Enuma Elish Overview

ENUMA ELISH / “WHEN ON HIGH”

• Language: Akkadian

• Province: Babylon

• Date: 2000-1000 BC

• Purpose: Explain the taboo against eating pork

• From ‘Enuma Elish’, the first words, meaning “When on high…”

pg. 60 & https://www.worldhistory.org/article/225/enuma-elish---the-babylonian-epic-of-creation---fu/ 

Tablet 1

The text begins when heaven and earth had not been named or made. The gods that precede all things, Apsu (fresh waters) and Tiamat (salt waters, the mother), mingle together as one and create all the other gods over a long period of time. Soon after, however, they annoy Tiamat by moving around and making noise. Similar to Genesis, this creation narrative begins when there was no heaven or earth. Also similar to Genesis, which talks about creation before there is any rain, plant, or shrub, there is another reference point for creation: when there are no reed huts or meadows. Further, the assumption is that heaven and earth will be made by speech, “naming”, just as God speaks 10 times to create the world. However, a god and demiurge precede creation rather than just one God, and Tiamat and Apsu create gods over a long stretch of time rather than over six days, as God does in the Genesis creation account.

Apsu and Tiamat bear with it for some time, until Apsu goes to his master, Mummu, and brings him to Tiamat to tell them both how he wants to destroy them for bothering them and not allowing them to have rest. Tiamat, although annoyed by them, says they can’t destroy the gods they’ve made, but Mummu tells Apsu he should destroy them.

The gods hear Apsu’s plot to destroy them, so the god of wisdom, Ea, puts a spell on Apsu’s fresh waters to put him to sleep. He then takes off all of Mummu’s royal garbs, binds him, and locks him up while he chains up Apsu and then destroys him. Finally, he killed Apsu and built his little temple on top of him.

On top of Apsu, Ea has Marduk as his son with his wife Damkina; Marduk is super tall, and has four large ears, four large eyes, and breathes fire. Anu gives Marduk the four winds so that he can use them to stir up Tiamat and annoy her even more.

The other gods, frustrated by Marduk and the lower gods, advise Tiamat to get revenge for her now-dead husband. She agrees and makes the Viper, the Dragon, the Sphinx, the Great-Lion, the Mad-Dog, the Scorpion-Man, the Mighty lion-demons, the Dragon-Fly, and the Centaur, and then arms them with weapons to fight against them. She sets her firstborn, the god Kingu, as their chief to have full power over the Anunnaki, also armed and having the Tablet of Destinies.

Tablet 2

Ea hears that Tiamat has brought up an army and gotten all the gods to side with her to destroy them, so he tells his grandfather, Anshar. Distressed, Anshar doesn’t know what to do. Finally, Ea goes to Marduk to tell him to stand up to Tiamat. Marduk is pleased and promises to defeat her as long as he is made king afterward.

Tablet 3

Anshar sends his master, Gaga, to go to Lahmu and Lahamu, his fathers, with bread and wine on his behalf. He tells him to tell them everything that has happened: how Tiamat has made and armed epic mythical beasts to destroy the Anunnaki gods, and how Anu, Nudimmud, and all the other gods were too afraid to face her, but Marduk is planning on waging war against her. After Gaga tells them all this and advises them to support Marduk, the Igigi gods. Distressed, they nonetheless drink to their fill and decide to support him.

Tablet 4

The gods set up a throne for Marduk and proclaim him to be ruler, with the authority of Anu, eternal decrees, and to reign over all the earth. They set up images in front of Marduk, telling him that he has the power to decree them to be destroyed and restored. Marduk speaks to have them destroyed and then speaks again so that they are recreated. When the gods see this, they worship him, proclaim him king, and give him royal vestments. They then tell him to go destroy Tiamat for them. Marduk creates and destroys images by his speech, similar to how God creates the whole world by His speech.

He gets a bow and arrows, a mace, lightning, and a net from his father Anu. He then puts the four winds around him so that she won’t be able to escape. He also gets the seven winds: the Evil Wind, Whirlwind, Hurricane, Fourfold Wind, Sevenfold Wind, Cyclone, and Matchless Flood. Finally, he gets the flood-storm and gets on his storm-chariot carried by venomous beasts.

He leads the other gods to go up against Tiamat, but their vision is blinded. Tiamat cries out at Marduk, and he responds to hear, telling her how she has betrayed her own children in replacing Anu’s rank with Kingu and plans to attack Anshar. He challenges her to a one-on-one fight.

As they go out to fight, Marduk throws his net around her and sends the Evil Wind in her face as she opens her mouth to pronounce a curse on him. It holds her mouth open while he sends a fierce wind to keep her belly open. He shoots an arrow into her belly, cuts up her insides and heart, throws down her body, and stands on it. When the gods who were with Tiamat see this, they try to turn back in fear but are captured. Marduk captures them with his net, puts them in prison, and then makes them into his slaves. He then binds Kingu and makes him the god of death. He takes the Tablet of Destinies from him and seals it to his breast. Marduk makes the heavens with half of Tiamat’s corpse, but God creates the heavens with a hammered-out dome.

Marduk then breaks open Tiamat’s skull, severs her arteries, and then has the North wind bring the news throughout, and his fathers rejoice. He divides her body in two: using the top to make the firmament, setting up guards to not allow her waters to escape. He then looks at the heavens and gives Apsu and Esharra Great Abodes according to their likenesses and then gives places to Anu, Enlil, and Ea.

Tablet 5

Marduk sets up three constellations as images of the gods and for dividing up the 12 months of the year: setting up Nebiru (Jupiter) to make sure none of the stars go off course, and then sets Enlil and Ea by both of the gates of the heavens where the stars enter and exit each night. He then sets up the moon to mark the days and commands it to have its cycle for marking each month. Marduk sets three gods over the stars to make sure they don’t deviate, while God sets up the stars to rule over day and night for Him

Marduk then takes from Tiamat’s head and has her eyes pour out the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as tears, put up her breasts as mountains, made holes in her as springs of water. He gives guide-ropes to Ea and the Tablet of Destinies to Anu; he broke the weapons of all of the mythical monsters, tied them to his feet, and made images for them at the Gate of Apsu. The gods rejoice, including Lahmu and Lahamu, and Anu, Elil, and Ea all give him gifts. His mother makes him a royal robe, they share the news, clean up holy places, and all the Igigis and Anunnakis come together to bow down to him and to give him his new name: Lugaldimmerenkia. The Enuma Elish recounts Marduk being made king three times just as Genesis has two separate creation accounts and two interwoven flood narratives.

After they all hail him as king and bless him, Marduk decides to make Babylon as his resting place between heaven and earth.

Tablet 6

Marduk declares that he will put blood and bones together to create a savage “man” to do the gods’ work for them so that they can rest. Ea suggests that one of the gods be killed and their blood used to create the humans, so Marduk turns to the Anunnaki gods to ask them who it was who inspired Tiamat to rise up against them. The Igigi gods tell him it was Kingu who had the idea, and they bring him bound before Ea. They severe his blood vessels, and Marduk and Nudimmud make humans out of it to do an incredible amount of work. Marduk also divides the Anunnaki so that 300 stay in heaven as his guard and 600 stay on the earth. The gods make humans with the blood of a rebel god, but God makes humans by coming down to blow His Spirit into clay. The gods here make the humans to do all their hard work and to have them serve them with sacrifices and temple furnishing, but God creates creation for humans and then gives them a day to rest from creating with Himself, making them His divine representatives.

Grateful for Marduk saving them, the Anunnaki construct Babylon: they raise up the head of Esagila as high as Apsu is deep, and set up places for Marduk, Enlil, and Ea to rest. At the New Year’s festival, they have a feast in Babylon. Enlil raises up the great bow that he made. He kisses it, raises it up, and brags about how it shines in the heavens. Just as Genesis has multiple creation and flood accounts, so the Enuma Elish describes Babylon’s construction two separate times. Further, Babylon is a royal temple for the just chief god, Marduk, where heaven and earth will meet, unlike Genesis’ account of being the creation of rebellious and oppressive humans who want to bring the gods down to themselves. In both accounts, the Tower of Babel has a huge statue with a god’s head at the top.

Then, they pronounce Marduk ruler of humans (the “black-headed ones”), who should give him good offerings for food, provide furnishings in temples, and worship him. They praise him and give him 50 new names: notably (5) Lugaldimmerankia (which they had already given him). Just as Genesis has many “doublets”, so also the Enuma Elish has another doublet, where Marduk receives his new name a second time.

Tablet 7

The gods continue to give Marduk his 50 names, notably (10) Asaru, the one who allows for cultivation by establishing the level of the waters, (13) Tutu, the one who purifies the gods’ shrines, keeps them at rest, and turns them back if they are angry, since he is the chief god, (14) Tuku, the name that humans will utter as a spell, because he did away with the evil ones. Marduk has a name that only gods use for him, Tutu, and another similar name for humans to use, Tuku. Similarly, God has a name that only he uses for himself, Eh Yeh, and another name humans use for him, Yahweh.

After listing off all 50 of his names, instructions are given for the names to be remembered and for the leader to explain them. People should discuss them and fathers should teach it to their children. They are to praise Marduk and remember this song, which a leader wrote down before Marduk.