Position in chronology
A hymn to Marduk for Abi-Eshuh (Abi-Eshuh A)
Written in modern English
Marduk is addressed directly: he gathers the divine powers of heaven and earth, the firstborn son of Enki, a mighty lord and perfect hero who stands at the head of the Igigi gods and commands the strength of the Anuna. The great gods have granted him justice and judgment; he is a descendant of holy An, the lord who decides destinies, wise and august, a reader of hearts whose divinity shines openly. His ancestor An, king of the gods, has made his authority over the armies of heaven and earth absolute — and then the tablet breaks off mid-sentence before whatever An gave him is named.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSLKing who gathers up the divine powers of heaven and earth, foremost son of Enki, Marduk, mighty lord, perfect hero, foremost of the Great Princes (a name for the Igigi gods) , strong one of the Anuna, the great gods who have given him justice and judgment! Great prince, descendant of holy An, lord who decides destinies, who has everything in his grasp (?), wise, august knower of hearts, whose divinity is manifest, who shows concern for all that he looks upon! Your ancestor An, king of the gods, has made your lordship effective against the armies of heaven and earth. He has given you the…
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.2.8.5.1 in the ETCSL catalogue. Sumerian literary text reconstructed from multiple cuneiform manuscripts, the great majority Old Babylonian (c. 1900–1600 BCE). Translation reproduced from the ETCSL edition.
Attribution
Image: .
Translation excerpted from ETCSL c.2.8.5.1: A hymn to Marduk for Abi-Eshuh (Abi-Eshuh A). Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Robson, E. & Zólyomi, G. (eds.), The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.2.8.5.1.
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