In heaven thou art lofty, on earth thou art king, clever adviser of the gods.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
Father Ramman, Lord that rideth the storm, is thy name exalted God.
—Hymn to Ramman No. 3.
Yahwe our Lord, how glorious thy name, in all the earth!
—Psalm 8:2.
God will bless us, and shall fear him all the ends of the earth.
—Psalm 67:8.
Who is this king of glory? Yahwe strong and mighty, Yahwe mighty in battle.
—Psalm 24:8.
However the most conspicuous feature of both Assyrian and Hebrew poetry is the occurrence of two parallel lines in the distich or couplet. Parallelism may also occur between the parts of the line, and hence it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the two half lines and the couplet, and between the line of three divisions and the tristich. In the Assyrian hymns, as in the Hebrew hymns, the most common form of parallelism is the synonymous, the second line practically repeating the thought of the first line:
Thou treadest in the high heavens, lofty is thy place:
Thou art great in the lower world, there is none like thee.
—Hymn to Nergal No. 1.
The living creatures, all of them thou shepherdest;
Thou art the protector of those, which are above and below.
—Hymn to Shamash No. 7.
More to be desired than gold, than much fine gold,
And sweeter than honey, yea than honey from the comb.
—Psalm 19:11.
Yahwe has made known his salvation, before the nations he has revealed his righteousness
He has remembered his mercy to Jacob, and his loyalty to the house of Israel.
—Psalm 98:2.
Very common in the Assyrian hymns, but not so frequent in the Hebrew hymns is tautological parallelism, where the second line repeats the thought of the first line in almost the same words. The frequency of this form in the Assyrian hymns is most certainly in part due to the magical potency attached to the repetition of significant lines.
O Lord, who is like thee, who can be compared to thee?
Mighty one, who is like thee, who can be compared to thee?
—Hymn to Sin No. 3.
When thou callest inside, the people within thou killest;
When thou callest outside, the people outside thou killest.
—Hymn to Nergal No. 7.
Sing praises to God, sing praises:
Sing praises unto our king, sing praises.
—Psalm 47:7.
Let peoples thank thee O God;
Let peoples all of them thank thee.
—Psalm 67:4.
The synthetical parallelism, in which the second line continues the thought of the first line is relatively common in both Assyrian and Hebrew hymns:
Bel, thy father, has granted thee,
That the law of all the gods thy hand should hold.
—Hymn to Ninib No. 1.
From all countries, so many as speak with the tongue,
Thou knowest their plans, their walk thou observest.
—Hymn to Shamash No. 6.
The mountains rose, the valleys fell
Unto the place, thou hadst appointed for them.
—Psalm 104:8.
Sing to Yahwe a new song, for wonders he hath done;
Hath helped him his right hand and his holy arm.
—Psalm 98:1.
It is one indication of the superior literary quality of the Hebrew hymns that antithetical parallelism, in which the thought of the second line is opposed to that of the first line, occurs quite frequently in the Hebrew hymns, and almost not at all in the Assyrian hymns:
I said, ye are gods, and sons of the Most High all of you;
But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the demons.
—Psalm 82:6f.
The dead do not praise Yahwe, nor any who go down into silence,
But we will bless Yahwe from henceforth and forever.
—Psalm 115:171f.
Shamash honors the head of the just man;
Shamash rends the evil man like a thong.
—Hymn to Shamash No. 1.
Beyond the couplet, strophes of three, four, five, six, and more lines are common in the Assyrian hymns, even as in the Hebrew Psalter. Perhaps the fact that interests the Old Testament student most in the strophic arrangement is that the number of lines in the strophes in the same hymn is by no means always uniform. Accordingly if one may draw a conclusion from Assyrian usage for the Old Testament, the effort often so zealously made to restore by elimination of lines a uniform strophic arrangement, is a grievous error. Variety rather than uniformity was often the end sought.
Another characteristic feature of both Assyrian and Hebrew hymns is the occasional appearance of the refrain. This refrain does not however appear artistically at the end of the strophe, as in Psalm 99 where the refrain, “Holy is He,” is to be found at the end of verses 2, 5, 9, and probably ought to be inserted at the end of verse 7. Rather the refrain usually forms the second half of the individual lines for a succession of three, five, seven, ten, or more lines. The same hymn may employ a variety of refrains. The hymn to Ramman No. 3 has for the last two thirds of the first six lines:
—Mighty Bull and glorious is thy name exalted God—
Then for three lines it repeats only the last third of the refrain:
—is thy name exalted God—
returning to the full refrain however for the tenth line. Then lines 16 to 20 have for the last third of the line the refrain:
—thou storm with elevated vision—
while lines 21 to 25 have for the last third of the line the refrain:
—who can stand with thee?—
In general this use of the refrain in the Assyrian hymns would seem to correspond to what we have in Psalm 115:9-11:
O Israel, trust in Yahwe; their help and their shield is He.
O house of Aaron, trust in Yahwe; their help and their shield is He.
Ye fearers of Yahwe, trust in Yahwe; their help and their shield is He.
In a number of instances the refrain of the Assyrian hymn occurs in the first third or half of the line, and the occurrence of the double refrain is also frequent:
She who in the days of long ago in the earth was magnified am I;
Ishtar who in the earth is magnified am I.
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 5.
No such skill in the use of the double refrain is shown, however, as in Psalm 107.
Yet another feature common to Assyrian and Hebrew hymn is the prominence of the rhetorical question:
O Lord who is like thee, who can be compared to thee?
Mighty One who is like thee, who can be compared to thee?
—Hymn to Sin No. 3.
Who is equal to me, me?
Who is comparable to me, me?
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 4.
Who is like Yahwe our God, in heaven or on earth
Who has placed his throne on high, who stoops to regard the earth?
—Psalm 113:5f.
How many are thy works, O Yahwe? all of them in wisdom thou hast made.
—Psalm 104:24.
It has already been pointed out in a previous chapter, that the use of the refrain in the Assyrian hymns, as in the case of the Hebrew hymns, indicates antiphonal responses between priest and choir, and choir and choir. Likewise the hymns of both literatures have been seen to take on more decided liturgical character with the introduction of the divine pronouncement through the priest as in the Litany to Asshur and the second Psalm. Both literatures have the sanctuary hymn, and the processional and the recessional hymn. The most significant difference between the Assyrian hymn and the Hebrew hymn would seem to be that the former is usually addressed in the second person to deity, and is accordingly of the nature of prayer, while the Hebrew hymn is the response to the summons to praise deity, is expressed in the third person, and is more genuinely hymnal in character.
Having compared the Assyrian and Hebrew hymns, with reference to their external form, and the circumstances under which they were sung, it is now proper to examine more closely the actual contents of the hymns. The subject of all genuine hymns is God. It is an argument for the common nature of the Assyrian and Hebrew hymns that practically all the hymnal phrases can be classified under the following heads:
1. The supreme God among the gods.
2. The glory of His name.
3. The supreme God a heaven’s god.
4. The supreme God in his sanctuary.
5. The supreme God as creator.
6. The supreme God as God of nature.
7. The supreme God as wise.
8. The supreme God as powerful.
9. The supreme God as merciful.
10. The supreme God as king.
11. The supreme God as judge.
This classification enables us to study at one and the same time the phraseology and the content of the Assyrian and Hebrew hymns. It may be said at the outset, that there are practically no specific cases where literary dependence can be demonstrated, but, what is more important, there is a very striking similarity of phraseology, implying similar religious ideas. This phraseology of the Assyrian hymns has its value for the interpretation of the Hebrew hymns, and their content, and a like value for the study of the Hebrew religion.
In comparing the phraseology of the Assyrian and the Hebrew hymns, the most obvious difference is that the Assyrian hymns are addressed to many different deities, each with its own proper name, Shamash, Sin, Marduk, Ninib, and many others. The existence of the other gods is implied in some Hebrew hymns, but the Hebrew hymnist never concedes to them an individual independent existence, much less a name. Furthermore, one meets everywhere in the Assyrian hymns the distinction of sex. There are husbands and wives, sons and daughters, among the gods:
Strong, lofty one, highest of the goddesses;
O Damkina, Queen of all the gods,
Strong wife of Ea, valiant art thou.
—Hymn to Sarpanitum.
Am I not the daughter of Bel?
—Hymn to Belit.
O strong son. First born of Bel;
Great perfect offspring of Isara.
—Hymn to Ninib No. 1.
O lord, first born of Marduk,
O ruler, lofty offspring of Sarpanitum.
—Hymn to Nebo No. 1.
The father who begot thee Ea thou excellest.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 3.
Sister of Shamash, Ornament of heaven
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 5.
Sin, bright brilliant god, Ninnar, first born of Ekur, son of Bel.
—Hymn to Sin No. 2.
First born of Ea.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
Lord, mighty and exalted, first born of Nunnammir,
Offspring of Kutushar the mighty queen.
—Hymn to Nergal No. 1.
One would expect that the god to whom the hymn is addressed would be regarded as the supreme God, but in some hymns his subordinate relationship to other gods is recognized:
Shamash, the support of Anu and Bel art thou.
—Hymn to Shamash No. 1.
He whom Anu in his lofty power hath chosen I am.
—Hymn to Ninib No. 3.
Mighty art thou among the gods, Ea has made thee splendid;
(Through the proclamation) of the oracle has Bel made thee great.
O Nebo, bearer of the tables of destiny of the gods,
Messenger of Anu, who brings Bel’s commands to fulfillment.
—Hymn to Nusku No. 3.
The Assyrian refers altogether naturally to his deity as a god among gods, and frequently ascribes to him only a relative degree of strength and power:
A mighty one among the gods art thou.
—Hymn to Sin No. 4.
O Marduk, powerful one of the gods.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 2.
Great one, ruler of the gods, Marduk mighty one.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 3.
Thou art great among the gods, mighty is thy command.
—Hymn to Damkina.
It is only when the Assyrian hymn applies to its deity the superlative degree, that it touches common ground with the Hebrew hymn. For both Assyrian and Hebrew worshippers praise their deity as the incomparable god. Such passages from Assyrian hymns are:
O mighty God, to whom there is no rival in the assembly of the great gods.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 5.
Marduk, among all gods thou excellest.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 6.
(Prince) of heaven and earth who hath not his equal.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 7.
Bel to whom in his strength there is no opponent.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 12.
Among the goddesses is none like unto her.
—Hymn to Sarpanitum.
King of kings, exalted one, whose decrees none can oppose,
No god is like unto thy divinity.
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
And some Hebrew hymns recognize the existence of the gods in asserting the absolute superiority of Yahwe:
For I know that Yahwe is great,
Even our Lord than all gods.
—Psalm 135:5.
For a great God is Yahwe,
And a great King over all gods.
—Psalm 95:3.
For great is Yahwe, and to be praised exceedingly;
Terrible is He above all gods.
—Psalm 96:4.
Also the existence of many gods is implied in the rhetorical questions common to the Assyrian and Hebrew hymns. Assyrian:
O lord who is like thee, who can be compared to thee;
Mighty one, who is like thee, who can be compared to thee;
Lord Nannar who is like thee, who can be compared to thee?
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
Identical in form is the question addressed to Nergal:
O lord who is like thee, who can be compared to thee;
Most mighty one, who is like unto thee, who can be compared to thee;
Nergal who is like thee, who can be compared to thee?
—Hymn to Nergal No. 6.
Ishtar herself asks the question:
Who is equal to me, me;
Who is comparable to me, me?
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 4.
The question is followed by the answer in the following examples:
Who is exalted in heaven, Thou alone art exalted;
Who is exalted on earth, Thou alone art exalted.
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
What god in heaven or earth can be compared to thee,
Thou art high over all of them
Among the gods superior is thy counsel.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 3.
Biblical examples of such rhetorical questions are:
For who in the skies can be compared unto Yahwe,
Who is like Yahwe among the gods?
—Psalm 89:7.
Yahwe god of hosts who is like thee?
Strong art thou Yahwe and thy faithfulness is round about thee.
—Psalm 89:9.
Who is like Yahwe our God, in heaven or in earth,
Who sittest on high, who peereth into the depths?
—Psalm 113:5f.
Moreover there is, for Assyrian, as for Hebrew, the council of the gods, in which one god is the supreme judge.
O mighty god to whom there is no rival in the assembly of the great gods.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 3.
Then come the great gods for trial before thee.
—Hymn to Shamash No. 3.
Yahwe takes his stand in the council of gods:
In the midst of gods he judgeth.
—Psalm 82:1.
A God very terrible in the council of the holy ones,
And to be feared above all them that are round about Him.
—Psalm 89:8.
Furthermore, both in Assyrian and Biblical hymns, the gods themselves do homage to the highest god:
O Sin, at thy appearance the gods assemble;
Kings, all of them, prostrate themselves.
—Hymn to Sin No. 3.
There bow before thee the Igigi, the Annunaki, the gods, the goddesses.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
Worship him all ye gods.
—Psalm 97:7.
Ascribe unto Yahwe Ye sons of God,
Ascribe unto Yahwe Glory and strength.
—Psalm 29:1.
Yahwe, who is thus worshipped by the gods, can appropriately be called “God of gods and Lord of lords”:
O give thanks unto the God of gods.
—Psalm 136:2.
O give thanks unto the Lord of lords.
—Psalm 136:3.
The Assyrian hymn passes beyond the point where the deity is exalted above other gods:
Whose great glory through Bel the regent of heaven,
Is exceedingly high over all gods,
—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
to the point where the god alone is exalted:
O lord chief of the gods, who alone is exalted on earth and in heaven;
Who is exalted in heaven, thou alone art exalted;
Who is exalted on earth, thou alone art exalted.
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
Likewise the Hebrew hymn speaks of the exaltation of Yahwe and passes beyond the point where Yahwe is high above all gods.
For thou art high over all the earth,
Thou art gone up exceedingly above all gods.
—Psalm 97:9.
High over all nations is Yahwe;
Over the heavens his glory.
—Psalm 113:4.
to the point where Yahwe alone is exalted in the earth:
Be still and know that I am God:
I will be exalted in the earth;
I will be exalted among the nations.
—Psalm 46:11.
It was said above that certain Hebrew hymnal passages recognize the existence of other gods. It might have been pointed out there that one of those passages,
For great is Yahwe and to be praised exceedingly;
Terrible is he above all gods
—Psalm 96:4.
is followed by:
For all the gods of the peoples are idols;
But Yahwe made the heavens
—Psalm 96:5.
and Psalm 135:5:
For I know that Yahwe is great,
Even our Lord than all gods
is followed by 135:15:
The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
Yet this may not be an outright denial of the existence of all gods, nor an interesting example of the retention of phraseology which the religion had outgrown. The Israel of most of the hymns was very much a nation among the nations. With feeling, at once intensely national and intensely religious, Israel poured its contempt upon idolatry, and declared that the nations had no god. On earth Yahwe is the supreme God, and in heaven in the heavenly court he reigns supreme, and the gods who are there, serve him and enhance his glory.
Assyrian and Hebrew hymns are alike, in that both exalt the name of deity. For both the name of the god is great and glorious and to be feared. It is known in all the earth and is not to be forgotten. There seems to have been an element of mystery, possibly due to magic, attached to the name of the Assyrian deity.
Flood watering the harvest, knows anyone thy name.
—Hymn to Nergal No. 6.
And in this connection it is well to notice that Ishtar announces herself by several names:
My first name is I am Ishtar
My second name is Lady of the countries.
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 4.
Great and terrible is the name of the Assyrian and Hebrew deity.
The lord Ninib I am, at the naming of my name may be prostrated the lofty powers.
—Hymn to Ninib No. 5.
Exceeding great is thy name, Marduk mighty one.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
Asshur, glorious one, whose name arouses fear,
—Hymn to Asshur.
Let them praise thy name great and terrible.
—Psalm 99:3.
Known in Judah is God, in Israel great is his name.
—Psalm 76:2.
Lord whose name is glorious, recorder of the world.
—Hymn to Enlil.
Not to us. Not to us, but to thy name give glory.
—Psalm 115:1.
Thy name is altogether good in the mouths of the peoples.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 13.
Thy name is spread abroad, in the mouths of men, O protecting god.
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 1.
Whose name is brilliant in all the earth, that is my glory.
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 5.
As thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth.
—Psalm 48:11.
Yahwe, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth.
—Psalm 8:2.
Not only universal, but also eternal, is the fame of Assyrian and Hebrew deity:
Therefore may the fame of Asshur not be forgotten, may men remember Essharra.
—Hymn to Asshur.
Yahwe thy name is forever,
Yahwe thy remembrance to generation and generation.
—Psalm 135:13.
It may be significant also, that, while the name of the Assyrian and the Hebrew deity is great and glorious and terrible, universally known and never to be forgotten, it is said only of the Hebrew deity, that his name is holy:
For in Him doth our heart rejoice,
For in His Holy Name do we trust.
—Psalm 33:21.
Bless my soul Yahwe, and all that is within me His Holy name.
—Psalm 103:1.
While both Assyrian and Hebrew hymns exalt the name of the deity, there is no passage in any Assyrian hymn, revealing such enthusiasm on the part of an individual, for the name of the god as Psalm 145:1b:
I will exalt thee, my god, O king,
And I will bless thy name for ever
Every day will I bless thee,
And I will praise thy name for ever and aye,
Nor is there any passage in an Assyrian hymn calling upon universal nature, sun, moon and stars, mountains, and hills, rain and snow, all living creatures, all men and women, old and young, kings and nations, to praise the name of God, as Psalm 148:13:
Let them praise the name of Yahwe
For his name alone is exalted.
The Assyrians are known to readers of the Old Testament as worshippers of the hosts of heaven, and while their hymns represent them as adoring also the Atmospheric Gods, and furthermore finding Deity not only in the heights above, but also in the depths beneath, nevertheless their reverent gaze was most frequently turned skyward. Their gods were mainly gods of heaven, and were associated, at times almost to the point of identification, with the heavenly bodies. Thus the God Shamash bears the name of Sun, and is unmistakably and very closely associated with the solar orb:
The mighty mountains has thy glory covered;
Thy brilliancy fills and overwhelms the countries;
Thou marchest regularly across the heavens.
—Hymn to Shamash No. 7.
Likewise Nusku is a solar deity:
Strong fire god who surveys the tops of the mountains,
Mighty fire god, illuminator of the darkness.
—Hymn to Nusku No. 1.
Also Marduk:
Lofty in form, Marduk, shining sun god, bright torch,
Who by his rising illumines the (darkness), makes brilliant ( ).
—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
The moon has its very worthy representative among the gods in the person of the great God Sin:
Thou that brightenest the night,
That givest light to all nations,
Bright is thy light in heaven;
Thy brightness fills the whole earth.
—Hymn to Sin No. 1.
Thou that from the base of heaven to the height of heaven dost march in glory;
Opening the door of heaven, and granting light to all men.
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
The evening star, the star which shines preëminent in the heavens is represented by two glorious goddesses, Ishtar and Sarpanitum:
Light of heaven which flames like fire over the earth art thou.
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 6.
In the heavens in the evening when I take my stand,
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 4.
She that flameth in the horizon of heaven.
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 6.
Who art adorned with the brilliancy of sparkling stones, ornament of heaven.
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 6.
Ishtar who opens the bolt of the pure heavens, that is my glory.
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 6.
Sarpanitum, shining star, dwelling in Endul,
Who crossest the heavens, who passest over the earth,
Sarpanitum, whose station is lofty,
Brilliant is my lady, lofty and high.
—Hymn to Sarpanitum.
Just as Shamash, Sin, and Ishtar are so closely associated with sun, moon, and evening star, so Ramman, in the two hymns written in his honor, is almost identified with the thunderstorm.
Yahwe is not identified, nor closely associated, in the Hebrew hymns, with any of the heavenly bodies, not even with the sun, but he, like the Assyrian deities, dwells in heaven, and his glory, as is theirs, is that of the stars. Of Yahwe it might have been said, as of Nergal and Ishtar:
Thou treadest in the high heavens, lofty is thy place.
—Hymn to Nergal No. 1.
Thy seat is in the high heavens, in the midst of the bright heavens,
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 2.
But our God is in the heavens,
Everything that he pleaseth, he doeth.
—Psalm 115:3.
The heavens are Yahwe’s heavens.
—Psalm 115:16.
Yahwe is in his holy temple;
Yahwe, in the heavens is his throne.
—Psalm 11:4.
Yahwe was not identified with sun, moon or stars. No more was he identified with the thunderstorm. ’Tis true, in Psalm 29 the thunder is described as the voice of Yahwe, but while the tempest rages below, Yahwe sits exalted in heaven, the mighty God, who gives strength to his people, and blesses them with peace. It is the glory of the Hebrew religion, that its God has been released from all identification with nature’s forces and is lord in his universe. So he controls also the winds:
Who bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries.
—Psalm 135:7.
To him that rideth in the ancient heavens.
—Psalm 68:34.
Who maketh clouds his chariot,
Who walketh upon the wings of the wind.
—Psalm 104:3.
As gods of heaven, both the Assyrian deities and Yahwe are revered as lofty, exalted beings. Marduk is addressed as the one
“who alone art lofty.”
—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
In heaven thou art lofty, on earth thou art king, clever adviser of the gods.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
To Ninib it is said:
In Ekur, the house of festivals, is thy head exalted
Ninib, king, son of Bel, who himself is exalted.
—Hymn to Ninib No. 1.
And for Asshur the wish is expressed:
May the memory of Asshur be praised, his divinity be exalted,
So that the exaltation of Asshur, the lord of lords, the warrior, may shine.
—Hymn to Asshur.
Similarly Yahwe is exalted:
But thou art high for ever, O Yahwe.
—Psalm 92:9.
That they may know that thou alone art Yahwe
The most high over all the earth.
—Psalm 83:19.
Yahwe’s exaltation above the earth brings with it also exaltation over all nations:
Yahwe in Zion is great,
And High is He above all nations.
—Psalm 99:2.
High over all nations is Yahwe;
Over the heaven is his glory.
—Psalm 113:4.
So also Marduk’s exaltation has its significance for men:
High art thou in heaven:
All people thou see’st.
Great art thou upon earth:
Their omens thou see’st.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
Yahwe’s exaltation seems to be not only above the earth, but he is also highly exalted in the heavens:
His majesty is above earth and heaven.
—Psalm 148:13.
Thou whose majesty is placed above the heavens.
—Psalm 8:2.
Before the exalted heavens’ God, the Assyrian worshipper is reverent:
O lord thy divinity is full of awe
Like the far off heaven and the broad ocean.
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
and as Heaven’s God, Yahwe is to be praised:
Praise Yahwe from the Heavens;
Praise Him in the heights.
—Psalm 148:1.
The Assyrian religion, in contrast to the Hebrew religion, finds God in the lower world, and glorifies the deity of the lower world:
Thou art great in Hades, there is none like thee.
—Hymn to Nergal No. 1.
Warrior, lord of the under world.
—Hymn to Nergal No. 4.
She, who is goddess of heaven and earth is also goddess of the deep:
Lady of Egurra, ruler of the deep,
Who inhabitest the deep, lady of heaven and earth.
—Hymn to Damkina.
The Hebrew hymns have only the negative statements regarding Yahwe’s prestige in the lower world:
The dead praise not Yahwe,
Neither any that go down to silence
—Psalm 115:17.
and the assertion of Psalm 139:8 that Yahwe the omnipresent is present also in Sheol.
Although the Assyrian deities and Yahwe are gods of heaven, yet they take up their abode in earthly sanctuaries:
Who hast taken up his exalted habitation among living creatures
—Hymn to Sin No. 5.
For Yahwe hath chosen Zion,
He hath desired it for his habitation.
—Psalm 132:13.
In Salem also is his tabernacle
And his dwelling place in Zion
—Psalm 76:3.
Bel thy dwelling is Babylon, Borsippa is thy crown.
—Hymn to Marduk No. 12.
Lord of Izida, shadow of Borsippa, director of Isagila.
—Hymn to Nebo No. 1.
Virgin. Virgin in the temple of my riches am I.
—Hymn to Ishtar No. 5.
The sanctuary itself is venerated by Assyrian and Hebrew:
Thy house Ezida is a house incomparable.
—Hymn to Nebo No. 2.
How lovely are thy tabernacles O Yahwe of hosts.
—Psalm 84:2.