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 L161— O-I096 
 
THE CHALDEAN ACCOUNT OF THE DELUGE. 
 
 ^llc^. — — 
 
 When the Britisli Museum Series of Photographs was 
 executed, on the suggestion and according to the scheme 
 of Mr. C. Harrison,* I had not discovered the Deluge Tablet, 
 and for that reason they were not included in the Series. 
 
 This great and valuable work has, however, been sup- 
 plemented by the publication of Photographs of various 
 Antiquities of importance which have come to light since the 
 publication of the larger work, and to these are now added 
 the Deluge Tablets. 
 
 To illustrate this text, the principal fragments of the 
 three copies of the Legend have been arranged to form two 
 photographs ; one forming the front of the Tablets, the other 
 the back. 
 
 The following description of the Tablets, and translation 
 of their contents, is taken from my paper read before the 
 BibUcal Archaeological Society, December 3, 1872 : — 
 
 From the Mythical and Mythological section of Assyrian 
 texts I obtained a number of tablets, giving a curious series of 
 legends and including a copy of the story of the Flood. On 
 discovering these documents, which were much mutilated, I 
 searched over all the collections of fragments of inscriptions, 
 consisting of several thousands of smaller pieces, and ulti- 
 mately recovered 80 fragments of these legends ; by the aid 
 of which I was enabled to restore nearly all the text of the 
 description of the Flood, and considerable portions of the 
 other legends. These tablets were originally at least twelve 
 in number, forming one story or set of legends, the account 
 of the Flood being on the eleventh tablet. 
 
 Of the inscription describing the Flood, there are frag- 
 ments of thi'ee copies containing the same text ; these copies 
 belong to the time of Assurbanipal, or about 660 years before 
 the Christian era, and they were found in the library of that 
 monarch in the palace at Nineveh. 
 
 The original text, according to the statements on the 
 tablets, must have belonged to the city of Erech, and it 
 appears to have been either written in, or translated into the 
 Semitic Babylonian, at a very early period. The date when 
 this document was first written or translated, is at present 
 very difficult to decide, but the following are some of the 
 evidences of its antiquity : — 
 
 1st. The three Assyrian copies present a number of variant 
 readings, which had crept into the text since the original 
 documents were written. 
 
 2nd. The forms of the characters in the original docu- 
 ments were of an ancient type, and the Assyrian copyist did 
 not always know their modern representatives, so he has 
 left some of them in their original hieratic form. 
 
 * Series of Photographs from the Collections of the British Museum, 
 published by permission of the Trustees. The objects selected and catalogued 
 by A. W. Franks, M.A., V.P.S.A., S. Birch, LL.D., F.S.A., George Smith, and 
 Walter de Gray Birch ; with an Introduction by Charles Harrison, Photographs 
 by Stephen Thompson. London : W. A. Mansell & Co. 
 
 3rd. There are a number of sentences which were originally 
 glosses explanatory of the subjects ; before the Assyrian 
 copies were made these glosses had been already incorporated 
 in the text and their original use lost. 
 
 It must here be noted that the Assyrian sciibe has 
 recorded for us the divisions of the lines on the original 
 documents. 
 
 On examining the composition of the text, some marked 
 peculiarities are apparent, which likewise show its high 
 antiquity. One of these is the constant use of the personal 
 pronoun nominative. In later times this was usually indi- 
 cated by the verbal form, but not expressed. On comparing 
 the Deluge text with dated texts from the time of Sargon I, 
 it appears to be older than these, and its original composition 
 cannot be placed later than the seventeenth century before 
 the Christian era ; while it may be much older. The text 
 itself professes to belong to the time of a monarch whose 
 name written in monograms, I am unable to read phonetically, 
 I therefore provisionally call him by the ordinary values of 
 the signs of his name, Izdubar. 
 
 Izdubar, fi'om the description of his reign, evidently 
 belonged to the Mythical period; the legends given in 
 these tablets, the offer of marriage made to him by the 
 goddess Ishtar, the monsters living at the time, Izdubar's 
 vision of the gods, his journey to the translated Sisit, 
 with a cmious account of a mythical conquest of Erech 
 when the gods and spirits inhabiting that city, changed 
 themselves into animals to escape the fury of the conqueror : 
 all these things and many others show the unhistorical 
 nature of the epoch. From the heading of the tablets giving 
 his history, I suppose that Izdubar lived in the epoch imme- 
 diately followmg the Flood, and I thhik, like"nase, that he 
 may have been the founder of the Babylonian monarchy, 
 perhaps the Nimrod of Scripture. This however is pure 
 conjecture ; so many fabulous stories were current in Baby- 
 lonia respecting Izdubar, that his existence may even be 
 doubted. The fragments of the history of Izdubar, so far as 
 I have at present examined them, remind me of the exploits 
 and labours of Hercules, and, on the supposition that our 
 present version of Berosus is correct as to dates, Izdubar 
 may have been placed about 30,000 years before the Ckristian 
 era. No document can belong to so remote an age. The 
 legends of Izdubar and the account of the Flood must how- 
 ever belong to a very early period, for there are references 
 to the story in the bilingual lists which were composed in 
 Babylonia during the early Chaldean empires. 
 
 The question might here be asked, " How is it that we 
 find an early Chaldean document from Erech transported to 
 Nineveh, copied, and placed in the royal library there ? " On 
 tliis point we can show that it Avas a common custom for the 
 Assyrians to obtain and copy Babylonian works, and a con- 
 siderable portion of Assyi'ian literature consists of these 
 copies of older standard writings. 
 
[ 2 
 
 Assurbanipal, the Assyrian monarch in whose reign the 
 Deluge Tablets were copied, had intimate relations with the 
 city of Erech. Erech remained faithful to him when the rest 
 of Babylonia revolted, and to this city Assurbanij)al restored 
 the famous image of the goddess Nana, which had been 
 carried away by the Elamites one thousand six himdred and 
 thu'ty-five years before. 
 
 In order properly to understand the reason why the 
 nan-ative of the Flood is introduced into the story, it will be 
 necessary to give a short account of the tablets which pre- 
 cede it before giving the translation of the Deluge inscription 
 itself. 
 
 It appears that Izdubar, the hero of these legends, 
 flourished as before stated, in the mythical period soon after 
 the Flood, and the centre of most of his exploits was the 
 city of Erech, now called Warka, which must have been one 
 of the most ancient cities in the world. Four cities only 
 are mentioned in these mscriptions Babel, Erech, Surippak, 
 and Nipur. Tavo of these, Babel and Erech are the first two 
 capitals of Nimrod, and the last one Nipur, according to the 
 Talmud, is the same as Calneh the fourth city of Nimrod. Of 
 the first five tablets of the history of Izdubar I have not 
 recognized any fragments, but in the mass of material which 
 I have collected it is possible that some portions may belong 
 to this part of the story. 
 
 The following passage forms the opening of the sixth 
 tablet, and shows the style of the writing. 
 
 Before giving the translation T must notice, that in various 
 places, the tablets are broken and the texts defective, as I 
 cannot point but each of these defective passages, I will 
 endeavour to indicate them by pausing in my reading. 
 
 1 Belesu, he despised Belesu 
 
 2. like a bull his country he ascended after him 
 
 3. he destroyed him, and his memorial perished 
 
 4. the country was siibdued, and after he took the crown 
 
 5. Izdubar put on his crown, and after he took the crown 
 
 6. for the favour of Izdubar, the princess Ishtar lifted her 
 
 eyes. 
 
 7. And she spake thus, " Izdubar thou shalt be husband 
 
 8. thy word me shall bind in bonds, 
 
 9. thou shalt be husband and I will be thy wife, 
 
 10. thou shalt drive in a cliariot of Ukni stone and gold, 
 
 11. of which its body is gold and splendid its pole ; 
 
 12. thou shalt ride in days of great glory 
 
 13. to Bitani, in Avhich is the country where the pme trees 
 
 grow. 
 
 14. Bitani at thy entrance 
 
 15. to the Euphrates shall kiss thy feet. 
 
 16. There shall be in subjection under thee, kings, lords, and 
 
 princes. 
 
 17. The tribute of the mountams and plains they shall bring 
 
 to thee, taxes 
 
 18. they shall give thee, thy herds and flocks shall bring 
 
 forth twuis 
 
 19 the mule shall be SAvift 
 
 20 in the chariot shall be strong and not weak 
 
 21 in the yoke. A rival shall not be permitted." 
 
 Now Ishtar, who was the same as Venus, was queen of 
 beauty, but somewhat inconstant, for she had already a 
 husband, a deity, called the " Son of Life"; she however led 
 her husband a poor life, and of this Izdubar reminds her in 
 his ansAver to her offer. 
 
 ] 
 
 One of the next exploits of Izdubar and Heabani his 
 servant was the conquest of the Avinged bull, a monster 
 supposed to have existed in those days ; but I must pass 
 over this and other matters, to approach the subject of the 
 Flood. 
 
 In course of time Izdubar, the conqueror of kings and 
 monsters, the ruler of peoples, fell into some illness and came 
 to fear death, man's last great enemy. Now, the Babylonians 
 belicA^ed in the existence of a patriarch named Sisit, the 
 Xisuthrus of the Greeks, who was supposed to have been 
 translated and to have attained to immortality without death. 
 Izdubar, according to the notions of the time, resolved to 
 seek Sisit, to ascertain hoAv he became immortal, that he 
 might attain to a similar honour. The passage reads as 
 follows : — 
 
 1. Izdubar to Heabani his servant 
 
 2. bitterly lamented and lay down on the ground 
 
 3. I the account took from Heabani and 
 
 4. weakness entered into my soul 
 
 5. death I feared and I lay down on the ground 
 6 to find Sisit son of Ubaratutu 
 
 7. the road I was taking and joyfully I went 
 
 8. to the shadows of the mountains I took at night 
 
 9. the gods I saw and I feared 
 
 10 to Sin I prayed 
 
 11. and before the gods my supplication came 
 
 12. peace they gave unto me 
 
 13. and they sent unto me a dream. 
 
 The dream of Izdubar is unfortunately very mutilated, 
 few fragments of it remaining, and his subsequent journey is 
 not in much better condition. It appears that he Avent 
 tlu-ough a number of adventiu-es, and three men are repre- 
 sented, in one place, to be telling each other the story of 
 these adventures. 
 
 After long wanderings, Izdubar falls into company with a 
 seaman named Ur-hamsi, a name similar to the Orchamus of 
 the Greeks. Izdubar and Urhamsi fit out a vessel to continue 
 the search for Sisit, and they sail along for a month and 
 fifteen days, and arrive at some region near the mouth of 
 the Exiphrates, Avliere Sisit was supposed to dwell. In this 
 journey by water there are fresh adventures and, in their 
 course, Urhamsi tells Izdubar of the waters of death, of which 
 he states, " The Avaters of death thy hands will not cleanse." 
 
 At the time when Izdubar and Urhamsi are approaching 
 him, Sisit is sleeping. The tablet here is too mutilated to 
 inform us how they came to see each other, but it appears 
 probable from the context that Sisit was seen in company Avith 
 his A\dfe, a long distance off", separated from Izdubar by a 
 stream. 
 
 Unable to cross this water which divided the mortal from 
 the immortal, Izdubar appears to have called to Sisit and 
 asked his momentous question on life and death. The 
 question asked by Izdubar and the first part of the ansAver 
 of Sisit are lost by the mutilation of the tablet. The latter 
 part of the speech of Sisit, wliich is preserved, relates to the 
 danger of death, its universality, &c. It winds up as follows : 
 " The goddess Mamitu the maker of fate to them their fate 
 has appointed, she has fixed death and life, but of death the 
 day is not known." 
 
 These words, which close the first speech of Sisit, bring us 
 to the end of the tenth tablet ; the next one, the eleventh, 
 is the most important of the series, as it contains the history 
 of the Flood. 
 
The eleventh tablet opens with a f>peech of Iz(Iul)ar, who 
 uoAv asks Sisit how he became immortal, and Si,sit, iu 
 answering, relates the stoiy of the flood and his own piety as 
 the reason why he was translated. The following is the 
 translation of this tablet : — 
 
 1. Izdubar after this manner siiid to Sisit afar off, 
 
 2. " Sisit 
 
 3. The account do thou tell to me, 
 
 4. The accomit do thou tell to me, 
 
 5 to the midst to make war 
 
 6 I come up after thee. 
 
 7. say how thou hast done it, and in the circle of the gods 
 life thou hast gained." 
 
 8. 
 
 9. 
 10. 
 11. 
 
 12. 
 13. 
 14. 
 15. 
 16. 
 17. 
 18. 
 19. 
 20. 
 21. 
 22. 
 23. 
 24. 
 25. 
 26. 
 27. 
 28. 
 29. 
 30. 
 31. 
 32. 
 
 33. 
 34. 
 35. 
 
 51. 
 52. 
 53. 
 54. 
 55. 
 56. 
 57. 
 58. 
 
 59. 
 60. 
 61. 
 62. 
 63. 
 64. 
 
 Sisit after this manner said to Izdubar, 
 
 " I will reveal to thee, Izdubar, the concealed story, 
 
 and the ^dsdom of the gods I will relate to thee. 
 
 The city Sui'ippak the city which thou hast established 
 
 placed 
 
 was ancient, and the gods within it 
 
 dwelt, a tempest their god, the great gods 
 
 Anu 
 
 Bel 
 
 Ninip 
 
 lord of Hades 
 
 then* will revealed in the midst of 
 
 hearing and he spoke to me thus 
 
 Simppakite son of Ubaratutu 
 
 make a great ship for thee 
 
 I t\t11 destroy the sinners and life 
 
 cause to go in the seed of life all of it, to preserve them 
 
 the ship which thou shalt make 
 
 . . . cubits shall be the measure of its length, and 
 
 . . . cubits the amount of its breadth and its height. 
 
 Into the deep launch it." 
 
 I perceived and said to Hea my lord, 
 
 " Hea my lord this that thou commandest me 
 
 I will perform, it shall be done. 
 
 army and host 
 
 Hea opened his mouth and spake, and said to me his 
 servant, 
 
 thou shalt say unto them, 
 
 he has turned from me and 
 
 fixed 
 
 Here there are aboiit fifteen lines entirely lost. The 
 
 absent passage probably described part of the 
 
 building of the ark. 
 
 it 
 
 which in 
 
 strong I brought 
 
 on the fifth day it 
 
 in its circuit 14 measures .... its sides 
 14 measures it measured .... over it 
 
 I placed its roof on it I enclosed it 
 
 I rode in it, for the sixth time I for the seventh 
 
 time 
 
 into the restless deep for the .... time 
 
 its planks the waters within it admitted, 
 
 I saw breaks and holes my hand placed 
 
 three measures of bitumen I poured over the outside, 
 three measures of bitumen I poured over the inside 
 
 three measures the men carrying its baskets took 
 
 they fixed an altar 
 
 65. 1 enclosed the altar the altar for an (^ITering 
 
 56. two measures tlie altar Pazziru the pilot 
 
 for slaughtered oxen 
 
 68. of. iji that day also 
 
 69 altar and grapes 
 
 ''^ like the waters of a river and 
 
 like the day I covered and 
 
 72 when .... covenng my hand placed, 
 
 and Shamas the material of the ship completed, 
 
 74 strong and 
 
 75. reeds I spread al)ove and below. 
 
 76 went in two tliirds of it. 
 
 77. All I possessed I collected it, all I possessed I collected 
 
 of silver, 
 
 78. all I possessed I collected of gold, 
 
 79. all I possessed I collected of the seed of Kfe, tlie whole 
 
 80. I caused to go up into the ship, all my male and female 
 
 servants, 
 
 81. the beasts of the field, the animals of the field, and the 
 
 sons of the army all of them, I caused to go up. 
 
 82. A flood Shamas made, and 
 
 83. he spake saying iu the night, ' I will cause it to rain 
 
 from heaven heavily ; 
 
 84. enter to the midst of the ship, and shut thy door,' 
 
 85. A flood he raised, and 
 
 86. he spake saying in the night, ' I will cause it to rain 
 
 from heaven heavily.' 
 
 87. In the day that I celebrated his festival 
 
 88. the day which he had appomted; fear I had, 
 
 89. I entered to the midst of the ship, and shut my door; 
 
 90. to guide the ship, to Buzursadirabi the pilot, 
 
 91. the palace I gave to his hand. 
 
 92. The raging of a storm in the morning 
 
 93. arose, from the horizon of heaven extending and wide 
 
 94. Vul in the midst of it thundered, and 
 
 95. Nebo and Saru went in front ; 
 
 96. the throne bearers went over mountains and plains ; 
 
 97. the destroyer Nergal overturned ; 
 
 98. Ninip went in front, and cast doAvn ; 
 
 99. the spirits carried destruction ; 
 
 100. in their glory they swept the earth ; 
 
 101. of Vul the flood, reached to heaven; 
 
 102. the bright earth to a waste was turned ; 
 
 103. the surface of the earth, like .... it swept ; 
 
 104. it destroyed all life, from the face of the earth 
 
 105. the strong tempest over the people, reached to heaven 
 
 106. Brotlier saw not his brother, it did not spare the people. 
 
 In heaven 
 
 107. the gods feared the tempest, and 
 
 108. Sought refuge ; they ascended to the heaven of Anu 
 
 109. The gods, like dogs with tails hidden, couched down". 
 
 110. Spake Ishtar a discourse, 
 
 111. uttered tlie great goddess her speech 
 
 112. ' The world to sin has turned, and 
 
 113. then I m the presence of the gods prophecied evil • 
 
 114. when I prophecied in the presence of the gods evil 
 
 115. to evfl were devoted all my people, and I proiAecie'd 
 
 116. thus, ' I have begotten man and let him not 
 
 117. like the sous of the fishes fill the sea.' 
 
 118. The gods concerning the spirits, were weeping with her- 
 
 119. the gods in seats, seated iu lamentation; 
 
 120. covered were their lips for the coming evil. 
 
 121. Six days and nights 
 
 \ 
 
[ 
 
 122. passed, the wind tempest and storm, overwhelmed, 
 
 123. on the seventh day in its course, was calmed the storm, 
 
 and all the tempest 
 
 124. which had destroyed like an earthquake, 
 
 125. quieted. The sea he caused to dry, and the wind and 
 
 tempest ended. 
 
 126. I was carried through the sea. The doer of evil, 
 
 127. and the whole of mankind who turned to sin, 
 
 128. like reeds their corpses floated. 
 
 129. I opened the window and the light broke in, over my 
 
 refuge 
 
 130. it passed, I sat still and 
 
 131. over my refuge came peace. 
 
 132. I was carried over the shore, at the boundary of the sea. 
 
 133. For, twelve measures it ascended over the land. 
 
 134. To the coiuitry of Nizir, went the ship ; 
 
 135. the mountain of Nizir stopped the ship, and to pass 
 
 over it, it was not able. 
 
 136. The first day and the second day, the moimtain of 
 
 Nizir the same. 
 
 137. The third day and the fourth day, the mountain ot 
 
 Nizir the same. 
 
 138. The fifth and sixth, the mountain of Nizir the same. 
 
 139. On the seventh day in the course of it 
 
 140. I sent forth a dove, and it left. The dove went and 
 
 searched and 
 
 141. a resting place it did not find, and it returned. 
 
 142. I sent forth a swallow, and it left. The swallow went 
 
 and searched and 
 
 143. a resting place it did not find, and it returned. 
 
 144. I sent forth a raven, and it left. 
 
 145. The raven went, and the corpses on the waters it saw, 
 
 and 
 
 146. it did eat, it swam, and wandered away, and did not 
 
 return. 
 
 147. I sent the animals forth to the four winds I poured out 
 
 a libation 
 
 148. I built an altar on the peak of the mountain, 
 
 149. by sevens herbs I cut, 
 
 150. at the bottom of them, I placed reeds, pines, andsimgar. 
 
 151. The gods collected at its burning, the gods collected at 
 
 its good burnuig. 
 
 152. the gods like sumbe over the sacrifice gathered, 
 
 153. From of old also, the great God in his course, 
 
 154. the great brightness of Anu had created ; when the gloiy 
 
 155. of these gods, as of Ukni stone, on my countenance I 
 
 could not endure ; 
 
 156. in those days I prayed that for ever I might not endure. 
 
 157. May the gods come to my altar; 
 
 158. may Bel not come to my altar 
 
 159. for he did not consider and had made a tempest 
 
 160. and my people he had consigned to the deep 
 
 161. from of old, also Bel in his course 
 
 162. saw the sliip, and went Bel with anger filled to the 
 
 gods and spirits ; 
 
 163. let not any one come out alive, let not a man be saved 
 
 from the deep. 
 
 164. Ninip liis mouth opened and spake, and said to the 
 
 warrior Bel, 
 
 165. 'who then will be saved,' Hea the words understood, 
 
 166. and Hea knew all things, 
 
 167. Hea his mouth opened and spake, and said to the 
 
 warrior Bel, 
 
 168. 'Thou prince of the gods, warrior, 
 
 169. when thou art angry a tempest thou makest, 
 
 170. the doer of sin did his sin, the doer of evil (Hd his evi], 
 
 171. may the exalted not be broken, may the captive not be 
 
 delivered ; 
 
 172. instead of thee makmg a tempest, may lions increase 
 
 and men be reduced ; 
 
 173. instead of thee making a tempest, may leopards increase, 
 
 and men be reduced ; 
 
 174. instead of thee making a tempest, may a famine happen, 
 
 and the country be destroyed ; 
 
 175. instead of thee making a tempest, may pestilence in- 
 
 crease, and men be destroyed.' 
 
 176. I chd not peer into the wisdom of the gods, 
 
 177. reverent and attentive a dream they sent, and tlie 
 
 wisdom of the gods he heard. 
 
 178. When his judgment was accomplished, Bel went up to 
 
 the midst of the ship, 
 
 179. he took my hand and brought me out, me 
 
 180. he brought out, he caused to brmg my wife to my side, 
 
 181. he purified the country, he established in a covenant 
 
 and took the people 
 
 182. in the presence of Sisit and the people. 
 
 183. When Sisit and his wife and the people to be like the 
 
 gods were carried away, 
 
 184. then dwelt Sisit in a remote place at the mouth of the 
 
 rivers. 
 
 185. They took me and in a remote place at the mouth of 
 
 the rivers they seated me. 
 
 186. When to thee whom the gods have chosen thee, and 
 
 187. the life which thou has sought after, thou shalt gain 
 
 188. tliis do, for six days and seven nights 
 
 189. like I say also, in bonds bind him 
 
 190. the way like a storm shall be laid upon him." 
 
 191. Sisit after this manner, said to his wife 
 
 192. " I announce that the chief who grasps at fife 
 
 193. the way like a storm shall be laid upon him." 
 
 194. His wife after this manner, said to Sisit afar off, 
 
 195. " Purify liim and let the man be sent away, 
 
 196. the road that he came, may he return in peace, 
 
 197. the great gate open, and may he return to his country." 
 
 198. Sisit after tliis manner, said to liis wife, 
 
 199. " The cry of a man alarms thee, 
 
 200. this do, his scarlet cloth place on his head." 
 
 201. And the day when he ascended the side of the ship 
 
 202. she did, his scarlet cloth she placed on his head, 
 
 203. and the day when he ascended on the side of the sliip, 
 The next four lines describe seven things done to Izdubar 
 before he was purified. The passage is obscure and does 
 not concern the flood, so I have not translated it. 
 
 208. Izdubar after tliis manner, said to Sisit afar off, 
 
 209. " This way, she has done, I come up 
 
 210. joyfully, my strength thou givest me." 
 
 211. Sisit after this manner said to Izdubar 
 
 212 thy scarlet cloth 
 
 213 I have lodged thee 
 
 214 
 
 The five following lines, which are mutilated, refer again 
 to the seven matters for purifying Izdubar ; this passage, 
 like the former one, I do not translate. 
 219. Izdubar after this manner said to Sisit afar off 
 220 Sisit to thee may we not come. 
 
 From here the text is much mutilated, and it will be 
 
better to give a g-eiu'val account of its contents than to 
 attempt a strict translation, especially as this part is not so 
 interesting as the former part of the tablet. 
 
 Lines 221 to 223 mention some one who was taken and 
 dAvelt with Death. Lines 224 to 235 give a speech of Sisit to 
 the seaman Urhamsi, directing him how to cure Izdubar, who, 
 from the broken passages, appears to have been suflfering 
 from some form of skin disease. Izdubar was to bo dipped 
 in the sea, when beauty was to spread over his skin once 
 more. In lines 236 to 241 the carrying out of these directions 
 and the cm-e of Izdubar are recorded. 
 
 The tablet then reads as follows : 
 
 242. Izdubar and Urhamsi rode in the boat 
 
 243. where they placed them they rode 
 
 244. His wife after this manner said to Sisit afar off, 
 
 245. " Izdubar goes away, he is satisfied, he performs 
 
 246. that which thou hast given him and returns to his 
 
 countiy." 
 
 247. And he heard, and after Izdubar 
 
 248. he went to the shore 
 
 249. Sisit after this manner said to Izdiibar, 
 
 250. " Izdubar thou goest away thou art satisfied, thou per- 
 
 formest 
 
 251. That which I have given thee and thou returnest to thy 
 
 country 
 
 252. I have revealed to thee Izdubar the concealed story." 
 Lines 253 to 262, which are very mutilated, give the 
 
 conclusion of the speech of Sisit, and then state that after 
 hearing it, Izdubar took great stones and piled them up as a 
 memorial of these events. 
 
 Lines 263 to 289 give in a very mutilated condition sub- 
 sequent speeches and doings of Izdubar and Urhamsi. In 
 this part journeys are mentioned of 10 and 20 kaspu, or 70 
 and 140 miles ; a lion is also spoken of, but there is no further 
 allusion to the flood. These lines close the inscription, and 
 are followed by a colophon which gives the heading of the 
 next tablet, and the statement that this (the Flood Tablet) is 
 the 11th tablet in the series giving the history of Izdubar, 
 and that it is a copy of the ancient inscription. 
 
 Before entering into the details of the tablet, I must first 
 refer to the accounts of the Deluge given in the Bible, and 
 by Berosus, the Chaldean historian, as I shall have to 
 compare these with the Cuneiform record. 
 
 The Biblical account of the Deluge, contained in the 
 sixth to the ninth chapters of Genesis, is of course familiar to 
 us all, so I will only give the outline of the narrative. 
 
 According to the book of Genesis, as man multiplied on 
 the earth, the whole race turned to evil, except the family of 
 Noah. On account of the wickedness of man, the Lord 
 determined to destroy the world by a flood, and gave com- 
 mand to Noah to build an ark, 300 cubits long, 50 cubits 
 broad, and 30 cubits high. Into this ark Noah entered 
 according to the command of the Lord, taking with him his 
 family, and pairs of each animal. After seven days the 
 flood commenced in the 600th year of Noah, the seventeenth 
 day of the second month, and after 150 days the ark rested 
 upon the mountains of Ararat, on the seventeenth day of 
 the seventh month. We are then told that after 40 days 
 Noah opened the window of the ark and sent forth a raven 
 which did not return. He then sent forth a dove, which 
 finding no rest for the sole of her foot, returned to him. Seven 
 days after he sent forth the dove a second time, and she 
 returned to him with an olive leaf in her mouth. Again, 
 
 after seven days, he Hvnt forth the dove which returned to 
 him no more. The Flood was di-ied up in the 601st year, on 
 the first day of the first month, and on th(j twenty-seventh 
 day of till! seccjnd month, Noah removed from the ark and 
 afterwards built an altar and offered saerifie<;s. 
 
 The Chaldean accoinit of the Flood, as given l^y Berosus, 
 I have taken from Cory's Ancient Fragments, page 26 to 29, 
 as follows : — 
 
 "After the death of Ardates, his son Xisuthrus reigned 
 eighteen sari. In his time happened a great Deluge, the 
 history of which ia thus described : The Deity, Cronf)S, 
 appeared to him in a vision, and warned him that upon the 
 fifteenth day of the month Dfcsius, there would be a flood, 
 by which mankind would be destroyed. He, therefore, 
 enjoined him to write a history of the beginning, procedure, 
 and conclusion of all tlungs ; and to bury it in the City of the 
 Sun at Sippara ; and to build a vessel, and take with him into 
 it his friends and relations ; and to convey on board every- 
 thing necessary to sustain life, together with all the different 
 animals, both birds and quadnipeds, and trust himself fear- 
 lessly to the deep. Having asked the Deity whither he was 
 to sail ? he was answered, ' To the Gods ; ' upon wliicli ho 
 offered up a prayer for the good of mankind. He then obeyed 
 the Divine admonition, and built a vessel five stadia hi length, 
 and two in breadth. Into tliis he put everything which ho 
 had prepared : and last of all conveyed into it his vdfe, his 
 cliildren, and his friends. 
 
 " After the Flood had been upon the earth, and was in 
 time abated, Xisuthrus sent out birds from the vessel, which 
 not finding any food, nor any place whereupon they might 
 rest their feet, returned to him again. After an interval of 
 some days he sent them forth a second time, and they now 
 returned with their feet tmged with mud. He made a trial 
 a third time with these birds, but they returned to him no 
 #"inore : from whence he judged that the surface of the earth 
 had appeared above the waters. He, therefore, made an 
 opening in the vessel, and upon lookuig out found that it was 
 stranded upon the side of some mountain, upon which he im- 
 mediately quitted it with his wife, his daughter, and the 
 pilot. Xisuthrus then paid his adoration to the earth, and 
 having constructed an altar, offered sacrifices to the gods, 
 and, with those who had come out of the vessel with liim, 
 disappeared, 
 
 " They, who remained within, finding that their com- 
 panions did not return, quitted the vessel with many lamenta- 
 tions, and called continually on the name of Xisuthrus. Him 
 they saw no more ; but they could distmguish liis voice in 
 the air, and could hear liim admonish them to pay due regard 
 to religion ; and likewise informed them that it was upon 
 account of his piety that he was translated to live with the 
 gods, that his wife, and daughter, and the pilot, had obtained 
 the same honour. To this he added, that they should return 
 to Babylonia, and as it was ordained, search for the writings 
 at Sippara, which they were to make known to all mankind ; 
 moreover, that the place wherein they then were, Avas the 
 land of Armenia. 
 
 " The rest having heard these words, offered sacrifices to 
 the gods, and taking a circuit, journeyed towards Babylonia. 
 
 " The vessel being thus stranded in Armenia, some part 
 of it yet remains m the Corcyreean mountains." 
 
 In pages 33 and 34 of Cory's Fragments there is a second 
 version, as follows : — 
 
 " And then Sisithrus. To him the deity Cronos foretold that 
 
[ G J 
 
 that on the fifteenth day of tlie month Daisiue there would 
 be a deluge of rain : and he commanded him to deposit all 
 the writings whatever which were in his possession, in the 
 City of the Sun at Sippara. Sisithrus when he had complied 
 with these commands, sailed immediately to Armenia, and 
 was presently inspired by God, Upon the third day after 
 the cessation of the rain Sisithrus sent out birds, by way of 
 expeiinient, that he might judge whether the flood had 
 subsided. But the birds passing over an unbounded sea, 
 without finding any place of rest, returned again to Sisithrus. 
 This he repeated Avith other birds. And when upon the 
 third trial he succeeded, for the birds then returned with 
 their feet stained with mud, the gods translated him from 
 among men. With respect to the vessel, which yet remains 
 in Armenia, it is a ciistom of the inhabitants to form bracelets 
 and amulets of its wood." 
 
 There are several other accounts of the Flood in the 
 traditions of different ancient nations ; these, however, are 
 neither so full nor so precise as the account of Berosus, and 
 their details so far as they are given differ more from the 
 Biblical narrative, so I shall not notice them now, but pass 
 at once to the examination of the text. 
 
 In comparing the text of the Deluge Tablet with the 
 accounts in the Bible and Berosus, the first point that meets 
 us is the consideration of the proper names. This is the 
 least satisfactory part of the subject, for, while the Greek 
 forms show variant readings and have evidently been cor- 
 rupted, the Ctmeiform names, on the other hand being 
 written mostly in monograms are difficult to render pho- 
 netically. The father of the hero of the Flood bears in the 
 inscriptions the name Ubara-tutu which ought to correspond 
 to one of the Greek forms, Otiartes or Ardates, the resem- 
 blance however cannot be called a close one. The hero of 
 the Flood I have provisionally called Sisit ; he corresponds, 
 of course, to the Greek Xisuthrus, but no comparison of the 
 two names can be made until we know the phonetic reading 
 of the Cuneiform name. Neither the Cuneiform nor the 
 Greek names appear to have any connection with the Biblical 
 Lamech and Noah. In the opening of the account of the 
 Flood there is a noticeable difference between the Cuneiform 
 and Biblical narratives, for while in the Jewish account one 
 God only is mentioned, the Cuneiform inscription mentions 
 all the principal gods of the early Babylonian Pantheon as 
 engaged in bringing about the Flood. 
 
 The Cuneiform account agrees with the Biblical narrative 
 in making the Deluge a divine punishment for the wicked- 
 ness of the world, this point is omitted in the Greek accounts 
 of Berosus. 
 
 The gods having resolved on the Deluge, the deity whom 
 we have hitherto provisionally called Hua, announces the 
 coming event to Sisit. Now, in the account of Berosus, the 
 god who announces the Deluge is stated to be Cronos ; so 
 this passage gives us the Cuneiform name of the deity 
 identified by the Greeks with Cronos. The Greek account 
 states that the communication of the coming Deluge was 
 made in a dream. From the context it is probable that the 
 Cuneiform account stated the same, but the text is here 
 mutilated so that the point cannot be decided. 
 
 The dimensions of the vessel in the inscription are un- 
 fortunately lost by a fracture which has broken off both 
 numbers, the passage which is otherwise complete, shows 
 that the dimensions were expressed in cubits as in the 
 Biblical account, but while Genesis makes the ark 50 cubits 
 
 broad and 30 cubits high, the inscription stiites that the 
 height and breadth were the same. 
 
 The greater part of the description of the building of the 
 ark is lost. In the latter part of the account which is pre. 
 served, there is mention of the trial of the vessel by launch- 
 ing it into the sea, when defects being formd which admitted 
 the water, the outside and inside were coated with bitmnen. 
 These details have no parallel either in the Bible or Berosus. 
 The description of the fillhig of the ark agrees in general 
 with the two other accoimts, but it differs ii-om Genesis in 
 not mentioning the sevens of clean animals and in including 
 others beside the family of the builder. 
 
 The month and day when the Deluge commenced, which 
 are given in the Bible and Berosus, are not mentioned in 
 the text, unless the fifth day, mentioned in a mutilated 
 passage, is part of this date. 
 
 The description of the Flood in the inscription is very 
 vivid, it is said to have been so terrible that the gods fearing 
 it, ascended to the heaven of Ann, that it is the highest and 
 furthest heaven, the destruction of the human race is 
 recorded, and the coi-pses of the wicked are said to have 
 floated on the surface of the Flood. 
 
 ^Vith regard to the duration of the Deluge, there appears 
 to be a serious difference between the Bible and the inscrip- 
 tion. According to the account in the Book of Genesis, the 
 Flood commenced on the seventeenth day of the second 
 month, the ark rested on Ararat after one hundred and fifjy 
 days on the seventeenth day of the seventh month, and the 
 complete drying up of the Flood was not until the twenty- 
 seventh day of the second month in the following year. The 
 inscription, on the other hand, states that the Flood abated 
 on the seventh day, and that the ship remained seven days 
 on the mountain before the sending out of the birds. 
 
 On this poijit it must be remarked that some Biblical critics 
 consider that there are two versions of the Flood story in 
 Genesis itself, and that these two differ as to the duration of 
 the Flood. 
 
 The Greek account of Berosus is silent as to the duration 
 of the Deluge. 
 
 With regard to the mountain on which the ark rested 
 there is a difference between the Bible and the mscription, 
 which is more apparent than real. The Book of Genesis 
 states that the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat. Accord- 
 ing to the popular notion this refers to the mountain of 
 Ararat, in Armenia ; but these mountains may have been 
 anywhere within the ancient territory of Ararat, and some 
 Commentators looking at the passage in Berosus, where the 
 ark is stated to have rested in the Gordieean mountains, have 
 inclined to place the mountain referred to in the Kurdish 
 mountains, east of Assyria. In accordance with this indica- 
 tion the inscription states that the ship rested on the mountain 
 of Nizir. 
 
 Now, the position of Nizir can be determmed from the 
 inscription of Assur-nazir-pal, king of Assyria. He made an 
 expedition to this region, and starting from an Assyrian city, 
 near Arbela, crossed the Lower Zab, and marching eastward 
 between latitudes 35 and 36, arrived at the moimtains of 
 Nizir. These mountains of Nizir thus lay east of Assyria, but 
 they form part of a series of mountain chains extending to 
 the north-west into Armenia. 
 
 The vessel bemg stranded on the mountain, the Bible, 
 Berosus, and the inscription, all agree that trial was made by 
 birds in order to ascertain if the Flood had subsided ; but in 
 
[ 7 1 
 
 the details of these trials there are curious differences in all 
 three narratives. According to the Book of Genesis, a raven 
 was sent out first, which chd not return ; a dove was sent 
 next, which finduig no restmg place returned to Noah. Seven 
 days later the dove was sent out agam, and retiirned with 
 an olive leaf; and seven days after, on the dove being sent 
 out again, it returned no more. 
 
 The accoiint of Berosus mentions the sending out of the 
 birds, but does not mention Avhat kinds were tried. On the 
 first trial the birds are said to have retvirned, atitl on the 
 second trial likewise, this time with mud on their feet. On 
 the third occasion they did not return. 
 
 The inscription states that, first, a dove was sent out, which 
 finding no resting place, returned. On the second occasion a 
 swallow was sent, which also returned. The third time a 
 raven was sent out, which feeding on the corpses floating on 
 the water, wandered away and did not return. Thus,- the 
 inscription agrees vnih the Bible as to the sending out of 
 the raven and dove, but adds to these the trial of the 
 swallow, which is not in Genesis. In the number of the 
 trials it agrees with BerosiTs, who has three, while Genesis 
 has four. On the other hand there is no mention of the dove 
 returning with an olive leaf as in Genesis, and of the birds 
 having their feet stained with mud, as in Berosus. 
 
 In the statement of the building of the altar, and offering 
 saciifice after leaving the ark, all three accounts agree ; but 
 in the subsequent matter there is an important difference 
 between the Bible and the inscription, for while the Bible 
 represents Noah as H-ving for many years after the Flood, 
 the inscription on the other hand agrees with Berosus in 
 making Sisitto be translated like the Gods. This translation 
 is in the Bible recorded of Enoch, the ancestor of Noah. 
 
 On revicTving the evidence it is apparent that the events 
 of the Flood narrated in the Bible and the inscription are the 
 same, and occur m the same order ; but the minor differences 
 in the details show that the mscription embodies a distmct 
 and independent tradition. 
 
 In spite of a striking similarity in style, which shows itself 
 in several places, the two narratives belong to totally distinct 
 peoples. The Bibhcal account is the version of an inland 
 people, the name of the ark in Genesis means a chest or box, 
 and not a ship ; there is no notice of the sea, or of launching, 
 no pilots are spoken of, no navigation is mentioned. The 
 inscription on the other hand belongs to a maritime people, 
 the ark is called a ship, the ship is launched into the sea, trial 
 is made of it, and it is given in charge of a pilot. 
 
 The Cuneiform inscription, after giving the history of the 
 flood down to the sacrifice of Sisit, when he came out of the 
 
 ark, goes back to th(3 furmer jiart of the story, and mentions 
 the god Bel in particular as the maker of the teinpoHt or 
 deluge ; there appears to be a slight inconsistency between 
 this and the former part of the inscription which suggests 
 the question whether the Chaldean narrative itself may not 
 have been compiled from two distinct and older accounts. 
 
 It is remarkable that the oldest traditions of the early 
 Babylonians seem to centre round the Persian Gulf. From 
 this sea Cannes, the fish god, is supposed to have arisen, and 
 the composite monsters who followed him in the antediluvian 
 period came from the same region. Into this sea the ark 
 was laimched, and after the subsiding of the Deluge Avhen 
 Sisit was translated, he dwelt in this neighbourhood. To 
 this sea came the great hero Izdubar, and was cured, and 
 here he heard the story of the Flood. 
 
 In conclusion I would remark that this account of the 
 Deluge opens to us a new field of inquiry in the early part 
 of the Bible history. The question has often been asked, 
 ' What is the origin of the accounts of the antediluvians, 
 with their long lives so many times greater than the longest 
 span of human life ? Where was Paradise, the abode of the 
 first parents of mankind ? From whence comes the story of 
 the flood, of the ark, of the birds ? " Various conflicting 
 answers have been given to these important questions, while 
 evidence on these subjects before the Greek period has been 
 entirely wanting. The Cuneiform inscriptions are now 
 shedding a new light on these questions, and supplying 
 material which future scholars will have to work out. Fol- 
 lowing this inscription, we may expect many other dis- 
 coveries throwing light on these, ancient periods, xmtil we 
 are able to form a decisive opinion on the many great 
 questions involved. It would be a mistake to suppose 
 that with the translation and commentary on an inscrip- 
 tion like this the matter is ended. The origin, age, and 
 history of the legend have to be traced, and it has to be 
 compared with the many similar stories current among 
 various nations. 
 
 All these accounts, together with considerable portions of 
 the ancient mythologies have, I believe, a common origin in 
 the Plains of Chaldea. This county, the cradle of civilisation, 
 the birthplace of the arts and sciences, for 2,000 years has 
 been in ruins ; its literature, containing the most precious 
 records of antiquity, is scarcely known to us, except from 
 the texts the Assyrians copied, but beneath its mounds and 
 ruined cities, now awaiting exploration, lay, together with 
 older copies of this Deluge text, other legends and histories 
 of the earliest civilisation in the world. 
 
 GEORGE SMITH. 
 
 HARBISOy AND SOWS, PEINTBHS IV OEDINAEY TO HEE MAJESTY ST. MAETi:^'s LANE. 
 
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