Legends of Babylon and Egypt in Relation to Hebrew Tradition.pdf

period when some progress in systematic irrigation had already been made, and the filling of the dry canals and
subsequent irrigation of the parched ground by the rising flood of Enki was not dreaded but eagerly desired. The myth
is only one of several that have been combined to form the introductory sections of an incantation; but in all of them
Enki, the god of the deep water, plays the leading part, though associated with different consorts.[1] The incantation is
directed against various diseases, and the recitation of the closing mythical section was evidently intended to enlist the
aid of special gods in combating them. The creation of these deities is recited under set formulae in a sort of refrain,
and the divine name assigned to each bears a magical connexion with the sickness he or she is intended to dispel.[2]
[1] See Langdon, Univ. of Penns. Mus. Publ., Bab. Sect., Vol. X, No. 1 (1915), pl. i f., pp. 69 ff.; /Journ. Amer. Or.
Soc./, Vol. XXXVI (1916), pp. 140 ff.; cf. Prince, /Journ. Amer. Or. Soc./, Vol. XXXVI, pp. 90 ff.; Jastrow, /Journ.
Amer. Or. Soc./, Vol. XXXVI, pp. 122 ff., and in particular his detailed study of the text in /Amer. Journ. Semit.
Lang./, Vol. XXXIII, pp. 91 ff. Dr. Langdon's first description of the text, in /Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch./, Vol. XXXVI
(1914), pp. 188 ff., was based on a comparatively small fragment only; and on his completion of the text from other
fragments in Pennsylvania. Professor Sayce at once realized that the preliminary diagnosis of a Deluge myth could not
be sustained (cf. /Expos. Times/, Nov., 1915, pp. 88 ff.). He, Professor Prince, and Professor Jastrow independently
showed that the action of Enki in the myth in sending water on the land was not punitive but beneficent; and the
preceding section, in which animals are described as not performing their usual activities, was shown independently by
Professor Prince and Professor Jastrow to have reference, not to their different nature in an ideal existence in Paradise,
but, on familiar lines, to their non-existence in a desolate land. It may be added that Professor Barton and Dr. Peters
agree generally with Professor Prince and Professor Jastrow in their interpretation of the text, which excludes the
suggested biblical parallels; and I understand from Dr. Langdon that he very rightly recognizes that the text is not a
Deluge myth. It is a subject for congratulation that the discussion has materially increased our knowledge of this
difficult composition.
[2] Cf. Col. VI, ll. 24 ff.; thus /Ab/-u was created for the sickness of the cow (/ab/); Nin-/tul/ for that of the flock (u-
/tul/); Nin- /ka/-u-tu and Nin-/ka/-si for that of the mouth (/ka/); Na-zi for that of the /na-zi/ (meaning uncertain); /Da
zi/-ma for that of the /da-zi/ (meaning uncertain); Nin-/til/ for that of /til/ (life); the name of the eighth and last deity is
imperfectly preserved.
We have already noted examples of a similar use of myth in magic, which was common to both Egypt and Babylonia;
and to illustrate its employment against disease, as in the Nippur document, it will suffice to cite a well-known
magical cure for the toothache which was adopted in Babylon.[1] There toothache was believed to be caused by the
gnawing of a worm in the gum, and a myth was used in the incantation to relieve it. The worm's origin is traced from
Anu, the god of heaven, through a descending scale of creation; Anu, the heavens, the earth, rivers, canals and marshes
are represented as each giving rise to the next in order, until finally the marshes produce the worm. The myth then
relates how the worm, on being offered tempting food by Ea in answer to her prayer, asked to be allowed to drink the
blood of the teeth, and the incantation closes by invoking the curse of Ea because of the worm's misguided choice. It is
clear that power over the worm was obtained by a recital of her creation and of her subsequent ingratitude, which led
to her present occupation and the curse under which she laboured. When the myth and invocation had been recited
three times over the proper mixture of beer, a plant, and oil, and the mixture had been applied to the offending tooth,
the worm would fall under the spell of the curse and the patient would at once gain relief. The example is instructive,
as the connexion of ideas is quite clear. In the Nippur document the recital of the creation of the eight deities evidently
ensured their presence, and a demonstration of the mystic bond between their names and the corresponding diseases
rendered the working of their powers effective. Our knowledge of a good many other myths is due solely to their
magical employment.
[1] See Thompson, /Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia/, Vol. II, pp. 160 ff.; for a number of other examples, see
Jastrow, /J.A.O.S./, Vol. XXXVI, p. 279, n. 7.
Perhaps the most interesting section of the new text is one in which divine instructions are given in the use of plants,
the fruit or roots of which may be eaten. Here Usmû, a messenger from Enki, God of the Deep, names eight such
plants by Enki's orders, thereby determining the character of each. As Professor Jastrow has pointed out, the passage
forcibly recalls the story from Berossus, concerning the mythical creature Oannes, who came up from the Erythraean
Sea, where it borders upon Babylonia, to instruct mankind in all things, including "seeds and the gathering of