life !
Before thee have I most humbly bowed myself. May Bel be thy light, Ea rejoice thee ! May the gods of the universe pay homage to thee! May the great gods do what is pleasing to thee |’
While this hymn evidently forms part of an in- cantation text, or was originally composed as an incantation, yet it serves as a good example of the general character of the Babylonian hymns, and illustrates the current conceptions of Marduk as strong and mighty on the one hand, but also, on the other, as one who is inclined to listen to the appeals of sufferers, and from whom they may expect to receive new life.
ymns to Ashur are not numerous, and the best specimen that has been found! is of interest chiefly as showing how completely the Jiterati of Assyria are under the influence of the intellectual life unfolded in Babylonia. The hymn in question is made up of phrases that can be matched in Babylonian hymns addressed to various gods, and only incidentally are the traits that distinguish
* See the Index, sub ‘Hymns’ and ‘Prayers,’ of Bezold’s Catalogue of the Tablets in the Kouyunjik Collection, vol. v.
+ King, Babylonian Magic and Sorcery, No. 9.
{ The name of the city is, according to King, Ashur, and the traces point to this reading. But if this be correct, then we must perforce assume that Assurbanipal’s scribe intentionally substituted the capital of the northern kingdom for Babylon or some other southern town.
§ Temple at Eridu. spat
| The special protecting god and goddess of the individual are meant. ie ’
q Craig, Assyrian and Babylonian Religious Texts, i. pl.
7.
‘Mighty chief of the gods, omniscient ; Honoured, exalted lord of gods, fixer of destinies. Ashur, mighty lord, omniscient ; Honoured, exalted lord of gods, fixer of destinies. . . . Ashur, powerful chief of the gods, lord of countries. {Let me proclaim] his greatness, celebrate his glory. Ashur, let me glorify his being, exalt his name ; panel in E-kharsag-gal-kur-kur-ra,* let me celebrate his glory. [His strength] let me recall, his courage commemorate; Dwelling in E-sherra, Ashur fixer of destinies, Forever let me exalt his power, Mightily wise leader of the gods, illustrious. Creator of Shamash, maker of mountains ; Creator of the gods, progenitor of Ishtar.
- . . illustrious whose name is revered,
. . . Ashur whose command is extended,
[Firm ?] like mountains whose base is not seen, ;
[Brilliant ?] as the writing of the heayens,+ of unlimite extent.
Let his name be celebrated, his command that stands firm.’
_ The frequent repetitions indicate that each two lines were to be sung or recited by a leader and a chorus respectively—an arrangement that we come across frequently in these compositions.
Decidedly superior in form, more particularly in tone, are the hymns to Shamash; and this may be accounted for through the influence of the concep- tions of law and justice associated from early days with the sun-god. It is an image of Shamash that Hammurabi attaches as the headpiece to his famous Code,t as the symbol of the principles of justice on which he claims to base his ordinances, In almost all the Shamash hymns that we possess, whether forming part of incantations or repre- senting independent compositions, this phase of his character as the protector of the oppressed, the liberator of those who dwell in gloom and dark- ness, and the destroyer of the wicked, is strongly emphasized. Taking, for example, a hymn in- tended for the morning service, Shamash is ad- dressed as follows : §—
*O lord, illuminator of darkness, who reveals the face [of
heaven?]... Merciful god, who lifts up the lowly, protects the weak. To thy light all the great gods look up. All the Annunaki look up to thee. All mankind thou guidest like a single being. Expectantly with raised head they look up to the sunlight. When thou dost appear, they rejoice and exult. Thou art the light for the most distant ends of the heavens,
The standard for the wide earth. The multitudes look up to thee with joy.’
The ethical traits of the god are even more effectively brought out in a section of one of the finest of the Shamash hymns, which is too long to be quoted in full ||— :
‘Who plans evil—his horn then thou dost destroy, Who in fixing boundaries annuls rights. The unjust judge thou restraineth with force. Who accepts a bribe, who does not judge justly—on him thou imposest sin. But he who does not accept a bribe, who has a care for the oppressed, To him Shamash is gracious, his life he prolongs. The judge who renders a just decision Shall end in a palace, the place of princes shall be his dwelling.
The seed of those who act unjustly shall not flourish.
What their mouth declares in thy presence wilt thou de- stroy ; what they purpose thou wilt annul.
Thou knowest their transgressions; the declaration of the wicked thou dost cast aside.
Every one wherever he may be is in thy care.
Thou directest their judgments, the imprisoned dost thou liberate.
* Great mountain of countries’—name of temple to Ashur.
+ A frequent expression designating the stars. :
t See the illustration in Scheil, Teates Elamites-Sémitiques, ii., frontispiece.
§ Rawlinson, iv.2 19, No. 2. :