“And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
“He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord.
“And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
“Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth (or, the streets of the city), and Calah.
“And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.”
Such is the Biblical account of the origin of the two most powerful states of the ancient East, Babylonia and Assyria. It has been many times quoted and discussed, but there seems always to be something new to say about it, or to add to it, or what has already been said may be put in another and clearer way. It is for one or more of these reasons, as well as for the completeness of this work, that the author ventures again to approach the well-worn problems that these verses present.
[pg 119]Every reader, on taking up a book dealing with this period of ancient Eastern history, will probably have noticed, that the word which most frequently meets his eye (if the book be an English one) is Akkad, the Semitic equivalent of the Biblical Accad. If, however, it be a continental work, the equivalent expression will be Šumer—which word, indeed, he will meet with also in English works, if the writer be at all under German or other foreign influence.
The reason for this divergence of opinion is very simple, the fact being that there were two tribes or nationalities, Šumer being before Akkad when the two countries are mentioned together, and as it is regarded as identical with the Shinar of Gen. x. 10, Šumer and Šumerian may possibly be preferable, but in all probability Akkad and Akkadian are not wrong.
As we see from the chapter of Genesis referred to, there were many nationalities in the Euphrates valley in ancient times, and the expression “Cush begat Nimrod,” would imply that the inhabitants of Babylonia were all Cushites. Yet the great majority of the inscriptions found in that country of a later date than about 2000 b.c. are Semitic.
Large additions have of late years been made to the number of ancient remains from Babylonia, and most of these are of a very early period. We are thus in a position to compare not only the different types of that early period with each other, but also with the sculptures of later date. The cylinder-seals show us a comparatively slim race, long-bearded, erect and dignified, and these characteristics are also recognizable among the various types revealed to us by the still earlier sculptures. The representations of kings and deities are often heavily bearded, but, on the other hand, high officials and others are generally clean shaven. These peculiarities, with the difference of costume, especially the thick-brimmed hats, [pg 120] would seem to imply distinct foreign influence, or, rather, in combination with the differences of racial type exhibited, considerable foreign admixture. Perhaps, however, the true explanation is, that the plain of Shinar represents the meeting-point of two different races—one Cushite and the other Semitic.
And this fact, as is well known, is confirmed by the existence of what is regarded as the language of the Akkadians, and also of a dialect of the same. This is not the place to discuss the question whether these non-Semitic idioms be really languages or only cryptographs—the author holds, in common with Sayce, Oppert, Hommel, and all the principal Assyriologists, that they are real languages—but a reference to the few passages where these idioms are spoken of may not be without interest.
One of these is the fragment known as S. 1190 in the British Museum, where the contents of the tablet of which it formed a part are referred to as “Two Šumerian incantations used” (seemingly) “for the stilling of a weeping child.” Another tablet refers to the languages, and states that the tongue of Šumer was like (the tongue of) Akkad, or assumed a likeness to it at some time or other. This document also refers to another form of speech that was the tongue of the prince, chief, or leader. Yet another fragment refers to Akkad as below (? to the south) and Šumer above (? to the north),13 but it is doubtful whether this refers to the position of the country. A fourth large fragment written partly in the “dialect” is referred to as a “Šumerian” text.
Both from the ethnographical and the linguistic side, therefore, ample testimony to the existence of a [pg 121] non-Semitic race (or non-Semitic races) in the plain of Shinar in ancient times is at hand. As to the language intended in the expression “Two Šumerian incantations” (spoken of above) there can be no doubt, the original idiom in question being the non-Semitic tongue already referred to—that tongue which was like the tongue of Akkad, of which it was apparently a more decayed form. The title given cannot refer to the translation into Assyro-Babylonian which accompanies it, as this is undoubtedly of later date than the composition itself.
There is then no doubt that the Akkadians and the Šumerians were two tribes of the same race, probably intermixed to a certain extent with foreign elements (people with oblique eyes being depicted on at least two of the sculptures of the early period from Tel-Loh), and speaking a language differing entirely from that of their Semitic fellow-countrymen,—a language which was of an agglutinative nature, introducing into its verbal forms whole rows of analytical particles, which sometimes gave to the phrase a precision of meaning to which the Semitic Babylonian has but little pretension, though Šumero-Akkadian is generally difficult enough in other respects, in consequence of the excessive number of the homophones that it contains. Indeed, it is sometimes difficult to see how the speakers of the latter language could have understood each other without resorting to some such distinctive aids similar to the tones used in modern—as probably also in ancient—Chinese, of which Šumero-Akkadian is regarded by the Rev. C. J. Ball as an exceedingly ancient form.
The question of the origin of the Akkadians is one concerning which there has been and is still much uncertainty, and which presents many problems for the future. It has been remarked that the fact that there is no special ideograph for “river,” and the fact that “mountain” and “country” are represented by the [pg 122] same character, imply that the people with whom the cuneiform script originated came from a mountainous country—probably the tract to the east or the north-east. This assumption, however, is not wholly dependent on what is here stated, for it is a well-known and admitted fact that the ideograph generally used for “Akkad” stands also for other tracts that are largely mountainous, namely, Phœnicia and Ararat.
It may be of interest here to quote the passage referring to this.
The text in question is the exceedingly important syllabary designated by Prof. Fried. Delitzsch “Syllabary B.” The text is unfortunately defective in the British Museum copy, but a duplicate found at Babylon by the German explorers completes it as follows:—
| Uri | [Cuneiform] | Akkadū |
| Ari | [Cuneiform] | Amurrū |
| Tilla | [Cuneiform] | Urṭū. |
From this we see that the ideograph for Akkad not only stood for that country, but also for the land of the Amorites (Amurrū), and for Ararat (Urṭū), both of them being more or less mountainous districts. That the ancient home of the Akkadians was of the same nature is, therefore, more than probable.
That the Akkadians were a conquering race is indicated by the legend of the god Ura, generally called “the Dibbara Legend,” where the hero, “the warrior Ura,” is represented as speaking prophetically as follows—
The Akkadians had dominion, at one time or another, over all the above nationalities, some of whom were permanently subjected. Tâmtu, the region of the Persian Gulf, was under their domination constantly, though the inhabitants were apparently rather turbulent, and unwilling subjects. The Assyrians were apparently for a time under Akkadian (Babylonian) rule, but threw it off at a very early period, and later on conquered Akkad itself. The Elamites, too, were for a while conquered by the inhabitants of Babylonia, and the Sutites (people of Sutî) are said to have been all transported by Kadašman-Muruš (he reigned about 1209 b.c., according to Hilprecht). It will thus be seen that they played an important part in the history of the plain of Shinar where they settled, and to all appearance introduced their civilization.
In the earliest ages known to us, the land of Akkad was a collection of small states resembling the Heptarchy. These states differed considerably in power, influence, and prosperity, and the passing centuries brought many changes with them. From time to time one of the kings or viceroys of these small states would find himself more powerful than his contemporaries, and would gradually overcome all the others. One of the earliest instances of this is the ruler Lugal-zag-gi-si, whose reign is placed by Hilprecht [pg 124] at about 4500 b.c. He was son of Ukuš (the reading is doubtful), viceroy (patesi) of a district which seems to be that of which Kis was capital. “He had conquered all Babylonia and established an empire extending from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea” (Hilprecht).
Whether he and his successors were able to maintain real dominion over all this extensive tract or not, we do not know, but a few hundred years later we find Sargon of Agadé (known as “Šargani king of the city”) subduing the land of the west in the 11th year of his reign, and placing the districts under one control, whilst his son, Naram-Sin, apparently added Elam to his dominions, and Uruwuš (whom Prof. Sayce suggests as the original of the Horus of Pliny), at a later date, led a warlike expedition thither, and brought away much spoil, some of which is still extant as a lasting testimony to the reality of this historical fact.
Among the states which existed in Akkad before the whole country was united under one king may be mentioned Isin or Karrak, Ur (the supposed Ur of the Chaldees), Kêš, Nippur (or Niffur), the modern Niffer, Lagaš, Êridu, Êrech, and Larsa (identified with Ellasar), with some others. Akkad and Babylon were always important centres, the former being supreme before the date of the dynasty of Babylon (about 2200 b.c.), and the latter afterwards.
Until about the time of the dynasty of Babylon, the language principally used was to all appearance the non-Semitic Babylonian or Akkadian—in any case, the numerous texts (mainly temple-accounts) of the period of Dungi, Bûr-Sin, Gimil-Sin, and Ibi-Sin are written in that tongue. Nevertheless, Akkadian seems to have been the official language of the country for a considerable time after, if we may judge from the contracts, and especially the historical dates of these documents, which are always written in Akkadian. [pg 125] The names, too, which were before this period wholly Akkadian, gradually become more and more Semitic (Assyro-Babylonian), and finally the Akkadian element only exists as a remnant of the non-Semitic tongue which prevailed before the Semitic Dynasty of Babylon—that to which Ḫammurabi or Amraphel belonged—made the Semitic tongue, spoken by Sargon of Agadé more than 1500 years before, the official language of the country.
Such, then, is the history of the ancient Akkadians, from whose intermingled stock the later Semitic Babylonians sprang, and who inherited, at the same time, their method of writing, their literature, their arts and sciences, and also, to a great extent, their manners, customs, and religion. It was to all appearance with the Semitic dynasty of Ḫammurabi that the change from non-Semitic to Semitic predominance took place. This change must have been slow enough, and in all probability it occurred without any national upheaval, and without any interruption of the national life. Semitic names gradually replaced the Akkadian ones, most of the religious works, incantations, national histories, bilingual lists, and syllabaries were supplied with Semitic translations, and legal precedents in Semitic Babylonian for the information of the judges of later times were drawn up, whilst the old Akkadian laws, though retained, were translated for the use of students who no longer learned Akkadian as their mother-tongue, and who committed them to memory at the same time as they learned the set phrases they would have to use when, their education completed, they should attain to the dignity of full-fledged ministers to the legal needs of the community. By this time, or somewhat later, the racial type must have become fixed, for the sculptures from the thirteenth century b.c. downwards no longer show the slim, elegant form of the Akkadians, but the thick-set, well-developed figure of the Semites, such as at [pg 126] least some of the native Christians of Baghdad and the neighbourhood show at the present day.
As has been already noticed, the Assyrians spoke the same language, and had practically the same religion and literature (including the ancient Akkadian classics) as the Babylonians, whom they resembled in manners, customs, and outward appearance. The old translation of the verse referring to Assyria, “Out of that land (Babylonia) went forth Assur,” is, in all probability, perfectly correct, whatever may be the arguments in favour of the rendering, “He (Nimrod) went out into Assyria,” for it is exceedingly likely that the Babylonian civilization of Assyria is wholly due to emigration of settlers from Babylonia. Moreover, as will be seen later on, the enigmatical Nimrod is none other than the well-known head of the Babylonian Pantheon, Merodach, who is actually stated to have built Babel (= the city Babylon), Erech, and Niffer (identified in Rabbinical tradition, which in this case is probably correct, with Calneh). The Babylonian tradition as to the foundation of the city of Akkad is still wanting, but that its origin was attributed to Merodach is more than probable. If, however, there had been any grounds for honouring Calah, Nineveh, and Resen with the same divine origin, the Assyrians would certainly not have allowed the tradition to go unrecorded. Properly speaking the “land of Nimrod” (Micah v. 6) is Babylon, notwithstanding all arguments to the contrary, for that was the land which he loved, the land whose great cities he was regarded as having founded and as still favouring, and the land where, if we may trust the language of his name (in Akkadian it means “the brightness of day”), he ruled when he was king upon earth—the land, in fact, which gave him birth.
At first governed by patesis, or viceroys (many Assyriologists call them priest-kings or pontiffs), this title was abandoned for that of šarru, “king,” between [pg 127] 1600 and 1800 b.c. The use of the title patesi (in Assyrian iššaku, “chief”) implies that the earlier rulers of Assur acknowledged some overlord, and in all probability this overlord was the paramount king of Babylonia at the time. If we regard Nimrod (Merodach) as the first king of Babylonia (or the first really great ruler of the country), then it is certain that it was not he who founded the great cities of Assyria, for they can have no pretensions to the same antiquity as the great cities of Babylonia, any more than Assyrian civilization can be of the same period. Of course it is probable that the cities of Assyria were founded at an exceedingly early date, perhaps many of them are as old as any Babylonian foundation, but their importance was nothing like so great as those of Babylonia until the latter had already been renowned many hundreds—perhaps many thousands—of years, and to attribute the origin of these unimportant places to Nimrod would bring him no honour, even if it were probable that he had founded them.
The founder of Nineveh, Calah, Rehoboth Ir, and Resen was either a Babylonian emigrant named Asshur, the first viceroy of the district, or else Asshur, in the tenth chapter of Genesis, stands for the Assyrian nation. It is noteworthy that, in the verse in question, there is no mention of the foundation of the old capital, the city of Aššur. This is probably to be explained by the fact that the book of Genesis was compiled at a time when the primæval capital had already fallen into the background, and Nineveh, the city first mentioned in the enumeration, had assumed the first place—indeed, the fact that it is mentioned first seems to prove this contention.
Being far away from the centre of civilization, and apparently mingling with barbarous races to the north—the people of Urarṭu (Ararat), Van, Ukka, Muṣaṣir, etc.—in all probability the ancient Assyrians lost what polish they had brought with them from Babylonia, [pg 128] and, like all pioneers, developed into hardy, fearless, and cruel warriors, constantly striving for the mastery over all the other tribes and nationalities around. Thus it came to pass that, having ascertained her strength, Assyria refused to acknowledge the overlordship of the kings of Babylonia, and the rulers of the country abandoned the title of patesi or iššaku for that of šarru or “king.” The country from which the Assyrians had sprung did not long remain secure from the attacks of her offspring, and the conquest of Babylonia by the Assyrians took place more than once. Brave, warlike, and cruel, the Assyrians at last possessed for a time not only Babylonia, with the overlordship of Elam, but also the whole of Western Asia as far as the Mediterranean and Cyprus, and a large part of Egypt. Notwithstanding the polish that they had attained during the last years of the empire, the nations around remembered against them all the cruelties that they had committed during the foregoing centuries, and when the time of weakness came, when the ruling mind that should have held the empire together, and turned the tide of disaster into the channel of success, was wanting, then came the chance of the nations that had known the Assyrian empire in former ages, and the end of the seventh century before Christ saw the last of the power that had dominated Western Asia so long and so successfully.
Yet Assyria was a most remarkable power, and produced a number of really great rulers and generals. The Assyrian kings retained for a long time their dominion over fairly distant tracts, and made themselves greatly feared by all the nations around. As is well known, they had made great advances in the art of sculpture, so much so that visitors to the British Museum, on seeing the wonderful hunting-scenes in the Assyrian side-gallery, have been heard to express the opinion that Greek artists must either have originated them, or influenced their production. Their [pg 129] literature was naturally influenced by that of Babylonia, but one has only to read the historical records of Tiglath-pileser I., who declaims his successes in forceful and elegant paragraphs; Sennacherib, with his wealth of words; or Assur-banî-âpli, who in moderate and elegant phrases tells of the successes of his soldiers and generals, to see that, when occasion arose, they could produce literary works as good as the best of ancient times.
It will probably be a matter of regret to many people, but the name of Nimrod, which we have been accustomed to associate with the pleasures and perils of the chase for so many hundred years, must now be relegated to the domain of words misunderstood or purposely changed for reasons that can without much difficulty be divined.
It is not Nimrod alone that comes under this category—Nibhaz (2 Kings xvii. 31), judging from the Greek, is in the same case, Nisroch (2 Kings xix. 37) is certainly so, and Abed-nego for Abed-nebo is a well-known instance.
But why, it will be asked, should these names have been intentionally changed? The answer is simple. All these names were, or contained, the names of heathen deities, and this offended the strongly monotheistic Hebrew scribe who, at a certain period, was copying the portions of the Hebrew Bible in which they occur, so he defaced them, adding or changing a letter, and thus making them unrecognizable, and in all probability ridiculous as well. A different punctuation (vowelling) completed the work, and the names were then in such a form that pious and orthodox lips could pronounce them without fear of defilement.
Nibhaz is probably for some such name as Aba-hazar, Nisroch is for Assur or Assuraku, and Nimrod is, by similar changes, for Amaruduk or Amarudu (original Akkadian), Maruduk or Marduk (Assyro-Babylonian). The change was brought about by making the root triliteral, and the ending uk (ak in [pg 130] Merodach-baladan) disappearing first, Marduk appeared as Marad. This was connected with the root Marad, “to be rebellious,” and the word was still further mutilated, or, rather, deformed by having a (ni) attached, assimilating it to a certain extent to the “niphal forms” of the Hebrew verbs, and making a change altogether in conformity with the genius of the Hebrew language. This alteration is also clearly visible in Nibhaz and Nisroch, which fully confirm the explanation here given.
From a linguistic point of view, therefore, the identification of Nimrod as a changed form of Merodach is fully justified.
But there is another and a potent reason for eliminating Nimrod from the list of Babylonian heroes, and that is, the fact that his name is nowhere found in the extensive literature which has come down to us. His identification with Gišdubar was destroyed when it was discovered that the true reading of that doubtful name was not, as it was expected that it would be, a Babylonian form of Nimrod, but something entirely different, namely, Gilgameš. Moreover, there is some doubt whether the personage represented on the cylinder-seals struggling with lions and bulls be really Gilgameš (Gišdubar)—his prowess in hunting does not seem to be emphasized in the legend recounting his exploits (see pp. 92-111)—he is in all probability the wild man of the woods who became his great friend and counsellor, the satyr-like figure who is represented as accompanying and imitating the hunter being simply one of those beings who, the Babylonians imagined, existed in wild and waste places, for that this creature is not, as was at first supposed, Êa-banî, the friend of Gilgameš, is not only proved by the fact that in the legend he is described as a man with hairy body and hair long like that of a woman, but also by the incontestable circumstance that this satyr-like creature is, on certain cylinders, [pg 131] represented more than once, and in such a way that the repetition cannot be attributed to the exigencies of the design. Moreover, he is sometimes represented in positions that seem to have no connection with the Gilgameš-legend at all.
It would seem therefore to be certain that Gilgameš is not Nimrod; that as he had little or no fame as a “great hunter before the Lord,” it cannot be he who is represented on the cylinder-seals; and that, in all probability, the hunter there represented is Êa-banî, who overcame the divine bull before Erech, and a lion after the defeat of Ḫumbaba, in both cases, however, assisted by his royal patron.
But, it may be asked, how is it that Nimrod, otherwise Merodach, is described as “the mighty hunter before the Lord”?
The explanation is very simple, and remarkably conclusive in its way. Merodach, in the legend of the Creation, there appears as the greatest hunter (using the word in the Hebrew sense of “entrapper”) that ever lived. For did he not, when Tiamtu, the great dragon of chaos and disorder, tried to usurp the dominion of the gods, and bring ruin on their fair work, chase and entrap her, thereby winning the throne of the kingdom of heaven, and laying the universe under an everlasting debt to him? With his net he caught and held her fast, and, standing on her body, slew her. This was the feat of a real gibbor ṣayid, a “hero in hunting,” or entrapping with a net, for ṣayid, “hunting,” is from the same root as Sidon, the name of the ancient “fishing town,” renowned of old, and still existing at the present day.
[pg 132]There is no doubt that one of the most striking and attractive episodes of the sacred narrative of Genesis is the Tower of Babel. It has attracted the attention of all from its circumstantial details, and has, as an authoritative narrative, had the full belief of all the faithful for many thousand years. This being the case, it is needful to go rather carefully into the matter, not only to try to account for its origin, but also to satisfy the believer of to-day with regard to the story being a real historical fact.
“Of these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands,”—“These are the sons of Ham, after their families,”—“These are the sons of Shem, after their families,” says the author of Genesis in ch. x. 5, 20, and 31, and then he adds, in slightly varying words, “after their tongues, in their lands, in their nations.”
Yet, after this (ch. xi. 1) we have the statement, “And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.” Moreover, how was it possible that the whole of the nations of the earth there enumerated in the tenth chapter should have had their origin at Babel, the beginning of Nimrod's (Merodach's) kingdom, coeval with Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar? The effect of such a statement as this would surely be to make the language of Nimrod the primitive language of the world, unless, indeed, all the languages of the earth resulting from the confusion of tongues were regarded as new, the primitive speech of man having been destroyed on that occasion. Then, again, as we know, the building of the city was not stopped, for it continued until it became the greatest and most important centre in the known world when it was at the height of its glory.
With the best will in the world, therefore, there [pg 133] seems to be no escape from regarding both the story of the Tower of Babel, and the reference to Nimrod and Asshur in the foregoing chapter as interpolations, giving statements from ancient and possibly fairly well-known records, recording what was commonly believed in the ancient East in those early ages. It is also noteworthy, that both extracts, referring as they do, to Babylonia, are probably on that account from a Babylonian source. May it not be possible, that they have been inserted in the sacred narrative as statements of what was the common opinion among the more well-informed inhabitants of Western Asia at the time, without any claim to an inspired authority being either stated or implied? This would seem to be the most reasonable way of looking at the matter, and would take away what might well be regarded as a great difficulty to the believer in good faith.
If this be conceded, we can with the greater ease analyze this portion of the eleventh chapter of Genesis, and estimate it at its true value.
In any case, there is great improbability that the statement that the whole earth was of one language and of one speech, was ever believed, by thinking men at the time as an actual historical fact. A better translation would be “the whole land,” that is, the whole tract of country from the mountains of Elam to the Mediterranean Sea, rather than “the whole earth.” The same word is used when the “land” of Israel is spoken of, and also when “the land of Egypt” is referred to. It will thus be seen that no violence whatever is done to the text if the restricted use of the word be accepted.
That this is, in a sense, provable as an historical fact, we shall see in the sequel.
Having thus in a measure cleared the way, the various points of the first nine verses of the eleventh chapter of Genesis may be taken in order.
“As they journeyed in the east” apparently refers [pg 134] to the remembrance of the migrations that many a nation, handing down its traditions from mouth to mouth, must have preserved in ancient times. Whilst thus engaged, “they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there”—a statement which would seem to point to the migrants having been wandering about in various districts, some of them mountainous—like Armenia on the north of Assyria, and Elam and other mountainous tracts on the east. This would seem to agree with the migration which, from the evidence of the monuments of Babylonia, the Akkadians apparently made before they settled in that country. And here it may be noted, in support of that fact, that the ideograph14 for Akkad, Uri or Ura in Akkadian, and Akkadū in Semitic Babylonian, not only stood for Akkad, but also (often used in the Assyrian letters) for Ararat (Urṭū), and likewise (this in a syllabary only) for Amurrū, the land of the Amorites, or Phœnicia. Both these being districts more or less mountainous, it is only reasonable to suppose that the original home of the Akkadians was likewise of the same nature, and that they were not aborigines of the Babylonian plain. The Akkadians at least, therefore, “journeyed in the east.”
In the expression “they found a plain in the land of Shinar,” we have a reference to the old name of a district of Babylonia, generally regarded as the Šumer of the Babylonian inscriptions, called Kingi or Kengi “the country” par excellence in the native tongue of the inhabitants. The land of Shinar here spoken of, if this explanation be correct, not merely contained a plain—it was, in fact, itself a large plain, through which the rivers Tigris and Euphrates ran, and it was covered, when the land had been brought into a really good state of cultivation, by a network of canals connected with them. It must, when the ancient Akkadians first settled there, have been a land of remarkable [pg 135] fertility, and would be so still were it brought into the same efficient state of cultivation, with irrigation and drainage, such as the old inhabitants effected.
Here, having settled down, they built a city and a tower, using brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar—just as they are proved to have done from the remains of cities found in the country at the present day. That Babylon was the site of the first settlement of the nature of a city is conceivable, and it is very possible that the first tower in Babylonia, which in later times had many towers, as had also Assyria, was situated in that ancient city. Everything points, therefore, to the correctness of the statements made in this portion of the sacred narrative. According to native tradition, however (and this seems to be supported by the statements in ch. x. 10), there were other important cities on the Babylonian plain of almost equal antiquity, namely, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, which last is identified with Niffer (see p. 126). Notwithstanding the extensive ruins, proof of the same remote date for Babylon will doubtless be difficult to obtain, on account of the country around and a large portion of the site of the city being so marshy. The result of this condition of things will in all probability be, that very few remains of a really ancient date will be discovered in a condition to render services to archæology. To this must also be added the fact, that the city, being the capital for some thousands of years, underwent many changes at the hands of its various kings, partly from the necessity of keeping in good repair the many comparatively perishable brick monuments that the city contained, and partly from a desire to add more to the glories of the city than any of their predecessors had done.
“And they said, Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, and its top (lit. head) shall be in the heavens.” To all appearance, this means simply that they would [pg 136] build a very high structure,—to many a student of the sacred text it has seemed that the writer only intended to say, that the tower (migdol) that they were about to build was to be very high. The mountains of Elam were not so very far off, and travellers from that part would have been able to assure them that the heavens would not be appreciably nearer on account of their being a few hundred cubits above the surface of the earth, even if traditions of their fathers' wanderings had not assured them of the same thing. They wished simply to make them a name and a rallying-point, “lest,” as the sacred text has it, “we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”
And here a few remarks upon the temple-towers of the Babylonians might not be out of place.
As has already been stated, most of the principal towns of Babylonia each possessed one. That of Babylon (called Šu-ana in the list published in the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, vol. ii., pl. 50) was named Ê-temen-ana, “the temple of the foundation-stone of Heaven”; that of Borsippa, near to Babylon, was called Ê-ur-imina-ana, generally translated “the temple of the seven spheres of heaven,” on account of its being dedicated to the sun, moon, and planets. This was a high and massive tower in seven stages, each coloured with an emblematic tint indicating the heavenly body with which each stage was associated. At Niffer the tower seems to have had three names, or else there were three towers (which is unlikely), the principal one being Im-ur-sag. Agade, the Akkad of Gen. x. 10, had two of these temple-towers, Ê-Dadia, apparently meaning “the temple of the (divine) Presence,” and Ê-šu-gala or Ê-igi-ê-di, the latter apparently meaning “the temple of the wonder (of mankind),” which was dedicated to the god Tammuz. At Cuthah there was the temple of Nannara (Nan-naros); at Ur the temple Ê-šu-gan-du-du; at Erech Ê-gipara-imina, “the temple of the seven enclosures”; [pg 137] at Larsa Ê-dur-an-ki, “the Temple of the bond of heaven and earth.”
The only temple-tower that contains in its name a distinct reference to the seven stages of which it was composed, is that at Borsippa, though that at Erech may possibly have in its name “seven enclosures” a suggestion of something of the kind. As, however, the ruins of the towers at Dûr-Sargina (Khorsabad) in Assyria, Erech, Niffer, and elsewhere, show distinctly this form of architecture, there is every probability that they were all, or almost all, built on the same plan. In his description of the glories of Babylon, Herodotus gives details, in his usual minute way, of the temple of Belos (Ê-sagila) there. He describes it as having eight stages (the platform upon which the tower proper was built being counted as one), and judging from his description, this building must have differed somewhat from the others, the various platforms being connected by a gradually rising ascent, arranged spirally as it were, so that by constantly walking upwards, and turning at the corners of the edifice, one at last reached the top. About the middle of this long ascending pathway there was a stopping-place, with seats to rest upon. Having reached the top of the structure, the visitor came upon a cell, within which there was a couch and a golden table. Here it was supposed that the god descended from time to time to dwell. Below, he relates, there was another cell, wherein was a large statue of Zeus (Belos) sitting. This image was of gold, as were also the table in front of it, the god's footstool, and his seat. It is probable that at the time to which the narrative in Genesis refers, the tower was neither so high, nor the workmanship so splendid and valuable, as in later times.
But was this the Tower of Babel? We do not know. The general opinion is that the great and celebrated temple-tower at Borsippa, extensive remains [pg 138] of which still exist, was that world-renowned erection. Its name, however, was Ê-zida, and it was not situated within Babylon. Notwithstanding the fact, therefore, that Borsippa, the town on the outskirts of the great city, was called “the second Babylon,” and that tradition associates the site of the Tower of Babel with that spot, it must still be held to be very doubtful whether that was really the place. Neither the renown of Ê-zida nor that of Ê-sagila prove that either of them must have been the place, for the populace is fickle-minded in this as in other matters, and holy fanes have the periods when they are in fashion, just like anything else.
This being the case, the question is, what was that Ê-temen-ana-kia which is apparently mentioned in the list of temple-towers quoted above? In many an inscription of Nebuchadnezzar, this temple-tower is referred to, though very shortly, as having been restored by him. Thus, in the great cylinder of Nebuchadnezzar, 85-4-30, i, the following occurs—
In the above Ê-temen-ana-kia takes the place of Ê-sagila, and Ê-ur-imina-ana-kia that of Ê-zida, implying that they respectively belonged to each other. The passage corresponding to the above in the India House Inscription is greatly expanded, and recounted with much detail. The portion referring to Ê-temen-ana-kia is as follows—
According to the plan of Babylon drawn up by Weissbach, one of the German explorers, Ê-temen-ana-kia was situated to the north of Ê-sagila, which latter was evidently the temple connected with it. As both were dedicated to Merodach (Bel), they practically formed one centre of worship, and it is possibly on this account that the Tower is called “the Temple of Belus” in Herodotus. The description, from a Babylonian tablet probably in private hands, published by the late George Smith, agrees well with that given by Herodotus, but has some noteworthy differences—the great height of the lowest stage, the sloping (?) sides of the second stage, and the buildings grouped near it. Unfortunately, the baked brickwork of Ê-temen-ana-kia has been cleared away, practically destroying the remains.
Concerning the miracle of the confusion of tongues, there is, of course, no historical reference. The Babylonian inscriptions know nothing of it. Yet the stranger visiting Babylon could not have been otherwise than struck by the number of languages spoken there. There was the religious tongue, which is called by modern scholars Akkadian or Šumerian, and its dialect, together with the language known as Assyrian, or, more correctly, Semitic Babylonian. [pg 140] Besides this, there were various Aramaic dialects—Chaldee, Aramean (Syriac), and the language of the dockets on the trade-documents, which is also found in Assyria. In addition to these, the Elamite and Kassite conquerors of Babylonia brought with them large numbers of people, and each of these nations naturally introduced, in larger measure than before, the use of their respective languages. Speakers of other tongues long since dead must also have visited the city for the purposes of trade, and of this the so-called Hittite is in all probability an example (in the researches of Profs. Sayce and Jensen we shall, perhaps, see the beginnings of the recovery of this tongue), and a docket in an unknown script implies that yet another language heard there in later times has to be discovered, though this may simply be some other way of writing one of the tongues spoken there that is already known to scholars. With regard to the oneness of the language of the rest of the earth, in all probability this expression referred, as has been already remarked, to the tract enclosed between the mountains of Persia on the east, the Mediterranean on the west, Asia Minor and Armenia on the north, and Arabia on the south—a tract in which the lingua franca of diplomacy was, as is proved by the Tel-el-Amarna tablets, the tongue now called Assyrian, which could easily have been regarded as the proofs and the remains of the thing that had been.
To recapitulate: The story of the Tower of Babel is a break in the narrative of the genealogies, so striking that any thinking man must have been able to recognize it easily. It is a narrative that practically glorifies Babylonia, making it the centre of the human race, and the spot from which they all migrated after the dispersion caused by the confusion of tongues. It was probably given for, and recognized as, the legend current in Babylonia at the time, and must, [pg 141] therefore, have been recognized and valued by the people of the time at its true worth.
Little information is unfortunately to be obtained from Assyro-Babylonian sources concerning the patriarchs from Shem to Abraham. It is true that certain comparisons can be made in the matter of the names, but these, when more precise information comes to light, may be found to be more or less erroneous. As a matter of fact, with one or two exceptions, it is probable that we have nothing from Babylonian sources bearing on the patriarchs who preceded Abraham at all.
Nevertheless, there are one or two things that may be put forward in a more or less tentative way, and these may well be discussed with this reservation in this place.
As we have seen, it was the custom of the early Babylonians to deify the early rulers of their race, and as a well-known example of this, the case of the god Merodach will at once occur to the mind. As has been shown, this deity is none other than the long-known and enigmatical hero Nimrod, and it is probable that, if we had more and more complete sources of information, other instances would be found. This being the case, it may be permitted to the student to try to find similar instances of deification by the Babylonians of the men of old who were their ancestors in common with the Jews and other nations of the ancient East.
To begin with Shem, the name of the ancestor of the Semitic race. As a word, this means, in Hebrew, “name.” Now, the Assyro-Babylonian equivalent and cognate word is šumu, “name,” and this naturally leads one to ask whether Shem may not have been designated “He of the Name” par excellence, and [pg 142] deified under that appellation. If this be the case, we may perhaps see the word Shem in certain names of kings and others of the second dynasty of Babylon (that to which Ḫammurabi or Amraphel belonged, and which held the power from about 2230 to 1967 b.c.). Sumu-abi, the name of the first ruler of the dynasty, would then mean “Shem is my father,” Sumu-la-ili would mean “a name to his god,” with a punning allusion to the deified ancestor of the Semitic nations.
Other names, not royal, are Sumu-Upê, apparently, “Shem of Opis”; Sumu-Dagan, “Shem is Dagon,” or “Name of Dagon”; Sumu-ḫatnu, “Shem is a protection”; Sumu-atar, “Shem is great,” and the form Samu-la-ili for Sumu-la-ili leads one to ask whether Samia may not be for Sumia, “my Shem,” a pet name abbreviated from a longer one similar to those already quoted; Sumu-ya (= Sumia) also occurs. All these forms, being written with s, instead of š, like Samsu-iluna for Šamšu-iluna, betray foreign (so-called Arabic) influence, and are not native Babylonian. That the Babylonians had at this time names compounded with the native representative of Sumu is shown by the contracts of that time, where the name Šumum-libši, “let there be a name,” occurs. Many later instances of this are to be found.15
From other than Bible sources there is but little that can be gathered concerning the descendants of Shem, though in this, as in many other things, one lives in hopes of something coming to light later on. And such a record, as may readily be imagined, would be of the greatest interest and value. Shem, as one of those born before the Flood, must certainly on that [pg 143] account have been renowned (as we have just seen he was, if it be true that he was deified) among other nations of Semitic stock than the Hebrews. To all appearance, the lives of the patriarchs decreased greatly after the Flood, and are represented, in the Bible narrative, as gradually assuming the average duration of those who attain a hoary old age at the present day. It is noteworthy that his eldest son was born two years after the Flood, and if this have any ethnic meaning, it ought to point to the foundation of the settlement known as Arpachshad at about that period, though it could not have attained to the renown of a well-known and recognized community until some time after that date.
The theory that Arpachshad represents a community is rather supported by the fact that it is mentioned in Gen. x. 22, where it is accompanied by the names of Elam, Asshur, Lud, and Aram, which were later, as we know, names of nationalities. Indeed, the long lives of the patriarchs of this exceedingly early period are best explained if we suppose that they represent a people or community.
There is a considerable amount of difference of opinion as to the correct identification of the Arpachshad of Gen. ix. 10, though nearly every critic places the country it represents in the same tract. It has been identified with Arrapkha, or Arrapachitis, in Assyria. Schrader makes it to be for Arpa-cheshed, “the coast of the Chaldeans.” Prof. Hommel, who is always ready with a seductive and probable etymology, suggests that Arpachshad is an Egyptianized way of writing Ur of the Chaldees—Ar-pa-Cheshed, for Ur-pa-Cheshed.
This, it must be admitted, is a possible etymology, for Egyptianized words were really used in that district in ancient times. This is shown in the name of Merodach, Asari, which is apparently connected with the Egyptian Osiris, just as one of the [pg 144] names of the Sun-god Šamaš, Amna, is probably an Akkadianized form of the Egyptian Ammon, and even the Egyptian word for “year,” ronpet, made, probably by early Babylonian scribes, into a kind of pun, became, by the change of a vowel, ran pet, “name of heaven,” transcribed, by those same scribes, into mu-anna, which, in its ordinary signification, means likewise “name of heaven,” in Akkadian; the whole being used with the meaning of ronpet, i.e. “year.” It will thus be seen that there is but little that is unlikely in Prof. Hommel's etymology of Arpachshad, and that the explanation which he gives may turn out to be correct.16
In any case, we may take it that the consensus of opinion favours the supposition that the name in question refers to Babylonia, and if this be the case, Abraham, the father of the Hebrew nation, as well as of other peoples, was really, as has been supposed, of Babylonian or Chaldean origin. This is also implied by the statement in Gen. xi. 28, that Ur of the Chaldees was the land of the nativity of Haran, Abraham's brother, who died in the country of his birth before the family of Terah went to settle at Haran, on the way to Canaan. The theory of the identity of Arpachshad is moreover important, because it is contended that Ur of the Chaldees was not in Babylonia, but is to be identified with the site known as Urfa, in Mesopotamia.
Concerning the names of Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, and Nahor, there is not much that can be said. To all appearance they are not Babylonian names, or, rather, they receive little or no illustration from [pg 145] Babylonian sources. Nothing is recorded concerning these patriarchs except their ages at the time their eldest sons were born, and at what age they died. The question whether the Hebrews derived their name from their ancestor Eber is not set at rest by any passage in the Bible, nor is there any statement in secular literature which would enable this to be decided. To all appearance, it is needful to keep the name of Eber distinct from that of the Hebrews, notwithstanding that they are from the same root. If, however, the Hebrews were “the men from beyond,” then Eber may well have been “the man from beyond,” indicating for his time a migration similar to that of Abraham. In this way, if in no other, the names may be connected.
We have seen that in many cases the names of these “genealogical tables” are regarded as nationalities, and, indeed, there is sufficient justification for such a theory on account of many of the names appearing as those of well-known nations. This being conceded, it would probably not be too much to regard the names of the patriarchs from Shelah to Serug as indicating ethnical historical events. Thus Shelah might mean “extension,” indicating the time when the Semitic race began to go beyond its ancient borders. Treating the other names in the same way, Eber would mean the period when that race crossed some river into another district; Peleg would mean that, at the time referred to, that race, or a portion of it, was divided into small states, as Babylonia was at the period preceding that of the dynasty of Amraphel; whilst Reu would mean “friendliness,” denoting the time when those states were united under one head, and the old dissensions ceased. Serug would then mean something like “interweaving,” perhaps referring to the time when the various races (? of Babylonia) intermingled. These explanations of the names receive a certain amount of confirmation from [pg 146] the parallel list in Gen. x. 25, where to the name Peleg the note is added, “for in his days was the earth divided.”
With regard to Nahor and his son Terah the Jews had other traditions, and they speak thus concerning them—
“Terah, son of Nahor, was the chief officer of king Nimrod, and a great favourite with his royal master. And when his wife Amtheta, the daughter of Kar-Nebo, bare him a son, she called his name Abram, meaning ‘great father.’ And Terah was seventy years old when his son Abram was born.”
Here we have, in Amtheta, a doubtful Babylonian name, in Kar-Nebo a possible Babylonian name, and in the meaning of Abram a signification that does not militate against the indications given by the tablets of Babylonia and Assyria. This being the case, it would seem that there were trustworthy data to go upon for certain facts connected with Abraham's ancestors, and that these facts were known to the Jews of earlier ages. The Talmudic account of the wonders seen at the birth of Abram, however, are not sufficiently worthy of credence to allow of repetition here, notwithstanding their reference to Terah and Abraham's youth.
Eusebius quotes the following from Eupolemus concerning Abraham—
“He saith, moreover, that in the tenth generation in a city of Babylonia, called Camarina (which, by some, is called the city of Urie, and which signifyeth a city of the Chaldeans), there lived, the thirteenth in descent, (a man named) Abraham, a man of a noble race, and superior to all others in wisdom.
“Of him they relate that he was the inventor of astrology and the Chaldean magic, and that on account of his eminent piety he was esteemed by God. It is further said that under the directions of God he removed and lived in Phœnicia, and there taught the [pg 147] Phœnicians the motions of the sun and moon, and all other things; for which reason he was held in great reverence by their king” (Praep. Evan. 9).
Nicolas of Damascus, apparently wishing to glorify his own city, states that Abram was king of Damascus, and went there, with an army, from that part of the country which is situated above Babylon of the Chaldeans, afterwards transferring his dwelling to the land which was at that time called Canaan, but is now called Judea. Justin also states that Abraham lived at Damascus, from which city he traces the origin of the Jews.
According to the most trustworthy traditions, therefore, as well as from the Bible itself, Abraham was of Chaldean or Babylonian origin. If the city of Urie or Ur be, as he says, that which was also called Camarina, this would in all probability be the Aramean form of the Arabic qamar, “the moon,” and the name Camarina would be due to the fact that the Moon-god, Sin or Nannara, was worshipped there. It is also noteworthy that the city whither the family of Terah emigrated, Haran (in Assyro-Babylonian, Ḫarran), was likewise a centre of lunar worship, and some have sought to see in that a reason for choosing that settlement. In connection with this it may be remarked, that in the Talmud Terah, the father of Abraham, is represented as an idolater, reproved by his son Abraham for foolish and wicked superstition.
We see, therefore, from the eleventh chapter of Genesis, that Abraham was a Babylonian from Ur, now known as Mugheir (Muqayyar), or (better still) from that part of the country which lay north of Babylon, known by the non-Semitic inhabitants as Uri, and by the Semitic population as Akkad. As the family of Terah was a pastoral one, they must have pastured their flocks in this district until they heard of those more fruitful tracts in the west, and decided to emigrate thither. And here it may be noted that [pg 148] they did not, by thus quitting their fatherland, go to swear allegiance to another ruler, for the sway of the king of Babylon extended to the farthest limits of the patriarch's wanderings, and wherever he went, Babylonian and Aramean or Chaldean would enable him to make himself understood. He was, therefore, always as it were in his own land, under the governors of the same king who ruled in the place of his birth.
The name of the patriarch, moreover, seems to betray the place of his origin. The first name that he bore was Abram, which has already been compared with the Abu-ramu, “honoured father,” of the Assyrian eponym-lists (in this place an official by whose name the year 677, the 5th year of Esarhaddon, was distinguished). At an earlier date than this the name has not been found, and the element ram, ramu, rame, etc., seems to be rare. Ranke's list gives only Sumu-ramê, “the name is established,” or “Sumu (? Shem) is established,” or something similar, but ramê here is probably not connected with the second syllable of Abram's name. The name of Sarah has been compared with the Assyro-Babylonian šarratu, “queen,” but seems not to occur in the inscriptions. Isaak is also absent, but Ishmael, under the form of Išme-îlu (meaning “(the) god has heard”) occurs, as well as others in which îlu is replaced by Êa, Sin, and Addu or Adad (Hadad).
When, however, it was revealed to Abram that he was to stay in the Promised Land, a change was made in his name—he was no longer known by the Assyro-Babylonian name Abram, “honoured father,” but, in view of the destiny appointed for him, he was to be called Abraham, “father of a multitude of nations.”
The first stratum of the Hebrew nation was, therefore to all appearance, Babylonian, the second stratum Aramean, probably a kindred stock, whilst the third was to all appearance Canaanitish. All these must have left their trace on the Hebrew character, and, [pg 149] like most mixed races, they showed at all times superior intelligence in many ways. They were good diplomates, brave warriors, divine lawgivers, and they excelled in literary skill. One great defect they had—among their many defects—they were stiffnecked to a fatal degree. Had their kings been less obstinate and better rulers, conciliating their subjects instead of exasperating them, the nation might have outlasted the power of Rome, and built upon its ruins in their land a kingdom dominating the Semitic world in the nearer East to the present day.
Of all the characters of early Bible history, there is hardly one which stands out with greater prominence than the patriarch Abraham. And not only is it his history and personality that is important—the historical facts touched upon in the course of his biography are equally so. Facts concerning the ancient East, from Babylonia on the east to Egypt on the west, face the reader as he goes through that attractive narrative, and make him wonder at the state of society, the political situation, and the beliefs of the people which should have made his migrations possible, brought about the monotheistic belief which characterizes his life and that of his descendants, and enabled him and his sons after him to attain such a goodly store of the riches of this world.
To begin with Babylonia, his native place. As is well known, that country had already been in existence as a collection of communities far advanced in arts, sciences, and literature, at an exceedingly early date, and many of the small kingdoms of which it consisted had become united under Ḫammurabi (Amraphel) into one single state, making it one of the greatest powers at the time. Of course, it is not by any means improbable that something similar to this had existed before, but if so, we have no record of the fact, though it is certain that different states had from time to time become predominant and powerful to an extent hardly [pg 150] conceivable. The influence, if not the sway, of Sargon of Agadé, who reigned about 3800 years before Christ, for example, extended from Elam on the east to the Mediterranean on the west—a vast tract of territory to acknowledge the suzerainty of so small a state.
Babylonia, therefore, with a long history behind it, was beginning to feel, to all appearance, a new national life. It had passed the days when the larger states boasted strength begotten of mere size, and when the smaller states sought mutual protection against the larger, finding in that alone, or in the acknowledgment of an overlord, the security upon which their existence as separate states depended. There is every probability that it was at this time that the legends which formed the basis of Babylonian national literature were collected and copied, thus assuring their preservation. It is also probable that the translations from Akkadian of the numerous inscriptions written in that language, and the bilingual lists, syllabaries, and other texts of a similar nature, belong to this period.
The social condition of Babylonia itself at this time is now fairly well known. The ancient Akkadian laws were still in force, but as they did not provide for all the possibilities that might arise, a large series of legal enactments was compiled, in which points were decided in a very common-sense and just manner. It is noteworthy that the number of tablets of a legal nature is very numerous, and arouses the suspicion that the Babylonians were exceedingly fond of litigation, due, no doubt, to the tendency they had to overreach each other. It is therefore very probable that this is the reason why we meet with that remarkable contract of the purchase of the field of Machpelah from the children of Heth. One would have imagined that the frequent protestations, made by the head of the tribe there located, to the effect that he gave the field and the cave to Abraham, would have been sufficient, [pg 151] especially at that solemn moment of the burial of Sarah, and that the matter could have been put upon a legal footing later on. But no, the patriarch was determined to have the matter placed beyond dispute there and then, and knowing how prone the Babylonians (with whom he had passed his youth) were to deny a contract, and try to get back again, by perjury, what they had already parted with for value, the matter was at once placed beyond the possibility of being disputed in any court of law.17