17.1 Descriptions of the Absolute as a Subject
17.2 "Before Philosophy"
17.3 The Dynamics of Causes
17.4 Mesopotamian Myths
17.5 Biblical Narratives
17.6 Apocalypse
17.7 Techniques and Interlocutors
17.8 The Canon as Super-Narrative
ERRORS in databases:
- "Boson1918Assiriologia.d": duplicate bibliography "Boson1918Assiriologia" for site "Akk-lg".
- "Bottero1992Reasoning.d": duplicate bibliography "Bottero1992Reasoning" for site "Mes-rel".
- "Buccellati1972Teodicea.d": duplicate bibliography "Buccellati1972Teodicea" for site "Mes-lit".
- "Cauvin2000Birth.d": duplicate bibliography "Cauvin2000Birth" for site "Mes-rel".
- "DMB.d": duplicate bibliography "DMB" for site "Mes-rel".
- "Edzard2003Sumerian.d": duplicate bibliography "Edzard2003Sumerian" for site "Mes-rel".
- "Oshima2014Sufferers.d": duplicate bibliography "Oshima2014Sufferers" for site "Mes-rel".
- "Trinkaus1983Shanidar.d": duplicate bibliography "Trinkaus1983Shanidar" for site "Mes-rel".
17.1 Descriptions of the Absolute as a Subject
For the different descriptions of the ‘absolute’ in the Bible and ancient Mesopotamian religion, see Buccellati 2014 Time.
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
For the Mesopotamian approach to the ‘absolute’, see Buccellati 2012 Coerenza.
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
About Marduk’s 50 names, see supra 6.3.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the biblical passages about Moses and the decalogue, cf. supra 4.3, 8.2, and 8.4.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
«The narrative context can be mythical or historical» (G. Buccellati, Chapter 17, Section 1).
For a discussion on the mythical or historical context of the biblical accounts, see e.g. Liverani 2009 Oltre.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
This book dissects the concept of historicity within biblical traditions, arguing that the inherent purpose of utilizing historical events within scripture is to illustrate spiritual metaphors. See Moore 2009symbol
– [ Iman Nagy, December 2020]
See Michalowski 1992 Orality on orality and literacy in ancient Mesopotamia.
– [ Jonah Lynch, January 2021]
17.2 "Before Philosophy"
For the existence of a philosophy ‘before philosophy’ (i.e. a reasoning system developed both in Mesopotamia and Israel before the advent of Greek philosophical systematisation), see mainly Frankfort 1949 Before. For the possibility of retracing ‘implicit mythological intuitions’ of religious phaenomena, later further elaborated by classical philosophy, see Cornford 1957 Philosophy, Preface, p. v.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the text of Plato’s dialogues, see e.g. the Perseus Digital Library; cf. also a related entry on the website Urkesh.org,
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
About dialectics, see mostly the philosophical thought of Hegel, deriving from Plato’s dialectic system.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
This article disagrees with this assessment and demonstrates deductive reasoning through rhetorical questions present in portions of Genesis and Kings. See Moshavi 2015rhetoric
– [ Iman Nagy, December 2020]
17.3 The Dynamics of Causes
For the Greek word ἀρχή, ‘beginning’, see the LSJ. It is interesting to note that also the first word of the Hebrew Bible, in Gen. 1, 1, is רֵשִׁית, rēšîth, that also means ‘beginning’ (see DCH 7, pp. 381-383. Also noteworthy is the fact that the beginning of the Gospel of John, Jn. 1, 1, recalling the incipit of Genesis, uses the word ἀρχή, ‘beginning’.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the logical locution post hoc ergo propter hoc, see the entry ‘Fallacy’ on Britannica; cf. also the entry ‘Fallacies’ on the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
<The aetiology can sometimes be so simplistic as to make it seem a joking proposition, like when a worm is pointed out as the cause of toothache» (G. Buccellati, Chapter 17, Section 3).
The mistaken idea that worms could be cause of toothache is very ancient and finds its roots in a Mesopotamian composition known as The Legend of the Worm; for these texts, see Pritchard 1955 A N E T 2, pp. 100-101; see also the translation in Foster 2005 Before, p. 995 (with further bibliography); cf. Suddick 1990 Historical, specifically on p. 142.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the text of the Enūma elīš, cf. supra 5.2. For the Akkadian word enūma, ‘when’, see CAD 7 = I-J, pp. 158-161, under lemma inūma.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For Hammurapi of Babylon and his “Code”, see supra 2.8 and 8.4.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the god Anum, see here.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the god Enlil, see here.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For Marduk, polyad god of Babylon, see here.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
See Suddick 1990 Historical on early medicine and shamans.
– [ Jonah Lynch, January 2021]
17.4 Mesopotamian Myths
Buccellati affirms something apparently similar: Marduk represents the attempt to re-unify the fragmented divinity in a single figure, “an order that is based on an extreme and hard-fought differentiation, in which the fragments are re-composed in unity” (17.4). However, throughout his work Buccellati maintains the difference between a numerical unity such as this, and the absolute singularity represented by monotheism. Marduk is the most powerful, the one who summarizes 50 other gods inside himself, the victor over adversarial powers. In contrast, YHWH is the only, the completely other, the uncontested and unassailable lord of all. See Lambert 1975 Pantheon.
– [ Jonah Lynch, March 2020]
For a discussion on Mesopotamian myths (and their comparison with the Bible), specifically the Akkadian myth of Adapa, see Buccellati 1973 Adapa.
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
For some examples of Mesopotamian myths suggesting clues on religious thought, see Buccellati 1981 Wisdom.
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
An interesting approach on Mesopotamian mythology is displayed in Oppenheim 1964 Mesopotamia, where the author describes the recourse to myths within a psychological approach, e.g. in the definition of ‘spirits’ which «are individualized and mythologized carriers of certain specific psychological aspects of one basic phaenomenon, the realization of the self, the personality, as it relates the ego to the outside world and, at the same time, separates one from the other» (pp. 198-199).
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
For the text of the Enūma elīš, cf. supra 5.2.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the **Myth of Anzu**, see Foster 2005 Before, pp. 555-578.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For Sumerian texts referring to Erra, see ETCSL. Specifically, on the poem Erra and Ishum, see Foster 2005 Before, pp. 880-911.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the Myth of Adapa, cf. supra 7.10.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
On the god Nergal, see here.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
On the goddess Ereshkigal, see here.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For a description of “myth patterns” in creation traditions of the Ancient Near East and in the Hebrew Bible, see Toombs 1961mythpatterns
– [ Iman Nagy, December 2020]
For an analysis on the societal function of myths and how their narrative forms inform modern understanding and interpretation. See Feldt 2013narratology
– [ Iman Nagy, December 2020]
For the meaning and function of myths in ancient religions (particularly in Mesopotamia), see Brelich 1976 Prolegomeni, p. 21: text in Brelich 1976/Excerpt.
– [ Marco De Pietri, May 2021]
17.5 Biblical Narratives
For the Pentateuch, see the Jewish Encyclopedia.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the decalogue, cf. supra 4.3, 8.2, and 8.4.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
17.6 Apocalypse
For a discussion about Mesopotamian apocalypses, see Buccellati 1972 Beatitudini.
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
For the Greek word ἀποκάλυψις, ‘uncovering’, see the LSJ.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the text of the Letter to Assurbanipal, mentioned by G. Buccellati in Chapter 17, Section 6, see ….
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the Akkadian locution mīšaram šakānu, ‘to place the justice’, see CAD 10 = M2, pp. 116-119, under lemma mīšaru, ‘justice’ and CAD 17 = Š1, pp. 116-157, respectively.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the mentioned passage of Mk. 13, 12, see here.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the biblical passages mentioned by G. Buccellati in Chapter 17, Section 6, see here:
Is. 7, 16-17: announcements of imminent defeats;
Is. 44, 28: oracle where the God of Israel chooses a foreign king by name, Cyrus, to rebuild Jerusalem;
Is. 45, 1-7: oracle where the God of Israel chooses a foreign king by name, Cyrus, to rebuild Jerusalem;
Is. 11: development of the messianic theme;
Ez. 37, 10; 14: the revival of dried bones: “and the spirit came upon them and they lived”;
Dn. 7-12: great visions of Daniel.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the Hebrew syntagma וַיִּחְיוּ, wayyiḥeyû, ‘and they lived’ (composed by the proclitic copulative conjunction וַ,w(a)-, ‘and’ + the verb חיה, ḤYH, ‘to live’), see DCH 3, pp. 204-207, under lemma חיה, ḤYH, ‘to live’.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the Greek and English text of the Book of Revelation, see here.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
Messianic themes existed in ancient Egyptian Middle Kingdom texts such as the Prophecies of Neferty, The Lamentations of Khakheperre-Sonbe, and the Admonitions of Ipuwer. These texts narrativize the chaotic state of society utilizing literary tropes to juxtapose the promise of deliverance from future leaders.
– [ Iman Nagy, December 2020]
17.7 Techniques and Interlocutors
[There is a note from Renfrew to 17.7, but I don’t see the connection ]
– [March 2020]
For the role of priests and specialist in cultic activities at Ebla, an example of Mesopotamian rituality, see Bonechi 1989 Ebla.
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
For the text of the Enūma elīš, cf. supra 5.2.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
«The reading of the Enūma Elīš is assigned to a single Babylonian priest during the celebration of the beginning of the new year» (G. Buccellati, Chapter 17, Section 7).
For the New-Year festival, also known with the Akkadian term of akītu = CAD 1 = A1, pp. 267-272, see the RlA.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the biblical passages mentioned by G. Buccellati in Chapter 17, Section 7, see here:
Josh. 8, 32: Joshua first “writes on stones a copy of the law of Moses”;
Josh. 8, 34: before all Israel “read all the words of the law”;
Josh. 8, 35: “there was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read, before the whole assembly of Israel and the women and children and the stranger walking among them”;
2 Kings 23, 2: King Josiah who “read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant found in the house of Yahweh”.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
On the reading of the Enuma Elish during the Akitu festival (and on its political significance) see Bidmead 2002 Akitu; Pongratz- Leisten 1994 Akitu.
– [ Stefania Ermidoro, November 2020]
For an overview of how the common people of Mesopotamia may have digested mythic traditions and practiced religion, see Nejat 2007 Commonreligion
– [ Iman Nagy, December 2020]
17.8 The Canon as Super-Narrative
For the concept of Bible canon, see the Jewish Encyclopedia. On this topic, see also the paper Buccellati 2020 Job.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
For the concept of Bible canon, see the Jewish Encyclopedia. On this topic, see also the paper Buccellati 2020 Job.
– [ Marco De Pietri, September 2020]
On canon in ancient Mesopotamia see see Hurowitz 1997 Canon Canonization Mesopotamia and Rochberg 2015 Canonand Power.
– [ Stefania Ermidoro, November 2020]
See Lambert 1957 Ancestors on the question of canonicity.
– [ Jonah Lynch, January 2021]