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SUMERIAN LEXICAL TEXTS from the TEMPLE SCHOOL of NIPPUR Oi.Uchicago.Edu
oi.uchicago.edu THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO ORIENTAL INSTITUTE PUBLICATIONS Edited by JAMES HENRY BREASTED oi.uchicago.edu oi.uchicago.edu CUNEIFORM SERIES-VOLUME I SUMERIAN LEXICAL TEXTS FROM THE TEMPLE SCHOOL OF NIPPUR oi.uchicago.edu THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY NEW YORK THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, LIMITED TORONTO THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA TOKYO, OSAKA, KYOTO, FUKUOKA, BENDAI THE COMMERCIAL PRESS, LIMITED SHANGHAI oi.uchicago.edu THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO ORIENTAL INSTITUTE PUBLICATIONS VOLUME XI CUNEIFORM SERIES-VOLUME I SUMERIAN LEXICAL TEXTS FROM THE TEMPLE SCHOOL OF NIPPUR BY EDWARD CHIERA PROFESSOR OF ASSYRIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS oi.uchicago.edu COPYRIGHT 1989 BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 1909 COMPOSED AND PRINTED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A. oi.uchicago.edu FOREWORD The valuable materials which Professor Chiera is making accessible to scholars for the first time in this volume of cuneiform tablets from the Nippur School need no introduction. The careful accuracy which characterizes his copies of such materials has already become well known to orientalists through his earlier publications of cuneiform sources. In this first volume of cuneiform records published by the Oriental Insti- tute, the editor is glad to announce that the range of the Institute's publica- tions is being expanded to include such important classes of documents as the series here published, even though the originals may not belong to the collec- tions of the Institute. -
Figure 1. of the Rock-Carved Cones from Turkey's Their Lava Caps. See Page 45, Footnote
Figure 1. of the rock-carved cones from Turkey's their lava caps. See page 45, footnote. UNIVERSITY MUSEUM BULLETIN VOL. 17 DECEMBER, 19S2 NO. 2 A "FULBRIGHT" IN TURKEY BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Early in September 1951 I came to Istanbul as the first Fulbright Re- search Scholar appointed by the United State:, Educational Committee in Turkey. fi'or practically a whole year, until late in August 1952, I worked in Istanbul's Museum of the Ancient Orient, studying and copying the Sumerian literary tablets in the Nippur collection of its Tablet Archives. The pages to follow wiJI attempt to sketch briefly the purpose and nature of these researches and summarize some of their results.1 One of the more significant archaeological contributions of the past hundred years to the humanities consists of the discovery, restoration, and translation of the Sumerian literary documents, the oldest group of belles lettres in the history of civilization. Inscribed more than thirty-five hundred years ago in the cuneiform script on some four thousand clay tablets and fragments, they include a varied assortment of man's first recorded myths and epic tales, h ymns and lamentations, proverbs and essays. Long before the Hebrews wrote down their Bible, and the Greeks their Iliad and Odyssey, the Sumerians, who were neither Indo-Europeans nor Semites and whose original homeland may have been in the steppes of Central Asia, created a rich and mature literature, largely poetic in form, which was copied, translated, and imitated all over the ancient L T his is not to deny the great debt we owe even in th:s highly specialized field of cuneiform research to such institutions as the British Museum, the Louvre, the Berlin Museum, and the Ashmolean :Museum; the material from these museums copied and published by such scholars as Zimmem and De Genouillac, King, Langdon, and Gadd have proved to be invaluable for the restoration of the Sumerian literary documents. -
The Lost Book of Enki.Pdf
L0ST BOOK °f6NK1 ZECHARIA SITCHIN author of The 12th Planet • . FICTION/MYTHOLOGY $24.00 TH6 LOST BOOK OF 6NK! Will the past become our future? Is humankind destined to repeat the events that occurred on another planet, far away from Earth? Zecharia Sitchin’s bestselling series, The Earth Chronicles, provided humanity’s side of the story—as recorded on ancient clay tablets and other Sumerian artifacts—concerning our origins at the hands of the Anunnaki, “those who from heaven to earth came.” In The Lost Book of Enki, we can view this saga from a dif- ferent perspective through this richly con- ceived autobiographical account of Lord Enki, an Anunnaki god, who tells the story of these extraterrestrials’ arrival on Earth from the 12th planet, Nibiru. The object of their colonization: gold to replenish the dying atmosphere of their home planet. Finding this precious metal results in the Anunnaki creation of homo sapiens—the human race—to mine this important resource. In his previous works, Sitchin com- piled the complete story of the Anunnaki ’s impact on human civilization in peacetime and in war from the frag- ments scattered throughout Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Hittite, Egyptian, Canaanite, and Hebrew sources- —the “myths” of all ancient peoples in the old world as well as the new. Missing from these accounts, however, was the perspective of the Anunnaki themselves What was life like on their own planet? What motives propelled them to settle on Earth—and what drove them from their new home? Convinced of the existence of a now lost book that formed the basis of THE lost book of ENKI MFMOHCS XND PKjOPHeCieS OF XN eXTfCXUfCWJTWXL COD 2.6CHXPJA SITCHIN Bear & Company Rochester, Vermont — Bear & Company One Park Street Rochester, Vermont 05767 www.InnerTraditions.com Copyright © 2002 by Zecharia Sitchin All rights reserved. -
Fighting for the King and the Gods
FIGHTING FOR THE KING AND THE GODS Press SBL RESOURCES FOR BIBLICAL STUDY Editor Marvin A. Sweeney, Old Testament/Hebrew Bible Number 88 Press SBL FIGHTING FOR THE KING AND THE GODS A Survey of Warfare in the Ancient Near East Charlie Trimm Press SBL Atlanta Copyright © 2017 by Charlie Trimm All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permit- ted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Office, SBL Press, 825 Hous- ton Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30329 USA. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Trimm, Charlie, 1977– author. Title: Fighting for the king and the gods : a survey of warfare in the ancient Near East / by Charlie Trimm. Description: Atlanta : SBL Press, 2017. | Series: Resources for biblical study ; number 88 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers:LCCN 2017021412 (print) | LCCN 2017026895 (ebook) | ISBN 9780884142379 (ebook) | ISBN 9781628371840 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780884142386 (hardcover : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Military art and science—History—To 500. | Military art and science— Middle East—History. | Iraq—History—To 634. Classification: LCC U31 (ebook) | LCC U31 .T75 2017 (print) | DDC 355.0209394—dc23 LC record available at hhps://lccn.loc.gov/2017021412 Press Printed on acid-free paper. SBL In memory of my father Press SBL Press SBL Contents Abbreviations and Sigla ...................................................................................ix List of Figures ................................................................................................xxiv 1. -
Death Attitudes and Perceptions of Death and Afterlife in Ancient Near Eastern Literature Leah Whitehead Craig Western Kentucky University
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by TopSCHOLAR Western Kentucky University TopSCHOLAR® Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Honors College at WKU Projects Spring 2008 A Journey Into the Land of No Return: Death Attitudes and Perceptions of Death and Afterlife in Ancient Near Eastern Literature Leah Whitehead Craig Western Kentucky University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_hon_theses Part of the Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons, History of Religions of Eastern Origins Commons, Other Religion Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Craig, Leah Whitehead, "A Journey Into the Land of No Return: Death Attitudes and Perceptions of Death and Afterlife in Ancient Near Eastern Literature" (2008). Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects. Paper 106. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_hon_theses/106 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by TopSCHOLAR®. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors College Capstone Experience/ Thesis Projects by an authorized administrator of TopSCHOLAR®. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Journey Into the Land of No Return: Death Attitudes and Perceptions of Death and Afterlife in Ancient Near Eastern Literature Leah Whitehead Craig Senior Honors Thesis Submitted to the Honors College of Western Kentucky University Spring, 2008 Approved by: _________________________________ _________________________________ -
Mesopotamian Mythology
MESOPOTAMIAN MYTHOLOGY The myths, epics, hymns, lamentations, penitential psalms, incantations, wisdom literature, and handbooks dealing with rituals and omens of ancient Mesopotamian. The literature that has survived from Mesopotamian was written primarily on stone or clay tablets. The production and preservation of written documents were the responsibility of scribes who were associated with the temples and the palace. A sharp distinction cannot be made between religious and secular writings. The function of the temple as a food redistribution center meant that even seemingly secular shipping receipts had a religious aspect. In a similar manner, laws were perceived as given by the gods. Accounts of the victories of the kings often were associated with the favor of the gods and written in praise of the gods. The gods were also involved in the established and enforcement of treaties between political powers of the day. A large group of texts related to the interpretations of omens has survived. Because it was felt that the will of the gods could be known through the signs that the gods revealed, care was taken to collect ominous signs and the events which they preached. If the signs were carefully observed, negative future events could be prevented by the performance of appropriate apotropaic rituals. Among the more prominent of the Texts are the shumma izbu texts (“if a fetus…”) which observe the birth of malformed young of both animals and humans. Later a similar series of texts observed the physical characteristics of any person. There are also omen observations to guide the physician in the diagnosis and treatment of patients. -
Supernatural Seminar
DIVINE REBELLIONS and their fallout Tradition Disconnection Why is humanity so depraved? Why is the world so wicked? Answer Traditional Christianity Biblical Period •The Fall (Gen 3) • The Fall (Gen 3) • Sons of God (Gen 6:1-4) • Babel (Deut 32:8-9; cp. Psalm 82) Three Rebellions Rebellion Fallout • The Fall (Gen 3) • Death, estranged • Sons of God • Lethal threat; (Gen 6:1-4) demons; depravity • Babel (Deut 32:8-9; • Abandonment; cp. Psalm 82) idolatry; misery GENESIS 3 The original rebel Eden: The Cosmic Mountain • a supernatural rebel, not a mere snake • Genesis 3 isn’t trying to teach us about zoology (or evolution) • Ezekiel 28, Isaiah 14 make this clear • Prompts humanity to rebel • Cp. Rev 12:9; 20:2 The “Fallout” of the First Rebellion • Estrangement from God • Humanity not at home with God; a broken home (chaos) • Death / mortality • The serpent is “cast down” to the Earth / Underworld (ʾerets) • Lord of the Dead (everything dies) The “Fallout” of the First Rebellion The realm of death = • De-creation • Dis-order (chaos) • Anti-Eden • Inhospitable, threatening • Desert wilderness, barrenness, creatures associated with death (cf. Isa 13) • Azazel, Rephaim spirits, etc. GENESIS 6:1-4 (5) Usurping the image, accelerate depravity Genesis 6:1-4 Controversial Passage • Failures of dominant view (“Sethite”) in The Unseen Realm Greatest flaw: • 2 Peter 2:4-5 • Jude 6 Genesis 6:1-4 What did you notice from Peter and Jude? “angels that sinned” “cast them into hell” “chains of gloomy darkness” • Peter drawing on material not in OT, something that actually provides the original context to Gen 6:1-4 Genesis 6:1-4 Peter and Jude are drawing directly on ancient Jewish books like 1 Enoch, Jubilees, and the Book of Giants. -
De-Demonising the Old Testament
De-Demonising the Old Testament An Investigation of Azazel , Lilith , Deber , Qeteb and Reshef in the Hebrew Bible Judit M. Blair Doctor of Philosophy University of Edinburgh 2008 Declaration I declare that the present thesis has been composed by me, that it represents my own research, and that it has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. ______________________ Judit M. Blair ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people to thank and acknowledge for their support and help over the past years. Firstly I would like to thank the School of Divinity for the scholarship and the opportunity they provided me in being able to do this PhD. I would like to thank my ‘numerous’ supervisors who have given of their time, energy and knowledge in making this thesis possible: To Professor Hans Barstad for his patience, advice and guiding hand, in particular for his ‘adopting’ me as his own. For his understanding and help with German I am most grateful. To Dr Peter Hayman for giving of his own time to help me in learning Hebrew, then accepting me to study for a PhD, and in particular for his attention to detail. To Professor Nick Wyatt who supervised my Masters and PhD before his retirement for his advice and support. I would also like to thank the staff at New College Library for their assistance at all times, and Dr Jessie Paterson and Bronwen Currie for computer support. My fellow colleagues have provided feedback and helpful criticism and I would especially like to thank all members of HOTS-lite I have known over the years. -
The Watchers in Jewish and Christian Traditions
1 Mesopotamian Elements and the Watchers Traditions Ida Fröhlich Introduction By the time of the exile, early Watchers traditions were written in Aramaic, the vernacular in Mesopotamia. Besides many writings associated with Enoch, several works composed in Aramaic came to light from the Qumran library. They manifest several specific common characteristics concerning their literary genres and content. These are worthy of further examination.1 Several Qumran Aramaic works are well acquainted with historical, literary, and other traditions of the Eastern diaspora, and they contain Mesopotamian and Persian elements.2 Early Enoch writings reflect a solid awareness of certain Mesopotamian traditions.3 Revelations on the secrets of the cosmos given to Enoch during his heavenly voyage reflect the influence of Mesopotamian 1. Characteristics of Aramean literary texts were examined by B.Z. Wacholder, “The Ancient Judeo- Aramaic Literature 500–164 bce: A Classification of Pre-Qumranic Texts,” in Archaeology and History in , JSOTSup8, ed. L.H. Schiffman (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1990), 257–81. the Dead Sea Scrolls 2. The most outstanding example is 4Q242, the Prayer of Nabonidus that suggests knowledge of historical legends on the last Neo-Babylonian king Nabunaid (555–539 bce). On the historical background of the legend see R. Meyer, , SSAW.PH 107, no. 3 (Berlin: Akademie, Das Gebet des Nabonid 1962). 4Q550 uses Persian names and the story reflects the influence of the pattern of the Ahiqar novel; see I. Fröhlich, “Stories from the Persian King’s Court. 4Q550 (4QprESTHARa-f),” . 38 Acta Ant. Hung (1998): 103–14. 3. H. L. Jansen, , Skrifter utgitt av Die Henochgestalt: eine vergleichende religionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung det Norske videnskaps-akademi i Oslo. -
STUDIA BIBLIJNE Słowa Kluczowe: Stary Testament, Druga Księga Królewska, Asyria, Samaria, Izrael, Nergal, Nergal Z Cuta
2 STUDIA BIBLIJNE Słowa kluczowe: Stary Testament, Druga Księga Królewska, Asyria, Samaria, Izrael, Nergal, Nergal z Cuta 82 Keywords: The Old Testament, 2 Kings, Asyria, Samaria, Israel, Nergal, Nergal of Cuth Ks. Leszek Rasztawicki Warszawskie Studia Teologiczne DOI: 10.30439/WST.2019.4.5 XXXII/4/2019, 82-104 Ks. Leszek Rasztawicki PAPIESKI WYDZIAł TEOLOGICZNY W WARSZAWIE COLLEGIUM JOANNEUM ORCID: 0000-0002-5140-0819 „ THE PEOPLE OF CUTH MADE NERGAL” (2 KINGS 17:30). THE HISTORICITY AND CULT OF NERGAL IN THE ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST. The deity Nergal of Cuth appears only once in the Hebrew Bible (2 Kings 17:30). He is mentioned among a list of some Assyrian gods, which new repopulated settlers in Samaria “made” for themselves after the fall of the Northern Kingdom. In this brief paper, we would like to investigate the historicity of Nergal of Cuth in the context of Mesopotamian literature and religion. REPOPULATION OF SAMARIA The Assyrians after conquering a new territory relocated people from other regions of the empire to newly subjugated provinces (2 Kings 17:24). The people of 83 „ THE PEOPLE OF CUTH MADE NERGAL” (2 KINGS 17:30) Samaria were carried away into exile (2 Kings 17:6, 18:11). The repopulation policy of the Assyrians is well documented from their own records1. Sargon II (722-705 BC) took credit in Assyrian royal inscriptions for deporting 27,290 inhabitants of Sa- maria (Sargon II prism IV:31)2: ... he defeated and conquered Samaria, and carried away as slaves 27290 inhabitants ... he rebuilt the city better than before and settled in it people of other countries .. -
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh 47 The Epic of Gilgamesh Perhaps arranged in the fifteenth century B.C., The Epic of Gilgamesh draws on even more ancient traditions of a Sumerian king who ruled a great city in what is now southern Iraq around 2800 B.C. This poem (more lyric than epic, in fact) is the earliest extant monument of great literature, presenting archetypal themes of friendship, renown, and facing up to mortality, and it may well have exercised influence on both Genesis and the Homeric epics. 49 Prologue He had seen everything, had experienced all emotions, from ex- altation to despair, had been granted a vision into the great mystery, the secret places, the primeval days before the Flood. He had jour- neyed to the edge of the world and made his way back, exhausted but whole. He had carved his trials on stone tablets, had restored the holy Eanna Temple and the massive wall of Uruk, which no city on earth can equal. See how its ramparts gleam like copper in the sun. Climb the stone staircase, more ancient than the mind can imagine, approach the Eanna Temple, sacred to Ishtar, a temple that no king has equaled in size or beauty, walk on the wall of Uruk, follow its course around the city, inspect its mighty foundations, examine its brickwork, how masterfully it is built, observe the land it encloses: the palm trees, the gardens, the orchards, the glorious palaces and temples, the shops and marketplaces, the houses, the public squares. Find the cornerstone and under it the copper box that is marked with his name. -
Desire, Discord, and Death : Approaches to Ancient Near Eastern Myth / by Neal Walls
DESIRE, DISCORD AND DEATH APPROACHES TO ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN MYTH ASOR Books Volume 8 Victor Matthews, editor Billie Jean Collins ASOR Director of Publications DESIRE, DISCORD AND DEATH APPROACHES TO ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN MYTH by Neal Walls American Schools of Oriental Research • Boston, MA DESIRE, DISCORD AND DEATH APPROACHES TO ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN MYTH Copyright © 2001 American Schools of Oriental Research Cover art: Cylinder seal from Susa inscribed with the name of worshiper of Nergal. Photo courtesy of the Louvre Museum. Cover design by Monica McLeod. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Walls, Neal H., 1962- Desire, discord, and death : approaches to ancient Near Eastern myth / by Neal Walls. p. cm. -- (ASOR books ; v. 8) Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 0-89757-056-1 -- ISBN 0-89757-055-3 (pbk.) 1. Mythology--Middle East. 2. Middle East--Literatures--History and crticism. 3. Death in literature. 4. Desire in literature. I. Title. II. Series. BL1060 .W34 2001 291.1'3'09394--dc21 2001003236 Contents ABBREVIATIONS vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii INTRODUCTION Hidden Riches in Secret Places 1 METHODS AND APPROACHES 3 CHAPTER ONE The Allure of Gilgamesh: The Construction of Desire in the Gilgamesh Epic INTRODUCTION 9 The Construction of Desire: Queering Gilgamesh 11 THE EROTIC GILGAMESH 17 The Prostitute and the Primal Man: Inciting Desire 18 The Gaze of Ishtar: Denying Desire 34 Heroic Love: Requiting Desire 50 The Death of Desire 68 CONCLUSION 76 CHAPTER TWO On the Couch with Horus and Seth: A Freudian