The Babylonian World - Historia Antigua

— The Babylonian god Marduk —
They were also responsible for teaching ethical behaviour to their human wards. In
earlier periods the ancient Mesopotamians worshipped their personal gods as their
sole saviours from sufferings. 29 However, it seems that a new belief – Marduk surpassing
the personal gods in the punishment and the salvation of people – was formed,
probably in the Old Babylonian period. It is likely that Ludlul Bel Nemeqi is the
manifestation of this new belief. In Ludlul Bel Nemeqi, the personal gods and protective
spirits act according to the wishes of Marduk, in other words, they are somehow
extensions of Marduk’s power. The date of composition of this work is probably the
Kassite period. 30
Ludlul Bel Nemeqi is written in the first person with the narrator, Shubshi-meshre-
Shakkan, presenting himself as a rich man of high rank. He claims that he never
neglected his prayers or forgot to make offerings. 31 One day, however, hardship strikes
him. The narrator claims that his misery started when Marduk decided to punish
him and caused his protective spirits and his personal gods to leave him. He lost all
– his property, friends, family, physical strength, and health. Illness takes him prisoner.
He turns to his personal gods and protective spirits, but they do not come to rescue
him. He attempts an exorcism to expel evil-demons. He asks diviners to find out
what his sin was. But no one can help him. His family was already conducting his
funeral before his death. He saw his grave open, he heard the funeral laments.
Drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness, the narrator sees men and a
woman of outstanding appearance in a series of dreams. He says that each one took
part in cleansing and absolution. At the end, Urnindinlugga, an incantation priest,
announces that he had been sent by Marduk to show the sign of salvation. He is then
delivered from his suffering.
The climax opens with the testimony of Shubshi-meshre-Shakkan on the power of
Marduk. He says that it was Marduk who saved him from this most difficult condition.
Marduk imposed all the sufferings to Shubshi-meshre-Shakkan, but when his anger
was calmed and he took the prayers, he absolved his sins. Shubshi-meshre-Shakkan
then goes to Esagila, the temple of Marduk, and meets (the images of) Marduk and
his consort Zarpanitu. He offers prayers and offerings as tokens of his gratitude. The
Babylonians who saw him also proclaimed the greatness of Marduk’s mercy and salvation.
Due to the similarity of motif, this poem is often compared with the Book of Job
and even referred to as ‘The Babylonian Job’ or ‘The Poem of the Righteous Sufferer’
by modern scholars. These are, however, misnomers as there is a fundamental difference
between the Babylonian and biblical worlds. Job in the Bible does not doubt his
righteousness and says that all misery brought upon him was a trial for his faith. On
the other hand, although Shubshi-meshre-Shakkan claims that he did not forget
prayers to the gods, he is sorry and asks forgiveness for his unknown crimes. Hence,
he was delivered not because he spoke the right words about Marduk, but due to
Marduk’s mercy.
Ludlul Bel Nemeqi teaches that mankind could never know exactly what the gods
wished of them, i.e., that there was no human way of knowing absolute right and
wrong. Thus mankind was destined to sin, often unintentionally. For instance, Shubshimeshre-Shakkan
says:
I wish I knew that these things were pleasing to one’s god!
What is proper to oneself is an offence to one’s god.
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