The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records and Legends of Assyria and Babylonia

by Theophilus G. Pinches

That period arrived;

“The rulers of darkness rain down one evening a rain of dirt (?).”

Muir, however, seems to be singular, not plural. Another meaning of the word is “messenger.”

P. [108], l. 35. If this translation be correct, the throwing down of a part of the food recalls the casting of meal on the ground as an offering to the gods. It is not unlikely that the preparation of the food, and setting it by his head, was accompanied by some prayer or incantation to secure his recovery, as in the inscription translated in the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archæology, May, 1901, pp. 193 and 205-210. Sleeping with a cruse of water near the head (1 Sam. xxvi. 11-12) was probably simply a provision against thirst, with no special meaning. On p. [111], there is just the possibility that “The leavings of the dish” were what was allowed to remain therein for the gods, and “the rejected of the food” may have been that which was thrown on the ground as an offering.

P. [113], ll. 19 ff. A number of the deities identified with the god Ea or Aa are given in the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, vol. II., pl. 58, and form a parallel with the inscription printed on p. [58]. Deities seem also to have been identified with Nebo. The centres where these gods were worshipped therefore had likewise their monotheistic system, in which all the other gods were identified with the patron-deity of the place, just as those Babylonians who worshipped Merodach identified all the other gods with him.

P. [119]. There has been a great deal of discussion as to the way in which Šumer could be connected with Shinar, the chief [pg 549] reasons against their identification being that the latter must have come from a Babylonian form, of whose existence there is no evidence, and that it stood for the whole country (except, possibly, Larsa), whereas Šumer was the name of the southern part only. Hommel derives the Biblical Shinar from Ki-Imgir, through the intermediate forms Shingar, Shumir (Šumer) and Shimir. This is based upon the tendency which k had to change into š, whilst the substitution of m for an older g or ng can be proved. As, however, Shinar corresponds practically with the whole of Babylonia, a modification of Prof. Hommel's etymology may, perhaps, best meet the case. The whole of the country was called by the Sumerians Kingi (or Kengi) Ura, and the expression mâda Kingi-Ura is rendered, in the lists, mât Šumeri u Akkadī, “the land of Sumer and Akkad.” It is therefore clear, that Kingi-Ura corresponds with the whole tract, and is practically synonymous with the Biblical Shinar. The change from k to š (sh) being provable, it is possible that Kingi-Ura, pronounced Shingi-Ura, may have originated the Hebrew form Shinar (better Shin'ar), through the intermediate forms Shingura and Shingar.

The statement that Elam was the firstborn of Shem (Gen. x. 22) receives illustration from the fact, that many inscriptions have been found showing that Semitic Babylonian was not only well known, but also used in that country. From the order in which the names occur in Genesis, it ought to be the earliest of the Semitic settlements, coming before Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. If, however, Arpachshad stand, as is generally thought, for Babylonia, it is quite clear that there is no indication of chronological order in this, for Assyria was certainly younger, as a Semitic settlement, than Babylonia, and it would seem that Elam was colonized with Semites from the last-named country. This would make Elam to be simply the first Semitic colony, as Prof. Scheil has already suggested.

A good example of the slim racial type is shown on pl. [V.], second seal-impression. For a long time after the Sumerians had become one nation with the Semitic Babylonians, the type of the figures represented on the cylinder-seals and sculptures remained unchanged, and it is on this account that Ḫammurabi is portrayed, on the slab reproduced as pl. [I.], in the old non-Semitic costume. The early Semitic type is shown on pl. [III.], no. 1 (no. 2 shows the late Assyrian type). In pl. [VI.] the Sumerian style is there, but the type is rather thick. This, however, may be partly due to the sliding of the cylinder when the impression was taken.

P. [124]. Sargon of Agadé's conquests, according to the omens [pg 550] referring to his reign, were as follows:—(paragraph 1) Elam, (2) the land of the Amorites, (4 and 5) the land of the Amorites (twice), (6) doubtful, (7) he crossed the sea of the rising of the sun, and the reference to three years in that district seems to refer to the time he stayed there, (8) apparently no expedition, (9) he ravaged the land of Kazalla, (10) he put down a revolt in his own country, (11) he fought against Suri or Sumaštu.

P. [125], l. 27. The old Sumerian or Akkadian laws are only known to us from a few specimens preserved in the tablets of grammatical paradigms (the series Ana itti-šu), and will be found on pp. [190-191]. It is probable that they were made use of in compiling the Code of Ḫammurabi.