Essays on Babylonian and biblical literature and religion
Bibliographic Information
Essays on Babylonian and biblical literature and religion
by I. Tzvi Abusch
(Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East publications, . Harvard Semitic studies ; v. 65)
Brill, c2020
Available at / 1 libraries
Note
Summary: "In this volume, I. Tzvi Abusch presents studies written over a span of forty years prior to his retirement from Brandeis University in 2019. They reflect several themes that he has pursued in addition to his work on witchcraft literature and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Part 1 includes general articles on Mesopotamian magic, religion, and mythology, followed by a set of articles on Akkadian prayers, especially šuillas, focusing on exegetical and linguistic (synchronic) studies and on diachronic analyses. Part 2 contains a series of literary studies of Mesopotamian and biblical classics. Part 3 is devoted to comparative studies of terms and phenomena. Part 4 examines legal texts"--Provided by publisher
Bibliography: p. [347]-375
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
These 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.
Table of Contents
Preface
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, temu, and Personal God
5 Etemmu
1 Name and Etymology
2 Character and History
3 Inside the Bible
6 Istar
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 suilla Prayers
10 The Form and Meaning of a Babylonian Prayer to Marduk
1 The Hymnic Introduction
2 The Marduk suilla: A New Form
3 A Prayer for Success and the Conclusion of the suilla
11 The Form and History of a Babylonian Prayer to Nabu
12 A Paean and Petition to a God of Death: Some Comments on a suilla 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 suillas
14 Two Versions of a suilla to Gula
part 2: Literary Studies
15 Fortune and Misfortune of the Individual: Some Observations on the Sufferer's Plaint in Ludlul bel nemeqi II 12-32
16 Kingship in Ancient Mesopotamia: The Case of Enuma elis
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 Enu ma elis
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 Hammurabi 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
by "Nielsen BookData"