60. By day and night 61. The feasts of the gods, 62. Their great appointed festivals of themselves 63. They shall celebrate." 64. Anu, Enlil, 65. Ea, Ninmakhu 66. The great gods, 67. The place of mankind created. 68. The goddess Nisaba1 in mankind's place was established. 69. Mighty and secret things 70. As a scribe I teach. This account shows that there were among the Babylonian traditions variations of the idea that man was made from the blood of a god. In this account, instead of being from the blood of Kingu, one of the rebellious gods, husband of the arch-rebel Tiamat, he is made from the blood of Lamga, the craftsman, the god of carpenters. It will be noted that, as in the sixth tablet of the Creation Epic, so in this account man was created by the gods for the specific purpose of tilling the ground, building temples, and keeping up the festivals of the gods. It accords in that respect with the thought of the second chapter of Genesis, where man is placed in Eden, the garden of God, to dress it and to keep it for his Divine Creator (see Genesis 2:15). XI A BABYLONIAN SONG OF SONGS On pages 413-416 above some Egyptian parallels to the Song of Songs are translated. Among the texts from Ashur published during the year 1919 there is one which furnishes a Babylonian parallel to it. It is part of a hymn or song employed in the worship of Tammuz. The "son" in it, originally Tammuz the son of the goddess Ishtar, is employed as the designation of the ideal lover. In the first strophe a woman speaks; in the second, a man; in the third, a woman; in the fourth, a man. The text reads as follows: How do I delight in joy2 When the lord of my right hand embraces me! 1 The grain-goddess. Translated from Ebeling, work cited, No. 158, pages 273, 274. Ebeling has presented a German translation of a part of it in the Mittheilungen der deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, No. 58, 1917, p. 49 f., but it is a garbled translation. He has omitted many lines apparently because they were difficult. He receives me; I spread out my arms to the son! I press against thy breast; With pleasant odors is the night bewitched. I look on the fat of the land. When he imparts secrets there is joy of heart! The bride is to me like a fragrant cedar- It establishes our joy our life! The odors of cedar refine life! At the door of the lord she is jubilant On this evening, this night. How luxurious she is! How brilliant! The mighty ones of the garden shall behold thy charms. Today my heart is joyfully tuneful. There has gone down to the garden' the king who fells the cedar. Thou, O son, lovest our breast! Across the river is a joyful city; Our place at the approach (?) of the month is jubilant! Yonder one is going, O son; When he is away, thou art my companion! A bird, a dove passes; the light of Eros is thy gift, Who art a god doing right! The garden is jubilant! The day the god stands in Larsa the god Is jubilant; he is full of passion! Rejoice! Nana is in the garden, the abode which thou lovest! A maiden is brought; her heart is glad! Thus do I rejoice continually! I rejoice in thee, O divine child! My sealed eyes are full of sleep! Thy love is indeed a jewel! The enjoyment of thee, verily gold! My love is a light which illumines the darkness! Tonight I think upon thee! 1 The phrase and idea are strikingly similar to Cant. 6: 2: My beloved is gone down to his garden. Comment seems unnecessary. While the lines have a Babylonian and a polytheistic flavor, the general theme-the praise of the charms of two lovers for one another—is identical with the theme of the Song of Songs, and the delight in love which breathes from the lines is similar to that which is expressed in Canticles. Occasionally a phrase reminds one of a phrase in Canticles and the figure of the garden comes in a similar way into both this poem and the Song of Songs. |