Reading akkadian PRayeRs & Hymns An Introduction

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READING AKKADIAN PRAYERS AND HYMNS: AN INTRODUCTION
5. EN é-[engur-r]a ṣu-lul é-u 6-n[ir]
6. [b]a-bíl ILLU ḫÉ.GÁL mu-riš ÍD.DIDLI
7. ina ta-mat u ṣu-ṣe-e tu-deš-ši ḪÉ.NUN
8. ina qer-bé-ti tu-šab-ši ZI-tì UN.MEŠ
bound to Eridu; thus, the toponym is functioning adverbially, indicating the hero’s place of
origin. ABGAL (NUN-ME) = apkallu, “sage.” This term is often used of gods (e.g., Ea and
Marduk) as well as special humans, such as Adapa and the other antediluvian sages (see J.
C. Greenfield, “Apkallu,” DDD, 72–74). Igigû is a general name for the gods of heaven, in
contrast to Anunnakkū, who are the gods of the netherworld (see Black and Green, 106;
Enūma eliš VI 69 gives the Igigû as three hundred in number and the Anunnakkū six hundred;
contradicting this, VI 39–44 number both groups as three hundred).
uršānu Eridu apkal Igigî
Line 5: EN = bēlu, “lord.” É-engur-ra, “House of Fresh Waters,” is another Sumerian
name for Ea’s temple in Eridu. Ṣulūlu, “canopy, covering,” is a common metaphor of divine
or royal protection (see CAD Ṣ, 243). É-u 6 -nir, the Sumerian name of Ea’s ziggurrat at
Eridu (U 6 .NIR is the logogram for Akk. ziqqurratu, “temple tower”). The parallelism between
bēlu and ṣulūlu in this line mutually illuminates the meanings of these two terms. The epithets
here and in the next few lines reflect Ea’s status as the Mesopotamian god of water.
bēl E-engura ṣulūl E-unir
Line 6: Babālu, “to carry, to bring,” is a by-form of (w)abālu. ILLU (A-KAL) = mīlu,
“high water, flood.” Bringing high waters is a positive thing here, as the next word in the
genitive chain, ḪÉ.GÁL = ḫegallu, “prosperity, abundance,” and the second half of the line
explain. Ruššu (D of râšu), “to make rejoice.” ÍD = nāru, “river.” DIDLI is a plural marker
like MEŠ. Notice the parallel participles. Does “rejoicing rivers” refer to the sound of faster
moving water in the river beds (see likewise, Hunt, 36)?
bābil mīl ḫegalli murīš nāri
Line 7: Tâmtu, “sea, lake, large body of water.” The noun appears here as a fp absolute
form (without case ending). Whether there is a grammatical (rather than, e.g., metrical)
purpose for the absolute form is unclear. Ṣuṣû, “reed thicket.” Reed thickets, especially
prominent in the marshlands of the south, teemed with animals and plants that humans
could use to their advantage for both food and raw materials in ancient Mesopotamia.
Eridu was located near the marshes. Dešû, “to let prosper, to provide someone or something
bountifully with something.” ḪÉ.NUN = nuḫšu, “plenty, abundance.” The text continues
to praise Ea’s watery beneficence in this line.
ina tâmāt u ṣuṣê tudešši nuḫša
Line 8: Note the tight grammatical parallelism with line 7: prepositional phrase beginning
with ina, a second person verb, then the direct object. The longer prepositional
phrase in line 7 is balanced here by a genitive chain for the direct object. Qerbetu, “environs,
meadowland.” Šubšû (Š of bašû), “to create, to produce.” ZI = napištu, “life, subsistence,
livelihood.” UN.MEŠ = nišū, “people.” Ea’s beneficial creative activity extends beyond
the watery areas to include the meadows. Mayer’s MS D identifies the “life” of the