The Babylonian Genesis

Here is a complete translation of all the published cuneiform tablets of the various Babylonian creation stories, of both the Semitic Babylonian and the Sumerian material. Each creation account is preceded by a brief introduction dealing with the age and provenance of the tablets, the aim and purpose of the story, etc. Also included is a translation and discussion of two Babylonian creation versions written in Greek. The final chapter presents a detailed examination of the Babylonian creation accounts in their relation to our Old Testament literature.

Here is a complete translation of all the published cuneiform tablets of the various Babylonian creation stories, of both the Semitic Babylonian and the Sumerian material. Each creation account is preceded by a brief introduction dealing with the age and provenance of the tablets, the aim and purpose of the story, etc. Also included is a translation and discussion of two Babylonian creation versions written in Greek. The final chapter presents a detailed examination of the Babylonian creation accounts in their relation to our Old Testament literature.

For much of the last half of the twentieth century, W. G. Lambert devoted much of his research energy and effort to the study of Babylonian texts dealing with Mesopotamian ideas regarding creation, including especially Enuma Elish. This volume, which appears almost exactly 2 years after Lambert’s death, distills a lifetime of learning by the world’s foremost expert on these texts. Lambert provides a full transliteration and translation of the 7 tablets of Enuma Elish, based on the known exemplars, as well as coverage of a number of other texts that bear on, or are thought to bear on, Mesopotamian notions of the origin of the world, mankind, and the gods. New editions of seventeen additional “creation tales” are provided, including “Enmesharra’s Defeat,” “Enki and Ninmah,” “The Slaying of Labbu,” and “The Theogony of Dunnu.” Lambert pays special attention, of course, to the connection of the main epic, Enuma Elish, with the rise and place of Marduk in the Babylonian pantheon. He traces the development of this deity’s origin and rise to prominence and elaborates the relationship of this text, and the others discussed, to the religious and political climate Babylonia. The volume includes 70 plates (primarily hand-copies of the various exemplars of Enuma Elish) and extensive indexes.

We know that the Bible creation stories had their origins in far older tales. These stories strongly match the Old Testament and originate from clay tablets discovered in ancient Sumeria and Babylonia. They are the oldest preserved stories the world has ever known, revealed in this interesting book and passed down for many centuries before being adopted by whoever wrote the Old Testament. It seems the Word of God may not have come in its entirety from God, but gods. It is important that the earliest sources of our belief systems be examined. That is the purpose of this book.

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 Chaldean Account Of Genesis presents the turning point in revealing the history of our civilization. As the missing piece of the puzzle and the proof we needed, this is one of the most important archeological discoveries emerged from the ashes of Nineveh Library. Among many others – the crucial accounts are: the first print appearance of the Gilgamesh, the Descent of Ishtar and the account of the Flood. Contents: The Discovery of the Genesis Legends Babylonian and Assyrian Literature Chaldean Legends Transmitted Through Berosus and Other Ancient Authors Babylonian Mythology Babylonian Legend of the Creation Other Babylonian Accounts of the Creation The Sin of the God Zu The Exploits of Lubara Babylonian Fables Fragments of Miscellaneous Texts The Izdubar Legends Meeting of Heabani and Izdubar Destruction of the Tyrant Humbaba The Adventures of Ishtar Illness and Wanderings of Izdubar The Story of the Flood and Conclusion