Ea’s Duplicity in the Gilgamesh Flood Story

Ea’s Duplicity in the Gilgamesh Flood Story
Author: Martin Worthington
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 520
Release: 2019-10-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 0429754507

This volume opens up new perspectives on Babylonian and Assyrian literature, through the lens of a pivotal passage in the Gilgamesh Flood story. It shows how, using a nine-line message where not all was as it seemed, the god Ea inveigled humans into building the Ark. The volume argues that Ea used a ‘bitextual’ message: one which can be understood in different ways that sound the same. His message thus emerges as an ambivalent oracle in the tradition of ‘folktale prophecy’. The argument is supported by interlocking investigations of lexicography, divination, diet, figurines, social history, and religion. There are also extended discussions of Babylonian word play and ancient literary interpretation. Besides arguing for Ea’s duplicity, the book explores its implications – for narrative sophistication in Gilgamesh, for audiences and performance of the poem, and for the relation of the Gilgamesh Flood story to the versions in Atra-hasīs, the Hellenistic historian Berossos, and the Biblical Book of Genesis. Ea’s Duplicity in the Gilgamesh Flood Story will interest Assyriologists, Hebrew Bible scholars and Classicists, but also students and researchers in all areas concerned with Gilgamesh, word-play, oracles, and traditions about the Flood.

The First Book of Moses, Called Genesis

The First Book of Moses, Called Genesis
Author:
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Total Pages: 146
Release: 1999
Genre: Bible
ISBN: 9780802136107

Hailed as "the most radical repackaging of the Bible since Gutenberg", these Pocket Canons give an up-close look at each book of the Bible.

Myths from Mesopotamia

Myths from Mesopotamia
Author: Stephanie Dalley
Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2000
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 0199538360

The stories translated here all of ancient Mesopotamia, and include not only myths about the Creation and stories of the Flood, but also the longest and greatest literary composition, the Epic of Gilgamesh. This is the story of a heroic quest for fame and immortality, pursued by a man of great strength who loses a unique opportunity through a moment's weakness. So much has been discovered in recent years both by way of new tablets and points of grammar and lexicography that these new translations by Stephanie Dalley supersede all previous versions. -- from back cover.

The Epic of Gilgamish

The Epic of Gilgamish
Author: R. Campbell Thompson
Publisher: Legare Street Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022-10-26
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 9781015427921

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels

Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels
Author: Alexander Heidel
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 284
Release: 1949
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780226323985

Cuneiform records made some three thousand years ago are the basis for this essay on the ideas of death and the afterlife and the story of the flood which were current among the ancient peoples of the Tigro-Euphrates Valley. With the same careful scholarship shown in his previous volume, The Babylonian Genesis, Heidel interprets the famous Gilgamesh Epic and other related Babylonian and Assyrian documents. He compares them with corresponding portions of the Old Testament in order to determine the inherent historical relationship of Hebrew and Mesopotamian ideas.

The Ark Before Noah

The Ark Before Noah
Author: Irving Finkel
Publisher: Anchor
Total Pages: 446
Release: 2014-03-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 0385537123

The recent translation of a Babylonian tablet launches a groundbreaking investigation into one of the most famous stories in the world, challenging the way we look at ancient history. Since the Victorian period, it has been understood that the story of Noah, iconic in the Book of Genesis, and a central motif in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, derives from a much older story that existed centuries before in ancient Babylon. But the relationship between the Babylonian and biblical traditions was shrouded in mystery. Then, in 2009, Irving Finkel, a curator at the British Museum and a world authority on ancient Mesopotamia, found himself playing detective when a member of the public arrived at the museum with an intriguing cuneiform tablet from a family collection. Not only did the tablet reveal a new version of the Babylonian Flood Story; the ancient poet described the size and completely unexpected shape of the ark, and gave detailed boat building specifications. Decoding this ancient message wedge by cuneiform wedge, Dr. Finkel discovered where the Babylonians believed the ark came to rest and developed a new explanation of how the old story ultimately found its way into the Bible. In The Ark Before Noah, Dr. Finkel takes us on an adventurous voyage of discovery, opening the door to an enthralling world of ancient voices and new meanings.

Old Testament Parallels

Old Testament Parallels
Author: Victor Harold Matthews
Publisher: Paulist Press
Total Pages: 404
Release: 1997
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780809137312

In this newly revised and expanded second edition, Victor Matthews and Don Benjamin have gathered key ancient documents from Eastern Mediterranean traditions that provide a literary backdrop for Old Testament writings.

The Book of Giants

The Book of Giants
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015-08
Genre: Folklore
ISBN: 9781933865676

Take a journey with the artist and writer Petar Meseldzija, who tells how he was allowed unparalleled access through the Invisible Curtain and into the land of giants. A year in the making, this book's sixteen paintings and nearly ninety drawings bring to life Petar's experiences on this journey and secrets uncovered, going back to ancient times. He shares stories of new discoveries that free giants from the murky abyss of myth and a forgotten past. Told in three stages, The Book of Giants includes the illustrated stories The Giants Are Coming, recounting a dynamic clash that lasted one hundred years; The Little Kingdom, where a giant befriends a nation of humans and becomes their adamant protector against ferocious invaders; The Northern Giants, who embrace the warrior spirit through countless battles; Giant Velles, the story of ignorance and how the strength of goodness perseveres; and The Great Forest, wherein the author discovers little creatures called the keppetz and relates his experiences spent with ogres while on his quest to meet the Golden One and to determine the purpose of his journey. Through the strength of his own power, he discovers his blessings, his limitations and finally his personal myth. Furthermore, you will discover why giants made a push into the underground, followed by their exodus and deliverance to a new land. You'll also learn why the myth of giants is still alive, why their time spent with humans remains elusive and why giants prefer to remain hidden in their world. Join Petar Meseldzija on his journey of discovery.

The Epic of Gilgamesh: Selected Readings from its Original Early Arabic Language

The Epic of Gilgamesh: Selected Readings from its Original Early Arabic Language
Author: Saad D. Abulhab
Publisher: Blautopf Publishing
Total Pages: 389
Release: 2016-10-27
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 0998172723

The pioneering work presented in this book introduces the earliest known literary and mythology work in the world, the Epic of Gilgamesh, in its actual language: early Classical Arabic. It provides a more accurate translation and understanding of the important story of the flood, one of the key stories of the monotheistic religions. In this book, the author, a known Arabic type designer and an independent scholar of Nabataean, Musnad, and early Arabic scripts, was able to decipher the actual meanings and pronunciations of several important names of ancient Mesopotamian gods, persons, cities, mountains, and other entities. He was able to uncover the evolution path of the concept of god and the background themes behind the rise of the monotheistic religions. Utilizing a generous text sample from the Akkadian and Sumerian languages, this book is an excellent reference textbook for scholars and students of Arabic and Assyriology who are interested in translating these ancient languages through both, the historical Arabic etymological references and the deciphering tools of Assyriology. To illustrate his breakthrough Arabic-based deciphering methodology, the author used a sample text consisting of more than 900 lines from three tablets of the Standard and Old Babylonian editions of the Epic of Gilgamesh. By “digging out” the actual language of the epic, he was not only able to resurrect the actual word soundings and linguistic literary style of its original text, but also to provide more accurate and coherent translations. Following his three years of research, he was able to demonstrate through undisputed linguistic evidence that the epic was in fact written in a beautiful, powerful early Classical Arabic language! And the so-called Sumerian and Akkadian languages that the epic was recorded with, which we are told today are unrelated languages, were in fact one evolving early Arabic language, written with one evolving writing system, passing through two major time periods. Although this book is primarily written as a reference textbook for scholars, it is equally suitable for anyone interested in reading the translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh, a fascinating Mesopotamian Arab mythology work documenting eloquently some of the most important and lasting ancient myths invented by humankind.

Noah's Flood

Noah's Flood
Author: William Ryan
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 324
Release: 1998
Genre: History
ISBN: 0684859203

Basing their research on geophysics, oral legends, and archaeology, the authors offer evidence that the flood in the book of Genesis actually occurred.