Some Babylonian composer has set forth the terrifying side of Ramman’s character in a bilingual hymn as follows:
“The lord in his anger himself makes heaven quake.Adad in his wrath lifts up the earth.The mighty mountain he himself smites down.At his anger, at his wrath,At his roaring, at his thundering,The gods of heaven ascend to heaven,The gods of earth enter earth,Šamaš into the foundation of heaven enters,Sin in the height of heaven is magnified.”[29]
“The lord in his anger himself makes heaven quake.
Adad in his wrath lifts up the earth.
The mighty mountain he himself smites down.
At his anger, at his wrath,
At his roaring, at his thundering,
The gods of heaven ascend to heaven,
The gods of earth enter earth,
Šamaš into the foundation of heaven enters,
Sin in the height of heaven is magnified.”[29]
There is a fascination about the life of Tammuz not experienced in the contemplation of the other gods of Babylonia. He seems to be presented to us just as though he were a man.
Our first paragraph may describe him as a resident of one of the ancient cities of southern Babylonia. The city of his residence was Eridu on the banks of the Euphrates. His official title is that of sun-god and his occupation is to care for the growth of plants. The name of his father was Ea, the lord of the city of Eridu, whose duties consisted in governing the waters of the river on whose shore the city rested. Tammuz had a mother, whose name was Davkina, the mistress of the vine. Tammuz also had a sister Belili whose calling was, like that of Tammuz her brother, the care of plant growth. Tammuz also had a bride, the famous and treacherous Ištar, the goddess of love, represented by the evening star; she was mistress of the neighbouring city of Erech, a little to the north-west, and on the other side of the Euphrates. The life of Tammuz at Eridu was romantic and his days ended in tragedy. There is a little poem, giving a picture of his home. There was a garden, a holy place, abundantly shaded with profuse leafage of trees whose roots went down deep into the waters over which Ea presided. His couch was hung under the rich foliage of the vine which his mother tended. There Tammuz dwelt andthere was his shrine. His dwelling of foliage in his youthful days was symbolic of the domain in which the virtue of his power was to be exercised. His real home was in heaven, for from heaven the virtue of plant-growth proceeds with the heat of the sun. But his connection with heaven had been forgotten, except in reminiscence found in legend. In the legend of Adapa, for instance, we find a hint of it. Tammuz and his companion Gišzida are seen mounting up to heaven where they receive stations as door-keepers in the gate of Anu’s house; in heaven they properly belong.
The descent of Tammuz to the lower world implies that he died, but the accounts have not made a direct statement of how he died, or what was the cause of his death. Perhaps we may conceive of the event of his death as having taken place at Eridu before the service of lamentation had developed into a cult honored at the court of Sargon of Akkad, where a temple was built for Tammuz after northern Babylonia had gained the ascendency over southern Babylonia. The literal cause of his death was that he was not capable of making plant-growth a continuous process. The power of the heat of the sun as the summer advanced was superior to the virtue which Tammuz possessed over plant-life. The fierce heat of the summer caused vegetation to take a paler hue; then the germs of decay entered; slowly and surely the face of the land was assuming the same state that existed before the power of Tammuz appeared to quicken the blade of grass and the fruit-bud of the early spring. So Tammuz was banished to the lower world. Romantically his entrance to the abode of the dead was due to the hand which Ištar had in the events of his life. She had many lovers, and she betrayed them all. Her betrayal in the case of Tammuz consisted in not aiding him in her sphere as great mother in the production of life on earth. Had she supplemented his effort and made the earth continue to bear and bring forth, counteracting the effect of the deadly heat of the summer solstice and the destructive wind of the south, the gardens and the fruit orchards over whose productiveness Tammuz presided would have enjoyed perennial fruitage, and Gilgameš would never have had to take up the sad accusation against Ištar:
“Tammuz, the spouse of thy youth,Thou compellest to weep year after year.”[30]
“Tammuz, the spouse of thy youth,
Thou compellest to weep year after year.”[30]
Also there had never gone up the song of lamentation:
“He went down to meet the nether world,He has sated himself. Šamaš caused him to perishTo the land of the dead.With mourning was he filled on the dayWhen he fell into great sorrow.”[31]
“He went down to meet the nether world,
He has sated himself. Šamaš caused him to perish
To the land of the dead.
With mourning was he filled on the day
When he fell into great sorrow.”[31]
According to another story of the fate of Tammuz, Ištar was the victim of sudden and violent passion, and in a fit of anger for disregard of her command she had smitten him down, just as she crushed theallallu-bird she loved:
“Thou didst crush him and break his pinions.In the woods he stands and laments,‘O my pinions’.”[32]
“Thou didst crush him and break his pinions.
In the woods he stands and laments,
‘O my pinions’.”[32]
Also as she cast out of her sight the lion:
“Thou didst love a lion of perfect strength,Seven and seven times thou didst bury him in the corners.”[33]
“Thou didst love a lion of perfect strength,
Seven and seven times thou didst bury him in the corners.”[33]
The origin of the service of weeping for Tammuz is an interesting legend. When Ištar had slain her lover, she hastened, like the going down of the evening star, to the lower world in search of waters to restore him to life. She searches long, passing through all the compartments of Hades. The story does not give details of her finding Tammuz, but instead, a scene of his burial is introduced:
“To Tammuz, her youthful consortPour out pure waters, costly oil.”[34]
“To Tammuz, her youthful consort
Pour out pure waters, costly oil.”[34]
A scene of the mourning for Tammuz is also introduced, which may be taken as the original lamentation, all other summer solstice weepings being anniversaries of this original one. His sister is there lamenting:
“O my only brother, let me not perish!”[35]
“O my only brother, let me not perish!”[35]
And a great company of mourners sing dirges by the accompaniment of the flute and follow the instruction which Tammuz, though dead, seems to be giving then and there:
“On the day of Tammuz play for me,On the flute ofuknuandsamtu!With it play for me! With it play for me!O male and female mourners!That the dead may arise and inhale incense!”[36]
“On the day of Tammuz play for me,
On the flute ofuknuandsamtu!
With it play for me! With it play for me!
O male and female mourners!
That the dead may arise and inhale incense!”[36]
Of course the story is not finished and the circle of events not completed without the resurrection of Tammuz. In a Chaldaean intaglio there is a picture of Tammuz rejuvenated on the knees of Ištar (see Clercq Vol. I, Plate IX, No. 83). Some forms of the story must include his return to the earth, and the complete service of lamentation must have been sometimes supplemented by a service of joy in which the idea of resurrection was significant.
Though the original lamentation was an expression of grief for Tammuz dead, the fully developed ceremony was an expression of several pathetic ideas. It was accompanied with sacrifice and offerings of wine. In Babylonia the commemoration was observed every year on the second day of the fourth month, called the month of Tammuz. It was not only a weeping for dead Tammuz, but a weeping for dead vegetation. The dying leaf had a mourner. The withered stock had a sympathizing friend. For the blasted blade of grass there was shed a tear. For the barren tree bereft of golden foliage and luscious fruit there went up a cry of sympathy. The ceremony was an expression of sadness that came over the people as the oppression of the heat of summer bore down upon them, the water supply being reduced, vegetable life put out and human life consequently made almost unendurable by the deprivation and heat of summer. The time of weeping was one for the expression of personal sorrow that lurks in almost every heart. The wail of anguish was a relief to souls burdened with their own peculiar griefs. The soul found relief in lifting up the voice attuned to some form of elegy. There came a relief like the rolling of the burden of guilt from the breast. The ceremony was one that embraced in its performance the expression of confession. It was, however, performed with the consciousness that the drought of summer was but for a season, and that there was to follow a period of happier existence, as the succeeding winter should merge into a new spring.
Tammuz was supposed to leave the land with the season when the spring growth was completed, to come back again in the following year. He is considered as dead, but his death is not an absolute one. He tells the mourners what to do as they gather about his bier. According to some allusions he seems also to be a lord, as it were, in the bowels of the earth, preparing the inner earth for putting forth a new stock of vegetation, as spring shall come. Hence, the hymn to Tammuz in this Thesis calls him“the generator of the lower world”. His association with his friend Gišzida substantiates more fully the idea of his resurrection. To give vitality to his work he still maintains his old personality of sun-god, and to him again is given a seat in heaven, as the Adapa legend shows:
“On mounting up to heaven,At the gate of AnuTammuz and Gišzida were stationed.”[37]
“On mounting up to heaven,
At the gate of Anu
Tammuz and Gišzida were stationed.”[37]
The story of Tammuz seems to have taken deep and almost universal hold of the imagination and sympathy of mankind. The weeping for Tammuz is said to have been maintained by the Babylonians till a very late period. Similar stories to that of the Tammuz legend existed in about the same period of history among the Phoenicians, the Hebrews, the Greeks and the Egyptians, the most of these accounts having a common origin; if they have more than one origin, they seem nevertheless to blend in the main into one story. It is said that in the Phoenician town of Gebal by the Mediterranean on the road leading from the people of the east to those of the west, there is a yearly lamentation over the death of their sun-god, the beloved Aštoreth, who had been slain by a cruel hand, just as the spring verdure was cut down by the hot blasts of summer. The women, tearing their hair, disfiguring their faces and cutting their breasts, sent up a cry to heaven: “O my brother!” Across the sea by the way of Cyprus, the cry is said to have been carried to Greece where it found embodiment in the story of Adonis and Aphrodite. Possibly, however, the Greek story may be indigenous. Adonis lost his life while hunting, thrust through the thigh with the tusk of a wild boar. After death he was in great favour with Persephone who finally yielded to the entreaties of the inconsolable Aphrodite, and Adonis spent one half of the year with his celestial mistress and the other half with his infernal one. How much place the annual weeping for a departed one had among the Hebrews may be inferred to some extent by the mention made in the Scriptures of the service. Zechariah speaks of the well-known mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon, and Amos refers to the custom of mourning for an only son. Ezekiel says that the Lord brought him to Jehovah’s house “and behold, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz”. Jeremiah goes a step further and gives us the refrain which was used in the weeping: “Ah me! Ah my brother!” The parallel story in Egypt had for its hero the god Osiris who, representing goodness, upon being slain by a foe, became judge of the dead, though his soul continued in existence among men.
1.ù-mu-un na-àm-zu-ka na-àm- ......... še-ir-ma-al nì(IM)-[te-na]O lord of wisdom, ................ supreme by thyself!
1.ù-mu-un na-àm-zu-ka na-àm- ......... še-ir-ma-al nì(IM)-[te-na]
O lord of wisdom, ................ supreme by thyself!
2.dimmerMu-ul-lil ù-mu-un na-àm-zu-ka .... še-ir-ma-al nì(IM)-te-naO Bêl, lord of wisdom, ............. supreme by thyself!
2.dimmerMu-ul-lil ù-mu-un na-àm-zu-ka .... še-ir-ma-al nì(IM)-te-na
O Bêl, lord of wisdom, ............. supreme by thyself!
3.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil ù-mu-un-e kur-kur-raO father Bêl, lord of the lands!
3.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil ù-mu-un-e kur-kur-ra
O father Bêl, lord of the lands!
4.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil ù-mu-un dug(KA)-ga zi(d)-daO father Bêl, lord of righteous command!
4.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil ù-mu-un dug(KA)-ga zi(d)-da
O father Bêl, lord of righteous command!
5.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil siba sag gig(MI)-gaO father Bêl, shepherd of the black-headed!
5.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil siba sag gig(MI)-ga
O father Bêl, shepherd of the black-headed!
6.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil i-de(NE)gaba nì(IM)-te-naO father Bêl, the only all-seeing one!
6.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil i-de(NE)gaba nì(IM)-te-na
O father Bêl, the only all-seeing one!
7.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil ama erim(ṢAB)-na di-diO father Bêl, the lord that executest judgment on thy enemies!
7.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil ama erim(ṢAB)-na di-di
O father Bêl, the lord that executest judgment on thy enemies!
8.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil ù-nê(r)-la ma-maO father Bêl, the power of the lands!
8.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil ù-nê(r)-la ma-ma
O father Bêl, the power of the lands!
9.ama nà-a gù ne-sig(PA)gan-nu kiThe bull of the pasture, the bull that encompassest the productive land!
9.ama nà-a gù ne-sig(PA)gan-nu ki
The bull of the pasture, the bull that encompassest the productive land!
10.dimmerMu-ul-lil nin ḳar-ra ki damal-raO Bêl, the bountiful lord of the broad land!
10.dimmerMu-ul-lil nin ḳar-ra ki damal-ra
O Bêl, the bountiful lord of the broad land!
11.ù-mu-un mu-ud-na dú(KAK)sag-ma-al kiThe lord of creation, the creator, the true head of the land!
11.ù-mu-un mu-ud-na dú(KAK)sag-ma-al ki
The lord of creation, the creator, the true head of the land!
12.ù-mu-un zal(NI)-laḥ(UD)-na ga nunuz-ám(A.AN)da-ma-al-laThe lord whose shining oil is milk for an extensive progeny!
12.ù-mu-un zal(NI)-laḥ(UD)-na ga nunuz-ám(A.AN)da-ma-al-la
The lord whose shining oil is milk for an extensive progeny!
13.ùm-mu-un silim(DI)-ma-a-ni eri ir-irThe lord whose decrees bind together the city,
13.ùm-mu-un silim(DI)-ma-a-ni eri ir-ir
The lord whose decrees bind together the city,
14.dù nà-a-ni à(ID)àm-e gal-laWhose powerful dwelling-place (is the seat of) a great command,
14.dù nà-a-ni à(ID)àm-e gal-la
Whose powerful dwelling-place (is the seat of) a great command,
15.kurdimmerBabbar(UD)-ê(UD.DU)-ta kurdimmerBabbar(UD)-šu-šù(KU)From the land of the rising sun to the land of the setting sun!
15.kurdimmerBabbar(UD)-ê(UD.DU)-ta kurdimmerBabbar(UD)-šu-šù(KU)
From the land of the rising sun to the land of the setting sun!
16.kur-ra ù-mu-un nu-um-ti za-e ù-mu-un ab-da-me-enO mountain, the lord of life, thou the lord indeed art!
16.kur-ra ù-mu-un nu-um-ti za-e ù-mu-un ab-da-me-en
O mountain, the lord of life, thou the lord indeed art!
17.dimmerMu-ul-lil kur-kur-ra ga-šá-an nu-um-ti nin-zu ga-šá-anab-da(-me-en)O Bêl of the lands, lord of life, lord of wisdom, lord indeed thou art!
17.dimmerMu-ul-lil kur-kur-ra ga-šá-an nu-um-ti nin-zu ga-šá-anab-da(-me-en)
O Bêl of the lands, lord of life, lord of wisdom, lord indeed thou art!
18.e-lum nì(IM)an-na a-kad za-da šá mu-e-da-mal(IG)O mighty one, dread of heaven, royal one indeed thou art!
18.e-lum nì(IM)an-na a-kad za-da šá mu-e-da-mal(IG)
O mighty one, dread of heaven, royal one indeed thou art!
19.dimmerMu-ul-lil u en(?)dimmer-ri-ne za-da šá mu-e-da-mal(IG)O Bêl, very lord of gods thou indeed art!
19.dimmerMu-ul-lil u en(?)dimmer-ri-ne za-da šá mu-e-da-mal(IG)
O Bêl, very lord of gods thou indeed art!
20.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil mu-lu gu má(SAR)-má(SAR)-me-en mu-luše má(SAR)-má(SAR)-me-enO father Bêl, who causest vegetation to sprout, who causest grain to grow
20.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil mu-lu gu má(SAR)-má(SAR)-me-en mu-luše má(SAR)-má(SAR)-me-en
O father Bêl, who causest vegetation to sprout, who causest grain to grow
21.dimmerMu-ul-lil me-lam(NE)-zu gúr(KIL)-ra ḥa mu-ni-ib-( )-ne-neO Bêl, before thy great glory may they be (in fear?)!
21.dimmerMu-ul-lil me-lam(NE)-zu gúr(KIL)-ra ḥa mu-ni-ib-( )-ne-ne
O Bêl, before thy great glory may they be (in fear?)!
22.ḥu-e an-na ḥa-e ṭú(r)-ra šà(LIB)-nì(IM)ma-ni-ib-siThe birds of heaven and the fish of the sea are filled with fear of thee!
22.ḥu-e an-na ḥa-e ṭú(r)-ra šà(LIB)-nì(IM)ma-ni-ib-si
The birds of heaven and the fish of the sea are filled with fear of thee!
23.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil-li da-da maḥ mu-e-gin(DU)sag-e-zi si-ba-e e-nabO father Bêl, in great strength thou goest, the head of life, the shepherd of the stars!
23.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil-li da-da maḥ mu-e-gin(DU)sag-e-zi si-ba-e e-nab
O father Bêl, in great strength thou goest, the head of life, the shepherd of the stars!
24.ù-mu-un ka na-àm-gá(MAL)iz-ba eri ga mu-e-gin(DU)gín(GI)si ti-šù(KU)me-aO lord, the mouth of production thou openest, as a prolific city thou goest, the reed for the fulness of life thou art.
24.ù-mu-un ka na-àm-gá(MAL)iz-ba eri ga mu-e-gin(DU)gín(GI)si ti-šù(KU)me-a
O lord, the mouth of production thou openest, as a prolific city thou goest, the reed for the fulness of life thou art.
25.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil sag zi sag nê(r)-la šú ti ba-ni-ib-agO father Bêl, the head of life, the head of strength, the power of life thou makest thyself!
25.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil sag zi sag nê(r)-la šú ti ba-ni-ib-ag
O father Bêl, the head of life, the head of strength, the power of life thou makest thyself!
26.šú-gil niš-ia mu-bi imAltogether there are twenty-five lines in the tablet.
26.šú-gil niš-ia mu-bi im
Altogether there are twenty-five lines in the tablet.
27.êr(A.ŠI)lim-maHymn of praise.
27.êr(A.ŠI)lim-ma
Hymn of praise.
This composition is a hymn of praise to Bêl, who is directly addressed. His name, Mu-ul-lil, appears in 14 of the 25 lines of the hymn, in which he is called distinctively “father”, the title occurring 8 times.
The god is addressed in the second person, as is seen inline 16, whereza-e, the personal pronoun of the second person, is applied to him, and also in the pronominal phase of the second person,za-da, found in lines18and19, not to mention other less striking symbols of the second person singular.
The hymn consists of many laudatory epithets descriptive of Bêl’s divine nature and work. His fatherhood and lordship are dwelt upon. He is a righteous and all-wise father. His lordship extends not only over the land, but up into the air as well. He provides subsistence for the creatures of earth, being also the organizer of city and state. He superintends also the operations of nature in the atmosphere being the dread of heaven, the lord of gods, the occasion of fear among the birds and fishes, the shepherd of the storms (or stars).
The time of the origin of this hymn is a matter of conjecture. The form of the signs offers some evidence. What the early kings say of Bêl also throws some light on the subject. The signs are, of course, later than the picture-writing of the hieroglyph, and also later than the linear script suited to stone. These signs are made in clay, hence the wedge appears. The design of the signs used here has met with some transformation since the hieroglyph was used, but it has not yet reached the chaste and symmetrical form given by the hand of the Assyrian. In short the signs of this hymn are old Babylonian, almost identical with those used in the inscriptions of Eannatum, Entemena, Gudea and Ḥammurabi. There are, however, some later and even New-Babylonian signs among them, pointing perhaps to transcription subsequent to the original composition.
There is no mention of any city in the hymn, as there is in the hymn to Sin, but this hymn probably had its origin in Nippur which was the great religious centre of Babylonia in the pre-dynastic period, when kings ascribed their successes to Bêl and brought their booty to Nippur, calling Bêl “the lord of the lands.”
1.ù-mu-un na-àm-zu-ka na-àm ..... še-ir-ma-al nì-[te-na]O lord of wisdom, ........... supreme by thyself!
1.ù-mu-un na-àm-zu-ka na-àm ..... še-ir-ma-al nì-[te-na]
O lord of wisdom, ........... supreme by thyself!
ù-mu-unmeans “being lord”,ùequalling “lord” andmu-unequalling “being”.ù-mu-unis a phonetic representation ofumun = bêlu, (Br. 9475).umunis sometimes ideographically represented by the sign GIGURÛ, the corner wedge (Br. 8659), which signifies “depress”, “overpower”, “be powerful”, “rule”.umunmay be shortened either tou,munorun, giving to GIGURÛ three values for “lord”,u,unandumun.umun, which is ES, has an EK value,ugun. Inline 17, we shall meet with another word for “lord”; viz.,ga-šá-an.
ù: the sign IGI-DIBBU alone means “lord”. It has a well-known Assyrian equivalent,labâru, “be old”, (Br. 9464). Brummer explains the sign correctly as follows: IGI-DIBBU is a compound sign and equals ŠI, “eye”, plus LU, “take away”, hence the meaning “take away the eye”, “become old”, “elderly”, “lord”, (SVA. 2-7).
mu-uncontracted tomunis cognate withme-enwhich equalsbašû, “to be”, as inza-e-me-en(Br. 10404). We shall meet the formmu-unas a verbal prefix.
muhere is simply a dialectic form ofme(MSL., p. 240).muas a Sumerian value is attested by the sign-name MU. We shall meet with MU in the nameMu-ul-lil, also as a suffix and in other ways. The MU of our text is old Babylonian. It is the MU of Ur-Gur and Gudea (see brick of Ur-Gur, No. 90009, CT. XXI, and Gudea’s Cylinder A, Col. XVIII, line 27, in Déc. 36).
unis plainly cognate withenwhich is so commonly represented by the sign ÊNU. The sign UN we shall meet again with the valuekalama. The UN of our text is a very ancient sign (see Cone of Eannatum, Col. I, CT. XXI, Tablet 30062).
na-àm-zu-kaconsists of noun,na-àm-zuand postpositionka.
na-àm-zuis an abstract noun composed of the abstract prefixna-àmand the stemzu.
na-àmequalsšîmtu, “fortune”, (Br. 1609 and HW. 654) and is a dialectic form ofnam(Br. 2103) which is a common abstract prefix.
nais a Sumerian value of the sign NANÛ. The value is simply syllabic here. The sign originally signified “stone”. OurNA is found both in old Babylonian tablets and in New-Babylonian inscriptions.
àm(ES) also is only syllabic here. The sign has the EK valueagand is used ideographically.
zu: the sign representingzuhas only one value, presenting a rather uncommon circumstance in Sumerian.zumeans “know”, also “be wise”, and may equalnîmeḳu, “wisdom”, (Br. 136), but the author preferred to sayna-àm-zu, “the fortune of wisdom”.
ka, sign-name KÂGU, is a postpositive sign of the genitive. The sign KÂGU (discussed below) is often used in this way, but it has several values and is used to express a large number of ideas,kaas a postposition is a dialectic form ofge(KIT).
še-ir-ma-alis ES for the EKnir-gal,šchanging tonandmtog(MSL. p. XI). It is translated into Assyrian by the wordetellu.še-ir-ma-alconsists then of two parts; stemše-irand suffixma-al. Strictly,še-iris “lord” andše-ir-ma-alis “lordship”.
še-ir:eandiappear generally to be distinct sounds, but they combine, just as the twou’s combine inmu-un, makingmun, and as the twoa’s combine inna-àm, makingnam. Evidently the weaker sound is absorbed by the stronger, henceše-irbecomesšêr, “ruler”, which could be represented by NISIGÙ (JA., 1905, p. 113, also Br. 4306).
šeis perhaps a Semitic value coming fromšê’u, “grain”. The original sign is a picture of a head of grain like wheat or oats. The name of the sign is Û-UM. The sign occurs inline 20as an ideogram.
iris also Semitic value of the sign GAḲ-GUNÙ. We shall meet the sign used as a verb equal tokamû, “bind”.
ma-al, phonetically written formal, is an ending which adds tošêrthe idea of “having”; henceše-ir-ma-almeans “having rule”.
ma: we shall find MAMÛ used mostly as a noun, but it may occur as a verbal prefix or as a phonetic complement.
al: the sign has only one value,al, whose use is principally syllabic. The sign-name is ALLU.
nì-te-na: nì-te is the main word withnaas a suffix.
nì-te:nìandtestand related to each other as object and cognate verb, meaning “fear a fear”. The affinity ofnìandteis shown by the fact that the sign fornì, called IMMU, may have the valuetu(see Br. 8355), then the object and verb would betu-te, “fear a fear” (see Fossey in JA., 1905, p. 128).nì-temay mean “self” just asnìmay stand not only for “fear” but for that which causes fear asRammânu, “the storm-god”, and then by way of erroneous association forramânu, “self”.
nì: the sign IMMU is one of the principal signs that originallydenoted “the quarter of the heavens”. It is used to signify “storm” and many ideas connected with storm.
te: TÊMMÊNU originally meant “orientation”, then “to approach hostilely”; hencenì-temeant “approach of storm”.
nais an indeterminate suffix, but the context shows that it means “thy”, so thatnì-te-nameans “thyself” (seenaabove).
2.dimmerMu-ul-lil ù-mu-un na-àm-zu-ka ... še-ir-ma-al nì-te-naO Bêl, lord of wisdom, ........ supreme by thyself!
2.dimmerMu-ul-lil ù-mu-un na-àm-zu-ka ... še-ir-ma-al nì-te-na
O Bêl, lord of wisdom, ........ supreme by thyself!
dimmer: the sign AN here has the valuedimmer. In the great bilingual penitential Psalm, K. 2811 (IV R. plate 10), instead of the single sign AN, we have the spellingdim-me-er(see lines3,7and others). If this were an EK composition, the sign AN might bedingir,di-in-gir, but in the wordsù-mu-unandše-ir-ma-alwhich we have already had, we have evidence that this is an ES composition, hence AN here is to be readdimmer.
Mu-ul-lil: Bêl has only one name in this hymn; namely,Mul-lil. In the two tablets, 29644 and 29623, following this tablet, Bêl is calledEn-lil(see the colophons). The wordMu-ul-lildivides into two parts,Mu-ul, which contracts intoMul, andlil.
Mu-ul:Mulis ES;Enis EK. BothMulandEnmean “lord”, so that eitherMul-lilorEn-lilmeans “lord of fulness”. It is probable thatmul(wul) is cognate withen(el).
mu(as a value is discussed inline 1).
ul: the sign is composed of GÊŠPU and GUṬṬU. The valueulis Semitic. We shall meet below this sign with the valuerùmeaning “perfect”.
lil: the name of the sign is KÎTU.lilin magic writings means “demon”, i. e., a spirit which may be either good or bad. Originally the sign indicated “structure”, from which idea comes the postpositional use of the sign with the valuege.šâru, “wind”, with the valuelilis a secondary meaning of the sign.
ù-mu-un na-àm-zu-ka(occurring inline 1, was discussed there). The fragments following-kado not give a sure clue as to what the signs were before the erasure. AfterdimmerMu-ul-lilperhaps the whole of the second line was precisely like the first.
še-ir-ma-al nì-te-na(explained inline 1).
3.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil ù-mu-un-e kur-kur-raO father Bêl, lord of the lands!
3.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil ù-mu-un-e kur-kur-ra
O father Bêl, lord of the lands!
a-ais probably forad-da,admeaning “protector”. Exactly howa-acomes to be used in the place ofad-damay not be determined with certainty. The explanation may lie in the relation between “water”, “seed” and “father”.a-aalso seems to be asoftened form ofad-da.ameans “seed” or more primarily “water”. The sign is an ideographic picture of dripping water.
dimmerMu-ul-lil(explained inline 2).
ù-mu-un-edivides into the wordù-mu-unand the prolongation vowele, possibly demonstrative in sense (seeefarther on).
ù-mu-unis not elsewhere in this hymn lengthened toù-mu-un-e, butù-mu-unoccurs nine times.
kur-kur-rais the plural form of noun,kur, plus postpositionra.
kur-kur: in Sumerian the general way of denoting the plural in nouns is by doubling the root (see ASK. p. 140), whereas the doubled root in a verb means an intensified or causative stem. There are five other cases of doubling the root in the hymn:di-di,line 7,ma-ma,line 8,ir-ir,line 13,má-má,line 20; andda-da,line 23.
kur: the sign KÛRU in the old linear form represented pictorially “mountain tops”. The valuekurhas three very common Assyrian equivalents,šadû, “mountain”,irṣitu, “earth” andmâtu, “land”, all closely related to each other.
rais a common postposition signifying “unto”. Perhapsrasometimes serves merely as a vowel of prolongation, therat the same time making a double of the final consonant of the preceding word. In such a caserais called a phonetic complement, while it also helps to determine the value of the sign immediately preceding. To illustrate, the sign KÙRU being followed by RARÛ cannot be readginnormad.racan also be the sign of the genitive (Br. 6367).
4.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil à-mu-un dug-ga zi-daO father Bêl, lord of righteous command!
4.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil à-mu-un dug-ga zi-da
O father Bêl, lord of righteous command!
a-adimmerMu-ul-lil ù-mu-un(explained in lines1,2and3).
dug-ga:dugis the value of KÂGU to be used here, as is at once suggested by the phonetic complementga.
dug: a very common meaning ofdugisḳibîtu, “command” (Br. 532).
gais merely the vowel of prolongationawith the finalgof the preceding stem.
zi-da:zibeing followed bydagives the impression that it should be readzidwithdaas a phonetic complement. A final consonant in the first syllable, however, is not always a necessity. The name of the temple of Nabu at Borsippa is not readÈ-zid-da, butÈ-zi-daorÈ-zida.
zihere equalsimnu, “right”. It may sometimes equalnapištu(see below,line 25).
5.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil siba sag gig-gaO father Bêl, shepherd of the blackheaded!
5.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil siba sag gig-ga
O father Bêl, shepherd of the blackheaded!
sibaequalsrê’û(Br. 5688). The sign is compounded from PA and LU and means “staff-bearer”, since PA signifies “staff” and LU means “hold”, “seize”. The use of the sign is confined almost entirely to the idea of shepherd of animals and then figuratively to that of governor of men.
sag: the sign with the valuesag, called SANGU or SAGGU, is the common sign to represent “head” which is expressed in Assyrian either byrêšuorḳaḳḳadu(see Br. 3522 and 3513). The sign occurs in many compounds.
gig-ga:gigis the value of MI suggested by the phonetic complementga.
gig: the sign is composed of the corner wedge U and the sign TATTAB and means “darkness”. The sign really signifies “entering into depression”.giperhaps is a dialectism formi.
ga= phonetic complement,sag gig-gameans a race of men, evidently here the Babylonians, the people in particular over whom Bêl exercised rule. The term is certainly not one of depreciation. It merely shows that the Babylonians were swarthy. On the other hand, “blackheaded” may be intended to mean the human race inhabiting the earth in contradistinction to the bright celestial beings (see CDAL. 878). Cyrus, in his Broken Cylinder, seems to use the phrase as meaning the Babylonians. His words are:nišê ṣal-mat ḳaḳḳadi šá ú-šá-ak-ši-du ḳa-ta-a-šu. “The blackheaded people whom he caused his hands to conquer” (V R. 35, 13).
6.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil i-de gaba nì-te-naO father Bêl, the only all-seeing one!
6.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil i-de gaba nì-te-na
O father Bêl, the only all-seeing one!
i-de, phonetic representation ofide, which in the EK dialect is represented by the sign IGÛ with the valueigiwhich in Assyrian meansînu, “eye” (Br. 4004, 4003 and 9273).ideis ES for the EKigi. We have the sign IGÛ in the colophon where it occurs with ÂU, “water”,a-idemeaning “water of the eye”.
iis represented by GIṬṬÛ (“five”). The valuei, however, is, of course, entirely syllabic here. Notice that there is a slight difference between the Babylonian GIṬṬÛ and the Assyrian GIṬṬÛ. In Assyrian, GIṬṬÛ consists of two wedges followed by three. In Babylonian it consists of three followed by two, and in the linear form the sign consists of three horizontal lines followed by two (see AL. p. 125, No. 105).
derepresented by IZÛ and having the valuebilmeans “fire”. The sign in its hieroglyphic form is probably a picture of building a fire by the friction of an instrument against a piece of wood. Hence the sign is properly composed of AM and GIŠ, AM representing something having a head and GIŠ meaning “wood”. The sign in our text is old Babylonian and may be found in Gudea(Cylinder B, Col. IV, line 13, in Déc. Plate 34). Possiblyi-decould be explained as ifiwere an abstract prefix anddeas referring to the light of the eye, hencei-demeans “eye”.
gabais the common word forirtu, “breast” (Br. 4477). The sign GABBU is a double MU-sign meaning “fulness”. From this idea of “fulness” we easily derive the idea of “open” (Br. 4490). So thatide gabameans “open eyed”. The two MU’s appear entirely separate in the Babylonian form of the sign as they do not in the Assyrian form (see TC. p. 18). Our GABBU is not so old as the GABBU of theStèleo des Vauturs, but is like Gudea’s GABBU (see Cylinder A, Cob XXI, line 25, in Déc. Plate 34).i-de gabais about equal to “omniscient”.
nì-te-namay be rendered as inline 1, “thyself,” or perhaps we could say “only”.
7.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil ama erim-na di-diO father Bêl, the lord that executest judgment on thy enemies!
7.a-adimmerMu-ul-lil ama erim-na di-di
O father Bêl, the lord that executest judgment on thy enemies!
ama: the meaning for AMMU with the valueamaisrîmu, “bull”. AMMU may mean “lord”,bêlu(Br. 4543). In the sign AMMU we have the hieroglyphs for the bull’s head and the mountain combined. In the oldest Babylonian form, of course, lines are used instead of wedges. In Assyrian the sign has been reduced to two horizontal wedges placed before the sign DÛGU. AMMU represents “the bull of the mountains”. Inline 9we shall have the sign GUṬṬU which represents “the bull not of the mountains”, i. e. “the domestic bull” or “the ox”. The sign is the same in form as AMMU, except that the little inside wedges representing the mountains are wanting.
erim-na:erimis taken to be the right value rather thanlaḥ, because of the followingnawhich serves as a phonetic complement,mandnbeing closely related because of their similar indeterminate nasal qualities.
erimaffords a meaning that seems to suit the context.erimmust be equal to the Assyrianṣâbuwhich must like the Hebrewṣābāhave in it the idea of “service”. Such expressions as the following bring out the idea of “service”.erim-bal-ku-a, “slave employed at the water wheel” (OBTR. Plate 91, Obv.).erim-bal-gub-ba,“slave who carries a hatchet” (OBTR. Plate 17, Obv.). A common meaning forerimis “warrior”, but the warrior as a soldier rather a general. Then from the idea “soldier of the enemy”, we come to the idea “enemy”, which seems to be the meaning here.
na, while serving phonetically, is also here a pronominal suffix.
di-dican equalkašâdu(Br. 9529 and 9563). The judgment implied bydi-di, accordingly, may be that executed on an enemy.di-diis more than pronouncing sentence. It is inflicting the punishment.
dimay be a value borrowed from the Assyriandânu, “to judge”, but this is uncertain, as such an occurrence implies Semitic influence which could not have amounted to much if this hymn was written at a very early period.