“Administration
Law is retribution that is administered
by a centralized authority. This way retribution for wrongs does not threaten
to escalate into a cycle of mutual revenge. Sumerian law sits half way between
individual revenge and state-administered revenge: it is up to the individual
to drag (quite literally) the accused party into the court, but the court
actually determines the nature of the retribution to be exacted.
Writing
Law is written; in this way, law
assumes an independent character beyond the centralized authority that
administers it. This produces a sociological fiction that the law controls
those who administer the law and that the "law" exacts retribution,
not humans.
Retribution
Law is at its heart revenge; the basic
cultural mechanism for dealing with unacceptable behavior is to exact revenge.
Unacceptable behavior outside the sphere of revenge initially did not come
under the institution of law: it was only much later that disputes that didn't
involve retribution would be included in law.
Although we don't know much about
Sumerian law, scholars agree that the Code of Hammurabi, written by a
Babylonian monarch, reproduces Sumerian law fairly exactly. Sumerian law, as
represented in Hammurabi's code, was a law of exact revenge, which we call lex
talionis. This is revenge in kind: "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a
tooth, a life for a life," and reveals to us that human law has as its
fundamental basis revenge. Sumerian law was also only partly administered by
the state; the victim had to bring the criminal to court. Once there, the court
mediated the dispute, rendered a decision, and most of the time a court
official would execute the sentence, but often it fell on the victim or the
victim's family to enforce the sentence. Finally, Sumerian law recognized class
distinctions; under Sumerian law, everyone was not equal under the law. Harming
a priest or noble person was a far more serious crime than harming a slave or
poor person; yet, the penalties assessed for a noble person who commits a crime
were often far harsher than the penalties assessed for someone from the lower
classes who committed the same crime.
This great invention, law, would serve
as the basis for the institution of law among all the Semitic peoples to
follow: Babylonians, Assyrians, and, eventually, the Hebrews.”[1]
______
Unlike the rich corpus of ancient
Egyptian funerary texts, no such “guidebooks” from Mesopotamia detail the
afterlife and the soul’s fate after death. Instead, ancient Mesopotamian views
of the afterlife must be pieced together from a variety of sources across
different genres.
Many literary texts, most famously the
Epic of Gilgamesh, contemplate the meaning of death, recount the fate of the
dead in the netherworld, and describe mourning rites. Other texts were probably
composed in order to be recited during religious rites involving ghosts or
dying gods. Of these ritual texts, the most notable are Gilgamesh, Enkidu and
the Netherworld; Ishtar’s Descent to the Netherworld; and Nergal and
Ereshkigal. Further sources for Mesopotamian afterlife beliefs include burials,
grave inscriptions, economic texts recording disbursements for funerals or
cults of the dead, references to death in royal inscriptions and edicts,
chronicles, royal and private letters, lexical texts, cultic commentaries,
magico-medical texts, omens, and curse formulas.
In addition to belonging to different
genres, the sources for Mesopotamian beliefs in the afterlife come from
distinct periods in Mesopotamian history and encompass Sumerian, Akkadian,
Babylonian, and Assyrian cultures. We should therefore be careful not to view
Mesopotamian afterlife beliefs as static or uniform. Like all cultural systems,
Mesopotamian ideas of the afterlife transformed throughout time. Beliefs and
practices relating to the afterlife also varied with socio-economic status and
differed within official and popular religious paradigms. With this in mind,
however, cultural continuity between the Sumerian civilization and its
successors allows a synthesis of diverse sources in order to provide a working
introduction to Mesopotamian concepts of the afterlife.
The Netherworld
Ancient Mesopotamians conceptualized
the netherworld as the cosmic opposite of the heavens and as a shadowy version
of life on earth. Metaphysically, it was thought to lie a great distance from
the realm of the living. Physically, however, it lay underground and is
poetically described as located only a short distance from the earth’s surface.
Literary accounts of the netherworld
are generally dismal. It is described as a dark “land of no return” and the
“house which none leaves who enters,” with dust on its door and bolt (Dalley
155). Yet other accounts moderate this bleak picture. For instance, a Sumerian
work referred to as the Death of Urnamma describes the spirits of the dead
rejoicing and feasting upon the ruler Urnamma’s arrival in the netherworld.
Shamash, the sun god of justice, also visited the netherworld every night on
his daily circuit through the cosmos. Similarly, scholar Caitlín Barrett has
proposed that grave iconography – specifically symbolism related to the goddess
Inanna/Ishtar who descended and returned from the underworld — indicates a
belief in a more desirable afterlife existence than the one described in many
literary texts. Although humans could not hope to return to life in exact
imitation of Inanna/Ishtar, Barrett argues, by utilizing funerary iconography
representing Ishtar, they could seek to avoid the unpleasant aspects of the
netherworld from which Inanna/Ishtar herself had escaped. The Mesopotamian
netherworld is therefore best understood as neither a place of great misery nor
great joy, but as a dulled version of life on earth.
One of the most vivid portrayals of the
netherworld describes a subterranean “great city” (Sumerian
"iri.gal") protected by seven walls and gates where the spirits of
the dead dwell. In the Akkadian Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld, Ishtar
passes through these seven gates on her journey to the netherworld. At each
gate she is stripped of her garments and jewelry until she enters the city of
the dead naked. In light of such descriptions, it is perhaps notable that
Mesopotamian funerary rites for the elite could last up to seven days.
Human Nature & Fate after Death
In the Old Babylonian Atrahasis epic,
the gods created humans by mixing clay with the blood of a rebellious deity
named We-ilu who was specially slaughtered for the occasion. Humans therefore
contained both an earthly and a divine component. Yet the divine element did
not mean that humans were immortal. The Mesopotamians had no concept of either
physical resurrection or metempsychosis.[4] Rather, Enki (Akkadian Ea), the
Sumerian deity of wisdom and magic, ordained death for humans from their very
inception. Mortality defined the fundamental human condition, and is even
described as the destiny (Akk. šimtu) of mankind. The most common euphemism for
dying in Mesopotamian texts is “to go to one’s fate” (Cooper 21). The quest for
physical immortality, suggests the Epic of Gilgamesh, was consequently futile.
The best humans could strive for was enduring fame through their deeds and
accomplishments on earth. Immortality, insofar as it was metaphorically
possible, was actualized in the memory of future generations.[2]
______
The Code of Ur-Nammu certainly relies on
the concept of “joint members of the same family” in that an underlying
understanding by the people of proper behavior in society is assumed
throughout. Everyone under the law was expected to already know what the gods
required of them, and the king was expected simply to administer the god’s
will. As historian Karen Rhea Nemet-Najat writes, “The king was directly
responsible for administering justice on behalf of the gods, who had
established law and order in the universe” (221). Hammurabi’s code was written
in a later time when one tribe’s or city’s understanding of the will of the
gods might be different from another’s. In order to simplify matters,
Hammurabi’s code sought to prevent vendetta and blood feuds by stating clearly
the crime - and the punishment which would administered by the state for
committing such crime – without assuming a communal understanding of the god’s
will in these matters:
If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.
If he break another man’s bone, his bone shall be broken.
If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out.
If a builder build a house for someone, and does not construct it properly,
And the house which he built fall in and kill its owner, then that builder
shall be put to death.
If it kill the son of the owner of the house, the son of that builder shall
be put to death.
Unlike the earlier Code of Ur-Nammu,
which imposed fines or penalties of land, Hammurabi’s code epitomized the
principle known as Lex Talionis, the law of retributive justice, in which
punishment corresponds directly to the crime, better known as the concept of
'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth', made famous from the later law
code of the Old Testament, exemplified in this passage from the Book of Exodus:
If people are fighting and hit a
pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury,
the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court
allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for
eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for
wound, bruise for bruise (Exodus 21:22-25).
Hammurabi’s law code thus set the
standard for future codes in dealing strictly with the evidence of the crime
and setting a specific punishment for that crime. What decided one’s guilt or
innocence, however, was the much older method of the Ordeal, in which an
accused person was sentenced to perform a certain task (usually being thrown
into a river or having to swim a certain distance across a river) and, if they
succeeded, they were innocent and, if not, they were guilty. Hammurabi’s code
stipulates that: “If a man’s wife has been pointed out because of another man,
even though she has not been caught with him, for her husband’s sake she must
plunge into the divine river.” The woman who did so and survived the ordeal
would be recognized as innocent, but then her accuser would be found guilty of
false witness and punished by death. The ordeal was resorted to regularly in
what were considered the most serious crimes, adultery and sorcery, because it
was thought these two infractions were most likely to undermine social
stability. Sorcery, to an ancient Mesopotamian, would not have exactly the same
definition as it does in the modern day but would be along the lines of
performing acts that went against the known will of the gods -- acts which
reflected on oneself the kind of power and prestige only the gods could lay
claim to. Tales of evil sorcerers and sorceresses are found throughout many
periods of Mesopotamian history, and the writers of these tales always have
them meet with a bad end as, it seems, they also did when submitted to the
Ordeal.[3]
______
Moral Values in Two Ancient Societies:
Egypt and Ancient Israel
Ancient societies such as ancient Egypt and ancient Israel view the
world in religious terms. In these societies, order was essential for a
people’s survival as it is in any society past or present. Order and chaos
represented two contrasting realities. When there were problems in a society,
its inhabitants needed to know why these problems occurred. By determining why
something bad happened, they could be able to prevent it from happening again.
For instance, ancient societies may have seen the occurrence of a devastating
disease as punishment for some immoral behavior. Additionally, they would
attempt to identify and eliminate the behavior responsible for the trouble to
avoid further problems.
In a more modern society, people may have concluded that criminal
behavior came about because of an abusive home life. As a result, society would
attempt to crack down on family abuse hoping to rid themselves of such
behavior. There have also been people in modern times to see bad things as
punishment for immoral behavior. In both premodern and many modern societies,
religions have often explained certain difficulties by saying that a member of
the group or the group as a whole has disobeyed God or the gods. There is a
general tendency to believe that good conduct reaches its conclusion with some
reward.
In short, an orderly society depended upon the conduct or behavior of
its members. The ancient Egyptians and ancient Israelites associated order
primarily with good behavior or correct observance of procedure: on the other
hand, they associated chaos with bad behavior or the failure to follow correct
procedure. They supposed that bad behavior unleashed a force that could destroy
a community; so they had to deal with this potential problem. Often they viewed
these destructive elements as natural forces such as the waters. For example,
Genesis 1 tells of how God tamed the waters and brought them under control.
However, the waters, as a force of nature, struggled to exceed their
boundaries. The forces of chaos were always a potential threat. Only the gods
or God could protect the people from these forces. Yet, this protection
depended upon the people's behavior. These societies, therefore, closely
connected ethics with behavior.
Moral values concern behavior and beliefs that a society accepts as
valid. From the perspective of ancient Egypt and ancient Israel in particular,
ethics focuses on human behavior. This focus derives from its religious world
view. This world view considers the relationship between the natural and
supernatural worlds to be of utmost seriousness. Society cannot tolerate bad
behavior because it threatens the existing good order. In ancient Israel, the
law required that communities isolate and punish those who were disobedient.
The concern over one's behavior is prominent in both ancient Egyptian and
ancient Israelite societies.
People in ancient Egypt, ancient Israel, and Mesopotamia came to
question the belief that acting morally would naturally lead to blessing.
Unlike Egypt ancient Israel and Sumer in Mesopotamia had no belief in an
afterlife that could justify the wrongs suffered in this life. Therefore, the
Sumerian writing entitled “I Will Praise the Lord of Wisdom,” and the biblical
book of J struggle with a seeming Inconsistency. How does one explain the
suffering of a righteous person? (Crenshaw 19819 229.230)
We can also see this view in some modern societies as well. For example,
the belief held in ancient Egypt and ancient Israel that moral conduct leads to
reward and bad conduct to punishment has survived among many modern religious
people and religious traditions of our day in the notion of retribution.
Retribution means repaying bad for bad and good for good. In other words, if we
behave immorally we shall receive punishment, but if we behave morally, then we
will gain some reward. A problem occurs, however, when an individual
experiences trouble or difficulties, which he or she considers unjustifiable.[4]
______
Ludlul bēl nēmeqi ("I Will Praise the Lord of Wisdom"),
also sometimes known in English as The
Poem of the Righteous Sufferer, is a Mesopotamian poem (ANET,
pp. 434–437) written in Akkadian that concerns itself with the problem of
the unjust suffering of an afflicted man, named Shubshi-meshre-Shakkan. The
author is tormented, but he doesn't know why. He has been faithful in all of
his duties to the gods. He speculates that perhaps what is good to man is evil
to the gods and vice versa. He is ultimately delivered from his sufferings.[5]
I Will Praise the Lord of Wisdom
POEM OF THE RIGHTEOUS SUFFERER
Tablet I
43. My own god threw me over and
disappeared,
44. My goddess broke rank and
vanished
45. He cut off the benevolent angel
who walked beside me
46. My protecting spirit was
frightened off, to seek out someone else
47. My vigor was taken away, my
manly appearance became gloomy,
48. My dignity flew off, my cover
leaped away.
84. My brother became my foe,
85. My friend became a malignant
demon,
86. My comrade would denounce me
savagely,
Tablet II
1. As I turned around, it was more
and more terrible,
3. My ill luck was on the increase,
I could find no good fortune.
4. I called to my god, he did not
show his face,
5. I prayed to my goddess, she did
not raise her head.
29. I instructed my land to observe
the god´s rites,
30. The goddess´s name did I drill
my people to esteem
31. I made my praises of the king
like a god´s,
32. And taught the populace
reverence for the palace.
49. But as for me, in despair a
whirlwind is driving me!
50. Debilitating disease is let
loose upon me:]
112. No god came to the rescue, nor
lent me a hand,
113. No goddess took pity on me,
nor went at my side.
Tablet III
43. "Marduk has sent me!
44. "To Shubshi-meshre-Sakkan
[the sufferer] I have brought swathe,
45."From his pure hands I have
brought a swathe".
46. He has entrusted me into the
hands of my ministrant.
47. In waking hours he sent a
message,
48. He revealed his favorable sign
to my people.
49. I was awake in my sickness, a
healing serpent slithered by [the symbol of the healing goddess]
50. My illness was quickly over, my
fetters were broken
51. After my lord´s heart had
quieted,
52. And the feelings of merciful
Marduk were appeased,
53. And he had accepted my prayers,
54. His sweet relenting......
55. He ordered my
deliverance:" He is greatly tried"
56..... to extol...
57..... to worship and.....
58..... my guilt.....
59..... my iniquity....
60..... my transgression....
61. He made the wind hear away my
offenses[6]
______
A man and his god: translation
1-9A
person should steadfastly proclaim the exaltedness of his god. A young man
should devoutly praise the words of his god; the people living in the righteous
Land should unravel them like a thread. May the balaj singer assuage the
spirit of his neighbour and friend. May it soothe their (?) hearts, bring forth
......, utter ......, and measure out ....... Let his mouth shaping a lament
soothe the heart of his god, for a man without a god does not obtain food.
10-17There
is a young man who does not wickedly put his efforts into evil murder, yet he
spends the time in grief, asag illness and bitter suffering. The fate
demon has brought need and ...... close to him. Bitter ...... has confused his
judgment (?) of it, and covered his ....... Behind his back they have
overpowered him like a ....... Before his god the youth, the young man weeps
bitterly over the malice he has suffered. He is reverent and performs
obeisance.
18-24He
speaks ...... of his suffering. In his total exhaustion ......, ...... he
weeps. ......, ...... he weeps bitterly. He was able to fill the ...... for
him. He ...... to him and addresses him:
25-34"Grief
......, despair ......, and ...... has been put in place. I am a young man, I
am knowledgeable, but what I know does not come out right with me. The truth
which I speak has been turned (?) into a lie. A man of deceit has overwhelmed
me like the south wind and prostrated me before him. My unwitting arm has
shamed me before you. You have doled out to me suffering ever anew. When I go
into the house I despair. When I, a young man, go out into the street, I am
depressed.
35-45"My
righteous shepherd has become angry with me, a youth, and looked upon me with
hostility. My herdsman has plotted malice against me although I am not his
enemy. My companion does not say a true word to me. My friend falsifies my
truthfully spoken words. A man of deceit has spoken insulting words to me while
you, my god, do not respond to him and you carry off my understanding. An
ill-wisher has spoken insulting words to me -- he angered me, was like a storm
and created anguish. I am wise -- why am I tied up with ignorant youths? I am
discerning -- why am I entangled among ignorant men?
46-56"Food
is all about, yet my food is hunger. When shares were allotted to all the
people, my allotted share was suffering. A brother ...... insulted me, created
anguish. He ...... my ......, raised up ...... and carried off ....... A
hostile ...... without wisdom wrote on clay (?). He sought the ...... of the
journey. He cut down the ...... of the road like a tree. He ...... the
supervisor and ...... my steward.
57-63"My
god, ...... before you. I would speak to you: my tears are excess and my words
are supplication. I would tell you about it, would unravel to you like a thread
the evil of my path. ...... the confusion of what I have done (?). Let the wise
...... in my plans; tears will not cease. I am less qualified than my friend; I
am inferior to my companion.
64-68"Now,
let my mother who bore me not cease lamenting for me before you. Let my sister,
truly a sweet-voiced balaj singer, narrate tearfully to you the deeds by
which I was overpowered. Let my wife voice my suffering ...... to you. Let the
singer expert in chanting unravel my bitter fate to you like a thread.
69-74"My
god, the day shines bright over the Land, but for me the day is black. The
bright day has become (?) a ...... day. Tears, lament, anguish and despair are
lodged within me. Suffering overwhelms me like a weeping child. In the hands of
the fate demon my appearance has been altered, my breath of life carried away.
The asag demon, the evil one, bathes in my body.
75-81"In
the overwhelming bitterness of my path I never see a good dream -- but
unfavourable (?) visions daily never stop for me. Anguish embraced me though I
am not its wife and ....... Grief spread its lap for me though I am not its
small child. Lamentation sweeps over me as if it were a southerly wind-storm
and ....... My brother cried "Alas"."
10 lines fragmentary
10 lines fragmentary
5 lines missing
97-105"I
weep ...... and ....... My god, you who are my father who begot me, lift up my
face to you. Righteous cow, god (?) of mercy and supplication, let me acquire
(?) noble strength. For how long will you be uncaring for me and not look after
me? Like a bull I would rise to you but you do not let me rise, you do not let
me take the right course. The wise heroes say true and right words: "Never
has a sinless child been born to its mother; making an effort (?) does not
bring success (?); a sinless workman has never existed from of old."
106-112"My
god -- the ...... of forgetting which I have ...... against you, the ...... of
releasing which I have prepared before you -- may you utter words of grace on a
young man who knows the holy words "May he not consume me". When the
day is not bright, in my vigour, in my sleep, may I walk before you. May I
...... my impurities and uncleanliness in the health of the city. May you utter
words of grace on him who knows the words "When anger and the evil heart
came about". Indeed he speaks joyously to him who knows the words
"When fear and ...... burned".
113-119"My
god, ...... after you have made me know my sins, at the city's (?) gate I would
declare them, ones forgotten and ones visible. I, a young man, will declare my
sins before you. In the assembly may tears (?) rain like drizzle. In your house
may my supplicating mother weep for me. May your holy heart (?) have mercy and
compassion for me, a youth. May your heart, an awe-inspiring wave, be restored
towards me, the young man."
120-129The
man's god heard his bitter weeping. After his lamentation and prolonged wailing
had soothed the heart of his god towards the young man, his god accepted the
righteous words, the holy words he had spoken. The words of supplication which
the young man had mastered, the holy prayers, delighted his god like fine oil.
His god stretched his hand away from the hostile words. He ...... like rain the
anguish which had embraced him though he was not its wife ...... and scattered
to the winds the grief which had spread its arms round him. He let the
lamentation which had swept over him as if it were a southerly wind-storm (?)
be dissipated. He eradicated (?) the fate demon which had been lodged in his
body.
130-136He
turned the young man's suffering into joy. He set by him as guardian a
benevolent protective demon that keeps guard at the mouth (?). He gave him
kindly protective goddesses. The young man steadfastly proclaims the
exaltedness of his god. He (?) brings forth ...... and makes known ....... He
refreshes himself ....... He trusts in you and .......
137-143"I
have set my sights on you as on the rising sun. Like Ninmah ......, you have
let me exert great power. My god, you looked on me from a distance with your
good life-giving eyes. May I proclaim well your ...... and holy strength. May
your ...... heart be restored towards me. May you absolve my sin. May your
heart be soothed towards me."[7]
______
Karl Budde, followed shortly by
Bernhard Duhm, crystallized the emerging perspective in the late nineteenth
century and introduced a genre category into discussion by arguing that the
prose tale was a Volksbuch, a
preexisting popular story, written or oral, taken up by the Job poet as a
framework. Attempts were made to identify traces of such an independent popular
tradition concerning Job in other surviving literature. In one form or another
the view prevailed that the author/redactor of the book of Job appropriated a
relatively fixed traditional story as the framework for his composition.
The significance of comparative
literature for understanding the genres, motifs, and intellectual context of
the book of Job was given further impetus by the discovery in the late
nineteenth century of Mesopotamian texts bearing striking resemblances in form
and content to the poetic sections of Job, most notably, ludlul bel nemeqi, the Babylonian Theodicy, and the "Sumerian
Job." Though scholars disagreed over how these texts might be related to
Job, their similarity specifically to the poetry of Job sharpened the sense
that the two parts of the book, prose tale and poetic dialogue, belonged to
different literary, social, and intellectual traditions. Thus, this distinction
between prose tale and poetic dialogue became the key to historical criticism's
analysis of the book.[8]
Carol Newsom places the writing of Job early in the second
temple period, by a Judean author. She believes the book to be written by one
author except for the later addition of Elihu’s speech. The dating of Job is
difficult and it suggests that great care must be taken not to select a time of
writing based on genre or classification without considering the impact of
inspired authorship. If the author was Judean, those who believe in divine
inspiration would accept that the author’s personality and background could
influence the writing, yet not have anything to do with the dating of the
actual event. As far as Job being written in the second temple period there is
a marked absence of similarity to other biblical books or deuterocanonical and Apocryphal books.
______
The famous Babylonian poem Ludlul bēl
nēmeqi of 1700 BCE (known as "the Sumerian Job" owing to its
similarity to the Biblical Book of Job) makes mention of this when the
speaker, Tabu-Utul-Bel (known in Sumerian as Laluralim) in questioning the
cause of his suffering, says how he consulted the Necromancer, “but he opened
not my understanding.” Like the Book of Job, the Ludlul bēl nēmeqi
asks why bad things happen to good people and, in Laluralim’s case, asserts
that he did nothing to offend fellow man, gods or spirits to merit the
misfortune he is suffering. …
The people of Mesopotamia relied on their gods
for every aspect of their lives, from calling on Kulla, the god of bricks, to
help in the laying of the foundation of a house, to petitioning the goddess
Lama for protection, and so developed many tales concerning these deities. The
myths, legends, hymns, prayers and poems surrounding the Mesopotamian gods and
their interaction with the people introduced many of the plots, symbols and
characters which modern-day readers are acquainted with such as the story of
the Fall of Man (The Myth of Adapa) the tale of the Great Flood (The
Atrahasis) the Tree of Life (Inanna and the Hulappu Tree) the tale
of a wise man/prophet taken up to heaven (The Myth of Etana) the story
of creation (The Enuma Elish) the quest for immortality (The Epic of Gilgamesh)
and, perhaps best known, the Dying and Reviving god figure (a deity who dies or
goes into the underworld and returns to life or the surface of the world to in
some way benefit the people) who is famously depicted through Inanna's
Descent to the Underworld. These tales, among many others, became the basis
for later myths in the regions the Mesopotamians traded and interacted with,
most notably the land of Canaan (Phoenicia) whose people, in time, would
produce the narratives which now comprise the scriptures known as the Old and
New Testaments of the Bible.[9]
Joshua J. Mark writes, “These tales, among many
others, became the basis for later myths in the regions the Mesopotamians
traded and interacted with, most notably the land of Canaan (Phoenicia) whose
people, in time, would produce the narratives which now comprise the scriptures
known as the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.”
Mark’s statement above demonstrates the common
view of classification of ancient texts; that later writing are based on
former, which makes abundant sense, except in the case of biblical texts. The
reason traditional interpretation and classification is not accurate when
applied to the biblical text is that it does not factor in the influence of
divine inspiration. I would propose a different scenario; ancient Sumerians
built on traditional stories handed down from their forefathers – the
descendants of Noah. The further from the source, the more imaginative the
stories became. Thematically the stories retained some consistency with the
source material, but over time the story evolved into mythology. The story of
creation, the fall of man, the flood, a wise man/prophet taken up to heaven, the
Dying/Reviving god figure and, “the Sumerian Job”, except for the Dying/Reviving
god all have similar accounts in the Old Testament. The biblical accounts of
the events found in Sumerian and Babylonian mythology were given by God to
people to record; they became scripture. The inspired accounts accurately
portray God’s message. All, but one of the events listed by Mark were of very
early times, including the “Sumerian Job”.
The Dying and Reviving god figure, in Hebrew
scripture shows up as prophecies of Jesus sacrifice, and was fulfilled at a
much later time. The Old Testament accounts were not based on mythology, but
are factual descriptions given by God through inspired scribes. Placing Job in
the antediluvian period may remove some of the questions that frustrate the
interpretation of the book. Mark’s statement that the myths produced the
biblical scriptures is wrong. The common view bases it assessment on
similarities between the texts. I would suggest that the differences between
the accounts demonstrate that the Bible record, written centuries after the
Sumerian texts, accurately represents the events in the time they occurred.
Sumerian mythology was based on handed down folklore, and naturally became
perverted over time. If the Hebrew Scriptures were based on earlier Sumerian
mythology why was the “Dying/Reviving god figure” hidden in prophecy? It
doesn’t make any sense that such a key event of Sumerian mythology would not
have been treated the same as other “borrowed” material. The Sumerian accounts are
mythical, based on information from people with first, second, or third hand
knowledge of events. The biblical accounts are accurate even recorded centuries
after the events; the writers were inspired by God.
______
“Job
is in the purest Hebrew. The author uses only the word Elohim for the
name of God. The compiler or reviser of the work, Moses, or whoever he was,
employed at the heads of chapters and in the introductory and concluding
portions the name of Jehovah; but all the verses where Jehovah
occurs, in Job, are later interpolations in a very old poem, written at a time
when the Semitic race had no other name for God but Elohim; before Moses
obtained the elements of the new name from Egypt.”[10]
… Moses had no problem in using a word with
earlier pagan connections because the most important thing was to communicate
truth, therefore we are bound to conclude that there is nothing intrinsically
holy about either 'Elohim' or, indeed, 'God'. It is simply how
these words are used. However, we should note that the plurality of the noun
'Elohim' refers to three or more but cannot refer to two; in that case,
the dual form of 'Elohiam' would be used. So 'El' is the singular form,
'Elohiam' the dual form but 'Elohim' the true plural form. This tends to
legislate against the argument of some who claim that 'Elohim' simply refers to
the Father and the Word, denying the Holy Trinity.[11]
I am not sure that Bryant is correct in stating
that the word Elohim is an interpolation. There is no reason to remove the
Hebrew influence as long as one recognizes that writing followed centuries
after the events of the book.
______
The book of Job reveals God’s conflict with
Satan. The centerpiece in the account is Job. The religious cosmology within
the book is somewhat different to later periods. Some of the elements in the
book are not found in postdiluvial writings.
Now
it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and
daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men
were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.[12]
The
Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of
God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.
Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.[13]
Now
there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the
LORD, and Satan also came among them.[14]
Again
there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the
LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.[15]
When
the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?[16]
These are the only
Old Testament (NASB) references that include the term “the sons of God”. It is
significant that the phrase is found only in antediluvian Genesis and Job. The blending of celestial and
terrestrial cosmology during the antediluvian period was unique. It is
impossible to assess the interaction between heaven and earth, spirit and
human, present in the time before the flood. Everything we know is based on the
postdiluvian world, and we cannot understand a world in which people lived nine
hundred years with dinosaurs as neighbours. Where did the people come from that
Cain feared? “Then Cain went out
from the presence of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.”[17] Where
did Cain’s wife come from, and what does it mean, he, went out from the
presence of the LORD? These and many other questions suggest a period unlike
any following.
“Now
there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the
LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, ‘From where do
you come?’ Then Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From roaming about on the
earth and walking around on it.’ The LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered
my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and
upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.’ Then Satan answered the
LORD, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing?’”[18]
The confluence of
heavenly and earthly, human and spiritual, divine and demonic, fits within the
antediluvian period, but is foreign to all subsequent periods.
______
God restored the
fortunes of Job, he remarried, had seven sons and three daughters; “After this,
Job lived 140 years.”[19] When
Satan inflicted Job, he was not a young man, he had independent children, and,
“When I went out to the gate of the city, when I took my seat in the square,
the young men saw me and hid themselves, and the old men arose and
stood.”[20]
Seemingly an elder, then after his trial when God restored his wealth he had a
family and lived further 140 years. The book of Job concludes, “And Job died,
an old man and full of days.”[21]
And
Job lived after his affliction a hundred and seventy years: and all the years
were two hundred and forty: and Job saw his sons' sons, the fourth generation.
And Job died, an old man and full of days: and it is written that he will rise
again with those whom the Lord raises up.
This
man is described in the Syriac as living in the land of Ausis, on the border of
Idumea and Arabia: and his name before was Jobab; and having taken an Arabian
wife, he begot a son whose name was Ennon. And he himself was the son of his
father Zare, one of the sons of Esau, and of his mother Bosorrha so that he was
the fifth from Abraam. And these were the kings who reigned in Edom, which
country he also ruled over: first Baläc the son of Beor, and the name of his
city was Dennaba: but after Baläc, Jobab, who is called Job: and after him
Asom, who was governor out of the country of Thaeman: and after him Adad, the
son of Barad, who destroyed Madiam in the plain of Moab; and the name of his
city was Gethaim. And his friends who came to him were Eliphaz, of the children
of Esau, king of the Thaemanites, Baldad sovereign of the Sauchaeans, Sophar
king of the Minaeans.[22]
It would be from
this reference that Adam Clarke drew his conclusions. The addendum has little
support among scholars as being factual.
In
the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament into Greek, there is a long
subscription. A similar subscription is found in the Arabic Version. It
professes to be taken out of "the Syriac book"; but there is nothing
to be found of it in the Syriac Version as published in Walton's Polyglot.
It was doubtless written B.C. It is
interesting, especially when compared with the notes on page 666 of the
Companion Bible, but what authority there is for it is not stated.
The last verse of Job (42:17), "And Job
died, an old man, and full of days," reads on as follows:
"And
it is written that he will rise again with those whom the Lord raises up.” This
man is described in the Syriac book as dwelling in the land of Ausis, on the
borders of Idumea and Arabia; and his name before was Jobab; and having taken
an Arabian wife, he begat a son whose name was Ennon.
He
himself was the son of his father Zara, a son of the sons of Esau, and of his
mother Bosorrha, so that he was the fifth ¹ from Abraham. And these were the
kings who reigned in Edom, which country he also ruled over. First Balak the
son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dennaba. After Balak, Jobab, who is
called Job: and after him, Asom, who was governor out of the country of Thaeman;
and after him Adad, son of Barad, that destroyed Madiam in the plain of Moab;
and the name of his city was Gethaim. And the friends that came to him were
Eliphaz of the sons of Esau, king of the Thaemanites, Baldad sovereign of the
Sauchaeans, Sophar, king of the Minaeans".[23]
______
Adam was 874 years old
when Methuselah was born, Methuselah was 369 years old when Noah was born. Adam
lived 930 years overlapping with Methuselah for 95 years, Methuselah overlapped
with Noah for 600 years. Noah would have received knowledge of the beginning and
fall second hand. Noah had 350 years to pass information to his sons. Noah was the
source of information to the new world.
“The Sumerian King List records the lengths of
reigns of the kings of Sumer. The initial section deals with kings before the
Flood and is significantly different from the rest. When the kingdom durations
of the antediluvian section are expressed in an early sexagesimal numerical
system, all durations except two are expressed as multiples of 602.
A simple tally of the ciphers used yields six 10x602 signs, six 602
signs and six 60 signs.
The lives of the biblical patriarchs, however,
have a precision of one year. If Adam and Noah are not included (as in the King
List), and the lives of the patriarchs are similarly rounded to two digits, the
sum of the lives has six 103 signs, six 102 signs and six
10 signs. In addition, if the number representing the sum of the ages was
wrongly assumed as having been written in the sexagesimal system, the two
totals become numerically equivalent.
It is suggested that the Sumerian scribe that
composed the original antediluvian list had available a document (possibly a
clay tablet) containing numerical information on the ages of eight of the
patriarchs similar to that of the Genesis record and that he mistakenly
interpreted it as being written in the sexagesimal system.
That the two documents are numerically related
is strong evidence for the historicity of the book of Genesis. The fact that
the Sumerian account shows up as a numerically rounded, incomplete version of
the Genesis description, lacking the latter’s moral and spiritual depth, is a
strong argument for the accuracy, superiority, and primacy of the biblical
record. In addition, the parallels between the Sumerian and biblical
antediluvian data open up the possibility of establishing chronological
correlations between the rest of the Kings List and the book of Genesis.”[24]
______
There are serious objections
to Job living in the antediluvian period:
… Job’s postdiluvian status seems apparent from a
question Eliphaz raised in his final speech. While accusing Job of wickedness,
Eliphaz asked: “Will you keep to the old way which wicked men have trod,
who were cut down before their time, whose foundations were swept away by a
flood?” (Job 22:16, emp. added). As Wayne Jackson noted: “That this is a
reference to the Flood of Noah’s day is almost universally conceded by
scholars” (1983, p. 58).
Like other patriarchs of old (Genesis 8:20;
12:7-8; 31:54), Job, as the head of his family, offered up sacrifices to God
(Job 1:5; cf. 42:8). In the book of Job, there is no mention of the Levitical
priesthood, the tabernacle, the temple, the Law of Moses, etc.
Unlike Israelite law, where the family
inheritance was passed on to daughters only in the absence of sons (Numbers
27:1-11; 36:1-13), Job gave his daughters “an inheritance among their brothers”
(Job 42:15).
…it would appear that Job lived well into his
200s or beyond. Interestingly, the Septuagint testifies that Job died at the
age of 240—an age more comparable to the ancestors of Abraham (e.g., Serug,
Abraham’s great-grandfather lived to be 230—Genesis 11:22-23).[25]
These are indeed strong evidences to suggest the Job lived after the
flood, but the spiritual cosmology of Job fits best in the antediluvian period.
I am at a real disadvantage
facing Wayne Jackson’s statement that the verse, “Who were snatched away before their time, whose foundations were washed
away by a river?”[26] Is almost
universally conceded by scholars to be a reference to the Flood of Noah’s day. The
NASB Hebrew word is river - nāhār. The
word used for the flood in Genesis is mabbûl.
I wonder why the Hebrew words differ, and if it is correctly assumed that the
verse references Noah’s flood.
nāhār: A masculine
noun indicating a large, flowing body of water or a current within a sea: any
river in general (Num 24:6; Job 14:11); specific rivers (Gen 2:10, Gen 2:13-14);
Euphrates River (Gen 15:18; Gen 31:21; Num 22:5); Tigris River (Dan 10:4); Nile
River or El Arish River (Gen 15:18). It refers to a current of water within a
sea (Jon 2:3 [4]). It is used figuratively and literally of a river flowing
around the city of God (Psa 46:4 [5]); as well as to underground flows of water
(Job 28:11).
mabbûl: A masculine
noun indicating a flood. It refers to both the great flood on the earth (Gen 6:17;
Psa 29:10) and to its sources from above and below as well (Gen 7:6-7, Gen 7:10,
Gen 7:17; Gen 9:11, Gen 9:15, Gen 9:28). The flood marked a turning point in
history (Gen 10:1, Gen 10:32; Gen 11:10). God was entirely in charge of it (Psa
29:10).[27]
Job’s age at his death would be significant if it were certain that everyone
who lived before the flood lived as long as Adam’s family listed in his geniality.
The other two objection would be true whether Job lived before the flood or
soon after it.
No scholarly consensus exists on a date for the writing
of Job (nor, for that matter, when the story related is supposed to have taken
place) but many point to the 7th, 6th, or 4th centuries BCE as probable
while Ludlul-Bel-Nimeqi dates to c. 1700 BCE. The Babylonian
poem was probably inspired by the earlier Sumerian work, Man and His
God (composed c. 2000 BCE) which, according to Samuel Noah Kramer, was
written "for the purpose of prescribing the proper attitude and conduct
for a victim of cruel and seemingly undeserved misfortune"[28]
“Man and His God” Professor Mark suggests was written c. 2000 BCE; the
Sumerian stories of, creation (1600 BCE), the fall (1400 BCE), and the flood (1700
BCE). The Sumerian myths would have existed in oral form for considerable time
before being committed to writing.
According to the Sumerian scholar Samuel Noah
Kramer, “The first ruler of Sumer, whose deeds are recorded, if only in the
briefest kind of statement, is a king by the name of Etana of Kish, who may
have come to the throne quite early in the third millennium B.C. In the King
List he is described as `he who stabilized all the lands’.” The Sumerian King
List is a cuneiform document, written by a scribe of the city of Lagash,
sometime around 2100 BCE which lists all of the kings of the region, and their
accomplishments, in an attempt to show continuity of order in society dating
back to the beginning of civilization.[29]
______
I wonder what conclusions could be drawn from reading the
various speeches in Job viewed through the framework of the antediluvian world
order. There would be no Hebrew influence on the speeches or events. The
location of Uz would not be an issue considering that the geography was significantly
different before and after the flood. The religious climate before the flood
was dominated by myth, but the same may be said of times after the flood.
[1] http://richard-hooker.com
[2] M.
Choksi published on 20 June 2014
[3] Joshua
J. Mark published on 12 November 2011
[4] Wanderings: Exploring Moral Landscapes Past
and Present, by Tony L. Moyers
[6] Foster,
Benjamin R. (1995) Before the Muses: myths, tales and poetry of Ancient
Mesopotamia
[7] Jicgijal
of the lament of supplication for a man's god.
[8] The
Book of Job, Carol A. Newsom pp. 4 & 5
[10] C. S. Bryant: Smith's Sacred Annals, vol. i,
p. 360
[11] Robin
A. Brace, 2005
[12] Gen 6:1, 2
[13] Gen 6:4
[14] Job 1:6
[15] Job 2:1
[16] Job 38:7
[17] Gen
4:16
[18] Job 1:6-9
[19] Job 42:16
[20] Job 29:7, 8
[21] Job
42:17
[22] Job XLII. 16, 17. LXX
[23] This Is Appendix 62 from the Companion Bible
[24] The antediluvian patriarchs and the Sumerian
King List, by Raúl Erlando López. First published in: Journal of Creation
12(3):347–357, 1998
[25] When
Did Job Live? By Eric Lyons, M. Min.
[26] Job 22:16
[27] Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary
[28] Joshua
J. Mark published on 06 March 2011
[29] Joshua
J. Mark, published on 28 April 2011
