and they assembled for battle. I collected the powerful +troops of the god Assur, and besieged (and) captured him in Qarqaru, his +own city, with his warriors. I burned Qarqaru with fire. As for him, I +flayed him. I slew the sinners in the midst of their (own) cities, and +brought about peace. I embodied 200 chariots (and) 600 cavalry among the +people of the land of Amattu, and added to the force of my kingdom." + +The general opinion of Assyriologists is, that Shalmaneser did not succeed +in making himself master of Samaria, the capture of the city falling to +the honour of Sargon, and this, as a matter of fact, is what the latter +claims. As will be seen from the above extract, he states that he carried +captive no less than 27,290 of the inhabitants of the city, but whither he +transported them he does not say. According to 2 Kings xvii. 6, he placed +them in Halah (probably the Halahha of the inscriptions, near Haran), and +by the river Habor (the Chaboras) in Gozan, and in the cities of the +Medes. It is needless to say that these long journeys must in many cases +have entailed much suffering. + +According to the Babylonian Chronicle, the conflict with Humbanigas took +place in the second year of Merodach-baladan of Babylonia, which was the +second year of Sargon as well. It is therefore difficult to understand why +Sargon, in his record, places this event first. The reason why he +dismisses the account of his conflict with the Elamite king in so few +words is supposed to be, that he was in reality, as the Babylonian +Chronicle says, defeated on that occasion. Though he might have wished to +keep it in the background, his successes were so many, that there was no +need for him to change the chronological order of his campaigns. + +Sargon was naturally unable to be present at the siege and occupation of +Samaria, which occurred too close to the date of his assuming power to +allow him to reach the place. Besides that, his presence was needed nearer +home, lest conspiracies should deprive him of his newly-acquired regal +dignity. That he considered the successes of his troops in the west as a +most important circumstance, however, is proved by the fact, that he +devotes so much space in his annals to the account of it--and, indeed, the +capture of 27,290 people is a thing of which any ruler might boast. There +can be no doubt that the Assyrian kings, like the Babylonians before them, +always desired to possess the dominion of the Mediterranean provinces, +where were marts for the products both of their lands and their people, +and entry to the ports, for then, as now, all good rulers tried to further +the interests of their subjects in distant lands, and were probably firmly +of opinion, that "trade followed the standard."(99) + +In addition to this, there was the rivalry of Egypt, the country which had +held these provinces in the past, and would have liked to regain them. +Whether the rulers of the Mediterranean states realized this or not, is +uncertain, but in any case, like the Israelites, they had no objection to +making use of Egypt, "bruised reed" as she was by some considered. Seeing +that there was danger from the Assyrians, Hanon of Gaza followed the +example of Hoshea, in whom Shalmaneser had "found conspiracy," and made +overtures with Sib'e, the So of 2 Kings xvii. 4 (the word ought really to +be pointed so as to read Seve, which was apparently the pronunciation of +the Assyrian form, the aspirate having the effect of changing _b_ into +_bh_ or _v_). This ruler is called "king of Egypt" in the passage cited, +but Sargon says that he was "Tartan," or commander-in-chief of the +Egyptian army. This would imply that he was acting for another, a Pharaoh +unnamed, and at present unknown. The general opinion is, that So or Sib'e +is the same as Sabaco, and is called "king" by anticipation in 2 Kings +xvii.(100) + +The result was one exceedingly gratifying to the Assyrian king, for in the +battle at Raphia, which followed, Sib'e fled in fear, whilst Hanon of Gaza +was made prisoner. The defeat and flight of the Egyptian army does not +seem to redound to the credit of its leader, who must have returned +bitterly disappointed to his native land. + +Immediately after, however, there is a reference to the receipt of tribute +from "Pir'u, king of the land of Musuru." This would be a natural result +of the success of the Assyrians (so it seemed to the earlier +Assyriologists), for surely Pir'u is Pharaoh, and Musuru is the Musur of +other inscriptions, and stands for Egypt (the Heb. Misraim(101)). This +however, is now denied, and Pir'u is said to be the name of a chief of an +Arab tribe called Musuru. It reminds one of the Eri-Eaku of Larsa who is +not Arioch of Elassar, contemporary of Kudur-lahgumal of Elam who is not +Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tudhula who is admittedly the same in name as +Tidal, all of them ruling at or near the same period, but not those +referred to in Gen. xiv. as contemporaries. In Assyriology, more than in +any other study whatever, things are not what they seem, and must always +be identified with something else. + +According to the annals, it would seem that Yau-bi'idi, who is there +called Ilu-bi'idi, acted in concert with Sib'e of Egypt and Hanon of Gaza, +the operations against him preceding those against the other two. The +order of the translation given above would seem to be preferable, as it +must have been in consequence of the flight of Sib'e "like a shepherd +whose sheep had been lost," that Yau-bi'idi and Hanon of Gaza were so +easily defeated. The former appears to have made Qarqaru the centre from +which he intended to press his claim to the throne of Hamath, and he +managed so well, that he got Arpad, Simyra, Damascus, and Samaria to join +him. The Assyrian king, however, soon disposed of the pretensions of this +prince, whom he describes as "a loose (?) fellow, a usurper, a frivolous +(?), evil man" (_sab hubsi, la-bel-kussi, amelu patu limnu_). After this +it is not surprising that he thought he was justified in flaying him +alive. + +To all appearance the state of affairs in Syria was satisfactory. The +great victory of the Assyrians at Raphia had convinced the leaders of the +various states of the uselessness of continuing to struggle against the +power of the Assyrian king, who had nothing further to fear from Egypt, +and was therefore free to occupy himself with other conquests. In 719, +therefore, he turned his attention to the region of the north, the +kingdoms of Van and Urartu or Ararat, the result of the operations against +the latter being, that the people were transported to Syria, or, as the +original has it, "into Heth of the Amorites." The operations in 718 B.C. +were against Kiakki of Sinuhtu, a city in Tabal. + +The next year, 717 B.C., came the turn of Pisiris of Carchemish, who had +tried to get Mita king of Musku to join him in a rebellion against +Assyria. Assyrians were after this settled there, and Carchemish became an +integral part of the Assyrian empire. The next entry in the Annals of +Sargon is a reference to the Papites and the Lalluknites, "dogs brought up +in his palace," who planned treacherously against the land of Kakme, +though the full extent of their crime is not stated. These people were +removed from their places, and sent down to the midst of Damascus of +Amoria (Syria). In this year Humbanigas of Elam died, and was succeeded by +Sutur-Nanhundi, a man of a more peaceful character than his predecessor. + +Extensive operations, chiefly in Ararat, are recorded for 716 B.C., in +which year also Bel-sarra-usur, the city-chief of Kisesim, a Median +province, was deposed, and his territory added to the boundaries of +Assyria, together with several other west-Median districts. Among these +was Harhar, whose city-chief was driven away by the Assyrian king. This +city was re-peopled with prisoners of war, and its name having been +changed to Kar-Sarru-ukin, made the capital of the province. The war +against Ararat continued during the next year, resulting in the submission +of Yanzu king of Na'iri or Mesopotamia. On the east, a rebellion in Harhar +was put down, and the city fortified as a defence against Media. In this +year people of Tumadu, Ibadidu, Marsimanu, Hayapa, and the remote Arbaa +(Arabs?), an unlettered tribe which had never paid tribute to an Assyrian +king, were overthrown, and the survivors transported to Samaria. The +receipt of tribute from Pir'u king of Musuru, Samsi queen of Aribbu +(Arabia), It'amra of the land of the Sabaa (Sabeans), kings of the +sea-coast and the desert, consisting of "gold, the produce of the +mountain, precious stones, ivory, seeds of the _usu_-tree, all kinds of +spices, horses and camels,"(102) is recorded. + +To all appearance, Pir'u of Musuru is regarded as one of the kings of the +sea-coast and the desert, but whether this is evidence against his being +Pharaoh of Egypt or not, may be doubted. Egypt is as much a country of the +sea-coast as any part of Palestine, but it is naturally on the south shore +of the Mediterranean, and not on the east. + +714 B.C. saw the continuance of the war with Ararat and its allies, and +seems to have resulted in its becoming an Assyrian province. In 713 +expeditions were made, among other places, to west Media and Cilicia. In +712 B.C. he found himself obliged to proceed against Tarhunazi of Meliddu, +who, driven from his capital by the Assyrians, shut himself up in +Tilgarimme, which had been identified with the Biblical Togarmah. This +city, having been conquered, was repeopled with the nomad Suti(103) and +placed under Assyrian rule. + +At this time, as Sargon says, he received the treasure (?) of the land of +Heth (the high-lands of Syria), among the things sent being copper, iron, +lead or tin, white marble from the Amanus mountains, royal garments of the +colour of _uknu_-stone (lapis-lazuli), something which came from the +mountain Ba'il-sapuna (Baal-zephon), "a great mountain," and silver, +which, in consequence of the large consignments received at Dur-Sargina +(Khorsabad), became in value like copper. The next year (711 B.C.) an +expedition against Muttallu, son of Tarhulara, one of the kings of "the +land of Heth," took place. The son had killed his father and mounted the +throne, hence the necessity for this campaign. + +A similar expedition also took place to Ashdod. It happened that Azuri, +king of the district of which Ashdod was the capital, had withheld the +tribute agreed upon, and Sargon had therefore deposed him, and set his +brother Ahi-miti in his place. The following is Sargon's own account of +this, and the sequel-- + +"Azuri, king of Asdudu, planned in his heart not to send tribute, and sent +to the kings around hostile expressions (towards) the land of Assur, and +on account of the evil he had done, I changed his dominion over the people +of his land. Ahi-miti, his brother next in order, I appointed to the +kingdom over them. Men of Hatti,(104) speaking treachery, hated his +dominion, and raised up over them Yaana, a usurper, who like themselves +knew no reverence for the dominion. In the anger of my heart I went +hastily with the chariot of my feet and my cavalry, which for security +quit not my side, to the city Asdudu, the city of his dominion, and the +city Asdudu, the city Gimtu, (and) the city Asdudimma I besieged (and) +captured. The gods dwelling in the midst of them, himself, with the people +of his land, gold, silver, (and) the property of his palace, I counted as +spoil. Their cities I rebuilt,(105) and settled therein the people of the +lands captured by my hands. I placed my commander-in-chief as governor +over them, and counted them with the people of my land, and they bore my +yoke." + +Another inscription calls Yaana by the name of Yawani, and states that, +hearing from far of the advance of the Assyrian army, he fled to the +border of Musuru, which lies on the boundary of Meluhha, and there hid +himself. The king of Meluhha seems thereupon to have feared for his own +land, and placing Yatna in chains, sent him to Assyria. A third text +referring to this campaign adds the following details-- + +"(People) of the land of Piliste (Philistia), the land of Yaudu (Judah), +the land of Udumu (Edom), the land of Ma'abi (Moab), dwellers by the sea, +bringers of the tribute and the gift of Assur my lord, (for) +sedition-mongering without measure, and evil, which was against me to +cause hostility, unto Pir'u, king of the land of Musri, a prince who could +not save them, they brought their homage-offering, and asked him for aid. +I, Sargina, the true prince, fearing the oath of Lag-gi (= Nebo) and +Merodach, keeper of the commands of the god Assur, caused (my troops) to +cross the Tigris and the Euphrates at high water, the fulness of the +flood, as on dry land. And he, Yawani, their king, who trusted to his own +power, and had not submitted to my dominion, heard from afar of the march +of my expedition, and the glory of Assur, my lord, overthrew him, and ... +of the region of the river ... depth of the waters ... possession (?) of +his land ... afar ... he fled ... Asdudu...." + +In this, too, there is a reference to Pir'u, here called king of Musri, +either Egypt, or that mysterious and otherwise unknown kingdom to whose +help so many trusted. + +The years 710 and 709 B.C. were devoted to the operations against +Merodach-baladan, the Chaldean prince who had made himself master of +Babylonia. This is the Merodach-baladan who is referred to in 2 Kings xx. +12, but as his embassy really belongs to a somewhat later date, reference +will be made to it in its place. Suffice it here to say that he was a +usurper on the Babylonian throne, head of the Chaldean tribe called +Bit-Yakin, and one of the most influential chieftains of the district. To +all appearance, the Babylonians themselves (as in earlier days when they +tried to seize the throne) preferred the Assyrians to the semi-barbarous +Chaldeans and Arameans, with whom they were, in fact, in too close +connection to have any great respect for. It is needless to say that this +entirely fell in with the ambition of the kings of Assyria, who, from the +time of Tukulti-Ninip, if not earlier, had desired, and sometimes +obtained, dominion over Babylonia. Sargon, the successor of two kings of +Assyria who were acknowledged to be at the same time kings of Babylonia, +naturally regarded himself as inheriting that crown in virtue of his being +king of Assyria, whilst the Babylonians themselves were probably not +displeased with the idea that they formed part of the world-renowned and +powerful Assyrian empire, whose kings spoke the same language as +themselves, and with whose religion they were in sympathy. Thus it +happened, therefore, that in the course of the operations against +Merodach-baladan, success frequently crowned the arms of the Assyrians, +and the inhabitants of Babylon, sending to Dur-Ladinna, where Sargon was +staying, brought him in solemn possession to Babylon, where he made the +prescribed offerings to the gods, took up his abode in Merodach-baladan's +palace, and received the tribute of the Babylonian tribes which he had +subjugated. He still continued, however, his operations against +Merodach-baladan, who was by no means willing to give up the struggle, to +which there could be one end only, namely, the overthrow of the Chaldean +king, which took place in 709 B.C. + +Whilst Sargon was busy in Babylonia, the governor of Que invaded Musku +(Mesech) and brought the country to subjection. The seven kings of Cyprus +also sent gifts, and a stele of Sargon was set up in the island, which, +though mutilated, is of considerable importance, and is now preserved in +the Berlin Museum. Kummuh (Comagene) was also added to the Assyrian empire +(708 B.C.), and probably in the same year, a new king (in consequence of a +dispute concerning the succession) set up in the land of Ellipu. In this +reign also, the Elamites were generally against the Assyrians in their +conflicts in Babylonia and on the eastern borders. + +Concerning his death there is much uncertainty. The supposition is, that +he was assassinated by one of his soldiers, as is indicated by the entry +in an eponym-list with historical references-- + + + _Limme Upahhir-belu, D.P. sakin al Amedi ..._ + _ina eli purussi Kulummaa...._ + _amel tiduki madaktam sa sar mat Assur D.S...._ + _arah Abi, umu sinseru, Sin-ahe-eriba (ina_ + _kussi ittusib)._ + + "Eponymy of Upahhir-belu, prefect of the city Amedu.... + according to the oracle of the Kulummite(s).... + a soldier (entered) the camp of the king of Assyria (and killed + him?). + month Ab, day 12th, Sennacherib (sat on the throne"). + + + [Plate X.] + + Reception by Sennachereb of Prisoners and Spoil. British Museum, Nineveh + Gallery, No. 57. + + +That he died a violent death seems to be nearly certain, and how many +others of the overbearing rulers of Assyria had come to an end in the same +way is not known. The fate of his son, to which reference will be made in +its place, is a historical fact. + + + + +Sennacherib. + + +Though in all probability young when he came to the throne in 705 B.C., +Sennacherib had already some experience as a ruler, having been the +representative of his father Sargon in Armenia, where he had to receive +and transmit the reports of the Assyrian generals, and probably also to +administer the country. For the nations over which he was to rule, +however, he was practically a new and untried administrator, of whose +strength or weakness of character nothing was known. Merodach-baladan +therefore took advantage of the death of Sargon and the succession of his +son to come forth from his hiding-place, with such of his followers who +were available, and an army placed at his disposal by the king of Elam. To +all appearance the Chaldean ruler had taken advantage of the occupation of +the Assyrian army elsewhere to possess himself of Babylon, which city +Sennacherib entered, occupying Merodach-baladan's palace, and seizing all +his treasures. Merodach-baladan fled and took refuge in Nagitu, on the +other side of the Persian Gulf, so as to be near his Elamite allies. + +After this the Assyrian king records his expedition to the mountainous +countries of Kassu (the Cossaeans) and the Yasubigalleans, north of Elam, +in the course of which he wasted the neighbouring district of Ellipu, +taking, on his way, tribute from some of the more inaccessible tribes of +the Medes. His third campaign was to the land of Hatti (Syria), and as +this is of considerable importance, a translation of the whole, from the +Taylor Cylinder, which gives a full account, is inserted here-- + +"In my third expedition I went to the land of Hatti. Luli king of the city +of Sidunnu (Sidon), fear of the glory of my dominion struck him, and he +fled from the midst of Tyre to Yatnana(106) (Cyprus), which is in the +middle of the sea, and I subjugated his country. Great Sidunnu, little +Sidunnu, Bit-zitte, Sareptu (Zarephath), Mahalliba, Usu (Osah), Akzibi +(Achzib), Akku (Accho), his strong cities, fortresses, where were food and +drink, his strongholds, the terror of the weapons of Assur my lord struck +them, and they submitted to my feet. Tu-ba'alu (Ethobaal) on the throne of +dominion over them I set, and the tax and tribute of my overlordship +yearly without fail I imposed upon him. + + + "As for Minhimmu (Menahem) of the city of the Samsimurunaa; + Tu-ba'alu of the city of the Sidunnaa (Sidonians); + Abdi-li'iti of the city of the Arudaa (Arvadites); + Uru-milki of the city of the Gublaa (Gebalites); + Mitinti of the city of the Asdudaa (Ashdodites); + Budu-ilu of the land of the Bit-Ammanaa (Beth-Ammonites); + Kammusu-nadbi (Chemosh-nadab) of the land of the Ma'abaa + (Moabites); + Aa-rammu (Joram) of the land of the Udummaa (Edomites); + + +kings of the land of Amoria all of them, brought numerous treasures, their +valuable presents, as gifts to my presence and kissed my feet. And +Sidqa(107) (Zedekiah), king of the city of Isqalluna (Askelon), who was +not submissive to my yoke, the gods of his father's house, himself, his +wife, his sons, his daughters, his brothers, (and) the seed of his +father's house, I removed and brought to the land of Assur. Sarru-ludari, +son of Rukibtu, their former king, I placed over the people of the city of +Isqalluna, and the payment of tribute as the price of my overlordship I +set for him, and he bore my yoke. In the course of my campaign the city +Bit-Daganna (Beth-Dagon), Yappu (Joppa), Banaa-barqa (Bene-berak), Azuru +(Azor), cities of Sidqa which were not at once submissive to my yoke, I +besieged, captured, (and) carried off their spoil. + +"The prefects, the princes, and the people of the city Amqarruna (Ekron), +who had thrown Padi, their king, who was faithful to the agreement and +oath of the land of Assur, into fetters of iron, and given him to Hazaqiau +(Hezekiah), of the land of the Yaudaa (Jews)--hostilely in secret they had +acted--feared in their hearts. The kings of the land of Musuru (Egypt), +(and) the soldiers of the bow, the chariots, (and) the horses of the king +of the land of Meluhha, gathered to themselves a numberless force, and +came to their help. Over against me in sight of Altaqu (Eltekah) their +line of battle was set in array, they called for their weapons. In the +service of Assur my lord I fought with them and accomplished their defeat. +The charioteers and the sons of the king of the Musuraa (Egyptians), with +the charioteers of the king of the land of Meluhha, my hands captured +alive in the midst of the battle. (As for) the city of Altaqu (Eltekah) +(and) the city of Tamna (Timnah), I besieged, captured, (and) carried off +their spoil. + +"I approached to the city of Amqarruna, and the prefects and princes who +had caused the wrong to be, I killed, and on stakes around the city I hung +their corpses. The sons of the city doing the crime and misdeed I counted +as spoil. The rest of them, who did not commit sin and wickedness, whose +evil deed was not, I commanded their release. I caused Padi, their king, +to come forth from the midst of Ursalimmu (Jerusalem), and to sit on the +throne of dominion over them, and the tribute of my overlordship I imposed +upon him. And (as for) Hazaqiau (Hezekiah) of the land of the Yaudaa +(Jews), who had not submitted to my yoke, 46 of his strong cities, +fortresses, and small towns which were around them, which were +innumerable, with overthrowing by battering-rams, and advance of towers, +infantry-attack, breaching, cutting, and earthworks, I besieged (and) +captured. 200,150 people, small and great, male and female, horses, mules, +asses, camels, oxen, and sheep, which were without number, from their +midst I caused to come forth and reckoned as spoil. As for him, like a +cage-bird I shut him up within Ursalimmu, the city of his dominion. +Redoubts I threw up around him, and I cut off the exit from the great gate +of his city--it was (completely) covered. His cities, which I had spoiled, +I detached from the midst of his country, and gave (them) to Mitintu, king +of Asdudu (Ashdod), Padi, king of Amqarruna (Ekron), and Silli-bel, king +of the city Hazitu (Gaza), and (thus) reduced his land. Over the former +tribute, their yearly gift, I added a payment as to the due of my +overlordship, and imposed it upon them. As for him, Hazaqiau (Hezekiah), +fear of the magnificence of my lordship struck him, and the _urbi_ and his +chosen soldiers, which he had brought in for the defence of Ursalimmu, the +city of his kingdom, and (who) had pay, with 30 talents of gold, 800 +talents of silver, precious (stones), _guhli_, _daggassi_,(108) great +carbuncles (?), couches of ivory, state thrones of ivory, elephant-skin, +elephant-tooth (ivory), ebony (?), _urkarinnu_-wood, all sorts of +things,(109) a valuable treasure, and his daughters, the women of his +palace, male singers (and) female singers, he(110) caused to be brought +after me to the midst of Ninua (Nineveh), the city of my dominion, and he +sent his messenger to present the gift and pay homage." + +It is needless to say that the above long account differs considerably +from that given in the Bible (2 Kings xviii. 13; Isa. xxxvi. 1 ff.), and +it is very difficult to reconcile the two narratives. According to the +account in Kings, Sennacherib came and took all the fenced cities of +Judah, but there is no statement as to the reason why. The Assyrian king +justifies his invasion of the country by stating that Hezekiah had sided +with the inhabitants of Ekron in the deposition of their king, whom he had +received from them and kept in prison. He even states that he brought him +forth from Jerusalem and replaced him on the throne. That this +circumstance is not referred to in the Biblical account, cannot be held to +indicate that the Assyrian king's story is wrong, and only shows that the +writer of the 2nd Book of the Kings did not think it of sufficient +importance to record. In all probability, Hezekiah did not know at the +time that Padi was an Assyrian vassal, otherwise he would not have +incurred the risk of an invasion of his country by the dreaded Assyrians. +The Biblical account then states that Hezekiah sent to the king at +Lachish, saying that he had offended, and asking for terms, a fact which +indicates that he was aware of having done something at which the king of +Assyria might justly take offence. The answer was, the fixing of the +amount of tribute which Hezekiah had to pay--300 talents of silver and 30 +talents of gold, this latter item agreeing with the statement of +Sennacherib himself, though the amount of silver which he mentions--800 +talents--is much greater. The sacrifice which Hezekiah made on this +occasion (he had to strip off the gold from the doors of the Temple, and +also from the pillars which he had overlaid, to make up the sum) was +considerable. Concerning a siege of Jerusalem at this point, however, +there is not a single word in the Biblical account, and the general +opinion is, that the Assyrian king has purposely combined two accounts to +give an appearance of success to what, in 2 Kings xix. 35-37, appears to +have been a serious disaster to the Assyrian arms. + +It is worthy of note, however, that Josephus makes the siege of Jerusalem +to have taken place when Sennacherib was returning from Egypt, where he +had spent a long time besieging Pelusium (_Ant._ x. i. 4), which was +regarded as the key of Egypt. In support of this he quotes Herodotus, who, +according to him, made a great mistake "when he called this king not king +of the Assyrians, but of the Arabians." This, however, is not quite +correct, as Herodotus really says (book ii. 141), "Sennacherib king of the +Arabians and of the Assyrians." That it took place on his return from +Egypt, however, is also stated by Berosus, whom Josephus quotes in full, +as follows-- + +"Now when Sennacherib was returning from his Egyptian war to Jerusalem, he +found his army under Rabshakeh in great danger, for God had sent a +pestilential distemper upon his army; and on the very first night of the +siege, a hundred and eighty-five thousand, with their captains and +generals, were destroyed. So the king was in a great dread, and in a +terrible agony at this calamity; and being in great fear for his whole +army, he fled with the rest of his forces to his own kingdom, and to his +city Nineveh, and when he had abode there a little while, he was +treacherously assaulted, and died by the hands of his elder sons, +Adramelech and Sarasar, and was slain in his own temple which was called +Araske. Now these sons of his were driven away on account of the murder of +their father, by the citizens, and went into Armenia, whilst Assarachoddas +took the kingdom of Sennacherib." + +This would seem to be conclusive, especially as Sennacherib, according to +his own records, made no expedition to Egypt before or at the time of that +against the land of Hatti, which took place in the eponymy of Mitunu, +prefect of Isana, _i.e._ 700 B.C., or the year immediately preceding. Now +as Sennacherib died in 681 B.C., nearly twenty years elapsed between the +campaign of which the account is above translated and his death. Berosus, +however, states that, after the siege of Jerusalem, which ended so +disastrously for him, he abode at Nineveh only "a little while" before he +was murdered. There is then no doubt that there were two campaigns, and +the events referred to in 2 Kings xviii. 13-xix. 37, though they seem to +follow each other with little or no break, must have extended over a +considerable period, the widest gap being in all probability between the +sixteenth and seventeenth verses of ch. xviii. It is noteworthy that, at +this point, the Hebrew indicates the end of a paragraph, though not a +change of subject. + +Affairs in Babylonia now occupied the attention of Sennacherib for many +years, in consequence of the many revolutions there, which were largely +fomented, aided and abetted by the Elamites. In 703 B.C., two pretenders, +Marduk-zakir-sumi and Marduk-abla-iddina, held the throne in succession +for a few months, but Sennacherib put an end to this rule by setting on +the throne a Chaldean named Bel-ibni (Belibus).(111) This took place when +he defeated Merodach-baladan, before the campaign against the West. +Evidently, however, he was not satisfied with the rule of his nominee, who +had probably been plotting against him, and therefore entered the country +again in 699 B.C., carried away Bel-ibni prisoner, and set on the throne +his own eldest son, Assur-nadin-sum. After this seems to have occurred his +fifth expedition, which was to the mountainous region where lay the cities +Tumurru, Sarum or Sarma, Ezema, Kibsu, Halbuda, Qua, and Qana, in the +neighbourhood of Cilicia, his objective being the city Ukku, which was +taken and spoiled. + +Whilst absent on this expedition, however, the Elamites seem to have been +again plotting against the Assyrians in Babylonia. This being the case, +Sennacherib went in "ships of the land of Hatti" to the place where +Merodach-baladan(112) had taken refuge, namely, "Nagitu of Elam."(113) On +this occasion, he claims to have captured Suzubu (otherwise +Nergal-usezib), and carried him in chains to Assyria. This led to +reprisals on the part of the Elamites, who invaded Babylonia, carried +Assur-nadin-sum, the king, Sennacherib's son, prisoner, and set on the +throne Nergal-usezib, who, if he be the Suzubu referred to by Sennacherib, +must have escaped from the custody of the Assyrians. This was in 693 B.C. + +Nergal-usezib only ruled for a year or eighteen months, and was captured +(? again) by the Assyrians. The Assyrian king now ravaged Elam "from Ras +to Bit-Burnaki," but his army would have been better employed in watching +over affairs in Babylonia, where another pretender, Musezib-Marduk, sat on +the throne, and ruled for four years. During this time he, too, found that +his seat was not altogether a bed of roses, for Menanu, king of Elam, +after a battle with the Assyrians,(114) captured Musezib-Marduk with an +army composed of Elamites and Babylonians, and delivered him to the +Assyrians. Sennacherib now again (688 B.C.) became king of Babylonia, and +it is thought that, on taking possession of the capital again, out of +revenge for the loss of his son, and on account of the trouble he had had +in consequence of the Babylonians running after the many pretenders, with +which the land seems to have teemed, he destroyed the city of Babylon, +committing such cruelties that they were remembered to the end, and sowed +the seeds of that hatred which were to bring forth for Assyria that +deadliest of all fruit--her own destruction. + +In the eight years which passed between his assuming the reins of power in +Babylonia and his death, must be placed that expedition to Egypt spoken of +by Berosus and Herodotus. The version of the former, which refers +principally to the siege of Jerusalem, is quoted above (p. 378); the +following is the account of the latter-- + +"After this, Sanacharib, king of the Arabians and of the Assyrians, +marched a great host against Egypt. Then the warriors of the Egyptians +refused to come to the rescue, and the priest (Hephaistos, whose name was +Sethos),(115) being driven into a strait, entered into the sanctuary of +the temple and bewailed to the image of the god the danger which was +impending over him; and as he was thus lamenting, sleep came upon him, and +it seemed to him in his vision that the god came out and stood by him and +encouraged him, saying that he should suffer no evil if he went forth to +meet the army of the Arabians, for he would himself send him helpers. +Trusting in these things seen in sleep, he took with him, they say, those +of the Egyptians who were willing to follow him, and encamped in Pelusion, +for by this way the invasion came; and not one of the warrior class +followed him, but shopkeepers and artisans and men of the market. Then +after they came, there swarmed by night upon the enemies mice of the +fields, and ate up their quivers and their bows, and moreover the handles +of their shields, so that on the next day they fled, and being without +defence of arms great numbers fell. And at the present time this king +stands in the temple of Hephaistos in stone, holding upon his head a +mouse, and by letters inscribed he says these words, 'Let him who looks +upon me learn to fear the gods.' " + +Josephus's quotation from Herodotus differs somewhat from the above, in +that he makes the Egyptian king to pray to God (and not before his image), +and omits all reference to the dream. This was doubtless to make the +parallel with the case of Hezekiah more striking. + + [Plate XI.] + + Sennacherib before Lachish. For the translation of the inscription, see + the opposite page. British Museum, Assyrian Saloon. The face of the king + is mutilated in the original bas-relief, and has been restored. + + +The precise date of this expedition to Egypt and second siege of Jerusalem +is unknown, but it must have taken place between 688 and 680 B.C. It is +not by any means improbable that the date may some time or other be fixed, +for an account of it will probably be found in the ruins of the cities of +Assyria somewhere. That Herodotus calls Sennacherib "king of the Arabians +and the Assyrians" is probably due to the fact that he seems to have been +in alliance with "the queen of the Aribi"--_(sar)rat_ D.P. _Aribi_--or +Arabians, at the time. Esarhaddon speaks of his father Sennacherib as +having captured the Arabian city Adumu, and inscriptions of +Assur-bani-apli also refer to Sennacherib's expedition thither, and to his +connection with an Arabian king named Haza-ilu (Hazael). With regard to +Palestine itself, the reality of the siege of Lachish is testified to by +the fact, that a large portion of Sennacherib's sculptures represent him +as being present at the siege of Lachish in person, when the prisoners and +the booty taken were passed before him in procession. The inscription +accompanying this scene reads as follows-- + + + "Sin-ahe-iriba, king of the world, king of the land Assur, + sat upon his throne of state, and + the spoil of Lakisu + passed before him." + + +It would be strange indeed if this event, of which he was evidently very +proud, were omitted from the history of what he must have regarded as his +glorious deeds. As it does not occur in the account of his expedition to +the land of Hatti, there is hardly any doubt that it belongs to the later +campaign there, when he took the city, though he failed, as has been seen, +to take Jerusalem. In all probability there were two sieges of Lachish, +and it was very possible that the city was taken only on the second +occasion. In any case, it was from Lachish that Sennacherib sent the +Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh to Hezekiah, with a great army to +besiege Jerusalem, and it is noteworthy that the Rabshakeh reproaches him +with trusting to Egypt, the power with which Assyria was at that moment in +conflict; and in Sennacherib's second message to Hezekiah (2 Kings xix. 9) +the words accompanying it clearly show that the general opinion was, that +it was the march of Tirhakah against him which called it forth. It is +noteworthy in this connection, that Tirhakah cannot have been on the +throne of Egypt so early as 700 B.C., the date of Sennacherib's first +campaign against the West. + +There are therefore many arguments in favour of two expeditions of +Sennacherib to Palestine, with two sieges of Jerusalem, and also, to all +appearance, two sieges of Lachish. + +The following is the account of his death given in the Babylonian +Chronicle-- + +"On the 20th day of Tebet, Sin-ahe-eriba, king of Assyria, his son killed +him in a revolt. For (? 25) years Sin-ahe-eriba had ruled the kingdom of +Assyria. From the 20th day of the month Tebet until the 2nd day of the +month Adar, the revolt in Assyria continued. Month Adar, day 18th, +Assur-aha-iddina (Esarhaddon), his son, sat upon the throne in Assyria." + +According to Berosus, who agrees with the Biblical account in this, it was +two of his sons who killed him, but it may be taken that, though they were +both morally responsible, one only actually performed the deed. Shareser +is not mentioned, either by Abydenus or Polyhistor, as taking part in the +murder; it would seem to be very probable, that Adrammelech was the +culprit. From Berosus it is also clear that Esarhaddon had nothing to do +with it, and this is to a certain extent confirmed by his inscriptions, +which, as will be seen farther on, represent him as warring in Armenia, +whither his brothers had fled. + +According to the received chronology, the assassination of Sennacherib and +the accession of Esarhaddon took place in the year 680 B.C. + + + + +Esarhaddon. + + +It is a matter greatly to be regretted that the royal inscriptions of +Esarhaddon have not come down to us in a complete state, and also that we +do not possess the later portions of the Assyrian Eponym Canon with +historical references, which would enable us to fix the date of the +campaigns. Of course, there is every probability that they are mentioned +in chronological order, but as their dates are not stated, at least some +uncertainty must prevail. + + [Plate XII.] + +Esarhaddon, King of Assyria. The kneeling figure, which has the negro type + of features and wears the uraeus ornament, is apparently Tirhakah, his + opponent in Egypt. The prisoners here represented are regarded as being +treated as the same king treated Manasseh (2 Chr. xxxiii. 11, R.V. marg.). +Found at Zenjirli. From _Mittheilungen aus den Orientalischen Sammlungen_, + Part XI., by permission of the publishing-house of Georg Reimer, Berlin. + + +It is therefore impossible to say with certainty whether the recital, in +forcible though apparently well-chosen language, of what took place in +Hanigalbat, or Mesopotamia, belongs to the account of the conflict with +his brothers (who would have liked to overthrow Esarhaddon that one of +them might reign in his stead) or not. The wording, however, makes it very +probable that the narrative does refer to them, for he overtook them on +the Nineveh road, and the disappearance of their resistance was more than +gratifying to the new king-- + + + "The Nineveh-road, with difficulty (but) speedily, I traversed-- + before me, in the land of Hani-galbat, the whole of their mighty + warriors halted before my expedition, and prepared their weapons. + The fear of the great gods, my lords, overwhelmed them, and + the attack of my mighty battle they saw, and became as demented. + Istar, lady of war and battle, lover of my priesthood, + stood by my side, and broke their bows. + She scattered their serried battle(-array), and + in their assembled mass they called out thus: + "This is our king." + By her supreme command they came over to my side." + + +Oracles encouraging Esarhaddon exist, and possibly refer to this +expedition. + +Unfortunately the mutilation of the record, by which the beginning is +wanting, has deprived us of the names of both conspirators, which are, +therefore, only preserved by the Bible, Berosus, Abydenus, and Polyhistor. +Various have been the conjectures as to what the true Assyrian forms of +the names would be, and only one, that of Adrammelech, has been found with +any probability of its being the right one. The name in question is that +of Assur-munik, or, perhaps better, Assur-mulik, for whom Sennacherib +built a palace. From its form in Hebrew, Sharezer should be Sar-usur in +Assyrian, _i.e._ "protect the king," the name of the deity called upon +being omitted. + +Though Esarhaddon's inscriptions do not give any chronological data, the +Babylonian chronicle indicates the dates of his campaigns with sufficient +precision. From it we learn that in his first year he had to put down a +rebellion in Ur, led by Zeru-kenu-lisir, whom Esarhaddon calls +Nabu-zer-napisti-lisir, son of Merodach-baladan. In the year 676 B.C., his +expedition to Sidon took place, and Abdi-milkutti, the king, was beheaded +in 675. After taking the spoil of the city, he says that he "assembled the +kings of Hatti and the sea-coast, all of them," and there is every +probability that it was at this time that he "took Menasseh with hooks," +or, as the Revised Version has it, with chains, and bound him with +fetters, and brought him to Babylon, where, as sovereign of that land +also, he sometimes held court. Though severe, and probably also cruel +sometimes, Esarhaddon was more mercifully inclined than his father, and +allowed Menasseh to resume the reins of government at Jerusalem. There is +no reference to this in the inscriptions of Esarhaddon, though he +mentions, in his list of tributaries, Menasseh king of the city of Judah. +This list, which is from a cylinder-inscription, is as follows-- + + + "I gathered also the kings of Hatti and across the river ... + Ba'alu king of Surru (Tyre): Menase (Menasseh) king of the city of + Yaudu: + Qaus-gabri, king of the city of Udumu (Edom); Musur'i, king of the + city Ma'ab (Moab); + Silli-belu, king of the city of Hazitu (Gaza); Mitinti, king of + the city of Isqaluna (Askelon); + Ikausu, king of the city of Amqarruna (Ekron); Milki-asapa, king + of the city of Gublu (Gebal); + Matan-ba'al, king of the city of Aruadu (Arvad); Abi-baal, king of + the city of Samsimuruna; + Budu-ilu, king of the city Bet-Ammana (Beth-Ammon); Ahi-milki, + king of the city of Asdudu (Ashdod); + 12 kings of the sea-coast. Ekistura, king of the city Edi'al + (Idalium); + Pilagura, king of the city of Kidrusu; Kisu, king of the city + Sillua; + Ituandar, king of the city Pappa (Paphos); Eresu, king of the city + of Sillu; + Damasu, king of the city Kuri (Kurium); Admezu, king of the city + Tamesu (Tamessus); + Damusi, king of the city Karti-hadasti (the new town, a Phoenician + settlement); + Unasagusu, king of the city Lidir; Bususu, king of the city Nuria: + 10 kings of the land of Yatnana (Cyprus), within the sea-- + altogether 22 kings of the land of Hatti, the sea-coast and the + middle of the sea, all of them, + I directed, and great beams, enormous poles, + trunks of cedar and cypress from the midst of Sirara + and Libnana (Lebanon) (etc., etc., etc.), + from the midst of the wooded mountains, + the place of their growing, + for the requirements of my palace, + with toil and with difficulty + I caused them to be brought to Nineveh." + + +The tribute which he exacted was not, therefore, a tribute of gold, +silver, and other precious things, but simply the building materials which +Esarhaddon required for his palace, and the kings of Heth, including +Menasseh, contributed to this together with the kings of Cyprus--and to all +appearance they had to transport these things to Nineveh! It was the +labour and expense of transport rather than the material itself, which +rendered this tribute so precious. + +Judging from his records, Esarhaddon was fully as active as the other +kings of Assyria in making conquests. He attacked the people of Armenia +(the Mannaa), the rebellious land of Barnaku--"those who dwell in the land +of Til-Asurri,"(116)--the Medes, the Chaldeans, the Arabians (see p. 382), +and Egypt, in the direction of which he had already made a little +expedition (to the cities of Arza and Aaki (?) of the brook of +Egypt--probably the river of Egypt of Gen. xv. 18, and other passages). His +first real expedition to Egypt, however, was in the tenth year of his +reign (670 B.C.). Three battles were fought there, and Memphis was +captured by the Assyrians on the 22nd of Tammuz. Whether he really and +effectually subjugated the country or not, is not known, but he again +marched to the same place in the last year of his reign, and falling ill +on the road, died on the 10th day of Marcheswan. He was succeeded by +Assur-bani-apli (Asshur-bani-pal) in Assyria, and Samas-sum-ukin +(Saosduchinos) in Babylonia, and the two kingdoms, united by so much +bloodshed, became once more separated (668 B.C.). + + + + +Assur-Bani-Apli. + + +Thus it happened, that Assur-bani-apli, on coming to the throne, found +himself involved in a war with Egypt. To such a ruler, it must have seemed +a hard thing to relinquish what his father had fought, and perhaps died, +to acquire and retain. This being the case, he sent forth his army to +reduce the country again to subjection, Tirhakah having taken advantage of +the death of Esarhaddon to revolt. In the course of this campaign his +representative (there is every probability that Assur-bani-apli never went +westwards, or, indeed, made any warlike expedition in person whatever) +received the tribute of the kings of the sea-coast and "the middle of the +sea," _i.e._ Phoenicia and Cyprus. This list is, with few exceptions, the +same as that given by Esarhaddon, and includes Minse (= Minase, _i.e._ +Menasseh) of the land of Yaudi or Judah. In some cases, however, changes +had taken place and these are duly registered--Yakinlu instead of +Matan-ba'al, king of the land of Aruada (Arvad); Ammi-nadbi (Amminadab), +king of the land of Bit-Ammana (Beth-Ammon), instead of Budu-ilu. For the +kings of Cyprus, however, no change is indicated, a circumstance which +leads one to look upon the list with some suspicion, it being not +impossible that the names of certain rulers are inserted to make a seeming +addition to the Assyrian king's glory. They are all represented, however, +as supporting, with their troops and their ships, on land and on sea, the +army of Assur-bani-apli. The result was the defeat of Tirhakah, and the +restoration of the kings, prefects, and governors whom Esarhaddon had +appointed as rulers of the country.(117) + +No sooner had the Assyrians departed, than Tirhakah won over all the +princes they had installed to his side, and the work had to be done over +again. The Assyrian generals, however, returned promptly, and the +rebellion was at once put down. Of the princes who were captured, Necho +alone was spared, and, with his son, set as ruler in Hathariba (Athribis). +About this time Tirhakah died, and Urdamane, son of Sabaco, mounted the +throne, and made Thebes and On (Heliopolis) his principal strongholds, +besieging the Assyrian army of occupation in Memphis. Another expedition +on the part of the Assyrians therefore became necessary, and was at once +undertaken, and with complete success, except that Urdamane remained, to +all appearance, still at large. Practically, however, the greater part of +Egypt became at this time an Assyrian province. + +But many were the conquests of this really remarkable king, which his +generals accomplished for him. Soon came the turn of Ba'al, king of Tyre, +whose subjection brought about that of Yakinlu, king of Arvad, Mugallu, +king of Tubal, and Sandasarme of the land of the Hilakkaa (Cilicians). +Assur-bani-apli also speaks of the mission of Yakinlu, king of Arvad, who +sent his sons to him with presents, and made obeisance. These princes bore +the interesting names Azi-ba'al, Abi-ba'al, Aduni-ba'al, Sapati-baal, +Pudi-baal, Ba'al-yasupu, Ba'al-hanunu, Ba'al-maluku, Abi-milki, and +Ahi-milki, showing the popularity of the element _baal_ in the names of +the people of Arvad. Azi-ba'al was designated as the next king, and all +the brothers were sent back with rich gifts. He also tells the story of +the dream of _Guggu sar Luddi_ (Gyges, king of Lydia), to whom the god +Assur is said to have appeared, exhorting him to submit to +Assur-bani-apli, and overcome his enemies by invoking his name. Following +this advice, he succeeded in conquering the Gimmirraa (people of Gomer), +capturing their chiefs, of whom he sent two in fetters to the Assyrian +king, with valuable gifts. + +Gyges did not send any more embassies, however, and allied himself with +Tusamilki, king of the land of Musur (generally regarded as Psammeticus of +Egypt, but to all appearance another Musur--probably that to the north--is +meant), and for this he received the curse of the Assyrian king. The +result was, that the Gimmirraa came and ravaged his country. This being +the case, his son, who succeeded him, thought best to renew the Assyrian +alliance, and therefore sent an embassy with a message to the following +effect--"The king whom god hath chosen art thou; thou cursedst my father, +and evil was wrought before him. As for me, the servant fearing thee, be +gracious to me and let me bear thy yoke." + + [Plate XIII.] + + Assur-bani-apli (Assurbanipal), "The Great and Noble Asnapper," Hunting + Lions. British Museum. Assyrian Saloon. + + +Gyges, in Assyrian Gug(g)u, is regarded as the original of the mystic Gog +of Ezekiel xxxviii. 39, and his country, Lydia (Luddu), is generally +explained as the Biblical Lud, though a certain amount of doubt regarding +it exists. + +Assur-bani-apli's other campaigns were against the Vannites, the Elamites, +the Babylonians (on account of his brother Saosduchinos, king of that +country, refusing to acknowledge his suzerainty), after that twice more +against Elam, then against the Arabians, and finally against Ummanaldas, +king of Elam, whom he seized as a hawk does his prey. In all, however, he +captured four Elamite princes, whom he caused to be attached to his +carriage (_ina marri sadadi, rukub sarruti-ia_(118)), and as for the +Arabian princes whom he had taken as prisoners, he caused them to wear +chains and badges of service, and to work at the building of his palace, +as was the custom in those days. + +We can easily imagine him--the great and noble Assur-bani-apli, called by +Ezra (iv. 10) Asnapper (better Asenappar), who transferred the Dinaites, +Apharsathchites, Tarpelites, Apharsites, Archevites, Babylonians, +Susanchites (Susanians), Dehavites, and Elamites, to swell the mixed +multitudes in the cities of Samaria. Many a time is he represented in the +beautiful bas-reliefs which he caused to be carved as the adornments of +his palace at Nineveh, and we there see him, the patron of art, as the +bold sportsman and hunter, just as his tablets show him as the greatest +patron of literature of his time, one who knew the literature of his race, +who took a pride in learning, and himself copied out tablets "in the +assembly of the experts." + +The "great and noble Asnapper" is worthy of a statue in every land where +the languages of Assyria and Babylonia are studied. + +How the sudden downfall of the Assyrian empire really came about we do not +know. In all probability it remained intact until the death of +Assur-bani-apli, which took place in 626 B.C. His son, +Assur-etil-ilani-ukinni, has left no historical records, though it is not +by any means impossible that some light may ultimately be thrown on his +reign. One of the enigmas of his time is: What was the circumstance which +called forth the following communication?-- + +"The message of the daughter of the king to Assuraaitu the queen. As yet +thou writest not thy tablet, and dictatest not thy letter? Shall they say +thus: 'Is this the sister of Seru-eterat, the eldest daughter of the +Harem-house of Assur-etil-ilani-ukinni, the great king, the mighty king, +the king of the world, the king of Assyria?' And thou art the daughter of +the bride, the lady of the house of Assur-bani-apli, the son of the great +king of the Harem-house, who was Assur-aha-iddina (Esarhaddon), king of +Assyria." + +Some of the expressions in this letter seem obscure, but the probable +explanation is, that the daughter of one of the last Assyrian +kings--perhaps Sin-sarra-iskun (Saracos)--writes to the chief wife of +Assur-bani-apli urging her to take action by exhorting the chiefs of the +nation at a crisis in the history of the country, which crisis was +probably that which led to the downfall of the mighty kingdom which had +reached its zenith of power during the reign of Assur-bani-apli. At this +time, according to Nabonidus, a king of the Umman-manda or Medes, whose +name is doubtful, but which may be Iriba-tukte, entered into alliance with +a ruler who must be Nabopolassar of Babylon, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, +and accomplished the vengeance of Merodach, the god of the Babylonians, +who willed that the destruction wrought upon his city by Sennacherib +should be amply avenged. This vengeance was apparently the downfall of the +Assyrian empire and the destruction of Nineveh, in accordance with +statements of Alexander Polyhistor, Abydenus, and Syncellus. It is +Diodorus Siculus, however, who gives the fullest account. He relates that +there was a legend (according to an oracle) that the city could not be +taken until the river became its enemy. Arbaces, the Scythian, was +besieging it, but was unable to make any great impression on it for two +years. In the third year, however, the river(119) was swollen by rains, +and being very rapid in its current, a portion of the wall was carried +away, by which the besiegers gained an entrance. The king, recognizing in +this the fulfilment of the oracle, raised a funeral pyre, and gathering +together his concubines and eunuchs, mounted it, and perished in the +flames. Thus came the great Assyrian empire to an end. + + + "The oracle concerning Nineveh: + The Lord is a jealous God and avengeth. + Who can stand before His indignation? + With an _overrunning flood_ He will make a full end of the place + thereof, and will pursue His enemies into darkness. + The _gates of the rivers_ are opened, and the palace is dissolved. + Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria, thy worthies are at + rest; thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and + there is none to gather them." + + +And there is much more in the same strain that the Hebrew Oracle of Nahum +concerning the fall of Nineveh gives. + +But it was not simply the capture of an important city--it was the +enslavement and ultimate annihilation of a whole nation. Who can imagine +their despair? Less than fifty years earlier, Assyria had been the most +powerful nation of the then known world, and the people suddenly saw +themselves deprived of that proud position which they had enjoyed for so +many centuries. Their national existence had, in fact, been brought to an +abrupt end, but the few Assyrian names which appear in Babylonian +contracts many years after their downfall show that theirs was a proud +indomitable spirit, which could not give way to misfortune, and which +probably hoped for better things and more prosperous times. Their +descendants are still to be found among the Chaldean Roman Catholic +Christians of the country which was the scene of their forefathers' +dominion when they ruled the land of their inheritance. Their most worthy +representatives in modern times are the family of the Rassams, one of whom +was for many years British Consul at Mossoul (a post which his nephew now +fills), and another is the well-known veteran, Hormuzd Rassam, Layard's +helper, for some time Resident at Aden, and later a prisoner with that mad +ruler, King Theodore of Abyssinia. To him we owe the discovery of +Assur-bani-apli's palace, the ruins of Sippara and Cuthah, and many +thousand cylinders and tablets bearing upon the manners, customs, history, +religion, etc., of the Babylonians and Assyrians, which have been used +freely in the compilation of this book. + + + + + +CHAPTER XI. CONTACT OF THE HEBREWS WITH THE LATER BABYLONIANS. + + + Nabopolassar and the restoration of the power of + Babylonia--Nebuchadnezzar--Evil-Merodach--Neriglissar and his + son--Nabonidus--The Fall of Babylon--Nabonidus and Belshazzar--Cyrus + and Cambyses--Darius and his successors. + + +How great the change which came over the Eastern world with the +disappearance from the political horizon of the power of Assyria can +hardly be estimated. In the time of Merodach-baladan, the Chaldean who had +mounted the Babylonian throne, an embassy was sent to the Jewish king +Hezekiah with a present and kind inquiries as to his health, apparently to +see whether it was worth while making an alliance with him. +Merodach-baladan felt that he would need all the outside help that he +could get against the Assyrians, with whom he was in constant conflict. +With the downfall of Assyria, however, all was changed. The Jews' whilom +friend became their enemy, and, as indicated in 2 Kings xx. 17 ff., the +Israelites were to lose their independence at the hands of the descendants +of those who were then seeking their friendship. + +There is hardly any doubt that the later Assyrian kings regarded Babylonia +as an integral part of the Assyrian empire, and had perfect faith in the +fidelity of the inhabitants. It may reasonably be doubted, however, +whether the Babylonians had really forgotten the cruel treatment they had +received at the hands of Sennacherib. In addition to this, there must have +existed for a considerable period the feeling that they, the Babylonians, +were the more ancient people of the two, and that the Assyrians were but a +later offshoot of their own stock, owing to them all their civilization, +manners, customs, laws, and literature. It will thus be seen that they +were sufficiently of the same origin to be regarded as one people, and for +this reason, many of the cities of Babylonia were satisfied and happy +under Assyrian rule, which they preferred, to all appearance, to that of +the Chaldeans, a nation which, though inhabiting their own borders, was in +reality more alien to them than the Assyrians in language, manners, and +customs, and whom they probably regarded as being only half civilized. + +The general opinion is, that Nabu-abla-usur (Nabopolassar), the general +whom Sin-sarra-iskun (Saracos), the last king of Assyria, sent against his +enemies (who seem to have invaded Babylonia by sea at the northern end of +the Persian Gulf), was a Chaldean, and this is, in fact, confirmed by the +quotation in Eusebius's Armenian Chronicle (p. 44) from Polyhistor, where +it is stated that after Samuges (Samas-sum-ukin, the brother of +Assur-bani-apli), Sardanapallus (this is a mistake for Nabopollasarus), +the Chaldean, reigned for twenty-one years. If this be the case, it is a +matter of surprise that Sin-sarra-iskun should have given into the hands +of one belonging to a tribe of old hostile to Assyria, the command of his +army at such a critical time. In any case, the result was most disastrous +for Assyria, as the foregoing chapter has shown. + +In the opinion of Friedrich Delitzsch, Nabopolassar was not the general of +Sin-sarra-iskun, but in all probability a viceroy installed by +Assur-etil-ilani-ukinni, and retained by Sin-sarra-iskun, in which case it +is to be supposed that he made an alliance with the Medes (as related by +Alexander Polyhistor and Abydenus), and cemented it by marrying his son +Nebuchadrezzar to Amunhean, Amuhean, or Amytis, daughter of Astyages, king +of the Medes; and according to the latter author, it was after this that +he marched against Nineveh. Fried. Delitzsch may therefore be regarded as +most probably right, for the king of the Medes would hardly have consented +to bestow his daughter upon the son of one whom he could not otherwise +have regarded as being of royal race. + +Though Nabopolassar had close connection with Syria, his name is not +mentioned in the Bible narrative. For our information concerning him we +are indebted to Josephus, who, quoting the Babylonian writer Berosus, +relates what was recorded in the Babylonian chronicles of that period. +After the division of the territory of Assyria, of which Egypt took a +part, the former allies began to quarrel among themselves, the result +being that Nabopolassar, wishing to regain possession of Syria, which at +this time acknowledged the suzerainty of Egypt, decided to attack that +country. According to Berosus, he not only regarded himself as master of +Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, but also of Egypt. Hearing, therefore, "that the +governor which he had set over Egypt and over the parts of Coele-Syria and +Phoenicia had revolted from him, he was not able to bear it any longer, but +committing certain parts of his army to his son Nabuchodonosor, who was +then but young, he sent him against the rebel." This is regarded as having +taken place in 605 B.C. The governor attacked by the young Nebuchadnezzar +was apparently Necho, who was completely defeated at Carchemish, and +expelled from Syria. + +Whilst upon this expedition, Nebuchadnezzar heard of the death of his +father at Babylon, in the twenty-first year of his reign, as Josephus, +quoting Berosus, has it. This accords with the statement concerning him in +the Canon of Ptolemy, and also with native Babylonian chronology, as may +be seen from a tablet in the Museum of Edinburgh, of which the following +is a translation-- + + + "The 21st year of Nabopolassar a profit was made. + The 1st year of Nebuchadnezzar a profit was made. + The 2nd year of Nebuchadnezzar a profit was made. + The 3rd year the same. + The fourth year the same." + + +Returning to Babylon, the young prince found that his supporters there had +looked after his interests, and no pretender having appeared to dispute +with him the throne, he was at once acknowledged king. The death of +Nabopolassar and the accession of his son Nebuchadnezzar took place in the +year 604 B.C. + +Unfortunately, but few inscriptions of Nabopolassar have been found, and +of them some are duplicates, and all refer to his architectural or +engineering works. The principal treats of his restoration of the temple +E-temen-ana-kia, the shrine at E-sagila, which the Babylonians regarded as +the Tower of Babel. It is written in the archaic style of writing much +affected by his son Nebuchadnezzar, and has certain peculiarities of +spelling. Like most of the pious architectural inscriptions of Babylonia, +there is no reference to historical events, but the king speaks of +Nabium-kudurra-usur (Nebuchadrezzar), "the eldest, firstborn, and beloved +of my heart," and his younger brother, Nabu-sumam-lisir. Both the king and +his two sons took part in the restoration of the temple, bringing with +their own hands material for the work, the younger son also assisting by +pulling the cord of the cart which carried it. The receptacles which they +used to carry the material were made of gold and silver. Other +inscriptions of this king refer to the digging out of the canal of the +Euphrates near the city Sippara, and to Nabopolassar's restoration of the +temple of "the Lady of Sippar," called E-edinna, "the house (temple) of +the plain," or "of Edina," _i.e._ Eden. + +When Nebuchadnezzar (in Babylonian Nabu-kudurri-usur--he was the second of +the name) came to the throne, he found himself in possession of a mighty +kingdom, consolidated by his father's talent, and he could himself boast +of having had a hand in its enlargement and greater security. Everything +was, to all appearance, at peace, and the new king had no reason to fear +either a pretender to the throne, or the advent of enemies from without. +One of his tributaries, namely, Jehoiakim, king of Judah, after paying +tribute three years (604-602 B.C.), rebelled, but was again reduced to +subjection (2 Kings xxiv. 1 ff.). + +Later, however, uprisings of a more earnest nature came to the ears of the +Babylonian king, constraining him to act. Apparently in consequence of the +promises of Egypt, Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, brought against himself +the hostility of the king of Babylon, who sent an army to besiege +Jerusalem, afterwards journeying thither himself, the result being, that +the city was taken, and the Jewish king, with his court, yielded, and were +carried away to Babylon (598 B.C.). The number of captives on this +occasion exceeded 10,000, and the treasures of the palace and the Temple +formed part of the spoils sent to Babylon. The country was not annexed, +however, for Nebuchadnezzar made Mattaniah king of Judah instead of +Jehoiachin, changing his name to Zedekiah. + +Gratitude to the power which had raised him, however, became weakened with +years, and, encouraged by Pharaoh Hophra, he rebelled in the ninth year of +his reign, the result being that Jerusalem was once more besieged. Pharaoh +Hophra now marched with an army across the Egyptian border to the help of +his ally, whereupon the Babylonians raised the siege of Jerusalem for a +time to get rid of the invader (Jer. xxxvii. 5-7). According to Josephus, +the Egyptians were totally defeated, and returned to their own land (Jer. +xxxvii. 7). The siege of Jerusalem was then resumed, and the city was +taken at the end of a year and a half, notwithstanding a very courageous +resistance. The date set down for this event is July 586 B.C. + +Zedekiah with his army fled, but was pursued by the Chaldeans, and +captured in the plains of Jericho. Nebuchadnezzar was then at Riblah, +where, to all appearance, a court was held (see 2 Kings xxv. 6), and +sentence pronounced against the faithless vassal, whose sons were then +slain before his eyes, his sight destroyed, and he himself carried captive +to Babylon. It was a barbarous sentence, and was quite in accordance with +the customs of the age, just as the legal formalities were to all +appearance in conformity with Babylonian tradition. The destruction of the +Temple and all the principal houses of the city by fire, followed, this +destruction being wrought by Nebu-zar-adan (Nabu-zer-iddina), the captain +of Nebuchadnezzar's guard, who also carried captive all who remained in +the city. Only the lowest class of the people remained to carry on the +cultivation of the land. Others were sent to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, and +by his orders put to death. Those of the Jews who remained, however, were +not placed, as might reasonably have been expected, under a Babylonian +governor, but under Gedeliah the son of Ahikam, who was made governor. His +death at the hands of his own countrymen took place shortly after, thus +putting an end to the last vestige of native Jewish rule in Palestine. + +Next came the turn of Tyre, which the Babylonian king blockaded for no +less than thirteen years (585-573 B.C.), but was apparently successful in +the end, when the inhabitants acknowledged Babylonian overlordship. That +its capture cost him great pains is testified by Ezekiel (xxix. 18), who +states that, to take the city, "every head was bald, and every shoulder +was peeled" in consequence of the carrying of material for the operations +against the city, yet neither he nor his army reaped any material +advantage from this conquest, "for the service that he had served against +it." The name of a city Suru, which is probably Tyre, occurs on a tablet +dated in Nebuchadnezzar's thirty-fifth year (569 B.C.--four years after the +city was taken). It refers to a transaction in which sesame is sold, an +official of the city being a party to the contract. Later on, in the +fortieth year of Nebuchadnezzar, a contract was entered into between +Milki-idiri, governor of Kidis (Kedesh), with regard to some cattle. This +document is dated at Tyre (Surru) on the 22nd of the month Tammuz. Not +only Tyre, therefore, but the whole district, owned the dominion of +Nebuchadnezzar at this time. + +Just as successful were Nebuchadnezzar's operations against Egypt. +According to an Egyptian inscription, the Babylonian king attacked Egypt +in the year 572 B.C., penetrating as far as Syene and the borders of +Ethiopia. Hophra, who still reigned, was defeated and deposed, the general +Amasis being raised to the throne in his place to rule the land as a +vassal of the Babylonian king. According to the only historical fragment +of the reign of this king known, Nebuchadnezzar made an expedition to +Egypt in his thirty-seventh year. This was to all appearance against his +vassal Amasis, who, like Zedekiah, had revolted against the power which +had raised him to the throne. The rebellion was suppressed, but the +ultimate fate of Amasis is not stated. + +According to Megasthenes, who lived in the time of Seleucus Nicator, +Nebuchadnezzar conquered North Africa, crossing afterwards into Spain by +the Strait of Gibraltar, returning to Babylonia through Europe and Asia +Minor. Such an expedition, however, it is hardly likely that he ever +undertook, and the account of this exploit may therefore be relegated to +the domain of the fables with which the ancient historians sometimes +ornamented their work. + +Concerning the relations of Nebuchadnezzar with Daniel, the +wedge-inscriptions of Babylonia give no indication whatever. Four hundred +and fifty or more contract-tablets dated in his reign are known, but in +none of them is there any reference to Daniel, at least in a form that can +be recognized. The Babylonian name given to him, Belteshazzar, is +apparently an abbreviated form, which would be, in Babylonian, +Balat-su-usur, "Protect thou (O God), his life." If this be the +explanation, a better transcription of the Hebrew form would be +Beletshazzar (making the first sheva vocal and the second silent instead +of the reverse). The name of the deity has, in accordance with custom, +been suppressed in the Hebrew form, but it is probable that either the +patron-deity of Babylon, Bel, or else the favourite deity of the +Babylonians in general, Nebo, the god of learning, may have preceded the +first element as the name now stands. In the inscriptions of Babylonia and +Assyria, many examples of abbreviated names occur, on account of what we +should consider their inordinate length, and to such an extent was this +customary, that one element only, out of three or four, might alone be +used. Thus, in the contracts of the time of Nebuchadnezzar, at least +fourteen persons of the name of Balatu, and seven of the name of Balat-su +occur, and it may be safely taken that they are all abbreviations of names +similar to that bestowed upon Daniel. Apart from the question whether the +Book of Daniel is to be regarded as a part of the Hagiographa or not, the +fact that his descent is not given there would make it impossible to +recognize him, if his name was still further abbreviated by the +Babylonians, among so many bearing names possibly the same as his. Even +though his book be regarded as a romance, there is always the question, +whether the personages mentioned therein may not really have existed. + +With regard to the other names in Daniel, it is to be noted that Shadrach +and Meshach, the names given to Hananiah and Mishael, are doubtful in +Babylonian, the corresponding forms not having been found. Abednego, on +the other hand, the Babylonian name of Azariah, has long been recognized +as being written for Abed-Nebo, "servant of Nebo," either by a scribal +error, or (as seems more probable) in order to deface the name of a +heathen deity. The name of Ashpenaz, the master of the eunuchs, is still +more doubtful, if anything; but that of Arioch, the "king's captain," is +one which has been well known for some time, being none other than the +ancient name (cf. Genesis xiv.) corresponding with the Akkadian Eri-Aku or +Eri-Eaku, "servant of the Moon-god," a rare name in later times (see pp. +222 ff.). + +Naturally nothing concerning Nebuchadnezzar's dreams occurs in the +inscriptions of Babylonia, though dreams which were regarded as having a +signification are sometimes recorded. This being the case, it might be +supposed that something upon the subject would in all probability be +sooner or later found. But what we should expect to find in the extant +inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar is a reference to the golden image, +threescore cubits high and six cubits wide, which he is said to have set +up in the plain of Dura. Had he erected such an enormous thing, even if it +had been merely gilt, and not of solid gold, one would expect that he +would at least have made a slight reference to it. That he may have set up +images of his gods is not only possible, but probable--indeed, he must have +dedicated at least a few during his long reign, but it is evident that +none of them was of sufficient importance to cause him specially to refer +to it in his inscriptions. It is therefore not impossible that there is +some exaggeration in the dimensions of the figure referred to in Daniel. +There is also considerable uncertainty as to the position of the plain of +Dura, in the province of Babylon. The most probable explanation is that of +Prof. J. Oppert, the veteran Assyriologist, who found what appeared to be +the base of a great statue near a mound known as Duair,(120) east of +Babylon. It is not improbable, however, that "the plain of Dura, in the +province of Babylon," means simply an extensive open space near one of the +great fortifications (_duru_) of the city. That all the principal +officials of the kingdom should be expected to come to the dedication of +such an image is exceedingly probable. + + [Plate XIV.] + + Bas-relief supposed to depict the triple wall of Babylon, with a portion + of the palace within. In the original, water flows at the base of the + lowest wall. The above is the upper part of slab No. 89 in the Assyrian +Saloon of the British Museum, and apparently illustrates Assur-bani-apli's + campaign against his brother, Samas-sum-ukin (Saosduchinos), King of + Babylon (cf. p. 391). (Two at least of the walls of Babylon were _much + older_ than the time of Nebuchadnezzar.) + + +The portion of Daniel referring to Nebuchadnezzar which receives the best +illustration from the inscriptions is that referred to after the relation +of his second dream, where he is represented as walking in or upon his +palace, and one may imagine that he had gone up to enjoy the view of the +city, and whilst doing so, with almost justifiable pride the words, "Is +not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, +by the might of my power and the glory of my majesty?" escaped him. From +his inscriptions (and they are fairly numerous) we learn, with regard to +Babylon, that it owed most of its glories as they then existed to this, +the greatest of its kings. That the king did not always distinguish +between what he built and what he rebuilt--indeed, none of his predecessors +seem to have done so either, a circumstance probably due to the poverty of +the Akkadian and Semitic Babylonian languages in that respect--would +explain the words attributed to him. + +According to the great India-House inscription, which was carved by order +of Nebuchadnezzar, Nabopolassar had built (= rebuilt) the two great walls +of Babylon, called Imgur-Bel and Nemitti-Bel. He had dug the great +city-moat, and raised two strong walls on its banks, similar, in all +probability, to what other kings had done before him. To all appearance +also he lined the banks of the Euphrates with embankments (probably the +quays of which Herodotus speaks), and constructed, within the city, a road +leading from Du-azaga, "the holy seat," where the oracles were declared, +to Aa-ibur-sabu, Babylon's "festival-street," close to the gate of Beltis, +for the yearly procession of the god Merodach. + + [Plate XV.] + + Bas-relief, supposed to represent the Hanging Gardens at Babylon, about +645 B.C. On the slope is a temple, a stele with the figure of a king, and + an altar on the path in front. On the right pointed arches support a + terrace planted with trees. Streams water the sides of the wooded hill. + British Museum, Assyrian Saloon, No. 92 (upper part). The above, with + Plate XIV., apparently illustrate Assur-bani-apli's campaign against his + brother Samas-sum-ukin (cf. page 391). + + +All these erections Nebuchadnezzar completed or altered and improved. He +added to the defences which his father had built, and raised the level of +the street Aa-ibur-sabu from the "glorious gate" to the gate of Istar. The +raising of the "festival-street" necessitated the raising of the gateways +through which it ran. Gates were made of cedar covered with copper, +probably after the style of the great gate found by Mr. Rassam at Balawat +in Assyria, which was adorned with bands of bronze chased with scenes of +Shalmaneser II.'s warlike exploits in relief. In all probability there +were but few gates in Babylon of solid metal, notwithstanding that there +is no mention in Herodotus of their having been constructed merely of wood +covered with ornamented strips of bronze. The thresholds of these gates +were of bronze, probably similar to that of which a part was found by Mr. +Rassam at Borsippa (evidently the doorstep of one of the entrances to the +temple called E-zida), and which may now be seen at the British Museum. +These and other portals at Babylon were guarded by images of bulls and +serpents, also of bronze. In addition to this, Nebuchadnezzar built a wall +on the east side of the city, high like a mountain, so that no enemy could +approach. Access to the city was gained by gates, the doors of which were +likewise of cedar ornamented with bronze. For further protection, he +"caused great waters like the volume of the sea to surround the land," and +to cross them was "like the crossing of the broad sea, the Salt Stream" +(the Persian Gulf). He then rebuilt the palace of his father, its walls +having been undermined by the waters of the Euphrates, which ran near. +Advantage of the changes made in this building was taken to raise the +gateways, which had become too low in consequence of the raising of the +festival-street of Merodach. In addition to this, he built another palace, +adjoining that of his father, decorating it with cedar, cypress, and other +precious woods; gold, silver, and precious stones; and adorning it with +sculptures and with gates overlaid with bronze. According to the +India-House inscription of Nebuchadnezzar, the fabric of this building was +completed in fifteen days, a fact so remarkable that it is specially +mentioned by Berosus (see Josephus, _Antiquities_, x., xi. 1), whose word +may be taken as proving the translation of the passage in question. +Besides restoring the temples of the cities, or at least the principal +ones, he restored all the chief temples of Babylonia, notably that at +Sippar, the chief centre of the Sun-god worship, and the great +temple-tower dedicated to Nebo at Borsippa. This last, indeed, was one of +the works upon which he prided himself most, as is proved by the fact that +it is mentioned in all his inscriptions, including those on his bricks, +along with the temple known as E-sagila (later pronounced E-sangil), the +"temple of Belus," which he calls "the tower of Babylon," the principal +shrine of which seems to have been called "the House of the Foundation of +Heaven and Earth," indicating clearly the estimation in which the +Babylonians held it (see p. 138). It was there that the god Merodach, the +principal deity of the Babylonians, and the founder of the temple in +question, was worshipped. + +But one might go on for a long time describing what Nebuchadnezzar did for +the city which, more than any other, he loved, and to which he brought the +spoils of his many expeditions. There is no doubt that this, the last +great king of Babylon, was a most successful ruler, of whom his people +were proud. He was pious, and an intense lover of his country--two +characteristics which endeared him, the one to the priesthood, the other +to the people at large. Could we but find the real history of his reign, +it would undoubtedly prove to be full of interest, and also of enormous +importance, not only on account of the light that it would throw upon +Jewish history during his period, but also on account of its bearing upon +a most important epoch in the life of the Babylonian nation. + +It is noteworthy that, in Herodotus, many of the great architectural works +of his reign are attributed to Nitocris, who, he states, was the mother of +Labynetus (Book I. 185-188). Now, who this Labynetus was, is clear from +the statement that it was he against whom Cyrus marched--namely the +Nabonidus of other Greek historians, and the Nabu-na'id of the +inscriptions. Nitocris would therefore seem to have been the name of the +queen of Nebuchadnezzar, and if so, it shows upon what grounds Nabonidus +claimed the throne, and how Belshazzar, in the Book of Daniel, could be +described as the son or descendant of Nebuchadnezzar. But in this case +Nitocris must have been another wife of Nebuchadnezzar, and not the Median +princess whom he had married when young. If she supplanted Amytis, +Nebuchadnezzar's Median wife, in the affections of her husband, it is easy +to see how she could have feared a Median invasion, as indicated by +Herodotus. + +Nebuchadnezzar died in the year 561 B.C., leaving his crown to +Awel-Maruduk, the Evil-Merodach of 2 Kings xxv. 27, and the +Abilamarodachos of Josephus, who, however, also gives, in his book against +Apion (i. 20), the genuine Babylonian form as transcribed by Berosus, +namely, Eueilmaradouchos. Two other sons of Nebuchadnezzar are also +mentioned in the contract-tablets of his reign, namely, Marduk-sum-usur +(in his fortieth year) and Marduk-nadin-ahi (forty-first year). (See pp. +434, 435.) + +The substitution of the mild rule of Evil-Merodach for the vigorous +government of his father must have been witnessed by the Babylonians with +considerable misgiving, for in the East, especially at that period, the +successful ruler was he who was the most energetic. There is every reason +to believe, however, that the character of Evil-Merodach was that of a man +in every way kind and considerate, as is shown by the fact, that he +released Jehoiachin (whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken prisoner), spoke kindly +to him, and set his throne above those of the other vassal kings in +Babylon. The only thing, according to Josephus, recorded about him by +Berosus was, that "he governed public affairs lawlessly and +extravagantly"--words which imply that he displeased the priestly class, of +which Berosus was one. His name appears in certain contracts (published by +Mr. Evetts) as ruler of Babylonia for about two years, from the 26th of +Elul of his accession year to the 4th day of Ab of his second year--about +two years and five months in all. According to Berosus, he was slain by +his sister's husband, Neriglissoeoros, the Nergal-sar-usur of the +inscriptions, who then ascended the throne. + +The name is the same as that given as Nergal-sharezer in Jer. xxxix. 3, +13, one of the princes of the Babylonians who was present at the taking of +Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and who at that time bore the title of +Rab-mag, which is to all appearance the Rab-mugi of the Assyro-Babylonian +inscriptions. It is thought by many, and is not by any means improbable, +that the Nergal-sharezer of the passage referred to and the +Nergal-sar-usur of Babylonian history are one and the same, though there +is no evidence that the latter ever bore the title of Rab-mag. + +It was in the year 559 B.C. that Evil-Merodach was murdered, and +Neriglissar at once seized the throne of his brother-in-law. Berosus (as +quoted by Josephus) gives no details as to his reign. In his inscriptions +he states that he was (like Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar before him) +patron of E-sagila and E-zida, the temple of Belus at Babylon and that of +Nebo at Borsippa, and that the great gods had established his dominion. +After speaking of the god Nebo, he makes a reference to Ura, the god of +death, which, under the circumstances, one can hardly regard as otherwise +than significant-- + + + "Nebo, the faithful son, a just sceptre has caused his hands to + hold. + To keep the people, preserve the country, + Ura, prince of the gods, gave him his weapon." + + +He then mentions his father, Bel-sum-iskun, whom he calls "king of +Babylon," and describes the restoration and decoration of E-zida and +E-sagila, together with the palace which he built for himself at Babylon, +and other architectural work. + +But to describe his father as "king of Babylon" was a statement somewhat +removed from the truth. In the contract-tablets of the time of +Nebuchadnezzar and Evil-Merodach, where the name of Neriglissar occurs +somewhat frequently as a purchaser of houses, land, etc., he is called +simply "son of Bel-sum-iskun," without any other title whatever (see p. +438). But perhaps Neriglissar's statement is due to some historical event +of which we are ignorant. + +Neriglissar died in the month Nisan or Iyyar of the fourth year of his +reign, and was succeeded by his son Labasi-Marduk, the Labarosoarchod of +the Greek writers. According to Berosus (Josephus against Apion, i. 20), +he was no more than a child, and it may be supposed that he was a younger +son of Neriglissar, though concerning this we have no information. He only +reigned nine months, a plot having been laid against him by his friends, +and he was tormented to death, "by reason of the very ill-temper and ill +practices he exhibited to the world" (Berosus). After his death, according +to the same historian, the conspirators met, and elected one of their +number, Nabonnedus (Nabuna'id), as king. "In his reign it was that the +walls of the city of Babylon were curiously built with burnt brick and +bitumen," is all that Berosus has to say with regard to the sixteen years +of his reign which preceded his overthrow. + +Many inscriptions of the reign of this king exist, and we are able to gain +from them an excellent idea of the state of the country and the historical +events of this important period. All that Nabonidus tells us concerning +his origin is, that he was the son or descendant of Nabu-balat-su-iqbi, +whom he calls _rubu emqu_, "the deeply-wise prince." Who he may have been +is not known, but there exist two tablets of the nature of letters written +by a certain Nabu-balat-su-iqbi to Assur-bani-apli, whose faithful servant +he professed to be, protesting against the treatment which he had received +at the hands of certain men who were hostile to him. If both these letters +were written by the same person, they must belong to about the year 652 +B.C. (the eponymy of Assur-nasir, which is mentioned in one of them). As +that was about one hundred years before Nabonidus came to the throne, this +personage, if related to him, must have been his grandfather or +great-grandfather. Other persons of the same name are mentioned in the +fifth, eleventh, eighteenth, and thirty-fourth years of Nebuchadnezzar, +but it seems very unlikely that the father of Nabonidus should be one of +these. + +According to the Babylonian Chronicle, Nabonidus was at the beginning of +his reign engaged in the west, to all appearance cutting down, among other +things, trees on Mount Amanus for building purposes at Babylon. Something +also took place by the Mediterranean (_tamtim sa mat Amurri_, "the sea of +the land of Amoria"). Apparently he had also troops in this district, and +sacrifices were performed there. + +After this there is a gap until the sixth year of his reign, the entry for +which, however, refers wholly to Astyages' operations against Cyrus, and +its disastrous results, for he was made prisoner, Ecbatana sacked, and the +spoil brought to Ansan, Cyrus's capital. + +Previous to this, as Nabonidus informs us in his cylinder-inscription +found by Mr. Rassam at Abu-habbah (Sippar), the Medes had been very +successful in their warlike operations, and had even besieged Haran, +making it impossible for Nabonidus to carry out the instructions of his +god Merodach, revealed to him in a dream, to restore the temple of Sin in +that city. On the king of Babylon reminding the deity of the state of +things in that part, and speaking of the strength of the Median forces, he +was told that in three years' time their power would be destroyed, which +happened as predicted. He now caused his "vast army" to come from Gaza and +elsewhere to do the needful work, and when completed, the image of the god +Sin was brought from Babylon, and placed in the restored shrine with joy +and shouting. Naturally the Babylonian king was overjoyed at the release +of Haran from the power of the Medes--could he have foreseen that Cyrus, +their conqueror, would one day hurl him from his throne, his enthusiasm +concerning the success of "the young servant of Merodach" (as he calls +him) would have been greatly abated. + +In his seventh and eighth years the king was in Tema, and the crown prince +(apparently Belshazzar is meant), with the great men and the army, was in +Akkad (the northern part of Babylonia, of which the city of Agad or Agade +was the capital). The king did not go to Babylon, Nebo did not go to +Babylon, Bel did not go forth, the festival _akitu_ (new year's festival) +was not performed, though the victims seem to have been offered in +E-sagila and E-zida as usual, and (the king) appointed a priest +(_uru-gala_) of the weapon (?) and the temple. In the ninth year also the +same state of things existed, and this year the mother of the king died, +to the great grief of the people. It is also recorded for this year that +Cyrus, apparently in the course of one of his military expeditions, +crossed the Tigris above Arbela. + +From the fact that the religious processions and ceremonies are given as +being unperformed every year from the seventh to the eleventh of his +reign, it is clear that a great deal of discontent was caused thereby, as +is, in fact, indicated by the cylinder-inscription of Cyrus detailing +under what conditions he himself entered Babylon. It was evidently one of +the duties of the Babylonian kings (and, as we have seen, the Assyrian +kings conformed to this when they became kings of Babylonia) to perform +the usual ceremonies, and the ruler neglecting this was certain to fall +into disfavour with the priesthood, and, by their influence, with the +people as well. + +Whatever may have been the sins of omission of Nabonidus--whether they were +trivial or otherwise--there is no doubt that they made a bad impression on +the people, and gave rise to all kinds of statements against him when the +days of misfortune came. For the scribe who drew up Cyrus's record after +the taking of Babylon, all Nabonidus's doings with regard to the temples +and statues of the gods were to be quoted against him. The temple dues had +been allowed to fail, and the gods quitted their shrines, angry at the +thought that Nabonidus had brought foreign gods to Su-anna (a part of +Babylon). With regard to this last accusation, it may be remarked that a +popular ruler would in all probability have been praised for bringing the +gods of other places to Babylon--it would have been either a tribute to the +power of Babylonia in war (a power conferred upon her, in their opinion, +by her gods); or else the payment of homage by the gods of other cities to +those of Babylon, acknowledging at the same time their (and her) +supremacy. + +The fact is, Nabonidus was either the most intelligent, or one of the most +intelligent, men in Babylonia. To all appearance he was not a ruler, but a +learned man, full of love for his country and its institutions, and +desirous of knowledge, which he obtained at all costs. Whenever he had to +restore a temple, he at once excavated in its foundations for the records +of early kings which he knew to be there, and he was often successful in +finding what he wanted. As he always recorded what he found, his +cylinder-inscriptions nearly always possess a value far beyond those of +other kings of Babylon. He seems to have delighted in what he saw when +engaged in this work--he not only tells you that he read the texts thus +discovered, but he refers to their perfect condition, and nearly always +says something about the ruler who caused them to be placed in the +foundations. He, too, is worthy of a statue in every place where the +language of his native land is studied. + +Naturally, his antiquarian researches, necessitating, as they did, the +destruction of a part of the fabric of the temple under repair at the +time, were not looked upon altogether with favour by the priests and the +people, hence the dissatisfaction to which the scribes, who were probably +of the priestly caste, afterwards gave vent. Besides this, was it not +necessary that they should justify themselves for accepting a foreign +ruler, of a different religion from their own? + +Nabonidus gives no hint in his inscriptions that he was aware of any +dissatisfaction at what he was doing. In all probability he was as +religious as any of his predecessors had been, and his son Belshazzar was +as the second ruler in the kingdom. Records exist showing that Belshazzar +sent offerings to the temple at Sippar whilst he was in that +neighbourhood, and the king's own offerings are sometimes mentioned with +them. The king had therefore a good deputy performing his work. With +regard to the bringing of foreign gods to Su-anna, Cyrus's scribe probably +refers to the deities of Haran, which were taken thither before the siege +of the place by the Medes. When the enemy had departed, Nabonidus restored +the temple in that city, and replaced the deities referred to in their +shrines. The transport of the idols may have been merely to place them for +the time being in a place of greater security. + +There is, then, every probability that Belshazzar, son of Nabonidus, was +the real ruler. What an excellent understanding existed between him and +his father may be gained from the inscription which Nabonidus caused to be +composed to place in the foundations of the temple of the Moon (the god +Sin) at Ur (identified with Ur of the Chaldees), the concluding lines of +which run as follows-- + + + "As for me, Nabonidus, king of Babylon, + from sin against thy great divinity + save me, and + a life of remote days + give as a gift; + and as for Belshazzar, the eldest son, + the offspring of my heart, the fear of thy great + divinity cause thou to exist in his heart, and + let not sin possess him, let him be satisfied with fulness of + life." + + +The text being undated, there is no means of ascertaining in what year the +restoration of the temple of the Moon at Ur took place. + +The story of the downfall of the Babylonian empire and the end of native +rule in Babylonia is told by the Babylonian Chronicle as follows-- + +"(Year 17th), Nebo to go forth (?) from Borsippa ... the king entered the +temple E-tur-kalama. In the month (?) ... and the lower sea, revolted ... +went (?). Bel went forth, the festival Akitu (new year's festival) they +held as usual (?). In the month ... the gods (?) of Marad, Zagaga and the +gods of the city of Kis, Beltis and the gods of Hursag-kalama, entered +Babylon. At the end of the month Elul the gods of the land of Akkad who +were above the atmosphere and below the atmosphere entered Babylon, the +gods of Borsippa, Cutha, and Sippar did not enter. In the month Tammuz +Cyrus made battle at Opis on the Tigris among the soldiers of Akkad. The +people of Akkad raised a revolt; people were killed; Sippar was taken on +the 14th day without fighting. Nabonidus fled. On the 16th day Ugbaru +(Gobryas), governor of the land of Gutium, and the soldiers of Cyrus +entered Babylon without fighting--after Nabonidus they pursued (?), he was +captured in Babylon. At the end of the month the regiment (?) of the land +of Gutium surrounded (?) the gates of E-sagila (the temple of Belus). A +celebration (?) of anything, in E-sagila and the shrines, was not being +made, and a (lunar ?) festival was not proceeding. Marcheswan, the third +day, Cyrus descended to Babylon; they filled the roads before him. Peace +was established to the city--Cyrus promised peace to Babylon, all of it. +Gubaru (Gobryas), his governor, appointed governors in Babylonia, and from +the month Kisleu to the month Adar the gods of the land of Akkad, whom +Nabonidus had sent down to Babylon, returned to their places. The month +Marcheswan, the night of the 11th day, Ugbaru (Gobryas) (went?) against +... and the son (?) of the king died. From the 27th of the month Adar to +the third of the month Nisan, there was weeping in Akkad, all the people +bowed down their heads. On the 4th day Cambyses, son of Cyrus, went to +E-nig-had-kalama-summu ('the house where the sceptre of the world is +given,' the temple of Nebo). The man of the temple of the sceptre of +Nebo...." + +(The remainder is mutilated, and the sense not clear--to all appearance it +refers to religious ceremonies and sacrifices in which Cambyses took +part.) + +Here, again, the suggestion seems to be, that because the king thought fit +to send the statues of the various gods of the land to other cities than +their own "on a visit," as it were, the priesthood was justified in +renouncing allegiance to him (and in this the people naturally followed +them), and in delivering the kingdom to a foreigner. It has been said that +the success of Cyrus was in part due to the aid given to him by the Jews, +who, sympathizing with him on account of his monotheism, helped him in +various ways; but in all probability he could never have achieved success +had not the Babylonian priests (as indicated by their own records) spread +discontent among the people. + +More important, however, are the details of the conquest by Cyrus. He must +have entered Babylonia on the north-east, and met the Babylonian army at +Opis. That the conflict went against the Babylonians may be taken for +granted, though it is not stated. Apparently the country was divided into +two parties--those for resistance, and those who were probably discontented +on account of the king's reputed unorthodoxy. A conflict between these +took place, and there was bloodshed, the result being that no resistance +could be offered to the army of Cyrus, who entered Sippar, the seat of the +worship of the Sun-god, without fighting. To all appearance Nabonidus was +at his post, but recognizing that all was lost, fled. Two days later +Gobryas (not Cyrus, be it observed) entered Babylon with the army of Cyrus +without fighting, and apparently captured Nabonidus there. This took place +about the end of June, and it was October before Cyrus entered the city. +Judging from the text, he was well received, and the result of the +conference between him and Gobryas was, that the latter "appointed +governors in Babylon," or "in Babylonia," as the words may be also read. +Another stroke of policy was the return to their habitations of the images +of the gods which Nabonidus had transferred to other places, thus +appeasing the priests. + +At this point come some very important and difficult phrases. On the night +of the 11th of Marcheswan, Gobryas descended (or went) upon or against +something, and the king, or the son of the king, died. The combination of +these two statements, taken in connection with the record in Daniel v. 30, +suggests that the latter reading is the correct one, though the first, +which would make it to mean that the king was slain, is not excluded, and +would make very little difference in the record, it being possible that +Belshazzar, as the successor of Nabonidus, might be meant. An earlier +explanation was, that the doubtful group stood for "the wife" of the king, +but in this case it would be difficult to explain how it is that the +verbal form (which is ideographically written, and may be read either +_imat_, "he dies," _tamat_, "she dies," or _metat_, "she died") should +differ from that used in the case of the king's mother, where _imtut_, the +historical tense of the secondary form of the kal, is the form used. The +use of _imat_ for _imut_, "he died," would be paralleled by the use of +_irab_ or _irub_, "he entered," in other parts of the inscription. + +Naturally, in a case of doubt, the seeker after truth in the matter of +Babylonian history consults the record of the Babylonian historian +Berosus. In the case of the taking of Babylon, however, there are such +noteworthy differences, that one may well be excused for doubting his +statements, notwithstanding his trustworthiness in other matters. He says +that when Nabonnedus saw that Cyrus was coming to attack him, he met him +with his forces, was beaten, and fled with a few of his troops to +Borsippa. Cyrus then took Babylon, and gave order that the outer walls +should be demolished, the city having proved very troublesome to him, and +cost him much pains to capture. He then proceeded to besiege Nabonnedus in +Borsippa, but the Babylonian king decided not to attempt to resist, and +yielded. Cyrus therefore treated him kindly, and though he would not allow +him to remain in Babylonia, he gave him Carmania as a place where he might +dwell. "Accordingly Nabonnedus spent the rest of his time in that country, +and there died." + +The Babylonian Chronicle, however, says nothing about Nabonidus having +taken refuge in Borsippa, nor of his being besieged there, nor of his +having submitted at that place. On the contrary, he was taken in Babylon, +which city had been captured without fighting, and there was on that +account no immediate excuse for demolishing the walls, which, as native +records tell us, were dismantled in the time of the Seleucidae. The fact +is, Berosus did not wish it to be thought that the Babylonians had allowed +their country to pass into the hands of a foreign ruler without +resistance, hence this statement as to the capital holding out. To all +appearance, Berosus is truthful where it is not to his interest to be +otherwise. + +The probability is, therefore, that "the son of the king," Belshazzar, +held out against the Persians in some part of the capital, and kept during +that time a festival on the 11th of Marcheswan, when Gobryas pounced upon +the place, and he, the rightful Chaldean king, was slain, as recorded in +Daniel. In this case, Darius the Mede ought to be "Gobryas of Gutium," +who, like the former, appointed governors in Babylonia, and "received the +kingdom" for Cyrus. If this be the case, Daniel would seem to have been in +Belshazzar's power, though his knowledge of what was going on on the +Persian side gave him courage to reject that prince's favours with scorn. + +Officially, Belshazzar is never mentioned as king, though the Jewish +captives must have regarded him as such, and probably spoke of him +humorously as being the true ruler. This alone can account for his being +called "king of the Chaldeans," and for his appointing Daniel to be the +"_third_ ruler in the kingdom," as has been already suggested. That he was +also confused with his father is shown by the statement in Josephus, where +he is spoken of (_Antiq._ x. xi. 2) as being called Nabonidus by the +Babylonians ("Baltasaros, who by the Babylonians was called Naboandelos"), +though Josephus's transcription of the names is as incorrect as a Greek's. + +Cyrus now found himself master of Babylonia, without any pretender to +molest him; and being the acknowledged ruler of the land, he made himself +as popular as he could by protecting the various religions which were to +be found in his new dominions. The Jews are said to have sympathized with +him on account of his being a monotheist, but to the Babylonians he seemed +to be of the same religion as themselves, and his inscriptions show that, +whether with his consent or not, the gods of the Babylonians were spoken +of and invoked on his behalf just as if this were the case, and we know +that he allowed his son to take part in the Babylonian religious +ceremonies. + +But to show clearly the way in which Cyrus ruled, a portion of his +cylinder-inscription, found by Mr. Rassam at Babylon, is given here-- + +(To all appearance Nabonidus had tried to make various religious changes +and reforms, the words "in the likeness of E-sagila" suggesting that he +had at least thought of building another temple similar to that venerable +fane.) + +"The gods, who dwelt in the midst of them (_i.e._ the temples), forsook +their dwellings in anger that he (Nabonidus) had made (them) enter within +Su-anna.(121) Marduk in the presence of ... was going round to all the +states whose seat had been founded, and the people of Sumer and Akkad, who +had been like the dead,(122) became active(123) ... he had mercy upon the +whole of the lands--all of them found (and) looked upon him. He sought also +a just king, the desire of his heart, whose hand he might hold, Cyrus, +king of the city Ansan, he called his title, to all the kingdoms together +(his) na(me) was proclaimed. + +"The land of Qutu, the whole of the troops of the Manda, he (Merodach) +placed under his feet, he caused his hands to capture the people of the +dark head,(124) in righteousness and justice he cared for them. Merodach, +the great lord, the protector of his people, looked with joy upon his +fortunate work and his just heart. He commanded that he should go to his +city Babylon, he caused him to take the road to Tindir,(125) like a friend +and a companion he walked by his side. His vast people, which, like the +waters of a river, cannot be numbered,(126) had their weapons girded, and +marched by his side. Without fighting and battle he caused him to enter +into Su-anna. His city Babylon he protected in (its) trouble. Nabonidus, +who did not fear him (_i.e._ Merodach), he delivered into his hand. The +people of Tindir, all of them, the whole of the land of Sumer and Akkad, +princes and high-warden, bowed down beneath him, and kissed his feet--they +rejoiced for his sovereignty, their countenances were bright. + +"The lord who, in trust that he (Merodach) gives life to the dead, spared +on every side from destruction and injury. Well did they do him +homage--they held in honour his name. I am Cyrus, king of the host, the +great king, the powerful king, king of Tindir, king of the land of Sumer +and Akkad, king of the four regions, son of Cambyses, the great king, king +of the city of Ansan, grandson of Cyrus, the great king, king of the city +of Ansan, great-grandson of Sispis (Teispes), the great king, king of the +city of Ansan, the all-enduring royal seed whose reign Bel and Nebo love, +for the contenting of their heart they desired his rule. + +"When I entered in peace into (the midst) of Babylon, I founded in the +king's palace a seat of dominion with pleasure and joy. Merodach, the +great lord, broad-hearted for ... the sons ... Tindir and ... me, and +daily I looked upon his image (?). My vast army marches in the midst of +Babylon peacefully, the whole of (the people of Sumer and) Akkad I made to +have no opposition. Within Babylon and all its districts in peace I had +care for the sons of Tindir ... as without heart (?) ... and a yoke (which +was) unseemliness for them was imposed (?). I comforted their sighing, I +did away with their distress. For the work Merodach, the great lord, +established the command--to me, Cyrus, the king his worshipper, and +Cambyses, the son (who is) the offspring of my heart ... all of my army +graciously he approached, and in peace before it kindly did he lead (?). +(By his) supreme (command) the whole of the kings dwelling in the royal +abodes of every region from the upper sea to the lower sea, (those) +dwelling ... the kings of the Amorites(127) (and) the dwellers in tents, +all of them, brought their valuable tribute and kissed my feet within +Su-anna. From ... -a, the city of Assur,(128) and Susa, Agade, the land of +Esnunak (Umlias), Zamban, Me-Turnu, (and) Dur-ilu to the border of Qutu, +the districts (on the banks) of the Tigris--from old time had their seats +been founded--the gods dwelling within them I returned to their places, and +caused eternal seats to be founded, all their people I collected and +returned to their dwellings. And the gods of Sumer and Akkad, which +Nabonidus, to the anger of the lord of the gods, had caused to enter +within Su-anna, by the command of Merodach, the great lord, I set in peace +in their shrines--seats of joy of heart. May the whole of the gods whom I +caused to enter into their places pray daily before Bel and Nebo for the +lengthening of my days, may they announce the commands for my happiness, +and may they say to Merodach that 'Cyrus, thy worshipper, and Cambyses, +his son, ... (in) the countries (?), all of them, he has founded a seat of +rest'...." + +(Here follow the ends of nine more lines, from which, however, no certain +sense can be gained.) + +It will be seen, that this interesting and valuable inscription is in +substantial agreement with the Chronicle. The grievance concerning the +transference of the statues of the divinities is repeated and amplified, +and the fact that Cyrus entered Babylon without fighting is confirmed +(against Berosus, Xenophon, and the other Greek authors who describe the +taking of Babylon). + +Cyrus, however, here appears before us in quite a new character, namely, +as the champion of Babylonian religious orthodoxy against Nabonidus's +heterodoxy! That Cyrus was ignorant of the contents of this inscription +(which must have been written by his orders) is in the highest degree +improbable. That he may have been affected by Zoroastrian monotheism is +likely, but if so, it was but a thin varnish, for he was to all appearance +a polytheist at heart, as his Anzanian fathers (who, as we know from +recent discoveries at Susa, were largely influenced by the religion of +Babylonia) had been from the earliest times. He had chosen well the time +of his invasion, as is shown by the revolt (apparently against Nabonidus) +which is referred to in the Chronicle. It is strange how the Babylonians +were in the main ready to accept a new ruler. In the earliest times we +have mention of the Arabic dynasty which the native records call the +dynasty of Babylon; later on came Cassites, Elamites and Assyrians, and +now the country received an Elamite king who ruled over Persia. In the +course of time other aliens would come and rule over them, but their +acceptance of these was much less a matter of choice, or, rather, of +apathetic acquiescence than on the occasion when they accepted Cyrus king +of Ansan. + +We see, moreover, from this inscription, that Cyrus did restore the +various exiles to their homes, thus securing as far as possible the +fidelity of those whom he wished to secure as his supporters. Among these +were the Jews, and it is on account of this that his name is so favourably +mentioned in the Old Testament. Cyrus himself says, that he caused all the +gods whose statues had been brought to Babylon to be returned to the +places whence they had come, and it is clear that, as the Jews had no +divine statues, Cyrus did what he could for them, and sent back to +Jerusalem the sacred vessels (Ezra i. 7), and also gave a grant for the +rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra iii. 7). In the decree quoted in Ezra (i. 2 +ff.), where he is represented as saying that "the Lord God of heaven" had +given him all the kingdoms of the earth, it is best to see in that, as in +his Babylonian cylinder-inscription, a desire, for policy's sake, to be +"all things to all men." His success must have been largely due to the +fact, that he had learned the art of ruling men. + +It is to be supposed that he continued as he had begun, and that his rule +was tolerated by the people. According to the contract-tablets, he +associated his son with him on the throne during part of his first year, +Cambyses becoming king of Babylon, whilst Cyrus retained the wider title +of "king of countries." Probably Gobryas had died, hence this change. +Cyrus died in 529 B.C., and Cambyses took the throne. During his reign the +Babylonians seem to have become discontented, desiring, perhaps, to have a +ruler elected by themselves. Whilst, therefore, Cambyses was absent in +Egypt, which country he conquered in the year 527 B.C., a Median, who was +a Magian named Gomates, taking advantage of the dissatisfaction which +prevailed, gave out that he was Bardes or Smerdis (called by the +Babylonians Barzia), declared himself the son of Cyrus, whom Cambyses had +murdered, and mounted the throne. Media, Persia, and Babylonia at once +went over to him, and Cambyses hastened from Egypt to meet the pretender. +Whilst in Syria, on the way home, he killed himself (521), perhaps by +accident, though it is not impossible that it was a case of suicide, and +the pretender retained for a very short period possession of the throne. + +Another prince of the same family, Darius son of Hystaspes, now came +forward, and after defeating Bardes and a number of other pretenders, +among them Nidintu-Bel, son of Aniru, who claimed to be Nebuchadnezzar the +son of Nabonidus, mounted the throne. In fact, almost every province of +the Persian empire had a pretender of its own, so that Darius found plenty +of work ready to his hand. One by one, however, they were defeated, and +"the lie" was put down in all the countries acknowledging Persian +rule--Darius was sole and undisputed king. + +It is unfortunate that no historical records referring to the reigns of +Cyrus and Cambyses exist, except the Chronicle, which, however, ends with +the accession year of the former. We have, therefore, no independent +records of what took place in Syria, though it must be confessed, that +there is great doubt whether the composer of the Chronicle at the time +would have considered the return of the Jews and the rebuilding of the +Temple as of sufficient importance to place on record there. The Bible and +Josephus give circumstantial accounts of what occurred, but the official +view of the circumstances of the granting of the permission to rebuild the +Temple and the city by Cyrus, and its countermanding, at the instance of +the Samaritans, during the reign of Cambyses, would be interesting in the +extreme. + +To find something about Zerubbabel, who is said to have been the friend of +Darius (Jos., _Ant._ xi. iii. 1), would also be welcome, but this we can +hardly dare to hope for. Zerubbabel (better Zeru-Babel, without the +doubling of the _b_) is a name which is far from uncommon in the contracts +of Babylonia. One, for instance, lived during the time of Nabonidus, and +dwelt at Sippara. He was to all appearance of Assyrian origin. Another, +the descendant of a smith, was the father of a man named Nabu-ahe-bullit, +who lived in the third year of Darius. A third bearing the same name is he +who is recorded as having acquired some ewes in the eleventh year of +Darius. His father bore the unusual name of Muterisu. For yet another +example, see p. 441. It will thus be seen that the name was far from rare +in ancient Babylonia. + +And in the published contract-tables of Darius's reign, of which nearly +600 have been made available for study, there is little bearing upon Old +Testament history. The same may also be said of his historical +inscriptions, of which that engraved on the great rock at Behistun in +Persia is the most important. It is in his historical inscriptions, +however, that the character of the man may be read. In the first lines, +where he tells of his origin, you read of his pride of descent, just as, +farther on, he tells the story of his conflicts--how, with the help of his +father, Hystaspes, who seconded him loyally and (there is hardly any +doubt) affectionately, he overcame all the rebels, and having annihilated +the lie which he hated so intensely, he could say, after his successes, +that "the land was his." + +And through it all shines at every point, as it were, his adoration of the +god whom he worshipped, Ahuramazda, by whose grace and favour he had been +successful. There is no doubt about his religious faith--in his +inscriptions he appears as a monotheist of the severest type, and for this +reason he must have had but little sympathy with the polytheism of the +Babylonians, and the other nationalities over which he ruled, whose faith +was in a plurality of gods. It is true that offerings seem to have been +made in his name in the temples of Babylonia, but these must have been due +to old grants which had not been rescinded, and which the king and his +advisers probably would have regarded as bad policy to abolish. + +Naturally there is every probability that such a ruler as Darius would +have sympathies with the Jews, on account of their monotheism, and it may +be supposed that such a feeling towards them would have led him to consent +to the upholding of Cyrus's decree that the Temple at Jerusalem should be +finished, as detailed in Ezra vi. 1 ff. Darius relates in the Behistun +inscription, that he restored the temples of the gods (Bab. _bete sa +ilani_, Median _ziyan nappana_, "temples of the gods," Pers. _ayadana_, +"shrines") which Gomates the Magian, the pseudo-Bardes or Smerdis, had +destroyed. That a single word (_ayadana_) is used in Persian, whilst the +phrase "temples of the gods," in the plural, is used in Babylonian and +Median, shows merely the desire to speak to the latter nations in the +language to which they were accustomed, and at the same time indicates +that neither the one nor the other, unlike the Persians, were monotheists. +Gomates was therefore not a monotheist, otherwise he would not have +destroyed the temples, which would seem to have been those of Darius's own +faith; for this king would hardly have thought it worth while to mention +the fact of their destruction, had they been the sacred places of a creed +which he despised, and it is only natural to suppose, from his very +frequent mention of Ahuramazda, the god whom he worshipped, that he was +proud of being a monotheist. + +It may therefore be taken, that if Darius Hystaspis ordered the completion +of the Temple at Jerusalem, and the giving of funds in aid of the work, it +was out of sympathy with the Jews. As his reign was one of tolerance, he +did not interfere with the religion of either the Babylonians or the +Medians, but in all probability he did not imitate Cyrus by grants on his +own account, and under a royal decree, to the temples of those, to him, +heathen countries. There is considerable doubt, however, whether it is +this king who is referred to in Ezra and Esdras, as Sir Henry Howorth has +shown (_Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology_, 1901, pp. 147 +ff., 305 ff., 1902, pp. 16 ff.), the ruler intended being in all +probability Darius Nothus, whose position agrees with the chronology of +these books, and does away with much difficulty as to their acceptance as +historical authorities. + +According to Darius, twenty-three countries owned his sway: Persia, Elam, +Babylonia, Assyria, Arabia, Egypt, "by the sea," Sarpada, Ionia, Media, +Armenia, Cappadocia, Parthia, Drangiana, Aria, Chorasmia, Bactria, +Sogdiana, Paruparaesana, Scythia, Sattagydia, Arachosia, and Maka. +Palestine was evidently included in the district designated "by the sea." +After a most active reign, Darius died in the year 486 B.C., having +appointed his son Xerxes as his successor. + +The reign of this ruler, and his attempt to reduce Greece to submission, +are well known. It was probably after his disastrous failure, when he had +returned to Persia, that he took as one of his wives the Jewess Esther, as +related in the book bearing her name. His inscriptions are short ones, +referring to the buildings erected by his father and himself. In all +probability he thought that his warlike exploits, overwhelmed as they were +by misfortune, were not of a nature to bear recording. In his own +inscriptions, his name is given as Hisi'arsi or Hisi'arsa'i in Babylonian, +and Khshayarsha in Old Persian. In the contract-tablets, however, it +appears as Ahsiarsu, Ahsiwarsu, Aksiarsu, Akkasiarsu, and Hisiarsi. It is +from one of the forms with prefixed _a_ that the Hebrew Ahashweros (A.V. +Ahasuerus) has apparently come, the most probable original being one +similar to the Ahsuwarsu of a contract-tablet in the Museum at Edinburgh. + +Xerxes died in the year 464 B.C., and was succeeded by his son Artaxerxes, +the Artakhshatra of the Old Persian inscriptions, and the Artaksatsu or +Artaksassu of Babylonian inscriptions. Though it was not without bloodshed +that he reached the throne, he proved to be a successful ruler--more so, in +fact, than his predecessor, whose expedition against the Greeks had ended +only in disgrace and the loss of an enormous number of troops taken from +all the nations over which he ruled. It is therefore not to be wondered at +that his reign should have been regarded as wise and temperate. In any +case, he was well disposed towards the Jews, and gave permission, in his +seventh year, to Ezra, to go up to Jerusalem with a royal grant, to settle +affairs there, and sacrifice to the God of the Jews (Ezra vii., viii.). +Later on, he gave permission to Nehemiah to return to the land of his +fathers to restore and rebuild the walls of the city. As Nehemiah was his +cupbearer, it is easily conceivable that he did this to please him, and to +reward one who had evidently been a faithful servant, but it is not +improbable that the king at the same time had in his mind the rebellion of +his general Megabysus, who had risen against him in protest against the +treatment meted out by his royal master to his captive Inarus. To have a +well-fortified city defended by those who had benefited greatly by his +rule, must have seemed to the Persian ruler good policy. + +Artaxerxes died in the year 425 B.C., and was succeeded by his son, Xerxes +II., who reigned only two months, at the end of which time he was murdered +by Sogdianus, a bastard son of Artaxerxes, who then became king. Seven +months only, however, was the length of this new ruler's reign, he being, +in his turn, put to death by another of the bastard sons of Artaxerxes, +Darius Ochus, after he had surrendered to him. This ruler is the Darius +Nothus of history, who mounted the throne in 424 B.C. His reign was noted +for the numerous insurrections against his dominion which took place, but +is of special interest because of the resumption of the work of rebuilding +the Temple of Jerusalem, which had been stopped by the decree of +Artaxerxes, as recorded in Ezra iv. 21-24. (See Sir H. Howorth in the _P. +S. B. A._, 1901, pp. 307, 308.) + + + + + +CHAPTER XII. LIFE AT BABYLON DURING THE CAPTIVITY, WITH SOME REFERENCE TO +THE JEWS. + + + The reign of Nebuchadnezzar--The earliest mention of + Nabonidus--Neriglissar and his relations with his fellow-citizens + before his accession--He marries his daughter Gigitum to the + director of E-zida--Prince Laborosoarchod--Nabonidus and the temples + at Sippar--Prince Belshazzar's transactions--His offerings at + Sippar--His sister's gift to her god (or goddess)--Princess + Ukabu'sama's transaction--The Jews at Babylon--Babylonian business + and other letters--Sirku's slave--A loan at Erech--Work upon a + plantation--Sale of an ass--Jews and Babylonians--The dead slave--A + right of way--The story of Abil-Addu-nathanu and Bunanitum--The + outcast slave--The Egyptian slave and her infant--Sirku's + transactions--Babylon as the Jewish captives saw it. + + + + +I. + + +If trade-activity be a test of prosperity, then the Babylonians of the +period extending from the end of the reign of Nabopolassar to the end of +that of Darius could have had but little to complain of on the whole, +notwithstanding the changes of dynasty which took place. Over three +thousand inscriptions covering this period have been published, and there +is every reason to believe that, if all the texts in the various museums +were made known, twice this number might be reached. There is, therefore, +an abundance of material with which to reconstruct the life of that +period. Naturally, many of this enormous number of inscriptions are +comparatively uninteresting, and some of the texts are of little or no +value, even to specialists. This being the case, it will easily be +understood that, as they are mostly of the nature of contracts, with a +certain number of legal documents, the information which many of them give +is comparatively meagre, and there is a great deal of repetition. That +some of them, notwithstanding these disadvantages, are sufficiently +interesting, will be seen from the examples which this chapter contains. + +Among all these documents we find repeated, with some differences which +the course of centuries had brought about, the same transactions, and the +same daily life as has already been treated of in the fifth chapter, pp. +159-191. There are purchases and sales of land, property, and slaves, +loans at interest and without interest, and all the various kinds of +contracts which the daily needs of a large population call forth. +Marriage-contracts and contracts of apprenticeship are also not uncommon, +wills and divisions of property--generally in greater detail than of +old--are also to be found. To these must be added the leasing and hire of +houses, the purchase and hire of ships, divisions of property, inventories +of the same, receipts of different kinds, etc. etc. + +For the most part, the people who pass before us are slaves, servants, +money-lenders, merchants, and other of the common folk, with a sprinkling +of scribes, priests, both of the higher and the lower classes (generally +the latter), palace officials, now and then a judge, or a governor, or one +of the subordinate officials. Did we know them all, perhaps we should +think more of them, and estimate them at their true worth; but in the +appearance and reappearance of their names we see only the plaintiff or +the defendant, the buyer or the seller, and it is but rarely that we can +recognize them as men of note, though in many cases it is to be +conjectured that they were so. It is only seldom that the crown prince or +one of his brothers, appears, or a relative of the ruling king comes +within our range--as for the king himself, except in the date of a +document, his name is rare in the extreme, and when he appears actively, +it is in the character of patron of the temples, or something of a similar +nature. + +Naturally the king was hedged about with a considerable amount of +reverence, which must have manifested itself in many ways which we shall +probably never know. This consideration for the name of the king would +lead to his being represented by an agent, doing away with the necessity +of his appearing in person, when dealing with his subjects. Though he +prudently keeps out of sight, it is hardly a dignified thing that the +great Nebuchadnezzar should appear as a moneylender, even by proxy, as he +seems to do in the following document. But we do not know the whole +history of the transaction, so must not hastily accuse him of an unkingly +action--his appearance may be unauthorized, or the loan may be capable of a +perfectly natural explanation. + +"Ten shekels (in) ingots (?), the silver of Ina-esi-etir, son of Nadin, +the king's agent. The king's silver, which was given for gold (? = as +capital) to Ina-esi-etir, (is) due from Nabu-etir, son of Sula, descendant +of the mead-dealer. At the end of the month Tisri he will give (it) back. +His property, as much as there is, (is) the security, until Ina-esi-etir +receives the king's silver. Witnesses: Nadin, son of Marduk, descendant of +Irani; Nergal-iddina, son of Nabu-kasir, descendant of Epes-ili; and the +scribe, Ana-Bel-upaqu, son of Bel-sum-iskun, descendant of the +mead-dealer. Babylon, month Tammuz, day 28th, year 21st, +Nabu-kudurri-usur, king of Babylon." + +Though security is referred to, there is no mention of interest, but +Ina-esi-etir probably expected something of the kind. The question also +arises, whether the sum may not have been advanced without the authority +of his royal master. The original of the expression translated "ingots" +suggests that the pieces may have been in the form of a sword-blade. + +Among the tablets referring to Nebuchadnezzar's offerings, 84-2-11, 23, +and its duplicate 270 of the same collection, are probably the most +interesting. This inscription is to the effect that Izkur-Marduk had given +up with willingness the office of _nas-patrutu_ to Nabu-balat-su-iqbi. His +duty was to perform the king's sacrifices every year before the goddess +Ishara, "dwelling in E-sa-turra, which is within Su-anna," and before +Pap-sukal, of "the temple E-kidur-kani, the house of the Lady of heaven, +of the bank of the water-channel of _alu-essu_ (the new city) which is +within Babylon." The animals sacrificed were oxen and sheep, and the parts +offered before the two deities are fully specified. The contract ends with +a longer curse than usual in tablets of this class: "Whoever the words and +this gift changes, as much as has been conferred (?) on +Nabu-balat-su-iqbi, may Merodach, Zer-panitum, Ishara, and Pap-sukal +bespeak his destruction; may Nebo, the scribe of E-sagila, shorten his +long days. The spirit of Marduk, Zer-panitum, (and) his gods, and +Nabu-kudurri-usur, the king their lord, they have invoked." The names of +three witnesses and the scribe follow this, after which is the date, 29th +day of Tammuz, 32nd year of Nebuchadnezzar. A portion of the sacrifices +were to be made on the 8th day of Nisan, _i.e._ at the beginning of the +second week of the new year. + +As stated in his long inscriptions referring to the restoration of the +temples at Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar looked upon that city as the one whose +temples he especially delighted to honour, and this text referring to his +offerings seems to bear out that statement. As, however, his inscribed +cylinders from other places show that he did not neglect the shrines of +his provincial capitals altogether, so certain inscriptions referring to +his offerings elsewhere show that he did not withhold what was considered +as due from him to the other shrines of his realm. Thus, in his +thirty-fifth year he is recorded to have made a gift or offering of an +object, made or set with some kind of stone, to the goddess of Sippar, Aa, +the consort of the Sun-god, and another object of gold to the god himself. +In all probability, the text referred to is only one of a number of +inscriptions referring to the king's offerings, for even this great and +popular ruler would hardly have dared to risk the hostility of the priests +merely to gratify his desire to enrich and embellish his capital city. In +addition to the king, the officials of his court sometimes made offerings +at Sippar, as is indicated by the following short inscription-- + +"One ass, tithe which Nabu-sarra-usur, the king's captain, has given to +the temple E-babbara. Month Iyyar, day 20 less 1, year 42nd, +Nabu-kudurri-usur, king of Babylon." + +To all appearance, Nabu-sarra-usur was a man sufficiently well off, if, as +may well be supposed, he possessed nine other asses besides the one which +he was giving as tithe. From the nature of the offering, this could not +have been made on account of the king, though he must from time to time +have commissioned others to act on his behalf, as the following +inscriptions inform us that his sons did-- + +"..., tithe of (Marduk)-sum-usur, the son of the king, Zubuduru, messenger +of Marduk-sum-usur, the son of the king, has given to E-babbara. The sheep +(is) in the cattle-house in the care of Samas-eres. Month Adar, day 17th, +year 40th, (Nabu-kud)urri-usur, (king of Babylon)." + +The word to be restored at the beginning is probably "1 sheep," this being +the number implied farther on. If so, it cannot be said that he was by any +means a large owner of these animals. The following refers to tithe in +silver paid by the same prince-- + +"1/3 and 5 shekels (= 25 shekels) of silver (is) the tithe which +Marduk-sum-usur, son of the king, has given by the hands of Samas-kain-ahi +and Aqabi-ilu to E-babbara. Month Iyyar, day 14th, year 42nd, +Nabu-kudurri-usur, king of Babylon." + +Another inscription, dated in the forty-first year of Nebuchadnezzar, +refers to another son, named Marduk-nadin-ahi, whose servant, +Sin-mar-sarri-usur, had paid half a mana for fruit (dates). The name of +the servant, which means "Moon-god, protect the son of the king," is +interesting, and testifies to the devotion of the family of its owner to +the royal house. + +These references to the sons of Nebuchadnezzar naturally raise the +question of the parentage of Nabonidus, whose son, Belshazzar, is called, +in Daniel, the son--_i.e._ descendant--of Nebuchadnezzar. As this is a +historical point of some importance, even the most uncertain light, when +thrown upon it, may turn out to be of considerable value. In all +probability, therefore, this is the most appropriate place to introduce +what may be called + + + +The Earliest Mention Of Nabonidus. + + +This document is preserved on two tablets, the most correct being very +much crowded in one part, and the other very neatly and clearly, but at +the same time very incorrectly, written. Both are, therefore, in all +probability, copies, made at dates some time after the original document +was drawn up. + +Though the more clearly-written copy is rather incorrect, it furnishes in +some cases interesting variants, which will be noticed in their place. The +value of the text as a historical document depends, in part, as will +easily be recognized, upon the trustworthiness of a statement which the +incorrect copyist has read into it. + +Both these documents belong to the collection obtained by the late George +Smith on his last ill-fated journey to the East. They are numbered S +, +769 and 734. + +"Adi'ilu, son of Nabu-zer-iddina, and Huliti, his wife (the divine +Hulitum!(129)) have sold Marduka (Mordecai), their son, for the price +agreed upon, to Sula, son of Zer-ukin. The liability to defeasor (?) and +pre-emptor (?), which is upon Marduka, Adi'ilu and Akkadu respond for." + +"Witnesses: Nabu-na'id (Nabonidus), who is over the city(130); Agar'u; +Musezib-Bel, son of Marduka(131); Zeria, son of Babilaa; Ukin-zera, son of +Yadi'-ilu(132); Remut, son of Marduka; and the scribe Nabu-zer-ikisa, son +of Marduk- ... Hussiti-sa-Musallim-Marduk, month Sebat, day 16th, year +8th, Nabu-kudurri-usur, king of Babylon." + +It will probably seem strange to most readers that Babylonian parents, who +were as a rule fond of children, should sell their son; but it is +impossible to pronounce judgment against them without knowing more, so as +to be able to take into consideration the circumstances in which the thing +was done. Though the document resembles those recording the sale of +slaves, certain phrases are left out (compare the inscriptions referred to +on pp. 465 ff.). + +The exclamatory addition of the scribe in one case, where he writes the +name of the mother, Hulitum, with the prefix for divinity, shows that he +regarded her as being with the gods--to all appearance she had, at the time +of making the copy, departed this life. It may be taken as implying +respect, reverence, and something more. + +Naturally there is no suggestion that the Nabonidus who is given as the +first witness, with the title "he who is over the city," was the son of +Nabu-balat-su-iqbi, afterwards king of Babylon. The scribe of the second +tablet calls him "the son of the king," but there is no indication, from +Babylonian sources, that he was one of the sons of Nebuchadnezzar. It is +true that, in Daniel, Belshazzar is spoken of as if Nebuchadnezzar was his +father (or, better, grandfather), but this is the first indication that +the Babylonians ever thought of Nabonidus, his father, as one of the sons +of the great Nebuchadnezzar. The question is, whether the scribe who made +the second and more incorrect copy would have read into the doubtful +characters which his original evidently contained, a statement which he +must have known to be untrue, incorrect, or impossible. In view of the +fact that the copy in question must have been made sufficiently near to +the time of Nabonidus for the facts to be still known, a wilful error is +to all appearance excluded, though, on the other hand, the incorrectness +of other parts of the tablet obliges us to take the statement for what it +is worth. The traces of a character after the words "son of the king" are +doubtful--they look like the remains of three horizontal wedges, the two +lower ones being fairly clear. As the topmost wedge is the most doubtful, +it is possible that the traces which remain are really part of the sign +for "city," in which case the scribe wrote "son of the king of the city," +placing the determinative prefix for "man" before the character for +"king"--a most unusual way of writing the word. It enables us to surmise, +however, that the reading of his original was really _sa muhhi ali_, +instead of _sa eli ali_ (both phrases have the same meaning), that he +regarded _sa_ as _a_, that he thought _muh-hi_ to be the characters for +"man" and "king," and that he read the last of the phrase, the character +for "city," correctly. + +They are a couple of as interesting, but, at the same time, as +unsatisfactory, tablets, as could well be imagined. + +It is to be noted that the name of Nabonidus is not altogether uncommon in +the inscriptions. In most cases, however, we know that it is either not +the well-known king of that name, or that his identity with him is +doubtful. That the person here referred to was a man of some consequence +is indicated by his title, "he who is over the city," and it often happens +in that case (as here) that the name of his father and other remoter +ancestor is omitted. This is sometimes the case with Neriglissar, who is +very often named in the contract-tablets of Babylonia, and his name is +then either given without any indication of his parentage, or else with +the simple addition "son of Bel-sum-iskun." + +Another figure which appears at this time is that same Neriglissar who was +to play so important a part in the affairs of Babylonia at a later date. +In the case of this prince (unlike the Nabonidus of the inscription +translated above) we are not tormented by any doubts whatever. It is +really and truly Neriglissar, and none other. He first appears in +Nebuchadnezzar's thirty-fourth year, in the following legal document-- + +"100 sheep of Kili(gug?), servant of Nergal-sarra-usur, concerning which +Abi-nadib, son of Ya-hata, said to Nergal-sarra-usur, son of +Bel-sum-iskun, thus-- + +" 'Nabu-sabit-qata, servant of Nergal-sarra-usur, brought them by my +hand.' + +"If Abi-nadib (and) Nabu-sabit-qata prove (this), Abi-nadib is free; if he +prove it (not), Abi-nadib will give to Nergal-sarra-usur 100 sheep, (with) +wool (?) and young (?). + +"Witnesses: Silli-Bel, son of Abi-yadisa; Kabtia, son of Marduk-zer-ibni, +descendant of the potter; Nabu-nasir, son of Zilla; and the scribe, +(Nabu)-ahe-iddina, son of Sula, descendant of Egibi. Takretain (?), month +Elul, day 2nd, year 34th, Nabu-kudurri-usur, king of Babylon." + +Neriglissar must therefore have been an extensive cattle-owner, and had +many servants, some of whom at least must have been men of substance, like +Abi-nadib, who engages to restore to his master the 100 sheep, if it could +be proved that they had been lost by his fault. Judging from the name, +Abi-nadib (= Abinadab) must have come from the west, his Biblical +namesakes being Israelites. Nabu-sabit-qata elsewhere appears as the +major-domo of the crown prince (? Laborosoarchod = Labasi-Marduk) during +the reign of Neriglissar, and of Belshazzar during the reign of his father +Nabonidus. The reader will meet his name again in the translations which +follow. + +A similar transaction to the above is one in which two servants of +Neriglissar were concerned, but in which the prince himself seems not to +have been directly interested. It is as follows-- + +"(At the end?) of the month Sivan, Sarru-ilua, servant of +Nergal-sarra-usur, will bring his witness and will prove to Hatanu, +servant of Nergal-sarra-usur, that Sarru-ilua gave to Hatanu the iron +_raqundu_. If he prove it, Hatanu will give to Sarru-ilua a _raqundu_. + +"Witnesses: Musezib-Bel, son of Nabu-iltama', and the scribe, +Nabu-ahe-iddina, descendant of Egibi. Upia (Opis), month Nisan, day 29th, +(year ...)th, Nabu-kudurri-usur, king of Babylon." + +During the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the "chief of the house" or major-domo +of Neriglissar was Bel-etiranni, who is mentioned as having borrowed +money, whether on his own or his master's behalf is not known. This took +place in the forty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar. The following is an order +for the delivery of goods to the prince-- + +"Cause ... iron implements (and) 80 _kudutum_ to be taken to +Nergal-sarra-usur by the hands of Nabu-sum-iddina, secretary of +Nergal-sarra-usur. Month Iyyar, day 12th, year 43rd, Nabu-kudurri-usur, +king of Babylon." + +To all appearance prince Neriglissar was a very busy man, who sought to +add to his worldly goods by every means in his power, and did not disdain +to engage in trade in the attainment of wealth. What he had apparently +begun in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, he continued in the time of +Evil-Merodach, during whose reign there are several inscriptions referring +to his transactions with regard to houses. In the first of these +inscriptions he hires a house for 11 mana of silver from Nabu-abla-iddina, +by his agent, Nabu-kain-abli (first year of Evil-Merodach, month and day +lost). + +In another contract he acquires 4 canes, 1 cubit, 8 fingers (of land) from +Marduk-sakin-sumi, and 2 canes, 6-2/3 cubits from Kurbanni-Marduk, for a +total of 4 mana 19 shekels of silver. (Babylon, month Tebet, day 9th, 1st +year of Evil-Merodach.) + +In the third contract it would seem that the property in land of +Nabu-abla-iddina had been given over to his creditors, of whom +Nabu-bani-ahi was one, the amount due to him being, in all, 53 shekels of +silver, due to him from Nabu-abla-iddina in the name of a third party. By +the authority of Neriglissar it would seem that 42-1/3 shekels of silver +were paid to Nabu-bani-ahi, who then gave to Neriglissar a contract for 53 +shekels of silver, promising, at the same time, to speak to the king's +scribes, and draw up and deliver to Neriglissar a _sealed_ document. If he +did not do this, he was to be liable for the silver and its interest. + +By advancing the money to this creditor, Neriglissar became himself a +creditor of the estate of Nabu-abla-iddina (15th of Adar, 1st year of +Evil-Merodach), and it seems to have been his intention to get the whole +of the land and the houses thereon into his own hands. He therefore +acquired further interest in the property a few weeks later (26th of +Nisan, 2nd year of Evil-Merodach), and again after a further interval of +three months (14th of Tammuz, 2nd year of Evil-Merodach). To all +appearance, the amounts advanced by Neriglissar to the creditors of the +estate were less than the sums due to them from Nabu-abla-iddina on +account of their claims. He seems, however, to have got them to give him +receipts in full, and they had to promise to deliver sealed documents. He +must have made a considerable profit out of this species of +bill-discounting. + +The last tablet referring to the estate of Nabu-abla-iddina is dated in +the accession year of Neriglissar's own reign (9th of the 2nd Adar), and +in this Nabu-ahe-iddina secures an interest by paying 26-1/4 shekels of +silver on account of a sum of 52-1/2 shekels--just half. The land is stated +to have been "sold for silver for a palace," and the money was paid by the +intermediary of Nabu-ahe-iddina, Neriglissar's representative in such +matters before he ascended the throne. The following is a translation of +this interesting document-- + +"52-1/2 shekels of silver due to Ikisa, son of Gilua, descendant of +Sin-sadunu, which is upon (_i.e._ due from) Nabu-abla-iddina, son of +Balatu, descendant of the butler (?), in (part payment) of the price of +the house of Nabu-abla-iddina, which has been sold for silver for the +palace. In agreement with the creditors, Ikisa, son of Gilua, descendant +of Sin-sadunu, has received 26-1/4 shekels of silver from the hands of +Nabu-ahe-iddina, son of Sula, descendant of Egibi, and has given the +contract for 52-1/2 shekels of silver, which is upon (_i.e._ due from) +Nabu-abla-iddina, to Nabu-ahe-iddina. + +"Witnesses: Daanu-sum-iddina, son of Zeru-Babili, descendant of the +dagger-bearer; Nabu-nadin-sumi, son of Abla, descendant of Sin-nadin-sumi; +Bel-sunu, son of Ussaa, descendant of Ahi-bani; + +"and the scribe, Nabu-balat-su-iqbi, son of Ikisa, descendant of +Sin-sadunu. Babylon, month of the later Adar, day 9th, year of the +beginning of dominion of Nergal-sarra-usur, king of Babylon." + +But Neriglissar was now king, and had no need and but little desire to +appear before his subjects as a purchaser of houses, or as a trader in any +way (it is probably on this account that his name does not occur in the +above document). When he engaged in anything of the kind, it was +henceforth through agents. The only exception known is the +marriage-contract of his daughter Gigitum, who espoused the high priest of +Nebo at Borsippa. The following is a translation of this document, as far +as it is preserved-- + +"Nabu-sum-ukin, priest of Nebo, director of E-zida, son of +Siriktum-Marduk, descendant of Isde-ilani-dannu, said to +Nergal-sarra-usur, king of Babylon: 'Give Gigitum, thy virgin daughter, to +wifehood, and let her be my wife.' Nergal-sarra-usur (said) to +Nabu-sum-ukin, priest of Nebo, director of E-zida...." + +(About twenty-eight lines are wanting here, the text becoming again +legible at the end of the list of witnesses on the reverse.) + +"..., son of Nabu-sum-lisir, ...; ...-ri, son of Nabu-sarra-usur, the +judge (??); + +"Nabu-sum-usur, the scribe, son of Assur ... Babylon, month Nisan, day +1st, year 1st, (Nergal-sarra)-usur, king of Babylon. Copy of E-zida." + +The mutilation of the record is unfortunate, as the conclusion of the +matter cannot be ascertained, but it may be regarded as fairly certain +that Neriglissar really did give his daughter Gigitum in marriage to +Nabu-sum-ukin, for had it been otherwise, there would have been but little +need to draw up the document of which the fragment here translated has +been preserved to us. The remainder of the tablet was probably taken up +with the usual conditions--the penalty Nabu-sum-ukin would have to pay +should he divorce or abandon his wife; the penalty Gigitum would have to +suffer if she disowned or forsook her husband; directions with regard to +the amount and disposal of her dowry, etc. This and similar inscriptions +seem to suggest that Herodotus was probably wrongly informed with regard +to the compulsory nature of the public prostitution of unmarried women +which, he says, was practised in Babylonia, the expressions found in these +inscriptions often pointing, as in the present case, to a belief, on the +part of the bridegroom, in the chastity of the woman chosen by him to be +his wife. + +The date corresponds with the Babylonian New Year's Day, 559 B.C. + +With this inscription we take leave of Neriglissar except as the ruler +whose name the scribes used to date by. + +Though, according to Berosus, Laborosoarchod (Labasi-Marduk) was a mere +child when he came to the throne, there is no doubt, from the inscription +which follows, that he was old enough to have an establishment of his own, +and also to carry on the business of money-lender, Nabu-sabit-qata (see p. +439) being his representative in the transactions in which he engaged. As +it is an inscription typical of its class, it is given here in full-- + +"12 mana of silver of the son of the king, which (has been advanced +through) the hand of Nabu-sabit-qata, chief of the house of the son of the +king, is upon (_i.e._ due from) Sum-ukin, son of Musallim-ilu. In the +month Nisan the silver, 12 mana, in its full amount, he will repay. +Everything of his, in town and country, all there is, is the security of +the king's son--another creditor shall not have power over it until +Nabu-sabit-qata receives the money. Nabu-ahe-iddina, son of Sula, +descendant of Egibi, takes responsibility for the receipt of the money. + +"Witnesses: Samas-uballit, son of Ikisa; Kalba, son of Bel-eres; the +scribe Bel-ahe-ikisa, son of Bel-eteru. Babylon, month Elul, day 10th, +year 2nd, Nergal-sarra-usur, king of Babylon." + +What the crown prince did, it goes without saying that all the court +officials sought to do. An instance of this is Bel-ahe-iddina, the king's +captain, who is recorded as having lent 2/3 of a mana of silver to Ardia +and Sula, at an interest of one shekel upon every mana monthly--twenty per +cent. yearly--a sufficiently high interest, though it was the usual rate in +Babylonia. This inscription is dated at Babylon, 7th day of Kisleu, 2nd +year of Neriglissar. It is noteworthy, however, that there is no mention +of interest in the document drawn up for Labasi-Marduk's major-domo. + +Interesting is the inscription in which two partners engage to meet two +other men, also partners, at the gate of the house of the king's son to +come to an arrangement concerning profits which they had made _sa zallanu +u duse_, _i.e._ with regard to two "lines" of leather goods (9th day of +Tammuz, 3rd year of Neriglissar). It also furnishes further testimony to +the fact that this prince had a separate establishment. + +After Laborosoarchod's nine months came the reign of Nabonidus, whom, as +will be remembered, the Babylonians and Cyrus, his conqueror, accused of +neglecting the gods, and sending them forth from their shrines to the +cities around. Perhaps his crime consisted in his preference for the gods +of other cities than Babylon, the city which Nebuchadnezzar's lavish +favours had somewhat spoilt, and who resented her neglect at the hands of +the antiquarian king. However that may be, contemporary records show that +he gave to the benefit of Sippar, the city of the Sun-god, not +unfrequently. A mutilated inscription refers to full-grown oxen and sheep +from the son of the king, for the king's sacrifices, divided between two +temples at Sippar, one of them being that of Anunitu[m] (7th of Adar, 9th +year of Nabonidus); and things from the _bit makkur nidinit sarri_ +("warehouse of the king's gifts") are often mentioned. Naturally he had to +make gifts to many shrines in Babylonia. + +Whether the following refers to oxen for sacrifice or not is doubtful-- + +"20 shekels of silver have been given to Nabu-sarra-usur, the sec(retary) +of the king, for oxen for the husbandmen who are in the city Ha(buru). He +has not given the oxen. Month Nisan, day 16th, year 7th, Nabu-na'id, king +of Babylon." + +The above inscription comes from Sippar, near which the city referred to +must have stood. + +Several inscriptions refer to the storehouse into which the king's gift +was delivered. The following is a specimen of these texts-- + +"Fruit, the amount of the 10th year, Ana-amat-Bel-atkal has given into the +storehouse of the gift of the king. Month Kisleu, day 14th, year 10th, +Nabu-na'id, (king) of Eridu. + +"35 _gur_, Samas-killi-anni. +"12 _gur_ 90 _qa_, Sum-ukin and Remut. +"65 _gur_ 144 _qa_, Ikisa. +"45 _gur_ 72 _qa_, Kina. +"62 gur, Niqu(du). +"17 _gur_ 72 _qa_, ... +"Altogether 23(8 _gur_ 18 _qa_)." + +This and other inscriptions, especially one referring to 250 _gur_ of +grain, shows that Nabonidus was fairly liberal to the temples at Sippar. +It is also very probable that he provided for the needful repairs of this +and other temples from time to time, one of the inscriptions (dated in his +third year) recording a contribution of half a talent and 7 mana of silver +for work done on the great temple-tower of Sippar, E-babbara, besides 8 +mana 20 shekels of silver as tithe, seemingly for grain for the city +Haburu, where, it is to be conjectured, an agricultural farm belonging to +one of the temples of Sippar was situated.(133) + +It is not by any means improbable that Nabonidus had a residence at +Sippar, and if so, this would explain the reason of his favouring that +city, and at the same time add to the causes of the discontent of the +"sons of Babylon." This is implied by a small tablet apparently inscribed +with an account of the receipts and expenditure of the temple E-babbara at +Sippar, which occupied the position of purveyor of water, and took the +place of the water-company of the cities of modern Europe-- + +"2 mana 13 shekels of silver, the price of the king's water, which is from +Bel-abla-iddina, the overseer of(134) Ki-Bel, the chief man of the king's +water, has been brought by the hands of Samas-kain-abli, son of Balatu. + +"From the amount, 2 mana of silver have been given for 80 measures (?) of +oil to Nabu-usur-su, son of Dummuq, descendant of Gahal, in the presence +of Kalba, the secretary. 13 shekels of silver are in the treasury. + +"Silver, 2 mana, is with Nabu-dur-pania. Of the amount, 4 shekels of +silver have been paid for 2 _parrum_(135)-stones, which were given to +Assur-rimananni, son of Nabu-balat-su-iqbi. + +"Month later Adar, day 27th, year 6th, Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon." + +Another tablet, dated in Nabonidus's accession year, indicates that the +temple supplied water, for a fixed sum, to a part of Sippar called "the +city of the Sun." + +From other tablets we obtain also information about the family of +Nabonidus. Most of them, as is to be expected, refer to Belshazzar, the +heir to the throne, who is conjectured to have been the second ruler in +the kingdom, thus explaining how it was that the position of "third ruler +in the kingdom" could be offered to the Prophet Daniel. Like the other +rulers of Babylonia, Nabonidus had granted to Belshazzar, or at least +permitted him to occupy, a separate house, which was situated within +Babylon, beside the house of Marduk-iriba, son of Remut, descendant of +Misraa. From the inscription referring to this which has come down to us, +it may be conjectured that Marduk-iriba was a minor, and his sister, +Bau-etirat, therefore acted for him. Bel-resua, servant of Belshazzar, +approached her and succeeded in acquiring her brother's land for 45 +shekels of silver, which was duly paid to Marduk-iriba. Though it is not +stated, this transaction probably took place on behalf of Belshazzar, who +wished to add to his possessions, and as it is dated in the month Adar, in +the 1st year of Nabonidus, it would seem that he decided to enlarge the +domain he was entitled to as crown prince shortly after he found himself +occupying that position. + +Another tablet referring to Belshazzar is a contract drawn up for one of +his secretaries (on the one hand), by which he obtained the occupation of +a house in exchange for a loan of silver--a common arrangement in those +days in Babylonia. The following translation will enable the reader to see +the terms of this, the type of a numerous series of documents-- + +"The house of Nabu-ahe-iddina, son of Sula, descendant of Egibi, which is +beside the house of Bel-iddina, son of Remut, descendant of the _diku_, +(is granted) for 3 years to Nabu-kain-ahi, secretary of Bel-sarra-usur, +the son of the king, for 1-1/2 mana of silver. He has let (it) upon (the +condition that) 'there is no rent for the house, and no interest for the +money.' He shall repair the woodwork and renew the dilapidation of the +house. After 3 years, the silver, 1-1/2 mana, Nabu-ahe-iddina shall (re)pay +to Nabu-kain-ahi, and Nabu-kain-ahi shall leave the house in the +possession of Nabu-ahe-iddina." + +Here follow the names of three witnesses and the scribe, after which comes +the date: "Babylon, month Nisan, day 21st, year 5th, Nabu-na'id, king of +Babylon." + +As the 1-1/2 mana of silver would have brought in 18 shekels at the usual +rate of interest, that sum may be taken as representing the rent of the +house in question. + +Another inscription, dated two years later, shows that Nabu-kain-ahi, +Belshazzar's secretary, borrowed 35 shekels of silver from +Nabu-sabit-qata, that prince's major-domo, to purchase a slave, and that +the loan was duly repaid. The curious thing in connection with this +transaction is, that the money advanced is stated to be "tithe of Bel, +Nebo, Nergal, and the lady (_i.e._ Istar) of Erech," implying that +Nabu-sabit-qata was entitled to certain sums from this source, or else +that he had control of them, and could advance money to others therefrom. +Information concerning all the items of income and expenditure of the +temples would probably furnish interesting reading, showing, as it should, +who were the people who benefited from the funds available, and upon what +grounds. + +It is noteworthy that, in these inscriptions referring to transactions +between the members of Belshazzar's household, no interest seems to have +been charged on the loans granted; and if this was really so, it indicates +a considerable amount of loyalty among these men towards each +other--indeed, it is doubtful if it could be surpassed at the present day. + +Strangest of all these contracts in which Belshazzar is mentioned, is +probably that in which the prince himself seems to appear as one of the +contracting parties--as a dealer in clothes. As it is the only one +referring to him thus, a translation of the inscription in question is +here given in full-- + +"20 mana of silver, the price of the garments(136) (which were) the +property of Bel-sarra-usur, the son of the king, which (are due), through +Nabu-sabit-qata, chief of the house of Bel-sarra-usur, the son of the +king, and the secretaries of the son of the king, from Iddina-Marduk, son +of Ikisa, descendant of Nur-Sin. In the month Adar of the 1(1th) year, the +silver, 20 mana, he shall pay. His house, which is beside the +(plantation?), his slave, and his property in town and country, all there +is, is the security of Bel-sarra-usur, the son of the king, until +Bel-sarra-usur receives his money. (For) the silver, as much as (from the +sum) is withheld, interest he shall pay. + +"Witnesses: Bel-iddina, son of Remut, descendant of the _diku_; Etel-pi, +son of ..., descendant of 'the father of the house'; Nadin, son of +Narduk-sum-usur, descendant of the master-builder; Nergal-usallim, son of +Marduk-..., descendant of Gahal; Marduk-nasir, son of Kur-..., descendant +of Dabibu; and the scribe, Bel-ahe-ikisa, son of Nabu-balat-su-iqbi. +Babylon, month ..., day 20th, year 11th, Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon." + +But Belshazzar did not confine himself to dealing in woollen stuffs or +clothes, as many another inscription indicates. This was but an +unimportant incident in his life which chance has preserved to us, and how +far the transaction may have taken place with (or without) his own +knowledge, it is impossible to say. For a considerable time, however, he +was with the army in Akkad, and whilst there, he interested himself +greatly in the welfare of the temples at Sippar, making donations to them, +not only on his own behalf, but also for his father. Thus, on the 11th of +Iyyar, in the 9th year of his father's reign, he gave to the god Samas a +tongue of gold weighing one mana; and on the 7th of Adar of the same year +he gave two full-grown oxen for sacrifice (his father gave one on that +occasion), together with fourteen sheep, and in addition other sacrifices +were made on his and his father's behalf in the temple of the goddess +Annunitum. The following little inscription, being rather out of the +common, is probably above the average in the matter of interest-- + +"1 shekel and a quarter of silver for the hire of a ship for 3 oxen and 24 +sheep, the sacrifices of the king's son, which went in the month Nisan for +Samas and the gods of Sippar. + +"In the presence of Bel-sarra-bullit, who has given the offerings of the +king to Samas-iddina and Dannu-Addu. He has given 60 _qa_ of fruit as +their offerings. Month Nisan, day 9th, year 10th, Nabu-na'id, king of +Babylon." + +Seemingly Belshazzar sent the sheep and oxen from his estate to Sippar by +water. + +Interesting to an equal degree is likewise the inscription recording a +gift made by his sister-- + +"27 shekels of silver is the weight of one cup, tithe of +Ina-E-sagila-remat, the daughter of the king. By the hands of +Bel-sarra-(bullit), as a king's offering, she has given (it) to the +god.... The cup is in the treasure-house. + +"Month Ab, day 5th, year 17th, (Nabu-na'id) king of Babylon." + +Though this inscription is defective in places, there is every probability +that little or nothing more than the name of the god is wanting. The name +of Bel-sarra-(bullit) shows that the inscription must belong to the time +of Nabonidus, and, in fact, the initial wedges of his name are visible. + +The name of a second daughter of Nabonidus seems to appear in another +inscription from Sippar, though, as it is rather carelessly written, this +is doubtful. Notwithstanding the uncertainty attending the name, however, +the inscription is worth quoting in full-- + +"3 _gur_ 75 _qa_ of sesame Ukabu'sama (?), daughter of the king, has sold, +through Tattanu, for silver, to E-babbara. The silver has not been +received. + +"Month Ab, day 7th, year 16th, Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon." + +With this we take leave of Nabonidus and his family, as revealed by the +contracts and temple accounts from Babylon and Sippar. The picture these +and the historical inscriptions give of the Babylonian royal family is not +altogether unpleasing, and that this king, with his son, were the last +rulers of their race, is greatly to be regretted. But, alas, they had +offended the priesthood of Babylon, and all the people accepted, without a +murmur, the alien ruler, of a differing faith from theirs, who presented +himself, in hostile array, at their doors. It was the beginning of the end +of their life as a nation, and who shall say that they did not deserve it? +If they had made even a show of resistance, the world could hold them +excused, but this was not the case, as their own records show, and +whatever Nabonidus's faults may have been, they do not attain to the +culpability of the nation, which, instead of protecting him--if for no +other reason, it ought to have done this for his son's sake--practically +betrayed him to the enemy. + + + + +II. + + +So far, in depicting the life which the Jews, during the Captivity, must +daily have seen around them, we have given the tablets whereon the court +and its officials are referred to, and though these reveal certain phases +of life in Babylonia among the people, typical of the time, they can +hardly be held to show the life _of_ the people--those engaged in the +life-struggle of which every great city is the battlefield, and has been +the battlefield since the first gathering of large bodies of men in one +place. + +Who among us can estimate the misery caused by the tearing away of the +slave from the home of the master with whom he had for many years dwelt in +content?--it must have far outweighed the few cases in which a slave in +those days benefited by such a change. That the loss of his slaves was +sometimes also a wrench to the owner is indicated by the fact that he is +generally--if not always--made to say, that he parts with them cheerfully. +He had to admit this for the satisfaction of the buyer, who naturally +feared that the old master would return and ask for the contract to be +annulled, saying that it was all a mistake on his part--he did not really +wish to get rid of them, and would like to have them back again. + +Naturally the tablets do not reveal to us all this, nor the joys and +sorrows, the successes and the failures, which those great cities of the +ancient East must have contained. But they allow us to guess a great deal. +Did the man ever get the money back which he had lent? Did he receive the +money for the things he had sold and given credit for? These and other +similar questions are always occurring to the student of these documents, +which reveal always the grave side of life in that ancient land--never the +gay side--even a wedding, being a contract, was a thing much too serious to +allow its joyful nature to shine through at any point. + +As the documents which best represent the character of the Babylonians are +the letters, it has been thought well to begin (as in the case of the +chapter upon the earlier Babylonians) with a few specimens of these, and +in the forefront the following may be cited as not unworthy of a prominent +place-- + +"Tablet of Nabu-zer-ibni to Ugara, Balatu, Nabu-bel-sumati, and +Samas-udammiq, his brothers. + +"Now to Bel and Nebo for the preservation of the life of my brothers I +pray. + +"Bel-epus, who is along with you, is my brother. Whoever speaks his evil +words, as my brothers wish, let him be silent. As for him, from the +beginning to the end, brothers of each other are we. As warning to my +brothers I send this. Let my brothers do what is right. I should like to +see an answer (to this) letter from my brothers." + +Whether we are to substitute "friend" and "friends" for "brother" and +"brothers" is uncertain, but is very probable. In any case, the writer +would seem to show considerable courage in the course he was taking, as +well as confidence in the righteousness of his cause. + +The following is apparently the letter of a father in poverty to his more +successful son-- + +"(Letter of) Iddina-aha (to) Remut, his son. + +"May (Bel) and Nebo bespeak peace and life for my son. + +"He, my son, knoweth that there is no corn in the house. Let my son cause +2 or 3 _gur_ of corn to be brought by the hands of some one whom thou +knowest. Wilt thou not send by the hands of the boatman whom thou +indicatedst? As for him, (he is coming?) to me--send a gift, cause it to go +forth to (thy) father. To-day I pray Bel and Nebo for the preservation of +the life of my son. Remat asks after the peace of Remut, her son." + +The change from the third person to the second is noteworthy, and may have +been caused by the necessity of distinguishing between the son and the +messenger to whom the writer referred. Remat was evidently the writer's +wife. + +The following is a letter of a different nature, and leads to speculations +as to the state of things-- + +"Letter of Marduk-zer-ibni to Sula his brother. + +"May Bel and Nebo bespeak the peace of my brother. + +"Why dost thou destroy my house? thou goest before the destruction of +thine (own) house. When thou hadst taken the responsibility of holding the +field, my field was sold, and the date-palms which I grow have been +destroyed. And thou (remainest) contented in thy house!(137) Now (as for) +the corn which I have planted in my field, thou (always) takest the whole. +I am now sending to my lord: Come, enter my field, and give me my +harvests. Behold, the corn which has been got ready thou (always) +deliverest: Ikisa and Nabu-aha-iddina, if they wish, can take it. Speak to +the judges about it." + +Apparently the writer of the letter was vexed because his friend (and +lord) had not fulfilled his undertaking to look after his interests. + +Letters of a business nature are not unfrequent, and are generally dry and +uninteresting. The character of the inscriptions of this class which least +exhibit these defects may be gathered from the following text, which also +has an interest because the sender was a slave. The original belongs to +the collection of tablets acquired by the late Sir Cuthbert Peek for his +father, the late Sir Henry Peek:-- + +"Letter from Daan-bel-usur to Sirku, my lord. I pray to-day to Bel and +Nebo for the preservation of the life of my lord. + +"Concerning the lambs which my lord sent, Bel and Nebo indeed know that +there is a lamb (for them) from thee. I have made the irrigation-channel +and the wall. Behold, send thy servant with the sheep and thy servant with +the lambs, and a command that they may cause a sheep to be brought up as +an offering (?) to Nebo (?), for I have not acquired a single lamb for +money. (On) the 20th day I worked for Samas; lo, (there were) 56--I caused +20 head to be bought for my lord from his hand. (As for) the garlic for +the governor, which my lord bought, the lord of the fields (? the chief +overseer), when he came, took possession of (it), and it was sold to the +governor of the district of our fields for silver, but enough (?) thereof +I have retained (?); and as my lord said thus: 'Why hast thou not sent the +messenger? the ground is suitable (?)--I sent thee a number (?) of (them).' +Let one messenger take thy message (?), and depart." + +Portions of this inscription, especially towards the end, being very +obscure, the translation is not so sure as could be wished. Nevertheless, +it may be taken as indicating fairly well the drift of the whole, and thus +answer the purpose for which it is given, namely, to show what texts of +this class generally refer to, and how excellently they reveal to us the +conditions of Babylonian life at the time when they were written. + +This tablet belongs to the reign of Darius Hystaspis, and is addressed to +one of the most prominent men of Babylon at the time, Sirku, otherwise +"Marduk-nasir-ablu, son of Iddina, descendant of Egibi."(138) He was an +active man, and his business transactions, which begin, as far as we have +record of them, in the third year of the king named, consist of the usual +loans, exchanges, purchases, sales, agreements, etc., which exist in large +numbers during this period. In the third year of Darius he seems to have +been in Elam, perhaps upon business of state, the name of a high +Babylonian official being mentioned on the tablet which records this fact. +Later on, he comes before us as a large owner and dealer in ships, some of +which, of small size, he seems to have used for the construction of a +bridge of boats. He owned Daan-bel-usur, the writer of the tablet +translated above, Nanaa-bel-usri, his wife, and their six children, who +dwelt on his property in the city of Suppatum. On one occasion, as +recorded on a tablet in the Louvre, they formed part of the security for a +sum of 45 mana of silver, advanced by Sirku to Sarru-duri, "the king's +captain, son of Idra'." Further references to both master and slave will +be found farther on. + +As the tablets referring to life at Babylon are exceedingly numerous, and +many of them have special interesting points of their own, a few selected +specimens are here translated, and may be regarded as characteristic and +typical in their class and subject. + + + +A Loan Granted On Security At Erech. + + +"One mana of silver of Nabu-bani-ahi, son of Ablaa, son of the gatekeeper, +unto Babia, son of Marduk-eres, and Sa-Nanaa-si, his wife. The door of the +gatekeepers of the Salimu-gate, and his property, of (both) town and +country, all there is, are the security of Nabu-bani-ahi. + +"Witnesses: Bel-ahe-iddina, son of Gudadu; Nabu-zer-ukin, son of Suma; +Nabu-zer-ikisa, son of Ginna; and the scribe Musezib-Bel, son of +Nanaa-teres. Erech, month Tisri, day 15th, year 21st, Nabu-kudurri-usur, +king of Babylon." + +In all probability, the possession of the door carried with it the right +of receiving any toll or dues connected therewith. As Nabu-bani-ahi, the +lender, belonged to the family or clan of gatekeepers, he would not be +regarded altogether as an interloper. The name of one of the borrowers, +Babia, "my gate," is suggestive, and shows the enthusiasm of his parents +for their profession. + + + +The Work Upon A Plantation. + + +"144 _qa_ (is the amount needed for) the seeding of the plantation of +Nabu-sum-lisir, which Nabu-sar-ilani has taken for cultivation.(139) +(During) 4 years, everything, whatever grows on the date-palms and in the +earth, belongs to Nabu-sar-ilani; (during the succeeding 4 ?) years a +third, and 4 years (after that) a fourth. Nabu-sum-lisir with +Nabu-sar-ilani (?) ... 10 years Nabu-sar-ilani ... gardener of +Nabu-sum-lisir ... everything, whatever (gro)ws in the earth, belongs to +Nabu-sar-ilani. + +"(The duty) of doing the work, digging (the irrigation-channels), raising +(?) embankments (?), protecting the plantation, restoring what is wanting +of the date-palms, raising water, Nabu-sar-ilani undertakes. (If) he +contravene (this contract), he shall compensate (to the extent of) 1 mana +of silver." + +Here follow the names of three witnesses and the scribe, the date being-- + +"City of Suqaain, month Elul, day 26th, year 11th, Nabu-kudurri-usur, king +of Babylon." + + + +Sale Of An Ass. + + +"The ass of Arad-Meme, son of Gimillu, descendant of Epes-ili, he (the +owner) has sold to Subabu-sara', son of Temisaa, for half a mana six and a +half shekels of silver. Etillu, son of Remut, descendant of Dabibi (and) +Nergal-iddina, son of Daanu-Marduk, descendant of Lugal-arazu, guarantee +the serviceableness of the ass. It is a branded ass, upon whose front is a +mark." + +Here come the names of three witnesses and the scribe, followed by the +date-- + +"City of the land of Suma', (or Suba'), month Tammuz, day 16th, year 40th, +Nabu-kudurri-usur, king of Babylon." + +From a tablet in the Edinburgh Museum it would seem that asses were +branded to distinguish them, and that, in place of a mere mark, the name +of the owner was somehow impressed. Cattle were marked with the letters of +the Aramaic alphabet. + + + +Jews And Babylonians During The Captivity. + + +"When Nabu-na'id, son of Nabu-gamil, brings his witness, and proves to +Aahha'u, son of Saniawa, that Nabu-na'id has given the proceeds of 2-1/2 +mana of silver to Aahha'u and Baruhi-ilu, (then) the profit which has been +made with them (the 2-1/2 mana) belongs to Nabu-na'id, and all right to the +share which belongs to him remains--one do. (? share) (belongs to) Aahha'u. +If the witness do not prove it, his property, as much as Nabu-na'id has +taken, one do. (? share) he will return and will give to Aahha'u. + +"Witnesses: Iddina-Marduk, son of Akkia, Yasum-ma, son of Ahe-su; +Balat-su, son of Ahe-su, and the scribe, Nabu-ahe-iddina, son of Egibi. +Upe (Opis), month Tammuz, day 21st, year 40th, Nabu-kudurri-usur, king of +Babylon." + +Apparently it was a dispute about profits, which was to be settled, as was +usual in such cases, by producing a witness. Saniawa is one of those names +ending in _iawa_ which were certainly not Babylonian, and which are +generally regarded as Israelite, like Subunu-yawa = Shebaniah; +Nathanu-yawa = Nathaniah, and many others; and its later form would +probably be Shaniah. Baruhi-ilu is probably for Baruchiel, and, if so, +would show that the pronunciation of the aspirated _k (ch)_ as _h (kh)_, +common among Jews on the Continent and in the East, is of very ancient +date. + + + +The Dead Slave. + + +"On the 5th day of the month Kisleu, Sarru-kinu, son of Ammanu, will bring +his witness to the city Piqudu (Pekod), and he will testify to Idihi-ili, +son of Dina, that Idihi-ili sent to Sarru-kinu thus: 'Do not litigate +against me concerning thy slave who was killed--I will make up to thee the +life of thy slave.' If he prove it, Idihi-ili shall pay to Sarru-kinu 1 +mana of silver, the price of his slave. If he do not prove it (he is +free)." + +After the names of three witnesses and the scribe, is the date-- + +"Upe, month Marcheswan, day 7th, year 40th, Nabu-kudurri-usur, king of +Babylon." + + + +A Right Of Way. + + +"Marduk-iriba, son of Remut, descendant of the Misirite,(140) and Kalba, +son of Balatu, descendant of the chief of the construction (?), in their +going forth, shall go forth over the brook; they have no power over the +exit of the wall of the house of Nabu-ahe-iddina, son of Sula, descendant +of Egibi; the exit of the wall of the house of Nabu-ahe-iddina belongs to +Nabu-ahe-iddina." + +Here come the names of five witnesses, including the scribe, and then the +date-- + +"Babylon, month of the later Adar, day 24th, year 1st, Nabu-na'id,(141) +king of Babylon." + + + +The Story Of Abil-Addu-Nathanu And Bunanitum. + + +This is contained, as far as it is preserved, on a series of five tablets, +four of which are in the British Museum, and the fifth in the Museum of +Art at New York. Abil-Addu-nathanu would seem, from his name, which would +be the West-Semitic Ben-Hadad-nathan, to have come from Damascus, and +settled at Babylon, and afterwards at Borsippa. His wife Bunanitum (or +Bunanith) was to all appearance a Babylonian. + + + +The Purchase Of The House At Borsippa. + + +"7 canes, 5 cubits, 18 fingers, a built house, the territory of a +plantation(142) which is within Borsippa, which Daan-sum-iddina, son of +Zeria, descendant of Nabaa, has bought from Iba, son of Zilla, descendant +of the carpenter, for 11-1/2 mana of silver, for the price complete, by the +authority of Abil-Addu-nathanu, son of Addia, and Bunanitu, his wife, +daughter of Harisaa. That house he has received, the silver of +Abil-Addu-nathanu and Bunanitu as the price of the house has been given. +Daan-sum-iddina has no share in the house or the silver. The tablet which +Daan-sum-iddina has sealed in his name, he has given to Abil-Addu-nathanu +and Bunanitu. The day a copy of the sealed document of the purchase or any +contract for that house appears in the house of Daan-sum-iddina or in any +other place, it belongs to Abil-Addu-nathanu and Bunanitu." + +Here follow the names of four witnesses and two scribes. The date is-- + +"Babylon, month Shebat, day 24th, year 2nd, Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon." + +The agent through whom the purchase was made has to declare that no part +of the property or the money belonged to him, hence the final clause of +the contract, which was intended to prevent trouble at any future time. + +At the end are the seal-impressions of the two scribes. + + + +The Loan To Make Up The Sum Required To Purchase The Property. + + +"1-1/2 mana 8-1/2 shekels of silver of Iddina-Marduk, son of Ikisa, descendant +of Nur-Sin, upon (= due from) Abil-Addu-nathanu, son of Addia, and +Bunanitu, his wife. It increases to them monthly at the rate of 1 shekel +of silver upon each mana. They shall pay the interest from the month Sivan +of the 5th year of Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon. The silver was the balance +of the silver for the price of a house, which was paid to Iba. They shall +pay the interest monthly." + +After the names of two witnesses and the scribe comes the date-- + +"Barsip (Borsippa), month Iyyar, day 3rd, year 5th, Nabu-na'id, king of +Babylon." + +As this tablet was written two years and three months after the house at +Borsippa was bought, it is clear that the money had been advanced, but the +indebtedness of Abil-Addu-nathanu had not been placed, until the date of +the second tablet, on a legal footing. Probably he intended to pay the +money, but had not the wherewithal, and this being the case, the lender +agreed to allow the debt to remain unpaid, stipulating only that the +interest should be paid at the usual rate of one mana upon every mana +monthly. As will be seen from the other documents, the principal was not +paid for many years after this. There is no record whether any payment of +interest had been made in the meanwhile, but, in any case, the rate is far +beyond what at the present time is considered fair. + + + +A First Payment Made After The Death Of Abil-Addu-Nathanu. + + +This is a small tablet similar in shape to the last, and is now preserved +in the Museum of Art at New York. + +"8 shekels of silver Iddina-Marduk, son of Ikisa, descendant of Nur-Sin, +has received from the hands of Bunanitu, with the first payment, which +(has been made) since the death of Ablada-nathanu, her husband, from the +interest of his money. In the presence of Tabnea, son of Nabu-ahe-iddina, +descendant of the priest of ...; Nabu-kain-abli, son of Marduk-sum-ibni, +descendant of Dannu-Nabu. Barsip (Borsippa), month Adar, day 18th, year +8th, Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon. + +"There is to be no abatement (?)." + +As the loan was contracted in the second year of Nabonidus, it cannot be +said that Iddina-Marduk had been by any means pressing in the matter. The +numerous documents which exist show that the Babylonians were good at +making contracts, but they were probably not so strict in keeping them, +and certainly not so merciless (to judge from the history here unfolded) +as the people of the modern West in enforcing them. + +The phonetic spelling of the name of the husband, Ablada-nathanu, is +interesting, as it shows the Babylonian pronunciation. Ben-Addu-nathan, +however, was a possible form, and may have been even a fairly common one. + + + +The Legal Action After The Death Of Abil-Addu-Nathanu. + + +"Bunanitu, daughter of Harisaa, said thus to the judges of Nabu-na'id, +king of Babylon-- + +" 'Abil-Addu-nathan, son of Nikmadu', had me to wife, and he took 3-1/2 mana +of silver as my dowry, and one daughter I bore to him. I and +Abil-Addu-nathan, my husband, traded with the silver of my dowry, and we +bought 8 canes, a built house, the territory of a large property,(143) +which was within Barsip, for 9-2/3 of a mana of silver, with 2-1/2 mana of +silver which was from Iddina-Marduk, son of Ikisa, descendant of Nur-Sin, +as balance, and we fixed (it) as the price of that house, and we paid and +received it together. In the 4th year of Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon, I +made an agreement with Abil-Addu-nathan, my husband, concerning my dowry, +and Abil-Addu-nathan, in the kindness of his heart, sealed the 8 canes, +(and) that house which is within Barsip, and bequeathed it to me for +future days, and on my tablet made it known thus: '2-1/2 mana of silver, +which Abil-Addu-nathan and Bunanitu took from Iddina-Marduk, and paid as +the price of that house, they received together.' He sealed that tablet, +and wrote thereon the curse of the great gods. In the 5th year of +Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon, I and Abil-Addu-nathan, my husband, took +Abil-Addu-amara as our son, and wrote the tablet of his sonship, and made +known 2 mana 10 shekels of silver and the furniture of a house as the +dowry of Nubta, my daughter. Fate took my husband, and now Aqabi-ilu, the +son of my father-in-law, has laid claim upon the house and everything +which had been sealed and bequeathed to me, and upon Nabu-nur-ili, (the +slave) whom we had acquired by the hands of Nabu-ahe-iddina for silver. I +have brought it before you, make a decision. + +"The judges heard their words, they read the tablets and contracts which +Bunanitu brought before them, and they caused Aqabi-ilu not to have power +over the house at Barsip, which had been bequeathed to Bunanitu instead of +her dowry, over Nabu-nur-ili, whom she and her husband had bought for +silver, or over anything of Abil-Addu-nathanu; Bunanitu and +Abil-Addu-amara, by their tablets, they caused to be confirmed. +Iddina-Marduk pleads for (?), and will receive, the 2-1/2 mana of silver +which had been given towards the price of that house. Afterwards Bunanitu +will receive the 3-1/2 mana of silver, her dowry, and her share besides. +Nubta will receive Nabu-nur-ili, according to the contracts of her father. + +"By the decision of this judgment. + +"Nergal-banu-nu, the judge, son of the builder; +"Nabu-ahe-iddina, the judge, son of Egibi; +"Nabu-sum-ukin, the judge, son of Irani; +"Bel-ahe-iddina, the judge, son of ... +"Bel-etir, the judge, son of ... +"Nabu-balat-su-iqbi, the judge, son of ... +"Nadinu, the scribe, son of ... +"Nabu-sum-iskun, the scribe, son of the ... +"Babylon, month Elul, day 26th, year 9th, Nabuna'id, king of Babylon." + +Two copies of this document exist, neither of them being the original. +They were probably made for persons interested in the result of the +judgment. + +It has been suggested that the claim of Aqabi-ilu to all his brother's +property was based upon the fact that he was the eldest of the family. +This, however, is hardly likely to have been the case, the Babylonian law +concerning the wife's dowry--_i.e._ that it was her own in any event--being +clear and incontrovertible. The probability therefore is, that he claimed +the property hoping that she might not be able to prove her right. The +clear statements of this document, and the common-sense judgment delivered +by Nabonidus's judges are full of simplicity and dignity, and show well +the Babylonian character. + + + +The Final Repayment Of The Loan To Iddina-Marduk. + + +A tablet recording the payment of interest has already been translated (p. +461), and from that it would seem that no repayment on account of the +money lent to Abil-Addu-nathanu and Bunanitu took place until after the +former's death. When the last payment was made is unknown, but it must +have been some time after the lawsuit. From the portion of the tablet +recording it, it would seem that the amount remaining to be paid was 2 +mana and 10 shekels, which was paid jointly by Abil-Addu-amari and +"Bunaniti, his mother," who probably lived on the property with him and +her daughter. + +Thus ends the life-story of this Babylonian family, as far as at present +known. + +In addition to the names Abil-addu-nathanu and Abil-Addu-amara (or +-amari), both of which contain the name of the deity Abil-Addu or +Ben-Hadad, the name of the brother, Aqabi-ilu, is interesting. It is +naturally a synonym of a Hebrew name found under the form of Aqabi-yawa, +the Talmudic Aqabiah, with _-yawa_ or _-iawa_ for _-iah_, as in Saniawa, +which appears on p. 458. + + + +E-Sagila-Ramat And Her Father-In-Law's Slave. + + +"Ikisa, son of Kudurru, descendant of Nur-Sin, sealed a tablet of adoption +for Remanni-Bel, his slave, whose name is called Remut, for the giving of +his food and his clothing. Remanni-Bel, whose name is called Remut, after +he had sealed the tablet of his adoption, ran away, and he did not give +him food, oil, and clothing. E-sagila-ramat, daughter of Zeria, descendant +of Nabaa, wife of Iddina-Marduk, son of Ikisa, descendant of Nur-Sin, +reverenced him, feared him, and befriended him, and gave him food, oil, +and clothing. Ikisa, son of Kudurru, descendant of Nur-Sin, in the joy of +his heart, annulled the tablet of the adoption of Remanni-Bel, and sealed +and bequeathed him to E-sagila-ramat and Nubta, her daughter, daughter of +Iddina-Marduk, descendant of Nur-Sin. He shall reverence E-sagila-ramat +and Nubta, her daughter. Afterwards E-sagila-ramat shall leave him to +Nubta, her daughter. Whoever changes these words, and destroys the +contract Ikisa has drawn up and given to E-sagila-ramat and Nubta, her +daughter, may Merodach and Zer-panitum command his destruction." + +The names of four witnesses and the scribe follow. Date: "Babylon, month +Iyyar, day 9th, year 13th, Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon." Postscript: "At +the sitting of Bissa, daughter of Ikisa, descendant of Nur-Sin." + +From this it would seem that Ikisa made Remanni-Bel his heir, freeing him +from the position of a bondsman, in exchange for his (Ikisa's) keep, but +that Remanni-Bel, declining the advantage and the responsibility, ran +away, whereupon the burden fell upon Ikisa's daughter-in-law, +E-sagila-ramat. This the last-named seems to have undertaken willingly, +and in return, Ikisa annulled Remanni-Bel's adoption, and bequeathed him, +as a slave, to E-sagila-ramat and her daughter. Means probably existed for +bringing back the runaway, when the news of his return to his old +condition would be communicated to him. E-sagila-ramat's husband, +Iddina-Marduk, is the one who advanced to Abil-Addu-nathanu and Bunanitu +the money to make up the price of their house. + + + +Iddina-Nabu Sells His Egyptian Slave And Her Infant. + + +"Iddina-Nabu, son of Musezib-Bel, has cheerfully sold Nanaa-ittia, his +slave, and her daughter, a child of three months, Egyptians captured by +his bow, for 2 mana of silver, the complete price, to Itti-Marduk-balatu, +son of Nabu-ahe-iddina, descendant of Egibi. Iddina-Nabu has received the +money, 2 mana of silver, the price of Nanaa-ittia and her daughter, from +the hands of Itti-Marduk-balatu. Iddina-Nabu guarantees against the +existence of any liability of defeasor (?), legal claimant, royal service, +or freedmanship with regard to Nanaa-ittia and her daughter." + +Here come the names of four witnesses and the scribe. + +"Babylon, month Kisleu, day 23rd, year 6th, Kambuzia (Cambyses), king of +Babylon. + +"Besides the contract of 240 gur of fruit, from Itti-Marduk-balatu, which +was unto (or due from) Iddina-Nabu." + +This document may be held to testify to the reality of Cambyses' campaign +in Egypt, which took place in his 5th year (525 B.C.). It is also a proof +that the Babylonians took part in the campaign. + +It is noteworthy that three copies of this document exist, one being in +the British Museum, another in the Museum of Art at New York, and the +third in the museum founded by the late Sir Henry Peek at Lyme Regis. The +tablet recording the contract for the 240 gur of fruit also exists, and is +preserved in the British Museum. + +Among the tablets of the time of Nabonidus, translations of all the +records known which refer to the family of Ben-Hadad-nathan or +Abil-Addu-nathanu have been given, and examination of the numerous other +tablets of the reigns of his predecessors and his successors down to the +time of Darius, and perhaps Xerxes, shows that similar more or less +complete family histories could be made. One of the most interesting of +these, and the most complete on account of the number of documents (by far +the greater number of the contracts from Babylon and its neighbourhood, of +the period to which he belongs, contain his name) are those referring to +Sirku, a tablet from whose slave Daan-bel-usur has been given above (p. +454). This man's history has been tentatively dealt with by the present +author in Part IV. of the catalogue of tablets belonging to the late Sir +Henry Peek. From a tablet in the Louvre, we find that Sirku was not his +real name, but that he was called Marduk-nasir-abli. The curious thing +about this double naming of Sirku, however, is that the majority of the +tablets where he is called Sirku say that he was the son of Iddina, and +the majority of those calling him Marduk-nasir-abli say that he is the son +of Itti-Marduk-balatu. Fortunately documents exist reversing this +parentage, and showing conclusively that Sirku and Marduk-nasir-abli are +one and the same personage. Were it otherwise, we should have to credit +his slaves with two masters, and his wife with two husbands, a state of +things probably unknown in Babylonia. + +From a tablet dated in the first year of Darius, we learn that he bought a +field before the great gate of Uras in the province of Babylon, this field +being beside that of his wife Amat-Bau, which she had brought as her +dowry. Other documents record that he made loans of silver and produce, +both alone and associated with his brothers. In these his proper name is +generally used, but sometimes he was called Sirku. The hiring and letting +of houses, the buying and selling of slaves, etc., are also recorded of +them. In the third year of Darius he and his brothers came into +considerable property in Babylon, sharing it among them, and there is also +record of Marduk-nasir-abli paying his father's debts. This increase in +their resources naturally enabled them to deal in the produce of their +fields, and in all probability they managed his wife's as well, whilst +there is at least one record that she lent money on her own account. To +enumerate all the interesting points which the tablets reveal to us +concerning their various transactions, however, would naturally take too +much time and space. + +In exchange for the slave Daan-bel-usur, the slave's wife, their six +children, and a cornfield upon the canal called Tupasu, which +Marduk-nasir-abli gave to his wife Amat-Bau, he received from her two sums +of silver and one of gold, a ring, and two slaves, who had been part of +her dowry. The slaves he gave her, though now her property, were in all +probability still at his disposition, but Daan-bel-usur seems to have +served him so well when in charge of his affairs, that after having parted +with him, though only to his wife, he must have found, to his regret, that +he and his family were naturally not so much at his disposition as when he +could call them his own. + +Under the name of Marduk-nasir-abli, he appears before us principally in +the character of an agriculturalist and dealer in produce, combining with +this money-lending on occasion. As Sirku, he dealt largely in ships, and +apparently also in boats for pontoon bridges. In the fifth year of Darius +he was in Elam, and there is a reference to the sending to him of a +messenger, "with the charioteers of Bel-abla-iddina, captain of Babylon." +Many years afterwards Sirku is said to have received the rent of a house +situated "upon the _gissu_ of Borsippa," and the question naturally +arises, whether _gissu_ may not be for _gisru_, "bridge," though a house +upon a bridge crossing a comparatively narrow canal near Babylon is +certainly not what one would expect. + +On the 16th of Sivan in the twenty-sixth year of Darius, Sirku was the +scribe who drew up a contract referring to two ships, one apparently for +service on the Euphrates, the other for the bridge. Later on, he borrowed +some money upon the security of two of his female slaves, Musezibtum and +Naru, the wrist of the former being inscribed with the name of one of his +relations, the other with his own name, Sirku (it is given as Sisku on the +tablet). This loan is distinctly stated to be for the purpose of acquiring +"a ship for the bridge" (_elippu sa gisiri_), and this he seems to have +bought two months later, unless there was another contract for a vessel +which has not come down to us. In the Peek collection is a large tablet +referring to the completed bridge, the traffic upon it, and the ships +moored to it, suggesting that a portion of it at least was used as a quay +or landing-stage. More research is needed, however, ere its precise nature +will be clear--perhaps the etymology is misleading, and _gisru_ or _gisiru_ +means, in Babylonian, "pier" or "landing-stage" simply. + +The following is one of the inscriptions which refer to his hiring a ship-- + +"(Concerning) the ship of Iddina-Bel which is with Samas-iddina, son of +Bel-iddina, for navigation. He has given the ship for hire as far as +_bistum sa serua_ (= _birtum sa serua_, 'the fortress of _serua_') for 1/3 +of a mana of white silver, coined, to Sirik (Sirku), son of Iddina, +descendant of Egibi. The silver, 1/3 of a mana, the hire of the ship, and +its provisions, he has received. The ship shall not cross the great +(water), if it pass, he shall pay 5 mana of silver. Each has taken (a copy +of this contract)." + +The names of three witnesses and the scribe follow this, after which is +the date-- + +"Babylon, month Adar, day 6th, year 26th, Darius, king of Babylon and +countries." + +The tablets in which Marduk-nasir-abli, _alias_ Sirku, are mentioned, +prove that Babylonia maintained its character as a maritime nation to a +very late date. As, however, voyages on the ocean are not provable, it is +doubtful whether their ships sailed to any great distance--in all +probability they confined themselves to making coast-voyages only. Judging +from the penalty attached to taking the ship across the great (water), the +question naturally arises, whether the sea (the Persian Gulf) may not have +been intended. The word used in the original is _rabbu_, which would then +correspond with the last word of the poetic expression, "the rolling +main." + +Such, as far as space allows, was life at Babylon and the chief cities of +Babylonia, where the Israelites dwelt for so many years, and colonies of +them existed until a very late date, as the drinking bowls inscribed with +charms against sickness and evil spirits in Hebrew and Aramaic show. Some +of the Hebrew names contained in the tablets from Babylonia have already +been referred to (p. 458), and to these several others may be added, such +as Banawa or Beniah; Gamariawa or Gemariah; Malakiawa or Malchiah, who had +a son bearing the heathen name of Nergal-etir; together with several +similarly-formed but otherwise unknown names (as was to be expected). +Examples of these are, Azziawa, Huliawa, Niriawa and Agiriawa. The +Gemariah mentioned above was witness, with his compatriot Barikia +(Berechiah) and others, on the occasion when Sa-Nabu-duppu sold +Nanaa-silim, his Bactrian slave-girl. The scribe's name on this occasion +was Marduka (Mordecai), son of Epes-ili. Mordecai means "the Merodachite," +and is interesting as showing how Babylonian monotheism, such as it was, +reconciled the Jews to accept what they would otherwise have regarded as a +heathen name. + +Interesting in the extreme would it be, if we could know what the Jews +thought of the country and the city of their captivity. In that enormous +walled tract known as the city of Babylon were large open spaces covered +with gardens, and cornfields, and orchards, mostly, perhaps almost +exclusively, of date-palms, the fruit of which formed such an important +part of the food of the people. These were the trees, in all probability, +on which the Jewish captives hung their harps when, in their captivity, +they mourned for the city of Sion, from which they were so far away. The +rivers of Babylon, of which the well-known psalm speaks, were the Tigris +and the Euphrates, with the innumerable canals and watering-channels which +the nature of the country rendered so necessary to the fertility and +productiveness of the land, and without which it would have been a desert. + +There, too, they looked upon the buildings of old time, the fanes which +were there when their forefather Abraham was a dweller in the land, +changed, doubtless, beyond recognition. Chief among these was the great +temple of Belus, joined to the tower called "the temple of the foundation +of heaven and earth," and which Nebuchadnezzar speaks of as "the tower of +Babylon." There, too, were the shrines dedicated to Zer-panitum, consort +of Merodach, the goddess Nin-mah; Nebo, the god of wisdom; Sin, the +Moon-god; Samas, the Sun-god; Gula, the goddess of healing, and many other +divinities. Whilst the Jews were there, they must have seen many of this +king's building operations--the strengthening of the fortresses and the +walls, and the repair and extension of the moats and ditches; the raising +of the level of the great street, Aa-ibur-sabu (the remains of which have +just been found by the German explorers on the site of the city), along +which, yearly, at the beginning of the year, processions went, and the +images of the gods were in all probability carried. Then there was the +rebuilding of the royal palace, with its roof and doors of cedar, the +latter being also overlaid with bronze, probably after the manner of the +bronze gates of Shalmaneser found by Mr. Rassam at Balawat. The thresholds +were also of bronze, and the palace was adorned, in other parts, with +gold, silver, precious stones, and various other costly things. + +They must have seen, also, the construction, between the two great +fortifications called Imgur-Bel and Ne-mitti-Bel, of that great building +which was to serve as a castle and a royal residence at the same time. +This was in connection with the old palace of Nabopolassar, +Nebuchadnezzar's father, built, as already stated, in a fortnight. Chief +among the shrines restored by Nebuchadnezzar with great magnificence must +be mentioned E-kua, the sanctuary of Merodach, in the temple E-sagila (the +temple of Belus), and that called Du-azaga ("the glorious seat"), +otherwise described as "the place of fate," where yearly, on the new +year's festival (the 8th and 9th of Nisan) the statue of the god Merodach, +"the king of the gods of heaven and earth," was placed, and the king's +future declared on the question being put. Doubtless the glory of the +place attracted not a few, causing them to decide to stay there +permanently, and these, mingling with the native population, were lost to +Israel, like their brethren of the ten tribes, and even as Nergal-etir, +son of Malakiawa (see above) seems to have been. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. THE DECLINE OF BABYLON. + + + The Jews who remained at Babylon and other cities of the + land--Alexander the Great's intentions with regard to the city, and + the result of their non-fulfilment--A Babylonian lamentation dated + in the reign of Seleucus Nicator and his son--The desolation of the + city after the foundation of Seleucia--The temples still + maintained--Antiochus Epiphanes and the introduction of Greek + worship--His invasion of Egypt--The Arsacidae--A contract of the time + of Hyspasines--Materials for history--Further records of the time of + the Arsacidae--The latest date of Babylonian worship--The Christians + of Irak or Babylonia. + + +Notwithstanding the return of large numbers of Jews to Jerusalem, a +considerable portion of the nation had become attached to the land of +their captivity, and remained in Babylon and the other cities of Chaldea, +as well as in Persia. These, no longer captives, but settlers by their own +free will, had probably decided to stay in the land either from the desire +to continue the businesses which they had started there, the relinquishing +of which would have meant, in all probability, ruin to themselves and +their families; or because of aged relatives for whom the journey to +Jerusalem, however much they might have desired it, would have been an +impossibility; or because of official and civil positions which they held +either at court or in the employment of rich or influential personages, by +whose support they hoped to be able to aid their compatriots; or because +of the attractions of a great city, whose origins must for them have +possessed a special interest (notwithstanding the horrors of the captivity +which their forebears must have experienced there), and whose position for +thousands of years as the capital of a large province gave it a +preponderating influence, not only in the country of which it was the +capital, but in all the civilized world at the time. + +This being the case, there numbers of the Jews stayed, and there they +witnessed the gradual departure of the sceptre from that city which one of +their own writers had described as the glory of kingdoms, and the beauty +of the Chaldees' excellency. After the passing of the kingdom into the +hands of the alien Persian kings, things went on as usual under their rule +for a considerable time--the people lived on their land, and bought and +sold, and transacted their ordinary business, and trade seems to have been +good (judging from the number of documents which have been preserved) +until the end of the reign of Darius Hystaspis. Thereafter there was +either a great falling off, or else the documents were deposited in other +places, or a more perishable material was used for them. In any case, they +become comparatively scarce, and their rarity may be due to the departure +of trade from the capital, brought about by the removal of the court from +Babylon, and the consequent migration of her merchants to other places. + +Things had been going, in fact, from bad to worse for Babylon, and among +the clay records left, some of the royal names which we should like to see +are to all appearance absent. It was still, however, a place of great +importance, when, in the year 331 B.C., it opened its gates to Alexander +the Great, surrendering, like Susa and Persepolis, without striking a +blow. Doubtless to them it was perfectly indifferent under which foreign +potentate they lived, and a change in that respect could not make their +condition worse, and might be to their advantage. Had he not died long +before the term which nature has fixed, the city might have taken upon it +such a renewed lease of life as would have caused it to exist as a great +capital to the present day. As it happened, the Babylonians began to see +their fondest hopes realized, for it must soon have become noised abroad +that the new conqueror of Asia intended to make Babylon his Eastern +capital, and they saw the clearing away of the rubbish which was the +preliminary to the restoration of the great and renowned temple of Belus, +E-sagila (or E-sangil as they called it at that time), actually +proceeding, not only during the reign of Alexander, but also during that +of his successor, Philip, as well. The mental calibre of the latter, +however, who came to the throne on the death of Alexander in the year 323 +B.C., must soon have told the Babylonians that the realization of his +great predecessor's schemes was hopeless, and the downward course of the +city's star, arrested as it were for a moment, soon began again. + +The next change of rulers was that following upon the unworthy bearing of +Antigonus with regard to Seleucus, Alexander the Great's favoured general, +who had espoused his claims to the throne of the Eastern empire. After +aiding Ptolemy of Egypt against Demetrius, son of Antigonus, he set out +with a small force, and gathering recruits in his course, especially among +the Babylonians, with whom he was popular, he entered their capital +without opposition in 312 B.C., from which date the era of the Seleucidae +is regarded as beginning. How the Babylonians took the foundation of +Seleucia on the Tigris, which is often mentioned in the numerous +astrological tablets of this period, is not recorded, but from the way in +which they speak of the migration of the inhabitants of Babylonia to +Seleucia implies that they took it greatly to heart. + +"Blessed shall he be who serveth thee as thou hast served us," sang the +Psalmist when lamenting the captivity of the Jews at Babylon, and if +success in conquest be a sign of blessedness, then Seleucus must have been +happy indeed. The Babylonians could not have regarded the continual and +increasing desolation of their city with indifference, however, and it is +not impossible that their loyalty to their king suffered somewhat in +consequence. This, to all appearance, found vent in expressions of regret, +and an old lamentation, referring to the depredations of the Qutu at a +period so remote that we can hardly, at this distance of time, estimate, +and of which a copy was made for a certain Bel-zer-lisir, might well +express their feelings at this period: + + + "For the misfortunes of Erech, for the misfortunes of Agade, I am + stricken. + The Erechitess wept, that departed was her might, the Agaditess + wept, that departed was her glory (?); + The daughter of Erech wept, the daughter of Agade cried aloud; + As for the daughter of Larancha, in her garment her face was + hidden. + The Hursagkalamitess wept, that her husband was in trouble; + The Hulhuthulitess wept, that cast down was her sceptre; + The Masitess wept, that her 7 brothers were slain, that her + brother-in-law was stricken. + The Agaditess wept, that her elder was slain, the lord of her + well-being; + The Kesitess wept--they have wrought destruction (?) for the name + of her house: 'My helpers are shattered'; + The Dunnaitess wept, 'Who has a resting-place, who has leave to go + forth? + Whose is it to defeat (?) the enemy, (with) the exits cut off?' + The daughter of Niffer wept, for the raging (?) Qutu assembled, + She bowed down her face on account of the trouble of the husband + of her well-being. + The Dur-ilitess wept, for the Qutu collected, + For the son of her city destroyed, the overthrow of her father's + house. + Weep for Erech, ravaging (and) shame has she received-- + As for me, in the storm a place of refuge I know not. + Weep for Larancha (for the spoiling?) of (my) mantle I am in + trouble. + My eyes see not my ..., the mothers are cut off from the child. + Weep for Niffer, as for me, (with) abundance of affliction (?) + Heaven has bound me fast; + The throne of my glory has been caused to pass away from me; + The bridegroom, the husband of my well-being, Bel has taken away + from me." + + "Like its original written, made clear, and acquired. + + Tablet of Bel-zer-lisir, son of Bel-aba-usur, descendant of the + sculptor. + + (By) the hands of Bel-bullit-su, his son. He who fears the king + shall not take (?) (this) tablet (?) away. + + "Babylon, month Elul, day 15th, year 25th, Siluku and Antiukusu + (Seleucus and Antiochus), king of countries. + + +By those same "rivers of Babylon" where the Israelites had mourned in +captivity, thinking of Jerusalem, there the Babylonians themselves came at +last to lament the departed glories of their land. Many a time, it is +true, they had seen the country which was their fatherland overrun by +enemies, but it had always recovered, and risen to a greater height of +prosperity. This time, however, there was to be no healing of her wound. +The large and well-peopled space within the walls of the great city +gradually became uninhabited, and the houses fell into ruin. A time even +came at last when the great walls had to be demolished--or at least +practically so--in order that they might not afford protection to the +lawless bands which infested the country, and were only too ready to make +the most of such an advantage. + +Notwithstanding the desolation of the city, however, a certain number of +people continued to inhabit the site, probably officials of the temples +(whose services still continued), and tradesmen who supplied the wants of +those whose duty held them attached to the place. Here, year after year, +the usual sacrifices were offered to the old gods of the Babylonians, +especially "My Lord and Lady," _i.e._ Bel (Merodach) and Beltis +(Zer-panitum, his consort), and prayers were made for the king at the time +reigning, and also for his sons (if he had any). That inscriptions may +come to light which will show more clearly the state of things in that +vast ruined city is exceedingly probable, and a sufficient number of +tablets referring to this period are known to exist even now, and show in +some measure the state of the city and the kind of people who dwelt in +such parts of it as had been reserved for that purpose. + +To those who inhabited Babylon's desolation, the most important thing, in +all probability, was the worship, with all the old rites and ceremonies, +of the deities whose temples and shrines still existed there. But those +old priests and temple scribes occupied their time in another way, namely, +the keeping of careful records of every historical event for the purpose +of being able to tell the future. These historical notices are preceded by +indications of the positions of the moon and the planets, together with +the price of grain or other produce, during the period referred to. The +positions of the planets, etc., were combined afterwards, by the "monthly +prognosticators," with the historical happenings, for the purpose of +foretelling events, which at that late period was probably done much more +systematically than during earlier ages, to the great advantage of the +modern student of this period. + +The following will give an idea of these historical notices:-- + +(Month Ab, 143rd year, Anti'ukusu, king = 168 B.C., reign of Antiochus +Epiphanes.) + +"An., the king, marched victoriously among the cities of the land of +Meluhha, and ... the people (_pulite_(144) the Greek {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}) +(constructed?) idols (_puppe_, evidently a Greek word, probably meaning +'images of gods') and works like a shrine (of?) the Greek(s?)...." + +The inscription then goes on to speak of the appointment of a _zazak_ +(apparently a grade of priests) by the king, the handing to him of the +gold in the treasury of E-saggil for the great (shrine) of Bel, the +(dedication?) of an unsuitable or an untimely image of the god Uru-gala on +the 8th day of the month, and other similar occurrences. From the lines +translated above, it will be seen that the Babylonians had not by any +means escaped from the influence of Greek civilization, not only Greek +words, but also, to all appearance, Greek gods and shrines having made +their appearance. The word used in speaking of the image of the god +Uru-gala is _tamsil_, but the things which the citizens made were _puppe_, +possibly used like our word "idol." It is possibly to this period, or a +little later, that the transcriptions into Greek of Babylonian tablets +(which promise to be of considerable value for the study of the +Assyro-Babylonian language) belong. + +If the translation given above be correct, it would confirm the account in +the second book of Maccabees (vi. 2), from which it would appear that this +ruler tried to habituate the Jews to Greek customs, and also to the Greek +religion, going even so far as "to pollute also the temple in Jerusalem, +and to call it the temple of Jupiter Olympus; and that in Garizim, of +Jupiter the Defender of strangers, as they did desire that dwelt in the +place" (vi. 2). "The abomination of desolation" which was set on the altar +at Jerusalem (1 Macc. i. 54) is understood by commentators to mean an +idol-altar, though almost any heathen image would suit the sense, and a +statue of a god, with or without a shrine, might be meant. The reference +to Meluhha in all probability refers to one of his expeditions to Egypt, +and is generally supposed to indicate Ethiopia. + +Another change which the Babylonians experienced was when the rule of +their Greek masters was exchanged for that of the Parthians, and the +Seleucidae gave way to the Arsacidae. Concerning the period of the change, +and the way in which it came about, very little is known. The varied +fortunes of the Seleucid princes is illustrated by the fact that a satrap +of Media named Timarchus, in 161-160 B.C., had succeeded in proclaiming +himself king of Babylon; and from 153-139 B.C., Arsaces VI. (Mithridates +I.) was in possession of all the district east of the Euphrates--Babylonia, +Elam, and Persia. After his death, however, all this portion seems to have +returned to the rule of the Seleucidae, and their era was in all +probability restored. After the death of Antiochus Sidetes, in 129 B.C., +the province of Kharacene became independent under a ruler named +Hyspasines or Spasines, who, two years later, seems to have made himself +master of Babylon. An interesting tablet dated in the reign of this king +(who used the Seleucian era) shows something of the state of things on the +site of the old city, and that somewhat vividly. + +(The inscription is preceded by five introductory lines, which are +unfortunately imperfect, but do not seem to affect the transaction as a +whole.) + +"In the month Iyyar, the 24th day, year 185th, Aspasine (being) king, +Bel-lumur, director of E-saggil, and the Babylonians, the congregation of +E-saggil, took counsel together, and said thus-- + +"'Itti-Marduk-balatu, chief of the construction over the artificers (?) of +the houses of the gods, scribe of Anu-Bel, son of Iddin-Bel, who formerly +stood (?) at the side of Aspasine, the king, who (relieved?) want in the +gate of the king; lo, this is for Bel-ahe-usur and Nabu-musetiq-urri, his +sons-- + +" '(As) they find the whole of his keep, a sum (?) has been collected (?) +in the presence of the aforesaid Bel-lumur and the Babylonians, the +congregation of E-saggil. + +" 'From this day of this year we will give 1 mana of silver, the +sustenance of Itti-Marduk-balatu, for their father, to Bel-ahe-usur and +Nabu-musetiq-urri, from our (own) necessities. The amount, as much as +Itti-Marduk-balatu, their father, has taken, they shall keep for (his) +keep, and they shall give the grant for this year.' + +"(Done along) with Bel-sunu; Nur; Muranu; Iddin-Bel; Bel-usur-su, the +scribe of Anu-Bel, and the deputy-scribes of Anu-Bel."(145) + +Though the translation is necessarily, from the mutilation of the text, +not altogether satisfactory, certain items of information which it +contains will hardly admit of doubt. There were still inhabitants of the +city, there were temple-servants, who were probably under a kind of +overseer of the works, and these apparently attended to all the temples. +Whether this man was too old to work or not is doubtful, but it would seem +that it was considered too much that his sons should keep him altogether, +hence the drawing up of the document here quoted. + +It is noteworthy that, instead of Merodach, or Bel-Merodach, the god of +Babylon, who became the chief deity of all Babylonia, a new deity appears, +namely, Anu-Bel, _i.e._ Anu the Lord, or, paraphrased, the Lord God of +Heaven, probably the god Merodach identified with Anu. The religion of the +Babylonians probably underwent many changes during this later period, when +those who belonged to it came into contact with foreigners, many of them +most intelligent men, whose teaching must have had with them great weight. + +Another important inscription, in the British Museum, gives many details +of the period of this little-known king, Aspasine. From this we learn that +the Elamites made incursions in the neighbourhood of the Tigris. +Pilinussu, the general in Akkad, apparently carried on operations against +another general, and seems to have gone to the cities of the Medes before +Baga-asa, the brother of the king. A man named Te'udisi also seems to have +opposed the general in Akkad. Yet another inscription of the same period +states that Ti'imutusu, son of Aspasine, went from Babylon to Seleucia (on +the Tigris), showing that the former renowned place was still regarded as +one of the cities of the land. At this time one of the opponents of +Aspasine's generals was "Pittit, the enemy, the Elamite." Elam, to its +whole extent, was smitten with the sword, and Pittit (was slain, or +captured). Sacrifices were made to Bel, probably on account of this +victory. + +Similar inscriptions of the time of the Arsacidean rule in Babylonia also +exist, and would probably be useful if published. Unfortunately, they are +all more or less damaged and mutilated, but of those which I have been +able to make notes of, one may be worth quoting. The following extract +will show its nature:-- + +"This month I heard thus: Arsaka the king and his soldiers departed to the +city of Arqania.... (I) heard thus: The Elamite and his soldiers departed +to battle before the city Apam'a which is upon the river Silhu...." + +The remainder is very mutilated, and requires studying in conjunction with +all the other inscriptions of the same class, though even then much must +necessarily be doubtful. + +In many of these inscriptions each of the long paragraphs ends with a +reference to the sacrifices which had been made in the temples of Babylon +among the ruins, and sometimes, though rarely, they refer to something of +the nature of an omen. The following will serve as an example:-- + +"... descended to Babylon from Seleucia which is upon the Tigris. Day 10, +the governor of Akkad ... the congregation of E-saggil, (sacrificed) one +ox and 4 lambs in the gate Ka-dumu-nuna of E-saggil, (and) made (prayer +for the lif)e of the king and his preservation. On the 5., one ox and 3 +lambs (they sacrificed). The congregation of Baby]lon came to Ka-dumu-nuna +of E-saggil, offerings like the former ones were made ... went forth from +Sippar. This month a goat brought forth, and the litter was 15." + +Contract-tablets, some of them of a very late date indeed, within a decade +or two of the Christian era, show that the temples still existed, and that +sacrifices and services still went on, probably uninterruptedly, at the +temples of Babylon, and this implies that, though the country had no +national existence, the beliefs of the people survived for many centuries +the downfall of their power. In all probability, what took place at +Babylon had its counterpart in other places in the country--the fanes +renowned of old--as well. Indeed, it is known that, at the most perfectly +preserved of the temple-towers of Babylonia at the present day--that at +Borsippa, now and for many centuries known as the Birs Nimroud, "the tower +(as it is explained) of Nimrod,"--the services and worship were continued +as late as the fourth century of the Christian era. The worship of Nebo, +the god of wisdom, or, rather, letters, had always been extremely popular, +hence, in all probability, the continuation of his cult until this late +date. But this was to all appearance the last remnant of the powerful and +picturesque creed of old Babylon, and details of its slow and gradual +disappearance from the religious beliefs of the world would probably be as +interesting as the story of its growth and development. + +"The Church at Babylon," mentioned in 1 Peter v. 13, is generally +understood allegorically, as of the Church in the world, or that in the +great Babylon of the time when the apostle wrote, namely, Rome. Though it +is unknown whether a Christian Church existed in his time anywhere in +Babylonia, it is probably certain that the native Christians of Baghdad +(and 'Iraq in general) are pure descendants of the ancient Babylonians, to +whom, in form and stature, as well as in character, and their tendency to +progress, they have a great likeness. The same may be said of the native +Christians of Assyria. + +Could we but know the history of Assyria at this period, it is very +probable that we should find it to resemble in certain things--perhaps in +the main--that of Babylonia after her downfall. From the religious point of +view, also, there must have been similarity. They, too, knew the worship +of the "merciful Merodach," to them a type of Christ, and his father Ea +(from whom he obtained the means of helping mankind), in name and position +a type of Jah, God the Father, whom the Christians worshipped. But we +shall never in all probability know whether they thus analyzed and +compared the two faiths, though it is very possible that they did, for it +is said that the Egyptians were attracted to Christianity by the +comparison of Christ with their Osiris. Such, however, is the tendency of +the mind of mankind. Ever unwilling to break with the old, he seeks for +some analogy in the new, to form a bridge whereby to pass to higher +things. Minor deities have ever tended to become Christian saints, and +such may have been--indeed, probably was--the case with the Babylonians and +the Assyrians. + + + + + +APPENDIX. THE STELE INSCRIBED WITH THE LAWS OF HAMMURABI. + + +This monument was found at Susa, in the excavations undertaken by the +French Government, by MM. de Morgan and Prof. V. Scheil. It is a column of +diorite, measuring about 7 feet in height, tapering slightly from the +bottom upwards. The circumference of the base is about 2 yards, and at the +summit about 5 feet 5-1/2 inches. As, however, the stone is not square, it +may be described as measuring, roughly, 22 inches broad at the base, and +16 inches just above the bas-relief at the top, where it is rounded +somewhat irregularly. + +The bas-relief, which is in perfect condition, measures about 2 feet 2 +inches in height, and represents Hammurabi standing, facing to the right, +towards the sun-god Samas, who sits on a throne of the usual recessed +design. The god is bearded, clothed in a flounced robe, and has his hair +looped up behind. His hat is pointed, and is adorned with four (eight) +horns, rising at the side, and coming forward, where their points are +turned up. His right shoulder is bare, and in his right hand he holds a +staff and a ring, emblematic of authority and eternity, or his apparent +course in the heavens. His right hand is held against his breast, and wavy +lines, probably representing his rays, arise from his shoulders. + +Hammurabi, who stands before the seated god, is clothed in a long robe +reaching to his feet, and held up by his left arm. His right shoulder and +arm are bare, and the hand is raised as if to emphasize the words he is +uttering. Like the god, he is heavily bearded. On his head he wears the +globular thick-brimmed hat distinctive of men in authority for many +hundred years before his time, and for a considerable period afterwards. + +The inscription, which is in horizontal columns, covers all four sides of +the stone, and is divided into two parts, called by Prof. Scheil, who +first translated it, the "obverse" and the "reverse" respectively. The +former is in 16 columns, after which come 5 columns which have been +erased, probably, as Prof. Scheil remarks, to insert the name and titles +of an Elamite king, Sutruk-Nahhunte, who has his inscription placed on +several other monuments of Babylonian origin found there. For some reason +or other, the space on the stele of Hammurabi still remains blank. The +"reverse" has 28 columns of inscription. The columns are narrow, and the +lines consequently short, but as the latter are no less than 3638 in +number, the text is a very extensive one, and when complete, must have +consisted of over 4000 lines. + +The inscription consists of three portions: the Introduction, consisting +of 4 columns and 25 lines, detailing all the benefits which Hammurabi had +conferred on the cities and temples of the land; the Laws, which occupy +the remainder of the obverse, and 23 columns of the reverse (in all, 40 +columns less 25 lines); and the Conclusion, occupying the remaining 5 +columns, in which he recounts his own virtues, and in a long curse, calls +upon the gods whom he worshipped to punish and destroy any of his +successors who should abolish or change what he had written, or destroy +his bas-relief. + + + + +The Laws Of Hammurabi. + + + +Introduction. + + +When the supreme God, king of the Annunaki,(146) and Bel, lord of the +heavens and the earth, who fixes the destinies of the land, had fixed for +Merodach, the eldest son of Ae, the Divine Lordship over the multitude of +the people, and had made him great among the Igigi, they called Babylon by +its supreme name, caused it to be great among the countries (of the +world), and caused to exist for him in its midst an everlasting kingdom, +whose foundation is as firm as heaven and earth. + +At that time Hammurabi, the noble prince--he who fears God--me--in order that +justice might exist in the country, to destroy the evil and wicked, that +the strong might not oppress the weak,--God and Bel, to gladden the flesh +of the people, proclaimed my name as a Sungod(147) for the black-headed +ones,(148) appearing and illuminating the land. + +Hammurabi, the shepherd proclaimed of Bel am I--the perfecter of abundance +and plenty, the completer of everything for Niffur (and) Dur-an-ki,(149) +the glorious patron of E-kura;(150) + +The powerful king who has restored the city Eridu to its first state, who +has purified the service of E-apsu;(151) + +The best of the four regions, who made great the name of Babylon, +rejoicing the heart of Merodach, his lord, who daily stays (at service) in +E-sagila;(152) + +The kingly seed whom the god Sin has created, who endows with riches the +city of Ur;(153) humble, devout, he who brings abundance to +E-kis-nu-gala;(154) + +The king of wisdom, favourite of Samas, the powerful one, he who founded +(again) the city of Sippar, who clothed with green the burial-places of +Aa,(155) who made supreme the temple E-babbara,(156) which is like a +throne (in) the heavens; + +The warrior benefiting Larsa,(157) who renewed the temple E-babbara(158) +for Samas his helper; + +The lord who gave life to Erech, procuring waters in abundance for its +people, he who has raised the head of the temple E-anna, completing the +treasures for Anu and Innanna;(159) + +The protector of the land, who has reassembled the scattered people of +Nisin, who has made abundant the riches of the temple E-gal-mah;(160) + +The unique one, king of the city, twin brother of the god Zagaga, he who +founded the seat of the city of Kis, who has caused the temple +E-mete-ursag(161) to be surrounded with splendour, who has caused the +great sanctuaries of the goddess Innanna to be increased; + +Overseer of the temple of Hursag-kalama, the enemies' temple-court, the +help of which caused him to attain his desire;(162) + +He who has enlarged the city of Cuthah, made great everything for the +temple Meslam;(163) + +The mighty steer who overthrows the enemy, the beloved of the god +Tutu;(164) + +He who causes the city of Borsippa to rejoice, the supreme one, he who is +tireless for the temple E-zida;(165) + +The divine king of the city, wise, alert, he who has extended the +agriculture of Dilmu,(166) who has heaped up the (grain) receptacles for +the powerful god Uras;(167) + +The lord (who is) the adornment of the sceptre and the crown, with which +the wise goddess Mama has crowned him; + +Who has defined the sanctuaries of Kes, who has made plentiful the +glorious feasts for the goddess Nin-tu; + +The provident and careful one, who set pasturages and watering-places for +Lagas and Girsu, he who procured great offerings for E-ninnu;(168) + +He who holds fast the enemy, the favourite of the divinity, he who fulfils +the portents of the city Hallabu, he who has gladdened the heart of +Istar;(169) + +The prince undefiled, whose prayer(170) Addu(171) has heard, he who gives +rest to the heart of Addu, the warrior, in the city Muru; + +He who set up the ornaments in the temple E-para-galgala, the king who +gave life to the city of Adab; + +He who directs the temple E-mah, the prince who is the city-king, the +warrior who is without rival; + +He who has given life to the city Maskan-sabri, who has caused abundance +to arise for the temple Meslam; + +The wise, the active one, who has captured the robbers' hiding-places, +sheltered the people of Malka in (their) misfortune, caused their seats to +be founded in abundance, (and) instituted pure offerings for Ae and +Damgal-nunna, who have made his kingdom great for ever. + +The prince who is city-king, who subjugated the settlements of the +Euphrates, the boundary (of) Dagan, his creator, who spared the people of +Mera and Tutul; + +The supreme prince, who has made the face of the goddess Istar to shine, +set pure repasts for the divinity Nin-azu, who cared for his people in +(their) need, fixing their dues within Babylon peacefully; + +The shepherd of the people, whose deeds are good unto Istar, who set Istar +in the temple E-ulmas within Agade of the (broad) streets; he who makes +the faithful obedient, who guides the Race;(172) + +Who returned its good genius to the city of Asshur, who caused (its) +splendour (?) to shine forth; + +The king who in Nineveh has caused the names of Istar to be glorified in +E-mesmes;(173) + +The supreme one, devoted in prayer to the great gods, descendant of +Sumula-ilu, the mighty son of Sin-mubalit, the eternal seed of royalty; + +The powerful king, the Sun of Babylon, he who sends forth light for the +land of Sumer and Akkad, the king causing the four regions to obey him, +the beloved of the goddess Istar, am I. + +When Merodach chose me to govern the people, to rule and instruct the +land, law and justice I set in the mouth of the land--in that day did I +bring about the well-being of the people. + + + +The Laws. + + +1. If a man ban a man, and cast a spell upon him, and has not justified +it, he who has banned him shall be killed. + +2. If a man has thrown a spell upon a man, and has not justified it, he +upon whom the spell has been thrown shall go to the river,(174) (and) +shall plunge into the river, and if the river take him, he who banned him +may take his house. If the river show that man to be innocent, and save +(him), he who threw the spell upon him shall be killed; he who plunged +into the river may take possession of the house of him who banned him. + +3. If a man in a lawsuit has come forward (to bear) false witness, and has +not justified the word he has spoken, if that lawsuit be a lawsuit of +life,(175) that man shall be killed. + +4. If he has come forward (to bear) witness concerning wheat or silver, he +shall bear the guilt of that lawsuit. + +5. If a judge has given judgment, and decided a decision, and delivered a +tablet (thereupon), and afterwards his judgment is found faulty, that +judge, for the fault in the judgment he had judged, they shall summon, and +the claim which is in question(176) he shall (re)pay twelvefold, and in +the assembly they shall make him rise up from his judgment-seat, and he +shall not return, and he shall not sit again with the judges in judgment. + +6. If a man has stolen the property of a god, or of the palace, that man +shall be killed; and he who has received the stolen thing from his hand +shall be killed. + +7. If a man has bought either silver, or gold, or a man-slave, or a +woman-slave, or an ox, or a sheep, or an ass, or anything whatever, from +the hands of the son of a man or the slave of a man, without witness or +contract, or has received it on deposit, that man is a thief--he shall be +killed. + +8. If a man has stolen either an ox, or a sheep, or an ass, or a pig, or a +ship--if it be from a god or from the palace, he shall (re)pay thirtyfold; +if it be from a poor man, he shall restore tenfold. If the thief have not +wherewith to (re)pay, he shall be killed. + +9. If a man who has lost his property meet with his lost property in the +hands of a man, (and) the man in whose hands the lost thing has been found +say "a certain seller sold it--I bought it before certain witnesses," and +the owner of the lost object say "Let me bring witnesses who will +recognize my lost object," the buyer shall bring forward the seller who +sold it, and the witnesses before whom he bought (it), and the owner of +the lost object shall bring forward the witnesses who will recognize his +lost object. The judge shall see what they have to say, and the witnesses +before whom the purchase was made, and the witnesses knowing the object +lost shall speak before God,(177) and (if) the seller is the thief, he +shall be killed. The owner of the lost object shall take (back) his lost +object; the buyer shall receive (back) from the house of the seller the +silver which he has paid. + +10. If the buyer has not brought forward the seller who sold it to him and +the witnesses before whom he bought (it), (and) the owner of the lost +object has brought forward witnesses recognizing his lost object, the +buyer is a thief--he shall be killed; the owner of the object lost shall +take (back) the lost object. + +11. If the owner of the lost object has not brought forward witnesses +recognizing his lost object, he is a rogue, (and) has made a false +accusation--he shall be killed. + +12. If the seller has gone to his fate, the buyer shall receive from the +house of the seller the claims of that judgment fivefold. + +13. If that man have not his witnesses at hand, the judge shall grant him +a delay of six months,(178) and if he have not procured his witnesses in +six months,(179) that man is a rogue--he shall bear the guilt of that +judgment. + +14. If a man has stolen the young son of a man, he shall be killed. + +15. If a man has caused to go forth from the gate either a slave of the +palace, or a handmaid of the palace, or the slave of a poor man, or the +handmaid of a poor man, he shall be killed. + +16. If a man has sheltered the escaped male or female slave of the palace +or of a poor man in his house, and at the request of the steward has not +sent him forth, the master of that house shall be killed. + +17. If a man has met the escaped male or female slave in the fields, and +has taken him back to his master, the master of the slave shall give him +two shekels of silver. + +18. If that slave will not name his master, he shall take him to the +palace, his intention shall be inquired into, and they shall return him to +his master. + +19. If he has shut up that slave in his house, and afterwards the slave +has been found in his hands, that man shall be killed. + +20. If a slave escape from the hands of the man who has found him, that +man shall call God to witness(180) unto the master of the slave, and shall +be held blameless. + +21. If a man has made a breach in a house, in front of that breach they +shall kill him and bury him. + +22. If a man has exercised brigandage, and has been taken, that man shall +be killed. + +23. If the brigand has not been captured, the man who has been robbed +shall take the thing which he has lost before God, and the city and the +authorities within whose territory and boundaries the brigandage has been +exercised shall make up to him what he has lost. + +24. If (it be a question of) a life, the city and authorities shall pay +one mana of silver to his people. + +25. If the house of a man has been set on fire,(181) and a man who went to +extinguish it has raised his eyes to the property of the owner of the +house, and taken the property of the owner of the house, that man shall be +thrown into that same fire. + +26. If an army-leader or a soldier, who has been commanded to go his way +on a royal expedition, does not go, and has hired a mercenary, and his +substitute is taken, that army-leader or soldier shall be killed, he who +changed with him shall take his house. + +27. If an army-leader or a soldier, who by the king's misfortune is kept +prisoner, afterwards they have given his field and plantation to another, +and he has carried on its administration; if (the original owner) then +return and reach his city, they shall return to him his field and +plantation, and he himself shall carry on its administration. + +28. If the son of an army-leader or a soldier, who is kept prisoner by the +king's misfortune, is able to carry on the administration, they shall give +to him the field and plantation, and he shall carry on the administration +for his father. + +29. If his son is young, and is unable to carry on the administration for +his father, the third part of the field and plantation shall be given to +his mother, and his mother shall bring him up. + +30. If an army-leader or a soldier neglect his field, his plantation, and +his house on account of the burden, and leave it waste, (and) another +after him has taken his field, his plantation, and his house, and has +carried on its administration for three years, if he return and wish to +cultivate his field, his plantation, and his house, it shall not be given +to him--he who took and has carried on its administration shall continue to +administer. + +31. If for one year (only) he has let (them) lie waste, and has returned, +his field, his plantation, and his house they shall give to him, and he +shall carry on his administration himself. + +32. If a merchant has redeemed an army-leader or a soldier who has been +kept prisoner upon a royal expedition, and has caused him to regain his +city--if in his house there be (the wherewithal) for his redemption, he +shall then redeem himself. If in his house there be not (the wherewithal) +for his redemption, in the house of his city's god he shall be redeemed. +If in the house of his city's god there be not (the wherewithal) for his +redemption, the palace shall redeem him. His field, his plantation, and +his house shall not be given for his redemption. + +33. If a governor or a prefect have a substitute,(182) or for a royal +expedition accept a mercenary as substitute and incorporate (him), that +governor or prefect shall be killed. + +34. If a governor or a prefect take the property of an army-officer, ruin +an army-officer, lend an army-officer for hire, grant an army-officer in a +lawsuit to a magnate, take the gift which the king has given to an +army-officer, that governor or prefect shall be killed. + +35. If a man purchase from the hands of an army-officer the cattle and +sheep which the king has given to the army-officer, he shall forfeit his +money. + +36. Field, plantation, and house of an army-officer, soldier, and +tax-payer he(183) shall not sell for silver. + +37. If a man buy the field, plantation, or house of an army-officer, +soldier, or tax-payer, his contract shall be broken, and he shall forfeit +his money. The field, plantation, or house shall return to its owner. + +38. Army-officer, soldier, or tax-payer shall not leave to his wife or his +daughter (anything) from the field, plantation, and house of his +administration, and shall not give them for his indebtedness. + +39. He may leave to his wife and his daughter (any part) of the field, +plantation, or house which he has bought and owns, and may give it for his +indebtedness. + +40. But to an agent or other official, he may give his field, his +plantation, or his house for silver, (and) the purchaser shall carry on +the administration of the field, plantation, and house which he has +bought. + +41. If a man has enclosed the field, plantation, or house of an +army-officer, soldier, or tax-payer, and given substitutes, the +army-officer, soldier, or tax-payer may return to his field, plantation, +or house, and take the substitutes which have been given to him. + +42. If a man has hired a field for cultivation, and has not caused wheat +to be in that field, they shall summon him for not having done work in the +field, and he shall give to the owner of the field wheat like his +neighbour. + +43. If he has not planted the field, and has let it lie, he shall give to +the owner of the field wheat like his neighbour, and the field which he +has let lie he shall break up for cultivation, shall enclose (it) and +return (it) to the owner of the field. + +44. If a man has hired an uncultivated field for cultivation(184) for +three years, and he has been idle and has not cultivated the field, in the +fourth year he shall break up the field for cultivation, shall hoe (it), +and shall enclose (it) and return (it) to the owner of the field, and for +every 10 _gan_ he shall measure (to him) 10 _gur_ of wheat. + +45. If a man has given his field for rent to a planter, and has received +the rent of his field, and afterwards a storm(185) has inundated the +field, or has (otherwise) destroyed the produce, the loss belongs to the +planter. + +46. If he have not received the rent of his field, and has let the field +for a half or a third (of the produce), the planter and the owner of the +field shall share the wheat which has been produced in the field +proportionately. + +47. If the planter, because his husbandry did not yield profit(186) in the +first year, direct the field to be cultivated (by another), the owner of +the field shall not object. The planter then shall cultivate his field, +and shall take the wheat at harvest-time, according to his contract. + +48. If there be interest (upon a loan) against a man, and a storm(187) +inundate his field, or has (otherwise) destroyed the produce, or by want +of water there is no wheat in the field, that year he shall not return any +wheat to the creditor.(188) He shall damp his tablet (? to alter it), and +shall not pay interest(189) for that year. + +49. If a man has borrowed money from an agent, and has given to the agent +a field laboured for wheat or sesame, (and) has said to him: "Plant the +field, and gather and take the wheat or the sesame which will be +produced;" if the planter has caused wheat or sesame to be in the field, +at harvest-time the owner of the field may take the wheat or sesame which +has been produced in the field, and shall give to the agent wheat for his +silver and his interest(190) which he received from the agent, and (for) +the cost of the cultivation. + +50. If he has given (as security) a planted field, or a field planted with +sesame, the owner of the field shall take the wheat or sesame which is +produced in the field, and shall return the silver and its interest to the +agent. + +51. If there be no silver (wherewith) to repay, he shall give to the agent +sesame at their market-price for his silver and his interest, which he +received from the agent, according to the tariff of the king. + +52. If the planter has not caused wheat or sesame to be in the field, it +does not annul his contract. + +53. If a man has neglected to stren[gth]en his [dyke], and has not +streng[thened his] dyke, [and] a breach has o[pened] in [his] dyke, and +water has inundated the enclosure, the man in whose dyke the breach has +been opened shall make good the wheat which it has destroyed. + +54. If the wheat does not suffice to make good (the damage), they shall +sell that (man) and his goods for silver, and the people(191) of the +enclosure, whose wheat the water carried away, shall share together. + +55. If a man has opened his irrigation-channel to water, (and) has been +negligent, and the water has flooded the field of his neighbour, he shall +measure (to him) wheat like(192) (that of) his neighbour. + +56. If a man has opened the water, and the water flood the work of the +field of his neighbour, he shall measure (to him) 10 _gur_ of wheat for +each 10 _gan_. + +57. If a shepherd has not agreed with the owner of a field for grass to +pasture his sheep, and without the owner of the field has pastured sheep +(in) the field, the owner shall reap _his_ fields; the shepherd who, +without the owner of the field, pastured sheep (in) the field, shall pay +to the owner of the field 20 _gur_ of wheat for every 10 _gan_ besides. + +58. If, after the sheep have left the enclosure, (and) the whole flock has +passed through the gate, the shepherd place the sheep (again) in the +field, and cause the sheep to pasture (in) the field, the shepherd shall +keep the field (where) he has pastured them, and shall measure to the +owner of the field, at harvest-time, 60 _gur_ of wheat for every 10 _gan_. + +59. If a man, without (the permission of) the owner of a plantation, has +cut down a tree in the plantation of a man, he shall pay half a mana of +silver. + +60. If a man has given a field to a gardener to plant as a plantation, +(and) the gardener has planted the plantation, he shall tend the +plantation for four years. In the fifth year the owner of the plantation +and the gardener shall share equally; (thereafter) the owner of the +plantation shall apportion and take his share. + +61. If a gardener has not completed the plantation of a field, and has +left an uncultivated place, they shall set for him the uncultivated place +in his share. + +62. If he has not planted the field which has been given him for a +plantation, if (it be) grain, the gardener shall measure to the owner of +the field the produce of the field, for the years during which it has been +neglected, like his neighbour; and he shall do the work of the field, and +return (it) to the owner of the field. + +63. If the field (was) waste land, he shall do the work of the field, and +return (it) to the owner of the field, and he shall measure for every year +10 _gur_ of wheat for each 10 _gan_. + +64. If a man has given his plantation to a gardener to cultivate, the +gardener, as long as he holds the plantation, shall give two-thirds of the +produce of the plantation to the owner of the plantation, (and) shall take +a third himself. + +65. If the gardener has not cultivated the plantation, and has diminished +the produce, the gardener [shall measure to the owner of the field] +produce (like) his neighbour. + +(Five columns have here been erased, apparently by the Elamite king who +intended to inscribe his name upon the monument. Prof. Scheil estimates +that this contained about 35 sections of the laws, containing the +remaining sections referring to the cultivation of plantations or +orchards, the letting of houses, and the laws relating to commercial +transactions, of which a portion is preserved after the gap. As pointed +out by Prof. Scheil, the following sections, from fragments of tablets +found at Nineveh by Hormuzd Rassam and the late Geo. Smith, probably came +in here.) + +[If a man has borrowed silver from an agent, and has given] to the agent +[a date-orchard, and] has said to him: "Take for thy money the dates, [as +much as] will be produced in [my] orchard, for thy money;" (if) that agent +be not in agreement, the owner of the orchard shall take the dates which +are produced in the orchard, and return to the agent the silver and its +interest, according to his tablet; and the owner of the orchard may ta[ke] +the surplus dates which have been produced in the orchard. + +[If a man has hired a house, and] the man has paid to the owner of [the +house] the complete money for his rent for a year, [and] the owner of the +house, before the days are full, command the ten[ant] to go [forth],--the +owner of the house, [as] he sends the tenant [forth] from his house before +the time,(193) [shall return to the tenant a proportionate sum, for having +gone forth from his house], from the money which the tenant has pai[d to +him]. + +[If a man] owe (?) wheat (or) silver, and has not wheat or silver +[wherewith] to [pay], but possess (other) goods, whatever is in his hands +he shall gi[ve] to the agent, before witnesses, as profit, [and] the agent +shall not f[ind fault], and shall ac[cept it]. + +(Portions of other laws are also preserved, but they are too fragmentary +to enable the sense to be gathered.) + +100. [If an agent has advanced silver to a commissioner, and he has had +good fortune in the place to which he went], he shall write down the +profits of his silver, as much as he has received, and the day when they +make up their accounts he shall pay (it) to his agent. + +101. If he found no profit where he went, he shall make up the silver +which he took, and the commissioner shall repay it to the agent.(194) + +102. If an agent has advanced silver to a commissioner for profit, and he +found loss where he went, he shall return the capital of the silver to the +agent. + +103. If, whilst going on his way, an enemy caused him to lose what he was +carrying, the commissioner shall call God to witness(195) and shall go +free. + +104. If an agent has given to a commissioner grain, wool, oil, or any +other goods for trading, the commissioner shall write down the silver +(received), and shall return it to the agent. The commissioner shall take +a sealed document of the silver which he gives to the agent.(196) + +105. If the commissioner has been negligent, and has not taken a sealed +document of the silver which he has given to the agent, the silver not +certified shall not be placed in the business.(197) + +106. If a commissioner has taken silver from an agent, and dispute +(withhold it from) his agent, that agent shall summon the commissioner +before God and the witnesses concerning the money taken; the commissioner +shall repay to the agent the silver, as much as he has taken, threefold. + +107. If an agent act unjustly to a commissioner, and the commissioner has +returned to the agent everything which the agent had given to him, (and) +the agent dispute with the commissioner (concerning) anything which the +commissioner has repaid to him, that commissioner shall summon the agent +before God and the witnesses, and the agent, for having disputed (with) +his commissioner, anything which he has received he shall repay to the +commissioner sixfold. + +108. If a wine-woman has not accepted wheat as the price of drink, (but) +has accepted silver by the large stone, or has set the tariff of the drink +below the tariff of the wheat, they shall summon that wine-woman, and +shall throw her into the water. + +109. If a wine-woman, (when) riotous fellows are assembled at her house, +does not seize those riotous fellows and take them to the palace, that +wine-woman shall be killed. + +110. If a devotee who dwells not in a cloister open a wine-house, or enter +a wine-house for drink, that female they shall burn. + +111. If a wine-woman has given 60 _qa_ of second (?) quality drink, for +thirst, she shall take 50 _qa_ of corn at harvest-time. + +112. If a man is travelling,(198) and has given to (another) man silver, +gold, (precious) stones, and his other property(199) and has caused him to +take them for delivery, (and) that man has not delivered what he was to +transmit at the place to which he was to transmit (it), and has taken it +away, the owner of the consignment shall summon that man for anything +which he took and did not deliver, and that man shall give (back) to the +owner of the consignment fivefold anything which had been given to him. + +113. If a man have (an account of) wheat or silver against a man, and +without the owner of the wheat has taken wheat from the barn or the +depository, they shall summon that man, for having taking wheat, without +the owner of the wheat, from the barn or depository, and he shall return +the wheat, as much as he took, and he shall forfeit whatever it may be, as +much as he lent.(200) + +114. If a man have no (account of) wheat or silver against a man, and make +his distraint, for every distraint he shall pay one-third of a mana of +silver. + +115. If a man have (an account of) wheat or silver against a man, and make +his distraint, and the person distrained(201) die, by his fate, in the +house of the distrainer, that lawsuit has no claim. + +116. If the person distrained die in the house of the distrainer by blows +or by ill-treatment, the owner of the person distrained shall summon his +agent;(202) and if (the person distrained) was the son of the man, they +shall kill his (the distrainer's) son; if he was the servant (slave) of +the man, he shall pay one-third of a mana of silver; and he shall forfeit +whatever it may be, as much as he lent. + +117. If a man has contracted a debt, and has given his wife, his son, (or) +his daughter for the money, or has let (them) out for service, three years +they shall serve the house of their purchaser or master, in the fourth +year he shall grant their freedom. + +118. If he let out a male or female slave for service, (and) the agent +pass (them) on (and) give them for silver, there is no claim. + +119. If a man has contracted a debt, and has sold his female-slave who has +borne him children, the owner of the slave may (re)pay the silver which +the agent has paid, and redeem his slave. + +120. If a man has delivered his grain for storage in the house of a man, +and a deficiency appears in the granary, or the master of the house has +opened the storehouse and taken the grain, or he has disputed as to the +total of the grain which was delivered at his house, the owner of the +grain shall claim his grain before God, and the master of the house shall +cause the grain which he has taken to be made up, and shall give (it) to +the owner of the grain. + +121. If a man has delivered grain (for storage) at the house of a man, he +shall pay yearly 5 _qa_ of grain for every _gur_ (as) the price of the +storage. + +122. If a man give silver, gold, or anything else, to a man on deposit, he +shall show the witnesses everything, whatever he gives; he shall make +contracts, and (then) give (it) on deposit. + +123. If he has given it on deposit without witnesses and contracts, and +they dispute (this) to him where he gave it, that lawsuit has no claim. + +124. If a man has given silver, gold, or anything else, to a man, before +witnesses, on deposit, and (the man) dispute with him, he shall summon +that man, and whatever he has disputed, he shall make up and give (back). + +125. If a man has given his property on deposit, and where he gave (it), +his property disappeared, with the property of the owner of the house, +either through a breaking in or through a trespass, the master of the +house which was in fault shall compensate for his property which he gave +him on deposit and (which) was lost, and he shall make (it) up to the +owner of the property. The master of the house shall seek his lost +property, and take it from the thief. + +126. If a man, his property not being lost, say that his property is lost, +he shall bring forward his deficiency. As his property has not been lost, +he shall state his deficiency before God, and whatever he has claimed they +shall cause him to make up, and he shall give (it) to (make up) his +deficiency. + +127. If a man has caused the finger to be raised against a devotee or the +wife of a man, and has not justified it, they shall set that man before +the judges, and mark his forehead. + +128. If a man has taken a wife, and has not made her contract,(203) that +woman is not a wife. + +129. If the wife of a man is taken in adultery with another male, they +shall tie them together, and throw them into the water. If the owner of +the wife spare his wife, and the king spare his servant.... + +130. If a man force the wife of a man who has not yet known a male, and +(who) dwells in the house of her father, and has lain in her bosom, and +they have found him, that man shall be killed, the woman shall be allowed +to go. + +131. If the wife of a man has been accused by her husband,(204) and he has +not found her on the couch with another male, she shall swear by God,(205) +and return to her house. + +132. If, on account of another male, the finger has been pointed at the +wife of a man, and she has not been found with another male on the couch, +she shall plunge into the river for her husband('s sake). + +133. If a man has been made captive, and there is in his house the +wherewithal to eat, (and) his [wife] has [gone] forth [from] her [house], +[and afterwards?] has [en]tered into another house, [as] that woman has +not guarded her homestead, and has entered another house, they shall +summon that woman, and throw her into the water. + +134. If a man has been made captive, and there is not in the house the +wherewithal to eat, his wife may enter another house; that woman is not in +fault. + +135. If a man has been made captive, and there is not in his house the +wherewithal to eat,(206) (and) his wife has entered another house, and has +borne children, (and) afterwards her husband return, and reach his city, +that woman shall(207) return to her husband; the children shall go to +their father. + +136. If a man has abandoned his city and fled, (and) afterwards(208) his +wife has entered another house, if that man return, and (wish to) take his +wife, as he hated his city and fled, the wife of the deserter shall(209) +not return to her husband. + +137. If a man set his face to repudiate a concubine who has borne him +children, or a wife who has caused him to have children, he shall return +to that woman her (marriage) gift, and shall give to her the usufruct of +field, plantation, and goods, and she shall bring up her children. After +she has brought up her children, they shall give to her, from the property +which has been given to her children, (a share of) the produce like (that +of) one son, and she may marry the husband of her choice.(210) + +138. If a man (wish to) repudiate his spouse, who has not borne him +children, he shall give to her silver, as much as was her dower, and he +shall restore to her the wedding-gift which she brought from the house of +her father, and shall repudiate her. + +139. If there be no dower, he shall give her one mana of silver for the +repudiation. + +140. If (he be) a poor man, he shall give her one-third of a mana of +silver. + +141. If the wife of a man, who dwells in the house of the man, set her +face to go forth, commit foolishness (?), ruin her house, despise her +husband, they shall summon her, and if her husband say: "I have divorced +her," he shall let her go her way. (As for) her repudiation(-gift), +nothing shall be given to her. If her husband say: "I have not repudiated +her," her husband may marry(211) another woman; that woman shall dwell in +her husband's house like a servant. + +142. If a woman hate her husband, and say: "Thou shalt not possess me," +her reason for that which she lacks shall be examined, and if she has been +continent, and have no fault, and her husband go out, and neglect her +greatly, that woman has no defect; she shall take her wedding-gift, and +shall go to the house of her father. + +143. If she has not been continent, and has gone about, she has ruined her +house, (and) despised her husband; they shall throw that woman into the +water. + +144. If a man has married a wife, and that wife has given a maid-servant +to her husband, and she has had children, (if) that man set his face to +take a concubine, they shall not allow that man--he shall not take a +concubine. + +145. If a man has married a wife, and she has not caused him to have +children, and he set his face to take a concubine, that man may take a +concubine, (and) may introduce her into his house, (but) he shall not make +that concubine equal with (his) wife. + +146. If a man has married a wife, and she has given a maid-servant to her +husband, and (the maid-servant) has borne children, (if) afterwards that +maid-servant make herself equal with her mistress, as she has borne +children, her mistress shall not sell her for silver; she shall place a +mark(212) upon her, and count her with the maid-servants. + +147. If she has not borne children, her mistress may sell her for silver. + +148. If a man has married a wife, and a malady has seized her, (and) he +has set his face to marry a second, he may marry. He shall not divorce the +wife whom the malady has seized; she may stay in the house he has made, +and he shall support her as long as she lives. + +149. If that woman is not content to dwell in the house of her husband, he +shall deliver to her her marriage-gift, which she brought from the house +of her father, and she shall go her way. + +150. If a man has presented to his wife a field, a plantation, a house, +and property, (and) has left her a sealed tablet, after her husband('s +death) her sons shall make no claim against her. The mother may give her +property(213) to the son whom she loves,--to the brother she need not give. + +151. If a woman who dwells in the house of a man contract with her +husband, and cause (him) to deliver a tablet, so that a creditor(214) of +her husband may not seize her, if that man have interest of money against +him before he marries that woman, his creditor shall not seize his wife, +and if that woman have interest of money against her before she enter the +house of the man, her creditor shall not seize her husband. + +152. If interest accrue against them after that woman has entered the +house of the man, they shall both be responsible to the agent. + +153. If the wife of a man cause her husband to be killed on account of +another male, they shall impale that woman.(215) + +154. If a man has known his daughter, they shall expel that man from the +city. + +155. If a man has chosen a bride for his son, and his son has known her, +(and if) he (himself) then afterwards has lain in her bosom, and they have +found him, they shall bind that man, and cast her into the water.(216) + +156. If a man has chosen a bride for his son, and his son has not known +her, and he (himself) has lain in her bosom, he shall pay her half a mana +of silver, and shall restore to her whatever she brought from the house of +her father, and she shall marry the husband of her choice. + +157. If a man, after his father, has lain in the bosom of his mother, they +shall burn them both. + +158. If a man, after his father, be found in the bosom of her who brought +him up, (and) who has brought forth children, that man shall be turned out +of (his) father's house. + +159. If a man, who has brought to his father-in-law's house furniture(217) +(and) has given a dower, pay attention to another woman, and say to his +father-in-law: "I will not marry thy daughter," the father of the girl +shall take the property which has been brought to him. + +160. If a man has brought furniture to the house of his father-in-law, +(and) given a dower, and the father of the girl say: "I will not give thee +my daughter," the property, as much as has been brought to him, he shall +cause to be equal,(218) and shall return. + +161. If a man has brought furniture to the house of his father-in-law, +(and) given a dower, and his friend slander him, (and) his father-in-law +say to the husband of the wife:(219) "Thou shalt not marry my daughter," +he shall cause to be equal the property, as much as has been brought to +him, and return (it), and his friend shall not marry his wife. + +162. If a man has married a wife, (and) she has borne him children, and +that woman has gone to (her) fate, her father shall have no claim upon her +marriage-gift--her marriage-gift belongs to her sons. + +163. If a man has married a wife, and she has not caused him to have +children, (and) that woman has gone to (her) fate, if his father-in-law +has returned to him the dower which that man took to the house of his +father-in-law, her husband shall have no claim upon the marriage-gift of +that woman--her marriage-gift belongs to the house of her father. + +164. If his father-in-law has not returned to him the dower, he shall +deduct from her marriage-gift all her dower, and return (the balance of) +her marriage-gift to her father's house. + +165. If a man has presented to his son, who is foremost in his eyes, a +field, a plantation, and a house, (and) has written for him a tablet, +(and) afterwards the father has gone to (his) fate, when the brothers +share together, he shall take the gift which the father gave him, and they +shall share equally in the property of the house of the father besides. + +166. If a man has taken wives for the sons which he has had, (and) has not +taken a wife for his youngest son, (and) afterwards the father has gone to +(his) fate, when the brothers share together, they shall set aside the +money of a dower for their youngest brother, who has not taken a wife, +from the property of the father's house, besides his (lawful) share, and +shall cause him to take a wife. + +167. If a man has married a wife, and she has borne him sons, (and) that +woman has gone to (her) fate, (and) after her he has married another +woman, and she has brought forth sons, (and) afterwards the father has +gone to (his) fate, the sons shall not share according to the mothers. +They shall take the marriage-gifts of their mothers, and the property of +the father's house they shall share equally. + +168. If a man set his face to discard his son, he shall say to the judge: +"I discard my son;" the judge shall inquire into his reasons. If the son +has not committed a grave fault which cuts him off from sonhood, the +father shall not cut off his son from sonhood.(220) + +169. If he has committed against his father a grave fault which cuts him +off from sonhood, the first time (the father) shall refrain. If he has +committed a grave fault a second time, the father shall cut his son off +from the sonhood. + +170. If a man's wife has borne him children, and his maid-servant has +borne him children, (and) the father in his lifetime say to the children +whom the maid-servant has borne to him: "My children," he has reckoned +them with the children of the wife. After the father has gone to (his) +fate, the children of the wife and the children of the maid-servant shall +share in the property of the father's house equally; the son (who is) the +child of the wife shall choose and take at the sharing. + +171. And if the father, during his lifetime, has not said to the children +whom the maid-servant has borne to him: "My children," after the father +has gone to (his) fate, the children of the maid-servant shall not share +in the property of the father's house with the children of the wife. (If) +he has set free the maid-servant and her children, the children of the +wife shall not claim the children of the maid-servant for service. The +wife shall take her marriage-gift and the dowry which her husband gave her +(and) recorded upon a tablet, and she shall sit in the seat of her +husband; as long as she lives, she shall enjoy (them)--she shall not sell +them for money--they belong to her children after her. + +172. If her husband has not given her a dowry, they shall make up to her +her marriage-gift, and she shall take, from the property of her husband's +house, a share like (that of) one son. If her sons afflict her, to send +her forth from the house, the judge shall inquire into her reasons, and +(if) he set the fault upon the children, that woman shall not go forth +from her husband's house. If that woman set her face to go forth, she +shall leave to her children the dowry which her husband gave her. She +shall take the marriage-gift of her father's house, and the husband of her +choice shall marry her. + +173. If that woman, in the place where she has entered, has borne to her +second husband children, after that woman has died, the former and latter +children shall share her marriage-gift. + +174. If she has not borne children to her second husband, then the +children of her (first) spouse shall take her marriage-gift. + +175. If a slave of the palace or the slave of a poor man has married the +daughter of a (free) man, and has borne children, the owner of the slave +shall not make a claim upon the children of a (free) man's daughter for +servitude. + +176a. And if a slave of the palace or a slave of a poor man has married a +(free) man's daughter, and when he has married her, she has entered the +house of the slave of the palace or the slave of the poor man with a +wedding-gift from the house of her father, and after they have been +established, they have built a house and have property, (if) afterwards +the slave of the palace or the slave of the poor man has gone to (his) +fate, the daughter of the (free) man shall take her marriage-gift, and +they shall divide the property, which her husband and she had after they +were established, into two parts, and the owner of the slave shall take +half, (and) the daughter of the (free) man shall take half for her +children. + +176b. If the daughter of the (free) man had no marriage-gift, the property +which her husband and she possessed after they were established they shall +divide into two parts, and the master of the slave shall take half, the +daughter of the (free) man shall take half for her children. + +177. If a widow whose children are young set her face to enter another +house,(221) she shall not enter without the judge. When she enters another +house, the judge shall inquire concerning what remains of her first +husband's house, and they shall entrust the first husband's house to the +second husband and to that woman, and shall cause them to deliver a +tablet. They shall keep that house and bring up the young (children). They +shall not sell (any) utensil for silver. The buyer who buys a utensil of +the children of a widow shall forfeit his money; the property shall return +to its owner. + +178. If a devotee, or a public woman, to whom her father has presented a +gift, (and) has written for her a tablet, (and) on the tablet which he has +written for her has not written for her (concerning) the giving of what +she should leave to whomsoever she pleased, and has not let her follow the +desire of her heart, after the father has gone to (his) fate, her brothers +shall take her field and her plantation, and according to the amount of +her share shall give to her food, oil, and clothing, and shall satisfy her +heart. If her brothers have not given her food, oil, and clothing +according to the amount of her share, and have not satisfied her heart, +she may give her field and plantation to the farmer who may seem good to +her, and her farmer shall support her. Field, plantation, and property, +which her father gave her, she shall enjoy as long as she lives--she shall +not give (them) for silver, nor shall she be answerable (to) another +(therewith)--her share as daughter belongs to her brothers.(222) + +179. If a devotee or a public woman, to whom her father has presented a +gift, (and) has written for her a sealed tablet, (and) on the tablet which +he has written for her has written for her (concerning) the giving of what +she should leave to whomsoever she pleased, and has let her follow the +desire of her heart, after the father has gone to (his) fate, she shall +give what she leaves to whomsoever she pleases--her brothers have no claim +upon her. + +180. If a father has not presented a gift(223) to his daughter, who is a +recluse or a public woman, after the father has gone to (his) fate, she +shall take a share in the property of the father's house like a son, and +enjoy (it) as long as she lives. What she leaves belongs to her brothers. + +181. If a father has brought to a god a hierodule or a virgin, and has not +presented to her a gift,(224) after the father has gone to (his) fate, she +shall share in the property of the father's house a third (as) her +inheritance, and she shall enjoy (it) as long as she lives. What she +leaves belongs to her brothers. + +182. If a father has not presented a gift to his daughter, priestess of +Merodach of Babylon, (and) has not written for her a sealed tablet, after +the father has gone to (his) fate, she shall share, with her brothers, in +the property of the father's house a third part (as) her inheritance, and +she shall not carry on its administration. The priestess of Merodach may +give what she leaves to whomsoever she pleases. + +183. If a father has presented a marriage-gift to his concubine-daughter, +given her to a husband, (and) written for her a sealed tablet, after the +father has gone to (his) fate, she shall not share in the property of the +father's house.(225) + +184. If a man has not presented to his concubine-daughter a marriage-gift, +(and) has not given her to a husband, after the father has gone to (his) +fate, her brothers shall give her a wedding-gift according to the amount +(of the property) of the father's house, and shall give her to a husband. + +185. If a man has adopted(226) a child by its name,(227) and has brought +it up, that foster-child cannot be claimed back. + +186. If a man has adopted a child, and when he had adopted him, he +rebelled against his (foster-)father and his (foster-)mother, that +foster-child shall return to his father's house. + +187. The son of a favourite attending the palace, and the son of a public +woman, cannot be claimed back.(228) + +188. If an artizan(229) has taken a child to bring up,(230) and has taught +him his handicraft, he cannot be claimed back. + +189. If he has not taught him his handicraft, that foster-child(231) may +return to his father's house. + +190. If a man has not reckoned with his sons a young child which he has +adopted and brought up, that foster-child may return to the house of his +father. + +191. If a man who has adopted a child and brought him up, has built a +dwelling, (and) after he has children (of his own) set his face to cut off +the foster-child, that child shall not go his way. His foster-father shall +give him one-third of his property as his inheritance and (then) he shall +go. He shall give him nothing of the field, plantation, and house. + +192. If the son of a favourite or the son of a public woman say to his +foster-father and his foster-mother, "Thou art not my father, thou art not +my mother," they shall cut out his tongue.(232) + +193. If the child of a favourite or the child of a public woman come to +know his father's house, and despise his foster-father and his +foster-mother, and go to his father's house, they shall tear out his +eyes.(233) + +194. If a man has given his child to a nurse, and that child has died in +the hands of the nurse, and the nurse, without [his] father and his +mother, rear another child, they shall summon her, and as she has rear[ed] +another child without [his] father and mother, they shall cut off her +breasts. + +195. If a son smite his father, they shall cut off his hands. + +196. If a man has destroyed the eye of the son of a man, they shall +destroy his eye. + +197. If he has broken the limb of a man, they shall break his limb. + +198. If he has destroyed the eye of a poor man, or broken the limb of a +poor man, he shall pay one mana of silver. + +199. If he has destroyed the eye of a man's slave, or broken the limb of a +man's slave, he shall pay half his value.(234) + +200. If a man has knocked out the teeth of a man of his rank, they shall +knock out his teeth. + +201. If he has knocked out the teeth of a poor man, he shall pay one-third +of a mana of silver. + +202. If a man has struck the head(235) of a man who is greater than he, he +shall be struck in the assembly sixty times with an ox-hide whip. + +203. If the son of a man(236) has struck the head of the son of a man who +is like himself, he shall pay one mana of silver. + +204. If a poor man has struck the head of a poor man, he shall pay ten +shekels of silver. + +205. If the slave of a man has struck the head of the son of a man, they +shall cut off his ear. + +206. If a man has struck a man in a quarrel, and do him hurt, that man +shall swear: "I did not strike him knowingly," and he shall be responsible +for the physician. + +207. If he die of his blows, he shall swear (the same). If (it was) the +son of a man, he shall pay one-half a mana of silver. + +208. If it was the son of a poor man, he shall pay one-third of a mana of +silver. + +209. If a man has struck the daughter of a man, and caused what was within +her to fall from her, he shall pay ten shekels of silver for what was +within her. + +210. If that woman die, they shall kill his daughter. + +211. If by blows he has made what was within the daughter of a poor man to +fall from her, he shall pay five shekels of silver. + +212. If that woman die, he shall pay one-half a mana of silver. + +213. If he has struck a man's slave-woman and made that which was within +her fall from her, he shall pay two shekels of silver. + +214. If that slave-woman die, he shall pay one-third of a mana of silver. + +215. If a physician has treated a man for a grave injury with a bronze +lancet, and cured the man, or opened the cataract of a man with a bronze +lancet, and cured the eye of the man, he shall receive ten shekels of +silver. + +216. If it was the son of a poor man, he shall receive five shekels of +silver. + +217. If it was a man's slave, the owner of the slave shall pay to the +physician two shekels of silver. + +218. If a physician has treated a man for a grave injury with a bronze +lancet, and caused the man to die, or opened the cataract of a man with a +bronze lancet, and destroyed the eye of a man, they shall cut off his +hands. + +219. If a physician has treated a poor man's slave for a grave injury with +a bronze lancet, and has caused (him) to die, he shall make good slave for +slave.(237) + +220. If he has opened his cataract with a bronze lancet, and destroyed his +eye, he shall pay half his value in silver.(238) + +221. If a physician has made sound the broken limb of a man, or saved a +diseased part, the patient(239) shall pay to the physician five shekels of +silver. + +222. If it be the son of a poor man, he shall pay three shekels of silver. + +223. If it was a man's slave, the owner of the slave shall pay to the +physician two shekels of silver. + +224. If an ox-doctor or an ass-doctor has treated an ox or an ass for a +grave injury, and has saved (it), the owner of the ox or the ass shall pay +to the physician one-sixth (of a shekel) of silver (as) his hire. + +225. If he has treated the ox or the ass for a grave injury, and caused +(it) to die, he shall give to the owner of the ox or the ass a quarter of +its price. + +226. If a barber, without the (knowledge of the) owner of a slave, has +marked an inalienable slave with a mark, they shall cut off the hands of +that barber.(240) + +227. If a man has deceived a barber, and he has marked an inalienable +slave with a mark, they shall kill that man, and bury him in his house; +the barber shall swear: "I did not mark knowingly," and shall go free. + +228. If a builder has made a house for a man, and has finished it (well), +for a house of one _sar_, he shall give him two shekels of silver as his +pay. + +229. If a builder has made a house for a man, and has not done his work +strongly, and the house he has made has fallen down, and killed the owner +of the house, that builder shall be killed. + +230. If it cause the son of the owner of the house to die, they shall kill +the son of that builder. + +231. If it cause the slave of the owner of the house to die, he shall give +to the owner of the house a slave like (his) slave. + +232. If it has destroyed the property, whatever it has destroyed, he shall +make good. And as he did not make strong the house he constructed, and it +fell, from his own property he shall rebuild the house which fell. + +233. If a builder has made a house for a man, and has not caused his work +to be firm, and the wall has fallen over, that builder shall strengthen +that wall with his own money. + +234. If a boatman has calked a vessel of 60 _gur_ (burthen) for a man, he +shall give him two shekels of silver as his pay. + +235. If a boatman has calked a vessel for a man, and has not perfected his +work, and in that (same) year that vessel sail, (if) it have a defect, the +boatman shall alter that vessel, and repair (it) with his own capital, and +give the repaired vessel to the owner of the vessel.(241) + +236. If a man has given his vessel to a boatman for hire, and the boatman +has been neglectful, and sunk or lost the vessel, the boatman shall +replace the vessel to the owner of the vessel. + +237. If a man has hired a boatman and a vessel, and has freighted it with +wheat, wool, oil, dates, and any other kind of freight; (if) that boatman +be neglectful, and sink the vessel, and lose what is within (it), the +boatman shall replace the vessel which he has sunk, and whatever he lost, +which was within it. + +238. If a boatman has sunk a man's vessel, and refloated it, he shall pay +half its value(242) in silver. + +239. If a man [has hired] a boatman, he shall give him 6 _gur_ of wheat +yearly. + +240. If a down-stream vessel collide with an up-stream vessel, and sink +(it), the owner of the sunken vessel shall declare before God whatever has +been lost in his vessel, and (he) of the down-stream vessel which sank the +up-stream vessel shall replace for him his vessel and whatever was lost. + +241. If a man has driven the ox (of another) to work, he shall pay +one-third of a mana of silver. + +242 and 243. If a man has hired for a year, (as) hire of a draught-ox he +shall pay to its owner 4 _gur_ of wheat. (As) hire of a carrier(?)-ox, 3 +_gur_ of wheat. + +244. If a man has hired an ox (or) an ass, and a lion kill it in the +field, (the loss) is its owner's. + +245. If a man has hired an ox, and cause it to die by negligence or by +blows, to the ox's owner he shall make up ox for ox.(243) + +246. If a man has hired an ox, and has broken its foot or cut its +nape,(244) to the ox's owner he shall make up ox for ox. + +247. If a man has hired an ox, and has poked out its eye, he shall pay to +the ox's owner half its value in silver. + +248. If a man has hired an ox, and has broken its horn, cut off its tail, +or pierced(245) its nostril, he shall pay a quarter of its value in +silver. + +249. If a man has hired an ox, and God has stricken it and it has died, +the man who hired the ox shall swear by God,(246) and shall go free. + +250. If a mad bull, in its onset, has gored a man, and caused (him) to +die, that case has no claim.(247) + +251. If a man's ox--goring for goring--has made known to him its vice,(248) +and he has not sawn off its horns, (if) he has not shut up his ox, and +that ox has gored the son of a man, and caused him to die, he shall pay +half a mana of silver. + +252. [If] it be a man's servant, he shall give one-third of a mana of +silver. + +253. If a man has hired a man to stay upon his field, and [ha]nded to him +the produce (?), confided to him the oxen, [and] contracted with him [to] +cultivate the field, if that man has stolen the wheat or the vegetables, +and it is found in his hands, they shall cut off his hands. + +254. If he has taken away the produce and deprived(249) the oxen, he shall +replace the amount of the wheat which he has wasted (?). + +255. If he has let out(250) the oxen of a man for hire, or stolen the +wheat, and not made (it) to grow in the field, they shall summon that man, +and for every 10 _bur-gan_ he shall measure 60 _gur_ of wheat. + +256. If his borough cannot respond for him, they shall leave him in that +field with the oxen. + +257. If a man has hired a field-labourer, he shall give him 8 _gur_ of +wheat yearly. + +258. If a man has hired an ox-herd (?), he shall give him 6 _gur_ of wheat +yearly. + +259. If a man has stolen a watering-machine from the enclosure, he shall +give to the owner of the watering-machine five shekels of silver. + +260. If he has stolen a shadoof or a plough, he shall give three shekels +of silver. + +261. If a man has hired a herdsman to pasture oxen and sheep, he shall +give him 8 _gur_ of wheat yearly. + +262. If a man an ox or sheep for.... + +263. ... If he has lost [an ox] or a sheep which has been given to [him], +he shall restore to [their] owner, ox for [ox], sheep for [sheep]. + +264. If a [herdsman], to whom oxen or sheep have been given to pasture, +has received his wages, everything (?) as agreed (?), and is +satisfied,(251) has reduced the oxen, (or) reduced the sheep, (or) +lessened (their) young, he shall give (back) young and increase according +to his contracts. + +265. If a herdsman, to whom oxen and sheep have been given to pasture, has +acted wrongly, and changed the natural increase,(252) and has given (it) +for silver, they shall summon him, and ten times what he has stolen, oxen +and sheep, he shall make good to their owner. + +266. If in the fold an act of God has taken place, or a lion has killed, +the herdsman shall declare his innocence before God, and the owner of the +fold shall meet the destruction of the fold. + +267. If the herdsman has been in fault, and has caused damage in the fold, +the herdsman shall make up the loss caused by(253) the damage which he has +brought about in the fold, (both) oxen and sheep, and shall give (them) to +their owner. + +268. If a man has hired an ox for treading out (the corn), 20 _qa_ of +wheat is his hire. + +269. If he has hired an ass for treading out (the corn), 10 _qa_ of wheat +is his hire. + +270. If he has hired a young animal for treading out (the corn), 1 _qa_ of +wheat is his hire. + +271. If a man has hired oxen, a cart, and its driver, he shall give 180 +_qa_ of wheat daily. + +272. If a man has hired the cart by itself, he shall give 40 _qa_ of wheat +daily. + +273. If a man has hired a workman, from the beginning of the year to the +fifth month he shall give six grains(254) of silver daily; from the sixth +month to the end of the year, he shall give five grains of silver daily. + +274. If a man hire an artizan, (as) wages of a ... five [grains] of +silver; (as) wages of a brickmaker (?)(255) five grains of silver; (as) +wages of a linen-weaver(256) five grains of silver; (as) wages of a +stone-worker(?)(257) ... grains of silver; (as) wages of a milkman (?) ... +[grains] of silver; (as) [wages] of a ... ... [grains] of silver; (as) +[wages] of a carpenter four grains of silver; (as) wages of a ... four +grains of silver; (as) [wages] of a house-superintendent (?) ... grains of +silver; (as) [wages] of a builder (?), ... grains of silver. [dai]ly [he +shall g]ive. + +275. [If] a man has hired a small boat (?), three grains of silver is its +hire daily. + +276. If he has hired a down-stream (vessel), he shall give two grains and +a half of silver (as) its hire daily. + +277. If a man has hired a vessel of 60 _gur_, he shall give one-sixth (of +a shekel) of silver daily (as) its hire. + +278. If a man has bought a male or female slave, and before he has +fulfilled his month an infirmity has fallen upon him, he shall return him +to his seller, and the buyer shall receive back the silver he has paid. + +279. If a man has bought a male or female slave, and he is liable to be +reclaimed,(258) his seller shall respond to the claim.(259) + +280. If a man, in a foreign country, has bought a male (or) female slave +of a man, (and) when they have arrived in the midst of the land, a +(former) owner of the male or female slave recognize his male or female +slave, if their male and female slave are children of the land, he shall +set them free without payment.(260) + +281. If they are children of another land, the buyer shall declare before +God the money(261) he has paid, and the (former) owner of the male or +female slave shall give to the agent the money he has paid, and shall +recover his male or female slave. + +282. If a slave has said to his master: "Thou art not my master," he shall +summon him as his slave, and his master shall cut off his ear. + +Decrees of equity, which Hammurabi, the able king, has established, and +has procured (for) the country lasting security and a happy rule. +Hammurabi, the accomplished king, am I. For the head-dark (ones),(262) +whom Bel assigned, (and whose) shepherding Merodach has given, I have not +been neglectful, I have not relaxed--peaceful localities have I found for +them,(263) I have opened the narrow defiles, light have I caused to go +forth to them. With the powerful weapon which Zagaga and Istar have +conferred upon me, with the acuteness which Ae has bestowed, with the +might which Merodach has bestowed, I have rooted out the enemy above and +below.(264) I have dominated the depths,(265) I have made happy the flesh +of the land, the people of the dwellings (therein) have I caused to lie +down in security--fear caused I not to possess them. The great gods have +elected(266) me, and I am the shepherd giving peace, whose sceptre is +just, setting up my good shadow in my city. I have pressed the people of +the land of Sumer and Akkad in my bosom; by my protective spirit +fraternally (?) have I guided them in peace; in my wisdom have I protected +them. For the strong not to oppress the weak, to direct the fatherless +(and) the widow, I have raised its(267) head in Babylon, the city of God +and Bel. In E-sagila, the house whose foundations are firm like heaven and +earth, I have written on my monument my most precious words to judge the +justice of the land, to decide the decisions of the land, to direct the +ignorant; and I have placed (them) before my image as king of +righteousness. + +The king who is great among the city-king(s) am I; my words are renowned, +my power has no equal; by the command of Samas, the great judge of heaven +and earth, may righteousness have power in the land;(268) by the word of +Merodach, my lord, may my bas-reliefs not have a destroyer; in E-sagila, +which I love, may my name be commemorated in happiness for ever. The +ignorant man, who has a complaint,(269) let him come before my image (as) +king of righteousness, and let him read my inscribed monument and let him +hear my precious words, and my monument explain to him the matter. Let him +see his judgment, let his heart expand, (saying): "Hammurabi is a lord who +is like a father, a parent to the people; he has caused the word of +Merodach, his lord, to be reverenced, and has gained the victory for +Merodach above and below. He has rejoiced the heart of Merodach, his lord, +and fixed for the people happiness(270) for ever, and (well) has he +governed the land." Let him pronounce (it) aloud, and with his heart +perfect, let him pray before Merodach, my lord, (and) Zerpanitum, my lady. +May the winged bull, (and) the protecting spirit, the gods of the entrance +of E-sagila, (and) the wall of E-sagila, daily further (his) desires(271) +in the presence of Merodach, my lord, and Zerpanitum, my lady. + +For the future, the course(272) of days for all time: May the king who is +in the land protect the words of righteousness which I have written on my +monument. Let him not change the law of the land which I have adjudged, +the decisions of the country which I have decided; let him not cause my +bas-relief to be destroyed. If that man have intelligence, and wish to +govern his country well, let him pay attention to the words which I have +written on my monument, and may this monument show him the path, the +direction, the law of the land which I have pronounced, the decisions of +the land which I have decided. And let him rule his people,(273) let him +pronounce justice for them, let him decide their decision. Let him remove +the evil and the wicked from his land, let him rejoice the flesh of his +people. + +Hammurabi, the king of righteousness, to whom Samas has given (these) +enactments,(274) am I. My words are noble, my works have no equal--they +have brought forth the proud (?) to humility (?) the humble (?) to wisdom +(?) (and) to renown. If that man(275) is attentive to my words, which I +have written on my monument, and set not aside my law, change not my word, +alter not my bas-relief--that man like me, the king of righteousness, may +the god Samas make his sceptre to endure, may he guide his people in +righteousness. If that man regard not my words, which I have written on my +monument, and despise my curse, and fear not the curse of God, and do away +the law which I have ordained--(if) he change my word, alter my bas-relief, +destroy my written name, and write his (own) name, (or) on account of +these curses cause another to do so,(276) that man, whether king, or lord, +or viceroy, or personage who has been elected,(277) may the great God, the +father of the gods, proclaimer of my reign, take back from him the glory +of my kingdom, break his sceptre, curse his destiny. May Bel, the lord who +determines the destinies, whose command is unchangeable, he who has +magnified my kingdom, rouse against him revolts which his hand cannot +suppress, causing (?) his destruction upon his seat.(278) A reign of +sighing, days (but) few, years of want, darkness without light, death the +vision of (his) eyes, may they set for him as (his) destiny. May he decree +with his grave lips the destruction of his city, the dispersion of his +people, the taking away of his royalty, the annihilation of his name and +his record in the land. May Beltis, the great mother whose command is +supreme(279) in E-kura, the lady who makes my thoughts propitious, instead +of judgment and decision, make his word evil before Bel, may she +accomplish the ruin of his country, the loss of his people, the pouring +out of his life like water by the command of Bel the king. May Ae, the +great prince, whose decisions have the precedence,(280) the sage of the +gods, he who knows everything, who lengthens the days of my life, take +back from him understanding(281) and wisdom, bring him back into +forgetfulness.(282) May he dam up his rivers at (their) sources, (and) +cause grain, the life of the people, not to exist in his land. May Samas, +the great judge of heaven and earth, he who rules living things, the lord +my trust, destroy his dominion; may he not pronounce his judgment, may he +confuse his path, may he annihilate the course of his army. May he place +for him, in his oracles,(283) an evil design to snatch away the foundation +of his dominion and to destroy his country. May Samas's word of misfortune +speedily attack him; may he snatch him from the living on high, beneath in +the earth may he deprive his spirit(284) of water. May Sin, lord of the +heavens, the god my creator, whose brightness(285) shines resplendent +among the gods, withdraw from him crown and throne of dominion. May he fix +upon him a grave misdeed, his great fault, which will not disappear from +his body, and may he cause the days, the months, the years of his reign to +end in sighing and tears. May he increase for him the burthen of his +dominion, may he fix for him as (his) fate a life which is comparable(286) +with death. May Hadad, lord of fertility, dominator of heaven and earth, +my helper, withhold from him the rains in the heavens, the flood in the +springs. May he destroy his country with want and famine, may he angrily +rage over his city, and turn his country to mounds of the flood.(287) May +Zagaga, the great warrior, the eldest son of (the temple) E-kura, he who +goes at my right hand, break his weapons on the battle-field. May he turn +for him day into night, and may he set his enemy over him. May Istar, lady +of war and battle, who lets loose my weapons, my propitious genius, lover +of my reign, in her angry heart, in her great wrath, curse his dominion, +his favours into evils may she turn, may she turn.(288) In the place of +war and battles may she break his weapons, may she make for him confusion +and revolt, may she cast down his warriors, may she cause the earth to +drink their blood, may she cast down in the plain a heap of corpses of his +warriors, may she not cause his soldiers to have [burial?]. As for him, +may she deliver him into the hand of his enemy, and bring him as a captive +to the land which is hostile to him. May Nergal, the strong one among the +gods, unrivalled battle,(289) he who causes me to attain my victory, in +his great might burn(290) his people like a tiny bundle of reeds. With his +strong weapon may he subjugate him, and may he crush his members like an +image of clay. May Nintu, the supreme lady of the lands, the mother my +creator, withhold from him his son, and cause him to have no name, in the +midst of his people may she not produce a human seed. May Nin-Karrak, +daughter of Anu, she who announces my happiness, let forth from E-kura +upon his members a grave sickness, an evil pestilence, a grievous injury, +which they cannot cure, whose nature the physician does not know, which he +cannot ease with a bandage, (and which), like the bite of death, cannot be +removed. Until she take possession of his life, may he groan for his +manliness.(291) + +May the great gods of heaven and earth, the Anunna(292) in their assembly, +the divine bull of the house,(293) the bricks of E-babbara,(294) curse +that (man), his reign, his country, his army, his people, and his nation, +with a deadly curse--with powerful curses may Bel, by his word which cannot +be changed, curse him, and speedily may they overtake him. + + ------------------------------------- + +These laws, as being the oldest known, have attracted considerable +attention, and much has been said concerning their connection with the +Mosaic Code. Whatever connection there may be between them, however, it +must be kept well in mind, that they have been formulated and compiled +from totally different standpoints. Notwithstanding the references in the +Code of Hammurabi to religious things, there is no doubt that the laws +given therein are purely civil, and compiled either by the king as +temporal ruler of the land, or by his advisers, or by the judges who +"decided the decisions of the land." Charitable enactments were therefore +as far from the intention of the compilers of the Babylonian code as such +things are from the intention of the legislation of this or any other +modern civilized community or nationality. The Law of Moses, on the other +hand, has long been recognized as a Priestly Code, into which all kinds of +provisions for the poor, the fatherless, the necessitous, were likely to +enter, and have, in fact, entered. From this point of view, Moses' code is +immeasurably superior to that of the Babylonian law-giver, and can hardly, +on that account, be compared with it. + +From existing duplicates of this inscription, we know that it bore a title +which, in accordance with the usual custom in ancient times, was taken +from the first few words of the inscription, in this case _Ninu ilu +sirum_, "When the supreme God." In the Ninevite duplicate in the British +Museum, however, a kind of title in the modern sense of the word is given, +namely, _Dinani Hammurabi_, "The Laws of Hammurabi," the first word being +from the common Semitic root which appears, in Semitic Babylonian, under +the form of _danu_, "to judge." As far as our information goes, it would +seem that, whilst the Hebrew _torah_ was both judicial, ceremonial, and +moral, the Babylonian _dinu_ was judicial only. Ceremonial enactments are +entirely foreign to it, and morality, in the modern sense of the word, +though represented, does not hold a very high place, though it must not be +forgotten that five columns of the text are wanting. + +That there should be, therefore, but few parallels between the Codes of +Moses and of Hammurabi was to be expected, though naturally likenesses and +parallelisms are to be found, the Hebrews being practically of the same +stock as the Babylonians, and also, as has been shown, under the influence +of the same civilization. It will be noticed, in reading through the code, +that not only are there no laws against sorcery, worshipping other than +the national god or gods, and prostitution, but there are actually +enactments referring to the first and the last, showing that they were +recognized. Moral, religious, ceremonial, and philanthropic enactments +are, in fact, entirely absent. + +3-4. With the enactments concerning false witness, cp. Ex. xx. 16; Deut. +v. 20, etc. More especially, however, are the directions in Deut. xix. 16 +ff. noteworthy. Here the direction is, to do to the false witness "as he +had thought to do to his brother." In this case, too, the logical penalty +would be death, in a matter involving the life of a man. + +7 (liability to be regarded as a thief on account of the purchase or +receiving of things without witnesses or a contract) is to a certain +extent paralleled by Lev. vi. 2 ff., where, however, the penalty for +wrongful possession is not death, but the restoration of the object +detained, with a fifth part of the value added thereto. + +8 (theft of live-stock) is illustrated by Ex. xxii. 1, where it is ordered +that the thief restore five oxen for a stolen ox, and four sheep for a +stolen sheep. All laws dealing with theft seem to have been more severe +among the Babylonians than among the Hebrews, and inability to make the +object good, with the penalties attached thereto, was visited with death +(6-11, 14, 15, etc.). + +14. This enactment is exactly parallel with Ex. xxi. 16: "He that stealeth +a man ... shall surely be put to death." + +21 (housebreaking). Ex. xxii. 2-4, justifies the killing of a burglar +caught in the act before sunrise, but not otherwise. + +57. In the case of unlawful pasturing, it is probable that Ex. xxii. 5 may +furnish the key to the obscurities of this Babylonian enactment. According +to the Mosaic law, the owner of the cattle had to make the damage good +with the best of his field or vineyard. To ensure getting the best, and +his due share, the most satisfactory way would be to reap the offender's +field, if he had one. + +110. The opening (seemingly in the English sense) of a wine-house by a +temple-devotee, or her merely entering such a place, was in all +probability equivalent to prostituting herself, and if so, this law may be +compared with Lev. xxi. 9, in which the daughter of a priest, if she +profaned herself (and her father) by playing the whore, was to be put to +death by burning. + +117. As is shown by the preceding enactments, the person of a man might be +seized for debt, but this shows that he might allow his wife, his son, or +his daughter to be taken to work it off, and in that case they were to be +set free in the fourth year. In Hebrew law (Ex. xxi. 2) an ordinary +purchased slave was free after six years' service, but if a man sold his +daughter (v. 7), she did not "go out as the men-servants do."(295) + +125. The theft of things on deposit entailed only restitution if the +person with whom they were deposited were not in fault. In Ex. xxii. 7-9 +the person condemned had to pay or restore double the value of the things +stolen. + +129. In this law the conditional clause at the end is incomplete, but it +may be supposed that liberty was accorded therein to the king and to the +injured husband to exercise mercy, and commute the death-penalty in any +way they thought fit, attaching thereto any other penalty which might seem +good to them. According to Lev. xx. 10, the adulterer and the adulteress +were to be put to death, but in what manner is not stated. To all +appearance no mercy was given. + +130. As this is a case of a married woman living in her father's house, +Ex. xxii. 16 is not an exact parallel. The woman being unbetrothed, the +man who had violated her had to endow and marry her. + +155. Incest of the nature referred to here is practically a complete +parallel with Lev. xx. 12, where, however, the nature of the death-penalty +is not stated. If the correction of the code of Hammurabi suggested in the +footnote ("they shall bind that man, and cast _him_ into the water") be +the true one, the man would seem to have been regarded as the chief +sinner, and the woman was probably left to be dealt with by the son's +family. The mere binding of the man, as in the text, would be no adequate +punishment, and the correction: "They shall bind _them_, and cast _them_ +into the water," pre-supposes a very serious mistake on the part of the +scribe. + +157. This is a parallel with Lev. xviii. 8, and xx. 11, and the penalty is +death in both codes. The word "mother" in the Babylonian Code probably +includes "step-mother" as well. + +195. This is parallel with Ex. xxi. 15, where, however, the smiting of the +mother is included, and the more severe penalty of death is prescribed, +instead of merely cutting off the offending members as a punishment. + +196, 197, 200, 210. These illustrate the dictum: "An eye for an eye, and a +tooth for tooth" (Ex. xxi. 24, 25; Lev. xxiv. 20; Deut. xix. 21; Matt. v. +38). They were naturally the common punishments of the period when the +penalty of imprisonment could not be imposed. + +199. The destruction of the eye of a man's slave, or the fracture of his +limb, was apparently held to entail the diminution of his value by +one-half, which the person who inflicted the injury had to pay. Nothing is +said, however, concerning injury to a slave by his master, and this law, +therefore, has no parallel in the Mosaic ordinance given in Ex. xxi. 26, +27, where the master is spoken of as the possible aggressor, and had to +set his slave free on account of the injury he had received.(296) + +206. The law regarding injuries inflicted upon a man in a quarrel is +parallel with Ex. xxi. 18, 19, except that the latter decrees that the +person inflicting the injury, in addition to causing the injured man to be +completely healed, has also to pay for his loss of time. On the other +hand, it is noteworthy that, in the Code of Hammurabi, he who committed +the injury had to swear that he did not do it knowingly--that is, with the +intention of injuring the man, otherwise he probably came under the law of +retaliation, Nos. 196, 197, and 200. + +209. This is parallel with Ex. xxi. 22, but whereas the penalty for the +injury to the woman was fixed at ten shekels of silver, the law of Moses +allowed the husband to estimate the compensation, which was certified and +probably revised by the judges. + +210. It was not only "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," but +also "a daughter for a daughter," even when a mortal injury may not have +been intended. This is practically the same as Ex. xxi. 23: "And if any +mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life." + +241. As this law stands, it refers to the unlawful working of another +man's ox, and not to an ox taken in pledge, for the working of which there +could be no remedy, any more than there was for taking a man's wife, +child, or slave, in pledge to work out a debt. + +244 (loss of an animal through attack by a wild beast). Compare Ex. xxii. +13: "If it (an animal delivered into the care of another) be torn in +pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that +which was torn." Apparently there was no obligation to place the animal in +a safe place. Cf. Gen. xxxi. 39 (Jacob's reproof to Laban): "That which +was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it." + +245 ff. These are to a certain extent illustrated by Ex. xxii. 14, 15, in +which passage, if the owner of the injured animal was not present, the +borrower had to make good any loss. If, however, the owner was there to +protect it, there was no penalty, as he could in all probability have +prevented the injury from being inflicted, and in any case might be +supposed to have control over the animal. + +250. The owner of a furious bull was protected from loss, even though the +result was fatal, if he did not know that the animal was vicious. In Ex. +xxi. 28, though the owner of the offending ox was to go free, the animal +itself was to be stoned to death, and its flesh not eaten. There is no +doubt that this was hard on the owner, but it must have had an excellent +effect, and ensured the proper enclosing of all doubtful animals. + +251. Even when the master knew that his ox was vicious, the Babylonians +were more lenient than the Hebrews, who, in such a case, besides the +destruction of the ox, decreed the death of the owner as a punishment for +his negligence (Ex. xxi. 29). As will be seen from verse 30, however, he +might be spared by paying such ransom as might be imposed upon him. + +252. One-third of a mana of silver is equivalent to 20 shekels, so that +the sum here indicated as compensation for the death of a slave who has +been gored by a bull differs from that awarded in Ex. xxi. 32, by ten +shekels--one-sixth of a mana more. + +266. This is in part covered by 244 (destruction of cattle by a lion), and +is parallel with Ex. xxii. 10, 11, where, also, an oath had to be sworn +between the parties, and the herdsman in whose care the cattle were, went +free of all obligation. The accident causing the loss, however, is not +there described as "an act of God." + +267. The wording of this law clearly indicates that it would apply if the +herdsman were in fault, and suggests that the same condition must be read +into Ex. xxii. 12, where, if the cattle were stolen from him, he had to +make the loss good. + +Besides the enactments in the Code of Moses, however, we find, in the +interesting and important monument translated above, and in the legal +documents of the period to which it belongs, noteworthy parallels to other +parts of the Old Testament. Reference has already been made (pp. 174, 175, +and 185, 186) to the contracts of the period of Hammurabi's dynasty which +illustrate the matter of Sarah giving Hagar to Abraham because she herself +was childless (Gen. xvi. 1, 2). That this was the custom in Babylonia is +now confirmed by law 144, which also furnishes the reason why it was the +wife who chose her partner in the husband's affections. It was because the +first wife preferred to choose herself the woman who was to replace her, +and in doing this, she chose one who would be her subordinate, not one who +might become a really serious rival. A parallel case is that of Bilhah +(Gen. xxx. 4). Hagar's despising her mistress (Gen. xvi. 4) is illustrated +by law No. 146, which allows the mistress to reduce her to the position of +a slave again, which was agreed to by the patriarch, the result being that +Hagar fled (v. 6). + +The determination to have the possession of the cave of Machpelah placed +upon a thoroughly legal footing (Gen. xxiii. 14-20) may, perhaps, be +illustrated by law No. 7, though there is not much parallelism between the +two instances, a field with a cave and trees being a difficult thing to +steal. There is hardly any doubt, however, that the patriarch desired that +no accusation should be brought against him or his descendants for +unlawfully using it, as is suggested by the fact that when Ephron offered +to give it, he said that he did so "in the presence of the sons of my +people" only, but when the transaction was completed as Abraham wished, it +was done not only in the presence of the children of Heth, but before all +who went in at the gate of his city (Gen. xxiii. 18), and naturally +included strangers as well. + +Abraham's seeking a wife for his son (Gen. xxiv. 4) is in conformity with +laws 155, 156, and 166; gifts are given (Gen. xxiv. 53 and laws No. 159, +160, etc.); seemingly the father-in-law retained the presents given by his +son-in-law, if he could get possession of them (Gen. xxxi. 15 and laws +159-161), and these belonged to the wife (wives) and the children (xxxi. +16 and laws 162, 167, 171, ff.). + +Whether the theft of her father's teraphim by Rachel (Gen. xxxi. 19) could +be construed as sacrilege or not is doubtful, but this may well have been +the penalty thought of by Jacob when Laban accused some of his household +of theft (Gen. xxxi. 32 and law No. 6), though theft, if there were no +restitution, was in Babylonian law always punishable with death. + +The punishment of death by burning, which Judah decreed for his +daughter-in-law Tamar (Gen. xxxviii. 24), is parallel with that meted out +to a devotee opening or entering a wine-house (probably a place of +ill-repute), but the parallel ends there--there is no law in the code of +Hammurabi, as at present preserved, decreeing death by burning for a widow +who became a harlot. + +Theft from a palace (law No. 6) is parallel with Gen. xliv. 9, where the +sons of Jacob admit the justice of a death-penalty if Joseph's cup were +found in the possession of any of them. Whether the purchase of the +Egyptians and their land for bread by Joseph had any analogy in Western +Asia or not, is uncertain, though law No. 115, as well as those which +precede it, refer to something similar, but in these cases the servitude +was terminable, which does not appear from Gen. xlvii. 19 ff. Thereafter +the Egyptian ruler took from these farmer-thralls a fifth part of the +produce, which compares well with the half or third exacted by the owner +of a field in Babylonia from the hirer (law 46). Finally, the clauses of +the laws of Hammurabi referring to adoption (No. 185) might be quoted in +illustration of the adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh by their grandfather +Jacob (Gen. xlviii. 5), especially when read in connection with the +inscriptions translated on pp. 176 and 177, where the sharing of the +adopted son "like a son" is expressly referred to. + +In the New Testament, Gal. iv. 30: "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, +for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the +freewoman," finds illustration in law 171 of Hammurabi's code, and the +parable of the talents (Matt. xxv. 14 ff.) reminds one of the agent +sending forth commissioners to get gain for him by trafficking, as in laws +100-102. 103-107 do not bear directly upon this parallel, but are worth +noting in connection with it. + +It will be long ere all that can be said about this noteworthy inscription +finds expression. There is much needing comment, and much to study +therein, and the precise rendering of many a word has still to be found +out. + + + +Babylon And The Bible. + + +A great deal has been written concerning the two lectures which the +renowned Assyriologist, Friedrich Delitzsch, delivered some time ago +before the German Emperor, under the title of _Babel und Bibel_. These +lectures have now been published, and from their style and contents, one +can easily judge how great was the interest which they aroused. Those who +were privileged to hear them must have enjoyed a true archaeological feast, +all the more exquisite in that the subject was that which throws more +light upon the Old Testament than any other known. + +His lectures deal, for the most part, with the things which are touched +upon at greater length in this book--the early records of Babylonia and +Assyria, the history, the literature, the arts, and the sciences of those +countries, and of the great cities of which they were so proud. Beginning +with "the great mercantile firm of Murasu and Sons in the time of +Artaxerxes," about 450 B.C., and the Hebrew names found therein, he speaks +of Ur of the Chaldees, Carchemish, Sargon of Agade, Hammurabi, the Bronze +Gates of Shalmaneser II., Sargon of Assyria, Sennacherib, Assurbanipal +(Assur-bani-apli or Sardanapalus), the Laws of Hammurabi (translated in +full in this volume), the processions of gods,(297) the blessing of +Aaron,(298) the advanced civilization of Babylonia 2250 years B.C., and +many other things. To touch upon all his points would be to repeat much +that has been treated of in this book, and that being the case, all the +most important of them are referred to in the following pages under +special headings:-- + + +Canaan. + + +That he is right in calling Canaan at the time of the Exodus "A domain of +Babylonian culture" is indicated by the testimony of the Tel-el-Amarna +tablets, and is fully shown in the present work, Chapters V.-VII. In the +notes appended to the first lecture he refers to the fact that there +existed, in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, a town called Bit (or Beth) +Ninip, after the Babylonian god--"even though there may not have been in +Jerusalem itself a _bit Ninip_, a temple of the god Ninip." + + +The Sabbath. + + +In the present work, the Sabbath is referred to on pl. II., where +photographs of two fragments (duplicates) explaining the word are given. +Prof. Delitzsch calls attention, in the notes to his first lecture, to +this text, together with the British Museum syllabary 82-9-18, 4159, col. +I., l. 24, where _ud_ (weakened to _u_), meaning "day," is explained by +_sabattum_, "Sabbath," as "_the_ day" _par excellence_, and from other +passages he reasons that the old rendering of the word as "day of rest," +_um nuh libbi_, "day of rest of the heart"--cf. pl. II.--is the correct one. + +The following list of Sumerian and Babylonian days of the month will serve +to show exactly how the matter stands:-- + +Sumerian. Semitic Translation. + Babylonian. +U umu day. +U-mas-am [misil] umu half a day. +U-gi-kam [umu] kal first day (Sum.), + the whole day + (Sem.). +U-mina-kam si-na [umu] second day. +U-esi-kam sela[stu umu] third day. +U-lama-kam irbit fourth (day). +U-ia-kam hamil[tu] fifth (day). +U-asa-kam ses[situ] sixth (day). +U-imina-kam sib[itu] seventh (day). +U-ussa-kam saman[atu] eighth (day). +U-ilima-kam tilti do. ninth day. +U-hu-kam esirti do. tenth day. +U-huia-kam sapatti fifteenth day + (Sum.), Sabbath + (Sem.). +U-mana-gi-lal-kam ibbu twentieth day less + 1 (Sum.), the + wrathful (Sem.). +U-mana-kam esru twentieth day. +U-mana-ia-kam arhu bat[tu] twenty-fifth day + (Sum.), festival + month (Sem.). +U-esa-kam selasa thirtieth day. +U-na-am bubbulum rest-day (Sum.), + (day of) desire + (Sem.). +U-hul-gala u-hulgallum evil day. +U-hul-gala umu lim[nu] evil day. +U-su-tua umu rimku libation-day. +U-elene umu teliltum purification-day. + +From the above it will be seen, that the _sapattum_ or Sabbath was the +15th day of the month, and that only. That it was a day of rest, is shown +by the etymology, the word being derived from the Sumerian _sa-bat_, +"heart-rest," which probably has, therefore, no connection with the +Semitic root _sabatu_, which, as far as at present known, is a synonym of +_gamaru_, "to complete." It was the day of rest of the heart, but being +the 15th, it was also the day when the moon reached the full in the heart +or middle of the month, and its name may, therefore, contain a play upon +the two ideas which the word _libbu_ contains. In accordance with the +general rule, the consonants of words borrowed from the Sumerian were +often sharpened when transferred to Semitic Babylonian, hence the form +_sapattum_ instead of _sabattum_, though the latter is also found. + +The nearest approach to the Sabbath, in the Jewish sense, among the +Babylonians, is the _u-hulgala_ or _umu limnu_, "the evil day," which, as +we know from the Hemerologies, was the 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th, and 19th day +of each month, the last so called because it was a week of weeks from the +1st day of the foregoing month. It is this, therefore, which contains the +germ of the idea of the Jewish Sabbath, but it was not that Sabbath in the +true sense of the term, for if the months had 30 days, the week following +the 28th had 9 days instead of 7, and weeks of 8 and 9 days therefore +probably occurred twelve times each year. The nature of this original of +the Sabbath is shown by the Hemerologies, which describe how it was to be +kept in the following words:-- + + +(The Duties Of The 7th Day). + + +"The 7th day is a fast of Merodach and Zer-panitum, a fortunate day, an +evil day. The shepherd of the great peoples shall not eat flesh cooked by +fire, salted (savoury) food, he shall not change the dress of his body, he +shall not put on white, he shall not make an offering. The king shall not +ride in his chariot, he shall not talk as ruler; a seer shall not do a +thing in a secret place; a physician shall not lay his hand on a sick +man;(299) (the day) is unsuitable for making a wish. The king shall set +his oblation in the night before Merodach and Istar, he shall make an +offering, (and) his prayer(300) is acceptable with god." + +For the 14th, 21st, 28th, and 19th, the names of the deities differ, and +on the last-named the shepherd of the great peoples is forbidden to eat +"anything which the fire has touched." Otherwise the directions are the +same, and though generally described as a lucky or happy day, it was +certainly an evil day for work, or for doing the things referred to. It is +to be noted, however, that there is no direction that the day was to be +observed by the common people. + + +Was The Flood A "Sin-Flood"? + + +That the Flood was a "sin-flood" ("dass die Sintflut eine Suendflut(301) +war") among the Babylonians as among the Hebrews has already been stated +(p. 112--cf. p. 107, I, II ff.), and with this Prof. Delitzsch, answering +the criticisms of Oettli, agrees. Replying to Koenig, he energetically +repudiates the idea that "the Babylonian hero saves his dead and living +property, but in both Biblical accounts there appears, instead of that, +the higher point of view of the preservation of the animal-world." He then +cites Berosus, according to whom Xisuthros received the command to take +into the ark winged and four-footed animals, and quotes the line +translated on p. 103: "I caused to go up into the midst of the ship ... +the beasts of the field and the animals of the field--all of them I sent +up." + + +The Dragon And The Serpent-Tempter. + + +Prof. Delitzsch's notes upon the Dragon of Chaos are exceedingly +interesting, as is also the picture which he gives, from a little seal in +the form of a long bead, of the god Merodach "clothed in his majestic +glory, with powerful arm, and broad eye and ear, the symbols of his +intelligence, and at the feet of the god the captive Dragon of the +primaeval waters." From our point of view the deity does not look very +majestic, but it is an exceedingly interesting representation, the more +especially as he bears in his left hand (in the drawing) the circle and +staff of Samas, the sun, showing the correctness of the theory which made +Merodach likewise a sun-god. It is noteworthy, however, that a similar +object found by the German expedition to Babylonia shows a figure of +Hadad, the wind-god, as the Babylonians conceived him, and accompanying +him are a winged dragon and another creature--indeed, each deity seems to +have had his own special attendant of this nature. Are we, therefore, to +understand that each deity overcame a dragon or other animal? or may it +not be, that Merodach had a kind of dragon as his attendant, and the one +depicted sitting by his side, close to his feet, is the creature devoted +to him, and not the Dragon of Chaos at all? + +The Dragon of Chaos, Tiamtu or Tiawthu, appears in the inscriptions as the +representative of the Hebrew _tehom_, which is the same word without the +feminine ending. It is also regarded, however, as being represented in the +Old Testament by _liwyathan_ (leviathan), _tannin_, and _rahab_, explained +as "the winding one," "the dragon," and "the monster" respectively. As far +as our knowledge at present goes, none of these names occur in the +Babylonian inscriptions, but there is sufficient analogy between the +Biblical passages which contain them and the story of Tiamtu to establish +an identity between the two sources. + +In the passage "Awake, awake," etc. (Is. li. 9), the cutting of Rahab in +pieces, and the piercing of the dragon, are made into similes typifying +the drying up of the Red Sea, so that the Israelites might pass over, and +on this account the words standing for these creatures seem to have become +an allegorical way of referring to Egypt, caught, like Tiamtu, in a net +(Ezek. xxxii. 2, 3). In Job ix. 13 the "helpers of Rahab" are mentioned, +recalling the gods who aided Tiamtu, and in xxvi. 12 "he smiteth through +Rahab" is a reminiscence of the piercing of the head of Merodach's +opponent. + +In Job xli. 3 the words "Lay thine hand upon him; remember _the battle_, +and do so no more," evidently refer to leviathan in v. 1, here typical of +Tiamtu, the battle being that which Merodach fought with her. "Shall not +one be cast down even at the sight of him?" in verse 9, recalls the +dreadful appearance of Tiamtu and her helpers, whose aspect filled the +gods of the Babylonians with fear. Still another parallel is to be found +in the verse "Their (the enemies') wine is the poison of dragons +(_tanninim_)," Deut. xxxii. 33, reminding us of the monsters created by +Tiamtu, whose bodies were filled with poison like blood. + +All these passages naturally prove that the legend was well known to the +Hebrews, and must also have been current among their neighbours. Though +they identified her with the sea (_tehom_), they did not, to all +appearance, use that word to indicate the Dragon of Chaos, as did the +Babylonians--she was a serpent, a dragon, or a monster. Though she may be +the type of the serpent-tempter (the difference of sex makes a little +difficulty), the compiler of the first two chapters of Genesis rigorously +excluded her from the Hebrew Creation-story. The story of leviathan, the +dragon, or the monster, was a legend current among the people, and used by +the Hebrew sacred writers as a useful simile, but it seems to have formed +no part of orthodox Hebrew religious belief. + +Prof. Delitzsch has boldly reproduced, on p. 36 of his _Babel und Bibel_ +(German edition), what has been regarded in England as the driving of the +evil spirit from the temple built at Calah by Assur-nasir-apli (885 B.C.), +but he calls it "Fight with the Dragon." The evil spirit represented is +certainly a kind of dragon, but on the original slab in the British Museum +the creature is a male, and not a female, as in the Babylonian +Creation-story. Identification with the Dragon of Chaos is therefore in +the highest degree improbable, and as it would seem from his answer to +Jensen, Delitzsch does not regard it as having anything to do with the +Creation-story, but a representation of "a fight between the power of +light and the power of darkness in general." This seems exceedingly +probable, as is also his statement that in such a conception as that of +Tiamtu, it may easily be imagined that plenty of room for fancy existed. + +The serpent-tempter in Gen. iii. 1 is an ordinary serpent, _nahas_, the +type of the evil one. He had no part in the creation, and was to all +appearance one of the beasts of the field created by God. Tiamtu, his +Babylonian parallel, on the other hand, does not seem to have been in any +sense a tempter--she simply tried to overcome the gods of heaven, aided by +her followers and offspring, among whom were some of the divine beings +created by the gods. That in consequence of this, she may have been +regarded as having tempted those of her followers who were the offspring +of the gods of heaven, is not only possible, but probable, and if +provable, we should have here the identification of the Dragon of Chaos +with the serpent-tempter. + +And this leads him to the question as to whether the celebrated +cylinder-seal referred to on p. 79 is really intended to be a picture of +the circumstance of the fall of man. Delitzsch points out, that the +clothed condition of the figures prevents him from recognizing in the tree +the tree "of knowledge of good and evil"--perhaps there glimmers through +the Biblical account in Gen. ii. and iii. another and older form of the +story, in which only one tree, the tree of life, appeared. The words in +ii. 9: "and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," seem, as it were, +patched on, and the narrator completely forgets this newly-introduced +"tree of the knowledge of good and evil" to the extent, that he even, by +oversight, makes God allow man, in contradiction to iii. 22, to eat of the +Tree of Life (ii. 16). All this seems very plausible, but may it not be, +that man, before eating of the tree of knowledge, was permitted to eat of +the tree of life, which was denied to him after the Fall? If this be the +case, there was probably no forgetfulness on the part of the narrator, and +the story hangs excellently together. And here it is to be noted that both +the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, were in +the midst of the garden (ii. 9), that the woman seems to be aware of the +existence of one tree only (iii. 3), and there is no statement that the +man knew the nature of the fruit which his wife handed to him (6), though +it may be surmised that, with the prohibition with regard to one of them +in his mind, he ought to have inquired. The heaviest punishment therefore +falls upon the tempter, the woman coming next, and the man having the +lightest though even his is sufficiently severe. + +In the design on the cylinder Delitzsch sees a male and a female figure, +with a serpent, and in this both Hommel and Jensen agree. Delitzsch, +moreover, says: "The distinguishing of the one figure by horns, which was, +in Babylonia, as in Israel, equally the common symbol of strength and +victoriousness, I regard as a very delicate device of the artist to +introduce into the two clothed human figures the sex-distinction in an +unmistakable manner." He is of opinion that nothing very decisive can as +yet be pronounced concerning the serpent, but one might connect therewith +the appearance of Tiamtu, who also, like leviathan in Job iii. 8 and "the +old serpent" in the Apocalypse, may be assumed to have been still +existing. (Compare p. 32 of the present work, lines 112 and 113.) + +He points out that in a list of rivers, etc., there is one called "the +river of the Serpent-god destroying(302) the abode of life" +(_Id-Sir-tindir-duba_), which is also a confirmation of the theory that +the Babylonians possessed the legend of the serpent-tempter. Noteworthy +also is the following text, which he refers to "by the way," with a slight +indication of the contents:-- + +"... sin, fixing the command. +... of the ordinance, the man of lamentation. +... the maid, has eaten the evil thing-- +... Ama-namtagga has done what is evil +The fate of Ama-namtagga is hard(303)-- +Her fate is hard, her face is troubled with a tear. +She has sat on a glorious throne, +She has lain on a glorious couch, +She has learned to love aright, +She has learned to kiss." + +The mutilation of this inscription renders the true interpretation +doubtful, but it would seem to be exceedingly probable that there is in it +some reference to the fate of our first mother, inherited by all her +daughters to the end of time. + +Ama-namtagga means "The Mother of Sin," and her having eaten and done what +is evil makes an interesting parallel with the case of Eve.(304) + + +The Cherubim. + + +Concerning the Cherubs something has been said in this book, pp. 80-82, +and to this Prof. Delitzsch adds a few more instances. As others have +done, he regards the cherubim of the Babylonians and Assyrians as being +the winged bulls, with heads of men. As an angel he gives a picture of a +winged female figure holding a necklace(305); the demons he depicts are +from the slabs in the Assyrian Saloon of the British Museum, where two of +these beings are fighting with each other; and devils he regards as being +typified by a small but mutilated statuette of a creature with an animal's +head, long erect ears, and open mouth with threatening teeth. For the +existence of guardian-angels he quotes the letter of Abla to the +queen-mother: "Bel and Nebo's messenger of grace (_abil sipri sa dunqi sa +Bel u Nabu_) will go with the king of the countries, my lord." Of especial +interest, however, is his reference to the inscription of Nabopolassar, in +which that founder of the latest of the Babylonian empires states that +Merodach "called him to rule over the land and the people, caused a +guardian-god (cherub) to go by his side, and caused all the work which he +undertook to succeed." Besides the cherubs or guardian-angels, the +Babylonians believed in numerous evil gods and devils, besides Tiamtu and +the serpent-tempter of mankind. + + +Babylonian Monotheism. + + +The question of Babylonian monotheism, and of the antiquity of the name +Yahweh (Jehovah) attracted a considerable amount of attention, and has +been supplemented by Delitzsch very fully in the notes to his first +lecture. Upon this point something was said in the present volume (pp. 47 +and 58-61), and the author is practically at one with Prof. Delitzsch. As +the inscription translated on p. 58 shows, the Babylonians were +monotheists, and yet they were not. They believed in all their various +gods, and at the same time identified those gods with Merodach. Just as, +in the beliefs of India, each soul may be regarded as emanating from, and +returning to, the Creator, and forming one with Him at the final death of +the body, so the gods of the Babylonians were apparently regarded as parts +of, and emanations from, Merodach, the chief of the gods, who, when they +conferred upon him their names, conferred upon him in like manner their +being. It is in this way alone that Merodach, the last-born of the great +gods, can be regarded as the father and begetter of the gods (see pp. 45, +46). + +Prof. Delitzsch has therefore done a service in bringing more prominently +to the notice of students and scholars the text of which the obverse is +printed on p. 58, and mentioning the paper where it first appeared.(306) +The study of the religion of the Babylonians and Assyrians has been +greatly furthered thereby. + +With regard to the question, whether besides this tablet, there be other +indications that the Babylonians--or a section of them--believed in one god, +Delitzsch quotes, as did also the present author, many names supporting +this idea. Thus he gives the following:-- + +Ilu-ittia, "God is with me." +Ilu-amtahar, "I called upon God." +Ilu-abi, "God is my father."(307) +Ilu-milki, "God is my counsel." +Yarbi-ilu, "God is great." +Yamlik-ilu, "God rules." +Ibsi-ina-ili, "He existed through God."(308) +Awel-ili, "Man of God."(309) +Mut(um)-ili, "Man of God." +Iluma-le'i, "God is mighty." +Iluma-abi, "God is my father." +Iluma-ilu, "God is God." +Summa-ilu-la-ilia, "If God were not my god?" + +And if more be wanted, to these may be added Ya'kub-ilu, Yasup-ilu, +Abdi-ilu, Ya'zar-ilu, and Yantin-ilu, on p. 157; Ili-bandi, "God is my +creator," p. 166; Sar-ili, "Prince of God," p. 170; Ustasni-ili, "My God +has made to increase twofold," p. 178; Nur-ili, "Light of God," p. 184; +Arad-ili-remeanni, "The servant of God, (who) had mercy on me," p. 187; +Yabnik-ilu, "God has been gracious (?)," p. 243; and many others. Remarks +upon some of these names will be found on pp. 244, 245. Similar names +occurring during the time of the later Babylonian empire will be found on +pp. 434, 463 (Aqabi-ilu), 435, 436 (Adi'-ilu and Yadi'ilu), 458 +(Baruhi-ilu, probably a Jew, and Idihi-ilu). It will therefore be seen +that names of a monotheistic nature were common in Babylonia at all +periods, but as they are greatly outnumbered by the polytheistic +ones,(310) their exact value as testimony to monotheism, or to a tendency +to it, is doubtful. In certain cases, the deity intended by the word _ilu_ +is the family god, but in the above examples, names implying this have +been as far as possible avoided. + +"Of what kind and of what value this monothesis was, our present sources +of knowledge do not allow us to state, but we can best conclude from the +later development of Jahvism." (Delitzsch.) + + +Jahweh (Jehovah). + + +Most important of all, however, from the point of view of the history of +the religion of the Jews, is what Delitzsch states concerning the name +Jahweh (Jehovah). On p. 46 of his first lecture (German edition) he gives +half-tone reproductions of three tablets preserved in the British Museum, +which, according to him, contain three forms of the personal name meaning +"Jahwe is God"--_Ya'we-ilu_, _Yawe-ilu_, and _Yaum-ilu_. The last of these +names we may dismiss at once, the form being clearly not that of Yahweh, +but of Yah, the Jah of Ps. civ. 35 and several other passages. The other +two, however, are not so lightly dealt with, notwithstanding the +objections of other Assyriologists and Orientalists. It is true that +Ya'pi-ilu and Yapi-ilu are possible readings, but Delitzsch's objections +to them are soundly based, and can hardly be set aside. The principal +argument against the identification of Ya'we or Yawe with Yahwah is, that +we should have here, about 2000 years before Christ, a form of the word +which is really later than that used by the Jewish captives at Babylon 500 +years before Christ, when it was to all appearance pronounced Ya(')awa or +Yawa (see pp. 458, 465, 470, 471). If, however, we may read the name Ya'wa +(Ya'awa) or Yawa, as is possible, then there is nothing against the +identification proposed by Delitzsch. That [Cuneiform] was used with the +value of _wa_ is proved by such words as _warka_, "after," where the +reading _wearka_ seems to be impossible, and the necessary distinction +between _ma_ and _wa_ (the former was written with a different character) +would be maintained. It is worthy of note that Ya'wa must have been more +of a name than Yau, which was a primitive Babylonian word for "God," it is +doubtful whether it could always be written without the divine prefix. As, +however, the divine name Ae or Ea, with others, is often written so +unprovided, such an objection as this could not be held to invalidate +Delitzsch's contention. + +The probability therefore is, that Delitzsch is right in transcribing the +name as he has done, if we may change the final _e_ to _a_, and he is also +probably right in his identification. Nevertheless, we require more +information from the records of ancient Babylonia before we can say, with +certainty, that the first component of the name Ya'wa-ilu is the Yahweh of +the Hebrews, though we are bound to admit that the identification is in +the highest degree probable. Delitzsch speaks of the possibility of +_ya've_ being a verbal form (it would be parallel to names like +Yabnik-ilu), only to reject it, as a name meaning "God exists" (Hommel and +Zimmern) is certainly not what one would expect to find. On the other +hand, Zimmern admits the possibility that Yaum may be the name of a god, +and possibly the name Yahu, Yahve may be present in it. As he is against +Delitzsch on the whole, this is an important admission. + + + +Additional Notes To Hammurabi's Laws. + + +P. 492, §. 8. The "poor man" who is mentioned here and in several other +places, is referred to under a Sumerian term translated by the Semitic +_muskinu_, Arabic _miskin_, from which the French _mesquin_ is derived +(through the Spanish _mezquino_). With the Babylonians, however, the "poor +man," as expressed by this term, was only one who was comparatively +wanting in this world's goods. That he was able to pay a fine, presupposes +that he was the possessor of property, and this is confirmed by a +bilingual explanatory list, which reads as follows: + +Gis sar kiru Plantation. +gis sar egal kiru ekalli plantation of the + palace. +gis sar lugal kiru sarri plantation of the + king. +gis sar masdu kiru muskini plantation of a + poor man. + +_Muskinu_ is rendered by Winckler "freedman." + +P. 493, § 26 ff. It is difficult to find a satisfactory rendering for the +words translated "army-leader" and "soldier." Winckler translates +"soldier" and "slinger." Perhaps the latter should be rendered "scout." + +P. 495, §§ 43 and 44. The word translated "shall enclose (it)" is in +accordance with the meaning given for the root _sakaku_ in Delitzsch's +_Handwoerterbuch_. If, however, the rendering "plough" in § 260 (p. 513), +first proposed by Scheil, be correct, then in all probability the +translation in the two sections should be "shall plough (it)." + +P. 498, l. 12. Literally, "the man the tenancy, the silver of his rent +complete for a year, to the lord of the house has given." + +P. 499, § 108. The "large stone" was seemingly large only by comparison +with the "small stone" which weighed 1/3 of a shekel. + +P. 500, § 116, etc. "The son of a man" Winckler translates as "a free-born +person." + +P. 501, § 126. Or "As (in the case of) his property (which) has not been +lost, he shall state his deficiency before God." + +P. 510, §§ 215, 218, 220. Instead of "cataract" Winckler translates +"tumour," but thinks "lachrymal fistula" still better, though "cataract" +is possible. + +P. 513, § 257. Here, as in other places, the character for field-labourer +is the archaic form of [Cuneiform] _ikkaru_ or _irrisu_. + + + + + +APPENDIX TO THE THIRD EDITION. + + + + +The Hittites. + + +In consequence of the very important discoveries of the German explorers +at Boghaz-Koei, the site of the ancient Hittite capital Hattu,(311) much +light will be thrown on the ancient history, religion, manners, and +customs of that portion of Western Asia, and Syria as well, together with +the relations of the empire of the Hittites with Egypt. As far as can at +present be judged, the language of the Hittites was Aryan, and the similar +terminations in such Kassite(312) words as are known point to its being of +the same family, and the same may, perhaps, be said of Mitannian.(313) The +excavations at Boghaz-Koei began where fragments of tablets had already +been found, namely, on the slope of the hill at Boeyuek-kale, the documents +becoming more complete as the explorers went higher. Another mass of +records was found at the foot of the hill, by the ruins of the temple. It +was in the upper find that the Babylonian version of the treaty between +Rameses II. and the Hittite king Hattusil was found. The founder of the +dynasty was Subbiluliuma, the name read _Sapalulu_ in the Egyptian version +of the treaty. He was evidently a warrior-king, whose overlordship the +state of Mitanni acknowledged, and seems to have been succeeded by his son +Arandas. The next ruler was Mursil, the _Maurasar_ of Egyptologists, who +appears to have been a great conqueror. Mursil's successor was his brother +Mutallu (_Mautenel_), who, however, was apparently killed in a revolt, +whereupon the renowned Hattusil (the _Khetasir_ of Egyptologists) mounted +the throne. His queen was Pudu-hipa, and they had a son Dudhalia, whose +name recalls the Tidal (Tid'al) of the 14th chapter of Genesis, and the +Tudhula (or Tudhul) of the tablets which apparently refer to Chedorlaomer +and his allies.(314) In the Babylonian version of the treaty of Hattusil +with Rameses II., we learn that the titles of the Egyptian king were +_Wasmua-ria satepuaria Ria-masesa mai Amana mar Mim-mua-Ria binbin +Min-pahirita-Ria_, _i.e._ User-maat-ra Ra-messu Mery Amen, son of +Men-maat-ra (Seti I.), grandson of Men-pehti-ra (Rameses I.).(315) + + + + +The Habiri. + + +Dr. Hugo Winckler, the explorer of Boghaz-Koei, who has published many +interesting details of the result of his researches, states that parallel +passages prove the identity of the Sa-gas (_see_ pp. 291, 292) of the +Tel-al-Amarna tablets with the Habiri, and that not only the Sa-gas +people, but also the Sa-gas gods are referred to. For these latter, he +says, compare the image of the "valley of the _'oberim_" (translated "them +that pass") in Ezekiel (xxxix. 11), in which further justification of the +comparison of _habiri_ and _'eber_ (Eber, regarded as the ancestor of the +_'Ibrim_ or Hebrews) results. One would like to have further details of +the learned explorer's opinions upon this point. To all appearance the +connection of _'oberim_ with _'eber_ would involve a change in the +vocalization. For the author, the difficulty of connecting _habiri_ with +_'Ibrim_ (Hebrews) still continues to exist. The connection of _habiri_ +with _'Ibri_ (Hebrew) requires that the _ain_ should have been pronounced +as _ghain_, and the Septuagint generally gives _gh_ when it was so +pronounced.(316) In _'Ibrim_, however, this is not the case, and Prof. +Swete has only the soft breathing in his edition. + + + + +A Letter Apparently From Prince Belshazzar (_see_ pp. 446-451). + + +This is evidently one of the documents obtained by Mr. Hormuzd Rassam at +Sippar (Abu-habbah), as the reference to Bunene, one of the deities of the +city, shows. Unfortunately, it is very defective, there being only eight +lines (five of them incomplete) on the obverse, and the remains of the +last three lines of the communication on the reverse. What makes it +probable that the Belshazzar who sent the letter is the son of Nabonidus, +and the hero of the fall of Babylon, is, that no honorific expressions are +used with reference to the person to whom it is addressed--he does not call +Musezib-Marduk his lord, or father, or brother, as was the custom in +private correspondence. As far as it is preserved, the following is a +rendering of this document, which is of interest mainly on account of the +personality of its assumed writer-- + +"Letter of Bel-sarra-usur to Musezib-Marduk. May the gods grant thee +prosperity. Behold, I have sent Bel-sunu and ... the (two) _masmase_, +to.... Send the requirements for the robes (?) of the deity Bunene.... + +(Several lines are wanting here.) + +... I have caused ... to be ... the threshold ... may all...." + +The documents referring to Belshazzar's residence at Sippar, are mentioned +on pp. 414, 449, 450. + + + + +The Aramaic Papyri From Elephantine. + + +These noteworthy documents, which have attracted considerable attention, +were found in the ruins of the city which lie at the southern point of the +island. Almost all the brick-built private houses of Elephantine are in a +ruinous state, partly due to the ravages of time, but principally to the +Fellahin, who have for many years dug there for garden-mould. To the south +of the place where Mr. Mond's Aramaic papyri(317) are said to have been +found, Greek papyri were discovered, but proceeding north of that point, +the German explorers soon came upon the Aramaic fragments. Those first +found are said to have been in earthen vessels, but the most important of +them (the texts translated below) were buried, without any protective +covering, close to the eastern and southern walls of the room in which +they lay. To all appearance these last had escaped the notice of the +earlier excavators, who had thrown them away with the rubbish cast aside +as containing nothing more worth carrying off. + +The text of the most perfect of them reads as follows-- + +"To our lord Bagohi, governor of Judea, thy servants Yedoniah and his +companions, the priests in the fortress of Yeb, salutation! May our Lord, +the God of heaven, grant (thee) prosperity at all times, and set thee in +favour before Darius the king, and the sons of the (royal) house a +thousandfold more than now, and may He give thee long life. Be at all +times joyful and firm. Now speak thy servants Yedoniah and his companions +as follows-- + +"In the month Tammuz in the 14th year of Darius the king, when Arsam +(Asames) had marched forth and gone to the king, the priests of the god +Khnub, who are in Yeb, the fortress, [made] with Waidrang, who is the +governor here, a secret union of the following nature-- + +" 'The temple of Yahu, the god who is in Yeb, the fortress, shall be +removed(318) from that place.' + +"Thereupon that Waidrang, the _lahya_,(319) sent letters to Nephayan, his +son, who was commander-in-chief in Syene, the fortress, saying-- + +" 'The temple which is in Yeb, the fortress, they shall destroy.' + +"Thereupon Nephayan brought in Egyptians, together with other warriors; +they came to the fortress of Yeb together with their _tali_,(320) +penetrated into that temple, destroyed it down to the ground. And they +shattered the stone columns which were there. It also happened, (that) +they shattered the seven stone doors,(321) built out of a hewn block of +stone, which were in that temple, and their heads, they ...(322) and their +hinges which were in the marble, those were of brass,(323) and the +roofing, consisting wholly of cedar beams, together with the plaster +pavement (?) of the forecourt (?) and other (things) which were there--all +this have they burned with fire. And the sacrificial dishes of gold and +silver, and the things which were in that temple, all have they taken and +have used as their own. And since the days of the kings of Egypt have our +fathers built that temple in Yeb, the fortress. And when Cambyses came up +to Egypt, he found that temple (already) built, but they pulled all the +temples of the gods of Egypt down. In that temple, on the contrary, no one +had destroyed anything. + +"And after they had done this, we, with our wives and children, wore +mourning-garments, fasted, and prayed to Yahu, the lord of heaven, who had +given us warning concerning that Waidrang, the _kalbya_.(324) They have +taken the chains(325) away from his feet, and all the treasures, which he +had acquired, have gone to ruin. And all the men who wished evil to that +temple, have all been killed, and we have been witnesses thereof. + +"Also before this, at the time when this evil was committed upon us, did +we send a letter to our lord, and to Yehohanan, the high-priest, and his +companions, the priests who were in Jerusalem, and to Ostan (Ostanes), his +brother, that is, 'Anani,(326) and the free ones (princes) of the Jews. +They have not sent us one letter (in reply). + +"Also since the days of Tammuz of the 14th year of Darius the king, and +until this day, we wear mourning-garments and fast, our wives have been +made as a widow, we have not anointed (ourselves with) oil nor drunk wine. +Also since then and until (this) day of the 17th year of Darius the king +they have not made food-offerings, incense-offerings, and burnt-offerings +in that temple. + +"Moreover, thy servants, Yedoniah and his companions, and the Jews, all +citizens of Yeb, speak as follows-- + +" 'If it be good to our lord, mayest thou consider upon that temple, for +its rebuilding, as they do not allow us to rebuild it. Look to the +receivers of thy benefits and favours, who are here in Egypt. Let a letter +be sent from thee to them with regard to the temple of the god Yahu, to +rebuild it in Yeb, the fortress, even as it was heretofore built. And they +shall offer food-offerings and incense-offerings and burnt-offerings upon +the altar of the god Yahu in thy name. And we will pray for thee at every +time--we and our wives and our children and all the Jews who are here, if +they(327) have then worked until that temple is rebuilt. + +" 'And a share shall be thine before Yahu the god of heaven from the man +who offers to him a burnt-offering and a sacrifice, a value equal to the +worth of a silver (shekel) for (every) 1000 talents.(328) And with regard +to the gold, concerning that we have sent and given instruction. We have +also sent everything in a letter in our name to Delaiah and Shelemiah, +sons of Sanaballat, governor of Samaria. Also Arsames had no knowledge of +all that which has been done unto us.' + +"On the 20th of Marcheswan in the year 17 of Darius the king." + +A fragment of a duplicate gives some instructive variants of this +exceedingly interesting document, from which it would appear that gold and +treasure was given to Waidrang to induce him to act against the temple of +Yahu at Yeb. + +To this plea on the part of Yedoniah and the Jewish congregation at Yeb a +favourable answer was given, as the following document shows-- + +"Memorandum of what Bagohi and Delaiah said to me--Memorandum as follows-- + +" 'Thou shalt speak in Egypt before Arsames concerning the temple of the +sacrificial altar of the God of Heaven which is in Yeb, the fortress, +before our time, before Cambyses, which Waidrang, that _lahia_,(329) +destroyed in the 14th year of Darius the king, to rebuild it in its place, +as it was formerly. And they shall offer food-offerings and incense upon +that altar, even as was wont to be done formerly.' " + +Nothing could be more satisfactory than this little episode of the Jewish +colony at Yeb--it needs but the discovery of the record of the rebuilding +and the inauguration of the temple to round it off. + +Bagohi governor of Judea is the Bagoas or Bagoses of Josephus, +_Antiquities of the Jews_, xi. 7. The high-priest Johannes or John (the +Yohanan mentioned on p. 539) had slain his brother Jesus in the temple, +because the latter, supported by Bagoas, sought to dispute with him the +High-priesthood. Notwithstanding the protests of the Jews, Bagoas +penetrated into the temple, and imposed upon it a fine of 50 drachmas for +every lamb sacrificed therein. It will thus be seen, that in offering to +him a percentage of the sacrifices in return for his support in rebuilding +the temple at Yeb, Yedoniah and his companions were acting in accordance +with what was known to be his character. The reference to Yohanan's +refraining from helping them, it is reasonable to suppose, also occurred +to them as likely to further their desires. + +Yedoniah, the chief of the Jewish colony at Yeb and the writer of the +longer document, is probably likewise named in the Oxford papyri--he was +either Yedoniah ben Hosea or Yedoniah ben Meshullam, but could not have +been identified with a third of the name, Yedoniah ben Nathan, as this +last is stated to have been an Aramean of Syene. We have to await further +light upon his identity. + +Arsames, who is mentioned in the second paragraph (p. 537), is probably, +as Sachau points out, the Arsanes of Ktesias, who was governor of Egypt +when Darius II. mounted the throne. He left Egypt and went to the court of +Darius, and the priests of Chnum(330) in Elephantine profited by his +absence to destroy the Jewish temple there. In this they were supported by +Waidrang, who, in the absence of Arsames, seems to have exercised the +office of governor. To all appearance he had been commander-in-chief of +the army in Egypt, a post held, at the time this document was written, by +Nephyan his son. There is some doubt as to the reading and vocalization of +the name Waidrang, and consequently, also, as to its true form, but it is +regarded as certainly Persian. It is thought that its Persian prototype +may have been _Vayu-darengha_,(331) "companion of the wind-god," whilst +his son's name, in Persian, is possibly _Napao-yana_, "favour of the god +Napao." Should these identifications be found correct, they will have, as +Sachau remarks, considerable value in ascertaining the principle upon +which names in Persian were given. + +To all appearance Arsames returned to Egypt, and a reaction followed which +ended in the disgrace of Waidrang and his followers, who were deprived of +the spoils which they had stolen from the temple at Yeb, and the Jews also +became, in the end, witnesses of the death of all their persecutors. It +seems probable that the central government was greatly displeased at the +action of Waidrang and the priests of Chnub, for the Persians seem always +to have been well-disposed towards the Jews--moreover, cupidity, and not +the good of the state, was at the bottom of Waidrang's action. The +destruction wrought, however, was not immediately made good, hence this +document, which throws such a vivid light upon the state of Egypt and the +Jews in those days. It is but just to the Persians of that period to say, +that notwithstanding their seemingly Persian names, Waidrang and his son +were apparently not Persians, but possibly Semites, as the (probably +gentilic) adjectives applied to the former seem to show. + +The date of this document is regarded as not admitting of any doubt, as +may be gathered by the references to the regnal years of Darius in +conjunction with the names of historical personages--Bagohi (Bagoas or +Bagoses of Josephus), governor of Judea, Yehohanan or John, the +high-priest at Jerusalem, and the two sons of Sanaballat,(332) the +governor of Samaria in the time of Artaxerxes I. (Longimanus). The ruler +of the Persian empire when these documents were written, must therefore +have been Darius II. (Nothus), who reigned for 19 years, namely, 424-405 +B.C. The 14th year of Darius II.--the date of the destruction of the temple +at Yeb--was 410 B.C., and his 17th year--the date when the appeal was sent +to Bagohi--corresponds with 407 B.C. This fixes, among others, the date of +Yehohanan, and Sachau points out as noteworthy that one of his brothers, +named Manasseh, was son-in-law of the governor of Samaria, Sanaballat, as +related in Nehemiah xiii. 28. Another brother of the high-priest was the +one whom he killed in the temple (Jesus). In this record, however, a third +brother, Ostan or Ostanes, appears. To all appearance this last bore also +another name, to wit, 'Ahani, which would be his true Hebrew appellation. +If, however, the Babylonian construction has been followed here, this +Ostan or Ostanes would be brother of 'Ahani, a personage of importance in +Jerusalem, but not otherwise known. Adopting the rendering given in the +translation, however, it is noteworthy that two brothers named Yehohanan +and 'Ahani are mentioned in 1 Chronicles iii. 24. These, however, were +descendants of David, whereas the brothers mentioned in the papyrus must +have been descendants of Aaron. + +A high Persian official named _Ustanu or Ustannu (Ostanu_ or _Ostan_) +occurs on two Babylonian tablets in the British Museum, and also on one in +the possession of Lord Amherst of Hackney. He bears the title "governor of +Babylon and across the river," possibly meaning all the tract west of the +Euphrates. This man, however, can hardly at the same time have been +governor of Egypt, and the texts in which he is mentioned seem, moreover, +to belong to the time of Darius Hystaspis, in which case he lived at a +much too early date. + +The Egyptians called the island of Elephantine Yeb, and its capital bore +the same name as the island. It is transcribed Ab by those who follow the +old system of reading Egyptian, so that the present documents seem to +support the philological views of the Berlin school. A common ideograph +for the name of the island is an elephant with an upturned trunk, showing +that Yeb really means "elephant-island," and that Elephantine is simply +the Greek translation of the native name. The temple of Khnum (Khnumba, +Khnub), whose priests are referred to in the papyri, was destroyed by +Mohammed Ali in 1822. + +The Hebrew divine name is written Yahu, which is apparently the longer +form of the biblical Jah, seen in such names as Hezekiah (Assyrian +_Hazaqi-yau_), Gemariah or Gemariahu (Jer. xxix. 3; xxxvi. 10, etc.). As +is shown on p. 471, this termination was pronounced _iawa_ by the +Babylonian Jews, which raises the question whether the Yahu of these +papyri may not have been pronounced _Yawa_ also. + +Dr. L. Belleli, of the Philological Section of the _Instituto di Studi +Superiori_ in Florence, doubts the genuineness of the papyri found at +Elephantine on account of chronological difficulties. In the case of the +documents here translated, however, no such difficulties can be said to +exist, and the forger of such things would have to be not only a splendid +Aramaic scholar acquainted with the Berlin scheme of transcribing +Egyptian, but also a historian and the possessor of an exceedingly lively +imagination. + +The above description is based upon Eduard Sachau's noteworthy monograph, +_Drei aramaeische Papyrusurkunden aus Elephantine_, Berlin, Koenigliche +Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1907. The documents in question were +discovered by Dr. Otto Rubensohn, and the collection included some papyri +still in roll-form, and various fragments. The principal document +translated above belonged to the former category, and was successfully +unrolled by Herr Ibscher, the keeper of the Royal Museum. The reproduction +shows it as a large sheet of papyrus, folded in two, and certain damaged +portions, on the left, imply that it was rolled upon itself about six +times. + + + + + +NOTES AND ADDITIONS. + + +P. 11. It is needful to state, as has been pointed out to the writer, that +"our English translation would make all (the Biblical Creation-story) +appear English." In other words, the test of language is not an unfailing +one. + +Pp. 14-15. To the names of translators of the Babylonian Creation-stories +must be added P. Jensen, and W. L. King, who has published important +additions to the text. + +P. 21, l. 4. Alternative rendering: "He beheld Tiamtu's snarling" (see the +note to p. 24). + +P. 22. With the first paragraph on this page the contents of the third +tablet, and with the last paragraph those of the fourth, begin. + +P. 24. Instead of "they clustered around him," Jensen translates +(doubtfully), "they ran round about him," and King, "they beheld him." +Something may be said in favour of each, but the rendering of the text +seems more probable. Also, instead of "Examining the lair," I am inclined +to return to my earlier rendering, "Noting the snarling of Kingu, her +consort." The four succeeding lines read:-- + + + "He looks, and his advance(333) becomes confused, + His understanding is destroyed, and his action fails (?), + And the gods, his helpers, going by his side, + Saw the [con]fusion (??) of their leader, (and) their sight was + troubled (too)." + + +King attributes this fear and confusion not to Merodach, but to Kingu and +his followers, which would seem to be more consistent, but the difficulty +is, that the original gives no indication that this was the case. Further +discoveries may throw light upon the point. + +P. 27. The Lumasi (l. 2), according to _Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western +Asia_, vol. III., pl. 57, were seven constellations, and seem to have been +included in the thirty-six stars or constellations mentioned two lines +lower down. A list of these will be found in the _Journal of the Royal +Asiatic Society_ for 1900, pp. 573-575. + +P. 28, l. 29. The translation of this line is based on that of Mr. L. W. +King, who first published the text. The word for "bone" is _issimtum_, the +Heb. _'esem_, Arab. _'adhm_. If the word be correctly read (the character +_tum_ is doubtful), it is possibly connected with _esimtum_, which +translates the Sumerian character standing for a weapon or a long straight +object. + +Pp. 29-31. Tutu and other names given to Merodach in this section are +referred to on pp. 45-46. By "the people" in line 15 (p. 30) are +apparently to be understood the gods. + +P. 44. Other names of the goddess Aruru, who assisted Merodach in the +creation of man, are "the lady potter," "the constructor of the world," +"the constructor of the gods," "the constructor of mankind," "the +constructor of the heart." Aruru was the goddess of progeny, and is one of +the forty-one names by which "the lady of the gods" was known. An +interesting Sumerian (dialectic) hymn to her exists in the Brussels +Museum. + +P. 47, ll. 29-32. Instead of "in their (the fallen gods') room," Jensen +suggests, "for their redemption." That the fallen gods were to be redeemed +(lit.: "spared") by the merits of the race of men which Merodach created +is a new idea, which further information may confirm.(334) + +P. 59, l. 13. Ea is the Ae of the preceding pages, the Oannes of +Damascius. There is reason to believe that the name was also read Aa, +which would account for the Greek form which he employs, and likewise for +the identification of this god with the Aa of l. 4 and the following +paragraph. + +P. 63, l. 27. Perhaps the most interesting of recent discoveries is the +identification (by Prof. Zimmern) of Euedoreschos with the Enweduranki of +the tablet described on p. 77. The original Greek form must have been +Euedoranchos (see the note to the page mentioned). Euedocus (l. 21) is +probably the Sumero-Akkadian En-me-duga. + +P. 67. For further notes in connection with Tiamat, see the discussion of +Delitzsch's _Babel und Bibel_ at the end, pp. 529-532. It is noteworthy +that this name heads the list of abodes of the gods published in the +_Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology_ for Dec., 1900, pp. +367-369. The explanation is unfortunately broken away, but it may be +surmised that as the goddess of the watery wastes of the earth she was +described as the abode of the gods who were regarded as her followers. + +P. 72. The description of Tammuz as "the peerless mother of heaven" is +probably to be explained by the fact, that _ama-gala_, "great mother," is +one of the Sumerian words for "forest," and Tammuz was identified with the +forest of Eridu, the divine abode where he dwelt. + +P. 73. For Pir-napistim, Ut-napistim is a possible reading (see below, +note to p. 99). + +For further notes upon the trees of Paradise, see pp. 531. + +P. 77. Euedoranchos. The forms of this name, as handed down, are +{~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, {~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, and {~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}. Eusebius's Chronicle, however, +gives the best form, namely, Edoranchus. + +P. 78, l. 20. Perhaps it would be better to say that the Hebrew accounts +of the Creation "probably came from Babylonia"--they may not have +originated there. + +Pp. 80-82. For further remarks upon the cherubin, see p. 533. In "the +_kurub_ of Anu, Bel," etc., which also occurs, we probably have a variant +form. + +P. 83, ll. 1-5. It is noteworthy that Ablum ("Son") as a personal name +actually occurs (De Sarzec, _Decouvertes_, pl. 30 bis, No. 19). Compare +Ablaa, "my son," p. 533, l. 12. + +P. 90. For further information about the name Gilgames, see the +_Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology_ for 1903, pp. 198-199. +Prof. Hommel has pointed out that an inscription exists stating that he +built the fortress of Erech, thus bringing him almost within the domain of +history. + +P. 99. (The Legend of Gilgames.) Dr. Meissner's discovery of a fragment of +a new version of the Gilgames-legend(335) is a most welcome addition to +our knowledge. A description of this text will be found in the +_Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology_ for March and May, +1903, where a comparison of the two versions is also given. It speaks of +his visit to the land of darkness in quest of his friend Ea-bani (whose +name, as this inscription indicates, should properly be read Enki-du or +Ea(Ae, Aa)-du). In the second column it details his conversation with +Siduri ("the _Sabitu_"), in which he refers to the death of his beloved +companion, since whose departure he had not sought to live, but having +seen her face, he expresses the hope that he will now not see death. The +_Sabitu_, however, answers him to the effect that he would not find the +life which he sought--death was the lot which the gods had set for mankind. +Eat, therefore, make festival, rejoice day and night, put on fine apparel, +take pleasure in child and wife--such was her advice. In the last column of +this version the hero meets with Sur-Sunabu (Ur-Sanabi), who asks him his +name. Gilgames tells him who he is and whence he came, and asks to be +shown Uta-naistim, the remote, as the Babylonian Noah seems to be called +in this version of the legend. About one-third of the tablet, giving the +lower parts of columns 1 and 2, and the upper parts of columns 3 and 4, is +the amount preserved. + +The above seems to show, that the name of the friend of Gilgames was +Ea-du, (Aa-du, Ae-du, or Enki-du), not Ea-bani; whilst Ur-Sanabi the +boatman, was really called Sur-Sunabu (or Sur-Sanabi); and Pir-napistim, +the Babylonian Noah, was Ut-napistim. + +P. 104, ll. 1 and 6. Jensen suggests, for _muir kukki_, the translation +"rulers of darkness(?)":-- + +"(If) the rulers of darkness cause to rain down one evening a rain of dirt +(?), + +Enter into the ship, and shut thy door!" + +That period arrived; + +"The rulers of darkness rain down one evening a rain of dirt (?)." + +_Muir_, however, seems to be singular, not plural. Another meaning of the +word is "messenger." + +P. 108, l. 35. If this translation be correct, the throwing down of a part +of the food recalls the casting of meal on the ground as an offering to +the gods. It is not unlikely that the preparation of the food, and setting +it by his head, was accompanied by some prayer or incantation to secure +his recovery, as in the inscription translated in the _Proceedings of the +Society of Biblical Archaeology_, May, 1901, pp. 193 and 205-210. Sleeping +with a cruse of water near the head (1 Sam. xxvi. 11-12) was probably +simply a provision against thirst, with no special meaning. On p. 111, +there is just the possibility that "The leavings of the dish" were what +was allowed to remain therein for the gods, and "the rejected of the food" +may have been that which was thrown on the ground as an offering. + +P. 113, ll. 19 ff. A number of the deities identified with the god Ea or +Aa are given in the _Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia_, vol. II., +pl. 58, and form a parallel with the inscription printed on p. 58. Deities +seem also to have been identified with Nebo. The centres where these gods +were worshipped therefore had likewise their monotheistic system, in which +all the other gods were identified with the patron-deity of the place, +just as those Babylonians who worshipped Merodach identified all the other +gods with him. + +P. 119. There has been a great deal of discussion as to the way in which +Sumer could be connected with Shinar, the chief reasons against their +identification being that the latter must have come from a Babylonian +form, of whose existence there is no evidence, and that it stood for the +whole country (except, possibly, Larsa), whereas Sumer was the name of the +southern part only. Hommel derives the Biblical Shinar from Ki-Imgir, +through the intermediate forms Shingar, Shumir (Sumer) and Shimir. This is +based upon the tendency which _k_ had to change into _s_, whilst the +substitution of _m_ for an older _g_ or _ng_ can be proved. As, however, +Shinar corresponds practically with the whole of Babylonia, a modification +of Prof. Hommel's etymology may, perhaps, best meet the case. The whole of +the country was called by the Sumerians Kingi (or Kengi) Ura, and the +expression _mada Kingi-Ura_ is rendered, in the lists, _mat Sumeri u +Akkadi_, "the land of Sumer and Akkad." It is therefore clear, that +Kingi-Ura corresponds with the whole tract, and is practically synonymous +with the Biblical Shinar. The change from _k_ to _s (sh)_ being provable, +it is possible that Kingi-Ura, pronounced Shingi-Ura, may have originated +the Hebrew form Shinar (better Shin'ar), through the intermediate forms +Shingura and Shingar. + +The statement that Elam was the firstborn of Shem (Gen. x. 22) receives +illustration from the fact, that many inscriptions have been found showing +that Semitic Babylonian was not only well known, but also used in that +country. From the order in which the names occur in Genesis, it ought to +be the earliest of the Semitic settlements, coming before Asshur, +Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. If, however, Arpachshad stand, as is generally +thought, for Babylonia, it is quite clear that there is no indication of +chronological order in this, for Assyria was certainly younger, as a +Semitic settlement, than Babylonia, and it would seem that Elam was +colonized with Semites from the last-named country. This would make Elam +to be simply the first Semitic colony, as Prof. Scheil has already +suggested. + +A good example of the slim racial type is shown on pl. V., second +seal-impression. For a long time after the Sumerians had become one nation +with the Semitic Babylonians, the type of the figures represented on the +cylinder-seals and sculptures remained unchanged, and it is on this +account that Hammurabi is portrayed, on the slab reproduced as pl. I., in +the old non-Semitic costume. The early Semitic type is shown on pl. III., +no. 1 (no. 2 shows the late Assyrian type). In pl. VI. the Sumerian style +is there, but the type is rather thick. This, however, may be partly due +to the sliding of the cylinder when the impression was taken. + +P. 124. Sargon of Agade's conquests, according to the omens referring to +his reign, were as follows:--(paragraph 1) Elam, (2) the land of the +Amorites, (4 and 5) the land of the Amorites (twice), (6) doubtful, (7) he +crossed the sea of the rising of the sun, and the reference to three years +in that district seems to refer to the time he stayed there, (8) +apparently no expedition, (9) he ravaged the land of Kazalla, (10) he put +down a revolt in his own country, (11) he fought against Suri or Sumastu. + +P. 125, l. 27. The old Sumerian or Akkadian laws are only known to us from +a few specimens preserved in the tablets of grammatical paradigms (the +series _Ana itti-su_), and will be found on pp. 190-191. It is probable +that they were made use of in compiling the Code of Hammurabi. + +P. 127, l. 21 ff. But perhaps it was the city of Assur which came forth +from Babylonia (_i.e._ was a Babylonian colony), and its ever-increasing +inhabitants who founded the other cities mentioned. + +P. 130 (the derivation of Nimrod). Another suggestion is, that Nimrod may +be the name of Merodach, as "Lord of Marad" (Nin-Marad). As far as I have +been able to see, however, this name of Merodach does not occur, and +moreover, it was Nergal, and not Merodach, who was lord of +Marad--Merodach's city was Babylon. Prof. Hommel's acute suggestion, that +Namra-sit may be a Babylonian form of Nimrod, would seem to be doubtful. + +P. 131 (Merodach's net). The bow of Merodach, after his fight with Tiamtu, +was placed in the heavens, and seemingly became one of the constellations, +but we do not hear of any similar honour having been conferred on his net, +notwithstanding the great service which it had rendered him. In Habakkuk +i. 15-17 there is a curious passage in which "the Chaldean" is described +as catching men with his angle and his net, as fishes are caught, and +making sacrifice to his net and his drag on account of his success with +them. Heuzey, the well-known French Assyriologist and antiquarian, makes a +comparison between this passage and the Vulture-stele, on which an ancient +Babylonian prince is represented as having placed his conquered foes in a +great net. This, however, does not explain the statement that the Chaldean +sacrificed and offered incense to his net and his drag, and it is doubtful +whether the Prophet had either that or any similar sculpture or picture in +his mind. There is, nevertheless, just the possibility that the +Babylonians were accustomed to pay divine honours to the net of Merodach, +and this may have given rise to the statement in the passage quoted. +Whether the relief on the Vulture-stele be derived from the legend of +Merodach or not, is doubtful--in all probability it merely expresses a +simile derived from catching wild animals with a net, as exhibited by the +sculptures of Assur-bani-apli in the Assyrian Saloon of the British +Museum. + +Pp. 132-133. With regard to the statements on these pages, the Rev. John +Tuckwell writes: "Gen. xi. 1 must in all fairness be regarded as going +back prior to ch. x, in order to tell the history of Babylon from its +foundation. Again:--Why contradict Genesis? We do not know who 'began' to +build Babylon--Sayce suggests 'Etana.' It is quite possible that 'they left +off to build the city,' and resumed the work under Nimrod. There is no +need to regard any of the statements as 'interpolations' if thus read. If +all mankind perished by the Flood, as both stories appear to teach, there +must surely have been a time when 'the whole earth was of one language.' " + +P. 134. For the derivation of Shinar, see the note to p. 119. + +P. 136. The Mohammedan legend of the Tower of Babel, as told in the +Persian work, _Rauzat-us-Safa_,(336) may be interesting. It is as +follows:-- + +"When Nimrud had witnessed the extinction of the pile of fire, and had +beheld the roses produced therein by the benign Creator, he aspired to +ascend to heaven.... Nimrud ... spent many years in erecting a tower, +which was so high that the bird of imagination could not reach its summit. +When it was completed, he ascended to the pinnacle of the spire, but the +aspect of the heavens remained precisely the same as from the surface of +the earth. This astonished and perplexed him. The next day the tower fell, +and such a fearful noise struck the ears of the inhabitants of Babel that +most of them fainted from the effects thereof; and when they had recovered +their senses they forgot their own language, so that every tribe spoke a +different idiom, and seventy-two tongues became current among them." + +P. 136, l. 3 from below. Nannara was the moon-god, the same as Sin. L. 6 +from below, read _E-bar-igi-e-di_. + +P. 144, l. 9 from below. The Rev. C. H. W. Johns, in his Assyrian deeds +and documents, has pointed out the likeness of the names _Nahiri_ and +_Naharau_ (or _Naharau_) to Nahor, referred to by Kittel in his little +book upon Delitzsch's _Babel und Bibel_.(337) _Nahiru_, however, is the +common Assyro-Babylonian word for "nostril," and is also the name of a +creature of the sea supposed to be the dolphin. _Naharau_ it may be noted, +notwithstanding the absence of the prefix of divinity, bears every +appearance of being a name like _Bel-Yau_ on p. 59, the initial _y_ or _i_ +being omitted as in the case of _Au-Aa_ seven lines lower down. Judging +from analogy, _Naharau_ should mean "Nahar is Jah," but whether this has +anything to do with the name Nahor or not is doubtful--as Assyrian +equivalent we should rather expect _Nahuru_. + +P. 145, l. 11 from below. The name of a Babylonian district called Pulug +occurs in a Babylonian geographical list, and may be the same as Peleg. +Though the ideogram is different, this is possibly the same as the Pulukku +of the _Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia_, vol. II., pl. 52, l. 53, +where it is explained as _Bit hare_, "the house of the cutting," or +"excavation." The Babylonians would therefore seem to have regarded Pulug +or Pulukku as referring to the division of the land of Babylon by the +cutting of the irrigation-channels which gave it its fertility. + +P. 146, l. 4. There is no great probability that the name Terah has +anything to do with _Tarhu_, which occurs in certain names found in +Assyrian contracts (Johns, _Assyrian Deeds_, pp. 127, 458, etc.). + +P. 147, l. 4 from below. The family of Terah may, however, have become +pastoral on leaving Ur of the Chaldees. + +P. 148 (Abram). According to Prof. Breasted (_American Journal of Semitic +Studies_, Oct. 1904) mention is made in the geographical list of Shishak +at Karnak of "the field of Abram," and if this identification be correct, +it is the earliest reference to the great ancestor of the Hebrews and the +nations associated with them, though it cannot be said that the date (time +of Jeroboam and Rehoboam) is a very remote one. Owing to the same Egyptian +character being used for both _r_ and _l_, Maspero read the word as the +plural of _'abel_, "meadow." + +P. 150, l. 23. Illustrations of the old Akkadian (or Sumerian) laws will +be found in the contracts of adoption of Bel-ezzu and Arad-Ishara on pp. +176 and 177. The laws themselves are given on p. 190. + +P. 152, second paragraph. It is needful to state that a few Semitic +Babylonian inscriptions of an exceedingly early date (seemingly before +3000 B.C.) exist, likewise a few Sumero-Akkadian texts after 2300 B.C., +and the periods of the two languages therefore overlap. Judging from the +inscriptions, however, Sumero-Akkadian goes back to a date much earlier +than the earliest Semitic, but it was to all appearance hardly used after +the period of the dynasty of Hammurabi. + +P. 158, l. 11. The Gutites were probably Medes. + +P. 161, l. 11. It is not improbable that Sippar-Amnanu means simply +"Amonite Sippar," the second word of the compound being apparently from +Amna,(338) which is possibly the Babylonian form of the name of the +Egyptian sun-god, Amon. _Ya'ruru_ is seemingly the old form of Aruru, one +of the names of Istar, who was also worshipped there. + +P. 166. The wedding-gift was to all appearance the price paid by the +bridegroom for the bride, in this case handed to the bride's brother and +sister. For the laws concerning this payment, see Hammurabi's Code, +sections 163 and 164 (p. 505). It was generally handed to the bride's +father (upon a dish, according to _Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western +Asia_, vol. v., pl. 24, ll. 48-51_cd_).(339) Instead of "Ammi-titana the +king," Dr. Schor reads Ammi-titana-sarrum, _i.e._ as the name of a man, +meaning "Ammi-titana is king." If this be correct, the document is not a +record of the marriage of a princess. + +P. 168. The grain given to Seritum was probably of the nature of a +deposit--according to Hammurabi's Code, sect. 257, the wages of a reaper +were not one _gur_ of grain, but eight. + +P. 173-174. Upon the question of adoption, see Hammurabi's Code, sections +185-193. As there is no indication, in these enactments, that female +children were included, it is doubtful whether Ana-Aa-uzni and Ahh-ayabi +had any remedy in case of repudiation, or refusal to perform all the +conditions. Calling the gods to witness was probably regarded as being a +sufficient safeguard. Nevertheless, the usage of the language was such +that "daughtership" could be included in "sonship." + +Pp. 174 ff. It is noteworthy that, in this contract, there is no +indication of the second wife having been taken to vex the first (Lev. +xviii. 18, A.V.), and as the second was to be subordinate to the first, +rivalling (as the R.V. translates) was as far as possible prevented. As +the children already born are referred to (p. 175, l. 20), the second +marriage could not have been due to the absence of offspring, and it may +therefore be supposed that the second wife was taken on account of the +ill-health of the first (Hammurabi's Code, sect. 148). This is supported +by the clauses referring to the services which Iltani was to perform for +her "sister." + +P. 176. The adoption of Bel-ezzu illustrates section 191 of Hammurabi's +Code. Both are based upon the Sumerian laws translated on pp. 190 and 191. +The word translated "deep" (line 19) is one generally used for the ocean, +the abode of Ea (Aa), god of the waters. It may have been something +similar to "the brazen sea" in the temple at Jerusalem. + +P. 177. Arad-Ishara was evidently adopted under the same law and enactment +as the foregoing. The declaration of the foster-father of his right to +have children is interesting. + +Upon the adoption of Karanatum, compare pp. 173 and 174, with the note +thereon. + +Pp. 178 and 179. The three tablets giving equal portions to each of the +three brothers, illustrate sections 165 and 167 of the Code, which enacts +that all brothers shall share equally. Any gift or share in the property +left by the mother would probably be recorded on another document. + +P. 180. Laws 178 ff. of Hammurabi's Code show that votaries and +priestesses had special privileges in the matter of inheriting property, +and it would seem from the tablet of Eristum, the sodomite or public +woman, that her station did not allow her the choice, that being the right +of her sister, Amat-Samas, priestess of the sun. + +P. 181. Naramtum apparently had no children, and seems to have been +divorced in accordance with section 138 of Hammurabi's Code. + +P. 185. The case of Samas-nuri is illustrated by sections 144-146 of +Hammurabi's Code. + +Pp. 187 and 188. The conditions of the hiring of a slave were probably +those of the old Sumerian law translated on p. 191. + +P. 199, l. 26. Elamite overlordship was naturally coextensive with that of +Babylon as long as the latter power acknowledged Elamite supremacy. + +P. 201, l. 5 from below. _Qanni_ is probably one of the Assyro-Babylonian +words for "sanctuary." + +P. 203. In addition to the deities mentioned, Assur-bani-apli +(Assurbanipal) speaks of the goddess Nin-gala, the "great lady" or +"queen," as having a temple called E-gipara at Haran. She is mentioned +with Nusku (p. 202) and is called "the mother of the gods," Samas, the +sungod, being described as her firstborn. To all appearance she was the +consort of the Moongod, Nannar. + +P. 208, last line. "Yoke of the _Elamites_" would probably have been the +better term. (See the note to p. 199.) + +P. 209, l. 8 from below. Oppert always refused to accept the +identification of Amraphel with Hammurabi. + +P. 222, l. 4 from below. It would appear from the Babylonian lists that +Tudhula may be read simply Tudhul, notwithstanding the final _a_ at the +end. + +P. 243, ll. 25 ff. The name Aqabi-ilu (p. 463, l. 15) is similarly formed +to that of Ya'kubi-ilu, and from the same root, but it is not identical +with it. There is no probability that Egibi (p. 439, l. 2, etc.) has any +connection with the name Jacob, as has been suggested. Its connection with +the (? Assyrian) name Hakkubu seems to be still more unlikely. Upon these +and similar names, see Hommel, "_Ancient Hebrew Tradition_,"(340) p. 112. + +P. 246, l. 5. If my memory serves me, the name Gadu-tabu, "the fortune is +good," occurs on a contract-tablet in the British Museum. (I unfortunately +forgot to make note of it at the time, hence my inability to give the +reference.) + +P. 249, after the first paragraph. Jacob's wrestling with "a man" (Gen. +xxxii. 24 ff.) brings out the interesting name Peniel or Penuel (vv. 30 +and 31), explained as "the face of God," so called because he had there +"seen God face to face." A similar name to this is the Babylonian +_Ana-pani-ili_, "to the face of God," sometimes shortened to _Appani-ili_. +The documents bearing the latter are of the time of Samsu-iluna, and are +therefore rather earlier than the time of Jacob. Besides the meaning given +above, other renderings are possible, and the question arises, whether +_Ana-pani-ili_ means "(let me go) to the presence" or "before the face of +God," or that its bearer was asked for by his father "at the presence of +God." Many other possible renderings will also, in all probability, occur +to the reader, but it is noteworthy, that in this case, the Biblical +narrative may, by chance, serve to explain this Babylonian compound, for +as "the man" with whom Jacob wrestled was the representative of the +Almighty, so _pani_ in the Babylonian name may be interpreted in the same +way, and the person bearing it may have been offered or dedicated to the +face, or presence (that is, the representative) of God. It is to be noted +that the owner of the name on Mr. Offord's cylinder (pl. vi. no. 2) was a +worshipper of the god Hadad or Rimmon, and was not, therefore, a +monotheist. + +P. 273, l. 8. The date of Amenophis II., according to Petrie, was about +1449 to 1423. + +P. 278. The non-Semitic pronunciation of _Ninip_ was possibly _Nirig_, and +the Semitic reading _En-masti_ (so Prof. A. T. Clay). An earlier reading +of the Aramaic character regarded as _m_ was _n_, which would give +_Enu-restu_, "the primaeval lord," or the like, a title of Ninip and of +other gods. For other suggestions, see Hrozny in the _Revue Semitique_, +July 1908. + +P. 279, l. 2. The name Bidina may also be read Kastina, apparently a +variant of the Babylonian Bidinnam or Kastinnam. + +L. 12 ff. The mention of _Dumu-zi_, _i.e._ Tammuz or Adonis, goes back to +about 3500 B.C., or earlier. Hymns to Tammuz in the dialect of the +Sumerian language exist, dating from about 2000 years before Christ, the +most noteworthy of these compositions at present known being that +preserved in the Manchester Museum. + +L. 27. Mutzu'u. It is doubtful whether this name is complete on the tablet +where it occurs. Possibly Mutzuata, a name occurring on the Bronze Gates +found by Mr. Rassam at Balawat, furnishes an indication as to the way in +which it should be completed. (Knudtzon reads _Mut-bahlu_, written for +Mut-ba'la, possibly meaning "the man of his lord.") + +L. 31. Yabitiri. The inscription referring to his early life is translated +on pp. 284-285. + +L. 37. For Addu-nirari, read Adad-nirari, the Assyrian form. + +P. 280, line 4 and note. Nin-Urmuru (?) Knudtzon reads as Belit(= +Ba'lat)-Ur-Mah-Mes. In Assyro-Babylonian this would probably be read +_Belit-nesi_, a name meaning "the lady of the lions." + +P. 286, note 1. For the name Mut-zu'u, compare the note to p. 279, l. 27, +above. Knudtzon's new translation differs somewhat from that given here. + +P. 293, l. 26. Another Zimreda (to all appearance) is mentioned in an +inscription in the British Museum. This text comes from Babylonia, and is +possibly of an earlier date. It apparently refers to the affairs of the +Babylonian principality of Suhu and Maer. + +P. 319, l. 14. Suhi and Maer are mentioned together in the document +referred to above, note to p. 293, and in the inscription of +Samas-res-usur, governor of that district, published by Dr. Weissbach in +his _Babylonische Miscellen_. This district lay, according to that +scholar, somewhere near the point where the Habur runs into the Euphrates. +As the western boundary of this state is entirely unknown, the full value +of Tiglath-pileser I.'s boast cannot be estimated, but the district +ravaged must have been a considerable stretch of country. + +P. 325. The inscription referring to Gazzani probably forms part of one of +those in which the ruler asks the gods (generally Samas and Hadad) for +success against the countries which he intended to invade. Sargon of +Assyria, Esarhaddon, and Assur-bani-apli (Assurbanipal) all had similar +inscriptions composed for them. From the manner in which the text is +written, however, it is probable that it antedates these. + +P. 329, l. 4 from below. Instead of "advanced," another possible +translation is "rose up." + +P. 330, l. 3. Instead of Gilzau, Kirzau and several other readings are +possible. + +The "battle of Qarqara," as it is generally called, is illustrated by +strip I (old mark C) of the Bronze Gates of Shalmaneser II.(341) The +scenes only represent the capture of the cities Parga, Ada, and Qarqara of +Urhileni (= Irhuleni) of the land of the Hamathites, there being no +reference either to Ahab, or to his allies. The city of Qarqara was later +on taken by Sargon (see p. 363). + +P. 341, l. 4. Instead of _Persia_, read _Pahlav_ as the identification of +Parsua (Hommel). + +P. 343, l. 22. As the character translated "lady" means also "sister," it +may in reality indicate the relationship of Sammu-ramat to +Bel-tarsi-ili-ma. + +P. 346, l. 22. Tiglath-pileser "III.," or "IV." + +P. 347, l. 25. Sardurri of Ararat is the Sardaris (II.) of the Armenian +cuneiform texts. + +P. 349, l. 6. Hatarikka is also spelled with one _k_, as on pp. 344 and +345. + +P. 374, l. 20. In Kammusu-nadbi we have an instance of the occurrence of +the name of Chemosh, the national god of the Moabites. This name is also +found in that of Kamusu-sarra-usur, apparently a Babylonian, perhaps of +Moabite origin (see the note to p. 466). + +P. 376, l. 21. Urbi occurs as the name of a city or district in a +Babylonian geographical list, from which we learn also that there was an +"upper" and a "lower" Urbi. It is immediately followed by Pulug (see the +note to p. 145). + +L. 8. from below. Kallima-Sin is now read Kadasman-Harbe (or Murus). + +P. 381, foot-note. According to Prof. W. Max Mueller, _Orientalische +Literaturzeitung_, Nov., 1902, Mer-en-Ptah and "the great sorcerer and +high-priest of Memphis" were brothers, and the incident of the vision took +place before Mer-en-Ptah's battle with the Libyans, when, as he himself +states, he saw in a dream a figure like that of Ptah, who said to him +"Take," giving him the sword, and "Put away from thee thy +faintheartedness." Max Mueller attributes the chronological error neither +to Herodotus nor to the Egyptian scribes who supplied him with +information, but to Hecataeus of Miletus, whose work Herodotus used--"an +Egyptian would not have made such a chronological blunder." This, +naturally, much diminishes the value of the extract as a parallel to the +account of the destruction of Sennacherib's army before Jerusalem. + +P. 384, l. 1 ff. The following is Nabonidus's account of the murder of +Sennacherib and the events which led up to it, from the inscription +published by the Rev. V. Scheil in the _Recueil des Travaux relatifs a la +Philologie et a l'Archeologie egyptiennes et assyriennes_, vol. XVIII., +pp. 1 ff.:-- + +"He (this must be Sennacherib) went to Babylon, he laid its sanctuaries in +ruin, he destroyed the reliefs,(342) the statues he overthrew. He took the +hands of the prince, Merodach, and caused him to enter within +Assur(343)--according to the anger of the god then he treated the land. The +prince, Merodach, did not cease from his wrath--for 21 years he set up his +seat within Assur. (In) later days a time arrived, the anger of the king +of the gods, the lords, was then appeased. He remembered E-sagila and +Babylon, the seat of his dominion. The king of Mesopotamia,(344) who +during the anger of Merodach had accomplished the ruin of the land, the +son born of his body slew him with the sword." + +For the Babylonians, the Assyrian king was the instrument of Merodach's +wrath. + +P. 385. The British Museum "black stone" mentions Esarhaddon's elder +brothers: "I, Esarhaddon, whom thou (O Merodach) hast called, in the +assembly of my elder brothers, to restore those buildings" (_i.e._ the +temples, etc., damaged by floods). + +P. 393. Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar the Great, in an +inscription found by the German expedition, and published by Dr. Weissbach +in his _Babylonische Miscellen_, refers to the downfall of Assyria in the +following words:-- + +"The Assyrian, who from remote days ruled all people, and with his heavy +yoke oppressed the people of the land,(345) I, the weak, the humble, the +worshipper of the lord of lords, by the mighty force of Nebo and Merodach, +my lords, cut off their feet from the land of Akkad, and caused their yoke +to be thrown off." + +As the text is not of any great length, Nabopolassar could not give +details, but notwithstanding his humility, it is noteworthy that he takes +all the credit to himself. The inscription is written on four cylinders +from E-hatta-tila, the temple of Ninip in Su-anna. + +P. 399, l. 8. The spelling of the name of Nebuchadnezzar differs somewhat +in the various inscriptions, but the meaning is always practically the +same--"Nebo, protect the boundary" or "my boundary," according as the +second component ends in _a_ or _i_. In Nabium (p. 398, l. 7 from below) +we have an old form fully spelt out. + + [Plate XVI.] + + Emblems used by Esarhaddon, and carved on the upper surface of the black + stone presented to the British Museum by Lord Aberdeen. It represents a +divine tiara upon an altar, a priest, the sacred tree of the Assyrians, a + bull, a mountain (?), a plough, a date-palm, and a rectangular + object--perhaps the walls of a town. The same emblems, arranged in a + circle, are found on the cylinders from Babylon inscribed with his + architectural works in that city. + + +P. 400, l. 25. The name of at least one Nabu-zer-iddina (son of Ab[laa?], +descendant of Irani) occurs in the contracts of the time of +Nebuchadnezzar. This man, however, was a scribe, and there is no +indication that he had ever been captain of the guard. + +P. 403, ll. 7 ff. The penalty of death by fire, inflicted on Shadrach, +Meshach, and Abednego, receives illustration from the notes to p. 480. + +P. 405, l. 21. The German excavations at Babylon have revealed the +appearance of the gate of Istar as a plain opening in a wall of the city, +covered with glazed brickwork, ornamented with bulls and dragons +alternately, arranged in vertical rows, a decoration which is repeated in +the thickness of the wall and in the inner recesses. (See Delitzsch's _Im +Lande des einstigen Paradieses_, figures 25 and 26.) For the position of +the gate, see the note to pp. 471, 472. + +P. 406, ll. 2 and 3 from below. "The House of the Foundation of Heaven and +earth" is the E-temen-ana-kia of p. 138. + +P. 413, above. As an example of the sending of the statues of deities +temporarily away from their shrines, see p. 278, where mention is made of +the image of Istar of Nineveh, sent to Egypt by king Dusratta. + +P. 415, l. 23, and four following pages. Ugbaru and Gubaru are generally +regarded as two forms of the name Gobryas, and though this seems certain, +there is just the possibility, that they are the names of two different +persons. + +P. 425, l. 10 from below. The tablet mentioning Zeru-Babili son of +Muterisu exists in two examples, one being in the British Museum, and the +other (which has an Aramaic docket) in the possession of Mr. Joseph +Offord. It is translated in the _Quarterly Statement_ of the Palestine +Exploration Fund, July, 1900, pp. 264 ff. + +P. 439, l. 26. The _raqundu_ was probably a weaver's or embroiderer's +tool, returned in exchange for that lent. + +P. 446, ll. 8 ff. from below. The inscription referred to is published in +the _Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology_, Dec. 1895, pp. +278, 279. + +P. 453, ll. 6-8. Prof. Campbell Thompson translates: "I send this as a +_trouble_ to my brothers"--_i.e._ "I am sorry to trouble you, but I hope +you will do what is right." + +P. 457, l. 19. Arad-Mede may also be read Arad-Gula. In the next line +Subabu-sara' may be Sumabu-sara'. + +P. 466 (the sale of an Egyptian slave). Another text of the same nature, +dated in the same year, is in the De Clercq collection. It refers to the +sale of an Egyptian slave-woman named Tamunu ("she of Amon"). The text is +published, with a translation by Prof. J. Oppert, in the second vol. of +the _Catalogue_.(346) The slave in question belonged to Itti-Nabu-balatu, +son of Kamusu-sarra-usur, "Chemosh, protect the king"--probably indicating +that the bearer of the name was of Moabite origin, or the introduction of +the god of the Moabites into Babylonia. + +Pp. 471-472. The German excavations have already settled many doubtful +points concerning the topography of Babylon, and it is certain that, after +the destruction of the city, exaggerated accounts of its enormous extent +obtained credence. According to Delitzsch, it was not larger than Munich +or Dresden, though even that is a good size for an Oriental city. The +principal ruins are on the right bank of the river, and included Babil +("Probably a palace"), to protect which the city-wall makes a considerable +angle on the north. From this point the wall continues its course in a +south-easterly direction for a considerable distance, and turning at a +right angle at its farthest point from the river, runs back in a +south-westerly direction to meet it again. About a mile south of Babil the +visitor comes upon the great ruin known as the Kasr, where stood +Nebuchadnezzar's second palace. On the eastern side of this is the +"procession-street" of the god Merodach, from which came some very fine +reliefs of "the Lion of Babylon," beautifully wrought in coloured and +enamelled brick. The temple of the goddess Nin-mah lay to the south-east +of the southern end of the street, and between the two was situated the +celebrated Gate of Istar, adorned with lions and strangely-formed dragons, +already referred to (p. 551). Proceeding to the south-west from the temple +of Nin-mah, we reach Nebuchadnezzar's earlier palace, a very extensive +structure, with a spacious court-yard and a large hall used as a +throne-room, on the south side of which the recess for the throne is still +visible. The palace of his father Nabopolassar, which adjoined it on the +west, has not yet been excavated. About half-a-mile to the south of these +palaces lie the ruins of the great temple of Belus, in the mound now known +as Amran-ibn-Ali (see pp. 137 ff., 476, 480, ff.). The German excavations +have thus confirmed the identification of the site, as indicated in the +_Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia_, vol. I., pl. 48, no. 9 +(published in 1861). This text, which is a brick-inscription of +Esarhaddon, reads as follows:-- + +"Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, king of Babylon, has caused the brickwork of +E-saggil, E-temen-ana-kia, to be built anew for Merodach his lord." + +According to the German plan, the portion of the city on the west of the +river was of exceedingly small extent. + +Artists will soon be able to depict the scenery of Babylon as a background +for pictures of this world-renowned city with considerable accuracy. + +P. 478, l. 24. An alternative rendering instead of "sculptor," is +"seal-engraver." + +P. 480. On account of the Greek words, I give here a transcription of the +late Babylonian text of the extract printed on this page:-- + +_An(tiukkusu) sarru ina alani sa mat Meluhha saltanis itta-luku-ma ... +(amelu) pulite puppe u epsetam sa kima usurtu (amelu) Yawannu...._ + +_Usurtu_ may be translated "bas-relief" instead of "shrine," but the +rendering would not be materially changed thereby. + +The remainder of the inscription, which is exceedingly interesting, is +rather mutilated, and a trustworthy translation of it is at present +exceedingly difficult. Certain thieves (_sarraqa_), however, seem to be +mentioned, and had to all appearance stripped (_iqlubu_) the image of +Uru-gala and another, "a deity whose name was called Ammani'ita." On the +10th of Marcheswan these thieves were captured and imprisoned, and on the +13th to all appearance judged and condemned. _Umu suati ina isati qalu_, +"That day they were burnt in the fire"--such is the end of the story. + +This seems not to be in accordance with the laws of sacrilegious theft, as +stated in sections 6 and 8 of Hammurabi's code. Perhaps the law had +changed in the 1800 years which had elapsed since the time of that ruler; +or stripping a sacred image was a much more heinous crime than mere theft +from a temple, which, in the first degree, was punishable with death. + +It is noteworthy that refusal to worship the image set up by +Nebuchadnezzar was visited, in Dan. iii, with the same penalty, probably +as showing contempt for the divinity. + +P. 484, l. 13. The river Silhu is probably the Sellas in Messinia, where +one of the numerous cities named Apameia (Apam'(i)a) lay. + +Pp. 489-491. Not the least interesting of this long list of temples and +cities are Assur and Nineveh, of which we have here the earliest mention. + + + + + +INDEX. + + +Aa, Ae, Ea (Aos), 17, 26, 56, 61, 77; + ? the same name as Ya, 59, 112; + transferred to Merodach, 32, 113; + his other names and titles, 62; + abode and form, 62, 63; + offspring, attendants, and consort, 63, 64; + parentage, 17, 64; + god of handicrafts, rivers, and water, the sea and life therein, 62, 63; + ever ready with counsel, 64; + warns Pir-napistim of the coming of the Flood, commands him to build a + ship, and tells him what to say to the people, 102; + reproaches Ellila, 107; + deifies Pir-napistim, 107, 108; + worshipped at Eridu, 160; + month Iyyar dedicated to him, 65; + figures of Aa, 247 + +Aa (Ae, Ea), Ya, Ya'u, names containing, 59, 546 + +Aa (goddess), 160 + +Aah-mes, Egyptian captain of marines, 270 + +Aah-mes, Pharaoh, 269, 270 + +Aa-ibur-sabu, Babylon's festival street, 405, 472 + +Aa-rammu of Edom, 374 + +_Abarakku_, 258 + +Abdi-Asirta (Abdi-Asirti, Abdi-Asratum, Abdi-Astarti), the Amorite, 278, + 293; + the forms of his name, 313; + writes to the king of Egypt, 314 + +Abdi-ili (Abdeel), 157 + +Abdi-li'iti of Arvad, 374 + +Abdi-milkutti of Sidon beheaded, 386 + +Abdi-taba of Jerusalem, 233; + in a different position from Melchizedek, 235; + writes to the king of Egypt, 294, 295, 297-299; + see also 293 + +Abed-nego (Abed-nebo), the Babylonian name of Azariah, 129, 403 + +Abel-Beth-Maachah, 352, 353 + +Abesu' (Ebisum), king, 153, 155; + his daughter hires a field, 167 + +Abi-baal of Samsimuruna, 386 + +Abil-Addu-nathanu, life of, 459 ff. + +Abil-akka, 352 + +Abil-Sin, king, 153 + +Abi-nadib (Abinadab), 438, 439 + +Ablum, "son," as a personal name, 547 + +Abram, Abraham, his parentage, meaning of his first name, and traditions + concerning him, 146, 147, 196; + a Chaldean or Babylonian, 147; + probable Assyrian form of his name, 148; + the importance of his period, 149 ff.; + his seeming mistrust of the sons of Heth, 150, 151; + was there a movement towards monotheism in his time? 198, 199; + the Sabeans dedicate a chapel to him, 203; + the field of Abram, 552 + +_Abrech_, Sayce's explanation of, 258 + +_Abriqqu_, 258 + +Absence of names of Egyptian kings, 250 + +_Abubu_, one of the weapons of Merodach, 24 + +Abu-habbah (Sippar), 158, 411 + +Abu-ramu, 148 + +Abydenus, 63, 384, 385, 393 + +Abyss, the, measured by Merodach, 26. + _See_ Apsu, Apason + +Accad, a city of Nimrod's kingdom, 118. + _See_ Akkad + +Accho, 277; + lawless acts of the people, 281, 282, 360, 374 + +Accusation, false, 501 (127) + +Achzib (Akzibi), 374 + +Act of God, 513, 523 + +Adad-'idri, 329; + resists the Assyrian king, 334, 335; + = Ben-Hadad, 337 + +Adad-nirari of Assyria, 279 + +Adad-nirari, king of Nuhasse, 317 + +Adad-nirari III., king, 339, 342, 344; + inscriptions of, 340, 341, 343 + +Adam, various etymologies of the word, 78; + _adam_ in the bilingual story of the Creation, 78, 79 + +Adamah, 292 + +Adaya, 297 + +Addu (Hadad), 157, 170, 277 + +Adini of Til-barsip, 328 + +Administration, 493, 494 + +Adonis (_see_ Dumuzi, Tammuz), 82, 279 + +Adoni-zedek, 324 + +Adoption, 173, 175 177, 463, 465, 508, 509, 525, 553 ff. + +Adram(m)elech, 378, 384, 385 + +Adultery, 501, 502 + +Aesculapius, the serpent, and the magic herb, 109 _n._ + +Agad, Agade, 124, 412, 422; + its temple-tower, 136; + misfortunes sung, 477. + _See_ Akkad + +Agaditess, lamentation of the, 477 + +Agents and travelling merchants, laws concerning, 495 + +Agricultural implements, theft of, 513 + +Ahab (Ahabbu of the Sir'ilaa), 329-331, 335, 337, 338 + +Ahaz and Tiglath-pileser, 353, 356 + +Ahi-milki of Ashdod, 386 + +Ahi-miti of Ashdod, 369 + +Ahi-tabu (Ahitub), 281 + +Ahuni of Til-barsip, 328 + +Ahuramazda, 426, 427 + +Ain-anab, 293 + +Ainsworth, W. F., his description of the ruins of Haran, 200 + +Ajalon, 280, 297 + +Akizzi, king of Qatua, 289-290, 317 + +Akkad (Accad), 119; + references to the country and its language, 121, 412; + the ideograph for, 122; + in early times a collection of small states, 123; + names of their capitals, 124; + the gods of, 415; + revolt in, 415; + weeping in, 416 + +Akkad, the city (Agade), 124, 135 + +Akkadian, Akkadians, 119, 120, 121; + probably migrants, 134; + will overthrow the nations, 123; + their language that of most of the earlier inscriptions, 124; + its gradual disuse, 125; + disappearance of their specific racial type, 125; + their literature current also in Assyria, 126; + their laws retained, 125; + transcription and translations of inscriptions, 219-221 + +Akku (Accho), 374 + +Alasia (? Cyprus), 277 + +Al Astarti, city, 278 + +Al beth Ninip, "the city of the temple of Ninip," 278 + +Aleppo, 304, 329 + +Allala-bird, Istar breaks his wings, 96 + +Allat, the temple of, 182 + +Alliance by marriage, 276 + +Amadeh, 273 + +Amana, the god Ammon, 278 + +Ama-namtagga, "the mother of sin," 532 + +Amanus mountains, 349, 368 + +Amaru, a name of Merodach, 54 + +Amar-uduk (Merodach), 54 + +Amasis, pharaoh, Babylonian vassal, 401 + +Amattu (Hamath), 363 + +Amedi, city, 372 + +Amen-em-heb, officer of Thothmes III., 272 + +Ameni (Amen-em-ha), inscription of, 261 + +Amenophis II., 273; + Amenophis III., 274, 316; + Amenophis IV., 269, 293, 299, 302; + his names, 303 + +Amherst of Hackney, Lord, his tablet mentioning Ostanes, 544 + +Amki, the cities of, 288, 289, 317 + +Ammani'ita, goddess, 561 + +Amminadab (Ammi-nadbi) of Beth-Ammon, 389 + +Ammi-titana, king, 153; + extent of his dominions, 155; + letter from, 165; + lord of Amurru, 215 + +Ammi-zaduga, king, 153; + tablet dated in his reign, 168, 332 + +Ammonites (Amanians), 329, 333 + +Ammurabi, a form of the name Hammurabi, 209 + +Ammurapi (Hammurabi), 210 + +Amna, a name of the sun-god, 144 + +Amon (the god Ammon), 278 + +Amoria (the land of the Amorites), 155, 205, 206, 207, 208, 374, 422 + +Amorite, Amorites, 156, 157, 300; + in Babylonia, 169, 277, 310; + tribute from the, 328, 341; + their kings do homage to Cyrus, 422; + their deities, 156, 170 _n._; + names, 170 + +Amorite tract, the, 169, 312 + +Amorite, an, the father of Jerusalem, 316 + +Amosis, the prince who knew not Joseph, 307 + +'Amq, identified with Amki, 289 + +Amraphel (Hammurabi), 125, 152; + identified with Hammurabi by Prof. Schrader, 209; + explanations of the final _l_, 211; + colophon-dates of his reign, 211-214; + his successor, 153, 187, 188 + +Amtheta, mother of Abram, 146 + +Amu, the ethnic name of the "impure" Hyksos kings, 265 + +Amurru (the land of the Amorites), 122, 134, 155, 205, 206 (207), 208, + 328, 341; + ruled over by Sargon of Agade, 215; + claimed by Hammurabi, 215; + ruled by Ammi-titana, 311; + the cuneiform ideographs for, 122, 311, 312; + used for "west," 311 + +Amurru (the god), 156, 312 + +Amurru (personal name), 157 + +Amytis, 407 + +Anab, 293 + +Anamimi, the spring of, 305 + +"An eye for an eye," etc., 509, 522 + +Animals created by Merodach, 40; + animals sent into the ark, 103, 117; + animals held in honour at On, 264, 265 + +Ankh-kheperu-Ra, "the beloved" of Amenophis IV., 303 + +Anman-ila, king, 54 _n._, 154 + +Annihilation, the, of Assyria, 393 + +Annunit, 224. _See_ Anunitum + +Anos (= Anu), 17 + +Ansan, city, 411, 420, 421 + +Ansar and Kisar, production of, 16; + their names, 65; + connection of Ansar with Asshur, 66; + identity of the two deities, 66; + similar names, 67 + +Ansar and the revolt of Tiamtu, 20 + +Antiochus (Epiphanes), tablet referring to his reign, 480, 561 + +Anu, god of the heavens, 16; + asked to subdue Tiamtu, 20; + fails, 21; + mentioned with Istar, 41; + worshipped at Erech, 160, 231; + Merodach founds a place for him, 26; + he joins with other deities to send a flood, 101 + +Anu-Bel, the god, 482, 483 + +Anunitum, goddess of Sippar, 160; + Nabonidus' and Belshazzar's offerings to her temple, 445, 450 + +Anunnaki (spirits or gods of the earth), creation of, 40; + present at the Flood, 104 + +Aos (Aa, Ae, or Ea), 17. _See_ Aa + +Apam'a (Apameia), city, 484 + +Apason (Apsu, the primaeval ocean), 16; + husband of Tauthe (Tiamtu), 17 + +Apharsathchites, the, 391 + +Apharsites, the, 391 + +Aphek, city, 330 + +Apophis ('Apop'i), 262 + +Apparazu, city, 334 + +Apprenticeage, 508 + +Apsu (= Apason), the primaeval ocean, the abyss, 17; + non-existent at the beginning, 39; + its fountain, 41, 44; + E-sagila there, 40, 43; + the abode of Tammuz, 43 + +Arabia, Sennacherib, king of, 378, 381 + +Arabians (Arbaa), 329, 333, 388, 391; + help Sennacherib, 382 + +"Arabic" dynasty, the, 169 + +Arabs, 347 + +Arahtu, the canal, 70 + +Aramaic dialects, 140; + papyri, 539 ff. + +Arame, king, 334 + +Aramean tribes, 347, 356 + +Arameans, 371 + +Aram-naharaim, 207 + +Arandas, Hittite king, 537 + +Ararat (Urartu), 127, 336, 347, 351, 367, 368 + +Arareh, 293 + +Ararma (Larsa), 218 + +Araske (Nisroch, the god Assur), 378 + +Arazias, land of, 341 + +Arbaces, the Scythian, 393 + +Arbela, 412 + +Archevites, the, 391 + +Argana, city, 329 + +Argob, 313 + +Ari, the land of the Amorites in Sumerian, 312 + +Arioch, 164; + identified with Eri-Aku, 209 + +Arioch, the king's captain, 403 + +Ark (ship), command to build the, given by Ae (Ea, Aa), 102, 117; + description of the, 103; + entered by Pir-napistim, his family, etc., 103; + given into the hands of a pilot, 104; + stopped by the mountain of Nisir, 105; + Bel's anger on seeing it, 106; + its building and provisionment, 103, 115 + +Armenia, 311, 344, 373; + Sennacherib's sons take refuge there, 378 + +Armenians (Mannaa), 387 + +Arnon, 313 + +Arpachshad, possible etymologies of, 143, 144 _n._ + +Arpad, 340, 345, 347 + +Arqania, city, 484 + +Arrapha (Arrapachitis), 345, 346 + +Arsaka (Arsaces), departs to Arqania, 484 + +Arsam (Arsames), 539, 542 + +Art of the Hittites, 323 + +Artaxerxes, friendly to the Jews, 428; + his death, 429 + +Artificers of the ark saved in the vessel, 103, 115, 117 + +Aruada (Arvad), 386, 390 + +Aruru, the goddess of Sippar-Aruru, 43, 44; + aids Merodach to create the seed of mankind, 40; + creates Ea-bani, 93; + her names, 546 + +Arvad, city, 272, 322, 328, 386, 390 + +Arvadites (Arudaa), 329, 374 + +Arzauya of Ruhizzu, 289 + +Arzawa, 298 + +Asaridu, letter of, 210 + +Asari-lu-duga (Merodach), 54, 155 + +Asaru or Asari (Merodach), 54, 143 + +Asdudimma, city, 369 + +Asenath, the name, 258; + legend concerning her, 259 + +Ashdod, 322, 369, 370, 376, 386 + +Ashdodites (Asdudaa), 374 + +Asherah, the, 278, 314 + +Ashtoreth, Ashtaroth, 156, 157, 278, 313 + +Askelon, 277, 297; + conquered by Meneptah II., 306, 374, 386 + +Asnapper (Assur-bani-apli), 391; + letter apparently addressed to him, 210 + +Aspasine (Hyspasines), Kharacenian king, 482, 483 + +Assarachoddas (Esarhaddon), 378 + +Asshur, builder of the cities of Assyria, 118 + +Asshur (Assur), city, creation or foundation of, 28, 38, 374, 422; + earliest mention of, 490; + revolts, 345, 346; + land of, 340 + +Assignment for loan, 498 + +Assur, the national god of the Assyrians, 202, 329, 340; + Delitzsch's etymology of, 66 + +Assuraaitu, queen, 392 + +Assur-aha-iddina (Esarhaddon), 392 + +Assur-bani-apli, 129; + letters to, 201, 410; + restores the temple of Nusku at Haran, 202; + see also 251; + refers to Sennacherib, 382; + his reign, 388-392; + his palace discovered, 394 + +Assur-dan, king, 344; + wars in Babylonia, etc., 345 + +Assur-etil-ilani-ukinni, 392 + +Assur-mulik (Assur-munik), 385 + +Assur-nadin-sum, son of Sennacherib, made king of Babylon, 379; + his deposition, 380 + +Assur-nasir, eponym, 410 + +Assur-nasir-apli, I., 327 + +Assur-nasir-apli II., 327; + attacks Carchemish, 321; + marches to the Mediterranean, 328 + +Assur-nirari II. marches to Hatarika, Arpad, 345; + and Namri, 346 + +Assur-uballit to Amenophis III., 282 + +Assur-uttir-asbat = Pitru, 329 + +Assyria, Assyrians, 122, 123; + spoke the same language as the Babylonians, 126; + their origin, 126; + character, rulers, artistic skill, 128; + invasion by, 331; + revolt of, 345, 374; + downfall of, 391 ff., 395; + Christians of, 485 + +Assyro-Babylonian language, the, widely known, 140, 275 + +Astamaku, city, 334 + +Astarte (Istar) and the Asherah, 314 + +Astyages captured by Cyrus, 411 + +Asur-nadin-ahi of Assyria, 283 + +'Atar-'ata ('Atar-ghata), Tar-'ata, Atargatis, or Derketo, 203 + +Atargatis, goddess of Haran, 203 + +Aten, the sun's disc, its suggested etymology, 303 + +Athribis, 389 + +Atra-hasis (Gk. Xisuthrus), a name of Pir-napistim, 107, 117; + the coming of the Flood revealed to him in a dream, 107 + +Augury from entrails, 240 + +Avaris, the Hyksos shut up in, 252; + the centre of their rule, 254; + taken by the Egyptians, 270 + +Avitus of Vienne, Bishop, 47 + +Ay, pharaoh, 303 + +Azariah, 338, 348 + +Aziru, 279, 293, 313, 315 + +Azor (Azuru), 375 + +Azriau or Izriau (Azariah), 348, 349 + +Azuri of Ashdod, 369 + +Azzati (Gaza), 285 + +Ba'ali, city, 340 + +Ba'ali-ra'asi, 337 + +Ba'al(u) of Tyre, 386 + +Baal-zephon (Ba'ali-sapuna), 349; + (Ba'il-sapuna), 369 + +Ba'asa (Baasha), 333 + +Baba (Beby), 261; + his inscription, 262 + +Babel = Babylon, 118, 135 + +Babel, Tower of, supposed, 44, 132-141, 398 + +Babia, name, 456 + +Babylon, founded by Merodach, 40; + principal centre, 124; + Dynasty of Babylon, 142, 152, 153; + city destroyed by Sennacherib, 380, 381; + Jehoiachin carried to, 399; + the gods of Akkad enter, 415; + at the time of the Captivity, 471-473; + the proposed new capital under Alexander the Great, 476; + its walls dismantled under the Seleucidae, 418; + as revealed by the German excavations, 560; + the Church at, 485; + tablets dated at, 432, 440-444, 448, 449, 459, 460, 464, 466, 478 + +"Babylon and the Bible," 525, ff. + +Babylonia (Sumer and Akkad, Shinar), 118, 119; + majority of inscriptions Semitic, 119; + federated under Hammurabi, 149; + change in its rule, 152; + under Assyrian rule, 327, 356, 357, 371, 379, 380, 386, 391; + under Cyrus, 419 ff.; + Darius and his successors, 424 ff.; + the Greeks, 475 ff.; + Kharacenians, 481; + Parthians, 484 + +Babylonia at the time of Abraham, 171, 347 + +Babylonian, Babylonians, character, 150; + dress, 171; + manners, 172, 391; + racial characteristics, 119, 120; + downfall of their empire, 415; + fought in the army of Cambyses, 467; + their religion, 49 ff., 159 ff.; + gods worshipped at a late date, 479 + +Babylonian Chronicle, the, 361, 383, 385 + +Bactrian slave-girl, the, 471 + +Baga-asa, brother of Hyspasines, 483 + +Baghdad, the Christians of, 126 + +Bagohi (Bagoas, Bagoses), 539 ff. + +Bahiani, 322 + +Balawat, gates of, 405 + +Ball, the Rev. C. J., 54; + compares Akkadian with Chinese, 121 + +Barbers and slave-marking, 511 + +Bardes (Barzia), 424 + +Baruhi-ilu (? Baruchiel), 458 + +Bashan, the plain of, 277 + +Bashmurites, origin of the, 266 + +"Battle," the, 530 + +Behistun (rock), 426 + +Bel, "the lord," a name given to Merodach, 32, l. 116, 54; + = Baal, Beecl, etc., 55; + as god of lordship and dominion, 58; + his dislike for Pir-napistim, 102; + his anger at the escape of the patriarch and his people from the Flood, + 107. + _See_ Anu-Bel + +Bel, "the lord" = Ellila (Illil) = Illinos, 17; + called "the father," 32, l. 116 + +Bel and the Dragon, story of (= the Semitic Babylonian story of the + Creation), 20 + +Bel-abla-iddina, captain of Babylon, 469 + +Bel-ahe-iddina, one of Neriglissar's captains, 444 + +Bel-bullit-su (a scribe), 478 + +Bel-etiranni, major-domo of Neriglissar, 438 + +Bel-ibni (Belibus), 379 + +Belichus (river), 328 + +Bel-Merodach, 18 + +Belos (Bel-Merodach), 17, 18; + his temple, 471, 472, 552 + +Bel-resua, Belshazzar's servant, 447 + +Bel-sarra-bullit, agent of Nabonidus and Belshazzar, 450 + +Bel-sarra-usur, chief of a Median province, 367 + +Bel-shamin worshipped at Haran, 203 + +Belshazzar (Bel-sarra-usur), son of Nabonidus, 414; + was he descendant of Nebuchadnezzar? 339, 407; + as crown prince, 412, 447 ff.; + in Akkad, 412, 449; + his position, 414; + though heir to the throne, 447; never mentioned as king, 419; + a sale of clothes, 449; + his appointment of Daniel, 419; + a letter apparently from, 538; + his death, 417-419 + +Bel-sum-iskun, father of Neriglissar, 409, 438 + +Bel-tarsi-ili-ma, of Calah, 343 + +Belteshazzar (Daniel), explanation of the name, 402 + +Beltis, goddess, 415 + +Bel-usallim, the enchanter, tablet of, 155 + +Bel-Yau, "Bel is Jah," name, 59 + +Bel-zer-lisir, copy of an old lamentation made for, 447, 478 + +Bene-berak (Banaa-barqa), 375 + +Ben-Hadad II. (son of Ben-Hadad I.), 330; + restores cities, 331; + besieges Samaria, 333; + meets Shalmaneser, 335; + see also 329, 337, 338, 342; + Ben-Hadad (god), 317 + +_Bennu_, the bird of Ra or Re, 265 + +Berechiah, 471 + +Beri, the Hasabite, to the king of Egypt, 288 + +Berlin Museum, 372 + +Berosus, the Babylonian author, 63, 378, 379 (siege of Jerusalem), 384, + 385 (death of Sennacherib), 406, 408, 409, 410, 418, 422 + +Bertin, George, his suggestion with regard to the "sons of god," 86 + +Beth-Ammon, 322, 386, 389 + +Beth-Ammonites, the, 374 + +Beth-arbel, 361 + +Beth-Dagon (Bit-Daganna), 375 + +Bethel (_bet-ili_), the, at Haran, 201; + division of property declared in the, 180 + +Beth-Ninip, the city, 235, 299 + +Bethuel, the name, 245 + +Beyrout, 293 + +Biamites, origin of the, 266 + +Bigamy, 503 + +Bilingual Creation story, 38-41 + +Bin-Addu, 317 + +Bin-Addu-'idri, 329. + _See_ Ben-Hadad + +Birch, Dr. S., 253 + +Birds, sending forth of the, 106, 116 + +Birejik, 207 + +Birs-Nimroud (Tower of Nimrod), services in, 485. + _See_ E-zida + +Bit-Amukkani (Chaldean tribe), 356 + +Bit-Bahiani, 322 + +Bit Humri, Bit Humria (Israel), 332, 352, etc. + +Bit Ninip in the province of Jerusalem, 2, 235, 299 + +Bit-Yakin, 371 + +Black Obelisk, 332, 337 + +Blessed, the abode of the, at the mouths of the rivers, 73 + +Blessing of Aaron, Delitzsch's parallel to, 526 + +Boatmen's wages and penalties, 511-512 + +Boats and ships, hire of, 514, 515; + boats of skins, 319 + +Body, the, of Joseph not taken at once to Canaan, 266, 267 + +Boghaz Keui (Koei), 205, 317, 537, 538 + +Bond and free, marriages between, 506, 507, 525 + +Borrowers, liabilities and rights of, 495, 496 + +Borsippa, the temple tower at, 137; + tablets dated at, 461, 462. + _See_ Birs-Nimroud, E-zida + +Bosanquet (Mr.), 345 + +Bow of Merodach, 28 + +Branding of animals, 457 + +Breasted, Prof., 552 + +Brick in Babylonia, 135 + +Brigandage, 493 + +Brugsch, Prof., 253, 304, 305; + his translation of the inscription of Baba, 262 + +Bubastis, 263 + +Budu-ilu of Beth-Ammon, 374, 386 + +Builders, their pay and liabilities, 511; + Babylonian kings as, 398 + +Building of the ship or ark, 102, 103, 117 + +Bull, divine, sent against Gilgames and his friend, 97; + killed and mutilated by the latter, 97, 98 + +Buntahtun-ila, king, 54 _n._, 154 + +Burial of Seqnen-Re, 269 + +Burra-burias (Burna-burias), king, 276, 293; + speaks of Canaan, 205; + his letter to Amenophis III., 281 + +Bur-Sin, king, 124, 164; + meaning of his name, 217, 218 + +Buzu, city, 182 + +Buzur-Kurgala, the pilot or boatman of the ship (ark), 104 + +Caedmon, 47 + +Cain and Abel, parallel to the story of, 82-84 + +Calah (Nimroud), built by Asshur, 118, 126, 341; + statues at, 343; + revolt in, 346 + +Calne, 348 + +Calneh, one of the cities of Nimrod's kingdom, 118; + identified with Niffer, 126, 135 + +Camarina (Urie), 146; + its probable etymology, 147, 197 + +Cambyses (Kambuzia), performs ceremonies, 416; + becomes king, 424; + tablet of his reign, 466; + his campaign in Egypt, 467 + +Canaan, 204, 205; + mentioned by the Pharaoh, 301, 304, 306; + "a domain of Babylonian culture," 526 + +Canaanites, Rameses II. and the, 305 + +Canals, the Babylonian, 159 + +Canon, the Babylonian, agrees with that of Ptolemy in naming Pulu or + Poros, 357, 358 + +Canon of Ptolemy, 358, 398 + +Canons, the eponym, 352, 353, 358 + +Cappadocia, 318 + +Captives asked for, 301, 302 + +Caravans, attacks on, 281, 285, 286 + +Carchemish, 272, 304, 319, 321, 329-334, 339, 367 + +Carchemishites, 350 + +Carmania, Nabonidus exiled to, 418 + +Carmel, Thothmes III. at, 271 + +"Cedar, beloved of the great gods," the, 76 + +Carrier's responsibility, 499 + +Cart, oxen and driver, hire of, 514 + +Chaboras (Habor), river, 364 + +Chaldean, Chaldeans, the tribes, 341, 347, 356; + not liked by the Babylonians, 371; + Esarhaddon and the, 388; + Nabopolassar supposed to be a, 396 + +Chaldean Christians, the, 394 + +Characters, Assyrian, 312; + Babylonian, 122 + +Changelings, 509 + +Chariots of the Hittites, 319 + +Chedor-, 209. + _See_ Kudur- + +Chedorlaomer, 209, 215; + at first identified with Kudur-mabuk, 222; + probably the Kudur-lahmal, or Kudur-lahgumal of the inscriptions, 223, + 232 + +Chemosh, the god of the Moabites, 557, 559 ff. + +Cherub, cherubim, 80-82, 533, 547 + +Chiefs of Takhsi made captive, 273 + +Chinzeros (Ukin-zer), 356, 357 + +Chnub, Chnum, priests of, plot against Jews, 539, 542, 543 + +Choosing the inheritance, 180 + +Christians, of Mossoul and its neighbourhood, 394; + of Baghdad and Irak, 485 + +Chronological trade-document, a 398 + +Cilicia (Kefto), 274, 368; + places near, conquered by Sennacherib, 379 + +Cilicians, the, 390 + +Cities, creation of, in Babylonia, 28; + their growth, 171; + invoked as deities, 181; + those benefited by Hammurabi, 489, 491 + +Cities, etc., of the western states, before the Hebrews, 277 + +Cittaeans, 360 + +Civilization in Babylonia, antiquity of, 170 + +Clay, Prof. A. T., 555 + +Cleopatra's Needle, 265 + +Coast-lands, Mediterranean, pay tribute to Assur-bani-apli, 388 + +Code of Hammurabi, 491-515; + notes upon, 519, ff., 545, 546; + illustrations of, 166, 168, 173 ff., 176, ff., 179, ff. + +Collisions at sea, 512 + +Colophon-dates, 178-182, 184, 185, 187, 188, 211-214 + +Combat with the Dragon, 18 ff. + +Commagene, 319, 329, 372 + +Commissariat, letter concerning the, 287 + +Commissioner and agent, relations between, 498, 499 + +Compensation for slaves, 458, 459, 513, 523 + +Conciliation, Elamite policy of, 233 + +Concubines, 502, 503, 508 + +Confusion of tongues, the, 132, 133, 139, 140, 170 + +Congregation, the, of, E-saggil, 126 B.C., 482 + +Constellations, Merodach sets the, 27 + +Consulting the teraphim, 247 + +Contempt for gods, 553, (480) + +Cossaeans (Kassu), 373, 537 + +Costume of the people in Babylonia 2000 B.C., 171 + +Countries known to the Babylonians and Assyrians, list of, 206 + +Courts of Justice in the temples and at the gates of cities, 163 + +Creation, the Hebrew story of, 11 ff.; + how it grew, 9 ff.; + differences between it and the Babylonian accounts, 34 ff., 48-49 + +Creation-legend, the Semitic, an heroic poem, 10; + extracts from, 18, 19, 21-23, 35, 36; + remarks upon, 20, 33-38 + +Creation-legend, the bilingual, 38-45; + why compiled, 39 + +Creation-legends, though differing, contain similar ideas, 10 + +Creation-tablet, the first, 16; + Damascius' version, 16; + remarks thereon, 20; + the second, 20, 21; + third, 22; + fourth, 22-26; + fifth, 26-28; + sixth, 28, 29; + last, 29-33 + +Cruelty of the Egyptians to captives, 273 + +Cultivation, tablet referring to, 456, 457 + +Cure of Gilgames, the, 108, 109 + +Cush, the father of Nimrod, 118, 204 + +Cuthah, the temple-tower at, 136; + tribute from, 341; + its site found by Rassam, 394 + +Cylinder-seal with supposed representation of Adam's fall, 79 + +Cyprus (Yatnana or Ya(w)anana), 128, 304, 373; + its kings, 386, 387; + tributary to Egypt, 272; + aids Assur-bani-apli, 389 + +Cyrus, his operations against Astyages, 411; + crosses the Tigris, 412; + subjugates Babylonia and enters the capital, 415; + helped by the Jews, 416; + his treatment of Nabonidus, 418; + master of Babylonia, 419; + his inscription, 420 ff.; + champion of the Babylonian gods, 422; + restores exiles to their homes, 423; + his death, 424 + +Dache and Dachos, miswritten for Lache and Lachos, 17 + +Dagon (Dagunu), 59; + (Dagan), 142, 279 + +_Daily Telegraph_ expedition, the, 90; + finds a fragment of a second story of the Flood, 117 + +Damage by herdsmen, 514 + +Damascius, his version of the Babylonian Creation-story, 16, 17, 63 + +Damascus, the city (Dimasqu, Dimasqa), Israelites build streets there, + 331; + Mari'u, the king besieged there, 341; + "land of," 353; + Ahaz goes there, 356, 363 + +Damascus, the country (Sa-imeri-su, Imeri-su), 329, 334, 336-338; + Mari'u, king of, 341; + subdued by Assyria, 348 (353); + Rezon of, 354 + +Damu, goddess, "the great enchanter," 16 + +Daniel, 402, 417 + +Daos, the shepherd of Pantibiblon, his long reign, 63 + +Dapur (Tabor), 305 + +Darius Hystaspis, mounts the throne of Babylon, 424; + the contract-tablets of his reign, 425, 468-471; + his monotheism, 426, 427; + the extent of his dominions, 427 + +Darius II., 539, 542 + +Dark head, people of the, 420 + +"Dark vine," the, of the Babylonian Paradise, Eridu, 71, 75 + +Da-sarti, a captive, 302 + +Date, probable, of the Hyksos invasion, 265; + of the Exodus, 306 + +"Daughter for daughter," 510, 522 + +Daughter (? adopted), sale of a, 185 + +Dauke (= Damkina), 17, 18; + consort of Aa or Ea, 64 + +Day, the evil, 528 + +Days of creation, no reference to, 49; + days of the month, 526, ff. + +Dead slave, the, 458, 459 + +Death of Shalmaneser II., 339; + IV., 361; + Sargon, 372; + Sennacherib, 383; + Esarhaddon, 388; + the last king of Assyria, 393; + Belshazzar, 419 + +Death-penalty for adultery, 501, 521 + +Debt, working off of, 500, 521; + responsibility of husband and wife for, 503, 504 + +De Clercq collection, the, 560 + +Decoration, Babylonian, 551 (405), 552 (471-472) + +Defamation, 501 + +Dehavites, the, 391 + +Deified kings, 164 + +Deities as witnesses, 187 + +Deities of Mitanni, 277, 278 + +Deities of west Asian origin, 156 + +Deities probably foreign, 157 + +Delaiah, son of Sanballat, 541 + +Delitzsch, Prof., Friedrich, 14, 15, 36, 78; + restorations by, 122, 361; + his etymology of _sadu_, 248; + _Babel und Bibel_, etc., 525, ff., 546, 559 + +Deposit, goods on, 499, 500, 501, 521 + +Derketo (Atargatis), goddess, 203 + +Deru, Babylonian city, 363 + +Desertion, 502 + +Devotees, recluses, priestesses, and public women, 161, 499, 507, 508 + +"Dibbara Legend," the, 122 + +Digging of canals, dating by the, 159 + +Dimasqa, Dimasqu (Damascus), 336, 341, 353, 363 + +Dinaites, the, 391 + +Diodorus Siculus upon the taking of Nineveh, 393 + +Disaster, the Assyrian, at the siege of Jerusalem, 378 + +Disowning of a son, 176, 177, 505 + +Distraint, 500; + a parallel to the case of the Egyptian farmers, 525 + +Divination, 247 + +"Divine Daughters," the, 160 + +Divine honours paid to Egyptian rulers, 270 + +Division of property, 178-181 + +Divorce, 181, 502 + +Double-formed and bull-like monsters, Ea and his attendants, 63, 64 + +Dove, swallow, and raven sent forth from the ship (ark), 106 + +Dower, return of, 502, 504 + +Dowers and gifts to virgins, priestesses, etc., 508 + +Downfall of Assyria, the, 392, 393; + Nabopolassar upon the, 550 + +Dragon of Chaos, the, 18; + dragon and the serpent-tempter, 529 ff. + +Dreams, royal, 390, 411 + +Dress of the scribes in early Babylonia, 171, 172 + +Driver, Prof., 260 _n._ + +Du-azaga, "the holy seat," 405 + +Dudu, name, 315 + +Dudhalia, 537 + +"Due of the Sun-god," the, 167 + +Du-maha, a sacred place, 228 + +Dumuzi-Abzu, "Tammuz of the Abyss," 43, 63 + +Dungi, Babylonian king, 124, 152, 164 + +Dunip (Tenneb), city, 277; + resists the enemies of Egypt, 294 + +Dunnaitess, lamentation of the, 477 + +Dura, plain of, 403, 404 + +Dur-Ammi-zaduga, city, 172 + +Dur-Dungi, 325 + +Dur-ilitess, lamentation of the, 478 + +Dur-Kuri-galzu, 347 + +Dur-Ladinna, 371 + +Dur-mah-ilani, son of Eri-Eaku, 223, 224, 226, 227, 231, 233 + +Dur-Sargina (Khorsabad), the temple-tower there, 137, 369 + +Dusratta, king of Mitanni, 276, 278, 304, 316 + +Dynasty of Babylon, 142, 152, 153; + Babylonia at the period of the, 169 ff. + +Ea, the god, 17, 26, 56, etc. + _See_ Aa + +Eaasarri, 278 _n._ + +Ea-bani (Ae-bani, Aa-bani), the man of the wilds, 92; + his creation and appearance, 93; + is seen by a hunter, enticed, and induced to go to Erech, 94; + he accompanies Gilgames against Humbaba, 94, 95; + kills a divine bull, 97, 98; + his dreams and death, 98; + his resurrection, 110 (Ea-du, Enki-du) + +Ea-du or Enki-du, 92 _n._, 548 + +E-ana, E-anna, the temple at Ecrech, 39, 229; + its sanctuary, 91 + +Early life of a Syrian prince, 285 + +E-babbara (the temple at Sippar), 160, 434; + expenditure of, 446; + (the temple at Larsa), 218 + +E-bara. _See_ E-babbara + +Ebed-tob (Abdi-taba), 291 + +Ebers, Prof., his translation of the inscription of Ameni, 261; + upon Apophis, 263 + +Ebisum (Abesu'), king, 153, 155 + +Eden, Garden of 13, 69; + the native land of the Babylonians, 14; + Sippar of Eden, 70, 72; + Eden not referred to as the earthly paradise in the Babylonian + inscriptions, 72 + +Edina, "the plain" (Eden), 43, 72 + +Edom (Udumu), 322, 341, 370, 374, 386 + +Edrei, 313 + +Egypt (Musuru, Musru, Musur, Misir), 249-309; + the Hyksos invasion, 251; + gradually loses Palestine, 290; + governors still faithful to, 293; + invaded by Sennacherib, 381; + an Assyrian province; + see also 363, 365, 375 + +Egypt, the brook (? river) of, 388 + +Egypt Exploration Fund, the, 305 + +Egyptian civilization, 250 + +Egyptian king, the, to the prince of the Amorites, 300 + +Egyptian loan-words, 143, 144 + +Egyptian slave, sale of an, 466, 551; + testifies to Cambyses' campaign in Egypt, 467 + +Egyptians (Musuraa), 375; + their decision with regard to the Israelites, reason of, 268 + +E-hulhul, the temple of Sin or Nannara at Haran, 202 + +Ejectment before the end of the term, 498 + +E-kidur-kani, temple at Babylon, 433 + +Ekron (Amqarruna), 375, 376, 377, 386 + +E-kua, sanctuary of Merodach, 472 + +Elah, 355 + +Elam, a mountainous country, 206; + firstborn of Shem, 549; + its power, 209; + conquered by Sargon, 362 (363); + Merodach-baladan in, 373; + ravaged by Sennacherib, 380; + conquered by Assur-bani-apli, 391; + acknowledges the sway of Darius, 427 + +Elamite, Elamites: Humbaba, 94, 95; + Chedorlaomer, 209, 215, 222, 224, 227; + Kudur-mabuk, Kudur-lah(gu)mal, etc., 222-225, 230, 232; + hostile to Assyria, 372, 379, 380, 391; + their incursions near the Tigris, 483; + see also 122, 140, 170, 229 + +Elath, 353 + +Elders, rule of, 280 + +Elephantine, the Aramaic papyri from, 539 ff. + +Elephants killed by Tiglath-pileser I. in the land of Haran, 200; + and in Lebanon, 201; + elephants in the district of Niy, 273 + +Elephants' tusks, 321 + +El-Kab, 261 + +Ellasar, city, 124 + +Ellila (v. Bel) + +Ellipu, country of, 341, 372 + +Elmesum, princess, marriage-contract of, 166 + +Elmesum's letter to his father, 172 + +Eltekah (Altaqu), 375 + +Elulaeus of Tyre, 360 + +E-mah (temple), 161 + +Embankment of the Sun-god, the 213 + +E-melam-anna, the temple of Nusku at Haran, 202 + +Emutbalu or Yamutbalu, conquered by Hammurabi, 211, 212, 213, 216, 217, + 219, 220 + +Enchantments, Istar's, 97 + +Endowment of an adopted daughter, 173 + +Engur, mother of Aa or Ea, 64 + +Enki-du, the friend of Gilgames, 92 _n._, 540 + +En-nu-gi and the Flood, 101 + +Ennun-dagalla, 228 + +Enoch, 84 + +Ensara and Ninsara, 67 + +Enweduranki (Euedoreschos), 63, 77, 538, 539 + +Ephron, 315 + +Eponym dates in the reign of Shalmaneser IV., 358 + +Erech non-existent at the beginning, 39; + built by Merodach, 41; + called "Erech the walled," and ruled over by Gilgames, 91; + besieged, 91; + other references to the city, 92, 93, 94; + rejoicing there on the death of the divine bull, 98; + Gilgames returns thither after seeing Pir-napistim, 110; + one of the cities of Nimrod's kingdom, 118, 124, 135; + its temple-tower, 136; + the city delivered to Rim-Sin, 221; + lamentation over its misfortunes, 477, 478; + tablet dated at, 456 + +Eres-ki-gala (Persephone), 279 + +Eri-Aku (Eri-Sin), 216, 217, 218, 233; + inscription of, 219 + +Eridu, the Babylonian Paradise, 71, 72, 73; + non-existent at first, 39, 42; + made, 40; + not the earthly city of that name, 43; + a type of Paradise, 43; + the incantation of, 44; + one of the principal cities of Babylonia, 124 + +Esa (? = Esau), 157, 245 + +E-saggil, 223, 224. _See_ E-sagila + +E-sagila (E-saggil, E-sangil), completed by Merodach, 40, 43; + meaning of the name, 43, 139; + the temple of Belus, 137, 246, 472; + restored by Samsu-iluna, 161; + restoration attempted under Alexander and Philip, 476; + offerings at, 412, 480; + its congregation, 482; + see also 409, 415 + +E-sagila, the temple "within the Abyss," founded by Lugal-du-azaga, 40, 73 + +E-sagila-ramat and her father-in-law's slave, 465, 466 + +Esarhaddon (Assur-aha-iddina), 383, 384-388; + apparently crowned at Haran, 201-202; + in Hanigalbat, 384, 385; + in Babylonia and the Mediterranean states, 386, 387; + in Armenia, and on the east of Assyria, 388; + in Egypt, 251, 388; + he restores the temple of Belos, 560; + mentions his brothers, 558, and his father's campaign against the Arabs, + 382; + his death, 388 + +E-sarra, the heavens, 26 + +E-sarra, an Assyrian temple, 328, 340 + +E-sa-turra, a temple at Su-anna, 433 + +Esau, the name, 157, 245 + +Escaped slaves, 493 + +Esdraelon, defeat of Syrians at, 271 + +Esnunna(k) (Umlias), soldiers of, defeated by Hammurabi, 213; + destroyed by a flood, 214; + its gods restored by Cyrus, 422 + +Etakama (Edagama), of Kinza and Kadesh, 279; + pretending to be faithful to Egypt, attacks Amki, 288, 289; + hostile to Egypt, 293 + +E-temen-ana(-kia), the tower of Babylon, 136, 138, 139, 406, 559; + and shrine of E-sagila, 398, 560 + +E-temena-ursag, temple, 213 + +Etham, 304 + +Ethobaal (Tu-ba'alu), 374 + +E-tur-kalama, a Babylonian temple, 214, 415 + +Euedoreschos, 63, 546, 547 + +E-ur-imina-ana(-kia), the tower of Borsippa, 136, 138 + +Euphrates, creation of, 40; + mentioned, 329, 334, 335, 336, 339, 341, 344, 471, etc. + +Eupolemus concerning Abraham, 146, 196 + +Eusebius, 396 + +Eve, a Babylonian type of, 532 + +Events chosen to date by, 159 + +Evetts, Mr. B. T. A., 408 + +Evil-Merodach (Awel-Maruduk), 408; + murdered, 409; + tablets dated in his reign, 440, 441 + +Evil spirit, the, driven from the temple, 530 + +Evolution in the Babylonian story of the Creation, 33, 34 + +Exodus, date of the, 306; + pharaoh of the, 309 + +Expulsion of Eve, a parallel to, 83 + +Expulsion of the Egyptians from Palestine, 302 + +"Eye for an eye," 509, 522 + +E-zida, the temple-tower at Borsippa, restored by Nebuchadnezzar, 138, + 139, 406; + Evil-Merodach, 409; + its people resist Kudur-lahgu(mal), 229, 230; + its bronze doorstep, 405; + incantation concerning, 41; + see also 412, 415, 485 + +Ezra, Sir H. Howorth upon, 427, 429 + +"Fair son," the, his carrying off, 83 + +Faithlessness, 503 + +Fall? did the Babylonians possess the legend of the, 79, 531, 532 + +False witness, 491 + +Family of the hero of the Flood saved with him, 103, 115, 117 + +Famines in Egypt, 260, 261 + +Father's lawsuit, a, 182 + +Fear of God, lines upon, 50 + +Female rule, 280 + +Fifteenth day = Sabbath, 527 + +Fire, penalty of death by, 480 + +Flood, the Biblical story, 87 ff.; + the Babylonian story, 100 ff.; + introduction to, 89, ff.; + first read by G. Smith, 90; + a chapter of the Legend of Gilgames, 90; + related to him by Pir-napistim, 101; + decided upon by the gods, 101, 102; + its approach, arrival, and effect, 104, 105; + duration and subsidence, 105, 106; + due to the god Bel, 106; + why sent, 107, 112; + Pir-napistim dreads its coming, 104, 116; + the second Babylonian story of the, 117; + was it a "Sin Flood"? 529; + description of the tablets recording, 100, 101 + +Followers of Tiamtu, the, 530 + +Food, incantation in which it is used, 540 + +Foster-children and their disowning, 176, 177, 505 + +Four kings against five, the, 208 + +Fraudulent practices, 513 + +Furious cattle, laws concerning, 512, 523 + +Furniture, lists of, 189 + +Future life, 111 + +Gad, the name, 246 (Gadu-tabu) + +Gadlat, goddess of Haran, 203 + +Gadu-tabu, name, 547 + +Gala-Aruru = Istar the star = the planet Venus, 44 + +Galilee, attacked by Tiglath-pileser, 353 + +Galilee, South, invaded by Amenophis II., 273 + +Garden of Eden, 69 + +Garizim, temple at, re-dedicated to Jupiter, 481 + +Garment, the vanishing, 23 + +Garu, Petrie's identification of, 292 + +Gate of Istar at Babylon, 551, 552 + +Gates of city, judgment in the, 163 + +Gath (Gimti), 299 + +Gath-Carmel, 296 + +Gauzanitis, 304 + +Gaza (Hazitu), 277, 376 386, 411; + Thothmes III. at, 271; + Yabitiri guards, 285; + Hanon of, 352, 363, 365, 366 + +Gazzani (a ruler), 224, 325, 556 + +Gebal (Gublu), 278, 293, 313, 317, 322, 339, 386 + +Gebalite, whose brother drove him from the gate, 300 + +Gebalites (Gublaa), 350, 374 + +Gedaliah, governor of Jerusalem, put to death, 400 + +Gemariah, 471 + +Gergesa, 324 + +Gezer, 297, 299, 306 + +Giammu, prince, 328 + +Gift to a son, 505 + +Gigitum, Neriglissar's daughter, 442 + +Gihon, river, 69, 70 + +Gilead, 353 + +Gilgames, ancient hero, king of Erech, 73, 91; + the legend concerning him, 90 ff.; + and his friend Ea-bani, 92; + who consents to go to him, 94; + he seeks the place of Humbaba, 94; + who is killed, 95; + Istar makes love to him, 95, 96; + he reproaches her, 96, 97; + and she sends a divine bull against them, 97; + dreams concerning him, 98; + he mourns for Ea-bani and sets out on his great journey, 98; + he meets Ur-Sanabi, the pilot, and Pir-napistim, 99; + who tells him the story of the Flood, 101 ff.; + he is restored to health, 108, 109; + finds the magic plant, 109; + loses it, and reaches Erech, 110; + sees the spirit of Ea-bani, 111; + the new version of the legend referring to him, 547 ff. + +Gilgames-series, the getting together of the, 90 + +Gilu-hepa, wife of Amenophis II., 276 + +Gimil-Sin, king, 124, 164 + +Gimmirraa, the, 390 + +Gimti (Gath), 299 + +Gimtu (Gath?), 369 + +Gindibu'u, an Arabian tribe, 333 + +Girgashites, the, 310, 324-326 + +Gisdubar, Gistubar, Gisdhubar. _See_ Gilgames + +Glosses in the Tel-el-Amarna tablets, 234 _n._ + +Gobryas (Gubaru, Ugbaru) of Gutium, enters Babylon, and appoints governors + there, 415, 417, 418, 419; + (goes) against ..., 416, 417; + receives the kingdom for Cyrus, 419 + +"God," names for, in the chief tongues of the ancient East, 170, _n._ + +Gods and their seats, 160, 415; + tithe granted to, 448; + processions of, 526; + they fear the Flood, 105; + those who joined Tiamtu, 20, 25; + their punishment, 25 + +Gods, figures of, found under the pavement of palaces, 247 + +Gods identified with Merodach, 58 + +Gods of On (Heliopolis), 264 + +Gods of the west of Asia, 277 + +Gog, 391 + +"Gold, much gold," 277, 283 + +Gomer, people of, 390 + +"Good wishes," the tablet of, 81 + +Goshen, 268 + +Government of states, 279 + +Gozan, 345, 364 + +Greek words in Babylonia, 480 + +Greetings, Babylonian, 172, 452, 453, 454 + +Gublu (Gebal), 313 + +Guites, 329; + (= Goim?), 332, 333 + +Gula, goddess of healing, 86, 472 + +Gutians, Gutites, 158, 170, 552 + +Guti-kirmil, 296 + +Gutu or Gutium, 206, 207, 415 + +Gyges' son, the dream of, 390 + +_Habati_, the, 292, 299 + +_Habbatu_, 291. _See_ Habati + +_Habiri_, the, 269, 291, 295, 296, 297, 538; + they possess the land, 299 + +Haburu, city in Babylonia, 446 + +Hadad, 160, 277, 330; + of Aleppo, 329. + _See_ Addu + +Hadara, Rezon's birthplace, 354 + +Hades, "the land of no-return," 65 + +Hagar, her position, 186; + parallels (with differences) to the case of, 174, 175, 185, 236, 524 + +Hai, 315 + +Halah (Halahha), 364 + +Halman, 325 + +Hamah (Hamath), 317 + +Hamanu (Amanus), mountains, 328, 334, 336, 349 + +Hamath (Amatte), Hamathites (Amataa), Irhuleni of, 329, 334; + districts of, 349; + Yau-bi'idi (Ilu-bi'idi) of, 322, 363; + see also 348 + +Hammatites (? = Hamathites), Eni-ilu of the, 350 + +Hammurabi (Amraphel), changes during his reign, 125; + its length, 153; + tablets dated therein 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187; + references to his conquest of "Mair and Malgia," 187; + other references to him, 209-215, 238; + his code of laws, 491-515; + his image on the stele, 487; + the benefits he had conferred on the cities of Babylonia, 488-491; + his opinions of his reign, 515, 516; + his curse upon any destroying or changing his record, 517-519 + +Hammurabi-hegalla, canal, 211 + +Hammurabi-nuhus-nisi, canal, 212 + +Hammurabi-Samsi, name, 164, 187 + +Hana-galbat, Hani-galbat, king of, 283; + the caravans of, 286; + Esarhaddon fights (? against his brothers) there, 384, 385 + +Hanni, messenger of Egypt, 301 + +Hanon of Gaza, 352 + +Hanu, land of, 206 + +Haran born at Ur of the Chaldees, 144 + +Haran (city, the Bab. Harran), a centre of lunar worship, 147, 195; + Terah and his family migrate thither, 192, 195; + its probable origin, 199, 200; + its ruins, 200; + elephants in the neighbourhood in early times, 200, 201; + its gods and temples, 201, 202, 534; + Esarhaddon (?) crowned there, 201, 202; + Nabonidus restores the temple of Sin, 202; + its renown in later days, 202, 203; + the city besieged, 411; + deities restored, 414 + +Harhar, called by the Assyrians Kar-Sarru-ukin, 367, 368 + +Harri-si'isi, 325 + +Hatanu, servant of Neriglissar, 439 + +Hatarika, Hatarikka, 344, 345, 349 + +Hatred of Bel for the hero of the Flood, 102, 113 + +Hatshepsut, queen regent, 271 + +Hatta, 288. _See_ Hatti + +Hatti, Hatti (Hittites, Kheta, people of Heth), 205, 288, 319, 341; + their depredations, 317; + ships of, used by Sennacherib, 379; + Syria and the Holy Land, 386. + _See_ Heth, Hittites + +Hattu, city, 205 + +Hattu-sil, (Kheta-sir), 320, 537 + +Haupt, Prof. Paul, upon the description of the ship or ark, 114 + +Hauran, the (Hauranu), 336 + +Haya, a messenger, 286 + +Haza, 340 + +Hazael of Arabia, 382 + +Hazael of (Sa-)Iameri-su (Damascus), 337, 338, 342 + +Haza-ilu, 336, etc. _See_ Hazael + +Hazor, 277, 353 + +Heathen images, the, of Jacob's household, 247, 248 + +Heavens, Merodach arranges the, 27 + +Hebrews, their ancestor and his language, 204; + in Egypt, 268; + did not leave with the Hyksos, 267; + their commonwealth, 327; + were they the _Habiri_? 538 + +Heliopolis, 258 + +Helios (Samas), 203 + +Hellenizing influence, the, of Antiochus Epiphanes, 480 + +Helpers of Rahab, the, 530 + +Hephaistos (Sethos), 381, 382 + +Herdsmen, their duties and liabilities, 213, 214, 524 + +Hereditary chiefs, 279 + +Herodotus upon the Temple of Belus, 137, 405; + Sennacherib's expedition to Egypt, 381, 382; + Nitocris' architectural works, 407; + see also 342, 443 + +Heth, 368, 369; the sons of, 315. + _See_ Hatti, Hittites + +Hezekiah (Hazaqiau), 375, 376, 377, 395 + +Hiddekel, the Tigris, Babylonian form of the name, 84 + +Hiding heathen images, 248 + +Hieroglyphic inscriptions of the Hittites, 317 + +Hilprecht, Prof. H. V., 124 + +Hire of animals for agricultural work, 514; + field labourers and herdsmen, 513; + fields, 495; + of a ship (by Belshazzar), 450; + (by Sirku), 470 + +Hired "from himself," 188 + +Hired men, their responsibilities, 513 + +Hiring of slaves and freemen, for money, 187, 188; + for produce, 188; + risks of the hirer, 191 + +Hirom (Hirummu) of Tyre, 350 + +Hittite, Hittites, 140, 205, 274, 277, 315-323, 341; + attack Tuneb, 316; + tributary, 272, 316, 320; + their architecture borrowed by the Assyrians, 323; + inscriptions, where found, 317; + their language, 537 + +Hittite, a, the mother of Jerusalem, 316 + +Holy Land, 340; + its state before the entry of the Israelites, 277 + +Home, the, of the Hittites, 318 + +Hommel, Prof., 14, 54; + suggests a connection of Ea, Ae, or Aa, with Ya'u (Jah), 113; + his early etymology of Arpachshad, 143; + his work upon Egyptian culture 144 _n._; + the Hittite inscriptions, 318; + Gilgames, 547; + Shinar, 549; + early names, etc., 555, 557 + +Hophra encourages Zedekiah against Nebuchadnezzar, 399; + marches to support him, 400; + deposed, 401 + +Hor-em-heb, 303 + +Horner, Rev. J., 331 + +Horse, glorious in war, loved by Istar, 96 + +Horus, 264 + +Hosea, Hoshea (Ausi'a), king, 354, 355, 359; + the prophet, 361 + +House of Belshazzar, its situation, 447 + +Household goods, 189; + gods, 247 + +Housebreaking, 493, 521 + +Houses and cities, built by Merodach, 40 + +Houses, private, 188, 189 + +Howorth, Sir H., 427, 429 + +Hui, his tomb at Thebes, 303 + +Hulhuthulitess, lamentations of the 477 + +Humbaba, apparently an Elamite, 94; + Gilgames and Ea-bani seek his domain, 94, 95; + his end, 95 + +Hursag-kalama, Babylonian city, 415 + +Hursag-kalamitess, lamentations of the, 477 + +Husband, causing death of, 504 + +Hussiti-sa-Musallim-Marduk, tablet dated at, 436 + +Hyksos, or shepherd-kings, legends concerning, 252; + their fear of an Assyrian (Babylonian) invasion, 251; + their policy in time of famine, 260; + quit Egypt, 252, 270; + at Tanis, 264; + those who remained reduced to subjection, 270; + their descendants, 266 + +Hyspasines, 481. _See_ Aspasine + +Ian-Ra (Ra-ian), was he the pharaoh of Joseph? 263 + +Iawa, the ending of names, 470, 471. + _See_ -yawa + +Ibi-San sells his daughter, 185 + +Ibi-Sin, king, 124, 152, 164 + +Ibi-Tutu, king (?), 230, 231 + +Ibscher, Herr, 544 + +Idalium, 386 + +Idigna, Akkado-Babylonian form of the name of the Tigris, 84 + +Igigi, address to Merodach by the, 29-33; + his title among them, 32 + +Ijon, 353 + +Ikausu of Ekron, 386 + +Ili-milki (Elimelech), 295 + +Ili-rabih, 288, 289 + +Illegitimate children, acknowledgement of, 505, 506 + +Illinos (Illil, the god Bel), 17 + +Iltani, princess, hires a field, 167 + +Iltani, princess, sun-devotee, hires a reaper, 168 + +Ilu-bi'idi (Yau-bi'idi) of Hamath, 322, 363, 366 + +Ilu-daya, the Hazite, writes to the king of Egypt, 288 + +Imgur-Bel, wall of Babylon, 405 + +Immerum, king, 154 + +Immortality, the Chaldean Noah attains, 101, 108 + +"Impure," the name given by the Egyptians to the Hyksos, 254 + +Inaction of the Egyptian king, 296, etc. + +Ina-E-sagila-remat, daughter of Nabonidus, 450 + +Ina-esi-etir, Nebuchadnezzar's agent, 432 + +Incantation for E-zida (the Birs-Nimroud), 41; + against "sickness of the head," 55; + to purify, 86 + +Incest, 504, 521, 522 + +India-House Inscription, extract from the, 138, 139; + references to Babylon, 405, 406 + +Inheritance, 178-181, 503-507; + of virgins, priestesses, etc., 508 + +Injuries, penalties for, to slaves, 509, 522; + to a woman, 510, 522; + in a quarrel, 509, 510, 522 + +Inscriptions, the Hittite, 317, 318 + +_'Ir_, the Hebrew for "city," and _uru_, 241 + +Irhuleni of Hamath, 329; = Urhi-leni, 332; + resists the Assyrian king, 334, 335 + +Irnini, a god, 95 + +Irqata, rule of, 280 + +Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, 242 + +Ishara, goddess, invoked, 433 + +Isidore of Charax, 192 + +Isin, Isinna (Karrak), city, 124, 211 + +Isis, 264 + +Isis-Hathor (Venus Urania), 264 + +Isqal(l)una (Askelon), 374, 386 + +Israel, 351, 352, 355; + on the monolith of Meneptah, 306 + +Israel, the name, probable Assyro-Babylonian forms, 157, 245 + +Israelites, allied with Ben-Hadad, 329-333, 337; + subject to Hazael, 342 + +_Issaku_, "chief" (= _patesi_), 127 + +Istar, 55; + her search for Tammuz in Hades, 65; + makes love to Gilgames, 96; + her cruelty to her lovers, 96, 97; + sends a divine bull against Gilgames and Ea-bani, 97; + which they kill, 98; + her grief on account of the Flood, 105, 116; + worshipped at Erech, 160; + her spouse Tammuz, 279; + Istar's gate, at Babylon, 405, 559, 560 + +Istar and the _asherah_, 278 + +Istar of Babylon, 212; + Haran, 203; + Nineveh, 278, 491, 551 + +Istara, goddess, 156 + +Isullanu, Istar's treatment of, 97 + +Itu'u, on the Euphrates, 344 + +Iyyar, the month of Ea (Aa, Ae), 65 + +Izdubar. _See_ Gilgames + +Jabesh, 293 + +Jacob, Jacob-el, 157, 183, 243, 244, 547 + +Jaffa, Yabitiri guards, 285 + +Jah, 113, 535 + +Jahweh (Jehovah), 535 + +Janoah, 353 + +Jebus (Jerusalem), 323 + +Jebusites, 312, 323, 324 + +Jehoahaz, 342 + +Jehoiachin, captive in Babylon, 399; + released by Evil-Merodach, 408 + +Jehoiakim, 399 + +Jehoram, 338, 339 + +Jehu, "son of Omri," 332, 337-339 + +Jensen, Prof., 140, 318, 546, 548 + +Jerabis (Carchemish), 317 + +Jerusalem (Uru-salim, Ursalimmu), 234, 277, 280, 375, 376, 377, 378, 379; + legend attributing its foundation to the Hyksos, 252; + Ahaz besieged there, 353; + invested twice by the Babylonians, 399, 400; + Temple destroyed, 400; + Temple polluted, 481 + +Jesus, brother of Johanan, murdered, 542 + +Jews (Yaudaa), 375; + at Damascus, 331; + last vestiges of their rule, 400; + Cyrus helped by, 416; + probably thought him a monotheist, 419; + names of Jews at Babylon, 470, 471; + why did they remain in the cities of their exile? 474 ff. + +Jezreel, 338 + +Jilting, 504 + +Joash, king of Israel, 340, 342 + +Johns, the Rev. C. H. W., 551, 552 + +Joppa (Yappu). _See_ Jaffa, Yapu + +Joseph, the name, 243; + its probable meaning, 244 + +Joseph in Egypt, 255 ff.; + as viceroy, 260; + no native record of his administration, 253; + his death, 266, 267 + +Josephus, 359, 382, 408-410; + upon the Hyksos, 251; + the period of Joseph, 262; + the Amorites, 313; + the siege of Jerusalem, 377, 378; + the murder of the high-priest's brother, 542 + +Jotham, 355 + +Judah, 353; + one of the states regarded by the Assyrians as Hittite, 322, 386 (Yaudu) + +Judeans (Yaudaa), 375. _See_ Jews + +Justin upon Abraham, 147 + +Kadasman-harbe or Kadasman-Murus, 123; + transports the Sutites, 291 + +Kadesh, 279; + (Kidsa), 300; + conquered by Seti I., 304; + (Kidis), 401 + +Ka-dumu-nuna, the gate of E-saggil, 484 + +Kaldu (the Chaldean tribes in Babylonia), 341 + +Kalisch, 266 + +Kallima-Sin (now read Kadasman-harbe), king, 276 + +Kames, king of Egypt, 269 + +Kamid-el-Lauz, 293 + +Kammusu-nadbi of Moab, 374 + +Kan'ana (Canaan), 304 + +Karanatum, her adoption, 177; + her name and that of Ashteroth Karnaim, 157 + +Kar-Adad (fortress of Hadad), 349 + +Kar-Dunias, Kara-Dunias, Karu-Dunias (Babylonia), 120 _n._; + ruled by Kudur-lahgumal, 225; + _see also_ 281, 286 + +Kar-Nebo, maternal grandfather of Abram, 146 + +Kar-Shaimaneser (-Shalmanu-asa-rid), city, 339 + +Kar-Sippar, 167 + +Kasi (= Kassi), 297, 298 + (_see_ Kassite) + +Kassite, Kassites, 122, 140, 170, 537 + +Kedesh, 272, 353 + +Kefto, identification of, 274 + +Keilah, 299 + +Kemi (Egypt), 271 + +Kes, a Babylonian city, 124 + +Kesitess, lamentations of the, 477 + +Kheta (Hittites), 274; + their treaty with Egypt, 304; + Meneptah's reference to, 306 + +Kheta-sir = Hattu-sil, 320, 537 + +Khorsabad (Dur-Sargina), 137, 369 + +Kidnapping, 492, 493, 520 + +Kidis (Kadesh), 401 + +Kili(gug ?), Neriglissar's servant, 438 + +Kili-Tesub son of Kali-Tesub, 319 + +Killing and mutilating hired animals, 512, 523 + +Kinahhi (Canaan), 281, 301 + +King, Mr. L. W., 28, 545, 546 + +King, the, 164-168 + +Kingi or Kengi (a part of Babylonia), 134, 351 + +Kingi-Ura or Kengi-Ura = Sumer and Akkad (Babylonia), 206 + +Kingu, Tiamtu's husband, exalted, receives the Tablets of Fate, 19; + is overcome by Merodach and deprived of them, 25; + bound, 36 + +Kirbis Tiamtu, 24, 31 + +Kirkisati, 324, 325 + +_Kirubu_ = Heb, _kerub_, "cherub"; + _kirub nismu_, _kirub sarri_, 81 + +Kis, a Babylonian city, 415 + +Kisar, "host of earth," 16 + +Kisara-gala, 66 + +Kisi, Aramean leader, 349 + +Kiskanu-tree in Eridu, 75; + its fruit, 76 + +Kissare and Assoros (Kisar and Ansar), 17 + +Kizirtum, princess, 166 + +Knudtzon, Prof., 556 + +Ktesias, 203 + +Kudma-bani, district, 179, 180 + +Kudur in Elamite names, 209, 222 + +Kudur-lahgumal, 230, 231 + +Kudur-mabuk, inscription of, 219; + his sons Eri-Aku and Rim-Sin, 216 + +Kuites, the, 350 + +Kullanu, city, 348 + +Kulummite(s), 372 + +Kummuhi (Commagene), 319, 320, 329 + +Kundaspu of Commagene, 329 + +Kurium, 387 + +Laban, the name, 245 + +Labaya, father of Mut-zu'u, 286; + his sons, 293, 297, 298 + +Laborosoarchod (Labasi-Marduk), son of Neriglissar, 410; + lends money, 443, 444 + +Labynetus, Cyrus marches against, 407. + _See_ Nabonidus + +Lachish, 277, 297, 377 + +Lachish epigraph, the, 382 + +Lagamal (Lagamar, Lagamaru), 222 + +Lagas, a Babylonian city, 124 + +Lahamu, consort of Lahmu, 16 + +Lahamu, creatures produced by Tiamtu, 19 + +Lahmu and Lahamu, production of, 16; + these names in Damascius, 17 + +"Lake of Abraham the Beloved," 192, 193 + +"Lament of the Daughter of Sin," 83 + +Lamentations, Babylonian, 194, 195, 477, 478 + +"Land of the city of Jerusalem," 297 + +Landed property acquired by Neriglissar, 440-442 + +Lands, etc., created by Merodach, 40 + +Language of Canaan, 204 + +Larancha, lamentation of, 477, 478 + +Larsa (Ellasar), 124; + the temple-tower at, 137; + a centre of sun-worship, 160 + +Laws, Sumero-Akkadian, 190, 191, 550; + Hammurabi's, 491-515, 553, 554 + +Lawsuit of Bunanitu, the, 462-464 + +Lawsuits, 182, 184 + +Layard, Sir A. H., discoverer of the palaces of Nineveh and Calah; + and Rassam, his helper and successor, 394 + +Laz (goddess), 211 + +Leasehold system, the, 190 + +Lebanon, elephants in, 201; + Saniru (Shenir) before, 336; + _see also_ 387 + +Legal precedents, 190, 191 + +Legend of Asenath, 259 + +Legend of Chedorlaomer, 227-230 + +Legend of Ra-'Apop'i, 254 + +Lenormant, inscription published by, 216 + +Letter concerning an inscription of Ammurapi (Hammurabi), 210 + +Letters from Abdi-taba (Ebed-hiba, Ebed-taba, Ebed-tob), 294-299; + Ammi-titana, 165; + Akizzi of Qatna, 289; + Asur-uballit, 382; + Beri, 288; + Burra-burias, 281; + Ilu-dayan, 289; + Mut-zu'u, 286; + Yabitiri, 284; + Yidia, 286, 287; + the king of Egypt, 300; + the king's daughter to Queen Assu-raaitu, 392 + +Leviathan, 530 + +Leviticus xviii. 18, the tablet illustrating, 545 + +_Lex talionis_, 509, 522 + +Leya, a captive, 302 + +Libation, the, of the Babylonian Noah, 106 + +Lieblein upon the pharaohs of the Oppression and the Exodus, 269 + +Life at Tanis in Egypt, 264 + +_Lingua franca_, the, of Western Asia, 140 + +Lion (divine), loved by Istar, 96 + +Liver, the, in divination, 247 + +Loan to make up purchase-money and its repayment by instalments, 460, 461, + 464, 465 + +"Lord and Lady, my," 479 + +Lud, 391 + +Ludlul the Sage, lines by, 50 + +Lugal-zag-gi-si, early Akkadian king, 123, 124 + +Luli of Sidon, 373 + +Lullubite, Lullubites, 123, 325 + +Lulubu (Lullubu), country, 206, 208 + +Lulumu (Lulubu), 207, 351 + +_Luluppu_-tree, the legend of the, 76 + +_Lumasi_-constellation, 545 + +Luxor, 326 + +Lydia (Luddu), 390, 391 + +Machpelah, differences between Babylonian contracts and that referring to, + 236-238, 524 + +Mad bull or vicious ox, death or injury from, 512, 513 + +Maer (and Suhi), principality, 548 + +Magdala, 293 + +Mah, Babylonian goddess, 105, 106, 116 + +Mahler, Dr. Edouard, upon the stele of Meneptah II. and the Exodus, 306 + +Mair, city, 213, 214 + +Majesty, plural of, in addressing the king, 284; + (in the Chedor-laomer-legend it refers to the god) + +Malgia, city, 211, 213, 214 + +Malik (Moloch), 156; + Maliku, 170 _n._ + +Mamre, 315 + +Mamun, khalif, 266 + +Man, creation of, 28, 40, 45, 47 + +Manamaltel, king, 154, 155 + +Manasseh (Minse, Minase), 340; + pays tribute to Esarhaddon, 386; + to Assur-bani-apli, 389 + +Manda barbarians, Medes, 420 + +Mane, a messenger, 276 + +Manetho, 251, 274 + +Mankind, destruction of, in the Flood, 105; + in future other means to be used, 107, 112, 116 + +Man's duties, 45 + +Marad, city, 415; + its patron-deity, 542 + +Marduk (Merodach), 33, etc. + +Marduk-abla-iddina (Merodach-baladan) of Babylonia, 379 + +Marduk-iriba, one of Belshazzar's neighbours, 447 + +Marduk-nadin-ahi, son of Nebuchadnezzar, 435 + +Marduk-nassi-abli. _See_ Sirku + +Marduk-sum-usur, son of Nebuchadnezzar, 434 + +Marduk-zakir-sumi of Babylonia, 379 + +Maritime nation, Babylonia a, 115, 116 + +Mari'u of Sa-imeri-su, 341, 342 + +Marking of slaves, 469 + +Marriage, 173-175, 186 + +Marriage-contracts, 173, 174; + of Princess Elmesu, 166; + of Neriglissar's daughter, 442; + indispensable, 501 + +Martu = Amurru, 312 + +Masitess, lamentation of the, 477 + +Maspero, Prof., 253; + upon the Sallier Papyrus, 255 _n._ + +Matan-ba'al of Arvad, 386 + +Mattaniah (Zedekiah), 399 + +Max Mueller, Prof. W., 274 + +Medes, the (Madaa, Umman-manda), in alliance against Assyria, 392; + at Haran, 411, 414; + _see also_ 341, 351, 364, 388 + +Media, 206, 346, 351, 368 + +Mediation, 53 + +Mediterranean, the, 340, 341; + states of, 365 + +Megasthenes, 401 + +Megiddo, 274; + Thothmes III. at, 271 + +Meissner, Dr., 547 + +Melakiyin, the, 266 + +Melchizedek, 324; + in Heb. vii. 3, 234 + +Meluhha, 370, 375, 480, 481 + +Memphis, 263; + captured by Esarhaddon, 388, 389 _n._ + +Menahem (Menihimme, Minhimmu), 350, 351, 374 + +Menander, 360 + +Menanu of Elam, 380 + +Menant, M. J., 560 + +Menase (Manasseh), 386 + +Meneptah II. (Merenptah), the pharaoh of the Exodus, 269, 305 + +Mentiu (Bedouin), 270 + +Mer, Merri, a name of Hadad or Rimmon, 207, 212 + +Merchants of Babylonia killed, 281 + +Merodach, the god, his parentage, 33, 63; + the same as Nimrod, 126; + the gods' champion against Tiamtu, 21, 22; + installed as king, 23 (163); + prepares for the fight, 23, 24; + attacks and conquers Tiamtu, 25, 537; + takes the Tablets of Fate, 25; + cuts Tiamtu asunder, 26; + orders the universe anew, 26 ff.; + receives new names, etc., 29-33; + his "incantation," 41; + founds Babylon, Niffer, and Erech, 40, 41, 42, 126; + creator of the gods, 43; + his titles, 44; + explanations of some of his names, 45, 54, 56; + identified with other gods, 47, 58; + glorified above them all, 49; + prayer to be delivered into his gracious hands, 51; + the other deities mediators with him, and his manifestations, 53, 58; + heavenly bodies, identified with him, 55; + the benefactor of mankind, 56, 57; + the begetter of the gods, 533, 534; + his description, 529; + his weapons, 550; + names compounded with his, 57; + which in the end was almost = _ilu_, 58, 61; + he was the "great hunter," 131; + worshipped especially at Babylon, 160, 407; + his yearly procession, 405; + his vengeance, 392; + his merciful nature, 486; + replaced in the end by Anu-Bel, 483 + +Merodach in West Asia, 279 + +Merodach-baladan, king of Babylon, 357, 361, 364, 370, 371, 373, 379, 380, + 395 + +Merom, 305 + +Merwan II., khalif, 266 + +Mesech, 230 + +Mesha of Moab, 338 + +Mesopotamia, 204, 207, 336, 351 + +Messengers dying abroad, concerning, 283, 284 + +Mesu, the land of, 341 + +Methusael, 84 + +Middle class, the, 171 + +"Mighty king," the, 234, 280 + +Milki-asapa of Gebal, 386 + +Milki-idiri, governor of Kedesh, 401 + +Milki-ili, Milkili, 293, 297, 298, 299 + +Milku (Melech, Moloch), 279 + +Milton, 47 + +Minse (Manasseh), 389 + +Mita of Musku (Mesech), 367 + +Mitanni (Naharain, Naharaim), 276, 277, 304; + its language not Semitic, 275; + vassal state, 537 + +Mitinti of Ashdod, 374, 376 + +Mitinti of Askelon, 355, 386 + +Mitunu, the eponyme of, Sennacherib's campaign against Hezekiah, 378 + +Mnevis, the bull, 265 + +Moab (Ma'ab, Ma'abi), 322, 338, 370, 386 + +Moabites, the, 326, 374; + driven out, 313 + +Moloch, 279 + +Mond, Mr., his papyri, 539 + +Monotheism and polytheism in Babylonia, 47, 198, 533 + +Monotheistic names, 534; + systems, 541 + +Monster, the, 530 + +Monsters, produced by Tiamtu, 18 ff. + +Month, Egyptian god, 262 + +Months and stars, 27 + +Moon, purpose of the, 27, 37 + +Moph or Noph (Men-nofr, Memphis), 264 + +Mordecai (Mardecai), 61, 436, 471 + +Moses, notes upon his date, 306; + was he saved by Teie's daughter? 307 + +Mosque of Abraham at Urfa (Orfa or Edessa), 192 + +"Mother of Sin," the, 532 + +Moumis (= Mummu), son of Tauthe and Apason, 17 + +Mouths of the rivers, a sacred place, 71, 108 + +Mugallu of Tubal, 290 + +Mugheir, regarded as Ur of the Chaldees, 147, 193; + but not altogether certain, 197 + +Mueller, Prof. W. Max, 557 + +Mummu Tiamtu, the first producer. + _See_ Tiamtu + +Mursil, Hittite king, 537 + +Muru, a centre of the worship of Hadad, 490 + +Musasir, 127 + +Musezib-Marduk of Babylonia, 380 + +Mushtah, 293 + +_Muskinu_, 536 + +Musku (Mesech), 371 + +Musrites, 329; + (Musraa), 333 + +Musru, the land of, 354 + +Musur'i of Moab, 386 + +Musuru, Musur, Misraim (Egypt), 366, 370 + +Mut-Addu to Yanhama, 292 + +Mutallu, Hittite king, 537 + +Mut-ili = Methusael, 84, 245 + +Mut-zu'u, 279; + letter from, 286 + +Nabonassar, 347; + his death, 356 + +Nabonidus, "who is over the city," witness to a contract, 436; + described on one copy as the son of the king, 436 _n._, 437 + +Nabonidus, king, his parentage, 410; + expeditions, and reference to Cyrus, 411; + said to have neglected the gods, 412; + and brought strange deities, 413; + his antiquarian researches, 413; + his son Belshazzar, 414, 447 ff.; + his daughters, 450, 451; + his flight before the army of Cyrus, and capture, 415; + sent to Carmania, 418; + his record of the downfall of Assyria, 392; + of the death of Sennacherib, 537 ff.; + other inscriptions, 411, 414; + tablets dated in his reign, 444-451; + his pious works, 445, 446; + Berosus upon his reign, 410 + +Nabopolassar, king, supposed to have been a Chaldean, 396; + his alliance with the Medes, 392, 397; + marches against Nineveh, 392, 393, 397; + his connection with Syria, 397; + he builds the two great walls of Babylon, 410; + his guardian-god, 533; + frees Akkad from Assyrian yoke, 558 + +Nabu-balat-su-iqbi, the father or ancestor of Nabonidus, 410, 437 + +Nabu-bel-usur, governor, 346 + +Nabu-kain-ahi, secretary of Belshazzar, 447, 448 + +Nabu-nadin-zeri, 356 + +Nabu-sabit-qata, servant of Neriglissar, 438; + Laborosoarchod, 443; + and Belshazzar, 448 ff. + +Nabu-sarra-usur, one of Nebuchadnezzar's captains, 434; + a secretary of Nabonidus, 445 + +Nabu-sum-iddina, secretary of Neriglissar, 440 + +Nabu-sum-ukin, Babylonian king, 356; + a priest of Nebo, 442 + +Nagitu, the three cities called, 373, 380 + +Naharaina, Naharaim (Upper Mesopotamia), 270, 271, 272, 274, 288, 296, + 304. + _See_ Nahrima, Narima, Na'iru + +Naharau and Nahor, 551 + +Nahor, the city of, 204 + +Nahor, 551; + traditions concerning, 146 + +Nahrima (Naharaim), 296. + _See_ Naharaina + +Nahr-Malka, 158; + referred to by Mr. Rassam, 159 + +Nahum upon the fall of Nineveh, 393 + +Na'iru (Mesopotamia), 341, 351 + +Nal mountains, 351 + +Names given to Merodach, 30-32 + +Names of captives, 302 + +Nammu, a river-god, 43 + +Namri, 336, 346, 347 + +Namyawaza, an Egyptian vassal, 290, 293 + +Nannar(a), worshipped at Ur and Haran (Harran), 147, 160, 219 ff.; + hymns referring to him, 194, 195 + +Naphtali, 353 + +Naphu'ruria, Naphuri (Amenophis IV.), 281, 282 + +Naram-Sin conquers Elam, 124 + +Narima (Naharaim), 288 + +Navigation, Babylonian, 470, 512 + +Naville, Prof. E., 253, 305; + upon the stele of Meneptah II., 306 + +Nebo identified with Merodach, 58; + takes part at the coming of the Flood, 104; + worshipped at Borsippa, 160, 409, 415; + named also Lag-gi, 370; + his titles, 343 + +Neb-mut-Ra (Amenophis III.), 276 + +Nebuchadnezzar (Nebuchadrezzar), son of Nabopolassar, 392; + marries Amytis, sent against the army of Egypt, 397; + aids, with his brother, in the restoration of the temple E-sagila, 398; + mounts the throne, 398, 399; + affairs in Palestine, Syria, Egypt, etc., 399-402; + his dreams and the golden image, 403, 404; + his buildings, 405-407; + his sons, 408; + was Nabonidus his son-in-law? 407, 437, 438; + tablets dated in his reign, 432-440; + his offerings, 433; + his use of divination, 247; + his name, 558 + +Nebuzaradan, 400, 558 ff. + +Necho of Memphis and Sais, 389 _n._ + +Nefer-titi, the Egyptian name of Tadu-hepa, 276 + +Negeb, the, 272 + +Negligence, loss or damage from, 496, 513 + +Nemitti-Bel, wall of Babylon, 405 + +Nephayan, commander-in-chief at Syene, 539 ff. + +Nergal, Nerigal, god of war, etc., 279, 330; + identified with Merodach, 58; + worshipped at Cuthah, 160; + and in Alasia, 278 + +Nergal-sharezer, 408, 409 + +Nergal-usezib of Babylonia, 380 + +Neriglissar (Nergal-sarra-usur), son of Bel-sum-iskun, 409, 438; + cattle-owner, 339; + trader, 440; + banker, 441; + mounts the throne, 408, 409; + his daughter's marriage, 442; + tablets dated in his reign, 441-444; + his death, 410 + +Net, Merodach's, wherewith he catches Tiamtu, 24, 131, 550 + +Nibhaz, god of the Avvites, 129 + +Nibiru, planet Jupiter, 27 + +Nicolas of Damascus upon Abraham, 147 + +Niffer (Calneh), non-existent at the beginning, 39; + built by Merodach, 41; + called Nippur (Niffer), 124; + its temple-tower, 136; + its streets and houses, 188, 189; + the daughter of Niffer laments, 477, 478 + +Nimmalhe, an Amorite captive, 302 + +Nimmuaria (Neb-mut-Ra, Amenophis III.), 276 + +Nimrod, son of Cush, his power and kingdom, 118, 119; + the same as Merodach, 126, 127, 129, 130; + "the mighty hunter," 131; + his land, 126; + how his name assumed this form, 129, 550; + Arabic Nimrud, 551 + +Nina, goddess, 64 + +Nin-aha-kudu, goddess, 41 + +Nin-edina, 77 + +Nineveh (Ninua), 376, 378, 387; + probably named after Nina, daughter of Ea or Aa, 64; + built by Asshur, 118, 126, 127; + earliest mention of, 491; + its destruction, 393 + +Nineveh-road, the, 384, 385 + +Nina-gala, goddess of Haran, 546 + +Nin-igi-azaga (Aa or Ea), 114 + +Ninip identified with Merodach, 58; + his names, 235, 236, 555; + worshipped near or at Jerusalem and in the west, 235, 278; + in the Flood-story, 101, 104, 107 + +Ninsah inscription dedicated to, 220 + +Nin-Urmuru (?), 280; + possible reading _Belit-nesi_, 548 + +Nippuru, 28, 37. + _See_ Calneh, Niffer + +Nisaba, the legend of, 76 + +Nisir, the mountain on which the "ship" rested, 90, 106 + +Nisroch, the god Asshur, 129 + +Nitocris, queen, 407 + +Niy, city, 271; + elephant-hunting near, 273 + +Non-existent things at the beginning, 16, 39 + +Nudimmud (= Aa, Ae, or Ea), 18; + asked to subdue the Dragon, fails, 21; + an abode made for him, 26 + +Nuhasse, 317; + an Assyrian district, 280 + +Nur-ili-su, builds and dedicates a temple, 162 + +Nur-Rammani (Nur-Addi), king of Larsa, 218 + +Nusku, one of the gods of Haran, 202 + +Obelisk, the, emblematic, 265 + +Offerings, royal, to the gods, 433, 444-446 + +Officials' rights, duties, and responsibilities, 493, 494 + +Offord, Mr. J., his cylinder, pl. vi. and p. 548; + his tablet, 559 + +Og of Bashan, 313 + +Omri (Humri), the "house of Omri," 332; + "son of Omri," 337, 339; + "land of Omri," 341 + +On (Heliopolis), 258, 264; + the shrine of, 265 + +Opis on the Tigris, the battle of, 415, 416; + tablets dated at, 439, 450, 459 + +Oppert, Prof., 14; + his suggested Babylonian etymology of Abel, 82, 83; + dates from Hebrew sources, 332 + +Oppolzer upon the Sothis period, 307 + +Oracles (for Esarhaddon), 385; + (concerning Nineveh), 393 + +Osah (Usu), 374 + +Osiris, Merodach identified with, 54; + worshipped at On, 264 + +Ostau (Ostanes), 540, 543 ff. + +Oxen, the hire of, 512 + +Padi of Ekron, 375, 376, 377 + +Palace, house bought for a, 441; + theft from a, 491, 492, 525 + +Palaces of Nebuchadnezzar at Babylon, 552 + +Palastu (Philistia), 341 (_see_ Pilista) + +Palestine, Egyptian successes in, 270; + Assyrian do., 329, 336, etc. (Amurru, Hatti) + +Pallukatu (the Pallacopas), 70 + +Paluma, a captive, 302 + +Panbesa, letter of, 305 + +Pantibiblon, supposed to be Sippar, 63 + +Paphos, 387 + +Pap-sukal, the god, 433 + +Papyri of Elephantine, the, 539-544 + +Paradise, the Babylonian, description of, 71, 72; + its inaccessibility, 72 + +Pariktum (canal), 167 + +Partnership, 183 + +Party-walls or fences, 190 + +Pasturing, 496, 497 + +_Patesi_ (priest-kings or viceroys), 126 + +Patinians, Kalparundu of the, 334 + +Patriarchs before Abraham, 141 ff. + +Paura (Pauru, Puuru), the king's commissioner, 297, 298 + +Peek, Sir Cuthbert, 179 + +Pekah, 352-355 + +Pekod, 458 + +Pekodites, the, 347 + +Peleg, 145, 552 + " 544 (note to p. 145) + +Pelusium besieged, 378, 381 + +Penalties, for changing the words of a contract, 174; + for divorcing a wife, or denying a husband, and denying sisterhood (by + adoption), 175; + for denying an adopted son, an adopted father, 176, 177; + for denying a mistress (by a female slave), 185; + _see also_ 190, 191 + +Peniel or Penuel, 547 + +Pen-nekheb, officer of Thothmes I., 270 + +Pentaur, Egyptian poet, 304 + +People, the, in early Babylonia, 169-191 + +Persian rule in Babylonia, 423 ff. + +Pethor (Pitru), 329 + +Petrie, Prof. Flinders, 250, 253, 274, 275, 292, 293, 297, 303, 312, 313; + upon the revival of native Egyptian power, 269; + on Amenophis II., 273; + monolith found by, 305 + +Pharaoh not drowned in the Red Sea, 307 + +Philistia (Pilista, Palastu), 341, 352, 353, 361, 370 + +Phoenicia, 272, 360 + +Phoenix, the, 265 + +Physicians' fees and liabilities, 510, 511 + +Pi-Beseth (Pi-Bast, Bubastis), 263 + +Piercing of Rahab, the, 530 + +Pilinussu, general of Hyspasines, 483 + +Pilista (Philistia), 352, 353, 361 + +Pilot or boatman (of Gilgames), 99; + (of the ship or ark), 104, 116 + +_Pirke di Rabbi Eliezer_, 307 + +Pir-napistim, the Babylonian Noah, 73; + Gilgames sees him afar off, 99; + they converse, 100; + tells Gilgames the story of the Flood, 101-108; + directs his wife to cure Gilgames, 108; + tells him of a wonderful plant, 109; + he was a worshipper of Ea (Ae, Aa), 113, 114; + and was called also Atra-hasis, 107, 112, 117; + his faithfulness to the old deity Ae, 114; + his name probably Ut-napistim, 547 + +Pir'u of Musuri or Musri, 366, 370; + one of the kings of the sea-coast and the desert, 368 + +Pishon, river, 69, 70 + +Pisiris of Carchemish, 350, 367 + +Pithom, 305 + +Pittit, an Elamite, 483 + +Place of fate, the, 472 + +Plague of darkness, the, 309 + +Plantation, concerning a, 456, 457 + +Planting and plantations, 497 + +Plant making the old young, the, 75 + +Plants, Merodach creates, 40 + +Pliny, his reference to king Horus, 124 + +Polyhistor, 393 + +Polytheism, the difficulty of escaping it, 246 + +Potiphar, 255; + the name, 258 + +Poti-phera, meaning of, 258 + +Prayer to be freed from sin, 50-52 + +Presents, interchange of, 276 + +Priestesses and votaries, privileges of, 507, 508, 546 (180) + +Priest of Nebo marries the daughter of Neriglissar, 442 + +Priests of On, the, 265 + +Primaeval Ocean, the, 16 + +Principal cities, the, of Babylonia, 124 + +Procession-street at Babylon, the, 552 + +Profaning herself, of a temple-devotee, 499, 521 + +Property of officials, 493-495 + +Prostitution probably not compulsory, 443 + +Protection of caravans, the, 282 + +Prove purchase and gift, contracts to, 438, 439, 458 + +Ptolemy, 357, 358 + +Pul (= Pulu, Poros), 357, 358 + +Pulug, Pulukku, or Peleg, 544 + +Pura-nunu (the Euphrates), 158 + +Purattu (Phuraththu), the Euphrates, 158 + +Purchase of a house, 460 + +Qarqara, royal city, 329, 330, 363; + the battle there, 556 ff. + +Qatna, 290, 317 + +Qaus-gabri of Edom, 386 + +Que, 371 + +Qutite, Qutites, 123, 170 + +Qutu, the land of, 420, 422; + old lamentation referring to the, 477. + _See_ Qutite + +Ra or Re, the Egyptian Sun-god, 254, 264 + +Ra-'Apop'i and the king of the south, 254 + +Rabbatum, land of, 224 + +Rabi-mur of Gebal, 288 + +Rab-mag (? = Rab-mugi), 408 + +Races, many, in Babylonia, 119, 169, 170, 541, 542 + +Rahab, 68, 530 + +Ra-Harmachis, 264 + +"Raian ibn el-Walid," pharaoh, 263 + +Raising the spirit of Ea-bani, 110 + +Rameses I., 303 + +Rameses II., the pharaoh of the Oppression, 269, 304, 305, 307, 537 + +Rammanu (Rimmon), 160, 277 + +Ramoth-Gilead, 338 + +Ranke, Dr. Hermann, 148, 154 _n._ + +Raphia (Rapihu), 363 + +Ra-seqenen (Seqenen-Re) III., 261 + +Rassam, Mr. Hormuzd, 38; + finds the gates of Balawat, 405, 556; + his reference to the Nahr-Malka, 159; + finds bas-relief and inscription of Hammurabi, 215; + cylinder of Cyrus, 411, 419; + his family in the East, 394 + +Raven, sending forth of the, 106 + +Rawlinson, Sir Henry, recognizes Eridu as a type of Paradise, 71; + his identification of Ur (Mugheir), 193; + and Kudur-mabuk, 222 + +Reaper, hire of a, 168 + +Receiver, liabilities of a, 492, 520 + +Rehoboth, Rehoboth-Ir, built by Asshur, 118, 127 + +Reisner, Dr. G. A., 156 + +Religion of the Western states, 277-279 + +Religious element, the, 159 ff. + +Rent, 448 + +Reproaching the Amorite, 300 + +Repudiation of master by slave, 515 (law 282) + +Resen, its origin, 126, 127 + +Respect for parents, 509, 522 + +Retaliation, the law of, 509, 510 + +Rezin, Rezon (Rasunnu), 350, 353, 355 + +Ria (the Egyptian Ra or Re), 254 + +Rianappa, the representative of Egypt, 287 + +Rib-Addi of Gebal, etc., 293, 313 + +Rieu, Dr., 263 + +Right of way, tablet concerning, 459 + +Rim-Anu, king, 217 + +Rimmon (or Hadad), god of the atmosphere, identified with Merodach, 58; + in the Flood-story, 104, 277 (Addu, Rammanu) + +Rim-Sin, 164; + connection of this name with Eri-Aku, 216, 217; + capture of, 213, 214, 217; + inscription of, 220, 221 + +Rivers, the mouths of [which are on] both sides, 73; + the place of the Babylonian Paradise, 71, 72 + +Rost, Dr. P., 347, 348, 352 + +Royal family, the, among the people, 166-168 + +Royal letters, 165 + +Rubenstein, Dr. Otto, 544 + +Rubute, city, 299 + +Rukipti of Askelon, 355, 356 + +Rutennu (Syrians), 303; + the Upper, 274; + Upper and Lower, 304; + conquered by Thothmes I., 270 + +Sabbath, the Babylonian, 27, 527, 528, pl. ii. + +Sabeans, the, 203, 363 + +Sachau, Prof. E., 539 ff., 542 + +Sacrifice, the, on coming out of the ship (ark), 106 + +Sacrilegious theft, the punishment of, 553 + +Sadi-Tesub, son of Hattu-sar, 320 + +_Sadu_, _Saddu_, "mountain," "lord," "commander," 248 + +SA-GAS = _habatu_, _habbatu_, 291, 292, 538 + +Sa-imerisu, Imerisu (Syria of Damascus), 329, 334, 336, 337, 341, 354, 356 + +Sajur (river), 329 + +Sala, consort of Rimmon or Hadad, 212 + +Salatis, Hyksos king, 251 + +Salem, 239-241 + +Sale of a son by his parents, 435, 436 + +Sales of land, 237, 238; + slaves, 466, 559 ff. + +_Salim_, _salimmu_, _Sulmanu_ (_Salmanu_), _Salmanu nunu_, _salamu_, + 239-241 + +Salmayatu, worshipped at Tyre, 278 + +Salvation, Babylonian desire for, 52 + +Samaria, 322; + Ben-Hadad's attempts upon, 330, 333, 338; + Pekah's flight from, 354, 355; + revolts, 363; + Menahem of, 350 + +Samarians, city of the, 350 + +Samas, the Sun-god, 77; + identified with Merodach, 58; + monsters guard him, 98; + appoints the time for the coming of the Flood, 103, 104, 115; + in Mitanni, 278 + +Samas-sum-ukin, king of Babylon, 388 + +Sammu-ramat (Semiramis), 342, 343 + +Samse, Samsi, queen of Arabia, 354, 363 + +Samsi-Adad III., king, 339 + +Samsimuruna, city, 386 + +Samsimurunaa, Menahem, the, 374 + +Samsu-iluna (king), 142; + length of his reign, 153; + tablets dated therein, 179, 180, 187, 188 + +Samsu-titana, king, 153 + +San (deity), 156 + +San (Zoan), 263; + the inhabitants said to be of a different type from those of other + places in Egypt, 266 + +Sanaballat (Sinuballit), governor of Samaria, 541, 543 + +Sanacharib (Sennacherib), 378, 381 + +Sangara of Carchemish, 329, 334; + called king of the Hatte, 321 + +Saniawa, name, 458 + +Saniru (Shenir), 336 + +Saosduchinos (Samas-sum-ukin), 388; + refuses to acknowledge his brother's suzerainty, 391 + +Sapia, city, 357 + +Saracos (Sin-sarra-iskun), 392, 396 + +Sarah, 148 + +Sarasar (Shareser), 378 + +Sardurri of Ararat, 347 + +Sargani (Sargon of Agade), 124 + +Sargon of Agade, 124, 313; + ruler of Amurru, 215; + period and extent of his rule, 150; + _see also_ 549 ff. + +Sargon (Sargina) the later, the Arkeanos of Ptolemy, 362; + his annals, 367; + his conquests, 322, 363-372; + his death, 372 + +Sarha (Zorah), 280 + +Sar-ili, name, 157, 245 + +Sarru and Sullat, foundation of a temple to, 162 + +Sarru, a captive, 302 + +Sarru-duri, one of Darius's captains, 456 + +Sarru-ilua, servant of Neriglissar, 439 + +Sarru-lu-dari of Askelon, 374 + +Sarru-lu-dari of Zoan, 389 _n._ + +Saue mountains, 349 + +Sayce, Prof., 14; + identifies the Babylonian story of Paradise, 71; 124; + researches in Hittite, 140, 318; + upon the Amorites and Tidalum, 311, 312; + his analysis of a Hittite name, 321; + see also 283 _n._, 332, 539 _n._ + +Scape-goat, Babylonian parallel to the, 53 + +Scheil, the Rev. V., 117, 487 ff., 536, 549, 558 + +Schrader, Prof. Eberhard, 143; + identifies Amraphel with Hammurabi, 209; + _see also_ 341, 342 + +Sea, the, personified by Tiamtu, 16, 67; + the abode of the god of knowledge, 62 + +Sea-coast, kings of the, 334, 335, 340 + +Seir, 296 + +Seizing the person for debt, 500, 521 + +Seleucia upon the Tigris, 476, 483, 484 + +Seleucus and the Babylonians, 476; + Seleucus and Antiochus, tablet dated in the reign of, 477, 478 + +Sellas river. _See_ Silhu + +Semiramis, 342, 344 + +Semitic names replace the Akkadian, 125; + Semitic inscriptions more numerous, 119 + +Sennacherib, 129, 372, 373-384; + in Armenia, against Merodach-baladan, the Cosseans and Yasubigalleans, + Hatti (Sidon, Ekron, Hezekiah, etc.), 373-376; + before Lachish, 377, 382; + in Babylonia, 379; + Elam, 380; + against Egypt, 381; + his treatment of the Babylonians, 396; + his death, 383, 384, 550 + +Seqnen-Re, the death of, 255 _n._ + +Seri (Seir), 296 + +Serpent and magic plant, 109; + serpent-god and the abode of life, 532; + serpent-tempter, the 531 + +Seru-etirat, princess, 392 + +Sethos and Hephaistos, 549 (381) + +Seti I., Meneptah, 304 + +"Seven" a round number, 263 + +Seven kings of Cyprus send tribute, 372 + +Seventh day, the Flood stops on the, 105; + the birds sent forth seven days later, 106; + duties of the, 528 (_see_ Sabbath) + +Shaaraim, 297 + +Shaddai, a possible etymology of, 248 + +Shalam (Salamis), 305 + +Shalman, 239 + +Shalmaneser II., his accession, 328; + refers to Ahab and Ben-Hadad, 331 ff.; + Jehu son of Omri, 332, 337-339; + his death, 339 + +Shalmaneser III., his accession and expeditions, 344 + +Shalmaneser IV., his accession and expeditions, 357, 358-362 + +Share of the cultivator, the, 495, 525 + +Shareser, Sarasar, 378, 384, 385 + +Shasu Bedouin, the, 271, 304 + +Shaving the head in Egypt and Western Asia, 257 + +Sheep, the, of Neriglissar's servant, 438 + +Shelemiah, son of Sauballat, 541 + +Shem, 141 + +Shepherd kings, the, in Egypt, 251, 252 ff. + +Shepherd loved by Istar, her treatment of him, 96, 97 + +Sheshonq of Busiris, 389 _n._ + +Shinar (Babylonia), 118; + regarded as equivalent to Sumer, 119, 134; + its etymology, 548 ff. + +Ship, Gilgames and Ur-Sanabi embark in a, 99; + Gilgames lies down in its "enclosure," 108 + +Ship, Pir-napistim commanded to build one to escape the Flood, 102, 113; + its building and provisionment, 103, 114; + the embarkation, 103, 104, 115; + the pilot, 104, 116; + the god Uragala, 104; + Pir-napistim looks forth, 105; + the mountain of Nisir, and the sending of the birds, 105; + Ellila's anger and Ae's kindness, 106, 107 + +Shrine of Ra at On, 265 + +Shrines of the gods at Babylon, 472 + +Shuhites, 319 + +_Shulchan Aroch_, the, 306 + +Sibitti-bi'ili of Gebal, 350 + +Sickness of the head, incantation against, 55, 56 + +Sidon in the Tel-el-Amarna tablets, 277, 300; + its tribute to Shalmaneser II. (337), 338, 339; + conquered by Adad-nirari, 341; + Tiglate-pileser III., 360; + Sennacherib, 373; + Esarhaddon, 386; + Great and Little Sidon, 374 + +Sidonians (Sidunaa), 328, 337, 374 + +Sidqa of Askelon, 374 + +Siduri, goddess, consulted by Gilgames, 99 + +Sihon, 313 + +Silhu, river (the Sellas ?), 484, 561 + +Sili-Istar and Iribam-Sin, their dissolution of partnership and the + lawsuit following, 183-185 + +Silili, mother of the horse beloved of Istar, 96 + +Silli-bel of Gaza, 376, 386 + +Siluna, country of, 340 + +Similes, Babylonian, 52 + +Simirra (Simyra), 348, 351 + +Simti-Silhak, king, 219 + +Simyra (Simirra, Sumuru), 277, 293, 313, 348, 351, 363 + +Sin, the Moon-god, identified with Merodach, 58; + worshipped at Ur and Sippar, 160, 194, 195; + also at Haran, 201, 202, 411 + +Sin-idinnam of Larsa, 165, 169, 218 + +Sinjar, 304 + +Sin-mar-sarri-usur, servant of one of Nebuchadnezzar's sons, 435 + +Sin-mubalit, king, 153; + tablets of his reign, 178, 179, 180, 181 + +Sin-sarra-iskun (Saracos), the last king of Assyria, 392, 396 + +Sippar or Sippara (now Abu-Habbah), discovered by H. Rassam, 394; + its four names, 70; + supposed to be Sepharvaim, 158; + dated tablets from, 211; + captured by Tiglath-pileser, 347; + by Cyrus, 415, 416; + its gods, 415; + _see also_ 38, 63, 484 + +Sippara of Eden, 70 + +Sippar-Amnanu(m), 161, 552 ff. + +Sippar-Ya'ruru (Aruru), 161, 165, 553 + +Sirara, forests of, 387 + +Sir'ilites (Sir'ilaa, Israelites), 329, 330, 332, 335, 337 + +Sirku, a Babylonian magnate, 454, 467 ff. + +Sirru, land of, 206, 207 + +Siru, land of, 206, 207 + +Sisters, the, of Belshazzar, 450, 451 + +Slander, 504 (law 161) + +Slavery, 182, 185-187, 515 + +Small Hittite states, 322 + +Smerdis, 424 + +Smith, George, publishes the Babylonian Creation-story, 14; + the original of Berosus' Canon, 84; the Gilgames-series, 90; + conducts the _Daily Telegraph_ expedition, 90; + and finds a fragment of the second Flood-story, 117; + arranges the series, 91, 93, 95; + identifies Arioch, 209; + concerning Shalmaneser IV., 359, 362 + +Smiting a father, 509 (law 195) + +So, king of Egypt, 359, 365, 366 + +"Son of his God," the, 86 + +"Sons of God," the, 85 + +Sons of Syrian chiefs educated in Egypt, 274 + +Sons, the, of Yakinlu of Arvad, 390 + +Sothis period, 307 + +Spells, 491 (laws 1 and 2) + +Sphinxes, Hyksos, 264 + +Spiegelberg upon the stele of Meneptah II., 306 + +Spirit of Ea-bani, the raising of, 110 + +Spirits of heaven and earth, invocation of, 56 + +Spirits of the departed, their lot, 111 + +Stars, creation of, 27 + +States regarded by the Assyrians as Hittite, 322 + +Steindorff's translation of Zaphnath-paaneah, 257 + +Stele of Meneptah II., extract from the, 306 + +Stephen, Saint, 192 + +Storage and deposit, 500 (laws 120 ff.) + +Storm at the coming of the Flood, description of the, 104, 105 + +Streets of Babylonian cities, 188, 189 + +Su-anna (Su-ana), a part of Babylon, foreign gods taken thither, 414, 420; + Cyrus enters and receives tribute there, 420, 422; + _see also_ 433 + +Su-ardatum, 299 + +Suba' or Suma', city of the land of, tablet dated at, 457 + +Subarte, 318 + +Subbiluliuma, Hittite king, 537 + +Suhu and Maer, states, 319, 556 + +Sulmanu-asarid (Shalmaneser), 239 + +Suma', land of. _See_ Suba' + +Sum-Addu (Samu-Addu) of Sam-huna, 279 + +Suma-ilu, king, 162, 163 + +Sumer (= Kengi), Sumerian, 119, 134; + texts (incantations), 39 ff., 55, 86, 120, 121 + +Sumer and Akkad, 541; + mentioned by Cyrus, 420; + in titles, 347, 421 + +Sumero-Akkadian, its nature, 120, 121; + early period, 552 + +Sumu, apparently a deity, 142; + names compounded with his, 142 + +Sumu-abi, king, 153, 154 + +Sumu-Dagan, name, 142 + +Sumu-la-ili (king), his name, 142, 153, 154; + tablet dated in his reign, 173, 174; + (Sumulel), 181 + +Sumulel (= Sumu-la-ili), 181 + +Sumu-libsi, a witness, 167 + +Sun, a title of the kings of Egypt, 284, 286, 287, 289, 295 + +Sun, the city of the, 446 + +Sun the indicator of the seasons, 115 + +Sun-devotees, Babylonian, 161, 168 + +Sun-god, the, 58, 77, 92, 103, 115; + (_see_ Samas), worshipped at Sippar and Larsa, 160; + the centre of his worship in Egypt, 258 + +Suqaain, tablet dated at, 457 + +Surgeons' fees and penalties, 510 + +Surippak, where the gods decided to make a flood, 101; + the native place of Pir-napistim, 102 + +Suri or North Syria, the king of, 347 + +Sur-Sanabi (Ur-Sanabi), 540 + +Suru, land of, 206, 207 + +Susa, city of, 422 + +Susanchites, the, 391 + +Suta, royal commissioner, 296 + +Sutadna of Akka (Accho), 281 + +Sutekh, the god of the Hyksos, 254 + +Suti (Sutite, Sutites), 123, 158, 170, 291, 292, 368; + brigands, 283 + +Suzubu (Nergal-usezib), 380 + +Swallow, the, sent forth, 106 + +Swearing by the gods and the king, 162, 163, 174 ff. + +Syncellus, 393 + +Syria, Egyptian successes in, 270, 271; + (Rameses II.), 304; + Syria in the time of Amenophis III., 274; + on the stele of Meneptah, 306; + Shalmaneser II. there, 336 ff.; + Adad-nirari, 341; + Shalmaneser III., 344; + Tiglath-pileser, 347, 351; + Sargon, 367; + Sennacherib, 373 ff. + +Syrian campaigns, Thothmes I., 270 + +Tabal (Tubal), 367 + +Tablet of Good Wishes, the, 81 + +Tablets of Fate given to Kingu, 19; + taken by Merodach, who presses his seal upon them, 25 + +Tablets referring to Chedorlaomer, Tidal, and Arioch, 223 ff. + +Tadu-hepa, princess of Mitanni, asked in marriage (? for Amenophis IV.), + 276 + +Takhsi, near Aleppo, 273 + +Takreta_in_ (?), tablet dated at, 439 + +Talents, parable of the, 525 + +Talmud, the, 195 _n._, 203 + +Tamessus, 387 + +Tamar, the case of, 525 + +Tammuz, in Akk. Dumu-zi or Du-mu-zida, 72, 82; + his names, 539; + possible parallel to the story of Cain and Abel, 83; + his wife, Istar, causes him grief, 96; + his temple-tower at Agade (Akkad), 136; + worshipped also at Eridu, 160; + in the west, 279; + early date of his worship, 555; + _see also_ 547 + +Tammuz of the Abyss, 43, 63, 65 + +Tamtu, the coast-land, 122, 123 + +Tanis (Zoan), 264. + _See_ San + +Taribu, queen, 173 + +Tarpelites, the, 391 + +Tasmetum, spouse of Nebo, 213 + +Tauthe (= Tiamtu), 16, 67 + +Taylor Cylinder, 373 + +Teie (Teyi), the first wife of Amenophis III., 275, 276 + +Tel-Assur (Til-Asurri), 388 + +Tel-Basta (Bubastis), 264 + +Tel-el-Amarna tablets, 249, 275-302 + +Tel-Sifr ruin-mound, 176, 211, 214 + +Tema, Babylonian city, 412 + +Temeni, land of, 343 + +Temple, gift of a, 162 + +Temple (Jewish) at Elephantine, 539 ff.; + destroyed, 540 + +Temple of Belus, the, 552 + +Temple of the Sun-god, declaration made in the, 184 + +Temples restored by the early kings, 161, 162; + benefited by Hammurabi, 489-491 + +Temple-towers, Babylonian, 136 ff. + +Tenneb (Tunep, Dunip), 277; + its government, 280 + +Terah, traditions concerning, 146; + stated to have been an idolater, 147, 195; + his journey from Ur to Haran, 192, 195, 196; + his name compared, 544 + +Teraphim, the, 246, 524 + +Tesupa or Tesub, Hadad of Mitanni, 277 + +Teuwatti of Lapana, 289 + +Thargal, for Thadgal = Tidal, 232. + _See_ Tudhula + +Thebais, kings of, 252 + +Thebes and the Thebans, their aid in expelling the Hyksos, 269, 270; + the birthplace of Thothmes III., 271; + stronghold of Tirhakah, 389 + +Theft (death-penalty for), 491, 492; + by an _employe_, 513; + of things deposited, 501, 521; + _see also_ 520, 561 + +Thompson, Prof. Campbell, 559 + +Thoth, 264 + +Thothmes I., 270 + +Thothmes II., 271 + +Thothmes III., 271, 316 + +Thothmes IV., 274, 316 + +"Throne-bearers" of the gods, 82 + +Thureau-Daugin, Morsiem F., 218 + +Tiamat, 67. _See_ Tiamtu + +Tiamtu or Tiawthu (= Tauthe), 16, 17, 33; + being joined by certain gods, prepares to fight, 18 ff.; + her husband Kingu, 19, 20; + terrifies the gods Anu and Nudimmud, 21; + caught by Merodach, 24, 131; + conquered, 25; + cut asunder, 26; + her head pierced, 31; + meaning of her name, 33, 67; + why applied, 68; + her desire to be the creator or producer, 34, 35; + how typified in the O. T., 68 + +Tiamtu, the sea-coast, 230 + +Tidal, 222. + _See_ Tudhula + +Tidalum = Tidnu = Amurru, 312 + +Tidnu, the Akkadian name of Amurru (the land of the Amorites), 206, 208, + 312; + ideograph for, 312 + +Tiglath-pileser I., 129; + kills elephants in Mesopotamia and Lebanon, 200, 201; + attacks the Hittites, 318 + +Tiglath-pileser III., 346; + "king of Sumer and Akkad," 347; + captures Arpad, 347; + Kullanu, etc., 348; + tribute from Syria, 350; + marches to Madaa, Nal, and Ararat, 351; + takes Gaza, 352; + marches to Damascus, helps Ahaz, 353; + describes the flight of the Syrian king, 354; + his conquests, 355, 356; + submission of Chaldean tribes, entry into Babylon, death, 357; + = Pul, 357, 358 + +Tigris and Euphrates, creation of, 40; + mentioned in Gen. i., 69; + rivers of the district of Sippar, 158; + and of Babylon, 471 + +Tigris, the, flows close to Nineveh, 393; + Cyrus and the districts of, 422; + Elamite incursions thither, 483. + _See_ Seleucia + +Ti'imutusu, son of Aspasine, 483 + +Til-barsip, 328 + +Til-garimme (Togarmah), 271, 368 + +Tilla (= Ararat), 122, 208 + +Timasgi (regarded as Dimaski = Damascus), 290 + +Timnah (Tamna), 375 + +Tindir (Babylon), 420, 421 + +el-Tireh, 293 + +Tirhakah, 383, 388, 389 + +Tithes, payments of, 434 + +Title of the Gilgames legend, 91 + +Togarmah (Tilgarimme), 271, 368 + +"Tooth for tooth," 509 + +Topography of Babylon, 552 + +Tower of Babel, the Mohammedan legend of the, 551 + +Transcription of lines referring to Antiochus's rule in Babylonia, 553 + +Tree-felling, 497 (law 59) + +Towns in the ancient East, 188 + +Trade between Canaan and Babylonia, 281 + +Translation of the hero of the Flood, 108, 116 + +Translation, Semitic, inserted in the divided Akkadian lines, 38 + +"Tree of the drink of life" = the vine, 75 + +"Tree of knowledge," 73; + the Babylonian parallel of the, 77 + +"Tree of life," 73; + a Babylonian parallel of the, 75 + +Trees, sacred, of the Babylonians and Assyrians, 74-77, pl. III. + +Tribes classed as Amorites, 311 + +Tribute of Carchemish of the Hittites, 321 + +Tubal, 367, 390 + +Tuckwell, the Rev. J., 551 + +Tudhula, the probable Babylonian form of Tidal, 222, 223, 224, 227, 231, + 232, 537, 554 + +Tukulti-Ninip I. annexes Babylonia, 327, 371 + +Tum or Tmu, 264 + +Tunep, Syrian town, 272; + its resistance, 305 + (Dunip, Tenneb) + +Tpasu, canal, 468 + +Turbazu killed, 296 + +Tusamilki of Musur, 390 + +Tutamu, king of Unqu, 348 + +Tutu, a name of Merodach, 30; + the explanation given, 45 + +Tuya, a captive, 302 + +Two wives, marriage-contracts for, 174, 175 + +Ty, Ay's queen, 303 + +Tyre (Surru), 277, 338, 339, 360, 373, 386, 400; + blockaded by Nebuchadnezzar, 490; + Suru =? Tyre, 401; + contract dated at, 401 + +Tyre, the land of, conquered by Adad-nirari, 341 + +Tyre, Old (Palaetyrus), 360 + +Tyrians, the land of the, pays tribute, 328, 337, 350; + resists Shalmaneser IV., 360 + +Ube, Syria of Damascus, 290 + +Udumu, 310; + (Edom), 322, 341, 370, 374, 386 + +Ugga, the god of Death, 36 + +Ukabu'sama, daughter of Nabonidus, 451 + +Ukin-zer (Chinzeros), 356, 357 + +Ukka, 127 + +Ukus, patesi, 124 + +Ul-Samas, city, 213 + +Umbara-Tutu, father of Pir-napistim, 102 + +Ummanaldas of Elam, 391 + +Umman-manda, the, 230, 392 + +Ummu Hubur, a designation of Tiamtu, 18 + +Unknown tongue, an, 140 + +Unlawful pasturing, 496, 521 + +Unqu, 348 + +Unskilful surgical treatment, penalties for, 510, 511 + +Unug, Akkadian form of the name of Erech, 84 + +Upahhir-belu, eponymy of, 372 + +Upe, Upia (Opis), 439, 458, 459 + +Upe-rabi, "Opis is great," name, 182 + +Upsukenaku, the place of assembly of the gods, 21 + +Ur (of the Chaldees), 124; + its temple-tower, 136, 193-195; + = Urie or Camarina, 146, 147, 196, 197; + identified with Mugheir, 193; + possibly really Uri or Ura (Akkad), 197; + rebels against Assyria, 386; + Nabonidus's inscriptions at, 414, 415; + name of its wall or fortification, 220 + +Ura, god of pestilence, 107; + legend of Ura, 122; + "Ura the unsparing," 228; + invoked by Evil-Merodach, 409 + +Ura-gala and the ship (ark), 104 + +Urartu (Ararat), 127. + _See_ Urtu + +Uras, god of Dailem, 279; + the great gate of, 468 + +Urbi, the, 376, 557 + +Urdamane, son of Sabaco, 389 + +Urfa (Orfa), the traditional Ur of the Chaldees, 192, 193 + +Uri or Ura = Akkad, 122, 134 + +Urie (Ur of the Chaldees), 146; + a centre of lunar worship, 147 + +Urikku of the Kuites, 350 + +Uriwa, the Akkadian form of Ur (Mugheir), 193 ff. + +Ur-kasdim (Ur of the Chaldees), 193. + _See_ Ur of the Chaldees + +Urrahinas, Hittite city, 320 + +Ursalimmu (Jerusalem), 375, 376 + +Ur-Sanabi, the pilot or boatman, accompanies Gilgames to see Pir-napistim, + 99; + takes the hero to be cleansed, 109; + returns with him to Erech, 109, 110; + Sur-Sanabi, 548 + +Urtu (apparently short for Urartu), Ararat, 122, 208 + +Uru (in Uru-salim), probably from the Akkadian, 241 + +Uru-gala, the image of, 480, 561 + +_Uruk supuri_, "Erech the walled," 91 + +Uru-ku, the dynasty of, 154 + +Urumaians (Hittites), 318 + +Uru-milki of Gebal, 374 + +Uru-salim (Jerusalem), 234, 239 + +Uruwus (king), 124 + +Usertesen I., 261 + +Ustan(n)u (Ostanes), 543 ff. + +Ut-napistim, 548 + +Van, 127, 367 + +Vannites, 391 + +Venus, 203. + _See_ Istar + +Veterinary surgeons' fees and penalties, 511 + +Vicious cattle, laws concerning, 512, 523 + +Village settlements, growth of, 171 + +Vine, the, 75 + +Vine of the Babylonian Paradise, 71 + +Violation, penalty for, 501, 521 + +Virgins, priestesses, and hierodules, 508 + +Vowel-changes in the Akkadian dialects, 241 + +Waidrang, governor of Elephantine, 539 + +Wall built at Ur (Uriwa) by Eri-Aku, 220 + +Ward, Dr. W. Hayes, conductor of the Wolfe expedition, 70 + +"Warehouse of the king's gifts," the, 445 + +Water, concerning the king's, etc., 446 + +"Waters of death," the, 99 + +Way, the Rev. Dr. J. P., 155 + +Weissbach, Dr., 556, 558 + +Wedding-gift, the bridegroom's, 553 + +West called Amurru (Amoria, the land of the Amorites), 205 + +West-land, no record of an expedition to, in the reign of Hammurabi, 214, + 215; + his claim to this tract, 215 + +West-Semitic deities, 156; + names, 157 + +Whitehouse, Mr. F. Cope, 263 + +Wiedemann, Prof., 253 + +Wife of Pir-napistim prepares the magic food, 108, 109 + +Wife-seeking, Abraham's, for his son, parallels to, 524 + +Wild animals damage by, 512, 523 + +Winckler, Dr. Hugo, 235, 297, 537, 538 + +Wine-women, 499 (laws 108 ff.) + +Wisyari, a captive, 302 + +Witnesses necessary, 500, 501; + names of, 162, 237, 238, etc. + +Working an ox unlawfully, 512, 523 + +Working-off debt, 500 (law 117) + +Workmen, hire of, 188, 514 + +Worship, lines upon, 49 + +Xenophon, 422 + +Xerxes, forms of his name, 428 + +Yaana or Yawani, a Hittite, 369, 370 + +Yaanana. _See_ Yatnana. + +Ya, Ya'u, Au, Aa, names containing, 59 + +Ya-abi-ni, name, 60 + +Yabitiri, governor of Gaza and Jaffa, 279; + to the king of Egypt, 284 + +Yabusu, name, 324 + +Ya-Dagunu, name, 59 + +Ya'enhamu (Yanhamu), 298 + +Yahu (Jah, Jehovah), temple of, at Elephantine, 539 ff., 544 + +Yahwah, 342. + _See_ -yawa + +Yakinlu of Arvad, 389; + sends his sons to Assur-bani-apli, 390 + +_Yakubu_, _Yakubi_, _Yakub-ilu_, _Ya'kubi-ilu_ (Jacob, Jacob-el), and + other similarly-formed names, 157, 183, 243-245, 554 + +Yamutbalu, Emutbalu, conquered by Hammurabi, 211, 212, 214, 216 + +Yanhamu, an Egyptian official, 285, 295, 298 + +Yanzu, king of Na'iri or Mesopotamia, 367 + +Yapa-Addu, 293 + +Yapti'-Addu killed, 296 + +Yapu, Yappu (Jaffa), 285, 375 + +Yaraqu traversed by Shalmaneser, 334, 349 + +Yasubigalleans, 373 + +_Yasupum_, _Yasup-ilu_ (Joseph, Joseph-el), and other similarly-formed + names, 157, 243 + +Yatnana (Yaanana), Cyprus, 387 + +Ya'u, Yaum, etc., 535, 536; + suggested etymology of, 113; + supposed to have been identified with Aa or Ea, 18 + +Yaua (Jehu), 337, 339 + +Yau-bi'idi (= Ilu-bi'idi) of Hamath, 322, 363, 366 + +Yaudu, Yaudi (Judah), 370, 386, 389 + +Yaum-ilu, name, meaning "Jah is God" (Joel), 199 _n._ + +Ya'wa, Yawa, 535 + +-yawa, names ending in, 458, 465, 470, 471 + +Ya(')we-ilu, name, 535 + +Yeb (Elephantine), 539 ff.; + meaning of the name, 544 + +Yedoniah of Elephantine, 539 ff. + +Yehohanan (Johanan or John), 540, 542 + +Yidia of Askelon to the king of Egypt, 286, 287 + +Yoke of Assyria thrown off by Nabopolassar, 550 + +Young, plant to make the old, 109 + +Zabibe, queen of Arabia, 350 + +Zabu, Zabium (king), 153; + tablets dated in his reign, 174, 183, 237 + +Zagaga, god of battle, identified with Merodach, 58; + temple of, at Kis, 213, 214, 415, 489 + +Zahi (Phoenicia), 270 + +Zaphnath-paaneah, Steindorff's translation of, 257 + +Zarephath (Sareptu), 374 + +Zedekiah, captured, 400. + _See_ Mattaniah + +Zelah, 297 + +Zeru-kenu-lisir, son of Merodach-baladan, 386 + +Zer-panitum, consort of Merodach, 160, 212; + swearing by, 433; + invocation of, 466; + _see also_ 472, 479 + +Zeru-Babili (Zerubbabel, better Zeru-Babel), a frequent name, 425, 441, + 559 + +Zeus (Belos), 137 + +_Zikurat Babili_, 139 + +Zilu city, 296 + +Zimmern, Prof. H., 68, 536, 546 + +Zimreda of Sidon, hostile to Egypt, 293; + Zimreda of Lachish, threatened, 296; + another Z., 556 + +Ziri-Basani (field of Bashan), 277 + +Zoan, supposed place where Joseph met Pharaoh, 253 + +Zubuduru, messenger of Nebuchadnezzar's son, 434 + + + + + + +FOOTNOTES + + + 1 Written on the edge of the tablet in the Assyrian copy. + + 2 Cf. the royal names, Anman-ila, Buntahtun-ila, etc., in the + so-called Arabic Dynasty of Babylon. (P. 154.) + + 3 Literally "he who feareth not his god." + + 4 The Akkadian line has "the sickness (disease) of the head." + +_ 5 Cuneiform Inscriptions and the O.T._, 2nd edit. vol. i. p. 28. + + 6 A later explanation by Prof. Sayce is, that Enoch may be Hana, "on + the east side of Babylonia," with the determinative suffix _ki_ + (making Hanaki) added. See _Expository Times_, Jan. 1902, p. 179. + + 7 In this description of the contents of the 12 tablets referring to + Gilgames, the common reading of the name of his friend and companion + has been retained, partly to keep a form which was more or less + familiar, and partly because the reading is doubtful. From the new + text discovered by Meissner, however, the name would seem not to be + Ea-bani, but Ea-du or Enki-du. Future discoveries may ultimately + give us the true reading. + + 8 Variant, "with loud voice." + + 9 Variant, "Mah." + + 10 Compare the story of Aesculapius, who, when in the house of Glaucus, + killed a serpent, upon which another of these reptiles came with a + herb in its mouth, wherewith it restored its dead companion to life. + Aesculapius was to all appearance luckier than Gilgames, for it was + with this herb that he restored the sick and dead, whereas the + Babylonian hero seems to have lost the precious plant. + + 11 Apparently meaning the same as if the word "artificers" only had + been used. Compare the expression "a son of Babylon" for "a + Babylonian." + + 12 Marshall Brothers, Paternoster Row. + + 13 The Assyrians, when referring to Babylonia, generally call it + "Akkad," which ought rather, therefore, to be the district nearest + to them--that is, the northern part of the country, immediately south + of their own borders. They also called this part Kardunias, one of + the names by which it was known in Babylonia. + + 14 See p. 122. + + 15 Other possible instances of the occurrence of this element in names + of this time are Zumu-rame, Sumu-hammu (apparently for Sumu-hammu), + Sumu-hala, Samu-abum, Samukim, Sumu-entel (so probably to be read + instead of Sumu-ente-al), Sumu-ni-Ea, "Our Shem is Ea," and in all + probability many others could be found. (See Hommel, _Ancient Hebrew + Tradition_.) + + 16 For further information upon Babylonia and Egypt, compare Prof. F. + Hommel's "Der babylonische Ursprung der aegyptischen Kultur," + Muenchen, G. Franz, 1892. A new etymology of Arpachshad, very similar + to that of Prof. Schrader, has, however, lately been suggested by + Prof. Sayce, and afterwards by Prof. Hommel, who has apparently + abandoned that given above. + + 17 See the tablet translated on pp. 182-183, and compare the documents + quoted on pp. 174, 178 ff., 180, 184, 185, 186-7. + + 18 In consequence of variations in the lists, there is doubt as to the + total of the reigns of the above kings. The shorter indications have + been given above, as far as the reign of Samsu-iluna. A small tablet + from Babylon (Rassam excavations) gives Sumu-abi 15, Sumu-la-ila 35, + Zabu 14, Abil-Sin 18, Sin-mubalit 30, Hammurabi 55, and Samsu-iluna + 35--total, with the others, 304 years instead of 285. Perhaps there + were usurpers, whose reigns have not been included. There seems to + have been an interregnum after the reign of Samu-abi (_Proceedings + of the Society of Biblical Archaeology_, 1899, p. 161). + + 19 Or _Buntahtun-ila_, in an inscription published by Hermann Ranke + (_Pennsylvania Expedition_, vol. VI., part 1, 1906). + + 20 The name really seems, however, to be Sumuenteal, probably a + scribe's error. + + 21 Or "heroic son"--_dumu ursa[ga?]_. + + 22 The Ebisum of the chronological lists. + + 23 Yosephia and Habe-Ibraheem. + + 24 See the _Quarterly Statement_ of the Palestine Exploration Fund, + July 1900, pp. 262, 263. + + 25 An interesting commentary on this is furnished by the British Museum + tablet K, 2100, which informs us that the god Rimmon or Hadad was + called _Addu_ or _Dadu_ in Amorite, _Tessub_ in the language of _Su_ + (Mesopotamia), _Maliku_ in the language of _Suh_, (the Shuites), + _Kunzibami_ in Elamite, and _Burias_ in Kassite. The same + inscription also states that the word for "God" was _ene_ in _Su_, + _nab_ in Elamite, _malahum_ in Amorite, _kiurum_ in Lulubite, + _mashu_ in Kassite, and gives the additional synonyms (? in + Babylonian) _qadmu_, "he who was first," _digiru_ (from the Akkadian + _dingir_, "god"), and also, seemingly, _hilibu._ + + 26 To all appearance letters were originally read out to the person + addressed by a professional reader. + + 27 This often happens, the most interesting case being the tablets + referring to Bunanitum, four in number, acquired in 1876, 1877, and + a year or two later. Another of the series is in New York. Cf. pp. + 459-465. + + 28 I have purposely given the translation of the inner tablet, that of + the envelope being less simply worded, and therefore not quite so + easy to understand. The list of witnesses, however, is from the + envelope, this being much more satisfactory in that it gives the + father's name and the title of the person in some cases. + + 29 The envelope here adds: "At no future time shall he make a claim." + + 30 This is apparently an expression taken from the contracts referring + to the purchase of houses, in which the same set phrases were used. + + 31 In the list of household goods inscribed on the tablet Bu. 91-5-9, + 337, are enumerated 1 bed, 1 couch, 2 tables, other objects, mostly + of wood, to the number of 42; 7 pots, 1 chair, 4 _usratum_ (probably + vessels containing the tenth part of some measure), 5 _hamsatum_ + (probably vessels containing the fifth part of a measure), 31 _qa_ + of sesame, and a few other things. + + 32 Generally read E-gis-sir-gal. + + 33 Probably the first line of the next tablet. + + 34 The Talmud says that Terah worshipped twelve divinities, one for + each month of the year. + + 35 There was a temple of the sun and the moon at a town at no great + distance from Ur [Mugheir], now represented by the mounds of + Tel-Sifr, where a number of tablets with envelopes were found. + + 36 One of the most interesting names found in the texts of this period + is that of Yaum-ilu, "Jah is God," occurring in a letter. Yau (Jah) + was one of the Babylonian words indicating the Supreme God, only + used, however, in special cases. (Cf. pp. 58 ff.) + + 37 See the inscription translated on p. 155. + + 38 In inscriptions referring to Haran the Moon-god bears this name. + + 39 Apparently the god Sin, through the priest, his representative. For + Esarhaddon's successes in Egypt, see p. 388. + + 40 The _ayin_ of the second element must have been pronounced like the + Arabic _ghain_, making 'Atar-ghata, which would probably be a better + transcription. + + 41 A corrupt form of the same name. + + 42 This is probably not the land of Hana referred to on p. 84, note, + which was apparently a Babylonian principality, and retained its + independence to a comparatively late date. It was a district which + had especially skilful stone- and metal-workers. + + 43 A doubtful rendering. + + 44 Or "Year of the images of the 7 gods." + + 45 Or "Year of (the temple) E-namhe." + + 46 It may just be mentioned that date 30, "Year of the army of Elam," + if correctly rendered, may refer to the Elamite expedition to the + West, but it seems more likely that it records a disaster to the + Elamite arms, which enabled Hammurabi to overthrow Rim-Sin of + Emutbalu next year. + + 47 A deity, probably the god of destruction. + + 48 Further details will be found in the paper, _Certain Inscriptions + and Records_, etc. in the _Journal of the Victoria Institute_, + 1895-96, pp. 43-90. Published also separately. + + 49 The word _katu_, "hand," in Semitic Babylonian, means also "power," + and as an explanatory gloss, the scribe has introduced the Hebrew + {~HEBREW LETTER ZAYIN~}{~HEBREW LETTER RESH~}{~HEBREW LETTER VAV~}{~HEBREW LETTER AYIN~} or {~HEBREW LETTER AYIN~}{~HEBREW LETTER VAV~}{~HEBREW LETTER RESH~}{~HEBREW LETTER ZAYIN~}, _zuruh_ in Assyrian transcription, meaning "arm," or, + here, "power." Apparently he was afraid that _katu_ would not be + understood. + + 50 In this connection Maspero's remarks upon this fragment (_Records of + the Past_, 2nd series, vol. ii. p. 43) are worth repeating. He + points out that there were three Pharaohs named Soqnun-ri (= + Seqnen-Re), and he implies that it was in all probability the last + of these which is referred to. He perished by a violent death, + perhaps in battle against the Hyksos themselves. "He had shaved his + head the morning before, 'arraying himself for the combat like the + god Montu,' as the Egyptian scribes would say. His courage led him + to penetrate too far into the ranks of the enemy; he was surrounded + and slain before his companions could rescue him. The blow of an axe + removed part of his left cheek and laid bare the teeth, striking the + jaw and felling him stunned to the ground; a second blow entered far + within the skull, a dagger or short lance splitting the forehead on + the right side a little above the eye. The Egyptians recovered the + body and embalmed it in haste, when already partly decomposed, + before sending it to Thebes and the tomb of his ancestors.... The + author of the legend may probably have continued the story down to + the tragic end of his hero. The scribe to whom we owe the papyrus on + which it is inscribed must certainly have intended to complete the + tale; he had recopied the last lines on the reverse of one of the + pages, and was preparing to continue it when some accident + intervened to prevent his doing so.... It is probable, however, that + it went on to describe how Soqnun-ri, after long hesitation, + succeeded in escaping from the embarrassing dilemma in which his + powerful rival had attempted to place him. His answer must have been + as odd and extraordinary as the message of 'Apopi, but we have no + means even of conjecturing what it was." + + 51 Compare the name of the well near which Hagar the Egyptian woman + fell down exhausted when fleeing from Sarai, Abraham's wife: "The + well of _the living one_ who seeth me." + + 52 Driver, in Hastings's _Dictionary of the Bible_, under Joseph. + + 53 Or "to each hungry person." + + 54 This and other transcriptions of the name into cuneiform character + suggests that it was generally pronounced Neb-mu'a-Re'a. + + 55 Another god of Mitanni seems to have been Eaasarri, probably from + the Babylonian _Ea sarru_, "Ea (Ae) the king." Other Mitannian + deities are Simigi and Susbi. + + 56 Compare the Arabic _eshara_, "sign." + + 57 Nin-urmuru (?) is only a provisional transcription, being at least + partly Akkadian. Her name in all probability began with _Belit_, + "lady of" = _Baalat_. As the name ends with the plural sign, the + question naturally arises whether it may not be practically a + title--"Lady of the Urmuru" (?), or something of the kind. + +_ 58 I.e._ to king Amenophis, to whom he was writing. + + 59 In all probability this is metaphorically spoken, and means simply + that he captured him. The feet of those vanquished in battle were + sometimes cut off, but it is hardly likely that a man would survive + this without medical treatment. + + 60 Lit. "stood before him." + + 61 Lit. "a servant of faithfulness." + + 62 Lit. "I look thus, and I look thus." + + 63 It is doubtful whether the full form of the name is preserved, the + tablet being broken at this point. + + 64 Hani-galbat is identified with northern Mesopotamia (Aram-Naharaim), + and was the land ruled over by Dusratta, king of Mitanni, a synonym + of which, at least in part, the district known as Hani-galbat was. + Hana-galbat is apparently a variant spelling. + + 65 Or "the keeper of thy horses." The dual sign before the word + "horses" suggests that "attendant," "guardian," or "driver" of the + two horses of the king's chariot is meant. The expression is + apparently intended merely to indicate the writer's position as + vassal. + + 66 Lit. "to whose head," apparently meaning "to whose self" = "to + whom." + + 67 Thus in the original--apparently Abdi-taba thought that "they + backbite" (_ikalu karsi_) might not be understood. + + 68 The name is lost. + + 69 The number is lost. + + 70 This number is incomplete. + + 71 Lit. "taken hostility against me." + + 72 Lit. "there is alliance to all the governors." + + 73 The scribe has left out a wedge in the middle character, making the + name _Kapasi_. + + 74 Apparently meaning that Milki-ili, pretending to be faithful to the + king of Egypt, intended to ask him, later on, for the territory + governed by Lab'aya and Arzawa, in order to give it back to them, + they having forfeited it by their rebellion. + + 75 So Naville and others. + + 76 Sothis rose heliacally on the 9th of Epiphi of the 9th year (1545 + B.C.) of Amenophis I. Amosis, his predecessor, ruled twenty-two + years, so that his first year must be 1575 B.C. Subtract 240 years, + the period of oppression, from 1575, and we obtain 1335 as the date + of the Exodus. + + 77 Mahler suggests that it was one of the sons of Rameses II. who met + with his death in the Red Sea when pursuing the departing + Israelites. + + 78 Also Abdi-Asirta, Abdi-Asratum. + + 79 Lit. "chariots of the harness of their yoke." + + 80 Prof. Sayce translates "like moon-stone I laid low." + + 81 Or "fear which dreaded." + + 82 These words _(sa mat Hat-ta-a-a_) are inserted in this place in + squeeze 84. + + 83 See the list, p. 374 (with 373 and 378). Amurru (Amoria, p. 374) + appears as in Hatti (p. 373), or synonymous with it. + + 84 Lit. "of his decision." + + 85 See p. 224. + + 86 The land of the Amorites. + + 87 Or Sizanians. + + 88 Only eleven are mentioned. + + 89 The god of death and battle. + + 90 Thus in the inscription, but translators generally read _Gilzanu_. + +_ 91 Guide to the Nimroud Central Saloon_, p. 31. This rendering is + based on a careful comparison of the inscription with the + bas-relief. + + 92 "Son of E-saggil" means that he was one of the deities worshipped in + the temple bearing that name. The god Ninip is called "son of + E-sarra," for the same reason. Nebo was especially worshipped, + however, at E-zida. + + 93 "The broad (land of) ... li," however, occurs, and, as Professor + Hommel actually suggests, may be a reference to _Nap-ta-li_ or + Naphtali. + +_ 94 I.e._ like the ruins of cities which had been swept away by a + flood. In both Assyria and Babylonia floods were common things, and + the devastation they caused naturally gave rise to the simile. + + 95 According to Fried. Delitzsch, this is incorrectly given for Sewe, + the Sib'e of the Assyrian inscriptions. + + 96 If it be Sargon, then it was naturally he who carried Israel captive + to Assyria, placing them in Halah, Habor, and the cities of the + Medes. + +_ 97 I.e._ those of the island of Tyre, which still held out. + + 98 Lit. "I smote their overthrow." + + 99 See the chapter upon the Tel-el-Amarna letters (p. 281 ff.). + + 100 It is noteworthy, however, that Sabaco is elsewhere called Sabaku + (see below, p. 389). + + 101 "The two borders," see Sayce. The Assyrian form is singular, as is + also the Babylonian Misir, which has _i_ for _u_ in both syllables. + The Arabic form is Misr. Musur(u), Misir(u), Misraim, and Misr are + all forms of the same name. + + 102 Compare p. 366, where the earlier payment of tribute is referred to. + + 103 See pp. 283, 291, 292. + + 104 The land of Heth, Syria in general. + + 105 Lit. "wrought anew." + + 106 Or Ya(w)anana. (This is added from the bull-inscription.) + + 107 Or _Sidqaa_ (for _Sidqaia = Zedekiah_). + + 108 Unknown objects--perhaps gold bangles or similar things. + + 109 Lit. "whatever its name." + + 110 Or "I." + + 111 Elibus in Alexander Polyhistor, as quoted by Eusebius, _Armenian + Chronicle_, 42. + + 112 It is impossible, with our present knowledge, to determine the date + of Merodach-baladan's envoy to Hezekiah (2 Kings xx. 12), but if at + the late period indicated, he must have been in hiding, and waiting + for the chance to mount the throne again. + + 113 This, together with Nagitu, and Nagitu-di'ibina, are apparently + different from the Nagite-raqqi or Nagitu-raqqu mentioned above. + Apparently Merodach-baladan had fled from the Nagitu "within the + sea" to the mainland. + + 114 The Babylonian Chronicle claims victory for the allies, and + Sennacherib for the Assyrians. The sequel implies that the latter is + the more trustworthy. + +_ 115 I.e._ Mer-en-Ptah, Seti I. As, however, this king reigned as early + as 1350 B.C., Herodotus must have been misinformed. Tirhakah, "king + of Ethiopia," was Sennacherib's opponent at the period of the siege + of Jerusalem (2 Kings xix. 9). + + 116 Tel-Assar (Isaiah xxxvii. 12)--Assar probably = Asari (p. 54). + + 117 There were twenty provinces in all, including those of Niku, king of + Mempi and Saa (Necho of Memphis and Sais); Sarru-lu-dari (an + Assyrian name), king of Si'anu (Zoan or Tanis), Susinqu (Sheshonq), + king of Busiru (Busiris), and many others. + + 118 "To the long chariot, the vehicle of my royalty." + + 119 As pointed out by Commander Jones in 1852, the river responsible for + the disaster was not the Tigris, but must have been the Khosr, which + flows through Nineveh from the N.E., and runs into the Tigris W.S.W. + of the village of Armushieh. + + 120 Apparently Duwair, S.S.E. of Babylon. This, however, is probably not + a real place-name, the word really meaning "mound." + + 121 A part of Babylon. + + 122 Lit. "like as a corpse." + + 123 Lit. "went round" or "about." + + 124 Probably meaning Asiatics, in contradistinction to the fair + inhabitants of Europe. + + 125 The old name of Babylon as "the seat of life" = old Babylon. + + 126 Lit. "their number cannot be announced." + + 127 Lit. "of the land of Amoria." + + 128 The old capital of Assyria. + + 129 An addition by the scribe of the first tablet (the more correct + copy), seemingly partly erased. + + 130 The second copy (the less correct) has, instead of "who is over the + city," the words "the son of the king ...," which (judging from the + word for "man" before "king") the scribe must have read into the + traces which he saw. + + 131 This must be another Marduka--it is most unlikely that it is the son + of Adi'ilu and Hulitu, concerning whom the document was written. + + 132 Variant, Adi'ilu, possibly the seller of Marduka, and if so, + Ukin-zera must have been the brother of the man sold. + + 133 See above, p. 445, where the husbandmen are referred to. + + 134 Probably = "under." + + 135 Apparently from the root _par_, "to be bright." These stones were + probably sacred to the Sun-god. + + 136 Or "the woollen stuffs." + + 137 Lit. "thou (art) in thy house, in thy heart (there is) good to + thee." + + 138 It seems to have been sometimes the custom for a man to be known by + more than one name. + + 139 Lit. "gardenership." + + 140 This may mean "the Egyptian," but as there were more than one Misir, + this is doubtful. + + 141 Nabonidus. + + 142 Or, perhaps, "(in) the plantation-territory." + + 143 Or, perhaps, "the territory of the great farther side." + + 144 As the Babylonians had no means of indicating the sound of _o_, + characters containing _u_ had to be used in such words as these. The + Babylonian pronunciation of the Greek {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} was, therefore, + _polite_. Another form of this plural word, namely, _pulitannu + (politanu)_, also occurs. + + 145 In 1890, when this inscription was copied, it was in the possession + of Mr. Lucas, who kindly gave me permission to publish it. I do not + know who possesses the tablet at present. The seal-impression at the + end is exceedingly indistinct. + + 146 The spirits of the earth. + + 147 The Sungod was the god of justice, hence this comparison. + + 148 The inhabitants of the land. + + 149 The temple-tower of Niffur. + + 150 The temple of Bel at Niffur. + + 151 The temple of Eridu. + + 152 The temple of Bel at Babylon. + + 153 See p. 193. + + 154 The temple of Ur--see p. 194 ff. + + 155 The moon-goddess of Sippar. + + 156 The temple of the sun at Sippar. + + 157 Ellasar. + + 158 The temple of the sun at Larsa (Ellasar). + + 159 The god and goddess of E-anna, the temple of Erech. + + 160 The temple of Isin or Nisin. + + 161 The temple of Kis. + + 162 Apparently a conflict had taken place here, and the success of the + Babylonian arms was attributed to the god of the place. + + 163 The temple of Cuthah. + + 164 Merodach--see p. 30 ff. + + 165 The temple of Borsippa. + + 166 The modern Dailem. + + 167 The god of Dilmu. + + 168 The temple at Lagas. + + 169 Goddess of Hallabu. + + 170 Lit.: "the raising of the hand." + + 171 Hadad. + + 172 Or, with Scheil: who has rectified the course of the Tigris. As, + however, the sign for "river" is wanting, the meaning "family," + "race," which this word has, is to be preferred. + + 173 The temple of Istar of Nineveh, later called E-masmas. + + 174 Lit.: "to the river-god," and so throughout the clause. + + 175 A matter of life and death. + + 176 Lit.: "which is in that judgment." + + 177 Cf. 126, 131. + + 178 Lit.: "a period to the sixth month." + + 179 Lit.: "in the sixth month." + + 180 Lit.: "shall call upon the spirit of God." + + 181 Lit.: "In the house of a man fire has been kindled." + + 182 Lit.: "a man of substitution." + + 183 The officer, etc. + + 184 Lit.: "for opening." + + 185 Lit.: "the god Hadad." + + 186 Or, "did not cover the cost." + + 187 Lit.: "the god Hadad." + + 188 Lit.: "the lord of the interest." + + 189 Lit.: "profit." + + 190 Or, "its interest." + + 191 Lit.: "sons," or "children." + +_ 192 I.e._ in the same proportion. + + 193 Lit.: "in days not full." + + 194 In the British Museum fragment 80-11-12, 1235, found by Mr. Rassam + in Babylonia, 100 and 101 form a single section, the last one of the + 5th tablet. + + 195 Lit.: "invoke the spirit of God." + + 196 In other words, "he shall take a receipt for the amount." + + 197 Probably = "shall not be placed to his credit." + + 198 Lit.: "dwells on the road." + + 199 Lit.: "the possessions of his hand." + + 200 Lit.: "and to whatever its name, as much as he gave, he shall + renounce." + + 201 Lit.: "the distraint." + + 202 Apparently the agent who lent him the money, and who is called "the + distrainer" in the foregoing lines. + + 203 Has not made a contract for her. + + 204 Lit.: "If the wife of a man her husband accuse her." + + 205 Lit.: "she shall invoke the spirit of God." + + 206 The original text adds "before him," probably meaning "before he + left." + + 207 Or "may." + + 208 Lit.: "after him." + + 209 Or "need." + + 210 Lit.: "she may take the husband of her heart." + + 211 Lit.: "take." + + 212 Or "a chain." + + 213 Lit.: "her after (property)." + + 214 Lit.: "a lord of interest." + + 215 Lit.: "set her upon a stake." + + 216 There is a mistake in the text here, the most probable reading being + "cast _him_ into the water." + + 217 Lit.: "movable(s)," French _du meuble_. + + 218 Perhaps "shall add to it an equal amount," as a kind of + compensation. Scheil has "il egalera." + + 219 That is, to the man himself. + + 220 In all probability it is an adopted son who is meant--it is doubtful + whether a man could do more than disinherit his own child. + +_ 221 I.e._ decide to marry again. + + 222 Lit.: "her sonhood, of her brothers it is." + + 223 The same word is used as in the case of a marriage-gift. + + 224 The same word is used as in the case of a marriage-gift. + + 225 That is, she must content herself with the marriage-gift. + + 226 Lit.: "taken to childship." + + 227 Or "in his name." + + 228 These were in the position of orphans, having no proper home. + + 229 Lit.: "the son of a worker." + + 230 Or "as a foster-child." + + 231 Here the term would seem to be equivalent to "apprentice." + + 232 Evidently such a denial on the child's part was regarded as the + height of ingratitude (see the footnote to § 187). + + 233 In the original "his eye." + + 234 Lit.: "price." + + 235 Or "skull," Scheil: "cerveau." Peiser's rendering, "cheek" (Backe), + seems to be the best. (This applies to laws 203-205 as well.) + + 236 According to Winckler, this expression ("son of a man") means "a + free-born man." + + 237 Lit.: "slave like slave." + + 238 Lit.: "the silver of half his price." + + 239 Lit.: "lord of the injury." + + 240 This was regarded as a fraud, and punished as such. + + 241 Or "the boatman shall repair that vessel, and strengthen (it) with + his own capital, and give the strengthened vessel (back) to the + owner of the vessel." + + 242 Lit.: "price." + + 243 Lit.: "ox like ox." + + 244 Such is the general translation. An injury of this kind would render + the animal useless, as it would be unable to bear the yoke, hence + this enactment. + + 245 Or "slit." + + 246 Lit.: "shall invoke the spirit of God." + + 247 As the dog his first bite, so the bull was allowed his first toss + free. + + 248 Or "failing," "defect." + + 249 Or "weakened," "starved." + + 250 Lit.: "given." + + 251 Lit.: "it is good to his heart." + + 252 Lit.: "the fate," _i.e._, divine decree concerning them. + + 253 Lit.: "of." + + 254 The character used is the same as that for grain (wheat, etc.), but + the weight is unknown. + + 255 Winckler: "potter." + + 256 Lit.: "man of linen." Scheil, Winckler, and Johns translate + "tailor." + + 257 A part only of the word is preserved. + + 258 Lit.: "he has had a claim." + + 259 Lit.: "shall answer the claim." + + 260 Lit.: "he shall make their freedom without silver." This law seems + to indicate that neither owner was regarded as having a right to + them. + + 261 Lit.: "silver." + + 262 The people. + + 263 The Ninevite duplicate has a different reading. + + 264 Probably = "north and south," or "in mountain and valley." + + 265 Winckler: "put an end to battles." + + 266 Lit.: "proclaimed." + + 267 Apparently meaning the head of the stone bearing this inscription. + + 268 The Nineveh duplicate has: "by the command of Samas and Hadad, + judges of justice, deciders of decisions, may justice have power." + + 269 Lit.: "a word." + + 270 Lit.: "good flesh." + + 271 Lit.: "thoughts." + + 272 Lit.: "the going forth." + + 273 Lit.: "his dark of head." + + 274 Scheil: "given rectitude." + + 275 The future king. + + 276 Lit.: "cause another to take (this responsibility)." + + 277 Lit.: "whose name has been proclaimed." + +_ 278 I.e._, his throne. + + 279 Lit.: "honourable." + + 280 Lit.: "go before." + + 281 Lit.: "ear." + + 282 Or "oblivion." + + 283 Or "visions." + + 284 Lit.: "spirits" (_utukke_). Perhaps the "soul" and "spirit" are + meant, the plural being indicated by writing the character twice, + though nothing certain can be deduced from this. + + 285 Scheil and Winckler: "sickle" (= crescent), but this seems to be a + different word. + + 286 Scheil: "is in conflict." + + 287 Mounds of an inundation, such as the great Flood was supposed to + have produced. + + 288 Probably repeated by an error of the stone-cutter. + + 289 The Nineveh duplicate has: "whose battle has no equal." + + 290 Or "bind." + + 291 Or "strength," apparently meaning the imperfectness of that quality. + + 292 Generally referred to under the fuller form Anunnaki. + + 293 Or "temple," either that of Merodach at Babylon, or E-babbara. + + 294 The temple of the Sun at Sippar or at Larsa--probably the former. + + 295 In Ex. xxi. 8 it is presumed that the master of the girl betrothed + her to himself, as in the case of Samas-nuri (p. 185), who, however, + could be sold as a slave if she denied her mistress. + + 296 The old Sumerian law referring to injuries to slaves (p. 191) + inflicts a fine on the _hirer_, not on the owner. + + 297 Isaiah xlv. 20: "They have no knowledge that carry the wood of their + graven images." R. V. + + 298 Num. vi. 26: "The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee," + equivalent to "to raise the eyes" in Assyro-Babylonian. + + 299 Lit.: "shall not bring his hand to the sick." + + 300 Lit.: "the raising of his hands." + + 301 This form is due to a false etymology, but it is used by Delitzsch + as a very convenient compound word. + + 302 The word may also be translated "inhabiting," but this does not seem + to be so good. + + 303 Lit.: "ill." + + 304 For parallels to the Babylonian legend of Tiamtu in the Talmud and + Midrash, see S. Daiches in the _Zeitschrift fuer Assyriologie_, xvii. + (1903), pp. 394-399. + + 305 Similar figures are shown on the slabs in the British Museum + (Nimroud Gallery) standing before the sacred tree. + +_ 306 The Religious Ideas of the Babylonians_, in the Journal of the + Transactions of the Victoria Institute, 1895. + + 307 P. 181. + + 308 P. 183, where the reading is Ibsina-ili. + + 309 P. 184. + + 310 For a list of these, see "Observations sur la Religion des + Babyloniens 2000 ans avant Jesus-Christ," by Th. G. Pinches, in the + _Revue de l'Histoire des Religions_, 1901. + + 311 See Hugo Winckler, _Die im Sommer 1906 in Kleinasien ausgefuehrten + Ausgrabungen_, Orientalische Literatur-Zeitung, Dec. 15, 1906; + _Vorlaeufige Nachrichten ueber die Ausgrabungen in Boghaz-Koei im + Sommer 1907_, Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, Dec. + 1907 (No. 35). + + 312 See pp. 297, 298, where Cassites (_Kasi_) are referred to. The + Kassites east of Babylonia were the Cosssaeans of the Greeks. (Cf. + pp. 122, 140, 170.) + + 313 See pp. 275 ff. + + 314 See pp. 222 ff. + + 315 It will be noticed that the Hittite-Babylonian transcription is of + considerable value for the pronunciation of Egyptian. + + 316 See p. 232. + +_ 317 Aramaic Papyri discovered at Assuan_, edited by A. H. Sayce and A. + E. Cowley. London, 1906. + + 318 Lit.: "they shall remove." + + 319 Sachau suggests that this may be gentilic, and mean "the Lachite." + + 320 Possibly "companions" (Sachau). + + 321 Variant: "the 7 great doors." + +_ 322 QYMu_, a word of doubtful meaning. + + 323 Or "bronze." + + 324 Sachau suggests that this may be the name of Waidrang's tribe--that + of Caleb, or the like. + + 325 Possibly signs of dignity or wealth, made of some precious metal. + + 326 In the original _Ostan ahuhi zi 'Anani_, a construction which + reminds us of the Babylonian _abli-su sa_, "son of." May we, + therefore, read "Ostanes, brother of 'Anani?" + + 327 That is, the receivers of Bagohi's benefits. + + 328 As such a reward would be much too small, Sachau suggests that the + _kinkar_ (? talent) was much below the value of an ordinary talent. + + 329 See page 539. + + 330 Chnub, the Greek _Chnubis_, _Knuphis_, or _Kneph_. + + 331 If this be the case, _Waidareng_ is also a possible reading. + + 332 Sanballat in Nehemiah. The transcription here used is that of the + Septuagint, but the vocalization is in both cases incorrect--it + should be Sin-uballit. This name, which is Babylonian, means "the + moon-god has given life." He is called a Horonite in Neh. ii. 10, + 19. + + 333 Lit.: "going." + + 334 See the Author's _Religion of Babylonia and Assyria_ (A. Constable & + Co., 1906), pp. 43-44. + +_ 335 Mitteilungen der Vorderasiatischen Gesellschaft_, 1902, I.: _Ein + Altbabylonisches Fragment des Gilgamosepos_, von Bruno Meissner. + Berlin, Wolf Peiser Verlag. + + 336 Oriental Translation Fund, New Series, I. _The Rauzat-us-Safa; or + Garden of Purity_, by Mirkhond. Translated by E. Rehatsek. Royal + Asiatic Society, 1891. + +_ 337 The Babylonian Excavations and Early Bible History_, by Prof. + Kittel, translated by Edmund McClure, M.A., with a preface by Henry + Wace, D.D. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1903. + +_ 338 Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia_, vol. v., pl. 2, l. 40, and + _Cuneiform Texts from Babylonian Tablets_, part xii., pl. 6. Cf. p. + 144. + + 339 Probably illustrating the Sumerian Laws. + + 340 Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1897. + +_ 341 The Bronze Ornaments of the Palace Gates of Balawat_, with an + introduction by Walter de Gray Birch, and descriptions and + translations by Theophilus G. Pinches. Published at the Offices of + the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Bloomsbury, W.C. + + 342 Or "images." + + 343 Assyria. + + 344 See p. 207, upper part. + + 345 That is, Babylonia. + +_ 346 Collection de Clercq. Catalogue methodique et raisonne_, par M. de + Clercq, avec la collaboration de M. J. Menant. Paris, Leroux, 1885, + etc. + + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE OLD TESTAMENT IN THE LIGHT OF THE HISTORICAL RECORDS AND LEGENDS OF ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA*** + + + +CREDITS + + +January 31, 2012 + + Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1 + Produced by Delphine Lettau, David King, and the Online + Distributed Proofreading Team at <http://www.pgdp.net/>. + + + +A WORD FROM PROJECT GUTENBERG + + +This file should be named 38732.txt or 38732.zip. + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + + + http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/8/7/3/38732/ + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one -- the old editions will be +renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one +owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and +you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission +and without paying copyright royalties. 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