cheenc03a.pdf

was probably always female victims that were used in
purification ceremonies : iarat d~&~fti Id +;!$I$, 'the
skin of a she-lamb still intact' (4 R 15 356: CP 4 R 28
no. 3 11 5 R 51 5' : Nirnr. Ep. 44, 60). Compare
with this the prescription of a shcgoat one year old for
the sin offering of the individual (Nu. 151,).
The victim was probably seidom placed entire (holil,
$.i..) 0" the altar. To begin with, the remarkably
small sire of the altars that have been found shows that
only certain parts of the victims were offered. The
altar of Sargon'r palace k 32 inches high : that
froin Nimriid, actualiv , onlv , zz inches.' That the
fieeh war boiled, ai in Israel in early timer, is shown
by 5 R 61, 15, where the priest receiver, along with
other sharer, a large pot of meat-broth (fzngrrpoi, I r I). Polddu dnmdg ullnd ~i&d
boldfu kfdr h lo~lffu orni . . . 'the fear of God brings
grace, sacrifice enlarges iife and prayer (frees from)
sin.' After the deluge ('47s) Xi~uthros sacrifices to
the godr : 'then did I turn to the four winds, poured
out a drink offering, offered a cereal offering on the top
of the mountain; seven incense pans I set fonh, and
spread under them cdamus, cedar wood, and rig gir
(onychn?).' In the old Babylonian Nimrod-epor (4469)
we read in the account of the Amorrr l'enrrir : laromfmo
omtlrtain hanommn i++ubokai umiiammo u@zbda6shhi
unihali; 'thou hast loved the shepherd who continually
brought drink offerings to thee, daily sacrificed kids to
Ih- ...""..
The inscriptions of the old Babylonian king Guda
already contain notices about racrifieer. On the New
Year festival (see Schr. KB 32661) he offem to the
goddess W u amongst other things a cow, a sheep, six
lambs, seven baskets of dates, a pot of cream, palm
pith 0). fifteen chickens, fisher. cucumbers, as mllukku
br regular sacrifice. A rich source of information upon
the sacrificial arrangements ia the later Babylonian
period is to be found in the thousands of Babylonian
contmcU in which bills and receipts connected with
temple revenuer and dues. as ,veil as lists relating to
the regular sacrifices, bulk very largely.1
Sacrifice war in the hands of the priestly carte, who
were held in the highest esteem and enjoyed special
6, Pefiomm w, pri~ileges.~ So great indeed war the
esteem in which they wer~ held io
Babylonia in enrlier times that even the king needed
their mediation for sacrifice and prayer ( ~ Menant. p
PG lrzs f ). In Arryria, however, the king resave.
for himself the supreme priesthood, calling himself the
exalted high-priest and sacrificing to the god with his own
hand (Per.-Chip. Anyria, 41 [Arryrie. $551: Menant.
PG 2164). Just as Ezekiel in his ordering of the priest.
hood assigns to the king in the public worship an independent
and important position. so we repeatedly read in
the liturgical tablets prerervpd in 4 R 3Z3, : rfu niii
raddti nindobdfu uhdn; 'the shepherd of the great
peoples shall bring his offering.' In the contracts there
is frequent mention of the king's offering and of that of
the crown prince (in spa1 far") ; Nodon. 2658 332~
1 A ~md index to thc relative texts is provided by H. I,.
Tallgu~n, Dic Sprache dm co.r~ac Nn60na'ids (Helringfors,
1s )
~Liiodorur Sic"l"s,(B~~) has given us a vivid md adequate
account of their f,,"ct,onr.
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