King of Babylon,lord of Esagila,King of Ezida,lord of Emachtila.—Hymn to Marduk No. 6.
King of Babylon,lord of Esagila,
King of Ezida,lord of Emachtila.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 6.
Kingship may be entrusted to the particular deity by the supreme god:
A sceptre for remote days has Bel furnished for thy hand.—Hymn to Sin No. 3.
A sceptre for remote days has Bel furnished for thy hand.
—Hymn to Sin No. 3.
On the other hand, a certain measure of independence of the supreme god seems to be assigned in the same two hymns to the two deities:
Ninib King son of Bel, who of himself is exalted.—Hymn to Ninib No. 7.
Ninib King son of Bel, who of himself is exalted.
—Hymn to Ninib No. 7.
Thou placest on the glittering heavens thy throne.—Hymn to Sin No. 2.
Thou placest on the glittering heavens thy throne.
—Hymn to Sin No. 2.
There are two statements related to the quality of the kingly rule:
Father Nannar,whose kingship is perfect.—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
Father Nannar,whose kingship is perfect.
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
King of kings, exalted, whose decrees none rival.—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
King of kings, exalted, whose decrees none rival.
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
“King of kings” occurs only here in the Assyrian hymns. It is a title that would come naturally into use, where city kings were compelled to pay homage to royal founders of empires.
Turning to the biblical hymns, it is noteworthy that, while Yahwe is spoken of several times as the “Maker of heaven and earth,” he isno where called “King of heaven and earth.” This would be such an appropriate title for Yahwe that its absence tends to indicate that there was little verbal borrowing of Hebrew hymnists from the Assyrian. Reference is made however in the biblical hymns to Yahwe’s throne:
Yahwe hath established his throne in the heavens,And his kingdom ruleth over all.—Psalm 103:19.
Yahwe hath established his throne in the heavens,
And his kingdom ruleth over all.
—Psalm 103:19.
which is quite similar to the following passage from Hymn to Sin No. 2:
In powerful sovereignty thou rulest the lands,Thou placest on the glittering heavens thy throne.
In powerful sovereignty thou rulest the lands,
Thou placest on the glittering heavens thy throne.
In both cases the throne (1) is in the heavens, (2) is established by deity himself, (3) is the seat from which wide sovereignty is exerted over the earth.
God reigneth over the nations,He sitteth upon his holy throne.—Psalm 47:9.
God reigneth over the nations,
He sitteth upon his holy throne.
—Psalm 47:9.
One is tempted to translate this: “He sitteth upon the throne of his sanctuary,” which is parallel to the following passage from Hymn to Ninib No. 7:
When he sits upon the great throne of the holy chamber.
When he sits upon the great throne of the holy chamber.
This translation is supported byPsalm 150:1: “Praise God in his sanctuary.” There are two references to the throne in the biblical hymns:
Established is thy throne of old.—Psalm 93:2.
Established is thy throne of old.
—Psalm 93:2.
Righteousness and justice are the establishment of his throne.—Psalm 97:2.
Righteousness and justice are the establishment of his throne.
—Psalm 97:2.
In both Assyrian and Hebrew hymns, the ascension to the throne is referred to as a joyous occasion:
Amid shouts of joy as king ascendest thou;A sceptre for remote days has Bel furnished for thy hand.—Hymn to Sin No. 7.
Amid shouts of joy as king ascendest thou;
A sceptre for remote days has Bel furnished for thy hand.
—Hymn to Sin No. 7.
God is gone up with a shout,Yahwe with the sound of a trumpet.—Psalm 47:6.
God is gone up with a shout,
Yahwe with the sound of a trumpet.
—Psalm 47:6.
There is no reference to the sceptre as in Yahwe’s hand, in the biblical hymns, although the sceptre is in the hands of the Messiah. (Psalm 2) As in the Assyrian hymns, emphasis is placed upon Yahwe’s sovereignty over the earth:
For Yahwe most high is terribleA great king over all the earth.—Psalm 47:3.
For Yahwe most high is terrible
A great king over all the earth.
—Psalm 47:3.
For God is the king of all the earth.—Psalm 47:8.
For God is the king of all the earth.
—Psalm 47:8.
God reigneth over the nations.—Psalm 47:9.
God reigneth over the nations.
—Psalm 47:9.
Say among the nations, Yahwe is king.—Psalm 96:10.
Say among the nations, Yahwe is king.
—Psalm 96:10.
Yahwe is king; let the earth rejoice.—Psalm 97:1.
Yahwe is king; let the earth rejoice.
—Psalm 97:1.
Yahwe reigneth, let the people tremble;He sitteth above the cherubims, let the earth be moved.—Psalm 99:1.
Yahwe reigneth, let the people tremble;
He sitteth above the cherubims, let the earth be moved.
—Psalm 99:1.
There can be no question of Yahwe’s subordination to any other God or accepting sovereignty from any other deity:
For a great God is Yahwe and a great king over all gods.—Psalm 95:3.
For a great God is Yahwe and a great king over all gods.
—Psalm 95:3.
Sin has been given by Bel: “a sceptre for remote days,” but:
Yahwe will be king forever,Thy God, O Zion, unto all generations.—Psalm 146:10.
Yahwe will be king forever,
Thy God, O Zion, unto all generations.
—Psalm 146:10.
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,And thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.—Psalm 145:13.
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
—Psalm 145:13.
Not only will Yahwe reign forever, but Yahwe has been reigning from the beginning:
Established is thy throne of old.—Psalm 93:2.
Established is thy throne of old.
—Psalm 93:2.
Yahwe sat at the flood,Yea Yahwe sitteth as king forever.—Psalm 29:10.
Yahwe sat at the flood,
Yea Yahwe sitteth as king forever.
—Psalm 29:10.
It is perhaps important for Old Testament scholarship to bear in mind that the conception of the deity as king is so very old, and thatit is present in the biblical hymns which can not be classed as eschatological. It is inPsalm 103that one finds the words:
Yahwe in the heavens hath established his throne,And his kingdom ruleth over all
Yahwe in the heavens hath established his throne,
And his kingdom ruleth over all
and inPsalm 95which can not be called eschatological, we have:
For a great God is Yahwe,And a great king over all gods—Psalm 95:3.
For a great God is Yahwe,
And a great king over all gods
—Psalm 95:3.
while inPsalm 48:3, Jerusalem is the: “City of the great king.” While therefore “Yahwe is King” is actually the opening line of several eschatological hymns, and while those hymns exult in the complete triumph of Yahwe yet it is only the completeness of the triumph that distinguishes in the matter of kingship the eschatological hymns from the others.
Kingship also implied Judgeship, the latter word having particular application to the rendering of judicial decisions or the achievement of justice for the oppressed. The actual word judge occurs occasionally in the Assyrian hymns as a title of the deity:
Shamash, lofty Judge of heaven and earth art thou.—Hymn to Shamash No. 1.
Shamash, lofty Judge of heaven and earth art thou.
—Hymn to Shamash No. 1.
Judge of heaven and earth; shining one of the world regions.—Hymn to Ishtar No. 2.
Judge of heaven and earth; shining one of the world regions.
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 2.
Judgeship in the Assyrian hymns implies authority. The deity as judge determines the course of events in the world:
Shamash, judge of the world, director of decisions art thou.—Hymn to Shamash No. 4.
Shamash, judge of the world, director of decisions art thou.
—Hymn to Shamash No. 4.
Shamash the lofty decider, the judge of heaven and earth art thou.—Hymn to Shamash No. 3.
Shamash the lofty decider, the judge of heaven and earth art thou.
—Hymn to Shamash No. 3.
Judge of all, who closest the door before the darkness,Who makes the decisions for men in their settlements.—Hymn to Ninib No. 2.
Judge of all, who closest the door before the darkness,
Who makes the decisions for men in their settlements.
—Hymn to Ninib No. 2.
Bel thy father has granted thee,That the law of all the gods thy hand should hold,Thou renderest the judgment of mankind.—Hymn to Ninib No. 1.
Bel thy father has granted thee,
That the law of all the gods thy hand should hold,
Thou renderest the judgment of mankind.
—Hymn to Ninib No. 1.
The judgeship of the Assyrian god has also ethical content:
Eternally just in heaven art thou.—Hymn to Shamash No. 1.
Eternally just in heaven art thou.
—Hymn to Shamash No. 1.
Judge incorruptible, governor of mankind.—Hymn to Shamash No. 6.
Judge incorruptible, governor of mankind.
—Hymn to Shamash No. 6.
Consequently the god intervenes in earthly affairs to overthrow wickedness and establish righteousness:
Just judge, who surveys the hearts of man who like the ...Makes right and justice to shine, who against the evil ...—Hymn to Nusku No. 12.
Just judge, who surveys the hearts of man who like the ...
Makes right and justice to shine, who against the evil ...
—Hymn to Nusku No. 12.
Nusku, mighty warrior god, who burns up the evil doer,Who introduces law and insight, administrator.—Hymn to Nusku No. 2.
Nusku, mighty warrior god, who burns up the evil doer,
Who introduces law and insight, administrator.
—Hymn to Nusku No. 2.
The wicked and the violent man thou correctest, proclaimest their condemnation.—Hymn to Ishtar No. 3.
The wicked and the violent man thou correctest, proclaimest their condemnation.
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 3.
Yahwe also exercised judgeship. The idea of kingship surely involves that of judgeship with it. And as king it is said of Yahwe:
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.—Psalm 97:2.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
—Psalm 97:2.
A strong one has become king,He loveth justice.—Psalm 99:4.
A strong one has become king,
He loveth justice.
—Psalm 99:4.
Yahwe overthrows wickedness and establishes righteousness:
Thou dost establish equity,Thou executest justice and righteousness in Jacob.—Psalm 99:4.
Thou dost establish equity,
Thou executest justice and righteousness in Jacob.
—Psalm 99:4.
Psalm 11says of Yahwe as king:
Yahwe trieth the righteous,But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.Upon the wicked he will rain snares;Fire and brimstone and burning windShall be the portion of their cup.—Psalm 11:5-6.
Yahwe trieth the righteous,
But the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
Upon the wicked he will rain snares;
Fire and brimstone and burning wind
Shall be the portion of their cup.
—Psalm 11:5-6.
For God is the judgeThis one he putteth down, and this one he raiseth up.—Psalm 75:8.
For God is the judge
This one he putteth down, and this one he raiseth up.
—Psalm 75:8.
And men shall say, Truly there is a reward for the righteous;Verily there is a God, who judgeth in the earth.—Psalm 58:12.
And men shall say, Truly there is a reward for the righteous;
Verily there is a God, who judgeth in the earth.
—Psalm 58:12.
Yahwe’s act of judgment, therefore, is equivalent to the deliverance of his own people:
Yahwe will judge his people,And upon his servants he will have mercy.—Psalm 135:14.
Yahwe will judge his people,
And upon his servants he will have mercy.
—Psalm 135:14.
Yahwe is thus continually judge of his people, but the supreme manifestation of his justice will be seen in the eschatological judgment:
He shall judge the world with righteousness,And the peoples with his truth.—Psalm 96:13.
He shall judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with his truth.
—Psalm 96:13.
He shall judge the world with righteousness,And the peoples with equity.—Psalm 98:9.
He shall judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with equity.
—Psalm 98:9.
Arise O God, judge the earth,For thou shalt inherit all the nations.—Psalm 82:8.
Arise O God, judge the earth,
For thou shalt inherit all the nations.
—Psalm 82:8.
The rendering of justice by the Assyrian deity is contemplated by his worshippers with joy:
Let Babylon rejoice in thee, let Esagila exult in thee,Thou judgest with justice, and formest decisions.—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
Let Babylon rejoice in thee, let Esagila exult in thee,
Thou judgest with justice, and formest decisions.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
As Yahwe’s final act of judgment is so comprehensive and momentous, the joy of Yahwe’s people is immeasurably greater than the enthusiasm of military victory. It is interesting to recall that one of the earliest, if not the earliest of all the Hebrew hymns, that sung by Miriam and the Hebrew women, celebrated a victory:
Sing ye to Yahwe, for he hath triumphed gloriously,The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.—Exodus 15:21.
Sing ye to Yahwe, for he hath triumphed gloriously,
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
—Exodus 15:21.
It is the same strong national spirit that flames forth in confidence of the great final victory inPsalm 68:2, 4:
Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered;Let them that hate him flee before him,But let the righteous be glad;Let them exult before God,And let them rejoice with gladness.
Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered;
Let them that hate him flee before him,
But let the righteous be glad;
Let them exult before God,
And let them rejoice with gladness.
While Yahwe’s victory has primary significance for Israel:
Let Israel rejoice in its maker,Let the sons of Zion be joyful in their king.—Psalm 149:2.
Let Israel rejoice in its maker,
Let the sons of Zion be joyful in their king.
—Psalm 149:2.
Yet the whole earth will rejoice when Yahwe cometh to judge the earth:
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;Let the sea roar and its fulness;Let the field exult, and all that is therein;Then all the trees of the field shall sing for joy;Before Yahwe, for he cometh;For he cometh to judge the earth;He will judge the world with righteousness,And the peoples with his truth.—Psalm 96:11-13.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
Let the sea roar and its fulness;
Let the field exult, and all that is therein;
Then all the trees of the field shall sing for joy;
Before Yahwe, for he cometh;
For he cometh to judge the earth;
He will judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with his truth.
—Psalm 96:11-13.
Yahwe is king; let the earth rejoice;Let the multitude of isles be glad.—Psalm 97:1.
Yahwe is king; let the earth rejoice;
Let the multitude of isles be glad.
—Psalm 97:1.
Shout to Yahwe all the earth;Break forth and sing for joy, yea sing praises.—Psalm 98:4.
Shout to Yahwe all the earth;
Break forth and sing for joy, yea sing praises.
—Psalm 98:4.
It is important to bear in mind that the conception of God as judge, even as the conception of God as king, is very old, and that Yahwe appears as king and judge in hymns that are not eschatological. It is only when religious faith extends Yahwe’s kingship and judgeship to the whole world, and conceives of Yahwe as triumphantly transforming the world in accordance with justice and truth, that the conception of Yahwe as Judge becomes eschatological.
It is now universally recognized by scholars that the Hebrew nation came late upon the stage of history, and that when the Hebrew Bedouin passed over out of the desert into the land of Canaan, they entered a land that had already experienced millenniums of civilization. In successive decades and centuries the Hebrew conquerors took over not only the land with its walled cities and its cultivated fields, but they took over also the land’s sanctuaries, and in large measure its religious and moral ideas.
One civilization among others that exerted very great influence for many centuries over Canaan came from the Tigris Euphrates valley. It brought to Canaan its language, its literary forms, its myths and legends, its legal statutes; it brought also in some degree the knowledge of its gods, and the hymns and prayers with which those gods were worshipped. The Hebrews were inevitably directly and indirectly influenced by Assyrian culture and religion.
It is of some importance to recognize, although the fact is by no means surprising, that the situations in life out of which the hymnal literatures grew were quite similar in Assyria and in Israel. Both peoples had a certain number of hymns, which can best be characterized as Nature hymns; but both peoples had also hymns which belong very clearly to the sanctuary. Some of these are processional hymns: the procession bringing the god to his sanctuary as inPsalm 24and Hymn to Marduk No. 13; or the procession entering the sanctuary to bring gifts to the god as inPsalm 95and the Hymn to Enlil; or the procession passing out from the sanctuary in solemn procession through the sacred city as inPsalm 48and a number of the Assyrian hymns. The great majority of hymns, however in both literatures, just as one would expect, offer praise to the deity in the sanctuary.
Not only is the background of the hymns relatively similar in both civilizations, but the principal features of Hebrew poetry, the rhythm, the uniform length of lines, parallelism, arrangement in strophes, the rhetorical question, the refrain, the antiphonal responses, the introductioninto the hymn of the divine oracle, all belong to the literature of the older civilization. Israel did not invent, but rather found already in existence, its literary forms.
Moreover Israel undoubtedly found in the older civilization much of its hymnal phraseology and many of its basic religious ideas. The conception of God as creator of heaven and earth did not first emerge with Israelitic monotheism, but is expressed in more than one Assyrian hymn. The thought of God as king, and as exerting authority above and below, did not wait for the establishment of the Israelitic monarchy under Saul, David, and Solomon, but was familiar to the Assyrian hymnist. Certainly the thought of the God of heaven, as making his earthy dwelling in a sacred sanctuary on holy ground, is many centuries older than Solomon’s temple. Finally the conception of God as wise, powerful, righteous, and merciful found frequent expression in the Assyrian hymns long before the Hebrews attributed those attributes to Yahwe.
However, this certainly does not mean that the Hebrews were merely passive recipients of Assyrian Culture. They did obviously take over certain literary forms and devices, but they created a new and distinct type of hymn, which begins and ends with the exhortation to praise Yahwe. What is even more important Hebrew genius has employed such simplicity, variety, beauty, and power of expression as to create such masterpieces of literature as Psalms8;24;29;47;67;100;96and150.
Again, Israel did undoubtedly take over, as has been indicated, certain basic conceptions of God, but Hebrew religious genius purified and exalted those conceptions. The Assyrian could conceive of one god as supreme among the gods; the Hebrew came to think of Yahwe as the only God, the altogether Spiritual Being, freed from the contamination of polytheism. The Assyrian exalted his god to the high heavens; the Hebrew emancipated Yahwe from any possibility of identification with sun, moon, or star, or any natural force. The Assyrian attributed to his god great power to bless or curse; the Hebrew attributed power to Yahwe, but dissociated him from all magical practise. The Assyrian does indeed ascribe to his god righteousness and mercy, but the Hebrew makes righteousness and mercy the essential attributes of Yahwe. In a word the hymnists of Israel attheir highest and best reflect the influence of the prophets, to which there was nothing comparable in Assyria.
One very important fact to be recognized is the emergence or development of the genuine hymn in Israel. It has been suggested that the great majority of so called Assyrian hymns are really only hymnal introductions to prayers or ceremonies; and furthermore that there may well be a line of development from the hymnal introduction to the independent hymn. There are two examples of hymnal introductions in the Old Testament Psalter, Psalms89and144; and there is some justification for selecting Psalms104and8as hymns which represent the completion of the process of development. Praise has thus attained to a much greater place in the Hebrew religion than in the religion of Assyria. Praise is no longer subordinate to any other goal; it has become an end in itself, profitable to man, and pleasing to God.
The Hebrew religion carries the hymn to its highest pitch of development in the eschatological hymn, which is sung in anticipation of Yahwe’s complete and final triumph upon earth. The eschatological hymn owes its origin to the strong national spirit of the Hebrews, the strength of their conviction that a moral order exists in the world, and their faith in Yahwe as the wise and good, and powerful God who will bring justice and righteousness to triumph in the earth. There was in Assyria also, as we have seen, the thought of god as exalted king, but the Assyrians never attained to the conception of a god establishing complete and final ethical sovereignty over the earth.
The study of the Assyrian psalms has value for the Old Testament student in widening his field of knowledge, and thus saving him from the danger of setting up false standards. It is enlightening for him to observe in the Assyrian hymns the very frequent fact of irregularity, in the length of lines, in the number of lines in the strophe, in the type of parallelism employed. This suggests that often it may be variety and not uniformity that the poet is seeking, and that extreme caution ought to be observed in altering the Hebrew text, to make it conform to a Western conception of order and regularity.
One is impressed also by the prominence of the individual in the Assyrian hymn, and in the Assyrian cult, and is thus warned against the highly artificial assumption that the individual of the Hebrewpsalms is a personification of the Hebrew nation. The individual may well have played a much larger part in the early religion of Israel than has been commonly supposed.
The study of the Assyrian hymns will have value at various other points. The consideration of the place of the refrains, the antiphonal renderings, the divine oracles will help us to understand the use of the hymn in the Hebrew cult. Acquaintance with the Assyrian hymnal phraseology will undoubtedly be of assistance in the interpretation and clearer understanding of many phrases in the Hebrew hymns. The Assyrian hymns make however their indispensable contribution in that practically all the religious ideas of the Hebrew hymns exist in cruder form in the Assyrian hymns. They help us to reconstruct the polytheistic background of the Hebrew religion. They leave us with a clearer perception that Yahwe was primarily a god of heaven, and with a fuller knowledge of just what that means. They help us to understand the prominence given to the attributes of Yahwe as a mighty god of war. They prove the antiquity of the conception of God as king and judge, shepherd and father. They reflect crude and crass ideas of the divine wisdom, power, and mercy. Against the background of the Assyrian hymns one gains a juster appreciation of the developed Hebrew doctrine of God, the omnipresent, the omniscient, the omnipotent, whose eternal plan is to be fulfilled, who will cause truth and righteousness to prevail in the earth, who is to be universally and eternally adored.
1. Rawlinson,Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, IV: 2, 28 No. 1; translated by Jastrow,Die Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens, I, 426; and by Fossey,La Magie Assyrienne, No. 30. It is a hymn of fourteen lines, introducing a petition to Shamash for the healing of the king. The first two lines of the obverse and reverse sides of the tablet are missing.
2. R. IV: 2, 20 No. 2, translated by Jastrow, I, 427. There remain only the first five lines of a hymn, introducing a prayer to Shamash at the rising of the sun.
3. R. V, 50; translated by Jastrow, I, 428; by Zimmern,Babylonische Hymnen und Gebete in Auswahl, Der Alte Orient, 1905, page 15; and by Fossey,La Magie Assyrienne, No. 42. It is a hymn of eleven lines, introducing a petition to Shamash for the freeing of the king from the ban resting upon him, the prayer being offered at sunrise.
4. Abel-Winckler,Keilschrifttexte, pages 59 to 60; translated by Jastrow, I, 429. It is a hymn of twelve lines addressed to Shamash at sunset, wishing the God a safe return and glad welcome to his home from Ea his wife.
5. R. IV: 2, 19 No. 2; translated by Jastrow, I, 429; and by Zimmern,Der Alte Orient, 1905, page 15. It is a hymn of ten lines addressed to Shamash at sunrise. After this hymnal section the poem goes on to describe how the gods inhale the odor of the sacrifice and refresh themselves with the “food of heaven.” This suggests that the rising of the sun was the signal for the offering of sacrifice and the praise of Shamash, even as it was also the favorable moment for the banning of the powers of darkness which troubled men. (See Jastrow, I, 430.)
6. Craig,Assyrian and Babylonian Religious Texts, II, 3; also Gray,The Shamash Religious Texts, IV; translated by Jastrow II, 72; by Zimmern,Der Alte Orient, 1905, page 15; by Martin,Textes religieux Assyriens et Babyloniens, pages 14-26. It is a hymn of six lines, followed by a prayer, in which an individual petitions for release from the ban occasioning his sickness.
7. Gray,The Shamash Religious Texts, pages 9-23; translated by Gray; also by Jastrow, I, 432. It is a hymn, complete in four columns of four hundred and twenty lines, and is entirely free from any reference to incantation.
1. Published and translated by Perry,Hymnen und Gebete an Sin(Leipz. Sem. Studien, 1907); by King,Babylonian Magic and Sorcery(London 1896); by Combe,Histoire du Culte de Sin(Paris 1908). It is a hymn of eleven lines introducing a petition of sixteen lines, in which the king, on an occasion of an eclipse of the moon, requests an oracle promising deliverance from the evil which has befallen his palace and land. It is addressed to Sin in the second person.
2. Published and translated by Perry and Combe. It gives the first fourteen lines of a hymnal introduction to prayer, and then breaks off. It is addressed to Sin in the second person.
3. Published and translated by Perry. It is a hymn of twenty-one lines with many repetitions. The last three lines of Perry No. 3, form the first four lines of Perry No. 4, the two apparently forming one hymn. Of No. 4 some nineteen lines are preserved, the last lines of the obverse and reverse being missing and other lines damaged. It is addressed to Sin in the second person.
4. Published and translated by Perry, King, and Combe. It is a hymn of eleven lines, introducing a prayer of fourteen lines seeking the favor of Sin. It is in the second person. The prayer contains the lament and petition of an individual who feels that his god is angry with him and afflicting him.
5. Published by Rawlinson IV, 5; also by Perry; and Combe: translated by Jastrow, I, 436; by Zimmern,Der Alte Orient, page II, 1905; by Perry; by Combe; by Ungnad in Gressmann,Altorientalische Texte und Bilder, page 80; by Rogers,Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament, page 141. It is a hymn of thirty-nine lines, introducing a petition nine lines in length for a temple of the god Sin. It is addressed in the second person to Sin, and was probably recited or sung at the full moon festival.
1. Published and translated by King,Babylonian Magic, No. 22; also translated by Jastrow, I, 445. It contains eight lines of invocation, followed by the petition at much greater length of an individual, requesting healing of his disease, favorable dreams, and the support of his god.
2. R. IV: 2, 20 No. 3; translated by Jastrow, I, 447. It is a fragment, giving ten lines of a hymn in couplets, of which the second line largely repeats the preceding line.
1. Published and translated by King,Babylonian Magic, No. 2; translated by Jastrow, I, 448. The first fourteen lines are addressed to the god in epithets of praise. In the lines which follow an individual reminds the god of his sacrifice, and pleads for forgiveness of his sin and the favor of the god.
2. Transliterated and translated by Jensen,Kosmologie der Babylonier, pages 470-472; also translated by Jastrow, I, 449. It is an hymnal introduction to prayer, twelve lines in length.
3. Kouyunjik Collection, 2864, 1-22; published and translated by Hrozny,Sumerisch-babylonische Mythen von dem Gotte Ninrag in Mitteilungen der vorderasiatischen Gesellschaft, 1903. It is a hymn addressed in the second person to Ninib, of which unfortunately only twelve lines are preserved, and of these no single line is complete. The hymn is composed in couplets the second line being a response to the first.
4. K 8531 and Rm 126; published and translated by Hrozny; translated by Jastrow, I, 455. Here we have an address of the God Nusku to the God Ninib, of which the first seven lines are epithets of praise, which are then followed by a petition that the anger of the God may abate, and that he be honored by the great God.
5. K 4829; published and translated by Hrozny; translated by Jastrow, I, 459. It is a hymn of fourteen lines, in which Ninib praises his own power.
6. R. II, 19 No. 2; published and translated by Hrozny; translated by Jastrow, I, 460. This is a hymn of thirteen lines in which the God Ninib sings his own praise.
7. Published and translated by Hrozny; translated by Jastrow, I, 463. This is a hymnal composition of thirty lines in the course of which the god Sharur addresses Ninib with hymnal praises.
1. Published and translated by King,Babylonian Magic, No. 27; translated by Jastrow, I, 467; also by Böllenrücher,Gebete und Hymnen an Nergal, No. 1. The first ten lines constitute a hymnal introduction to the prayer that follows. Lines 11-13 are a lament, lines 14-23 a petition, and line 24 a vow.
2. Published and translated by Böllenrücher,Gebete und Hymnen an NergalNo. 2; also by King,Babylonian Magic, No. 46; translated by Jastrow, I, 471. Nine lines of praise are addressed to the god, when the tablet breaks off.
3. Published and translated by Böllenrücher,Gebete und Hymnen an NergalNo. 3. The beginning and end of the hymn are missing. Of the twelve lines remaining no single line is complete.
4. R. IV: 2, 26 No. 1; published and translated by Böllenrücher, No. 4; translated by Jastrow, I, 470. Only the first ten lines of this hymn are preserved. For the first eight lines, the second half line is a refrain.
5. R. IV: 2, 24 No. 1; published and translated by Böllenrücher, No. 5; translated by Jastrow, I, 469. Of this hymn thirty-eight lines are preserved and are so arranged in couplets that the first line gives a title or attribute of the deity, while the second lines begin with the words: “God Nergal” and repeat the first words of the preceding line. It is thus a hymn with responses, made probably by priest and choir.
6. Published by Craig,Zeitschrift für Assyriologie, X, 276; Published and translated by Böllenrücher, No. 6. The hymn is divided into two parts. The first part of some forty lines is addressed directly to the god. Of these forty lines there are eleven couplets, of which the first half lines make a double refrain. The second half of the hymn is in praise of the word of the god. Thirteen lines begin with, “His word.” The entire hymn is antiphonal in character.
7. R. IV: 2, 30 No. 1; Haupt,Akkadisch-Sumerische Keilschrifttexte, No. 20; published and translated by Böllenrücher, No. 7; translated by Jastrow, I, 478. The first fourteen lines of the hymn are in narrative style, praising the attack of Nergal upon the hostile land. After a gap, where some lines are missing, there are twenty-one lines of praise addressed directly to the god in the second person.
8. K 9880; published and translated by Böllenrücher, No. 8; translated by Jastrow, I, 477. It is an individual hymn, addressed directly to Nergal, of which after the twelfth line the tablet breaks off.
1. R. IV: 2, 28 No. 2; transliterated and translated by Strong,Proceedingsof the Society of Biblical Archaeology, XX, 161; translated by Jastrow, I, 482. It is a fragment of nine lines of a hymn praising in the third person of the verb the power of Adad.
2. Transliterated and translated by Langdon, Sumerian and Babylonian Hymns, pages 280-283; also by Rogers,Cuneiform Parallels, page 147; also by Ungnad in Gressmann,Altorientalische Texte, pages 83f. It is characterized by Langdon, Rogers, andUngnad as a hymn. It includes an invocation to the god of ten lines, a hymn proper of four lines, an address of Enlil to Ramman of ten lines and a narrative section of four lines.
3. Transliterated and translated by King, Babylonian Magic, No. 21. It is a fragment of a hymn, containing nine broken lines.
1. R. IV: 2, No. 3; translated by Jastrow, I, 487. It is a short hymnal introduction of eight lines, little more than an invocation to the god.
2. Craig,Assyrian and Babylonian Religious Texts, I, plate 35; translated by Jastrow, I, 487. After nineteen lines the text breaks off. The nineteen lines are of the nature of an invocation.
3. Tallquist,Die assyrische Beschworungsserie, Maklu II, pages 1-17; translated by Jastrow, I, 297. It is a hymnal introduction of eleven lines, addressed directly to the god, and followed by an individual’s petition in seven lines for the destruction of those whose witchcraft was afflicting him.
1. R. IV: 2, 27 No. 2; translated by Jastrow, I, 489. Only five lines of the hymn are preserved. They seem to praise the great tower of Bel’s temple at Ekur.
2. R. IV: 2, 27 No. 4; Haupt,Akkadische und sumerische Keilinschrifttexte, page 183; translated by Jastrow, I, 490. Eleven lines constitute an invocation to Bel. The text then breaks off.
3. King,Babylonian Magic, No. 19; Jastrow, I, 492. Sixteen broken hymnal lines introduce the petition of a king.
1. Craig, Religious Texts, I, plates 29-31; published and translated by Brünnow,Assyrian Hymns, inZeitschrift für Assyriologie, IV, 246-248 and V, 58-66, 77-78; translated by Martin,Textes religieux Assyriens et Babyloniens, and by Jastrow, I, 513. The hymn consists of thirty-eight lines, and is followed by the petition that the anger of the god may abate and favor be shown the suppliant.
2. K 3459; Hehn,Hymnen und Gebete an Marduk, inBeitrage zur Assyriologie, V, 278-400. The poem is in three columns. Of column I, seven lines out of twenty are preserved entire. Of the twenty-one lines of column II, twelve are missing, and no single line is complete. Columns I and III are in praise of Marduk, while column II seeks forgiveness of sin and deliverance of a sufferer from trouble.
3. K 3505; The first seventeen lines of a hymn are addressed directly to Marduk. The text then breaks off.
4. King,Tablets of Creation, I, 204 ff; Craig,Religious Texts, I, Plate 43; Hehn, No. 5; Jastrow, I, 496ff. The first twenty-one lines of a hymn are in praise of Marduk. The text then breaks off. In the hymnal portion the third person of the verb is used.
5. R. IV: 2, 26 No. 4; translated by Jastrow, I, 496; also by Jeremias in Roscher’sLexicon, II, col. 2367; also by Hehn, No. 6. Nine lines of a hymn in praise of Marduk, the God of War, are preserved. The text then breaks off.
6. R. IV: 2, 29, No. 1; translated by Jastrow, I, 501; also by Fossey,La Magie assyrienne, pages 364-369; also by Jeremias in Roscher’sLexicon, II, col. 2355; also by Hehn, No. 7. It is a hymn twenty-nine lines in length, of definite strophic arrangement, addressed directly to Marduk, and followed by exorcisms of various demons.
7. R. IV: 2, 18, No. 1; translated by Hehn, No. 12. It is a fragment of eight lines, referring to the founding of Babylon and the temple of Marduk.
8. R. IV: 2, 21, No. 1; also King,Babylonian Magic, No. 9; translated by King; by Hehn, No. 13; also by Jastrow, I, 500f. Though characterized by King and Jastrow as a prayer, yet the first nine lines, constituting the invocation to the god may be regarded as hymnal material. The body of the prayer consists of seventeen lines, and may well be from a king, seeking health and the favor and support of his god.
9. R. IV: 2, 57; translated by King No. 12; by Hehn No. 14; by Jastrow, I, 499; by Lenormant,La Divination, page 212ff; by Sayce,Hibbert Lectures, pages 536ff. This tablet is concerned with the curing by Marduk’s help of a sick man. The first sixteen lines give directions for the ceremonies to be performed. The priest is instructed to hold the hand of the sick man, and repeat the prayer, lines 17-94. Of these lines 17-44 are hymnal, serving as an invocation to the prayer. Following the prayer there are directions for further ceremonies. The hymn is in the second person addressed directly to the god.
10. K 8961; Craig,Assyrian and Babylonian Religious Texts, I, Pl. 59; translated by Hehn, No. 17; also by Jastrow, I, 497. An incantation hymn, of which only twelve lines remain, is addressed directly to Marduk as an invocation to prayer.
11. Craig,Assyrian and Babylonian Religious Texts, I, Pl. 1; translated by Martin,Textes religieux; also by Jastrow, I, 509. Of thistext the opening lines are missing. Ten lines are preserved, being a prayer in the mouth of the priest, of which the first five lines supply the element of adoration.
12. R. IV: 2, 40, No. 1 transliterated and translated by Ball,Proceedingsof the Society of Biblical Archaeology, XV, 51-54; translated also by Hehn, No. 25; by Sayce,Hibbert Lectures, pages 80f; by Jastrow, I, 509. The text comprises thirty-two lines. Lines 1 to 6 state that the priest is to rise in the first hour of the night on the second day of Nisan, wash in river water, put on a linen garment and repeat his prayer. Of the prayer, lines 7 to 28 are hymnal; lines 29 to 32 petition the favor of the god for the city, Babylon and the temple, Esagila.
13. R. IV: 2, 18 No. 2; Also published and translated by Weissbach,Babylonische Miscellen, pages 36-41; translated also by Ungnad, page 85; by Rogers, page 130; by Jastrow, I, 503. This is a text of thirty-seven lines. A colophon at the end directs that the hymn should be used on the eleventh day of Nisan, when Marduk enters his own sanctuary in the temple Esagila. It is a processional hymn apparently sung antiphonally, a priest or choir chanting the first half of the line, and a choir responding with the refrain. The first thirty-three lines welcome the god to his temple; the last four lines petition his favor for the city and its temple.
14. Hehn No. 16; King No. 18; Jastrow, I, 513. This is a fragment of which the first lines are missing. A petition for relief from sickness is preceded by hymnal lines praising Marduk, and expressing confidence in him.
1. Craig,Religious Texts, I, plates 32-34; translated by Jastrow, I, 520. This is called by Jastrow a Litany to Asshur. It begins with a hymn, twenty-two lines of which are preserved. Then in six lines Anu, Bel, Ea, and the great gods proclaim Asshurbanapal ruler of Assyria, and in the last four lines the god Asshur himself calls Asshurbanapal to lordship.
1. King No. 1; duplicate, No. 5; translated by Jastrow, I, 529. It is only a fragment of five lines of praise addressed directly to Ishtar.
2. King No. 32; translated by Jastrow, I, 529. It is a fragment of ten lines of praise, addressed directly to Ishtar.
3. Craig, Religious Texts, I, plates 15-17; translated by Jastrow, I, 535. Eighteen lines of praise are followed by an enumeration of thesacrifices, foods for the temple servants, and of gifts of gold, as well as by directions for the purification of the sick, who wish to be healed by Ishtar.
4. Reisner, Sumerisch-babylonische Hymnen, No. 56; transliterated and translated by Hussey, No. 1. The tablet was according to the colophon ninety-five lines in length, but only fifteen strophes of four lines each are in good preservation. It is a hymn sung by Ishtar in praise of herself.
5. Reisner No. 53; translated by Hussey, No. 5; by Langdon,Sumerian and Babylonian Psalms, page 192; by Jastrow, I, 530. This hymn opens with three strophes of four, three, and four lines respectively in praise of the goddess. Then in strophes of five, four, and seven lines Ishtar appears singing her own praise. There follows the prayer of thirteen lines petitioning the removal of her anger.
1. Craig, I, plate 1; translated by Jastrow, I, 536. This is a hymn of eleven lines addressed directly to the goddess, followed by a brief petition for the suppliant, the king, and the people of Babylon.
1. King No. 4; translated by Jastrow, I, 537. The hymn consists of seven lines of invocation to Damkina, and is followed by a petition for the averting of evil threatened by an eclipse of the moon.
1. Haupt,Assyrisch-sumerische Keilinschrifttexte, pages 126-131; Prince,The Hymn to BelitK 357, in theJournalof the American Oriental Society, XXIV, 103-128; translated by Jastrow, I, 538f. This is a hymn of some fifty lines sung entirely by Belit in her own praise.
2. Text and transliteration by Scheil,Zeitschrift für Assyriologie, X, 291-298; also Scheil,Une saison de fouilles a Sippar, page 98 and Tablet II; translated by Jastrow, I, 541. The first twelve lines of the hymn are addressed to Nippur the city of Bel. The following thirty-eight lines are in praise of Belit, and are for the most part addressed directly to her.
1. Transliterated and translated by Langdon,Sumerian and Babylonian Hymns, page 277. It is a psalm of twenty-five lines. The singers are the bearers of sacrificial gifts to Enlil. The hymn is addressed directly to the god.