Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 290 PEETERS The Flood : The Akkadian Sources A New Edition, Commentary, and a Literary Discussion Nathan Wasserman THE FLOOD : THE AKKADIAN SOURCES ORBIS BIBLICUS ET ORIENTALIS Founded by Othmar Keel Editorial Board: Susanne Bickel, Catherine Mittermayer, Mirko Novák, Thomas C. Römer and Christoph Uehlinger Published on behalf of the Swiss Society for Ancient Near Eastern Studies and the Bible+Orient Foundation in cooperation with the Institute of Egyptology, University of Basel, the Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Near Eastern Archaeology section, University of Bern, the Departement of Biblical Studies, University of Fribourg, the Institut romand des sciences bibliques, University of Lausanne, and the Department of Religious Studies, University of Zurich Author Nathan Wasserman (Jerusalem, b. 1962) is a professor of Assyriology at the Institute of Archaeology of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (PhD, 1993). His main fields of research are Early Akkadian literary and magical texts, as well as the history of the Old Babylonian period. Email: nathan.wasserman@mail.huji.ac.il Peeters Leuven - Paris - Bristol, CT 2020 Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 290 The Flood : The Akkadian Sources A New Edition, Commentary, and a Literary Discussion by Nathan Wasserman A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-90-429-4173-1 eISBN 978-90-429-4174-8 D/2020/0602/11 © 2020, Peeters, Bondgenotenlaan 153, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage or retrieval devices or systems, without the prior written permission from the publisher, except the quotation of brief passages for review purposes. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis publishes monographs, multi-author volumes and conference proceedings in the fields of Biblical Studies (Hebrew Bible and Septuagint), Ancient Near Eastern Studies and Egyptology broadly understood (including archaeology, history, iconography and religion). The editorial board and affiliated institutions reflect the series’ high academic standards and interdisciplinary outlook. Manuscripts may be submitted via a member of the editorial board. They are examined by the board and subject to further peer review by internationally recognized scholars at the board’s discretion. The series is committed to worldwide distribution, notably through open access publication (Gold or Green). Past volumes are archived at the digital repository of the University of Zurich (www.zora.uzh.ch). Senior editor: Christoph.Uehlinger@uzh.ch The open access publication of this book has been facilitated by the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences. To Samuel Sabbatai I build my bellowing ark To the best of my love As the fl ood begins Dylan Thomas, Author’s Prologue TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ................................................................................. IX List of Tables and Figures ...................................................................... X 1. Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 1.1 Transmission .............................................................................. 1 1.2 Scope of the Study .................................................................... 2 1.3 Edition and Translation ............................................................ 3 2. The Texts .............................................................................................. 14 2.1 The Manuscripts ........................................................................ 14 2.2 The Old Babylonian Recensions ............................................. 16 2.2.1 Ms. C 0 ............................................................................... 16 2.2.2 Ms. C 1 +C 2 ......................................................................... 19 2.3 The Later Recensions ............................................................... 60 2.3.1 Ms. Ark ............................................................................. 61 2.3.2 Ms. J (Nippur) .................................................................. 77 2.3.3 Ms. J 1 ( Ḫ attusa) ................................................................ 80 2.3.4 Ms. I (Ugarit) .................................................................... 82 2.3.5 Ms. I 1 (Ugarit) .................................................................. 85 2.3.6 Ms. I 2 (Ugarit) .................................................................. 87 2.3.7 Ms. W (Nineveh) .............................................................. 90 2.3.8 Ms. U (Nineveh) ............................................................... 93 2.3.9 Ms. z ................................................................................. 99 2.4 Gilgameš Tablet XI ................................................................... 103 3. Literary Discussion ........................................................................... 130 3.1 What Is It All About? ................................................................ 130 3.2 The Main Segments in the Story of the Flood and the Dynamics of Sonority ............................................................... 132 3.3 Narratological Points of View: The Flood of Ū ta-napišt ī ... 135 3.4 A Perfect Storm: Ū ta-napišt ī , Jonah, and Odysseus ............ 135 3.5 The Two Speeches of the Mother-Goddess ............................ 140 3.6 Mind the Gap: Ū ta-napišt ī ’s Blindness .................................. 145 3.7 K 1520: An Apocryphal Text on the Boat? ........................... 147 3.8 Divine Disputes: B ē let-il ī and Enki; Enlil and the Other Gods ............................................................................................. 149 3.9 An Echo of the Flood? The Inscription of Ipiq-Ištar of Malgium ...................................................................................... 152 Glossary ..................................................................................................... 157 Bibliography ............................................................................................. 175 Indices ....................................................................................................... 185 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the course of writing this book, which was supported by the ISRAEL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (grant No. 182/16), I was aided by colleagues and friends. It is my privilege to mention them here. From the beginning to the end of this undertaking Yigal Bloch assisted me in scienti fi c and editorial matters. His sharp eye and diligence were a great boon. I am grateful to Ir- ving Finkel at the British Museum for useful discussions centring on the Ark Tablet. Andrew George weighed my questions patiently and offered good advice. Michael Streck passed me Claus Wilcke’s preliminary edition and collations of Atra- ḫ asis. I am grateful to him and, of course, to Claus Wilcke for his generosity. I would also like to mention Martin Worthington who sent me his monograph Ea’s Duplicity in the Gilgamesh Flood Story prior to publication, Noam Mizrahi for his ready help in different biblical matters and Keren Nebenhaus for the graphics. Susan Kennedy corrected my English and copyedited this book. Finally, I extend my thanks to Christoph Uehlinger, senior editor of Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis , for his subtle and pertinent re- marks and to Marcia Bodenmann for her meticulous work in preparing the manuscript for publication. I thank them all. On the 31 st of May 2019, on the completion of this book, our son, Samuel Sabbatai, was born. I dedicate it to him with love. Nathan Wasserman Jerusalem LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table I: Textual Parallels between the Different Mss. ....................... 4–11 Table II: Comparison of Acting Figures and Dates in the Different Mss. 12–13 Table III: The Manuscripts ................................................................. 14–16 The Ark Tablet (hand-copy) ............................................................... 63–65 Figure I: Sonority along the Narrative Line (Gilgameš XI) .............. 134 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 T RANSMISSION The memory of a primeval cataclysmic Flood which wiped out all life on earth and brought humanity to the verge of extinction is deeply rooted in Mesopotamian tradition. It is mentioned directly, or alluded to indirectly, in different parts of the Mesopotamian literary system – myths, lamentations, historiographic texts, even incantations 1 – from the early 2 nd millennium on- wards. 2 Remarkably, however, the removal of kingship resulting from this massive Flood, a pivotal theme in the Sumerian King List, in city lamenta- tions, and in the Curse of Agade, is not mentioned at all in the Flood story. In fact, neither king nor kingship as an institution, are alluded to in the Flood, as we know it. The written witnesses of the Flood from the West – the cuneiform tablets from Ugarit, the Hitto-Anatolian fragments, 3 and the much later biblical ac- counts 4 – all draw from the Mesopotamian reservoir. 5 Starting with the writ- ings of 3 rd century BCE Berossos, this rich collection of Babylonian literary material was poured into Greek and Latin literary vessels where the various accounts of the Flood fermented. 6 In turn, the biblical and the Greek-Latin accounts ignited the European imagination, giving rise to a plethora of tex- tual and visual representations of the Flood and of the Ark – in popular, theo- logical, and scienti fi c sources, 7 until this very day. 8 Interestingly, no mention of a great Flood is found in ancient Egyptian literature. 9 The hero of the Flood is variously called: Atra- ḫ as ī s (“Exceeding in wis- dom”) in the older, Old Babylonian version; Ziusudra (“Life of long days”) 1 An unmistakable echo of the opening lines of Atra- ḫ as ī s is found in a text which merges magic and laudatory speech (CUSAS 32, no. 55: 15–16): in ū ma il ū k ī ma awil ī an ā ku dann ā ku šadî ušapak ū ma tupšikkam ušaaddi “when the gods were like man I (Ningirsu) was the strong(est). They were heaping up the mountains but I enabled (them) to throw down the earth-basket” (George 2016c, 160 and 162). 2 Chen 2013 (cf. Foster 2015; Lenzi 2015). 3 Archi 2007, 186. 4 Kvanvig 2011; Pfost 2014 (with previous literature). 5 Schmidt 1995, 2338–2343. 6 Schmidt 1995, 2344–2345; Lang 2008, 216–225. 7 The literature of Western thought’s engagement with the story of the primeval Flood is vast. Only a selection of studies will be mentioned here: Lewis 1978, focuses on the Flood in Jewish and Christian exegetical literature; the well-illustrated Cohn 1996, and Seguin 2001 who addresses the subject of the Flood in writings of the Age of Enlightenment. On reflections on the meeting between Gilgameš and the hero of the Flood in Muslim sources, see Annus 2016, 97–99. 8 See Noah , a 2014 American epic biblical drama directed by Darren Aronofsky, starring Russell Crowe. 9 Schmidt 1995, 2338. 2 1 INTRODUCTION in the Sumerian story and in the Hellenistic account based on Berossos (and in ms. z ); and Ū ta-napišt ī (“I/He found (eternal) life”) in the version of the Flood in Gilg. XI 10 and in the Hittite recension. 11 A similar variation exists in the different sources in relation to the other actors in the myth. This lack of consistency, which persists in the biblical and Classical traditions, 12 sug- gests a free-but- fi rm mode of transmission, in which “individual scribes had a free hand in rewriting the text, but [...] nevertheless [remained] suf fi ciently close to justify the belief in a single, speci fi c point of origin of the poem”. 13 In order to fully appreciate the complicated textual and thematic relations between the different sources, the reader may consult two tables: – Table I: Textual Parallels between the Different Mss. (4ff.) and – Table II: Comparison of Acting Figures and Dates in the Different Mss. (12ff.) 1.2 S COPE OF THE S TUDY The present book deals only with the Akkadian sources. I refer occasional- ly to biblical, 14 post-biblical and rabbinic parallels, without purporting to present an inclusive or systematic comparative study. 15 Beyond the practical reason of wishing to avoid an unwieldy project, the ancient texts themselves justify the decision to limit the scope of the book to the Flood itself. Stories about the Flood were composed and copied in Antiquity as separate oeuvres, suggesting that the Flood was known a stand-alone myth. The inscription of Ipiq-Ištar of Malgium with its reference to the Flood (see Literary Discus- sion 3.9) further supports the notion that the Flood was a stand-alone story already in the Old Babylonian period. The fact that the story of the Flood was included in the Epic of Gilgameš shows that the Flood was a well-de fi ned, in- dependent mythological tale. Lastly, the doxology-like sub-colophon ab ū ba ana kullat niš ī uzammer šime ā “I have sung of the Flood to all the people. 10 George 2003, 152–155; Lambert 2005 200–201; George 2007, 238–239. The switch from Ū ta-napišt ī to Atra- ḫ as ī s in Gilg. XI 49 and 179 is usually understood as an editorial slip (e.g. Bachvarova 2016, 59). The Sumerian name of the Flood hero, Zi(u)sudra re-surfaces in the Late Babylonian ms. z , where it is changed to its Akkadian equivalent Ū t(a)-napišt ī as a result of an explicit decision by Enlil: “You are Zisudra, (from now on) let [your name] be Ū t-napišt ī m” ( z v 17'). On the possibility that the name of the hero of the Flood is corrupted as Ū ta-rapšatim in the Old Babylonian pseudo-autobiographical text known as Sargon, the Conquering Hero, see Goodnick Westenholz 1997, 68–70: 57–59 and George 2003, 152. 11 Bachvarova 2016, 72–77 and Soysal 2007. 12 For an overview of the Classical traditions, see Schmidt 1995, 2344–2345. 13 van Koppen 2011, 144. He continues: “... the Old Babylonian manuscripts [of Atra- ḫ as ī s] all represent what is basically the same text, provided we accept the liberty of the scribes to alter it as they saw fit”. 14 All biblical references lean on the English translation of the New Jewish Publication Society of America Tanakh, with occasional modifications of mine. 15 For a short and enlightening essay on some of the methodological questions involved in comparative studies in the humanities, from a cognitive perspective, see Annus 2016, 111–117. 1.3 EDITION AND TRANSLATION 3 Hear it!” ( C 1 viii 18'–19'), which comes just before the fi nal colophon of the three-tablet Sippar recension (d u b - 3 - k á m - m a in ū ma il ū aw ī lum “Tablet 3 of “ When gods like man ”, C 1 viii 21'–22'), bolsters the idea that the an- cient author considered Tablet III of Atra- ḫ as ī s as a quasi-independent unit – ab ū bu , “the Flood” – set within the boundaries of the complete composition. 16 1.3 E DITION AND T RANSLATION The present study draws on the work of previous scholars, 17 fi rst and fore- most Lambert/Millard 1969 Atra- ḫ as ī s – perhaps the longest-lasting edition of any single Akkadian literary text. Half a century, however, has passed sin- ce its publication, during which time new texts have come to light (notably the Ark Tablet = Finkel 2014), reading has improved and new translations have appeared. 18 Having worked on Mesopotamian literature for some years, I felt that the time was ripe for an updated exhaustive study of the Flood story. The different sources of the Flood are presented (Table III: The Manu- scripts (14ff.)), 19 without any attempt to present a uni fi ed text (as Wilcke did in his unpublished edition). Nonetheless, I strove to show the textual ties between the different sources, line by line. First are the Old Babylonian re- censions, then the post-Old Babylonian separate tablets, and fi nally the most complete version of the Flood in Tablet XI of the Epic of Gilgameš. The edition of each Akkadian version is followed by a philological com- mentary. Broader literary subjects are examined in the Literary Discussion. Tablets housed in the British Museum were collated by the author in No- vember 2018, when the Ark Tablet was copied for the fi rst time. For tablets kept in other collections I used photographs to verify readings. Editions live or die according to the quality of their translations. I have offered new English translations for all the versions of the Flood (also to Gilg. XI, even though George’s 2003 masterful edition remains virtually un- changed). Translating the texts anew it became apparent to me that the Flood, in its manifold versions, is predominantly constructed of two-line units. My translation re fl ects this couplet-based structure. 16 The difficulty in distinguishing between epics and myths in ancient Mesopotamian litera- ture is well known and the methodological aspects involved will not be reiterated here (see Vanstiphout 1986; Röllig 1987). I prefer the epithet ‘the Flood’ without generic designation or the appending of the label ‘story’. When treating the Flood in Gilg. XI, the term ‘myth’ is sometimes employed, in order to distinguish Ū ta-napišt ī ’s story (the myth of the Flood) from the framework in which his story is embedded (the epic of Gilgameš). Note that Lambert (e.g. in 2005, 195) and Chen (2013, 197 and passim) takes a different path, calling it “The Flood Epic”. 17 In the first stages of my work, I made use of Claus Wilcke’s unpublished edition and collations of Atra- ḫ as ī s (see Acknowledgements). 18 Shehata 2001 is still of much help in this respect, but this work is now almost 20 years old. 19 See the useful summary of the different souces of the Flood in Lambert 2005, 196. 4 1 INTRODUCTION T ABLE I: T EXTUAL P ARALLELS BETWEEN THE D IFFERENT M SS Numbers indicate lines in each ms. Exact parallels are indicated in bold Subject matter C 1+C2 C 0 Ark I Gods decide on annihila- tion of mankind iv 2' 49 Introduction to the hero’s address to Enki/Ea i 11'–12' iv 8'–9' Introduction to Enki’s/ Ea’s statement to the hero i 15'–16' iv 11'–12' Beginning of Enki’s/ Ea’s address to the wall i 20'–21' 1 14 Injunction to the hero to pay attention to the advice of Enki/Ea 2 15 “Get away from your house, build a boat!” i 22'–23' 4 “Save life!” i 24' 5 Instructions concerning the boat’s structure i 25'–28' 6–8 “Roof it over like the Apsû” i 29' The hero’s reply to Enki/ Ea Instruction on roo fi ng the upper and lower decks of the boat i 31' Promised downpouring of birds and fi shes i 34'–35' Introduction to Atra- ḫ as ī s’ address to the city elders i 40'–41' Atra- ḫ as ī s informs us that Enki told him to leave i 45'–46' “I will not dwell in your city” i 47'–49' “This is what my god Enki told me” i 50' 1.3 EDITION AND TRANSLATION 5 I 1 I 2 J J1 U W Z Gilg. XI 3–4 14–16 21–22 6' 24–26 26–27, 84 1'–2', 16' 28–30, 60 31 17' 33–34 9' 3' 31, 136 43–44 8'–10' 2' 3' 40–42 4' 6 1 INTRODUCTION Subject matter C 1+C2 C 0 Ark I Kilns loaded with bitumen 21, 25, 31 Carpenter and reed-work- er with their tools ii 11'–12' Items brought by the rich and the poor ii 13'–14' Dividing the boat into decks and compartments 17 Quantities of bitumen and lard/oil used 18–24 Quantities of oil put aside by the workmen 33, 58 The boat loaded with sil- ver and gold ii 30"–31" Slaughtering of sheep and bulls ii 32"–33" 43 Livestock and craftsmen brought aboard ii 36"–38" “The month reached its end” ii 39" iv 6' 50 “Then he sent his family into the boat” ii 42" 34–35 Eating and drinking aboard the boat ii 43'–44' 38 Atra- ḫ as ī s is unquiet ii 46' Sudden change of the weather ii 48' Adad thundered ii 49'–50' The boat’s door is closed ii 51' Calamity intensi fi es at dawn Adad thundered ii 53' Strong wind sent the boat adrift ii 54'–55' Ninurta and Errakal as- sisted in bringing on the fl ood 1.3 EDITION AND TRANSLATION 7 I 1 I 2 J J 1 U W Z Gilg. XI 7' 50–51 55–56 61–63 66–68 69–70 82–83 71–72 r. 11' 9' 86 1 r 13' 6', 8' 85 138 92–93 r 2' B 1' r 3' 4' 94 r 12' 48, 97 99 r 4' r 14'–15' 102–103 8 1 INTRODUCTION Subject matter C 1+C2 C 0 Ark I “For one day the storm...” iii 5' Anzu ripped the heavens with his talons iii 7'–8' Land shattered like a pot iii 9'–10' Winds blew from all sides Annihilation came upon the people like a battle iii 11'–12' “One person did not see another” iii 13'–14' “The fl ood bellowed like a bull” iii 15' Gods took refuge in the heaven iii 20'–22' Anum afraid of the fl ood iii 23'–24' The gods huddled together iii 26'–27' Mother goddess in distress iii 28'–29' Complaint of the mother- goddess iii 33'–38' The mother-goddess wailing iv 4' It is she who gave birth to the people iv 5' People’s corpses fi ll the riv- erbank / the sea iv 7' The mother-goddess brought her feelings to ex- haustion iv 14' The gods wept with her iv 15' Where she sat weeping, they sat iv 18' The gods in distress iv 21' The fl ood’s duration iv 24'–25' Dove sent away and came back Crow/crane sent away (did not come back) 1.3 EDITION AND TRANSLATION 9 I 1 I 2 J J1 U W Z Gilg. XI 109 r 16' B 5'–6' r 17' [108] r 6' 110 r 4' r 18'–19' 111 112–113 r 13' 108 114–116 r 20'–21' 114, 111 r 22' 118 117–120 118 123 124 r 23' r 24'–25' 125 126 127 r 7' 128–129 11–13 148–150 14 154–156