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THE SOCIETY
Biblical Archaeology,
9, CONDUIT STREET, W.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
LONGMANS, GREEN, READER, AND DYER,
PATERNOSTER ROW.
1873.
HARRtSON AND SONS, PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HF.R MAJESTT, ST. martin's lANt.
CONTENTS OF VOL. IL
PAGE
On some recent Discoveries in South- Western Arabia.
By Capt. W. r. Peideaux, F.R.G.S. (Map).... i- 28
On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians. Nos. II.
and III. By H. Fox Talbot, D.O.L 29- 79
On Joseph's Tomb in Sechem. By Peof. Donaldson,
K.L., Ph.D. (Plate) 80- 82
On a n Conjugation as a character of early Shemitic
Speech. By R. Cull, F.S.A 83-109
On the coincidence of the Histories of Ezra and
Nehemiah. By Rev. Daniel Haigh, M.A 110-113
Remarks upon a Terra Cotta (Assyrian) Vase. By
Rev. J. M. Rodwell, M.A. (Plate).... 114-118
The Synchronous History of Assyria and Babylonia.
By Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A 119-145
Note on the New Moabite Stone 146
On the Date of the Fall of Nineveh and the Beginning of the Reign of Nebuchadnezzar. By J. W. BosANQUBT, F.R.A.S. (Three Plates) 147-178
The Legend of Ishtar descending to Hades. By H.
Fox Talbot, D.C.L 179-212
The Chaldean Account of the Deluge. By Gboege
Smith 213-234
On the Phoenician Passage in the Poenulus of Plautus.
By Rev. J. M. Rodwell, M.A 235-242
On Nimrod and the Assyrian Inscriptions. By Rev.
A. H. Sayce, M.A 243-249
Translation of an Egyptian Hymn to Amen. By
C. W. Goodwin, M.A 250-263
Illustrations from Borneo of Passages in the Book
of Genesis. By Alex. Mackenzie Cameeon 264-266
IV CONTENTS.
PAGB
On the Identity of Ophir and Taprobane, and their
Site indicated. By Alex. Mackenzie Cameron.... 267-288
The Olympiads in connexion with the Golden Age of
Greece. By W. R. A. Boyle, Esq 289-300
Note on Egyptian Prepositions. By P. Le Page
Renouf 301-320
On a New Fragment of the Assyrian Canon belonging to the reigns of Tiglath-Pileser and Shalmaneser. By George Smith 321-332
Note on M. Lenormant's " Lettre sur I'lnscription Dedicatoire flimyaritique du Temple du Dieu Yat'a a Abian." By Capt. W. F. Prideaux, 333-345
On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians, No. IV.
By H. Fox Talbot, F.R.S 346-352
Egyptian Hymns to Amen. By C,W. Goodwin, M.A. 353-359
Illustrations of the Prophet Daniel from the Assyrian
Writings. By H. Fox Talbot, F.R.S 360-364
Index to Vol. II i-xv
List of Members xvi-xxiv
Society of Biblical Archaeology, Rules of xxv-xxvi
r
TRANSACTIONS
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY.
Vol. II. JULY, 1873. PartI.
ON SOME RECENT DISCOA^ERIES IN SOUTH-WESTERN ARABIA.
By Captain W. F. Prideaux, T.R.G.S., Bombay Staff Corps.
Head ^th January, 1873.
Op tlie earliest inhabitants of tliose countries wliich fringe the southern shores of the Red Sea, no records now exist. But there is Kttle doubt that they belonged to a branch of that great Cushite race, whose extinction is perhaps the most wonderful of all the vicissitudes of history.' The founders of civilisation in the East, preeminently of a materialistic and constructive genius, and apparently endowed with every element of permanence, it might have been supposed that these peoples would have been the last to decay and make room for others.
The discoveries of late years have furnished us with abundant evidence that, in addition to being the mightiest architects the world has ever known, these early Cushites were careful astronomers, painstaking historians, skilful agriculturists ; but whilst the massive ruins of Nineveh and
1 Eenan, Histoire Generale des Langues Semitic[ues, ptie. i, 1863, pp. 59, GO, 321. Vol. II. 1
2 On some recent Discoveries in South- Westeim Arabia.
Babylon remain, their builders liavc passed away into an ethnographical enigma.
^^liilst we may safely assume that the first settlers on either coast of Bab-cl-lMandeb were of kincbed race to the giant builders in the plain of Shinar, and were themselves identical in origin, theii* future destinies were widely different. Centuries passed away and left the western shore undisturbed by invasion, or even immigration, but the influence of a neigh- bouring Semite people gradually made itself felt among the Cushite race inhabiting Southern Arabia, and eventually, by a process which must have resembled a revolution, became the ruling element in the country. In the tenth chapter of the Book of Genesis these two races are respectively designated under the names of b^lD Seha the son of Gush, and ^2!^ Sheha the son of Joktan, and from the mention of the former people in two places in Isaiah, it is evident that the amalga- mation (or whatever may be the appropriate term) must have taken place subsequent to the time of that prophet. From the lofty statiu-e of the people of Seba (Isaiah xlv, 14), and li-om other indications, Gaussin de Perceval is of opinion that the people of 'Ad, ftimed in early tradition as the original inhabitants of Yemen, and the builders of the celebrated Irem Dhat-al-'Imad in Abyan, ^ were no other than the Gushite Saba3ans, and that those who were discontented with the new order of thuigs fled to the opposite coast of the Red Sea, and became the ancestors of the present Abyssinians, an Arabo-Cushite people super-imposed upon an Africo-Gushite stock. 2
The amalgamation of the two peoples probably took place about B.C. 700, or a few years after the death of Isaiah, as the name of Seba is nev^er found in the sacred writings of a later date. I am inclined to think that the JEra, of the Himyarites must be attributed to this period ; at all events, the only two dates with which we are acquainted in the
^ There still exists a village called 'Imad, on the bovilcrs of Abyan, about seven miles from Aden, but the Arabs are quite ignorant of any tradition attach- ing to the spot.
^ Caussin de Perceval, Essai sur rilistoirc des Arabcs avant I'lslamisme, torn, i, pp. 42, et seq.
On some recent Discoveries in Soiith-Western Arabia. 3
inscriptions would seem to countenance tliis liypotliesis.' But although the name of Seba was lost, and that of Sheba alone is found in the Hebrew records, the absence of the letter shin from the Greek and Roman alphabets, and the practice of the Arabs in writing Hebrew words to confound samecli with sliin, has caused the united races to be commonly designated Sabasans (more correctly, Shabteans), and later stni, Himyarites, probably from their practice of inscribing and daubing with red their public buildings.
Whatever may have been the form of government in Yemen anterior to the Shabsean occupation, there is clear proof that it was monarchial in later times, and from the designation of the king, Malik, it may be inferred that it was of the same patriarchal type as we are acquainted vv^ith in the earlier days of Hebrew history. ^ These iShabsean kings, and their nobles, appear to have become rapidly assimilated to the ancient owners of the soil. The Himyaritic was still retained as the court language ; the constructive habits of the people lost nothing by the change. Though it is pro- bable that the city of Zliafar was built in very early times (Gen. X, 30), and though Marib and Maryab formed, as we are told by Al-Hamdani, two tribes of the 'Arab-al-'Arabiya, or prse-Kahtanide Arabs ; the massive structures of Hisn Ghorab, Nakb-al-Hajar, the Dyke of Marib, the cities of Najran, 'Amran, Sabwah, and the far-famed palaces of Ghomdan, Sahlin, Kaukaban, Sirwah and Na'it, may be ascribed to the period included between the year B.C. 700 and the Christian era.
^ The date mentioned in the Hadhramaut inscription of Wrode (pullished by the Baron Ton Maltzan) must belong to a different ^ra to that of the Himyarites (see postea, p. 19).
2 It is curious to obserre the light thrown upon the character of ancient races by the simple name attaching to their chief magistrate. Whilst the Grerman tribes chose as theii' chief and leader the wisest of them all, the one cunning of head and cunning of hand, and the law-abiding Romans a director and regulator, the possessor of the largest flocks and herds, the most extensive pastures, pre- ferred the best claim to power amongst the ancient Semites, though as the wielder of that power he was, as a shaikh of the present day is, only primus inter pares. On the other hand, the root employed by the African Cushites, NGS, implies, both in ^thiopic tCi\ and in Arabic jjofcrsT, absolute command and compelling power, and the term derived from it aptly becomes the ruler of the plastic but faithless-natured Aby.ssinians.
4 On some recent Discoveries in South-Western Arabia.
Up to a recent period Ave possessed no sources of infor- mation regarding the great Himyaritic kingdom except the semi-fabulous statements contained in the writings of the Arab historians, Hamza of Ispahan, Abu-1-Fida, Tl^n-Khaldim, Nowau'i, &c., and a few passages to be found in the Greek and Roman geographers. But at the time when the former wi'ote the mists of tradition had gathered very closely over the history which they professed to tell, and mythical nar- ratives of expeditions into China and Central Asia from the soTith-western corner of Arabia, filled up the space which would have been better devoted to a desciiption of the country itself, its domestic annals, its laws, institutions, and manners. It is true that there have lately come to light in Yemen some valuable manuscripts of an ancient authority^ Abu ]\lohammed Al-Hasan bin Ahmed bin Ya'kub, a native of Ham dan m Yemen, "who in his two great works, the Iklil fi Ansab, and the Kitab Jazirat-al-'Arab, displays a wealth of antiquarian erudition and of geographical lore, which in our present state of knowledge renders them indispensably neces- sary to the student of ancient Arabian history. But we must recollect that even Al-Hamdani lived as late as three hundi-ed years after the fall of the Himyaritic kingdom, and that it rarely happens that after such an interval events can be orally handed down to posterity without grievous distortion.
The geographical evidence is of greater moment, for though fragmentary in the extreme, it enables us to fix, as 1 believe AAath tolerable exactitude, the age of tlie more im- portant monuments which late discoveries have brought to light, and which from their extent may be reasonabl}^ assumed to belong to the more flourishing period of tlie Himyaritic kingdom.
Within the last few years, however, we have become possessed of numerous memorials of the people themselves, and these furnish us in some measure with those details which the Arab wiiters, who limited themselves to recording little more than what is conventionally termed history, that is, the names, genealogies, and deeds of royal personages, have omitted to supply. The most important of these contemporaneous monuments are the tablets of stone and
On some recent Discoveries in South- Western Arabia. 5
brouze wliicli abound in all the ruiiied cities of Yemen and Hadln-amaut; coins; and works of art. Of the first, seventy or eighty have been brought to Aden from the interior, the greater number of which have found a resting place in the Britisii Museum, whilst we possess between 700 and 800 copies of other inscriptions discovered i7i situ by Wellsted, Cruttenden, Arnaud, Halevy, and others. To M. Halevy we are indebted for no less than 686 of these inscriptions. The majority, it is true, are mere fragments, and several of them are so incorrectly copied as to be almost useless. The general results of these discoveries are, hoAvever, of the highest im- portance, and they will be briefly commented on below.
It was for a considerable time doubted whether any Himyaritic coins existed. In 1868, however, the industry and vigilance of M. Adrien de Longperier, the eminent French numismatist, were rewarded by discovering in a silver piece supposed to be of Sassanide origin, an undoubted Himyaritic com, bearing on the reverse, in unmistakeable characters, the word h H ? ^ Baidcin, the well-knoAvn seat of the Sabasan monarchy.^ The remainder of the inscription and the two monograms, one on either side, have not been satisfactorily deciphered, though, were a second specimen discovered and compared, the difficulties attendant on the great similarity of several of the Himyaritic characters would probably be solved. Each side of the coin bears a head, adorned with long ringlets, such as, from the epithet (Dhu Nowas) applied to one of the latest of the race, we are led to believe the Himyaritic kings affected. M. de Longperier is of opinion that the date of this coin is not later than the destruction of the great dyke at Marib, which Caussin de Perceval fixes at about the year a.d. 120.
In the Annual Report of the Royal Asiatic Society, read on the 15tli May, 1871, it is mentioned that Capt. S. B. Miles had presented the Society with two Himyaritic coins, a silver and a gold one, and, the Report adds, " the first liitherto dis- covered." This statement, however, as we have seen above, is not quite correct.
I have not seen Captfiin Miles' coins, and can therefore 1 Revue Numismatiquc, 1868, p. 169.
0 On some recent Discoveries in South- Western Arabia.
form no opinion about tlieiu, but from the five or six specimens Avliicli I have been fortunate enough to bring to hght myself, it is clear to me that they owe their origin to the influence of Greek art in the country. The most ancient coin which I liave been able to discover is an archaic drachma of Athens, bearing on the obverse the head of Athena, and on the reverse the figure of an owl. On the face of Athena is stamped the Himyaritic letter \, probably the initial of the name of the king in whose time the coin was current; another small silver coin, also forwarded by mo to the British ]\Iuseum, bears the head of a young man on the obverse, and the figure of an owl on the reverse. On a coin lately brought into Aden (which unfortunately I was not able to secure) the fig-ui'e of an owl also appears on the reverse, but whilst the representations on the two coins referred to above were of indisputably Greek workmanship, the latter coin was as evidently the outcome of a native die, the owl being a complete travesty of the Attic bii'd, and the head of the king on the obverse being concinnatus, and placed between two monograms. A Himyaritic monogram is not unlike an English one, and may generally mean anything, according to the fancy of the reader, but the word " Yanaf '' is, I think,
not to be mistaken in the fic-ure li , M^hilst the other one might as easily be dissected into " Samah'ali." There was more than one piince of the name of " Samah'ali Yanaf," and though it is of course impossible to assign this coin to any one of these in particular, it may be safely affirmed that its date is anterior to A.D. 120.
It is pretty clear, from an examhiation of tlicsc coins, that whilst the earlier princes were content to adopt the coinage of Greece, and to convert it to their own purposes by simply affixing a distinguishing mark, the later kings had a mint of their own in the palace of Raidan, from whence issued various types of coin. No two of those that I have seen are exactly similar.
Of the state of art amongst the ancient Himyarites we know but little, and the few specimens tliat have come down to UK would lead us to suppose that in this matter I'abylonian and Egyptian inilucnce predominated. A few
On some recent Discoveries in Soutli-Western Arabia. 7
bas-reliefs in stone and alabaster exist, representing men in profile with long hair, either walking or riding on camels, and wearing a kind of short tunic with a guxUe ; two of these are engraved in Dr. Wilson's Lands of the Bihle,^ and a third was presented to the Royal Asiatic Society last year by Captain Miles. I recently met with a fourth, representing a man apparently starting on the chase, and attended by two dogs, who were springing upon him; this was con- siderably larger than those above mentioned, and differed from them m being headed with a long inscription (unfortu- nately in fragments), whilst the others merely had the words " Picture of So-and-So," sculptured in relief above them.
Cruttenden, in his Narrative of a Journey to Sand, states that he found in the Imam's garden a marble head, apparently of some ancient object of idolatry, which he was able to carry off with him. 1 have also in my possession a marble head, which I presume is similar to that discovered by Crut- tenden, though I am told it was found at Marib. The head is evidently that of a female goddess, or caryatid, nearly life- size, and with features of a distinct African (Cushite) type. The iconoclastic zeal of the early proselytisers of Yemen has probably spared but few of these relics.
These specimens tend to prove that the native art of the Sabaeans was in an undeveloped state, and, such as it was, was borrowed from the kindred races of Assyria, Babylonia, and Egypt. But there is no doubt that as the wealth and influence of the Sabsean kings increased, large importations of works of art were made by the Greek and Roman vessels trading with the ports of Yemen, the chief of which was then, as now, Aden. The author of the Periplus informs us that in his time silver and gold plate, and brass ware (')(aXKovpyf]/iiaTa) were largely imported. In the latter category must, I think, be placed a very spirited little head of a lynx, with its fore quarters in the act of springing, which was recently dug up at 'Amran (the city where the majority of the British Museum Inscriptions were found), and is now in the national collectioji. The shoulders of the lynx are encircled with a garland of vine and ivy leaves, and though 1 Vol. ii, Edin., 1817, p. 747.
8 On some recent Discoveries in Soutli-We stern Arabia.
it originally perhaps formed part of an article of furniture, we can scarcely err in describing it as an emblem of the Dionysiac worship, of which, from the time of Herodotus downwards, Arabia was one of the principal seats.
In proceeding to inquire into the historical facts con- veyed to us by the inscriptions, and their date, it will be well to glance first of all at the discoveries of M. Joseph Halevy in Yemen, the results of which are published, Avith- out note or comment, in the Journal Asiatique of February- March, 1872.
i\I. Halevy's inscriptions, 686 in number, are divided into eleven classes, namely, those discovered in (1) Sana and its en\m-ons; (2) the Beled Khaulan ; (3) the Beled Arhab; (4) the Beled Nehm ; (5) the Beled ELumdan ; (6) the Lower Jauf; (7) the Beled Nejran; (8) the Upper Jauf; (9) the "Wadi Rahaba; (10) the Wadi Abida; and, finally, those found by him in Aden on his return, of uncertain origin. Of these, those chscovered in the Beled Hamdan are by far the most important, as they satisfactoiily demonstrate the existence of a large and powerful monarchy, independent of the kingdom of Sabjl, though from one or two indications {H. 354) ' I am inclined to think the two states may have occasionally been under the sway of one and the same ruler. M. Halevy believes, with much plausibility, that the kingdom (the capital of which appears to have been situated at the modern Ma'in) represents the great nation of the Minseans^ {Mlvoloi fxe<ya eOvos), and it must be admitted that, geo- graphically speaking, there is much to be said for this hypo- thesis. The accompanying rough map, for which I am indebted to the Baron de Maltzan, Avill give some idea of
' Reference to the inscriptions discovered bv Arnaiid and Halevy will he made by the letters A and H, followed by the number of the inscrijjtion in their respective collections.
2 The name of U O ^ more closely approaches that of the Manita of Ptolemy, but the position of this tribe would appear to be too far to the nortlnvard. There can be little doubt that the OehanitcB of Pliny, through whose territory all the incense was carried (Lib. xii, cap. 32), are represented by the HpinillTn "^ ^^' ^^"' ^^' (sometimes written in the inscription. ^^W^\^^ ^).
On some recent Discoveries in Souih-Westeni Aarbia. U
the position of Main inrolation to Saba, as well as afford a sketch of M. Halevy's route and of the field of Hirayaritic exploration, so far as it is at present known.
A considerable number of the kings of Ma'in are mentioned in the inscriptions, and from these lists it appears to have been a common practice for the father to associate himself with the son in the sovereignt}^, whence we may infer that, as in the later days of the Roman Empire, the dynasty did not always feel itself very secure. The following are the principal reigns we find recorded: Il-yafa' Yatha' and his son Ma'di-Kariba ; Ab-yada' Yatha' and his son Khal-Kariba Sjidik ; Yatha'-il Rayyara and his son Tobba'-Kariba ; Yatha'- il Sadik and his son Wakah-il Yatha', and again the latter's son Il-yafti' Yashar ; who was probably the father of Hafnam Rayyam ; Il-yafa' Rayyam and his sons Hawwaf-'Atht, and Wakah-il. The names of two other joint kings are also given : Hafnam Sadik and Il-yashar.
The present state of our knowledge does not permit us to determine with accuracy the sequence of these reigns, but I believe the order I have followed above is tolerably correct. This dynasty probably reigned between B.C. 100 and A.D. 200.
The gods chiefly worshipped in Ma'in were difi'ereni to those whose names we so frequently find in the Sabaaan inscriptions. Tlie following list is taken from the 485tli inscription of M. Halevy, and contams, I believe, all those of wdiich we have any information, although the incom- pleteness of the series is shown by the words which
terminate it: IhO^IX'lh'lrSllA® tva-kul Al'ilat Man, " and all the gods of Ma'in : " 'Athtor of the East, 'Athtor Dhu Kabdh, Wadd, Nakarah, and 'Athtor Dhu Yalirak. Of these the name of Wadd occurs in the Surah called Noah, LXXI, 22, and he is stated to have been a deity of the tribe of Kalb. Of the other divinities mentioned above we know nothing.
That Ma'in, the city in Avhich these valuable inscriptions were discovered, is a place of great antiquity is proved by Al-Hamdani, who, writing circa A.H. oOO, remarks that his time it was in ruins and iminhabited.
10 On some recent Dlscovenes in South-Western Arabia.
M. Ilalcvy has also brought to hght the existence of another small kingdom, whose capital was the city (hajar) of Haram, the modern Medinet-Haram. Only the names of two of the kings are mentioned : Yadhmar-lMalik and his son Watr-il Dharah. The principal deity worshipped in Haram appears to have been a goddess under the name of IMatabintain.
The kmgdom of Hadhramaut is once mentioned in the inscriptions of M. Halevy (No. 193), whose travels did not extend further to the eastward than Marib. This was one of the largest and most powerful of the Himyaritc pruicipalities, and an apocr^qohal list of its kings (in which however we are able to perceive a fair gliunnering of light) is preserved by Ibn Khaldun. Its capital, Shabwat (British Museum, 6) has been identified by Osiander with (1) Sabota, the chief town of the Atramitas of Pliny ; (2) the Sanbatha of Ptolemy ; (3) the Sabbatha of the Periplus ; and (4) the Sabwah of the Kdmns. To these may be added the Shabwah enumerated amongst the fortified towns of Hadhramaut by Al-Hamdjini.
We now come to the principal seat of the Himyarite monarchy, the kingdom of Saba, whose capital was originally Zhafar, and subsequently Marib, although the opposite is generally supposed to be the case. Setting aside, however, the mention of " Sephar a mount of the east," in the thirtieth verse of the tenth chapter of Genesis, we find from the inscrip- tions that the formal and ofiicial title of the rulers of this district was " ]\Ialik Saba wa Dhu Raidan," that is, king of the whole country of the Saboeans and of Zliafar, the name of whose citadel or palace was Raidan, or Dhu-Raidiln. As considerable misapprehension has hitherto existed in re- gard to this place, the oi'dinary opinion being, from the time of Salt downwards, that the name of Raidan represents a town in modern times called Raida, Avhich is situated not far from San'a, I am glad to be able, with the help of Al-Ham- dani, to set the question finally at rest. It is true there is a toAvn at the present day called llaida, the cliicf stronghold of the 'Asiri tribe until its capture by the Turks last year, and there may bo others in the country, but the Raidan of the
On some recent Discoveries in South-Western Arabia. 11
inscription is "the palace of tlie kingdom at Zhaftir ' (,Uli) <JXi^-« r*^-')* It is frequently mentioned in the highest terms of eulogy by the royal poets, 'Alkama Dhu Yazan^ and Asa'd Tobba'. The former says with reference to its lofty position :
•5) i
*' The foundations of a tank were laid at Dhu Raidaii " Upon the loftiest pinnacle of a rock."
This cistern at Dhu Raidan is further described by 'Alkaraa as resembling the ancient edifices of 'Ad : " Kmgs," he says, "have despoiled it; but not a king from among them shall return." ^
The following is a quotation from a long poem by Asa'd Tobba' :
• ^^ _ ~ s.
" And Raidan is my castle at Zhafar and my mansion : " In it my ancestor built our palaces and cisterns. " Upon the green paradise of the land of Yahsab " Eighty dams discharge their flowing waters."
^ This 'Alkama must not be confounded witli the more famous 'Alkama the son of 'Obda. The poet mentioned iu the text was a son of one of the late Himyarite princes, and was killed in an engagement with the tribes of 'Abd- Menat and Kalb. For a specimen of ancient poetry composed to celebrate the prowess of the warrior bard on this occasion, see Schulten's " Monumenta Vetus- tiora Arabia3," Lugd. 1740, p. 15. A few lines by the Himyarite king Asa'd Tobba' are also preserved iu the same collection, p. 13. But the pages of Al-Hamd9,nt are filled to overflowing with the verses of these two prsp-Islamite poets.
^"^ U^lki ^Si,j\ i-JjLo
12 On some recent Discoveries in South-Western Arabia. He has also a punning allusion to the name of the city :
*' We triumphed in our mansions at Zhafar ; " Success always attends the dweller therein."
The palace appears to have been called indifferently Raidan and Dhu Raidan. 'Alkama prefers the latter form, and it may be remarked that the expression in the Axumite inscription TOY PA El A AN is probably an exact represen- tation in Greek characters of the name as commonly used. The title of the king may therefore be translated, not as " King of Sabii and Lord of Raidan," according to Osiander, but as " King of Saba and Dhu-Raidun," i.e., Zhafar.
Another designation of these kings was " ]\Iakrab Saba." The exact meaning of the former word it is difficult to determine, but it probably springs from the root employed in the compounds Tohha-Kariba, Kariha-il, Yakrah-Malik, which has the signification of binding and thence oi governing. It would appear that this was the usual title of the younger sons of the reigning family, who were invested with the government of the various provinces into which the kingdom vas divided.
I have endeavoured, by a careful examination of the inscriptions, to estal)lish the succession of the kings whose names are recorded in them, and to assign a general date to the d}aiasty. The following list must, however, be con- sidered purely tentative, and several links in llu' cliain wliic-h are wanting are filled up conjecturally. Any succession which is not actually proved by the inscriptions is marked by the letter (<^/). A great source of difficulty is found in the practice of assigning a prince's descent through his grand- father, or still further back, instead of through his immediate ancestor.
On some recent Discoveries in South-Western Arabia. 13
Dhamar'ali Dharali {A. 24 ; R. 61 ?) (d) Yada'il Watr (A. 33, 34 ; S. 61 ?)
{d) Samali'ali Dliarali (A. 55)
Il-sharali {A. 55)
I ■
I
\.
One generation between Dhamar'ali Bayyin {A. 54)
~1
Kariba-n (A. 55)
Kariba-il Watr Yahan'am (A. 11, 51 ; H. 51)
(fZ) Samah'ali Yanaf * (^.4,8,10,14; iZ.673)
{d) Yatha'aniir "Watr (H. 280 et seq.) Halak-amir (A. 54)
Yada'H Bayyin (A. 56 ; R. 51)
I Yakrab-MaUk Watr (H. 44, 51 ; A. 56)
\ Yatha'aniir Bayyin {A. 56)
Kariba-il Bayyin (if. 52, 352, 672 • A. 29)
Samah'ali Yanaf {H. 45)
,. I Yatha'aniir Bavyin
(^.12)
Yada'il Dharah (A. 4, 8, 10 ; S. 338)*
Samah'ali Yanaf (S. 338, 339)*
I (d.) Yada'il Dhali' {S. 50)*
These kings appear to have reigned between the years B.C. 80 and A.D. 120, the approximate date of the destruction of the Dyke of Marib, when it is probable that city was deserted for San'a, whilst the greater number of the tribes migrated still further. From that event the decline of the Himyaritic empire must be dated.
In addition to the above, we find in the British Museum inscription (No. 33) Fara'm Yanhab reigning jointly as king of Saba and Dhu Raidan, with his two sons, Tl-Sharah Yadhab
* Makrab Saba.
14 On some recent Discoveries in South-Western Arabia.
and Yiital Baypii, and in No. 30 of tlie same series we come across a king of Saba named AVababa-il Yahat. Tbese in- scriptions were found at Marib, and it may bence be inferred tbat tbe reigns of tbese princes were anterior to tbe transfer of tbe capital to San'a. From tbe appearance of tlie cba- racters on tbese stones, as represented in. tbe Britisb Museum facsimile litbograpbs, I sbould be inclined to ascribe to tbem an antiquity reacbing back at least a biuidred years furtber tban tbe clean-cut slabs of Yada'il and Yatba'-amir.
Of all tbese princes only two bave been mentioned by tbe writers of antiquity, namely, Il-Sbarab, tbe sovereign of I\Iarib at tbe date of tbe expedition of yElius Gallus into Arabia, and Kariba-il, wbo was tbe reigning king of tbe Homerites wben tbe Periplus of the Erytla^a'an Sea was written. Tbe expedition of Gallus bas been often described, but it is necessary bere to refer briefly to tbe events wbicb attended its close. From tbe account given by Strabo it appears tbat after tbe capture of tbe city of Negrani by assault, tbe Roman army arrived, after a marcb of six days, at a river, wbere its passage was opposed by tbe natives, and a battle ensued, resulting in tbe loss of ten tbousand Arabs, wbilst only two of tbe invaders were killed. After tbe captm-e of anotber city called Athrnlla,^ tbe capital, Marsyaha, Avas reacbed, and bere tbe expedition terminated, for " after Ipng before tbe place for six days, Gallus was compelled by want of water to raise tbe siege." After a barassing return march of nine days, Negrani was reacbed, and tbe route being tbence cbanged, tbe army embarked at Nera, and returned, via tbe Red Sea and tbe Nile, to Alexandria.
Tbe termmal point of this expedition, wbicb is called Marsyaha by Strabo, is usually supposed to be Marib, tbe capital city of tbe Sabaians. Pliny, bowever, states tbat tlie Roman general passed by Mariaha (undoubtedly the fl ? ) ^ ilia7'j/aZ>, of tbe Inscriptions) and ended tbe expedi- tion at Caripeta, wbicb was identified by M. Fresnel (Journal Asiatique, IV serie, tome vi, p. 224) witb Kbariba, a city
' This place is called Athhda by Dion Cassias, and may possibly be the Tathal 'IX? o^ ^I- Ilalevy's inscrijilions, which is often found associated with Ma'ln.
On some recent Discoveries in Soiith-Western Arabia. 15
lying about a clay's journey west of Marib, where several of M, Arnaud's inscriptions were discovered. Had Caripeta been Khariba, then Mariaba must have been Marib, for there is no doubt that the two cities mentioned by the Roman geographer were in close proximity to each other. Unfortunately for M. Fresnel's h^^othesis, the word Khariba is used as a general term to denote the ruined cities of Yemen, the proper name of that so designated by ]\I. Arnaud being, according to M. Halevy, Su'wah.^ As, however, Pliny makes mention of two Mariabas, one called Baramalchum {ihe Sea of the Kings') and the other Mariaba of the Calingii, it is quite possible that the Marsyaba of Strabo may have been a city situated to the north of the Sab^an Marib, and inhabited by the descendants of Kahirm, traditionally said to be the son of Saba 'Abd-Shems. The province of Hamdan, which was under the government of the Himyarite princes, was peopled by the sons of Kahlan, and its geographical position in relation to Najran, which is unquestionably Negrani (IVegara Metropolis of Ptolemy) affords colourable grounds for believing that it was in some part of it that the expedition was brought to a termination.
However this may be, whether the Marsyaba of Strabo is the Marib of the Dyke, or the Marib of the Beni Kahlan, or whether these are one and the same place, as Caussin de Perceval would seem to think,- it is very plainly stated that this place at the date of the expedition, B.C. 24, was under the rule of a sovereign, the Greek rendering of whose name, 'lA.i'crapo9, would be almost exactly represented by the Himy- aritic designation Il-Sharah. The conclusion I have arrived at therefore, is, that the reigning king of Saba in the year B.C. 24, is the monarch who recorded the votive inscription on the walls of the Haram of Bilkis at Marib (A. 55), and who was the son of Samah'ali Dliarah, and as I believe the ancestor of Kariba-il Watr Yahan'am. Caussin de Perceval was of opinion that the name of Ilisaros might be found in Dhu-1-Adliar, the surname of Amr, a celebrated king in the
1 This must uot be confounded with the celebrated palace of Sirwah, of which a glowing description is given by Al-Hamdani.
2 See, with reference to the sons of Kah]3,n, and their possession of Marib, Caussin de Perceval's Essai, torn, i, pji. 53, et seq., 74, 83.
IG On some recent Discoveries in South- We stern Arabia.
Arab chronicles of Yemen, but I submit that it resembles more closely the name of that prince's successor, Sharahbil or Alishrah, ^vho, according to Ibn Hisham, the author of the lost work, At-tijdri, was the first of the Himyarite kings to fix his residence at Marib, and who probably constructed the Haram of Bilkis in that city. He has also the reputation of having erected the magnificent place of Ghomdan at Sana.
The author of the Perijjhis states that, at the time he compiled that work, the paramount sovereign of the Home- rites and Sabaians was Charibael, whose metropolis was Aphar, or Saphar, and that this was the prince whose friendship was coveted by the Roman emperors, and to whom they sent embassies and presents. It can scarcely be doubted this powerfid prince is the one who is named in A. 54 Kariba-il Watr, Yehan'am (the bestoicer of favour), the king of Saba and Dhu-Raidan, i.e, Zhafar. The date which Ave are to ascribe to the reign of this monarch must neces- sarily depend on that assigned to the PeripJus, and this has never been accurately determined. Dean Vincent, in an acute and mgenious essay, ^ endeavours to show that the work must have been written about the 10th year of Nero, A.D. 69 ; others have fixed the date in the reign of Hadrian, or even as late as that of Severus. I shall not recapitulate the learned Dean's arguments ; they have convinced me, though not complete in themselves ; but shall merely adduce two other facts in support of them, one of which was pre- sented to the world a very few years after the publication of the Essay, Avhilst the other has only lately been brought to light through the researches of a modern archasologist. In addition to these, a very strong inference to justify the same conclusion will be found from the date assigned by Caussin de Perceval, after much patient inquiry, to that king in his list whose name most nearly approximates to the Kariba-il of the Haram.
1st. The author of the Periplus states that the name of the king whose territories extended from the country of the Moskophagi to Barbaria, or, as Ave should say noAV, from SuAvakui to the Somali coast (Zuilu'), Avas Zoskales. Accord-
• " The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea," 1800, pt. i, p. 46.
On some recent Discoveries in South-Western Arabia. 17
ing to the chronology deduced from the Ethiopic annals, Za-hakale reigned between they ear "A.D. 7G and 99, or witliin a very few years of the date assigned to the Perqjlus.^ The resemblance of the name of Za-hakale to that of Zoskales is too striking to be lightly passed over.
2nd. The Periplus, again, informs us that Leuke Kome was the place where the merchants landed to go to Petra, the residence of Malichas, the king of the Nabathaians ; and that it was occupied by a Roman garrison. Dean Vincent has carefully examined this statement ; ^ but in the whole series of Nabathasan kings he was unable to find a Malchus, or Mahchas, whose reign could be ascribed to the reign of Nero. The Due de Luynes, whilst opening wide a new path of numismatic research, has failed to assign a correct place in history to many of the Nabathsean princes recorded in his list. It is only within the last few years that these lacuna} have been satisfactorily filled up by the discoveries of the Comte de Vogiie, who has not only been enabled to estal:)lish from them certain doubtful points of filiation, but has found dates recorded in several of the inscriptions which set the question of chronology finally at rest. It will suffice to say, that the king whose name was so anxiously desired by Dean Vmcent, Malchus or Malichas, the son of Aretas, is ascertained to have had a distinct existence, and that he reigned between the years A.D. 40 and 75. His son Dabel or Zabelus was the last of the independent Nabatheean kings, and it would appear therefore to be quite out of the question that any monarch of that race could have reigned at Petra so late as the time of Septimius Severus, or even of Hadrian.^
3rd. The only prince recorded in the Arab annals whose name approaches that of Kariba-il Yahan'am is Yasir Yan'am, whose surname is identical with that of the king of the inscriptions, and whose reign, according to Caussin de Perceval, must have occurred soon after the Christian era. The authorities cited by the same writer inform us that the reigns of two princes, Hodhad and Bilkis, intervened
' Salt's Voyage to Abyssinia, 1814, p. 463. 2 Vincent's " Periplus," 1805, pt. ii, p. 244. ^ Eevue Numismatique, 1868, j)p. 153, ct seq. Vol. II. 2
18 On some recent Discoveries in South- Western Arabia.
between those of Sharahbil or Alyshrali and Yasir Yan'am. These, accordmg to the series of kings deduced fi-om the inscriptions, would be Dhamar'ali Bayyin and his father the son of Il-Sharah, of whom we have no record. The fact that the name of Bilkis has been foisted into the place which should be more properly occupied by Dhamar'ali may be accounted for on the hypothesis that the prince, in conjunc- tion with liis son Kariba-il, was the chief restorer of the glory of the Haram, which was trachtionally founded by the Queen of Sheba. The anxiety of the Arab historians to find a place in then' annals for this princess, who must have existed long before the amalgamation of the two principal races of South Arabia, has been often remarked on as forming the principal bar to the accuracy of then relations, which in no mstance extend further back than the Kahtanide incursion.
Of the successors of Kariba-il Watr, the only pi'inces whose names resemble those in the Arab list of kings, are Yakrab-Malik and Samah'ali Yanaf. In these may be traced a likeness to Kola'i-Kariba, or, as Al-Jarmabi writes the name, Molaik-Yaki-ab, and to the predecessor of Dhu-Nowas, Al- khania Yanouf. The former of these princes reigned, how- ever, at a later date than we can assign to the third suc- cessor of Kariba-il, whilst m the latter's time the progress of Judaism and Christianity had probably put an end to the practice of tutelary dedication to the old gods of Saba.
The discoveries of M. Halevy do not appear to throw any new light upon the religious worship of the Sabeeans. The principal of then deities were : Il-Makah, 'Athtor, Haubas, Shems or Sliamas, and Dhu Samdwi, males : Dhat Hamim and Dhat Ba'dan, females. Nasr, one of the five gods worshipped by the ancient Arabs to whom reference is made by Mohammed,^ is said by the commentators to have been
ISoali LXXI, 22. — "And tlicj said, Forsake not your gods; and especially forsake not Wadd, and Suwa', and Yagliutli, and Ya'uk, and Nasr," that is, the gods of the tribes of Kalb, Ilamdan, Madhaj, Murdd, and Ilimyar.
On some recent Discoveries in South-Western Arabia. 19
par excellence the god of Himyar, and his name iu a two-fold aspect is found in the following inscription, which was lately brought into Aden in a very perfect condition : —
lhSS«ftlh1fh|o)''i^?
mTnHihfi)Mihn)o
«'ihn*)oihnHs^x;^^ B?nihnHh^xh3m?n
4')lhni3®?4'i?h*HI^
i^)0X4'ihni)
Of the chronology of the Himyarites we know nothing. Only two dates, so far as I am aware, have been discovered up to the present time, and, as remarked above, these would appear to be referable to the ^ra of the lyahtanide Sabasans, or about the year B.C. 700. On this hypothesis the date of the inscription of Hisn Ghorab would be B.C. 60; that of A. 3 (//. 3) would be B.C. 127. The numerals employed in the inscriptions were undoubtedly introduced by the Kah- tanides ; they are pure Semitic, every one of them, and up to ten would appear to have had masculine and feminine inflections like the Ethiopic and Arabic. After twenty the tens were formed by the addition of ^ (or as a dialectic variety f ^^) to the feminine units, as 0(1)/^' four, T O n) ?1 or ? V O n) h forty, O R A ^<^ren, ? O f] rS seventij. A hundred was ^ X r*l ^ or X r*! ^' ^ thousand 0 I n ' whilst the intervening centuries were formed by the addition of the unit in the feminine form, as in Arabic
20 On some recent Discoveries in South-Wcstom Arahia.
the Etliiopic preferring the mascuh'ne), e.g. | ^ X fh ^ I A 3 •• (^. 3) I ^ X rh € I 8 A (Hisn Ghorab). The cliaracters em- ployed for notation appear to have been exceedingly simple ; a jDei-pendicular stroke [ | ] representing one, two strokes [ I j ] two, and so up to five, which was represented by ['j'], the first letter of the word |S 3 V fi"-'^- To form six, a stroke was added to five [ | VI' ^^'^ strokes for seven, &c., up to ten [o], the first letter of ) ^ O, ten. Between ten and twent}^ this sign was added to those repre- senting the units, as [j | V ^] seventeen. Twenty to fifty were distinguished by the sign [o] being doubled, tripled, and quadrupled ; [ V/ ] for f |^ ^ 4/ represented fifty, and the series was similarly carried on by tens to one hundred [^]. The only exception I find to this is in //. 466, there [O §] would seem to stand for eighty, which in the dialect of the inscription is f V h ^ V 8*
Of the Saba3an year ( 0 ) '^ ) ^^ know nothing except tliat it was divided into lunar months Ci/ ) <1>) and days (^ ® ?)• ^^ ^^^ 110 mention of weeks in the inscrip- tions, although an ancient Arabic historian, Ahmed ibn Ya'kub al-'Abbasi, has preserved a distich ^ which is said to give the names of the various days. These are, Awwal, Ahun, Hubar, Dubar, Munas, 'Aruba, and Shabar, proceeding fi'om Sunday onwards.
Before parting with M. Halevy, it must be mentioned that the publication of his inscriptions has enabled us to discover
/■cy t o^ 9 , p o-5i %
^^ u;^ ;V^ J^^^^ ^
" I hope that I may remain ahve and that my day (i.e. the day of my death) may be on Awwal, or on Aliiln, or Hubar, or on the following Dubar, and if I pass that, may it be on Miliias, or 'Ai-uba, or Shabar," (or, in other words, not to-day).
On some recent Discoreries in South- Wester^i Arabia. 21
the existence of several forgeries which have been lately perpetrated in a clever manner by a Jewish coppersmith at Sana, with whom the traveller lodged, during his residence in that town, and who by some means or other was able to take copies of several fragments, All these forged tablets were executed in brass, and some of them have found their way to the British Museum (compare H. 154, 424, 465, 499, 477). Outwardly these tablets appear to have undergone the wear and tear of ages, and the most careful examination would fail to detect in them the marks of the forger's hand. It is only when a search is made into the meaning of the inscrip- tions that suspicion arises, although, until the pubKcation of M. Halevy's collection set the matter at rest, the inquirer would fain have attributed his failure to his own ignorance rather than to the deception printed on the bronze.
The printing of the inscriptions is defective and calculated to mislead. It was the practice of the Sabasans to employ square slabs of sandstone for the purpose of record, &c., several of these being affixed to the ediiice of which they were to form the memorial, and the inscription being con- tinued from one to another, sometimes laterally and some- times perpendicularly. Speciiuens of these may be seen in Halevy's inscriptions from Kharibat-Sa'iid, Nos. 628 to 632, which are printed as if complete in themselves, instead of being portions of boustrophedon inscriptions copied in a perpendicular line, the corresponding slabs to the right or left being wanting. No. 631 affords a good instance of what I mean, whilst the peculiar construction of the square- built buttresses referred to above is proved by the fact of several slabs which served to compose them (and, among others, some of those at Kharibat Sa'ud) having been brought into Aden and carefully examined.
In the preceding pages no attempt has been made to treat the subject of M. Halevy's inscriptions in then- philo- logical aspect, but simply to inqufre what, at a superficial view, may be their historical value, in connection with the other materials which we have at our disposal. At the present stage of Himyaritic inquiry we are little better than uien groping in a dark room, thankfril if an occasional ray of
22 On some recent Discoveries in South-Wester}i Arabia,
light reaches us throngh a chink in the walls ; l^iit v/e have learned one thing, and that is to discard utterly the narratives of the old Arab Avriters, which for historical purposes are by themselves valueless, and which bear the same relation to the contemporaneous records on bronze or marble as a coin of Tasciovanus does to the romances of Geoffrey of Mon- mouth. Geographically the case is different, and a fair appreciation of the ancient aspect of the country may be gained from the pages of Al-Hamduni, who united the fmictions of an accurate topographer to those of a collector of folk-lore, or, in other words, the wild legends which lingered in his native Yemen for centuries after the voice of Himyar had been lost in the war-cry of Koraish. The few echoes -which now remaui must be sought for in the fastnesses of Mahrah and the valleys of Socotra,^ and thither we would direct the inquher.
^ It is interesting to find that tlie ■word ^ O ^ (makam), tlie usual term employed by the Hiniyarites for tlie staiio or shrine of a divinity, was carried by their Christian descendants to Socotra, and was there used to designate a church up to the middle of the seventeenth century. Father Vincenzo describes the churches, which he calls Moquame, as dark, low, dirty, and daily anointed with butter. (See Tide's Marco Polo, vol. ii, p. 344).
[Note. — Since the above was written, I have received a copy of the Journal Asiatique for June last, in Avhich M. Halevy's translations of the inscriptions discovered by him have been published. These translations do not profess to be more than tentative, and their incompleteness scarcely allows of criticism. In the case of only one mscription (No. 257) has any attempt been made to give a detailed analysis of the text, and it cannot be said that this has done much towards clearing away difficulties of interpre- tation.]
Additional Note.
While these pages Avere passing tlirough the press, I have been shown at the British Musemn an undoubted Hiniyaritic coin, wln'cli lias been in fliat cu^ileclion fur flic last iV.rfy years.
On some recent Discoveries in South-Western Arabia. 23
On one side is a ringletted head ; on the other a smaller head
surrounded by the inscription hH?nTh^lh?nihHDo Tvhich I translate as 'Amddn Bayyin, the ijossessor (kani) of
Raiddn. The word hint is found as a monogram, thus *X and I think it very probable that the word which 1 have read as Yanaf on another coin (see page 6) may be a worn impression of the same monogram. There is another monogram on the coin which I am unable to decypher. The whole of the inscription is perfectly legible, and there cannot be a doubt of its Himyaric origin.
I take this opportunity of mentioning, that not long ago a mutilated Hmestone slab was brought into Aden with the following inscription engraved upon it : —
|
? 1 0 JUH |
|
1 D 1 4" ^ H |
|
h n A 1 (1 |
|
SH T >H«> |
|
r ] > A 1 s n |
It would appear from this that the father of Dhamar 'ali Dharah (see page 13) was called Kariba-il.
Jidy, 1873.
24 On some recent Discoveries in South-Western Arabia.
APPENDIX.
The following Inscriptions have been recently discovered by the writer of the precechng paper. The first four are tutelary dedications to Tdlah fl "1 fh X' ^ divinity whose name does not appear on any other nioninnents, but who was probably Avorshipped in the country of Hamdan, the bu'th-place of the Historian. The iuscriptions on bronze should be received with some caution, but full rehance may be ])laced upon the authenticity of the stone tablets.
I. — Bronze Tablet.
X(i>niH}««ihVo I D <» ? o I h ^ o I X H I h hJoi^nAaiiiHH H ? H h n I m m H I
®IIlI]*i?Ho|oa)|V
H I A <» ® I a H u I n ? I h m ® I T h n I n ? a> I
VIl'KlHIlSlhMA' holHinHlhO
On some recent Discoveries in South-Western Arabia. 25
|
II. — Bronze Tablet. |
|
D? nni h X |
|
o1l8H4'VIIl |
|
n nju V H n |
|
hf hH ft Di a |
|
DHHIHAni |
|
SJX^loVII |
|
H ni fH X 1 H |
|
h}H VIIS |
|
III. — Bronze Tablet. |
|
1 h n 1 H V 1 1 h n 1 D !> V 0 D |
|
niniftxioiihi DJVN |
|
1 ft X 1 ? h * A 1 X o } X 11 5 |
|
Oh m v>¥?iiiii?H n |
|
11 ft A o (1 1 o V h n 1 ID V A |
|
V H 1 a 1 A ® 1 L h 0 "P ® |
|
H *S 1 11 Y 1 ffi V ? h * ® 1 ® |
|
v 11 o 1 h J o h 1 H 1 X 1 n |
|
** lintHHhfJAlo? |
|
? V 11 1 1 A * 1 D I <» H 1 0 T |
|
ftininiftxis hi'mo 1 |
26 On some recent Discovones in South-Western Arabia.
TV. — Limestone Slab.
h^vmaoHisniHft vjixso^x^v xo>xiioniai]?Hnihxi®i]V]]?jiT
A I X 1 h a I <■> V H o A 1 X H n I h D 1 A I h H oSI*VHo^ini?iXIX?IXH1<»ll]*H ? h n I ® V h >!] M ? B > ® I B ? 0 a><i> I ]] X II
i]?HnihxniiiHJfi®iivnoj<i>ihHiiV
V. — Bronze Tablet.
D M ft I H" t D
•K I] H H I h h n I > II H I II o n ? I
fhiKi ® I no h H ? > H I no]
iH © 11 o n ® I
I II 8 HloiM H
a> n V n o 1 <i>
VI. — LiJviESTONE Frustum of a Pyramid.
(In tlie British Museum.)
n h I h © 8 n h > 0 X f I h n I X 1 h I X ? h * V 1 3 1 o n I h h ? * I « vv
<i> 3 V Y 0 f 11 h X i> ft
On some recent Discoveries in South- Western Arabia. 27
VII. — Limestone Slab.
® ! T A o I 3 H V 1 H I ) 3 h n
( n o I h r u r 8 1 ^ n i^ (
VIII. — Limestone Slab. f0ft(D|(D^V)?yn
,',fa)MoVHno<B|3
IX. — Limestone Mortuary Inscription.
®vh)xnHih*)n)X8oiso3
28 On some recent Discoveries in South- Western A rahia.
|
X. — Bronze Tablet. |
|
lofnhJHoihniDnn} |
|
,1 fi 1 <D V V ^ ® 1 m H" 1 h h 8 |
|
vifHiHiiniiioMionivu |
|
h 11 H ^ H 1 <» D V X (Oo V n 1 0 ? * 1 0, |
|
m h»niighi?<><i>®i<i>DV?o<i. |
|
?o«<Bi»iivx^vnihhfi ifi(?) |
|
(Di*n V jon^i^DviMMion |
|
DO^Vn IIHlhS8<i>lh4'nH? |
|
HI«>?!Oia?8hMD4'4'Ain W) |
|
VUlfh Ih^DHTMo |
29
ON THE RELIGIOUS BELIEF OF THE ASSYRIANS.
No. IL
By H. F. Talbot, F.R.S., &c. Bead Wi November, 1872.
In my former paper on this subject I showed, as I think for the first time, that the Assyrians behoved in the immor- tahty of the soul. I have since found numerous proofs of it. Many of the tablets m the British Museum contain allusions to it as a belief established and unquestionable. For instance — a man is seized with a mortal sickness, and dies — '■'■May his sold fly up to heaven ! " This short prayer, or ejaculation, stands as follows in the original : —
|
kima itzuri ana |
ashri |
|
nice a hird to |
a place |
|
=Esr <"- . <:r ^ Et"" ^ |
|
|
rapsi lattaprash |
|
|
lofty may it fly. |
|
|
2- T? ^! . m . <r- ^? T-- . V |
. -+ I |
|
ana kati damikti slia |
ili-su |
|
to the hands holy of |
its god |
|
gyj. ^ j^yyy |
|
|
lippakit. |
|
|
may it returm. |
|
|
Like a bird may it fly to a lofty place ! |
|
|
To the holy hands of its god, may it return ! |
An Accadian version follows, with the same meaning. 1 may observe that rajjsi (lofty) is the usual epithet of Heaven ;
30 On the Religious Belief of the Assijrians.
lattaprash is the optative of the T conjugation of 2Kirash ' to fly/ a verb of frequent occuiTcnce.
On another tablet the clymg spirit is restored to h"fe by the gods. First, a prayer to Ishtar. ^A~ ^S >-^T ^May the great goddess >^ ^^yi^ <^^ gy| ^I^J ^ <^-j: >r^ ^|< muhulladdat miti, she who turns death into Hfe [receive him in her hands]. — The Accadian version agrees, <T^ ^^Tv^ >=TTTi^ Tin Diirga : for, in Accadian, Tin signifies Life, and Durga Death.
Then, a prayer to Mardulv, " And thou 0 ]\Iarduk lord of mercy, who raisest ? death to life. Atta Marduk Ul rimnu sha miti hidlnda irammu, written ^C^^ *^T^ '"'^^ (death) S? ISI SI! ^M/^«f^« (life).— The Accadian has i^t^Bj ^!TI^ . >-<y< >-^y» Durga Tila substituting Tila (life) for Tin of the former passage. Both words are equally common. Then follows, /////, lihib, limmir " may it (the soul) ascend, soar high, and shine !" This pln-ase is repeated on various other tablets, so that the genercd meaning of it is ajoparent. The last line however is the most important : " And may the Sun, greatest of the gods, receive the saved soul into his holy hands ! " -jV >^ '^'^T'^T *"'^TT Salmut-zu, ' his saved soul,' from salam to save. The Accadian has ^y^ ^y which is almost always the translation of the Assyrian salam. Manifestly this passage implies a judgment, the Sun being the judge, in which the souls of the righteous were saved, but others condemned. And such I find to have been the belief of the Assyrians. I will return to the subject, merely pointing it out here in passing.
I will consider next an interesting tablet, Avhich may be entitled
The Death of the Righteous Man.
It is highly imaginative, and the meaning of some words being still unknown I cannot represent it by a continuous
On the Religious Belief of the Assiirians. 31
translation. It begins I think by sajang that heaven and earth sympathised with the sufferings of the sick man.
1. Tempest in heaven, lightning on earth, are raging.
2. Of the brave man who was so strong, his strength has departed.
3. Of the righteous servant, the force does not return.
4. In his bodily frame he lies dangerously ill.
5. But Ishtar smiles upon him with a placid smile,
6. And comes down from her mountain, unvisited of men.
7. At the door of the sick man she speaks.
8. The sick man turns his head :
9. Who is there ? Who comes ?
1 0. It is Ishtar, daughter of the moon-god Sin :
11. It is the god ( ) son of Bel :
12. It is Marduk, son of the god (....).
13. They approach the body of the sick man.
{The next line 14 is nearly destroy ecV)
15. They bring a khisihta (jewel?) from their hea- venly treasury :
16. They bring a sisbu from their lofty storehouse :
17. To the precious khisihta they pour forth a hymn.
18. That righteous man let him now depart !
1 9. May he rise as bright as that khisihta !
20. May he soar on high like that sishu!
21. Like pure silver may his figure shine !
22. Like brass may it be radiant !
23. To the Sun, greatest of the gods, may it return !
24. And may the Sun, greatest of the gods, receive the saved soul into his holy hands !
32 On the Rdujxous Belief of the Assyrians.
The words used iu the hist Hue are the same as hi the former mstaiice. -^ >-^ '"'^11 Sahnut-zu, 'his saved soul,' with the same Accadiaii translation ^Tdi ^T l^ima. I will give the original text of the whole in an Appendix (No. I) to this paper.
Another word for ' a saved soul' was ^t^tmt T*^ Sidmi, derived fi-om the same verb salam to save. The Accadian translates it as before by ^f^!^ ^f Dirna. An example "svill be found on a tablet which tlie British Museum published some years ago (Rawlinson's Inscriptions, vol. 2, plate 18, col. ii, 54). The sick man is ^dsitecl and comforted by the gods. Then we read as follows :
1. The departed? man may he be in glory!
2. l\hiy his soul shine radiant as brass !
3. To that man
4. ]May the Sun give life !
5. And ]\hirdulv, eldest son of heaven G. Grant him an abode of happiness !
See the original text in the Appendix (No. II).
They seem to have hiiagined the Soul like a bird with sliiiimg wings risuig to the skies. It is cm-ious that they considered pohshed brass to be more beautiful than gold. A modern poet would have \\Titten differently.
This point then seems fully proved — that the Sun received the spmts of just men into a heavenly abode of happiness.
But in fact I might have dispensed with all these proofs, and relied upon this single fact namely that the great title of the Sun was "the Judge of Men." — For, as it is certain that men are not always judged in this world accordmg to their merits, biit that the wicked often remain prosperous to the end, the belief of the Assyrian must have been that there was a judgment after death. The Egyptians had the same belief — that the actions of men would be judged by Osiris: the good deeds against the evil weighed m a balance, and sentence pronounced accordingly.
0)i the ReUgioiis Belief of the Assyrians. 33
The gTeat name of the Sun in Assyrian theology was ^^TT Ty [y ^ T >^~ ^y*^ Daian-nisi or Dian-nisi which means " the Judge of Men." Some years ago I ventured to affirm that this name is the same with the Dionysus of the Greeks.^ All know that the worship of Dionysus was derived from the East — in very ancient times, for he is men- tioned by Homer. In the early mythologies the name of Dionysus signified the Sun, for Herodotus says (iii, 8) that the only god worshipped by the Arabians was Dionysus : now it is certam that the Arabians worshipped the Sun, and the Assyrian records confirm this by saying that tribute was brought by the Queen of the Arabians, who used to worship the Siui, Osiris and Dionysus were the same, according to the judgment of Plutarch (Isis et Osiris, cap. 28). And he quotes from Heraclitus that Dionysus was Hades. But Hades, or Pluto, was fabled to be the judge of departed souls.
I will give some examples of the word Dian or Daian ' a judge,' which is evidently the Hebrew 'j'^1 judex.
Nebuchadnezzar says in his great inscription iv, 29
'• I? -^T . ►+ '^y . Kyy y? y{ <n . f eIT ^e ^yy<y
Ana Shems Dainu tsiri
To the Sun the Judge supreme
2. ^yyyy . <y5^ -^ ^]}} El . ^yyyy -^yy
Bit Dian-nisi bit-zu
the temple of Dianisi, his temple,
3. in Babilim in. Babylon
4. in kupri u agurri
in bitumen and bricks
5. shakish ebus grandly J built.
^ See my paper in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature, vol. 8, p. 297.
Vol. II. 3
34 On the Religious Belief of the Assi,'ria)is.
Here it is to be observed that J^lyy ^y is tlie Accadian or ancient Babylonian word for 'men,' which is nisi in Assyrian. It occurs very frequently on the tablets.
Another spelling of Dian-nisi is ^j^fr »^ ^ *^^ \*^ which has the same meaning "judge of men." This title of the Sun Avas not so much a mere title as an actual name. In proof of which I can point to a tablet (163 a and h, other- wise marked as 204) where no less than forty-eight short phrases or epithets of honour are all explained to mean the god ^Tit >'>^ j^ist as the (f)OL(3os of the Greeks, though originally only an epithet of the Sun {brilliant ox fiery) became at a later period his proper name.
In the annals of Ashurakhbal (R 18, 44) the king saj^s : " At the beginning of my reign I sat proudly on my royal throne, holding my sceptre in my hand, &c. &c. And they held over me the umbrella of state, dedicated to the Sun " — whose name is thus written >^>^ ^ >^ Kfj?^ *"*^ ^i^ r^^ Shamas dian-nisi.
Another example from the I\Iichaux stone (R 70, col, iii, 15). Whoever destroys this tablet, may the Sun the great judge of heaven and earth, condemn him !
'• -+ ^T . <W ^.tV. -A- ^} A Am -<V
Shems Daian rabu shamie u kiti
Sun i'"^£/^ great of heaven and earth
2. lu-din din-su.
judge him icith judgment.
The Sun has also the epithet " Destroyer of the Wicked," Avhich I think must relate to a future judgment.
To resume. — Since the Assyrians believed in a jvulgment after death, it follows that the immortality of the soul was an established doctrine of their religion.
11.
Mysteries of the Assyrian Religion.
An immense multitude of gods are found in the Assyrian Pantheon, but only a few of these appear to have been
On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians. 35
worshipped with real fervour. Amidst the chaos of names a feehng of the real unity of the divine nature is visible. The phrase ' God and man ' sometimes occurs. ' God and the King' is very frequent. No particular god is here named or intended, but the word >->?- is put absolutely, like the Greek to Qeuov, and may be translated either ' god ' or ' heaven.' But besides their open and popular worship, the Assyrians had mysteries, as the Greeks and Egyptians had. The Egyptian mysteries of Isis and Osiris, and the Eleusinian mysteries of Ceres are well known. They probably pro- duced a profound effect upon the imagination even of those who were indifferent to the ordinary religion. Horace, who was parous deoritm cultor et infrequens probably cared little if he heard one of his friends scoffing at the gods ; but he would not embark in the same ship nor sleep under the same roof with a man
.... qui Cereris sacrmn Vulgarit arcanrr ....
The tablets in the British ]\Iuseum are often very difficult to understand. This arises partly from their broken and muti- lated state, which continually interrupts the reader. Very often, when an explanation of the meaning appears to be coming, it is broken off, and so the part which remains and can be deciphered is nearly useless. Hence, only an imper- fect account can be given at present of many branches of Assyrian learning. Enough is said in these records to excite our curiosity, but not enough to give accurate knowledge.
I \^^.ll however point out a class of tablets to which inquuy may be usefully directed, as being likely to lead us to some knowledge of the more esoteric doctrines of the Assyrian religion.
These tablets speak with awe and veneration of a certain object which they name the Mamit. In Assyrian it is written ^Y ^XX^ "^T Mamitu, or ^Y >-< Mamit. The Accadian has two names for it, viz. >-Y<Y-^ ^^^^^J -^Jl which I propose to read Namharu, and *pYYjt *^^Y or Sakha. The first and primary meaning of Mamitu seems to be an Oath : not an
36 On the Reliyicus Belief of the Assyrians.
ordinaiy oath, but a solemn one invoking the gods to witness. In tliis sense it is used by Tiglath-Pileser (v. 11) who says : ' I pardoned the kings of the Nahiri for their rebellion, but I made them swear an oath by the great gods, to do faithful service to me in future.' Mamit ill rahi ana arkat iaini, ana tamu zati, ana ardutti utami sunuti. Here Mamit is written ^T <^:::: ^^J, but in 2 R 65, 4 it is ^] ^XX ^^^f main it u.
In still earlier times we find that the kings of Assyria and Babylonia bound themselves by a solemn oath to keep the peace towards each other (see 2 R 65, 4) : mamitu ana akhati iJJinu, 'an oath to each other they gave.' The etymology of the word is probably to be found in the verb ^^i jurare, whence comes the Chaldee and Syriac t^n^lQ jnramentum^ wliich is almost exactly the Assyrian mamita. It occurs, frequently in the Syriac New Testament, ex. gr. ]\Iatth. v, 33, ' thou shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths.^
It has always been the custom, in order to add solemnity to an oath, to swear it in the presence of the most sacred objects, touching them, kissing them, or at any rate invoking them as witnesses. Thus, even in England, the custom remains to this day of kissing the Bible, when an oath is taken.
As a natural consequence, the oath itself and the sacred object on which it was sworn, obtained in coiu'se of time the same name. Thus, in Greece opKos meant ' an oath,' and also ' the object by which one swears ; the witness of an oath,' as the Styx among the gods, ^rvyoi- vSop, 69 re fieyicTTO'i 'OpKos heivoTaro'; re TreXei fiaKapeaai &eoLcn. (see Liddell and Scott's lex.). And thus also in Assyria, Mamitu e^^dently became the name of that holy object in u-hose presence an oath was taken.
Now, what was tlie nature of this most venerated object? for that such it was, will appear in the sequel. This is a very difficult question. It appears to be something which came down from heaven, if we may judge from the two following lines, which are consecutive, and seem to corre- spond in meaning, and to imply the same object. Unluckily the ends of both lines are fractvn-ed.
(Jn the JA'(i(jious JJeiief of the As.'^ijriuns. 37
1. Salmitu iiltu kii-eb abzi it
Salvation from the midst of the heavenly abyss desce7idedf
2. Mamitu ultu kii-eb shamie ur
Mam,itu from the midst of heaven descended?
I think we may safely translate ^Tdt T*^ ^^I^ Salmitu by ' Salvation,' and these two lines therefore imply that in the mamitu was salvation. The word abyss or heave^dy ocean is used contmually in the same sense as heaven itself.
This makes one think of the Ancile which -fell from heaven in the reign of Numa, and upon the safe preservation of which the safety of the Roman empire depended.
The Palladium of Troy also fell down from heaven, and was accounted to be the salvation of the city ; for, when it was lost, the kingxlom of Priam was overthrown.
A similar wonder was preserved at Ephesus. We read in the Acts of the Apostles (xix, 35) " Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image ivhich fell doion from Jupiter V
Again, at Pessinus in Phrygia was the heaven-fiilleu image of the great goddess Cybele. These objects of worship are supposed by many to have been aerolites or meteoric stones, a hypothesis which has great probability.
But was the Mamitu of the Assyi'ians a Palladium of this kind? This is doubtful: for documents of another kind have to be taken into consideration.
I return to the etymology of the word Mamitu. Syriac j«5]-\^")^ _y?<rctme?iii(m or sacramentum. This latter word appears to me to present a close analogy to the Assyrian mamitu. I will therefore consider (1) its j^riinitive meaning m classical Latin, (2) its transitional meaning in the Avorks of the Fathers of the Church, (3) its meaning in later times.
1. In the classical authors sacramentum meant ' an oath.'
A^on ego perfidum Dixi sacramentum (Hor.)
JEtate fessos sacramento solvere, to absolve the old soldiers from their oath. (Tacitus),
38 On the Religions Belief of the Assi/rians.
JVe primi sacra iiienti memoriam deponerent, he prayed the soldiers not to forgot their first oath. (Caisar).
2. In the Fathers of the Chureh the transitional sense is seen. Arnobius : ' Fidem rumpere Christianani et salntaiis militia3 sacramentinn deponere,' likenmg the Christian oath ' to be true to the faith,' to the pagan soldier's oath ' to be true to his leader and his standard.' Jerome says : ' Remember thy baptism, when, in sac^'awie/j^i verba jurasti.' Hence arose the phrase 'the sacrament of baptism.' So also Tertullian says of baptism, ' Cum in sacramenti verba respondimus, vocati sumus ad militiain Dei.' Elsewhere he uses the expres- sions, ' in baptismatis sacramento,^ and ' admittere ad sacra- menta baptismatis et eucharistise.'
But soon the word Sacramentum acquired the meanuig of Mifsterium. Jerome : ' The Veil is torn down, and all the sacramenta (mysteries) of the law which formerly were hidden now are exposed to ^dew.' Fulgentius : ' Redemp- tionis mysterium, vet sacramentumJ Jerome : ' Crucis sacra- mentum.'
3. In more recent times the word sacrament has tended more and more to denote ' the holy Eucharist,^ especially in Roman Catholic countries. No longer a solemn feeling of the mind oidy, but a visible tangible object of adoration. The Dictionnaire de I'Academie says: 'le Saint Sacrement est I'Eucharistie. On dit : le voiler : I'exposer : le porter aux malades.' The most solemn oaths were sometimes taken upon it ; a curious trace of which remains in the English language, for I may state on the authority of Paley tliat the phrase ' a corporal oath ' meant an oath on the corporale or linen cloth suiTOundmg the corpus domini or sacred host.i
My argument, as no doubt the reader will have perceived, is that the Assyrian word Mamitu passed through somewhat similar shades of meaning. At first only a solemn oath, it became a Mystery — of what nature I cannot guess. But who knows wliat the Orphic mysteries were? The passages
' D'l Fresue. Corporale palla est, qua Saerificium oontegitur iu altari. Siiulon quani solemus Corporale nom'mare (Aliuarius de Eccles. oflic. c. 19). Corporale pallium in a letter of ^t. Boniface. But Du Fresne diliers as to Corpiirale juramenhim, whicli, he says, prrestatiir protensa niauu, tactis sacro- sarictiB Evangeliis, Cruce Domiuir-4 vel sauetoi'uni reliquiie admotis.
On the Reliyious Belief of the Assyrians. 31)
which I am ahout to adduce from the Assyrian tablets will show, I think, that had it been delivered by Orpheus himself the Mamit could not have been regarded with more profound veneration.
The first is a Hymn to the Mamit, which begins thus :
1. Mamit! Mamit! Treasure which passeth not away !
2. Treasure of the gods, which departeth not !
3. Treasure of heaven and eartli, which shall not be removed !
4. The one god who never fails !
5. God and man are unable to explain it !
The Accaclian version of the hymn begins similarly : Sakha ! Sakha ! jewel not dejKirting, &c. &c. From these remarkable but mysterious lines Tve see that the Mamit was accounted to be divine — nay more — it was the only god.
How this is to be explained I know not. Did the learned men of Babylonia perceive the falsehood of the popular religion ? Were they convinced of the unity of the Divine Nature ?
Fortunately the two texts, Assyrian and Accadian, are so very clear that it is impossible to doubt their meaning for a moment. And they both give the same meaning.
I. Assyrian :
Tin ishtanu la muspilu.
The god One not failing.
H. Accadian. :
The god One not jxissing away.
Let us proceed to the next line, which is equally mys- terious.
II u u amilu la ippassaru.
God and man not can explain.
40 (hi the Rcl'ujious Belief of the Ast^yrlans.
The Chaldee verb Pa.mr 1"^t>D to explain or interpret, is so common in Assyrian that I do not see what other translation can be given. I am not, indeed, well satisfied with it : but perhaps the Scribe meant to be mysterious.
Let us now pass on to another tablet, Avhicli is quite different in natiu'e, and yet leads us to the same conclusion that the Mamit was something of indescribable value. It is a hymn or chant in six stanzas, each of which, except the first, consists of ten lines. Each stanza terminates with the same burthen or refrain — in honour of the Mamit. It was apparently sung or chanted in one of the temples.
It is difficult to understand, but I think its general mean- ing is as follows :
" SuiDposing this Temple were to take fire and be con- sumed, in that day of danger what should a man do ? What should he try to save ?"
The stanzas give an answer to the question. At the commencement of each stanza, the priest apparently threw a log of wood (each time of a different kind) upon the flames of the altar, and as it consumed he sung as follows :
As this log of [Cedar'] blazes in the fiire And the burning fi.re consumes it
* * * *
* * * * Care not to save the sacrificial victims
Nor the precious vestments of god and the king !
In that day, let the fire burn on,
But save the Mamit ! place it in safety !
As tliis log of \_Ciipres.i\ blazes in the fire And the burning fire consumes it
* * * *
* * * *
Care not for the title deeds ? nor the books of aflPairs { "Regard not the [nahdcui] of god and the king !
On the lieligious Belief of the Assyiians. 41
In that (lay, let the fire burn on,
But save the Mamit ! place it in safety !
As this log of \_pine ivoodl blazes in the fire And the burning fire consumes it
■^ Tir Tff TfC
* * * *
Care not to save the newly-written books Nor the golden vessels of god and the king ! In that day, let the fire burn on. But save the Mamit ! place it in safety !
And so on, for the other stanzas. Various precious objects are named (some of unknown meaning) but each stanza ends with, " Care not for them ! Think not of them ! but save tlie Mamit ! place it in safety ! " If this song was sung by a chorus of voices, the intention may have been to impress upon the minds of all the paramount value of this mysterious treasure, so that in case of danger its safe removal should be the first thought of all. There are four lines in each stanza Avhich I have not translated, not beiug sure of the meaning.
In other tablets the Mamit is brought to the bedside of a sick man. Evil spirits are driven aAvay by it, and it is said " they shall never return." There are nmnerous other scat- tered notices, which it would be well to collect and compare together.
I have omitted to mention the following gloss (2 R 10, 28) Avhich was published some years ago, but has not been noticed by Assyrian scholars. It confirms the foregoing arguments.
42
On the Reiiylous JJelief of ihe Assyrians.
Siipar sa shna la likvi.
Sakha Mainita
wliicli I take to mean
" Hie jewel ichose jyrice cannot he valued" is the Sakba otherwise called the Mamita.
Sapar, 'jewel.' rT^CU?. — Sima, 'price.' ^y>- >^ or /Y>- -<^*^ see 2 R 13, 46. Idkri ' can be valued,' the opt. or potential mood of -^pi ' to value :' see Zechariah xi, 13. ^ni|T "^11*^^ "liT ' thy price at which I was valued.'
In my version of the preceding song, I have left the phrase ' nahdan of god and the king,' untranslated. But I have little doubt that nahdan ^^y ^TTt ^^^^'<^^^^ ' niusical instruments,' being the plural of nahd. C'ompare the Arab nohat (music), whence nohTiti 'a musician', — see Catafago's dictionary. And Richardson (p. 1608) has nohat-khanah or nohat-gah ' a music-gallery.'
Another example of the word occurs on the obelisk (1. 70), where the King says that he reached wath his army the source of the Tigris, ashar mutzii sha mie sahm, ' where the fountains of its waters are situate.' Great rejoicings followed. The king erected a statue of himself, with an inscription relating his heroic deeds. He then adds : ' I made joyful music,' n(d>dan khudut askun ^Jl! tzYY! >-Y<Y ^Y -^Y
On the Religious Belief of the Assi/rlann. 43
Appendix No. 1.
The cuneiform text of the mscription which I have called the death of the righteous man " is as follows : —
Dihu as sliamie rakis
Tempest in heaven lightning
|
as kiti |
innassikh. |
|
on earth |
Images. |
|
Sha itli Of the hrave man |
bil emuki master of strength, |
emuki-su itatti
his strength has departed.
«• V . <T"ir<T BV. >-]< . j^n I- -T<^ -<T< .
Sha ardat: damikti
Of the servant righteous,
sT S . <^T^ . ^TIT^ iBm E-IT .
itza val utara
his force not returns.
*• V . - . -^IT -^TTT -TT<T . ^TT- cElI ^IT .
Sha as zumri marsish
The tnan in body very sick
saknu lies.
44
(hi the HeU(jious Belief of the Aast/riaus.
Hat Ishtar slia as
The d'lcine Ishtai; i<he tcith
nisi uUanus-su
smiled upon him,
6- ET =^ « . -El . -£ --T JT <
niaimnau la ibasu
[ichere] no one never dwelt
^^ -E . ^W y -TT<T t?TT .
sadi userida
her mountain descended.
iiukklii he)U(jnity
^11 ^T .
ishtii from
Ana At
muttalliki sick
«• ]} hm . ^w I?
Amilu
The man
: -^I ^ET . T? V -tm .
binat amili
the door of the man
itklii-ma she spoke.
A] ;^i -- .
etimat
moved.
»-«-^. ^E -^i -a -IT! . « ^ . ^ni- '.* -^i .
Maiinu inakkit ? manuu usatba ?
Mho is there? ivho comes ?
,0. ^^ ^yy ^ ^ ey .yy. ^ .jy. _ «< _
Ishtar inarat ili Siii
Ishtar daughter of the god Sin.
"■ -f (•■■•) f II- . -^Tii -m .
Ik; ( ) mar Bil
7 he god (....) sou of Bel.
On the Religious Belief of the Assynans. 45
'^- ->f .<t:^\ .^\v{ )
Ilu Marduk mar ( )
The god Marcluh son of ( )
13. ^^T t-yiy .yy<y . ]] y .te^y . .y<y^ .yy<y
Zumri amili inuttal-
The body of the man sick
-EET<I<IEy . tlTI^ ^^^ ^- < .
liki usatbu
they api^roached.
[The next line 14 is nearly destroyed.]
Khisibta slia islitu
A jeicel'^. u'hich from
-- --I ^ETT . MTT M . ^t= 101 =F .
tartatsi illu upluni
the treasury exalted they brought.
u. <y> !.y y^ . V . ^ry -m . -^IT y- -!]<] .
Sisbu slia islitu zuburi
A sisbu lohich from the storehouse
illu upluni
exalted they brought.
IT. y . ^ I-^^y< . <}}-i'^ . V . -- --!! ^EIT ,
Ana kbisibti illiti slia tarbatsi
To the jewel splendid of the treasury
i -m m . h !£Tn . ^e <T!^ ey .
illu sibta idima
exalted a hymn give.
4() (hi the Religious Belief of the Af<.<<i/rians.
"■NT-MI. ^S.-'f I.^-^-TmEl.
Aiiiilu tar ili-sii liibbit-ma
The man son of his god let him depart!
>''• Tn-lElJ . JK . <!EIET . AT-;-T< .
Amilu si'i kima Idiisibti
That man lil-e that jeicel
lilil
vmy he he bright !
2»- <M ET . <T- ti - . JT Tf ^T .
kima sisbi Kuatii
Like sisM that
:eT<T ^t^l^ .
litabbilj may he shine !
2i-<i£jEr . ^^T- . t^^m'i . ( )
Kima kaspi binit ( )
Like silver
im 5?ij! I . <:z -IT? -m
russu-su laddankit
way hi.'< he shining ivhite J
pure
Kima kiebar liliinmakli
Like brass wmi it he resji/endent !
23. |{ ^T . ->f ^! . Tl V -jm . ->f T- .
Ana Shems asarat iliin
To the Sun greatest of the gods
*T- ^m --^Ti EI .
pikitzu-ma [z«] its return, and
On tlie Retigions Belief of the Assyrians. 47
u. .^L ^T . y? V %ffl . -T y^ . t- ^ -^TT .
Sliems asarat ilim salmutzu
The Sun greatest of the gods the saved soul
T. JTtt( ) j^^m .
ana kati ( ) libkit
unto hands his may he recelce !
Notes and Observations.
LINE
1. Tnnassilih may be the Chald. pt^'i ' to set on fire.'
2. Itatti is perhaps the T conjugation of the verb ^^H^^ 'to depart.'
3. Itza may be "t^ 'robiir.' But the writing is somewhat effaced, and perhaps we shonld read fiY ^^^ ismi ' force.'
0. ' She descended from her mountain.' The Assyrian Olympus.
7. Itkhi-ma. Perliaps this shoukl be translated 'she knocked,' from ^pD percussit.
8. Ethnat, seems a conjugation of 1^'^t2 ' to move ' — ' motus est loco ' (Schindler). ^His head ' is found in the Accadian version, though wanting in the Assyrian.
9. ' Who is there ? Who comes ? ' This is very quaint. The Accadian renders both clauses alike. A ha zizi ^ aha
ziHt yy ^.ty ^ .yy<<< .yy^.
Inal'kit appears to come from T^ coram. Mannu inahkit! quis coi-am ? But this is doubtful. The letter may be ^^ and not >^]^, and the word may be innaskit. Mannu innaskit? Quis occurrit ? from p'^i occnrrit : see Psalm 85, 10.
Usatha is the istaphel conjugation of the verb t^^ venit, intrat, ingreditur. 13. Usathu ' they approach,' is another example of the same verb.
17. Sihta y^ j^yyy. The Accadian has ^J:y ^::]y ^] Kakama ' song ' or ' h^nnn.'
18. 'Son of his god.' This phrase is very often used in the sense of 'religious' or 'pious,' or ' accepted of God.'
48 On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians.
Luhbit 'let him dejDart.' Arab. 112 discessit, aiifiigit (Schindler). A tense of this verb innahit (he fled) is very common.
21. Biriit from 13. purus. But the reading is doubtfuL Laddanhit optative T conjugation of a vei'b "Ipi wliicli means ' pure ' or ' white ' in Syriac, and is used in that language as an epithet of white linen, and milk, see Matth. xxvii, 59 and 1 Peter ii, 2. Or, more simply, from the common verb T01 or i^p3 jmy-us fiiit ; the final T being frequently added in Assyrian.
22. Lilimvuikh, reading doubtful, but may be the optative of Arab. ^72/ to shine or glitter, which also takes the form Tfch (see Catafago's diet. p. 206). The verb is used to express ' the shining of the skin,' wliicli is very suitable to the present passage.
|
Appendix No. II. |
|||
|
1. t;^ . ^T<"A |
^y >-^^Y |
m . |
• |
|
Amilu |
muttalliku |
as |
|
|
The man |
departed ? |
in |
|
|
^ ^T<T^ -TT<T ^]} h |
• |
||
|
nikrimi |
|||
|
glorif. |
|||
|
9 /Y,^YYYY y^ 2- \T-TTTT r . |
<m ET . |
<m -T? |
• |
|
Sulmi |
kima |
kiel)ar |
|
|
His soul |
like |
brass |
|
|
<T- <K e:;s^ . |
|||
|
lilininiakh. |
|||
|
may it shine! |
3- E^w . JT If ^T
Amilu suatu
Man flutt
On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians.
49
4. ^Jh ^T . -E£T<T -^T^ it: -■
Sliems libullat-zu
The sun inaif it give him life.
=TT
|
=• ->f <::^T . |
fs . '^]w-m . V . |
|
Marduk |
tar reslitu slia |
|
Marduk |
son eldest of |
|
absi ma |
|
|
the Ocean, also |
|
|
j^„^..y^j^^ jg,^..^^ |
|
|
diiimu |
diniiku kumniu |
|
grant him |
a happy habitation. |
Notes.
:.INE
1. Nih'imi, seems related to Ai-ab. ^"^^ to be glorified- — see
Schiudler.
2. Lilimmahh is the verb we had before to express the
shining of brass. 6. Is donbtful, because the first letter is effaced, and another inscripticjn has hunnu dummuk-umma.
It is said in line 6 of the former inscription that Ishtar descended from her mountain. In fact ' Lady of the Mountain ' was one of her chief titles. Nebuchadnezzar says : (E. I. H. 4, 14) 'I built a temple to the great goddess my mother, the goddess Nin Ilarrissi {i.e. lady of the mountain)
written -jV^j ^ -^^ ^Ifj^ ^TI" ^^^^ ^^^'- ^- ^^^^^^^^ (Early History of Babylonia, p. 19) gives an Accadian inscrij)tion of great antiquity, addressed to Hi lady of the mountain {A'in Harris).
Vol. II.
nO
ON THE RELIGIOUS BELIEF OF THE ASSYRIANS.
No. III.
By H. F. Talbot, F.R.S., &c.
Read 1st April, 1873.
WirEN the Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity they brought witli them a multitude of new opinions and superstitions, which had not been known in former times ; and also some much purer doctrines, among which, Avas preeminent a belief in the immortality of the soul, which, after the captivity, was universally received, except by the sect of the Sadducees, who rejected it. I have already given some proofs fi-om the tablets that this doctrine was held by the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, and during their long captivity the Jews adopted the belief, and retained it ever after. At the same time they accepted many other opinions which they found prevalent in the land of their captivity. The Babylonians believed most strongly in Demoniacal possession ; in the power of exorcism ; in charms, talismans, and holy water ; in the constant j)rescnce of good and evil spirits, angels, and demons, some merely fantastic, others very hurtful and malignant.
Among other things the Jews brought from Babylon the names of their 12 months, Nisan, lyyar, Si van, Tammuz, &c., which are foreign and not Hebrew words ; and these have now been found on Babylonian tablets, agreeing exactly both in name and order, which, be it said in passing, is a con- vincing proof of the correctness of Assyi'ian decipherment.
It may not be without interest to bring forward some instances of accordance between these ancient Eastern writings and the opinions of the Jews. Those who are able to search the Talmud would probably find an ample store of coincidences ; but I shall confine myself to com- paring certain passages of the Biltlo with some phrases of the Assyi'ian talilets.
On tlie Religious Belief of the Assyrians. 51
I will first give several parallel passages fi-om the Old Testament, and tlien some much closer ones from the New Testament.
§ 1. Power of the Deity
A celebrated passage in the song of Moses, Exod. xv, 11, is the following : —
Who is like unto thee, 0 Lord, among the gods % Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, &c., &c.
It has been conjectured that the Maccabees inscribed these words upon their flag : —
Who is like thee among the gods, Jeliovah ?
TXS'n'^ D7^1 n^^^ '^D or rather, the initial letters of the words, namely, ''IDtt, which may be read Maccabee, and it is supposed they took their name from their flag. But be that as it may, it is interesting to find a similar thought written on one of the tablets ; thus : —
Who can compare with thee, 0 Ninib son of Bel ? Thou didst not stretch forth thy hand ....
[The rest is broken off" — perhaps it stood " thou didst not stretch forth thy hand in vain "]. Elsewhere Ave find :
0 thou ! thy words who can learn ? who can rival them ? Among the gods thy brothers, thou hast no equal.
The following is part of an addi'ess to some deity : —
In heaven who is great '? Thou alone art great ! On oerth who is great ? Thou alone art great ! When thy voice resounds in heaven, the gods fall
prostrate ! When thy voice resounds on earth, the genii kiss the dust ! This passage appears to me to approach the spirit of Hebrew poetry.
52 On the Religious Belief of the Assyriam.
§ 2. Resemblance of some jyecuUar plirases.
Ill Psalm cxli, 3, the following- phrase occurs : "Set a watch, 0 Lord, before my mouth: heep the door of my lipsT^ This phrase I also find ou a tablet :
The god my creator, raay his watchfulness never cease ! KeejD thou the door of my lips ! guard thou my hands, O Lord of light !
Li a previous hue of the same Psalm cxli we read : " Let the lifting up of my hands be as the evening sacrifice !"
This phrase, ' the lifting up of my hands,' Nish hati-ya, is constantly employed on the tablets in lieu of the word Prayer. Example :
-+ ^T . T . ^5^11 . ^I -I< -£!? . tXi <nr EI
Shems ana nish kati-ya kula-mma
0 Sun to the lifting iq) of my hands show favour !
It is a close translation of the Accadian term for "prayer," \'iz. : ^Y ^yyf"'^ TJTg^Y >-^y su gathula (from szi'hand' galhula ' to uplift ').
Ohs. Kida-mma in the foregoing hue is the Heb. 713 to receive, support, sustain, regard favourably. Lat. tueri.
§ 3. Self-mutilation.
The following is an illustration of a passage in the 1st Book of Kings xviii, 26, the well known history of Elijah contending with the 450 prophets of Baal. It is there written : " They called on the name of Baal from morning even imtil Jioon, sajang, ' 0 Baal hear us !' But there was
no voice, nor any that answered And it came to
pass at noon that Elijah mocked them and said ' Cry aloud !'
And they cried aloud, and cut themselves AFTER
THEIR MANNER with knives and lancets till the blood gushed out upon them."
The writer of this history drew no ideal picture. A tablet shows the existence of tliis savage custom, and that it was accounted hift-hlv meritorious.
On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians. 53
After saying, " The man wlio worships not his god shall be cut down like a reed," it continues :
He who stabs his flesh in honour of Ishtar, the goddess
unrivalled, Like the stars of heaven he shall shine : like the river
of night he shall flow !
By ' the river of night ' I imderstand the Milky Way ; for this would bring the two metaphors into harmony.
Judging from the greatness of the glory promised, per- haps this passage means, "He who slays himself in honour of Ishtar," &c. &c. For the verb employed is the Hebrew t;3nti^, which both in Hebrew and on the tablets means 'to sacrifice a victim,' as in Leviticus i, 5 ; and even a human victim, Genesis xxii, 10.
I am not aware whether self-immolation was a passport to the highest heaven in other religious systems.
§ 4. Tlie custom of prostration before a superior heiny,
Tobit xii, 15. " When the angel said ' I am Raphael,' then they were troubled, and fell upon their faces : for they feared."
With this compare a passage from a tablet : " With re- peated sacrifices, and uplifting of hands, and falling flat on my face, every day that I live I have worshipped him."
This is exactly the phrase used in Numbers xxii, 31, " When Balaam saw the Angel of the Lord he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face." The authorised version is correct, for such is the meaning, although the Hebrew has not the vrovd flat. For the Assyrian writers use the phrase Irequently and always add the epithet 'fled.' Here is an example of it from another tablet :
Before his god in prayer he fell flat on his face.
These phrases may suffice, taken from the Old Testament. I now proceed to some opinions of the later Jews.
54 On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians.
§ 5. Magic knots.
Justin Martyr, speaking of the Jewish exorcists, says, KaraSea-fxai? '^(pcovTai. These KaraSeafiot were magic ties or knots (Liddoll and Scott, quoting Plato). A similar usage prevailed among the Babylonians, as appears from a tablet. I can only give a few lines of it, the remainder is too difficult and uncertain.
The god ]\Iarduk wishes to soothe the last moments of a dying man. His father Hea says : Go, my son !
Take a woman's linen kerchief,
Bind it ? round thy right hand : loose it 1 from the
left hand, Knot it with seven knots : do so twice ; Bind it round the head of the sick man ; Bind it round his hands and feet, like manacles and
fetters : Sit down ? on his bed : Sprinkle holy water over him : The gods will receive liis dyingf spirit. I have abridged the last few Imes.
§ 0. Talismans, Amulets, and Phylacteries.
There is a great deal in the tablets about the cure of diseases. I do not fijid any mention of the use of medicine : They seem to have relied wholly on charms and incantations.
The first step was to guard the entrance of the sick man's chamber. A tablet says :
That notliing Evil may enter, place at the door the god (....) and the god (. . . .).
That is to say, their images. I believe these were Kttle figures of the gods, brought by the priests, perhaps a sort of Tcraphim.
The folbnving line is more explicit:
Place the guardian statues of Hea and Marduk at the door, on the right hand and on the left.
On the Reli<jiuus Belief of the Assyrians. 55
But they added to this another kind of protectiou :
Right and left of the threshold of the door spread out
holy texts or sentences. Place on the statues, texts bound aroimd them {masi
kissuruti).
These must have been long strips like ribbons, of parch- ment or papyrus. The following line is still clearer :
In the night time bind around the sick man's head, a sentence taken from a good book.
The word which I have rendered ' hooh ' is Jr^^YYY >-<Y< dupti. This word, of frequent occurrence, is usually rendered ' a tablet,' but here the context shows that it must have been a paper or parchment writing. Add to which, that the word dupti, which in Chaldean is 5*7 tabula, is used in Babbuiic literature for folium lihri and pagina. These holy texts bound round the limbs, appear to have been the origin of the (pvXaKTrjpia or phylacteries of the Jews, which, as theh name imports (from ^vXaaaeaOab ' to guard oneself) were con- sidered to be protections from all evil. Schleusner in his lexicon of the N. Test, says they were ' laminse seu schedee membranacege quibus inscriptte erant variee legis Mosaicse sectiones : quia Judfei credebant inesse his ligamentis vim ad avertenda quasvis mala, niaxime ad damwnes fugandos ut apparet ex Targum ad Cantic. Vlll, 3.' And he adds that they were fastened on the forehead and left arm, Justin Martyr says they were written on very thin membranes.
The word which I have rendered ' text ' or ' sentence ' is masal, which is very interesting, being exactly the same as the Hebrew word h)l}f2 which Gesenius renders sententia and <yv(ofji7]. He also says it means a Carmen in general, of that kind where each verse consists of two half verses of the same meaning and form. Now it is remarkable that the Chaldasan tablets abound in verses of that kind, so that if one half of the line is intelligible the other may be guessed at, and frequently with success. But sometimes instead of masal we find masa with the same meaning. Here again the Hebrew
5(i On i/ie Helujions JJelief of t/ie Assi/rimis.
agrees, having the word fc^U^D sententia, see Geseuiiis, who quotes this passage of Proverbs :
The words of King Lemuel : tlie sentences (t^U^D) which his mother had taught him. Proverbs xxxi, 1.
§ 7. Demoniacal possession.
This is a very frequent subject of the tablets. The following one was published long ago in tlio 2nd vol. of British i\Iuseum Inscriptions, pi. 18. It says of a sick man:
'• j\Iay the goddess wife of the god pani-su ana
ashi'i shanuma likiin, turn his face in another direction ; udukku siuH litzi-ma, as akhati Hzbat, that the Evil Spirit may come out of liim and be thrust aside : sidi tiiki, lamassi tuki as zumri-su lu-kayan, that good spirits and good powers may dwell in his body."
I have already mentioned that divine images were brought into the chamber and written texts taken from holy books were placed on the walls and bound around the sick man's brows. If these failed recourse was had to tlie influence of the mamit, which the evil powers Avere unable to resist.
§ 8. The Mamit used as a Charm.
The account of this in pi. 17 of vol. 2 British Museum Inscriptions, contains only the Accad version, tlie Assyrian being broken off except a mere fragment. It says:
Take a white cloth. In it place the Mamit, in the sick
man's right hand. And take a black cloth ; wrap it round his left hand Then all the evil spirits [a long list of them is given] and the sins which he has committed shall quit their hold of him, and shall never return.
The symbolism of the black cloth in the left hand seems evident. The dying man repudiates all his former evil deeds. And he puts his trust in holiness symbolized by the white eloth in his right liand.
On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians. 57
The Accadian language being difficult, some part of tlie above is doubtful. There are some obscure lines about the spii'its.
Their heads shall remove from his head : Their hands shall let go his hands : Their feet shall depart from his feet :
which perhaps may be explained thus : We learn, from another tablet, that the various classes of evil spirits troubled different parts of the body. Some injured the head, some the hands and feet, &c., &c. Therefore the passage before us may mean : " The spirits whose power is over the hand, shall loose their hands from his," &c., &c. But I can offer no decided opinion on such obscure points of their superstition.
§ 9. Various Neio Testament imssages.
I now proceed to point out several remarkable resem- blances with passages in the New Testament.
The following striking passage occurs in what may well be called, a penitential psalm.
0 my Lord ! be not angry with thy servant ! In the waters of the great storm, seize his hand !
In reading this, it is impossible not to think of Christ and Peter walking on the waves in the midst of the storm. And lie cried saying, Lord save me ! and immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him. Matth. xiv, 31.
§ 10. Inherited or imputed Sins.
I come next to an extraordinary opinion which was held by the disciples of Jesus, but which their Master promptly rebuked (John ix, 1-3). And as Jesus imssed hy, he saiv a 7nan which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was bom blind ? Jesus answered. Neither hath this man sinned, nor his jmrents.
It is interesting to find this belief very strongly expressed upon a Chaldean tablet, and we hence see that the Jews derived this superstitious notion from the East. In this
58 Ua the Lielujiona Belief of the A^.si/riana.
tablet, a man is gvievou.sly tormented Ly pains, wlilcli are attributed to Evil Spirits. The god Marduk hears his cries and takes pity on him. He hastens to the abode of his father the god Hea and takes counsel with him. Hea among other things advises him to unfold the Mamit, and to say :
Depart, thou evil spirit, from his body ! Whether thou art the sin of his father Or whether thou art the sin of his mother Or whether thou art the sin of his elder brother Or whether thou art the sin of some one who is unknown.
The Accadian text agrees closely. It is evident that these sins or curses only descended. They could not ascend from a younger brother to an elder. I have translated the Avord j:V^ *^yi'" amit ' sins ' rather than ' curses ' (which it means in some texts) because I find the word ^^ ^^ff *"Hf~ aran very plainly used in the sense of ' sins ' in a prayer to the Sun : " 0 Sun ! absolve his sins : put away his tres- passes ! "
§ 11. The holy nurnher Seven.
The book of Revelations (i, 4) speaks of the seven spuits which are before the throne of God, and likens them to seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, and to seven e^es (Rev. iv, 5 and v, 6). Commentators explain this by saying that seve7i was a holy and a mystical number among the Jews. And we now find that it was still more so among the Babylonians, for the doctrine is stated most emphatically in the tablets — for instance in the following :
Sontf of the Sevoi Sjjirlts.
They are seven ! they are seven !
In the depths of Ocean they are seven !
In the lieights of Heaven they are seven !
In the Ocean stream, in a Palace they were born
Male they are not ! Female they are not !
On the lielujiuua Belief of the Asuyriaufi. 50
Wives they have not ! Children are not born to them ! Rule they have not ! Government they know not ! Prayers they hear not !
They are seven ! and they are seven ! Twice over they are seven !
I have omitted some obscure lines of this cm'ious song.. The spirits of this tablet seem to have been neither very good nor very bad. It was different with others of their race, as I shall show elsewhere.
Now let us turn to a remarkable text of the New Testa- ment, Matth. xii, 43 ; Luke xi, 26. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man he walketh through dry places seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from lohence I came out, and lohen he is come he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goetli he and taketh with himself, sevoi other spirits more loicked than himself, and they enter in, and dioell there.
Probably our Lord on this occasion used popular language, and if S(j, we may conclude that it was a long-standing opinion among the Jews, that Spirits of whatever nature, whether the holiest or the most impure, by virtue of their nature Avere numbered by sevens. So also were the Angels (see Tobit xii, 15) : " I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels which present the prayers of the Saints and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One." And in Revelations xv, 6 : " Seven angels came out of the Temple."
To return however to the subject of seven evil spu-its at once entering into a man, there are frequent allusions to them, and to their expulsion, on the tablets. One runs thus :
The god (. . . .) shall stand by his bed side :
Those seven evil spirits he shall root out, and exjoel
them from his body. And those seven shall never return to the sick man again !
§ 12. Sins and Trespasses.
Again we meet mth the mystical number seven, when sins and trespasses are spoken of in the New Testament :
(50 (ht the. Rel'Hj'ious Belief of the xissyrians.
Luke xvii, 4. " // thy brother trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day return again to thee .raying, I repent: thou s halt forgive him."
But the most remarkable saying of our Lord on this subject, was in reply to Peter. ]\Iatth. xviii, 21, " Then Peter came to him and said, Lord I hojo oft shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him ? till seven times / Jesus said unto him, I say not until seven times, but until seventy times seven"
Everybody understands that Jesus here used a proverbial or idiomatic expression, implying a great but indefinite number. Had such an expression not been readily intel- ligible he would not have used it. But it was deeply rooted in the Semitic idiom, as the following words of an Assyrian prayer plainly show :
0 my god ! my sins are seven times seven !
The penitent then turns to his goddess, beginning, ' 0 my goddess ! ' and repeats the same confession. Here are some further portions of this Assyrian psalm :
0 my Lord ! my sins are many, my trespasses are great : Wherefore the wrath of the gods has plagued me with
disease And with sickness and sorrow.
1 fainted : but no one stretched forth his hand ! I cried alond : but no one heard me !
A few lines afterwards, the penitent hopes for pardon : But 0 Lord ! save thy servant !
And the sins which he has sinned turn thou to holiness !
V^t ^Si Khitti ikhtu ana damikti tir !
These instances will show that the study of these ancient tablets may be of use in illustrating some points of Biblical phraseology.
On. the. Religious Belief of the Assi/rianfi. Gl
Appendix.
Containing the Ciineifonn text, ivith notes arid observations.
For facility of reference the texts are placed in the order in which they occur in my memoir.
.. ^^ ^.ty ]yj ^ ^. ^yy. .j^ .jj ^yyy
Ninib billi mar Bel
0 Alnib LiOixl, son of Bel.
« -5^ !=E V ->f -^1 -+
maunii isannan
wlio can compare [icith thee'^.^
it-ka la tassa {word lost)
thi/ hand not thou liftest up ....
Note. — The Accadian version agrees : it-zu nu mun-gatluda. Gathula is the usual Avord for ' lifting up.' This is from Tablet K 2862, 4 R 13.
'• --H If ^T T? ^-^ -^H « -^ ^t Cl\\ <^
ka-ata amat-ka mannu ilammad
0 thou ! tliy loord loho shall learn,
mannu isanan
icho shall rival ?
as ili atkhi-ka makhiri val
among the gods tliy brothers, an equal not
tisi thou hast.
(52 On the Religious Belief of the Assynans.
Notes. — Atkhi for al-ki (brothers) occurs frequently on the tablets. But it is a singular usage. It was probably pronounced Atthi. The Accadian version leaves no doubt of the meaning. ^^^5 '"^^ly ^^-fyf- hrotliers tliy among. Makhira val isu (he has no equal) is a very common phi'ase. But it is rare to find it in the second person tisi (tilou hast).— Tablet K 28(31, 4R 9.
I. - -+ -]} « -3^ ^ETT iin t£T iBm
as sami mannu tsiru atta
in heaven who (is) great ? thou
«=!?!<!- --Id tElI-TT-
edissi-ka tsirat
onlif-thou (art) great !
as kiti mannu tsuu atta
on earth who (is) great ? thou
|
Vi I <T" -^tl |
|||
|
edissi- ka . . |
|||
|
onlif-thoH [art |
great]. |
||
|
3- --Id I? ^T |
Vi *.^ --H |
^ |
-+ fi |
|
ka-ata |
amat-ka |
as |
sami |
|
thou |
thy voice |
in |
heaven |
|
e EtE< ^^Wi £] |
►>f'A'IT -^I^ |
-£ -TI? S -s^ |
|
|
izakkar-ma |
ili appa |
ilabbinii |
|
|
7'esounds, |
the gods (on) their f |
^ace |
full fat: |
|
'■ -^H y? ^T |
Vi V -^H |
>~ |
<m l^ |
|
ka-ata |
amat-ka |
as |
kiti |
|
thou |
tliy voice |
on |
earth |
On the Religions Belief of the Assyrians.
63
izakar-ma Anuniiaki kakkaru
resounds, the Genii the dust
iinasaku
kiss.
Note. — Ol3serve the two spellings of the word izakkar. From the same Tablet, 1. 54.
|
1- ^ >ff- |
--" 5?: -EN |
IT IT |
|
|
Nmi |
bani-ya |
ida |
ai |
|
the god |
7ny creator |
(his) care |
never |
|
t]<] j=T |
, . |
||
|
liz |
. . |
||
|
may it cease. |
mutzu
the door
pi-ya of my lips
B -A JI E^TT
sutisur, keep thou ;
kataya nriy hands
T
3- JT^KI-^^TT^^y -II
sutisir - amma bil nuri
guard likeivise 0 Lord of light !
Note. — Nini ' a god ' occurs not unfrequently : see Syllab. 688 SxZ ^rr >^^ >^^^Y<Y nini . Hi, and my Glossary No. 420. The above is found on Tablet K 256, 4 R 17.
G4 On the lieU(jioufi Belief of the As.<ii/ria)is.
la palikh ilu-su kiiiia
not worshippijiff his god, like
kani ikhtazzi
a reed shall lie cut down.
Sha Islitar pakida la isu
He icho {for) Ishtar (loho) an e(jual ? not has
siri- HU usukkhatli
his flesh stahs
3. <igfEy ^^]\\ VEH- f£^^jnm
kiiua kakkab sliamumi izarrur
like a star of heaven lie shall shine,
kinia mie musi illak
like the river of night he shall flow.
Notes. — Ikhtazzi. T conjugation of 2i!Jp to cut.
Usukkhath, 'stabs': as it were sacriflcially. This is the Heb. DITC? mactavit pecudem, and is the word specially employed in Hebrew for 'slaying a victim.' The Accadian version has j3^ *J^ ^TII-^ papaga ' to sacrifice,' which agrees avcU.
Illak, ' shall flow.' The verb "7 TTl is frequently used of a river, Avhence J/a/aA' its 'flow" or 'course.' Tablet K 31 09, 4R 3.
On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians. 65
ikribi-ya sunuldiuti nisli
with mx) sacrifices repeated, {and) xiplifting
i-T^T<-En <r-lElI -EKS:! =^tT*T-tET? V
kati-ya u laban appi-ya sba
of my liands and falling flat on my face on
^r it^ t^w T{ -^T^ IeU m ^T T^ET -^ I
tami sani ? abullu ustamimii-su
day every (that) I lived I have ivorsldpped Mm.
Notes. — ?=TTT^ very often means ' every.' I am not sm'e wbetber it was pronomiced sam.
Ustaninnu is a conjugation of utnin to pray, and related to unninni prayers. Tablet K 3444, 4 R 20.
ana iki-su as uuniui ajDpa-su
before his god in pi'ayer, {o7i) his face
ilabbin he fell flat.
Tke above is from Tablet K 4899, 4 R 27. Magic Knots.
1- <« « -EEI ^ -^IT^ -EET A4f ^T
pasaktu imna
a female linen kerchief (on thy) right haiid
<:rT-ET ^yT--ET -EEM^
latsib-ma sumila litzib
bind? (on thy) left hand leave loose. Vol. II. 5
66
On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians.
|
2- <IEI ^^-!II< |
-TT -! |
|
kitsir |
sibit |
|
icith knots |
seven, |
|
>-¥ y>~< ^' |
|
|
kutzur-ma |
|
|
Jcnot it. |
IT ^IITT T? <yj?= <T- ^1
adi times
sina twice.
kaksu marzi
ruzu-ma
the head of the sick man hind it round.
4. <^ -.< tyy^ cEir -^jn -^TT e!
kishacl marzi ruzii - ma
the Irons of the sick man bind it o'oxind :
misliriti - sn tsinkisli - ma
(^and on) his h<nids and feet like fetters, also.
«• Hff V I -EEH T" ET
ii'sa-su lisib-ma
his bed sit down upon :
,. |T ■^ |^^y< .yr ^«y,y j .g ^yj^ ^y
mie sibti eli-.su idi-ma
(and) water pin^e ? over him cast.
From Tablet K 31G9, 4 R 3.
Notes. — Line 1. (^{(^ ^^ 'female.' The word often occm-s, but I do not know its pronunciation. Pasaktu. Ileb. PU^D linum. Line 2. Heb. "TC^p liga^^t, whence subst. Mtzir, and verb ky,tzur.
Sibit 'seren.' The Accadian always renders it by the numeral sitrn »!?.
0)1 the Religious Belief of the Assyrians. 67
Adi ' times.' Heb. Hi^ tempiis. The Accadian employs the same word, viz. YJ J^Y Adu.
Sina ' two.' Heb. '^JU)', The Accadian renders it by the numeral sign JY. Line 3. Ruzu, to bind I Heb. '^)r\ ' lorum,' a band or strap. Line 4 has almost the same meaning as line 3. I think these Hnes were alternative : the reader selected the one which he preferred. Line 5. Mlslirlti is explained (here and elsewhere) by the Accadian ^Y ^^>- ' hands and feet.'
Tsinkish adv. 'like fetters,' from Heb. pi^^J ' a fetter.' Line 6. Irsa ' a bed.' Heb. ty"lV ' lectus.' The Accadian
has t:Y ^*"^^^^ ' a conch.' Line 7. Sihti. Accadian '-fKl'!^ -^TT N'amrii, ' bright.'
Ana nin sini nu tie ilu
That nothing evil not may enter, the god (....)
-+-ET!£mt^ - --riK^) ■
ilu as babi
and the god (....) at the door {place^.
Note. — Sini. The Accachan renders it ^y>- ][]yf evil.
Tie. Accad. "^T ^y7~y a verb which seems usually to mean " to enter and hurt." This line is on Tablet K3197, 4R21.
Zalam mazzari sha ili Hea
The statues guardian of the god Hea
< -+ ..... T t^f ^4f -"!< -Til '^-
u ili (Marduk) ana babu imna u kabbu
and the god Marduk at the door, on the right and left (placc)^
[Same Tablet, line 38]
68 On the Reiuftous Belief of the Assyrians.
Note. — Zalam. The Accadian version has the monogram for 'statue.'
Mazzari. Tlie Accadian has >-JJ *^ >^W\ I^^^^un ' guardian,' or ' watching over.'
Mardiih The name is lost in the Assyrian text, but restored from the Accadian : as is also part of the word kahhiu
The lines which I have next quoted, from the same Tablet, are much broken.
ET T? <T- -^ -TH !^^^^ ^ETI - y^
j\lasi muntaksi as sibbi
Sentences spread out . . . upon the threshold
^^, A^-^] < jyT--ET
babi inma u sumila
of the door ri<jht and left \_place].
Note. — Masi. Heb. t^'^'t^ sententia. The Accadian version has >?- >^ the plural of >^ Mas, which is frequently used on the tablets for ' sentence,' in such pkrases as 'this tablet has twenty sentences,' which on counting them I have found to be correct.
Muntaksi. Heb. UMD2 expansus est. Fih'st says to stretch, extend, spread out.
Sihhi. Heb. and Chald. DD Hmen : threshold.
IT ]] <;riT EHKi- <m^}t^^^^m-<\<
sina zalam masi kitzm-uti
(C/i) the two statues \_place'\ the sentences bound around them.
[Same Tablet, Ime 18.]
Note. — Kitzuruti is another word derived from the root "^tl^p. Gesenius renders it fascia ' a band,' and ' alh'ga\at sibi cinguli instar.' This verb "^tl^p is the one used in the following passage of Deuteronomy, which is so illustra-
On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians, G9
tive of this Assyrian tablet concerning phylacteries, that I will quote it at length. " Therefore shall ye lay up these my ivords in your heart, and (y^p) hind them for a sign
upon your hand, and as frontlets between your eyes
And thou shalt lorite them upon the door jiosts of thine house, and upon thy gates" — Deut. xi, 18. These holy words, thus commanded to be bound round the hand, and the brows, were doubtless \\T.itten on parchment, and it may reasonably be concluded that the Assyrian masi were so likewise.
|
- -^i]- £Ti^ - |
>::-yyy ^y< |
pyy ct] ►<y< |
|
as musi masal as |
dupti |
dabti |
|
ill the night-time a sentence |
out of a book |
good, |
|
>^V YY YY YtrYY |
-TT<T <« |
VY V V>^YY |
|
as mailu as |
rish |
amilu |
|
in his bed u]?on |
the head |
of the man |
|
^V]A -TT<y ^^^I<T |
-^H |
m -w |
|
muttallika |
lu- |
|
|
sick |
--Id T? fr -+
kayan bi7id.
[Tablet K 111, 4 R 15.]
Notes. — Masai. Heb. h'^'Ct sententia. The Accadian renders
it >y-.
Kayan, to make fast : to stand fast. Heb. p^ con- firmavit. This verb is frequent.
Mailu, sometimes ^J ly Jy J=][<J mayal ' a bed.' From the Arabic SlZD or ^t<^^ to recline. Schindler p. 983. So in Greek KXcvt] ' a bed ' from Kkiveiv, to lie down. The Accadian version agrees, having ^][^ ^^^^^ ' a bed;
70 On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians.
MuttaUik I derive doubtfully from Cli. p7lO cecidit super lectum (Schindlev). Buxtorf gives examples of this verb : among them the following, ^"^72 D')Vy pT'l3''1 ' et ceciderit in lectum segi'otus.' These three words in their Assj'rian form are all very common on the tablets, and therefore I think they support each other as being identical with the Chaldee roots wliich I have mentioned.
The next passage is written in the difficult Accadian language, and 1 cannot translate the whole of it. It is published in the 2nd vol. of Rawlinson's British Museum Inscriptions, plate 17, line 55.
1 liiiE '^T ri
Cloths ichite two
sakba it banin-sliar
the Mamit in his hand icrap around.
'■ IeIIe <^^ IT
Cloths hlack two
*• ^T -III y- If Iff: tEirr Tf --T
it kabbu ani tuba ha7id left his
banhi-shar wraj) around,
A long list of evil daemons follows, and it is said of tliem— Heads their
head his from :
On the ReUfjious Belief of the Assyrians. 71
hands their, hand his from:
feet their, foot his from {shall depart ?)
5. -^T E^TT -+ *^I m ^T? ;=At.]
baraii timaleni ?
werer* shall they come to injure (Jiim)
0. -^y £cn ^HL £.yy^ E.yy^ ^yj ^^^y
baran eni
never shall they retuim.
A small portion of the end of tlie Assyrian version remains, which serves to confirm the Accaclian. It gives i3t_y >^Y< T *^ kati-sun, their hands. ^ ■'^Y>- T ^A sepi-sun their feet. Baran is translated Y» YI Ai 'never.' We had the Accadian verb "^J >?T-T ' ^^ come and hurt ' in a passage which I quoted before, ^ ^|*~II*^T *^ V'T >n~Y 'that nothing evil may enter' (the sick man's chamber). And the verb ^*"YY^ is very frequent, being usually rendered by the Assyrian tir ' to return.'
BiUi ardu-ka la tasakip
0 my Lord ! thy servant do not let fall !
2- - y- ^y? iin ^j^^ ^y< -^y i^np
as mie rutakti nadi
in the ivaters of the storm great
kat-zu zabat.
his hand seize !
[Tablet K 2811, 4 R 10.]
72 On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians.
Note. — BilU. The finftl i is the pronoun, ns appears from the Accadian version which has >^ (ii^j)-
Rutakti (storm). The whole hnportance of the passage depends upon this word. I wall therefore show by another very clear example that it is correctly trans- lated. In Mr. Smith's Annals of Assurbauipal, p. 192, there is an account of the ship-ua-eck of Tammaritu king of Elam, which begins thus : " The ship of Tammaritu, which a whuiwind and a storm (^J[\ ^g'V -^j rutalctu) had caught (iz^ >-^| '«^y id>atu):' The word omtahu is derived from the Heb. T^^^'^^ a^stuavit : commovit : ebullivit.
Mamit-zu busur-ma, mamit-zu buthur-ma.
The mamit for him unfold, the mamit for him bring forth.
2- ^^ ^ -m -T<T V -.^IT ^^TIT -TI<T I
Limnu dalkhu sha zumri-su
Evil spint disturber of his body
3- m< ^^ -IT- n t^ M)
Lu arrat abi-su
Whether the sin of his father;
4- 1^^ < fc* -TI- ^zm <^^ .IT
lu arrat ummi-su
or ivhether the sin of his mother :
^■im < ^T^ -TT- E^ffi^ ET- s^E
lu arrat aklii-rabi
or whether the sin of his elder brother:
«• 1^^ < tt^ -TT- -TT*^ ^ ^/T V e:s
lu -irrat s;ik1jiti sha amili
or whether thr si), of a man
^ --TT<
nu tzu
not l.inncii.
[K 65, 4 K 7.]
On the Religious Belief of the Assijnans. 73
Notes. — Line 1. Bimir. The Accadian version has >-^yy|i^ passur, which generally means ' explicavit.'
Biithur. Heb. 1105 emissus est : apertus est : exivit.
Line 6. Nu tzu is Accadian. Words of that language fre- quently occur in the Assyrian text. Usually the scribe translates nu tzil by la idu, but here he has not done so.
Shems as Idbiti-ka innit-zu
0 Sun hy thi/ icord his sins
lippadir ahsolve,
aran-su linnasikh.
his tresi^asses remove.
[K 256, 4 R 17.]
Notes. — Lippadir. Heb. "itOQ liberavit.
Aran is rendered by the Accadian word which generally renders ' sins ' or ' trespasses.' Linnasihh. Heb. HD^ to take away.
Song of the Seven Spirits.
1— iT^im-T< i^ -yT^mT-^T< i^^
Sibitti sun, sibitti sun
Seven they are, seven they are,
as nagab abzie sil)itti sun
in the stream of Ocean seven they are,
74 On the RcJijious Belief of the Assyrians.
3. ^ ^^yy ^^jf- tyyt^ ^ ^y< ^>f i.y,
as ziiniiti sliamic
ill the lie'Kjht !<? of heaven
■pyy tyyyy^^y< i^
sibitti Sim
seven they are
as nao-ab abzie
in
the stream of Ocean
as in
Iviiniiiii a palace
irbu-suii they icere born.
^- <t]i '-]v^ -tH "m
val zilvaru
not male
<« « Tr -^y< I ^
IT -3^
Sim,
they are,
val
not
smi
female
they are .
assatu val iklizu, mam val
wives not they have, a child not
aldu sun.
is horn to them.
7. ty} <yi:^ E^yy ^yyy^Ey^ey <^y^ tEt;<y<
P^dira gamala val idn
Order and government not th^y know :
On the Religious Belief oj the Assyrians 75
«■ -T<T^ -TT<T --T IfcJ -EET<T t^ITT <^T^
ilvriba taslita ? val
prayers not
isirjimu they hear :
9. try m ^T< I ^ "^TT -TITT -T< I ^
sibitti sun, sibitti sun,
seven they are, seven they a/'(?,
-TT -mi T? <Ts^ <T-.-^! I -5^
sibit adi sina sun.
seven times two they are.
[Tablet K 3121, 4 R 2.]
Notes. — Line 2. Na<ja,h. Another copy has *^^TY?J ^.
iVa^'i^'. Line 3. Zunuti. This word is doubtful. Line 4. Kummi "a palace" is not unfrequent. The Acca-
dian version has >^TTyT ^^yfTT ' I'ojal house." Lme 5. Zikaru. The other copy has ^^^« ^T[[ Zik-ru.
The Accadian version has ^^J 'male,' and -^ 'female.' Line 6. Assat or Ashat 'a wife,' is frequent. It is the
Heb. ry^^,
Ihlizu : probably the Heb. flli^ to possess. Line 7. Edira and Gamala are usually joined together.
Edira is ' order ' or ' rule.' Heb. y^)^ ordinavit. Line 8. Taslita is doubtful, but may mean ' prayers,' from
Chald. ^^^ ' to pray.' Line 9. Sina. The Accadian version has the numeral YY.
1- ->f=^^MT4 V^-'] tt]]-t^^^YM\
Ilu ana rabitzuti-su
The god of fre ? at his bedside
-EET<T .^T -<
lizziz shall stand :
76 On the licUfjioiis Belief of the Assyrians.
2. <^ ^ ^y tyy ^m ^y< jr ►eem ^t >-v -^Tf eT
Siimti sibitti su lis.sliiiivsu-ma
Wich'd ones seven those he shall root out, and
as zu-svi latrud
from his body he shall expel :
3. T <ee£?4 -TT m -<T< I -^ T? Vr
ana marzi sibitti -sun ai
to the sick man those seven never
^I -T<T <
itkliu shall return.
[Tablet K 111, 4 R 15.]
Notes. — Line 1. Li-ziz, from Z/c to stand. ]\lore clearly wi-itten in line 49 of tliis tablet >-tB]<] ^f '^TT'^ ^T li.iz.zi.iz. Line 2. lAsshursu, probably fi'om \2>'^\I? radix.
Latrud, opt. of the verb tarud ' to expel,' Chald. *TltO ejecit, wliicli occurs frequently on the tablets,
Zu ' the body ' is Accadian. The Assyrian is Zumur, but they frequently employ the Accadian form Zu for hvexitj.
Marzi ' sick ' occurs very often on the tablets. Arabic marld (sick) Catafago's dictionary ; which Schindler writes !nt^. In fact the letter ^ answers to the Heb. !i in various words as ^^12!^ hyajna ; pn2i ' to laugh,' &c., &c.
Itkhu is '^Y ^y.T in the Accadian version, which generally means " to come or return."
Sins and Trespasses.
The first j)assage whicli I have quoted under this head is in the Accadian language : it has no Assyrian translation annexed to it.
On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians. 77
0 god mine, vnj sins (are)
T It ^I 'r
seve7i times seven.
0 mother goddess mine [remainder the same as in line 1.] [Tablet K 2811, 4 R 10, col. II, 45.]
Note. — The syntax is " seven (repeated) seven times " : com- pare the passage quoted previously, " seven (repeated) two times."
The following is from the same Tablet, col. I.
Billi annu-a niahida raba
0 mi/ Lord I my sins are mayiy, great (are)
A B)] -m < T?
khidatu-a
my trespasses !
Billi as ukkum libbi-su ikkilman-anni
my Lord in the anger of his heart smote me
Hi as uzzi libbi-su
my god in the fiery (xorath) of Ids heart
usamkhir-anni sent me plagues.
78 On the Seligious Belief of the Assyrians.
Islitar eli-ya izbuz-ma
Isldar upon me sent troubles,
t|T^ ^ElT f^n ^W ;^ « -+ Sffi
martsish usiman-aimi
Ijeriloiisly she poisoned me
«• gE 5£!n ^ A-+ -It El « El -+ -ni'^ ^I<
|
astanihi- |
ma |
manman gati |
|
7 fainted, |
and |
no one mrj hand |
|
<^n -E??;- |
||
|
val izabit |
||
|
oiot took |
||
|
6- >^)--< )--< '^ T |
]] t^:=; |
« ET ->f <^y^ |
|
kubie |
agabbi, |
manman val |
|
loud ^i'ords |
/ spohe, |
(hut) no one not |
|
tE<T- «-+:»= |
||
|
isiman-anni |
||
|
heard me. |
Notes. — Line 2. IkMlma, from Arabic 72h^ to wound or injm-e (Fiirst, p. G63). Line 3 is an alternative line to 2. Uzzi ' fire ' or ' fiery,' is rendered here, and often elsewhere, by the Accadian
E^TT !?=•
Umniklnr. S conjugation of Mahhar, to send a plague, or dire disease, see the Annals of Assurbanipal, p. 118.
As tami-su-ma niildiru imkhar-su
hi those same days a j^lague attacked him.
On the Religious Belief of the Assyrians.
79
Line 4. Izhuz may be from root ti^lU^ tm-bavit.
Usiman. Chald. ^D venenum. Arab, sammam ' to poison ' (Cataf.). On the first Micliaux stone, one of tlie curses is, " IMay tlie goddess Gula afflict bis body "witb poison that cannot be healed," simma la azza
-n ^4f ET.. -£T . -Hi- }}
Line 5. Astanihi is the tan conj. of Hnti? to fall prostrate. The Hebrew uses a different conjugation inni^"^ and ninil^n which wants the letter N so frequently inserted in Assyrian verbs.
80
JOSEPH'S TOMB IN SECIIEM. By Professor Donaldson, K.L., Pii. D., F.R.I.B.A., F.S.A., &c.
Read 1th January, 1873.
There are few incidents in the Sacred Scriptures more touching than the narrative of the pious care with which the Childi'en of Israel fidfiUed the injunction of Joseph, to cany his bones to the hmd of promise, " And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die : and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones fi'om hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old : and they embalmed Imn, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt." — Genesis 1, 24-26. In the Exodus xiii, 19, we learn that " Moses took the bones of Joseph with him : for he had straitly swore the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you ; and ye shall carry up my bones away lience with you." And in the last chapter of Joshua, verse 32, it is recorded, " And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Sechem in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor, the father of Sechem, for an hundred pieces of silver [Gen. xxxiii, 19], and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph."
There is hardly any spot in Palestine which combines, as this does, the tradition of past times and the concurrent assent as to its authenticity of the varied sects, whether Samaritan, Jewish, Turkish, or Christian ; and this is the more remarkable in a country where the struggles of religious strife are so prevalent, and every supposed holy spot is so much the oV)ject of violent contention, Avhether to Greek or
},^. /. ...ifi-^
w
,'>5i
JOSEPHS TOMB, SHKCHEM.
W^Nrn-emher, 1H68
A . JeMi^<h Insmptiijii , ||| B . Soni'iiiliiii Imriinlit
Joscplis Tomb in Sechetn.
81
Latin. But the truth is, that the Christian does not associate with this tomb any special saintlike sanctity, and no super- stitioTTS ceremonial or pilgrimage attaches to it. The approach to the Valley of Nablous, at the point where this old ruined tomb stands, is most impressive. Hermon, with its snowy toi3, and still some days' journey distant to the north, rises majestically in the far north. The Valley of Nablous opens to the left, with Ebal to the right and Gerizim opposite to it, thrilling names in the Scripture narrative ; and at half an hour's ride is the town of Nablous. Near this spot of the tomb is Jacob's Well, where our Saviour had his conversation witli the Samaritan woman ; it is most frequently dry, and very much choked with large stones. Not far distant is the enclosure of Joseph's Tomb, rhomboidal in shape, the inside shorter side measuring fifteen feet in the clear ; the depth somewhat exceeding that dimension, and the enclosure walls rise some seven feet high, with an opening at one end. Opposite the entrance is a small mihrab or prayer niche, about two feet six inches wide, with a circular head, and over it are two inscriptions, the upper one in Hebrew characters, the lower in Samaritan. In one angle on the niche side, and at the height of about five feet, is a splay, in which is formed a niche head, as shown in the view. A narrow u-regular central
IS.Tper.
paved path leads fi-om the entrance up to the niche, and on
each side, rising six or seven inches above the path, is a dias ;
that to the left forming a kind of prayer platform or seat.
Vol. II, 6
82 Joseplis Tomb in Secheui.
On the dais to the light is the tomb of some jMahoraedan Haji, ^vhich is said to be held in some veiieratiou by his co- religionists. At each end of this tomb is a detached pillar or post, some eighteen inches in diameter, and rising about three feet, scooped out on the upper surface into the shape of a liollow basin, and which had the appearance of having served for fire. The tomb of the Turk is oblong in shape, and rises fi'om the dais in a curved form with a pointed ridge.
The construction of the whole is of the I'oughest materials, plastered over — as is the custom of such sepulchral erections of the Turks — with considerable cracks in the walls, and threatening speedy destruction.
AYhen we consider the pious reverence with which Moses and the descendants of Joseph conveyed their precious relic from the land of bondage, Ave may conceive that, although the present erection may be on the spot of its ultimate deposit, it is but reasonable to suppose they followed the custom of the Egyptians, among whom they had dwelt so long, and Avith whose manner of interment they would have been so well acquainted. If so, they must have made a con- siderable excavation in the ground, consistent with the exalted position of their forefather. In this they must have formed a sepulchral chamber, lining it with stone, and must therein have laid the embalmed body, with its wooden sar- cophagus or coffin, with becoming funereal rites. Without making an excavation it is impossible to ascertain Avhether any such chamber still exists, or to discover any further par- ticulars of this sacred and interesting spot.
The hurry with which traA^ellers have to hasten on their journey in the Holy Land, and the impatience of one's com- panions, will account for this scanty account of one of the most remarkable monuments of JeAvish history, as it was in November, 1868.
5^
83
A n CONJUGATION,
SUCH AS EXISTS IN ASSYRIAN, SHOWN TO BE A CHARACTER OP EARLY SHEMITIO SPEECH, BY ITS VESTIGES FOUND IN THE HEBREW, PHCENICLVN, ARAMAIC, AND ARABIC LANGUAGES.
Bv Richard Cull, F.S.A.
Read oth November, 1872.
The stem words of the Assyrian, like those of the HebreAV language, are chiefly bisyllabic. Hebrew words are Avi-itten from right to left by means of letters, three of which are required to write the consonants of the two syllables, and these are supplemented by signs called vowel points, some of which are written above the lino of letters, some below, and some between them to express the vowels of the two syllables. By this method of writing the three con- sonants, as a unity, are perceived at a glance. Assyrian words are written from left to right, not by means of letters and vowel points, but by signs for syllables and words. By this method of wi-iting, the three consonants are much, less conspicuously displayed than in Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic.
The term Assyrian language is adopted in this paper to include the Babylonian also.
The verb is by far the most elaborated part of Assyrian speech. And there is one feature of the verb, the secondary, or r\ conjugation, which is stated by all writers on Assyrian grammar to be peculiar to it, and to distinguish it fi"om other Shemitic languages. Now, the object of this paper is to draw attention to some vestiges of ]! conjugations found in the Hebrew, Phoenician, Aramaic, and Arabic languages, and to indicate their value in Shemitic philology. But in order to discuss the evidence and nature of these vestiges, it is necessary to state the main facts of the r* conjugations in Assvrian.
84 ^'1 ]i Conjugation, ^-c.
There are six conjugations in common nse in the Assyrian, and connected with these primary conjugations are secondary conjugations formed by the insertion of n between the first and second radicals. When the inserted n begins a syUable, it is accompanied by its own vowel, which may be a, e, or i, as in the examples —
^ iz^ os-kan, I established.
^ "-^TTT f=^ as-ta-kan, I established.
izll ^J=^ e-bir, 1 crossed over.
>z1l -^Y A^^^ e-te-bir, I crossed over.
tUM^T '>-'-/-''^' He visited.
T>£[] )-<y)-< T^J[ ^^I ip-ti-qi-id, He visited.
When the ri ends a syllable it is unaccompanied by a vowel, as in the example —
*"T<T-'^ *^ I i^-^iu-su, They submitted.
jrYYY ^ T klt-nu-sn, They were submissive.
In some verbs the Jl is placed before the first radical. Dr. Hincks says, — "In most verbs defective in the second radical, the dental precedes the first radical in place of following it. Thus we have from ^^12. in the aorist of I.t, it-hu-ni, instead of ib-tu-ni, they came on (90 Layard 63)."' Tlie verb fc^ll, to come, arrive, is doubly defective, its middle radical "] being apt to yield up its consonant-sound and quiesce in the follo^ving voAvel : and its thu'd radical is also a weak letter.'^ "Concave verbs are not so numerous in Assyrian as in the cognate dialects."^
The Hebrew concave verl) p^ to stand, stand upright^ stand firmly, be established, is found in Assyrian with the
* Hincks' Specimen Chapters of an Assyrian Grammar, Jom-n. Sac. Lit., 1855-6, p. 6.
- AssjTian scholars may read with advantage Hayug's two treatises on Hebrew verbs, containing feeble and double letters, translated by Rev. J. W. Nutt, M.A., of the Bodleian.
^ AspjTian Grammar, by Rev. A. H. Sayce, !M.A., Fellow ami Tutor of Queen's College, Oxford.
A n Conjugation, ^-c. 85
same significations. In Assyrian it is found as a verb '^'^^7, as well as V''i^, and many Hebrew concave verbs are found in both forms.
^yyyt: ^][^ t:^J^ u-U-in, I established.
^^^Y J>=y *^ it-ku-7iu, He established.
The first example belongs to the primary, and the second to the secondary, or n conjugation, in which the jl is placed before the fh-st radical of the theme. In Ukin, the middle radical J:^ (yod) has lost its consonant-power, and becomes the vowel i ; and in Itkunu, the im'ddle radical tzYYTt: (vaw) has lost its consonant-power and become the vowel u.
The secondary, or jl conjugation of Assyrian verbs were possessed of a vital power to originate derivative nouns, Avith the characteristic n, as in the examples —
S:YYYY ^Z^^Z^ *^"^Y Pit-qu-du, a Guardian, which is derived from the Jl conjugation
"^^ '-(J'-C J^JJ ^3^y ip-ti-qi-id, He visits, of the verb
t£Cf I^H ^^T ip-qi-id, He visits. And
^ ^^^y I^yy *-y<y Bi-U-la-hu, a worshipper,
which is derived from the T\ conjugation of the verb
T>-yy >-^y >^y<y ib-la-ltu, They revered.
I have not registered an example of the r\ conjugation of Qal of this verb.
A large number of verbs have no secondary or t^ conju- gations, at least they have not been found in the inscriptions. It is as improbable that every verb had secondary conjuga- tions, as that every verb had all the primary conjugations. It is Avell known that all the conjugations of every verb in the Hebrew language are not in use. And it is perhaps equally well known that the verb ""tSp to hill, which is adopted in several Hebrew grammars as a model of the Hebrew conjugation, is found only in Qal, while the verb IpD to visit, exists in all its conjugations in the Hebrew
80 ^ n Conjugation, S^r.
Bible. In Assyrian, as in Hebrew, some conjugations are in more fi-equent nse than others, and sufficient examples of any one verb cannot be found in the texts to construct a coin- plete paradigm. Hebrew grammarians infer firom examples of other verbs what the lacking forms of ht^p ought to be, and thus complete the paradigm. Assyrian grammarians proceeding in the same Avay have constructed a paradigm of the verb Sakan, to Establish. Such a method in a language so well known as the Hebrew may be adopted, but even in Hebrew it is not unaccompanied with danger^ But in Assyrian the line between fact and inference should be broadly and strongly marked, at least until verbal forms are as well understood as in the Hebrew.
The main facts of the ri conjugations are accepted by all Assyrian scholars, and the present brief statement of those facts is sufficient for the objects of tliis paper.
The Hebrew Language.
The word ]'^r'^^ occurs in 1 Samuel xxv, 23, 34 ; 1 Kings xiv, 10 ; xvi, 13 ; xxi, 21 ; and 2 Kmgs ix, 8 ; but only in the phrase "Vp^ yiyiTO to urine against the loall. In order to rightly understand the form of the word, it must be studied in connection M-ith the substantive ]^ip urine, which occurs twice only in the Bible, both times in the plural, and both times with the same plural affix DH'*!-''!!? their urine, 2 Kings xviii, 27, and in the repeated passage Isaiah xxxvi, 12. In both passages the "^ip adoj)ts the descriptive euphuism G^T:?"^ "''P'^Pj u-aters of the legs.
Early students of the Hebrew language often find it difficult to refer a derived word to its root, but this difficulty diminishes as they acquire a knowledge of the grammar. There are many words whose roots do not occur in the Bible, but the lexicographers insert the theoretical root in their lexicons, with some mark to distinguish them. The inser- tion of such roots is justified by the axiom, that every deriva- tive must have been derived from a root, whether that root occiu- in the Bible or not, it being borne in mind that only a " TTobrew Grammar, by Professor Lee, section 211.
A in Conjugation, ^-c. 87
portion of the Hebrew language is contained in the Bible. Now the lexicographers themselves have found a difficulty in referring the word ]'^P^"'^ to its root, and great difference of opinion exists as to its root, but the grammarians have ignored the existence of this word, and others of similar form, which occur m the Bible.
The subjoined tabular statement displays the opinions held by five distinguished lexicogra2:)hers of the theoretical root of the Hiphil participle ]''rnr^,
Buxtorf states the root to be Vr\^t
Simonis „ „ iy[i>,
Gesenius „ ,, jritt?.
Lee „ „ jntlj.
FUrst „ „ ptr\
The gTammatical difficulty is to derive the noun ]^tl? and the particij)le ]'^i7'tp^ from the same root. There is no doubt that the participle ]"^rityO can be regularly derived from the root liltLN and it is equally doubtless that the noun ]']ti? cannot be derived from it. The question to solve is, as to the origin of the il in the participle. Fih-st is the only one of the five who has endeavoured to solve the question. Under the leading word ptlj which he states to be unused, he says, ^^ Hiphil '\^r\'^71 (a form arising from the insertion of jl, for ptprT; participle ]''riiI/0)," — and then he goes on to state that the insertion of Jn is found in certain other words. His solution then is, that the ri, Avhich does not occur in Qal, is mserted in the Hiphil conjugation, and is therefore found in the Hiphil participle.
Although Simonis makes no formal statement of liis attempt to solve the question, his reference of the participle to the root l^ti) is evidence that- he believed the ri to have been inserted in Hiphil. And thus there is high authority for the opinion, that a ]l i^iay be introduced into a derived conjugation of a verb, although there is none in its Qal. But whatever weight may attach to the opinion of these dis- tingaished lexicographers, Hebraists know that the opinion is not only unsupported by, but contrary to the doctrines of Hebrew grammar, and therefore the opmion is to be rejected.
88 A n Cniijmjatwn, cjr.
Assyrian scholars can readily solve the difficulty, for they see in tlus participle a vestige of the secondary conjugation of a verb. The Hiphil participle ]'^i?tP0 comes from the Hiphil secondary conjugation I'^rilTrT' which is derived from the secondary conjugation of Qal ]•^^^ Now irW is the secondary conjugation either of ptp according to Simonis, or of p\2} accordmg to Fiirst, of which I'^tTn is the Hiphil, whence comes the noini l^tT. Thus the noun is derived from the primary conjugation and the participle from the secondary conjugation of the same verb.
It remains to be noticed that ptl? is a concave verb, and therefore the characteristic n of the secondary conjugation, according to Assyrian usage, ought to be prefixed to the stem, but it is contrary to the genius of the Hebrew language for r\ to precede a sibilant, and the violence done to the prefix r^Tl of the Hithpahel conjugation, by causing it to open and receive within it the fii'st radical of Q sibilant verbs is well known, as a means to prevent such sequence.
The word DiT'i'^^ occurs once, Isaiah ix, 18, and no other part of the verb is found in the Bible. It is a Niphal form, and means is burned, consumed, which is the most ancient sense of the word, for it is rendered by the LXX ovvKeKavTai, which suits the context. Buxtorf, however, after Kimchi, renders it Obscurari, but this does not suit the context. Modern lexicographers, including Gesenius, Lee, and Fiirst, accept the sense of the LXX, and this sense is confirmed by the occurrence of the word in a Phoenician inscription, which Gesenius shows must mean combustus est.
The theoretical root is Dr\J^. The Arabic cognate is ^JL£ (Bstus ingens, as pointed out by Lee. Fiirst derives the verb from the unused root Q^i^, which is the source of D^i^ heat, glow, Isaiah xi, 15, with a Jl inserted. And he points out a similar derivation for the Arabic cognate. ^
A careful study of the organic root in the cognates Q?^'^' DIT will show that the Jl is no part of it, and it being found in Dn^^ could only come as the jl of the secondary conjugation.
' Ili'b. Lex. 5ni,\
^4 n Conjugation, <^-c. 89
The word nhri^^ occurs in Zechariah iv, 12, and nowhere else in the Bible, pipes, tubes. The word, is connected with ■^13^ which occurs twice, 2 Samuel v, 8, and. Psalm xlii, 8, rendered, water-course in the former, and. loater-spouts in the latter place in the authorised version.
Buxtorf refers the word 113^ to the theoretical root 1^!?, He refers nhJyi^^ to no root, and does not connect it with ■^iSl^. Simonis considers the word Hh/^w^ to be a compound word, composed of "113!^ a canal, and "^i!)^ to flow. It would be a h^^brid word, Hebrew and Aramasan, but the word '^P\l does not occur- in the sense of a liquid flowing*.
Gesenius does not refer either word to a root.
Lee does not refer "^13^ to a root. And of DhPi^ he says, " The etymology is uncertain."
Fiirst connects the two words, and offers an explanation of the n. He derives both from the theoretical root '^^^.
" Pihel I, "^3^ (not used) intensive of Kal, deriv. 1132. Pihel II. "^i^l^^ (with jl inserted) to make holloio throughout, to deepen, whence n^^i^l^l*; compare '^^V'^ I. (from "^UJi^ 11.) and ^PS^V II. (from ^^V I.), belongmg to n;;)J31tp^. rT\rm (from "^3^ Pihel 11. "1^5^' which see; only in pi. c. ilhip:^ after the form n1'^i;itp:^) /. a tube."
Buxtorf, Simonis, Gesenius, and Lee, were profound Hebrew scholars, and yet they failed to see the connection between the words "^132 and ilhJn3!^. Fiii-st saw that con- nection, which they failed to see, and he correctly derived both substantives from the theoretical root 13^) but his explanation of the r\ in Jinn^!^ is to be rejected.
The word "^"13^, eniissarium, is a substantive derived from the theoretical Pihel "^3^? of the theoretical Qal "13!^. This ancient derivation cannot be doubted.
The word rT^ijl^^ tiibi, fistulce is a plural substantive derived from the theoretical Pihel '^ii\^3^) of the theoretical Qal 1iil3!i5 which is the secondary or jl conjugation of "^3^.
Assyrian scholars Avill at once recognise a vestige of a ri conjugation in the word rihri3!^5 and see the true explana- tion of the n in the word. They will notice its occurrence
90 A ri Conjuaation, cjr.
after the second radical, while in Assyrian its ordinary place is between the first and second radicals, and exceptionally before the first. I have registered other instances of the insertion of Jl between the second and third radicals, but too few safely to reason npon them, still it is probable, that as the r\ i« placed before the first radical in concave verbs in the Assyrian, for the sake of identification of the root, so it may after the second for a similar reason.
The word Hir'^''^* occurs in Dent, vii, 13 ; xxviii, 4, 18, 51, and each time in the phrase T|!?^^!^ nhijltl^i^? Avliich is trans- lated "• flocks of thy sheep " in the authorised version. The four passages in which the phrase occurs specify the blessings of abundance promised for obedience, and the curses of poverty for disobedience to the law. '' And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee : he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land Avliich he sware unto thy fathers to give thee. Thou shalt be blessed above all people : there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle." (Deut. vii, 13, 14.) The substance of this, mth most of the details, is repeated in Deut. xxviii, 4. The curses in similar details are given in verses 18 and 51 of the same chapter.
The word ilhritL''^ is a feminine jilural, in the construct state, and occurs nowhere else in connection with flock, or at all in the Bible, so that it may be said to occm- but once. It cannot mean flocks, for that is expressed by the followdug word. TV22 is the Hebrew word for a sheep or a goat (Exodus xii, 5,) and has no plural, but "jS2^ is used for the plural, or rather as a noun of multitude, for a flock of sheep or goats, as the case may be. This is all well known to Hebrew scholars, who liave therefore good reason to reject this translation in the authorised version. A careful study of the context shows that some word denoting j^^'oduce, increase, riches, icealt/i, or the like, is rec^uired. Luther felt this, and translated it fruits, — '* die Friichte deiner Schaafe." Both Eichhorn and Simonis felt that such a word is required ,
^ n Conjugation, ^-c. 91
and take the word to be a compound of the Hebrew "^^?!^ he was rich, and its Aramaic cognate "^r^V^ but this com- pound, although satisfactory for the sense, cannot be accepted. Professor Lee took it for a compound of the Arabic Vj. modum excessit, and ^'^V wealth, but this compound, although also satisfactory for the sense, cannot be accepted as an explanation of the form. Gesenius introduces the idea of begetting, and translates the phrase, veneres, amores gregis. The requirement of the context, however, is not merely begetting, but the other elements necessary for the well- doing and increase of the flock, and the one is not put for the other in the history of Jacob's dealing with Laban's flock (Genesis xxx, 37, et seq.), besides which "^tlj]^ does not signify begot, but he ivas rich. Fllrst adopts the view ot Gesenius, and, by n)ean8 of linguistic manipulation of two imaginary roots, attributes the sense of begetting to "^Pi\ which it does not bear in itself, nor in any of its derivatives in the Hebrew Bible.
The word ilhrit^y is a derivative fi-om the secondary or n conjugation of the verb '^0^^ he was rich. The corre- sponding word in Qal of the jl conjugation is "^Jltpi^ he ivas inch. And from this is regularly formed the feminine plm'al construct n'^ril^i^ riches, which fully accounts for the form of the word, and supplies the sense demanded by tJie context.
Assyrian scholars will observe that the characteristic jl of the secondary conjugation stands between the second and third radicals, instead^ of its usual place between the first and second. It does so for the same euphonic reason that the jl of the Hebrew preformative PiH is placed after the first radical in stems whose fu-st radical is "Qj,
Hehreio Proper Names.
The etymology of Hebrew proper names is a subject on which there is much divergence of opinion. The Hebrew language does not delight in compound appellative words, although so many of its proper names are compounds. The principles adopted for abbreviating the separate elements of
92 A r^ Conjugation, Sfc.
such compounds prior to tlicii- junction are very imperfectly Tinderstoocl. Some of these names appear to be formed of elements derived from secondary conjugations of verbs, and are therefore noticed here.
The word "TT'''l'n, the name of a city, occurs 1 Chron. iv, 29, and it is "written TT'ijnyt;^ in Joslma xix, 4. The prefix T'i^, which appears to represent the Arabic article, is dropped in tlie later orthography. The word "TT'ii^ i^^'^y he compared with ni7'in a genealogi/, as derived from "17^ to hear. Both words are derivatives of the secondary conjugation of T7!J, in which the jl is prefixed to the stem as in concave verbs.
The word T'lb^ritTS! occurs in Joshua xv, 33, as the name of a city in Canaan, which, on the subjugation of the country by the Hebrews, was possessed by Judali, but afterwards was allotted to Dan (Joshua xix, 41). The Hebrews re-named some of the captured cities (Joshua xv, 13, 15, 60), but most of them appear to have retained their old names.
The city /T^J3)lL''i;^ retained its name (Judges xiii, 25), and originated the gentile noun '^7t:^rill?t^ Esldaulite, (1 Chron. ii, 53).
Fiii-st says— "^"i^^riU^tji {hollow-icaij, fi'om h^\D). As to the derivation, the word is a noun-form, which has arisen out of the conjugation constituted by 'P^i^ (that may have been more frequent in the earlier period of the language, to judge by the Phoenician), and which is only preserved in some proper names."
The word 7l!:^tt? signifies to ask, in which sense it is found in Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, Phoenician, and Assyrian. And it has no otliL^r root. Fiu'st probably had in las mind tlie substantive T'i^ty hollow of the hand, i.e. the palm (Isaiah xi, 12)^ when he wrote the paragraph. And he must have forgotten that he had treated of certain appellatives, which he describes to be constituted by TM^, which I have referred to above.
The Avord 3^'^^^ltp!^^ occm-s in Joshua xxi, 14, as the name
A n Conjugation, ^-c. 93
of a city of Canaan, which appears to have retained its name after the subjugation of the country by the HebreAvs. It is also written H/Ori^^, as stated by Fiirst, but not in Van der Hooght's Bible.
Fiirst refers the first form to a root V^O"^ to be high, and the second to a root I^^^ to be high, but both roots he states "fo be mmsed, and from these, ^ith an inserted Ji, he derives the two forms of the word.
Scholars may well hesitate to receive this derivation, for —
(1.) The word is not Hebrew, it is probably Phoenician, and far too little is known of Phoenician to justify any philological speculations on proper names.
(2.) The root i^^tT* does not signify to be high, but to hear.
(3.) The form n^tDJl^^ is not to be considered as a variant form, but as an error of a copyist.
(4.) The root ""f^'^ does not exist in Hebrew. It is, how- ever, a possible root, and may be the source of the plural noun D^^li? heavens. If so, it is cognate with U^ (dtus fait.
(5.) These are not roots which theory demands for deri- vatives of known definite senses, but are imaginary roots for noun-forms of which the senses are unknown.
(6.) And no topographical reason can be urged for the assumed sense, for the site of the city is unknown.
The word p^ltl^i*^ occurs as the proper name of a man in a genealogical list, 1 Chron. iv, 11. This is a Hebrew word, which Fiirst derives from a root ptT, which he states to be unused, but allied to the roots 1^'^ and IH^ to rest, be at ease, with n inserted. The root pUJ in this sense is unknown in the Hebrew, and is not a theoretical, but an imaginary root.
The word il'^Htpi^ occurs m the Hebrew Bible both as a personal, and as a local name. As a personal name it first occurs in the time of the Judges, soon after the death of Joshua (Judges ii, 13), but as a local name it occurs in the time of Abram, for before Chedorlaomer king of Elam and
94 A n Covjugatlou, <S)-c.
his confederates made their raid upon Sodom and Gomorrah, "they smote the Rephaim in D^^"\i? niritTV Ashteroth Kar- naim," i.e. the two-horned Ashteroth (Genesis xiv, 5).
The word has presenled much difficulty to translators, but more to etymologists. The form of the word is feminine plural, but it is foreign to the Hebrew language, although so well known in Canaan, whence it probably first came to the Hebrews. It is taken as a feminine singular by the trans- lators of the authorised version, but continental translators, including Luther and Diodati, take it as a masculine singular ; thus, in the passage,' " they have forsaken me, and have wor- shipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians " (1 Kings xi, 33), is rendered by Luther, '■^ Astoreth den Gott der Zidoniei\" The Hebrew phrase \'21'$ ^r)hiji nintr^r cannot be trans- lated -without doing grammatical violence to some part of it; and a parallel phrase 3''^"^? Vl?^"* ^!?J^^''^^ in the passage " which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians " (2 Kings xxiii, 13), does not aid in solving the difficulty.
The Hebrew Bible of itself supplies no evidence beyond the form of the word to determine whether it is a god or a goddess, w^hether one or many. The Bible in its simple gi-andeur condemns the worship of other gods, and some by name, amongst these is Ashtoreth, but is silent as to the character of the worship, and the nature of the person wor- shipped.
The LXX write the word rj 'AaiaprT], which is a trans- literation, as near as the Greek alphabet allows, of the Hebrew nintTJ?, but the word was already current in Greek literatm'e in exactly the same form, from a transliteration of the Phoenician niiTC^i^. Thus the LXX took the Hebrew word to be a feminine singular, precisely as the earlier Greek writers had taken the Phoenician word.
Some Hebrew lexicographers identify the name of the goddess Avith the appellative niHU?^ of Deut. vii, 13, while others deem them to be distinct words. Gesenius takes it to be a Shemitic form of the Persian ^ ,U*j sitareh, a star, while Fiirst identifies it with the appellative.
.1 r) Conjuyation, ^r. 95
The recovery of the Assyrian language has opened up to us a knowledge of the early Sliemite Pantheon, as compiled by native authors, who were actual worshippers of those gods and goddesses in their respective temples. In those inscrip- tions we read much of Ishtar, the Ashteroth of the Bible, as written by her worshippers.
The scanty notices of early Sliemite paganism found in the Hebrew Bible, and the sketches of Greek and Latin writers on the religion of the Phoenicians have been explored, analysed, and discussed by profound scholars with but un- satisfactory results. The orthodox Hebrew, obeying the law of Moses, never unnecessarily mentioned even the names of other gods, ^ and when so named, it was often accompanied by some word expressive of his disgust,^ The Greeks and Romans appear to have known but little of foreign religions, and saw j\hirs and Venus in the Pantheon of the Phoenicians, but a fuller knowledge of the old Sliemite Pantheon causes Assyrian scholars to doubt such identifications. The extent and value of the Assyrian and Babylonian records brought to hght, by the excavations made in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates, are known only to the few scholars who have studied them. These records contain much information con- cerning Ishtar, the Ashteroth of the Bible.
The name written phonetically in Assyrian cuneiform is
H ^yy >£yyy <y— yy<T ish-ta-ar, or .^y ^yy ^
Ish-tar, Avhich transliterated into Hebrew letters is "^rit!)^. But the name is more commonly expressed by monograms, of which there are several, as >->-y»-^y, >->-y /ly, >->-y>-yy<Y, >->-y ^yify, '^'^y ^"^I^I' THs monogrammatic writing belongs to the pre-Shemitic period of Babylonia, so that the goddess Ishtar was worshipped in early Babylonia before the advent of the Shemites into the country. The Assyi-ians appear to have adopted the mythology of Akkad, and they preferred to express the names of their deities m the mono-
" And in all things that I have said unto you be cii'cumspect : and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth." — Exodus xxiii, 13.
- 2 Kings xxiii. 13.
96 A pt Conjugation, cjr.
grams of Akkad, mixed with tlioir plionetic ^^Titiiig, clown to the latest times.
Ishtar is a goddess of great power, as she is " goddess of Heaven and earth," and of high dignity, as she is daughter of Assur (the chief god of Assyria), and sister of ]\Iarduk. She was the tutelary goddess of several cities, as of "^^St Ereck (a city mentioned with ^5^ AJckad, in Genesis x, 10), a most ancient city. The Assyrian pronunciation of these Akkadian monograms is Ishtar, but their Akkadian pronuncia- tion is unknown. It is, however, now certam that the etymo- logy of the word rTHil^''!^ must be sought outside the Hebrew language, and the word, as Gesenius thought, may not be Shemitic. And therefore the views of Furst are to be rejected.
Hebrew lexicons contain many words, both verbs and nouns, which belong to the secondary or pi conjugations of concave verbs, and which are placed under the letter p, as I^Jl, wliich is the secondary or p conjugation of p3, Some lexicogTaphers describe them to be cognate words, others describe p3 as the root of the derivative ]^^, but all assume the p to be radical.
The verb p3, both iu its primary and in its secondary or p conjugations, is of frequent occurrence both in Assyrian and in Hebrew. The verb p3 is in common use in all its primary conjugations in the Hebrew Bible, and its secondary or p conjugations are also in use in Qal, Niphal, Pihel and Puhal. It is unnecessary to add to the length of the paper by quoting the examples, as reference is made to a sufficient number in the lexicons under the word ]3ri.
The verb t^il, both in its primary and in its secondary or p conjugations, is also of frequent occurrence both iu Assyrian and in Hebrew. The verb ^^i!!! is in common use in most of its primary conjugations iu the Hebrew Bible, but its secondary conjugations ai-e represented only by the deri- vative feminine noun Hh^^iri. Tliis is the participle in Qal, so that the primary conjugation in Qal must have had a secondary or p conjugation, whence the p participle is flerived.
-i n Coiijut/afloii, cfc. 97
It is one thing to describe such pairs of words as p5 and p^, whether as cognates, or as a further development of the root by moans of jl, but it is a very different thing to account for the presence of the jl. Hebrew lexicographers, from early times down to and including Fiirst, have vainly endeavoured to satisfy scholars by sucli descriptions, but have not even attempted to show why stems should be further developed by a n in preference to any other letter. Every student of Hebrew could see that the stem p5 is enlarged to pil, by prefixing a H to the first radical, and he desired the profound lexicographer, or grammarian to inform him what he means by a stem being developed, and why by a jn. He asks, is prefixing a jl to p3 enlarging it by development?
The fact is, that the profound est Hebrew scholars, such men as Furst, could not account for this H, until the recovery of the long-lost Assyrian language enabled them to do so : and no Hebrew scholar appears to have applied this know- ledge of the Assyrian to the elucidation of the Hebrew language. The existence of jl conjugations secondary to the primary conjugations of Assyrian verbs suggested to me some years ago to search for vestiges of such secondary con jugations in Hebrew, and it was not until the discovery of some of the vestiges already discussed that search was made for tlie ri conjugations of concave verbs, which I inferred would be found in the lexicons under r\, where I found them registered, each with a reference to another stem described either as the root, or as a cognate.
Examples of concave verbs are subjoined, with some de- rivatives of their n conjugations, the object in view is not to supply a hst of them, but merely to quote enough to justify the statements concerning them.
D^p to Stand up, to Stand up against.
The secondary or r\ conjugation of which is Qlpn, or DpD, but as a verb it does not occur in the Bible. The feminine noun HT^^pri Power of Standing, is derived from the Pihel secondary conjugation. And it is noteworthy that tlie Pilel form Q^lp has a secondary form, whence is derived Qplpri, an Adversary.
YOL. II. V
98 A I^ Conjugation, ^-c.
The verb in its Sliapliel primary conjugation occurs in Assyrian historical inscriptions (Tiglath-Pileser vii, 103), and also derivative nouns of the secondary or jl conjugations, as J[j^ *^y "^y Tuk-ma-tc, Opponents (Sargon 25).
UT\ to be High, raised Aloft.
The secondary or Jn conjugation of which is D1"^n, or Uyr\', but as a verb does not occur m the Bible. The feminine noun H^^1<n, a Heave offering, is derived from the Hiphil secondary or jl conjugation. The Pihel conjugation of D^"^ is of the Pile] form QP'i"^, to Raise, and from the secondary or n conjugation of this form is derived the masculine noun D?pi"1il, Elevation.
pn, to Perceive, Understand.
The secondary or jn conjugation of which is plJl, or pri, but as a verb it does not occm- in the Bible. The feminine noun n^'liJl, understanding, skill, is derived from the Pihel secondary or jl conjugation.
H^i, to Grow (of plants).
The secondary or ]l conjugation of Avhicli is m^il, or '2211, but as a verb it does not occur in the Bible, The feminine noun n^lii^l, fruit, produce of ])lants, is derived from the Pihel secondary or pi conjugation. The regular Pihel of the verb, however, is not extant, for the only Pihel now found in the Bible is that of the Pilel form llli.
p^lLN to Desire. The secondary or Jn conjugation of which is pTl^'ri, pXI^D, but which as a verb does not occur in the Bible. The feminine noun tlj^^UJri, desire, longing, is derived from the Pihel secondary or D conjugation.
D^i, to Slumber, Fall Asleep. The secondary or pi conjugation of udiich is Dl^jn, or '02P, but which as a verb does not occur in the Bible. The feminine noun tl^^^ri, slumber, is derived from the Pihel secondaiy or p conjugation, exactly as n?^^I3, Slumber, is derived from the Pihel primary conjugation.
A n Conjugation, ^-c. 99
i^^l to Shout, make a Noise.
The secondary or H conjugation of which is i^Tin, or i^'^n, hut which as a verb does not occur in the Bible. The feminine noun n^^'^il, shouting, is derived from the Pihel secondary or T^ conjugation. The Pihel primary conjugation is not extant in the Bible.
The secondary conjugations of the Hebrew language, like those of the Assyrian, are built up by the insertion of H in the stem. The vestiges to which I have drawn attention supply indisputable evidence of the existence of such con- jugations at some remote period in the language. The secondary conjugations of concave verbs are built up m both languages by prefixing the jl to the stem. I have referred to concave stems enlarged by aa initial in, wliich are regis- tered in the lexicons under in, with their roots added, but the relationship of the root and its derivative not understood by the lexicographer. I have now to draw attention to other than concave stems, which are enlarged by initial il, also registered in the lexicons under in, and also not understood by the lexicographers, but which are derivatives of the secondary conjugations of the verbs.
The verb "^^H t(^ Walk, is as common in Assyrian as it is in Hebrew. The in of the secondary conjugation in Assyrian is inserted between the first and second radicals, but in Hebrew it is prefixed to the first radical, as in the feminine derivative noun ili^D/nJn Processions, from "^^H to Walk,
The noun ITiD /l}^ is not derived dh'ect from the verb 'TJT'rT, but from its secondary or il conjugation ^THil. The difference of form is well displayed by writing the Assyrian in Hebrew letters.
Hebrew Y^T^, secondary conjugation ^T7T\T\* Assyrian y^T^, „ „ ^TTin.
The difference may not have been great to the ear, for the weak letter n would be scarcely audible in either example, and in the noun ili^/D-D it is pointed with a substitute of Sh'wa, so that it does not form a syllable.
The verb ^^^^ to desire, long for, is the secondary con- jugation of i^^^* Furst says, " The stem is enlarged by
100 - ! D Coiijiujo.tion, cjr.
the initial jn from n-!li<!;"i and elsewhere he says, "verbs t^'^D often passing into n'^D,"^ Fiirst does not attempt to account for the il, hut Assyrian scholars can have no diffi- culty in accounting for it. The verb ^.^pi occurs in the fii'st person preterite '^H^t^il twice in Psalm cxix, 40, 174.
The feminine noiui D'l^iri, and its variant H'^ll'^Jl, are feminine nouns derived fi'om the secondary conjugation of the verb T1'2D to increase in number or size. The verb HD,"!) occurs in the Assyrian language, and Ihe H of its secondary conjugation is also prefixed to the stem, as is shown by the derived noun >-»rc >^W'\ tar-bit, growth, which, written in Hebrew letters, is iT'lliri. The Assyrian and Hebrew are identical.
Furst, speaking of ^P> from nC'l says, — "out of which it is developed by T\ ; many stems n'^D coinciding
with r^"h."^
The r\ of the secondary conjugation is prefixed to the stem of some perfect verbs as T"^^ to recompense, and from its secondary conjugation is derived the masculine noun T"l^^ri, a recompense. And it is of great interest to notice that a parallel noun derived from the primary conjugation exists v^^2, -which is also masculine.
The verb UJIlv to clothe, has a secondary conjugation by the Jl prefixed to the stem, whence is derived the feminine noun r\\l?^7Jl a garment. The verb \ri7 occurs also in the Assyrian language, but the JH of its secondaiy conju- gation is inserted between the first and second radicals, /* ■^>- T lat-bu-su, they clothed or covered. The Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A., is the only writer on Assyrian grammar who lias drawn attention to the structure of the secondary conjugation of Assyrian verbs by prefixing the ]1 to the root.** It is beyond the scope of my paper to discuss the Assyrian verbs, which are referred to only for the liglit they reflect on the secondary conjugations of verbs in the Hebrew language, and I have no intention to intrude a lexicon of all these secondary conjugations of the Hebrew language on the Society, under guise of a paper explanatory of then forms.
1 Heb. Lex. sub voce ^fc^H. ' ^'j'*^- t^lH. ^ I^i'^l- Pl'^D. ■* Assyrian Grammar, p, 110.
A r\ Conjugation, <^-c. 101
The Phcenician Language.
The fragments of tlie Phoenician language which are known to us consist of —
a. Inscriptions written by natives in the Phoenician
character ; and /3. Portions of dialogue in the Poenulus of Plautus.
A brief account of each will be given.
a. Inscriptions loritten hy Natives in tlie Phoenician Character.
These inscriptions are very difficult to read and translate, from the following circumstances : —
1. The characters are difficult, for some are much alike,
as those for ^ and tl^ ; and 1, 1, and ■^.
2. The Phoenicians did not group the letters into words.
3. The consonants only are wa-itten.
4. An incompleted word at the end of one line is carried
on to the next line without a mark to show that the word is incomplete.
These circumstances allo"w great latitude to the student in grouping the letters into words, and consequently affect the translation. The short votive tablets are of course less affected than the long inscriptions of Sidon and Marseilles. There is much agreement in all the translations, and those of the profoundest Hebrew scholars differ chiefly in details. My inquiry is limited to the vestiges of ]! conjugations which are obvious to an Assyrian scholar.
The word jf^^Hi^i occurs in a votive inscription wliicli has been translated and discussed by Gesenius, who identifies the word with Qi!1i^.^ of Isaiah ix, 18.^ He rightly describes the word as the third person feminine of the Niphal preterite, and translates it combustus est.
I have shown under the Hebrew word D^^i^J?, tliat the il is the chaj'acteristic of the secondary conjugation, that the Qal secondary conjugation is DHi^ of the Qal primary con- jugation QIJ^.
^ Script. Ling. Plicon. Monumenta, p. 452.
102 -1 n Conjugation, ^-c.
The final ^^ Gesenius shows to be a feminine form inter- chang-eable with n, J^^s Hlli^ ^^^^ t^lli? are both used as feminines of T^J^, ^
The word "^^HD^ occurs in the 29th inscription from Kitimn, contained in Gesenius' great work. It is a votive inscription, wliich he has translated and discussed.
Gesenius takes the word to be the Hithpahel participle of "^^D, clausit.- The vei'b "^^D, to surround, enclose, shut in, is a well-known verb in Hebrew, Chaldee, and Syriac. The cognate "^IlD in Assyrian is also well known in the same sense. The sense clausit then may be accepted as the sense of the verb in Phoenician. The word is doubtless a participle, but the word cannot bear a Hithpahel sense in the passage, and is not generally accepted.
Fih-st rejects it, and considers the verb to be like certain Hebrew verbs constituted by Pii^,^ These verbs and their derivatives I have shown to be secondary or ]! conjugations of principal verbs. And the participle ")^riD^ is derived from the secondary conjugation l^inD of the primary con- jugation i;iD, to shut in.
/S. Portions of Dialogue in the Poenulus of Plautus.
These portions of dialogue are difficult to read from the following cu'cumstances, although there is a free Latin version annexed,
1. The words are wi'itten in Roman letters, as nearly as those letters could represent Phoenician words to a Roman ear. The Roman alphabet, however, could very imperfectly represent Shemitic words, for —
a. n and H are represented by H. /3. iU, tr, 0, 1, iind ;:J arc represented by S, some- times by Z. 7. 12 and r\ are represented by T. B. '3, p, and sometimes n tire represented by C.
' Script. Ling. Phcen. Monumcnta, p. 410. - Ibid. p. 150.
3 Furst's Heb. Lex. sub voce 7i«5nr^5.
A ]1 Conjugation, ^x. 103
2. The letters are not grouped into words.
3. The vowel-sounds of the Phoenician are expressed by
the ordinary vowels of the Latin, as pronounced by Plautus, of course the pronunciation of his age.
4. The dialogue has been corrupted, probably by the
carelessness of scribes, for the text varies in different editions.
I^hese circumstances occasion diversity in the reading and translation, but the foundation was laid by Bochart, and he has been followed in the main. My inquiry is limited to the occurrence of Jl conjugations of verbs in the text.
The word DQ^lTt^, which is a verb in Qal, signifying, / am terrified, occurs in Poenulus iii, 23. I have not met with the word D^tl? in the Phoenician inscriptions, but it is a well- known Hebrew word, signifying / af)n terrified. Assyrian scholars will readily admit DQ^U?S! to be the T\ conjugation of the verb D^UJ.
Fiu'st, under the Hebrew word T'i^Jntl?i<!, says, — " As to the derivation, the word is a noun form which has arisen out of the conjugation of the verb constituted by "H^^ (that may have been more frequent in the earlier period of the language, to judge by the Phoenician), and which is only preserved in some proper names. On this conjugation of the verb con- stituted by 'H^ compare the Phoenician "^-^^Di^, to he shut up (Kit. 29, 2). the futures D?prity^ (estimim) / am terrified (Poen. iii, 23), 7^^ritp« (ysthiyal) / request (ib. i, 2), beside b^'!piii (ysyl) / asl (ib. i, 10) i^TO^ (ityada) / am 2?erceived (ib. i, 8), Q^ynS! (etalam) / am groion up (ib. iii, 23)." And he adds, " of the Hebrew words, ^Nritp«, ^^ITSt, nbnip^^, and i^bntyt«i should therefore be referred to ^^tlS JitlS HnU?, and :irntp."
Fiirst then recognises the inserted Jl, as he calls it, in both the Hebrew and Phoenician languages. The recognition of the form is a great advance in knoAvledge, beyond all pre- ceding grammarians and lexicographers. But he does not appear to hold this new knowledge very firmly, nor to appre- ciate its extent, for in the passage just quoted, in speaking of the Hebrew proper name b'ii^ntlJb^, he says the H form " is
104 -A n ConjtKjatlon, c)x'.
only preserved in some proper names." And yet he has refeiTed to it in the Hebrew verbs DH!^ to hum, "^^^ to ^<^ united, ptl? to rest, *12^ to deepen, pt!? to floir ; and he has referred to certain Phoenician verbs, which I have jnst noticed above.
Fih'st is in error in affirming that the insertion of the H "lias arisen out of the conjugation of the verb constituted by '^\^«{, for in no case does an t^ appear in the words mider consideration, but in every uistance the r\ alone with its subscribed voAvel, or a sllwa is found. There appears 1o be no evidence for the rib^ as the origm of the r\ in such forms. Assyrian scholars to whom the form is familiar have no opinion as to the origin of the jl in Assyrian, and of course none for its origin in any other Shemitic dialect ; indeed they could not have, for the present memoir is the first announce- ment of the existence of jl conjugations in Hebrew, Phoe- nician, and other Shemitic dialects, like those found in the Assp-ian.
The word /t^^t^i^, which is a verb in Q.il, signifying / ash, occm-s in Poeuulus i, 10, and the word T'^^F*^^^) which is a verb in the r\ conjugation of Qal, occurs in Poenulus i. 2. Gesenius, in his commentary on this inscription, renders the former by interrogaho, and the latter by the German erheten werden.^ Thus Gesenius sees that both words belong to the same verb ; he must have seen that both are in Qal, yet he draws no attention to the r\ between the first and second radicals, and offers liis translation of T'^i^ritTt^ by erheten werden, without reference to an authority in justification. The occurrence of this jl indeed appears to have made so little impression on his mind, that he ignores the existence of the form in his Grammatica Phcpnicia et Pimica,^ and omits both words in his index or alphabetical list of Phoeni- cian words. ^
Fiirst, under tlie word 'T'^^rilTi^! in lii.s Hebrew lexicon, refers to certain Phoenician words "constituted by r\^^," inckiding the verb y^^FltTi^, which he rightly connects with
• Script. Ling. Phoeii. Momunciita, p. .370. - Ibid. p. 130.
•^ Ibid. p. 470.
A n Co)iju[/afAon, c)'x'- 105
vb^ipt;^, and appears to think there is a distinction in sense between them, whicli he endeavours to express by render- ing T'^tt?^«t / ask, and T'^?^ltp^^ / request. I qnote from Dr. Davidsons' translation of the third edition of Fiirst's Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon, 1867. Dr. Davidson knows, and most probably Dr. Flirst does too, that the verbs to ask and to request are duplicate words of the same sense, the former being of Anglo-Saxon and the latter of Latin origin. If, therefore, the two Phoenician words differ in sense, that difference is net expressed by the two English words adopted to effect it.
Assyi-ian scholars in T'b^Jltp^^ will recognise the jl conju- gation of v'i^lT^^ to ask.
The Avord i^"l^rii^ occm-s in Poenulns i, 8. Filrst in explainuig the p of 7t^rilIJi^ in his Hebrew lexicon, cites the Phoenician word i^^^rii*^, as one similarly constituted by ni^, but under the Hebrew i^^T^, he refers to the Phoenician, and cites the same word i^'T^ilh^ with an entirelj^ different explanation of the p, for he states the word to be of the " Itpeal " conjugation. He does not offer this as a correction of, and in substitution of his previously stated opinion. He gives no hint of a change of opinion, but leaves the two statements in all their inconsistency to his readers. The jl belongs either to the verbal root, or to the characteristic of the conjugation. It cannot belong to both, and when so profound a Hebrew scholar as Fiirst is in a difficulty, it may safely be inferred to be great. An " Itpeal " conjugation is Aramaic, and the Phoenician verbs are not conjugated after the Aramaic, but after the Hebrew model, "/w variis verbi declinatibus lingua Phcpiiicia ah IJehnra nihil differt,^^^ says Gesenius, and no Phoenician scholar dissents. The statement, then, of Fiirst, that the word i^l^^riir;^ is an Ithpeal, is to be rejected.
The r\ of i?Tnt^ belongs to the root, and shows it to be the secondary or jl conjugation of V^l* The jl of the jl conjugations in Assyrian is mostly placed between the first and second radicals. It occupies the same position in the
^ Script. Ling. Phcen. Momimentn, p. 438.
106 A r\ Conjugation, ^-c.
examples Avbich I have quoted from tlie Hebrew and the Phoenician. But in this example the il precedes the first radical, but it may not have preceded it in Phoenician utter- ance, or in native Phoenician writing. Now if Plautus, unaided by Phoenician orthography, simply endeavoured to express in Roman letters the sound of the word as he heard it, the n might either follow or precede the fh-st radical, and the two sounds given to the word would be so alike, that few l)ut a practised Phoenician ear would distinguish them. I subjoin the two orthographies —
i^Tr*^? as written in Plautus. i^'iri"]^*!, as ANTitten by a Phoenician.
Considering the well known facts of the Ass}Tian orthography of the T\ conjugations of Assyrian verbs, and those Hebrew and Phoenician r\ conjugations to which I have drawn atten- tion, I have no hesitation in correcting the orthography in Poenulus to i^lj7*?^»
The word D73^ilt^ occurs in Poenulus iii, 23. Fiirst states the n of the Hebrew word T'^^HIT^^ to be inserted and cites the word D7i^nt<^, among other Phoenician examples of the inserted ]1. He omits, however, to state that the H is inserted before the first radical, while in all the words, except J^T'ni^ as cited by him, it is inserted between the first and second radicals.
Gesenius, Fiirst, and Shemitic scholars in general, consider the most ancient pronunciation of J^, both in Phoenician and Hebrew, to have been o = the Greek w. The Hebrew ^ had two sounds, as shown by the transliteration of Hebrew proper names in the LXX, who represented one by the sjmntus lenis, as p'^Si? e(f)pcov, the other by 7, as Tl'^V, ja^a, and these indicate the ain and ghain of the Arabic; language as the two sounds. Gesenius states the 7 sound of ^ to be rare both in Hebrew and Phoenician.^ The JT of Oh^ a youth (1 Sam. XX, 22), is from Q?i^, of which D^^ is a variant, which indicates the y to be pronoimced soft,
' Script. Ling. Pliron. Moimmontrt, p. 130.
A p\ Conjugation, ^-c. 107
The y having the soft sound, it is quite clear that the pronunciation of the word to the speaker and its sound to the hearer would scarcely be affected, whether the r\ of the secondary conjugation were inserted before or after the first radical. This fact may easily be verified by pronouncing the word as written in both ways.
D^i^nt^ as transliterated from the text of Plautus. Q^iiyi^ as written by a Phoenician.
In Assyrian J^'^Q verbs the characteristic Jl of the secondary conjugations, as in perfect verbs, is inserted between the first and second radicals. It is so inserted in the word DHi^i which occurs both in Hebrew and Phoenician. And therefore it is better to infer that Plautus or his trans- literator is in error, than to suppose an exceptional ortho- gi'aphy by a Phoenician writer.
The Chaldee Language.
The Hebrew participle 'j'^rnll??^ bas been proved to be derived from the secondary conjugation of ptT, and reference made to the Chaldee word ]Pi^'
In Buxtorf's Rabinnical Dictionary, certain forms of the word are registered which do not occur in the Bible.
]nt2}» ppiprr, Mingere, Urijiam reddere.
]rit2?, Urina.
n^rilL^n, Mictio, Urina, Urinatio.
These are all forms of tlie secondary or jl conjugation of the verb pti?. The idea that IPU? appears as a new verb in the Mishna and Talmud is to be rejected.
The Chaldee word "^7''ip"l!^ tiaked, is derived from tlio secondary conjugation of the verb ^'^^ to he nalced, which is the cognate of the Hebrew ^^^ to he naked. A 10 is sometimes substituted for a jn? as the characteristic of the secondary conjugation in the Assyrian, and this example shows that such a substitution may have place in the Chaldee.
108 -in Coiijiitjatiou, ()\'.
The Chaldee concave verb 'yn, like tliose of the Assyrian and Hebrew languages, has the characteristic Jl of its secondary conjugation prefixed to the stem, as appears fi-ora the feminine derivative ^'^''"m continuance, duration.
The Striac Language.
The S^iiac word •■-^^i^ nah'd, is the same as the Chaldee '^7''lP1;^, and what is said of the latter is applicable to the former. The word is a derivative of the secondary conju- gation of ^^. Fiirst cites the word as having a 4 (,10) inserted in the root.^
The Arabic Language.
*Ii cestris ingens is cognate with the Hebrew UTSV, and is derived from the secondary conjuga- tion of \^ to hum, consume, the characteristic sj:j being inserted after the first radical.
The Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A., has already drawer attention to the characteristic cLi of the secondary conjugation being prefixed to some stems.^
I have cited examples of the secondary conjugation of Hebrew verbs in Qal, Niplial, Pihel, and Hiphil, built up by a ri, either inserted in, or prefixed to the root. I have shown by examples that secondary conjugations exist in the Phoenician, Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic languages. Hence there is abundant evidence, that secondary conjugations are not confined to the AssjTian language, but constitute an essential part of Shemitic speech.
Dr. Oppert treats the Jl of the secondary conjugations in Assyrian as a servile. If it be a servile in Assyrian, it must be a sei*vile in Hebrew and the other dialects. Fiirst, evidently unacquainted with Assyrian, speaks of an enlarge- ment of the root by Ty^, so that he takes the H to be radical,
' Heb. Lex. snb voce 'Wi^, " Assyvian Giamrnar, p. J 10.
A pi Coiijur/dtioii, c5"f.
109
as do all the lexicographers who register such secondary forms as n|77'^^ under jl hi then lexicons. The discussion of the question whether the ]! is radical or servile, I postpone. The letter jl, whether radical or servile, is of course a fragment of some word, and represents some value in the conjugations. It cannot be the Aramaic ril>^, for that has a passive sense, and the word is yet unknown which the Aramaic preforraant represents. I postpone also the discus- sion of this question.
110
COINCIDENCE OF THE HISTORY OF EZRA WITH THE FIRST PART OF THE HISTORY OF NEHEMIAH
By Rev. Damel Henry Haigii, M.A., F.R.S.L. Read 4th February, 1873.
Artaxerxes, son of Xerxes and Amestris, follows his fathei' in the Canon of Ptolemy, B.C. 465, at Babylon ; but he must have been king some years earlier in Persia (probably assumed into coregency by liis father), for Thucydides speaks of him as reigning at the time of Themistocles' flight to Persia, B.C. 474-3.^ Yet it is said that he was but a boy when his father was murdered, and that he did not actually take the throne until some months afterwards.
It is generally admitted that Xerxes is the Ahasuerus of the Book of Esther ; and, (although this does not affect the question which is the object of this paper), I think that Amestris is no other than Esther. The name of Amestris is assuredly Shemitic, iHD^^^i^,^ and contains that of the Assyrian goddess Istar, as that of ^^Tl^ contains the name of ]\Iaruduk : these facts can excite no surprise, when we consider that there is not a trace of the religion of Israel in the whole Book of Esther. The time of Amestris is the time of Esther. The massacre instigated by Esther in B.C. 474, of 800 men in Shushan, and 75,000 in the provinces, surpasses everything that has been related of the cruelties of Amestris, and would be more than enough to brand her memory in Persia with a stigma of everlasting hatred.
The union of Ahasuerus and Esther was in Tebetli (December) B.C. 479. If Esther and Amestris be one, the
1 I. 98, 137
2 Analogous to niHITi^i^.
Coincidence of the History of Ezra, S)-c.
Ul
birth of Artaxerxes miglit be in Tisliri or Marcliesvan B.C. 478, and he would be in the thirteenth year of his age at the time of the murder of his father. A coHation of the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah shows that there were two computations of his regnal years, and that the Persian, used by Nehemiah, was thirteen years in advance of the Babylonian, used by Ezra : as if, (a supposition by no means unlikely), he had had the royal dignity conferred on him at his birth. •This colla- tion clearly establishes the fact that Nehemiah accompanied Ezra to Jerusalem.
EZRA.
ch.
vii
i, 15.] In the 7th year of Artaxerxes, on the 1st day of the month Nisan, Ezra set out from Babylon,
ii, li.J bearing a letter from the king authorising the Jews to return to Jeru- salem, and commanding the treasui'ers beyond the river to give him silver, wheat, wine, oil, and salt, for the service of the tem- ple in Jerusalem.
iii, 15.] He gathered his com- pany together to the river
ch
viii
NEHEMIAH.
X l] In the 20th year, in the month Chisleu (November), Nehemiah was in Shushan. Hanani brought him intelli- gence that his brethren in Jerusalem were in great affliction, and that the wall was broken down. He set himself to fast and pray, that he might find grace with the kmg.
li," 1.] In the 20th year of Artaxerxes, in the month Nisan, he made request to
if/ 3.] the king (the queen also sitting by him) for permis- sion to go and build Jeru- salem. The king granted him letters of protection to the governors beyond the river, and a letter to the keeper of the royal forest for timber for the gates of the palace, and the wall, and his own house. (As this is not said to have
112
Coincidence of the Historii of Ezra with the
EZRA.
that runneth to Ahava, and abode in tents 3 days. He found that they had no Levites in their company, and he sent for some to Iddo at Casiphia.
ii, 21. J He found also that he needed the protection of a band of soldiers and horsemen, for ^vhich he had been ashamed to ask the king, so they fasted
Ui 23.1 ^^^ besought God for this, and then* prayer was heard. Tiii, 36.] He departed from Ahava on the 12 th day of Nisan.
He arrived in Jeru- salem on the 1st day of
i, 8. ] Ab, and abode there , 32.] 3 days.
ch
viii
ch
Tii
ch
viii
Ii, 36.] On the 4th day the king's commission was de- livered to the king's lieutenants.
KEHEmAH. occurred at Shushan, it may have been at Babylon).
9.] The king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with him.
He came to Jerusalem (as we shall see) on the
ii, li.] 1st day of Ab, and was there 3 days. Dm'ing this time he surveyed the walls by night.
ii,' 18.] Then (on the 4th day) he told the rulers and the people the king's commis- sion, and exhorted them to begin the work of building the wall. The work Avas begmi, and
J^^; \^-] finished on the 25th of Elul, in 52 days. (It had, therefore, been com- menced on the 4th of Ab ; consequently Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem on the 1st of Ab).
first 'part of the History of Neliemiah.
113
EZRA.
, 9.] Ezra gave thanks to God before an assembly of the people, because the temple and the wall were built.
NEHEJVnAH.
He made his brother Hanani, and Hananiah, rulers of Jerusalem, and designing to make an assembly of nobles, and rulers, and people, he Tii, 6.] found a register of those who returned with Zerubbabel.
TJii, 1.] On the 1st day of Tisri, Ezra read the law before all the people from morning until noon, and the Feast of Tabernacles was kept.
It is evident, then, that Ezra set out first on the journey, that Nehemiah jouied him at Ahava, with the escort for wliich he had prayed, and that they came together to Jerusalem ; but Ezra, coming from Babylon, calls it the seventh year, and Nehemiah, commencing his story at Shushan, the twentieth. If Ezra's computation was from the date of Artaxerxes' accession at Babylon, about July B.C. 465, the date of the journey was Nisan B.C. 458 ; and as this month and Chisleu preceding belonged to the twentieth year in Persia, the earlier Persian computation would commence in or before Chisleu B.C. 478, i.e.^ during the first year of Esther's reign,
Nehemiah was at Jerusalem for twelve years. In the thirty-second year he was summoned to retm-n to the king, whose thirty-second year in Persia would partly coincide with his nineteenth at Babylon.
During the reign of Darius II, i.e. before B.C. 405, and after the death of the High-priest Eliashib, i.e.., after B.C. 414, Nehemiah visited Jerusalem again.
Vol. II.
114
KEMARKS UPON A TERRA-COTTA VASE. By Rev. J. M. Rodwell, M.A.
Read February 4:lh, 1873.
The circular Terra-Cotta Vase, about seven, iuches broad and two and a half inclies in depth, with a small central boss, concerning which I am about to make a few remarks, was found at Hillah, near the supposed site of the ancient Babylon. It was discovered after a very liigh wind, which had laid bare a portion of one of the ancient mounds by the removal of a large quantity of superincumbent sand, and was taken from its long resting place by Mr. Shemtob, the Arab gentleman who sold it to the British ^Museum.
This bowl bears a considerable similarity to a number of terra-cotta bowls in the Assyrian Gallery of the Museum, which are deeper, indeed, but of similar material with that now before us, and, like it, inscribed internally with magical inscriptions in the Hebrew, or rather Chaldee square cha- racter; and it is supposed that all these were, probably, alike used for the purpose of purifications or lustral sprink- lings of water during mcantations or other rites connected with some mode of divination. But unfortunately, though \ve have abundant information as to certain lustral rites in connection with sacrifices among both Greeks and Romans, Especially the latter, yet there is scarcely any point on which ancient authorities have handed down to us so little information, as that of then mode of divining, and making charms, by water and hy cups or hoiols. This mode, however, of forecasting the future, and of warding off apprehended evil, seems to have been practised very extensively, traces of it being found in ancient India, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and even among the Jews as early as the days of Joseph, of whose divining cup Ave read m Gen. xliv, " Is not this my
Heniarks tipon a Terra- Cotta Vase. 115
lord's cup whereby he divineth?" Perhaps this terra-cotta vase, taken in connection with the others in the British Mnseum, may enable us to add Babylonia to the list of those countries where cyatho, or kvXlko fMavreia—cniJ or bowl divi- nation— was practised. I will first of all briefly state what the modes of this divination were, and then offer, but with much diffidence, a suggestion as to the use to which this lustral bowl (for such I suppose it to be) • may have been put. The earliest mention of divination by cups is of course that already alluded to in the first Book of Moses. The word there used is ti?ni cognate with tl^nT"? the fundamental significa- tion of which is to utter a low, whispering and hissing sound, and hence, to jjj'actise enchantment hy muttenng magical formulai ; and then, in a general sense, to augur and divine. It is thus used twice m Gen. xlv, and once again in Gen. xxx, 27, where Laban says to Jacob, / have consulted divination and the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake, strangely enough ren- dered in our version, / have learned hy experience that, S)-c., in which our translators no doubt followed Jerome's experimento didici, not bemg aware probably that experimentmn means augury, as in the usual Latin phrase {e.g. Liv. 1, 36) " experui augurio."
It was by a cup or !^^^^ that Joseph was in the habit of divining ; and it is remarkable that the Septuagint translators should have rendered the Hebrew ^''l^ or cup by Kovhv, which Athenseus (Deip. ii, 55) explains by TroTTjpiov aaiariKov, and Hesychius by TroTrjptov ^apjSapLKov. This word kovBu, in the sense of cup, has also become natui-alised in Arabic and Persian, and, according to authorities quoted by Bohlen in his Alte Indien, this was the name of the mystical saucers or dishes used by the ancient Indian Priests in their religious ceremonies ; to which Wilson, in the Asiatic Researches (vol. V, 357), adds, that they were made in the form of a lotus flower, from which the libation was made. Athenaeus also speaks of the kovSv as being used in Egypt in religious ceremonies, as does Jamblichus (iii, 14) ; where Norden, the German traveller, records that he witnessed a kind of fortune- telhng by dishes of water in modern times. If the vessel now before us has any connection with the lotus-shaped
116 Remarks upon a Terra-Cotta Vase.
vessels alluded to above, it is just possible that the boss in the centre may originally have been meant for the' pistils and stamens of that flower, and it is curious that Athen^us in describing different kinds of patellse, mentions those which have a boss, 6/LL(f)d\o<; or fxeaoix^aXo^, in the centre (xi, p. 357).
Pliny also (xxx, 2) gives us some information as to divina- tion by Avater as knoAvn to him. One mode of it was by putting small plates of gold or silver, or precious stones, with the likeness of the inquii-er, into a sacred bowl, and the answer of the dfemon or spirit depended for its good or bad signifi- cance on the manner in which the image was refracted on the surflice. Another mode was by fastening a ring to a thread, and suspending it over the water in the cup. The ring by its varying percussions on some part of the bowl would reveal the things inquired about.
The water which this bowl now before us contained, may possibly have been di'ank, and the inscription may have been supposed to impregnate and charge it ^\\\\\ a kind of talis- manic virtue. But the thickness of the lip seems to militate against that supposition. I would rather suggest that a rotatory motion may have been given to it at the centre by twisting it with the finger and thumb, or by means of a string, and so the water sprinkled as a kind of lustration, or charm, and possibly (though this is merely conjecture) con- nected with or preparatory to some mode of divination. That it was used for some such purpose as this is obvious from the inscription, which is partly Hebrew, partly Chaldee, and partly Rabbinic Hebrew, the majority of the words being of the two latter classes. It has been deciphered by myself and Mr. Drach, to whom I have submitted the following version, in the general accuracy of which he concurs. It is as follows :—
fc^nn^u?«i i^^ii^ b^rjD^T x^T\pn M'^'2V^ rw^': '\\tT\rh'2 nn:i-T «>2t^^"Ti"i -t^"i^i^-[ j-^ni^p-n j^^mi t^r^S^:!?'!
• Vide Buxtorf, p. 830, Lex. Esib. ; also p. 654. ■ Ibid. 4to., Cbald. Lex., p. 277. 3 Ibid. Lex. Rab., p. 712.
Remarks upon a Terra-Cotta Vase. 117
nriDni ^^-y^w piiiD^i ]iir2:i vn:nT ]in^^>« p^«i
i:«i!j^n mi^^'tzr rh^ ^!^ur«^ Q^^m^^ii p-ir^m
a« ^iii"! ^^^:?-r b^n:)i^ ^dd n^^:: «im t^i^iD
«Q^ir vi:\rr{ t^im:^ '
(thrice) i^ or p' (thrice) t^^ (t^vdce) Q *
i:ir.iir ^v' np np np np
" As to the serpent oblivion, so to that which serves us [may there be] direction, and to the unclean that which drives it away ; and peace and discernment of mercy and of offerings and of things [that may be] foolish ; and exalta- tion of things that [may be] great, and of companies [or assemblies] and of servant (?) and servants (?). May it be against pains and omens and for deaths of all kinds, stupor from all kinds of miasmas in the world, all of them. These even these are their propitiations and remedial offerings, their termination and their redemption, and then binding and opening, and their being invalidated from bodies, and the supporter of all joy, the remover of heats and ailments from constellations,'' which is the way that leads us to the stars, and it shineth above all stars of the great world
[macrocosm] \tioo inches of ivriting obliterated^ if
outcries of the world. May His ineffable name be blessed. Amen, Amen, Selah. Take, Take, Take, Take."
It need excite no sm'prise that a mixture of Hebrew, Rabbinic Hebrew, and Chaldee should be in familiar use in the neighbourhood of Babylon, even at a late period, when
1 Buxt. p. 1939. 2 Ibid. p. 1648.
* Inserted in a smaller hand above the running line. ■* Two inches here obliterated. '" ? Magical letters.
'' The word is mlnaster. Is this a corrupt form of aarrjp or Ishtai* or Mazzaroth ?
118 Remarks upon a Terra- Cotta Vase.
we recollect the number of Jews who were there settled and that it became, about the year 230 of the Christian ^ra — after the death of R. Jehuda the Holy — the seat of a school of learning, and that the Babylon Talmud thence arose. But we must suppose that a vase of this Jdnd could have been used bv those only who had fallen into the belief of some strange admixture of Judaism and Heathenism. The internal evidence of the dialects used forbid us to assign to this vase a veiy early date.
Note on Mr. RodweWs Patera Paper.
The G'biah iT^n:! (not 0^'2\ for Joseph's divination (ti^n::) cup, is supposed by the Hebrew autliorities to have been (comp. nj^Xl and fZo?)ie-shaped hills) of longish shape, which by striking indicated the birth-rank of Joseph's brothers (Gen. xliii, 33) — a curious proof of the Rabinnical antiquity of sphit-rapping. It is tai-gumized as "^3Jlit«5 or fc^l^T5 for the pm-pose of pli or '^"'^l?. Jarclii calls it " IDl'^lt^, — query old French name MDIRNU." Perhaps these words may be found ill the cuneiform tablets, and they are therefore here recorded.
S. M. Drach.
i
Tc focc pa(jclI8 .
-'■^^
TK.llHA COTTA VA&K FROM Hill. All
'^.
c
119
SYNCHRONOUS HISTORY OF ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA.
By Kev. a. H. Sayce, M.A.
Read March 4>ik, 1873.
Introduction.
The following translations are made from a number of fragments that once formed part of a tablet which recorded the intercourse, amicable or otherwise, between Assyi-ia and Babylonia from an early period. A large part of the tablet is unfortunately lost to us ; but enough remains to afford a valuable basis for the chronological arrangement of the later kings of the two countries. The work was not a long one, as the various notices are given in the digest and shortest analistic form. Unlike the larger part