Description
Book SynopsisThese studies take up several themes that the author has pursued in addition to his work on witchcraft literature and Gilgamesh. The volume contains general articles on Mesopotamian magic, religion, and mythology; studies, synchronic and diachronic, on Akkadian prayers; treatments of literary classics; comparative studies of terms and phenomena; and examinations of legal texts.
Trade Review"This volume collects together 25 essays that have been published over a period of nearly four decades of A.’s significant contribution to the study of Babylonian literature and religion and its interface with biblical material. The wide range of papers reflects his deep knowledge in various sub-fields, such as diachronic and synchronic approaches alongside exegesis of primary sources. (...) This important collection will definitely be a valuable tool for those interested in an emic perspective of the milieu in which these texts were produced and developed." - Anderson Yan, in The Society for Old Testament Study Book List 2022.
Table of ContentsPreface Sources Abbreviations part 1: Magic and Religion Overviews and Surveys 1 Mesopotamian Religion 1 The Basis of Mesopotamian Religiosity 2 The Mesopotamian Pantheon 3 Magical Cult (Cult of the Individual) 4 The Epic of Gilgamesh 2 Magic in Mesopotamia 1 Introduction 2 Earlier Approaches to Mesopotamian Magic 3 Conceptions of the Universe and of Its Powers 4 Magical Texts 5 Ceremonies 6 Evil 3 Sacrifice in Mesopotamia 1 Mesopotamian Sacrifice: A Description 2 Blood in Mesopotamia and West Asia: A Hypothesis Ghosts and Gods 4 Ghost and God: Some Observations on a Babylonian Understanding of Human Nature 1 Mythological Formulation 2 The Significance of Flesh as the Source of the Ghost 3 God, ṭēmu, and Personal God 5 Etemmu אטים 1 Name and Etymology 2 Character and History 3 Inside the Bible 6 Ištar 1 Name and Etymology 2 Character and History 3 Inside the Bible 7 Marduk 1 Name and Etymology 2 Character and History 3 Inside the Bible Talking to the Gods in Mesopotamia 8 Prayers and Incantations 1 Prayers 2 Incantations 9 The Promise to Praise the God in šuilla Prayers 10 The Form and Meaning of a Babylonian Prayer to Marduk 1 The Hymnic Introduction 2 The Marduk šuilla: A New Form 3 A Prayer for Success and the Conclusion of the šuilla 11 The Form and History of a Babylonian Prayer to Nabû 12 A Paean and Petition to a God of Death: Some Comments on a šuilla to Nergal 1 Introduction 2 Hymnic Introduction 3 Petitioner’s Justification and Description of His Approach to the God 4 Description of the Petitioner’s Difficulties 5 Petitioner’s Supplication 6 Conclusions 13 The Reconciliation of Angry Personal Gods: A Revision of the šuillas 14 Two Versions of a šuilla to Gula part 2: Literary Studies 15 Fortune and Misfortune of the Individual: Some Observations on the Sufferer’s Plaint in Ludlul bēl nēmeqi II 12–32 16 Kingship in Ancient Mesopotamia: The Case of Enūma eliš 1 Divine Origin and Physical Features 2 Kingship over His Own Family 3 The Battle 4 Creation 5 Kingship over the Universe 17 Some Observations on the Babylon Section of Enūma eliš 18 Biblical Accounts of Prehistory: Their Meaning and Formation 1 Introduction 2 Mesopotamian Sources 3 Biblical Sources 4 Summary and Conclusions 19 Two Passages in the Biblical Account of Prehistory 1 The Creation of Man and Woman 2 The Tower of Babel 20 Jonah and God: Plants, Beasts, and Humans in the Book of Jonah part 3: Comparative Studies 21 alaktu and halakhah: Oracular Decision, Divine Revelation 1 alaktu: Mesopotamian Sources 2 halakhah: Jewish Sources and Mesopotamian Influence 22 Blood in Israel and Mesopotamia 23 Cultures in Contact: Ancient Near Eastern and Jewish Magic part 4: Ancient Near Eastern Legal Practices and Thought 24 A Shepherd’s Bulla and an Owner’s Receipt: A Pair of Matching Texts in the Harvard Semitic Museum 25 “He Should Continue to Bear the Penalty of That Case”: Some Observations on Codex Ḫammurabi §§3–4 and §13 1 Introduction 2 Analysis and Translation 3 Meaning and Significance 4 Confirmation: Variant Readings and §13 5 Conclusion Bibliography Index of Passages Quoted
