Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 290 Nathan Wasserman The Flood : The Akkadian Sources A New Edition, Commentary, and a Literary Discussion PEETERS THE FLOOD : THE AKKADIAN SOURCES ORBIS BIBLICUS ET ORIENTALIS Founded by Othmar Keel Editorial Board: Susanne Bickel, Catherine Mittermayer, Mirko Novák, Thomas C. Römer and Christoph Uehlinger Published on behalf of the Swiss Society for Ancient Near Eastern Studies and the Bible+Orient Foundation in cooperation with the Institute of Egyptology, University of Basel, the Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Near Eastern Archaeology section, University of Bern, the Departement of Biblical Studies, University of Fribourg, the Institut romand des sciences bibliques, University of Lausanne, and the Department of Religious Studies, University of Zurich Author Nathan Wasserman (Jerusalem, b. 1962) is a professor of Assyriology at the Institute of Archaeology of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (PhD, 1993). His main fields of research are Early Akkadian literary and magical texts, as well as the history of the Old Babylonian period. Email: [email protected] Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 290 The Flood : The Akkadian Sources A New Edition, Commentary, and a Literary Discussion by Nathan Wasserman Peeters Leuven - Paris - Bristol, CT 2020 Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis publishes monographs, multi-author volumes and conference proceedings in the fields of Biblical Studies (Hebrew Bible and Septuagint), Ancient Near Eastern Studies and Egyptology broadly understood (including archaeology, history, ­iconography and religion). The editorial board and affiliated institutions reflect the series’ high academic standards and interdisciplinary outlook. Manuscripts may be submitted via a member of the editorial board. They are examined by the board and subject to further peer review by internationally recognized scholars at the board’s discretion. The series is committed to worldwide distribution, notably through open access publication (Gold or Green). Past volumes are archived at the digital repository of the University of Zurich (www.zora.uzh.ch). Senior editor: [email protected] The open access publication of this book has been facilitated by the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences. A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-90-429-4173-1 eISBN 978-90-429-4174-8 D/2020/0602/11 © 2020, Peeters, Bondgenotenlaan 153, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage or retrieval devices or systems, without the prior written permission from the publisher, except the quotation of brief passages for review purposes. To Samuel Sabbatai I build my bellowing ark To the best of my love As the flood begins Dylan Thomas, Author’s Prologue TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ................................................................................. IX List of Tables and Figures ...................................................................... X 1. Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 1.1 Transmission .............................................................................. 1 1.2 Scope of the Study .................................................................... 2 1.3 Edition and Translation ............................................................ 3 2. The Texts .............................................................................................. 14 2.1 The Manuscripts ........................................................................ 14 2.2 The Old Babylonian Recensions ............................................. 16 2.2.1 Ms. C0 ............................................................................... 16 2.2.2 Ms. C1+C2 ......................................................................... 19 2.3 The Later Recensions ............................................................... 60 2.3.1 Ms. Ark ............................................................................. 61 2.3.2 Ms. J (Nippur) .................................................................. 77 2.3.3 Ms. J1 (Ḫattusa) ................................................................ 80 2.3.4 Ms. I (Ugarit) .................................................................... 82 2.3.5 Ms. I1 (Ugarit) .................................................................. 85 2.3.6 Ms. I2 (Ugarit) .................................................................. 87 2.3.7 Ms. W (Nineveh) .............................................................. 90 2.3.8 Ms. U (Nineveh) ............................................................... 93 2.3.9 Ms. z ................................................................................. 99 2.4 Gilgameš Tablet XI ................................................................... 103 3. Literary Discussion ........................................................................... 130 3.1 What Is It All About? ................................................................ 130 3.2 The Main Segments in the Story of the Flood and the Dynamics of Sonority ............................................................... 132 3.3 Narratological Points of View: The Flood of Ūta-napištī ... 135 3.4 A Perfect Storm: Ūta-napištī, Jonah, and Odysseus ............ 135 3.5 The Two Speeches of the Mother-Goddess ............................ 140 3.6 Mind the Gap: Ūta-napištī’s Blindness .................................. 145 3.7 K 1520: An Apocryphal Text on the Boat? ........................... 147 3.8 Divine Disputes: Bēlet-ilī and Enki; Enlil and the Other Gods ............................................................................................. 149 3.9 An Echo of the Flood? The Inscription of Ipiq-Ištar of Malgium ...................................................................................... 152 Glossary ..................................................................................................... 157 Bibliography ............................................................................................. 175 Indices ....................................................................................................... 185 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the course of writing this book, which was supported by the ISRAEL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (grant No. 182/16), I was aided by colleagues and friends. It is my privilege to mention them here. From the beginning to the end of this undertaking Yigal Bloch assisted me in scientific and editorial matters. His sharp eye and diligence were a great boon. I am grateful to Ir- ving Finkel at the British Museum for useful discussions centring on the Ark Tablet. Andrew George weighed my questions patiently and offered good advice. Michael Streck passed me Claus Wilcke’s preliminary edition and collations of Atra-ḫasis. I am grateful to him and, of course, to Claus Wilcke for his generosity. I would also like to mention Martin Worthington who sent me his monograph Ea’s Duplicity in the Gilgamesh Flood Story prior to publication, Noam Mizrahi for his ready help in different biblical matters and Keren Nebenhaus for the graphics. Susan Kennedy corrected my English and copyedited this book. Finally, I extend my thanks to Christoph Uehlinger, senior editor of Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis, for his subtle and pertinent re- marks and to Marcia Bodenmann for her meticulous work in preparing the manuscript for publication. I thank them all. On the 31st of May 2019, on the completion of this book, our son, Samuel Sabbatai, was born. I dedicate it to him with love. Nathan Wasserman Jerusalem LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table I: Textual Parallels between the Different Mss. ....................... 4–11 Table II: Comparison of Acting Figures and Dates in the Different Mss. 12–13 Table III: The Manuscripts ................................................................. 14–16 The Ark Tablet (hand-copy) ............................................................... 63–65 Figure I: Sonority along the Narrative Line (Gilgameš XI) .............. 134 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 TRANSMISSION The memory of a primeval cataclysmic Flood which wiped out all life on earth and brought humanity to the verge of extinction is deeply rooted in Mesopotamian tradition. It is mentioned directly, or alluded to indirectly, in different parts of the Mesopotamian literary system – myths, lamentations, historiographic texts, even incantations1 – from the early 2nd millennium on- wards.2 Remarkably, however, the removal of kingship resulting from this massive Flood, a pivotal theme in the Sumerian King List, in city lamenta- tions, and in the Curse of Agade, is not mentioned at all in the Flood story. In fact, neither king nor kingship as an institution, are alluded to in the Flood, as we know it. The written witnesses of the Flood from the West – the cuneiform tablets from Ugarit, the Hitto-Anatolian fragments,3 and the much later biblical ac- counts4 – all draw from the Mesopotamian reservoir.5 Starting with the writ- ings of 3rd century BCE Berossos, this rich collection of Babylonian literary material was poured into Greek and Latin literary vessels where the various accounts of the Flood fermented.6 In turn, the biblical and the Greek-Latin accounts ignited the European imagination, giving rise to a plethora of tex- tual and visual representations of the Flood and of the Ark – in popular, theo- logical, and scientific sources,7