Ea’s Duplicity in the Gilgamesh Flood Story

Ea’s Duplicity in the Gilgamesh Flood Story PDF Author: Martin Worthington
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429754507
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 536

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Book Description
This volume opens up new perspectives on Babylonian and Assyrian literature, through the lens of a pivotal passage in the Gilgamesh Flood story. It shows how, using a nine-line message where not all was as it seemed, the god Ea inveigled humans into building the Ark. The volume argues that Ea used a ‘bitextual’ message: one which can be understood in different ways that sound the same. His message thus emerges as an ambivalent oracle in the tradition of ‘folktale prophecy’. The argument is supported by interlocking investigations of lexicography, divination, diet, figurines, social history, and religion. There are also extended discussions of Babylonian word play and ancient literary interpretation. Besides arguing for Ea’s duplicity, the book explores its implications – for narrative sophistication in Gilgamesh, for audiences and performance of the poem, and for the relation of the Gilgamesh Flood story to the versions in Atra-hasīs, the Hellenistic historian Berossos, and the Biblical Book of Genesis. Ea’s Duplicity in the Gilgamesh Flood Story will interest Assyriologists, Hebrew Bible scholars and Classicists, but also students and researchers in all areas concerned with Gilgamesh, word-play, oracles, and traditions about the Flood.

Ea’s Duplicity in the Gilgamesh Flood Story

Ea’s Duplicity in the Gilgamesh Flood Story PDF Author: Martin Worthington
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429754507
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 536

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume opens up new perspectives on Babylonian and Assyrian literature, through the lens of a pivotal passage in the Gilgamesh Flood story. It shows how, using a nine-line message where not all was as it seemed, the god Ea inveigled humans into building the Ark. The volume argues that Ea used a ‘bitextual’ message: one which can be understood in different ways that sound the same. His message thus emerges as an ambivalent oracle in the tradition of ‘folktale prophecy’. The argument is supported by interlocking investigations of lexicography, divination, diet, figurines, social history, and religion. There are also extended discussions of Babylonian word play and ancient literary interpretation. Besides arguing for Ea’s duplicity, the book explores its implications – for narrative sophistication in Gilgamesh, for audiences and performance of the poem, and for the relation of the Gilgamesh Flood story to the versions in Atra-hasīs, the Hellenistic historian Berossos, and the Biblical Book of Genesis. Ea’s Duplicity in the Gilgamesh Flood Story will interest Assyriologists, Hebrew Bible scholars and Classicists, but also students and researchers in all areas concerned with Gilgamesh, word-play, oracles, and traditions about the Flood.

Migration and Mobility in the Ancient Near East and Egypt - the Crossroads IV

Migration and Mobility in the Ancient Near East and Egypt - the Crossroads IV PDF Author: Ludovica Bertolini
Publisher: Lockwood Press
ISBN: 1957454113
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 435

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Book Description
Movement and mobility represent intertwined concepts that have persisted throughout human history. The act of moving from one place to another is, however, intricately tied to the challenges that hinder it. These obstacles can either be natural in origin or the product of human design aimed at constraining the movement of individuals or groups. Furthermore, movement and mobility can also manifest themselves within society, encompassing the fluid shifts of people within the social hierarchy and the transitions between various social groups. The transfer of words, technologies, and religious ideologies often accompanies these human movements. The region of ancient Western Asia and northeast Africa serves as a rich repository of evidence for these forms of movement and mobility, extensively documented through written sources and material culture. The essays collected in this volume variously examine the political dimensions of movement and mobility; how ideas, concepts, and languages move across boundaries; and the material evidence for cultural interactions.

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh PDF Author: Sophus Helle
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300262590
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
A poem for the ages, freshly and accessibly translated by an international rising star, bringing together scholarly precision and poetic grace Gilgamesh is a Babylonian epic from three thousand years ago, which tells of King Gilgamesh’s deep love for the wild man Enkidu and his pursuit of immortality when Enkidu dies. It is a story about love between men, loss and grief, the confrontation with death, the destruction of nature, insomnia and restlessness, finding peace in one’s community, the voice of women, the folly of gods, heroes, and monsters—and more. Millennia after its composition, Gilgamesh continues to speak to us in myriad ways. Translating directly from the Akkadian, Sophus Helle offers a literary translation that reproduces the original epic’s poetic effects, including its succinct clarity and enchanting cadence. An introduction and five accompanying essays unpack the history and main themes of the epic, guiding readers to a deeper appreciation of this ancient masterpiece.

The Shape of Stories

The Shape of Stories PDF Author: Gina Konstantopoulos
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 900453976X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
How were narratives composed in the ancient Near East? What patterns and principles, constraints and considerations guided the shaping of cuneiform stories? The study of narrative structures has emerged as a promising approach to the textual heritage of the cuneiform world. Engaging with practically any ancient text—whether literary, historical, or religious—requires some understanding of the narrative forms that shaped their content. This volume gives researchers the tools to better understand those form, illustrating each approach to narrative analysis with a case study from the cultures of the ancient Near East: Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Hittite.

The Gilgamesh Epic in Genesis 1-11

The Gilgamesh Epic in Genesis 1-11 PDF Author: Adam E. Miglio
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000837904
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description
This book provides a substantive, reliable, and accessible comparison of the Gilgamesh Epic and Genesis 1–11, investigating their presentation of humanistic themes such as wisdom, power, and the ‘good life.’ While the Gilgamesh Epic and Genesis 1–11 are characterized by historical and cultural features that may seem unusual or challenging to modern readers, such as the intervention of gods and goddesses and talking animals, these ancient literary masterpieces are nonetheless familiar and relatable stories through their humanistic composition. This volume explores the presentation of humanistic themes and motifs throughout both stories. Significant passages and narratives, such as stories from the Garden of Eden and the Flood, are translated into English and accompanied by comprehensive discussions that compare and contrast shared ideas in both compositions. Written in a lucid and concise fashion, this book offers new insights into the Gilgamesh Epic and Genesis 1–11 in an accessible way. The Gilgamesh Epic in Genesis 1–11: Peering into the Deep is suitable for students and scholars of ancient Near Eastern literature, with broad appeal across religious studies, ancient history, and world literature.

Divine Assemblies in Early Greek and Babylonian Epic

Divine Assemblies in Early Greek and Babylonian Epic PDF Author: Bernardo Ballesteros
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198924615
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 484

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Book Description
In early Greek and Near Eastern myth and religion, the gods govern the cosmos. In narrative poetry, they are frequently portrayed through scenes of divine assembly. Did Homer and early Greek poets inherit this feature from their more ancient neighbours? And what can comparison tell us besides? This book is the first to chart divine assembly scenes in ancient Babylonian and early Greek epic. It asks why similarities between the two corpora exist, and exploits those similarities to enhance understanding of Mesopotamian and early Greek literature and religion. The book discusses Sumerian narrative poems, the Akkadian works Atra-ḫasīs, Anzû, Enūma eliš, Erra and Išum and the Epic of Gilgameš; Homer's Iliad, the Odyssey, Hesiod's Theogony and some Homeric Hymns. It studies poetic technique and probes further comparisons with Sanskrit, Old Norse, Polynesian, and Aztec mythology. It argues that Greek speakers are unlikely to have inherited the divine assembly from the Near East. Still, one can posit a long-term process of oral contact and communication fostered by common poetic structures and religious affinities. In a second part pursuing a mythological and religious comparison, the book concentrates on ideas about the cosmos and humankind, and on power dynamics within the pantheon as well as between gods and mortals. A focus on the head of the pantheon and on concepts of divine prerogatives illuminates culture-specific differences which can be related to historical socio-political discourses. The book develops a systematic approach to questions of cross-cultural literary comparison in the ancient world.

Heracles in Early Greek Epic

Heracles in Early Greek Epic PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 900469661X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Heracles in Early Greek Epic examines the protean nature of the greatest Greek hero, Heracles in Homeric and Hesiodic poetry, as well as in fragmentary epics such as Creophylus’ Oichalias Halosis, Pisander’s Heracleia, and Panyassis’ Heracleia. Several contributors explore Heracles’ associations with heroes in Near-Eastern literature and reflections in early epic about his involvement in the first sack of Troy, the tale of Hesione and the ketos, the war against the Meropes on Cos, and the sack of Oechalia. Other contributors study his role in other Archaic and Classical epics such as those written by Creophylus, Pisander, and Panyassis.

Genesis 1-11:26: The Christian Standard Commentary

Genesis 1-11:26: The Christian Standard Commentary PDF Author: Kenneth A. Mathews
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
ISBN: 108776761X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
Genesis 1-11:26 is part of The Christian Standard Commentary (CSC) series. This commentary series focuses on the theological and exegetical concerns of each biblical book, thoughtfully balancing rigorous scholarship with practical application. This series helps the reader understand each biblical book’s theology, its place in the broader narrative of Scripture, and its importance for the church today. Drawing on the wisdom and skills of dozens of evangelical authors, the CSC is a tool for enhancing and supporting the life of the church. The author of Genesis 1-11:26 is Kenneth A. Mathews.

Ritual in Deuteronomy

Ritual in Deuteronomy PDF Author: Melissa D. Ramos
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351335170
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
Ritual in Deuteronomy explores the symbolic world of Deuteronomy’s ritual covenant and curses through a lens of religious studies and anthropology, drawing on previously unexamined Mesopotamian material. This book focuses on the ritual material in Deuteronomy including commands regarding sacrifice, prayer objects, and especially the dramatic ritual enactment of the covenant including curses. The book’s most unique feature is an entirely new comparative study of Deut 27–30 with two ritual texts from Mesopotamia. No studies to date have undertaken a comparison of Deut 27–30 with ancient Near Eastern ritual texts outside of the treaty oath tradition. This fresh comparison illuminates how the ritual life of ancient Israel shaped the literary form of Deuteronomy and concludes that the performance of oaths was a social strategy, addressing contemporary anxieties and reinforcing systems of cultural power. This book offers a fascinating comparative study which will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students in biblical studies, classical Hebrew, theology, and ancient Near Eastern studies. The book’s more technical aspects will also appeal to scholars of the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy, Biblical Law, Ancient Near Eastern History, Mesopotamian Studies, and Classics.

Gendered Violence in Biblical Narrative

Gendered Violence in Biblical Narrative PDF Author: Esther Brownsmith
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040015050
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
This book uses three examples of violent biblical stories about women, explored through the lens of conceptual metaphor theory in relation to culinary language used within these texts, to examine wider issues of gender and sexual violence in the Hebrew Bible. Utilising the tools of conceptual metaphor theory, feminist criticism, and classic textual analysis, Brownsmith interrogates some of the most troubling biblical passages for women—neither by redeeming them nor by condemning them, but by showing how they are intrinsically shaped by the enduring metaphor of woman as food in the Hebrew Bible, ancient Near East, and beyond. The volume explores three main case studies: the Levite’s “concubine” (Judges 19); Tamar and Amnon (2 Sam 13); and the life and death of Jezebel (primarily 1 Kings 21 and 2 Kings 9). All depict violence toward a woman as perpetrated by a man, interwoven with culinary language that cues their metaphorical implications. In these sensitive but critical readings of violent tales, Brownsmith also draws on a broad range of interdisciplinary connections from Ricoeur to ancient Ugaritic epics to modern comic books. Through this approach, readers gain new insights into how the Bible shapes its narratives through conceptual metaphors, and specifically how it makes meaning out of women’s brutalized bodies. Gendered Violence in Biblical Narrative: The Devouring Metaphor is suitable for students and scholars working on gender and sexual violence in the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Near East more broadly, as well as those working on conceptual metaphor theory and feminist criticism.