Chapter 16

[Footnote 29: The words specified are "sa" or "issa," "passur," and probably "ebony"; the others have not been identified.]

[Footnote 30: Probably "in ivory."]

[Footnote 31: Labnana.]

[Footnote 32: Hazazi.]

[Footnote 33: Prince.]

[Footnote 34: The Inscription is here defaced.]

[Footnote 35: May this be the Hebrew word for garments, "beged"?]

[Footnote 36: Defaced.]

[Footnote 37: Arunte.]

[Footnote 38: Defaced.]

[Footnote 39: Defaced.]

[Footnote 40: Precisely thus: "The King of Assyria brought men from Babylon ... and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel."--2 Kings xvii. 24.]

[Footnote 41: "Akhari." Heb. [Hebrew: achari].]

[Footnote 42: Literally, Zurai, Sidunai, Gubalai, Makullat.]

[Footnote 43: See p. 192, note 5.]

[Footnote 44: Ebony.]

[Footnote 45: The mountain chain which divides Syria from Cilicia.]

[Footnote 46: Or, proof.]

[Footnote 47: Literally, sat.]

[Footnote 48: I.e., "the sun is my light."]

[Footnote 49: Assyr. "Airu," Heb. "Iyar." 866 B.C.]

[Footnote 50: Literally, Kumukhaya.]

[Footnote 51: Between Carchemish and the Orontes.]

[Footnote 52: Diarbekr, still known by the name of "Kar-Amid." Rawlinson's "Herodotus," l. 466. The name is of frequent occurrence in early Christian writers.]

[Footnote 53: See p. 188, note 2.]

[Footnote 54: Cf. Is. x. 34, "He shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron"; also Ezek. xxxix. 10.]

[Footnote 55: The inscription is here defaced.]

[Footnote 56: Defaced.]

[Footnote 57: See p. 188, note 2.]

[Footnote 58: The grandfather of Assur-nasir-pal. His reign probably terminated at 889 B.C.]

[Footnote 59: Literally, shepherd. Thus, Isa. xliv. 28, "Cyrus is my shepherd."]

[Footnote 60: Cf. Ps. xxix. 10, "The Lord (Jhvh) sitteth upon the flood; yea the Lord sitteth King forever."]

[Footnote 61: This reads like an annexation of a portion of Babylonian territory.]

[Footnote 62: Or upholder, proclaimer of Sin, the moon; of. I. 127.]

[Footnote 63: Assyr. "Nalad." Cf. the Heb. yâlad "born of."]

[Footnote 64: Precisely thus were the Israelites carried away to Babylon.]

ASSYRIAN SACRED POETRY

TRANSLATED BY H.F. TALBOT, F.R.S.

The following translations are some of those which I published in the "Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archæology" in order to show that the Assyrians had a firm belief in the immortality of the soul: a fact which was previously unknown.

I have added specimens of their penitential psalms, and some notices of their numerous superstitions, such as the exorcism of evil spirits, the use of magic knots and talismans, the belief in inherited or imputed sins, and in the great degree of holiness which they attributed to the number _Seven_. In some of these respects we may evidently see how great an influence was exercised on the mind and belief of the Jews by their long residence at Babylon.

ASSYRIAN SACRED POETRY

A PRAYER FOR THE KING

1 "Length of days 2 long lasting years 3 a strong sword 4 a long life 5 extended years of glory 6 pre-eminence among Kings 7 grant ye to the King my Lord, 8 who has given such gifts 9 to his gods! 10 The bounds vast and wide 11 of his Empire 12 and of his Rule, 13 may he enlarge and may he complete! 14 Holding over all Kings supremacy 15 and royalty and empire 16 may he attain to gray hairs 17 and old age! 18 And after the life of these days, 19 in the feasts of the silver mountain,[2] the heavenly Courts 20 the abodes of blessedness: 21 and in the Light 22 of the _Happy Fields,_ 23 may he dwell a life 24 eternal, holy 25 in the presence 26 of the gods 27 who inhabit Assyria!"

[Footnote 1: From the "Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.," vol. i. p. 107. The original is in "Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia," vol. iii. pl. 66.]

[Footnote 2: The Assyrian Olympus. The epithet "silver" was doubtless suggested by some snowy inaccessible peak, the supposed dwelling-place of the gods.]

SHORT PRAYER FOR THE SOUL OF A DYING MAN [Footnote: "Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.," vol. ii. p. 20.]

1 Like a bird may it fly to a lofty place! 2 To the holy hands of its god, may it ascend!

THE DEATH OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN [Footnote: Ibid., vol. ii. p. 31.]

1 Bind the sick man to Heaven, for from the Earth he is being torn away! 2 Of the brave man who was so strong, his strength has departed. 3 Of the righteous servant, the force does not return. 4 In his bodily frame he lies dangerously ill. 5 But Ishtar, who in her dwelling is grieved concerning him 6 descends from her mountain, unvisited of men. 7 To the door of the sick man she comes. 8 The sick man listens! 9 Who is there? Who comes? 10 It is Ishtar daughter of the Moon-god Sin: 11 It is the god (...) Son of Bel: 12 It is Marduk, Son of the god (...). 13 They approach the body of the sick man. (The next line, 14, is nearly destroyed.) 15 They bring a _khisibta_[1] from the heavenly treasury. 16 They bring a _sisbu_ from their lofty storehouse: 17 into the precious _khisibta_ they pour bright liquor. 18 That righteous man, may he now rise on high! 19 May he shine like that _khisibta_! 20 May he be bright as that _sisbu_! 21 Like pure silver may his garment be shining white! 22 Like brass may he be radiant! 23 To the Sun, greatest of the gods, may he ascend! 24 And may the Sun, greatest of the gods, receive his soul into his holy hands![2]

[Footnote 1: Probably a cup or drinking-vessel.]

[Footnote 2: There is a fine inscription not yet fully translated, describing the soul in heaven, clothed in a white radiant garment, seated in the company of the blessed, and fed by the gods themselves with celestial food.]

PENITENTIAL PSALMS

(These lamentations seem frequently to be incoherent. A few specimens are taken from the same work as the preceding. [Footnote: "Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.," vol. ii. p. 60.])

O my Lord! my sins are many, my trespasses are great; and the wrath of the gods has plagued me with disease and with sickness and sorrow.

I fainted: but no one stretched forth his hand!

I groaned: but no one drew nigh!

I cried aloud: but no one heard!

O Lord! do not abandon thy servant!

In the waters of the great storm, seize his hand!

The sins which he has committed, turn thou to righteousness!

ELSEWHERE WE FIND

1 O my god! my sins are seven times seven! 2 O my goddess! my sins are seven times seven!

(And then a prayer follows, that those sins may be pardoned as a father and mother would pardon them!)

AN ADDRESS TO SOME DEITY

In heaven who is great? Thou alone art great! On earth who is great? Thou alone art great! When thy voice resounds in heaven, the gods fall prostrate! When thy voice resounds on earth, the genii kiss the dust!

ELSEWHERE [Footnote: Ibid., vol. ii. p. 51.]

O Thou; thy words who can resist? who can rival them? Among the gods thy brothers, thou hast no equal!

A PRAYER [Footnote: Idem.]

The god my creator, may he stand by my side! Keep thou the door of my lips! guard thou my hands, O Lord of light!

ODE TO FIRE

(The original text of this will be found in 4 R 14 l. 6 which is a lithographic copy of the tablet K, 44. A part of it was translated some years ago from a photograph of that tablet; see No. 430 of my Glossary.

Very few Assyrian odes are so simple and intelligible as this is: unfortunately most of them are mystical and hard of interpretation.)

1 O Fire, great Lord, who art the most exalted in the world, 2 noble Son of heaven, who art the most exalted in the world, 3 O Fire, with thy bright flame 4 in the dark house thou dost cause light. 5 Of all things that can be named, Thou dost form the fabric! 6 Of bronze and of lead, Thou art the melter! 7 Of silver and of gold, Thou art the refiner! 8 Of ... Thou art the purifier! 9 Of the wicked man in the night time Thou dost repel the assault! 10 But the man who serves his god, Thou wilt give him light for his actions!

ASSYRIAN TALISMANS AND EXORCISMS TRANSLATED BY H.F. TALBOT, F.R.S.

DEMONIACAL POSSESSION AND EXORCISM

Diseases were attributed to the influence of Evil Spirits. Exorcisms were used to drive away those tormentors: and this seems to have been the sole remedy employed, for I believe that no mention has been found of medicine.

This is a very frequent subject of the tablets. [Footnote: Taken from 2 R pl. 18.] One of them says of a sick man:

1 "May the goddess ... 2 wife of the god ... 3 turn his face in another direction; 4 that the evil spirit may come out of him 5 and be thrust aside, and that Good Spirits and Good Powers 6 may dwell in his body!"

Sometimes divine images were brought into the chamber, and written texts taken from holy books were placed on the walls and bound around the sick man's brows. If these failed recourse was had to the influence of the _mamit_, which the evil powers were unable to resist. On a tablet 2 R p. 17 the following is found, written in the Accadian language only, the Assyrian version being broken off:

1 Take a white cloth: In it place the _mamit_, 2 in the sick man's right hand. 3 And take a black cloth: 4 wrap it round his left hand. 5 Then all the evil spirits.[1] 6 and the sins which he has committed 7 shall quit their hold of him, 8 and shall never return.[2]

[Footnote 1: A long list of them is given.]

[Footnote 2: "Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.," vol. ii. p. 56.]

The symbolism of the black cloth in the left hand seems evident. The dying man repudiates all his former evil deeds. And he puts his trust in holiness, symbolized by the white cloth in his right hand. Then follow some obscure lines about the spirits--

Their heads shall remove from his head: their hands shall let go his hands: their feet shall depart from his feet:

which perhaps may be explained thus--we learn, from another tablet, that the various classes of evil spirits troubled different parts of the body. Some injured the head, some the hands and feet, etc., etc. Therefore the passage before us may mean: "The spirits whose power is over the hand, shall loose their hands from his," etc. But I can offer no decided opinion on such obscure points of their superstition.

INHERITED OR IMPUTED SINS

These were supposed to pursue a sick man and torment him. [Footnote: See "Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia," vol. iv. p. 7.]

1 The _mamit_ for him reveal! The _mamit_ for him unfold![1] 2 Against the evil spirit, disturber of his body! 3 Whether it be the sin of his father: 4 or whether it be the sin of his mother: 5 or whether it be the sin of his elder brother: 6 or whether it be the sin of someone who is unknown![2]

[Footnote 1: A holy object, the nature of which has not been ascertained.]

[Footnote 2: "Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.," vol. ii, p. 58.]

MAGIC KNOTS

Justin Martyr, speaking of the Jewish exorcists, says "They use magic ties or knots." A similar usage prevailed among the Babylonians. [Footnote 7: Ibid., p. 54.] The god Marduk wishes to soothe the last moments of a dying man. His father Hea says: Go my son!

1 Take a woman's linen kerchief 2 bind it round thy right hand! loose it from the left hand! 3 Knot it with seven knots: do so twice: 4 Sprinkle it with bright _wine_: 5 bind it round the head of the sick man: 6 bind it round his hands and feet, like manacles and fetters. 7 Sit down on his bed: 8 sprinkle holy water over him. 9 He shall hear the voice of Hea, 10 Davkina[1] shall protect him! 11 And Marduk, Eldest Son of heaven, shall find him a happy habitation![2]

[Footnote 1: One of the principal goddesses, the wife of the god Hea.]

[Footnote 2: "Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.," vol. ii. p. 84.]

TALISMANS

To cure diseases they seem to have relied wholly on charms and incantations.

The first step was to guard the entrance to the sick man's chamber.

A tablet says:

"That nothing evil may enter, place at the door the god (...) and the god (...)."

That is to say, their images. I believe these were little figures of the gods, brought by the priests, perhaps a sort of Teraphim.

The following line is more explicit: "Place the guardian statues of Hea and Marduk at the door, on the right hand and on the left." But they added to this another kind of protection:

1 Right and left of the threshold of the door, spread out holy texts and sentences. 2 Place on the statues texts bound around them.

These must have been long strips like ribbons of parchment or papyrus. The following line is still clearer:

"In the night-time bind around the sick man's head a sentence taken from a good book."[10]

[Footnote 10: Similar to these were the phylacteries of the Jews, which were considered to be protections from all evil. Schleusner in his Lexicon of the New Testament says that they were "Strips of parchment on which were written various portions of the Mosaic law, for the Jews believed that these ligaments had power to avert every kind of evil, but especially to drive away demons. as appears from the Targum on the Canticles," etc. We see that the Babylonian precept was to bind holy sentences "around the head" and others "right and left of the threshold of the door."

Cf. Deut. xi. 18: "Ye shall lay up these my words in your heart, and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, and as frontlets between your eyes.

"And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thine house, and upon thy gates."]

HOLINESS OF THE NUMBER SEVEN

Innumerable are the evidences of this opinion which are found on the tablets. Two or three instances may suffice here:

THE SONG OF THE SEVEN SPIRITS [Footnote: "Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.," vol. ii. 2 p. 58.]

1 They are seven! they are seven! 2 In the depths of ocean they are seven! 3 In the heights of heaven they are seven! 4 In the ocean stream in a Palace they were born. 5 Male they are not: female they are not! 6 Wives they have not! Children are not born to them! 7 Rule they have not! Government they know not! 8 Prayers they hear not! 9 They are seven, and they are seven! Twice over they are seven!

This wild chant touches one of the deepest chords of their religious feeling. They held that seven evil spirits at once might enter into a man: there are frequent allusions to them, and to their expulsion, on the tablets. One runs thus:

1 The god (...) shall stand by his bedside: 2 Those seven evil spirits he shall root out, and shall expel them from his body. 3 And those seven shall never return to the sick man again!

But sometimes this belief attained the grandeur of epic poetry. There is a fine tale on one of the tablets [Footnote 2: "Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia," vol. iv. pl. 5.] of the seven evil spirits assaulting heaven, and the gods alarmed standing upon the defensive, no doubt successfully, but unluckily the conclusion of the story is broken off.

ANCIENT BABYLONIAN CHARMS

TRANSLATED BY REV. A.H. SAYCE, M.A.

The following are specimens of the imprecatory charms with which the ancient Babylonian literature abounded, and which were supposed to be the most potent means in the world for producing mischief. Some examples are given in the first volume of the "Records of the Past," pp. 131-135 of the exorcisms used to avert the consequences of such enchantments. The original Accadian text is preserved in the first column with an interlinear Assyrian translation: the short paragraphs in Column III also give the Accadian original; but elsewhere the Assyrian scribe has contented himself with the Assyrian rendering alone. The charms are rhythmic, and illustrate the rude parallelism of Accadian poetry. The Assyrian translations were probably made for the library of Sargon of Aganè, an ancient Babylonian monarch who reigned not later than the sixteenth century B.C.; but the copy we possess was made from the old tablets by the scribes of Assur-bani-pal. The larger part of the first column has already been translated by M. François Lenormant in "_La Magie chez les Chaldéens_" p. 59. The tablet on which the inscription occurs is marked K 65 in the British Museum Collection and will be published in the "Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia," Vol. IV, plates 7, 8.

ANCIENT BABYLONIAN CHARMS

COLUMN I

1 The beginning[1]--The baneful charm[2] like an evil demon acts against[3] the man. 2 The voice _that defiles_ acts upon him. 3 The maleficent voice acts upon him. 4 The baneful charm is a spell that originates sickness.[4] 5 This man the baneful charm strangles like a lamb. 6 His god in his flesh makes the wound. 7 His goddess mutual enmity brings down. 8 The voice _that defiles_ like a hyena covers him and subjugates him. 9 Merodach[5] favors him; and 10 to his father Hea into the house he enters and cries: 11 "O my father, the baneful charm like an evil demon acts against the man." 12 To the injured (man) he (Hea) speaks thus: 13 "(A number) make: this man is unwitting: by means of the number he enslaves thee." 14 (To) his son Merodach he replies[6] 15 "My son, the number thou knowest not; the number let me fix for thee. 16 Merodach, the number thou knowest not; the number let me fix for thee. 17 What I know thou knowest. 18 Go, my son Merodach. 19 ... with noble hand seize him, and 20 his enchantment explain and his enchantment make known. 21 Evil (is to) the substance of his body,[7] 22 whether (it be) the curse of his father, 23 or the curse of his mother, 24 or the curse of his elder brother, 25 or the bewitching curse of an unknown man." 26 Spoken (is) the enchantment by the lips of Hea. 27 Like a signet may he[8] be brought near. 28 Like garden-herbs may he be destroyed. 29 Like a weed may he be gathered-for-sale. 30 (This) enchantment may the spirit of heaven remember, may the spirit of earth remember.

31 Like this signet he[9] shall be cut, and the sorcerer 32 the consuming fire-god shall consume. 33 By written-spells he shall not be _delivered_. 34 By curses and poisons he shall not be _moved_. 35 His property (and) ground he shall not take. 36 His corn shall not be high and the sun shall not remember (him).

[Footnote 1: The Accadian word is translated by the Assyrian "siptu" ("lip"), and may be translated "beginning" or "fresh paragraph."]

[Footnote 2: In the Assyrian version, "curse."]

[Footnote 3: In the Assyrian, "goes against."]

[Footnote 4: In the Assyrian, "(is) the cause of sickness."]

[Footnote 5: The Accadian god identified with Merodach by the Assyrian translator was "Silik-mulu-khi" ("the protector of the city who benefits mankind"). He was regarded as the son of Hea.]

[Footnote 6: The verbs throughout are in the aorist, but the sense of the original is better expressed in English by the present than the past tense.]

[Footnote 7: That is, the sorcerer's.]

[Footnote 8: The sorcerer.]

[Footnote 9: The sorcerer.]

COLUMN II

1 On the festival of the god, the king unconquerable, 2 may the man (by) the enchantment, (with) _eldest_ son (and) wife, 3 (by) sickness, the loss of the bliss of prosperity, of joy (and) of gladness, 4 (by) the sickness which exists in a man's skin, a man's flesh (and) a man's entrails, 5 like this signet be brought near and 6 on that day may the consuming fire-god consume; 7 may the enchantment go forth and to (its) dwelling-place betake itself.

8 Like this vineyard he shall be cut off, and the sorcerer 9 the consuming fire-god shall consume. 10 Despite the _holidays_ of a _plague_ that returns not, 11 despite the shrine of the god, the king unconquerable, 12 may the man, (by) the enchantment, (with) _eldest_ son (and) wife, 13 (by) sickness, the loss of the bliss of prosperity, of joy (and) of gladness, 14 (by) the sickness which exists in a man's skin, a man's flesh, a man's _entrails_, 15 like this garden-stuff be rooted out, and 16 on that day may the consuming fire-god consume. 17 May the enchantment go forth and to (its) dwelling-place betake itself.

18 Like this weed he shall be gathered for sale, and the sorcerer 19 the consuming fire-god shall consume. 20 Before him, despite his blessedness that is not, 21 despite the canopy of a covering that departs not, 22 may the man (by) the enchantment, (with) _eldest_ son (and) wife, 23 (by) sickness, the loss of the bliss of prosperity, of joy (and) of gladness, 24 (by) the sickness which exists in a man's skin, a man's flesh, a man's _entrails_, 25 like this weed be plucked, and 26 on that day may the consuming fire-god consume. 27 May the enchantment go forth and to (its) dwelling-place betake itself.

28 Like this thread he shall be stretched, and the sorcerer 29 the consuming fire-god shall consume. 30 Despite his adoration that is not, 31 despite the clothing of the god, the King unconquerable, 32 may the man, (through) the enchantment, (with) _eldest_ son (and) wife, 33 (by) sickness, the loss of the bliss of prosperity, of joy (and) of gladness, 34 (by) the sickness which exists in a man's skin, a man's flesh, a man's _entrails_, 35 like this thread be stretched, and 36 on that day may the consuming fire-god consume. 37 May the enchantment go forth and to (its) dwelling-place betake itself.

38 Like this goat's-hair cloth he shall be stretched, and the sorcerer 39 the consuming fire-god shall consume. 40 Despite the goat's-hair that is not, 41 despite the canopy of the covering (that departs not), 42 may the man (through) the enchantment, (with) _eldest_ son (and) wife, 43 (by) sickness, the loss of the bliss of prosperity, of joy (and) of gladness, 44 (by) the sickness which exists in a man's skin, a man's flesh, a man's _entrails_, 45 like this goat's-hair cloth be stretched, and 46 on that day the man may the consuming fire-god consume. 47 May the enchantment go forth and to (its) dwelling-place betake itself.

48 Like these _boards_ he shall be stretched, and the sorcerer 49 the consuming fire-god shall consume. 50 O son of the macebearer, despite produce unproduced, 51 despite the clothing of the god, the King unconquerable, 52 may the man (by) the enchantment, (with) _eldest_ son and wife, 53 (by) sickness, the loss of prosperity, of joy (and) of gladness, 54 (by) the sickness which exists in a man's skin, a man's flesh, a man's _entrails_, 55 like these _boards_ be stretched, and 56 on that day may the consuming fire-god consume. 57 May the enchantment go forth and to (its) dwelling-place betake itself.

COLUMN III

(The first part of Column III is mutilated. It becomes legible in the middle of a list of magical _formulæ_.)

30 The chiefest talisman, the mighty talisman, the engraved talisman, the talisman is the binder, with enchantment. 31 The repetition of the enchantment (is) baneful to man. 32 The curses of the gods. 33 ... the binder with enchantment. 34 (With enchantment) his hands (and) his feet he binds. 35 Merodach, the son of Hea, the prince, with his holy hands cuts the knots. 36 May the enchantment cause this talisman to the desert among the wild beasts to go forth. 37 May the baneful enchantment seize upon others. 38 May this man rest (and) open (his eyes). 39 To the blessed hand of his god may he be committed. 40 Conclusion of the _formulæ_ for averting sorcery.

41 For the raising of the mighty foundation thus have I burned up straight, 42 like fire have I burned up (and) have delivered the oracle.[10]

[Footnote 10: Or, "have laid the witchcraft."]

COLUMN IV