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MESOPOTAMIAN
HYMNS
ANDPRAYERS
OFTEN
EVOKE
A
response of boredom; more than one reader has found
himself wondering whether these texts are not simply
collections of phrases that were strung out indiscriminately.' Perhaps; still it is no less possible that the
sense of meaninglessness and dreariness is due to
mechanical reading and presentation. Understanding
the artistry and thought of a Babylonian psalmespecially one which represents a new form and thus
gives evidence of creativity-underscores the vitality
of Mesopotamian psalmody; this study of the poetic
form and theological meaning of a well-known and
relatively simple prayer, the Marduk suilla BMS 9
obverse and duplicates,2 may serve, then, as an appropriate tribute to Professor Samuel Noah Kramer: for
' Cf. W. W.
Hallo, JAOS 97 (1977), 582-85 (review of
M.-J. Seux, Hymnes et prieres aux dieux de Babylonie et
d'Assyrrie),esp. 582f.
2 This suilla is cited as Marduk no. 2 in the lists
of suillas
compiled by W. Kunstmann, Die babylonische Gebetsbeschworung (LSS nf 2), 94 and Werner Mayer, Untersuchungen
zur Formensprache der babvlonischen "Gehetsbeschworungen" (Studia Pohl: Series Maior 5), 395. For a list of
exemplars and other bibliographical information, see Mayer,
Untersuchungen, 395; the unpublished British Museum duplicates listed there have since appeared in copy in O. Loretz
and W. R. Mayer, Su-iLA-Gebete(AOAT 34), nos. 26-29.
This suilla was known by its opening line: gasru isupu etel
(var. etelli) Eridu. This incipit is cited in 1. 11 of the list K.
2832 + 6680 col. 1 (W. L. King, Babylonian Magic and
Sorcery, p. xix and Mayer, Untersuchungen, 399) and follows there immediately upon the entry: gasru gsupu ilitti
Eridu (9). Kunstmann, Gebetsbeschw6rung, 95, and Mayer,
Untersuchungen, 399, take 1. 9 as referring to an otherwise
unattested or unidentified prayer (Kunstmann: Marduk 7;
Mayer: Marduk (?) X). However, since one MS of Marduk
no. 2 (Loretz and Mayer, SU-ILA, nos. 28 (+) 29:3') preserves
the reading gasru suput ilitti Eridu (the better reading is
etelli; ilitti is due to an auditory error which resulted in
metathesis: etelli - ilitti), the incipit gasru sgiupuilitti Eridu in
9 More
specifically, note the city in 1. 1, the country in 1. 7;
elevated princely status in 1. 2, elevated divine station in 1. 8;
the applause of the family in 1. 3, the applause of all people
in 1. 9.
by expressing a thought basic to the composer's theology and art: the god's place in the temple is intimately related to his ability to care for the people; his
power to care for human life derives from his rootedness in the temple. The connection between the god's
relation to temple and his relation to people is
expressed first of all by the juxtaposition of temple
and mankind:
Lover of Ezida, preserver of life,
Lone one of Emahtila, multiplier of living.
The two are thus put on a par. But the connection is
more than just mechanical. There is an internal, organic connection, and here a mere scholastic play
serves to draw together god, temple, and man. The
composer relies on a knowledge of the equations
zi : napistu and ti.la : balatu to convey his meaning.
Here, far from being an orthographic convention that
obscures the Akkadian text, the use of Sumerograms
is a literary device meant to express or, at least,
enhance the composer's message." napisti translates
and is written in all but one manuscript with zI'2 and
plays on the temple name, "Ezida," a name translated
elsewhere as bit napisti mati.'3 baldti translates and is
written in almost all manuscripts with TI.LA14 and
plays on the temple name, "Emahtila."'5 Thus in 1. 5
Ezida shares zi with napisti and in 1. 6 Emahtila
shares ti.la with baldti:
" The literary use of ideograms might suggest a writtenrather than an oral-form of composition. Note, however,
that a learned composer could certainly see and exploit the
connection between Ezida and napistu and between Emahtila
and baldtu without recourse to writing. If this suilla was
originally composed orally, the scribe who introduced the
writing zi for napisti in 1. 5 and TI.LA for baldti in 1. 6 is to
be credited with preserving and rendering explicit the aforementioned connections.
12 +
titi STT I 55: na-pis-ti.
13 For this translation, see RLA I 188; cf. Ebeling, AGH,
124:8: zer Ezida bit sikin napisti sa ill rabuti.
14
The exceptions
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103.1 (1983)
6.zi.da
la nominalized adjective
+ adjective
2a general noun + adjective
3a proper noun + adjective
Stanza II 4a construct chain
5a construct chain
6a construct chain
Stanza 11 7a construct chain
Ib construct chain
2b
3b
4b
5b
6b
7b
construct
construct
construct
construct
construct
construct
chain
chain
chain
chain
chain
chain
augmented by adjective modifying
2nd member of
chain, "nisT"
8 construct chain expanded by a second bound
form, "kalis," before rectum
9 stativesentencecomposedof nominalsubject
and adjectival predicate, separated by adverb,
"kalis," and prepositional phrase (preposition
+ construct chain whose 2nd member is
"nis'")
greater. Locality, temple, and community were connected in the first stanza; but locality then served as a
stepping stone to the temple and receded into the
distance. Temple then served as a stepping stone for
reaching the people and then began slipping away.
of people.
LI. 8 and 9, for their part, also parallel each other:
8. usumgal kalis
parakkT
9. sumka kalis ina pi
nisT tab
luslimma
What draws the stanza together and brings together
the loose pieces of the poem is the relationship of 1. 7
to 11.8 and 9: each half of 1. 7 stands in direct relation
to one of the two following lines: 7a to 8, 7b to 9: he
who covers the land (7a sulul mati) attains dominion
over all chapels therein (8 usumgal kalis parakkl); he
18Phoneticvariationsand standardatta/l-insertions(BMS
54: '-4', PBS I/2 108obv. 1'-8', Loretzand Mayer, U-ILA,
no. 27 obv. 11-14)are ignored.The few variantsthat require
mentionin the context of the presentstudy are includedin
the transcriptionand discussedat appropriateplacesbelow.
Contraryto the impressiongiven by some editions,manuscripts are often internallyconsistentin their treatmentof
case endings;othersrepresentdefinitestagesof transition.I
follow the MSS that have merged sing. nominativeand
accusativeand have retaineda separategenitive;the forms
qahb and gemd are found even in those MSS that read
magaru (STT I 55, KAR 23 + 25, PBS 1/2 108). The claim
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
lustammar ilutka
ima usammaru luksud
suskin kittu ina pT a
,subsi amat damiqti ina libbiva
tlru u nanzazu liqba damiqtT
ili lizziz na
in mniya
istarT lizziz ina ,sumeliia
ilu musallimu iddia / ina idT)a lu kadan
surkamma qabd semd u magaru
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
tone and purpose from the prayer in 11. 11 and 22b23: 11. 13-21 present a request for success; 11. 11 and
22b-23 contain the request for life itself. Even on
formal grounds, the prayer in 11.13-21 is set off from
preceding and following sections. It begins and ends
with a similar theme and identical words-- ma
usammaru
luksud
...
amat aqabbu
ema (-kTma)
10
Introductory Hymn
Capsule Suilla: a) invocation;
b) prayer for life; c) promise
Prayer for Success
Capsule Suilla: a') invocation;
b') prayer for life; c') promise
Concluding Benediction
7-9
The summary statements draw together the introductory hymn and the body of the prayer.
III. Lines 10-12 and 22-24 carry forward the thought
11
24
12
ema usammaru
luksud
: amat aqabbtu ma
(-kTma) aqabba la
magrat
: surkamma qabd
semd u magaru26
14-15:20
16:19
17:18
An outer ring (13:21)27 encircles an inner ring (1415:20) which in turn encircles a chiastic staircase
quatrain (16-19).28 In 11. 13:21, the petitioner himself
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103.1 (1983)
liqbu damiqti
lizziz ina imniya
lizziz ina sumeliya
ina idl va
idd'a
lu kavan
musallimu
iddya lu kaydn-were
the
22:5-8: ilT lizziz ina imniva, istarT lizziz ina sumelila, ilu
musallimu ina idyla lu kaYdn, tTrumanzdzu liqhu damiqtT.
29 A decision whether the tTruand
nanzazu refer to palace
officials or to divine figures is not cut and dry: note, for
example, that Landsberger treated them as "untergeordnete
Gotter" in the first edition of Textbuch (102 n. 1), but as
"Palastbeamte" in the second edition (308 n. 1). I prefer the
former characterization; cf. Mayer, Untersuchungen, 255
n. 56: "Da dieser Wunsch [i.e., tTruu nanz-zu liqbh damiqtT]
jeweils neben Bitten steht, die sich auf 'Schutzgeister' beziehen ...,
seien hier
14-15
16
19
17-18
This analysis of 11. 13-21 is confirmed by the grammatical structure of the segment. Note especially that
every line contains a form of the "volitive" mood; the
concentric structure finds expression in the pattern of
distribution of precatives and imperatives.
13:21
14-15:20
16:19
17:18
lu magrat
luksud
.suskin, suuhsi: surkamma
lu kavan
liqhub
* lizziz
liz-iz
precative lu-/lu
imperative
precative li-/lu
precative li-31
13 luprus
lu parsat
14-15 purus
purus 20
16 liprus
lu parrds 19
17 liprus liprus 18
The use of the techniques of ring composition and
hysteron proteron result in the creation of a concentrically symmetrical form. Circles are balanced in an
inverted order around a still point, and our attention
is directed first inward toward the center and then
back to the border (13:21) and beyond, to lines 10-12
and 22-24. Around the prayer, 11. 10-12 and 22-24
form a further circle. This outer frame accentuates the
concentric structure of the core prayer. It also changes
the meaning of the prayer for success and itself re-
30
13
" For othergrammaticalfeaturesthat are sharedby corresponding lines, note 13:21: conjunction + 1st pers. subjunctive verb form and 17:18: preposition + noun + I sing.
poss. suff.
2Note the gradual loosening of grammatical structure: lu... ii-... Ii-... li-... lu + masc. absol.... lu + fem. absol. It
almost appears as if each side is building up one difference:
17-13: u (li- - lu-), 18-21: independent form (li- - lu +
predicative stative); the segment would thus form a circle
that begins and ends with lu-/lau + (13/21).
33
14
1 25
4-6 1 2636
7-9
27
sumka...ina pTnisi tab (9); ilu rabutu libhaka litibbiu (27)37
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103.1 (1983)
and conclude
Hymn
2
3
1
B 2
3
1
2
3
3'
2'
1'
1'
B' 2'
3'
Benediction
A'
2'
3'
lines
1-3
4-6
7-9
10
11
12
13
14-15
16
X 17-18
19
20
21
22a
22b-23
24
25
26
27
2:
15