The Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament; - The Search For ...

i 31.
18 THE CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS AND THE 0. T.
'manly.' Sargon bears this title (Layard Inscr. 33. 3):
zi-ka-ru dan-nu 'the manly, mighty.' Similarly Sauherib
Taylor-cylinder (I R. 37 foil.) col. I, 7 zi-ka-ru kar-du
'the manly, brave.'
and behold, it was very good. No expression exactly
corresponding to this is to be found in the Chaldaean crea-
tion-story. George Smith, however, cites in comparison the
recurring phrase ubassim or ubassimu ''he or they
made glorious." Nor have the inscriptions hitherto yielded
any trace of the conception that the universe was created
in exactly six days, or t^iat the creative acts were in general
divided into days.
— IND much, very, is not to be connected with IIK "to
be heavy", but is of the same origin as the Assyrian ma' d u
"much", "many" (Rawl., Oppert and others), from the root
IND m a ' a d, which also exists as a verb in Assyrian (Assyrio-
Baby Ionian Cuneif. Inscr. 186, 105). The substantive
"crowd" is mu'du i. e. "INO Smith's Assurb. 56, 4 (a-na
mu-'-di-i).
Chap. II, 1. "And thus the heavens and the earth were
finished and all their host." On the expression "and all
their host", see above, page 10.
3. And God blessed the seventh day arid hallowed it.
The sanctity of the seventh day of creation, as well as day
of the week, is connected with the institution of the week
of seven days as an entirety , and with the sanctity of the
number 'seven' in general. The week consisting of seven
days was unknown to the Aegyptians and the Greeks who
had a week of ten days, and to the Romans (before the time
of Christ) who had a week of eight days. It was introduced
among the Arabs by the Jews. It was an ancient Hebrew
institution, and has been pronounced accordingly pre-Mosaic.
—