Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions

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Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions (1918)
by George A. Barton

The Oldest Religious Text From Babylonia

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2398780Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions1918George A. Barton

MISCELLANEOUS
BABYLONIAN
INSCRIPTIONS

BY

GEORGE A. BARTON
PROFESSOR IN BRYN MAWR COLLEGE

NEW HAVEN
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON HUMPHREY MILFORD
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
MDCCCCXVIII

COPYRIGHT 1918 BY
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS

First published, August, 1918.

TO
HAROLD PEIRCE
GENEROUS AND EFFICIENT HELPER IN GOOD WORKS

PART I

SUMERIAN RELIGIOUS TEXTS

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

The texts in this volume have been copied from tablets in the University Museum, Philadelphia, and edited in moments snatched from many other exacting duties. They present considerable variety. No. 1 is an incantation copied from a foundation cylinder of the time of the dynasty of Agade. It is the oldest known religious text from Babylonia, and perhaps the oldest in the world. No. 8 contains a new account of the creation of man and the development of agriculture and city life. No. 9 is an oracle of Ishbiurra, founder of the dynasty of Nisin, and throws an interesting light upon his career.

It need hardly be added that the first interpretation of any unilingual Sumerian text is necessarily, in the present state of our knowledge, largely tentative. Every one familiar with the language knows that every text presents many possibilities of translation and interpretation. The first interpreter cannot hope to have thought of all of these, or to have decided every delicate point in a way that will commend itself to all his colleagues.

The writer is indebted to Professor Albert T. Clay, to Professor Morris Jastrow, Jr., and to Dr. Stephen Langdon for many helpful criticisms and suggestions. Their wide knowledge of the religious texts of Babylonia, generously placed at the writer's service, has been most helpful. His thanks are also due to Dr. Edward Chiera for helpful criticisms of the text. He is also grateful to the authorities of the University Museum for the privilege of copying the tablets, and to Dr. George B. Gordon, the Director of the Museum, for many courtesies during the progress of the work. He is also deeply grateful to Mr. Harold Peirce whose aid has made this publication possible.

ABBREVIATIONS

AJSL	The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures.
B	Brünnow: A Classified List of Cuneiform Ideographs.
BA	Beiträge zur Assyriologie, edited by Delitzsch and Haupt.
BE	The Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania, edited by Hilprecht.
CT	Cuneiform Texts from Babylonian Tablets, etc., in the British Museum.
JAOS	Journal of the American Oriental Society.
KAT³	Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament, 3te Aufl.
M	Meissner: Seltene assyrische Ideogramme.
OBW	Barton: The Origin and Development of Babylonian Writing.
PBS	University of Pennsylvania, The University Museum, Publications of the Babylonian Section.
PSBA	Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, London.
SBAD	Barton: Sumerian Business and Administrative Documents from the Earliest Times to the Dynasty of Agade. It is Vol. IX in PBS.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE
INTRODUCTORY NOTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		vii
THE OLDEST RELIGIOUS TEXT FROM BABYLONIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		1
AN OLD BABYLONIAN ORACLE(?) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		21
A HYMN TO DUNGI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		26
A MYTH OF ENLIL AND NINLIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		34
FRAGMENT OF AN INCANTATION RITUAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		42
A PRAYER FOR THE CITY OF UR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		45
A HYMN TO IBI-SIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		49
A NEW CREATION MYTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		52
AN ORACLE FOR ISHBIURRA, FOUNDER OF THE DYNASTY OF ISIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		57
AN EXCERPT FROM AN EXORCISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		60
A FRAGMENT OF THE SO-CALLED "LITURGY TO NINTUD" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		62
LIST OF TABLETS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		67
AUTOGRAPHED TEXTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		PLATES I–XXIII
PHOTOGRAPHIC REPRODUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		PLATES XXIV–XL
CORRECTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .		PLATE XLI

This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.

Original:

This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

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Translation:

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.

The longest-living author of this work died in 1942, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 81 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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