The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records and Legends of Assyria and BabyloniaPinches, Theophilus G. (Theophilus Goldridge)
Religion
The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records and Legends of Assyria and Babylonia
Pinches, Theophilus G. (Theophilus Goldridge)
Bible. Old Testament -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
“Month Nisan, day 2nd, year Abēšu’, the king (made ?) an image (?) of
(gold) and silver.”
Thirty years, or thereabouts later, Iltani (or a younger namesake,
daughter of Ammi-zaduga) is found providing the wherewithal for
agricultural operations—
“One _gur_ of grain, the property of the Sun-god, for the reaper, which
was from Iltani, sun-devotee, daughter of the king, Šeritum, son of
Ibni-Amurrū, has received. At harvest-time, (in) the month Adar, he will
come—(if) he come not, he shall be like a king’s thrall.
“Before Idin-Marduk, the officer, son of Idin-îli-šu; before Ina-lali-šu,
son of Ibni-Marduk.
“Month Adar, day 25th, year Ammi-zaduga the king (made ?) a weapon (?) of
gold.”
This contract is not quite clear without a little explanation. The grain
advanced was, to all appearance, from the storehouse of the temple of the
Sun-god at Sippara, and Iltani, as a sun-devotee, seems to have had it at
her disposal for the benefit of the temple. In any case, the amount came
from her, and was received by Šeritum, who seems to have been the reaper
referred to. He promises to come to do the work in Adar, that very month,
when the grain would have to be reaped, and the penalty for failing to
fulfil his contract was apparently slavery. Evidently the work was urgent.
It is needless to say, that interesting as these texts are, they are very
incomplete, and leave a great deal to the imagination, and still more
altogether unrecorded. Nevertheless, they are very valuable as far as they
go, and show us the royal family of Babylonia at the time working among
the people as members of the community. Each one, however, evidently
worked for his or her own interest, or for the interest of the religious
community to which he or she belonged, and not for the people at large. It
was only the king who worked for his people, and he did it, it is hardly
going too far to say, because it was his interest to do so. Most people,
however, acted for their own interest in those days, as now.
The People.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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