occurs in the Assyrian version, e.g., I, 5, 31, and IV, 2, 38; also
to be supplied, I, 6, 23.
For _pahir_ the parallel in the Assyrian version has _iz-za-az_
(I, 5, 31), but VI, 197, we find _pah-ru_ and _pah-ra_.
Line 17. _mi-in-di_ does not mean "truly" as Langdon translates,
but "some one." It occurs also in the Assyrian version X, 1, 13,
_mi-in-di-e ma-an-nu-u_, "this is some one who," etc.
Line 18. Cf. Assyrian version I, 5, 3, and IV, 4, 7, _ina siri
âlid_--both passages referring to Enkidu.
Line 21. Cf. Assyrian version II, 3b, 38, with _malkê_, "kings,"
as a synonym of _itlutum_.
Line 23. _ta-tar-ra-as-sú_ from _tarâsu_, "direct," "guide," etc.
Line 24. I take _us-ti-nim-ma_ as III, 2, from _isênu_ (YOSEN),
the verb underlying _sittu_, "sleep," and _suttu_, "dream."
Line 26. Cf. Assyrian version I, 6, 21--a complete parallel.
Line 28. _Uruk ri-bi-tim_, the standing phrase in both tablets of
the old Babylonian version, for which in the Assyrian version we
have _Uruk su-pu-ri_. The former term suggests the "broad space"
outside of the city or the "common" in a village community,
while _supûri_, "enclosed," would refer to the city within the
walls. Dr. W. F. Albright (in a private communication) suggests "Erech
of the plazas" as a suitable translation for _Uruk ribîtim_. A third
term, _Uruk mâtum_ (see above, note to line 10), though designating
rather the district of which Erech was the capital, appears to be
used as a synonym to _Uruk ribîtim_, as may be concluded from the
phrase _i-na ri-bi-tum ma-ti_ (l. 214 of the Pennsylvania tablet),
which clearly means the "plaza" of the city. One naturally thinks of
REHOBOT `IYR in Genesis 10, 11--the equivalent of Babylonian _ri-bi-tu
âli_--which can hardly be the name of a city. It appears to be a
gloss, as is HIY' HO`IYR HAGEDOLOH at the end of v. 12. The latter
gloss is misplaced, since it clearly describes "Nineveh," mentioned
in v. 11. Inasmuch as REHOBOT `IYR immediately follows the mention
of Nineveh, it seems simplest to take the phrase as designating the
"outside" or "suburbs" of the city, a complete parallel, therefore,
to _ri-bi-tu mâti_ in our text. Nineveh, together with the "suburbs,"
forms the "great city." _Uruk ribîtim_ is, therefore, a designation
for "greater Erech," proper to a capital city, which by its gradual
growth would take in more than its original confines. "Erech of the
plazas" must have come to be used as a honorific designation of this
important center as early as 2000 B. C., whereas later, perhaps
because of its decline, the epithet no longer seemed appropriate
and was replaced by the more modest designation of "walled Erech,"
with an allusion to the tradition which ascribed the building of the
wall of the city to Gilgamesh. At all events, all three expressions,
"Erech of the plazas," "Erech walled" and "Erech land," are to be
regarded as synonymous. The position once held by Erech follows also
from its ideographic designation (Brünnow No. 4796) by the sign "house"
with a "gunufied" extension, which conveys the idea of Unu = _subtu_,
or "dwelling" _par excellence_. The pronunciation Unug or Unuk (see
the gloss _u-nu-uk_, VR 23, 8a), composed of _unu_, "dwelling," and
_ki_, "place," is hardly to be regarded as older than Uruk, which is
to be resolved into _uru_, "city," and _ki_, "place," but rather as
a play upon the name, both Unu + ki and Uru + ki conveying the same
idea of _the_ city or _the_ dwelling place _par excellence_. As the
seat of the second oldest dynasty according to Babylonian traditions
(see Poebel's list in _Historical and Grammatical Texts_ No. 2),
Erech no doubt was regarded as having been at one time "the city,"
i.e., the capital of the entire Euphrates Valley.
Line 31. A difficult line for which Langdon proposes the translation:
"Another axe seemed his visage"!!--which may be picturesque, but
hardly a description befitting a hero. How can a man's face seem
to be an axe? Langdon attaches _sá-ni_ in the sense of "second"
to the preceding word "axe," whereas _sanî bunusu_, "change of his
countenance" or "his countenance being changed," is to be taken as
a phrase to convey the idea of "being disturbed," "displeased" or
"angry." The phrase is of the same kind as the well-known _sunnu
têmu_, "changing of reason," to denote "insanity." See the passages
in Muss-Arnolt, _Assyrian Dictionary_, pp. 355 and 1068. In Hebrew,
too, we have the same two phrases, e.g., VAYESANOV 'ETTA`EMOV
(I Sam. 21, 14 = Ps. 34, 1), "and he changed his reason," i.e.,
feigned insanity and MESANEH PONOYV (Job 14, 20), "changing his
face," to indicate a radical alteration in the frame of mind. There
is a still closer parallel in Biblical Aramaic: Dan. 3, 19, "The form
of his visage was changed," meaning "he was enraged." Fortunately,
the same phrase occurs also in the Yale tablet (l. 192), _sá-nu-ú
bu-nu-sú_, in a connection which leaves no doubt that the aroused
fury of the tyrant Huwawa is described by it:
"Huwawa heard and his face was changed"
precisely, therefore, as we should say--following Biblical usage--"his
countenance fell." Cf. also the phrase _pânusu arpu_, "his countenance
was darkened" (Assyrian version I, 2, 48), to express "anger." The
line, therefore, in the Pennsylvania tablet must describe Enkidu's
anger. With the brandishing of the axe the hero's anger was also
stirred up. The touch was added to prepare us for the continuation
in which Gish describes how, despite this (or perhaps just because
of it), Enkidu seemed so attractive that Gish instantly fell in love
with him. May perhaps the emphatic form _hasinumma_ (line 31) against
_hasinu_ (line 29) have been used to indicate "The axe it was," or
"because of the axe?" It would be worth while to examine other texts
of the Hammurabi period with a view of determining the scope in the
use and meaning of the emphatic _ma_ when added to a substantive.
Line 32. The combination _amur ù ahtadu_ occurs also in the El-Amarna
Letters, No. 18, 12.
Line 34. In view of the common Hebrew, Syriac and Arabic Hobab "to
love," it seems preferable to read here, as in the other passages in
the Assyrian versions (I, 4, 15; 4, 35; 6, 27, etc.), _a-ha-ab-bu-ub_,
_ah-bu-ub_, _ih-bu-bu_, etc. (instead of with _p_), and to render
"embrace."
Lines 38-40, completing the column, may be supplied from the Assyrian
version I, 6, 30-32, in conjunction with lines 33-34 of our text. The
beginning of line 32 in Jensen's version is therefore to be filled
out _[ta-ra-am-sú ki]-i_.
Line 43. The restoration at the beginning of this line
_En-ki-[du wa]-si-ib ma-har ha-ri-im-tim_
enables us to restore also the beginning of the second tablet of
the Assyrian version (cf. the colophon of the fragment 81, 7-27, 93,
in Jeremias, _Izdubar-Nimrod_, plate IV = Jensen, p. 134),
_[d_En-ki-du wa-si-ib] ma-har-sá.
Line 44. The restoration of this line is largely conjectural, based
on the supposition that its contents correspond in a general way to I,
4, 16, of the Assyrian version. The reading _di-da_ is quite certain,
as is also _ip-ti-[e]_; and since both words occur in the line of the
Assyrian version in question, it is tempting to supply at the beginning
_ur-[sá]_ = "her loins" (cf. Holma, _Namen der Körperteile_, etc.,
p. 101), which is likewise found in the same line of the Assyrian
version. At all events the line describes the fascination exercised
upon Enkidu by the woman's bodily charms, which make him forget
everything else.
Lines 46-47 form a parallel to I, 4, 21, of the Assyrian version. The
form _samkatu_, "courtesan," is constant in the old Babylonian version
(ll. 135 and 172), as against _samhatu_ in the Assyrian version (I,
3, 19, 40, 45; 4, 16), which also uses the plural _sam-ha-a-ti_ (II,
3b, 40). The interchange between _h_ and _k_ is not without precedent
(cf. Meissner, _Altbabylonisches Privatrecht_, page 107, note 2,
and more particularly Chiera, _List of Personal Names_, page 37).
In view of the evidence, set forth in the Introduction, for the
assumption that the Enkidu story has been combined with a tale of the
evolution of primitive man to civilized life, it is reasonable to
suggest that in the original Enkidu story the female companion was
called _samkatu_, "courtesan," whereas in the tale of the primitive
man, which was transferred to Enkidu, the associate was _harimtu_, a
"woman," just as in the Genesis tale, the companion of Adam is simply
called _ishshâ_, "woman." Note that in the Assyrian parallel (Tablet I,
4, 26) we have two readings, _ir-hi_ (imperf.) and a variant _i-ri-hi_
(present). The former is the better reading, as our tablet shows.
Lines 49-59 run parallel to the Assyrian version I, 4, 33-38,
with slight variations which have been discussed above, p. 58, and
from which we may conclude that the Assyrian version represents an
independent redaction. Since in our tablet we have presumably the
repetition of what may have been in part at least set forth in the
first tablet of the old Babylonian version, we must not press the
parallelism with the first tablet of the Assyrian version too far;
but it is noticeable nevertheless (1) that our tablet contains lines
57-58 which are not represented in the Assyrian version, and (2) that
the second speech of the "woman" beginning, line 62, with _al-ka_,
"come" (just as the first speech, line 54), is likewise not found
in the first tablet of the Assyrian version; which on the other
hand contains a line (39) not in the Babylonian version, besides
the detailed answer of Enkidu (I 4, 42-5, 5). Line 6, which reads
"Enkidu and the woman went (_il-li-ku_) to walled Erech," is also
not found in the second tablet of the old Babylonian version.
Line 63. For _magrû_, "accursed," see the frequent use in Astrological
texts (Jastrow, _Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens_ II, page 450, note
2). Langdon, by his strange error in separating _ma-a-ag-ri-im_ into
two words _ma-a-ak_ and _ri-i-im_, with a still stranger rendering:
"unto the place yonder of the shepherds!!", naturally misses the
point of this important speech.
Line 64 corresponds to I, 4, 40, of the Assyrian version, which has
an additional line, leading to the answer of Enkidu. From here on,
our tablet furnishes material not represented in the Assyrian version,
but which was no doubt included in the second tablet of that version
of which we have only a few fragments.
Line 70 must be interpreted as indicating that the woman kept one
garment for herself. _Ittalbas_ would accordingly mean, "she kept
on." The female dress appears to have consisted of an upper and a
lower garment.
Line 72. The restoration "like a god" is favored by line 51, where
Enkidu is likened to a god, and is further confirmed by l. 190.
Line 73. _gupru_ is identical with _gu-up-ri_ (Thompson, _Reports of
the Magicians and Astrologers_, etc., 223 rev. 2 and 223a rev. 8), and
must be correlated to _gipâru_ (Muss-Arnolt, _Assyrian Dictionary_,
p. 229a), "planted field," "meadow," and the like. Thompson's
translation "men" (as though a synonym of _gabru_) is to be corrected
accordingly.
Line 74. There is nothing missing between _a-sar_ and _tar-ba-si-im_.
Line 75. _ri-ia-ú_, which Langdon renders "shepherd," is the
equivalent of the Arabic _ri'y_ and Hebrew RE`IY "pasturage,"
"fodder." We have usually the feminine form _ri-i-tu_ (Muss-Arnolt,
_Assyrian Dictionary_, p. 990b). The break at the end of the second
column is not serious. Evidently Enkidu, still accustomed to live
like an animal, is first led to the sheepfolds, and this suggests
a repetition of the description of his former life. Of the four or
five lines missing, we may conjecturally restore four, on the basis
of the Assyrian version, Tablet I, 4, 2-5, or I, 2, 39-41. This would
then join on well to the beginning of column 3.
Line 81. Both here and in l. 52 our text has _na-ma-ás-te-e_, as
against _nam-mas-si-i_ in the Assyrian version, e.g., Tablet I,
2, 41; 4, 5, etc.,--the feminine form, therefore, as against the
masculine. Langdon's note 3 on page 213 is misleading. In astrological
texts we also find _nam-mas-te_; e.g., Thompson, _Reports of the
Magicians and Astrologers_, etc., No. 200, Obv. 2.
Line 93. _zi-ma-at_ (for _simat_) _ba-la-ti-im_ is not "conformity of
life" as Langdon renders, but that which "belongs to life" like _si-mat
pag-ri-sá_, "belonging to her body," in the Assyrian version III, 2a,
3 (Jensen, page 146). "Food," says the woman, "is the staff of life."
Line 94. Langdon's strange rendering "of the conditions and fate
of the land" rests upon an erroneous reading (see the corrections,
Appendix I), which is the more inexcusable because in line 97 the same
ideogram, Kàs = _sikaru_, "wine," occurs, and is correctly rendered
by him. _Simti mâti_ is not the "fate of the land," but the "fixed
custom of the land."
Line 98. _as-sa-mi-im_ (plural of _assamu_), which Langdon takes as
an adverb in the sense of "times," is a well-known word for a large
"goblet," which occurs in Incantation texts, e.g., _CT_ XVI, 24,
obv. 1, 19, _mê a-sa-am-mi-e sú-puk_, "pour out goblets of water." Line
18 of the passage shoves that _asammu_ is a Sumerian loan word.
Line 99. _it-tap-sar_, I, 2, from _pasâru_, "loosen." In combination
with _kabtatum_ (from _kabitatum_, yielding two forms: _kabtatum_, by
elision of _i_, and _kabittu_, by elision of _a_), "liver," _pasâru_
has the force of becoming cheerful. Cf. _ka-bit-ta-ki lip-pa-sir_
(_ZA_ V., p. 67, line 14).
Line 100, note the customary combination of "liver" (_kabtatum_)
and "heart" (_libbu_) for "disposition" and "mind," just as in the
standing phrase in penitential prayers: "May thy liver be appeased,
thy heart be quieted."
Line 102. The restoration [lùSÚ]-I = _gallabu_ "barber" (Delitzsch,
_Sumer. Glossar_, p. 267) was suggested to me by Dr. H. F. Lutz. The
ideographic writing "raising the hand" is interesting as recalling the
gesture of shaving or cutting. Cf. a reference to a barber in Lutz,
_Early Babylonian Letters from Larsa_, No. 109, 6.
Line 103. Langdon has correctly rendered _suhuru_ as "hair," and
has seen that we have here a loan-word from the Sumerian Suhur =
_kimmatu_, "hair," according to the Syllabary Sb 357 (cf. Delitzsch,
_Sumer. Glossar._, p. 253). For _kimmatu_, "hair," more specifically
hair of the head and face, see Holma, _Namen der Körperteile_,
page 3. The same sign Suhur or Suh (Brünnow No. 8615), with Lal,
i.e., "hanging hair," designates the "beard" (_ziknu_, cf. Brünnow,
No. 8620, and Holma, l. c., p. 36), and it is interesting to note
that we have _suhuru_ (introduced as a loan-word) for the barbershop,
according to II R, 21, 27c (= _CT_ XII, 41).
Ê suhur(ra) (i.e., house of the hair) = _sú-hu-ru_.
In view of all this, we may regard as assured Holma's conjecture to
read _sú-[hur-ma-sú]_ in the list 93074 obv. (_MVAG_ 1904, p. 203; and
Holma, _Beiträge z. Assyr. Lexikon_, p. 36), as the Akkadian equivalent
to Suhur-Mas-Ha and the name of a fish, so called because it appeared
to have a double "beard" (cf. Holma, _Namen der Körperteile_). One is
tempted, furthermore, to see in the difficult word SKYRH (Isaiah 7,
20) a loan-word from our _suhuru_, and to take the words 'ETHORO'S
VESA`AR HORAGELAYIM "the head and hair of the feet" (euphemistic
for the hair around the privates), as an explanatory gloss to the rare
word Skyrh for "hair" of the body in general--just as in the passage
in the Pennsylvania tablet. The verse in Isaiah would then read,
"The Lord on that day will shave with the razor the hair (HSKYRH),
and even the beard will be removed." The rest of the verse would
represent a series of explanatory glosses: (a) "Beyond the river"
(i.e., Assyria), a gloss to YEGALAH (b) "with the king of Assyria,"
a gloss to BETA`AR "with a razor;" and (c) "the hair of the head and
hair of the feet," a gloss to HSKYRH. For "hair of the feet" we have an
interesting equivalent in Babylonian _su-hur_ (and _sú-hu-ur_) _sêpi_
(_CT_ XII, 41, 23-24 c-d). Cf. also Boissier, _Documents Assyriens
relatifs aux Présages_, p. 258, 4-5. The Babylonian phrase is like the
Hebrew one to be interpreted as a euphemism for the hair around the
male or female organ. To be sure, the change from H to K in HSKYRH
constitutes an objection, but not a serious one in the case of a
loan-word, which would aim to give the _pronunciation_ of the original
word, rather than the correct etymological equivalent. The writing with
aspirated K fulfills this condition. (Cf. _samkatum_ and _samhatum_,
above p. 73). The passage in Isaiah being a reference to Assyria,
the prophet might be tempted to use a foreign word to make his point
more emphatic. To take HSKYRH as "hired," as has hitherto been done,
and to translate "with a hired razor," is not only to suppose a very
wooden metaphor, but is grammatically difficult, since HSKYRH would
be a feminine adjective attached to a masculine substantive.
Coming back to our passage in the Pennsylvania tablet, it is to be
noted that Enkidu is described as covered "all over his body with hair"
(Assyrian version, Tablet I, 2, 36) like an animal. To convert him
into a civilized man, the hair is removed.
Line 107. _mutu_ does not mean "husband" here, as Langdon supposes,
but must be taken as in l. 238 in the more general sense of "man,"
for which there is good evidence.
Line 109. _la-bi_ (plural form) are "lions"--not "panthers" as Langdon
has it. The verb _ú-gi-ir-ri_ is from _gâru_, "to attack." Langdon by
separating _ú_ from _gi-ir-ri_ gets a totally wrong and indeed absurd
meaning. See the corrections in the Appendix. He takes the sign _ú_
for the copula (!!) which of course is impossible.
Line 110. Read _us-sa-ak-pu_, III, 1, of _sakâpu_, which is frequently
used for "lying down" and is in fact a synonym of _salâlu_. See
Muss-Arnolt, _Assyrian Dictionary_, page 758a. The original has very
clearly Síb (= _rê'u_, "shepherd") with the plural sign. The "shepherds
of the night," who could now rest since Enkidu had killed the lions,
are of course the shepherds who were accustomed to watch the flocks
during the night.
Line 111. _ut-tap-pi-is_ is II, 2, _napâsu_, "to make a hole," hence
"to plunge" in connection with a weapon. _Sib-ba-ri_ is, of course,
not "mountain goats," as Langdon renders, but a by-form to _sibbiru_,
"stick," and designates some special weapon. Since on seal cylinders
depicting Enkidu killing lions and other animals the hero is armed
with a dagger, this is presumably the weapon _sibbaru_.
Line 113. Langdon's translation is again out of the question and
purely fanciful. The traces favor the restoration _na-ki-[di-e]_,
"shepherds," and since the line appears to be a parallel to line 110,
I venture to suggest at the beginning _[it-ti]-lu_ from _na'âlu_, "lie
down"--a synonym, therefore, to _sakâpu_ in line 110. The shepherds can
sleep quietly after Enkidu has become the "guardian" of the flocks. In
the Assyrian version (tablet II, 3a, 4) Enkidu is called a _na-kid_,
"shepherd," and in the preceding line we likewise have lùNa-Kid with
the plural sign, i.e., "shepherds." This would point to _nakidu_
being a Sumerian loan-word, unless it is _vice versa_, a word that has
gone over into the Sumerian from Akkadian. Is perhaps the fragment
in question (K 8574) in the Assyrian version (Haupt's ed. No. 25)
the _parallel_ to our passage? If in line 4 of this fragment we could
read _sú_ for _sa_, i.e., _na-kid-sú-nu_, "their shepherd, we would
have a parallel to line 114 of the Pennsylvania tablet, with _na-kid_
as a synonym to _massaru_, "protector." The preceding line would then
be completed as follows:
_[it-ti-lu]-nim-ma na-kidmes_ [ra-bu-tum]
(or perhaps only _it-ti-lu-ma_, since the _nim_ is not certain) and
would correspond to line 113 of the Pennsylvania tablet. Inasmuch
as the writing on the tiny fragment is very much blurred, it is
quite possible that in line 2 we must read _sib-ba-ri_ (instead
of _bar-ba-ri_), which would furnish a parallel to line 111 of the
Pennsylvania tablet. The difference between Bar and Sib is slight,
and the one sign might easily be mistaken for the other in the case
of close writing. The continuation of line 2 of the fragment would
then correspond to line 112 of the Pennsylvania tablet, while line 1
of the fragment might be completed _[re-e]-u-ti(?) sá [mu-si-a-tim]_,
though this is by no means certain.
The break at the close of column 3 (about 5 lines) and the top
of column 4 (about 8 lines) is a most serious interruption in the
narrative, and makes it difficult to pick up the thread where the
tablet again becomes readable. We cannot be certain whether the "strong
man, the unique hero" who addresses some one (lines 115-117) is Enkidu
or Gish or some other personage, but presumably Gish is meant. In the
Assyrian version, Tablet I, 3, 2 and 29, we find Gilgamesh described
as the "unique hero" and in l. 234 of the Pennsylvania tablet Gish
is called "unique," while again, in the Assyrian version, Tablet I,
2, 15 and 26, he is designated as _gasru_ as in our text. Assuming
this, whom does he address? Perhaps the shepherds? In either case
he receives an answer that rejoices him. If the fragment of the
Assyrian version (K 8574) above discussed is the equivalent to the
close of column 3 of the Pennsylvania tablet, we may go one step
further, and with some measure of assurance assume that Gish is told
of Enkidu's exploits and that the latter is approaching Erech. This
pleases Gish, but Enkidu when he sees Gish(?) is stirred to anger and
wants to annihilate him. At this point, the "man" (who is probably
Gish, though the possibility of a third personage must be admitted)
intervenes and in a long speech sets forth the destiny and higher aims
of mankind. The contrast between Enkidu and Gish (or the third party)
is that between the primitive savage and the civilized being. The
contrast is put in the form of an opposition between the two. The
primitive man is the stronger and wishes to destroy the one whom he
regards as a natural foe and rival. On the other hand, the one who
stands on a higher plane wants to lift his fellow up. The whole of
column 4, therefore, forms part of the lesson attached to the story
of Enkidu, who, identified with man in a primitive stage, is made the
medium of illustrating how the higher plane is reached through the
guiding influences of the woman's hold on man, an influence exercised,
to be sure, with the help of her bodily charms.
Line 135. _uk-ki-si_ (imperative form) does not mean "take away," as
Langdon (who entirely misses the point of the whole passage) renders,
but on the contrary, "lure him on," "entrap him," and the like. The
verb occurs also in the Yale tablet, ll. 183 and 186.
Line 137. Langdon's note to _lu-us-sú_ had better be passed over in
silence. The form is II. 1, from _esû_, "destroy."
Line 139. Since the man whom the woman calls approaches Enkidu, the
subject of both verbs is the man, and the object is Enkidu; i.e.,
therefore, "The man approaches Enkidu and beholds him."
Line 140. Langdon's interpretation of this line again is purely
fanciful. _E-di-il_ cannot, of course, be a "phonetic variant"
of _edir_; and certainly the line does not describe the state of
mind of the woman. Lines 140-141 are to be taken as an expression
of amazement at Enkidu's appearance. The first word appears to be
an imperative in the sense of "Be off," "Away," from _dâlu_, "move,
roam." The second word _e-es_, "why," occurs with the same verb _dâlu_
in the Meissner fragment: _e-es ta-da-al_ (column 3, 1), "why dost thou
roam about?" The verb at the end of the line may perhaps be completed
to _ta-hi-il-la-am_. The last sign appears to be _am_, but may be _ma_,
in which case we should have to complete simply _ta-hi-il-ma_. _Tahîl_
would be the second person present of _hîlu_. Cf. _i-hi-il_, frequently
in astrological texts, e.g., Virolleaud, _Adad_ No. 3, lines 21 and 33.