the story of the flood and conclusion.
eleventh tablet.—the gods.—sin of the world.—command to build the ark.—its contents.—the building.—the flood.—destruction of people.—fear of the gods.—end of deluge.—nizir.—resting of ark.—the birds.—the descent from the ark.—the sacrifice, covenant, and rainbow.—speeches of gods.—translation of adra-khasis.—cure of izdubar.—his return.—lament over hea-bani.—resurrection of hea-bani.—burial of warrior.—age and composition of the deluge tablet.—comparison with genesis.—syrian nation.—connection of legends.—points of contact.—duration of deluge.—mount of descent.—ten generations.—early cities.
he eleventh tablet of the izdubar series is the one which first attracted attention, and is certainly the most important on account of its containing the story of the flood. this tablet is the most perfect in the series, scarcely any line being entirely lost. a new fragment of it, belonging to another edition of the story, has been recently brought to the museum by mr. hormuzd rassam.
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tablet xi.
column i.
1. (izdubar) to him also speaks even to xisuthrus afar off:
2. o xisuthrus,
3. (why) dost thou not again (to me) as i (to thee)?
4. (why) dost thou not again (to me) as i (to thee)?
5. .... my heart to make war
6. .... i come up after thee,
7. when thou didst take, and in the assembly of the gods didst obtain life.
—–———–———–———–
8. xisuthrus to him also speaks, even to izdubar:
9. let me reveal to thee (izdubar) the story of my preservation,
10. and the judgment of the gods let me relate to thee.
11. the city surippak the city which thou knowest on the euphrates is placed,
12. that city is ancient and the gods are within it.
13. to make a deluge [or whirlwind] the great gods have brought their heart;
14. even he their father, anu,
15. their king, the warrior bel,
16. their throne-bearer, ninip,
17. their minister, the lord of hades, nin-si-kha (wife of) hea with them sat, and
18. their will he (i.e. hea) repeated: to his minister280 the minister of the city of kis, he declared what he had (in mind);28
19. his minister heard and proclaimed attentively:
20. man of surippak, son of ubara-tutu,
21. build a house, make a ship to preserve the sleep of plants (and) living beings;
22. store the seed and vivify life,
23. cause also the seed of life of every kind to go up into the midst of the ship.
24. the ship which thou shalt make,
25. 600 cubits (shall be) its measure in length,
26. 60 cubits the amount of its breadth and its height.
27. ... and on the deep cover it, even it, with a roof.
28. i understood and say to hea my lord:
29. the building of the ship which thou commandest thus,
30. .... i shall have made,
31. .... the sons of the host and the old men.
32. (hea opened his mouth and) speaks and says to me his servant:
33. ...... thou shalt say unto them,
34. ...... he has rejected me and
35. ...... it is upon me
36. .... like caves ....
37. ... may i judge above and below ....
38. ... close the ship ...
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39. ... at the season which i will make known to you,
40. into it enter and the door of the ship turn.
41. into the midst of it thy grain, thy furniture, thy goods,
42. thy wealth, thy woman slaves, thy handmaids, and the sons of the host,
43. (the beasts) of the field, the wild animals of the field, as many as i would protect,
44. i will send to thee, and thy door shall guard (them).
—–———–———–———–
45. adrakhasis29 his mouth opened and speaks, and
46. says to hea his lord:
47. no one a ship has made ...
48. in the lower part of the ship has shut up ....
49. .... and may i see the ship ....
50. .... in the lower part of the ship ....
51. the building of the ship which thou commandest me (thus),
52. which in ....
column ii.
1. strong ....
2. on the fifth day .... it rose.
3. in its circuit 14 in all (were) its girders.
4. 14 in all it contained ... above it
5. i placed its roof; it .... i enclosed it.
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6. i rode in it the sixth time; i divided its passages the seventh time;
7. its interior i divided the eighth time.
8. leaks for the waters within it i cut off.
9. i saw the rents and the wanting parts i added.
10. 330 sari of bitumen i poured over the outside.
11. 330 sari of bitumen i poured over the inside.
12. 3 sari of men carrying baskets, who carried on their heads food.
13. i added a saros of food which the people should eat;
14. two sari of food the boatmen shared.
15. to .... i sacrificed oxen
16. i (established) ........ each day
17. i (established) ........ beer, food, and wine;
18. (i collected them) like the waters of a river, and
19. (i collected) like the dust of the earth, and
20. (in the ship) the food with my hand i placed.
21. (through the help of) samas the seaworthiness of the ship was accomplished.
22. ... they were strong and
23. the tackling of the ship i caused to bring above and below.
24. ........ they went in two-thirds of it.
—–———–———–———–
25. all i possessed i collected it, all i possessed i collected it in silver,
26. all i possessed i collected it in gold,
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27. all i possessed i collected it in the seed of life of all kinds.
28. i caused everything to go up into the ship, my slaves and my handmaids,
29. the beast of the field, the wild animal of the field, the sons of the people all of them, i caused to go up.
30. the season samas fixed and
31. he spake saying: in the night i will cause it to rain from heaven heavily,
32. enter into the midst of the ship and shut thy door.
33. that season came round (of which)
34. he spake saying: in the night i will cause it to rain from heaven heavily.
35. of the day i reached its evening,
36. the day of watching fear i had.
37. i entered into the midst of the ship and shut my door.
38. on closing the ship to buzur-sadi-rabi the boatman
39. the habitation i gave with its goods.
—–———–———–———–
40. mu-seri-ina-namari
41. arose, from the horizon of heaven a black cloud.
42. rimmon in the midst of it thundered, and
43. nebo and the wind-god went in front,
44. the throne-bearers went over the mountain and plain, 284
45. nergal the mighty removes the wicked,
46. ninip goes in front, he casts down,
47. the spirits of earth carried destruction,
48. in their terror they shake the earth;
49. of rimmon his flood reached to heaven.
50. the darkened (earth to a waste) was turned,
column iii.
1. the surface of the earth like .... they covered,
2. (it destroyed all) living beings from the face of the earth;
3. the raging (deluge) over the people, reached to heaven.
4. brother saw not his brother, men did not know one another. in heaven
5. the gods feared the whirlwind and
6. sought a refuge; they ascended to the heaven of anu.
7. the gods like dogs were fixed, in a heap did they lie down.
8. spake istar like a child,
9. the great goddess uttered her speech:
10. all to clay are turned and
11. that which i in the presence of the gods prophesied (even evil has happened).
12. as i prophesied in the presence of the gods evil,
13. to evil (were devoted) all my people, the trouble i prophesied thus:
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14. i the mother have begotten my people, and
15. like the young of the fishes they fill the sea. and
16. the gods because of the spirits of earth are weeping with me.
17. the gods on seats are seated in lamentation,
18. covered were their lips for the coming evil.
19. six days and nights
20. passed, the wind, the whirlwind, (and) the storm, overwhelmed.
21. on the seventh day at its approach the rain was stayed, the raging whirlwind
22. which had smitten like an earthquake,
23. was quieted. the sea began to dry, and the wind and deluge ended.
24. i watched the sea making a noise,
25. and the whole of mankind was turned to clay,
26. like reeds the corpses floated.
27. i opened the window, and the light smote upon the fortress of my nostrils.
28. i was grieved and sat down; i weep,
29. over the fortress of my nostrils went my tears.
30. i watched the regions at the boundary of the sea,
31. towards all the twelve points of the compass (there was) no land.
32. in the country of nizir rested the ship;
33. the mountain of nizir stopped the ship, and to pass over it it was not able.
34. the first day, the second day, the mountain of nizir stopped the ship.
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35. the third day, the fourth day, the mountain of nizir stopped the ship.
36. the fifth day, the sixth day, the mountain of nizir stopped the ship.
37. on the seventh day at its approach
38. i sent forth a dove and it left. the dove went, it returned, and
39. a resting-place it did not find, and it came back.
40. i sent forth a swallow and it left. the swallow went, it returned, and
41. a resting-place it did not find, and it came back.
42. i sent forth a raven and it left.
43. the raven went, and the carrion on the water it saw, and
44. it did eat, it swam, and turned away, it did not come back.
45. i sent (the animals) forth to the four winds, i sacrificed a sacrifice,
46. i built an altar on the peak31 of the mountain,
47. by sevens vessels i placed,
48. at the bottom of them i spread reeds, pines, and juniper.
49. the gods smelt the savour, the gods smelt the good savour;
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50. the gods like flies over the sacrificer gathered.
51. from afar also the great goddess at her approach
52. lifted up the mighty arches (i.e. the rainbow) which anu had created as his glory.
53. the crystal of those gods before me (i.e. the rainbow) never may i forget;
column iv.
1. those days i devised with longing that i might never forget.
2. ‘may the gods come to my altar,
3. may bel never come to my altar,
4. for he did not consider and had made a whirlwind,
5. and my people he consigned to the abyss.’
6. from afar also bel at his approach
7. saw, the ship he stopped; bel was filled with anger against the gods and the spirits of heaven:
8. ‘let no one come out alive, never may a man live in the abyss.’
9. ninip his mouth opened, and spake; he says to the warrior bel:
10. ‘who is it except hea that forms a resolution?
11. and hea knows and all things he ...’
12. hea his mouth opened and spake, he says to the warrior bel:
13.288 ‘thou messenger of the gods, warrior,
14. as thou didst not consider a deluge thou madest.
15. the doer of sin bore his sin, the blasphemer bore his blasphemy.
16. never may the just prince be cut off, never may the faithful (be destroyed).
17. instead of thy making a deluge, may lions come and men be diminished;
18. instead of thy making a deluge, may hy?nas come and men be diminished;
19. instead of thy making a deluge, may a famine happen and the country be (destroyed);
20. instead of thy making a deluge, may pestilence come and men be destroyed.
21. i did not reveal the judgment of the gods.
22. to adrakhasis (xisuthrus) a dream i sent, and the judgment of the gods he heard.’
23. again also bel considers, (literally, again consideration was considered); he approaches the midst of the ship.
24. he took my hand and caused me to ascend up,
25. he caused (me) to ascend; he united my wife to my side;
26. he turned unto us and fixes himself in covenant with us; he approaches us:
27.289 ‘formerly adrakhasis (was) mortal, but
28. again also adrakhasis and his wife to live as gods are taken away, and
29. adrakhasis also dwells in a remote place at the mouth of the rivers.’
30. they took me, and in a remote place at the mouth of the rivers they caused me to dwell.
31. again also as for thee whomsoever the gods have chosen also,
32. for the health which thou seekest and askest,
33. the bulwarks shall be mounted six days and seven nights,
34. like one who sits in the vicinity of his nest,
35. a way like a storm shall be laid upon him.
36. adrakhasis to her also says, even to his wife:
37. i announce that the chief who has sought health
38. the way like a storm shall be laid upon him.
39. his wife to him also says even to adrakhasis afar off:
40. turn him, and let the man be sent away;
41. by the road that he came may he return in peace,
42. thro’ the great gate going forth let him return to his country.
43. adrakhasis to her also says, even to his wife:
44. the pain of the man pains thee,
45. mount the bulwarks; his baldness place on his head.
46. and the day when he had mounted the side of the ship,
47. she mounted, his baldness she placed on his head.
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48. and the day when he had mounted the side of the ship,
49. first the sabusat of his baldness,
50. second the mussukat, third the radbat, fourth she opened his zikaman,
51. fifth the sibu she placed, sixth the bassat,
column v.
1. seventh in the outlet she turned him and let the man go free.
—–———–———–———–
2. izdubar to him also says even to xisuthrus afar off:
3. in this way thou wast compassionate (?) over me,
4. quickly thou hast begotten me, and thou hast set eyes (on me).
5. xisuthrus to him also says even to izdubar.
6. ....... thy baldness,
7. ....... i separated thee,
8. ....... thy baldness,
9. second the mussukat, third the radbat,
10. fourth i opened thy zikaman,
11. fifth the sibu i placed, sixth the bassat,
12. seventh in the opening i turned thee.
13. izdubar to him also says even to xisuthrus afar off:
14. ...... xisuthrus whither may i go?
291
15. ...... they shipped
16. ...... dwelling in death,
17. ...... his tail dies also.
—–———–———–———–
18. xisuthrus to him also says even to nis-hea the boatman:
19. nis-hea, may thy (oar) accomplish a passage for thee.
20. he who ..... on the shore of (the gods) ....
21. the man whom thou goest before, disease has covered his body;
22. illness has overmastered the strength of his limbs.
23. take him, nis-hea, to cleanse carry him,
24. may he cleanse his disease in the water like purity,
25. may he cast off his illness, and may the sea carry it away, may health cover his skin,
26. may it restore the hair of his head,
27. the hair clothing, the covering of his loins.
28. that he may go to his country, that he may take his road,
29. never may the hair become old and alone may he be alone (i.e. unrivalled).
30. nis-hea took him, to cleanse he carried him,
31. his disease in the water like purity (beauty) he cleansed,
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32. he cast off his illness, and the sea carried it away, health covered his skin,
33. the hair of his head was restored, the hair clothing the covering of his loins.
34. that he might go to his country, that he might take his road,
35. the hair he did not cast off, but alone he was alone.
36. izdubar and nis-hea rode in the ship,
37. where he had placed them they rode.
—–———–———–———–
38. his wife to him also says even to xisuthrus afar off:
39. izdubar goes away, he is at rest, he performs
40. what thou hast given (him to do), and returns to his country.
41. and he even izdubar lifted up the oar (?);
42. the ship touched the shore.
43. xisuthrus to him also says even to izdubar:
44. izdubar, thou goest away, thou art at rest, thou performest
45. what i gave thee (to do), and thou returnest to thy country.
46. let the story of my preservation be revealed, o izdubar,
47. and let the judgment of the gods be related to thee.
48. this account (?) like ........
49. its renown (?) like the amurdin tree ....
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50. if he takes the whole of it in the hand ....
51. to izdubar he revealed this in his hearing, and ....
52. he bound together heavy stones ....
column vi.
1. they dragged it and to the deep ....
2. he even izdubar took the animal ....
3. he cut the heavy stones ....
4. one homer he poured out in libation to it for his ship.
—–———–———–———–
5. izdubar to him also says even to nis-hea, the boatman:
6. o nis-hea, the whole of this, even the whole of the story,
7. of which a man in his heart shall take its story,
8. may he bring it to the midst of erech the lofty, may he complete (it) like ....
9. .... splendour (which) is diminished ....
10. may i record and return to perform my vengeance (?).
11. for 10 kaspu (70 miles) they journeyed the stage, for 20 kaspu (140 miles) they made hostility;
12. izdubar saw a well which the waters were excavating.
13. he turned to the bright waters and smells (?) the waters; .... grant me thy image (?)
14. .... the men he approached and (their) goods he took away (?)
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15. at his return they tore the hair.
16. izdubar approached (?) ....
17. over the fortress of his nostrils coursed his tears, and he says to nis-hea the boatman:
18. what is it to me, nis-hea, that my hands rest?
19. what is it to me that my heart lives?
20. i have not done good to my own self;
21. and yet the lion of the earth does good (to himself).
22. again for 20 kaspu (140 miles) alone i take the way, and
23. when i had opened the .... i heaped up the tackling,
24. the sea against its long wall i urged.
25. and he left the ship by the shore, 20 kaspu (140 miles) they journeyed the stage.
26. for 30 kaspu (210 miles) they performed the labour, they came into the midst of erech the lofty.
—–———–———–———–
27. izdubar to him also says, even to nis-hea the boatman:
28. ascend, nis-hea, over the fortress of erech go;
29. the foundation-stone is scattered, the bricks of its interior are not made,
30. and its foundation is not laid to thy height (?);
31. 1 saros (is) thy city, 1 saros the plantations, 1 saros the boundary of the temple of nantur the house of istar,
32. 3 sari together the city of erech ...
—–———–———–———– 295
the opening line of the next tablet is preserved, it reads: “the gad-fly in the house of the serving-man was left.” after this the story is again lost for several lines, and where it reappears izdubar is mourning for hea-bani.
the fragments of this tablet are:—
column i.
1. the gad-fly in the house of the serving-man was left.
(several lines lost.)
1. izdubar (lamented thus over hea-bani his friend:)
2. if to ....
3. to happiness thou (art not admitted);
4. a shining cloak (thou dost not wear),
5. like a misfortune (?) thou ....
6. fat (and) goodly food thou dost not share;
7. to (come to) its savour they do not choose thee.
8. the bow against the ground thou dost not aim,
9. what the bow has struck escapes thee:
10. the staff to thy hands thou dost not lift,
11. the captive will not curse thee:
12. sandals to thy feet thou dost not bind,
13. a thrust against the ground thou dost not make.
14. thy wife whom thou lovest thou dost not kiss,
15. thy wife whom thou hatest thou dost not strike;
16. thy child whom thou lovest thou dost not kiss,
17. thy child whom thou hatest thou dost not strike.
296
18. the destruction of the earth has seized thee.
19. ninazu, of darkness the mother, of darkness, of darkness,
20. her illustrious stature as his mantle covers him, and
21. her feet like a deep well beget [or darken] him.
this is the bottom of the first column. the next column has lost all the upper part: it appears to have contained the remainder of this lament, an appeal to one of the gods on behalf of hea-bani, and a repetition of the lamentation, the third person being used instead of the second. the fragments commence in the middle of this:
1. his wife whom he hates he strikes,
2. his child whom he loves he kisses;
3. his child whom he has hated he strikes,
4. the destruction of the earth takes him.
5. ninazu, of darkness the mother of darkness, of darkness!
6. her illustrious stature as a mantle covers him,
7. her feet like a deep well beget him.
8. lo! hea-bani from the earth to .....
9. the plague-demon did not take him, fever did not take him, the earth took him.
10. the resting-place of nergal the unconquered did not take him, the earth took him.
11. the place of the battle of heroes did not strike him, the earth took him.
297
12. lo! .... ni son of the goddess ninsun32 for his servant hea-bani wept;
13. to the house of bel alone he went.
14. “father bel, a gad-fly to the earth struck me,
15. a deadly wound to the earth struck me,”
column iii.
1. hea-bani who to rest (was not admitted),
2. the plague-demon did not take him, (the earth took him);
3. the resting-place of nergal the unconquered did not take him, (the earth took him).
4. in the place of the battle of heroes they did not (strike him, the earth took him).
5. father bel, a judgment did not take him.
6. father sin, the gad-fly (struck him);
7. a deadly wound (to the earth struck him).
8. hea-bani who to rest (was not admitted),
9. the plague-demon did not take him, (the earth took him);
10. the resting-place of nergal (the unconquered did not take him).
(about 12 lines lost, containing a repetition of this passage.)
23. the plague-demon ....
298
24. the resting-place of nergal the unconquered (did not take him);
25. the place of the battle of heroes did not (take him).
26. father hea ....
27. to the warrior merodach ....
28. heroic warrior (merodach) ....
29. he created him the word ....
30. the spirit ....
31. to his father ....
32. the heroic warrior merodach (son of hea)
33. created him the word, the earth opened, and
34. the spirit (or ghost) of hea-bani like dust from the earth (arose):
35. ..... and thou explainest,
36. he pondered and repeated this:
column iv.
1. tell, my friend, tell, my friend,
2. the secrets of the earth which thou hast seen, tell (me).
3. i cannot tell thee, my friend, i cannot tell thee,
4. (how) can i tell thee the secrets of the earth which i have seen?
5. ..... i sit weeping
6. ..... may i sit and may i weep
7. ..... of growth and thy heart rejoiced
8. ..... thou growest old, the worm entered
9. ..... of youth and thy heart rejoiced
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10. ..... dust filling
11. ..... he passed over
12. ..... he passed over
13. ..... i saw
here there is a serious blank in the inscription, about twenty lines being lost, and mr. smith has conjecturally inserted a fragment which appears to belong to this part of the narrative. it is very curious from the geographical names it contains.
1. .... i poured out ....
2. .... which thou trusted ....
3. .... city of babylon ri ....
4. .... which he was blessed ....
5. .... may he mourn for my fault ....
6. .... may he mourn for him and for ....
7. .... kisu and kharsak-kalama, may he mourn .....
8. .... his .... cutha ....
9. .... eridu? and nipur ....
the rest of column iv. is lost, and of the next column there are only remains of the first two lines.
column v.
1. like a good prince who ....
2. like ....
here there are about thirty lines missing, the story recommencing with column vi., which is perfect.
column vi.
1. on a couch he reclines and
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2. pure water drinks.
3. he who in battle is slain, thou seest and i see.
4. his father (and) his mother (support) his head,
5. (and) his wife addresses the corpse.
6. his friends in the field (are standing),
7. thou seest and i see.
8. his spoil on the ground is uncovered,
9. of his spoil he has no oversight.
10. thou seest and i see.
11. his tender orphans long for bread; the food
12. which in the tents is placed is eaten.
—–———–———–———–
13. the twelfth tablet of the legends of izdubar.
14. like the ancient copy written and made clear.
xisuthrus or noah and izdubar; from an early babylonian cylinder.
this passage closes the great epic of the ancient chaldeans, which even in its present mutilated form is of the greatest importance in relation to the civilization, manners, and customs of that early people. the main feature in this part of the izdubar legends is the description of the flood in the eleventh tablet, which evidently refers to the same event as the flood of noah in genesis.
301
the episode of the flood has been introduced into the izdubar epic in accordance with the principle upon which it has been formed. the eleventh tablet or book answers to the sign of aquarius and the month called “the rainy” by the accadians, and it was therefore rightly occupied by the story of the flood. the compiler of the epic seems to have used for this purpose two independent poems relating to the event; at least it is otherwise difficult to account for the repetitions observable in certain lines which sometimes differ slightly from one another, as well as for certain inconsistencies which the skill of the compiler has not been able entirely to remove. thus according to i. 13, the deluge was caused by all “the great gods;” according to ii. 30, by samas only; according to iv. 4, 5, by bel. there is little doubt that many independent versions of the history of the deluge were current in a poetical form; indeed, a fragment of one of these, containing the original accadian text along with the assyrian translation has been preserved, and the version found in berosus differs in several notable points from the version embodied in the great chaldean epic.
the fragment of the variant version of which the accadian text has been preserved is as follows:—
1. .... then like a bowl of sacrificial wine the mountain ....
2. .... country to country ran together.
3. the female-slave to her mother (?) it had caused to ascend.
302
4. the freeman from the house of his fecundity it had caused to go forth.
5. the son from the house of his father it had caused to go forth
6. the doves from their cotes had fled away.
7. the raven on its wing it had caused to ascend.
8. the swallow from his nest it had caused to depart.
9. the oxen it had scattered, the lambs it had scattered.
10. (it was) the great days when the evil spirits hunt.
11. the universe they subjected unto themselves.
12. among the bricks of the foundations (they dealt destruction).
13. the earth like a potsherd (they shattered).
14. bel and beltis the supreme ones the mighty tablets (of destiny consulted).
15. the foot to the earth they did not (put).
16. the highways of the earth they did not (tread).
if we compare the babylonian account of the deluge contained in the epic with the account in genesis we shall find some differences between them; but if we consider the differences that existed between the two countries of palestine and babylonia these variations do not appear greater than we should expect. chaldea was essentially a mercantile and maritime country, well watered and flat, while palestine was a hilly region with no great rivers, and the jews were shut out from the coast, the maritime303 regions being mostly in the hands of the philistines and ph?nicians. there was a total difference between the religious ideas of the two peoples, the jews believing in one god, the creator and lord of the universe, while the babylonians worshipped gods and lords many, every city having its local deity, and these being joined by complicated relations in a poetical mythology, which was in marked contrast to the severe simplicity of the jewish system. with such differences it was only natural that, in relating the same stories, each nation should colour them in accordance with its own ideas, and stress would naturally in each case be laid upon points with which they were familiar. thus we should expect beforehand that there would be differences in the narrative such as we actually find, and we may also notice that the cuneiform account does not always coincide even with the account of the same events given by berosus from chaldean sources, from which, as already observed, we may infer that there was more than one version of the story of the deluge current in babylonia itself.
the great value of the inscriptions describing the flood consists in the fact that they form an independent testimony to the biblical narrative at a much earlier date than any other evidence. the principal points in the two narratives compared in their order will serve to show the correspondences and differences between the two. it must, however, be remembered that the biblical narrative is composed of304 two different accounts of the flood, generally known as the elohistic and jehovistic, and, as m. lenormant has observed, it is with the union of the two in our present hebrew text rather than with either one of them alone that the babylonian version corresponds. the repetitions observable in the hebrew text are not to be found in the cuneiform text.
genesis: babylonian
elohist. jehovist. account.
1. announcement of the deluge vi. 11-13. vi. 5-8. i. 12-23.
2. command to build the ark vi. 14-16. i. 20-27.
3. what was to enter the ark vi. 19-21. vii. 2, 3. i. 41-43.
4. size of the ark vi. 15, 16. i. 25, 26.
5. speech of xisuthrus i. 45-52.
6. the building of the ark vi. 22. vii. 5. ii. 2-24.
7. the coating within and without with bitumen. vi. 14. ii. 10, 11.
8. food taken in the ark. vi. 21. ii. 12-20.
9. the coming of the flood vii. 10-12. vii. 10. ii. 14, &c.
10. destruction of the people vii. 21, 22. vii. 23. iii. 2-15.
11. duration of the deluge vii. 12, 24. vii. 17. iii. 19-21.
12. assuaging of the waters viii. 1. viii. 2. iii. 21-23.
13. opening of window viii. 6. iii. 27.
14. ark rests on a mountain viii. 4. iii. 33-36.
15. sending forth of the birds viii. 6-12. iii. 38-44.
16. order to leave the ark viii. 15-17.
17. leaving the ark viii. 18, 19. iii. 45.
18. building the altar and sacrifice viii. 20. iii. 46-48.
19. the savour of the offering viii. 21. iii. 49.
20. a deluge not to happen again ix. 11. viii. 21, 22. iv. 15-20.
21. the covenant ix. 9-11. iv. 26. 305
22. the rainbow a pledge of the covenant ix. 13-17. iii. 51, 52.
23. the deluge caused by the sin of men vi. 11-13. vi. 5-7. iv. 14, 15.
24. noah saved by his righteousness vi. 8., vii. 1. iv. 16.
25. the translation of the patriarch (in genesis of enoch) v. 24. iv. 28-30.
one of the first points that strike us on comparing the biblical and cuneiform accounts together is that they both agree in representing the flood as a punishment for the sins of mankind. this agreement is rendered remarkable by the absence of such a moral cause in the legends of a deluge current among other nations; it is wanting even in the version of the babylonian account given by berosus. equally remarkable is the agreement of the two accounts in the narrative of the sending forth of the birds, two of which, the raven and the dove, are the same in both. some of the actual phrases and words found in genesis are also found in the cuneiform tablet; though sometimes they are modified, as when genesis says of the entrance of noah into the ark: “the lord shut him in;” whereas in the babylonian narrative the closing of the door is ascribed to xisuthrus himself.
positive discrepancies, however, occur between the two records. thus they differ as regards the size of the ark. according to the cuneiform account, its length and breadth were in the proportion of ten to306 one and the height and breadth were the same; but the bible makes the proportion as six to one, and describes the height as being thirty cubits and the breadth fifty. the version of the story given by berosus, on the other hand, agrees in this matter neither with genesis nor with the tablet from erech. it measures the ark by stadia and not by cubits, makes the proportion of its length and breadth as five to two, and says nothing of the height.
another difference may be found in the description of the patriarch who escapes the flood. xisuthrus is a king who enters the ark with his servants, people, and pilot, while in the bible only noah and his family are saved. so, too, no reference is made in the babylonian account to the distinction between the clean and unclean animals mentioned by the jehovist, though seven was a sacred number among the babylonians. the most remarkable difference, however, between the two accounts is with respect to the duration of the deluge. on this point the inscription gives seven days for the flood, and seven days for the resting of the ark on the mountain, while the elohist puts the commencement of the flood on the 17th day of the second month (marchesvan) and its termination on the 27th day of the second month in the following year, making a total duration of one lunar year and eleven days. this exactly accords with the climatic conditions of babylonia, where the rains begin at the end of november. the euphrates and tigris then begin to rise, the country is inundated in march, the307 seventh month of the hebrew narrative, and from the end of may onwards the waters go down. according to the jehovist, however, the deluge is announced to noah only seven days before it takes place; the waters are at their height for forty days and then decrease during another forty days, after which the patriarch sends out the birds at intervals of seven days, so that it was not till twenty-one days after he has first opened the window that he finally leaves the ark. this is in practical agreement with the cuneiform account, since seven was a sacred number among the babylonians just as forty is in the old testament. as m. lenormant points out, the date of the 15th of d?sius (or may) given by berosus must be due to a scribe’s error, since this would place the flood at a time when the waters were going down. there is again a difference as to the mountain on which the ark rested; nizir, the place mentioned in the cuneiform text, being east of assyria, and its mountain, also called “the mountain of the world” where the gods were supposed to dwell, being the present peak of elwend, while the mountains of ararat mentioned in the bible were north of assyria, near lake van. it is evident that different traditions have placed the mountain of the ark in totally different positions, and there is not positive proof as to which is the earlier traditionary spot. the word ararat is connected with a word urdhu, meaning “highland,” and might be a general term for any part of the hilly country to the north-east of assyria.
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it is interesting to find references in the jehovistic account to the sacred babylonian number seven and the seven-day week. just as xisuthrus set vessels by sevens on the altar of sacrifice, so noah offered clean beasts and fowls which had been taken by sevens into the ark. and the narrative of the sending-out of the birds contains a clear reference to the seven-day week, which was known from very early times to the accadians, who had named each day after one of the seven planets. the sabbath also, which occurred on the 7th, 14th, 19th, 21st and 28th days of the lunar month, was rigorously observed by them. they called it “a day of completion of labours,” or “a day unlawful to work upon,” and a sort of saints’ calendar for the month of the intercalatory elul says that upon it “the shepherd of many peoples may not eat the flesh of birds (?) or cooked fruit. the garments of his body he must not change. white robes he may not put on. sacrifice he may not offer. the king in his chariot may not ride. he may not legislate in royal fashion. a place of garrison the general by word of mouth may not appoint. medicine for the sickness of the body one may not apply.” the very word sabattu or sabbath was used by the assyrians, and a bilingual tablet explains it as “a day of rest for the heart.”
one striking difference between the descriptions of the deluge given in the old testament and in the epic of izdubar is due to the fact that the hebrews were an inland people, whereas the accadians were a309 maritime, or rather fluviatile one. hence it is that while the ark is called in the babylonian version “a ship,” it is called têbah, that is, “a coffer” in genesis. in genesis, too, nothing is said about launching the ark, testing its seaworthiness, or entrusting it to a pilot. however, the narrative in genesis preserves a recollection of the bitumen for which the babylonian plain was famous, and like the cuneiform narrative states that the ark was pitched.
some of the other differences observable in the two accounts are evidently due to the opposite religious systems of the two countries, but there is again a curious point in connection with the close of the chaldean legend: this is the translation of the hero of the flood.
in the book of genesis it is not noah but the seventh patriarch enoch who is translated, three generations before the flood.
there appears to have been some connection or confusion between enoch and noah in ancient tradition; both are holy men, and enoch is said, like noah, to have predicted the flood.
it is a curious fact that the dynasty of gods, with which egyptian mythical history commences, resembles in some respects the list of antediluvian kings of babylonia given by berosus as well as the list of antediluvian patriarchs in genesis.
this dynasty has sometimes seven, sometimes ten reigns, and in the turin papyrus of kings, which gives ten reigns, there is the same name for the310 seventh and tenth kings, both being called horus, and the seventh king is stated to have reigned 300 years, which is the length of life of the seventh patriarch enoch after the birth of his son.
here are the three lists of egyptian gods, hebrew patriarchs, and chaldean kings.
egypt. patriarchs. chaldean kings.
ptah. adam. alorus.
ra. seth. alaparus.
su. enos. almelon.
seb. cainan. ammenon.
hosiri. mahalaleel. amegalarus.
set. jared. daonus. (dun in the inscriptions.)
hor. enoch. ?dorachus.
tut. methuselah. amempsin.
ma. lamech. otiartes (opartes).
hor. noah. xisuthrus.
it is well known that enos, like adam, signifies “man;” hence some writers have supposed that the list of noah’s ancestors was originally counted from enos, so that lamech, noah’s father, would have been the seventh in descent. there is, moreover, a curious resemblance between the names of the descendants of seth and those of the descendants of cain, methuselah, indeed, being apparently more correctly written methusael (gen. iv. 18), which is the assyrian mutu-sa-ili, “man of god.” now lamech, the descendant311 of cain, is the seventh from adam. it may be noticed that irad or jared is the same word as the assyrian arad, “servant,” and arad or ardutu is the assyrian rendering of the accadian ubara, the first part of the name of the father of xisuthrus, who is actually called ardates by abydenus.
mr. george smith believed that the real connection between the traditions of babylonia and palestine would never be cleared up until the literature of the syrian population which intervened is recovered. it is very possible that light may be thrown upon the question by the excavations now being made at jerablus, the site of carchemish, the capital of the ancient hittites. terah may be the same word as tarkhu, who seems to have been worshipped as a god by the hittites; and lucian has preserved a legend of the flood and the patriarch sisythes, who is evidently the xisuthrus of the babylonians, which was current at hierapolis or mabug, a little to the south of jerablus. in this legend the ark has become a coffer, sisythes and his family are alone preserved, and the flood was sent to punish the wickedness of mankind.
there is one point which still deserves notice: these traditions are not fixed to any localities in or near palestine, but even on the showing of the jews themselves, belong to the neighbourhood of the euphrates valley, and babylonia in particular; this of course is clearly stated in the babylonian inscriptions and traditions.
eden, according even to the jews, was by the312 euphrates and tigris; the cities of babylon, larancha, and sippara were supposed by the babylonians to have been founded before the flood. surippak was the city of the ark, the mountains east of the tigris were the resting-place of the ark, babylon was the site of the tower, and ur of the chaldees the birthplace of abraham. these facts and the further statement that abraham, the father and first leader of the hebrew race, migrated from ur to harran in syria, and from thence to palestine, are all so much evidence in favour of the hypothesis that chaldea was the original home of these stories, and that the jews received them originally from the babylonians; but on the other hand there are such striking differences in some parts of the legends, particularly in the names of the patriarchs before the flood, that it is evident further information is required before we can determine how or when they were received by the jews.
to pass, now, to the twelfth tablet of the izdubar epic, a curious fragment has been provisionally placed by mr. smith in the fourth column, in which izdubar appears to call on his cities to mourn with him for his friend. this tablet is remarkable for the number of cities mentioned as already existing in the time of izdubar. combining this notice with other early inscriptions, the statements of berosus and the notice of the cities of nimrod in genesis, we get the following list of the oldest known cities in the euphrates valley:—
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1. babylon and its suburb
2. borsippa.
3. cutha.
4. larsa.
5. surippak, called larancha by berosus.
6. eridu.
7. nipur.
8. erech.
9. calneh.
10. sippara. (sepharvaim.)
11. kisu (or kis).
12. ganganna.
13. amarda or marad.
14. ur
15. nisin or karrak.
16. agané.
17. duban or duran.
18. abnunna or mullias.
19. zirghul.
to these we may also add the great cities of assyria:—
20. assur, the primitive capital.
21. ninua or nineveh.
22. calah.
23. resen (assyrian res-eni, “the head of the spring.”)
so far as the various statements go, all these cities and probably many others were in existence in the time of nimrod, and some of them even before the flood; the fact that the babylonians four thousand years ago believed their cities to be of such antiquity, shows that they were not recent foundations, and the attainments of the people at that time in the arts and sciences prove that their civilization had already known ages of progress. the legendary epoch of izdubar must be considered at present as the commencement of the united monarchy in babylonia, and314 as marking the first of the series of great conquests in western asia; but how far back we have to go from our earliest known monuments to reach this era we cannot now tell.
every nation has its hero, and it was only natural that when the accadian kings of ur at last succeeded in establishing an united empire throughout babylonia, the legends of the national hero should be coloured by the new conception of imperial unity.
