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9.
Title Page
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations and Symbols
1. General Abbreviations
2. Abbreviations of Biblical Books (Including the Apocrypha)
3. Talmudic Sources
List of Contributors
Introduction
Canonical Compositions from the Biblical World
Egyptian Canonical Compositions
1. A. Divine Focus
1. 1. Cosmologies
1. From the “Book of Nut” (1.1)
2. From Coffin Texts Spell 714 (1.2)
3. From Pyramid Texts Spell 527 (1.3)
4. From Pyramid Texts Spell 600 (1.4)
5. From Coffin Texts Spell 75 (1.5)
6. From Coffin Texts Spell 76 (1.6)
7. From Coffin Texts Spell 78 (1.7)
8. From Coffin Texts Spell 80 (1.8)
9. From Papyrus Bremner-Rhind (1.9)
10. From Coffin Texts Spell 335 = Book of the Dead Spell 17 (1.10)
11. Coffin Texts Spell 261 (1.11)
12. From Coffin Texts Spell 647 (1.12)
13. From a Ramesside Stela (1.13)
14. From the Berlin “Hymn to Ptah” (1.14)
15. From the “Memphite Theology” (1.15)
16. From Papyrus Leiden I 350 (1.16)
17. From Coffin Texts Spell 1130 (1.17)
18. Book of the Dead 175 (1.18)
19. Coffin Text 157 (1.19)
20. Book of the Dead 112 (1.20)
2. 2. Other Myths
1. The Repulsing of the Dragon (1.21)
2. The Legend of Isis and the Name of Re (1.22)
3. The Legend of Astarte and the Tribute of the Sea (1.23)
4. The Destruction of Mankind (1.24)
3. 3. Hymns
1. The Great Cairo Hymn of Praise to Amun-Re (1.25)
2. The Great Hymn to Osiris (1.26)
3. Two Hymns to the Sun–God (1.27)
4. The Great Hymn to Aten (1.28)
4. 4. Prayers
1. Prayer to Re-harakhti (1.29)
5. 5. Harpers’ Songs
1. The Song from the Tomb of King Intef (1.30)
2. The Song from the Tomb of Neferhotep (1.31)
6. 6. Divination, Incantation, Ritual
1. Execration Texts (1.32)
2. Dream Oracles (1.33)
3. Daily Ritual of the Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak (1.34)
2. B. Royal Focus
1. 1. Instructions
1. Merikare (1.35)
2. Amenemhet (1.36)
2. 2. Historiography
1. King Lists (1.37)
2. 1. Karnak List (1.37A)
3. 2. Abydos List (al) (1.37B)
4. 3. Sakkara King List (sl) (1.37C)
5. 4. Turin Canon (1.37D)
3. C. Individual Focus
1. 1. Narratives
1. Sinuhe (1.38)
2. The Shipwrecked Sailor (1.39)
3. The Two Brothers (1.40)
4. The Report of Wenamun (1.41)
2. 2. “Prophecy”
1. The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage: The Admonitions of Ipuwer (1.42)
2. The Eloquent Peasant (1.43)
3. The Complaints of Khakheperrē-Sonb (1.44)
4. The Prophecies of Neferti (1.45)
3. 3. Instructions
1. Instruction of Any (1.46)
2. Instruction of Amenemope (1.47)
3. Dua-khety or the Satire on the Trades (1.48)
4. 4. Love Poems
1. Papyrus Harris 500 (1.49)
2. Cairo Love Songs (1.50)
3. Papyrus Chester Beatty I (1.51)
4. Ostracon Gardiner 304 (1.52)
5. 5. Pseudepigrapha
1. The Famine Stela (1.53)
2. The Legend of the Possessed Princess (“Bentresh Stela”) (1.54)
4. Egyptian Bibliography
10. Hittite Canonical Compositions
1. A. Divine Focus
1. 1. Myths
1. Elkunirša and Ašertu (1.55)
2. The Storm-god and the Serpent (Illuyanka) (1.56)
3. The Wrath of Telipinu (1.57)
4. Appu and His Two Sons (1.58)
5. The Sun God and the Cow (1.59)
2. 2. Prayers
1. Plague Prayers of Muršili II (1.60)
3. 3. Rituals
1. The “Ritual between the Pieces” (1.61)
2. Puliša’s Ritual against Plague (1.62)
3. Uḫḫamuwa’s Ritual against Plague (1.63)
4. Zarpiya’s Ritual (1.64)
5. Ritual and Prayer to Ishtar of Nineveh (1.65)
6. The First Soldiers’ Oath (1.66)
7. The Second Soldiers’ Oath (1.67)
4. 4. Incantations
1. Purifying a House: A Ritual for the Infernal Deities (1.68)
2. The Storm God at Liḫzina (1.69)
3. Establishing a New Temple for the Goddess of the Night (1.70)
2. B. Royal Focus
1. 1. Epic
1. The Queen of Kanesh and the Tale of Zalpa (1.71)
2. 2. Historiography
1. Proclamation of Anitta of Kuššar (1.72)
2. Crossing of the Taurus (1.73)
3. Deeds of Suppiluliuma (1.74)
4. The Hittite Conquest of Cyprus: Two Inscriptions of Suppiluliuma II (1.75)
3. 3. Biography and Autobiography
1. The Proclamation of Telipinu (1.76)
2. Apology of Ḫattušili III (1.77)
4. 4. Oracles
1. Excerpt from an Oracle Report (1.78)
2. Assuring the Safety of the King during the Winter (1.79)
3. C. Individual Focus
1. 1. Proverbs
1. Hittite Proverbs (1.80)
2. 2. Other Wisdom Literature
1. Fragment of a Wisdom Text(?) (1.81)
2. Excerpt from the Hurro-Hittite Bilingual Wisdom Text (1.82)
3. 3. Instructions
1. Instructions to Priests and Temple Officials (1.83)
2. Instructions to Commanders of Border Garrisons (Bel Madgalti) (1.84)
3. Instructions to the Royal Guard ( Mešedi Protocol ) (1.85)
4. Hittite Bibliography
11. West Semitic Canonical Compositions
1. A. Divine Focus
1. 1. Ugaritic Myths
1. The Baʿlu Myth (1.86)
2. Dawn and Dusk (1.87)
2. 2. Prayers
1. Ugaritic Prayer for a City under Siege (1.88)
2. The Prayer of Nabonidus (4QPrNab) (1.89)
3. 3. Divination
1. Ugaritic Birth Omens (1.90)
2. Ugaritic Lunar Omens (1.91)
3. Ugaritic Extispicy (1.92)
4. Ugaritic Dream Omens (1.93)
4. 4. Incantations and Rituals
1. Ugaritic Liturgy against Venomous Reptiles (1.94)
2. Ugaritic Rites for the Vintage (KTU 1.41//1.87) (1.95)
3. Ugaritic Incantation against Sorcery (1.96)
4. ʾIlu On a Toot (1.97)
5. A Punic Sacrificial Tariff (1.98)
6. The Aramaic Text in Demotic Script (1.99)
7. A Ugaritic Incantation against Serpents and Sorcerers (1.100)
8. The London Medical Papyrus (1.101)
2. B. Royal Focus
1. 1. Epic
1. The Kirta Epic (1.102)
2. The ʾAqhatu Legend (1.103)
2. 2. Historiography
1. Ugaritic King List (1.104)
3. 3. Rephaʾim Texts
1. The Patrons of the Ugaritic Dynasty (KTU 1.161) (1.105)
3. C. Individual Focus
1. 1. Instructions
1. Hippiatric Texts (1.106)
2. 2. School Texts
1. Abecedaries (1.107)
4. West Semitic Bibliography
12. Akkadian Canonical Compositions
1. A. Divine Focus
1. 1. Myths
1. The Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld (1.108)
2. Nergal and Ereshkigal
3. Nergal and Ereshkigal
4. Epic of Creation (1.111)
5. The Theogony of Dunnu (1.112)
6. Erra and Ishum (1.113)
2. 2. Hymns and Prayers
1. Prayer to Marduk (1.114)
2. Prayer to Gods of the Night (1.115)
3. Diurnal Prayers of Diviners (1.116)
4. The Shamash Hymn (1.117)
3. 3. Lamentations and Elegies
1. A Neo-Babylonian Lament for Tammuz (1.118)
2. An Assyrian Elegy (1.119)
4. 4. Divination
1. Mesopotamian Omens (1.120)
5. 5. Incantations
1. Old Babylonian Incantation against Cattle Disease (1.121)
6. 6. Rituals
1. The Installation of the Storm God’s High Priestess (1.122)
2. The Zukru Festival (1.123)
3. Six Months of Ritual Supervision by the Diviner (1.124)
4. Two Months Joined by the Underworld, with Barring and Opening of Doors
(1.125)
5. Two Kissu Festivals (1.126)
6. A Psephomancy Ritual from Assur (1.127)
7. 7. Love Poems
1. Love Lyrics of Nabu and Tashmetu (1.128)
2. B. Royal Focus
1. 1. Epic
1. The Adapa Story (1.129)
2. Atra-ḫasis (1.130)
3. Etana (1.131)
4. Gilgamesh (1.132)
5. The Birth Legend of Sargon of Akkad (1.133)
2. 2. Historiography
1. Babylonian King Lists (1.134)
2. Assyrian King Lists (1.135)
3. Assyrian Eponym Canon (1.136)
4. The Babylonian Chronicle (1.137)
5. The Weidner Chronicle (1.138)
3. 3. Royal Hymns
1. A Hymn Celebrating Assurnasirpal II’s Campaigns to the West (1.139)
2. A Prayer from a Coronation Ritual of the Time of Tukulti-Ninurta I (1.140)
3. A Hymn to Nanaya With a Blessing for Sargon II (1.141)
4. Assurbanipal’s Coronation Hymn (1.142)
5. An Assurbanipal Hymn for Shamash (1.143)
6. An Assurbanipal Prayer for Mullissu (1.144)
7. Dialogue between Assurbanipal and Nabu (1.145)
8. A Late Piece of Constructed Mythology Relevant to the Neo-Assyrian and Middle
Assyrian Coronation Hymn and Prayer (1.146)
4. 4. Fictional Royal Autobiography
1. The Adad-Guppi Autobiography (1.147)
2. The Autobiography of Idrimi (1.148)
3. The Marduk Prophecy (1.149)
4. The Dynastic Prophecy (1.150)
3. C. Individual Focus
1. 1. Just Sufferer Compositions
1. Dialogue between a Man and His God (1.151)
2. A Sufferer’s Salvation (1.152)
3. The Poem of the Righteous Sufferer (1.153)
4. The Babylonian Theodicy (1.154)
2. 2. Dialogue
1. Dialogue of Pessimism or the Obliging Slave (1.155)
3. 3. Humorous Texts
1. “At the Cleaners” (1.156)
4. Akkadian Bibliography
13. Sumerian Canonical Compositions
1. A. Divine Focus
1. 1. Myths
1. The Song of the Hoe (1.157)
2. The Eridu Genesis (1.158)
3. Enki and Ninmaḫ (1.159)
4. The Exaltation of Inanna (1.160)
5. Inanna and Enki (1.161)
2. 2. Hymns
1. To Nanshe (1.162)
2. The Blessing of Nisaba by Enki (1.163)
3. 3. Prayers and Letter-Prayers
1. Letter-Prayer of King Sin-Iddinam to Nin-Isina (1.164)
2. Letter-Prayer of King Sin-Iddinam to Utu (1.165)
4. 4. Lamentations
1. Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur (1.166)
5. 5. Incantations
1. A “Non-canonical” Incantation (1.167)
2. From “Evil Spirits” (1.168)
6. 6. Love Poems
1. Dumuzi-Inanna Songs (1.169)
2. The Women’s Oath (1.169A)
3. Bridegroom, Spend the Night in Our House Till Dawn (1.169B)
4. Love by the Light of the Moon (1.169C)
2. B. Royal Focus
1. 1. Epic
1. Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta (1.170)
2. Gilgamesh and Akka (1.171)
2. 2. Royal Hymns
1. The Birth of Shulgi in the Temple of Nippur (1.172)
2. The Sacred Marriage of Iddin-Dagan and Inanna (1.173)
3. C. Individual Focus
1. 1. Proverbs
1. Sumerian Proverb Collection 3 (1.174)
2. Proverbs Quoted in Other Genres (1.175)
2. 2. Instructions
1. Shuruppak (1.176)
2. Ur-Ninurta (1.177)
3. 3. Fables
1. The Heron and the Turtle (1.178)
4. 4. Pious Sufferer Compositions
1. “Man and His God” (1.179)
5. 5. Disputations
1. The Disputation between Ewe and Wheat (1.180)
2. The Disputation between the Hoe and the Plow (1.181)
3. The Disputation between Bird and Fish (1.182)
4. The Disputation between Summer and Winter (1.183)
6. 6. School Dialogues
1. The Dialogue between Two Scribes (1.184)
2. The Dialogue between a Supervisor and a Scribe (1.185)
3. The Dialogue between an Examiner and a Student (1.186)
4. Sumerian Bibliography
The Context of Scripture
VOLUME I
the Biblical World
Editor
WILLIAM W. HALLO
K. LAWSON YOUNGER, JR.
HARRY A. HOFFNER, JR.
ROBERT K. RITNER
BRILL
LEIDEN • NEW YORK • KÖLN
1997
Cover: “Man and his God” (Text 179) lines 97–112, on a tablet from the collections of the
University Museum, University of Pensylvania (CBS 15205), published by Samuel Noah kramer
in M. noth & D. Winston Thomas (eds.), Wisdom in Israel and in the Ancient Near East (FS
H.H. Rowley; VTS 3; Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1960), Pl. iv (opp. p. 175).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The context of Scripture / editor, William W. Hallo; associate editor, K. Lawson Younger.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographic references and index.
Contents: V. I. Canonical compositions from the biblical world.
ISBN 9004106189
I. Bible. O.T.—Extra-canonical parallels. 2. Middle Eastern literature—Relation to
the Old Testament. 3. Bible. O.T.—History of comtemporary events—Sources. 4.
Middle Eastern literature—Translations into English. I. Hallo, William W. II. Younger,
K. Lawson.
BS1180.C66 1996
220.9´5—dc21 96–48987
CIP
Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme
The context of scripture: canonical compositions, monumental inscriptions, and
archival documents from the biblical world / ed. William W. Hallo. – Leiden; New
York; Köln: Brill
NE: Hallo, William W. [Hrsg.]
Vol. I Canonical compositions from the biblical world. — 1997
ISBN 90–04–10618–9
ISBN 90 04 10618 9 (Vol. I)
ISBN 90 04 09629 9 (Set)
© Copyright 1997 by Koninklijke Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher.
Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill
provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222
Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers MA, 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change.
CONTENTS
Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations and Symbols
List of Contributors
Introduction: Ancient Near Eastern Texts and their Relevance for Biblical Exegesis
EGYPTIAN CANONICAL COMPOSITIONS
DIVINE FOCUS
1. COSMOLOGIES
From the “Book of Nut” (1.1)
From Coffin Texts Spell 714 (1.2)
From Pyramid Texts Spell 527 (1.3)
From Pyramid Texts Spell 600 (1.4)
From Coffin Texts Spell 75 (1.5)
From Coffin Texts Spell 76 (1.6)
From Coffin Texts Spell 78 (1.7)
From Coffin Texts Spell 80 (1.8)
From Papyrus Bremner-Rhind (1.9)
From Coffin Texts Spell 335 = Book of the Dead Spell 17 (1.10)
Coffin Texts Spell 261 (1.11)
From Coffin Texts Spell 647 (1.12)
From a Ramesside Stela (1.13)
From the Berlin “Hymn to Ptah” (1.14)
From the “Memphite Theology” (1.15)
From Papyrus Leiden I 350 (1.16)
From Coffin Texts Spell 1130 (1.17)
Book of the Dead 175 (1.18)
Coffin Text 157 (1.19)
Book of the Dead 112 (1.20)
2. OTHER MYTHS
The Repulsing of the Dragon (1.21)
The Legend of Isis and the Name of Re (1.22)
The Legend of Astarte and the Tribute of the Sea (1.23)
The Destruction of Mankind (1.24)
3. HYMNS
The Great Cairo Hymn of Praise to Amun-Re (1.25)
The Great Hymn to Osiris (1.26)
Two Hymns to the Sun–god (1.27)
The Great Hymn to Aten (1.28)
4. PRAYERS
Prayer to Re-Harakhti (1.29)
5. HARPERS’ SONGS
The Song from the Tomb of King Intef (1.30)
The Song from the Tomb of Neferhotep (1.31)
6. DIVINATION, INCANTATION, RITUAL
Execration Texts (1.32)
Dream Oracles (1.33)
Daily Ritual of the Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak (1.34)
ROYAL FOCUS
1. INSTRUCTIONS
Merikare (1.35)
Amenemhet (1.36)
2. HISTORIOGRAPHY
King Lists (1.37)
1. Karnak List (1.37A)
2. Abydos List (1.37B)
3. Sakkara King List (SL) (1.37C)
4. Turin Canon (1.37D)
INDIVIDUAL FOCUS
1. NARRATIVES
Sinuhe (1.38)
The Shipwrecked Sailor (1.39)
The Two Brothers (1.40)
The Report of Wenamun (1.41)
2. “PROPHECY”
The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage: the Admonitions of Ipuwer (1.42)
The Eloquent Peasant (1.43)
The Complaints of Khakheperrē-Sonb (1.44)
The Prophecies of Neferti (1.45)
3. INSTRUCTIONS
Instruction of Any (1.46)
Instruction of Amenemope (1.47)
Dua-khety or the Satire on the Trades (1.48)
4. LOVE POEMS
Papyrus Harris 500 (1.49)
Cairo Love Songs (1.50)
Papyrus Chester Beatty I (1.51)
Ostracon Gardiner 304 (1.52)
5. PSEUDEPIGRAPHA
The Famine Stela (1.53)
The Legend of the Possessed Princess (“Bentresh Stela”) (1.54)
EGYPTIAN BIBLIOGRAPHY
HITTITE CANONICAL COMPOSITIONS
DIVINE FOCUS
1. MYTHS
Elkuniršaand Ašertu (1.55)
The Storm-god and the Serpent (Illuyanka) (1.56)
The Wrath of Telipinu (1.57)
Appu and his Two Sons (1.58)
The Sun God and the Cow (1.59)
2. PRAYERS
Plague Prayers of MuršiliII (1.60)
3. RITUALS
The “Ritual Between the Pieces” (1.61)
Puliša’s Ritual Against Plague (1.62)
Uḫḫamuwa’s Ritual Against Plague (1.63)
Zarpiya’s Ritual (1.64)
Ritual and Prayer to Ishtar of Nineveh (1.65)
The First Soldiers’ Oath (1.66)
The Second Soldiers’ Oath (1.67)
4. INCANTATIONS
Purifying a House: a Ritual for the Infernal Deities (1.68)
The Storm God at Liḫzina (1.69)
Establishing a New Temple for the Goddess of the Night (1.70)
ROYAL FOCUS
1. EPIC
The Queen of Kanesh and the Tale of Zalpa (1.71)
2. HISTORIOGRAPHY
Proclamation of Anitta of Kuššar (1.72)
Crossing of the Taurus (1.73)
Deeds of Suppiluliuma (1.74)
The Hittite Conquest of Cyprus: Two Inscriptions of Suppiluliuma II (1.75)
3. BIOGRAPHY AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The Proclamation of Telipinu (1.76)
Apology of ḪattušiliIII (1.77)
4. ORACLES
Excerpt from an Oracle Report (1.78)
Assuring the Safety of the King during the Winter (1.79)
INDIVIDUAL FOCUS
1. PROVERBS
Hittite Proverbs (1.80)
2. OTHER WISDOM LITERATURE
Fragment of a Wisdom Text (?) (1.81)
Excerpt from the Hurro-Hittite Bilingual Wisdom Text (1.82)
3. INSTRUCTIONS
Instructions to Priests and Temple Officials (1.83)
Instructions to Commanders of Border Garrisons (1.84)
Instructions to the Royal Guard (1.85)
HITTITE BIBLIOGRAPHY
WEST SEMITIC CANONICAL COMPOSITIONS
DIVINE FOCUS
1. UGARITIC MYTHS
The BaʿluMyth (1.86)
Dawn and Dusk (1.87)
2. PRAYERS
Ugaritic Prayer for a City Under Siege (1.88)
The Prayer of Nabonidus (4QPrNab) (1.89)
3. DIVINATION
Ugaritic Birth Omens (1.90)
Ugaritic Lunar Omens (1.91)
Ugaritic Extispicy (1.92)
Ugaritic Dream Omens (1.93)
4. INCANTIONS AND RITUALS
Ugaritic Liturgy Against Venomous Reptiles (1.94)
Ugaritic Rites for the Vintage (KTU1.41//1.87) (1.95)
Ugaritic Incantation Against Sorcery (1.96)
ʾIluon a Toot (1.97)
A Punic Sacrificial Tariff (1.98)
The Aramaic Text in Demotic Script (1.99)
A Ugaritic Incantation Against Serpents and Sorcerers (1.100)
The London Medical Papyrus (1.101)
ROYAL FOCUS
1. EPIC
The Kirta Epic (1.102)
The ʾAqhatuLegend (1.103)
2. HISTORIOGRAPHY
Ugaritic King List (1.104)
3. REPHAʾIMTEXTS
The Patrons of the Ugaritic Dynasty (KTU1.161) (1.105)
INDIVIDUAL FOCUS
1. INSTRUCTIONS
Hippiatric Texts (1.106)
2. SCHOOL TEXTS
Abecedaries (1.107)
WEST SEMITIC BIBLIOGRAPHY
AKKADIAN CANONICAL COMPOSITIONS
DIVINE FOCUS
1. MYTHS
The Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld (1.108)
Nergal and Ereshkigal (1.109)
Nergal and Ereshkigal (Amarna Version) (1.110)
Epic of Creation (1.111)
The Theogony of Dunnu (1.112)
Erra and Ishum (1.113)
2. HYMNS AND PRAYERS
Prayer to Marduk (1.114)
Prayer to Gods of the Night (1.115)
Diurnal Prayers of Diviners (1.116)
The Shamash Hymn (1.117)
3. LAMENTATIONS AND ELEGIES
A Neo-Babylonian Lament for Tammuz (1.118)
An Assyrian Elegy (1.119)
4. DIVINATION
Mesopotamian Omens (1.120)
5. INCANTATIONS
Old Babylonian Incantation Against Cattle Disease (1.121)
6. RITUALS
Rituals from Emar
The Installation of the Storm God’s High Priestess (1.122)
The ZukruFestival (1.123)
Six Months of Ritual Supervision by the Diviner (1.124)
Two Months Joined by the Underworld, with Barring and Opening of Doors (1.125)
Two KissuFestivals (1.126)
A Psephomancy Ritual from Assur (1.127)
6. LOVE POEMS
Love Lyrics of Nabu and Tashmetu (1.128)
ROYAL FOCUS
1. EPIC
The Adapa Story (1.129)
Atra-Ḫasis (1.130)
Etana (1.131)
Gilgamesh (1.132)
The Birth Legend of Sargon of Akkad (1.133)
2. HISTORIOGRAPHY
Babylonian King Lists (1.134)
Assyrian King Lists (1.135)
Assyrian Eponym Canon (1.136)
Babylonian Chronicles (1.137)
The Weidner Chronicle (1.138)
3. ROYAL HYMNS
A Hymn Celebrating Assurnasirpal II’s Campaigns to the West (1.139)
A Prayer from a Coronation Ritual of the Time of Tukulti-Ninurta I (1.140)
A Hymn to Nanaya with a Blessing for Sargon II (1.141)
Assurbanipal’s Coronation Hymn (1.142)
An Assurbanipal Hymn for Shamash (1.143)
An Assurbanipal Prayer for Mullissu (1.144)
Dialogue between Assurbanipal and Nabu (1.145)
A Late Piece of Constructed Mythology Relevant to the Neo-Assyrian and Middle Assyrian
Coronation Hymn and Prayer (1.146)
4. FICTIONAL ROYAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The Adad-guppi Autobiography (1.147)
The Autobiography of Idrimi (1.148)
The Marduk Prophecy (1.149)
The Dynastic Prophecy (1.150)
INDIVIDUAL FOCUS
1. JUST SUFFERER COMPOSITIONS
Dialogue between a Man and his God (1.151)
A Sufferer’s Salvation (1.152)
The Poem of the Righteous Sufferer (1.153)
The Babylonian Theodicy (1.154)
2. DIALOGUE
Dialogue of Pessimism or the Obliging Slave (1.155)
3. HUMOROUS TEXTS
“At the Cleaners” (1.156)
AKKADIAN BIBLIOGRAPHY
SUMERIAN CANONICAL COMPOSITIONS
DIVINE FOCUS
1. MYTHS
The Song of the Hoe (1.157)
The Eridu Genesis (1.158)
Enki and Ninmaḫ (1.159)
The Exaltation of Inanna (1.160)
Inanna and Enki (1.161)
2. HYMNS
To Nanshe (1.162)
The Blessing of Nisaba by Enki (1.163)
3. PRAYERS AND LETTER-PRAYERS
Letter-Prayer of King Sin-Iddinam to Nin-Isina (1.164)
Letter-Prayer of King Sin-Iddinam to Utu (1.165)
4. LAMENTATIONS
Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur (1.166)
5. INCANTATIONS
A “Non-Canonical” Incantation (1.167)
From “Evil Spirits” (1.168)
6. LOVE POEMS
Dumuzi-Inanna Songs (1.169)
The Women’s Oath (1.169A)
Bridegroom, Spend the Night in our House Till Dawn (1.169B)
Love by the Light of the Moon (1.169C)
ROYAL FOCUS
1. EPIC
Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta (1.170)
Gilgamesh and Akka (1.171)
2. ROYAL HYMNS
The Birth of Shulgi in the Temple of Nippur (1.172)
The Sacred Marriage of Iddin-Dagan and Inanna (1.173)
INDIVIDUAL FOCUS
1. PROVERBS
Sumerian Proverb Collection 3 (1.174)
Proverbs Quoted in Other Genres (1.175)
2. INSTRUCTIONS
Shuruppak (1.176)
Ur-Ninurta (1.177)
3. FABLES
The Heron and the Turtle (1.178)
4. PIOUS SUFFERER COMPOSITIONS
“Man and his God” (1.179)
5. DISPUTATIONS
The Disputation Between Ewe and Wheat (1.180)
The Disputation Between the Hoe and the Plow (1.181)
The Disputation Between Bird and Fish (1.182)
The Disputation Between Summer and Winter (1.183)
6. SCHOOL DIALOGUES
The Dialogue Between Two Scribes (1.184)
The Dialogue Between a Supervisor and a Scribe (1.185)
The Dialogue Between an Examiner and a Student (1.186)
SUMERIAN BIBLIOGRAPHY
PREFACE
The genesis of this project may be said to lie in the four Summer Seminars
for College Teachers which the undersigned conducted under the auspices
of the National Endowment for the Humanities at Yale in 1978, 1980,
1987 and 1990. In these, I sought to salvage what was worthwhile of the
older comparative approach to biblical history and literature by replacing it
with the more nuanced “contextual approach.” Nearly fifty papers by the
participating scholars resulted from these seminars, and most of them were
published, together with my introductory essays, in the four volumes that
go under the general title of Scripture in Context . 1 The fourth of these
volumes was edited by K. Lawson Younger, Jr., who had written and
published his doctoral dissertation at Sheffield. 2 He was in contact with
David Orton at the very time that Dr. Orton was moving from Sheffield to
Leiden to take up the post of Senior Editor (Religion) for E. J. Brill. At the
same time (Spring 1991), I was spending a sabbatical in Leiden, so Orton
sought me out at Younger’s suggestion to assess my interest in a major
new project to bring ancient Near Eastern texts to bear on the study of
biblical literature and history. I was interested in what promised to serve as
a test of some of my long–held and long–taught methodologies: not only
the contextual approach, but also my taxonomy of ancient documentation,
and my theories of translation. I submitted a detailed proposal in which
my conception of such a project was outlined. This became the basis of
further discussions with Dr. Orton in Leiden, at the International
Conference of the Society of Biblical Literature in Rome (1991), and the
World Congress of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem (1993). At the last venue,
in particular, I had the opportunity to test some of the proposals on a well
informed and critical audience by presenting portions of what is now the
introduction to the present volume. 3 Trenchant advice was offered, i.a., by
the late Jonas C. Greenfield.
After lengthy negotiations, a contract was signed and I then proceeded to secure the collaboration of
Prof. Younger as Associate Editor. He has been a tower of strength to the project, lending his expertise
in all matters relating to West Semitic and often enough to the other four sections as well. In addition,
he prepared camera–ready copy of all the contributions. In matters Egyptian, I consulted my then Yale
colleague Robert Ritner (now of the University of Chicago), and in matters Hittite, I benefitted from
the wise counsel of Harry A. Hoffner, Jr. (University of Chicago).
My own task consisted in the first place of preparing the initial outline of texts to be translated. In
their selection I was guided by a number of principles. Other things being equal (though they rarely
are), preference was given to newly recovered or newly (re–)edited texts, though place was also made
for some of the well–known older stand–bys; to texts able to be presented in their entirety; to well–
preserved rather than fragmentary texts; and to texts whose relevance for biblical studies, by way
either of comparison or of contrast, had been demonstrated or argued in the secondary literature. All
four of these criteria were rarely met by any one text, and when they were, it was not always possible
to find a translator for them.
On the whole, however, we consider ourselves fortunate in attracting so many of the leading talents in
the field for this ambitious enterprise. All of them deserve unstinted thanks, with special credit to
those recruited late in the day who thus had to meet tight deadlines (see the List of Contributors to
Volume 1, below).
The aim was to provide the best and latest possible translations in every case. In a few instances this
combination could be achieved only by reprinting previously published versions, and making special
arrangements to this end. A list of the publishers who graciously cooperated in this regard follows this
Preface.
To deal with so many contributors and publishers required the capable help of an administrative
assistant furnished by the publisher in the person, initially, of Anne Folkertsma and, subsequently, of
Mattie Kuiper. Thanks to the marvels of modern communication, it was possible to maintain almost
instantaneous three–way contact among them and the three editors. But even the best mechanical
devices are only as proficient as those who handle them, and Mesdames Folkertsma and Kuiper both
performed to perfection. Without their steady ministrations, the project could not have reached its
present milestone. A special tribute is due to David Orton, who not only conceived the project, but
who lent it his unflagging support and provided experienced counsel at editorial meetings in Leiden
(1992–96), and at SBL meetings in Chicago (1994) and Philadelphia (1995).
Some of the aids to the reader, notably the index, glossary, and gazetteer, are of necessity postponed to
the third and concluding volume in the series. But it is hoped that even without them, the present
initial volume will take its place as a vade mecum in the libraries of all those interested in the ancient
Near East, its ongoing rediscovery, and its bearing on “The Context of Scripture.”
William W. Hallo
October 3, 1996
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following publishers permitted the reprinting of portions of books:
Texts 1.24; 1.26; 1.27; 1.28; 1.30; 1.31; 1.35; 1.36; 1.38; 1.39; 1.40; 1.41; 1.46; 1.47; 1.48; 1.53; 1.54
(pp. 36–37, 41–46, 48–50, 61–68, 77–93, 110–125, 130–136): Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian
Literature. 3 Volumes. The University of California Press,© 1973–1980. Regents of The University of
California.
Text 1.56 (pp. 150–151): Reprinted by permission of the editors of the Journal of Ancient Near
Eastern Society 14 (1982).
Text 1.80 (p. 215): Reprinted from Journal of Near Eastern Studies. The University of Chicago
Press.© 1986 by the University of Chicago. All rights reserved.
Text 1.99; 1.100 (pp. 309–327, 327–328): Reprinted from Journal of Near Eastern Studies 43 (1984)
and 51 (1992) by permission of The University of Chicago Press.© 1984 and 1992 by The University
of Chicago. All rights reserved.
Texts 1.108; 1.109; 1.110; 1.113; 1.131 (pp. 381–391, 404–416, 453–457): © Stephanie Dalley 1989.
Reprinted from Myths from Mesopotamia translated by Stephanie Dalley (1989) by permission of
Oxford University Press.
Texts 1.111; 1.114; 1.115; 1.116; 1.117; 1.129; 1.130; 1.132; 1.133; 1.151; 1.152; 1.153; 1.154 (pp.
390–402, 416–419, 449–453, 461, 485–495): Translation is reprinted, with permission, from Before
the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature by Benjamin R. Foster (CDL Press, 1993).
N.B. the explanatory material (introductions, biblical analogies and notes) is the work of the
editors.
Texts 1.158; 1.170; 1.173 (pp. 511–513, 545–548, 552–557): Reprinted from Thorkild Jacobsen, The
Harps that once … Sumerian Poetry in Translation (1987) by permission of Yale University Press.
Text 1.171 (pp. 548–550): Reprinted from D. Katz, Gilgamesh and Agga, Library of Oriental Texts 1
(1993) by permission of Styx Publications.
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
AA Archäologischer Anzeiger.
ÄA Ägyptologische Abhandlungen.
AAA Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology (University of Liverpool).
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AB Anchor Bible.
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ACh C. Virolleaud. Astrologie Chaldéenne.
ActOr Acta Orientalia.
ActSum Acta Sumerologica.
ADAIK Abhandlungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Insti-tuts Kairo.
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AEO Ancient Egyptian Onomastica. Text. 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1947.
AfO Archiv für Orientforschung.
AGI Archivio Glottologico Italiano.
AHAW Abhandlungen der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften.
AHw W. von Soden. Akkadisches Handwörterbuch. Wiesbaden, 1959–1975.
AION Annali dell’ Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli
AIONSup Annali dell’ Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli, Supplemento
AJA American Journal of Archaeology
AJBI Annual of the Japanese Biblical Institute
AJSL American Journal of Semitic Languages
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AnOr Analecta Orientalia.
AnSt Anatolian Studies.
AO Aula Orientalis. Revista de estudios del próximo oriente antiguo.
AOAT (S) Alter Orient und Altes Testament (Sonderreihe).
AoF Altorientalische Forschungen.
AOS American Oriental Series.
AOSup Aula Orientalis Supplementa.
APAW Abhandlungen der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
ARAB D. D. Luckenbill. Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia. 2 Vols. Chicago, 1926–27.
Arch. Archaeologia.
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ARM (T) Archives royales de Mari (texts in transliteration and translation).
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AS Assyriological Studies.
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Asarh. R. Borger. Die Inschriften Asarhaddons Königs von Assyrien. AfO Beiheft 9. Graz: Ernst
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ASTI Annual of the Swedish Theological Institute.
ATANT Abhandlungen zur Theologie des Alten und Neuen Testaments.
BA Biblical Archaeologist.
BAH Bibliothèque archéologique et historique.
BAL 2 R. Borger. Babylonische-assyrische Lesestücke. 2nd ed. AnOr 54. Rome: Pontificium Institutum
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BAM F. Köcher. Die babylonisch-assyrische Medizin in Texten und Untersuchungen. Berlin, 1963.
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BAR Biblical Archaeology Review.
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BBVO Berliner Beiträge zum Vorderen Orient. Berlin.
BDB F. Brown, S. R. Driver and C. A. Briggs. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament
with an Appendix containing the Biblical Aramaic. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907.
BdÉ Bibliothèque d’étude.
BE Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania, Series A: Cuneiform Texts.
BeO Bibbia e oriente.
BES Brown Egyptological Studies.
BFOP Babylonian Fund Occasional Publications.
BHLT A. K. Grayson. Babylonian Historical-Literary Texts. Toronto and Buffalo, 1975.
BHS K. Elliger, W. Rudolph, et al., Editors. Biblica hebraica stuttgartensia. Stuttgart, 1977.
BIFAO Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale.
BiMes Bibliotheca Mesopotamica.
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BJRL Bulletin of the John Rylands Library.
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BM British Museum.
BM B. R. Foster. Before the Muses. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Bethesda, MD: CDL Press, 1996.
BMOP British Museum Occasional Paper. London: British Musuem.
Bo Inventory numbers of Boghazköy tablets excavated 1906–12.
BP William W. Hallo. The Book of the People. BJS 225. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1991.
BR Biblical Research. Chicago.
BSOAS Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies.
BSAg Bulletin of Sumerian Agriculture.
BTAVO Beihefte zum Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients. Wiesbaden.
BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin.
BWANT Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament.
BWL W. G. Lambert. Babylonian Wisdom Literature. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1960.
BZ Biblische Zeitschrift.
BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft.
CAD A. L. Oppenheim, et al., Editors. The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the
University of Chicago. Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1956-.
CAH 3 The Cambridge Ancient History. 3d ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973–75.
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CBC Cambridge Bible Commentary.
CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly.
CBQMS Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series.
CCT Cuneiform Texts from Cappadocian Tablets.
CdÉ Chronique d’Égypte.
CH R. F. Harper. The Code of Hammurabi.
CHD H. G. Güterbock and H. A. Hoffner, Jr., Editors. The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute
of the University of Chicago. Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1989CIS Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum. Paris, 1881.
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CRAIBL Comptes rendus de l’Académie des inscriptions et belles lettres.
CT Cuneiform Texts from Babylonian Tablets in the British Museum.
CTA A. Herdner. Corpus des tablettes en cunéiformes alphabétiques découvertes à Ras Shamra–
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DM Deir el-Medineh (Ostraca).
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der Orientalistik 1/21. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1995.
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of an Assyrian Dream–Book. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society,
n.s. 46/3. Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society, 1956.
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ERTR Egyptian Religious Texts and Representations.
EVO Egitto e Vicino Oriente.
FAOS Freiburger Altorientalische Studien.
FAT Forschungen zum Alten Testament.
FDD B. R. Foster. From Distant Days: Myths, Tales, and Poetry of Ancient Mesopotamia . Bethesda,
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FIFAO Fouilles de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale.
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FRLANT Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testament.
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GM Göttinger Miszellen.
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HPKMB Hieratische Papyrus aus dem königlichen Museen zu Berlin.
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IM Istanbuler Mitteilungen.
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