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THE ASSYRIAN AND HEBREW HYMNS OF PRAISE
THE ASSYRIAN AND HEBREW HYMNS OF PRAISE
BY CHARLES GORDON CUMMING AMS PRESS, INC. NEW YORK, N.Y. 10003 1966 Copyright 1934 Columbia University Press Reprinted with the permission of the original publisher Manufactured in the United States of America GRATEFULLY DEDICATED TO RICHARD J. H. GOTTHEIL...
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NOTE
NOTE
Professor Cumming has chosen a most interesting subject upon which to write a comparison of “The Assyrian and the Hebrew Hymns of Praise.” He has spent a number of years developing his theme, and has produced a book which I commend heartily to the attention of scholars who are interested in this field. Of course, we do not possess all the hymns written by the Assyrian poets, nor have we all those produced by the old Hebrew songsters. But we certainly have sufficient to make it possible for us to
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FOREWORD
FOREWORD
It was the author’s original intention to add to this book a translation of all the important Assyrian hymns; for a bringing together of hymns now scattered through many books and periodicals would be a very real service to Old Testament scholarship. Such a task however calls for the knowledge and skill of the thoroughly competent Assyriologist. It is hoped that the list of texts and translations appended to this book may make it easier for any interested reader to locate and carry further the s
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Division I THE HEBREW HYMNS OF PRAISE
Division I THE HEBREW HYMNS OF PRAISE
The Book of Psalms is no longer to be regarded by Old Testament scholars as an isolated phenomenon. Similar religious poetry is found not only in the narrative and prophetic portions of the Old Testament, in the Apocrypha, and the New Testament, but also in the literatures of Egypt, Babylonia, Persia, India, and Greece. Indeed, wherever religion really develops beyond the primitive stage, it expresses itself in poetry and we get something comparable to the Hebrew psalms. One primary fact, then,
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Psalms of Lamentation and Petition
Psalms of Lamentation and Petition
It has been suggested that the psalms ought to be classified in groups, and that the groups ought to be arranged in an ascending order, according to the stage of religious development which they represent. Following this principle, one can quite properly place lowest the Psalms of Lamentation and Petition. The lament in such psalms describes the unhappy plight of the oppressed nation, the persecuted religious community, or the afflicted individual. The petition makes earnest appeal to Yahwe for
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Psalms of Testimony and Thanksgiving
Psalms of Testimony and Thanksgiving
Corresponding to the Psalms of Lamentation and Petition are the Psalms of Testimony and Thanksgiving. The afflicted community or individual which has, in answer to its petition to Yahwe, experienced deliverance is obligated to give public expression to its gratitude for Yahwe’s salvation. Such psalms may be expected to tell the story of the affliction, the appeal for divine help, and the deliverance. Furthermore it is altogether natural for any people with a national and a religious consciousnes
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Psalms of Faith
Psalms of Faith
Out of the experience of affliction as expressed in the psalms of lamentation and petition, and out of the further experience of deliverance as expressed in the psalms of testimony and thanksgiving, develops a serene faith and confidence over against the perplexities, the perils, and the conflicts of life. One characteristic element in the Psalm of Lamentation and Petition is the affirmation of faith in Yahwe. That affirmation of faith gradually develops until it becomes the entire theme of the
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Teaching or Wisdom Psalms
Teaching or Wisdom Psalms
There is a natural line of development from the psalm of faith to what may perhaps be called teaching or wisdom psalms. The believing psalmist assumes that God is in complete control of all the circumstances of life, and is convinced that God will protect him from all evil and give him success. This assumption of faith then becomes for many the all important, fundamental law of life, and as such it must needs be taught to youth. Thus doubtless originated the wisdom psalms; of which we have in th
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Chapter II HEBREW SANCTUARY HYMNS OF PRAISE
Chapter II HEBREW SANCTUARY HYMNS OF PRAISE
The hymn of praise is very similar to the psalm of thanksgiving. Indeed it is sometimes difficult to decide in which category a psalm belongs, as in the case of Psalm 103 . The fundamental difference is that the psalm of thanksgiving expresses gratitude while the hymn of praise expresses adoration. The psalm of thanksgiving testifies to that which has actually been experienced, the hymn of praise voices enthusiasm for the wisdom and power and goodness that are in God. The psalm of thanksgiving i
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Chapter III HEBREW ESCHATOLOGICAL HYMNS
Chapter III HEBREW ESCHATOLOGICAL HYMNS
The sanctuary hymns of praise which we have been studying have for, the most part, the backward look through Israel’s history to the creation of the world. A few of them also have in small degree the forward look calling for Yahwe’s praise because of what he will yet accomplish in the world; and certainly many of the hymns are characterized by an enthusiasm for Yahwe’s greatness that asserts or presupposes his supremacy in the universe. Nevertheless it is right to gather together a special group
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Chapter IV HEBREW NATURE HYMNS
Chapter IV HEBREW NATURE HYMNS
The abode of the hymns already discussed was the sanctuary and their place was in sanctuary worship, but there is a group of hymns, the real background of which was Nature’s great out of doors. These hymns include Psalms 29 ; 19:1-5b ; 19:5c-7 ; 104 ; and 8 . Of these Psalm 29 resembles most closely in its literary form the standard hymns. It has the call to praise, the body of the hymn setting forth the greatness of Yahwe; and it has a conclusion, though the conclusion is not a renewed summons
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Chapter V HEBREW HYMNS IN PRAISE OF SACRED INSTITUTIONS
Chapter V HEBREW HYMNS IN PRAISE OF SACRED INSTITUTIONS
But there were in Hebrew religious poesie not only hymns in praise of deity, but also hymns in praise of sacred institutions. Especially prominent were hymns in praise of the sanctuary. Naturally however, only those that were written in praise of the temple in Jerusalem, or could be so interpreted had a chance for survival, and of those we have in the Psalter only 84 , 122 , 48 , and 87 . It is best to begin with Psalm 84 , for it represents a transition stage between the psalm of lamentation an
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Chapter VI ASSYRIAN HYMNAL INTRODUCTIONS TO PRAYERS
Chapter VI ASSYRIAN HYMNAL INTRODUCTIONS TO PRAYERS
As in the case of the Hebrew hymns of praise, so also it is right to attempt to see the Assyrian hymns in relation to the whole body of Assyrian religious poetry. Assyrian communities and Assyrian individuals inevitably had their afflictions, and like their kinsmen the Hebrews they called out unto deity in their distresses in prayers of lamentation and supplication. They experienced also on various occasions what they believed to be deliverances out of their troubles, and when they could attribu
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Chapter VII ASSYRIAN ANTIPHONAL HYMNS
Chapter VII ASSYRIAN ANTIPHONAL HYMNS
There is also among the Assyrian hymns addressed in the second person to deity a group of hymns, which are distinguished by refrains, frequent repetitions of a phrase or clause, or marked parallelisms of lines. It is, however, in most cases very difficult to know whether the hymn is actually antiphonal or not. Nergal No. 4 is a hymn fragment of ten lines. For the first eight lines, the second half of each line is the refrain: “Destroyer of the hostile land,” while the first half of each line giv
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Chapter VIII ASSYRIAN SELF-LAUDATIONS OF THE GODS
Chapter VIII ASSYRIAN SELF-LAUDATIONS OF THE GODS
In addition to the hymnal introductions to prayers, and the antiphonal hymns, there was in Assyrian poesie a distinct and notable group of hymns in which the gods praise themselves. It is of course presupposed in the hymnal introductions that the gods desire and welcome the praise of men. The gods do praise one another. Enlil praised Ramman in the hymn to Ramman No. 2 which was discussed in the last chapter. Also Nusku praises Ninib in Ninib No. 4: Nusku the lofty messenger of Bel in Ekur met hi
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Chapter IX THE LITERARY FORM OF THE ASSYRIAN AND THE HEBREW HYMNS
Chapter IX THE LITERARY FORM OF THE ASSYRIAN AND THE HEBREW HYMNS
The comparison of the Assyrian and the Hebrew hymns ought naturally to begin with the consideration of their literary form. This brings us to the first and most obvious distinctive mark of poetry in both literatures, the relatively uniform length of the lines in each poem. Wherever a line lengthens out unduly it is clear that there is a lapse into prose. A second phenomenon that meets the eye frequently in the Assyrian poems and even more often in the Hebrew psalms, is the falling of the line in
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The Glory of His Name
The Glory of His Name
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
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The Supreme God in His Sanctuary
The Supreme God in His Sanctuary
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
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The Supreme God as the God of Nature
The Supreme God as the God of Nature
The Assyrian and Hebrew hymnal literature which praise the deity as the creator of the world, are also concerned with the deity as the god of nature. One prominent function of both Assyrian and Hebrew deity was to maintain the food supply. Assyrian and Hebrew God, give the increase of the soil: Enlil, who makest to abound pure oil and milk: Father Enlil, keeper of the plants of the garden; Keeper of the grain fields are thou. —Hymn to Enlil. Lord of the lands, king of heaven and earth, who heaps
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The Supreme God as Powerful
The Supreme God as Powerful
The wise God is also the powerful God. The Assyrian deities, as well as Yahwe, are preëminently war gods. This fact is established by the astonishingly large number of references to their war activities. I will first cite examples to establish the fact that they are warriors: O Shamash, warrior hero, be praised. —Hymn to Shamash No. 4. Destroyer of the enemy who in the midst of combat, amid the clash of weapons and confusion of battle, art fearless. —Hymn to Marduk No. 1. Mighty in battle whose
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The Supreme God as Merciful
The Supreme God as Merciful
The wise and powerful God is also the merciful one, for mercy is an attribute of the Assyrian deities as of Yahwe: Lord of all creatures, merciful unto the lands art thou, —Hymn to Shamash No. 1. Merciful one among the gods. —Hymn to Marduk No. 7. [Marduk] the merciful, whose turning [i.e. mercy] is near. —Hymn to Marduk No. 4. Merciful and gracious is Yahwe; Slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. — Psalm 103:8 . Gracious and merciful is Yahwe, Slow to anger and great in mercy, Good is Yahwe to a
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The Supreme God as Judge
The Supreme God as Judge
Kingship also implied Judgeship, the latter word having particular application to the rendering of judicial decisions or the achievement of justice for the oppressed. The actual word judge occurs occasionally in the Assyrian hymns as a title of the deity: Shamash, lofty Judge of heaven and earth art thou. —Hymn to Shamash No. 1. Judge of heaven and earth; shining one of the world regions. —Hymn to Ishtar No. 2. Judgeship in the Assyrian hymns implies authority. The deity as judge determines the
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Chapter XV CONCLUSION
Chapter XV CONCLUSION
It is now universally recognized by scholars that the Hebrew nation came late upon the stage of history, and that when the Hebrew Bedouin passed over out of the desert into the land of Canaan, they entered a land that had already experienced millenniums of civilization. In successive decades and centuries the Hebrew conquerors took over not only the land with its walled cities and its cultivated fields, but they took over also the land’s sanctuaries, and in large measure its religious and moral
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Hymns to Shamash
Hymns to Shamash
1. Rawlinson, Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia , IV: 2, 28 No. 1; translated by Jastrow, Die Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens , I, 426; and by Fossey, La Magie Assyrienne , No. 30. It is a hymn of fourteen lines, introducing a petition to Shamash for the healing of the king. The first two lines of the obverse and reverse sides of the tablet are missing. 2. R. IV: 2, 20 No. 2, translated by Jastrow, I, 427. There remain only the first five lines of a hymn, introducing a prayer to Shamash
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Hymns to Sin
Hymns to Sin
1. Published and translated by Perry, Hymnen und Gebete an Sin ( Leipz. Sem. Studien , 1907); by King, Babylonian Magic and Sorcery (London 1896); by Combe, Histoire du Culte de Sin (Paris 1908). It is a hymn of eleven lines introducing a petition of sixteen lines, in which the king, on an occasion of an eclipse of the moon, requests an oracle promising deliverance from the evil which has befallen his palace and land. It is addressed to Sin in the second person. 2. Published and translated by Pe
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Hymns to Nebo
Hymns to Nebo
1. Published and translated by King, Babylonian Magic , No. 22; also translated by Jastrow, I, 445. It contains eight lines of invocation, followed by the petition at much greater length of an individual, requesting healing of his disease, favorable dreams, and the support of his god. 2. R. IV: 2, 20 No. 3; translated by Jastrow, I, 447. It is a fragment, giving ten lines of a hymn in couplets, of which the second line largely repeats the preceding line....
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Hymns to Ninib
Hymns to Ninib
1. Published and translated by King, Babylonian Magic , No. 2; translated by Jastrow, I, 448. The first fourteen lines are addressed to the god in epithets of praise. In the lines which follow an individual reminds the god of his sacrifice, and pleads for forgiveness of his sin and the favor of the god. 2. Transliterated and translated by Jensen, Kosmologie der Babylonier , pages 470-472; also translated by Jastrow, I, 449. It is an hymnal introduction to prayer, twelve lines in length. 3. Kouyu
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Hymns to Nergal
Hymns to Nergal
1. Published and translated by King, Babylonian Magic , No. 27; translated by Jastrow, I, 467; also by Böllenrücher, Gebete und Hymnen an Nergal , No. 1. The first ten lines constitute a hymnal introduction to the prayer that follows. Lines 11-13 are a lament, lines 14-23 a petition, and line 24 a vow. 2. Published and translated by Böllenrücher, Gebete und Hymnen an Nergal No. 2; also by King, Babylonian Magic , No. 46; translated by Jastrow, I, 471. Nine lines of praise are addressed to the go
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Hymns to Adad
Hymns to Adad
1. R. IV: 2, 28 No. 2; transliterated and translated by Strong, Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, XX, 161; translated by Jastrow, I, 482. It is a fragment of nine lines of a hymn praising in the third person of the verb the power of Adad. 2. Transliterated and translated by Langdon, Sumerian and Babylonian Hymns, pages 280-283; also by Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels , page 147; also by Ungnad in Gressmann, Altorientalische Texte , pages 83f. It is characterized by Langdon, Rogers,
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Hymns to Nusku
Hymns to Nusku
1. R. IV: 2, No. 3; translated by Jastrow, I, 487. It is a short hymnal introduction of eight lines, little more than an invocation to the god. 2. Craig, Assyrian and Babylonian Religious Texts , I, plate 35; translated by Jastrow, I, 487. After nineteen lines the text breaks off. The nineteen lines are of the nature of an invocation. 3. Tallquist, Die assyrische Beschworungsserie , Maklu II, pages 1-17; translated by Jastrow, I, 297. It is a hymnal introduction of eleven lines, addressed direct
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Hymns to Bel
Hymns to Bel
1. R. IV: 2, 27 No. 2; translated by Jastrow, I, 489. Only five lines of the hymn are preserved. They seem to praise the great tower of Bel’s temple at Ekur. 2. R. IV: 2, 27 No. 4; Haupt, Akkadische und sumerische Keilinschrifttexte , page 183; translated by Jastrow, I, 490. Eleven lines constitute an invocation to Bel. The text then breaks off. 3. King, Babylonian Magic , No. 19; Jastrow, I, 492. Sixteen broken hymnal lines introduce the petition of a king....
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Hymns to Marduk
Hymns to Marduk
1. Craig, Religious Texts, I, plates 29-31; published and translated by Brünnow, Assyrian Hymns , in Zeitschrift für Assyriologie , IV, 246-248 and V, 58-66, 77-78; translated by Martin, Textes religieux Assyriens et Babyloniens , and by Jastrow, I, 513. The hymn consists of thirty-eight lines, and is followed by the petition that the anger of the god may abate and favor be shown the suppliant. 2. K 3459; Hehn, Hymnen und Gebete an Marduk , in Beitrage zur Assyriologie , V, 278-400. The poem is
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Hymn to Asshur
Hymn to Asshur
1. Craig, Religious Texts , I, plates 32-34; translated by Jastrow, I, 520. This is called by Jastrow a Litany to Asshur. It begins with a hymn, twenty-two lines of which are preserved. Then in six lines Anu, Bel, Ea, and the great gods proclaim Asshurbanapal ruler of Assyria, and in the last four lines the god Asshur himself calls Asshurbanapal to lordship....
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Hymns to Ishtar
Hymns to Ishtar
1. King No. 1; duplicate, No. 5; translated by Jastrow, I, 529. It is only a fragment of five lines of praise addressed directly to Ishtar. 2. King No. 32; translated by Jastrow, I, 529. It is a fragment of ten lines of praise, addressed directly to Ishtar. 3. Craig, Religious Texts, I, plates 15-17; translated by Jastrow, I, 535. Eighteen lines of praise are followed by an enumeration of the sacrifices, foods for the temple servants, and of gifts of gold, as well as by directions for the purifi
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Hymn to Sarpanitum
Hymn to Sarpanitum
1. Craig, I, plate 1; translated by Jastrow, I, 536. This is a hymn of eleven lines addressed directly to the goddess, followed by a brief petition for the suppliant, the king, and the people of Babylon....
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Hymn to Damkina
Hymn to Damkina
1. King No. 4; translated by Jastrow, I, 537. The hymn consists of seven lines of invocation to Damkina, and is followed by a petition for the averting of evil threatened by an eclipse of the moon....
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Hymns to Belit
Hymns to Belit
1. Haupt, Assyrisch-sumerische Keilinschrifttexte , pages 126-131; Prince, The Hymn to Belit K 357, in the Journal of the American Oriental Society, XXIV, 103-128; translated by Jastrow, I, 538f. This is a hymn of some fifty lines sung entirely by Belit in her own praise. 2. Text and transliteration by Scheil, Zeitschrift für Assyriologie , X, 291-298; also Scheil, Une saison de fouilles a Sippar , page 98 and Tablet II; translated by Jastrow, I, 541. The first twelve lines of the hymn are addre
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Hymn to Enlil
Hymn to Enlil
1. Transliterated and translated by Langdon, Sumerian and Babylonian Hymns , page 277. It is a psalm of twenty-five lines. The singers are the bearers of sacrificial gifts to Enlil. The hymn is addressed directly to the god....
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A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Balla, E. Das Ich der Psalmen in Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments. 16. Heft, 1912. Barton, G. A. Archaeology and the Bible, 1914. Bewer, J. A. The Psalms and the Song of Songs, Chapter XX in The Literature of The Old Testament, 1926. Böllenrücher, J. Gebete und Hymnen an Nergal. ( Leipziger semitische Studien , 1904.) Briggs, C. A. The Book of Psalms, I.C.C. (2 vols. 1906, 1907.) Combe, E. Histoire du Culte de Sin, 1908. Craig, J. A. Assyrian und Babylonian R
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