Obverse
[1.] [ḥad]-ê-a mu-zu an[-zak-ku]
In the lightning flash thou proclaimest thy name!
ḥad-ê-a is a ḥal-clause, consisting of noun ḥad, participle ê and postposition a, and means “in the going out of the sceptre”, or freely, “in the lightning flash”. The apodosis is mu-zu an-zak-ku. ḥad (PA) equals ḥaṭṭu, “sceptre” (Br. 5573). The value ḥad may be of Semitic origin, but note that its cognate ḥud is equal to namûru, “brightness” (Br. 5582), as is also kun, another value of PA “staff”; then PA = “a lighted torch”. ê we have had as equal to aṣû ([Hymn to Bêl, line 15]). ê is also equal to šûpû, “flashing” (Br. 5638). a equals ina, “in” (Br. 11365).
mu-zu means “thy name”. mu equals šumu, “name” (Br. 1235).
an-zak-ku is a verb. an is an indeterminate verbal prefix. The context shows it to be of the second person (see MSL. p. XXVI). zak-ku may mean “utter a decree” (Br. 6519). For example, zak equals tamîtu, “a decree” (Br. 6493). Perhaps it could as well be a verb signifying “to decree”, or “to establish”. ku also equals tamû, “utter” (Br. 10555), but it would be simpler to make ku a phonetic complement to zak. It may be that we ought to read the clause: “thy name utters the decree”. But “thy name” has the usual position of the object. It is also rather awkward to regard zak as an object placed between the verbal prefix and the verb.
[2.] dimmer Mer bi-maḥ ḥad-ê-a mu-zu an[-zak-ku]
O Adad, in the mighty thunder and the lightning flash thou declarest thy name.
dimmer Mer: this is the Sumerian name of the storm-god. Mer being one of the values of the sign IMMU. The fact that the sign in some cases in this hymn (e. g. lines [15] and [17]) is followed by the phonetic complement ri or ra shows that Mer is the value intended for the name of the god. Mer is probably from imi changed to immer and then to Mer and hence, like imi, means “wind” and “storm”. The name Mer offers no suggestion as to the origin of the Semitic names Rammânu and Addu.
bi-maḥ equals “mighty utterance”. bi (see [Hymn to Sin, line 13]). maḥ (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 23]).
ḥad-ê-a mu-zu an-zak-ku (see on [line 1]).
[3.] [dimmer] Mer dumu An-na bi-maḥ ḥad-ê-a mu-zu an-sa[k-ku]
O Adad, son of Anu, in the mighty thunder and the lightning flash thou declarest thy name.
dumu (see [Hymn to Sin, line 5], ṭu-mu).
An-na, ideogram for the god of heaven, plus phonetic complement. Note that AN for the god Anu does not take the determinative god sign. Probably the omission is due to the desire to avoid the occurrence of AN twice in succession. It must have been after Adad had taken the place of Ištar in the second triad of gods that Adad was called the son of Anu. The earlier arrangement was Anu, Bêl, Ea, Sin, Šamaš and Ištar. The later order was Anu, Bêl and Ea, as rulers of the universe, and Sin, Šamaš and Adad, as rulers of heaven under the command of Anu. This new grouping was the result of a theological development. Ištar was found to be one of the planets, and, therefore, not to be classed longer along with Sin and Šamaš. Adad, the god of the atmosphere, was thought to be a personality of sufficient dignity to take the place formerly occupied by Ištar.
bi-maḥ ḥad-ê-a mu-zu an-zak-ku (see on lines [1] and [2]).
[4.] ù-mu-un nì-ki-ge bi-maḥ ḥad-ê-a mu-zu an-zak[-ku]
O lord, dread of earth, in the mighty thunder and the lightning flash thou declarest thy name.
ù-mu-un (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 1]).
nì-ki-ge: nì is a value of IMMU equal to puluḥtu, “fear” (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 18]). ki equals irṣitu, “earth” (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 9]). ge is a postpositive sign of the genitive (see Br. 5935.)
bi-maḥ ḥad-ê-a mu-zu an-zak-ku (see lines [1] and [2]).
[5.] dimmer Mer ù-mu-un ib-mal-la bi-maḥ ḥad-ê-a mu-zu an[-zak-ku]
O Adad, lord of great wrath, in the mighty thunder and and the lightning flash thou declarest thy name.
ib-mal-la: ib is a value of TUM equal to agâgu, “anger” (Br. 4954). mal is a value of IḲU which is dialectic for PISANNU and also for MA.AL (see Hymn to Bêl, lines [1] and [18], and [Hymn to Sin, line 2]). ìb-mal = “wrathful” (Br. 2242).
bi-maḥ ḥad-ê-a mu-zu an-zak-ku (see on lines [1] and [2]).
[6.] tab-tab-ba ù-mu-un dimmer ama-an-ki-ga bi-maḥ ḥad-ê-a [mu-zu an-zak-ku]
O twin, lord, bull-god of heaven and earth, in the mighty thunder and the lightning flash thou declarest thy name.
bar-tab-ba equals tu’âmu, “twin” (Br. 1896). maš equals tu’âmu (Br. 1811), while the cognate bar equals tappû, “companion” (Br. 1807). maš, which represents the idea “cut”, is more primitive than bar which represents the idea “side”. maš is also equal to mâšu, “twin”, a Sumerian loan-word in Assyrian. tab equals tappû (Br. 3775). tab may have been inserted, that bar “companion” should be taken rather than the narrower word “twin” ([Hymn to Sin, line 16]). ba is a phonetic complement (Br. 102 and [Hymn to Bêl, line 25]). Adad is called “twin” or “companion”, because he possessed a composite nature, comprising in himself the elements of several gods. The manifestations of power seen in wind and rain and in lightning and thunder, would logically lead to the conclusion that his nature was divided, or that he brought to his aid several gods endowed with powers suited to different kinds of effort. The gods that aided Adad were sometimes looked upon as birds, one of whom was the god Zû, who presided over the tempest. Zû’s mother was Siris, lady of the rain and clouds. Then there was Martu, the lord of the squall, and Barḳu, the genius of the lightning. The son of Zû was a strong bull who pastured in the meadows, bringing abundance and fertility. There was also Šûtu, the south wind. He, no doubt, was an agent of Adad’s. There is another way in which Adad may be looked upon as twin-like in his nature. He could pass suddenly from the fiercest anger to gentlest kindness. He was represented in sculpture as carrying a battle-axe. Kings invoked his aid against their enemies. In his passionate rage he destroyed everything before him. When his wrath was appeased, however, there might come the gentle breeze and the refreshing shower. The fields which he had devastated he also caused to blossom and produce fruit and grain.
dimmer (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 2]).
ama-an-ki-ga: ama equals rîmu, “bull” (see Hymn to Bêl, lines [7] and [9]). an (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 18]). ki (see on [line 4]). ga seems to be a postposition (see MSL. p. XVI). ga might perhaps be equal to bašû, “being” (Br. 6109).
bi-maḥ ḥad-e-a mu-zu an-zak-ku (see on lines [1] and [2]).
[7.] a-a dimmer Mer ù-mu-un ud-da bar-ru-a mu-zu an-zak-ku
O father Adad, lord, when the light is darkened, thou declarest thy name.
a-a (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 3]).
ud-da: ud equals urru, “light” (Br. 7798, also [Hymn to Sin, line 17]). da is a phonetic complement (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 16]).
mu-zu an-zak-ku (see on [line 1]).
[8.] a-a dimmer Mer û-gal-la bar-ru-a mu-zu an-zak-ku
O father Adad, when the great day is darkened, thou declarest thy name.
û-gal-la: û (see [Hymn to Sin, line 17]). gal-la (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 14]).
bar-ru-a: bar equals parâsu, “cut off” (Br. 1785). The idea “cut”, however, is more usually expressed by the value maš (see on [line 6]). ru, being a phonetic complement, limits us to the choice of the value bar here.
[9.] a-a dimmer Mer uku-gal-la bar-ru-a mu-zu an-zak-ku
O father Adad, when the great king is cut off, thou declarest thy name.
uku-gal-la: uku a value of UG, which is here a Babylonian sign found, for instance, in the Cyrus Cylinder, equals both ûmu, “day”, and šarru, “king” (Br. 3861 and 3862). gal-la (see on [line 8]).
[10.] dimmer Mer uku An-na bi-maḥ ḥad-ê-a mu-zu an-zak-ku
O Adad, king of Anu, in the mighty thunder and the lightning flash thou declarest thy name.
dimmer Mer (see on [line 2]). uku (see MSL. 344 and on [line 9]).
[11.] mu-zu kalam-ma mu-un-rù-rù-rù
Thy name is mightily magnificent in the earth.
mu-zu (see on [line 1]).
kalam-ma: kalam as a value is related to the sign-name KALAMMU and equals mâtu, “land” (Br. 5914). We have already had the value un (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 1]). ma is a phonetic complement (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 1]).
mu-un-rù-rù-rù: mu-un (see [Hymn to Sin, line 17]). rù-rù-rù (see [Hymn to Sin, line 14]). A double form like rù-rù is common, but the triple form is rare, and expresses a very unusual emphasis.
[12.] me-lam-zu kalam-ma tug-gim im-mi-in-dul
The brightness covers the land like a garment.
me-lam-zu (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 21]).
kalam-ma (see on [line 11]).
tug-gim: tug equals ṣubâtu, “clothing” (Br. 10551). gim is an EK form. We have had the ES form dim ([Hymn to Sin, line 11]).
im-mi-in-dul: im is an indeterminate verbal prefix, but commonly used for the third person (see Br. p. 545). mi-in is a verbal infix, used chiefly of the third person (MSL. pp. XXIV and XXXII). Its antecedent here is kalam-ma. dul equals katâmu, “cover”, but du also equals šubtu, “dwelling” (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 14]), connoting in both instances the idea “cover, shelter”.
[13.] za ḥad aka-zu-šù kur-gal a-a dimmer Mu-ul-lil sag im-da-sig-gi
The stone of the sceptre of thy thunder strikes the head of the great mountain, father Bêl.
za equals abnu, “stone” (Br. 11721 and [Hymn to Sin, line 18]). There is another sign used more commonly than ZÂU to represent “stone”; namely, DAḲḲU.
ḥad (see on [line 1]).
aka-zu-šù: aka equals ramâmu, “roar” (Br. 4746). The meaning of RAM as ramâmu seems to come through mnemonic paronomasia by way of the value aka as equal to râmu, “love”. It is important to distinguish ramâmu from Ramman, an Assyrian name for Mer meaning “thunderer”, as well as from ramânu, “self”. ramânu self is often a pun on Ramman. zu (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 21]). šù (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 15]).
kur-gal: kur (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 3]). gal (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 14]).
a-a dimmer Mu-ul-lil (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 3]). In the Hymn to Bêl ([line 16]), Bêl seems to be called a mountain. The thought probably is suggested by E-kur of Nippur.
[14.] urša-zu àma gal dimmer Nin-lil ba-e-di-ḥu-laḥ-e
Thy thunder terrifies the great mother Bêlit.
urša equals ramâmu (Br. 8556). ur is a value of ḤAR which itself may mean ramâmu (Br. 8539) and ša is a value of DU which we know means alâku. urša must mean “advancing thunder”.
àma equals ummu, “mother”. The idea of “mother” arises out of “amplitude”, which the sign is intended pictorially to represent. damal is a common value of the same sign (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 10]).
gal ([Hymn to Bêl, line 14]).
dimmer Nin-lil. Nin-lil is the Sumerian name of Bêlit, the consort of Bêl. Nin equals Bêltu, “lady”. lil has the same meaning as in En-lil or Mul-lil (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 2]). Nin-lil is exactly the reverse with respect to sex of En-lil. Bêlit, like Bêl, had a temple at Nippur which dates back apparently to the time of the early dynasties of Ur. It was, however, simply a dim shadow of the temple of Bêl. The goddess of the divine family never achieved the popularity attained by the god, the father of the family. Besides being called Nin-lil, “lady of mercy” (Br. 5932), she was sometimes called Nin-ḥar-sag, “lady of the high mountain”, which would indicate that she dwelt with Bêl in E-kur, “the mountain house”. Under the name of Nin-ḥar-sag, Bêlit had a temple also at Girsu, one of the divisions of the town of Lagaš. Nin-ḥar-sag was sometimes addressed as “the mother of the gods”.
ba-e-di-ḥu-láḥ-e is a verb. ba is an indeterminate verbal prefix. Here it is third person (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 25]). e (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 18]). di is an unusual infix; it is probably used here in the interest of vowel harmony for da (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 16]). ḥu-láḥ is the verb itself and is equal to galâtu, “frighten” (Br. 2076). On closer analysis, ḥu must be a prefix of generalization; for example ḥu may equal amêlu, “man” (Br. 2050). láḥ must be the real verb; it is equal to galâtu (Br. 6166). e must be a vowel of prolongation. The usual phonetic complement after láḥ is ḥa.
The fear of the lightning of Adad in this hymn is somewhat like that expressed in the Babylonian Epic of Gilgameš, Eleventh Tablet. The lord of the storm caused the heavens to rain heavily. There arose from the foundation of heaven a black cloud. The thunderbearers marched over mountain and plain, and Ninib continued pouring out rain and Adad’s violence reached to heaven. The southern blast blew hard. Like a battle-charge upon mankind the waters rushed. One could no longer see an other. The gods were dismayed at the flood. They sought refuge by ascending the highest heaven, cowering like dogs. On the battlements of heaven they crouched and Ištar screamed like a woman in travail.
[15.] dingir En-lil-li dumu-ni dimmer Mer-ra à mu-un-da-an-aka
Bêl to his son Mer measures out power:
dingir En-lil-li: Bêl’s name has appeared before in this hymn, but in the ES form ([line 13]). dingir En-lil (see [Hymn to Sin, line 5]). li (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 23]).
dumu-ni: (see on [line 3]). ni (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 13]).
à (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 14]) = ID.
mu-un-da-an-aka: mu-un (see [Hymn to Sin, line 17]). da-an is a verbal infix (MSL. pp. XXIV and XXXII). Its antecedent here is dumu-ni. aka: we have had aka equal to ramâmu ([line 13]), but here we have aka equal to madâdu, “measure out”. madâdu, “measure out”, is a pun on madâdu, “love” (thus MSL. p. 21).
[16.] mulu dumu-mu û um-me-ši-si-si û um-me-ši-lá-lá
Thou who art my son, the day thou didst lift up the eye, the day thou didst look!
mulu: The sign is the usual ideogram for “man”, but may stand for the Assyrian ša, as here. Note that the sign takes the value lu in composition (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 20]).
dumu-mu: dumu (see [line 3]). mu is a suffix of the first person (Br. 1241). There are three pronominal mu’s. First, the determinate pronominal suffix mu of the first person, cognate with ma-e, the personal pronoun of the first person; this is the mu we have here. Secondly, there is a mu of mu-un, the indeterminate verbal prefix. mun or mu-un is simply this mu nasalized. We have had this mu quite often. Finally, there is another mu, an indeterminate suffix, which is related to mu of mu-un, rather than to mu, the cognate of ma-e. This indeterminate mu is found at the end of relative clauses. We shall meet it in the Hymn to Tammuz (see below).
û (see [Hymn to Sin, line 17]).
um-me-ši-si-si is a verb. um-me is a indeterminate verbal prefix, but is chosen here for the second person, since mu-un is so often used for the third person. umme is not a very common prefix. It stands for ume which is a shortened form of umeni. ši: ŠI with the value ige or ide we have seen equals înu, “eye” (see [Hymn to Sin, line 16]). ši here, however, seems to be regarded as a part of the verbal stem and hence slips in between the prefix and the root. si-si (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 22]). The Sumerian idiom means “fill the eye”.
um-me-ši-lá-lá: um-me-ši (just explained). lá-lá: lá is a value of LALLU which occurs as a phonetic complement in the word En-lil-lá ([Hymn to Sin, line 5]) also equals našû, “lift up” (Br. 10101).
[17.] dimmer Mer-ri û um-me-ši-si-si û um-me-ši-lá-lá
O Adad, the day thou didst lift up the eye, the day thou didst look!
dimmer Mer (see on [line 2]). ri (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 19]).
û um-me-ši-si-si û um-me-ši-lá-lá (see on [line 16]).
[18.] û iminna-bi-meš ba-gan-tal-lá û um-me-ši-lá-lá
During those seven days thou didst blow a full blast, when thou didst look.
û (see [Hymn to Sin, line 17]).
iminna-bi-meš: iminna is the Sumerian word for “seven”. The sign in our text consists of seven uprights, four above and three below. The Assyrian form consists of three above, three in the middle and one at the bottom. bi is the demonstrative pronoun = “those” (Br. 5134 and [Hymn to Sin, line 27]). meš is the Sumerian sign of the plural number (Br. 10470). The sign is composed of ME and EŠ and means “many”.
ba-gan-tal-lá: ba (see on [line 14]); ba = prefix. gan is an infix here of adverbial and corroborative character (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 9]). tal is a value of RI equal to zâḳu, “blow” (Br. 2581). We assume tal to be the correct value because of the following LALLU = lá (see on [line 16]).
û um-me-ši-lá-lá (see [line 16]). This interesting statement on the flood agrees entirely with the story of the flood in the Eleventh Tablet of the Babylonian Epic of Gilgameš. The difference between the length of the Hebrew and that of the Babylonian deluge is significant. The narrative of Pirnapištim, the Babylonian Noah, is quite graphic. He represents the gods as seated weeping, their lips covered in fear. Six days and nights the wind blew. When the seventh day appeared, the storm subsided, the sea began to dry and the flood was ended. He looked upon the sea, mankind was turned to clay, corpses floated like reeds. He opened the window. He sent forth a dove which returned. He sent forth a raven, which saw the carrion on the water, ate, and wandered away, but did not return. He built an altar on the peak of the mountain and set forth vessels by sevens. The gods smelled the savour and gathered to the sacrifice, and the great goddess lifted up the rainbow which Anu had created. Those days he thought upon and forgot not.
[19.] û ì di-zu-ka ḥàr-ḥa-ra ab-ba û um-me-ši-lá-lá
It was the day of the word of thy judgment, O bull-god of the abyss, the day thou didst look.
û ([line 16]).
ì equals amâtu, “word” (Br. 518, see also [Hymn to Sin, line 16]).
di-zu-ka: di equals dênu, “judgment” (Br. 9525 and [Hymn to Bêl, line 7]). zu ([Hymn to Bêl, line 21]). ka = nota genitivi ([Hymn to Bêl, line 1]).
ḥàr-ḥa-ra is the same as ḥàr-ḥar-a. ḥàr is a value of GUṬṬU, meaning ḳardu, “heroic one” (MSL. p. 174). We have had the sign with the value gù ([Hymn to Bêl, line 9]). ḥa-ra, phonetic representation of ḥàr-a, with the same meaning as ḥàr of GUṬṬU, plus phonetic complement.
ab-ba: ab equals tâmtu, “sea” (Br. 3822). The common word for “sea” is AB.ZU, written ZU.AB, meaning “sea of wisdom”, the abode of Ea, the god of wisdom. ab also equals aptu, “abyss” (Br. 3815). ab, “sea”, or “abyss” is a shortened form of a-ab, “water enclosure”, “water space”. AB with the value éš we have had ([Hymn to Sin, line 10]).
û um-me-ši-lá-lá ([line 16]).
[20.] nim-gir luḥ su-ši-šù mu-ra-du-ud
As the lightning, a messenger for terror, thou didst go.
nim-gir equals birḳu, “lightning” (Br. 9020). nim-gir literally means “high lightning”. nim equals elû, “high”. gir alone equals birḳu (Br. 306). The sign GIRÛ in its primitive form is a picture of a “dagger”. From the conception of the “dagger”, there is, of course, but a short step to that of the forked lightning.
luḥ equals sukkallu, “messenger” (Br. 6170). We have had the sign SUKKALLU with the value laḥ ([line 14], laḥ, and [Hymn to Sin, line 27]).
su-ši-šù equals noun su-ši and postposition šù. su-ši: SU.ŠI means “increase of eye” and eqnals šalummatu which means “splendour”, or perhaps “terror”. SU.ŠI might be read su-lim. SU.ZI, however, has the same meaning (see Br. 235 and 187, also MSL. p. 298), proving the reading SU.ŠI.
mu-ra-du-ud: mu (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 18]). ra is an infix of adverbial character denoting motion (MSL. p. XXIV). du-ud is no doubt for du-du, an intensified form of du (see [Hymn to Bêl, line 23], gin).
[21.] mulu dumu-mu rù gin-na-gin-na a-ba zi-gi-en te-ga
When thou who art my son goest violently about, who can attack like thee?
mulu dumu-mu (see on [line 16]).
rù equals naḳâpu, “break forth violently”, or “storm furiously”, (Br. 9144). Here we come near to the primary idea of the sign which is that of “the goring bull” (see [Hymn to Sin, line 14]).
gin-na-gin-na: DU = alâku may have any one of three values, gin, tum or rà (Br. 4871). gin is the correct value here, as is shown by the phonetic complement na. The value du must be closely related to tum and gin. du by change of d to t and by addition of the nasal m becomes tum. tum by change of t to g, of u to i and of m to n becomes gin.
a-ba equals mannu, “who” (Br. 11370). See also below.
zi-gi-en probably is a phonetic and dialectic form for za-e-gim ([line 22]).
te-ga: te equals ṭeḥû, “attack” (Br. 7688). ga: BA is probably dialectic for ga (Br. 103) which would be the same as PISANNU, i. e., bašû, “being”, or šakânu, “establishing”.