The Search for Noah's Ark with Steven Rudd
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Epic of Atra-Hasis: 1635 BC |
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The Epic of Atra-Hasis
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"Enlil grew restless at their racket, he had to listen to their noise. Enlil opened his mouth to speak and addressed the assembly of all the gods: 'The noise of mankind has become too much, I am losing sleep over their racket. Come now, let us all take an oath to bring a flood.'" (The epic of Atra-Hasis) |
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Old-babylonian: 1635 BC
Introduction:
1. The Epic of Atra-Hasis were first discovered in 1876 AD at Sippar, Iraq.
2. There are three different archeological texts that have been discovered. One was written by an Assyrian scribe in an Assyrian dialect. One was written by an Assyrian scribe in a Babylonian dialect. One was on three tablets during the reign of king Ammi-saduqa of Babylonia (1647-1626 BC).
3. Tablets one and three are housed at the British Museum Room 56, Early Mesopotamia, case 25. Tablet two is in New York.
4. Although there are several different tablets written centuries apart, the oldest copy is dated to 1646-1626 BC, pictured above.
5. That dates the story of Atrah-Hasis to 1646-1626 BC during the reign of Ammi-saduqa, king of Babylon. Nur-Aya's three tablets has four columns on the front and four columns on the back.
6. Parts of the Epic of Atra-Hasis are quoted in flood Tablet XI of the Epic of Gilgamesh (1150 BC) and in the writings of Berossus (250 BC).
7. The Epic of Atra-Hasis is a polytheistic explanation of the present state of man, mixed with the true historical knowledge of the creation of man and the flood by those who were still living to tell the story of the ark. For example, Shem lived 500 years after the flood, which means he lived after Abraham was born.
8. Great imaginative effort is written into the story to explain why men must toil so hard to live off the land and why women suffer such pain in childbirth. While Jews and Christians understand this was a direct curse from Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, the Babylonian pagans had no explanation. They just understood these two facts as reality.
A. Colophonal scribal markings used to date Atra-Hasis to 1635 BC:
1. The word "Cuneiform" means "wedge" in Latin and describes the shape of the letters that were formed in soft clay with a stylus that looked something like a chopstick. Each scribe has a unique set of instruments, as well as a unique style of making the letters in the clay before it was fired.
2. It is rare that the scribe of the tablets gives his name at the end "Nur-Aya" but it wasn't the name that allows us to date the tablet, but the unique colophonal scribal markings that "Nur-Aya" used.
3. Being a scribe by trade, Nur-Aya created thousands of tablets in his life. Hundreds of these other tables were discovered that do not have his name on them.
4. It was rather easy to match the unique colophonal markings of the hundreds of tablets with no name, to the Atra-Hasis tablet that does have a name!
5. Based on colophonal scribal markings we can then safely assign the Epic of Atra-Hasis the period of the reign of Hammurabi's great-grandson, Ammi-Saduqa (1647-1626 BC)
6. The only real question is exactly when did Ammi-Saduqa live?
7. Chronologies of the ancients, verified through archeology often provide a precise order of kings or Pharaohs including details of parents, children, how long they reigned, when they were born/died, when they began to reign and who preceded them and who ruled after them. What is not certain is exactly when they lived in relation to known events, like the Exodus in 1440 BC. To make matters worse, the further back we go, the uncertainty increases exponentially. But generally the dates of kings in and around the17th century BC, are not out by more than 200 years.
8. Therefore we can safely date the oldest tablet of the Epic of Atra-Hasis to about 1635 BC, which is clearly a full 200 years before Moses wrote Genesis in 1440 BC.
B. List of Characters in the Epic of Atra-Hasis:
1. An/Anu: Supreme god who proclaimed the flood. God of the sky and father of Enlil, Enki and Inana/Ishtar sometimes symbolized as a jackal. He works directly with his son Enlil to carry out his orders.
2. Anunnaki: A governing group of the highest ranking Gods who make decisions. Anlil and Anu
3. Apsu: mythical subterranean freshwater reservoir that feeds all springs and wells on earth.
4. Belet-Ili: Sumerian goddess of the womb
5. Ea or Enki: son of An/Anu, brother to Enlil and Inana/Ishar. Low ranking god of water (later Greek: Neptune) who led the rebellion of the lower gods against the higher gods to escape their work and toil. Later Enki is the one who tells Atra-hasis to build an ark. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Ea betrayed Enlil and warned Gilgamesh to build the ark and load all the animals on board.
6. Enlil: son of the supreme god An/Anu, brother of Ishtar/Inana and Enki. Was the one who carried out the decree of his father to destroy mankind with a flood. Enlil was bothered by the noise of man and couldn't sleep.
7. Ennugi: canal digging foreman
8. Geshtu-E: the low ranking "god of intelligence" who was sacrificed in order to create the one of the two parts of man: spirit. Geshtu-E became the spirit of man and the body came from clay.
9. Igigi: a group of younger gods headed by Enlil the top god
10. Kalkal: Enlil's doorkeeper
11. Mami: midwife of the gods and Mistress of All Gods
12. Namtara, the god of pestilence and disease.
13. Nintu: mother godess
14. Ninurta: Chamberlain
15. Nissaba: God of writing and learning
16. Nusku: is the god of fire and Enlil's highest ranking servant (vizier)
17. Shamash: Sun-god.
18. Shuruppak is the name of the pre-flood town where Atra-Hasis lived.
C. The basic overview of storyline:
1. The story Begins by describing how after creation the lower God had to work very hard and they began to complain to the higher gods. After a set of negotiations between the upper and lower gods, a proposal is made to shift the work from the lower gods to a new creature they called man.
2. The creation of man also echo's Genesis because it combines the Spirit of God with clay in making a man. The dichotomous nature of man was clearly understood by the ancient Babylonians and they needed some way to explain it. In making man, one of the lower gods was first cleansed with water by full immersion. This an amazing anti-type of both Jewish Mitzvah washings prescribed by Moses and Immersion in the name of Jesus to "wash away your sins" (Acts 22:16) by the apostles. After the immersion, the god was killed and the spirit from the god was used to make man. In this way the Babylonian creation account echoes the Genesis account in that "God made man in his own image".
3. Now that the story has accounted for the reason why man was created to work so hard, there needed to be an explanation about why the world was wiped out with a global flood. Whereas the Bible shows the reason to be moral sin, in the Epic of Atra-Hasis the reason was because the higher gods (Enlil) were being disturbed of their sleep by the noise man was making on the earth. Here we have the solution of creating man to lighten the load of the lower gods, actually creates a new problem that disturbs the higher gods.
4. In almost a whim, Enlil, the highest god, decides to kill all the men off so he could sleep and not be disturbed. Interesting that in the great show down between Elijah and the 850 false prophets of Baal, that Elijah actually mocks, "Perhaps your gods are asleep... or are away on a journey..."
5. One of the lower gods, Enki, decides to save one man named Atra-Hasis, who in the real story, was Noah.
6. Atra-Hasis is given instructions on how to build the ark using wood and bitumen and he enters the ark taking along with him all the animals and birds.
7. The flood is over and he releases four birds just the Noah did.
8. When offers a sacrifice, the lower gods swarm like hungry flies to the pagan sacrifice, since there have been no men around to "feed them" through animal sacrifice. Interesting that over 2000 years later, Jesus actually describes a pagan high god called Beelzebub which translates to "lord of the flies".
9. After getting off the ark, the gods strike women with increased pain, higher children mortality to keep the population down so the noise doesn't get unbearable for the gods again.
D. Summary of the 3 tablets:
1. Summary Tablet 1: [Full text of Tablet 1] The story opens at a time before men were created and the supreme council (Anunnaki) of highest ranking gods (Anu the king, Enlil: counselor warrior, Ninurta: Chamberlain, Ennugi canal digging foreman), made the lower ranking mass of gods (Igigi) do all their work of digging out the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. In a parallel after Adam was expelled from the garden, the Igigi were greatly burdened with endless hard work and large loads. They groaned and blamed each other for their hardships, perhaps because they had "sinned" so as to deserve the toil. But the Igigi finally complained to and rebelled against the top gods for causing their hardships. The lower gods formed an army and surrounded the top god's house (Enlil) but Enlil was not aware of this since he was sleeping. However, Kalkal, Enlil's doorkeeper heard the noise of the gods outside and warned Nusku (Enlil's highest ranking servant), who in turn woke up Enlil from his sleep and told him, "your house is surrounded"! Enlil commanded the door be bolted and for everyone to grab their weapons and make themselves human shields to protect him. He then called for the other high ranking gods of the "Anunnaki" supreme council to come immediately to his aid. In the assembly they discuss what to do and it is decided to send Nusku the top ranking servant, outside to ask the lower gods (Igigi) what the problem is and why they have declared war. The lower gods replied, "The load is excessive, it is killing us! Our work is too hard, the trouble too much! So every single one of us gods has agreed to complain to Enlil". Over 1000 years later, Pharaoh may have had this well known story in mind when he doubled the workload of Israel when they made a similar request. As Enlil listened, he was moved to tears, agreed to lighten their load and offered a plan to accomplish this task: One of the low ranking gods would have to be killed for sacrifice in creating man who would take over all the heavy loads. "Let (Belet-ili the womb goddess) her create a mortal man So that he may bear the yoke... So that he may bear the yoke, the work of Enlil, let man bear the load of the gods." Here is the specific process of how man was created: "Then one god should be slaughtered. And the gods can be purified by immersion. Nintu shall mix the clay with his flesh and blood. Then a god and a man will be mixed together in clay. Let us hear the drumbeat forever after, let a ghost come into existence from the god's flesh, let her proclaim it as her living sign, and let the ghost exist so as not to forget the slain god." First we see parallels to the historic place that water baptism that "washes away sins" (Acts 2:38; 22:16) and the recently excavated pool of Siloam and the hundreds of Jewish Mikvah's (water immersion baths) at the south wall the temple in Jerusalem that have been excavated. Second, we are struck with the direct parallel to the Genesis creation story where man was created from clay and the spirit of God breathed into the man so he became a living soul. The Epic of Atra-Hasis, therefore correctly represents the creation story in all its essential elements, less the polytheism. The Bible clearly teaches that a man is dichotomous in nature, having a body that returns to the dust and a spirit that return to God who gave it. (Eccl 12:7) The supreme assembly of gods chose "Geshtu-E" to be the one who would be killed and made into man's spirit. The mother goddess, Nintu, then took the sacrificed body and blood of Geshtu-E and mixed it with clay and "a ghost came into existence from the god's flesh and she proclaimed it as his living sign." Then the mid-wife god, Mami, said to the lower gods, "I have carried out perfectly the work that you ordered of me. You have slaughtered a god together with his intelligence. I have relieved you of your hard work, I have imposed your load on man. Finally the Mami takes the mixture of the god's body and blood with the clay, into the "room of fate", starts chanting magical incantations, and pinches off 7 bits of clay to create 7 men and another 7 bits of clay to create 7 women, for a total of 14 mated couples. But she also warned them while men will do the work for the lower gods, that men are noisy! So man began to work for the gods, but after 600 years "the country was as noisy as a bellowing bull" and Enlil grew restless and was unable to sleep. Enlil orders disease to kill off some men to reduce noise so he can sleep. This pagan idea of sleeping gods is seen by Elijah on Mt. Carmel: "It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, "Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened." So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. " (1 Kings 18:27-28) The main character of the story is now introduced who is a man named Atra-hasis. In an almost comic irony, Atra-hasis complains to his god Enki, the same low ranking god who led the army to the door of the higher gods to lighten their loads. However, Enki will have an empathic ear to the complaint and will actually save Atra-hasis from the impending flood that will destroy the earth. Enki tells Atra-hasis to stop sacrificing and praying to the gods and most important, to start making lots of noise to annoy the gods. Atra-hasis and the townsfolk starts making lots of noise, ignore their gods and begin worshipping Namtara, the god of fate, even building him a temple. In a parallel to the widow and the unrighteous judge, the idea was to bug, annoy, anger and pester the gods into lightening the work load.
2. Summary Tablet 2: [Full text of Tablet 2] 600 years after man was created, man was making so much noise that Enlil couldn't sleep, so he curses the ground, cuts off the food supply, sends a drought and kills mothers in childbirth in order to reduce the population of humans to reduce the noise levels. All this brings great suffering to man where parents were eating the children for food, so Atra-Hasis complains to Enki that his to make noise has not been good. Enki replies that they should even make more noise, which triggers another supreme assembly of the high ranking gods. In the assembly, Enlil takes note that the suffering has not reduced the numbers of men, in fact there are even more of humans now, and even more noise! Enlil now decides to kill every man on earth with a great flood, so he can get some sleep, brings about another rebellion among the lower gods led, again by Enki. Enki refuses to take the oath to carry out the plan to send the flood that other gods had made to Enlil. Enki says that he doesn't even know what a flood is, which would mean a global flood was not something that had happened before. Whereas Enlil is wanting the gods to swear an oath to cause the flood, Enki tells the gods not to listen to Enlil because it was a "bad deed" to do to mankind.
3. Summary Tablet 3: [Full text of Tablet 3] Enki causes Atra-Hasis to have a revelational dream and asks Enki what it means. Enki warns Atra-Hasis to abandon all his possessions behind, tear down his reed hut and build a boat with upper and lower decks, coated with Bitumen. (Unfortunately, the tablet is damaged where the dimensions of the ark would be stated.) Anki tells Enlil to fill his sand clock with enough sand for 7 days, when the flood will come, which agrees with the Genesis flood story. Atra-Hasis tells the town people that he must leave town because his god Enki, is at war with Enlil. The townsfolk all gather together to help Atra-Hasis build the boat. Parallel to God providing Manna in the wilderness (Exodus 16), Enki causes a rain to attract the fish and animals for food to take with him on the boat. In a parallel to the Bible, it is the gods who bring the animals to the ark by attracting them with rain. Then he loads all the birds, animals and his family onto the ark. Although his family were partying on board the ark because of the plentiful food, Atra-Hasis felt sick and restless, knowing that the flood was about to destroy every man and animal on earth in 7 days. When the sand clock ran out, the storm god, Adad, made the sky grow very dark and Atra-Hasis then closed the one door on the ark and sealed it with pitch (bitumen). In the Bible, God closes the door and seals it with pitch while here, Atra-Hasis closes the door and seals it with pitch. Anu, one of the high ranking gods of the supreme assembly (Anunnaki) ordered the lower assembly of gods (Anunna) under his control to flood the earth. The storm and flood was so severe, all the lower ranking gods were terrified and crying. Since there were no more men to feed the gods through sacrifices, the lower gods became thirsty and hungry during the flood. All the assembly of lower ranking gods (Anunna), began to rise up one by one and voice their protest by labeling Enlil's flood as wicked and wrong decision. Then all the gods everywhere joined together in a mutinous insurrection against Enlil and Anu, the highest ranking gods, so that they were alone and isolated. They conclude that Enlil's decision was spontaneous, shortsighted which lacked proper deliberation as to the consequences. Of course, the gods were not so empathetic towards the trouble this all caused man, they were motivated out of selfish reasons and pure carnal hunger. The gods, therefore, are portrayed as being entirely selfish and self serving. Enlil destroys man just to get a good night's sleep and the lower gods object because there are no more men to feed them through regular sacrifices. Contrast this with the loving selfless God of the Bible who sent His son, Jesus Christ to save man when man was worthless (Romans 5:8-10). Also contrast the dependency of pagan gods on man for their survival with the God of the Bible who is entirely independence and needs nothing from man. The tablet continues to describe the hunger and thirst of the gods because there is no man to feed them. They long for beer, sheep but only god air in their throats. Since the flood (and resulting famine to the gods) was only seven days long, this would strongly indicate that daily sacrifices had been made to the gods. There are 58 missing lines in the third tablet which would describe the waters receding and Atra-Hasis releasing the birds out the window of the ark. The tablet continues when the seven day flood is over and Atra-Hasis offers an animal sacrifice to the gods. Starving and parched, all the gods swarm like flies to the sacrifice and eat their fill. Interesting that Jesus was accused of using the power of Beelzebub, the "lord of the flies" to cast out demons. After they had eaten, Nintu, the mother goddess, stood up and addressed the other gods criticizing Enlil and Anu for killing off man and causing their hunger. Nintu then proclaims to the other gods that Enlil, the top god, if forbidden from eating any of the sacrifice, but must himself go hungry. Meanwhile, all this is happing without Enlil knowing it. Suddenly Enlil sees the ark and become enraged in furious anger realizing he has been betrayed by the other gods. The word used here for ark in cuneiform (makurru) implies a large cargo ship shaped like a foot ball or a large blimp or gibbous moon. He accuses the lower gods of breaking the solemn oath swore to the supreme assembly of gods. It is apparent to the men who wrote the story, that if the god's broke an oath to the highest gods, that they would certainly be untrustworthy in any oath they made to men. Contrast this with the God of the Bible who kept every promise and oath he ever made to man. Enlil restates his desire and intention that all men should be exterminated off the earth. Anu then arrives and guesses that this is the work of Enki again! It becomes clear now that Enki, like all the other gods were acting out of purely selfish motives in everything they do. First Enki wants to escape hard labour so he forms coup and forces Enlil to create man. Enki's motives for saving man, are not so much that he needs a food supply from sacrifices, but that saving man, means he can use man to do his work for him. In no part of the story, are the gods seen acting in anyone else's best interest than themselves. Now Enki boldly stands up unrepentantly before all the gods and tells Enlil and Anu to their faces, that he is guilty of openly defying their orders and that they can punish him as a sinner, any way they like. Enki then suggests that a better solution is to limit the population of men by miscarriages, infant mortality and large numbers of women devoted to the temple of the gods who are never allowed to have children. It is clear that the story was written by men in order to give the underlying reasons for what the observed in everyday life. Infertility, Infant mortality and miscarriages is a curse of the gods who hate you because you bother them with noise. Large numbers of celibate women serve selfish gods in the temples, because not having noisy children makes the gods happy. Like Roman Catholic priest and nuns today, many celibate women would be encouraged to serve the gods in the temple because it was a higher state of holiness and the gods would be more happy than if they got married and had children. In the Epic of Atra-Hasis, man is an innocent victim of selfish, impulsive and hateful gods. In the Bible, God is portrayed as a selfless, loving, kind Father who sent the flood because of man's sinful rebellion against God. In Atra-Hasis the gods act out of unjust revenge where no warning was preached to the people to escape the flood. In the Bible God acts out of patient justice by having Noah preach repentance for up to 100 years before the door of grace were closed on the ark.
4. End of Tablet 3: It is rare that we find anything where the scribe of the tablet is actually included in the body of the text. The 3rd tablet closes by giving the scribe total number of tablets, and total lines of text. "The end, third tablet, inuma ilu awilum (when the gods instead of humans), 300 lines, total 1245 for the three tablets, by the hand of Nur-Aya, junior scribe, month Ayyar, day [ ], year Ammi-saduqa was king. A statue of himself." It is this ending where the scribe identifies himself as "Nur-Aya", that dates the set of tablets to 1702-1682 BC during the reign of Ammi-saduqa, king of Babylon.
E. Full Text of the 3 tablets:
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Epic of Atra-Hasis: |
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Tablet I, Column 1
[The "god problem" before man was created]
When the gods instead of man
Did the work, bore the loads,
The gods' load was too great,
The work too hard, the trouble too much,
The great Anunnaki [governing body of gods] made the Igigi [lower gods]
Carry the workload sevenfold.
Anu their father was king,
Their counselor warrior Enlil,
Their Chamberlain was Ninurta,
Their canal-controller Ennugi.
[The rebellion of the lower gods against the higher gods]
They [Anunnaki] took the box of lots
Cast the lots; the gods made the division.
Anu went up to the sky,
And Enlil took the earth for his people.
The bolt which bars the sea
Was assigned to far-sighted Enki.
When Anu had gone up to the sky,
And the gods of the Apsu had gone below,
The Annunaki of the sky
Made the Igigi bear the workload.
The gods had to dig out canals,
Had to clear channels, the lifelines of the land.
The gods dug out the Tigris river
And then dug out the Euphrates.
...in the deep
...they set up
...the Apsu
...of the land
...inside it
...raised its top
...of all the mountains
They were counting the years of loads
...the great marsh,
They were counting the years of loads.
For 3,600 years they bore the excess,
Hard work, night and day.
They groaned and blamed each other,
Grumbled over the masses of excavated soil:
[The call to war against the higher gods]
Let us confront our Chamberlain
And get him to relieve us of our hard work!
Tablet I, Column 2
Come, let us carry the Lord
The counselor of the gods, the warrior from his dwelling.
Then...made his voice heard
And spoke to the gods, his brothers:
Come, let us carry
The counselor of the gods, the warrior, from his dwelling.
Come, let us carry Enlil,
The counselor of the gods, the warrior, from his dwelling.
Now, cry battle!
Let us mix fight with battle!
The gods listened to his speech,
Set fire to their tools,
Put aside their spades for fire,
Their loads for the fire-god.
They flared up.
[Enlil's house is surrounded while he sleeps]
When they reached the gate of warrior Enlil's dwelling,
It was night, the middle watch,
The house was surrounded, the god had not realized.
When they reached the gate of warrior Enlil's dwelling,
It was night, the middle watch,
Ekur was surrounded, Enlil had not realized.
Yet Kalkal was attentive, and had it closed,
He held the lock and watched the gate.
Kalkal roused Nusku.
They listened to the noise of the Igigi.
Then Nusku roused his master,
Made him get out of bed:
[Enlil is terrified and calls for the other high gods to help]
My lord, your house is surrounded,
A rabble is running around your door!
Enlil, your house is surrounded,
A rabble is running around your door!
Enlil had weapons brought to his dwelling.
Enlil made his voice heard
And spoke to the vizier Nusku,
Nusku, bar your door,
Take up your weapons and stand in front of me.
Nusku barred his door
Took up his weapons and stood in front of Enlil.
Nusku made his voice heard
And spoke to the warrior Enlil,
'O my lord, your face is sallow [yellow] as Tamarisk!
Why do you fear your own sons?
'O Enlil, you face is sallow as Tamarisk!
Why do you fear your own sons?
Send for Anu to be brought down to you
Have Enki fetched into your presence.
He sent for Anu to be brought down to him,
Enki was fetched into his presence,
Anu, king of the sky was present,
Enki, king of the Apsu attended.
[An assembly of the high gods is convened to take action]
The great Anunnaki were present.
Enlil got up and the case was put.
Enlil made his voice heard
And spoke to the great gods:
Is it against me that they have risen?
Shall I do battle...?
What did I see with my own eyes?
A rabble was running around my door!
Anu made his voice heard
And spoke to the warrior Enlil
Tablet I, column 3
[The decision of the council is to send out Nusku and find out why the lower gods are gathered for war against the high gods.]
Let Nusku go out
And find out the word of the Igigi
Who have surrounded your door.
A command...
To...
Enlil made his voice heard
And spoke to the vizier Nusku,
Nusku, open your door,
Take up your weapons and stand before me!
In the assembly of all the [lower] gods,
Bow, then stand and tell them,
"Your father Anu,
Your counselor, warrior Enlil,
Your chamberlain Ninurta
And your canal-controller Ennugi
Have sent me to say,
Who is in charge of the rabble?
Who is in charge of the fighting?
Who declared war?
Who ran to the door of Enlil?"
Nusku opened his door,
Took up his weapons, went before Enlil
In the assembly of all the gods
He bowed, then stood and told the message.
Your father Anu,
You counselor warrior Enlil,
Your chamberlain Ninurta,
And your canal controller Ennugi
Have sent me to say
"Who is in charge of the rabble?
Who is in charge of the fighting?
Who declared war?
Who ran to the door of Enlil?"
[The lower gods want their workload reduced]
Enlil...
Every single one of us declared war!
We have put a stop to the digging.
The load is excessive, it is killing us!
Our work is too hard, the trouble too much!
So every single one of us gods
Has agreed to complain to Enlil
Nusku took his weapons
Went and returned to Enlil
My lord, you sent me to...
I went...
I explained...
...
Saying "every single one of us gods
Declared war
We have put a stop to the digging.
The load is excessive, it is killing us!
Our work is too hard, the trouble too much,
So every single one of us gods
Has agreed to complain to Enlil!"
[Enlil's response]
Enlil listened to that speech.
His tears flowed.
Enlil spoke guardedly,
Addressed the warrior Anu,
Tablet I, column 4
Noble one, take a decree
With you to the sky, show your strength-
While the Anunnaki are sitting before you
Call up one god and let them cast him for destruction
Anu made his voice heard
And spoke to the gods his brothers,
What are we complaining of?
Their work was indeed too hard, their trouble was too much.
Every day the Earth resounded.
The warning signal was loud enough, we kept hearing the noise.
...do
...tasks
...
While the Anunnaki are sitting before you
And while Belet-Ili the womb goddess is present,
Call up one and cast him for destruction!
Anu made his voice heard and spoke to Nusku
Nusku, open your door, take up your weapons,
Bow in the assembly of the great gods, then stand
And tell them...
"Your father Anu, your counselor warrior Enlil,
Your chamberlain Ninurta and your canal controller Ennugi
Have sent me to say
"Who is in charge of the rabble? Who will be in charge of battle?
Which god started the war?
A rabble was running around my door!
When Nusku heard this,
He took up his weapons,
Bowed in the assembly of the great gods, then stood
And told them
Your father Anu, your counselor warrior Enlil,
Your chamberlain Ninurta and your canal controller Ennugi
Have sent me to say,
"Who is in charge of the rabble? Who is in charge of the fighting?
Which god started the war?
A rabble was running around Enlil's door!
...
Ea made his voice heard
And spoke to the gods his brothers,
Why are we blaming them?
Their work was too hard, their trouble was too much.
Every day the earth resounded.
The warning signal was loud enough, we kept hearing the noise.
There is...
Belet-ili the womb goddess is present-
Let her create a mortal man
So that he may bear the yoke...
So that he may bear the yoke, the work of Enlil,
Let man bear the load of the gods!
...
Belet-ili the womb goddess is present,
Let the womb goddess create offspring,
And let them bear the load of the gods!
They called up the goddess, asked
The midwife of the gods, wise Mami,
You are the womb-goddess, to be the creator of Mankind!
Create a mortal, that he may bear the yoke!
Let him bear the yoke, the work of Enlil
Let him bear the load of the gods!
Nintu made her voice heard
And spoke to the great gods,
[Sacrifice of lower god]
On the first, seventh, and fifteenth of the month
I shall make a purification by washing.
Then one god should be slaughtered.
And the gods can be purified by immersion.
Nintu shall mix the clay
With his flesh and blood.
Then a god and a man
Will be mixed together in clay.
Let us hear the drumbeat forever after,
Let a ghost come into existence from the god's flesh,
Let her proclaim it as her living sign,
And let the ghost exist so as not to forget the slain god.
They answered "yes" in the assembly,
The great Anunnaki who assign the fates
[Geshtu-E selected to be killed to create man]
On the first, seventh, and fifteenth of the month
He made a purification by washing.
Geshtu-E, a god who had intelligence,
They slaughtered in their assembly.
Nintu mixed clay
with his flesh and blood.
They heard the drumbeat forever after.
A ghost came into existence from the god's flesh,
and she proclaimed it as his living sign.
Tablet I, column 5
The ghost existed so as not to forget the slain god.
After she had mixed that clay,
She called up the Anunnaki, the great gods.
The Igigi, the great gods,
Spat spittle upon the clay
[Mami mixes the god with clay]
Mami made her voice heard
And spoke to the great gods,
I have carried out perfectly
The work that you ordered of me.
You have slaughtered a god together with his intelligence.
I have relieved you of your hard work,
I have imposed your load on man.
You have bestowed noise on man,
You have bestowed noise on mankind.
I have undone the fetter and granted freedom.
They listened to the speech of hers,
And were freed from anxiety, and kissed her feet:
We used to call you Mami,
But now your name shall be Mistress of All Gods.
[The creation of 7 mated couples from clay]
Far sighted Enki and wise Mami
Went into the room of fate.
The womb-goddesses were assembled.
He trod the clay in her presence;
She kept reciting an incantation,
For Enki, staying in her presence, made her recite it
When she had finished her incantation,
She pinched off fourteen pieces of clay,
And set seven pieces on the right,
Seven on the left.
Between them she put down a mud brick.
She made use of a reed, opened it to cut the umbilical cord,
Called up the wise and knowledgeable
Womb goddesses, seven and seven.
Seven created males,
Seven created females,
For the womb goddess is creator of fate.
He...them two by two,
...them two by two in her presence.
Mami made these rules for people:
In the house of a woman who is giving birth
The mud brick shall be put down for seven days.
Belet-ili, wise Mami shall be honored.
The midwife shall rejoice in the house of the woman who gives birth
And when the woman gives birth to the baby,
The mother of the baby shall sever herself.
A man to a girl...
...her bosom
A beard can be seen
On a young man's cheek.
In gardens and waysides
A wife and her husband choose each other.
The womb goddesses were assembled
And Nintu was present. They counted the months,
Called up the Tenth month as the term of fates.
Tablet I, column 6
When the Tenth month came,
She slipped in a staff and opened the womb.
Her face was glad and joyful.
She covered her head,
Performed the midwifery,
Put on her belt, said a blessing.
She made a drawing in flour and put down a mud brick:
I myself created it, my hands made it.
The midwife shall rejoice in the house of the qadistu-priestess.
Whenever a woman gives birth
And the baby's mother severs herself,
The mud brick shall be put down for nine days.
Nintu the womb goddess shall be honored.
She shall call their ..."Mami"
She shall ... the womb goddess,
Lay down the linen cloth.
When the bed is laid out in their house,
A wife and her husband shall choose each other.
Inanna shall rejoice in the wife-husband relationship
In the father-in-law's house.
Celebration shall last for nine days,
And they shall call Inanna "Ishhara".
On the fifteenth day, the fixed time of fate
She shall call...
...
A man...
Clean the home...
The son to his father...
...
They sat and...
He was carrying...
Tablet I, column 7
He saw...
Enlil...
[Man begins working for the gods]
They took hold of...
Made new picks and spades,
Made big canals,
To feed people and sustain the gods.
...
[After 600 years man's noise bothers the top gods]
600 years, less than 600, passed,
And the country was as noisy as a bellowing bull.
The god grew restless at their racket,
Enlil had to listen to their noise.
[Enlil orders disease to kill off some men to reduce noise]
He addressed the great gods,
The noise of mankind has become too much,
I am losing sleep over their racket.
Give the order that suruppu-disease shall break out,
...
[Man complains to the very god that caused their work]
Now there was one Atra-hasis
Whose ear was open to his god Enki.
He would speak with his god
And his god would speak with him.
Atra-hasis made his voice heard
And spoke to his lord,
How long will the gods make us suffer?
Will they make us suffer illness forever?
[Enki tell man to ignore the gods by no longer praying and sacrificing, and make lots of noise to bug them.]
Enki made his voice heard
And spoke to his servant:
Call the elders, the senior men!
Start an uprising in your own house,
Let the heralds proclaim...
Let them make a loud noise in the land:
Do not revere your gods,
Do not pray to your goddesses,
But search out the door of Namtara.
Bring as baked loaf into his presence.
May the flour offerings reach him.
May he be shamed by the presents
And wipe away his hand.
[Atra-hasis and the townsfolk starts making lots of noise, ignore their gods and begin worshipping Namtara, the god of fate, even building him a temple]
Atra-hasis took the order,
Gathered the elders to his door.
Atra-hasis made his voice heard
And spoke to the elders:
I have called the elders, the senior men!
Tablet I, column 8
Start an uprising in your own house,
Let the heralds proclaim...
Let them make a loud noise in the land:
Do not revere your gods,
Do not pray to your goddesses,
But search out the door of Namtara.
Bring as baked loaf into his presence.
May the flour offerings reach him.
May he be shamed by the presents
And wipe away his hand.
The elders listened to his speech;
They built a temple for Namtara in the city.
Heralds proclaimed...
They made a loud noise in the land.
They did not revere their god,
they did not pray to their goddess,
But searched out the door of Namtara,
Brought a baked loaf into his presence
The flour offerings reached him.
And he was shamed by the presents.
And wiped away his hand.
The suruppu-disease left them.
The gods went back to their regular offerings.
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Epic of Atra-Hasis: |
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Tablet II, column 1
OBV i 600 years, less than 600, passed
And the country became too wide, the people too numerous.
The country was as noisy as a bellowing bull. The God grew restless at their clamour,
Ellil had to listen to their noise. He addressed the great gods,
'The noise of mankind has become too much.
I am losing sleep over their racket. Cut off food supplies to the people!
Let the vegetation be too scant for their hunger ! Let Adad wipe away his rain.
Below (?) let no flood-water flow from the springs.
Let wind go, let it strip the ground bare, Let clouds gather (but) not drop rain,
Let the field yield a diminished harvest, Let Nissaba stop up her bosom.
No happiness shall come to them.
Let their [ ] be dejected.'
(gap of about 34 lines to end of column)
column 2
(gap of about 12 lines at beginning of
column)
'Call the [elders, the senior men], Start an uprising in your house,
Let heralds proclaim ...
Let them make a loud noise in the land:
Do not revere your god(s)!
Do not pray to your goddess!
Search out the door of Adad,
Bring a baked loaf into his presence.
May the flour offering reach him,
May he be shamed by the presents
And wipe away his "hand".'
(Then) he will make a mist form in the morning And in the night he will steal out and make dew drop,
Deliver (?) the field (of its produce) ninefold, like a thief.
They built a temple for Adad in the city,
Ordered heralds to proclaim
And make a loud noise in the land.
They did not revere their god(s),
Did not pray to their goddess,
But searched out the door of Adad,
Brought a baked (loaf) into his presence.
The flour offering reached him;
He was shamed by the presents
And wiped away his 'hand'.
He made mist form in the morning
And in the night he stole out and made dew drop, Delivered (?) the field (of its produce) ninefold, like a thief.
[The drought] left them,
[The gods] went back [to their (regular) offerings].
(gap of about 2/ lines to end of column)
Column 3
(gap of 2 lines at beginning of column)
He set his foot in the city (?);
Every day he wept and wept.
In the morning he would bring incense.
'My god [would speak] to me, but he is under oath,
So he will give [instructions] in dreams.
Enki [would speak to me], but he is under oath, So he will give [instructions] in dreams.'
] the house of his god,
] he would sit and weep.
] he would sit and weep.
] was hushed
] ended.
] looked,
Addressed [ ] of the river.
'Let the river receive [ ] and take away,
Let [
To [ my [ ],
Let him see [ Let him [
In the night I [ When [
Facing the river On the bank [
To the Apsu I [ [-'
Enki listened to [his speech]
And [gave instructions] to the lahmu-heroes.
'The man who [ Behold! Let [ Come, [
(gap of about 2o lines to end of column)
column 4
Above, [rain did not fill the canals (?)]
Below, flood-water did not flow from the springs. Earth's womb did not give birth,
No vegetation sprouted .
People did not look [
The dark pastureland was bleached,
The broad countryside filled up with alkali.
In the first year they ate (?) [
In the second year they depleted the storehouse. When the third year came,
Their looks were changed by starvation, Their faces covered with scabs (?) like malt.
They stayed alive by . . . . . . life. Their faces looked sallow.
They went out in public hunched, Their well-set shoulders slouched, Their upstanding bearing bowed.
They took a message [from Atrahasis to the gods].
In front of [the assembly of the great gods],
They stood [and
The orders [of Atrahasis they repeated] In front of [
(gap of about 22 lines to end of column)
SBV
column 4
[600 years, less than 600 years, passed.
The country became too wide, the people too numerous.]
He grew restless at their noise.
Sleep could not overtake him because of their racket.
Ellil organized his assembly,
Addressed the gods his sons,
'The noise of mankind has become too much.
I have become restless at their noise.
Sleep cannot overtake me because of their racket. Give the order that e'uruppu-disease shall break out,
Let Namtar put an end to their noise straight away!
Let sickness: headache, guruppu, asakku, Blow in to them like a storm.'
They gave the order, and "i,cruppu-disease did break out.
Namtar put an end to their noise straight away. Sickness: headache, suruppu, aiakku,
Blew into them like a storm.
The thoughtful man, Atrahasis
Kept his ear open to his master Ea;
He would speak with his god,
[And his god (?)] Ea would speak with him. Atrahasis made his voice heard and spoke, Said to Ea his master,
'Oh Lord, people are grumbling!
Your [sickness] is consuming the country! Oh Lord Ea, people are grumbling!
[Sickness] from the gods is consuming the country!
Since you created us
[You ought to] cut off sickness: headache, guruppu and agakku.'"
Ea made his voice heard and spoke,
Said to Atrahasis,
'Order the heralds to proclaim,
To make a loud noise in the land:
Do not revere your gods,
Do not pray to your goddesses!
] withhold his rites!
] the flour as an offering ] to her presence
] say a prayer
] the presents [
his "hand".'
Ellil organized his assembly,
Addressed the gods his sons,
'You are not to inflict disease on them again, (Even though) the people have not diminished—they are more than before!
I have become restless at their noise,
Sleep cannot overtake me because of their racket! Cut off food from the people,
Let vegetation be too scant for their stomachs! Let Adad on high make his rain scarce,
Let him block below, and not raise flood-water from the springs!
Let the field decrease its yield,
Let Nissaba turn away her breast,
Let the dark fields become white,
Let the broad countryside breed alkali Let earth clamp down her womb
So that no vegetation sprouts, no grain grows.
Let asakku be inflicted on the people,
Let the womb be too tight to let a baby out!' They cut off food for the people,
Vegetation ... became too scant for their stomachs. Adad on high made his rain scarce,
Blocked below, and did not raise flood-water from
the springs.
The field decreased its yield, Nissaba turned away her breast, The dark fields became white, The broad countryside bred alkali. Earth clamped down her womb:
No vegetation sprouted, no grain grew. Agakku was inflicted on the people.
The womb was too tight to let a baby out.
column 5
Ea kept guard over the bolt that bars the sea, Together with his lahmu-heroes.
Above, Adad made his rain scarce,
Blocked below, and did not raise flood-water from
the springs.
The field decreased its yield, Nissaba turned away her breast,
The dark fields became white,
The broad countryside bred alkali. Earth clamped down her womb:
No vegetation sprouted, no grain grew. Agakku was inflicted on the people,
The womb was too tight to let a baby out.
(gap of 2 lines)
When the second year arrived They had depleted the storehouse. When the third year arrived
[The people's looks] were changed [by starvation]. When the fourth year arrived
Their upstanding bearing bowed, Their well-set shoulders slouched,
People went out in public hunched over. When the fifth year arrived,
They served up a daughter for a meal, Served up a son for food.
Only one or two households were left.
Their faces were covered with scabs (?) like malt, The people stayed alive by ......life.
They took a message [
Entered and [
The order of Atrahasis [
Saying, 'How long [
(gap of about 36 lines to end of tablet)
OBV
column 5
He (Ellil) was furious [with the Igigi,] 'We, the great Anunna, all of us, Agreed together on [a plan].
Anu and [Adad] were to guard [above], I was to guard the earth [below]. Where Enki [went],
He was to undo the [chain and set (us) free],
He was to release [produce for the people]. He was to exercise [control (?) by holding the balance (?)].'
Ellil made his voice heard
And [spoke] to the vizier Nusku,
'Have the fifty (?) lahmu-heroes (?) ... fetched for me!
Have them brought in to my presence!'
The fifty (?) lahmu-heroes (?) were fetched for him.
The warrior [Ellil] addressed them, 'We, the great Anunna, [all of us], Agreed together on a plan.
Anu and Adad were to guard above, I was to guard the earth below. Where you [went],
[You were to undo the chain and set (us) free], [You were to release produce for the people],
[You were to exercise control (?) by holding the balance (?)].'
A daughter would eye her mother coming in;
A mother would not even open her door to her daughter.
A daughter would watch the scales (at the sale of her) mother,
A mother would watch the scales (at the sale of her) daughter.
When the sixth year arrived
They served up a daughter for a meal,
Served up a son for food.
Only one or two households were left.
Their faces were covered with scabs (?) like malt. People stayed alive by ... ... life.
The thoughtful man Atrahasis
Kept his ear open to his master Ea. He would speak with his god,
And his god Ea would speak with him. He left the door of his god,
Put his bed right beside the river,
(For even) the canals were quite silent.
(gap of about 25 lines)
column 6
When the second year arrived, they had depleted the storehouse.
When the third year arrived
The people's looks were changed by starvation.
When the fourth year arrived
Their upstanding bearing bowed, Their well-set shoulders slouched,
People went out in public hunched over.
When the fifth year arrived,
A daughter would eye her mother coming in;
A mother would not even open her door to her daughter.
A daughter would watch the scales (at the sale) of her mother,
A mother would watch the scales (at the sale) of her daughter.
When the sixth year arrived,
The warrior Ellil [
(gap of about 34 lines)
column 6
'Adad made his rain pour down,
] filled the pasture land And clouds (?) veiled [
Do not feed his people,
And do not give Nissaba's corn, luxury for people, to eat.'
Then [the god (?)] grew anxious as he sat, In the gods' assembly worry gnawed at him. [Enki (?)] grew anxious as he sat,
In the gods' assembly worry gnawed at him.
(3 lines fragmentary)
[They were furious with each other], Enki and Ellil. 'We, the great Anunna, all of us,
Agreed together on a plan.
Anu and Adad were to guard above,
I was to guard the earth below.
Where you went,
You were to undo the chain and set (us) free!
You were to release produce for the people! [You were to exercise control (?)] by holding the
balance (?).
' And spoke to his brother gods,
'Why should you make me swear an oath?
Why should I use my power against my people? The flood that you mention to me—
What is it? I don't even know!
Could I give birth to a flood?
That is Ellil's kind of work!
Let him choose [
Let Shullat and [Hanish] march [ahead]
[Let Erakal pull out] the mooring poles
Let [Ninurta] march, let him make [the weirs] overflow.
(gap of 2 or 3 lines to end of column) viii (gap of 31 lines)
The assembly [
Do not listen to [
The gods gave an explicit command.
Ellil performed a bad deed to the people.'
(Catchline)
Atrahasis made his voice heard And spoke to his master,
The warrior Ellil [
(gap of 3o lines)
Column 7
'[You] imposed your loads on man,
You bestowed noise on mankind,
You slaughtered a god together with his intelligence,
You must ... and [create a flood].
It is indeed your power that shall be used against [your people!]
You agreed to [the wrong (?)] plan! Have it reversed! (?)
Let us make far-sighted Enki swear ... an oath.' Enki made his voice heard
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Epic of Atra-Hasis: |
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Tablet 3
OBV
Column 1
(gap of about 10 lines)
Atrahasis made his voice heard
And spoke to his master,
'Indicate to me the meaning of the dream,
] let me find out its portent (?)' Enki made his voice heard
And spoke to his servant,
'You say, "I should find out in bed (?)".
Make sure you attend to the message I shall tell you!
Wall, listen constantly to me!
Reed hut, make sure you attend to all my words! Dismantle the house, build a boat,
Reject possessions, and save living things. The boat that you build
Roof it like the Apsu
So that the Sun cannot see inside it!
Make upper decks and lower decks. The tackle must be very strong,
The bitumen strong, to give strength.
I shall make rain fall on you here,
A wealth of birds, a hamper (?) of fish.'
He opened the sand clock and filled it,
He told him the sand (needed) for the Flood was Seven nights' worth.
Atrahasis received the message. He gathered the elders at his door.
Atrahasis made his voice heard And spoke to the elders,
'My god is out of favour with your god.
Enki and [Ellil (?)] have become angry with each other.
They have driven me out of [my house].
Since I always stand in awe of Enki,
He told (me) of this matter. I can no longer stay in [
I cannot set my foot on Ellil's territory (again).
[I must go down to the Apsu and stay] with (my) god (?).
This is what he told me.'
(gap of 4 or 5 lines to end of column)
Column 2
(gap of about 9 lines)
The elders [
The carpenter [brought his axe,]
The reed worker [brought his stone,] [A child brought] bitumen.
The poor [fetched what was needed.]
(9 lines very damaged) Everything there was [
Everything there was [
Pure ones [
Fat ones [
He selected [and put on board.]
[The birds] that fly in the sky,
Cattle [of Shak]kan,
Wild animals (?) [ ] of open country,
he] put on board
] . . .
He invited his people [
] to a feast.
] he put his family on board. They were eating, they were drinking.
But he went in and out,
Could not stay still or rest on his haunches,
His heart was breaking and he was vomiting bile. The face of the weather changed.
Adad bellowed from the clouds.
When (?) he (Atrahasis) heard his noise,
Bitumen was brought and he sealed his door. While he was closing up his door
Adad kept bellowing from the clouds.
The winds were raging even as he went up (And) cut through the rope, he released the boat.
Column 3
(6 lines missing at beginning of column)
Anzu was tearing at the sky with his talons,
] the land,
He broke [ ] the Flood [came out (?)].
The kafigu-weapon went against the people like an army.
No one could see anyone else,
They could not be recognized in the catastrophe. The Flood roared like a bull,
Like a wild ass screaming the winds [howled]
The darkness was total, there was no sun.
] like white sheep.
] of the Flood.
] the noise of the Flood.
[ ]
[Anu (?)] went berserk,
[The gods (?)] . his sons ... before him
As for Nintu the Great Mistress,
Her lips became encrusted with rime."
The great gods, the Anunna,
Stayed parched and famished.
The goddess watched and wept,
Midwife of the gods, wise Mami:
'Let daylight (?)
Let it return and . !
However could I, in the assembly of gods, Have ordered such destruction with them?
Ellil was strong enough (?) to give a wicked order.
Like Tiruru he ought to have cancelled that wicked order!
I heard their cry levelled at me,
Against myself, against my person.
Beyond my control (?) my offspring have become like white sheep.
As for me, how am I to live (?) in a house of bereavement?
My noise has turned to silence.
Could I go away, up to the sky
And live as in a cloister(?)?
What was Anu's intention as decision-maker? It was his command that the gods his sons obeyed,
He who did not deliberate, but sent the Flood, He who gathered the people to catastrophe
Column 4
(3 lines missing at beginning of column)
Nintu was wailing [
'Would a true father (?) have given birth to the [rolling (?)] sea
(So that) they could clog the river like
dragonflies ?
They are washed up (?) like a raft on [a bank (?)], They are washed up like a raft on a bank in open country!
I have seen, and wept over them!
Shall I (ever) finish weeping for them?'
She wept, she gave vent to her feelings,
Nintu wept and fuelled her passions.
The gods wept with her for the country.
She was sated with grief, she longed for beer (in vain).
Where she sat weeping, (there the great gods) sat too,
But, like sheep, could only fill their windpipes (with bleating).
Thirsty as they were, their lips
Discharged only the rime of famine.
For seven days and seven nights
The torrent, storm and flood came on.
(gap of about 58 lines)
Column 5
He put down [ Provided food
[
The gods smelt the fragrance, Gathered like flies over the offering. When they had eaten the offering, Nintu got up and blamed them all,
'Whatever came over Anu who makes the
decisions?
Did Ellil (dare to) come for the smoke offering?
(Those two) who did not deliberate, but sent the
Flood,
Gathered the people to catastrophe—You agreed the destruction.
(Now) their bright faces are dark (forever).'
Then she went up to the big flies
Which Anu had made, and (declared) before the gods,
'His grief is mine! My destiny goes with his! He must deliver me from evil, and appease me! Let me go out in the morning (?) [
Column 6
Let these flies be the lapis lazuli of my necklace
By which I may remember it (?) daily (?)
[forever (?)].'
The warrior Ellil spotted the boat
And was furious with the Igigi. 'We, the great Anunna, all of us,
Agreed together on an oath!
No form of life should have escaped!
How did any man survive the catastrophe?'
Anu made his voice heard And spoke to the warrior Ellil,
'Who but Enki would do this?
He made sure that the [reed hut] disclosed the order.'
Enki made his voice heard And spoke to the great gods,
'I did it, in defiance of you!
I made sure life was preserved [
(5 lines missing)
Exact your punishment from the sinner. And whoever contradicts your order
(12 lines missing)
I have given vent to my feelings!'
Ellil made his voice heard
And spoke to far-sighted Enki,
'Come, summon Nintu the womb-goddess!
Confer with each other in the assembly.'
Enki made his voice heard
And spoke to the womb-goddess Nintu,
'You are the womb-goddess who decrees destinies.
] to the people.
[Let one-third of them be
[Let another third of them be
Column 7
In addition let there be one-third of the people, Among the people the woman who gives birth yet does
Not give birth (successfully);
Let there be the pagttu-demon among the people, To snatch the baby from its mother's lap. Establish ugbabtu, entu, egisitu-women:
They shall be taboo, and thus control childbirth.'
(26 lines missing to end of column)
Column 8
(8 lines missing at beginning of column)
How we sent the Flood.
But a man survived the catastrophe.
You are the counsellor of the gods; On your orders I created conflict. Let the Igigi listen to this song
In order to praise you,
And let them record (?) your greatness.
I shall sing of the Flood to all people:
Listen!
(Colophon)
The End.
Third tablet,
'When the gods instead of man' 390 lines,
Total 1245
For the three tablets.
Hand of Nur-Aya, junior scribe. Month Ayyar [x day],
Year Ammi-saduqa was king. A statue of himself [
("Myths From Mesopotamia: Gilgamesh, The Flood, and Others, Stephanie Dalley, 1998)
The global flood from the oldest archeology on earth:
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Exhibit |
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Name |
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Date of tablet |
2150 BC |
2119-2112 BC |
2100 BC |
1635 BC |
1150 BC |
280 BC |
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Language |
Sumerian Cuneiform |
Sumerian Cuneiform |
Akkadian Cuniform |
Akkadian Cuneiform |
Akkadian Cuneiform |
Greek |
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Noah figure |
Zi-ud-sura "he obtained immortality" |
Cush, Noah's grandson |
Zi-ud-sura "he obtained immortality" |
Atra-Hasis "he who is very wise" |
Ut-napištim "he obtained immortality" |
Xisuthrus "he obtained immortality" |
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Country |
Šuruppuk |
Šuruppuk |
Šuruppuk |
Šuruppak |
Šuruppak |
Sippar |
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Destroyer God |
Enlil |
- |
- |
Enlil |
Enlil |
Enlil |
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Mutinous god who warned of flood |
Enki |
- |
- |
Enki |
Enki |
Enki |
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Where tablets found |
Nippur, Iraq |
Larsa, Iraq |
Abu Salabikh Iraq |
Sippar, Iraq |
Nabu, Iraq Nineveh, Turkey |
Quoted by Josephus etc. |
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Museum |
Pennsylvania Museum: Object B10673 |
Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England |
Iraq Museum, Baghdad (looted 2003) |
British Museum Room 56 |
British Museum, Room 55 |
No originals. |
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More Details |
Sumerian Kings |
By Steve Rudd
Noah’s Ark, Flood and Tower of Babel