The following cuneiform inscriptions seem to indicate belief in immortality and worship of the sun god.
Marduk to his throne I caused to enter a band of sons of the people them .... the house and field .... to Marduk and Zirat-panit I dedicated them of the king Agu.
His days may they be long his years may they be extended his life in bliss may he live the summit of heaven vast may he behold it ...
..............................................
the god .......... spreading ..... for ever (may) he exist(?) may he exalt to the lordly king Agu who the shrine of Marduk has made sons of the people has dedicated Anu and Anatu in heaven may they be favourable to him.
Bel and Beltis in the house and the land of life may they seat him.
Hea and Davkina dwelling in the great deep a life of days long may they give him.
Tzira lady the great land.
Greatness may he complete.
The Moon illuminator of heaven revolver the king paternal for days long may grant him the prince, the Sun, ruler heaven and earth his reign for many days may he establish.
Hea the old lord wisdom may be complete for him.
Marduk lover of his reign, Lord of fountains, his fertility may be complete for him. [100]
The Black Obelisk Inscription reading, "Tribute of Jehu, Son of Omri".[120]
Acadian poem of pagan ideas of the immortality of the soul.
Abu-bak-rimi son of Tassigurumas the noble. Seed of Sugamuna the glory of Anu and Bel Hea and Marduk Sin (the Moon) Shamas (the Sun) the hero powerful of Istar archer of the goddesses. I (am) king of kings and princes king of the obedient and faithful son of Tassigurumas grandson of Akas (?) the warrior in ..... offspring ..... of Agu ragas (or rabi) the noble and royal seed of Ummah-ziriti ..... I am the shepherd of a vast people the warrior shepherd establisher of the foundation of the throne of his fathers I (am) king of the Kassi and Accadi king of the land of Babylonia vast Colonizer of the land of Asnunnak a people vast king of Padan Alman king of Gutium (Goim) a people ..... the king establisher of the four regions worshipper of the great gods Lo! Marduk king of Bit-Saggadhu ...... Babylon. The great gods their noble mouths. His return ordered Marduk to Babylon his face set Marduk ..... not.
Column II
I glorified to take Marduk to Babylon his face. I set and in the paths of Marduk lover of my life. I walked and (Saru-Shamas) to ..... to the land of Khani. I sent and him Marduk and Zirat-panit they had taken hold of and Marduk and Zirat-panit lovers of my reign to Bit-Saggadhu and Babylon. I restored them in the temple of the Sun for the division of the future I fixed ..... four talents for the robes Marduk and Zirat-panit. I had given and a dress large (ample) a dress of gold and blue Marduk and Zirat-panit. I had clothed (?) them and to the shrine of Marduk and Zirat-panit. I had given (with) quantities of robes their divinities great. I had adorned crowns horned lofty crowns of divinity an image of divinity of perfection full.
Column VII
Marduk to his throne I caused to enter a band of sons of the people them ..... the house and field ..... to Marduk and Zirat-panit. I dedicated them of the king Agu. His days may they be long his years may they be extended his life in bliss may he live the summit of heaven vast may he behold it the god ..... spreading for ever (may) he exist (?) may he exalt to the lordly king Agu who the shrine of Marduk has made sons of the people has dedicated Anu and Anatu in heaven may they be favourable to him. Bel and Beltis in the house and the land of life may they seat him. Hea and Dav-kina dwelling in the great deep a life of days long may they give him Tzira lady the great land.
Column VIII
Greatness may he complete. The Moon illuminator of heaven revolver the king paternal for days long may grant him the prince the Sun ruler heaven and earth his reign for many days may he establish. Hea the old lord wisdom may be complete for him Marduk lover of his reign Lord of fountains his fertility may be complete for him. [200]
Human Sacrifice Among Babylonians
Accadian [1000]
[kha]-e-in-de
Assyrian
Ana (?) li-i
-i'-va
Acadian
biru gar sak-il[1100]-lá nam-D.P.-mu-lu-ge
Assyrian
'u-ri-tsu [1200] [sa-risa-nas-]u sa a-ve-lu-ti [1300]
Accadian
biru zi[1400]-a-ni-cu ba-an-un
Assyrian
'u-ri-tsa ana na-pis-ti-su it-ta-din
Accadian
sak biru sak-mulu-cu ba-an-un
Assyrian
kik-kad 'u-ri-tsi ana kak-kad nisi it-ta-din
Accadian
tik[1500] biru tik-mulu-cu ba-an-un
Assyrian
ci-sad 'u-ri-tsi ana ci-sad nisi it-ta-din
Accadian
gab[1600] biru gab-mulu-cu ba-an-un
Assyrian
ir-ti 'u-ri-tsi ana ir-ti nisi it-ta-din.
.... may he extirpate; the sin (?) may he extirpate [1700]; and the offspring who the head raises among mankind; --- the offspring who raises the head among mankind; --- the offspring his-life-for he gave it; (his) offspring for his life he gave; the head of the offspring head-of-the-man-for he gave it; the head of the offspring for the head of the man he gave; the front of the offspring for-the-front-of-the-man he gave it; the front of the offspring for the front of the man he gave; the breast of the offspring breast-of-the-man-for he gave it; the breast of the offspring for the breast of the man he gave.
W.A.I. III, 60, 161.[1800]
Ina arkhi Sivani istu yumi I. adi yumi XXX. an-ta-lu it-tab-liv sibirri mati lâ dumki enuva D.P. Rammânu ca-su-ru[1900] se-gu-uv ina niduti[2000] 'ablu a-ru-ur.[2100]
In the month Sivan, from the first day to the 30th day, an eclipse failed; the crops of the land not prosperous. ... when the Air-god (is) fine, prosperity. On the high places the son is burnt. [2200]
The Pagan Text of the Cuneiform Inscription on the Two Lions at Tel Ahmar (near Carchemish), [PSBA, Vol. 34, 1912, p. 75.]
Translated as:
Translated as:
"O Aššur, great lord, king of the [great] gods . . . .
Ana, powerful, chiefest, begetter of the gods . . . .
Bêl, father of the gods, lord of the lands . . . . . . . .
Ea, the wise, the king of the deep, who openest [the ear] . . .
Marduk, the ruler of the gods, lord of omens, the . . . [of the gods] . .
Nabû, the scribe of E-saggil, who holds the tablets of destiny . . . . . agreement lord of the disk, who brightenest the sky; Ištar, lady of battle, perfect [in warlike ordinance]; Gula, lady of healing, [mistress] great, the wife of the hero of the gods, the son of Bêl, the mighty . . . ; (Shalmaneser?) the great king(?) of nations(?) . . . a
who has swept the lands of Hatti, Gutî, and all the lands of the sea [from] the shore of the great sea(?)b of the Setting Sun . . . Sun
who has defeated the lands of Musru and Urartu . . with its peoples; who has swept the land of Kittu' . . . .c
the lands of Harutu (and) Labdudu, effecting their subjection.
When . . . in Ura[rtu(?)d (some enemy) trusted(?)]
[in] the number of the army of his(?) . . .e nor had he approached any former king (for friendship), but revolted and [asked] not [for peace(?), and] had not accepted(?) (it); he directed
the whole of his army against my land to fight; they destroyedf . . . his nobles . .
Ninkarnunna(?) the mother of E-Šarra, I besought(?) ....
(my general) to the midst of the mountain drew nigh;
he was victorious; with great booty, spoil, great weapons(?)g and(?) the weapons(?) . . .
he blewh like a fierce windstorm that breaks the [trees(?)];
his [troops] against him like a hawkj he let fly; his defeat(?)
he effected. Then the remainder of his forces were all destroyed . . . and he himself like a thief went out from
his camp. His royal treasure . . . . in (their) hands they took.
In those days two mighty lions in the great gate of the city Kar-Šulmanu-ašarid,
The city of my rule - I proclaimed their names . . . .
The name of the one ". . . of fierce . . ., of irrisistible attack,"
The name of the other "Glorious(?) . . . [which causes to attain] the heart's desire." They stand . . .
Saviour . . . . . . . . . . for my royalty(?) [I set up(?)]."
a) The signs . . . `a bat' may be possible . . . `a kur', i.e., [m ilu Marduk]-apal-usur of the land of Suhâi, between the Balihi and the Habur rivers, who brought tribute to Shalmaneser II. But it does not seem probable.
b) The character is undoutedly `uh', and cannot be read `tam-tim' with `rabîtu(tu) following.
c) The country at the end of this line might be read `Kit-bu', `Kit-tu-', or possibly `U-tu-' ot `U-bu-'.
d) Doubtful restoration: it might be `ina šadû(u) ra-[bu-u] "in the [great] mountain."
e) `Kit(?)-pa-šu' doubtful; but the characters are fairly clear.
f) `I-nu-ru' for `i-ni-ru'?
g) It is possible that we should read isunarkabâti, "chariots," instead of isukakki, "weapons."
h) My copy has `i-zi-iz' for the first word, with the `iz' doubtful. It is probable this should be `ka'.
i) `Murîsat; see Muss-Arnolt, `Circtionary', 974, b.
j) `Anzaniš', adverb from `anzû'. It is noticeable that Shalmaneser (Balaw, Col. III, 5) in his final campaign against Ahuni, king of Til-Barsip, uses this rare word in a similar context. It is uncertain whether the king's general or the enemy is the subject in II. 14, 15, 16. `Abikti-šu', at the end of the line is merely a suggested reading for the characters in my copy.
Dear Mr. Rylands;
- The Society may like to hear something about the newly discovered cuneiform inscription on the northern bank of the `Daog River', near Beirut (Lebanon), an account of which has been sent to the Athenceum by Canon Tristram. The inscriptions have been uncovered by the Danish Consul, who has also taken photographs and squeezes of them. Through the kindness of CT I have been permitted to examine the photographs, and I can therefore report something about their contents. The photographs, however, present only the longest of the inscriptions, which is in four columns, and only portions of that. Owing to the deplorable condition of the original seems to be in, and the loss of many characters in the photographs from their being in the shade, it is impossible to do more than make out a word here and there. I hope that when the squeezes arrive we shall find them of greater assistance.The photographs, however, are sufficiently clear upon one important fact, the authorship of the inscription. The forms of the characters are those in use in Babylonia in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, and as the general style of the inscription is that of Nebuchadnezzar's texts, I had little hesitation in ascribing it to the great Babylonian monarch. My conclusion was subsequently confirmed by my finding Nebuchadnezzar's name in the second column, where it is written (as the image shows):
[0100] W. Boscawen, On an early Chaldean inscription in TSBA, Vol. IV, 1876, p. 149-156.
[0120] See BAR, Jan/Feb 1995, p. 26,27.
[0200] Ibid., p. 138-156. These lines, even though translated long ago when the art of translation was young, are given to illustrate that the ideas of immortality and worship of the sun predate the time when these extra biblical doctrines were incorporated in the Christian faith without Scriptural authority. Later theologians in an effort to justify their erroneous doctrines read the Bible to find other reasons to `proof' text these ideas and attribute them to have been part of the early Christian Apostles by stating that the `Lord's Day' (Sabbath) was Sunday and that at death the soul goes to heaven, ideas which were foreign to the Hebrew and Apostle's faith.
[1000] A copy of the tablet, the first 2 lines excepted, is given, with a translation by M. Lenormant, in the recently-published 1st part of the 2nd volume of his `Etudes Accadiennes', pp. 297-299. The tablet is marked K 5139.
[1100] Gadhu, "high," was pronounced ili or il in Accadian. `A is the participal (or relative) ending.
[1200] Cf., Arabic `to lay eggs'.
[1300] Feminine abstract of avelu, "a man"; prehaps from a root 
, whence "mighty man", "possessor." comes. It is possible that the e of the second sylable implies an original a'yin in the first syllable. We might then compare 
"a suckling" or "youngster."
[1400] Also zil, with the suffix l (la).
[1500] Tik is rendered makhru "before," and makhirtu "front."
[1600] `Gab' is rendered makharu, "before." `Irti is perhaps from the Arabic "to be naked," Hebrew 
; like the Hebrew 
"skin."
[1700] Third singular pret. Kal. Hebrew 
.
[1800] Translated in Sayce's paper on the `Astronomy of the Babylonians' in the TSBA, Vol. III, pt. i, p. 274.
[1900] Cf. Hebrew Aramaic 
"to be good," "to thrive," "to be prosperous."
[2000] The Accadian ci-par ("place of light"?) is rendered by the Ass. suluv (shaphel pass. derivative of ), nidutu (from the Arabic), and tericti (from 
"to extend").
[2100] `Arur is a somewhat anomalous form of a passive (or neuter) permansive Kal from "to burn." The i of the 2nd syllable is changed into u, after the example of the nomen mutati Sacun, as in the case of a few other neuter verbs. 
is translated by isatu "fire," khamanu ("heat"). nararu and arur. Cf. Hebrew , 
, 
("to burn"), Arabic "fire", "to shine."
[2200] A.H. Sayce, On Human Sacrifice Among the Babylonians in TSBA, Read on February 2, 1875, Vol. IV, 1876, p. 25-31.
Bible Topics