CHAPTER XXI
PSALMS FROM BABYLONIA AND EGYPT
Character of Their Psalms. Babylonian Prayers to the Goddess Ishtar. Comparison with the Psalter. A Babylonian Hymn to the Moon-God. A Babylonian Hymn to Bel. An Egyptian Hymn to the Sun-God. Is the Hymn Monotheistic? An Egyptian Hymn in Praise of Aton. Comparison with the Psalter.
Both from Babylonia and from Egypt a large number of hymns and prayers have been recovered. Some of these are beautiful on account of their form of expression, the poetical nature of their thoughts, and the sense of sin which they reveal. Most of them are clearly polytheistic, and it is rare that they rise in the expression of religious emotion to the simple sublimity of the Old Testament Psalms. Such likenesses to the Psalms as they possess only serve to set off in greater relief the rich religious heritage which we have in our Psalter.
A few examples only of the many known hymns are here given.
1. A Babylonian Prayer to the Goddess Ishtar.[562]
O fulfiller of the commands of Bel ..........
............................................
Mother of the gods, fulfiller of the commands of Bel,
Thou bringer-forth of verdure, thou lady of mankind,—
5. Begetress of all, who makest all offspring thrive,
Mother Ishtar, whose might no god approaches,
Majestic lady, whose commands are powerful,
A request I will proffer, which—may it bring good to me!
O lady, from my childhood I have been exceedingly hemmed in by trouble!
10. Food I did not eat, I was bathed in tears!
Water I did not quaff, tears were my drink!
My heart is not glad, my soul is not cheerful;
....................... I do not walk like a man.
.............................................
Reverse
..................... painfully I wail!
My sighs are many, my sickness is great!
O my lady, teach me what to do, appoint me a resting-place!
My sin forgive, lift up my countenance!
5. My god, who is lord of prayer,—may he present my prayer to thee!
My goddess, who is mistress of supplication,—may she present my prayer to thee!
God of the deluge, lord of Harsaga,—may he present my prayer to thee,—
The god of pity, the lord of the fields,—may he present my prayer to thee!
God of heaven and earth, the lord of Eridu,—may he present my prayer to thee!
10. The mother of the great water, the dwelling of Damkina,—may she present my prayer to thee!
Marduk, lord of Babylon,—may he present my prayer to thee!
His spouse, the exalted offspring (?) of heaven and earth,—may she present my prayer to thee!
The exalted servant, the god who announces the good name,—may he present my prayer to thee!
15. The bride, the firstborn of Ninib,—may she present my prayer to thee!
The lady who checks hostile speech,—may she present my prayer to thee!
The great, exalted one, my lady Nana,—may she present my prayer to thee!
2. A Babylonian Prayer to Ishtar.[563]
........................... He raises to thee a wail;
........................... He raises to thee a wail;
[On account of his face which] for tears is not raised, he raises to thee a wail;
On account of his feet on which fetters are laid, he raises to thee a wail;
5. On account of his hand, which is powerless through oppression, he raises to thee a wail;
On account of his breast, which wheezes like a bellows, he raises to thee a wail;
O lady, in sadness of heart I raise to thee my piteous cry, “How long?”
O lady, to thy servant—speak pardon to him, let thy heart be appeased!
To thy servant who suffers pain—favor grant him!
10. Turn thy gaze upon him, receive his entreaty!
To thy servant with whom thou art angry—be favorable unto him!
O lady, my hands are bound, I turn to thee!
For the sake of the exalted warrior, Shamash, thy beloved husband, take away my bonds!
15. Through a long life let me walk before thee!
My god brings before thee a lamentation; let thy heart be appeased!
My goddess utters to thee a prayer, let thy anger be quieted!
The exalted warrior, Anu, thy beloved spouse,—may he present my prayer to thee!
[Shamash], god of justice,—may he present my prayer to thee!
20. .......... the exalted servant,—may he present my prayer to thee!
.......... the mighty one of Ebarbar,—may he present my tears to thee!
[“Thine eye turn truly] to me,” may he say to thee!
[“Thy face turn truly to] me,” may he say to thee!
[“Let thy heart be at rest”], may he say to thee!
25. [“Let thy anger be pacified”], may he say to thee!
[Thy heart like the heart of a mother who has brought forth], may it rejoice!
[Like a father who has begotten a child], may it be glad!
3. Comparison of These Prayers with the Psalter.
The writers of these lamentations, like the Hebrew Psalmist (see Psa. 17:1; 18:6), cried unto a deity for help. They were both in great distress, and naturally inferred that their deity was angry, as do Psalms 85:5; 90:7. There is, however, no great consciousness of sin in these Babylonian complaints. They simply express distress. Unlike the Biblical Psalms these are polytheistic and their authors call upon other deities to intercede for them with the goddess, to whom the prayer is addressed and whom, for the time being, they regard as supreme. The author of this last penitential psalm asks “How long?” as does Psa. 6:3; 74:10; 90:13. The idea seems to be that the suffering of the penitent will either atone for sin or touch the heart of the deity so that the suffering shall be abated.
4. A Babylonian Hymn to Sin, the Moon-god.[564]
O brilliant barque of the heavens, ruler in thy own right,
Father Nannar, lord of Ur,
Father Nannar, lord of Ekishshirgal,
Father Nannar, lord of the brilliant rising,
5. O lord, Nannar, firstborn son of Bel,
Thou standest, thou standest
Before thy father Bel. Thou art ruler,
Father Nannar; thou art ruler, thou art guide.
O barque, when standing in the midst of heaven, thou art ruler.
10. Father Nannar, thou thyself ridest to the brilliant temple.
Father Nannar, when, like a ship, thou goest in the midst of the deep,
Thou goest, thou goest, thou goest,
Thou goest, thou shinest anew, thou goest,
Thou shinest anew, thou livest again, thou goest.
15. Father Nannar, the herd thou restorest.
When thy father looketh on thee with joy, he commandeth thy waxing,
Then with the glory of a king brilliantly thou risest.
Bel a scepter for distant days for thy hands has completed.
In Ur as the brilliant barque thou ridest,
20. As the lord, Nudimmud, thou art established;
In Ur as the brilliant boat thou ridest.
...........................................
Reverse
...............................................
The river of Bel (?) [Nannar] fills with water.
The brilliant (?) river [Nannar] fills with water.
The river Tigris [Nannar] fills with water.
5. The brilliance of the Euphrates [Nannar] fills with water.
The canal with its gate Lukhe, [Nannar] fills with water.
The great marsh and the little marsh Nannar fills with water.
The preceding hymn is made up of a description of the movements and changes of the moon, together with the expression of a superstition, which is still widely prevalent, that the moon’s changes control the rainfall. It is a fair example of a Babylonian nature-psalm. It lacks the inspired and inspiring power of such Hebrew nature-psalms as Psalms 8, 19, 146, 147, and 148.
5. A Babylonian Hymn to Bel.[565]
O lord of wisdom ................ ruler in thy own right,
O Bel, lord of wisdom .......... ruler in thy own right,
O father Bel, lord of the lands,
O father Bel, lord of truthful speech,
5. O father Bel, shepherd of the black-headed ones,[566]
O father Bel, who thyself openest the eyes,
O father Bel, the warrior, prince among soldiers,
O father Bel, supreme power of the land,
Bull of the corral, warrior who leadest captive all the land.
10. O Bel, proprietor of the broad land,
Lord of creation, thou art chief of the land,
The lord whose shining oil is food for an extensive offspring,
The lord whose edicts bind together the city,
The edict of whose dwelling place strikes down the great prince
15. From the land of the rising to the land of the setting sun.
O mountain, lord of life, thou art indeed lord!
O Bel of the lands, lord of life, thou thyself art lord of life.
O mighty one, terrible one of heaven, thou art guardian indeed!
O Bel, thou art lord of the gods indeed!
20. Thou art father, Bel, who causest the plants of the gardens to grow!
O Bel, thy great glory may they fear!
The birds of heaven and the fish of the deep are filled with fear [of thee].
O father Bel, in great strength thou goest, prince of life, shepherd of the stars!
O lord, the secret of production thou openest, the feast of fatness establishest, to work thou callest!
25. Father Bel, faithful prince, mighty prince, thou createst the strength of life!
A line at the end states that the hymn consisted of 25 lines.
It is a hymn to Bel of Nippur, whose Sumerian name was Enlil. It reveals an exalted conception of Bel as supreme ruler, as a god who gives life, as a god of justice whose rule holds society together, but it lacks both the poetical sublimity and the religious depth and fire of the Hebrew psalms.
6. An Egyptian Hymn to the Sun-god (about 1400 B. C.).[567]
Hail to thee, beautiful god of every day!
Rising in the morning without ceasing,
[Not] wearied in labor.
When thy rays are visible,
5. Gold is not considered,
It is not like thy brilliance.
Thou art a craftsman shaping thy own limbs;
Fashioner without being fashioned;
Unique in his qualities, traversing eternity;
10. Over ways with millions under his guidance.
Thy brilliance is like the brilliance of the sky,
Thy colors gleam more than the hues of it.
When thou sailest across the sky all men behold thee,
(Though) thy going is hidden from their sight.
15. When thou showest thyself at morning every day,
...... under thy majesty, though the day be brief,
Thou traversest a journey of leagues,
Even millions and hundred-thousands of time.
Every day is under thee.
20. When thy setting comes,
The hours of the night hearken to thee likewise.
When thou hast traversed it
There comes no ending to thy labors.
All men—they see by means of thee.
25. Nor do they finish when thy majesty sets,
For thou wakest to rise in the morning,
And thy radiance, it opens the eyes (again).
When thou settest in Manu,[568]
Then they sleep like the dead.
30. Hail to thee! O disc of day,
Creator of all and giver of their sustenance,
Great Falcon, brilliantly plumaged,
Brought forth to raise himself on high of himself,
Self-generator, without being born.
35. Firstborn Falcon in the midst of the sky,
To whom jubilation is made at the rising and the setting likewise.
Fashioner of the produce of the soil,
...............................................
Taking possession of the Two Lands (Egypt), from great to small—
40. A mother profitable to gods and men,
A craftsman of experience, ..........
Valiant herdsman who drives cattle,
Their refuge and the giver of their sustenance,
Who passes by, running the course of the sun-god,
45. Who determines his own birth,
Exalting his beauty in the body of Nut,
Illuminating the Two Lands (Egypt) with his disc,
The primordial being, who himself made himself;
Who beholds that which he has made,
50. Sole lord taking captive all lands every day,
As one beholding them that walk therein;
Shining in the sky a being as the sun.
He makes the seasons by the months,
Heat when he desires,
55. Cold when he desires.
He makes the limbs to languish
When he enfolds them,
Every land is in rejoicing
At his rising every day, in order to praise him.
This hymn is, so far as its expressions go, monotheistic. One would not dream from it that there was any god but the sun-god. Nevertheless, other gods were worshiped. The monotheism here expressed was not of the intolerant kind which prevailed in Israel, and which ultimately put down the worship of all rival deities.
Such an intolerant monotheism was introduced into Egypt by Amenophis IV (see Part I, p. 29), who took an old name for the sun disc, Aton, as the name of the one god, and who tried to suppress the worship of all other gods. The movement failed, but while it lasted it produced the following beautiful hymn.
7. An Egyptian Hymn in Praise of Aton.[569]
Thy dawning is beautiful in the horizon of the sky,
O loving Aton, Beginning of life!
When thou risest in the eastern horizon,
Thou fillest every land with thy beauty.
5. Thou art beautiful, great, glittering, high above every land,
Thy rays, they encompass the lands, even all that thou hast made,
Thou art Re,[570] and thou carriest them all away captive;
Thou bindest them by thy love.
Though thou art far away, thy rays are upon the earth;
10. Though thou art on high, thy footprints are the day.
When thou settest in the western horizon of the sky,
The earth is in darkness like the dead;
They sleep in their chambers,
Their heads are wrapped up,
15. Their nostrils are stopped,
And none seeth the other,
While all their things are stolen
Which are under their heads,
And they know it not.
20. Every lion cometh forth from his den,
All serpents, they sting.
Darkness ................
The world is in silence;
He that made them resteth in his horizon.
25. Bright is the earth when thou risest in the horizon.
When thou shinest as Aton by day
Thou drivest away the darkness.
When thou sendest forth thy rays,
The Two Lands (Egypt) are in daily festivity,
30. Awake and standing upon their feet
When thou hast raised them up.
Their limbs bathed, they take their clothing,
Their arms uplifted in adoration to thy dawning.
(Then) in all the world they do their work.
35. All cattle rest upon their pasturage,
The trees and the plants flourish,
The birds flutter in their marshes,
Their wings uplifted in adoration to thee.
All the sheep dance upon their feet,
40. All wingèd things fly,
They live when thou hast shone upon them.
The barques sail upstream and downstream alike.
Every highway is open because thou dawnest.
45. The fish in the river leap up before thee.
The rays are in the midst of the great green sea.
Creator of the germ in woman,
Maker of seed in man,
Giving life to the son in the body of his mother,
50. Soothing him that he may not weep,
Nurse (even) in the womb,
Giver of breath to animate every one that he maketh!
When he cometh forth from the body ...... on the day of his birth,
Thou openest his mouth in speech,
55. Thou suppliest his necessities.
When the fledgling in the egg chirps in the shell,
Thou givest him breath therein to preserve him alive.
When thou hast brought him together,
To (the point of) bursting it in the egg,
60. He cometh forth from the egg
To chirp with all his might.
He goeth about on his two feet
When he hath come forth therefrom.
How manifold are thy works![571]
65. They are hidden from before (us),
O sole God, whose powers no other possesseth.
Thou didst create the earth according to thy heart
While thou wast alone:
Men, all cattle large and small,
70. All that are upon the earth,
That go about upon their feet;
[All] that are on high,
That fly with their wings.
The foreign countries, Syria and Kush,
75. The land of Egypt;
Thou settest every man into his place,
Thou suppliest their necessities.
Every one has his possessions,
And his days are reckoned.
80. The tongues are divers in speech,
Their forms likewise and their skins are distinguished.
(For) thou makest different the strangers.
Thou makest the Nile in the Nether World,
Thou bringest it as thou desirest,
85. To preserve alive the people.
For thou hast made them for thyself,
The lord of them all, resting among them;
Thou lord of every land, who risest for them,
Thou Sun of day, great in majesty.
90. All the distant countries,
Thou makest (also) their life,
Thou hast set a Nile in the sky;
When it falleth for them,
95. It maketh waves upon the mountains,
Like the great green sea,
Watering their fields in their towns.
How excellent are thy designs, O lord of eternity!
There is a Nile in the sky for the strangers
100. And for the cattle of every country that go upon their feet.
(But) the Nile, it cometh from the Nether World for Egypt.
Thy rays nourish every garden;
When thou risest they live,
They grow by thee.
105. Thou makest the seasons
In order to create all thy work:
Winter to bring them coolness,
And heat that they may taste thee.
Thou didst make the distant sky to rise therein,
110. In order to behold all that thou hast made,
Thou alone, shining in thy form as living Aton,
Dawning, glittering, going afar and returning.
Thou makest millions of forms
Through thyself alone;
115. Cities, towns, and tribes, highways and rivers.
All eyes see before them,
For thou art Aton of the day over the earth.
.............................................
Thou art in my heart,
120. There is no other that knoweth thee
Save thy son Ikhnaton.[572]
Thou hast made him wise
In thy designs and in thy might.
The world is in thy hand,
125. Even as thou hast made them.
When thou hast risen they live,
When thou settest they die;
For thou art length of life of thyself,
Men live through thee,
130. While (their) eyes are upon thy beauty
Until thou settest.
All labor is put away
When thou settest in the west.
...............................................
135. Thou didst establish the world,
And raise them, up for thy son,
Who came forth from thy limbs,
The king of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Living in Truth, Lord of the Two Lands,
140. Nefer-khepru-Re, Wan-Re (Ikhnaton),
Son of Re, living in Truth, lord of diadems,
Ikhnaton, whose life is long;
And for the chief royal wife, his beloved,
Mistress of the Two Lands, Nefer-nefru-Aton, Nofretete,
145. Living and flourishing for ever and ever.
8. Comparison with the Psalter.
This long hymn contains many beautiful passages, and, in addition to the line “How manifold are thy works!” often reminds one of Psa. 104, though in religious feeling it falls well below that psalm. Ikhnaton speaks of himself toward the end of his hymn as the one “whose life is long,” but the poor fellow died before he was thirty years old.[573] His mummy was found a few years ago, and it is that of a young man. Vain were his hopes, unless his words refer to the immortal life.
These Egyptian hymns, like the Babylonian, exhibit a high degree of poetic and intellectual power, and much deep religious feeling, but the men who wrote them somehow lacked that deep religious insight and simple power of emotional expression that were given to the Hebrews. Their compositions but set in clearer relief the beauty, depth, and inspirational power of the Hebrew Psalms.
CHAPTER XXII
PARALLELS TO PROVERBS AND ECCLESIASTES
The Nature of the Book of Proverbs and the Parallels. Babylonian Proverbs from the Library of Ashurbanipal. Precepts from the Library of Ashurbanipal. Comparison with the Bible. Egyptian Precepts of Ptahhotep. Comparison with the Bible. Parallel to Ecclesiastes from the Gilgamesh Epic.
Both Egypt and Babylon furnish parallels to the book of Proverbs. The Biblical book of Proverbs contains a long connected discourse of advice (Prov. 1-9) and various collections of disconnected proverbs (Prov. 10-29). Parallels to both are found in Egypt and in Babylonia. The library of Ashurbanipal contained a collection of proverbs in two languages, arranged as reading lessons for students. A few examples are here given.
1. Some Babylonian Proverbs from the Library of Ashurbanipal.[574]
1. A hostile act thou shalt not perform, that fear of vengeance (?) shall not consume thee.
2. Thou shalt not do evil, that life (?) eternal thou mayest obtain.
3. Does a woman conceive when a virgin, or grow great without eating?
4. If I put anything down it is snatched away; if I do more than is expected, who will repay me?
5. He has dug a well where no water is; he has raised a husk without kernel.
6. Does a marsh receive the price of its reeds, or fields the price of their vegetation?
7. The strong live by their own wages; the weak by the wages of their children.
8. He is altogether good, but he is clothed with darkness.
9. The face of a toiling ox thou shalt not strike with a goad.
10. My knees go, my feet are unwearied; but a fool has cut into my course.
11. His ass I am; I am harnessed to a mule; a wagon I draw; to seek reeds and fodder I go forth.
12. The life of day before yesterday has departed today.
13. If the husk is not right, the kernel is not right; it will not produce seed.
14. The tall grain thrives, but what do we understand of it? The meager grain thrives, but what do we understand of it?
15. The city whose weapons are not strong—the enemy before its gates shall not be thrust through.
16. If thou goest and takest the field of an enemy, the enemy will come and take thy field.
17. Upon a glad heart oil is poured out of which no one knows.
18. Friendship is for the day of trouble; posterity for the future.
19. An ass in another city becomes its head.
The idea is similar to Matt. 13:57: “A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.”
20. Writing is the mother of eloquence and the father of artists.
21. Be gentle to thy enemy as to an old oven.[575]
22. The gift of the king is the nobility of the exalted; the gift of the king is the favor of governors.
23. Friendship in days of prosperity is servitude forever.
24. There is strife where servants are; slander where anointers anoint.
25. When thou seest the gain of the fear of god, exalt god and bless the king.[576]
2. Precepts from the Library of Ashurbanipal.[577]
Thou shalt not slander, (but) speak kindly;
Thou shalt not speak evil, (but) show mercy.
Him who slanders (and) speaks evil,
With its recompense will Shamash[578] visit (?) his head.
Thou shalt not make large thy mouth, but guard thy lip;
In the time of anger thou shalt not speak at once.
If thou speakest quickly, thou wilt repent (?) afterward,
And in silence wilt thou sadden thy mind.
Daily present to thy god
Offering and prayer, appropriate to incense.
Before thy god mayest thou have a pure heart,
For that is appropriate to deity.
Prayer, petition, and prostration
Early in the morning shalt thou render him; he will judge thy burdens (?),
And with the help of God thou wilt be abundantly prosperous.
In thy wisdom learn of the tablet;
The fear (of God) begets favor,
Offering enriches life,
And prayer brings forgiveness of sins.
(The text of the rest is too broken for connected translation.)
3. Comparison with the Bible.
None of the sentiments expressed in these proverbs is identical with any in the Bible. No. 21 is on the same subject as Prov. 24:17; No. 22 reminds one slightly of the first clause of Prov. 14:35; No. 23 has the same sentiment as Prov. 18:24: “He that maketh many friends doeth it to his own destruction”; while No. 6 is somewhat similar to Prov. 24:21.
Among the “precepts,” that on guarding the lips recalls to one’s mind Prov. 10:19; 13:3; 14:3; 17:28. Reference is made to the “gain of the fear of God” and it is declared to “beget favor.” Job 28:28 declares “the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom.”
4. The Precepts of Ptahhotep.
These precepts are attributed to a man who lived in the time of the fifth Egyptian dynasty, about 2650 B. C., and are at least as old as 2000 B. C. The text is very difficult. The examples given below are taken from Breasted’s[579] condensation of the moral precepts which the treatise contains.
1. If thou findest a wise man in his time, a leader of understanding more excellent than thou, bend thy arms and bow thy back.
2. If thou findest a wise man in his time, thy equal, .......... be not silent when he speaks evil. Great is the approval by those who hear, and thy name will be good in the knowledge of the princes.
3. If thou findest a wise man in his time, a poor man and not thy equal, be not overbearing against him when he is unfortunate.
4. If thou art a leader (or administrator) issuing ordinances for the multitude, seek for thee very excellent matter, that thy ordinance may endure without evil therein. Great is righteousness (truth, right, justice), enduring ..........; it has not been disturbed since the time of Osiris.
5. Put no fear (of thee?) among the people .......... What the god commands is that which happens. Therefore live in the midst of quiet. What they (the gods?) give comes of itself.
6. If thou art a man of those who sit by the seat of a man greater than thou, take what (food) he gives, ...... look at what is before thee, and bombard him not with many glances (don’t stare at him) ...... Speak not to him until he calls. One knows not what is unpleasant to (his) heart. Speak thou when he greets thee, and what thou sayest will be agreeable to (his) heart.
7. If thou art a man of those who enter, whom (one) prince sends to (another) prince, ...... execute for him the commission according as he saith. Beware of altering a word which (one) prince speaks to (another) prince, by displaying the truth with the like of it.
8. If thou plowest and there is growth in the field, the god gives it (as) increase in thy hand. Satisfy not thy own mouth beside thy kin.
9. If thou art insignificant, follow an able man and all thy proceedings shall be good before the god.
10. Follow thy desire as long as thou livest. Do not more than is told (thee). Shorten not the time of following desire. It is an abomination to encroach upon the time thereof. Take no care daily beyond the maintenance of thy house. When possessions come, follow desire, (for) possessions are not complete when he (the owner) is harassed.
[Compare with this precept Eccles. 11:9 and 7:15-17.]
11. If thou art an able man, (give attention to the conduct of thy son).
..................................................................................
16. If thou art a leader (or administrator), hear quietly the speech of the petitioner. He who is suffering wrong desires that his heart be cheered to do that on account of which he hath come ....... It is an ornament of the heart to hear kindly.
17. If thou desirest to establish friendship in a house, into which thou enterest as lord, as brother, or as friend, wheresoever thou enterest in, beware of approaching the women ...... A thousand men are undone for the enjoyment of a brief moment like a dream. Men gain (only) death for knowing them.
[Compare Prov. 5:3, f.]
18. If thou desirest that thy procedure be good, withhold thee from all evil, beware of occasion of avarice ...... He who enters therein does not get on. It corrupts fathers, mothers, and mothers’ brothers. It divides wife and man; it is plunder (made up) of everything evil; it is a bundle of everything base. Established is the man whose standard is righteousness, who walks in its way. He is used to make his fortune thereby, (but) the avaricious is houseless.
19. Be not avaricious in dividing ...... Be not avaricious towards thy kin. Greater is the fame of the gentle than (that of) the harsh.
20. If thou art successful, establish thy house. Love thy wife in husbandly embrace, fill her body, clothe her back. The recipe for her limbs is ointment. Gladden her heart as long as thou livest. She is a profitable field for her lord.
[Compare Eccles. 9:9.]
21. Satisfy those who enter to thee (come into thy office) with that which thou hast.
22. Repeat not a word of hearsay.
23. If thou art an able man who sits in the council of his lord, summon thy understanding to excellent things. Be silent.
24. If thou art a strong man, establish the respect of thee by wisdom and by quietness of speech.
25. Approach not a prince in his time. [Apparently an idiom for some particular mood.]
26. Instruct a prince (or official) in that which is profitable for him.
27. If thou art the son of a man of the council, commissioned to content the multitude, ...... be not partial. Beware lest he (the man of the multitude?) say, “His plan is that of the princes. He utters the words in partiality.”
..................................................................................
29. If thou becomest great after thou wert little, and gettest possessions after thou wert formerly poor in the city, ...... be not proud-hearted because of thy wealth. It has come to thee as a gift of the god.
30. Bend thy back to thy superior, thy overseer of the king’s house, and thy house shall endure because of his (or its) possessions and thy reward shall be in the place thereof. It is evil to show disobedience to a superior. One lives as long as he is gentle.
31. Do not practise corruption of children.
32. If thou searchest the character of a friend, ...... transact the matter with him when he is alone.
33. Let thy face be bright as long as thou livest. As for what goes out of the storehouse, it comes not in again; and as for loaves (already) distributed, he who is concerned therefor has still an empty stomach. [“There is no use in crying over spilt milk.”]
34. Know thy merchants when thy fortunes are evil.
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37. If thou hearkenest to these things which I have said to thee, all thy plans will progress. As for the matter of the righteousness thereof, it is their worth. The memory thereof shall circulate in the mouths of men, because of the beauty of their utterances. Every word will be carried on and not perish in this land forever ....... He who understands discretion is profitable in establishing that through which he succeeds on earth. A wise man is satisfied by reason of that which he knows. As for a prince of good qualities, they are in his heart and tongue. His lips are right when he speaks, his eyes see, and his ears together hear what is profitable for his son. Do right (righteousness, justice, truth), free from lying.
38. Profitable is hearkening for a son that hearkens ...... How good is it when a son receives that which his father says. He shall reach advanced age thereby. A hearkener is one whom the god loves. Who hearkens not is one whom the god hates. It is the heart (= understanding) which makes its possessor a hearkener or one not hearkening. The life, health, and prosperity of a man is his heart. The hearkener is one who hears and speaks. He who does what is said is one who loves to hearken. How good it is when a son hearkens to his father! How happy is he to whom these things are said! ...... His memory is in the mouth of the living who are on the earth and those who shall be.
39. If the son of a man receives what his father says, none of his plans will miscarry. Instruct as thy son one who hearkens, who shall be successful in the judgment of the princes, who directs his mouth according to that which is said to him ...... How many mishaps befall him who hearkens not! The wise man rises early to establish himself, while the fool is scourged.
[With the first of this section compare Exod. 20:12; Deut. 5:16. With the end of it, Prov. 6:9-11; 10:26; 13:4.]
40. As for the fool who hearkens not, he accomplishes nothing. He regards wisdom as ignorance, and what is profitable as diseased ....... His life is death thereby, ....... he dies, living every day. Men pass by (avoid?) his qualities, because of the multitude of evils upon him every day.
41. A son who hearkens is a follower of Horus. He prospers after he hearkens. He reaches old age, he attains reverence. He speaks likewise to his (own) children, renewing the instruction of his father. Every man who instructs is like his sire. He speaks with his children; then they speak to their children. Attain character, ...... make righteousness to flourish and thy children shall live.
42. .......... Let thy attention be steadfast as long as thou speakest, whither thou directest thy speech. May the princes who shall hear say, “How good is that which comes out of his mouth!”
43. So do that thy lord shall say to thee, “How good is the instruction of his father from whose limbs he came forth! He has spoken to him; it is in (his) body throughout. Greater is that which he hath done than that which was said to him.” Behold, a good son, whom the god gives, renders more than his lord says to him. He does right (righteousness, etc.), his heart acts according to his way. According as thou attainest me (“what I have attained”), thy limbs shall be healthy, the king shall be satisfied with all that occurs, and thou shalt attain years of life not less than I have passed on the earth. I have attained one hundred and ten years of life [compare Gen. 50:26], while the king gave to me praise above (that of) the ancestors (in the vizierial office) because I did righteousness for the king even unto the place of reverence (the grave).
5. Comparison with the Bible.
These precepts, which were written before 1800 B. C., like most of those in the book of Proverbs, embody much worldly wisdom. They are based on experience, and while, like Proverbs, they sometimes urge a religious motive as a reason for right conduct, they frankly advocate it, as Proverbs often does, on the ground of expediency. The points where the text is closely parallel to that of Proverbs are few, and these have been sufficiently pointed out. Some of the passages, as already noted, are closely parallel to parts of the book of Ecclesiastes. The religious appeal of the precepts is to Egyptian polytheism, while that of Proverbs is to Hebrew monotheism.
6. A Parallel to Ecclesiastes.
The following striking parallel to a passage in Ecclesiastes is taken from a tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic,[580] written in the script of the time of Hammurapi, about 2000 B. C.
Since the gods created man,[581]
Death they ordained for man,
Life in their hands they hold.
Thou, O Gilgamesh, fill indeed thy belly,
Day and night be thou joyful,
Daily ordain gladness,
Day and night rage and make merry,
Let thy garments be bright,
Thy head purify, wash with water,
Desire thy children which thy hand possesses,
A wife enjoy in thy bosom,
Peaceably thy work (?) ..........
This is not only in sentiment strikingly like Eccles. 9:6-9, but in part closely approaches its language.
CHAPTER XXIII
EGYPTIAN PARALLELS TO THE SONG OF SONGS
Nature of the Song of Songs. Translation of Some Egyptian Love-Poems. Comparison with Biblical Passages.
For many centuries the Song of Songs has been interpreted allegorically, but even those who give it an allegorical meaning must admit that its sentiments are couched in the terms of earthly love. Love poems, which sometimes express sentiments that remind us of the Song of Songs, have been discovered on some Egyptian papyri and ostraca. The documents in which they are written range in their dates from 2000 B. C. to about 1100 B. C. Selections from these follow:[582]
I[583]
Thy love has penetrated all within me
Like [honey?] plunged into water,
Like an odor which penetrates spices,
As when one mixes juice in ..........
[Nevertheless] thou runnest to seek thy sister,
Like the steed upon the battlefield,
As [the warrior rolls along] on the spokes of his wheels.
For heaven makes thy love
Like the advance of [flames in straw],
And its [longing] like the downward swoop of a hawk.
II[584]
Disturbed is the condition (?) of [my] pool.
[The mouth] of my sister is a rosebud.
Her breast is a perfume.
Her arm [is a ...... bough?]
[Which offers] a delusive seat.
Her forehead is a snare of meryu-wood.
I am a wild goose, a hunted one (?),
My gaze is at thy hair,
At a bait under the trap
That is to catch (?) me.
“Brother” and “sister” are terms frequently applied to lovers in these poems. Perhaps it arose from an ancient custom of marriages between brothers and sisters, which was perpetuated in the royal families of Egypt down to Roman times.
The description of the physical attractions of the loved one reminds one of Cant. 4:1-7.
III[585]
Is my heart not softened by thy love-longing for me?
My dogfoot-(fruit) which excites thy passion,—
Not will I allow it
To depart from me.
Although cudgeled even to the “Guard of the overflow,”[586]
To Syria, with shebôd-rods and clubs,
To Ethiopia, with palm-rods,
To the highlands, with switches,
To the lowlands, with twigs,
Never will I listen to their counsel,
To abandon longing.
IV[587]
The voice of the wild goose cries,
(Where) she has seized their bait,
(But) thy love holds me back,
I am unable to liberate her.
I must, then, take home my net!
What shall I say to my mother,
To whom formerly I came each day
Loaded down with fowls?
I shall not set the snares today
For thy love has caught me.
This is a vivid description of the power of the tender passion.
V[588]
The wild goose flies up and soars,
She sinks down upon the net.
The birds cry in flocks,
But I hasten [homeward],
Since I care for thy love alone.
My heart yearns for thy breast,
I cannot sunder myself from thy attractions.
This is a continuation of the preceding.
VI[589]
Thou beautiful one! My heart’s desire is
To procure for thee thy food as thy husband,
My arm resting upon thy arm.[590]
Thou hast changed me by thy love.
Thus say I in my heart,
In my soul, at my prayers:
“I lack my commander tonight,
I am as one dwelling in a tomb.”
Be thou but in health and strength,[591]
Then the nearness of thy countenance
Sheds delight, by reason of thy well-being,
Over a heart, which seeks thee (with longing).
This poem expresses on the part of the man a longing similar to that expressed by the woman in Cant. 8:1-3.
VII[592]
The voice of the dove calls,
It says: “The earth is bright.”
What have I to do outside?
Stop, thou birdling! Thou chidest me!
I have found my brother in his bed,
My heart is glad beyond all measure.
We each say:
“I will not tear myself away.”
My hand is in his hand.
I wander together with him
To every beautiful place.
He makes me the first of maidens,
Nor does he grieve my heart.
In this poem the loved woman speaks, as in Cant. 8:1-3.
VIII[593]
Sa‘am-plants are in it,
In the presence of which one feels oneself uplifted!
I am thy darling sister,
I am to thee like a bit of land,
With each shrub of grateful fragrance.
Lovely is the water-conduit in it,
Which thy hand has dug.
While the north wind cooled us.
A beautiful place to wander,
Thy hand in my hand,
My soul inspired,
My heart in bliss,
Because we go together.
New wine it is, to hear thy voice;
I live for hearing it.
To see thee with each look,
Is better than eating and drinking.
The figure of the garden, with which this poem begins, is also used in Cant. 5:1 and 6:2, 3.
IX[594]
Ta-’a-ti-plants are in it!
I take thy garlands away,
When thou comest home drunken,
And when thou art lying in thy bed
When I touch thy feet,
(And) children are (?) in thy ..........
........................
[I rise up] rejoicing in the morning
Thy nearness [means to me] health and strength.
In ancient as in modern times wives loved fondly, while husbands gave way to drunkenness.
The poems as a whole make it clear that in Egypt love, which lies at the basis of all home life, and is in the New Testament made a figure of the relation of Christ to the Church (see John 3:29; Rev. 21:2, 9), was as warmly felt as in Israel, and was likewise poetically and passionately expressed.
CHAPTER XXIV
ILLUSTRATIONS OF PASSAGES IN THE PROPHETS
Uniqueness of the Prophetic Books. An Assyrian Prophetic Vision. Comparison with the Bible. The Egyptian Social Conscience. Tale of the Eloquent Peasant. Comparison with the Bible. An Ideal King; Extract from the Admonitions of Ipuwer. Comparison with Messianic Expectations. Sheol. Ishtar’s Descent to the Under-world. Comparison with Prophetic Passages. A Lamentation for Tammuz.
There is no other body of literature which closely corresponds to the books of the Hebrew prophets. The depth of their social passion and the power of their moral and religious insight form a unique combination. Nevertheless, texts which have come from Babylonia and Egypt do show that certain phases of prophetic thought were not without parallels elsewhere. At times they also illustrate for us thoughts and practices which the prophets abhorred. A few such texts are here translated.
1. A Prophetic Vision.
The following statement is taken from the annals of Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria, 668-626 B. C. It is the conclusion of a passage in which the king is relating his strenuous struggle with Tiuman, King of Elam. Ashurbanipal tells how he poured out a libation to Ishtar of Arbela and offered to her a long prayer against the Elamite king. The narrative then continues:[595]