The Seven Tablets of Creation: The Enuma Elish

“In the course of the year 1900, the writer was entrusted with the task of copying the texts of a number of Babylonian and Assyrian legends for publication in the series of Cuneiform Texts from Babylonian Tablets, etc., in the British Museum, and, among the documents selected for issue, were those relating to the Creation of the world. Several of the texts of the Creation Legends, which had been used by previous translators, had never been published, and one tablet, which Mr. George Smith had consulted in 1876, had not been identified by subsequent workers. During my work I was so fortunate as to recognize this tablet, and was enabled to make copies of all texts, not only of those which were previously known, but also of a number of new duplicates and fragments which I meanwhile identified. […] A prolonged search was rewarded by the finding of other fragments of the poem, and a study of these showed me that the earlier portions of the text of Creation Story, as already known, could be considerably augmented. […] In view of the additional information as to the form and contents of the poem which this new material afforded, it was clearly necessary that a new translation of the Creation Legends should be made, and this I undertook forthwith.” 

King here explains how he came to write this translation of the Enuma Elish. Understating his efforts and scholarship, he makes his decision seem to be inevitable coincidence rather than the brilliant academic persistence that it is.

“With regard to the extent and contents of the Creation Series, we now know that the Tablets of which the series was composed are seven in number; and we also possess the missing context or frame-work of the Seventh Tablet, which contains addresses to Marduk under his fifty titles of honour. From this we learn that, when the work of Creation was ended, the gods gathered together once more in the Upshukkinakku, their council-chamber; here they seated themselves in solemn assembly and proceeded to do honour to Marduk, the Creator, by reciting before him the remarkable series of addresses which form the contents of the last Tablet of the poem. Many of the missing portions of the Seventh Tablet, including the opening lines, it has been found possible to restore from the new fragments and duplicates here published.” 

King is expressing the epitome of his achievement in this passage. Prior to his compilation, the exact number of Enuma Elish original tablets was not known. Neither were the proper order, as he established it, or the contents of the many missing lines.

“The poem is known to us from portions of several Assyrian and late-Babylonian copies of the work, and from extracts from it written out upon so called ‘practice-tablets,’ or student’s exercises, by pupils of the Babylonian scribes. The Assyrian copies of the work are from the great library which was founded at Nineveh by Asurbani-pal, king of Assyria from B.C. 668 to about B.C. 626; the Babylonian copies and extracts were inscribed during the period of the kings of Neo-Babylonian and Persian periods; and one copy of the Seventh Tablet may probably be assigned to as late a date as the period of the Arsacidae. All the tablets and fragments, which have hitherto been identified as inscribed with portions of the text of the poem, are preserved in the British Museum.” 

In this passage, King dates the periods from which all portions of the Enuma Elish emerged. His casual acknowledgment that these priceless treasures are all in the possession of the British Museum is indicative of the time period in which he is writing, before the possession of such antiquities by foreign nations became controversial.

“The great Assyrian poem, or series of legends, which narrates the story of the Creation of the world and man, was termed by the Assyrians and Babylonians Enuma Elish, ‘When in the height,’ from the two opening words of the text. The poem consisted of some nine hundred and ninety-four lines, and was divided into seven sections, each of which was inscribed upon a separate Tablet. The Tablets were numbered by the Assyrian scribes, and the separate sections of the power written upon them do not vary much in length. […] The poem embodies the beliefs of the Babylonians and Assyrians concerning the origin of the universe; it describes the coming forth of the gods from chaos, and tells the story of how the forces of disorder […] were overthrown […] and how Marduk, after completing the triumph of the gods over chaos, proceeded to create the world and man.”

At the beginning of his Introduction, King summarizes in simple terms what the Enuma Elish is.

“Another point completely explained by the new fragments of the text is the reason for the repetitions which occur in the first three tablets of the series. […] The lines which are repeated have reference to Tiamat’s preparations for battle against the gods, and to Anshar’s summons of the gods in order that they may confer power on Marduk as their champion […]. The constant repetitions of these lines was doubtless intended to emphasize the terrible nature of the opposition which Marduk successfully overcame; and the fact that Berossus omits all mention of the part played by Ea in the earlier portions of the story is also due to the tendency of Babylonian priests to exalt their local god at the expense of other deities.”

King here acknowledges the repetition of the most poignant, dramatic passage of the poem: the battle plans of Tiamat as she prepares to attack the other gods. King affirms that the quadruple repetition is meant to stress the great danger faced by the gods and to emphasize Marduk’s challenge and his greatness.

“The story of the Creation, in the form in which it has come down to us upon tablets of the seventh and later centuries before Christ, is of a distinctly composite character and bears traces of a long process of editing and modification at the hands of Babylonian priests. Five principal strands may be traced which have been combined to form the poem; these may be described as (1) The Birth of the gods; (2) The Legend of Ea and Apsu; (3) The Dragon-Myth; (4) The actual account of Creation; and (5) The Hymn to Marduk under his fifty titles. Since the poem in its present form is a glorification, of Marduk as the champion of the gods and the Creator of the world, it is natural that more prominence should be given to episodes in which Marduk is the hero than is assigned to other portions of the narrative in which he plays no part.”

King here expresses the view that over centuries before the Enuma Elish came into being, Babylonian priests refined the story until it achieved the form of the poem, which he breaks into five basic elements.

“The central episode of the poem is the fight between Marduk and Tiamat, and there is evidence to prove that this legend existed in other forms than that under which it occurs in the Creation Series. The conquest of the dragon was ascribed by the Babylonian priests to their local god, and in the poem the death of Tiamat is made a necessary preliminary to the creation of the world.” 

This is a reference to the fact that the oldest records of any part of the creation myth, dating back to at least 2000 BCE, concern the epic battle between the dragon Tiamat and the hero Marduk.

“The three classes of evidence briefly summarized above tend to show that the most important elements in the Creation legends were not of late origin, but must be traced back in some form or other to remote periods, and may well date from the first half of the third millennium B.C., or even earlier. It remains to consider to what date we may assign the actual weaving together of these legends into the poem termed by the Babylonians and Assyrians Enuma Elish.” 

After painstakingly reviewing the evidence for the earliest known references to the Babylonian creation myth, King expresses the belief that the rudimentary stories date back to 2500 BCE or even earlier. He is uncertain of the date when they first came together as a unified myth.

“While the origin of much of the Creation legends may be traced to Sumerian sources, it is clear that the Semitic inhabitants of Mesopotamia at a very early period produced their own versions of the compositions which they borrowed, modifying and augmenting them to suit their own legends and beliefs. The connection of Marduk with the Dragon-Myth, and with the stories of the creation of the world and man, may with considerable probability be assigned to the subsequent period during which Babylon gradually attained to the position of the principal city in Mesopotamia.” 

In this passage, King is dealing with the notion that the Babylonians were Semitic in heritage and took over the land and the creation myths from the earlier Sumerians. As they did so, they elevated Marduk to a position of mythic prominence.

“The allusions to variant Hebrew forms of the Babylonian Dragon-Myth in Amos ix, 3, Isaiah li, 9, Psalm lxxiv, 13f., and lxxxix, 9f., and Job xxvi, 12f., and ix, 13, may be cited as sufficient proof of the early period at which the borrowing from Babylonian sources must have taken place; and the striking differences between the Biblical and the known Babylonian versions of the legends prove that the Exilic and post-Exilic Jews must have found ready to their hand ancient Hebrew versions of the stories, and that the changes they introduced must in the main have been confined to details of arrangement and to omissions necessitated by their own more spiritual conceptions and beliefs.” 

This quotation is interesting because King lifts up several Hebrew Bible passages beyond the Genesis creation story that are drawn from the Enuma Elish. He also recognizes that the interaction between Babylonian myth and Jewish scripture took place over many centuries with multiple revisions.

“When in the height heaven was not named, and the earth beneath did not yet bear a name, and the primeval Apsu, who begat them, and chaos, Tiamat, the mother of them both, their waters were mingled together, and no field was formed, no marsh was seen; when of the gods none had been called into being, and none bore a name, and no destinies were ordained; then were created the gods in the midst of heaven […].” 

These opening nine verses of Tablet One of the Enuma Elish are meant to convey the absolute absence of any form recognizable to a human being. Apsu and Tiamat are conceiving and bringing gods into being. Only later is it revealed they were the children of Anshar.

“Then Apsu, the begetter of the great gods, cried unto Mummu, his minister, and said unto him: ‘O mummu, thou minister that rejoices my spirit, come, unto Tiamat let us go!’ So they went and before Tiamat they lay down, they consulted on a plan with regard to the gods their sons. Apsu opened his mouth and spake, and unto Tiamat, the glistening one, he addressed the word: […] ‘By day I cannot rest, by night I cannot lie down in peace. But I will destroy their way […].’” 

The second-generation parents of the newer third-generation gods are troubled by their offspring, who have brought light into the chaos, establishing order: night versus day. Apsu tells Tiamat that their offspring must be killed. This quote is also from Tablet One.

“Saying, ‘Tiamat our mother hath conceived a hatred for us, with all her force she rageth, full of wrath. All the gods have turned to her, with those, whom ye created, they go at her side. They are banded together and at the side of Tiamat they advance; they are furious, they devise mischief without resting, night and day. They prepare for battle, fuming and raging; they have joined their forces and are making war. Ummu-Hubur, who formed all things, hath made in addition weapons invincible, she hath spawned monster-serpents, sharp of tooth, and merciless of fang. With poison instead of blood she hath filled their bodies. Fierce monster-vipers she hath clothed with terror, with splendor she hath decked them, she hath made them of lofty stature. Whoever beholdest them is overcome in terror, their bodies rear up and none can withstand their attack. She hath set up vipers, and dragons, and the hurricanes and raging hounds, and scorpion-men, and mighty tempests, and fish men and rams; they bear cruel weapons, without fear of the fight. Her commands are mighty; none can resist them; after this fashion, huge of stature, hath she made eleven monster.’”

Spoken by the all-seeing god Ea to Anshar, the progenitor of all the gods, this is the second of the four times this exact passage is used in the poem to describe the anger, might, army, and intentions of Tiamat, who becomes infuriated when Ea casts Apsu into the depths for trying to kill the other gods.

“Marduk hath set out, the director of the gods, your son; to set out against Tiamat his heart hath prompted him. He opened his mouth and spake until me, saying: ‘If I, your avenger, conquer Tiamat and give you life, appoint an assembly, make my fate preeminent and proclaim it. In Upshukkinaku seat yourselves joyfully together; with my word in place of your will I decree fate. May whatsoever I do remain unaltered, may the word of my lips never be changed or made of no avail.’” 

In this passage, Anshar is quoting the demand of Marduk that, should he go to battle against Tiamat and prevail, he will be made the sovereign lord of all gods. This, along with the threats made by Tiamat, are the message taken by Gaga, Anshar’s messenger, to all gods as they are required to attend an assembly to approve Marduk’s request.

“Then they did collect and go, the great gods, all of them, who decree fate. They entered in before Anshar, they filled…; they kissed one another in the assembly…. They made ready for the feast, at the banquet they sat; they ate bread, they mixed sesame wine. The sweet drink, the mead, confused, they were drunk with their drinking, their bodies were filled. They were wholly at ease, their spirit was exalted; then for Marduk, their avenger, did they decree the fate.” 

This is the Tablet Three account of the fearful gods gathering in assembly, eating, and drinking until they are drunk and voting to accede to all of Marduk’s demands.

“Then he set out, he took his way, and towards the raging Tiamat he set his face. […] Then they beheld him, the gods beheld him […] as Marduk gazed, Kingu was troubled in his gait, his will was destroyed and his motions ceased. And the gods, his helpers, who marched by his side, beheld their leader’s…, and their sight was troubled. But Tiamat…, she turned not her neck […]. She was like one possessed, she lost her reason. […] Then advanced Tiamat and Marduk, the counsellor of the gods; to the fight they came on, to the battle they drew nigh. The lord spread out his net and caught her, and the evil wind that was behind him he let loose in her face. As Tiamat opened her mouth to its full extent, he drove the evil wind, while as yet she had not shut her lips. The terrible winds filled her belly, and her courage was taken from her, and her mouth she opened wide. He seized the spear and burst her belly, he severed her inward parts, he pierced her heart. He overcame her and cut off her life; he cast down her body and stood upon it.”

In this Tablet Four account of the decisive battle, Marduk’s appearance frightens Tiamat’s army, so that she proceeds alone to engage him. Anticipating she would open her mouth to swallow him, Marduk unleashes the wind so she fills with air like a balloon, allowing him to enter her and kill her from the inside.

“Marduk made the stations for the great gods; the stars, their images, as the stars of the Zodiac, he fixed. He ordained the year and into sections he divided it; for the twelve months he fixed three stars. After he had the days of the year, he founded the station of Nibir (Jupiter) to determine their bounds; that none might err or go astray. He set the station of Bel and Ea along with him.” 

Tablet Five opens with this quote as Marduk sets out in earnest to organize creation. Considering that the ordering he commands takes place no more recently that 700 BCE, his ordering of creation seems prescient.

“When Marduk heard the word of the gods, his heart prompted him and he devised a cunning plan. He opened his mouth and unto Ea he spake, that which he had conceived in his heart he imparted unto him: ‘My blood will I take and bone will I fashion, I will make man that may…I will create man who shall inhabit the earth, that the service of the gods may be established, and that their shrines may be built. But I will alter the ways of the gods, and I will change their paths […].’”

This portion of the poem opens Tablet Six. Unfortunately much of the rest of Tablet Six is missing so readers cannot know what Marduk planned for the gods or the instructions he had for humankind.

“By the name of ‘Fifty’ did the great gods proclaim his fifty names, they made his path pre-eminent. Let them be held in remembrance, and let the first man proclaim them; let the wise and the understanding consider them together! Let the father repeat them and teach them to his son; let them be in the ears of the pastor and the shepherd! Let a man rejoice in Marduk, the Lord of the gods, that he may cause his land to be fruitful, and that he himself may have prosperity!”

King states that the 50 honorific titles bestowed on Marduk end just before this passage begins. Thus, these words are the first divine admonitions addressed directly to humanity, advising people to learn Marduk’s various titles, understand what they mean, and honor them. In doing so, human beings will be assured of prosperity and abundance.

“The cities sighed, men uttered lamentations, for their lamentation there was none to help, for their grief there was none to take them by the hand. Who was the dragon? Tiamat was the dragon! Bel in heaven hath formed. Fifty kaspu in length, one kaspu his height, six cubits is his mouth, twelve cubits his…, Twelve cubits is the circuit of his ears…. In heaven the gods bowed themselves before the Moon-god; the border of the Moon-god’s robe they hastily grasped: Who will go and slay the dragon and deliver the broad land and become […] king? […] He set the seal of his life before his face, he grasped it and he slew the dragon. For three year and three months, one day and one night the blood of the dragon flowed.”

This passage comes from the “Dragon Myth,” one of the variants of the Marduk versus Tiamat stories. It is interesting in that human beings in addition to gods are worried. Perhaps it is the human perspective that adds in measurable sizes for the dragon, which would have measured about 300 miles long by current standards. The lengthy flow of blood from the dragon is a reference to the vast annual floods of the Euphrates river.

“May Nin-aha-kudu, the daughter of Ea purify thee with the pure censer, and may she cleanse thee with cleansing fire! With a cup of pure water from the Deep shalt though purify thy way! By the incantation of Marduk, the king of the hosts of heaven and earth, may the abundance of the land enter into thee, and may thy decree be accomplished forever!”

This portion of “Another Version of the Creation of the World by Marduk,” a variation of the ancient myth that isn’t part of the Enuma Elish, is unique in that it is a human response to the provision of Marduk, blessing him and other gods and asking for his blessing.

“In terms of Gods, all ancients believed in a reality that transcended the physical world. But in contrast with Israel’s monotheistic world-view, the Mesopotamians and Egyptians saw a myriad of gods behind the cosmos […] no one god was absolutely sovereign over the others. Each had his respective sphere of influence, which usually corresponded to some aspect of nature, such as the sun, the atmosphere, the earth, or the underworld. Although the gods were behind every event, they did not ultimately control the future. And though they were immanent in the world, they remained aloof from their mortal devotees. […] It is worthy to note that in this story of creation (the Enuma Elish), as well as Egyptian cosmogonies, the creation of mankind is almost treated as an after-thought.” 

In this passage, King describes several of the key distinctions between ancient Near Eastern religious beliefs and Judaism: The Babylonians and Egyptians believed in a number of gods with different duties but no ultimate authority. In these cosmogonies, humanity was incidental and insignificant.

“According to Mesopotamian and Egyptian religion, man was made to serve the gods. While the kings served the gods by administering the affairs of society, the priests served them by administering the affairs of the temple, which was viewed as the ‘house’ where the particular god in view resided. In each temple there was an idol, usually made of wood, stone, or metal, and fashioned in the form of a geometric shape, animal, human, or hybrid. Through special rituals, this image became the vehicle by which divine presence was manifested. Every morning the priest would bathe, clothe, and provide breakfast for the god. Later in the day, the god might, with the aid of the priest, give an oracle, receive visitors, or make a procession to another temple. The irony of gods depending upon mortals for life and well-being did not escape the ridicule of Israel’s prophets.” 

King describes the result of humanity being created to serve the gods, as he attempts to demonstrate the superiority of Judaic theological perceptions.