Post by GateKeeper on Sept 11, 2012 17:32:02 GMT
By the third millenium BCE, Sumerians had developed cosmological beliefs that ultimately spread throughout the Middle East and Asia. Their word for the Universe was "an-ki," which meant "Heaven-Earth" ("An" means "Heaven," which had a masculine nature, and "Ki" means Earth, which had a feminine nature). Compare this with the very first verse in the Bible, Genesis 1:1:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
The other element of the Universe besides Heaven and Earth was "lil," the wind or atmosphere ruled over by Enlil, god of the air.
A tablet reference to "the mountain of Heaven and Earth" suggests that in the beginning, Sumerians believed Heaven and Earth were united as a single mountain. Nammu, goddess of the primeval sea, gave birth to An (Heaven) and Ki (Earth). An and Ki gave birth to their son Enlil (god of the Air). Enlil then carried away his mother, the Earth, from Heaven.
This three-layer creation parallels with the Vedic Sanskrit invocation "Om, bhur, bhuvah, swaha" (Om, to the Earth, Sky, Heaven), mentioned under India in the history section of this site.
Heaven was believed to be surrounded by the primeval sea, both above the Earth. The Earth was believed to be a circular disc. Underneath the Earth was the Netherworld. The planets, Sun, Moon, and stars were considered part of "lil," the atmosphere, that had the additional quality of shining.
The journey from Earth to the Netherworld was made with the help of a ferry-man along a river, as with the Egyptian belief that a ferry-man carried the dead along the River Styx, and the Greek god of the Netherworld, Hades (Pluto to the Romans), whose realm was reached by a river journey with the ferry-man, Charon.
Overlooking the Sumerian Cosmos, there were numerous immortal gods, each in charge of ruling a specific part of the Universe. Although immortal, these gods experienced human emotions. There were seven "fate-decreeing" gods, fifty "great" gods, and hundreds of minor deities. The four main deities were An (god of Heaven), Enlil (god of the air), Enki (god of the water god of "Abzu," The Abyss, and god of wisdom), and Ninhursag (the Mother Goddess, also known as Ninmah, "exalted lady," and Nintu, "the lady who gave birth"). Ninhursag might at one time have been the Sumerian Earth Goddess, Ki.
Of these four gods, Enlil was considered the King. He was worshipped more than all other Sumerian gods. Earthly kings ruled by the grace of Enlil. Enlil also also invented the pickaxe and plow necessary for agriculture, provided favorable conditions for crops, but who could at times unleash destructive catastrophes.
This pantheon operated according to "Me," a set of over one hundred divine laws by which order was maintained in the Universe. According to legend after having drunk a little too much beer the god of wisdom, Enki, gives these divine laws to his daughter, Inanna, to take to the Sumerian city of Uruk ("Erech" of The Bible). As Inanna is underway in her ship, the beer's effect on Enki begins to wear off. Realizing what he has done, he conjures up sea monsters to seize Inanna's ship and retrieve the Divine Laws, but tells these creatures to let her proceed to Uruk on foot unharmed. Inanna calls on her messenger, Ninshubur, to battle these sea creatures. He does, and ultimately they reach the city of Uruk with the Divine Laws of "Me." Thus were these laws transmitted to the people of Sumer.
Sumerians believed that their pantheon of gods could bring about whatever changes were in their power simply by wishing or declaring events to be so. This belief in the power of a pantheon of immortal gods to bring about world events instantly with a mere declaration would spread to neighboring cultures for thousands of years, from Babylon to Greece and Rome. Sumerians gave sacrificial offerings to appease the gods, a practice also followed by ancient people around the world.
The Moon god, who Sumerians called both "Nanna" and "Sin," was the son of the air god, Enlil, and the goddess Ninlil. The Moon was worshipped as having the quality to journey to the Netherworld and to the sky.
The Sun god was Utu. Venus was Inanna. Along with the other planets and stars, they were believed children of the Moon.
Sumerians believed that primeval man was fashioned by the gods from clay. This has a parallel with the Biblical Adam, related to the Hebrew word "adamah," meaning "I will be like" (referring to man being created in God's image) and "adamah," meaning the dirt:
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness... So God created man in his own image..." (Genesis 1:26-27). "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground..." (Genesis 2:7). "...for out of it [the ground] wast thou taken : for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:19).
Sumerian legends tell of a pure land in the beginning, called Dilmun, that has many parallels with the Biblical Garden of Eden. Although pure, Dilmun had no water. Thus the god of water, Enki, commanded the god of the Sun, Utu, to bring fresh water from the Earth to Dilmun. This parallels Genesis 2:5-6, "...for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth...But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground."
Sumerian literature speaks of the "four rivers." This has a parallel in Genesis 2:11-14, which speaks of the four rivers that flowed from the Garden of Eden: Pison, in Havilah; Gihon, in Ethiopia; Hiddekel, east of Assyria; and the Euphrates.
With water flowing in the land of Dilmun, the Mother Goddess, Ninhursag, causes grass to grow, and trees to bear fruit, this garden creating Paradise on Earth. Ninhursag creates eight types of sprouting plant in this garden. Enki's messenger, Isimud, brings these plants to Enki to eat. Enki eats these plants, which infuriates Ninhursag, who curses Enki with death and then disappears.
Soon eight parts of Enki's body begin to fail, and his health worsens quickly. While the other gods ponder what to do, a fox offers to find and bring back Ninhursag if they reward him for his efforts. The gods agree, and the fox brings back Ninhursag. Ninhursag asks Enki which of his eight parts of his body are ailing. These organs were his jaw, tooth, mouth, arm, rib, and three other parts that were destroyed on the tablets that are known today. Ninhursag then creates eight healing deities, one for each of these organs, and Enki regains his strength.
In History Begins at Sumer, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1981, Sumerologist Samuel Noah Kramer gives a theory behind the Biblical Eve from a Sumerian play on words that was first noticed by Père Scheil in 1915. Genesis 3:20 says:
And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
The Sumerian word "ti" has a dual meaning. One meaning is "to make live," which is similar to the Biblical "the mother of all living." Another meaning of the Sumerian "ti" is "rib," and the Bible relates that Eve was made from Adam's rib. The Mother Goddess Ninhursag created the goddess Nin-ti ("lady of the rib") to restore Enki's rib to health. Although the Hebrew words for rib and "to make live" are not related, Sumerians were fond of plays on words and the Bible could have preserved this ancient Sumerian pun with the legend of Eve, the "mother of all living," being created from Adam's rib.
According to the Sumerians, the sole purpose of man was to labor for the gods who created him, to provide them with food and a place to reside on Earth. This also has a parallel in Genesis 2:15, "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."
Sumerians believed in the virtues of a moral life, and of a society free from injustice. Sumerian kings established codes of law centuries before the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi. Sumerologists have also been able to translate a wide variety of Sumerian proverbs.
The four principal gods of Sumer (An, Enlil, Enki, and Nintu) were described as bringing the "black-headed people" (Sumerians) to life in a Sumerian tablet that contains a story of the Creation and of the Flood. Unfortunately the one known tablet that contains this epic is badly damaged, but enough survives to reconstruct part of the story. The tablet describes how there was one pious king, Ziusudra, who was told that a flood would come to destroy mankind.
This flood lasted for seven days and seven nights, as Ziusudra's giant ship was tossed about in the flood waters. Finally Utu, the god of the Sun, shines his rays upon the ship. In gratitude, Ziusudra sacrifices an ox and a sheep. Ziusudra then bowed before An and Enlil, who then gave him eternal life and who "in the land of the crossing, the land of Dilmun, the place where the Sun rises, they caused to dwell."
The King of gods, Enlil, became known as "Marduk" to the Babylonians that followed, and Enlil's epithet of he "who forever decrees destinies" probably carried over to Marduk's possession of the "Tablet of Destinies."
ephemeris.com/history/mesopotamia.html
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
The other element of the Universe besides Heaven and Earth was "lil," the wind or atmosphere ruled over by Enlil, god of the air.
A tablet reference to "the mountain of Heaven and Earth" suggests that in the beginning, Sumerians believed Heaven and Earth were united as a single mountain. Nammu, goddess of the primeval sea, gave birth to An (Heaven) and Ki (Earth). An and Ki gave birth to their son Enlil (god of the Air). Enlil then carried away his mother, the Earth, from Heaven.
This three-layer creation parallels with the Vedic Sanskrit invocation "Om, bhur, bhuvah, swaha" (Om, to the Earth, Sky, Heaven), mentioned under India in the history section of this site.
Heaven was believed to be surrounded by the primeval sea, both above the Earth. The Earth was believed to be a circular disc. Underneath the Earth was the Netherworld. The planets, Sun, Moon, and stars were considered part of "lil," the atmosphere, that had the additional quality of shining.
The journey from Earth to the Netherworld was made with the help of a ferry-man along a river, as with the Egyptian belief that a ferry-man carried the dead along the River Styx, and the Greek god of the Netherworld, Hades (Pluto to the Romans), whose realm was reached by a river journey with the ferry-man, Charon.
Overlooking the Sumerian Cosmos, there were numerous immortal gods, each in charge of ruling a specific part of the Universe. Although immortal, these gods experienced human emotions. There were seven "fate-decreeing" gods, fifty "great" gods, and hundreds of minor deities. The four main deities were An (god of Heaven), Enlil (god of the air), Enki (god of the water god of "Abzu," The Abyss, and god of wisdom), and Ninhursag (the Mother Goddess, also known as Ninmah, "exalted lady," and Nintu, "the lady who gave birth"). Ninhursag might at one time have been the Sumerian Earth Goddess, Ki.
Of these four gods, Enlil was considered the King. He was worshipped more than all other Sumerian gods. Earthly kings ruled by the grace of Enlil. Enlil also also invented the pickaxe and plow necessary for agriculture, provided favorable conditions for crops, but who could at times unleash destructive catastrophes.
This pantheon operated according to "Me," a set of over one hundred divine laws by which order was maintained in the Universe. According to legend after having drunk a little too much beer the god of wisdom, Enki, gives these divine laws to his daughter, Inanna, to take to the Sumerian city of Uruk ("Erech" of The Bible). As Inanna is underway in her ship, the beer's effect on Enki begins to wear off. Realizing what he has done, he conjures up sea monsters to seize Inanna's ship and retrieve the Divine Laws, but tells these creatures to let her proceed to Uruk on foot unharmed. Inanna calls on her messenger, Ninshubur, to battle these sea creatures. He does, and ultimately they reach the city of Uruk with the Divine Laws of "Me." Thus were these laws transmitted to the people of Sumer.
Sumerians believed that their pantheon of gods could bring about whatever changes were in their power simply by wishing or declaring events to be so. This belief in the power of a pantheon of immortal gods to bring about world events instantly with a mere declaration would spread to neighboring cultures for thousands of years, from Babylon to Greece and Rome. Sumerians gave sacrificial offerings to appease the gods, a practice also followed by ancient people around the world.
The Moon god, who Sumerians called both "Nanna" and "Sin," was the son of the air god, Enlil, and the goddess Ninlil. The Moon was worshipped as having the quality to journey to the Netherworld and to the sky.
The Sun god was Utu. Venus was Inanna. Along with the other planets and stars, they were believed children of the Moon.
Sumerians believed that primeval man was fashioned by the gods from clay. This has a parallel with the Biblical Adam, related to the Hebrew word "adamah," meaning "I will be like" (referring to man being created in God's image) and "adamah," meaning the dirt:
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness... So God created man in his own image..." (Genesis 1:26-27). "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground..." (Genesis 2:7). "...for out of it [the ground] wast thou taken : for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:19).
Sumerian legends tell of a pure land in the beginning, called Dilmun, that has many parallels with the Biblical Garden of Eden. Although pure, Dilmun had no water. Thus the god of water, Enki, commanded the god of the Sun, Utu, to bring fresh water from the Earth to Dilmun. This parallels Genesis 2:5-6, "...for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth...But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground."
Sumerian literature speaks of the "four rivers." This has a parallel in Genesis 2:11-14, which speaks of the four rivers that flowed from the Garden of Eden: Pison, in Havilah; Gihon, in Ethiopia; Hiddekel, east of Assyria; and the Euphrates.
With water flowing in the land of Dilmun, the Mother Goddess, Ninhursag, causes grass to grow, and trees to bear fruit, this garden creating Paradise on Earth. Ninhursag creates eight types of sprouting plant in this garden. Enki's messenger, Isimud, brings these plants to Enki to eat. Enki eats these plants, which infuriates Ninhursag, who curses Enki with death and then disappears.
Soon eight parts of Enki's body begin to fail, and his health worsens quickly. While the other gods ponder what to do, a fox offers to find and bring back Ninhursag if they reward him for his efforts. The gods agree, and the fox brings back Ninhursag. Ninhursag asks Enki which of his eight parts of his body are ailing. These organs were his jaw, tooth, mouth, arm, rib, and three other parts that were destroyed on the tablets that are known today. Ninhursag then creates eight healing deities, one for each of these organs, and Enki regains his strength.
In History Begins at Sumer, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1981, Sumerologist Samuel Noah Kramer gives a theory behind the Biblical Eve from a Sumerian play on words that was first noticed by Père Scheil in 1915. Genesis 3:20 says:
And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
The Sumerian word "ti" has a dual meaning. One meaning is "to make live," which is similar to the Biblical "the mother of all living." Another meaning of the Sumerian "ti" is "rib," and the Bible relates that Eve was made from Adam's rib. The Mother Goddess Ninhursag created the goddess Nin-ti ("lady of the rib") to restore Enki's rib to health. Although the Hebrew words for rib and "to make live" are not related, Sumerians were fond of plays on words and the Bible could have preserved this ancient Sumerian pun with the legend of Eve, the "mother of all living," being created from Adam's rib.
According to the Sumerians, the sole purpose of man was to labor for the gods who created him, to provide them with food and a place to reside on Earth. This also has a parallel in Genesis 2:15, "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."
Sumerians believed in the virtues of a moral life, and of a society free from injustice. Sumerian kings established codes of law centuries before the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi. Sumerologists have also been able to translate a wide variety of Sumerian proverbs.
The four principal gods of Sumer (An, Enlil, Enki, and Nintu) were described as bringing the "black-headed people" (Sumerians) to life in a Sumerian tablet that contains a story of the Creation and of the Flood. Unfortunately the one known tablet that contains this epic is badly damaged, but enough survives to reconstruct part of the story. The tablet describes how there was one pious king, Ziusudra, who was told that a flood would come to destroy mankind.
This flood lasted for seven days and seven nights, as Ziusudra's giant ship was tossed about in the flood waters. Finally Utu, the god of the Sun, shines his rays upon the ship. In gratitude, Ziusudra sacrifices an ox and a sheep. Ziusudra then bowed before An and Enlil, who then gave him eternal life and who "in the land of the crossing, the land of Dilmun, the place where the Sun rises, they caused to dwell."
The King of gods, Enlil, became known as "Marduk" to the Babylonians that followed, and Enlil's epithet of he "who forever decrees destinies" probably carried over to Marduk's possession of the "Tablet of Destinies."
ephemeris.com/history/mesopotamia.html
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