XVI. DOCUMENTS FROM THE TIME OF ISRAEL’S JUDGES…

XVI. DOCUMENTS FROM THE TIME OF ISRAEL’S JUDGES

REPORT OF WENAMON. ITS ILLUSTRATION OF CERTAIN POINTS OF BIBLICAL HISTORY ABOUT THE TIME OF DEBORAH OR GIDEON. REFERENCE TO THE PHILISTINES.

The following vivid story of adventure dates from about 1100 B. C. and throws a vivid light on the condition of the coast-lands of Palestine and Phœnicia about the middle of the period of the Judges.

=1. Report of Wenamon.=[491]

Year five, third month of the third season (eleventh month), day 16, day of departure of the “eldest of the hall,” of the house of Amon, the lord of the lands, Wenamon, to bring the timber for the great and august barge of Amon-Re, king of the gods, which is on the river .......... called: “Userhet” of Amon.

On the day of my arrival at Tanis at the palace of Nesubenebded and Tentamon, I gave to them the writings of Amon-Re, king of the gods, which they caused to be read in their presence; and they said: “I will do it, I will do it according to that which Amon-Re, king of our gods, our lord, saith.” I abode until the fourth month of the third season, being in Tanis.

Nesubenebded and Tentamon sent me with the ship-captain, Mengebet, and I descended into the great Syrian sea, in the fourth month of the third season, on the first day. I arrived at Dor, a city of Thekel [a people kindred to the Philistines], and Bedel, its king, caused to be brought for me much bread, a jar of wine, and a joint of beef.

Then a man of my ship fled, having stolen:

.. [vessels] of gold, [amounting to] 5 deben 4 vessels of silver, amounting to 20 deben a sack of silver 11 deben -- [Total of what] he [stole] 5 deben of gold. 31 deben of silver.

In the morning then I rose and went to the abode of the prince, and said to him: “I have been robbed in thy harbor. Since thou art the king of this land, thou art therefore its investigator, who should search for my money. For the money belongs to Amon-Re, king of the gods, lord of the lands; it belongs to Nesubenebded, and it belongs to Hrihor, my lord, and the other magnates of Egypt; it belongs also to Weret, and to Mekmel, and to Zakar-Baal, the prince of Byblos” [Gebal]. He said to me: “To thy honor and thy excellence! but, behold, I know nothing of this complaint which thou hast lodged with me. If the thief belonged to my land, he who went on board thy ship, that he might steal thy treasure, I would repay it to thee from my treasury till they find thy thief by name; but the thief who robbed thee belongs to thy ship. Tarry a few days here with me, and I will seek him.” When I had spent nine days moored in his harbor, I went to him and said to him: “Behold, thou hast not found my money, therefore let me depart with the ship-captain, and with those who go .......... the sea. He said to me: “Be silent ..............” .......... the harbor ................ [I arrived at] Tyre. I went forth from Tyre at early dawn .......... Zakar-Baal, the prince of Byblos [Gebal].

.......... the .......... I found 30 deben of silver therein. I seized it, [saying to them: “I will take] your money, and it shall remain with me until ye find [my money. Was it not a man of Thekel] who stole it, and no thief [of ours]? I will take it .......... They went away, while I .................. [I] arrived .......... the harbor of Byblos [Gebal]. [I made a place of concealment, I hid] “Amon-the-way,” and I placed his things in it. The prince of Byblos sent to me, saying: “Betake thyself from my harbor.” I sent to him, saying, “................ if they sail, let them take me to Egypt.” .......... I spent nineteen days in his harbor and he continually sent to me daily, saying: “Betake thyself from my harbor.”

Now, when he sacrificed to his gods ......., the god seized one of his noble youths, making him frenzied, so that he said: “Bring [the god] hither! Bring the messenger of Amon who hath him. Send him and let him go.”

Now, while the frenzied youth continued in frenzy during this night, I found a ship bound for Egypt, and I loaded all my belongings into it. I waited for the darkness, saying: “When it descends, I will embark the god also, in order that no other eye may see him.”

The harbor-master came to me, saying: “Remain until morning by the prince.” I said to him: “Art not thou he who continually came to me daily, saying, ‘Betake thyself away from my harbor’? Dost thou not say, ‘Remain in the [land’], in order to let depart the ship that I have found? thou that mayest come and say again, ‘Away’? He went and told it to the prince, and the prince sent to the captain of the ship, saying: ‘Remain until morning by the king.’”

When morning came he sent and had me brought up, when the divine offering occurred in the fortress where he was, on the shore of the sea. I found him sitting in his upper chamber, leaning his back against a window, while the waves of the great Syrian sea beat against the ........ behind him. I said to him: “Kindness of Amon!” He said to me: “How long is it until this day since thou camest away from the abode of Amon?” I said: “Five months and one day until now.”

He said to me: “Behold thou art true, where is the writing of Amon, which is in thy hand? Where is the letter of the High Priest of Amon, which is in thy hand?” I said to him: “I gave them to Nesubenebded and Tentamon.” Then he was very wroth, and he said to me: “Now, behold, the writing and the letter are not in thy hand! Where is the ship of cedar which Nesubenebded gave to thee? Where is its Syrian crew? He would not deliver thy business to this ship-captain ........ to have thee killed, that they might cast thee into the sea. From whom would they have sought the god then? And thee, from whom would they have sought thee then?” So he spake to me. I said to him: “There are indeed Egyptian ships and Egyptian crews who sail under Nesubenebded, (but) he hath no Syrian crews.” He said to me: “There are surely twenty ships here in my harbor, which are in connection with Nesubenebded; and at Sidon, whither thou wouldst go, there are indeed 10,000 ships also which are in connection with Berket-el and sail to his house.”

Then I was silent in this great hour. He answered and said to me: “On what business hast thou come hither?” I said to him: “I have come after the timber of the great and august barge of Amon-Re, king of gods. Thy father did it, thy grandfather did it, and thou wilt also do it.” So spake I to him.

He said to me: “They did it, truly. If thou give me (something) for doing it, I will do it. Indeed my agents transacted the business; the Pharaoh, ...... sent six ships, laden with the products of Egypt, and they were unloaded in their storehouses. And thou also shalt bring something for me.” He had the journal of his fathers brought in, and he had them read it before me. They found 1,000 deben of every (kind of) silver, which was in his book.

He said to me: “If the ruler of Egypt were the owner of my property, and I were also his servant, he would not send silver and gold, saying: ‘Do the command of Amon.’ It was not the payment of tribute which they exacted of my father. As for me, I am myself neither thy servant nor am I the servant of him that sent thee. If I cry out to the Lebanon, the heavens open, and the logs lie here on the shore of the sea.”

A long speech of Wenamon follows, in which he claims Egypt as the home of civilization, and claims Lebanon for Amon. He then continues:

“Let my scribe be brought to me, that I may send him to Nesubenebded and Tentamon, the rulers whom Amon hath given to the north of his land, and they will send all that of which I shall write unto them, saying: ‘Let it be brought,’ until I return to the south and send thee all thy trifles again.” So spake I to him.

He gave my letter into the hand of his messenger. He loaded in the keel, the head of the bow and the head of the stern, with four other hewn timbers, together seven; and he had them taken to Egypt. His messenger went to Egypt, and returned to me, to Syria in the first month of the second season. Nesubenebded and Tentamon sent:

Gold: 4 Tb-vessels, 1 K’k-mn-vessel; Silver: 5 Tb-vessels; Royal linen: 10 garments, 10 ḥm-ḫrd; Papyrus: 500 rolls; Ox-hides: 500; Rope: 500 (coils); Lentils: 20 measures; Fish: 30 measures; She[492] sent me: Linen 5 ......, 5 ḥm-ḫrd; Lentils: 1 measure; Fish: 5 measures.

The prince rejoiced, and detailed 300 men and 300 oxen, placing overseers over them, to have the trees felled. They spent the second season therewith .... In the third month of the second season (seventh month) they dragged them [to] the shore of the sea. The prince came forth and stood by them.

He sent to me, saying: “Come.” Now, when I had presented myself before him, the shadow of his sunshade fell upon me. Penamon, a butler, he stepped between us, saying: “The shadow of Pharaoh ........, thy lord, falls upon thee.” He was angry with him, saying: “Let him alone!” I presented myself before him, and he answered and said unto me: “Behold the command which my fathers formerly executed, I have executed, although thou for thy part hast not done for me that which thy fathers did for me. Behold there has arrived the last of thy timber, and there it lies. Do according to my desire and come to load it, for they will indeed give it to thee.”

“Come not to contemplate the terror of the sea, (but) if thou dost contemplate the terror of the sea, thou shalt (also) contemplate mine own. Indeed I have not done to thee that which they did to the messengers of Khamwese, when they spent seventeen years in this land. They died in their place.” He said to his butler; “Take him, and let him see their tomb, wherein they sleep.”

I said to him: “Let me not see it! As for Khamwese, (mere) people were the messengers whom he sent unto thee; but people ......... there was no [god among] his messengers. And yet thou sayest, ‘Go and see thy companions.’ Lo, art thou not glad? and dost thou not have made for thee a tablet, whereon thou sayest: ‘Amon-Re, king of gods, sent to me “Amon-the-way,” his [divine] messenger, and Wenamon, his human messenger, after the timber for the great and august barge of Amon-Re, king of gods? I felled it, I loaded it, I supplied him (with) my ships and my crews, I brought them to Egypt, to beseech for me 10,000 years of life from Amon, more than my ordained (life), and it came to pass.’ Then in future days when a messenger comes from the land of Egypt, who is able to write, and reads thy name upon the stela, thou shalt receive water in the west, like the gods who are there.” He said to me: “It is a great testimony which thou tellest me.”

I said to him: “As for the many things which thou hast said to me, when I reach the place of the abode of the High Priest of Amon, and he shall see thy command in thy command, [he] will have something delivered to thee.”

I went to the shore of the sea, to the place where the timbers lay; I spied eleven ships, coming from the sea, belonging to the Thekel, saying: “Arrest him! Let not a ship of his pass to Egypt!” I sat down and began to weep. The letter-scribe of the prince came out to me, and said to me: “What is the matter with thee?” I said to him: “Surely thou seest these birds which twice descend upon Egypt. Behold them! They come to the pool, and how long shall I be here, forsaken? For thou seest surely those who come to arrest me again.”

He went and told it to the prince. The prince began to weep at the evil words which they spoke to him. He sent out his letter-scribe to me and brought me two jars of wine and a ram. He sent to me Tento, an Egyptian singer (feminine), who was with him, saying: “Sing for him; let not his heart feel apprehension.” He sent to me, saying: “Eat, drink, and let not thy heart feel apprehension. Thou shalt hear all that I have to say unto thee in the morning.”

Morning came, he had (the Thekel) called into his ......., he stood in their midst and said to the Thekel: “Why have ye come?” They said to him: “We have come after the stove-up ships which thou sendest to Egypt with our ...... comrades.” He said to them: “I cannot arrest the messenger of Amon in my land. Let me send him away, and ye shall pursue him, to arrest him.”

He loaded me on board, he sent me away ..... to the harbor of the sea. The wind drove me to the land of Alasa [Cyprus]; those of the city came forth to me to slay me. I was brought among them to the abode of Heteb, the queen of the city. I found her as she was going forth from her houses and entering into her other [house]. I saluted her, I asked the people who stood about her: “There is surely one among you who understands Egyptian?” One among them said: “I understand (it).” I said to him: “Say to my mistress: ‘I have heard as far as Thebes, the abode of Amon, that in every city injustice is done, but that justice is done in the land of Alasa; (but), lo, injustice is done every day here.’” She said: “Indeed! what is this that thou sayest?” I said to her: “If the sea raged and the wind drove me to land where I am, thou wilt not let them take advantage of me to slay me, I being a messenger of Amon. I am one whom they will seek unceasingly. As for the crew of the prince of Byblos whom they sought to kill, their lord will surely find ten crews of thine, and he will slay them on his part.” She had the people called and stationed (before her); she said to me: “Pass the night ..........”

Here the papyrus, which contains this vivid personal narrative of travel, is broken off and the rest of the story is lost. We may be sure that Wenamon escaped from Cyprus and succeeded in reaching Egypt again, or the story would never have been told.

=2. Its Illustration of Certain Points of Biblical History.=

The story illustrates well a number of points in Biblical history. This adventure was approximately contemporary with the career of Deborah or of Gideon. It shows that the city of Dor, which was situated on the coast just south of Mount Carmel, was in the possession of a tribe kindred to the Philistines, who soon afterward appear in Biblical history. We also learn from it that Egyptian authority in Palestine and Phœnicia, which was at the time of the El-Amarna letters so rapidly decaying, had entirely disappeared. Zakar-Baal stoutly asserts his independence, while the king of the Thekel is evidently quite independent of Egypt. The way in which these petty kingdoms deal with one another is quite after the manner of the international relations reflected in the book of Judges. The expedition of Wenamon to the Lebanon for cedar wood illustrates the way Solomon obtained cedar for the temple.

Lastly, the way one of the noble youths became frenzied and prophesied, is quite parallel to the way in which Saul “stripped off his clothes and prophesied ...... and lay down naked all that day and all that night” (1 Sam. 19:24). The heed which Zakar-Baal gave to this youth shows that at Gebal, as in Israel, such ecstatic or frenzied utterances were thought to be of divine origin. Later in Israel this sort of prophecy became a kind of profession, or trade. The members of these prophetic guilds were called “sons of the prophets.” The great literary prophets of Israel had nothing to do with them. Amos is careful to say that he is not a “son of a prophet” (Amos 7:14).

=3. Reference to the Philistines.=

Ramses III in his inscriptions makes the following statements:[493]

“The northern countries are unquiet in their limbs, even the Peleset [Philistines], the Thekel, who devastate their land ................... O my august father [i. e., the god Amon] come to take them, being: the Peleset, the Denyen [Dardanians], and the Shekelesh [Sicilians] ............

Utterance of the vanquished Peleset: “Give to us the breath for our nostrils, O king, son of Amon.”

The Peleset are undoubtedly the same people who appear in the Bible as the Philistines. Ramses III, of the twentieth dynasty, from whose inscriptions the above quotations are taken, reigned from 1198-1167 B. C. In his reign the Philistines were coming over the sea and invading northern Egypt along with other wanderers from different parts of the Mediterranean, the Thekel, the Danaoi, and the Sicilians. Upon being repelled from Egypt by Ramses, they passed on and invaded Palestine. As the report of Wenamon shows, the Thekel were in possession of Dor by the year 1100, and no doubt the Philistines had gained a foothold also in the cities farther to the south, where we find them in the Biblical records (Judges 13-16; 1 Sam. 4-7; 13, 14; 17, 18, etc.).

Amos says the Philistines came from Caphtor (Amos 9:7). This has long been supposed to be Crete. Eduard Meyer thinks that confirmation of this has now been found. A disc inscribed in a peculiar writing, which has not yet been deciphered, was found in July, 1908, at Phæstos in Crete in strata of the third middle Minoan period, i. e., about 1600 B. C.[494] This writing is pictographic, and although not yet translated, appears to be a contract.[495] One of the frequently recurring signs represents a human head surmounted by a shock of hair (see Fig. 38), almost exactly like the hair of the Philistines as they are pictured by the artists of Ramses III on the walls of his palace at Medinet Habu (see Fig. 36). This sign was probably the determinative for man. This likeness would make the proof of the Cretan origin of the Philistines complete, were it not that some scholars think that the disc exhumed at Phæstos had been brought thither from across the sea. This is possible, but does not seem very probable. The doubt will, perhaps, be resolved when we learn to read the inscription.

Spotted a typo or a problem in this chapter? Tell us

XVII. ARCHÆOLOGICAL LIGHT ON THE BOOKS OF KINGS

GUDEA AND CEDAR-WOOD FOR HIS PALACE. THE EPONYM CANON. THE SEAL OF SHEMA. SHISHAK’S LIST OF CONQUERED ASIATIC CITIES. ASHURNASIRPAL’S DESCRIPTION OF HIS EXPEDITION TO MEDITERRANEAN LANDS. SHALMANESER III’S CLAIMS REGARDING TRIBUTE FROM THE KINGS OF ISRAEL. THE MOABITE STONE. ADADNIRARI IV’S MENTION OF THE “LAND OF OMRI.” INSCRIPTION DESCRIBING TIGLATHPILESER IV’S CAMPAIGN. SARGON’S CONQUESTS. SENNACHERIB’S WESTERN CAMPAIGNS. THE SILOAM INSCRIPTION. ESARHADDON’S LIST OF CONQUERED KINGS. ASHURBANIPAL’S ASSYRIAN CAMPAIGN. NECHO OF EGYPT. NEBUCHADREZZAR II. EVIL-MERODACH. DISCOVERIES IN SHEBA.

=1. Gudea and Cedar-Wood for His Palace.=

Gudea, a ruler of Lagash in Babylonia (the modern Telloh; see p. 45), who lived about 2450 B. C., rebuilt Eninnû, the temple of Ningirsu, at Lagash. In his account of the work he makes the following statement:[496]

From Amanus, the mountain of cedar, cedar wood, the length of which was 60 cubits, cedar-wood, the length of which was 50 cubits, ukarinnu-wood, the length of which was 25 cubits, for the dwelling he made; (from) their mountain they were brought.

The Amanus mountains lay along the Mediterranean to the north of the river Orontes. They belong to the same general range as the Lebanons. Again, in the same inscription, Gudea says:[497]

From Umanu, the mountain of Menua, from Basalla, the mountain of the Amorites, great cut stones he brought; into pillars he made them and in the court of Eninnû he erected them. From Tidanu, the mountain of the Amorites, marble in fragments (?) he brought.

This passage shows that a ruler of Babylonia came to this region for cedar-wood and stones for his temple, as Solomon is said to have done (1 Kings 5, especially vs. 6 and 17; 2 Chron. 2:8, ff.). That Egyptian rulers did the same is clearly shown by the report of Wenamon. (See p. 352, ff.)

=2. The Eponym Canon.=

The Assyrians kept chronological lists called by scholars “Eponym Canons,” which are of great importance in determining the chronology of Hebrew history at a number of obscure points. A translation of them has not been included in this work, since so few Biblical names occur in them that they would be of little use except to experts. Any who wish to consult them will find them translated in Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament, pp. 219-238.

=3. Jeroboam.=

During Schumacher’s excavation at Megiddo (see p. 96), a seal was found in the palace; it is shown in Fig. 27. Its inscription reads:

Belonging to Shema, servant of Jeroboam.

We have no means of knowing whether the Jeroboam referred to was Jeroboam I (1 Kings 12:12, ff.), or Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:23, ff.).

=4. Shishak.=

Sheshonk I (954-924 B. C.), the founder of the twenty-second Egyptian dynasty, the Shishak of the Bible (1 Kings 14:25-28), has left on the walls of a pylon which he erected at the temple of Karnak a relief picturing his victory. The pictures are of the conventional type, but they are accompanied by a list of conquered Asiatic cities. Of these the names of about one-hundred and twenty are legible, though it is possible to identify but a small proportion of these with known localities. As it would be of no interest to the general reader to place before him the Egyptian spelling of unidentified place names, only those are here given which have been identified or have some Biblical interest. The numbers before each name designate its distance from the beginning of Sheshonk’s list. Among his conquered towns, then, are the following:[498]

11. Gimty = Gath. 13. Rub’ty = Rabbith (Josh. 19:20). 14. T’‘nqy = Taanach (Josh. 12:21; Judges 5:19). 15. Sh’nm‘y = Shunem (Josh. 19:18; 2 Kings 4:8). 16. B’tysh’nry = Beth-shean (Josh. 17:11; 1 Sam. 31:10; 1 Kings 4:12). 17. Rwh’b’iy = Rehob (Judges 1:31). 18. H’pwrwmy = Haphraim (Josh. 19:19). 22. Myh’nm‘ = Mahanaim (Gen. 32:2; Josh. 13:26; 2 Sam. 2:8; 17:24). Q-b’-‘’-n’ = Gibeon (Josh. 10:1, f.). 24. B’tyhwr’rwn = Beth-horon (Josh. 10:10; 1 Sam. 13:18). 26. Iywrwn = Aijalon (Josh. 10:12; 19:42). 27. Myqdyw = Megiddo (Josh. 12:21; Judges 1:27). 28. Idyrw‘ = Edrei (Num. 21:33; Deut. 1:4; Josh. 12:4). 32. ‘’rin’ = Elon (Josh. 19:43). 38. Sh’wka = Soco (2 Chron. 11:7; 28:18). 39. B’tylpwh = Beth-tapuah (Josh. 15:53). 57. Dymrwm = Zemaraim (Josh. 18:22). 58. [M]gdrw = Madgala (Matt. 15:39 A. V.). 71, 72. P’hwqrw’ ’b’r’m = The field of Abram. 100. Iwdri’ = Addar (?) (Josh. 15:3). 124. B’ty‘nt = Beth-anoth (?) (Josh. 15:59).

According to 1 Kings 14:25, ff., Sheshonk’s campaign was directed against Judah, and there is no hint that the northern kingdom suffered too. This may be because the interest of the author of Kings in the house of David and in Jerusalem was greater than his interest in the north. It is clear from the list of places just quoted that Sheshonk conquered both kingdoms. He either took or received tribute from Megiddo, Taanach, Shunem, and Beth-shean, cities in the great plain of Jezreel, but crossed the Jordan and captured Mahanaim and Edrei.

=5. Ashurnasirpal.=

Ashurnasirpal, King of Assyria, 884-860 B. C., in describing his expedition to the Mediterranean lands, makes the following statement:[499]

At that time I marched along Mount Lebanon, unto the great sea of the land of the Amorites I went up. In the great sea I cleansed my weapons. I made sacrifices to the gods. The tribute of the kings by the side of the sea, from the land of the Tyrian, the land of the Sidonian, the land of the Gebalite, the land of the Maḫallatite, the land of the Maisite, the land of the Kaisite, the land of the Amorite, and the city Arvad, which is in the midst of the sea; silver, gold, lead, copper, copper vessels, garments of bright colored stuffs, cloth, a great pagutu, a small pagutu, ushu-wood, ukarinnu-wood, teeth of a sperm-whale porpoise, a creature of the sea, as their tribute I received; they embraced my feet. To Mount Amanus I ascended; beams of cedar, cypress, juniper, pine, I cut. Sacrifices to my gods I offered. A pillar recording my warlike deeds I set up.

This inscription records the first approach of an Assyrian king to Hebrew territory. He did not actually come into contact with the Israelites, though he took tribute from their neighbors, the Tyrians and Sidonians. The expedition of Ashurnasirpal was, however, the precursor of many others which progressed further.

Ashurnasirpal, like Gudea and Hrihor, secured wood from this region for his buildings, thus affording another parallel to Solomon’s procedure.

=6. Shalmaneser III.=

Shalmaneser III, the son and successor of Ashurnasirpal, reigned from 859 to 825 B. C. He not only approached more closely to Palestine, but claims to have taken tribute from her kings. In the case of King Jehu the claim is no doubt true. The following extracts give the accounts in Shalmaneser’s own words.[500]

In the eponym year of Dan-Ashur (i. e., 854 B. C.), month Aru, 14th day, I departed from the city of Nineveh; I crossed the river Tigris ....... to the city Qarqar I approached. Qarqar, his royal city, I destroyed, I devastated, I burned with fire. 1,200 chariots, 1,200 horsemen, 20,000 men of Hadadidri (Benhadad) of Damascus; 700 chariots, 700 horsemen, 10,000 men of Irhulina, the Hamathite; 2,000 chariots, 10,000 men of Ahab, the Israelite; 500 men of the Quæan (i. e., Que, in Cilicia); 1,000 men of the Musræan; 10,000 chariots, 10,000 men of the Irqantæan; 200 men of Matinu-ba’li, the Arvadite; 200 men of the Usantæan; 30 chariots, 10,000 men of Adunu-ba’li, the Shianian; 1,000 camels of Gindibu, the Arabian; 1,000 (?) men of Basa, son of Ruhubi, the Ammonite--these 12 kings he took as his helpers and they came to make battle and war against me. With the exalted power which Ashur, the lord, had given me, with powerful weapons, which Nergal, who goes before me, had presented me, I fought with them; from Qarqar to Gilzan I accomplished their defeat. 14,000 of their troops I overthrew with arms, like Adad I poured out a flood upon them; I flung afar their corpses, I filled the plain with their mighty troops. With weapons I made their blood to flow .......... The field was too narrow for smiting (?) them, the broad plain (?) was used (?) for burying their bodies. With their corpses I dammed the Orontes as with a dam (?). In that battle their chariots, their horsemen, their horses, harnesses, and yokes I took.

It is of especial interest that Ahab and Benhadad, two kings well known from the Bible, formed a part of the coalition that attempted to repel this first Assyrian invasion. Shalmaneser’s claim of victory is probably exaggerated, for he retired without further effort to subdue the country. Had it been as sweeping a triumph as he would have us believe, he would surely have pressed forward.

Another of his inscriptions describes the battle of Qarqar as follows:[501]

In the 6th year of my reign from Nineveh I set out .......... unto Qarqar I approached. Hadadidri of Damascus, Irhulina, the Hamathite, together with twelve kings of the sea-coast, trusted in their own power and came to make war and fight with me. With them I fought. 25,000 of their fighting men I destroyed with arms. Their chariots, their horses, their implements of war I took from them. They fled to save their lives. I embarked on a ship and went out to sea.

Four years later Shalmaneser records the subjugation of Carchemish, on the Euphrates (cf. Isa. 10:9; Jer. 46:2). His account of it is brief and runs thus:[502]

In the 10th year of my reign (850 B. C.), the river Euphrates I crossed for the eighth time. The cities of Sangar, the Carchemishite, I devastated, I destroyed I burned with fire. From the cities of Carchemish I departed and approached the cities of Arame.

The next year Shalmaneser again tried conclusions with the kings of the west. His longer account of this runs as follows:[503]

In the 11th year of my reign (849 B. C.) I set out from Nineveh. I crossed the river Euphrates at high water for the ninth time .......... At that time Hadadidri of Damascus, Irhulina the Hamathite, together with twelve kings of the sea-coast, trusted to their own power and to make war and battle with me they came. I fought with them, I accomplished their defeat. 10,000 of their fighting men I slew with arms. Their chariots, horsemen, and implements of war I took from them.

Shalmaneser’s third campaign against these kings is thus described:[504]

In the 14th year of my reign I mustered the broad land without number. I crossed the Euphrates at high water with 120,000 troops. At that time Hadadidri of Damascus and Irhulina, the Hamathite, together with twelve kings of the sea-coast, upper and lower, mustered their numerous armies without number and into my presence came. I fought with them, I accomplished their defeat. I brought away their chariots and horses, their implements of war I took from them; they fled to save their lives.

A fourth campaign another inscription describes thus:[505]

In the 18th year of my reign (842 B. C.), I crossed the river Euphrates for the sixteenth time. Hazael of Damascus (cf. 1 Kings 19:15, 17; 2 Kings 8) trusted to the great numbers of his forces and mustered his troops in large numbers. Saniru (i. e., Hermon, see Deut. 3:9), a mountain-peak at the side of Mount Lebanon, he made his fortress. I fought with him, I accomplished his defeat. 16,000 of his fighting men I slew with arms. 1,121 of his chariots, 470 of his horses with his camp I took from him. He fled to save his life. I pursued him and in Damascus, his capital city, shut him up. I cut down his parks. I marched to the mountains of Hauran. Cities innumerable I destroyed, devastated, I burned with fire; their untold spoil I took as plunder. To the mountain of Bilirasi,[506] a mountain at the head of the sea, I marched. My royal portrait in it I set up. At that time the tribute of the Tyrian, the Sidonian, and of Jehu, son of Omri, I received.

The tribute of Jehu of Israel, mentioned in the last line of this inscription, is pictured on Shalmaneser’s black obelisk; (see Figs. 295, 296). Above its various panels is the following inscription:[507]

Tribute of Jehu, son of Omri: silver, gold, a bowl (?) of gold, a basin (?) of gold, cups of gold, pails (?) of gold, bars of lead, scepters (?) for the hand of the king and balsam wood I received from him.

A fifth expedition is thus briefly described:[508]

In the 21st year of my reign (839 B. C.), the river Euphrates I crossed, against the cities of Hazael of Damascus I went. Four of his cities I captured. The tribute of the Tyrian, of the Sidonian, and of the Gebalite I received.

In still another inscription, which gives a summary of his wars, Shalmaneser compresses the account of his various wars in the west as follows:[509]

At that time Hadadidri of the land of Damascus, together with 12 princes, his helpers,--their defeat I accomplished. 29,000 mighty warriors I prostrated like a simoom (?). The rest of his soldiers I cast into the river Orontes. They fled to save their lives. Hadadidri forsook his land. Hazael, son of a nobody, seized the throne. He summoned his numerous soldiers and came to make war and battle with me. With him I fought, I accomplished his defeat. The wall of his camp I seized. He fled to save his life. I pursued him to Damascus, his capital city.

=7. The Moabite Stone.=

This stone, which bears an inscription of Mesha, King of Moab, a contemporary of King Ahab, was erected at Dibon (the modern Diban) on the north shore of the Arnon, where it was found in the last century. The upper portion of it was first seen by a Prussian clergyman, Rev. F. A. Klein, in the year 1868. Reports of its existence had previously reached the French scholar, Clermont-Ganneau, who was then in Jerusalem, and a squeeze of it was afterward taken by an Arab for this French scholar. Both the French and Prussian governments were desirous of obtaining it, and the Arabs, conceiving that they could obtain more money for it by selling it in parts, broke it up, thus greatly mutilating the inscription. Afterward the French obtained it, putting the pieces together again, and it may now be seen in the Louvre at Paris; (see Fig. 300). The inscription is as follows:[510]

I am Mesha, son of Chemoshmelek, King of Moab, the Dibonite. My father ruled over Moab thirty years, and I ruled after my father. And I made this high place to Chemosh in Qarhah (?) because of the deliverance of Mesha, because he saved me from all the kings and because he caused me to see [my desire] upon all who hated me. Omri, king of Israel--he oppressed Moab many days, because Chemosh was angry with his land. And his son succeeded him, and he also said I will oppress Moab. In my day he spoke according to [this] word, but I saw [my desire] upon him and upon his house, and Israel utterly perished forever. Now Omri had possessed all the land of Medeba and dwelt in it his days and half the days of his son, forty years, but Chemosh restored it in my day. And I built Baal-meon and I made in it the reservoir (?), and I built Kiryathaim. And the men of Gad had dwelt in the land of Ataroth from of old and the king of Israel had built for himself Ataroth. And I fought against the city and took it, and I slew all the people of the city, a sight [pleasing] to Chemosh and to Moab. And I brought back from there the altar-hearth of Duda and I dragged it before Chemosh in Kiryoth. And I caused to dwell in it the men of Sharon (?) and the men of Meharoth (?). And Chemosh said to me: “Go take Nebo against Israel”; and I went by night and fought against it from break of dawn till noon, and I took it and slew all, seven thousand men, boys (?), and women, and girls, for I had devoted it to Ashtar-Chemosh. And I took from there the altar-hearths of Yahweh (Jehovah), and I dragged them before Chemosh. And the king of Israel built Jahaz and dwelt in it while he fought with me and Chemosh drove him out from before me. And I took from Moab two hundred men, all its chiefs, and I led them against Jahaz and took it to add unto Dibon. And I built Qarhah (?), the wall of the forests and the wall of the hill; and I built its gates and I built its towers, and I built the king’s house, and I made the sluices (?) for the reservoir of water in the midst of the city. And there was no cistern in the midst of the city, in Qarhah (?); and I said to all the people: “Make you each a cistern in his house;” and I cut the cuttings for Qarhah (?) with the help of the prisoners of Israel. I built Aroer and I made the highway by the Arnon. And I built Beth-bamoth, for it had been destroyed. And I built Bezer, for it was in ruins .......... [Chi]efs of Dibon were fifty, for all Dibon was obedient. And I ruled a hundred .........., in the cities which I had added to the land. And I built [Mede]ba and Beth-diblathan. And [as for] Beth-baal-meon, there I placed sheep-raisers ........... sheep of the land. And [as for] Horonaim there dwelt in it ...... and .......... Chemosh said unto me: “Go down, fight against Horonaim,” and I went down and ........... Chemosh in my day, and from there .................... and I ..........

The author of this inscription is the Mesha mentioned in 2 Kings 3:4. He is there said to have been a “sheep-master” (Hebrew, nōqēdh). Mesha appears to say in line 30 (the word is broken) that he placed noqĕdhim, “sheep-raisers,” or, “sheep-masters,” in Beth-baal-meon. The nōqēdh was a raiser of a peculiar breed of sheep. Moab is excellent grazing land and raised a great many.

In general the inscription supplements the Biblical narrative. It mentions persons and places well known from the Bible, and gives us an account of a series of events of which the Bible makes no mention. The Biblical account says nothing of Mesha’s revolt, while Mesha in his turn says nothing of the campaign described in 2 Kings 3. Neither document implies that the events described in the other did not occur; the two are written from two different points of view and their authors selected the events which suited the purpose of the respective writers. In spite of this consideration there are some differences of statement which are perplexing.

Mesha says in substance that Omri conquered Medeba and occupied it during his reign, half the reign of his son, a period of forty years, but Chemosh restored it to Moab in his (Mesha’s) day. It is said in 2 Kings 3:5, on the other hand, that “when Ahab was dead, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.” According to 1 Kings 16:23-29, Omri reigned twelve years and Ahab twenty-two years. All the reign of Omri, and half of that of Ahab would, accordingly, be but twenty-three years. It is possible, however, as has been suggested by several scholars, that Mesha uses the word son to denote descendant, and that he refers to the war with Israel in the reign of Jehoram, son of Ahab, described in 2 Kings 3:6-27. Another suggestion, which seems more probable, is that the recapture of Medeba, mentioned near the beginning of Mesha’s inscription, occurred about the middle of the reign of Ahab, while the capture of Ataroth may have belonged to the period of Jehoram, the whole time from Omri to Jehoram being forty years. Some scholars have supposed that the Biblical chronology is in error and that Omri and Ahab together ruled some fifty years. This supposition can hardly be correct, since the general accuracy of the chronology of this part of Kings is confirmed by the Assyrian inscriptions.

Mesha’s inscription mentions a number of places which the Bible also names, the Arnon (Num. 21:13, etc.; Deut. 2:24; 3:16, etc.), Aroer (Josh. 13:16), Ataroth (Num. 32:34), Baal-meon or Beth-baal-meon (Josh. 13:17; Num. 32:38), Beth-bamoth[511] (Josh. 13:17), Beth-diblathaim (Jer. 48:22), Bezer (Josh. 20:8), Dibon (Num. 32:34; Josh. 13:17; Isa. 15:2), Horonaim (Isa. 15:5), Jahaz (Josh. 13:18; Isa. 15:4), Kerioth (Jer. 48:24), Kirathaim (Josh. 13:19; Jer. 48:23), Medeba (Josh. 13:16; Isa. 15:2), and Nebo (Num. 32:38; Deut. 34:1; Isa. 15:2).

=8. Adadnirari IV.=

Adadnirari IV of Assyria (810-782 B. C.) has left an inscription which mentions Syria and Palestine. It reads as follows:[512]

Palace of Adadnirari, the great king, the mighty king, the king of the world, the king of Assyria, who conquered from the Euphrates, the Hittite country, the Amorite land in its entirety; Tyre, Sidon, the land of Omri, Edom, Palastu, to the coast of the great sea, where the sun sets, cast themselves at my feet; I imposed tribute and imposts upon them. To the land of Damascus I marched. Mari, King of Damascus, in Damascus his royal city I besieged. The fear of the luster of Ashur my lord overwhelmed him and he seized my feet and became subject. 2,300 talents of silver, 20 talents of gold, 3,000 talents of copper, 5,000 talents of iron, variegated garments, linen (?), an ivory bed, an ivory couch (?) with inlaid border, his goods without measure I received in the palace in his royal city Damascus.

“The land of Omri” was the kingdom of Israel. Omri had made such an impression on the East that the Assyrians still so called it. “Palastu” is Philistia. Edom is here mentioned for the first time as paying tribute to an Assyrian king, but Judah is not mentioned; she was still free. Adadnirari was a contemporary of Jehoahaz and Jehoash of Israel, and of Joash and Amaziah of Judah.

=9. Tiglathpileser IV.=

Tiglathpileser IV, one of the greatest of Assyria’s kings, made several campaigns into the west and had a profound influence upon the fortunes of the Hebrew people. Unfortunately, his inscriptions have been greatly mutilated. Esarhaddon, a later king, determined to remodel Tiglathpileser’s palace for his own use. Apparently he intended to erase Tiglathpileser’s inscriptions from the wall-tablets which adorned the palace, in order to inscribe these tablets with his own. Esarhaddon died before the work had progressed very far, so that the inscriptions were not entirely ruined. The beginnings and ends of many lines are, however, entirely destroyed, and at some points deplorable gaps exist in the body of an inscription. Much that is of interest to the Biblical student can still be made out, as the following translation will show:[513]

1. ..............................

2. [In] the progress of my expedition the tribute of ki[ngs] ..........

3. ...... Azariah, the Yaudæan, like ..........

4. ...... Azariah of Yaudi in ..........

5. ........ without number exalted to heaven ..........

6. ...... in the eyes, when that which from heaven ..........

7. ........ by the onset of infantry ..........

8. [the advance] of my powerful [troops] they heard and [their hearts] feared ..........

9. .......... I destroyed, devastated, burned with fire ..........

10. ...... who had joined with Azariah and had strengthened him.

11. ........... like vines ...........

..................................

23. ........... Azariah, the Yaudæan .......... my royal palace ...........

24. ............... tribute like the [Assyrian I laid upon them.]

............................................

30. ..................... the city Bumame,[514] 19 districts

31. of the city of Hamath, together with the cities of their environs on the shore of the western sea, which sinfully and wrongfully they had seized for Azariah,

32. unto the territory of Assyria I added. I set my officers over them as governors. 30,000 men [I carried away captive]

33. ....... from their cities, in the city of Ku ...... I settled them. 1,223 people I settled in the province of Ullubu.

............................................

50. ....... Tribute of Kushtashpi, the Kummukhite, Rezin, the Damascene, Menahem, the Samaritan,

51. Hiram, the Tyrian, Sibitti-baal, the Gebalite, Urikke, the Queite, Pisiris of Carchemish, Eniel

52. the Hamathite, Panammu, the Samalite, Tarhulara, the Gamgumalite, Sulumal, the Melidite, Dadilu,

53. the Kaskite, Ussurmi, the Tabalite, Ushkitti, the Tunite, Urballa, the Tuhanite, Tuhammi, the Ishtundite,

54. Urimme, the Hushimnite, Zabibe, Queen of Arabia, gold, silver, lead, iron, elephant-hide, ivory,

55. variegated garments, linen cloths, purple and red wool, ushu-wood, ukarinu-wood, costly things, a royal treasure, fat sheep whose wool

56. was dyed red, winged birds of heaven whose wings were dyed purple, horses, mules, oxen and sheep, camels,

57. she-camels, together with their foals, I received.

This account relates to the campaign of 738 B. C. The Azariah referred to has been thought to be King Uzziah of Judah, who is called Azariah in 2 Kings 14:21 and 15:1-27. It is probable that he was an Azariah of Yadi, of northern Syria, mentioned in an inscription of Panammu, to whom Tiglathpileser refers above, since the kings mentioned with him ruled in the north. Manahem of Israel (2 Kings 15:14-23) yielded to Tiglathpileser, as did Rezin, of Damascus (2 Kings 15:37 and 16:5-9), but for some reason Azariah and Judah escaped.

This inscription, fragmentary though it is, tells us that Tiglathpileser now practised upon others the system of deportation from which Israel herself afterward suffered. He forcibly removed thousands from their homes to distant parts of the empire. This was an administrative measure, to prevent future rebellion. Persons who had been influential at home among their own people would be powerless to foment trouble in the midst of strange surroundings and neighbors of an unfriendly race.

The following relates to the campaign of 733-732:[515]

1. ................... his warriors I captured .......... I overthrew with my weapons.

2. ......................................... before him.

3. the charioteers and .................... their weapons I broke.

4. the[ir chariots and] horses I seized .......... his bowmen ..........

5. ............. who carried shields and spears my hands overthrew, their battle

6. ............ to save his life he fled alone and

7. .............. like a mouse (?) entered the gate of his city. His captains alive

8. [my hands captured and on] stakes I hung them and exhibited them to his land. 45 people (?) from his camp

9. ...... I brought together before his city, and I shut him in like a bird in a cage. His parks

10. ........ his orchards, which were without number, I cut down and did not leave one.

11. .......... Hadara, the home of the father of Rezin of Damascus,

12. [the place where] he was born, I besieged, I captured. 800 people, together with their possessions,

13. ...... their cattle, and sheep I took as spoil. 750 prisoners of the city Kurussa,

14. ...... prisoners of the city Irma, 550 prisoners of the city Mituna, I captured. 591 cities ..........

15. ...... of 16 districts of Damascus like a deluge heap I destroyed.

............................................

19. .................... Hanno of Gaza[516]

20. fled before my weapons and escaped to Egypt. The city, Gaza,

21. [I captured. His goods], his possessions, his gods [I took as spoil] ...... my royal image

22. .................... in the palace of [Hanno I set up].

............................................

27. The country of the house of Omri .......... all its people,

28. [and their possessions] I carried away unto Assyria. Pekah, their king, they had overthrown. Hoshea

29. [as king] over them I placed. 10 talents of gold ...... talents of silver I received as tribute from them.

............................................

57. Tribute[517] of Kushtashpi, the Kummuchite, Urikki, the Queite, Sibittibaal, the Gebalite, Pisiris, the Carchemishite,

58. Eni-el, the Hamathite, Panammu, the Samalite, Tarhulara, the Gurgumite, Sulu[mal, the Melidite, Dadilu, the Kaskite],

59. Ussurmi, the Tabalite, Urassurme, the Tabalite, Ushhitti, the Tunite, Urballa, the Turhanite, Tuhamm[e, the Ishtundite, Urimme, the Hushimnite],

60. Matanbaal, the Arvadite, Sanipu, the Beth-Ammonite, Salamanu, the Moabite, .............

61. Mitinti, the Askelonite, Jehoahaz [Ahaz], the Judæan, Kaushmalaka, the Edomite, Mus ............

62. Hanno, the Gazaite, gold, silver, lead, iron, tin, variegated garments, linen, red cloths of their lands,

63. every costly thing, products of sea and dry land produced by their countries, royal treasures, horses, mules, harnesses ........ [I received.]

The record of this campaign, fragmentary as it is, shows how completely Tiglathpileser conquered the west. He accomplished the overthrow of Damascus, which his predecessors had been trying in vain to do for more than a hundred years. His invasion of northern Israel led to the overthrow of Pekah, and the deportation as captives to other parts of the empire of numerous Israelites. This confirms 2 Kings 15:29, 30. It was this conquest of Damascus and Israel that fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy given in 735 B. C. (Isa. 7:16). It was while Tiglathpileser was at Damascus, receiving the tribute, that Ahaz, whose full name was Jehoahaz, went to Damascus to carry his tribute,--an act which prevented the invasion of Judah by Assyria at this time. While Ahaz was in Damascus, he saw the altar of which a copy was made for the temple in Jerusalem (2 Kings 16:10, ff.). The list of kings from whom Tiglathpileser received tribute contains many Biblical names. Not only Israel and Judah, but the Philistine cities, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Damascus, Hamath, the Phœnician cities of Gebal and Arvad, Samal in the extreme north of Syria, Que in Cilicia, and Carchemish on the Euphrates, were all drawn into his net.

=10. Sargon, 722-705 B. C.=

Tiglathpileser IV was succeeded by Shalmaneser V, who ruled, as the eponym canon shows, from 727 to 722 B. C. On account of a rebellion of Hoshea, King of Israel, Shalmaneser overran his kingdom and besieged Samaria for three years, as recorded in 2 Kings 17:3-5. Before the city fell, however, Shalmaneser had passed away and Sargon, the founder of a new dynasty, was on the throne of Assyria. In Sargon’s first year Samaria fell into the hands of the Assyrian army; Sargon counted this as his own victory and tells of it in the following words:[518]

At the beginning of my reign, in my first year ...... Samaria I besieged, I captured. 27,290 people from its midst I carried captive. 50 chariots I took there as an addition to my royal force .......... I returned and made more than formerly to dwell. People from lands which my hands had captured I settled in the midst. My officers over them as governors I appointed. Tribute and taxes I imposed upon them after the Assyrian manner.

In another inscription the following summary account occurs:[519]

From the beginning of my reign to my 15th year, the defeat of Humbanigash, the Elamite, in the environs of Durilu I accomplished. Samaria I besieged, I captured; I carried captive 27,290 people who dwelt in it; 50 chariots I took from them, and permitted the rest to keep their possessions (?), and placed my governor over them and imposed on them the tribute of the former king.

These statements confirm 2 Kings 17:6 and 24, ff. In one respect they throw an interesting light upon the captivity of Israel. Only 27,290 people were transported at this time. True, Tiglath-pileser IV had previously transported the inhabitants of several towns of Galilee. (See 2 Kings 15:29, and his inscriptions translated above.) When we put together all those who were deported, however, they were but a fraction of the population. As Sargon distinctly says, the others remained there. They intermarried with the settlers whom he brought in and became the ancestors of the sect of Samaritans. The “ten lost tribes” were not “lost,” as is often popularly supposed to have been the case.

The first of the inscriptions quoted above contains also the following passage:[520]

In the second year of my reign Ilubidi, the Hamathite ...... collected his numerous troops at Qarqar. The oath [of Ashur he despised]. Arpad, Simirra, Damascus, Samaria, he made rebellious against me ..................... Sib’u, his Tartan, he summoned to his aid, and to give fight and battle came into my presence. In the name of Ashur, my lord, I accomplished his defeat. Sib’u fled like a shepherd whose sheep are stolen and escaped. Hanno I caught in my hand and took him bound unto my city Ashur. The city Raphia I devastated, destroyed, burned with fire. I took captive 9,033 people, together with their numerous possessions.

The Sib’u of this inscription is probably the same as So, King of Egypt, in 2 Kings 17:4. He cannot be identified with any known Egyptian king. He was probably a prince of a nome of the Delta. The above is Sargon’s description of the battle of Raphia, which occurred in the year 720 B. C. This campaign was an aftermath of the fall of Samaria.

717 B. C.

[Sargon],[521] the exalted prince, who came upon Hummanigash, the King of Elam, in the environs of Durilu and accomplished his overthrow, who reduced to submission Yaudi, the place of which was distant, who destroyed Hamath, whose hands captured Yaubidi.

This Yaudi has been taken by some scholars for Judah, but it was probably the kingdom in northern Syria mentioned by Tiglathpileser IV and in the inscription of Panammu, of Samal, the modern Zendjirli. We know of no Assyrian invasion of Judah at this time.

The tribute of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, of Samsi, the Queen of Arabia, Ithamara, the Sabæan, gold, the ...... of the mountain, horses, and camels, I received ............[522]

Yaubidi, the Hamathite, a soldier (?), with no right to the throne, a bad Hittite, had set his heart on the kingdom of Hamath; he caused Arpad, Simirra, Damascus, and Samaria to rebel against me, made them of one intent and collected for battle. The whole army of Ashur I mustered and in Qarqar, his favorite city, I besieged him together with his soldiers. I captured Qarqar, I burned it with fire. His skin I flayed and the partakers of his sin I killed in their cities; I established peace. 200 chariots and 200 horsemen I collected from the people of Hamath, and added to my royal force.

This passage records the overthrow of Hamath and Arpad (Isa. 10:9), and mentions the tribute of a king of Sheba, the account of the coming of whose queen to Solomon is found in I Kings 10:1, ff.

711 B. C.

Azuri, King of Ashdod, planned in his heart not to pay tribute, and among the kings of his neighborhood disseminated hatred of Assyria. On account of the evil he had done I cut off his lordship over the people of his land. I appointed Ahimiti, his younger (?) brother to the kingship over them. But the Hittites, planning evil, hated him and exalted over them Yamani, who had no claim to the throne, and who, like them, knew no fear of authority. In the anger of my heart the mass of my army I did not muster, I did not assemble my camp. With my usual bodyguard I marched against Ashdod. Yamani heard of the progress of my expedition from afar and fled to the borders of Egypt, which lies by the side of Melucha, and was seen no more. Ashdod, Gath, Ashdudimmu, I besieged, I conquered. I took as spoil his gods, his wife, his sons, his daughters, his possessions, the treasures of his palace, together with the people of his land. I seized those cities anew, and settled in them peoples of lands I had captured from among [the lands] of the east .......... With the people of Assyria I numbered them, and they bore my yoke. The king of Melucha, who among ...... an inaccessible place, a road ...... whose fathers from ancient days as far back as the moon-god, his father, had sent no messengers to my fathers to pay their respects, heard from afar of the might of Ashur, Nabu, and Marduk; the fear of the luster of my royalty covered him and fright was poured over him. He cast him [Yamani] into bonds, fetters of iron, and brought him before me into Assyria,--a long journey.[523]

Another fragmentary account runs thus:[524]

In the 9th [error for 11th] year of my reign I marched .......... to the coast of the great sea ...... Azuri, King of Ashdod, .......... Ahimiti .......... his younger (?) brother .......... I exalted over them .......... tribute and taxes of my lordship ...... like those of ...... kings, I imposed upon them ...... The evil in .......... in order not to pay tribute .......... their princes .......... they drove him away .......... Yamani, a soldier, they appointed to kingship over them. Their city .......... in its environs a moat .......... cubits in depth they dug, they reached the water-level .......... To [punish] Philistia, Judah, Edom, Moab, who inhabit the sea-coast, payers of tribute, and taxes to Ashur, my lord. Planning rebellion and untold evil against me, they bore their pledges to Pharaoh, King of Egypt, a prince who could not help them, and sought his aid. I, Sargon, the faithful prince, who honors the oath of Nabu and Marduk, who guards the name of Ashur, caused my trusty troops to cross the Tigris and Euphrates at high water. As for him, Yamani, their king, who had trusted to his own power, and had not submitted to my lordship, he heard of the advance of my army. The fear of Ashur, my lord, cast him down, and to ...... which is on the bank of the river ...... waters ...... his land ...... far away ...... he fled ...... Ashdod ......

The two passages just translated are Sargon’s accounts of the events alluded to in Isa. 20:1. These events were the occasion of the prophecy there recorded. Until the discovery of the palace of Sargon by Botta in 1845, this passage in Isaiah, was the only place in extant literature where the name of Sargon had been preserved.

In the last of the passages just quoted, Sargon speaks as though he had also punished Judah on this expedition. There is no direct allusion to this in the Bible unless it be the vivid description in Isa. 10:28-32, where an approach of an Assyrian army to Jerusalem from the north is described. It is difficult to date those verses unless they also refer to this expedition of 711 B. C. (See Appendix.)

=11. Sennacherib, 705-681 B. C.=

Campaign of 701[525]

In my third expedition I went to the land of the Hittites. The fear of my lordship overthrew Luli, King of Sidon, and he fled to a distance in the midst of the sea. His land I subdued. Great Sidon, little Sidon. Beth-zēt, Zareptah, Mahalliba, Ushu, Achzib, Accho, his strongholds, his fortresses, the places of his food and drink, the forts in which he trusted, the might of the weapons of Ashur, my lord, overthrew them and they submitted to my feet. I caused Tubal to sit on the royal throne over them, and imposed upon him the yearly payment of tribute as the tax of my lordship. Minhimmu, the Shamsimurunian, Tubalu, the Sidonian, Abdiliti, the Arvadite, Urumilke, the Gebalite, Mitinti, the Ashdodite, Puduilu, the Beth-Ammonite, Kammusunadbi, the Moabite, Milkirammu, the Edomite, kings of the Westland, all of them, an extensive district, brought their heavy tribute together with their possessions into my presence and kissed my feet.

And Sidqa, the King of Askelon, who had not submitted to my yoke, the gods of the house of his father, himself, his wife, his sons, his daughters, his brothers, the seed of the house of his father I took away and brought him to Assyria. Sharruludari, the son of Rukibti, their former king, I placed over the people of Askelon, and imposed upon him the payment of tribute as an aid to my rule, and he bore my yoke. In the progress of my expedition Beth-Dagon, Joppa, Banabarka, Azuru, the cities of Sidqa, who had not with alacrity submitted to my feet, I besieged, I captured, I took their spoil. The governors, princes, and people of Ekron, who had cast into fetters of iron Padi, their king, my ally, bound by Ashur’s oath, and had delivered him to Hezekiah, the Judæan, who as an enemy imprisoned him,--their hearts feared. The kings of Egypt, the soldiers, bows, chariots, and horses of the king of Meluhu, an unnumbered force, they summoned, and they came to their aid. In the environs of Elteke the battle array was drawn up before me; they asked for their weapons. In the might of Ashur, my lord, I fought with them and accomplished their defeat. My hands took alive in the midst of the battle the commander of the chariots and the sons of the Egyptian king, together with the commander of the chariots of the king of Meluhu. Elteke [and] Timnath I besieged, captured and took their spoil. I approached Ekron. The governors and princes who had committed sin I killed and on stakes round about the city I hung their bodies. The citizens who had committed wickedness and rebellion I counted as spoil. I declared the righteousness of the rest of them, who had committed no sin and rebellion and in whom was no wickedness. I brought Padi, their king, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and on the throne of dominion over them I placed, and imposed the tribute of my over-lordship upon him.

And as to Hezekiah, the Judæan, who had not submitted to my yoke, 46 of his strongholds, fortified cities, and smaller cities of their environs without number, with the onset of battering rams and the attack of engines, mines, breaches, and axes (?), I besieged, I captured. 200,150 people, small and great, male and female, horses, mules, asses, camels, oxen, and sheep without number I brought out of their midst and counted as booty. He himself I shut up like a caged bird in Jerusalem, his capital city; I erected beleaguering works against him, and turned back by command every one who came out of his city gate. The cities, which I had captured, from his country I cut off and gave them to Mitinti, King of Ashdod, Padi, King of Ekron, and Sillibaal, King of Gaza, and diminished his land. In addition to the former tribute, their yearly tax, I added a tax as the impost of my over-lordship and laid it upon them. As to Hezekiah himself, the fear of the luster of my lordship overcame him and the Urbi and his favorite soldiers, whom he had brought in to strengthen Jerusalem, his capital city, deserted. With 30 talents of gold, 800 talents of silver, precious stones, rouge, dakkasi, lapis lazuli, great angugmi-stones, beds of ivory, stationary ivory thrones, elephants’ hide, ivory, ushu-wood, ukarinnu-wood, all sorts of objects, a heavy treasure; also his daughters, the women of his palace, male and female musicians he sent after me to Nineveh, my capital city, and sent his messenger to present the gift and to do homage.

Inscription under Lachish-picture, 701 B. C.

Sennacherib, king of the world, King of Assyria, sat on his throne, and the spoil of the city of Lachish passed before him;[526] (see Fig. 298).

Expedition against Merodachbaladan, 703 B. C.

In my first expedition I accomplished the defeat of Merodachbaladan, King of Babylon, together with the forces of Elam, his ally, in the environs of the city of Kish. In the midst of that battle he left his camp and fled alone; he saved his life. The chariots, horses, wagons, and mules, which at the onset of battle he had left, my hands captured. I entered joyfully into his palace which was in Babylon. I opened his treasure-house; gold, silver, gold and silver utensils, precious stones of all kinds, his untold treasured possessions, a great booty; the women of his palace, princes, his body-guards, male and female musicians, the rest of his troops as many as there were, and the servants of his palace I brought out and counted as spoil.[527]

Campaign against Arabia (between 688 and 682)

Telhunu, the Queen of Arabia, in the midst of the desert--from her I took ... camels. The [luster of] my [lordship] overthrew her and Hazael. They left their tents and fled to Adummatu, which is situated in the desert, ...... a thirsty place, where there is neither food nor drink.[528]

The material contained in the first two passages just quoted from Sennacherib is parallel in a general way to 2 Kings 18, 19 and Isa. 36, 37. All Biblical students recognize that these two chapters in Isaiah are practically identical with the two in Kings. In discussing the parallelism, therefore, we shall refer to 2 Kings 18, 19 only. With reference to the bearing of this Assyrian material upon the Biblical narrative there are three different views which have been entertained by three groups of scholars.

1. One view, which was first expressed by the late Prof. Schrader,[529] of Berlin, is that the inscription of Sennacherib, while differing from the Biblical account in some particulars, really confirms it at nearly every point. Sennacherib, though he claims to have diminished Hezekiah’s territory, and to have received from him a heavy tribute, does not claim to have taken Jerusalem. According to 2 Kings 18:14, ff., Hezekiah submitted to Sennacherib, sending his messenger to Lachish for the purpose, and paid him a heavy tribute; according to 2 Kings 19:35, ff., a great disaster so weakened Sennacherib’s army that he was obliged to withdraw. Schrader called attention to the close correspondence between 2 Kings 18:14 and Sennacherib. Both state that Hezekiah paid 30 talents of gold, though they differ as to the amount of silver, Kings making it 300 talents, while Sennacherib makes it 800. It was supposed that the numbers in the case of the silver were really equivalent to one another, the present divergence being due to textual corruption. Assyrian kings never record their failures, but Sennacherib’s admission that he did not take the city was held to be confirmation of 2 Kings 19:35, ff., which describes a great destruction of the Assyrian army and a signal deliverance of Jerusalem.

2. A second view, of which Prof. Meinhold,[530] of Bonn, may be taken as the chief exponent, starts from the fact that there seem to be two accounts in 2 Kings 18 and 19. In 18:13-16 there is a statement of how Hezekiah sent to Sennacherib, while Sennacherib was besieging Lachish, and admitted that he had done wrong and promised to bear whatever Sennacherib might choose to put upon him. Sennacherib thereupon imposed a heavy tribute upon him, which he paid. The whole transaction seems to be concluded, when at v. 17 the Tartan, or Rabsaris (Rabshakeh), appears upon the scene and taunts Hezekiah for his obstinacy and he submits again. Possibly this might be considered the details of the transaction that was described in mere outline in 18:13-16. When, however, it has all been described again, and the Rabshakeh has returned to Sennacherib at Lachish, Sennacherib again sends messengers (chapter 19:9), again demanding a surrender. These messengers are said to have been sent when Sennacherib heard that Tirhakah, King of Ethiopia, was marching against him. This narrative goes on to tell how Hezekiah, acting under the advice of Isaiah, delayed his surrender, and how the camp of the Assyrians was decimated by the angel of the Lord, and Jerusalem escaped.

Meinhold and his followers hold that there are here two inconsistent accounts. According to the first, Hezekiah surrendered; according to the second, he did not. According to the first, Hezekiah paid tribute; according to the second, Sennacherib’s army was destroyed. The first of these accounts is confirmed by Sennacherib’s inscription; the second is, so Meinhold holds, shown by it to be unhistorical: first, by the fact that Sennacherib gives no hint that his army was harmed, and, secondly, by the mention of Tirhakah, who did not come to the throne until 688 B. C., and could not, therefore, have been a factor in the war of 701 B. C.

A third view was suggested by Winckler[531] and is held by Prašek,[532] Fullerton,[533] and Rogers.[534] According to this view, Sennacherib made two expeditions against Jerusalem, and 2 Kings 18:13-19:8 is an account of the first of these (the expedition of 701), while 2 Kings 19:9-36 is the account of the second,--an expedition which did not occur until after the accession of Tirhakah, eight or ten years later. The inscription of Sennacherib, already quoted, refers to the first of these expeditions only. We have no inscription of Sennacherib referring to the later disastrous campaign, but that is not surprising, for unless the account of his expedition against the queen of Arabia, already quoted above, belongs to this period, we have no inscriptions referring to the last eight years of his reign. It is thought by the scholars who believe that there were two expeditions, that Sennacherib would approach the queen of Arabia only from the west, so that that inscription is regarded as an incidental confirmation of this view. Of course, an Assyrian king would not record a disaster.

The account in 2 Kings 19:9-36 receives confirmation from an interesting passage in Herodotus, the Greek “father of history.” He says (Book II, 141):

And after this the next king [of Egypt] was a priest of Hephaistos, called Sethôs. He held the warrior class of the Egyptians in contempt as though he had no need of them. He did them dishonor and deprived them of the arable lands which had been granted them by previous kings, twelve acres to each soldier. And afterward Sennacherib, King of the Arabians and Assyrians, marched a great army into Egypt. Then the soldiers of Egypt would not help him; whereupon the priest went into the inner sanctuary to the image of the god and bewailed the things which he was in danger of suffering. As he wept he fell asleep, and there appeared to him in a vision the god standing over him to encourage him, saying that, when he went forth to meet the Arabian army he would suffer no harm, for he himself would send him helpers. Trusting to this dream he collected those Egyptians who were willing to follow him and marched to Pelusium, where the entrance to his country was. None of the warriors followed him, but traders, artisans, and market men. There, as the two armies lay opposite to each other, there came in the night a multitude of field mice, which ate up all the quivers and bowstrings of the enemy, and the thongs of their shields. In consequence, on the next day they fled, and, being deprived of their arms, many of them fell. And there stands now in the temple of Hephaistos a stone statue of this king holding a mouse in his hand, bearing an inscription which says: “Let any who look on me reverence the gods.”

George Adam Smith[535] pointed out several years ago that, when this passage is compared with 2 Kings 19:36, it points clearly to the conclusion that Sennacherib’s army was attacked by bubonic plague. In modern times this plague first attacks rats and mice, which in their suffering swarm the dwellings of men and spread the disease. The Hebrews regarded the attack of such a plague as a smiting by the angel of God. This is shown by 2 Sam. 24:16, 17; Acts 12:23; 2 Kings 19:36. Such a pestilence would render the Assyrian army helpless, and would be regarded by the Hebrews as a divine intervention on their behalf. As it is supported by both the book of Kings and Herodotus, it probably affords us a clue to what really happened to Sennacherib’s army.

We hold, then, that the last of the three views concerning the campaigns of Sennacherib to Palestine is probably correct.

The Elteke mentioned in the inscription of Sennacherib is the city referred to in Josh. 19:44 and 21:23. The Merodachbaladan referred to is mentioned in Isa. 39:1, where it is said that he sent to congratulate Hezekiah upon his recovery from sickness. It is clear from what the Assyrian accounts tell us that his real motive in sending to Hezekiah was to induce him to rebel against Assyria.

=12. The Siloam Inscription.=

The following inscription was discovered in 1880 on the right wall of the tunnel which connects the Virgin’s Well (Ain Sitti Maryam) at Jerusalem with the Pool of Siloam (Birket Silwân).

The boring through [is completed]. And this is the story of the boring through: while yet [they plied] the drill, each toward his fellow, and while yet there were three cubits to be bored through, there was heard the voice of one calling unto another, for there was a crevice in the rock on the right hand. And on the day of the boring through the stone-cutters struck, each to meet his fellow, drill upon drill; and the waters flowed from the source to the pool for a thousand and two hundred cubits, and a hundred cubits was the height of the rock above the heads of the stone-cutters;[536] (see Fig. 297).

This inscription, though not dated, is believed to come from the time of Hezekiah. Hezekiah is said in 2 Kings 20:20 to have built a conduit and to have brought the water into the city. This inscription was found in a remarkable conduit which still runs under the hill at Jerusalem, cut through the solid rock. It is about 1,700 feet long. It was cleared of silt by the Parker expedition of 1909-1911, and the tunnel is about 6 feet in height throughout its entire length. When it was cut the wall of Jerusalem crossed the Tyropœon Valley just below it, so that, while the Virgin’s Spring (the Biblical Gihon) lay outside the walls, this aqueduct brought the water to a pool within the walls, so that the inhabitants of the city could, in case of siege, fill their water-jars without exposing themselves to the enemy.

The inscription is now in the Imperial Ottoman Museum at Constantinople.

=13. Esarhaddon, 681-668 B. C.=

I overthrew the kings of the Hittite country and those beyond the sea; Baal, King of Tyre, Manassah, King of Judah, Kaushgabri, King of Edom, Musuri, King of Moab, Silbaal, King of Gaza, Mitinti, King of Askelon, Ikausu, King of Ekron, Milkiashapa, King of Gebal, Matanbaal, King of Arvad, Abibaal, King of Shamsimuruna, Puduel, King of Beth-Ammon, Ahi-milku, King of Ashdod, 12 kings of the sea-coast; Ekishtura, King of Idalion, Pilagura, King of Kiti, Kisu, King of Sillua, Ituander, King of Paphos, Erisu, King of Sillu, Damasu, King of Kuri, Atmizu, King of Tamesu, Damusi, King of Kartihadasti, Unasagusu, King of Lidir, Bususu, King of Nurenu; 10 kings of Cyprus in the midst of the sea--altogether 22 kings of the Hittite land, of the sea-coast and the midst of the sea--I sent to them and great cedar beams, etc. ......... [they sent].[537]

Esarhaddon, the author of the inscription from which this extract is taken, is mentioned in 2 Kings 19:37 and Isa. 37:38 as Sennacherib’s successor, a statement which the inscriptions abundantly confirm. The above quotation from his inscription shows that Manasseh, King of Judah, 2 Kings 20:21 and chapter 21, was a vassal of Esarhaddon. Esarhaddon is also alluded to in Ezra 4:2.

=14. Ashurbanipal of Assyria, 668-626 B. C.=

In my third campaign I marched against Baal, King of Tyre, who dwelt in the midst of the sea. Because he had not kept the word of my lordship nor heeded the utterance of my lips, I erected against him siege-works and cut off his exit both by land and sea; their lives I made narrow and straitened; I caused them to submit to my yoke. They brought the daughters that came forth from his loins and the daughters of his brothers into my presence to become concubines. Yahimilki, his son, who had never crossed the sea, they brought at the same time to do me service. His daughter and the daughters of his brothers with an abundant dowry I received from him. I granted him favor and returned to him the son that came forth from his loins.[538]

Yakinlu, King of Arvad, who dwells in the midst of the sea, who had not submitted to the kings, my fathers, I brought under my yoke. He brought his daughter to Nineveh with an abundant dowry and kissed my feet ..........

On my return I captured Ushu, which is situated on the coast of the sea. The inhabitants of Ushu, who had not been obedient to their governors, who had not paid their tribute, I killed as the tribute of their land. Among the rebellious peoples I set my staff. Their gods and their peoples I carried as booty to Assyria. The people of Accho who had not submitted I subdued. I hung their bodies on stakes around the city. The rest I took to Assyria; I preserved them and added them to the numerous army which Ashur had given unto me.[539]

These extracts from the inscriptions of Ashurbanipal show that during the reign of Manasseh he was active in reducing the rebellions of Phœnician cities, some of which, as Tyre and Accho, were at the doors of Palestine. No doubt Manasseh continued to pay him tribute and so was not molested. The name of Ashurbanipal is preserved in Ezra 4:10 in the corrupt form of Osnappar.

=15. Necho of Egypt, 609-593 B. C.=

Year 16, fourth month of the first season, day 16, under the majesty of Horus: Wise-hearted; king of Upper and Lower Egypt; Favorite of the two goddesses: Triumphant; Golden Horus: Beloved-of-the-Gods; Uhemibre; Son of Ra, of his body, his beloved: Necho, living forever, beloved of Apis, son of Osiris.[540]

(An account of the interment of an Apis bull then follows.)

The above is the beginning of an inscription of Pharaoh Necho, whose defeat of King Josiah, of Judah, is recorded in 2 Kings 23:29, f. He became over-lord of Judah for four years and placed Jehoiakim on the Judæan throne (2 Kings 23:34). Necho was himself defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates by Nebuchadrezzar, of Babylon, in 604 B. C., and as he retreated to Egypt Nebuchadrezzar pursued him through Palestine. The book of Jeremiah speaks of this defeat and vividly describes the pursuit which followed. (Cf. Jer. 46:2, f.)

=16. Nebuchadrezzar II, 604-562 B. C.=

Many inscriptions of Nebuchadrezzar are known, but most of them relate to buildings. The following extracts are those which best illustrate the Bible.

In exalted trust in him (Marduk) distant countries, remote mountains from the upper sea (Mediterranean) to the lower sea (Persian Gulf), steep paths, blockaded roads, where the step is impeded, [where] was no footing, difficult roads, desert paths, I traversed, and the disobedient I destroyed; I captured the enemies, established justice in the lands; the people I exalted; the bad and evil I separated from the people.[541]

Reference to the Lebanon

From the upper sea to the lower sea, .......... [which] Marduk, my lord, had entrusted to me, in [all] lands, the totality [of dwelling-places] I [exalted] the city of Babylon to the first place. I caused his name to be reverenced among the cities; the shrines of Nabu and Marduk, my lords, I made them recognize, continually .......... At that time the Lebanon mountain, the mountain [of cedar], the proud forest of Marduk, the odor of whose cedars is good .......... of another god ........... no other king had ........... my god, Marduk, the king to the palace of the princes .......... of heaven and earth shone as adornment .......... As a foreign enemy had taken possession of (the mountain) and seized its riches, its people had fled and taken refuge at a distance. In the power of Nabu and Marduk, my lords, I drew up [my soldiers, for battle] in mount Lebanon. Its enemy I dislodged above and below and made glad the heart of the land. I collected its scattered people and returned them to their place. I did what no former king had done; I cleft high mountains, stones of the mountain I quarried, I opened passes. I made a straight road for the cedars. Mighty cedars they were, tall and strong, of wonderful beauty, whose dark appearance was remarkable,--the mighty products of mount Lebanon .......... I made the people of mount Lebanon to lie down in abundance; I permitted no adversary to possess it. That none might do harm I set up my royal image forever.[542]

A Building Inscription

Nebuchadrezzar, King of Babylon, the restorer of Esagila and Ezida, son of Nabopolassar am I. As a protection to Esagila, that no powerful enemy and destroyer might take Babylon, that the line of battle might not approach Imgur-Bel, the wall of Babylon, that which no former king had done [I did]; at the enclosure of Babylon I made an enclosure of a strong wall on the east side. I dug a moat, I reached the level of the water. I then saw that the wall which my father had prepared was too small in its construction. I built with bitumen and brick a mighty wall which, like a mountain, could not be moved and connected it with the wall of my father; I laid its foundations on the breast of the under-world; its top I raised up like a mountain. Along this wall to strengthen it I constructed a third and as the base of a protecting wall I laid a foundation of bricks and built it on the breast of the under-world and laid its foundation. The fortifications of Esagila and Babylon I strengthened and established the name of my reign forever.

O Marduk, lord of the gods, my divine creator, may my deeds find favor before thee; may they endure forever! Eternal life, satisfied with posterity, a secure throne, and a long reign grant as thy gift. Thou art indeed my deliverer and my help, O Marduk, I by thy faithful word which does not change--may my weapons advance, be sharp and be stronger than the weapon of the foe![543]

Nebuchadrezzar was the king who destroyed Jerusalem and carried the more prominent of the people of Judah captive. (See 2 Kings 24 and 25.) His inscriptions give no account of these events. In the first of the quotations made above he covers all his conquests by one general reference. In the second quotation he gives a more detailed account of his conquest of the Lebanon, because that inscription was carved on the rocks at the side of one of the deep valleys of the Lebanon. The third inscription, relating to the building of Babylon, has been strikingly confirmed by Koldewey’s excavation of Babylon, by which the massive walls and extensive temples were uncovered.[544] It also gives us a background for Daniel 4:29, where Nebuchadrezzar is said to have walked upon[545] the royal palace and said: “Is not this great Babylon which I have built?”

=17. Evil-Merodach, 562-560 B. C.=

Nebuchadrezzar was succeeded by his son, Amil-Marduk, whom the Bible (2 Kings 25:27) calls Evil-Merodach. The only inscription of his that has been found is the following, inscribed on an alabaster vase found at Susa, whither the Elamites had at some time carried it as booty:[546]

Palace of Amil-Marduk, King of Babylon, son of Nebuchadrezzar, King of Babylon.

This is the king who released Jehoiachin, King of Judah, from prison after his thirty-six years in confinement and treated him kindly.

* * * * *

NOTE ON THE LAND OF THE QUEEN OF SHEBA.--This region, which lay in South Arabia, was explored during the nineteenth century by a number of travelers. Three of these, Thomas J. Arnaud in 1843, Joseph Halévy in 1869, and Eduard Glaser who made four expeditions between 1882 and 1894, brought back from South Arabia many inscriptions, several of which were made by rulers of Saba, the Biblical Sheba, whose queen is said to have visited Solomon (1 Kings 10:1-13). As none of these relate to that queen, it has not seemed fitting to include one of them. The inscriptions, however, show that two important kingdoms existed there, Saba and Main. Main is thought by some to be related to the Biblical Midianites. The Greek version of Job makes Job’s friend, Zophar, king of Main. The kingdom of Saba lasted until 115 B. C. It established strong colonies in Africa. In 115 B. C. one colony overthrew the mother-country and established the kingdom of Saba and Raidhan, which lasted till about 300 A. D. After that Saba became apparently unimportant, but various Semitic kingdoms succeeded one another in Africa, including the present-day Abyssinian kingdom. The Abyssinian king claims descent from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

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XVIII. THE END OF THE BABYLONIAN EXILE

INSCRIPTIONS OF NABUNA’ID; THEIR BEARING ON BIBLICAL STATEMENTS REGARDING BELSHAZZAR. ACCOUNT OF THE CAPTURE OF BABYLON BEARING ON THE BOOK OF DANIEL. INSCRIPTION OF CYRUS BEARING ON THE CAPTURE OF BABYLON. CYRUS’ PERMISSION FOR THE RETURN TO JERUSALEM.

=1. Inscriptions of Nabuna’id.=

Several inscriptions of this king, who ruled 555-538 B. C., are known, but only a brief extract of one of them is given here, as the major part of the material has no bearing on the Bible.

Nabuna’id, King of Babylon, the restorer of Esagila and Ezida, the worshiper of the great gods am I .......... O Sin, lord of the gods of heaven and earth, god of the gods, .......... as for me, Nabuna’id, King of Babylon, save me from sinning against thy great divinity. A life of many days grant as thy gift. As for Belshazzar, the firstborn son, proceeding from my loins, place in his heart fear of thy great divinity; let him not turn to sinning; let him be satisfied with fulness of life![547]

Belshazzar is here said to be the son of Nabuna’id, whereas in Dan. 5:11, 18 Nebuchadrezzar is called his father. Nabuna’id, as the Babylonian documents show, was not a descendant of Nebuchadrezzar, but a usurper of another family. Some scholars hold that this shows the book of Daniel to be in error, while others hold that “father” in Dan. 5:11, 18 is equivalent to “ancestor,” and think Belshazzar may have been descended from Nebuchadrezzar on his mother’s side.

The Nabuna’id-Cyrus Chronicle

This chronicle is known only from a tablet which is somewhat broken. The following extract will show the nature of its contents:

In the 9th year Nabuna’id was at Tema. The son of the king, the princes, and soldiers were in Akkad. The king did not come to Babylon in Nisan, Nebo did not go to Babylon. Bel did not go out. The festival sacrifice was omitted. They offered sacrifices in Esagila and Ezida on account of Babylon and Borsippa, that the land might prosper. On the 5th of the month, Nisan the mother of the king, died in Dur-karashu on the bank of the Euphrates above Sippar. The son of the king and the soldiers mourned three days. In the month Sivan there was mourning for the king’s mother in Akkad.

In the month Nisan Cyrus, King of Persia, mustered his soldiers, and crossed the Tigris below Arbela and in the month Iyyar went to the land of .......... its king he killed, he took his possessions. His own governor (?) he placed in it ......... afterward his governor (?) and a king (?) were there.[548]

=2. Bearing on Biblical Statements Regarding Belshazzar.=

Similar chronicles are given by the tablet for other years. It is stated each time what Nabuna’id was doing; where the king’s son (Belshazzar) was, and what Cyrus was doing. Cyrus, who overthrew the Median king in 553 B. C., was occupied for several years in subjugating other lands before he attacked Babylon. He overthrew Crœsus, King of Lydia, in 546. It would seem that it was well known in Babylonia what he was doing each year. Those scholars who believe that Isaiah 40-55 is the work of a prophet who lived during the Babylonian Exile, claim that this chronicle explains how that prophet could refer in Isa. 44:28; 45:1 to Cyrus as a well-known figure. They see the exercise of the prophetic gift of the prophet in the faith which he had that Cyrus would release Israel from captivity. Those who believe that the whole of the book of Isaiah is the work of the son of Amoz, see in these verses pure prediction of the rise of Cyrus as well as of the release of the Jews.

=3. Account of the Capture of Babylon.=

From the chronicle just quoted we have the following statement for the 17th year of the reign of Nabuna’id:

...... Nebo to go forth from Borsippa .......... the king entered the temple of Edurkalama. In the month .......... in the lower sea a revolt ........ Bel came out; the feast of Akiti (Sept.-Oct.), according to the custom .......... the gods of Marad, Zagaga, and the gods of Kish, Bêltis, and the gods of Harsagkalama entered Babylon. Unto the end of Elul (Aug.-Sept.) the gods of Borsippa, Cutha, and Sippar did not enter. In the month Tammuz (June-July) Cyrus, when he made battle in Opis, on the banks of the river Zalzallat, with the soldiers of Akkad, conquered the inhabitants of Akkad. When they assembled the people were killed. On the 14th Sippar was taken without a battle. Nabuna’id fled. On the 16th Gobryas, governor of the land of Gutium, and the soldiers of Cyrus entered Babylon without a battle. Later Nabuna’id was captured because he remained in Babylon. To the end of the month the shield-bearers of the land of Gutium assembled at the gates of Esagila. No weapon of any kind was taken into Esagila or the temples; nor was the standard raised. On the third day of Marcheswan (Oct.-Nov.) Cyrus entered Babylon. The walls (?) were broken down before him. Cyrus proclaimed peace to all of Babylon. He appointed Gobryas his satrap, and also prefects in Babylon. From Kisleu (Nov.-Dec.) unto Adar (Feb.-March), the gods of Akkad, whom Nabuna’id had brought to Babylon, returned to their cities. In the month Marcheswan, on the night of the 11th, Gobryas unto .......... the son of the king was killed. From the 27th of Adar to the 3rd of Nisan there was lamentation in Akkad. All the people bowed their heads. On the 4th day Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, went to Eshapakalama.[549]

=4. Bearing of This Account on the Book of Daniel.=

This interesting text here becomes too broken for connected translation. It is clear that the document means to state that Nabuna’id was king of Babylon when it was captured, and not Belshazzar, as stated in Daniel 5:30. It states, also, that Cyrus captured Babylon and not Darius the Mede, as in Dan. 5:31. It is true that Gobryas took Babylon first, and occupied it about two weeks before Cyrus arrived. He was, however, Cyrus’s officer and was acting in his name. Critical scholars, who believe that Daniel was written 168-165 B. C., find in these statements a confirmation of their views. They think its author lived so far from the events that he confused their exact order. Those who defend the traditional date of Daniel think that Gobryas is meant by Darius the Mede, and see in the exalted position which Belshazzar held, as crown prince and commander of the army, sufficient ground for the Biblical statement that he was king. By such interpretations they harmonize this chronicle with the Bible.

Dr. Theophilus G. Pinches has recently published[550] some extracts from two tablets from Erech which are in the possession of an Englishman, Mr. Harding Smith, which throw some additional light on these points. It was customary for Babylonians in confirming a contract to swear by the name of the reigning king, and one of these tablets contains a contract, dated in the 12th year of Nabuna’id, in which a man bound himself by the oath of Nabuna’id, King of Babylon, and of Belshazzar, the king’s son. As Belshazzar is here associated with the king, he must have been but slightly lower in rank and power than the king himself.

This is confirmed by a tablet at Yale, recently published by Prof. Clay.[551] The text contains the interpretation of a dream for the King Nabuna’id and for his son Belshazzar. It is dated in the seventh year of the reign of Nabuna’id.

The other tablet quoted by Pinches shows that in the fourth year of Cambyses (i. e., 524 B. C.), Gobryas was still governor of Babylon. If he is the man who in Daniel is called Darius the Mede, he exercised the powers of governor in Babylon for a considerable number of years.

=5. Inscription of Cyrus.=

The following is an inscription of Cyrus. The lines are much broken at the beginning, but it reads as follows:[552]

.......................... begat (?) him ..................... [the four] regions of the world ............. great coward was established as ruler over the land ............. a similar one he set over them; like Esagila he made .......... to Ur and the rest of the cities a rule not suitable for them ....... he planned daily and in enmity he caused the established sacrifice to cease. He appointed .......... he established within the city. The worship of Marduk, king of the gods ........... he wrought hostility against his city daily ........... his [people] all of them he destroyed through servitude, without rest. On account of their lamentation the lord of the gods was exceedingly angry and [left] their territory; the gods who dwelt among them left their dwellings. In anger because he brought [them] into Babylon, Marduk ........... to return to all the dwellings, their habitations, which were overthrown. The people of Sumer and Akkad, who were like corpses, he brought back and ............ granted them a return. Through all lands he made his way, he looked, he sought a righteous prince, a being whom he loved, whom he took by the hand. Cyrus, King of Anshan, he called by name and designated him to rule over all the lands. The land of Qutu, all the Scythian hordes, he made to submit to his feet. The black-headed people (i. e., the Babylonians), whom he caused his hand to capture, in faithfulness and righteousness he sought. Marduk, the great lord, looked joyfully upon the return of his people, his kindly deeds and upright heart. To his city, Babylon, he commanded him to go; he caused him to take the road to Babylon, going as a friend and companion at his side. His numerous army, the number of which was, like the waters of a river, unknown, marched at his side girded with their weapons. He caused him to enter Babylon without war or battle. He preserved his city, Babylon, from tribulation; he filled his (Cyrus’s) hand with Nabuna’id, the king who did not fear him. All the people of Babylon, all of Sumer and Akkad, the princes and governors, prostrated themselves under him and kissed his feet. They rejoiced in his sovereignty; their faces shone. The lord, who by his power makes the dead to live, who from destruction and injustice had saved them, altogether they blessed him in joy; they revered his name.

I am Cyrus, king of the world, the great king, the mighty king, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters of the world, son of Cambyses, the great king, king of Anshan, grandson of Cyrus, the great king, king of Anshan, great-grandson of Teïspes, the great king, king of Anshan; an everlasting seed of royalty, whose government Bel and Nabu love, whose reign in the goodness of their hearts they desire. When I entered in peace into Babylon, with joy and rejoicing I took up my lordly dwelling in the royal palace, Marduk, the great lord, moved the understanding heart of the people of Babylon to me, while I daily sought his worship. My numerous troops dwelt peacefully in Babylon; in all Sumer and Akkad no terrorizer did I permit. In Babylon and all its cities in peace I looked about. The people of Babylon [I released] from an unsuitable yoke. Their dwellings--their decay I repaired; their ruins I cleared away. Marduk, the great lord, rejoiced at these deeds and graciously blessed me, Cyrus, the king who worships him, and Cambyses, my son, and all my troops, while we in peace joyfully praised before him his exalted divinity. All the kings who dwell in palaces, from all quarters of the world, from the upper sea to the lower sea, who live [in palaces], all the kings of the Westland who live in tents, brought me their heavy tribute in Babylon and kissed my feet. From .......... to Ashur and Susa, Agade, Eshnunak, Zamban, Meturnu, Deri, to the border of Gutium, the cities [beyond] the Tigris, whose sites had been founded of old,--the gods who dwelt in them I returned to their places, and caused them to settle in their eternal shrines. All their people I assembled and returned them to their dwellings. And the gods of Sumer and Akkad, whom Nabuna’id, to the anger of the lord of the gods, had brought into Babylon, at the command of Marduk, the great lord, I caused in peace to dwell in their abodes, the dwellings in which their hearts delighted. May all the gods, whom I have returned to their cities, pray before Marduk and Nabu for the prolonging of my days, may they speak a kind word for me and say to Marduk, lord of the gods, “May Cyrus the king, who fears thee, and Cambyses, his son, their .......... caused all to dwell in peace” ........................................

=6. Bearing on the Capture of Babylon and the Return of the Jews.=

This inscription confirms the statement of the chronicle already quoted that Cyrus conquered the city of Babylon without a blow. The most important feature of it for the student of the Bible is, however, its revelation of the reversal of the Assyrian policy of transportation. That policy had been inaugurated by Tiglathpileser IV more than two hundred years before. In accordance with it the kingdom of Israel had first been stripped of its more prominent inhabitants who had been carried captive to distant lands, and then the kingdom of Judah. Cyrus determined to attach his subjects to himself by gratitude instead of terror, so he permitted, as he says here, those who had been transported to return to their several countries and rebuild their temples. It was in consequence of this general policy that the Jews were permitted to return from Babylonia and rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. This is referred to in Ezra, chapter 1. It is there implied that Cyrus made a special proclamation concerning the temple at Jerusalem. Some scholars infer from the above inscription of Cyrus, that the book of Ezra (chapter 1) has freely interpreted the general policy of Cyrus as a special permission granted to the Jews. It may be, however, as others have held, that a special edict was issued in favor of each individual nation in order that this general policy might be carried out without opposition.

In any event, the inscription confirms the statement of Ezra that Cyrus permitted the Jews to return.

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XIX. A JEWISH COLONY IN EGYPT DURING THE TIME OF NEHEMIAH

PAPYRI WITNESS TO THE EXISTENCE OF A COLONY AT ELEPHANTINE. TRANSLATION OF A PETITION RELATING TO THEIR TEMPLE. REPLY OF PERSIAN GOVERNOR. HISTORICAL BEARINGS OF THESE DOCUMENTS. A LETTER RELATING TO THE PASSOVER. A LETTER SHOWING THAT THE JEWS WERE UNPOPULAR AT ELEPHANTINE.

Numerous papyri found since 1895 at Elephantine, an island at the First Cataract of the Nile, reveal the existence of a Jewish community there. The documents are dated from the year 494 B. C. to the year 400 B. C. They show that this Jewish community had at Elephantine a temple to Jehovah, that they were soldiers, and that some of them were engaged in trade. One document declares that when Cambyses conquered Egypt (525 B. C.) he then found the temple of Jehovah in existence there, and that it had been built under native Egyptian kings. How came such a community of Jews to be established there? It is thought that they were a garrison placed there by Psammetik II, King of Egypt, 593-588 B. C. This Psammetik endeavored to conquer Nubia,[553] and according to a confused statement in Josephus (Contra Apion, I, 26, 27) Rhampses (perhaps a corruption of Psammetik), employed some Jews in an expedition to that country.[554] However, these Jews came to dwell at this point, and whensoever the settlement was made, the documents[555] are most interesting, and open to us a hitherto wholly unknown vista in the history of the Jews.

=1. Temple Papyrus from Elephantine.=

Unto our lord, Bagohi, governor of Judah, thy servants Jedoniah and his associates, the priests who are in Yeb, the fortress, health! May our Lord, the God of heaven, abundantly grant unto thee at all times, and for favors may he appoint thee before Darius, the king, and the princes of the palace more than at present a thousand times, and long life may he grant to thee, and joy and strength, at all times! Now thy servant, Jedoniah, and his associates thus speak: In the month Tammuz, year 14 of Darius, the king, when Arsames departed and went unto the king, the priests of the god Khnub, who were in Yeb, the fortress, made an agreement with Waidrang who was acting governor here; it was as follows: The temple of Yahu (Jehovah), the God, which is in Yeb, the fortress they would remove from there. Afterward this Waidrang wickedly sent a letter unto Nephayan, his son, who was commander of the army at Syene, the fortress, saying: “The temple which is in Yeb, the fortress they shall destroy.” Afterward Nephayan, mustering Egyptians with the other forces, came to the fortress Yeb with their quivers (?); they entered into this temple, they destroyed it to the ground, and the pillars of stone which were there they brake. Also it came to pass (that) five gates of stone, constructed of cut stone, which were in this temple, they destroyed, and their swinging doors and the bronze hinges of these doors. And the roof which was of cedar wood, all of it, together with the rest of the furnishings and the other things which were there, the whole they burned with fire. And the vessels of gold and silver and the things which were in this temple, the whole was taken, and they made it their own.

Now from the days of the kings of Egypt, our fathers built this temple in Yeb, the fortress, and when Cambyses came to Egypt, this temple was found built, and the temples of the gods of Egypt were overthrown, but not a thing in this temple was harmed. And after they (i. e., Waidrang and the priests of Khnub) had done this, we and our wives and sons were clothed in sackcloth and were fasting and praying to Yahu, God of heaven, that he would show us this Waidrang, the cur, with the anklets torn from his feet, that all the goods which he possesses might perish, and all the men who desired the pollution of this temple--all might be killed, and we might see (our desire) upon them. Also formerly, at the time this shameful deed was done to us we sent a letter to our lord, and unto Jehohanan, the high priest, and his associates, the priests who are in Jerusalem, and unto Ostan, the brother of Anani and the elders of Judah, but a letter they have not sent unto us. Also from the month Tammuz of the 14th year of Darius the king even unto this day we have worn sackcloth and fasted, our wives have been made like widows, we have not anointed ourselves with oil, wine we have not drunk; also from then unto the 17th year of Darius the king a meal-offering and incense and a burnt-offering they have not offered in this temple. Now thy servants Jedoniah and his associates and the Jews, all who are citizens of Yeb, thus speak: If unto our lord it seems good to think on this temple to rebuild it, because they will not permit us to rebuild it, look upon those who share thy favor and kindnesses who are here in Egypt--let a letter be sent unto them concerning the temple of Yahu God, to build it in Yeb, the fortress, in the way it was built formerly, and meal-offerings and incense and burnt-offerings let them offer upon the altar of Yahu God in thy name, and we will pray for thee at all times, we and our wives and our sons and the Jews, all who are here. If thus they do until this temple is built, then merit (righteousness) shall be thine before Yahu, God of heaven, more than (that of) the man who offers to him burnt-offerings and sacrifices of the value of a thousand pieces of silver. And concerning gold for this we have sent information. Also the whole is told in a letter we sent in our name to Dalajah and Shelemjah, sons of Sanballat, governor of Samaria. Also concerning this which is done to us, all of it Arsames does not know.

On the 20th of Marcheswan, year 17 of Darius the king.

To this letter Bagohi (Bagoas) sent the following reply:

Memorandum of Bagohi and Dalajah. They spoke to me a memorandum for them: It shall be thine to say among the Egyptians before Arsames concerning the place of sacrifice of the god ...... of heaven, which was built in Yeb the fortress formerly before Cambyses, which this wicked Waidrang destroyed in the year fourteen of Darius the king, to build it in its place like as it was before, and meal-offerings and incense let them offer upon this altar in the manner it formerly was done.

The first of these documents is dated in the 17th year of Darius II, i. e., the year 407 B. C. It states that the temple at Elephantine (Yeb) had been destroyed by Waidrang and had lain in ruins for three years. The community which worshiped in the temple had previously written to Jehohanan, high priest at Jerusalem, probably to ask that he intercede with the Persian governor Bagohi (Bagoses), but had written in vain. They now write to Bagohi himself, and also to the two sons of Sanballat, governor of Samaria (cf. Neh. 2:10, 19, etc.), with the result that the request is granted, and authority is given to rebuild the temple.

The fact that there was a temple at Elephantine at all is new and startling. Its significance is differently interpreted by different scholars. More conservative scholars claim that it is opposed to the date which the critical school assign to the date of Deuteronomy, viz.: 621 B. C., because, if the law against more altars than one had been introduced then, Jews would not have so soon violated it by building this shrine. Critics, on the other hand, hold that it fits well with their views, since they believe that Deuteronomy was accepted by Jews as a whole only gradually, and after considerable struggle.

One thing is clear: at the time the temple at Elephantine was overthrown, the Jews at Jerusalem looked upon it with disfavor.[556] They took no steps to lay the matter before the Persian governor. It was not till the aggrieved Egyptian Jews wrote to the heretical Samaritans, Dalajah and Shelemjah, sons of Sanballat, who would naturally be glad to encourage another rival to the temple at Jerusalem, that the matter was pushed and permission given to rebuild the temple.

This appeal to Sanballat’s family throws interesting light on the progress of the schism between the Jews and the Samaritans.[557] (Compare Nehemiah 4:1, ff; 6:1, ff.; and 13:28.)

The existence of this temple has an interesting bearing upon the date of Isa. 19. Some scholars have held that that prophecy, which refers to a temple of Jehovah in the land of Egypt, is late and must refer to the temple built by Onias III, about 170 B. C. (Cf. Josephus, Antiquities, xiii, 3:1, 6.) It is now possible to suppose that the reference may well have been to this hitherto unsuspected temple at Elephantine.

=2. Hananiah’s Passover Letter.=

To my brethren, Jedoniah and his associates, the Jewish garrison, your brother Hananiah. The peace of my brethren may God ...... And now this year, the year 5 of Darius the king, there was sent from the king unto Arsames .......... Now ye thus shall count fourteen .......... and from the 15th day unto the 21st day [of Nisan] .......... be ye clean and guard yourselves. Work ye shall not [do] .......... ye shall not drink, and all which is leavened ye shall n[ot eat] .......... from the going down of the sun unto the 21st day of Nisan .......... take into your rooms and seal between the days of ..........

This letter is from some Hananiah who seems to have stood high in authority among Jewish communities. Several Hananiahs are mentioned in the post-exilic literature. One of them was a military commander in Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah (Neh. 7:2), but as that was at least twenty-five years before the date of our letter, it would be precarious to assert that that Hananiah was the writer of this letter, though it is possible that he was.

From the letter it is clear that the writer is informing the Jewish garrison at Elephantine concerning the details of the provisions for the observance of the Jewish Passover, as they are laid down in Exod. 12 and Lev. 23. It seems strange that these Jews at Elephantine who were faithful enough to Jehovah to have a temple in his honor, should have needed to be informed of such details, if they had copies of the Pentateuch. Adherents of the modern school of criticism see in this fact a confirmation of their view, that the Levitical law had been introduced into the Jewish community at Jerusalem only in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, for, they urge, this letter shows that it was unknown to the garrison at Elephantine until the reign of Darius II. To this, conservative scholars reply that it was customary among the Jews to make yearly proclamation of the approach of the festival, and that this may be simply such a proclamation. They also urge that ignorance of the law on the part of some Jews is no proof that it did not exist.

=3. Letter Showing that the Jews of Egypt were Unpopular.=

To my lords, Jedoniah, Uriah, and the priests of the God, Jehovah, Mattan, son of Joshibiah and Neriah son of ...... thy servant Mauziyah; the peace of my lords .......... and be favored before the God of heaven. And now, when Waidrang, the chief of the garrison, came to Abydos, he imprisoned me on account of a certain precious stone which they found stolen in the hands of the traders. At last Seha and Hor, who were known to Anani, exerted themselves with Waidrang and Hornufi, under the protection of the God of heaven, until they secured my release. Now behold they are coming thither to you. Do you attend to them whatever they may desire. And whatever thing Seha and Hor may desire of you, stand ye before them so that no cause of blame may they find in you. With you is the chastisement which without cause has rested upon us, from the time Hananiah was in Egypt until now. And whatever you do for Hor you do for yourselves. Hor is known to Anani. Do you sell cheaply from our houses any goods that are at hand; whether we lose or do not lose, is one to you. This is why I am sending to you: he said to me: “Send a letter before us.” Even if we should lose, credit will be established because of him in the house of Anani. What you do for him will not be hidden from Anani. To my lords, Jedoniah, Uriah, and the priests and the Jews.

This is a letter sent by a member of the Jewish colony of Elephantine to his Jewish brethren there, highly recommending to them two men. He was especially anxious to make a good impression upon these because they were acquaintances of a certain Anani. This Anani apparently was a man of influence at the Persian court. His name may be the same as Hanani, Nehemiah’s brother (Neh. 7:2). It has been pointed out that the existence of two men of the same name who could have influence at the Persian court would be improbable. This letter shows that since Hananiah came to Egypt, the Jews have been in affliction, and the writer of this letter is anxious to make a good impression upon the friends of Anani, so that this affliction may be removed.

Scholars of the critical school see in this letter a confirmation of their view that the Levitical law had but just been introduced into the Egyptian community. The reference to the “chastisement” or “affliction” which had rested on the community is thought by them to be, probably, the friction between Jews and Egyptians caused by the less friendly relations toward foreigners, which the Levitical law imposed on its devotees. It is, of course, possible that the “chastisement” may have been due to something quite different. It should be said, too, that the papyrus is torn somewhat just where the word rendered chastisement occurs, so that the word itself is not certain.

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XX. A BABYLONIAN JOB

TRANSLATION OF A POEM RELATING TO THE AFFLICTIONS OF A GOOD MAN. COMPARISON WITH THE BOOK OF JOB. A FRAGMENT OF ANOTHER SIMILAR POEM.

=1. Babylonian Poem Relating to Affliction.=

The following Babylonian poem treats of a mysterious affliction which overtook a righteous man of Babylonia, and has been compared with the book of Job.[558]

1. I advanced in life, I attained to the allotted span; Wherever I turned there was evil, evil-- Oppression is increased, uprightness I see not. I cried unto god, but he showed not his face. 5. I prayed to my goddess, but she raised not her head. The seer by his oracle did not discern the future; Nor did the enchanter with a libation illuminate my case; I consulted the necromancer, but he opened not my understanding. The conjurer with his charms did not remove my ban. 10. How deeds are reversed in the world! I look behind, oppression encloses me Like one who the sacrifice to god did not bring, And at meal-time did not invoke the goddess, Did not bow down his face, his offering was not seen; 15. (Like one) in whose mouth prayers and supplications were locked, (For whom) god’s day had ceased, a feast day become rare, (One who) has thrown down his fire-pan, gone away from their images, God’s fear and veneration has not taught his people, Who invoked not his god, when he ate god’s food; 20. (Who) abandoned his goddess, and brought not what is prescribed, (Who) oppresses the weak, forgets his god, Who takes in vain the mighty name of his god; he says, I am like him. But I myself thought of prayers and supplications; Prayer was my wisdom, sacrifice, my dignity; 25. The day of honoring the gods was the joy of my heart, The day of following the goddess was my acquisition of wealth; The prayer of the king,--that was my delight, And his music,--for my pleasure was its sound. I gave directions to my land to revere the names of god, 30. To honor the name of the goddess I taught my people. Reverence for the king I greatly exalted, And respect for the palace I taught the people; For I knew that with god these things are in favor. What is innocent of itself, to god is evil! 35. What in one’s heart is contemptible, to one’s god is good! Who can understand the thoughts of the gods in heaven? The counsel of god is full of destruction; who can understand? Where may human beings learn the ways of god? He who lives at evening is dead in the morning; 40. Quickly he is troubled; all at once he is oppressed; At one moment he sings and plays; In the twinkling of an eye he howls like a funeral-mourner. Like sunshine and cloud[559] their thoughts change; They are hungry and like a corpse; 45. They are filled and rival their god! In prosperity they speak of climbing to Heaven; Trouble overtakes them and they speak of going down to Sheol.

(At this point the tablet is broken. We do not know how many lines are wanting before the narrative is resumed on the back of the tablet.)

Reverse

Into my prison my house is turned. Into the bonds of my flesh are my hands thrown; Into the fetters of myself my feet have stumbled. .................................... 5. With a whip he has beaten me; there is no protection; With a staff he has transfixed me; the stench was terrible! All day long the pursuer pursues me, In the night watches he lets me breathe not a moment; Through torture my joints are torn asunder; 10. My limbs are destroyed, loathing covers me; On my couch I welter like an ox, I am covered, like a sheep, with my excrement. My sickness baffled the conjurers, And the seer left dark my omens. 15. The diviner has not improved the condition of my sickness; The duration of my illness the seer could not state; The god helped me not, my hand he took not; The goddess pitied me not, she came not to my side; The coffin yawned; they [the heirs] took my possessions; 20. While I was not yet dead, the death wail was ready. My whole land cried out: “How is he destroyed!” My enemy heard; his face gladdened; They brought as good news the glad tidings, his heart rejoiced. But I knew the time of all my family, 25. When among the protecting spirits their divinity is exalted.

The above is from a tablet called the “Second” of the series Ludlul bêl nimeqi, i. e., “I will serve the lord of wisdom.” The “Third” tablet of the series has been published by R. Campbell Thompson in the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archæology, XXXII, p. 18, f. It is considerably broken, but the parts which are legible are as follows:

............................................ ............................................ Let thy hand grasp the javelin Tabu-utul-Bêl, who lives at Nippur, 5. Has sent me to consult thee, Has laid his .......... upon me. In life .......... has cast, he has found. [He says]: “[I lay down] and a dream I beheld; This is the dream which I saw by night:-- 10. [He who made woman] and created man, Marduk, has ordained (?) that he be encompassed with sickness (?).” 15. And .......... in whatever .......... He said: “How long will he be in such great affliction and distress? What is it that he saw in his vision of the night?” “In the dream Ur-Bau ap[peared], A mighty hero wearing his crown, 20. A conjurer, too, clad in strength, Marduk indeed sent me; Unto Shubshi-meshri-Nergal he brought abu[ndance]; In his pure hands he brought abu[ndance]. By my guardian-spirit (?) he st[opped] (?),” 25. [By] the seer he sent a message: “A favorable omen I show to my people.” .......................................... ...... he quickly finished; the ...... was broken ........ of my lord, his heart [was satisfied]; 30. .......... his spirit was appeased ............ my lamentation ................. ................ good .... ..........

Reverse

.......................................... .......................................... ................ like ................ He approached (?) and the spell which he had pronounced (?), 5. He sent a storm wind to the horizon; To the breast of the earth it bore [a blast], Into the depth of his ocean the disembodied spirit vanished (?); Unnumbered spirits he sent back to the under-world. The ...... of the hag-demons he sent straight to the mountain. 10. The sea-flood he spread with ice; The roots of the disease he tore out like a plant. The horrible slumber that settled on my rest Like smoke filled the sky .......... With the woe he had brought, unrepulsed and bitter, he filled the earth like a storm. 15. The unrelieved headache which had overwhelmed the heavens He took away and sent down on me the evening dew. My eyelids, which he had veiled with the veil of night. He blew upon with a rushing wind and made clear their sight. My ears, which were stopped, were deaf as a deaf man’s-- 20. He removed their deafness and restored their hearing. My nose, whose nostril had been stopped from my mother’s womb-- He eased its deformity so that I could breathe. My lips, which were closed--he had taken their strength-- He removed their trembling and loosed their bond. 25. My mouth, which was closed so that I could not be understood-- He cleansed it like a dish, he healed its disease. My eyes, which had been attacked so that they rolled together-- He loosed their bond and their balls were set right. The tongue, which had stiffened so that it could not be raised-- 30. [He relieved] its thickness, so its words could be understood. The gullet which was compressed, stopped as with a plug-- He healed its contraction, it worked like a flute. My spittle which was stopped so that it was not secreted-- He removed its fetter, he opened its lock. ............................................ ............................................

=2. Comparison with the Book of Job.=

A commentary on this text, which has been preserved on a tablet, informs us that Tabu-utul-Bêl was an official of Nippur in Babylonia.[560] This story has some striking similarities to the book of Job. It presents also some striking dissimilarities.

Tabu-utul-Bêl, like Job, had been a just man. He had been also a religious man. (See lines 23, ff., p. 392.) The virtues which he claims are similar to those of Job (see Job 29 and 31); there is, however, this difference: Job’s virtues are social; those of Tabu-utul-Bêl consist of acts of worship and loyalty. Tabu-utul-Bêl is smitten, like Job, with a sore disease. To him, as to Job, the providence is inexplicable. He, like Job, charges his god with inscrutable injustice. The chasm which often yawns between experience and moral deserts was as keenly felt by the Babylonian as by the Hebrew.

Here the parallelism with the book of Job ends. The two works belong to widely different religious worlds. Job gains relief by a vision of God--an experience which made him able to believe that, though he could not understand the reason for the pain of life or its contradictions and tragedy, God could, and Job now knew God. (See Job 42:4-6.) Tabu-utul-Bêl, on the other hand, is said to have gained his relief through a magician. We are apparently told by the fragmentary text that at last he found a conjurer who brought a messenger from the god Marduk, who drove away the evil spirits which caused the disease, and so Tabu-utul-Bêl was relieved. This difference sets vividly before us the greater religious value and inspiration of the book of Job. It treats the same problem that the Babylonian poet took for his theme, but between the outlook of the poet who composed Job and that of the Babylonian poet there is all the difference between a real experience of God and faith in the black art.

=3. Another Similar Lament.=

Another fragment of a lament of a somewhat similar character, written in the Sumerian language, comes to us on a tablet from Nippur, the very city with which Tabu-utul-Bêl is said to have been connected. It reads as follows:[561]

Column I

1. .............................. 2. .................................. 3. .................... he carried away, 4. .................... he destroyed, 5. .................. spoke to .......... 6. .................. was destroyed, 7. .......... completely from on high was destroyed. 8. I, even I, am a man of destruction. 9. With might from below he destroyed, 10. I, even I, am a man of destruction. 11. Nippur (?)--its temple verily is destroyed, 12. My city verily is destroyed. 13. O Enlil, from the height descend, 14. May Ububul destroy them!

Column II

1. .............................. 2. .............................. 3. .............. my food (?) is not, 4. The ground grain is removed, with the hand he seized it; 5. My eyes fail. 6. The shrine of the mother which the silver-smith cast, 7. To earth he has ground, 8. Its contents on the earth verily he flung-- 9. I am a man of destruction!-- 10. Its contents on the earth verily he destroyed; 11. I am a man of destruction! 12. The man from above is wise; 13. On earth he dwells. 14. The man who went before, 15. Hides in the rear. 16. Namtar my maiden (he snatched away); 17. Who shall bring the maiden back?

Column III

1. Namtar verily is smitten, yea verily, 2. Who shall bring back strength? 3. The smiter has smitten, 4. Who shall strike him down? 5. The hero bearing the dagger 6. He has cast down, 7. Who shall drag him off? 8. At the gate of my palace no protector stands, 9. A man of desolation am I! 10. The land is completely overthrown, I have no defender, 11. A man of desolation am I! 12. The flood fills not the marsh land; 13. My eye thereon I lift not. 14. To man’s plantations water reaches not, 15. My hand stretches not out to it. 16. To the marsh land which the flood filled 17. Truly the foot walks upon it!

From this point on the tablet is too broken for connected translation. Dr. Langdon calls this the lament of a Sumerian Job, but his woes, in so far as this fragment recounts them, are due to the conquest of his land by an enemy, and to famine due to a failure of the rivers to overflow. The parallelism to Tabu-utul-Bêl and to Job might be closer, if we had the whole tablet. As this tablet is in the script of the first dynasty of Babylon, it is evident that this kind of lamentation was as early as 2000 B. C.

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XXI. PSALMS FROM BABYLONIA AND EGYPT

CHARACTER OF THEIR PSALMS. BABYLONIAN PRAYERS TO THE GODDESS ISHTAR. COMPARISON WITH THE PSALTER. A BABYLONIAN HYMN TO THE MOON-GOD. A BABYLONIAN HYMN TO BEL. AN EGYPTIAN HYMN TO THE SUN-GOD. IS THE HYMN MONOTHEISTIC? AN EGYPTIAN HYMN IN PRAISE OF ATON. COMPARISON WITH THE PSALTER.

Both from Babylonia and from Egypt a large number of hymns and prayers have been recovered. Some of these are beautiful on account of their form of expression, the poetical nature of their thoughts, and the sense of sin which they reveal. Most of them are clearly polytheistic, and it is rare that they rise in the expression of religious emotion to the simple sublimity of the Old Testament Psalms. Such likenesses to the Psalms as they possess only serve to set off in greater relief the rich religious heritage which we have in our Psalter.

A few examples only of the many known hymns are here given.

=1. A Babylonian Prayer to the Goddess Ishtar.=[562]

O fulfiller of the commands of Bel .......... ............................................ Mother of the gods, fulfiller of the commands of Bel, Thou bringer-forth of verdure, thou lady of mankind,-- 5. Begetress of all, who makest all offspring thrive, Mother Ishtar, whose might no god approaches, Majestic lady, whose commands are powerful, A request I will proffer, which--may it bring good to me! O lady, from my childhood I have been exceedingly hemmed in by trouble! 10. Food I did not eat, I was bathed in tears! Water I did not quaff, tears were my drink! My heart is not glad, my soul is not cheerful; ....................... I do not walk like a man. .............................................

Reverse

..................... painfully I wail! My sighs are many, my sickness is great! O my lady, teach me what to do, appoint me a resting-place! My sin forgive, lift up my countenance! 5. My god, who is lord of prayer,--may he present my prayer to thee! My goddess, who is mistress of supplication,--may she present my prayer to thee! God of the deluge, lord of Harsaga,--may he present my prayer to thee,-- The god of pity, the lord of the fields,--may he present my prayer to thee! God of heaven and earth, the lord of Eridu,--may he present my prayer to thee! 10. The mother of the great water, the dwelling of Damkina,--may she present my prayer to thee! Marduk, lord of Babylon,--may he present my prayer to thee! His spouse, the exalted offspring (?) of heaven and earth,--may she present my prayer to thee! The exalted servant, the god who announces the good name,--may he present my prayer to thee! 15. The bride, the firstborn of Ninib,--may she present my prayer to thee! The lady who checks hostile speech,--may she present my prayer to thee! The great, exalted one, my lady Nana,--may she present my prayer to thee!

=2. A Babylonian Prayer to Ishtar.=[563]

........................... He raises to thee a wail; ........................... He raises to thee a wail; [On account of his face which] for tears is not raised, he raises to thee a wail; On account of his feet on which fetters are laid, he raises to thee a wail; 5. On account of his hand, which is powerless through oppression, he raises to thee a wail; On account of his breast, which wheezes like a bellows, he raises to thee a wail; O lady, in sadness of heart I raise to thee my piteous cry, “How long?” O lady, to thy servant--speak pardon to him, let thy heart be appeased! To thy servant who suffers pain--favor grant him! 10. Turn thy gaze upon him, receive his entreaty! To thy servant with whom thou art angry--be favorable unto him! O lady, my hands are bound, I turn to thee! For the sake of the exalted warrior, Shamash, thy beloved husband, take away my bonds! 15. Through a long life let me walk before thee! My god brings before thee a lamentation; let thy heart be appeased! My goddess utters to thee a prayer, let thy anger be quieted! The exalted warrior, Anu, thy beloved spouse,--may he present my prayer to thee! [Shamash], god of justice,--may he present my prayer to thee! 20. .......... the exalted servant,--may he present my prayer to thee! .......... the mighty one of Ebarbar,--may he present my tears to thee! [“Thine eye turn truly] to me,” may he say to thee! [“Thy face turn truly to] me,” may he say to thee! [“Let thy heart be at rest”], may he say to thee! 25. [“Let thy anger be pacified”], may he say to thee! [Thy heart like the heart of a mother who has brought forth], may it rejoice! [Like a father who has begotten a child], may it be glad!

=3. Comparison of These Prayers with the Psalter.=

The writers of these lamentations, like the Hebrew Psalmist (see Psa. 17:1; 18:6), cried unto a deity for help. They were both in great distress, and naturally inferred that their deity was angry, as do Psalms 85:5; 90:7. There is, however, no great consciousness of sin in these Babylonian complaints. They simply express distress. Unlike the Biblical Psalms these are polytheistic and their authors call upon other deities to intercede for them with the goddess, to whom the prayer is addressed and whom, for the time being, they regard as supreme. The author of this last penitential psalm asks “How long?” as does Psa. 6:3; 74:10; 90:13. The idea seems to be that the suffering of the penitent will either atone for sin or touch the heart of the deity so that the suffering shall be abated.

=4. A Babylonian Hymn to Sin, the Moon-god.=[564]

O brilliant barque of the heavens, ruler in thy own right, Father Nannar, lord of Ur, Father Nannar, lord of Ekishshirgal, Father Nannar, lord of the brilliant rising, 5. O lord, Nannar, firstborn son of Bel, Thou standest, thou standest Before thy father Bel. Thou art ruler, Father Nannar; thou art ruler, thou art guide. O barque, when standing in the midst of heaven, thou art ruler. 10. Father Nannar, thou thyself ridest to the brilliant temple. Father Nannar, when, like a ship, thou goest in the midst of the deep, Thou goest, thou goest, thou goest, Thou goest, thou shinest anew, thou goest, Thou shinest anew, thou livest again, thou goest. 15. Father Nannar, the herd thou restorest. When thy father looketh on thee with joy, he commandeth thy waxing, Then with the glory of a king brilliantly thou risest. Bel a scepter for distant days for thy hands has completed. In Ur as the brilliant barque thou ridest, 20. As the lord, Nudimmud, thou art established; In Ur as the brilliant boat thou ridest. ...........................................

Reverse

............................................... The river of Bel (?) [Nannar] fills with water. The brilliant (?) river [Nannar] fills with water. The river Tigris [Nannar] fills with water. 5. The brilliance of the Euphrates [Nannar] fills with water. The canal with its gate Lukhe, [Nannar] fills with water. The great marsh and the little marsh Nannar fills with water.

The preceding hymn is made up of a description of the movements and changes of the moon, together with the expression of a superstition, which is still widely prevalent, that the moon’s changes control the rainfall. It is a fair example of a Babylonian nature-psalm. It lacks the inspired and inspiring power of such Hebrew nature-psalms as Psalms 8, 19, 146, 147, and 148.

=5. A Babylonian Hymn to Bel.=[565]

O lord of wisdom ................ ruler in thy own right, O Bel, lord of wisdom .......... ruler in thy own right, O father Bel, lord of the lands, O father Bel, lord of truthful speech, 5. O father Bel, shepherd of the black-headed ones,[566] O father Bel, who thyself openest the eyes, O father Bel, the warrior, prince among soldiers, O father Bel, supreme power of the land, Bull of the corral, warrior who leadest captive all the land. 10. O Bel, proprietor of the broad land, Lord of creation, thou art chief of the land, The lord whose shining oil is food for an extensive offspring, The lord whose edicts bind together the city, The edict of whose dwelling place strikes down the great prince 15. From the land of the rising to the land of the setting sun. O mountain, lord of life, thou art indeed lord! O Bel of the lands, lord of life, thou thyself art lord of life. O mighty one, terrible one of heaven, thou art guardian indeed! O Bel, thou art lord of the gods indeed! 20. Thou art father, Bel, who causest the plants of the gardens to grow! O Bel, thy great glory may they fear! The birds of heaven and the fish of the deep are filled with fear [of thee]. O father Bel, in great strength thou goest, prince of life, shepherd of the stars! O lord, the secret of production thou openest, the feast of fatness establishest, to work thou callest! 25. Father Bel, faithful prince, mighty prince, thou createst the strength of life!

A line at the end states that the hymn consisted of 25 lines.

It is a hymn to Bel of Nippur, whose Sumerian name was Enlil. It reveals an exalted conception of Bel as supreme ruler, as a god who gives life, as a god of justice whose rule holds society together, but it lacks both the poetical sublimity and the religious depth and fire of the Hebrew psalms.

=6. An Egyptian Hymn to the Sun-god (about 1400 B. C.).=[567]

Hail to thee, beautiful god of every day! Rising in the morning without ceasing, [Not] wearied in labor. When thy rays are visible, 5. Gold is not considered, It is not like thy brilliance. Thou art a craftsman shaping thy own limbs; Fashioner without being fashioned; Unique in his qualities, traversing eternity; 10. Over ways with millions under his guidance. Thy brilliance is like the brilliance of the sky, Thy colors gleam more than the hues of it. When thou sailest across the sky all men behold thee, (Though) thy going is hidden from their sight. 15. When thou showest thyself at morning every day, ...... under thy majesty, though the day be brief, Thou traversest a journey of leagues, Even millions and hundred-thousands of time. Every day is under thee. 20. When thy setting comes, The hours of the night hearken to thee likewise. When thou hast traversed it There comes no ending to thy labors. All men--they see by means of thee. 25. Nor do they finish when thy majesty sets, For thou wakest to rise in the morning, And thy radiance, it opens the eyes (again). When thou settest in Manu,[568] Then they sleep like the dead. 30. Hail to thee! O disc of day, Creator of all and giver of their sustenance, Great Falcon, brilliantly plumaged, Brought forth to raise himself on high of himself, Self-generator, without being born. 35. Firstborn Falcon in the midst of the sky, To whom jubilation is made at the rising and the setting likewise. Fashioner of the produce of the soil, ............................................... Taking possession of the Two Lands (Egypt), from great to small-- 40. A mother profitable to gods and men, A craftsman of experience, .......... Valiant herdsman who drives cattle, Their refuge and the giver of their sustenance, Who passes by, running the course of the sun-god, 45. Who determines his own birth, Exalting his beauty in the body of Nut, Illuminating the Two Lands (Egypt) with his disc, The primordial being, who himself made himself; Who beholds that which he has made, 50. Sole lord taking captive all lands every day, As one beholding them that walk therein; Shining in the sky a being as the sun. He makes the seasons by the months, Heat when he desires, 55. Cold when he desires. He makes the limbs to languish When he enfolds them, Every land is in rejoicing At his rising every day, in order to praise him.

This hymn is, so far as its expressions go, monotheistic. One would not dream from it that there was any god but the sun-god. Nevertheless, other gods were worshiped. The monotheism here expressed was not of the intolerant kind which prevailed in Israel, and which ultimately put down the worship of all rival deities.

Such an intolerant monotheism was introduced into Egypt by Amenophis IV (see Part I, p. 29), who took an old name for the sun disc, Aton, as the name of the one god, and who tried to suppress the worship of all other gods. The movement failed, but while it lasted it produced the following beautiful hymn.

=7. An Egyptian Hymn in Praise of Aton.=[569]

Thy dawning is beautiful in the horizon of the sky, O loving Aton, Beginning of life! When thou risest in the eastern horizon, Thou fillest every land with thy beauty. 5. Thou art beautiful, great, glittering, high above every land, Thy rays, they encompass the lands, even all that thou hast made, Thou art Re,[570] and thou carriest them all away captive; Thou bindest them by thy love. Though thou art far away, thy rays are upon the earth; 10. Though thou art on high, thy footprints are the day.

When thou settest in the western horizon of the sky, The earth is in darkness like the dead; They sleep in their chambers, Their heads are wrapped up, 15. Their nostrils are stopped, And none seeth the other, While all their things are stolen Which are under their heads, And they know it not. 20. Every lion cometh forth from his den, All serpents, they sting. Darkness ................ The world is in silence; He that made them resteth in his horizon. 25. Bright is the earth when thou risest in the horizon. When thou shinest as Aton by day Thou drivest away the darkness. When thou sendest forth thy rays, The Two Lands (Egypt) are in daily festivity, 30. Awake and standing upon their feet When thou hast raised them up. Their limbs bathed, they take their clothing, Their arms uplifted in adoration to thy dawning. (Then) in all the world they do their work.

35. All cattle rest upon their pasturage, The trees and the plants flourish, The birds flutter in their marshes, Their wings uplifted in adoration to thee. All the sheep dance upon their feet, 40. All wingèd things fly, They live when thou hast shone upon them.

The barques sail upstream and downstream alike. Every highway is open because thou dawnest. 45. The fish in the river leap up before thee. The rays are in the midst of the great green sea.

Creator of the germ in woman, Maker of seed in man, Giving life to the son in the body of his mother, 50. Soothing him that he may not weep, Nurse (even) in the womb, Giver of breath to animate every one that he maketh! When he cometh forth from the body ...... on the day of his birth, Thou openest his mouth in speech, 55. Thou suppliest his necessities.

When the fledgling in the egg chirps in the shell, Thou givest him breath therein to preserve him alive. When thou hast brought him together, To (the point of) bursting it in the egg,

60. He cometh forth from the egg To chirp with all his might. He goeth about on his two feet When he hath come forth therefrom.

How manifold are thy works![571] 65. They are hidden from before (us), O sole God, whose powers no other possesseth. Thou didst create the earth according to thy heart While thou wast alone: Men, all cattle large and small, 70. All that are upon the earth, That go about upon their feet; [All] that are on high, That fly with their wings. The foreign countries, Syria and Kush, 75. The land of Egypt; Thou settest every man into his place, Thou suppliest their necessities. Every one has his possessions, And his days are reckoned. 80. The tongues are divers in speech, Their forms likewise and their skins are distinguished. (For) thou makest different the strangers.

Thou makest the Nile in the Nether World, Thou bringest it as thou desirest, 85. To preserve alive the people. For thou hast made them for thyself, The lord of them all, resting among them; Thou lord of every land, who risest for them, Thou Sun of day, great in majesty. 90. All the distant countries, Thou makest (also) their life, Thou hast set a Nile in the sky; When it falleth for them, 95. It maketh waves upon the mountains, Like the great green sea, Watering their fields in their towns.

How excellent are thy designs, O lord of eternity! There is a Nile in the sky for the strangers 100. And for the cattle of every country that go upon their feet. (But) the Nile, it cometh from the Nether World for Egypt.

Thy rays nourish every garden; When thou risest they live, They grow by thee. 105. Thou makest the seasons In order to create all thy work: Winter to bring them coolness, And heat that they may taste thee. Thou didst make the distant sky to rise therein, 110. In order to behold all that thou hast made, Thou alone, shining in thy form as living Aton, Dawning, glittering, going afar and returning. Thou makest millions of forms Through thyself alone; 115. Cities, towns, and tribes, highways and rivers. All eyes see before them, For thou art Aton of the day over the earth. ............................................. Thou art in my heart, 120. There is no other that knoweth thee Save thy son Ikhnaton.[572] Thou hast made him wise In thy designs and in thy might. The world is in thy hand, 125. Even as thou hast made them. When thou hast risen they live, When thou settest they die; For thou art length of life of thyself, Men live through thee, 130. While (their) eyes are upon thy beauty Until thou settest. All labor is put away When thou settest in the west. ............................................... 135. Thou didst establish the world, And raise them, up for thy son, Who came forth from thy limbs, The king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Living in Truth, Lord of the Two Lands, 140. Nefer-khepru-Re, Wan-Re (Ikhnaton), Son of Re, living in Truth, lord of diadems, Ikhnaton, whose life is long; And for the chief royal wife, his beloved, Mistress of the Two Lands, Nefer-nefru-Aton, Nofretete, 145. Living and flourishing for ever and ever.

=8. Comparison with the Psalter.=

This long hymn contains many beautiful passages, and, in addition to the line “How manifold are thy works!” often reminds one of Psa. 104, though in religious feeling it falls well below that psalm. Ikhnaton speaks of himself toward the end of his hymn as the one “whose life is long,” but the poor fellow died before he was thirty years old.[573] His mummy was found a few years ago, and it is that of a young man. Vain were his hopes, unless his words refer to the immortal life.

These Egyptian hymns, like the Babylonian, exhibit a high degree of poetic and intellectual power, and much deep religious feeling, but the men who wrote them somehow lacked that deep religious insight and simple power of emotional expression that were given to the Hebrews. Their compositions but set in clearer relief the beauty, depth, and inspirational power of the Hebrew Psalms.

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XXII. PARALLELS TO PROVERBS AND ECCLESIASTES

THE NATURE OF THE BOOK OF PROVERBS AND THE PARALLELS. BABYLONIAN PROVERBS FROM THE LIBRARY OF ASHURBANIPAL. PRECEPTS FROM THE LIBRARY OF ASHURBANIPAL. COMPARISON WITH THE BIBLE. EGYPTIAN PRECEPTS OF PTAHHOTEP. COMPARISON WITH THE BIBLE. PARALLEL TO ECCLESIASTES FROM THE GILGAMESH EPIC.

Both Egypt and Babylon furnish parallels to the book of Proverbs. The Biblical book of Proverbs contains a long connected discourse of advice (Prov. 1-9) and various collections of disconnected proverbs (Prov. 10-29). Parallels to both are found in Egypt and in Babylonia. The library of Ashurbanipal contained a collection of proverbs in two languages, arranged as reading lessons for students. A few examples are here given.

=1. Some Babylonian Proverbs from the Library of Ashurbanipal.=[574]

1. A hostile act thou shalt not perform, that fear of vengeance (?) shall not consume thee.

2. Thou shalt not do evil, that life (?) eternal thou mayest obtain.

3. Does a woman conceive when a virgin, or grow great without eating?

4. If I put anything down it is snatched away; if I do more than is expected, who will repay me?

5. He has dug a well where no water is; he has raised a husk without kernel.

6. Does a marsh receive the price of its reeds, or fields the price of their vegetation?

7. The strong live by their own wages; the weak by the wages of their children.

8. He is altogether good, but he is clothed with darkness.

9. The face of a toiling ox thou shalt not strike with a goad.

10. My knees go, my feet are unwearied; but a fool has cut into my course.

11. His ass I am; I am harnessed to a mule; a wagon I draw; to seek reeds and fodder I go forth.

12. The life of day before yesterday has departed today.

13. If the husk is not right, the kernel is not right; it will not produce seed.

14. The tall grain thrives, but what do we understand of it? The meager grain thrives, but what do we understand of it?

15. The city whose weapons are not strong--the enemy before its gates shall not be thrust through.

16. If thou goest and takest the field of an enemy, the enemy will come and take thy field.

17. Upon a glad heart oil is poured out of which no one knows.

18. Friendship is for the day of trouble; posterity for the future.

19. An ass in another city becomes its head.

The idea is similar to Matt. 13:57: “A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.”

20. Writing is the mother of eloquence and the father of artists.

21. Be gentle to thy enemy as to an old oven.[575]

22. The gift of the king is the nobility of the exalted; the gift of the king is the favor of governors.

23. Friendship in days of prosperity is servitude forever.

24. There is strife where servants are; slander where anointers anoint.

25. When thou seest the gain of the fear of god, exalt god and bless the king.[576]

=2. Precepts from the Library of Ashurbanipal.=[577]

Thou shalt not slander, (but) speak kindly; Thou shalt not speak evil, (but) show mercy. Him who slanders (and) speaks evil, With its recompense will Shamash[578] visit (?) his head.

Thou shalt not make large thy mouth, but guard thy lip; In the time of anger thou shalt not speak at once. If thou speakest quickly, thou wilt repent (?) afterward, And in silence wilt thou sadden thy mind.

Daily present to thy god Offering and prayer, appropriate to incense. Before thy god mayest thou have a pure heart, For that is appropriate to deity.

Prayer, petition, and prostration Early in the morning shalt thou render him; he will judge thy burdens (?), And with the help of God thou wilt be abundantly prosperous.

In thy wisdom learn of the tablet; The fear (of God) begets favor, Offering enriches life, And prayer brings forgiveness of sins.

(The text of the rest is too broken for connected translation.)

=3. Comparison with the Bible.=

None of the sentiments expressed in these proverbs is identical with any in the Bible. No. 21 is on the same subject as Prov. 24:17; No. 22 reminds one slightly of the first clause of Prov. 14:35; No. 23 has the same sentiment as Prov. 18:24: “He that maketh many friends doeth it to his own destruction”; while No. 6 is somewhat similar to Prov. 24:21.

Among the “precepts,” that on guarding the lips recalls to one’s mind Prov. 10:19; 13:3; 14:3; 17:28. Reference is made to the “gain of the fear of God” and it is declared to “beget favor.” Job 28:28 declares “the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom.”

=4. The Precepts of Ptahhotep.=

These precepts are attributed to a man who lived in the time of the fifth Egyptian dynasty, about 2650 B. C., and are at least as old as 2000 B. C. The text is very difficult. The examples given below are taken from Breasted’s[579] condensation of the moral precepts which the treatise contains.

1. If thou findest a wise man in his time, a leader of understanding more excellent than thou, bend thy arms and bow thy back.

2. If thou findest a wise man in his time, thy equal, .......... be not silent when he speaks evil. Great is the approval by those who hear, and thy name will be good in the knowledge of the princes.

3. If thou findest a wise man in his time, a poor man and not thy equal, be not overbearing against him when he is unfortunate.

4. If thou art a leader (or administrator) issuing ordinances for the multitude, seek for thee very excellent matter, that thy ordinance may endure without evil therein. Great is righteousness (truth, right, justice), enduring ..........; it has not been disturbed since the time of Osiris.

5. Put no fear (of thee?) among the people .......... What the god commands is that which happens. Therefore live in the midst of quiet. What they (the gods?) give comes of itself.

6. If thou art a man of those who sit by the seat of a man greater than thou, take what (food) he gives, ...... look at what is before thee, and bombard him not with many glances (don’t stare at him) ...... Speak not to him until he calls. One knows not what is unpleasant to (his) heart. Speak thou when he greets thee, and what thou sayest will be agreeable to (his) heart.

7. If thou art a man of those who enter, whom (one) prince sends to (another) prince, ...... execute for him the commission according as he saith. Beware of altering a word which (one) prince speaks to (another) prince, by displaying the truth with the like of it.

8. If thou plowest and there is growth in the field, the god gives it (as) increase in thy hand. Satisfy not thy own mouth beside thy kin.

9. If thou art insignificant, follow an able man and all thy proceedings shall be good before the god.

10. Follow thy desire as long as thou livest. Do not more than is told (thee). Shorten not the time of following desire. It is an abomination to encroach upon the time thereof. Take no care daily beyond the maintenance of thy house. When possessions come, follow desire, (for) possessions are not complete when he (the owner) is harassed.

[Compare with this precept Eccles. 11:9 and 7:15-17.]

11. If thou art an able man, (give attention to the conduct of thy son).

............................................

16. If thou art a leader (or administrator), hear quietly the speech of the petitioner. He who is suffering wrong desires that his heart be cheered to do that on account of which he hath come ....... It is an ornament of the heart to hear kindly.

17. If thou desirest to establish friendship in a house, into which thou enterest as lord, as brother, or as friend, wheresoever thou enterest in, beware of approaching the women ...... A thousand men are undone for the enjoyment of a brief moment like a dream. Men gain (only) death for knowing them.

[Compare Prov. 5:3, f.]

18. If thou desirest that thy procedure be good, withhold thee from all evil, beware of occasion of avarice ...... He who enters therein does not get on. It corrupts fathers, mothers, and mothers’ brothers. It divides wife and man; it is plunder (made up) of everything evil; it is a bundle of everything base. Established is the man whose standard is righteousness, who walks in its way. He is used to make his fortune thereby, (but) the avaricious is houseless.

19. Be not avaricious in dividing ...... Be not avaricious towards thy kin. Greater is the fame of the gentle than (that of) the harsh.

20. If thou art successful, establish thy house. Love thy wife in husbandly embrace, fill her body, clothe her back. The recipe for her limbs is ointment. Gladden her heart as long as thou livest. She is a profitable field for her lord.

[Compare Eccles. 9:9.]

21. Satisfy those who enter to thee (come into thy office) with that which thou hast.

22. Repeat not a word of hearsay.

23. If thou art an able man who sits in the council of his lord, summon thy understanding to excellent things. Be silent.

24. If thou art a strong man, establish the respect of thee by wisdom and by quietness of speech.

25. Approach not a prince in his time. [Apparently an idiom for some particular mood.]

26. Instruct a prince (or official) in that which is profitable for him.

27. If thou art the son of a man of the council, commissioned to content the multitude, ...... be not partial. Beware lest he (the man of the multitude?) say, “His plan is that of the princes. He utters the words in partiality.”

...............................................

29. If thou becomest great after thou wert little, and gettest possessions after thou wert formerly poor in the city, ...... be not proud-hearted because of thy wealth. It has come to thee as a gift of the god.

30. Bend thy back to thy superior, thy overseer of the king’s house, and thy house shall endure because of his (or its) possessions and thy reward shall be in the place thereof. It is evil to show disobedience to a superior. One lives as long as he is gentle.

31. Do not practise corruption of children.

32. If thou searchest the character of a friend, ...... transact the matter with him when he is alone.

33. Let thy face be bright as long as thou livest. As for what goes out of the storehouse, it comes not in again; and as for loaves (already) distributed, he who is concerned therefor has still an empty stomach. [“There is no use in crying over spilt milk.”]

34. Know thy merchants when thy fortunes are evil.

.........................................

37. If thou hearkenest to these things which I have said to thee, all thy plans will progress. As for the matter of the righteousness thereof, it is their worth. The memory thereof shall circulate in the mouths of men, because of the beauty of their utterances. Every word will be carried on and not perish in this land forever ....... He who understands discretion is profitable in establishing that through which he succeeds on earth. A wise man is satisfied by reason of that which he knows. As for a prince of good qualities, they are in his heart and tongue. His lips are right when he speaks, his eyes see, and his ears together hear what is profitable for his son. Do right (righteousness, justice, truth), free from lying.

38. Profitable is hearkening for a son that hearkens ...... How good is it when a son receives that which his father says. He shall reach advanced age thereby. A hearkener is one whom the god loves. Who hearkens not is one whom the god hates. It is the heart (= understanding) which makes its possessor a hearkener or one not hearkening. The life, health, and prosperity of a man is his heart. The hearkener is one who hears and speaks. He who does what is said is one who loves to hearken. How good it is when a son hearkens to his father! How happy is he to whom these things are said! ...... His memory is in the mouth of the living who are on the earth and those who shall be.

39. If the son of a man receives what his father says, none of his plans will miscarry. Instruct as thy son one who hearkens, who shall be successful in the judgment of the princes, who directs his mouth according to that which is said to him ...... How many mishaps befall him who hearkens not! The wise man rises early to establish himself, while the fool is scourged.

[With the first of this section compare Exod. 20:12; Deut. 5:16. With the end of it, Prov. 6:9-11; 10:26; 13:4.]

40. As for the fool who hearkens not, he accomplishes nothing. He regards wisdom as ignorance, and what is profitable as diseased ....... His life is death thereby, ....... he dies, living every day. Men pass by (avoid?) his qualities, because of the multitude of evils upon him every day.

41. A son who hearkens is a follower of Horus. He prospers after he hearkens. He reaches old age, he attains reverence. He speaks likewise to his (own) children, renewing the instruction of his father. Every man who instructs is like his sire. He speaks with his children; then they speak to their children. Attain character, ...... make righteousness to flourish and thy children shall live.

42. .......... Let thy attention be steadfast as long as thou speakest, whither thou directest thy speech. May the princes who shall hear say, “How good is that which comes out of his mouth!”

43. So do that thy lord shall say to thee, “How good is the instruction of his father from whose limbs he came forth! He has spoken to him; it is in (his) body throughout. Greater is that which he hath done than that which was said to him.” Behold, a good son, whom the god gives, renders more than his lord says to him. He does right (righteousness, etc.), his heart acts according to his way. According as thou attainest me (“what I have attained”), thy limbs shall be healthy, the king shall be satisfied with all that occurs, and thou shalt attain years of life not less than I have passed on the earth. I have attained one hundred and ten years of life [compare Gen. 50:26], while the king gave to me praise above (that of) the ancestors (in the vizierial office) because I did righteousness for the king even unto the place of reverence (the grave).

=5. Comparison with the Bible.=

These precepts, which were written before 1800 B. C., like most of those in the book of Proverbs, embody much worldly wisdom. They are based on experience, and while, like Proverbs, they sometimes urge a religious motive as a reason for right conduct, they frankly advocate it, as Proverbs often does, on the ground of expediency. The points where the text is closely parallel to that of Proverbs are few, and these have been sufficiently pointed out. Some of the passages, as already noted, are closely parallel to parts of the book of Ecclesiastes. The religious appeal of the precepts is to Egyptian polytheism, while that of Proverbs is to Hebrew monotheism.

=6. A Parallel to Ecclesiastes.=

The following striking parallel to a passage in Ecclesiastes is taken from a tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic,[580] written in the script of the time of Hammurapi, about 2000 B. C.

Since the gods created man,[581] Death they ordained for man, Life in their hands they hold. Thou, O Gilgamesh, fill indeed thy belly, Day and night be thou joyful, Daily ordain gladness, Day and night rage and make merry, Let thy garments be bright, Thy head purify, wash with water, Desire thy children which thy hand possesses, A wife enjoy in thy bosom, Peaceably thy work (?) ..........

This is not only in sentiment strikingly like Eccles. 9:6-9, but in part closely approaches its language.

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XXIII. EGYPTIAN PARALLELS TO THE SONG OF SONGS

NATURE OF THE SONG OF SONGS. TRANSLATION OF SOME EGYPTIAN LOVE-POEMS. COMPARISON WITH BIBLICAL PASSAGES.

For many centuries the Song of Songs has been interpreted allegorically, but even those who give it an allegorical meaning must admit that its sentiments are couched in the terms of earthly love. Love poems, which sometimes express sentiments that remind us of the Song of Songs, have been discovered on some Egyptian papyri and ostraca. The documents in which they are written range in their dates from 2000 B. C. to about 1100 B. C. Selections from these follow:[582]

I[583]

Thy love has penetrated all within me Like [honey?] plunged into water, Like an odor which penetrates spices, As when one mixes juice in ..........

[Nevertheless] thou runnest to seek thy sister, Like the steed upon the battlefield, As [the warrior rolls along] on the spokes of his wheels.

For heaven makes thy love Like the advance of [flames in straw], And its [longing] like the downward swoop of a hawk.

II[584]

Disturbed is the condition (?) of [my] pool. [The mouth] of my sister is a rosebud. Her breast is a perfume. Her arm [is a ...... bough?] [Which offers] a delusive seat. Her forehead is a snare of meryu-wood.

I am a wild goose, a hunted one (?), My gaze is at thy hair, At a bait under the trap That is to catch (?) me.

“Brother” and “sister” are terms frequently applied to lovers in these poems. Perhaps it arose from an ancient custom of marriages between brothers and sisters, which was perpetuated in the royal families of Egypt down to Roman times.

The description of the physical attractions of the loved one reminds one of Cant. 4:1-7.

III[585]

Is my heart not softened by thy love-longing for me? My dogfoot-(fruit) which excites thy passion,-- Not will I allow it To depart from me.

Although cudgeled even to the “Guard of the overflow,”[586] To Syria, with shebôd-rods and clubs, To Ethiopia, with palm-rods, To the highlands, with switches, To the lowlands, with twigs,

Never will I listen to their counsel, To abandon longing.

IV[587]

The voice of the wild goose cries, (Where) she has seized their bait, (But) thy love holds me back, I am unable to liberate her.

I must, then, take home my net! What shall I say to my mother, To whom formerly I came each day Loaded down with fowls?

I shall not set the snares today For thy love has caught me.

This is a vivid description of the power of the tender passion.

V[588]

The wild goose flies up and soars, She sinks down upon the net.

The birds cry in flocks, But I hasten [homeward], Since I care for thy love alone.

My heart yearns for thy breast, I cannot sunder myself from thy attractions.

This is a continuation of the preceding.

VI[589]

Thou beautiful one! My heart’s desire is To procure for thee thy food as thy husband, My arm resting upon thy arm.[590]

Thou hast changed me by thy love. Thus say I in my heart, In my soul, at my prayers: “I lack my commander tonight, I am as one dwelling in a tomb.”

Be thou but in health and strength,[591] Then the nearness of thy countenance Sheds delight, by reason of thy well-being, Over a heart, which seeks thee (with longing).

This poem expresses on the part of the man a longing similar to that expressed by the woman in Cant. 8:1-3.

VII[592]

The voice of the dove calls, It says: “The earth is bright.” What have I to do outside? Stop, thou birdling! Thou chidest me!

I have found my brother in his bed, My heart is glad beyond all measure. We each say: “I will not tear myself away.”

My hand is in his hand. I wander together with him To every beautiful place. He makes me the first of maidens, Nor does he grieve my heart.

In this poem the loved woman speaks, as in Cant. 8:1-3.

VIII[593]

Sa‘am-plants are in it, In the presence of which one feels oneself uplifted!

I am thy darling sister, I am to thee like a bit of land, With each shrub of grateful fragrance.

Lovely is the water-conduit in it, Which thy hand has dug. While the north wind cooled us. A beautiful place to wander,

Thy hand in my hand, My soul inspired, My heart in bliss, Because we go together.

New wine it is, to hear thy voice; I live for hearing it. To see thee with each look, Is better than eating and drinking.

The figure of the garden, with which this poem begins, is also used in Cant. 5:1 and 6:2, 3.

IX[594]

Ta-’a-ti-plants are in it! I take thy garlands away, When thou comest home drunken, And when thou art lying in thy bed When I touch thy feet, (And) children are (?) in thy .......... ........................ [I rise up] rejoicing in the morning Thy nearness [means to me] health and strength.

In ancient as in modern times wives loved fondly, while husbands gave way to drunkenness.

The poems as a whole make it clear that in Egypt love, which lies at the basis of all home life, and is in the New Testament made a figure of the relation of Christ to the Church (see John 3:29; Rev. 21:2, 9), was as warmly felt as in Israel, and was likewise poetically and passionately expressed.

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XXIV. ILLUSTRATIONS OF PASSAGES IN THE PROPHETS

UNIQUENESS OF THE PROPHETIC BOOKS. AN ASSYRIAN PROPHETIC VISION. COMPARISON WITH THE BIBLE. THE EGYPTIAN SOCIAL CONSCIENCE. TALE OF THE ELOQUENT PEASANT. COMPARISON WITH THE BIBLE. AN IDEAL KING; EXTRACT FROM THE ADMONITIONS OF IPUWER. COMPARISON WITH MESSIANIC EXPECTATIONS. SHEOL. ISHTAR’S DESCENT TO THE UNDER-WORLD. COMPARISON WITH PROPHETIC PASSAGES. A LAMENTATION FOR TAMMUZ.

There is no other body of literature which closely corresponds to the books of the Hebrew prophets. The depth of their social passion and the power of their moral and religious insight form a unique combination. Nevertheless, texts which have come from Babylonia and Egypt do show that certain phases of prophetic thought were not without parallels elsewhere. At times they also illustrate for us thoughts and practices which the prophets abhorred. A few such texts are here translated.

=1. A Prophetic Vision.=

The following statement is taken from the annals of Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria, 668-626 B. C. It is the conclusion of a passage in which the king is relating his strenuous struggle with Tiuman, King of Elam. Ashurbanipal tells how he poured out a libation to Ishtar of Arbela and offered to her a long prayer against the Elamite king. The narrative then continues:[595]

In an hour of that night when I prayed to her, a seer lay down; he saw a prophetic dream. Ishtar caused him to see a vision of the night, and he announced it to me, saying: “Ishtar who dwells at Arbela entered, and on her right and left she was behung with quivers, she was holding a bow in her left hand, she brandished a heavy sword to make war. Thou wast sitting before her. She, like the mother who bore thee, was speaking to thee and talking to thee. Ishtar, the exalted one of the gods, was appointing thee a message: ‘Thou shalt expect to accomplish that[596] at the place which is situated before thee. I am coming.’ Thou wast answering her, saying: ‘Where thou goest I will go with thee, O lady of ladies.’ She repeated to thee, saying: ‘Thou ...... indeed dwellest in the place of Nebo. Eat food, drink wine, appoint rejoicing, exalt my divinity until I go and accomplish this undertaking ...... I will cause thee to accomplish the wish of thy heart. Thy face he shall not harm, thy feet he shall not resist; thy cry shall not come to nought.’ In the midst of battle she arms thee with the desolation of her goodness. She will protect thy whole body. Before her a fire is blown to capture thy foes.”

The night vision of this seer reminds one a little of Isaiah’s vision of Jehovah in the temple (Isa. 6) and of Zechariah’s vision of Joshua and Satan (Zech. 3:1). The Hebrew prophets as late as the time of Jeremiah often received their divine messages in dreams. (See Jer. 23:27.) Assyria had something of the same ideas as Israel as to the revelations of deity to a prophet, but she lacked Israel’s ethical deity.

=2. The Egyptian Social Conscience.=

A remarkable appreciation of the rights of the common people is revealed in an Egyptian story called the “Tale of the Eloquent Peasant,”--a story which has come down to us in copies made before 1800 B. C. It has been claimed that this tale indicates the existence of a social conscience in Egypt analogous to that of the Hebrew prophets. The principal part of the story is, accordingly, given here.

The Eloquent Peasant[597]

There was a man, Hunanup by name, a peasant of Sechet-hemat, and he had a wife, .......... by name. Then said this peasant to his wife: “Behold, I am going down to Egypt to bring back bread for my children. Go in and measure the corn that we still have in our storehouse, ........ bushel.” Then he measured for her 8 (?) bushels of corn. Then this peasant said to his wife: “Behold, 2 bushels of corn shall be left for bread for thee and the children. But make for me the 6 bushels into bread and beer for each of the days [that I shall be on the road].” Then this peasant went down to Egypt after he had loaded his asses with all the good products[598] of Sechet-hemat.

This peasant set out and journeyed southward to Ehnas. He came to a point opposite Per-fefi, north of Medenit, and found there a man standing on the bank, Dehuti-necht by name, who was the son of a man named Iseri, who was one of the serfs of the chief steward, Meruitensi.

Then said this Dehuti-necht, when he saw the asses of this peasant which appealed to his covetousness: “Oh that some good god would help me to rob this peasant of his goods!”

The house of Dehuti-necht stood close to the side of the path, which was narrow, not wide. It was about the width of a ......-cloth, and upon one side of it was the water and upon the other side was growing grain. Then said Dehuti-necht to his servant: “Hasten and bring me a shawl from the house!” And it was brought at once. Then he spread this shawl upon the middle of the road, and it extended, one edge to the water, and the other to the corn.

The peasant came along the path which was the common highway. Then said Dehuti-necht: “Look out, peasant, do not trample on my clothes!” The peasant answered: “I will do as thou wishest; I will go in the right way!” As he was turning to the upper side, Dehuti-necht said: “Does my corn serve you as a road?” Then said the peasant: “I am going in the right way. The bank is steep and the path lies near the corn and you have stopped up the road ahead with your clothes. Will you, then, not let me go by?”

Upon that one of the asses took a mouthful of corn. Then said Dehuti-necht: “See, I will take away thy ass because it has eaten my corn ..........”

Then the peasant said: “I am going in the right way. As one side was made impassable I have led my ass along the other, and will you seize it because it has taken a mouthful of corn? But I know the lord of this property; it belongs to the chief steward, Meruitensi. It is he who punishes every robber in this whole land. Shall I, then, be robbed in his domain?”

Then said Dehuti-necht: “Is it not a proverb which the people employ: ‘The name of the poor is only known on account of his lord?’ It is I who speak to you, but the chief steward of whom you think.”[599] Then he took a rod from a green tamarisk and beat all his limbs with it, and seized his asses and drove them into his compound.

Thereupon the peasant wept loudly on account of the pain of what had been done to him. Dehuti-necht said to him: “Don’t cry so loud, peasant, or thou shalt go to the city of the Silence-maker” (a name of the god of the underworld). The peasant said: “Thou beatest me and stealest my goods, and wilt thou also take the wail away from my mouth? O Silence-maker! give me my goods again! May I never cease to cry out, if thou fearest!”

The peasant consumed four days, during which he besought Dehuti-necht, but he did not grant him his rights. Then this peasant went to the south, to Ehnas, to implore the chief steward, Meruitensi. He met him as he was coming out of the canal-door of his compound to embark in his boat. Thereupon the peasant said: “Oh let me lay before thee this affair. Permit one of thy trusted servants to come to me, that I may send him to thee concerning it.” Then the steward, Meruitensi, sent one of his servants to him, and he sent back by him an account of the whole affair. Then the chief steward, Meruitensi, laid the case of Dehuti-necht before his attendant officials, and they said to him: “Lord, it is presumably a case of one of your peasants who has gone against another peasant near him. Behold, it is customary with peasants to so conduct themselves toward others who are near them. Shall we beat Dehuti-necht for a little natron and a little salt? Command him to restore it and he will restore it.”

The chief steward, Meruitensi, remained silent; he answered neither the officials nor the peasant. The peasant then came to entreat the chief steward, Meruitensi, for the first time, and said:

“Chief steward, my lord, thou art greatest of the great, thou art guide of all that which is not and which is. When thou embarkest on the sea of truth, that thou mayest go sailing upon it, then shall not the .......... strip away thy sail, then thy ship shall not remain fast, then shall no misfortune happen to thy mast, then shall thy spars (?) not be broken, then shalt thou not be stranded; if thou runnest fast aground, the waves shall not break upon thee, then thou shalt not taste the impurities of the river, then thou shalt not behold the face of fear; the shyest (?) fish shall come to thee, and thou shalt capture the fat birds. For thou art the father of the orphan, the husband of the widow, the brother of the desolate, the garment of the motherless. Let me place thy name in this land higher than all good laws: thou guide without avarice, thou great one free from meanness, who destroyest deceit, who createst truthfulness. Throw the evil to the ground. I will speak; hear me. Do justice, O thou praised one, whom the praised ones praise. Remove my oppression: behold, I have a heavy ....... to carry; behold, I am troubled of soul; examine me, I am in sorrow.”

The reference in this address to the orphan and the widow touches a chord which runs through much of the Old Testament and is especially prominent in the prophets, as the following references will indicate: Isa. 1:17, 23; 9:17; 10:2; 47:8; Jer. 7:6; 15:8; 18:21; 22:3; 49:11; Ezek. 22:7, 25; Zech. 7:10; Mal. 3:5; Deut. 10:18; 14:29; Job 29:13, and Psa. 68:5.

In the Egyptian story Meruitensi was so pleased with the eloquence of the peasant that he passed him on to another officer and he to still another until he came before the king. Altogether the peasant made nine addresses. For lack of space we can reproduce but one more. For this purpose we select his eighth address.

This peasant came to implore him for the eighth time, and said:

“Chief steward, my lord, man falls on account of ...... Greed is absent from a good merchant. His good commerce is ........

“Thy heart is greedy; it does not become thee. Thou despoilest: this is not praiseworthy for thee ...... Thy daily rations are in thy house; thy body is well filled ...... The officers, who are set as a protection against injustice,--a curse to the shameless are these officers, who are set as a bulwark against lies.

“Fear of thee has not deterred me from supplicating thee; (if thou thinkest so), thou hast not known my heart. The silent one, who turns to report to thee his difficulties, is not afraid to present them to thee ....... Thy real estate is in the country; thy bread is on thy estate; thy food is in the storehouse. Thy officials give to thee and thou takest it. Art thou, then, not a robber? They drag for thee ...... for thee to the plots of arable land. Do the truth for the sake of the lord of truth ....... Thou reed of a scribe, thou roll of a book, thou palette, thou god Thoth, thou oughtest to keep thyself far removed from injustice. Thou virtuous one, thou shouldst be virtuous; thou virtuous one, thou shouldst be really virtuous. Further, truth is true to eternity. She goes with those who perform her to the region of the dead. He will be laid in the coffin and committed to the earth; his name will not perish from the earth, but men will remember him on account of his property: so runs the right interpretation of the divine word.

“Does it then happen that the scales stand aslant? Or is it thinkable that the scales incline to one side?

“Behold, if I come not, if another comes, then thou hast opportunity to speak as one who answers, as one who addresses the silent, as one who responds to him who has not spoken to thee. Thou hast not been ......; thou hast not been sick. Thou hast not fled; thou hast not departed. But thou hast not yet granted me any reply to this beautiful word which comes from the mouth of the sun-god himself: ‘Speak the truth; do the truth: for it is great, it is mighty, it is everlasting. It will obtain for thee merit, and will lead thee to veneration.’

“For does the scale stand aslant? It is their scale-pans that bear the objects, and in just scales there is no ...... wanting.”

The beauty of the sentiments about truth is obvious. The references to scales are to those that were supposed to weigh the deeds of the dead in the under-world.

After a ninth speech on the part of the peasant, the tale concludes as follows:

Then the chief steward, Meruitensi, sent two servants to bring him back. Thereupon the peasant feared that he would suffer thirst, as a punishment imposed upon him for what he had said. Then the peasant said ...... (The Egyptian of this address contains difficulties which have never been solved.)

Then said the chief steward, Meruitensi: “Fear not, peasant! See, thou shalt remain with me.” Then said the peasant: “I live because I eat of thy bread and drink thy beer forever.”

Then said the chief steward, Meruitensi: “Come out here ........” Then he caused them to bring, written on a new roll, all the addresses of these days. The chief steward sent them to his majesty, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Neb-kau-re, the blessed, and they were more agreeable to the heart of his majesty than all that was in his land. His majesty said, “Pass sentence thyself, my beloved son!” Then the chief steward, Meruitensi, caused two servants to go and bring a list of the household (of Dehuti-necht) from the government office, and his possessions were six persons, with a selection from his ......, from his barley, from his spelt, from his asses, from his swine, from his ..........

From this point on only a few words of the tale can be made out, but it appears from these that the goods selected from the estate of Dehuti-necht were given to the peasant and he was sent home rejoicing.

=3. An Ideal King.=

In the wisdom literature of Egypt appear the admonitions of an Egyptian sage called Ipuwer. In these admonitions a time of dire distress is pictured, in view of which the sage longs for the presence of an ideal king. Some scholars have compared the description of this ideal king with the prophetic conception of the Messiah.

It is unnecessary to quote the whole work, which is fragmentary and difficult of translation. A few passages will answer our purpose.

From the Admonitions of Ipuwer[600]

.......... The door-keepers say: Let us go and plunder. The confectioners .......... The washerman refuses to carry his load .......... The bird-catchers have drawn up in line of battle .......... The inhabitants of the Marshes carry shields. The brewers .......... sad. A man looks upon his son as his enemy; ....................

..................................................................

Noble ladies suffer like slave girls. Musicians are in the chambers within the halls. What they sing to the goddess Mert is dirges ........... Forsooth, all female slaves are free with their tongues. When the mistress speaks it is irksome to the servants. Forsooth, princes are hungry and in distress. Servants are served .......... by reason of mourning. Forsooth, the hot-headed (?) man says: “If I knew where God is, then would I make offerings unto him.” Forsooth, right is throughout the land in this its name. What men do in appealing to it is wrong. Forsooth, all animals, their hearts weep. Cattle moan because of the state of the land .................... Forsooth, the ways are .......... The roads are guarded. Men sit over the bushes until the benighted traveler comes, in order to plunder his burden. What is upon him is taken away. He is belabored with blows of the stick and slain wrongfully.

Forsooth, that has perished which yesterday was seen (?). The land is left over to its weariness (?) like the cutting of flax. Poor men are in affliction .......... Would that there might be an end of men, no conception, no birth! O that the earth would cease from noise, and tumult be no more! .......... Forsooth, grain has perished on every side. People are stripped of clothes, spices (?) and oil. Everybody says there is none. The storehouse is ruined. Its keeper is stretched on the ground. It is no happy thing for my heart (?) .......... Would that I had made my voice heard at that moment, that it might save me from the pain in which I am (?) .......... Behold, the powerful of the land, the condition of the people is not reported to them. All is ruin! Behold, no craftsmen work. The enemies of the land have spoilt its crafts.

Similar descriptions of the disorganized state of society might be quoted at much greater length. The passage in which Ipuwer mentions the ideal king is as follows:

.......... lack of people .................... Re; command (?) .......... the West to diminish (?) .......... by the [gods?]. Behold ye, wherefore does he [seek] to fashion [mankind], .......... without distinguishing the timid man from him whose nature is violent. He bringeth coolness upon that which is hot. It is said: he is the herdsman of mankind. No evil is in his heart. When his herds are few, he passes the day to gather them together, their hearts being on fire. Would that he had perceived their nature in the first generation of men; then would he have repressed evils, he would have stretched forth his arm against it, he would have destroyed their seed and their inheritance .......... Where is he today? Is he sleeping? Behold, his might is not seen.

Vogelsang held this to be a picture of a kind of ideal king, comparable in some respects to the prophetic conception of the Messiah in such passages as Isa. 9:1-6; 11:1-8. To this view Gardiner has objected that the parallelism is not real, in that there seems to have been in the mind of the Egyptian sage no expectation that such a king would actually rise, but rather the belief that he once existed as the god Re and has now vanished from earth. To this Breasted and Gressmann reply that the kingly figure is a purely ideal one, and that Ipuwer feels strongly that, if he were on earth all wrongs would be set right, and that in some degree the picture is parallel to the conceptions of the Messiah.

The description of disorganized society which is here reflected is patterned on conditions which existed in Egypt before 2000 B. C., and the conception of the ideal king is equally old.

=4. Sheol.=

In Isa. 14:9-11 and Ezek. 32:21-31 we find descriptions of Sheol or the under-world. These descriptions are closely parallel to the following Babylonian poem.

Ishtar’s Descent to the Under-world[601]

Unto the land of No-return, the land of darkness, Ishtar, the daughter of Sin, determined to go, The daughter of Sin determined to go, Unto the house of darkness, the dwelling of Irkalla, 5. Unto the house whose enterer never comes out, Along the way whose going has no return, Unto the house whose enterer is deprived of light, Where dust is their food, their sustenance, clay, Light they do not see, in darkness they dwell; 10. They are clothed, like birds, with a covering of wings. Over door and bolt the dust is spread. Ishtar, when she arrived at the gate of the land of No-return To the keeper of the gate addressed a word: “Keeper of the waters, open thy gate! 15. Open thy gate! Let me enter! If thou dost not open thy gate, that I may enter, I will shatter the door, I will break the bolt, I will shiver the threshold, break down the doors; I will bring up the dead to devour the living!” 20. The keeper opened his mouth and spake, He said to Ishtar, the great: “Stay, my lady, do not destroy it, Let me go, let me announce thy name to Queen Allat.” The keeper went in, he spake [to Allat]: 25. “This water thy sister, Ishtar, [has crossed] As a servant of great powers [she comes].” When Allat heard this, Like the cutting of the tamarisk [was her laugh], 30. Like the crackling of reeds. [She cried]: “What has turned her mind to me? .......... These waters I with .......... For food I will eat clay, for drink I will drink .......... I will weep for men who have abandoned their wives, 35. I will weep for maidens torn from their husbands’ bosoms, I will weep for children snatched away before their time. Go, keeper, open thy gate to her; Do to her according to the ancient custom.” The keeper went and opened to her his gate: 40. “Enter, my lady; the under-world is glad, The palace of the land of No-return rejoices at thy coming.” He brought her through the first gate, made it wide, he took the great crown from her head. “Why, O keeper, hast thou taken the great crown from my head?” “Enter, my lady, such are the commands of Allat.” 45. He brought her through the second gate, he made it wide, he took the ornaments from her ears. “Why, O keeper, hast thou taken the ornaments from my ears?” “Enter, my lady, for such are the commands of Allat.” He brought her through the third gate, he made it wide, he took the necklace from her neck. “Why, O keeper, hast thou taken the necklace from my neck?” 50. “Enter, O lady, for such are the commands of Allat.” He brought her through the fourth gate, he made it wide, he took the ornaments from her breasts. “Why, O keeper, hast thou taken the ornaments from my breast?” “Enter, my lady, for such are the commands of Allat.” He brought her through the fifth gate, he made it wide, he took the girdle with birth-stones from her waist. 55. “Why, O keeper, hast thou taken the girdle with birth-stones from my waist?” “Enter, my lady, for such are the commands of Allat.” He brought her through the sixth gate, he made it wide, he took the bracelets from her hands and feet. “Why, O keeper, hast thou taken the bracelets from my hands and feet?” “Enter, my lady, for such are the commands of Allat.” 60. He brought her through the seventh gate, he made it wide, he took the breech-cloth from her body. “Why, O keeper, hast thou taken the breech-cloth from my body?” “Enter, my lady, for such are the commands of Allat.” When Ishtar had gone down to the land of No-return, Allat saw her and became enraged at her. 65. Ishtar took no heed; she sat down above her. Allat opened her mouth and spake, To Namtar, her messenger, she addressed a word: “Go, Namtar, lock [her in my palace], Bring out against her sixty diseases .......... Ishtar, 70. Disease of the eyes against her [eyes], Disease of the side against her [sides], Disease of the feet against her [feet], Disease of the heart against [her heart], Disease of the head against [her head], 75. Against her altogether ..........” After Ishtar, the lady, [went down to the land of No-return] The bull with the cow did not unite, nor the ass approach the she-ass; The man in the street no more approached the maid; The man slept in his chamber, 80. The maid slept by her oven. Papsukal, messenger of the great gods, was sad of countenance before [Shamash], Clad in mourning, wearing foul garments. Then went Shamash into the presence of Sin, his father; he wept, Before Ea, the king, his tears flowed: 85. “Ishtar has gone down into the earth; she has not come up. Since Ishtar went down to the land of No-return, The bull with the cow does not unite, nor the ass approach the she-ass; The man no more approaches the maid in the street; The man sleeps in his chamber, 90. The maid sleeps by her oven. Then Ea in the wisdom of his heart created a man, He created Asushunamir, the priest. “Go, Asushunamir, to the gate of the land without return set thy face, The seven gates of the land without return shall be opened before thee, 95. Allat shall behold thee, and shall rejoice in thy presence. When her heart has been appeased, and her soul revived, Conjure her also by the name of the great gods. Turn thy thoughts to the skin which pours forth life: ‘O lady, give me the skin which pours forth life, that I may drink water from it.’” 100. When Allat heard this, She beat upon her thigh, she bit her finger: “Thou hast uttered a wish not to be wished. Go, Asushunamir; I curse thee with a great curse. The sewage of the gutters of the city shall be thy food, 105. The cesspools of the city shall be thy drink, The shadow of the walls shall be thy dwelling, The thresholds shall be thy habitation, Confinement and privation shall shatter thy strength.” Allat opened her mouth and spoke, 110. To Namtar, her messenger, she addressed the word: “Go, Namtar, knock at the palace of justice, Tap at the thresholds of gleaming (?) stones, Bring out the Annunaki,[602] seat them on golden thrones, Sprinkle Ishtar with the water of life and bring her before me.” 115. Namtar went, he knocked at the palace of justice, He tapped at the thresholds of gleaming (?) stones, He brought forth the Annunaki, he seated them on golden thrones, He sprinkled Ishtar with the water of life, he brought her forth. He brought her out of the first gate, he restored to her the breech-cloth of her body; 120. He brought her through the second gate, he restored to her the bracelets of her hands and feet; He brought her through the third gate, he restored to her the girdle with birth-stones for her waist; He brought her through the fourth gate, he restored to her the ornaments of her breasts; He brought her through the fifth gate, he restored to her the necklace of her neck; He brought her through the sixth gate, he restored to her the ornaments of her ears; 125. He brought her through the seventh gate, he restored to her the crown of her head. (End of legend. The priest begins:) “If she does not grant to thee her release, turn to her again; To Tammuz, the beloved of her youth, Pour out water, offer good oil, With red clothing clothe him, let him play a flute of lapis lazuli. 130. Let the joyful maidens turn, ..................... When Belili has established her ritual, With precious stones her bosom is filled.” The wailing for her brother she heard; Belili interrupted the ritual of .... With precious stones she filled the front of .......... (Voice from the dead.) 135. “My only brother, harm me not; On the day of Tammuz, play for me the lapis lazuli flute, play the Santu-flute with it, When the wailing men and women play with it, Let the dead return, let them smell incense.”

The description of the darkness of the under-world and the sad conditions of life with which this poem begins, shows that the Babylonians shared the gloomy views of Sheol which Isa. 14:9-11 and Ezek. 32:21-31 express.

The middle of the poem expresses the view of the ancient Semites, that the goddess of love once went down to the under-world, and that as a result all propagation of life ceased on the earth. The end of it alludes to the later belief that the goddess went down every year for her beloved Tammuz who had died, and the wailing alluded to is that spoken of by Ezekiel in Ezek. 8:14, where the prophet says he saw women wailing for Tammuz. The kind of sentiment uttered in this wailing the next extract will illustrate.

=5. A Lamentation for Tammuz.=[603]

The lord of destiny (?) lives no more, the lord of destiny (?) lives no more. [Tammuz the ...... ] lives no more, ...... lives no more. The bewailed one (?) lives no more, the lord of destiny (?) lives no more. I am queen, my husband lives no more. 5. My son lives no more. Dagalushumgalanna lives no more. The lord of Arallu lives no more. The lord of Durgurgurru lives no more. The shepherd, the lord Tammuz lives no more. 10. The lord, the shepherd of the folds lives no more. The consort of the queen of heaven lives no more. The lord of the folds lives no more. The brother of the mother of wine lives no more. [He who creates] the fruit of the land lives no more. 15. The powerful lord of the land lives no more. When he slumbers the sheep and lambs slumber also. When he slumbers the goats and kids slumber also. As for me, to the abode of the deep will I turn my thoughts, To the abode of the great ones I turn my thoughts. 20. “O hero, my lord, ah me,” I will say, “Food I eat not,” I will say, “Water I drink not,” I will say, “My good maiden,” I will say, “My good husbandman,” I will say, 25. “Thy lord, the exalted one, to the nether world has taken his way, Thy lord, the exalted one, to the nether world has taken his way.” On account of the exalted one of the nether world, him of the radiant face, yea, radiant, On account of the exalted one of the nether world, him of the dovelike voice, yea, dovelike, On account of the exalted one, the lord, on account of the lord, 30. Food I eat not on account of the lord, Water I drink not, on account of the lord. “My good maiden, because of the lord, My good husbandman, on account of the lord, The hero, your lord has been destroyed, 35. The god of grain, the child, your lord, has been destroyed.” His kindly look gives peace no more, His kindly voice imparts cheer (?) no more; .......... in his place, like a dog he sleeps; My lord in his .......... slumbers like a raven 40. Alone is he, himself, My lord, for whom the wail is raised.

(Forty-one lines--a psalm on the flute to Tammuz.)

This poem illustrates what Ezekiel may have heard in vision, when in spirit he was brought to the northern gate of the temple, and heard women wailing for Tammuz (Ezek. 8:14).

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XXV. REPUTED SAYINGS OF JESUS FOUND IN EGYPT

EARLY COLLECTIONS OF THE WORDS OF JESUS. TRANSLATION OF SAYINGS FOUND IN 1897. COMMENTS. TRANSLATION OF A LEAF FOUND IN 1904. COMMENTS. OPINIONS AS TO THESE SAYINGS.

The Gospel of Luke begins with the words: “Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us,”--words which imply that there were in the early Church many attempts at Gospel writing. Some of these attempts apparently took the form of collecting the sayings of Jesus. At Oxyrhynchus in Egypt two different leaves of papyrus have been found on which such sayings are written. The first of these was found by Grenfell and Hunt in 1897; (Fig. 301). It begins in the middle of a sentence, but it is a sentence the beginning of which can be supplied from Matt. 7:5. When complete the sentence runs thus:[604]

=[Jesus saith, Cast out first the beam from thine own eye], and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.=

On this saying compare Matt. 7:5; Luke 6:42.

The second one runs:

=Jesus saith, Except ye fast to the world, ye shall in no wise find the kingdom of God; and except ye keep the sabbath, ye shall not see the Father.=

This saying does not occur in the Gospels, and has given rise to wide discussion among scholars.

The third is as follows:

=Jesus saith, I stood in the midst of the world, and in the flesh was I seen of them, and I found all men drunken, and none found I athirst among them, and my soul grieveth over the sons of men, because they are blind in their heart [and see not], poor, and know not their poverty.=

This saying also is not found in the Gospels. It is difficult to tell whether it was thought to have been spoken by Jesus before or after the resurrection.

The fourth saying is difficult of translation and interpretation, since the text is not at all clear. As emended by Harnack and Swete, it would run:

=Jesus saith, Wherever there are two they are not without God, and if one is alone anywhere, I say I am with him. Raise the stone, there thou shalt find me; cleave the wood, and there I am.=

This saying has given rise to much discussion and to a large literature, but reference can here be made only to Henry van Dyke’s poem Felix. With the last part of the saying Matt. 18:20 should be compared.

The fifth saying is as follows:

=Jesus saith, A prophet is not acceptable in his own country, neither doth a physician work cures upon them that know him.=

The first part of this is akin to Luke 4:24; Mark 6:4; Matt. 13:57, and John 4:44. The last part of it is not in the Gospels.

The sixth one reads:

=Jesus saith, A city built on the top of a high hill and firmly established can neither fall nor be hid.=

In this saying the thought of Matt. 5:14 is combined with that of Matt. 7:24, 25, but there is no necessary literary dependence upon Matthew.

The seventh and last saying on this leaf is:

=[Jesus saith,] Thou hearest with one ear, but the other thou hast closed.=

This, too, is not found in our Gospels.

In 1904 another leaf of sayings of Jesus was found at the same place. It begins with a general introduction, thus:[605]

=These are the [wonderful?][606] words which Jesus the living Lord spake [to the disciples] and to Thomas, and he said to them: Every one that hearkens to these words shall never taste of death.=

These words formed the general introduction to a collection of sayings of Jesus, similar to that from which the sayings already quoted were taken. The leaf also contained a few of the sayings which stood in the collection. They are as follows:

=Jesus saith, Let not him who seeks ...... cease until he finds, and when he finds he shall be astonished; astonished he shall reach the kingdom, and having reached the kingdom he shall rest.=

The Gospels contain parallels to parts of this saying. (See Matt. 6:33; 7:7; 13:44; Luke 5:9.)

The second of these sayings is longer:

=Jesus saith, [Ye ask (?) who are those] that draw us [to the kingdom, if] the kingdom is in heaven? ...... the fowls of the air, and all the beasts that are under the earth or upon the earth, and the fishes of the sea, [these are they which draw] you, and the kingdom of heaven is within you; and whosoever shall know himself shall find it. [Strive therefore (?)] to know yourselves, and ye shall be aware that ye are the sons of the [Almighty (?)] Father; [and (?)] ye shall know that ye are in [the city of God (?)] and ye are [the city (?)].=

The first part of this saying attributes to Christ a saying evidently based on the thought of Job 12:7, 8. Other parts of the saying recall Luke 17:21 and Luke 20:36, though the phrases which remind us of these passages form but a small part of the saying and appear here in quite a different connection.

The third saying runs:

=Jesus saith, A man shall not hesitate ...... to ask ...... concerning his place [in the kingdom. Ye shall know] that many that are first shall be last and the last first and [they shall have eternal life (?)].=

A part of this saying follows Mark 10:31 and Matt. 19:30; cf. also Luke 13:30. The last clause is conjectural, but, if correct, is similar to John 3:16, 36; 5:24.

The fourth:

=Jesus saith, Everything that is not before thy face and that which is hidden from thee shall be revealed to thee. For there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest, nor buried which shall not be raised.=

The last part of this saying is parallel to Matt. 10:26; Luke 12:2; see also Mark 4:22.

The fifth:

=His disciples question him and say, How shall we fast and how shall we [pray (?)] ...... and what [commandment] shall we keep? ...... Jesus saith, ...... do not ...... of truth ...... blessed is he ........=

The papyrus is so broken that we cannot hope to recover this saying in its entirety, but it is clear that it differed from the others in having an introductory clause which gave the occasion when it was uttered.

Judgments have differed as to whether all these sayings are really sayings of Jesus. That there were sayings of his known in ancient times that are not recorded in our Gospels is shown by Acts 20:35. Some, at least, of these sayings are so like those of Jesus that it is not difficult to believe them his. But whether they are his or not, these papyri make clear to us what Luke meant when he said “many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative.”

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