The concluding tablet.
The tablet of the fifty-one names completes the record of the tablets found at Nineveh and Babylon. In this Merodach receives the titles of all the other gods, thus identifying him with them, and leading to that tendency to monotheism of which something will be said later on. In this text, which is written, like the rest of the legend, in poetical form, Merodach is repeatedly called /Tutu/, a mystic word meaning "creator," and "begetter," from the reduplicate root /tu/ or /utu/—which was to all appearances his name when it was desired to refer to him especially in that character. Noteworthy in this portion is the reference to Merodach's creation of mankind:—
Line 25. "Tuto: Aga-azaga (the glorious crown)—may he make the crowns
glorious.
26. The lord of the glorious incantation bringing the dead to
life;
27. He who had mercy on the gods who had been overpowered;
28. Made heavy the yoke which he had laid on the gods who were
his enemies,
29. (And) to redeem(?) them, created mankind.
30. 'The merciful one,' 'he with whom is salvation,'
31. May his word be established, and not forgotten,
32. In the mouth of the black-headed ones[1] whom his hands have
made."
[1] I.e. mankind.
Man the redeemer.
The phrase "to redeem them" is, in the original, /ana padi-šunu/, the verb being from /padû/, "to spare," "set free," and if this rendering be correct, as seems probable, the Babylonian reasons for the creation of mankind would be, that they might carry on the service and worship of the gods, and by their righteousness redeem those enemies of the gods who were undergoing punishment for their hostility. Whether by this Tiawath, Apsu, Mummu, Kingu, and the monsters whom she had created were included, or only the gods of heaven who had joined her, the record does not say. Naturally, this doctrine depends entirely upon the correctness of the translation of the words quoted. Jensen, who first proposed this rendering, makes no attempt to explain it, and simply asks: "Does 'them' in 'to redeem(?) them' refer to the gods named in line 28 or to mankind and then to a future—how meant?—redemption? Eschatology? Zimmern's 'in their place' unprovable. Delitzsch refrains from an explanation."
The bilingual account of the creation. Aruru aids Merodach.
Whilst dealing with this part of the religious beliefs of the Babylonians, a few words are needed concerning the creation-story which is prefixed to an incantation used in a purification ceremony. The original text is Sumerian (dialectic), and is provided with a Semitic translation. In this inscription, after stating that nothing (in the beginning) existed, and even the great cities and temples of Babylonia were as yet unbuilt, the condition of the world is briefly indicated by the statement that "All the lands were sea." The renowned cities of Babylonia seem to have been regarded as being as much creations of Merodach as the world and its inhabitants—indeed, it is apparently for the glorification of those cities by attributing their origin to Merodach, that the bilingual account of the creation was composed.. "When within the sea there was a stream"—that is, when the veins of Tiawath had been cut through—Êridu (probably = Paradise) and the temple Ê-sagila within the Abyss were constructed, and after that Babylon and the earthly temple of Ê-sagila within it. Then he made the gods and the Annunnaki (the gods of the earth), proclaimed a glorious city as the seat of the joy of their hearts, and afterwards made a pleasant place in which the gods might dwell. The creation of mankind followed, in which Merodach was aided by the goddess Aruru, who made mankind's seed. Finally, plants, trees, and the animals, were produced, after which Merodach constructed bricks, beams, houses, and cities, including Niffer and Erech with their renowned temples.
We see here a change in the teaching with regard to Merodach—the gods are no longer spoken of as "his fathers," but he is the creator of the gods, as well as of mankind.
The order of the gods in the principal lists.