Essays on Babylonian and Biblical Literature and Religion

I. Tzvi Abusch, Ph.D. (1972), Harvard University, is Cohen Professor Emeritus of Assyriology and Ancient Near Eastern Religion at Brandeis University. His primary fields of publication are Mesopotamian religion and literature. A number of his studies on Babylonian witchcraft are collected in Mesopotamian Witchcraft (Brill, 2002) and Further Studies on Mesopotamian Witchcraft Beliefs (Brill, 2020). He is author of The Magical Ceremony Maqlû: A Critical Edition (Brill, 2016) and co-author of Corpus of Mesopotamian Anti-witchcraft Rituals (Brill, 2011–2020).

Preface

Sources

Abbreviations



part 1: Magic and Religion

Overviews and Surveys

1 Mesopotamian Religion

 1 The Basis of Mesopotamian Religiosity

 2 The Mesopotamian Pantheon

 3 Magical Cult (Cult of the Individual)

 4 The Epic of Gilgamesh



2 Magic in Mesopotamia

 1 Introduction

 2 Earlier Approaches to Mesopotamian Magic

 3 Conceptions of the Universe and of Its Powers

 4 Magical Texts

 5 Ceremonies

 6 Evil



3 Sacrifice in Mesopotamia

 1 Mesopotamian Sacrifice: A Description

 2 Blood in Mesopotamia and West Asia: A Hypothesis



Ghosts and Gods

4 Ghost and God: Some Observations on a Babylonian Understanding of Human Nature

 1 Mythological Formulation

 2 The Significance of Flesh as the Source of the Ghost

 3 God, ṭēmu, and Personal God



5 Etemmu אטים

 1 Name and Etymology

 2 Character and History

 3 Inside the Bible



6 Ištar

 1 Name and Etymology

 2 Character and History

 3 Inside the Bible



7 Marduk

 1 Name and Etymology

 2 Character and History

 3 Inside the Bible



Talking to the Gods in Mesopotamia

8 Prayers and Incantations

 1 Prayers

 2 Incantations



9 The Promise to Praise the God in šuilla Prayers



10 The Form and Meaning of a Babylonian Prayer to Marduk

 1 The Hymnic Introduction

 2 The Marduk šuilla: A New Form

 3 A Prayer for Success and the Conclusion of the šuilla



11 The Form and History of a Babylonian Prayer to Nabû



12 A Paean and Petition to a God of Death: Some Comments on a šuilla to Nergal

 1 Introduction

 2 Hymnic Introduction

 3 Petitioner’s Justification and Description of His Approach to the God

 4 Description of the Petitioner’s Difficulties

 5 Petitioner’s Supplication

 6 Conclusions



13 The Reconciliation of Angry Personal Gods: A Revision of the šuillas



14 Two Versions of a šuilla to Gula



part 2: Literary Studies



15 Fortune and Misfortune of the Individual: Some Observations on the Sufferer’s Plaint in Ludlul bēl nēmeqi II 12–32



16 Kingship in Ancient Mesopotamia: The Case of Enūma eliš

 1 Divine Origin and Physical Features

 2 Kingship over His Own Family

 3 The Battle

 4 Creation

 5 Kingship over the Universe



17 Some Observations on the Babylon Section of Enūma eliš



18 Biblical Accounts of Prehistory: Their Meaning and Formation

 1 Introduction

 2 Mesopotamian Sources

 3 Biblical Sources

 4 Summary and Conclusions



19 Two Passages in the Biblical Account of Prehistory

 1 The Creation of Man and Woman

 2 The Tower of Babel



20 Jonah and God: Plants, Beasts, and Humans in the Book of Jonah



part 3: Comparative Studies



21 alaktu and halakhah: Oracular Decision, Divine Revelation

 1 alaktu: Mesopotamian Sources

 2 halakhah: Jewish Sources and Mesopotamian Influence



22 Blood in Israel and Mesopotamia



23 Cultures in Contact: Ancient Near Eastern and Jewish Magic



part 4: Ancient Near Eastern Legal Practices and Thought



24 A Shepherd’s Bulla and an Owner’s Receipt: A Pair of Matching Texts in the Harvard Semitic Museum



25 “He Should Continue to Bear the Penalty of That Case”: Some Observations on Codex Ḫammurabi §§3–4 and §13

 1 Introduction

 2 Analysis and Translation

 3 Meaning and Significance

 4 Confirmation: Variant Readings and §13

 5 Conclusion

Bibliography

Index of Passages Quoted