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Enuma Elish: The Epic of Creation · 9 of 12 · tr. L.W. King

1i

He opened great gates on both sides, He made strong the bolt on the left and on the right. In the midst thereof he fixed the zenith; The Moon-god he caused to shine forth, the night he entrusted to him. He appointed him, a being of the night, to determine the days; Every month without ceasing with the crown he covered him, saying: "At the beginning of the month, when thou shinest upon the land, Thou commandest the horns to determine six days, And on the seventh day to divide the crown. On the fourteenth day thou shalt stand opposite, the half.... When the Sun-god on the foundation of heaven...thee, The ... thou shalt cause to ..., and thou shalt make his... ... unto the path of the Sun-god shalt thou cause to draw nigh, And on the ... day thou shalt stand opposite, and the Sun-god shall... ... to traverse her way. ... thou shalt cause to draw nigh, and thou shalt judge the right. ... to destroy..." [Nearly fifty lines are here lost.] The gods, his fathers, beheld the net which he had made, They beheld the bow and how its work was accomplished. They praised the work which he had done... Then Anu raised the ... in the assembly of the gods. He kissed the bow, saving, " It is...!" And thus he named the names of the bow, saving, "'Long-wood' shall be one name, and the second name shall be ..., And its third name shall be the Bow-star, in heaven shall it...!" Then he fixed a station for it... Now after the fate of... He set a throne... ...in heaven... [The remainder of this tablet is missing.] THE SIXTH TABLET 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 man 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; Together shall they be oppressed and unto evil shall they.... And Ea answered him and spake the word: "... the ... of the gods I have changed ... and one... ... shall be destroyed and men will I... ... and the gods . ... and they..." [The rest of the text is wanting with the exception of the last few lines of the tablet, which read as follows.] They rejoiced... In Upsukkinnaku they set their dwelling. Of the heroic son, their avenger, they cried: " We, whom he succored.... !" They seated themselves and in the assembly they named him..., They all cried aloud, they exalted him... THE SEVENTH TABLET O Asari, [Marduk] "Bestower of planting," "Founder of sowing" "Creator of grain and plants," "who caused the green herb to spring up!" O Asaru-alim, [Mardk] "who is revered in the house of counsel," "who aboundeth in counsel," The gods paid homage, fear took hold upon them! O Asaru-alim-nuna, [Marduk] "the mighty one," "the Light of the father who begat him," "Who directeth the decrees of Anu Bel, and Ea!" He was their patron, be ordained their...; He, whose provision is abundance, goeth forth...
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Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

[auto] The passage attributes human actions and forms to the divine, such as opening gates with hands and kissing a bow.

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Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

The text references the aftermath of a cosmic struggle (net, bow, destroy) and establishes order against implied chaos or evil.

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Cosmogonycosmology

Narratives or doctrines of cosmic origin — how heaven, earth, and the primordial deities first came into being. The Kojiki's deities born alone on the Plain of High Heaven, Voluspo's Ginnungagap, Genesis's tohu wa-bohu, the Timaeus's Demiurge fashioning the Receptacle, the Hesiodic Theogony, the Kalevala's egg-cosmogony, Egyptian Nun-and-Atum. Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (structural-ontological cascade), letters_of_creation (mechanism of creation), and apocatastasis/frashokereti (end-state restoration); cosmogony is temporally-narrative beginning.

The passage is a creation narrative detailing the formation of the cosmos, celestial bodies, and humanity from primordial elements.

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Covenanttheology

A binding agreement or relationship between the divine and a people or individual, establishing mutual obligations.

The gods enter into an agreement with Marduk to allow the creation of man so that the gods may rest and their shrines be built.

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Divine Providencetheology

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

Marduk actively orders the cosmos, establishes time (days/months), and creates humanity to ensure the service of the gods and the stability of shrines.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

[auto] The deities are depicted as active, dynamic agents who behold, praise, and speak within an assembly.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

[auto] Specific numbers (six, seven, fourteen) are used to structure the cosmic order and lunar cycles established by the deity.

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Prayerpraxis

Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.

Tablet VII consists of a liturgical hymn where the gods cry aloud and exalt Marduk with specific invocations and titles.

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Sacred Namestheology

Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.

The passage emphasizes the power of naming, where Marduk assigns names to the bow and the gods bestow exalted titles upon him to establish his station.

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Related passages · 14 parallels
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