A Liturgy to Enlil, Series e-lum gud-sun (Zimmern KL. No. 11)

The history of the text of this long and intricate Enlil liturgy elucidates in unusual manner the evolution of Sumerian prayer books until they attained canonical and permanent form. The earliest text of this liturgy is partially preserved on the Tablet Virolleaud published in the Revue d'Assyriologie, Vol. XVI. The fragment was brought to Europe in 1909 by the assyriologist Charles Virolleaud, having been purchased by him during his excavations in Persia. It is light brown and varies from the center to the edge by two inches to one inch in thickness. The fragment is from the upper left corner of a large three(?) column tablet. About half of the first melody is preserved on the obverse. The reverse preserves the last two melodies. From their rubrics we learn that the entire series contained eleven sections. This tablet has the rubric ki-šub-gú after each strophe. The titular litany[281] occupies as usual the next to the last place but only the opening lines giving the motif and a few titles are given. The redactor indicates the remaining titles by a rubric “(Recite the title) of a [pg 291] god until they are finished.” The rubric is in Semitic which shows that the redaction was done by Semitic scholars.

The series as it finally issued from the hands of the liturgists in the Isin period was written upon a huge five(?) column tablet, the lower half of which has been published by Zimmern, Altsumerische Kultlieder, No. 11. Each column contained about fifty lines. There are no giš-gí-gal or antiphons after the melodies, ten of which I have been able to restore. By borrowing from old songs and other liturgies the redactors have greatly increased the length of this service. At least ten songs have been lost on Cols. III, IV of the obverse and I, II of the reverse.