Vêtus Testamentum BRILL Vêtus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572 ww.brill.nl/vt

"Bel Bows, Nabu Stoops!" The Prophecy of Isaiah xlvi 1-2 as a Reflection of Babylonian "Processional Omens"*

Hanspeter Schaudig Heidelberg

Abstract This article argues that Isa xlvi 1-2 represents a prophecy given on the occasion of the Babylo­ nian New Year's festival. It is based on the condition and "behaviour" of the Babylonian cult statues carried in procession. This prophecy is not only direcdy dependent upon a group of Babylonian omens, called "processional omens", but also follows the Babylonian custom of divining portents from the condition and movement of the statue of Marduk at the New Year's festival.

Keywords Isa xlvi 1-2, Babylonian processional omens, New Year's festival

1. Introduction It was recognized long ago that the scene described in Isa xlvi 1-2 with the idols of Bel and Nabu sinking, crouching, and going into captivity is a mock­ ing imitation of Marduk-BèTs famous procession at the Babylonian New Year s festival, turning the glory of the pompa into the humiliation of being carried off as spoil.1 What one has hitherto failed to observe is a deeper and

*} This article has emerged from my project on the "Abduction ofldoL·" in Mesopotamia. My special thanks go to Reinhard Kratz (Göttingen), Jacob Wright (Adanta), and David Vander- hooft (Boston) who have kindly commented on an earlier version of this article. υ Isa xlvi 1-2 has been contrasted with a procession already in 1869 by Deutsch, Jesaia, p. 480. Recendy and in detail: H. D. Preuss, Verspottung fremder Religionen im Alten Testament. BW/ANT 92 (Stuttgart, 1971), p. 222, referring to Babylonian omens, which deal with the abduction of deities in general. Baltzer, Dtrjes, pp. 326-331; 326: "Parodie einer Prozession (pompa)"; dis­ cussing ibidem p. 328 with notes 5-6 the connection between procession and omen, as well as the overall character of Isa xlvi 1-2 as an oracle. The passage has also been discussed by Berlejung,

© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2008 DOI: 10.1163/156853308X325281 558 H. Schaudig/Vêtus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572 closer connection that suggests Isa xlvi 1-2 is direcdy dependent upon the Bab­ ylonian custom to interpret the future according to the condition and move­ ment of the statue of Marduk at the New Year's festival. I refer here to a group of Babylonian prophecies, the so-called "processional omens", that pre­ dict Babylon s fate to come in the very same manner and even the same direc­ tion as Deutero-Isaiah's polemical prophecy. These texts have been known since the early 20th century. Even though they have been edited twice in the last years,2 the striking similarity to Isa xlvi 1-2 was not noticed. The Babylonian texts represent a group of omens based on the condition and the "behaviour" of the statue of Marduk (see Fig. 1) when going in procession from his temple Esagil at Babylon to the akitu-house outside of the city on occassion of the akîtu-ksûvaï in the month of Nissan.3 On this occasion it was well known that Marduk would go out accompanied by his son Nabu, as depicted in Isa xlvi 1-2.4 The manuscripts of these omens stem from Kalhu, Nineveh, and Uruk. According to one of their colophons which is dated to 707 BCE,5 the omens form the beginning of the 120th tablet of

Bilder, pp. 388-391, and by Vanderhooft, Empire, pp. 175-180, but without referring to its con­ nection to the Babylonian "processional omens". See also Albani, Dereine Gott, pp. 78-90, 183. 2) F. Thureau-Dangin, "Les fêtes d'akitu d'après un texte divinatoire", Revue d'assyriobgie et d'archéologie orientale 19 (1922), pp. 141-148. Recent editions: Pongratz-Leisten, Prozession, pp. 257-265, no. 18. W. Sallaberger, "Das Erscheinen Marduks als Vorzeichen: Kultstatue und Neujahrsfest in der Omenserie Summa älu\ Zeitschrift fiir Assyriobgie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie 9 (2000), pp. 227-262. 3) Sallaberger in ZA 90, pp. 226f., 255f.: "Die Situation der Mardukomina im Neujahrsfest"; the date is given ibid, pp. 233/236, in line 14: ina rës satti (sag mu) "at the beginning of the (new) year", this is in Babylonia in spring, in the month of Nissan. There is also a matching fes­ tival (of the "half-year") in the month of Tasrit (at least at Babylon, Uruk, and Dër). This is less known, but clearly secondary to the one in Nissan, and does not mark the rës satti (as it proba­ bly did in Hittite Anatolia and in Syria); see e.g. Pongratz-Leisten, s.v. "Neujahr(sfest) B.", Reallexikon der Assyriobgie und Vorderasiatischen Archäobgie 9 (Berlin, 1998-2001), pp. 294ff., §§ 1-2.—Recent descriptions of the Neo-Babylonian New Year's festival are given by: Pongratz- Leisten, Prozession, esp. pp. 39-41. K. van derToorn, "The Babylonian New Year Festival: New Insights from the Cuneiform Texts and their Bearing on Old Testament Study", in: J.-A. Emer- ton (ed.), Congress Volume Leuven 1989. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum 43 (Leiden, 1991), pp. 331-344. Linssen, Cults, pp. 78-86, 217-237. Zgoll, Neujahrsfest, esp. pp. 21-41. 4) On the 8th of Nissan. Marduk's son Nabu is the most prominent participant, but (all) the other gods "of heaven and earth" are joining Marduk, too; see e.g. Pongratz-Leisten, Prozession, pp. 39-41; Zgoll, Neujahrsfest, pp. 30-33: participation of various deities and the people. 5) Manuscript A, originally from Kalhu, and later brought to Nineveh (Sallaberger in ZA 90, pp. 229, 231). H. SchaudigI Vêtus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572 559

Figure 1. Statue of Marduk, mounted on the mushussu, the "fierce snakê\ standing in victory on the watery body of the vanquished Ti'âmat on occa­ sion of the Babylonian New Years festival. As one can see from the line sepa­ rating the two layers of water, Ti'amat has already been split by Marduk to be transformed into the "upper" and the "lower waters". From a cylinder seal, dedicated to Marduk by the Babylonian king Marduk-zäkir-sumi (9th cent. BCE). Drawing taken from: Ε H. Weissbach, Babylonische Miscellen. Wissen­ schaftliche Veröffentlichungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 4 (Leipzig, 1903), p. 16, fig. I. 560 H Schaudtg I Vetus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572 the wide-spread omen series summa diu. From other colophons, it is clear these texts had been studied in Babylonia in the first millennium BCE at least down to the late 4th century,6 the very place and time from which the prophecy of Isa xlvi 1-2 must have originated.

2. The Text

Isa xlvi 1-2:

(1) ηοπΛι rrrf? DTOSP vn nj onp *?η ira T-T --τ Ι -τ :mbn *nwn Ώψαη κψο Obnto *ò nrr uro ion¡? (2)

(1) kr bl qrs nbw hyw 'sbyhm l-hyh w-l-bhmh ns'iykm 'mwswt msh l-yph (2) qrsw krwyhdw Τ yklw mit mf w-npsm b-sby hlkh

(1) (Look!) Bel has (just) bowed down, Nabu has stooped! Their idols have been consigned to the beasts, and to the cattle! (This means, for the deportees:) Your burdens (have been) heavily loaded (upon you now, but in due time it will be) a burden to the weary (cattle). (2) They have stooped, they have bowed down all together; they could not save the burden, but (hence) they themselves have gone (now) into captivity.

3. Commentary

I interpret this passage as a prophecy given by an unnamed prophet8 on the occasion of a Babylonian New Years festival, witnessed by the deportees from Judea during the exile. The prophecy is based upon the actual sight of the

6) The texts Wa and Wc from Uruk belonged to the "Library of Iqisa" (Sallaberger in ZA 90, pp. 230). 7) In line lb the texts is often said to be corrupt. However, since I consider the suffix oïns'tykm to refer to the prophets fellow-deportees (see below), I shall not emend the text The Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensta (1997) proposes the conjecture- * ΠΟΠ11? rYlNWJ mOQPQD 7VTÒ ΧψΏ rifluì), (* msh l-hyh k-mmswt ns'wt l-bhmh 'yph) "( their idols are) a burden to the beast, like heavily-loaded carriages to the weary cattle" Differently and in more detail Blenkinsopp, Isa­ iah 40-55, pp. 263f, Franke, Isaiah, pp. 22, 26-36, Vanderhooft, Empire, pp 175f, note 202 8) The historical prophet Isaiah is dated to the 8th century (see e g. Koole, Isaiah 3/1, ρ 5). However, the prophecy of Isa xlvi 1-2, which requires the deportees being familiar with Babylo­ nian cults from their own experience, must of course have been given by another, later, unnamed prophet of the 6th century (see e g Koole, Isaiah 3/1, pp 12f ) H. Schaudig I Vêtus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572 56 1 swaying and staggering statues of the Babylonian gods Marduk and Nabu,9 mounted on their attributive beasts, and being carried by humans in proces­ sion. Marduk, often called simply by his epitheton Bel "Lord", was the tutelar deity of Babylon and the head of the Babylonian pantheon in the first cen­ tury BCE. His son Nabu was the main god of the neighbouring city of Bor- sippa and the most important divine guest among the other gods of Babylonia to visit his father Marduk on the occasion of the New Year s festival. I take the verbal forms of the perfect used throughout this section as perfecta perfor­ mativa.10 They condense the yearned-for fall of the Babylonian gods with an ominous incident that had occurred "just then" to the gods' statues carried in procession. The polemics of Deutero-Isaiah are certainly directed towards Judean fellow-deportees, to prevent them from being overwhelmed by the glory of a Babylonian pompa}1 As noted already many times, the Babylonian cult statues are not addressed as "gods" Çlhym I XP7ÒH), but as "idols" Çsbym I D*asp).12 This is of course part of the "image polemics" that aimed at revealing that the Babylonian "gods" were no gods at all, but rather carved wood, covered with gold and sil­ ver. Yet the difference between the deities or—if one does not want to call them divine—the "concepts" of "Bel" and "Nabu" and their idols remains perceptible even here unintentionally in the use of the possessiv-suffix -hm on 'sbyhm (DÎT22D).13 In very much the same way, the Babylonians clearly dis­ tinguished between the transcendent deities, and their wooden and golden statues. The two formed a unity only after consecration. Yet even afterwards, the statue, which is fed, clothed, and carried in procession, remained only a reference to the divine, with a clear yet fine line separating the venerated

9) The LXX replaces Nabu with Dagân (Δαγων), recalling the famous falling of Dagàn in 1 Sam ν 3-4; see e g. Koole, Isaiah 3/1, p. 496; Hermisson, Dtrjes, pp 85f.; Vanderhooft, Empire, p. 177, note 206. 10) As does Hermisson, Dtrfes, p. 93; Hermisson, Dtrjes, pp. 95f., discusses various possibilities of the fulfilment of the prophecy: an event at the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus, or the sacri­ lege of Xerxes (see below, with note 39); vattcinium ex eventu or a message of victory. n) Thus also e g. Kratz, Kyros, p. 197, with notes 640 and 641; Albani, Der eine Gott, p. 183 12) For a recent discussion of this expression as part of the "image polemics", see Dick, Parodies, p. 11; Koole, Isaiah 3/1, p. 497 However, elsewhere in the image polemics, psl (*70£)) is used instead of 'sbym (DOStt)), see e.g Hermisson, Dtrjes, ρ 96; see also Berlejung, Bilder, pp. 306- 308,311. 13) For the distinctivness of god and idol in this passage, see e.g. Koole, Isaiah 3/1, p. 499; see also the discussion by Hermisson, Dtrjes, p. 105, referring to A. Graupner, Art. ISP, in: Theokgisches Wörterbuch zum Alten Testament 6 (Stuttgart, 1989), pp. 301-305, esp. 304 See furthermore Kratz, Kyros, ρ 54, note 181; Berlejung, Bilder, p. 388, note 1898. 562 H. Schaudig I Vêtus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572 object from the transcendent deity. This dichotomy is never solved in Baby­ lonian religious thought or any other culture using images in cult: Whenever a statue was made, damaged or repaired, the difference between the object and the deity became apparent. The rituals performed in consecration to transform the wooden statue into a living divine being should be understood as an act of imploring the deity to confine the difference as much as possible.14 In the Babylonian "processional omens" the difference between Marduk-Bël as the sender of the omens and his statue as the "omen indicator" ("Omenan­ zeiger") is maintained.15 Although never explicitly distinguished from "Mar­ duk", it is clear that only the statue (salmu) could be worn, dusty or damaged, not the transcendent deity proper. Moreover, the statue carried in procession is only one of many consecrated statues representing Marduk and venerated within Esagil. Deutero-Isaiah comments upon animals, but it is not immediately clear which one he means. According to Assyrian reliefs, catde or beasts of burden are not used in the deportations of gods, neither are beasts.16 Rather it is always humans (Assyrian soldiers) carrying the statues as in a—sometimes cer­ tainly mocking—procession (see fig. 3). There are also chariots of the gods used in cultic processions, pulled by onagers, horses, humans and sometimes even minor deities.17 Yet, the imagery of Isa xlvi 1-2 does not refer to the images riding {rakäbu 12D~l) on chariots or waggons, but on their being car­ ried (nasu I tWi) and loaded upon the animals' backs, whereas Yhwh is not to be carried, but rather carries the House of Jacob.18 Humans as carriers seem to be also implied in Isa xlvi 1, which refers to ns'tykm (O^nNta) "your burdens".

14) See e.g. Dick, Parodies, pp. 33f., for the clearly maintained distinction between a god and his statue in Babylonian thought. 15) As noted by Sallaberger in ZA 90, p. 243. 16) Commentators are often at pains to figure out which "beasts" could be meant: Elephants and camels besides catde, donkeys, and horses? See e.g. Delitzsch, Jesaia, p. 480; Hermisson, Dtrjes., p. 106; Koole, Isaiah 3/1, p. 497. 17) A. Salonen, Die Landfahrzeuge des alten Mesopotamien (Helsinki, 1951), pp. 66-76: "Götter­ wagen". Pongratz-Leisten, Prozession, pp. 193-195; 193f.: the chariot of the goddess Banïtu pulled by two minor deities. Zgoll, Neujahrsfest, p. 32: the chariot of Ami pulled by the brewers at Uruk. 18) See also below with note 34. The main stress of these verses is on the issue of "carrying" (TOD / Him), in its ambiguity as "burden" and "oracle"; see Koole, Isaiah 3/1, pp. 495, 497; Hermisson, Dtrjes., pp. 90, 111-113. The Talmud in its tractate on idolatry (Abodah zarah 47b) and referring to Isa xxx 22 equates the pollution by carrying (ΠΐΡΟ) an idol (ΠΊΤ mili)) to the pollution by an unclean object or woman (7ΧΠ Ι ΓΠΪ). H. Schaudig I Vêtus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572 563

This verse apparently addresses the deportees19 and interprets the humans on whose shoulders the statues are loaded in procession—certainly Babylonian priests or noblemen—as the oppressed people, in particular the deportees from Judea. This is of course a variant of the old and widespread trope of the Assyrian or Babylonian yoke imposed on all peoples. One may wonder whether this phrase also contains an allusion to the related idea of humans (from all nations) supporting the royal throne or divan. This imagery becomes tangible first under Achaemenid rule, e.g. in the reliefs of the tombs of Dareios I. and his successors at Naqsh-i Rustam. The thrones of their Neo-Assyrian predeces­ sors had been supported by protective génies and minor gods.20 In referring to hyh and bhmh (noniVl ΓΡΓΟ) "beasts and cattle",21 the author of Isa xlvi 1-2 is probably illustrating the anticipated fall of Babylonian glory by pointing to the images of the Babylonian gods themselves, mounted on various beasts: Lions, dragons, and bulls.22 Marduk and Nabu would have been standing on mushussu-dragons (¿'fierce snake"', see figs. 1-2), Istar and Mulissu on a lion, Adad on a bull (see fig. 2), and Samas could be seen mounted on a horse (e.g. in the reliefs at Maltai, carved in Sennacherib's reign). For the Babylonians the animals and mythical beasts attributed to the gods represented their super­ natural powers.23 In many cases the beasts were former enemies which the

19) Certainly not addressing the idols; in the following verse (Isa xlvi 3), the "House of Jacob, remnant of the House of Israel" is addressed, see e.g. Koole, Isaiah 3/1, p. 500. According to Hermisson, Dtrjes., pp. 92, 115, the Babylonians are addressed. Franke, Isaiah, pp. 3If. (see also above, note 7) thinks of idolaters among the deportees from Judea. I prefer to see the burden in nftykm as a service imposed by Babylonia. An emendation as to ns'tyhm (referring to the idols) or to ns't \y\ k-mmwswt "carriedlike burdens", though the LXX also reads ώς φορτίον "like a burden", is however unnecessary in any case. 20) Possibly also by figures of Assyrian officials (in a wall-painting at Til Barsip, Tiglath-pileser III. or later). P. Calmeyer, "Zur Genese altiranischer Motive. I. Herrscher über Stützfiguren", Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran, Neue Folge 6 (1973), pp. 135-152; esp. 136-140. J. Curtis, Herrmann, Furniture, p. 169. 21) Looking at the images of the mushussu-dragons ("fierce snake*, see below), and with later, Aramaic hituyä (Win) "serpent" and Arabic bayya*" (*>>·) "serpent / viper" in mind, one may be tempted to understand hyh (ΐΤΠ) here as "(serpent-like) beast" in opposition to bhmh (HDHl) "(bovine) catde". But this is probably unwarranted and etymologically not sound. 22) This rather obvious idea is discussed only rarely: see J. Morgenstern, Hebrew Union College Annual 30 (1959), p. 26, referring to the reliefs at Maltai; Hermisson, Dtrjes., pp. 106f. See also the similar expression in Ezek viii 10, with a shift of the focus on pollution: In a vision the prophet beholds γρψ Π0Π21 WQl rfillJPrVa "every form of abominable creeping things and beasts" alongside idols in the temple at Jerusalem. 23) See in this respect also the translation presented by the Targum, cited by Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40- 55, p. 264: TP11 ÎVn niDT prrooV» lin (hww slmnyhwn dmwt hywn w-b'yr ; J. F. Stenning, The 564 H. Schaudig I Vêtus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572

Figure 2. Statues of various Assyrian-Babylonian deities, mounted on beasts and monsters. Upper row: Statue of Assur on a mushussu-drzgon (in the fore­ ground) and on an ahübu ("floodM-monster; in the rear); Mulissu seated on a lion. Lower row: Nabu on a mushussu; Adad on a bull. From the stela of Esar- haddon from Zendjirli (Detail after: L. Messerschmidt, Die bildlichen Darstel­ lungen auf vorderasiatischen Denkmälern der königlichen Museen zu Berlin. Beiheft zu Vorderasiatische Schriftdenkmäler 1 [Leipzig, 1907] pl. 7).

Targum of Isaiah (Oxford, 1949), p. 157) "their images are a likeness of beasts and cattle", hint­ ing at the very heart of the imagery, though meant here of course as an insult. H. Schaudig/ Vêtus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572 565

Figure 3. Neo-Assyrian relief showing a Syrian and three Mesopotamian idols being deported, carried off by Assyrian soldiers as in a (mocking) procession. From Kalhu (Nimrud), Central palace of Tiglath-pileser III. (A. H. Layard, The Monuments of Nineveh from Drawings Made on the Spot [London, 1849] pi. 65). deity had vanquished in a cosmic batde.24 Standing on top of them, trampling them down denoted victory. The prophet however interprets this allegoric imagery anew, presenting the idols as "already" loaded on beasts of burden ready to be carried away as spoil. The verbs kr qrs (*Dn¡? < ΟΊ'ρ JTD) "(Bel) bows down, (Nabu) stoops" do not suggest any obvious connection to the posture of Babylonian idols, which are depicted either as standing or as seated on thrones, never as bowing or crouching or squatting.25 Only repeated in parallelism in the following line and said of the beasts and cattle, the image of qrsw krw (1ITD 101p) "they stoop, they bow down" is easily understood. The whole scene becomes clear only when understood as an ominous comment on the moving, the swaying or staggering of the statues and their carriers going in procession.26

24) Such was the case also with the musbussu-dragon of Marduk, one ofTYämats eleven mon­ sters, see Enüma elîsV:73-74: "And the eleven creatures which Ti'âmat had made, he broke their weapons and disposed them (to crouch) at his feet." See furthermore F. A. M. Wiggermann in: Reallexikon der Assyrìohgie und Vorderasiatischen Archäohgie 8 (Berlin, 1993-1997), p. 461, s.v. "Mushussu" § 5. 25) According to Baltzer, Dtrjes, p. 330, and Franke, Isaiah, p. 26, kr (P13) is used to express the crouching of a lion or the kneeling down of a human for prayer. 26) Thus also Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55» p. 107. 566 H. Schaudig I Vêtus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572

4. The Babylonian "Processional Omens" The Babylonians themselves already observed the moving, swaying, and turn­ ing of the statues—or even worse accidents occurring in the processions—as good or bad portents.27 The so-called "processional omens" treat the appear­ ance of the statue of Marduk sitting enthroned on the dais of his temple Esagil (13 omens), they comment on him going out in procession at the New Years festival (22 omens) and on various accidents happening to his ceremo­ nial ship (10 omens) used for going to the akitu-house.28 The omens also comment on the appearance of the statue s face, on its position and move­ ment, and on its turning or bowing down to the right or left when carried in procession. Among others, the statues ominous movements observed are described as follows:

- zlr (* zâru) "(the statue) is twisted / turns", 11. 1-3, 26-28. - kedir (* kadäru) "(the statue) bows down / tilts",29 11. 4-5, 29-32.

The Babylonian permansives zir and kedir "he turns" and "bows down" are perfect matches in meaning, context, and even in morphological form to the Hebrew perfect forms kr and qrs "he bows" and "stoops" from Isa xlvi 1-2. In combination with oppositions like "forward" and "backward" or "right and left", interpreted geographically according to the compass rose,30 the Babylo­ nians arrived at portents such as the following ones:

27) See the introduction above, with note 2. The Egyptians did the same, see Sallaberger in ZA 90, p. 262 with note 85. Lexikon der Ägyptologie IV (Wiesbaden, 1982), col. 600 s.v. "Orakel"; col. 1160 s.v. "Prozession". A. von Lieven, "Divination in Ägypten", Altorientalische Forschungen 26 (1999), pp. 77-126; esp. 79f.: "Barkenordal". 28) Furthermore, there are omens dealing with the king kindling a fire before Marduk, with the weather, and with the horse of a god s (not necessarily Marduk's) chariot neighing. Although only (the statue of) Marduk is mentioned explicitly, the moves and accidents occurring to any of the other deities going on procession at Babylon or in other cities would of course have been observed, too. In the end, the "processional omens" list various incidents happening to the "city's god" or a "god" in general, see Pongratz-Leisten, Prozession, p. 265, no. 18,11. 86-95. 29) Most often the verb kadäru and the adverb kadris describe the lowering of the head of a bull attacking. Here in the "processional omens" it apparendy depicts the statue tilting head first, see the commentary by Sallaberger in ZA 90, p. 235. 30) Discussed in detail by Sallaberger in ZA 90, pp. 245-248. Contrary to what one would have expected, Assyria ("Subartu") in the omens is not located to the North of Babylonia, but to the East, as it is in the Neo-Babylonian map of the world too (Cuneiform Texts from Babyhnian Tablets in the British Museum 22, pi. 48: obverse). H. Schaudig I Vêtus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572 567

Ex. 1: summa Marduk ina asîsu ana imittïsu kedir : isdâ mâtAkkadê kinä (Sallaberger in ZA 90, p. 238,1. 29) "If (the statue of) Marduk, when going out (on procession) bows down to his right, (this means that) the foundations of the land of Akkade (i.e. Babylonia) will be firm". Ex. 2: summa Marduk ina asîsu ana sumêltsu kedir : isdâ mât Elamti kînâ (Sallaberger in ZA 90, p. 238,1. 30) "If (the statue of) Marduk, when going out (on procession) bows down to his left, (this means that) the foundations of the land of Elam31 will be firm".

There are even omens that interpret the being turned or twisted (zir) of the statue in the very same way as the prophet from Isa xlvi 1-2 does, namely as a sign for the ruin of the land. The statue being twisted or turned is taken as a sign for Marduk being about to leave his dais and temple in wrath, thus delivering the land and even the whole world to destruction:32

Ex. 3: summa Marduk ina Esagii ina asâbisu zïr : Eliti mâtâti ana salputti ustaddi (Sallaberger in ZA 90, p. 236,1. 1) "If (the statue of) Marduk, when residing inside Esagii (on his dais) is twisted / turned, (this means that) Ellil (i.e. Marduk) will deliver the lands to destruction".

31) The classical foe of Babylonia, Elam, had been an ally to Babylonia against Assyria at times, but more often an enemy, see e.g. below, note 32. 32) Sallaberger in ZA 90, p. 260: "Der Auszug der Gottheit als Gefahr". For the moving of the staue as a sign for the deity being about to part in wrath or panic, see also the following entry from the "processional omens": summa... ilu ina ïubtîsu inüs (:) nakru ana mäti arhis imaqqutma, sattukka inakkas (Pongratz-Leisten, Prozession, pp. 262, 265, no. 18,11. 88-89) "(If the implements of the god's cella shake without cause, or) if (the statue of) the god himself shakes on his pedestal, (: this means) the enemy will invade the country quickly (or: soon), and will interrupt the offering." The very same idea, using the same vocabulary (* nâsu "to shake / quake") is expressed in a passage from one of the so-called "Chedor-laomer-texts", which deals with the Elamites' attack on Babylonia in the 12th century and desecration of the temples of Nippur: The Elamite, the evil foe, approaches the god Ennu|-da£ala in his cella: ina mahrisu ilu iUbbis nüra, kìma birqi ibriqma inüs ina subii (obv. 22-23) "Before him (: the enemy) the god became clad in light, he flashed like lightning, and quaked on his pedestal", see W. G. Lambert, "Tlie Fall of the Cassite Dynasty to the Elamites: An Historical Epic", in: H. Gasche (ed.), Cinquante-deux réflexions sur le Proche-Orient Ancien, offertes en hommage à Léon De Meyer. Mesopotamian History and Environment, Occasional Publications 2 (Leuven, 1994), pp. 67-72; text: BM 34026, obv. 22-23. 568 H. Schaudig I Vêtus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572

Ex. 4: summa Marduk ina asîsu zïr : nabalkatti mâti issakkan (Sallaberger in ZA 90, p. 238,1. 26) "If (the statue of) Marduk, when going out (on procession) is twisted / turned, (this means that) the land will be overturned / the land will see turmoil".

The "processional omens" did not belong to the hidden secrets accessible only to those educated in cuneiform scribal art. They could be plainly seen and easily understood by anyone in the streets participating in the festivals. The passage Isa xlvi 1-2 is probably typical of the comments that frightened Baby­ lonians, as well as embittered deportees, would have made on these occasions when observing the statues swaying across the streets. Its imagery and its method employed is completely congruent to the Babylonian way of think­ ing, but with one important difference, which results from the fundamentally different attitude towards the images: Whereas the Babylonians deduced good or evil portents from the moving of the statues into a specific direction (see e.g. above, examples 1-2), the prophecy Isa xlvi 1-2 takes their being movable as such, and any movement on the whole as a sign that the statues will eventually fall and will be carried off as spoil merely for their material value. The passage does not comment on one single image only, but system­ atically on the whole imagery. It addresses the idols' being movable, their swaying, and their being put on the backs of beasts (of burden) at the same time. Yet in linking the gods' procession to their impending abduction, Deu- tero-Isaiah meets up with the Babylonian view again. For the Babylonians the procession of Marduk presented not all joy and merrymaking, but posed a possible danger too. Even in the context of Marduks triumphant festival his going out implied that he in fact left his seat in Esagil as well as the temple and the city.33 Marduks seat in Esagil was vacant and the very center of the universe was dislocated for a certain time. One could not be utterly sure whether Marduks leaving would be "auspicious" or "for good". This cosmic reversal with the anchor of the world carried aloft above the heads of the crowd is reflected in Deutero-Isaiahs imagery playing on "who carries whom".34 Since Babylonia had always been a battlefield in history, it had experienced very early destruction coming about all of a sudden in days of glory. Babylon had witnessed at least 4 deportations of a statue of Marduk and about half a

33) See Sallaberger in ZA 90, p. 260: "Der Auszug der Gottheit als Gefahr". 34) See above with note 18. H. Schaudig I Vêtus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572 569 dozen raids by the Hittites, Assyrians, or Elamites.35 The city had been devas­ tated more than once, and it had been virtually wiped out by Sennacherib in 689 BCE (just one century earlier for the generation of the exiles). The Baby­ lonians were certainly aware that disaster could strike anytime again. The deep fall of the most august cities is in fact the very topic of the omen series summa älu, from which the "processional omens" are taken: "If a city {proudly) raises its head into the midst of the sky, that city will be cast down".36 As early as the beginning of the second millennium BCE, the experience of an unex­ pected destruction of a city at the very zenith of its power was digested in Babylonia and put down in writing in the composition called The Lamenta­ tion over the Destruction ofSumer and Ur. In this composition, the king of the gods, Enlil, advises the moongod Nanna of Ur, his son, to abandon Sumer and Ur, which the assembly of the gods had decided to destroy:

Oh Nanna, (...) why do you concern yourself with crying? The judgment uttered by the assembly cannot be reversed. The word of An and Enlil knows no over­ turning. Ur was indeed given kingship, (but) it was not given an eternal reign. (...) Who has ever seen a reign of kingship that would take precedence for ever? The reign of its kingship had been long indeed but had to exhaust itself. O my Nanna, do not exert yourself (in vain), leave your city!37

Finally Nanna did leave, delivering his city to destruction.

5. Consequences for the Dating of Isaiah xlvi 1-2 If indeed Isa xlvi 1-2 has been shown to be an adaptation of the Babylonian custom to deduce portents from Marduks procession at the New Year s festi­ val, then it is clear the prophecy may have originated among the deportees at any of these annual festivals from the beginning of the exile on (i.e. after 598 / 587 BCE), with a pause in 552-543 BCE, when the festival was canceled due

35) In connection with the present topic, see e.g. Koole, Isaiah 3/1, p. 500. 36) Example from tablet 1:15 (Freedman, Summa Mu, p. 26£). For the "processional omens" as being tablet 120 of the omen series, see above, with note 5. 37) P. Michalowski, The Lamentation over the Destruction of Sumer and Ur. Mesopotamian Civi­ lizations 2 (Winona Lake, 1989), p. 59, 11. 363-370. The phenomenon has been discussed recendy by G. J. Selz, " 'Wer sah je eine königliche Dynastie (fur immer) in Führung!' Thron­ wechsel und gesellschaftlicher Wandel im frühen Mesopotamien als Nahtstelle zwischen micros- tona und bngue durée", in: Ch. Sigrist (ed.), Macht und Herrschaft. Alter Orient und Altes Testament 316 (Münster, 2004), pp. 157-214. 570 H. Schaudig I Vêtus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572 to the absence of Nabonidus to Arabia. There is no necessity to date these verses to the early 5th century,38 to the time shortly after the alleged abduc­ tion of the statue of Marduk by Xerxes as reported by Herodotus (I:183).39 In fact, if this sacrilege is correcdy ascribed to Xerxes, it might have brought about the end to the New Year s processions, and with it the end to the possibility of observing omens like those of Isa xlvi 1-2. However, Xerxes s alleged sacri­ lege has repeatedly been contested, and as time went on the Babylonians probably would, in keeping with their creativity, have found a way to cele­ brate the festival with another statue, and probably even without a king par­ taking in the ritual.40 From an Assyriologists point of view, there is only the beginning of the exile in the early 6th century BCE as a fairly secure terminus ante quern non for Isa xlvi 1-2, with a rather open end towards the gradual expiration of Babylonian cults at the beginning of Common era. Babylonian cults and culture still flourished in the Hellenistic period and the Babylonian New Years festival continued to be celebrated.41 Yet, if we look for an histori­ cal setting when Babylon was still the dominating power of the Ancient Near East, but when the fall of Babylonian glory became looming on the horizon by the growing power of Cyrus ("the bird of prey from the east", as hailed by Isa xlvi 11), then we may possibly sharpen the focus on the last years of the reign of Nabonidus in 542-539 BCE.42 Neither the Babylonians, nor the

38) Thus e.g. Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, pp. 267f.; Kratz, Kyros, p. 215, but considering objec­ tions in note 684. 39) In connection with the present topic, see in detail Hermisson, Dtrjes., pp. 99-101. 40) For a discussion of the alleged sacrileges of Xerxes, see, e.g., A. Kuhrt and S. Sherwin-White: "Xerxes' Destruction of Babylonian Temples", in: H. Sancisi-Weerdenburg and A. Kuhrt (eds.), Achaemenid History II. The Greek Sources. Proceedings of the Groningen 1984 Achaemenid His­ tory Workshop (Leiden, 1987), pp. 69-78; 7If.: the golden andrias-stSLtue, allegedly taken away by Xerxes, and possibly depicting Marduk himself as standing or walking (this one would have been used in procession, cf. here fig. 1); pp. 74f.: The festival performed in the absence of the king. There are similar doubts about the amount of destruction done by Xerxes to Greek tem­ ples: T. S. Scheer, "Die geraubte Artemis. Griechen, Perser und die Kultbilder der Götter", in: M. Witte und St. Alkier (Hrsg.), Die Griechen und der Vordere Orient. Beiträge zum Kultur- und Religionskontakt zwischen Griechenland und dem Vorderen Orient im 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 191 (Fribourg, 2003), pp. 59-85, dealing with the Artemis of Brauron and the Apollon of Didyma. 41) See also above with note 6 for the manuscripts of the "processional omens" from Uruk dated to the late 4th century. 42) When the festival was celebrated again after Nabonidus' return from Arabia. Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, p. 267 refers to Smith, Isaiah, p. 190, who thought of an actual event in the fall of Babylon to Cyrus. In a similar way Koole, Isaiah 3/1, p. 498, Vanderhooft, Empire, pp. 179f., and Albani, Der eine Gott, pp. 79f. take an event shordy before or after the fall of Babylon to Cyrus into consideration. H. Schaudig/Vêtus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572 571 deportees would have guessed that Cyrus would be so solicitous about Mar­ duk and Babylon, as he proved to be.43

Abbreviations

Albani, Der eine Gott, M. Albani, Der eine Gott und die himmlischen Heerscharen. Zur Begründung des Monotheismus bei Deuterojesaja im Horìzont der Astraüsierung des Gottesverständnisses im Alten Orient. Arbeiten zur Bibel und ihrer Geschichte 1 (Leipzig, 2000). Baltzer, Dtrfes, K. Baltzer, Deuterofesaja. Kommentar zum Alten Testament, Bd. X, 2 (Gütersloh, 1999). Berlejung, Bilder, A. Berlejung, Die Theologie der Bilder. Her­ stellung und Einweihung von Kultbildern in Mesopotamien und die alttestamentliche Bil­ derpolemik. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 162 (Fribourg, 1998). Blenkinsopp, Isaiah, J. Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55. A New TransL·- tion with Introduction and Commentary. The Anchor Bible 19A (New York, 2002). Delitzsch, fesaia, F. Delitzsch, Biblischer Kommentar über den Propheten Jesaia (Leipzig, 1869). Dick, Parodies, M. B. Dick, "Prophetic Parodies of Making the Cult Image", in: M. B. Dick (ed.), Born in Heaven, Made on Earth. The Making of the Cult Image in the Ancient Near East (Winona Lake, 1999), pp. 1-53. Franke, Isaiah, Ch. Franke, Isaiah 46, 47, and 48. A New Literary-Critical Reading. Biblical and Judaic Studies 3 (Winona Lake, 1994). Freedman, Summa Âlu, S. M. Freedman, If a City Is Set on a Height. The Akkadian Omen Senes Summa Âlu ina Mêlé sakin. Tablets 1-21. Occasional publications of

43) Before the attack, Nabonidus had the gods of Babylonia brought into Babylon, to guard them against being abducted, see e.g. the entry in the Nabonidus-chronicle III:8b-12a (A. K. Grayson, Assyrian and Babyhnian Chronicles. Texts from Cuneiform Sources 5 [Locust Valley, New York, 1975], p. 109) and P.-A. Beaulieu, "An Episode in the Fall of Babylon to the Per­ sians", Journal of Near Eastern Studies 52 (1993), pp. 241-261. 572 H. Schaudig I Vêtus Testamentum 58 (2008) 557-572

the Samuel Noah Kramer Fund 17 (Phila­ delphia, 1998). Hermisson, Dtrjes., H.-J. Hermisson, Deuterojesaja. 2. Teilband, fesaja 45,8-49,13. Biblischer Kommentar, Altes Testament XI/8 (Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1991). Herrmann, Furniture, G. Herrmann (ed.), The Furniture of Western Asia, ancient and traditional (Mainz, 1996). Koole, Isaiah 3/1', J. L. Koole, Isaiah. Part3, Vol. 1: Isaiah 40-48. Historical Commentary on the Old Testament (Kampen, 1997). R. G. Kratz, Kyros im Deuterojesaja-Buch. Kratz, Kyros, Redaktionsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen zu Ent­ stehung und Theologie von fes 40-55. Forschun­ gen zum Alten Testament 1 (Tübingen, 1991). Marc J. H. Linssen, The Cults of Uruk and Linssen, Cuits, Babylon. The Temple Ritual Texts as Evidence for Hellenistic Cult Practice. Cuneiform Mono­ graphs 25 (Leiden 2004). B. Pongratz-Leisten, ina sulmi irub. Die kult- Pongratz-Leisten, Prozession, topographische und ideologische Programmatik der akttu-Prozession in Babyhnien und Assyrien im 1. Jahrtausend v.Chr. Baghdader Forschun­ gen 16 (Mainz, 1994). Sallaberger in ZA 90, W. Sallaberger, "Das Erscheinen Marduks als Vorzeichen: Kultstatue und Neujahrsfest in der Omenserie Summa alu\ Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäofogie 90 (2000), pp. 227-262. Smith, Isaiah, S. Smith, Isaiah Chapters XL-D/: Literary Criticism and History (London, 1944). Vanderhooft, Empire, D. S. Vanderhooft, The Neo-Babylonian Empire and Babylon in the Latter Prophets. Harvard Semitic Monographs 59 (Adanta, 1999). Zgoll, Neujahrsfest, A. Zgoll, "Königslauf und Götterrat. Struk­ tur und Deutung des babylonischen Neu­ jahrsfestes", in: E. Blum and R. Lux (eds.), Festtraditionen in Israel und im Alten Orient. Veröffentlichungen der Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft für Theologie 28 (Gütersloh, 2006), pp. 11-80. ^s

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