The Myth of Inanna and Bilulu

Author(s): Thorkild Jacobsen and Samuel N. Kramer

Source: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Jul., 1953), pp. 160-188
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
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 THE MYTH OF INANNA AND BILULU1
THORKILD JACOBSEN AND SAMUEL N. KRAMER

T HE new Sumerian myth here pub- the Sumerian Dumuzi materials he not
lished is inscribed on a somewhat only made the text available to me but
damaged four-column tablet, suggested with charactristic generosity
which forms part of the Nippur collec- a joint publication to which he would
tion of the Museum of the Ancient Orient contribute primarily the autograph copy
in Istanbul. The tablet carries the muse- of the text, I the transliteration and
um number Ist. 4486. Professor Samuel translation.
N. Kramer, arrested by the rather un- It is this joint undertaking which is
usual contents of this text copied it in here presented. In preparing my part of
Istanbul some years ago and subjected it I have had the benefit of Professor
it to a preliminary study through which
(London, 1923--). PBS = Pennsylvania. Uni-
he established its character as a Dumuzi versity. University Museum. Publications of the
text and clarified the main lines of the Babylonian Section (Philadelphia, 1911 -).
PRAK = H. de Genouillac, Premieres recherches
story it tells. However, on hearing later
archeologiques a Kich I-II (Paris, 1924). R = H
that I was engaged in a general study of Rawlinson, The Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western
1 The following abbreviations of titles of fre- Asia (I-V London, 1861-84; vol. IV 2d ed., 1891)
quently cited text publications, grammars, and SAK = Thureau-Dangin, Sumerische und akkadi-
lexica have been used: ASKT = P. Haupt, sche K6nigsinschriften (VAB I [Leipzig, 1907]).
Akkadische und sumerische Keilschrifttexte (Leip- SBH = G. Reissner, Sumerisch babylonische
zig, 1881-82). BE = Pennsylvania. University. Hymnen nach Thontafeln griechischer Zeit (Ber-
The Babylonian Expedition of the University of lin, 1896). SG1. = F. Delitzsch, Sumerisches
Pennsylvania. Series A = Cuneiform Texts, ed. by Glossar (Leipzig, 1914). SEM = E. Chiera, Su-
H. V. Hilprecht (Philadelphia 1893-1914). CT = merian Epics and Myths (OIP XV. Cuneiform
British Museum. Cuneiform Texts from Baby- Series. III [Chicago, 1934]). SK = H. Zimmern,
lonian Tablets, &c., in the British Museum (Lon- Sumerische Kultlieder aus altbabylonischer Zeit
don, 1896 ). Eames Coll. = L. Oppenheim, I-II (VS II and X. [Berlin, 1912-13]). SL = A.
Catalogue of the Cuneiform Tablets of the Wilber- Deimel, Sumerisches Lexikon (Rome, 1928--).
force Eames Babylonian Collection in the New SLTN = S. N. Kramer, Sumerian Literary Texts
York Public Library (New York, 1948). GSG = from Nippur in the Museum of the Ancient Orient
A. Poebel, Grundzuge der sumerischen Grammatik at Istanbul (AASOR XXIII [New Haven, 1944]).
(Rostock, 1923). GSGL = A. Falkenstein, Gram- SRT = E. Chiera, Sumerian Religious Texts
matik der Sprache Gudeas von Lagas (Analecta (Crozer Theological Seminary. Babylonian Pub-
Orientalia XXVIII-XXIX [Rome, 1949-50]). lications I [Upland, Pennsylvania, 1924]). STVC
HiAV = Hilprecht Anniversary Volume (Chi- = E. Chiera, Sumerian Texts of Varied Contents
cago, 1909) HW = F. Delitzsch, Assyrisches (OIP XVI. Cuneiform Series. IV [Chicago,
Handworterbuch (Leipzig, 1896). KAR = E. 1934]). TCL = Musee du Louvre. Departement
Ebeling, Keilschrifttexte aus Assur religiosen In- des antiquites orientales. Textes cundiformes
halts (WVDOG XXVIII 1-4 and XXXIV 1-5 (Paris, 1910 ). TEO = H. de Genouillac,
[Leipzig, 1919-]). KAV = O. Schroeder, Keil- Textes dconomiques d'Oumma (TCL V. [Paris,
schrifttexte aus Assur verschiedenen Inhalts 1922]). TRS = H. de Genouillac, Textes re-
(-WVDOG, XXXV [Leipzig, 1920]). Lit. = St. ligieux sumeridns du Louvre. I-II (TCL XV-
Langdon, Babylonian Liturgies. Sumerian Texts XVI. [Paris, 1930]). Voc. Zim. = P. B. Zimo-
from the Early Period and from the Library of long, Das sumerisch-assyrische Vocabular Ass 523
Ashurbanipal (Paris, 1913). MBI = G. A. Bar- (Leipzig, 1922). UET = Publications of the Joint
ton, Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions (New Expedition of the British Museum and of the
Haven, 1918). MSL II = B. Landsberger, MSL Museum of the University of Pennsylvania to
II Die Serie Ur - e -a = nqu (Rome, 1951). Mesopotamia. Ur Excavations Texts. (London
OECT = Oxford Editions of Cuneiform Texts and Philadelphia, 1928--).
160
 THE MYTH OF INANNA AND BILULU 161
Kramer's initial clarification of the story blending jubilation at the avenger's
and of his reading and criticism of the victory with sorrow and lament for the
finished manuscript.2 In addition Pro- loss avenged, it seems possible that the
fessor Benno Landsberger has discussed peculiar emotional and stylistic range of
the text with me in detail, and I am in- Ist. 4486 from lament to heroic narra-
debted to him for numerous valuable tive to paean of victory, may prove a
references and illuminating suggestions. central characteristic of the - 1 1--1
Whenever possible the contributions of generally. Certainty can, of curse, not
these two scholars have been specifically be reached until more examples of the
indicated. It is perhaps unnecessary to genre come to hand.4
add that what is here presented aims at Except by its range Ist. 4486 does not
no more than a first and tentative be- stand notably apart stylistically. It em-
ginning at interpreting this most inter- ploys, even in its narrative section, a
esting but highly difficult text.3 strikingly vivid, semi-dramatic style char-
acterized by abrupt transitions to and
I. FORM AND AFFINITIES
from direct speech and by frequent and
The Sumerian literary genre to which sudden changes of characters and scene
the composition contained in Ist. 4486 of action. These are, however, not dis-
belongs seems to be indicated in a note 4We use the term "possible" rather than
at the end of the text which reads: "probable"advisedly. It must be kept in mind
u-lil-l dInanna-kam "It is an that the first part of the sequence, (lyrical) la-
ment to narrative, is a standard compositional
u -lil-l (pertaining to the cult) of feature of Sumerian laments, especially of the
Inanna." This genre is new and Ist. 4486 Dumuzi laments, and that the crucial identifica-
seems so far the only composition which tion of the last section as a paean of victory is
not beyond question, owing to the brokenstate of
can be assigned to it with certainty. As far the text. Furthermore, even if it were certain
as one can judge from a single example the the relation of this paean to the traditional
ui-lil-la would seem to occupy a e r s h e m m a would yet have to be clarified.
The term A-lil-l itself, since its basic
middle position between the lamenta- meaning is obscure, adds nothing to the defini-
tion and the praise hymn, partaking in tion of the genre for which it stands. The writing
the nature of both. Since the situation -i1 i -1l and the final a of the word militate
which Ist. 4486 celebrates, Inanna's against combining it with -li-l i "(cry of)
woe" but it is possible that its latter parts are
revenge for Dumuzi, may be considered the same as those found in e -1 i 1: e-li-lu "song
an instance of a typical situation: "The of joy" and e - 1 l - a: me-ku-uilisted in i z i:
isatu (VAT 11516. Unpublished. I owe the refer-
avenger's return," and since that is a ence to these words to Professor Landsberger).
situation which-because of its emo- Cf. also II R, 30,19, c and d e -1 l -1 a :MIN (=
tional ambivalence-is likely to have e-li-lu). The complete word i -1 i 1 - 1 a may oc-
rise cur, finally, in i-lil-la -en-na: ra-pu-u,
given to a distinctive type of song the name of an insect mentioned between nappi-
2 His comments are printed as an appendix to lu, napu, qarrisu sa eqli, and gafiru, sarsaru
"cricket" in CT, XIV, 9, K 4373, ob. ii, 5. Cf.
the article.
Landsberger, Die Fauna des alten Mesopotamien
3 It should be realized that in large sections nach der 14. Tafel der Serie HAR - r a = hubullu
the text is so damaged that unavoidable margins (Leipzig, 1934), p. 43 1. 72a. If this insect repre-
of subjectivity shade the certainty of the readings sents a kind of cricket the various terms for the
and thereby in part that of the overall concep- latter connecting it with wailing and music e.g.
tion of the story. We mention this specifically lallartu and timbut eqli (cf. Landsberger, op. cit.,
since long concernwith the text and its problems p. 104 f.) are relevant. Doubts are raised, how-
seems to us to have given a certain surface ever, by the divine name dLil-la-en-na
smoothness to our transliterationand translation (Deimel, SL, 313, 17) which suggests a possible
which should not mislead the reader, variant derivation.
162 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

tinctive characteristics. Narrative in that ing to questions of literary and mytholog-

style-which undoubtedly owes its peculi- ical affinities of the text, we may assign
arities to a background in ritual of a more it with a fair amount of probability to the
or less dramatic nature-is found also in Bad-tibira branch of the Dumuzi tradi-
laments of the b a a g and e r s he m m a tion.6 To that branch of the tradition
types, particularly in the Dumuzi texts strophes of the same number of stanzas in the
of these genres. same order combine to form a couplet consist-
In wording Ist. 4486 shows itself terse ing of a megastrophe and an anti-megastrophe.
As a particularly clear example may serve
to the point of sparseness. Adjectives and 11. 105-26 in which the megastrophe-consist-
descriptive relative clauses are almost ing of three distichs followed by a tristich
and a distich-describes the curse which Inanna
completely absent. This terseness to- pronounced on Bilulu and her household (11. 1-
gether with the heroic values which un- 5-115) while the anti-megastrophe, built up
derlie the tale give an archaic cast to the in the same manner, tells how the curse took
effect (11. 116-26). Whether triplets consisting
composition and suggest high age for it. of three megastrophes occurred besides the
In structure the composition appears couplets cannot, owing to the broken state of
to be exceptionally intricate and it is the text, be decided with certainty. It seems,
rather unfortunate that the large lacunas however, likely that they did.
A peculiarity of the megastrophes is their
make a complete structural reconstruc- regular increase in length from one couplet (or
tion difficult. The better preserved sec- triplet?) to another as the story moves forward.
tions suggest an arrangement of stanzas, Only the last couplet of the composition, which
represents a descent, begins a decrease of the
which can be distichs or tristichs, into megastrophes by one stanza. This last couplet is
what we have termed "megastrophes." also irregular by the fact that it has a tristich as
The megastrophes, which form couplets ante-penultimate stanza in the megastrophe, as
ultimate in the anti-megastrophe. In all other
and perhaps triplets, grow regularly in cases megastrophe and anti-megastrophe are
length from one couplet or triplet to the built alike and tristichs occur only as penulti-
mate members. The pattern such as we believe
next as the composition moves towards we discern it may best be set forth in a diagram.
its climax. With the last couplet they We symbolize strophe, antistrophe and second
again decrease.5 antistrophe of the various stanzas by a, b, and c.
the corresponding larger units megastrophe, anti-
Leaving the problems of form and lit- megastrophe and second anti-megastrophe by
erary classification to one side and turn- A, B, and C. These symbols have also been used
in the margin of the translation to indicate the
5 Our inquiry into the strophic pattern of the strophic pattern.
composition-undertaken at the suggestion of 30- 35 B(?) ab +ab
Landsberger-gave the following results: The 36- 41 A ab +ab +ab
basic strophic unit seems to be the stanza. As 42- 48 B ab +ab +ab
stated above it consists of a strophe and an anti- 49-
strophe (distich) or of a strophe and two anti-
strophes (tristich). A characteristic form of the 72- 79 A ab +abc +ab
stanza is the "particularizing stanza" in which a 80- 87 B ab +abc+ab
person or thing is mentioned under a general 88- 96 A ab +ab +abc+ab
term in the strophe to be then particularized in 97-107 B ab +ab +abc +ab
the otherwise identical antistrophe. As an example 108-119 A ab +ab+ab +abc+ab
may serve the distich in 11.47-48, in which "My- 120-130 B ab +ab +ab +abc +ab
lady" (n i n - m u) of 1. 47 is particularized to 131-140 C(?)
"Holy Inanna" (k u d n a n n a - k e4) in 1. 48. 141-152 A ab+ab+ab+ab +ab +ab
The corresponding type of tristich may be illus- 153-164 B ab+ab+ab+ab +ab +ab
trated by 11.72-74, where "the shepherd" (s i b a) 165-175 A ab+ab+abc+ab +ab
of 1. 72 is particularized to "Dumuzi" in 1. 73 and 176-186 B ab+ab+ab +ab +abc
to "Ama-ushumgal-anna" in 1. 74. 6
By the Bad-tibira tradition we understand a
The stanzas appear to be grouped in the larger group of Dumuzi texts which can be singled out
units we have called "megastrophes." Two mega- on the basis of internal criteria, chiefly epithets
 THE MYTH OF INANNA AND BILULU 163
point the place names, with it the di- imagine as recently married and still liv-
vine epithets occurring in the story are ing in her parental home,9 longs for her
compatible, and one of the main motifs, young husband, Dumuzi, whose duties
the death of Dumuzi in a raid on his fold, keep him in the desert with the flocks.
is attested in Badtibira mythology.7 It In her loneliness she yearns for him in
may therefore be assumed that the text tears, calls upon his name with many en-
was originally composed for use at the dearing epithets, and finally, it seems
yearly rites of lamentation for Dumuzi goes before her mother Ningal asking to
in that city. be sent on an errand to the fold. When
the request is granted Inanna with expert
II. STORY skill sets about preparing for the journey.
The beginning of the story as we have At this point a new sizable lacuna in-
it is badly damaged. Since the remains of terrupts the story. We would conclude
lines 1-6 parallel closely the text of the from the events that follow that the miss-
dirge in 11.179-83, we may assume, how- ing passage told of a raid upon Dumuzi's
ever, that the composition began with a fold by a certain Bilulu and her son Gir-
lament for Dumuzi.s When the text gire, a raid in which Dumuzi met his
becomes better preserved (i. 28 ff.) the death. When the text resumes a servant10
scene is-if our interpretation is correct is telling Inanna that he has found his
-Bad-tibira. Inanna, whom we may master lying with head beaten in and
has seen his sheep driven off through the
and titles used for Dumuzi, and which in its desert, strangers walking beside them.
topographical outlook points toward Bad-tibira. It is a noteworthy psychological point
Examples of such texts are BE, XXX. 6, CT,
XV, 18, SK, 34, SK, 32, and BS, XXX, 5. Espe- that Inanna's first reaction is one neither
cially significant among the Dumuzi names in
thesetextsare u-mu-un-e Bad-t ibiraki 9 It is possible that we should imagine the re-
and i -mu-un-e E-m s. The latter repre- lation between Dumuzi and Inanna as that of a
sents the E m e - s a l form of the name under marriage which, while concluded, has not yet
which Dumuzi was worshipped in Bad-tibira, been consummated, and which is to be con-
L ug al- E -m fis (See Falkenstein, ZA, n. F., summated only when Dumuzi can lead Inanna
XI, (1939), 181 and 186). from her father's house to his own. The terms
To the Bad-tibira tradition we would assign used in the text: k i - s i k i 1 for Inanna, g u r u,
also the pastoral passages in Edin-na i nitalam and mu-ut-na for Dumuzi are,
s a g - g , which is in part a Damu not a however, not yet sharply enough defined to allow
Dumuzi text. With the important distinction a decision. It should be specifically noted that the
between Dumuzi and Damu-identified with term n i t a 1 a m is so far only attested in con-
each other in the later Dumuzi tradition-we nection with the consummation of marriage (see
hope to deal in detail elsewhere. That Dumuzi below n. 41), a fact which enjoins caution against
and Damu are originally distinct figures was assuming either a betrothal or a "concluded"
seen independently of me, and at earlier date, but not "consummated" marriage. On the form
by Landsberger. See now also Kraus JCS, III and nature of Sumerian and Akkadian marriage
(1951), 80-81. -a question which at the moment is in a more
opaque state than ever-see A. van Praag, Droit
7 See CT, XV, 18 and cf. BE, XXX, 6. In Matrimonial Assyro-Babylonien (Amsterdam,
the latter text it is possible that captivity takes 1945) and the literature there listed. Add
the place of death or is a euphemism for it. Koschaker, Archiv Orientdlni, XVIII, 210-96 and
8 The author would thus use the effective JCS, V (1951), 104-22.
literary devise of beginning and ending his com- 10Deduced from the term lu g al- m a "of
position with the same motif. The outstanding my master," which the speaker uses in referring
example of this device in ancient Mesopotamian to Dumuzi. Identity of this speaker with the
literature is the Gilgamesh Epic. See A. Heidel, "partridge(?)," mentioned later on in the text,
The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels may be considered, it would lend more unity to
(Chicago, 1946), pp. 15 f. the composition.
164 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

of personal loss and grief nor of revenge, flour strewn from the water skin for
but of love and pride in-her slain hus- "the lad wandering in the desert" (pre-
band, a desire to tell him of his value. sumably the spirit of the slain Dumuzi)
And thus a paean is born, simple, full of the genii of the desert must call out so
tenderness, lauding the shepherd who that he may be present at his offering;
steadfastly guarded his sheep: thus will Bilulu serve to gladden his
You who lie at rest, shepherdwho lie at rest, heart. Inanna's curse takes effect im-
you stoodguardoverthem! mediately and all becomes as she has said.
Dumuzi,who lie at rest, you stood guardover At this point the text is again broken
them! by a lacuna. When it resumes at the
Ama-ushumgal-anna,who lie at rest, you beginning of col. iv the connection with
stood guardover them! what has gone before is unfortunately
Rising with the sun you stood guardover my obscure: a bird, which is perhaps the
sheep! partridge(?),'3 takes counsel with itself
Lying down by night (only) you stood guard about Dumuzi and his mother Duttur.14
over my sheep!
la See n. 77 below.
Meanwhile in Edin-lil-l , the 14 The name of Dumuzi's mother is usually
house of Bilulu," Girgire as befits a good written ds -du in Eme-Ku, dZe-er-tur
householder is busy with practical tasks: in Eme-sal. That the Eme - KU writing
he fills pens and folds with the cattle should be read Dur - d u (<D u r d u r) is
indicated by the Akkadian form of the name,
taken on his raids, he stores his grain. Dutturum (<Durturrum), occurring in Reisner,
Those he has slain he let lie scattered in SBH, 82, obv. 16/17, [dZ]-e r-t ur- r a ama
the fields. A third member of the house- siba-da-[r]a i-bi-bi-ta ba-an-
[....]: ana Du-ut-tu-ur-ra um-mi re-e-i [....],
hold, SIR-RU of Edin-lil-la, sits by the writing Tur-tur in SK, 2, rev. i. 9,
before him keeping him company and and, perhaps, rT u - u r - t u- r a in SLTN, 35
iv. 10'. As for the nature of the two dentals in
conversing with him. the name little can be said with certainty except
Very soon, however, Inanna's thoughts that they were hardly identical since the first
turn to revenge and her heart urges her changes to z in Eme-sal, the second does
to kill Bilulu that Dumuzi may rest more not.
A value durx (or d /turx) for BU which
easy.12She takes the road to E d i n - 1 f 1 - corresponds to ze-er in Eme-sal seems
1 a, enters the alehouse where, it would to occur also in me-z e-er : mu-BU : ur-
seem, Bilulu and her people have gathered ru-[sum], ASKT, p. 113, No. 13b (K 5341+
K 4410) col. ii. 42 (var. me-z : mu-BU :
after the work with the harvest is ended, ru-sum, V R, 12, 1), in TUG-sIGmu-ud-ru BU : a-ra-
steps up on a bench and lays a terrible su, CT, XII, 34 f., i. 38, and in TUG m umu-ud-ra
curse upon Bilulu: BU: su-bat a-ris-ti, ibid., i. 42; cf. the Akkadian
loanword mudru, Del. HW, 394a. It may be
Begone!-I have killed you, verily so is it; noted that already Hommel, Sumerische Lese-
and with you I destroy(also)yourname! stucke, p. 51, read the name of Dumuzi's mother
as D u r(od. s u r) - t u r. His reasons for this
Bilulu is to become a water skin such reading are unknown and the reading was-cor-
as the traveller in the desert uses, and rectly-rejected by Zimmern in his Der baby-
lonische Gott Tammuz, p. 712, n. 1, as "wenig
she and Girgire will be genii of the desert. begruindet."
SIR-RU of Edin-lil-la, "no one's Besides the phonetic writings dD u rx - d u,
dZ - e r- t u r, etc., mentioned above, also
child and no one's friend," is to stand in the writing dU8occurs, see CT, XXIX, 46, No. iii,
the desert to keep count (?) of offerings 17: rz el(!) -er-du: dru (I owe the refer-
of flour. Whenever water is libated and ence to this passage to Landsberger). This writ-
ing is important as a clue to the nature of Duttur,
1 See n. 28 below. 12 See n. 65 below. she is the deified ewe. That the goddess of the
 THE MYTH OF INANNA AND BILULU 165
The remainder of the text deals with the testimony offered by his name dA m a -
setting up of a lament for Dumuzi by ga'8 which means "Mother Milk." The
his sister Geshtin-anna and Inanna. That identification has, however, also the sup-
lament, built around the reiterated cry port of other evidence. In one of the
"the wail for you" and accompanied myths about Dumuzi, which may be
by praise of Inanna as the avenger of called "The myth of Dumuzi's dream,"19
Dumuzi, is given twice, first as sung by we are told how Dumuzi dreamt an
Geshtin-anna and then as repreated by ominous dream presaging his death, how
the narrator. On this note the text ends. he was later attacked by highway men,
how he fled, and how he was finally over-
II. MYTHOLOGICALINTERPRETATION
taken in his sheepfold and died. The
To understand a myth on its most death of the god, both as it occurs in the
basic level one must attempt to clarify dream and later on in reality, is stated
as far as possible what the various figures
by the myth in terms of the overturning
with which it deals represent. In the pres-
ent case this holds true especially of 16To avoid misunderstandingit may be speci-
Dumuzi and of his adversaries Bilulu fically stressed that Dumuzi is the divine power
in and behind milk and may not simply be
and Girgire. We may consider Dumuzi identified with milk as concrete matter. See
first. to this point G. van der Leeuw's discussion of
Dumuzi represents, we would suggest, "naturisme"as a hypothesis in the study of reli-
the life-giving powers in the milk. When gion in his La religion dans son essence et ses
manifestions(Paris, 1928), ? 5, and especially his
the short milking season in the spring caution: "mais ce que l'on adore, ce n'est jamais
comes to an end, and with it the fresh la nature ou le ph6nombnenaturel comme tel,
c'est toujours la puissance qui lui est inherente,
milk, it means that Dumuzi has died. ou sous-jacente" (op. cit., pp. 40f.). This dis-
This death of the god was given form by tinction in the case of Dumuzi seems to be ex-
the mythopoeic imagination in various plicitly made in SK, No. 2, iii, 19-20, which
comments on Dumuzi's death with the words:
ways. In the mythological tradition of U5 nu-me-en-na U5 ba-an-da-
Bad-tibira-and with distinctive varia- bala-a ga nu-me-en-na ga ba-
tions also in that of Uruk-it is seen as an-da-nagax (GAZ),"you who are not the
caused by an attack upon his sheep-fold cream were pouredout with the cream, you who
are not the milk were drunk with the milk." On
as a consequence of which he perishes.'5 the reading n a g ax for GAZ cf. MSL II p. 76,
The identification of Dumuzi with the note to 1. 607. Note that this phrase, which is a
stereotype, seems to have been variously under-
powers in milk here proposed'6 is based, stood for it occurs in widely different wordings
of course, primarily on the form under and meanings.Our interpretationhere has there-
which the god was characteristically en- fore reference only to the sense in which the
scribe of SK, No. 2, appears to have used the
visaged, that of the shepherd, on the phrase and to which he or an earlier copyist
general emphasis laid on his role as pro- adapted its wording. The older version of the
vider of milk and milk products, on the text, Scheil, RA, VIII, 162 ff., differs.
fact that his "mother," i.e., his source 17See above n. 14.
of origin, was the ewe,'7 and on the direct 18K 11038 (CT, XXIV, 9) line 3 restored
by
K 4338B (ibid., 19) ii 2. Cf. Zimmern, Der
ewe, source of the (sheep-)milk, should figure as BabylonischeGottTammuz,p. 705, n. 1.
mother of Dumuzi, who is a personification of 19The text of this myth is contained in UM
milk and its powers, is, of course, entirely ap- 8318 (unpublished), de Genouillac, PRAK,
propriate.Cf. below pp. 165 ff. II D 53 and C 45, SLTN, 36, BE, XXX 2, and
15See above nn. 6 and 7. The myth referredto
SEM, 88. To these add now 3N-T.368, 3N-T.555,
in n. 19 below may serve as an example of the and 3N-T.661, all unpublished recent finds
Uruk tradition. at Nippur.
166 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

of churn and drinking-vessel: "When the he "dances on the pure knees, the knees
fifth (highwayman) entered the fold and of Inanna."21 Since Dumuzi is pictured
the pen the churn was lying (on its side), in the myth as a full-grown young man,
no milk flowed, the drinking-vessel was ly- the statement at first seems more than
ing (on its side), Dumuzi lived no more, puzzling. It becomes meaningful, how-
the fold had been thrown to the winds."20 ever, in the light of Dumuzi's coincidence
The coincidence of Dumuzi with the with the milk as a reference to the primi-
milk could hardly find more pregnant tive method of churning butter by jogging
expression. That same coincidence under- a skin with milk on the knees, a method
lies a line in the section dealing with still practiced by beduin women.22Lastly
Dumuzi's flight. The god there says that we may mention that the name Dumuzi
itself seems to point to the milk and its
20UM 8318,iv9'-11': 5-kam-ma amas-
t ir-se tu-r[a-ni ...] , DUJK sakir 1- life-giving powers, for it would appear to
KU-KU ga n u - u n -(?) [an] - z a - a m mean "He who quickens the young ones."23
I-KU-KU dDumu-zi nu-un-t[i] [a]mas Turning from Dumuzi to his adver-
lil-la-as al-ddu. Cf. de Genouillac,
21
PRAK, D 53, rev. 11-12, DUK rs a k i r1 i - KU- BE, XXX, 2, 11 and SEM, 88, ii, 6' d uo0
KU ga nu-mu-da-de an-za-am k u-ge
i- dulo (var. SEM, 88: k) dIn a n n a -
KU-KU dDumu-zi [n]u-mu-un-til-le ke4 e-ne-di dun1-ga-me-en, "Iamhe
ramas1 li[l-16]-as ba(?)-an-dth. The who dances on the holy knees, the knees of
latter passage is from Dumuzi's dream, the Inanna (var. SEM, 88, om. "the knees" and
former from its fulfillment. The translation adds "holy" before Inanna). The verbal phrase
of DUK a k i r as "churn" I owe to Lands- e-n e -di. . .dull is formed from the core
berger, who refers to RA, XXVIII 132-33, e - n e - d i by means of the auxiliary verb d ull
K 242, rev. 46, restored by V R, 32, No. 4, iv on which see Poebel, AS, X, 100-101. The verb
(cf. Del. SG1. p. 258 sub voce s a k i r . As Lands- of the core phrase, d i, is a present/future stem
berger has noted Delitzsch placed the third to which corresponds the preterite stem d u l.
column one line too high in his restoration- With the preterite stem, as e - n e - d ull, the
DUK8a-ki- ir s a k i r : iu : n[a-ma]-qu sd siz-bi, phrase is given in Voc. Ass (Del. SG1. p. 274 f.
"milk churn." On mdau, "to churn," see Lands- sub voce e s e m e n) as corresponding to me-lu-
berger, MSL II, p. 146,1. 38 and his reference to lum, sa-a-rum, and ra-a-su, "to dance," and as
SBH, I, obv. 12 f. (Landsberger, op. cit., p. 117, e - n e - d ull - d ull: me-lu-lu. Note also Frag-
section 4) umun dMu-ul-lil-la gament R iii (Delitzsch, ibid.) e - n e - d un - d ull :
n u - d ug- d us DUK sakr -ra i-DE - in - d: mu-um-mi-rum listed between zammirum, "sing-
be-lum II si-zib-bi la ma-?i ina sa-ki-ri ta-as- er," and raqqidu, "dancer," We translated this
pu-uk, "Lord Enlil, milk which will not churn term, which occurs below in 1. 152, as "fore-
you have poured in the churn." For a n - z a - dancer," the person who leads the dance and the
a m see HAR- g U d A, tablet 2, 95 = B, tablet 2, singing. On *malalu "to dance" cf. von Soden,
297(?) (Landsberger's MS edition): Orientalia, NS, XX (1951) 265 f. With the
= az-[za-mu-u present/future stem d i the phrase occurs in k i
[d u k .] a n. z a. a m
= mu-sa-ris-tum e-ne-di (for which the synonyme e s e men
could also be read) translated as kip-pu-u and
[duk.]an.za.am.kas = zar-ba-[bu sa BI]
= [ka-a-su] as me-lul-ti, "play, sport, dance," in K 82, 8-16,
1 col. iv. 7 (Delitzsch, SG1. p. 37 sub voce
duk. n i g.lu.gl.lu = mu-sar-ris-tum
e se me n) .
= k[a-a-su]
22 See J. J.
duk.a.nak = sU.kum Hess, Von den Beduinen des Innern
= ka-a-[su] Arabiens (Zurich, 1938), p. 115.
The Text is composed from K 4411 + 4602 + Sm. 23 We consider d u m u to be the direct
object
21 (RA, XXVIII, 130/31) and K 16147 (unpub- of the following z i (d) and see in the latter a
lished. Copy B.L.). For ocurrences of azzamu/ factitive nomen agentis of the stem z i (d) "to
assammu see von Soden, Gottinger gelehrte An- quicken," "make vigorous," which occurs in
zeigen (Dec. 1938), p. 519, n. 3. A detailed de- non-factitive meaning in z i (d), nesu, "life,"
scription of an a n - z a - a m of calcite is given in "vigor," "health," and perhaps also in z i (d),
UET, III, Nos. 436, 440, and 1498, obv. v. 28-30. napistum, "breath of life," z i (d), "right (i.e.
According to PRAK II, D 53, rev. 5, the a n- potent, effective) hand," and z i (d), "true"
z a - a m normally hung on a peg. (i.e. effective, able to maintain itself, in contrast
 THE MYTH OF INANNA AND BILULU 167
saries we are faced with the difficulty follows a closer analysis which dis-
that a deity Bilulu, envisaged as a wise tinguishes three sides of his being: he is
old woman, does not seem to occur else- (1) dE n - bilulu dE - p a - d u n, the
where in Sumero-Akkadian mythology. "opener of dyke and ditch," god of irriga-
This difficulty is, however, more appar- tion and ploughing, he is (2) dE n -
ent than real, for it is well known that bilulu u G u - g a 1, the "supervisor of
the sex of Sumerian deities was not al- canals,"26 granter of large harvests, pros-
ways rigidly fixed, the same divine power perity, lambs, and grain; and finally he is
might be envisaged at different times and (3) dE n - bilulu dH - g a, "abun-
places under a male or under a female dance," god of the rains, who makes grass
aspect. And as a male deity as En-bilulu, and plants plentiful. From this it is not
"Lord Bilulu," a Bilulu is abundantly difficult to recognize the essence of his
attested. We know this deity as a form being: he is god of the fructifying waters
of the weather-god Ishkur/Adad, as a whether they rise in the rivers and canals
form of Marduk of Babylon, and, of to be led out over the fields or whether
course, as a separate god in his own they fall from heaven as rain, making
rights.24 The character of En-bilulu is grass and plants sprout in the desert. He
clear from the quite precise analysis of his is thus a god almost exactly parallel in
nature given in Enuma elish in the sec- nature to Ninurta/Ningirsu, who like-
tion which deals with Marduk's various wise is god both of the yearly floods and
names and forms.25 The En-bilulu pas- (especially clearly in his older form I m -
sage begins with a-highly ungrammati- d u g u d, the thundercloud)27 of rain
cal-translation of his name as "the and thunder.
lord who makes plenteous" and goes on to 26On gugallu see Landsberger, Die Welt des
describe him generally as a god of pas- Orients,I, 375, n. 84 and literature there quoted.
ture and drinking places, who opens the 27
dI m - d u g u dmuen is the thunder-cloud
deep and distributes the waters. Then personified. The mythopoeic imagination saw it
as an enormousvulture floatingwith outstretched
wings in the sky. Because its roar, the thunder, is
to the lie or falsehood [1u l] which is fleeting). like the roar that issues from the lion's mouth it
Whether Dumuzi, as the power that caused the was imagined with the head of a lion. The name
milk to flow, was also considered as the power Im-dugud seems to be composed of imi,
that quickenedthe child in the womb, or whether "rain" (CT, XI, 31, 30a, i - m i: IM: zu-un-nu)
his name refers only to the nutritive power in and d u g u d, "cloud" (JNES, II, 119, and
milk is yet to be decided. We hope soon to pre- negatively Falkenstein, GSGL, I, 8, n. 1). The
sent evidence favoring the former alternative. Akkadian translation of im-dugud was
24
As a form of Ishkur/Adad Enbilulu is men- imbaru "thunder-shower" (Deimel, SL, 399,
tioned in KAR, 142, rev. iii, 19: dEn-bi-lu-lu 209a. On imbarusee the materials collected and
dAdad sa TIN-TIRki,"Enbilulu, Adad of Babylon." discussed by Schott, ZA, n. F., X, 170-77. They
For other references see Tallquist, Gotterepitheta, support, in our opinion, the traditional trans-
and Deimel, Pantheon. Of importance for the lations, "Gewittersturm,"Del., HW, 79a, "Ge-
reading of the name is the writing dE n - b i -1 u - witterregen," Bezold, Babylonisch-assyrisches
lu ku-gal i d-da-ke4, Glossar[Heidelberg,1926],p. 39a, "Wetterwolke,"
SEM, 78, iii, 24
(recognized as a variant proving the reading Jensen, KeilinschriftlichesBibliothekVI2, p. 99,
dE n - b i -1 u -1 u by Chiera in his hand-written against the proposed "Nebel").
index of Sumerian passages in the Oriental Insti- The identity of Imdugud with Ninurta/
tute). Note also the plant fi-bi-lu-lu: Ningirsu is given with the fact that the "em-
blems" of the Sumero-Akkadiangods are as a
isbabtu, "Riedgrass" (Landsberger, Fauna, p. 66)
and the snake mus-bi-lu-lu also trans-
rule their older preanthropomorphicforms (cf.
lated as isbabtu. See Landsberger, ibid., and Del. the sun disk of Utu, the crescent of Nanna, the
SG1. p. 69. marru of Marduk, etc.), it is specifically sup-
25
ported by the macehead of Bara-ki-ba
See v. Soden, ZA, n. F., XIII (1947), 10-13. (BM 23287, Frankfort, Analecta Orientalia,XII
168 JOURNALOF NEAR EASTERNSTUDIES

Considering, then, in the light of this against the wind, seems to have been
evidence, the Bilulu who occurs in Ist. observed by the Sumerians and to have
4486, we may look for indications of her intrigued them.29 That Bilulu should be
nature first to the known form, the water the thunder cloud and thus correspond
skin, into which Inanna changed her. to the aspect of En-bilulu which is con-
The connection with water is here clear. nected with rain, and in which he is a
In terms of a natural phenomenon which
ina Bit-za-qi-qi.. , "the maid who in/from
a mythopoeic imagination might have the house of the wind..." Unfortunately the
connected with the water skin, one would text of the two passages is not clear and seems to
venture the opinion that the dark, round- have suffered corruption.
To be distinguished from E d i n - i - 1--
ed, billowy skin, full of water, suggests even though it might on occasion also be trans-
rather plausibly the rain-cloud, which lated as Bit zaqlqi-is apparently the Sumerian
could well be imagined as a huge water- E -111 - '1 a1, "House of the winds." The latter
occurs in a ritual from Uruk (TCL, VI, 49, obv. 9)
skin floating in the skies. The rain cloud, and is perhaps to be sought in one of the chapels
more specifically the thunder cloud may in the Ris sanctuary in that city (Falkenstein,
therefore have been Bilulu's original Topographie von Uruk, p. 17). One of the goddess-
es worshipped in E -1 i 1- rl 1 was [dB e - 1] i -
form from which she was changed by 1 i near whose major sanctuary, the f - dB e -
Inanna. Her connection with the winds- li-l i (see below n. 35), the body of Dumuzi
she lives in the "house of the winds"28- seems to have been found in our myth (see 1. 73).
Since -dB e -li -i is in all probability to
and the stress on the fact that she is "her be thought of as located in the proximity of
own mistress" point in this direction, for Edin-lil-1la it is of course possible that
the independence of the thunder cloud, the naming of Belili's sanctuary in Uruk was
determined by that fact. The ritual which men-
which will frequently appear to move tions E-lil- rla and [dB e -1] i- i refers
also to an f-dlamma-edin-na, "the
(1935), 105 ff. and figs. 5-8), which is dedicated temple of the 1 a m m a of the desert," i.e., of
to Ningirsu (see the inscription CT, V, PI. 1, the numen into which Bilulu in our myth was
cf. SAK, p. 31 c) and shows the adorant before changed by Inanna. Since both [dB e -1] i -1 i
the lion-headed bird; by Gudea's dreamin which and the deities of the - dl a m m a - e d i n - n a
he saw Ningirsu with wings like Imdugud, i.e. of the ritual belong to the circle around Inanna
still partially in bird-shape (Cyl. A iv 17. For (cf. Falkenstein, op. cit., p. 36) these temple
this semi-human shape cf. representations on names in Uruk and our myth presumablydrawon
seals such as Frankfort, "OIC," 19, fig. 33, and a common mythological backgroundof Inanna-
Heinrich, Fara, p. 54. See Frankfort'sdiscussion, Dumuzi lore.
op. cit., p. 31), and by the complete coincidence Lastly the interesting occurrence of e d i n -
of the functions of Imdugud, son of Enlil, decider 1 i 1 -1 in ASKT, No. 21 (p. 128), rev. 7, may
of the fate of the Tigris, etc., in the Lugalbanda be mentioned. Inanna there states: gasan-
epic with those of Ningirsu. men sa-biar-mah [edin]-lil-la ddr
28 e d i n -1 i -1 a, the "desert of the wind," (! Text : su) - r u- n a - m n : be-le-ku sa-pdr-ra
seems to be conceived of in the text as a proper ?i-i-ri ina .qe-e-ri za-qi-qi sur-bu-?a-at ana-ku,
name denoting the home of Bilulu and Girgire, "I am a (noble) lady (and) I am a net lying
and we should, therefore, perhaps assume that it stretched out in the desert of the wind." It seems
referredboth to a particulardesert region and to possible that this too has reference-if not di-
a house, estate, or village situated in it. The con- rectly to Inanna's curbing of Bilulu in E d i n -
ception of E d i n -l i 1- 1 as a house or abode 1 i 1 - 1 as told in 1st. 4486-at least to mytho-
rather than as a desert region is met with also logical lore of a similar or related kind.
in K 4355 + Sm 1981 (Langdon, Babyloniaca, 29 The course of the headache
demon is un-
IV, P1. IV opp. page 189) col. iv(?) 2-3 where k i - predictable "like that of the heavy imbaru" (CT,
sikil Edin-na-lil-la seemstobetrans- XVII, 19, 27/30). On imbdru see above n. 27.
lated as ar-da-tusa Bit-za-qi-qi,"the maid of the That Imdugud/Zui as the thunder-cloud has
house of the wind"; cf. also Sm 10 (Meek, RA, power to move against the wind, i.e. against
XVIII, 176), vi 1-3, which belongs to the later his father Enlil, is likely to be behind the notion
part of the same incantation, ... k i - s i k i 1 that he once stole the tablets of destiny, which
lil-la Edin-na-li1-l :... ar-da-tu sa represent authority over the universe from Enlil.
 THE MYTH OF INANNA AND BILULU 169
form of Ishkur/Adad, god of rain and considerable length of time. Then the
thunder, gains decisively in probability black tents of the shepherds, who seek
when we consider her together with her grazing for their flocks, begin to dot the
son Girgire. For Girgire (g i r - g i r - e [d]) desert; it is the lambing season and con-
means "the flash of lighting."30 And the sequently the milking season. But the
"mother" who gives birth to the flash milking season is short, as it draws to a
of lightning is the thunder cloud. With close thundershowers become infrequent
Girgire's character as the lightning agrees and finally cease; the desert vegetation
the statement about him that "his (vic- disappears, the waterholes dry up, and
tims) struck down with the mace he the traveler in the desert must carry a
(left) scattered in the fields" for that is waterskin on his journey, for the drink-
how the bodies of those struck by light- ing-places are gone.
ning are afterwards found. The emphasis It is this sequence of events with its
on his husbandry, a point not directly interplay of forces in nature that our
demanded by the requirements of the myth unfolds in direct knowledge of
story, is likewise understandable if he is what takes place. When the milking
the lightning. For the set pattern for season ends and Dumuzi, the power in
Sumerian gods of thunder and lightning milk, is no more, his death can be laid
makes them at the same time gods of the to the thunderstorm, to Bilulu and Gir-
yearly flood, of ploughing, and of agri- gire. That they should figure as enemies
culture generally. Ninurta/Ningirsu is and killers of Dumuzi is understandable
the outstanding example. enough, for as is well known milk tends to
It would have been gratifying if also curdle and sour in a thunderstorm. On a
the third member of Bilulu's household, different level the bitter and deep an-
SIR-RUE d i n - 11 1- 1 a could have been tagonism between shepherd and farmer,
identified. So far, however, even his name which is ever present in ancient cultures,
cannot be read with certainty. One might would, of course, make the assumption of
expect, because of the constant epithet enmity between Dumuzi and the agricul-
"of Edin-lil-la "31 some connec- tural deities of rain and thunder both
tion with the wind, and possibly that natural and readily acceptable.
the name designated him as some kind of Soon after Dumuzi's death the thun-
domestic functionary. derstorms cease. They in their turn have
With the suggested identifications of been killed in revenge for Dumuzi.
Dumuzi as the power in the milk and of Through Inanna's curse the bounteous
Bilulu and Girgire as powers of the thun- waters that poured from the thunder-
derstorm, the background of the myth cloud have become the trickle from the
begins to emerge in its main lines. In the traveller's water-skin. And in this new
Mesopotamian spring thundershowers and lowly form Bilulu now pays homage
and short but violent downpours clothe to Dumuzi, whom she killed, whenever
almost overnight the desert with grass libations are poured to him by the travel-
and greenery; large pools of rainwater ler in the desert.
are to be found everywhere and remain
in hollows and low-lying places for a IV. POSSIBILITIES OF APPRECIATION
30 Cf.
gi r i, "lightening," (birqu), gi r - Attempts at mythological interpreta-
g i r i, "to flash" (baraqu IV 3), Del. SG1. p. 94. tion of a myth ought rightly to go hand
31 See note 28 above.
in hand with an attempt to interpret it in
170 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

human and psychological terms. How- But such choosily anthropocentric

ever, in the present case that may per- reading must of necessity shatter any
haps be dispensed with since the sim- myth. And it would be ironic to call it
plicity of the feelings expressed-longing, understanding. Its insufficiency is demon-
love, sorrow, and revenge-makes it easy strated rather well in the myth with which
for us to understand them directly even we are here dealing. No reader, even he
over the distance of four thousand years. who can accept without serious loss of
In fact the human truth and appeal of enjoyment that Bilulu is the thunder
the myth lies largely in that very sim- cloud, can fail to be brought up sharply
plicity. by the anticlimax of her becoming a
The real difficulty in understanding water skin. Not only is that like suddenly
myths, and, symptomatically, in appreci- feeling sand between one's teeth, but
ating them as works of literature, lies the myth lets us chew on it for a long
neither on the level of mythological time. For to the myth that is climax
interpretation nor on that of sympa- which to us is anticlimax and the myth
thetic psychological insight, but rather emphasizes it as such.
in our failing powers to fuse the two levels There is, then, truly no other way
of reading. Our natural inclination is to toward understanding myths either as
puzzle out mythological connections, not myths or as literature than the laborious
to experience them directly as a form of one of trying to recapture the lost unity
truth; and we read about the powers the of the human soul with the universe as
myth presents to us as if they were purely matter and phenomenon, that direct
human, which they are not. In fact the communication out of which Rilke speaks.
more one reads myths the more one feels For the myth lives and breathes-also as
the sting in Rilke's reproach:32 a work of art-in that unity. Its char-
Ich will immer warnen und wehren: Bleibt acters are true to the extent that they
fern. give pregnant expression to the non-
Die Dinge singenhor' ich so gern. human no less than the human "psyche,"
Ihr rtihrtsie an: sie sind starrund stumm. to the character and will in things, to
Ihr bringtmir alle die Dinge um.
their ways. In the world of the myth there
For our modern inability to under- is one common level of dignity and the
stand myth is very largely our inability powers in things are not stripped, by
to "commune" with matter and the being in things, of claim on our emotional
powers that inform it. Matter and its response. Rather, these powers in things
powers are no longer of us, can no longer and phenomena have their own dignity
touch our human selves in awe or pity, on a par with, often even higher than,
or even in a feeling of wonder. The best that of man. It is only in the effort to
we can do with such knowledge as that recapture that world that one may in
Dumuzi is the life-giving power in milk glimpses begin to see the shattered myth
is to push it aside as irrelevant informa- come together again and regain unity as
tion, disturbing to our enjoyment while a work of literature.33If one could wholly
we read the myth.
33 We have emphasized the attitude of the
32Rainer Maria Rilke, "Gesammelte Werke," myth to nature and its forces as a major stum-
I (Leipzig, 1927), 353. See also the illuminating bling-block to the modern reader. Actually it is
discussion by G van der Leeuw, La Religion dans only a specific instance of the difficulties arising
son essence et ses manifestations (Paris, 1948), ? 3, from the fact that any work of art creates-or
Chose et Puissance, who quotes Rilke's lines. better: induces its reader, spectator, or listener
 THE MYTH OF INANNA AND BILULU 171
recreate within oneself a believable world it had in it feelings of sudden illumina-
in which the homely water skin saved tion, of pity, and of wonder, rather as if,
thirsting men's life out of the bounty of on the human level, one should learn
it inherent nature, and where that water unexpectedly who the blind slave grind-
skin, itself in its innermost being divine, ing away at the mill in Gaza once was.
was doing penance to other divine powers The degree to which we in our world of
that it had wronged, then one could per- today can recreate and recapture the
haps recapture some of the old meaning conditions of the original intellectual and
of the episode of Inanna's curse. Perhaps emotional response to Sumerian myths
across'the millenia that separate us from
to recreate-a complete world of its own. them must thus always be problematical.
"Before we begin to read the Ancient Mariner we
know that the Polar Seas are not inhabited by And our attempts at understanding will
spirits, and that if a man shoots an albatross he again and again subtly fail. If ever we
is not a criminal but a sportsman, and that if he should get to the point where we have
stuffs the albatross afterwards he becomes a
naturalist also. All this is common knowledge. elucidated every word and difficult con-
But when we are reading the Ancient Mariner, struction, and ferreted out every intricate
or remembering it intensely, common knowledge
reference, we should still be faced with
disappears and uncommon knowledge takes its
place. We have entered a universe that only an-
the greater difficulty of renouncing our
swers to its own laws, supports itself, internally own world and becoming momentarily to
coheres, and has a new standard of truth." the old book of clay like Kierkegaard's
(E. M. Forster, Anonymity [London, 1925], pp.
13-14). The ease and precision with which we can
reader:
recreate and enter the particular universe of a . . that sympathetic person who accepts
given work of art depends obviously on the sug- the book and gives to it a good place, that
gestive power of the artist and on our own ability
to respond: to free ourselves from bondage to sympatheticpersonwho, by acceptingit, does
"common knowledge" and to summon up ex- for it throughhimselfand throughhis accept-
perience transmutable into the "uncommon ance, what the treasurydid for the widow's
knowledge" of the work. Apart from a few out- mites: hallows the gift, gives it significance,
standing exceptions ancient myths were probably and transformsit into much.34
never as good art as even the Ancient Mariner.
And the experiences they call upon are experi- 34Translated from the preface to Fire op-
ences in a mode to which we are not accustomed, byggelige Taler, S0ren Kierkegaards samlede
to which we normally deny validity, and which Vaerker udgivne of A. B. Drachmann, J. L.
we therefore usually suppress before these experi- Heiberg, og H. O. Lange, 2d ed. IV (Copenhagen,
ences can ripen into insights. 1923), 7.
172 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

TRANSLITERATION35
[edin-na dDumu-zi-mu i-lu za-ra i-lu za-ra]
[i-lu] rbalagl(?) rmu-unl-da-rdil-d[i]36
[R - a - r] a - rlil 'm u - u n-
rBadl-tibiraki rmul-un-
5 Du6(!?)-suba-a [m]u-un-
ki(!?)-nam-siba-da rmu-un-da1-rdil(!?)- dil(!?)
ki(!?)-nam-siba-da rmu-un-dal-rdil(!?)-rdil(!?)
amas dDumut-zi-da-ka ................]37
s ib a lu [.....................................]
[..............................................]
10 [ .... ...... .............. ] d[D u m ul(!?) - [zi]
[............................] ..... . ........
[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]
[.............................................]
[................................ ]-mu1 (!?) -u n
15 [...............................]
[...............................] rk al-z al-m [u]
[.............................] rgarl-ra
[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . UG
[... . ... ....... ..... .. . .. . ...... . .. K A (!?)

20 [................. ............ .]
[.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]. . . [. . . . . . . . .]
[.............................................1
[ ................... ...] ........ [.....].......
[. . . . . . . . . . . . .I . . .
25 [.] ...[..].-la mu-rdal(?) ............- ba-e
i-rsi-iS1 [...].. m u(?) ...............
[. ] ... ..[ . .. ... ..]........... [ ..... I.... . ]
[.........] .. ka-zal-la-ke 4 .. .......... ]
[...].. ne ... rad1-e-e. ..-...gi38
30 [dDumu-zli ka-kiu igi sa6-sa6
i-si-is-bi mu-un-kusi-iu40
[k] a - k ui
[g]urus(?) rnitalam1 ril(?)-m[u]-run1 rzul(?)-lum
[......] rdlDumu-zi-de mu-un-kui-u41
35 [i-si-is-bi] mu-un-kAus-u
rkiu rdlrIn a n n a - k e4 ........................ [
rSANGA GAR1 n a m--SAL- ... ..GAR rn a m [................
in-nin lu-gar-ra42 .... gar-[ra ................]
rkil-sikil dInanna lu-gar-ra
40 rama51(?)43 ramal u-gu-na-ka mu-un-DU-Du
e (?) ral-ra-zu44 dug-du9 mu-un-na-sus-ug
a .[.....]. ama-mu rdal ........ -dib45
ama - s ga46 - m [a] - e -d al- du
ama-mu Ga-sa(!?)-an-gal-e da-[ ......]

45 aia-mu ma-ra-bu47 dug-na ga(?)48-da- ...-dib

dSu.en ma-ra-bu7 dug-na ga48(?)-da(?)-... dib
dumu ama u-gui-ni kin-gi4-a-ge18 rama51(?)-ta im(?)-ma-ta-e(?)
 THE MYTH OF INANNA AND BILULU 173

TRANSLATION85
In the desert, my Dumuzi, I sing with her the wail,
the wail for you, the wail for you;
In the temple Arali I sing with her;
In Bad-tibira I sing with her;
5 In Dushuba I sing with her;
In the shepherding country I sing with her,
in the sheepfold of Dumuzi .....................
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o. . . .. . . . . * ** * o o o , o o o o o ,

(Some twenty to twenty one lines of the text are missing

at this point. From a few broken words that remain one
would conclude that they described-after the introduc-
tory motif of lament had come to a close-the young
Inanna longing in her mother's house to be reunited with
her husband, Dumuzi, who is in the desert with the flocks.
When the text resumes she is in tears:)

.... she broods on it:

30 "O Dumuzi of the fair(-spoken) mouth, of the ever kind eyes!"
in tears she sobs forth,
"O you of the fair(-spoken) mouth, of the ever kind eyes!
Lad, husband, provider, (sweet as the) date,
O Dumuzi!" she sobs forth,
35 in tears she sobs forth.
Aa Holy Inanna ......................................
b .......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .
a The lady .................. ........................
b The maiden Inanna ................................
40 a In the chamber of her mother who bore her was pacing (to and fro),
b While in prayer and supplication respectfully they stood in attention on her.
Ba "0 my mother ..........................................
to the fold with your permission I would go!
b "0 my mother Ningal .....................to the fold with your permission
I would go!"
45 a My father has shone forth for me, in lordly fashion .......
b Sin (the Moon) has shone forth for me, in lordly fashion ...."
a Like a child sent on an errand by its mother from ... she went out,
174 JOURNALOF NEAR EASTERNSTUDIES
ama Ga-sa-an-gal-e kin-gi4-a-gei8
nin-mu gal mu-un-zu gal in-ga-an-tu-mu
50 kui dInanna-ke4 gal mu-un-zu
kas u4-dal u4-sfu(?)-du(?) dur-ru-na-bi-a

col. ii (gap of ca. 18 lines)

70 [.................] ..................]
... ...............
..........
]amaltal(?)[.
. .. ] ra m a S - rt a'(?) [.................
[. . . . . . . . . . . . . .] . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .. [. . . . . . . . . . . . . ]
s i [g4(?) ] - dlB e -1 i - 1 i - s e49 [..... . .... .......
ki-bi-a siba sag-a rat..........................
75 rdlDumu-zi sag-a ra
dAma-usum.gal-an-na sag-a ra
udu lugal-ma dDumu-zi-[d]a-ke4 edin-na[...]..
dInanna lu siba nu-me-a
udu lugal-ma za-ba mu-un-gi4-gi4
80 rninl-e nitalam-ni-ir sir mu-un-si-ib-ui-tu
rsirl mu-un-si-ib-dim-e
[k i dInan]na-ke4 dDumu-zi-ra
[mu-l]u na50 sus-ba mu-lu rnal en-nu-un-ba me-rgubl51
dDumu-zi mu-lu nai en-
85 dAma-usum.gal-an-na mu-
dUtu-da52 gub-ba si|3-ma en-
ge6-da52 na-na sis-ma en-nu-un-ba me-gub54
u4-bi-a um-ma55 dBi-lu-lu
bur-su-ma nin ni-te-na-ka
90 dumu-ni Gir-gir-e lu dili-am56
ul4-ul4-e am-tium57 lil i-zu-am58
gu4 dabs-ba-ni59 tur-amas-e am-si
gur7-du6-ra-ni gu am-gur-gur60
U 14-u 14-1a r g6 -tag-ga-na sa g mu-un-ne-dull
95 dumu-ni62 ku-li-na sIR-ru Edin-lil-la
igi-ni-se i-tus inim mu-un-da-ab-bi
U4 -bi-a nin-e sa-ga-ni a-na am-tum..63
ku dInanna-ke4 sa-g,a-ni a-na am-rtuml(!?)
u-mu-un64 dBi-lu-lu ug5-g[e-de]
100 a -ga-ni a [m-t m]
col.iii nitalam ki-ag-ga-ni dDumu-zi dAma-[usum.]g[al-an-na-ra]
ki-nA duo -duio-ge-de65 sa-ga(!?)-ni nam-[t um]66
nin-mu dBi-lu-lu Edin-lil-la ba-an [... ]
dumu-ni Gir-gfr-e lil-la-a-rbil bi-i[n(?)-... ]
 THE MYTH OF INANNA AND BILULU 175
b Like one sent on an errand by Mother Ningal from the chamber she went out.
[C(?)] a Full knowledgeable My-lady was, and also she was full apt,
50 b Full knowledgeable holy Inanna was, and also she was full apt:
a (Lager) beer laid up in remote days, in long (past )days

(At this point some eighteen lines are missing. It may be

assumed that they told of Inanna's preparations for the
journey to the fold and-with a temporary change of scene
-of an attack on Dumuzi's fold by Bilulu and Girgire in
which Dumuzi was killed. When the text resumes Inanna
would seem to be nearing, or to have arrived at, the fold.
A messenger, perhaps the partridge mentioned later in the compo-
sition, is bringing her the terrible news:)
70 ...........................

Aa " ........................... [I went(?)]

b To the brick-built house of Belili [I went(?)]
a There the shepherd, head beaten in, . . . [lay on the ground (?)]
75 b Dumuzi, head beaten in ......... [lay on the ground (?)]
a Ama-ushumgal-anna, head beaten in, ..... [lay on the ground (?)]
b The sheep of my master, of Dumuzi, [I saw] in the desert,
a O Inanna, a man who was not the shepherd
b Was returning beside my master's sheep!"
80 Ba (My) lady gave birth to a song to her young husband,
fashioned a song to him,
b Holy Inanna gave birth to a song to Dumuzi, fashioned a song to him:
a "O you who lie at rest, shepherd who lie at rest, you stood guard over them,
b Dumuzi, who lie at rest, you stood guard over them,
85 c Ama-ushumgal-anna, who lie at rest, you stood guard over them,
a Rising with the sun you stood guard over my sheep,
b Lying down by night (only), you stood guard over my sheep!"
Aa That day the son of the old woman Bilulu,
b Matriarch and her own mistress,
90 a Girgire, the good householder,
b He being fit to govern and a knowledgeable man,
a Was filling pen and fold with his captured cattle,
b And was stacking his stacks and piles (of grain).
c His (victims) struck down with the mace he (left) scattered in the fields,
95 a SIR-RUof E d i n - 1 f 1 -1 a, no(one's) child and no(one's) friend,
b Sat before him, with him he held converse.
Ba That day what was in (My-)lady's heart?
b What was in holy Inanna's heart?
a To kill the provider Bilulu,
100 (that) was in her heart!
b To make good the resting-place for her beloved young husband,
for Dumuzi, for Ama-ushumgal-anna, (that) was in her heart!
a To (?) Bilulu in E d i n -1 f 1-1a My-lady went(?)
b Her son Girgire like the wind there did ........
176 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

105 dumu-na ku-li- na sIR-ru rEdinllalJlal[

ku4 dInanna-ke467 e s(!?) -dam-mal8 ba-ni-in-tu[ i
ki(!?)-tug-a rbal-e-gub nam mu-ni-ib-tar-re
gen-na ba-ug5-ge-en na-nam-ma-am
mu-zu ga-ba-da-ku6-lam-e

110 ku' a-edin-1A69 a gex nfg-edin-na h6-me-en

dumu-ni Gir-gfr-re reline-bi-da
dudug edin-na diamma edin-na h6-em-ma-da-me-e'-'m
dumu-na ku-li-na sIR-ru e[din]-lfl-lA
edin-na ha-mu-ni-fb-du zl hu-mu-ni-ib- ID-e170
115 guru's edin-rnal du71 a ub-ta-an-bal-bal zl ub-ta-an-dub-dub

dudug edin-na dlamma edin-na

r.. ?ex(?)721al hu-mu-ni-rib-bil dub(?)73-a hu-mu-ni-ib-bi
ki_rsaI-ha_raI-na73 [edin-n]a hu-mu-un-gil

urn-ma dBi lu.4u a gal(?.)rnil hu-mu-hi'l*-le

120 i-bf- A dUtu u4-ne rur51 h6-en-na-n[am]74
ku' a-redinl-la [a ?ex nfg-edin-na i-me]
rdumul-ni [Gfr-g]fr-re re-ne-bilk[da]
[d]rudugl edin-na dlamma edin-na im(!?)-ma-an-da-an-me-
e s - a~m1
[dumu-n]a ku-li-na siR-ru Edin-lfl-la
125 [edin-n]a mu-ni-fb-DU zl(!?) mu-ni-ib-SID-e
[gurug edin]-rnal du a ub-ta-ran-bal-bal zi ubl-ta-

dudug edin-na [dlamma edin-na

.. sex(?)-al(?) mu-ni-ib-bi rdubl[-a mu-ni-ib-bi
ki-rsal-ha-a-na edin-na [mu-un-gal

130 ur-ma dBi-lu-lu [sa rgal-[ni mu-hu'l-e

dInanna-ke4 rguru81(?) ki-e 'u m[u- .......................
dDumu-zi rkil(?)[-e 'u mu-........................
v u-d
Ui-a-[ni75 ....................................
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(gap of some eleven lines)

..] j B- e ...
76
Col.iv [... ] mu-iia-r - 'LI (?)
[.]..r.].]... -b a- s e b ur u5- rhab ru dalmuien- e77 n a m rILl(?)76
ki 51Gs-ALAM dDumuzi-da- buruserhabrudamun-e ......
tumuen ab-1a1-ba78
ge18 ni-bi-a ad-e-e' ba-ni-ib-gi4
150 b u ru 4 -[h a b r u d almuien,e A'-BUiR-ba78 ad-e-eg ba-ni-ib-gi4
lugal-mu ama-ni dDurx,t[ur].ra-am 1-hu'l-le79
dDumu-zi1-d e ama-ni79
in-nin-mu u-tu-da KU6-aki
 THE MYTH OF INANNA AND BILULU 177
105 c SIR-RU of E d i n -1 i -1 a, no(one's) child and no (one's) friend, did .....
a Holy Inanna entered the alehouse,
b Stepped unto a seat, determined fate:
A a "Begone! I have killed you, so is it verily,
A a "Begone! I have killed you, so is it verily,
and with you I destroy (also) your name:
110 b May you become the water skin for cold water that (men carry) in the desert!"
a "(Yea: and) may her son Girgire and she
b Become the u t u k k u and the 1 a m m a (the numina) of the desert,
a May SIR-RU of E d i n - if 1-1 a, no(one's) child and no(one's) friend,
b Stand in the desert and keep count of flour.
115 a When for the lad wandering in the desert water is libated and flour strewn from
the (water-skin)
b Let the u t u k k u of the desert and the 1 a m m a of the desert
c Call out: 'A libation!', call out: 'A strewing!'
a and (thereby) cause him to be present in the place from which he vanished, in the
desert,
b Let the old woman Bilulu gladden his heart!"
120 B a And immediately, on that day and (under that) sun, it truly became so.
b She became the water skin for cold water that (men carry) in the desert,
a And while her son Girgire and she
b Became the u t u k k u and the 1 a m m a of the desert

a SiR-RU of E d i n - 1 - i, no(one's) child and no(one's) friend,

125 b stood in the desert and kept count of flour.
a When for the lad wandering in the desert water is libated and flour strewn from the
(water-skin)
b The u t u k k u of the desert and the 1 a m m a of the desert
c Call out: 'A libation!', call out: 'A strewing!'
a And (thereby) cause him to be present in the place from which he vanished, in the
desert,
130 b And the old woman Bilulu gladdens his heart.
[C(?)] a Inanna [put out her] hand to the lad on the ground,
b [Put out her hand] to Dumuzi on the ground,
a his (death-)bound hands ..............................

(Some eleven lines or more are missing here. They may have
told how Inanna carried out her second purpose: to make
good the resting-place for Dumuzi. When the text resumes
the partridge(?) is taking counsel with itself. Its role here
and its words are not clear.)

a To the ...... of its ...... the partridge(?) did ...............

b To the birth-place(?) of Dumuzi the partridge(?) did ....................
a Like a dove in its nest it took counsel with itself,
150 b the partridge(?) in its shelter took counsel:
a "Only his mother Duttur can gladden my master
b Only his mother Duttur can gladden Dumuzi!"
Ba My-lady, born in Kuar,
178 JOURNALOF NEAR EASTERNSTUDIES
ki-sikil amar-sig7-ga men-bi
155 u6-ti4 nfg-me-gar sag-gi6-ga
e-ne dUl,-du,n akkil rdulll(?)-dul,
nam-sitax dun-dun, lugal-la[ ............]
dG etin-an-na-ke4 rninl(?) [............]
A AN rsu (?) KE4(?) [...............
160 ki-sikil u6-ti4.. ................]
dGestin-an-na-ke4 ... [....] mi-ni.....
nu-gig-e su[......-n]e-ne r?ul-a mi-ni-rTuRl(?)
...... -ni[ ......]-ba(?) teg-bi ba-ra-ga-rg al(?)

[...] ka ni ...[......] ba(?) an-ta(?)-gi4-gi4

165 [i-l]u za-ra i-lu za-ra [........ ] rtul8- mu - ri - ib - rd ull

[...] ses-e ma i-lu za-ra

[.......]....... i-lu za-rasl

[..........]. i-lu za-ra81
[.........].. i-lu za-ra81
170 [.....]i . .[..]... i-lu81
[ki nam]-siba-da ...[...]... rtul-mu-ri-i [b- ...]
[in-ni]n mu-ut-na-ni rne-r naml ribl-dra-di]82
[kui Ga-s]a-an-an-na su8-ba d[Dumu-zi ne]-rnaml [i]b-
[ki-n]u ze(!?)-z6-ba [in-nin]-rral(?)
175 [?u-ga]r-gi4-a Ga-sa-an-an-na-ra(?)83 s[u-a ba-n]a-an-si
[i-lu za]-ra i-lu za-ra i-lu tu-m[u-ri-i]b-dun

[i]-lu za-ra i-lu za-ra

[k i]- sGl7 - ALAM1 i-lu za-ra84
edin-na dDumu-zi i-lu za-ra84
180 1i-a-ra-li(!?)-a i-lu za-ra84
rDus6l suba1- al [i-lu] zal-ra84
rBadl-tibirarkil-a i-[lu za-ra]84
ki nam-siba-da i-lu za-ra ril(?)-lu t[u-mu-ri-ib-dul]

dDumu-zi ne-nam ribl(?)-da-di-e ?u-[gar gi4-a]

185 dBi-lu-lu ug5[-ge]
dInanna rfb-dal-d[i]
ui-lfl-la dInanna-kam

35 In the line-count half-lines are counted as with them, seem very close in wording. For the
separate lines in orderto achieve uniformity with restoration and reading of the place names see
the estimates of length of lacunas. also the litanies of the texts of the Bad-tibira
36The text is broken at the top. The first group quoted above in n. 6. The reading [i - lu]
preserved traces appear to belong to the latter rba a g (?) rmul - in 1. 2 is based on a photo
part of a line so long that it had to be written which became available to the authors after the
as a line and half-line. Since the scribe is con- original MS was completed and which bears out
sistent in abbreviating repetitious matter we Kramer's objection to an earlier reading [i - 1]u
may assume that this very long and full line rmu -. See Appendix. With k i (!?) - n a m -
represented the beginning of the text. siba(d), (not kinam-sibad-a[k]) in 1.6
37The restorations offered for 11. 1-6 are cf. ki- nam-erim, GudeaSt. B,v. 8, ki-
based on 11.179-83, which, though not identical n a m - s u k k a 1, Delitzsch, Assyrische Lese-
 THE MYTH OF INANNA AND BILULU 179
b The maiden who is the crown of (all) .......,
155 a The admiration and acclaim of the black-headed (people),
b The (fore-)dancer who voices the wail and the cry,
a Spokesman of prayer to the king,
b Geshtin-anna, to (My-)lady did ....................
a ............................................
160......b The maiden the admiration ...............
a Geshtin-anna to Inanna did .............................
b The sacred one, (Inanna) ................... in (her) hand ..........
a .......... ............................ together ................
a ........................................ together ...............
b ................................... was countering (in song:)
165 Aa "I will sing with you (Inanna) the wail (for Dumuzi): 'The wail for you, the wail
for you!"
b In the temple(?) I will sing with you (Inanna): '0 (my) .... brother! the wail
for you!'
a In ......................I will sing: 'The wail for you!'
b In .................... I will sing: 'The wail for you!'
a In .................... I will sing: 'The wail for you!'
170 b In ...............I will sing: 'The wail for you!'
c In the shepherding country I will sing with you (Inanna): 'The wail for you!'"
a How (truly) the lady proved the equal of her betrothed,
b How (truly) holy Inanna proved the equal of the shepherd Dumuzi,
a To make good his resting-place, unto the lady-
175 b To avenge (him), unto Inanna was (granted and) given into her hand!
Ba "I will sing with you (Geshtin-anna) the wail (for Dumuzi), 'The wail for you, the
wail for you!'
b "I will sing with you (Geshtin-anna) 'The wail for you, the wail for you!'
a In the place of bringing forth(?) 'The wail for you'
b In the desert, 'O my Dumuzi the wail for you!'
180 a In the temple Arali 'The wail for you!'
b In Dushuba 'The wail for you'
a In Bad-tibira 'The wail for you!'
b In the shepherding country 'The wail for you!', the wail (for Dumuzi) I will sing
with you (Geshtin-anna).!"
a How (truly) she proved the equal of Dumuzi, avenged (him);
185 b (By) killing Bilulu
c Inanna proved equal to him!
An iu -1 1- l4 (song) for Inanna

stiicke4,p. 119, Sm. 61. 19. The reading of the late "to sob." The question whether a basic
first sign in 1.7 as a m a s is due to Kramer. (See meaning "to breathe in gasps" can be estab-
Appendix. The original MS. restored SIG7- lished for k d s and Akkadian anadu may well
A[LAM]), it is clear in the photo. be left an open question for the time being.
38 See below n. 78. 39See below n. 41. 41 The epithets used by Inanna in these
40 On the
lines,
question of the reading of u in this especially g u r u s (? Uncertain. Kramer reads
verb see Falkenstein, ZA, n. F., XI, 30, n. 2 and DAG [See Appendix]. We are not able to identify
the literature there quoted. As for the meaning, the sign definitively from the photograph and
the Sumerian passages suggest-besides the retain provisionally rgu r u P[?]), n i t a 1a m,
meanings "to tire" and "to labor (physcially and u m u n, call for comment since they are
and mentally)"-a verbumdicendi. Because of important for the question of how we should
the frequent qualification "tearfully" we trans- visualize the relations between Iannna and Du-
180 JOURNALOF NEAR EASTERNSTUDIES
muzi (See above n. 9). We have therefore given g u r u s .Ourtranslation "lad" takes into con-
briefly below the considerations underlying our sideration that g u r u : etlu seems to denote
translations without, however, in any way in- essentially the young adult man of marriageable
tending a full treatment of these terms, desirable age and particularly fit for military service (cf.
as such treatment would be. "OIP," LVIII, 297). A key passage is ana ittisu,
ka k i igi sa6-sa6. The phrases ka k i 7, iii, 20-21, sa te-na bi-in-SAR dam
and i g i -s a6- s a6, consisting respectively of in-ni-in-tuk, "he (i.e. the stepfather)
substantive + adjective, and of substantive + let beard grow (i.e. supported him until beard
reduplicated intransitive nomen actionis may be grew) on his cheek and had him take a wife,"
compared with English adjectival compounds translated u-ut-tiil-[su] al-la-tum 4i-a-ti-i[s-su],
such as "blue-eyed," from which they differ "He let him become (i.e. supported him until he
mainly by the absence of an external formative became) an etlu (Landsberger: "machte ihn
element. As all Sumerian "adjectives" they can mannbar") and had him take a wife." While
be used both as primaries and as secondaries the "young" g u r u , the adolescent boy,
(Jespersen's terminology). An example of the (g u r u s t u r: batilu) is typically single (cf.
former may be found in 1. 30. As other examples Arabic J'.) the g u r u s as such may be either
of such compoundswe may quote s a g g i6- g a single (g u r u s a g dil i), betrothed(?), or
"black-headed," used both as primary and as married (cf. d a m- g u r u : al-ti et-li). The
secondary, i s i b s u s i k i , "pure-handed wife of the married g u r u s can (typically?)
ishippu priest" (e.g., SAK, p. 204, 1, b), en remain in her paternal home as seems to be the
g i g a 1-an - n a: be-lum man-za-zu sa-qu- , case with Inanna in the present text. The married
"lofty-thronedlord" (L u g a 1- e, I, 24). As for g u r u s would appear to differ from the 1 :
the meaning of k a k ia, the context-a love- awZlumchiefly through the fact that the latter
lorn girl's complaint-hardly favors the tra- heads a family for which he has full economic
ditional rendering "pure" or "holy" mouth. and other responsibilities. Note the gloss za-
Assumingthat the concept underlyingthe expres- ni-in to 1 h in CT, XXXVI, 27, 12 and the in-
sion is that a mouth gets defiled by rude and structive enumeration in SEM, 58, obv., 22-26,
harsh language (cf. English "foul,' "dirty," ninda-ba lfi dam-tuku 2-am i-ga-
mouth) we have rendered it "fair (-spoken) ga ninda-ba li dumu-tuku 3-am
mouth." This places the expressionon a line with i-gt-gd ninda gurul sag-dili 1-
the following i g i s a6- s a, literally "(of) am i-g4-ga dMar-tu didli-ni 2-
pleasant mien/eyes," which connotes "friendly," m i-g - g A "the bread-portion of the mar-
"benevolent" (cf. e.g. Samsuiluna, YBT, IX, ried man (1 ) she set as 2, the bread-portionof a
Nos. 36 and 37 (Dupl. PBS, V, 101, OECT, I, man (1I ) who had a child she set as 3, the bread
P1. 31, PBS, XIII, 57, Akk. CT, XXXVII, 1-4, of the single g u r u A she set as 1, for Martu,
S. Smith, RA, XXI ,1-11, edition by Langdon, though he was single, she set it at two."
RA, XXXI, 119ff.), i, 1-5 U4 dEn-lil-le n i t a 1 a m : hdwirum/zrtum was rendered
lugal dingir-re-e-ne en-gal-kur- as "Freier,junger Ehemann" by Delitzsch in his
kur-ra-ke4 dUtu-ra igi-sa6-ga-na SG1,p. 133. This seems essentially correctthough
mu-un- i-in-bar-r a-a m : z-nu dEn-lil clear evidence for "Freier"is not known to us.
sarrum sa i-li be-lumra-bi-umsa ma-ta-tima-na The term is applicable after the groom has led
dSamas in bu-ni-su el-lu-tim ip-pa-al-su-ma and the bride from her parental home (SLTN, 3, 5,
cf. (i-dun igi-sa6 dlamma igi-sa6-ga iii. 9) and immediately after the consummationof
bar-se im-ta-an-gub, TRS, I, P1. 38, marriage (SRT, 1, vi. 5). To judge from TCL,
4-6, etc. The form with reduplicated s a6 occurs VI, 51 (Elev. of Inanna), obv. 17-20, its be-
-once more as term of endearment-in SRT, 31, stowal upon the k i - s i k i with whom a man
26, i-bi-sa6-sa6-mu. had fallen in love representedequality of status
The reduplicationof s a6 probablydenotes re- with him as full partner in marriage. The code
peated action: "ever kind." The writing i gi- of Lipit-Eshtar (Steele, AJA, LII (1948),
s a6- s a6 in the text should be noted; one expects 425-50) uses the term to denote the first and
i - b i since the text quotes Inanna directly. The chief wife of a man. It is not, as the more gen-
treatment of E m e - s a passages seems, how- eral term dam, qualified (cf. dam-tab-
ever, to be rather loose throughout the text. b a, etc.) to denote lower status but serves
Note n i t a 1a m in 1.33 for expected m u - u t - itself as a qualification of d a m in the sense
na, dumu inl. 47for tu-mu, dDumu- stated above.
zi in lines 34, 84, etc., for dTu-mu-zi, u m u n and its Eme- K equivalent en
ba-ug5-ge-en inline108for ba-ub-be- are translated in Akkadian by bWlumor, when
en, na-nam-ma-am inline 108for na- they denote the human spouse of a deity, by
na-am-ma-am,ku6-lam-e in the same enu/entum. The traditional English rendering
line for g i 1 e m - e, etc.; the whole of Inanna's "lord"would be happierif it had preservedover-
curse from line 108 to line 119 is written in tones of its original meaning "bread-keeper"
E m e - KxU. (hlaford), for the core concept of e n is that of
 THE MYTH OF INANNA AND BILULU 181
the successful economic manager. The term im- passages that throw light on the concept of
plies authority, but not the authority of owner- the e n we may quote Enuma elish, Tablet VI,
ship, a point on which it differs sharply from 11.99 ff., in which Mardukis given the enutuafter
belum (Sumerianhas no term for owner but has he has created man to relieve the gods of their
to make shift with 1 u g a 1 and constructions toil and has organized the gods assigning them
with - t u k u), and it implies successful eco- their duties. L1. 103-108 emphasizethe aspect of
nomic management: charismatic power to make authority in the enu-ship:
things thrive and to produce abundance. As

"His utterance ........

His command be forsooth surpassing.....
Exalted be ........
His enu-ship be surpassing,let him defeat his enemies,
Let him exercise the shepherdshipover the black-headed (people), his creatures,
To the end of days without forgetting let them be mindful of ...."
In the following 11.109-11 the aspect of the provider and good manageris stressed:
"Let him make constant for his fathers great food-portions,
Let him undertake their upkeep, take charge of their sanctuaries,
Let him cause incense to be burned, let him .... their ...."
These same functions of authority and providing he will exercise on earth (1. 112):
"Exactly correspondingto what he does in heaven (let him do) on earth"
he is to inspire authority (11.113-15):
"Let him instruct the black-headedpeople to fear him,
Let the subjects be mindful of their gods and goddesses,
And let them harken to his utterances as (one harkensto) that of one's) goddess"
and he is to look after the economic interest of the gods (11.117-21):
"Let bread-portionsbe brought; their god and goddess
Let them not forget, let them uphold(?) their god
Let them cause their (god's) lands to appear splendidly, let them make their
throne-daises.
May the black-headed (people) stand (in attention on) the gods
As for us-as many as we are-he is our god."
The same two basic aspects of the enu-ship,power to make things thrive and authority are stressed
in the paean to Enlil as en, which closes the myth of Enlil and Ninlil (Kramer,SumerianMythology,
nn. 47 and 48):
en rzal-[e-me-en .. .]
dEn-lil renI [za-e-me-en.... ?]
dNu-nam-nir en rza'-[e-me-en]
en GiR-ma en erin-na [..?]
ren1 se (var. numun) mu-mu en gu mA-mu za-rel-[me-en]
renl an-na en h6-gal en ki-a za-e-[me-en]
renl ki-a en h6-gal en an-na za-e-[me-en]
dEn-lil an-na (var. e[n-am]) dEn-lil lugal-[am]
reni nig-ka-ba-a-ni (var. duni-ga-ni) nig-nu-kdir-ru
du,-ga-ni sag-di[-d5i-a] su nu-bala-e-d[e]
The text as here given is that of SLTN, 19, rev. l'-10' with variants from MBI, 4, iv, end (P1.xxxiii).
(Provider:)
"Thou art e n......
Enlil, thou art e n........
Nunamnir, thou art e n,
e n of the ...., en of the store-house
the e n who makes the grain (var. 'seed') grow, the e n who makes the flax grow, art
thou,
the e n of heaven, an en of bounty, and e n of the earth art thou
the e n of the earth, an en of bounty, and e n of heaven art thou,
182 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

(Authority:)
Since Enlil is e n(thus with variant!), since Enlil is king
is Enlil's utterance (var. 'word') unalterable,
can his impetuous word not be changed."

The context in which Inanna uses u m u n of 1 p. finds a parallel in TRS, I, 12, 72 m a - r a -

Dumuzi suggests, of course, that she is thinking an - s , "he gave to me."
of him as the good provider. The epithet follows 48See the Appendix. The sign seems, with
thereforenaturally on n i t a 1a m. Kramer, to be b i.
The term z -l1u m, "date," which closes 49 The "House of B e -1 i -1 i" is mentioned
the series of epithets and in which the series comes also in the Myth of Dumuzi's Dream" (see above
to a climax does not, to our knowledge, occur n. 19). It was located in the town u r u - s i g4-
elsewhere as a term of endearment. One might 6-Be-li-li
therefore considerwhether perhaps it is specially (cf. uru gi-bi-Bi-li-li-
e, SK, I, iii, 14, uru-se-eb E-Be-li-li-se in
conditioned: a traditional term, at home in the
cult of Ama-ushumgal-anna,who, as we hope SK, 27, ii) and seems to have been a sanctuary
in the vicinity of Bad-tibira. A local chapel
to make plausible elsewhere, was a deity closely for her in Uruk was called E - i 1- rl 1.
connected with the date-palm and originally See above n. 28. The goddess Belili occurs in the
distinct from Dumuzi. The final e of dD u mu -
z i - d e we interpret as the vocative suffix - e genealogy of An (CT, XXIV, PI. 1, 17 and else-
discussed in JNES, V, 132, n. 9. where) and is mentionedas the sister of Dumuzi in
the Akkadian myth of the Descent of Ishtar,
42The reading of the signs as 1 d - g a r - r a
here and in the following line is not entirely be- CT, XV, P1. 47, 51-55, dupl. ibid., 48 (K 7600+
CT, 34, 18(A) and KAR, No. 1, cf. p. 321 (B).
yond doubt. The term is not known to us from On Belili in general see the literature quoted by
elsewhere.
Ebeling, Reallexikon der Assyriologie, I, 479
43The copy shows a slightly damaged GURUJS.
(Whether the goddess dBe-li-li mentioned in
Kramer (see Appendix) reads DAG. Our own in- KAV, 50, iv, 5 may be identified with dB e - i -
spection of the photo as well as considerationsof 1 i, the sister of Dumuzi, appears extremely
meaning make us tentatively suggest the read- doubtful). The line and the problems it raises
ing am a5. are discussed by Kramer in the Appendix. His
44 The term a - r a - z u : te-e.-li-tu "supplica-
interpretation differs widely from ours.
tion" is well known. The original meaning 50m u -1 u n a, literally "lying man,"
would appear to have been "report"; cf. CT, is used typically of a person asleep, cf. RA, VIII,
XV, 28, 12: amas ku-ga-mu a-ra-bi 162 ff. (dupl. SK, 2) 11.41-42, i(gloss: i) -1 u m
ga-me-si-zu, "I will inform (zu) you mu-lu na-a u-a mi-[ni-in-zi-zi]
about the state (a - r , lit. 'going') of my dDumu-zi mu-lu na-a A-a mi-ni-
pure fold." The preceding e is difficult. On the [in-zi-zi] dam khi Ga-sa-an-an-
strength of parallels such as SRT, 6, ii, 5 ka mu-lu na-a A-a m[i-ni-in-zi-zi],
siskurx a-ra-zu-a mu-na-an-su8- "He (a gallu) woke up the noble, who lay asleep,
s us - g e - e s, "in prayer and supplication they woke up Dumuzi, who lay asleep, woke up the
stood before her," one expects a term for prayer husband of holy Inanna, who lay asleep." Cf.
or possibly for assent. The DUg-DU9 which fol- also n-a-ara, "to the sleeping one," in the
lows a - r a - z u is also unexpected. Could it account of the dream of Eannatum (St. of
represent an old miscopying of DUrJ- n a(!) - b i(!) Vult., ob., vi, 26) and Gudea (Cyl. A, ix, 5).
through a damaged intermediary? The phrase is also employed, however, as a
45The reading of this sign as d i b was sug-
euphemism for those who sleep the "treacher-
gested to us by Landsberger.On the use of g a - ous" sleep (A-lul-la) of death. Note e.g.,
and d a - as cohortatives (On d a- see Poebel, CT, XV, 18, am-e a-ge,s na-d -en ru8l
GSG, ? 666; Falkenstein, GSGL, I, 219, n. 5) in sila-bi A-bi a-gel8 bi-KU, "O wild bull
the same sentence cf. the use of g a - and d e - how (fast) you sleep, how (fast) sleep ewe and
together, IV, R, 21, No. 2, obv. 23-25 (Poebel, lamb" (cf. Falkenstein, Archiv fur Orient-
op. cit., p. 266). forschung,XIV, 123. On the prefix-lessfinite form
46Cf. Kramer's comment in the Appendix. see, besides the examples noted by Kramer and
The photo seems to us to show a clear g a - . Falkenstein, loc. cit., perhaps also -tu-d -
47The suggested renderingis highly tentative e n in the
Allu-myth, 11.26-27). The lines follow
and is given with every reserve. For b u7 : nu- a Dumuzi litany lamenting that he "lives no
rum and na-pa-hu-umsee MSL, II, p. 151, 29-30. more (nu- u n - t i)." Cf. Langdon, Lit., P1.
For napdhu used of the lighting up of stars and VIII, Edin. 09.405-26139, dD u mu - z i mu-
of the moon see Del., HW, 474a. The assumed lu am-gel8 na-a-ra mu-tin-men
extraordinary use of m a - r a- as a dative ii (n U-KU-KU), and see also the well known
 THE MYTH OF IN] kNNA AND BILULU 183

Damu-litany of edin-na id-sag-gtA list- lelismof gu4 DAB - b a - n i with g u r7 - d u6 -

ing the "resting places" (i.e. the tombs) in which ra-ni inl. 91.
various incarnations of the god (including the 6 Compare Lugal-e, VIII, 30 (BE,
rulers of the 3rd Dynasty of Ur and the 1st
XXIX, 2, 30 and 3, 30, SEM, 35, SRT, 18, and
Dynasty of Isin) had lain down to rest (A m -n A - SBH, 71, rev. 13-14): gur7-du6-de (var.
a - b a) (SK, 26, vi, SK, 27, ii, PRAK, II, D,
BE, XXIX, 2, 30 and perhaps SBH, 71, 13: - r e)
41, ii): Ibbi-Sin is said to lie in Anshan, Ishbi- gdi im-mi-in-gur-gur (var. SBH, 71,
-Erra in Isin(?). Cf. also am i-lul-la 13: m i - n i - i n - g a r) translated (in SBH, 71,
n a of the Enlil litany.
14) as [ina ka-re-e iu] ti-li u-gar-ri-in. Other pas-
51 Contracted from m u - e - u b. Cf.
g Poebel, sages in which g u r7 - d u6 occur are Gudea
GSG ? 656. The argument from the order of rank Cyl. B, XV, 3; TRS, 29, 18; 2N-T-226 (unpub-
is, as we hope to show elsewhere, not compelling. lished), and SEM, 115, obv. 2'. Most of the pas-
62 The traces preceding du t u - d a and g e6 - sages were quoted by Falkenstein, ZA, n. F.,
d a in the copy appear from the photo to belong XIV (1948), 83, in his discussion of g u - g u r,
to col. i. which see. (Is Falkenstein's reading d u6 -1 a of
53 The suggested reading s is and the tenta- SBH, 71, rec. 13 based on a collation? The copy
tive assumption that this is a phonetic writing of seems to be compatible with a reading - rr e .)
s i6 : immerum (Yale Syll., iii, 163) has perhaps The present passage is valuable as one more indi-
too much temerity. If the text were careful in cation that d u6 (r), "pile," ended in - r. Note
distinguishing e m e -KU and e m e - s a 1 one also TRS, II, 70, obv. 9, d u6 - r a g a b a -b i -
would expect e - z e here. a za-gin-na bi-ib-ri-ri-ge, "atthe
54With this paean to Dumuzi as shepherd edge (or "surface") of the pile he gathers lapis-
compare ih general BE, XXXT, 46, i ff. lazuli." For the restoration of the Akkadian
55The term u m - m a, translated as hibtu translation in SBH, 71, rev.14, cf. Enuma elish,
and pursumta (see Delitzsch, SG1 p. 52) denotes Tablet VII (v. Soden, ZA, n. F., XIII (1947),
primarily the wise and skilled woman and can 12), 1. 18: dGil mu- (tap)-pi-ik ka-re-e ti-li
be used without implication of advanced age; bit-ru-[ti].
cf. PRAK, II, D, 53, 23-23a (written on edge) 61On r i - i g : GA-GIS : ka-ak-ku see Voc.
um-ma sa-ma-m u-da-zu-mu tu- Zim., i. 33 and references op. cit., p. 28. The form
mu-un-ze-en nin-mu tr-mu-un- of the sign, which derives from GAG-GIS (REC
ze-en lf-ban-da sa-inim-ma-zu- 318), seems late, but the flare of the two hori-
mu tA-mu-un-ze-en nin-mu th- zontals in GAmay have been slightly more pro-
mu-un-z -en, "Bring to me the wise nounced in the original than in the copy. [The
woman who knows the meaning of dreams, my photo bears this out.]
sister bring to me, bring to me the young child 6d u m u - n i is probably a mistake for
who knows the heart of matters, my sister bring d u m u - n a, cf. 11. 102, 109, and 120, which all
to me!" have - n a. On this suffix, which seems to
56On lu-dili-am cf. Voc. Zim., i. 60, mean: "who/which is not" cf. TCL, VI, 51
d i -1 i : AS : e-du-um : git-ma-lu. We assume the (Elev. of Inanna) obv. 29/30, n g - s i - s - k i -
term to be used in the sense of gitmalum because - d a - n a: sa la um-das-sa-lu, "which is not
of the parallel d i- z u-a m in the next line. something that can be imitated' = "inimitable,"
This is, of course, not compelling. Landsberger and ASKT, No. 14 (pp. 115-16), K 101, rev. 1-2,
prefers the reading l -a s-m, "an only za-e-na dim-me-er si-s nu-tuku-
son," and refers to PBS, V, 154, vi, 9, a (gloss: a m: e-la ka-a-ti i-lim mus-te-se-ru ul i-i, "a
a) -1 d - s a: a-hu-lap we-di-im, for the reading guiding god who is not you I do not have," i.e.,
of AS as a s in the meaning wedum. "I have no guiding god but you." Cf. the similar
57For ul4-u14-e am-tdm, "he is use of n u, Poebel, GSG, p. 259, n. 1, Falken-
worthy of (-e) directing," cf. u 4:su-te-su-ru, stein, GSGL, I, 47, a, 3.
Deimel, SL, 10, 23. The coincidence of the writing The statement dumu-na ku-li-na,
of this word and of u 14- u14 -1 a in 1. 92 with "who is no (one's) child, who is no (one's) friend,"
that of the name of Girgire is rather striking. It may characterize SiR-RU Edin-lil-1 a as an
may be due to a graphic play on the name. outcast without family and friends. Cf. the
Landsberger would read the name G ir - frequent descriptions of the wind-demons as
g i r - e in this passage rather than u 14- u 14- e. without family ties: dam-nu-tuku-me-
580n 1 i-zu-Am cf. VR, 43, rev., 34, es dumu nu-tu-ud-da-me-es,"they
d i n gir i - zu: dNabi ilu mu-du-u. are (beings) who have no spouses, to whom chil-
59Instead of d a b5 - b a one expects-as dren are not born" (CT, XVI, 15, v. 6.)
Landsberger points out-a word for "sheep' to 63 We prefer to
analyze the phrase as "what
justify the mention of a m a s besides t u r in (a n a) was the lady (n i n - e, subj. of trans.
the following, and because of the expected paral- active verb) carrying (a m -t u m) on/in her
184 JOURNALOF NEAR EASTERNSTUDIES
heart (s a g - a n (i) - e) ," thus allowing re- contexts of some of the forms in question suggest
flexive datival meaning to the prefix n a -. The datival force for the initial n a- there are a
alternative, assumingthat a n a is the subject of great many cases in which n a - is not so easily
a passival verbal form, n i n - e a dative, appears tagged. Falkenstein, who has dealt with the
most unattractive. The copy shows two small question again in his GSGL, ?? 60, 72, 115, and
wedges after t d m which are perhaps acci- 128 proposes a distinction between a datival
dental scratches. If that is not the case we may prefix ("Prafix") n a-, to be recognizedin the
have to read am-tumu-a <am-tumu- cases where datival meaning is clearly suggested
e, cf. Poebel, GSG, ? 476. On the phrase s a - by the context, and a "Praformativ"n a -, which
t d m see Falkenstein, ZA, n. F., XIII (1947), has affirmative, i.e. emphatic force, and which
191. To the materials there adduced add SEM, is to be found in the other caseswhere a n a - form
48 (Desc. of Inanna), rev. 10. of positive statement occurs. While we would
64 It occurred
independently to both Lands- agree with Falkenstein that a datival prefix
in this line n a- exists (see our remarks, JNES, V, 135,
berger and us that u-mu-un n. 12) and that other positive forms with n a -
might be a scribal mistake for u m - m a, per-
occur, forms in which a datival force is not-or
haps misheard in dictation. This is particularly at least not yet-immediately recognizable,
likely since an e m e - s a l form is quite un- we are less certain that emphatic force can be
called for here. The mistake may have been con-
ditioned by the name of Bilulu in her male ascribed to n a - in these latter cases. Our hesi-
tation (which means that to us the question of
aspect, En-bilulu, to which should correspondan the precise meaning of n a - in these cases is
e m e - s a l form Umun-bilulu.
still an open one) is based on the following con-
65The phrase k i - n d - d uio seems to mean siderations: (1) The emphatic shade of meaning
"to rest comfortably"; cf. Gudea Cyl. B, xvii, i s a particularlyelusive one; in very few cases, if
2-3 ama dBa-ba6 en dNin-gir-su-da any, can we in our present stage of knowledge of
ki-nu mu-da-ab-dulo-ge," (on its Sumerian decide for certain that e.g. a transla-
[i.e. the bed's] pure surface [For bar as a tion "he went" is correct, a translation "he went
term for the part of the bed on which the bed- forsooth" impossible or vice versa. This means
spread is spread cf. HiAV, 2, 32; SRT, 1, V, 25] that examples which would prove, or at least
spread with clean hay) Mother Baba rested make probable, an emphatic meaning for n a -
comfortablywith the lord Ningirsu" (Cf. Falken- must be particularly pregnant and free of am-
stein, GSGL, I, 24) and SRT, 6, iii, 27-28= biguity. (2) Such is very far from being the case.
7 obv., 38-39, nitalam-mu en dPa- The occurrences collected by Falkenstein do
bil-sag dumu dE n -li-a-ke4 s a- not-at least to our feeling-even suggest em-
ba e-ne AD-bi mu-da-an-na ki-nl phatic force. In fact Falkenstein's translations,
m u- n i - i b - d ulo- g e, "My (i.e. Nin-insinna's) which do not attempt to render the assumed
young husband the lord Pabilsag, son of Enlil, emphatic force of the forms with n a - at all,
lies with me therein (i.e. in Nin-insinna'stemple) read very well as they stand and would not be
in ......fashion, rests comfortably." Note also improved by the addition of "fiirwahr."(3) The
ki-nd (gloss: nu), ki-nd-dulo, and section of the grammatical text AO 17602
k i - n d - d u,o - g a, all translated simply a-sar (RA, XXXII, 90-91) which deals with the
ma-aia-lim in VAT 9714 (Meissner, MAOG, emphatic verbal prefixes in e m e - KU is pre-
XIII2, 31 ff.) ii, 7-9. The implications of the served in its entirety (Col. vii, 15-20). It lists
phrase in the present passage-whether it is by first ga-, then hu-, ha-, h6-, then
avenging him or by furnishing him with proper a-, s i-. It does not list na-.
burial that Inanna is to make Dumuzi rest com- The form n a m - t m above seems to be-
fortably-is not clear. On the imporance of the long to the examples of n a - with datival force,
funereal couch of Dumuzi in the cult in later more particularly to that group of examples
time see the incantation Ebeling, Tod u.Leben, which comes from expressions for mental states
p. 49; cf. v. Soden, ZA, n. F., IX (1943), 258 f., as e.g. sa--tum, gest -- gub,etc.,in
accordingto which the 29th of Dizi was the "day which n a- serves to limit the relevance of the
on which the couch (majaltu) of Dumuzi was verbal state or action to a particularperson.
set up."
67 Since Inanna is here the
66The form n a m - t d m contains a modal subject of an in-
transitive verb one expects the form dI n a n n a,
prefix n a- distinct from the n a- of negative
not dI n a n n a - k e4. It seems possible, there-
wish. That such a prefix (or that such prefixes?)
n a-, introducing verbal forms of positive fore, that KE4 is an old misreading for e, or
that we are dealing with sandhi for k u (g)
rather than negative statement, occur relatively Inanna-ak e es-dam-a.
frequently in Sumerianwas conclusively,demon-
strated by Falkenstein's thorough study in ZA, 68The term (6) 6es-dam, "inn," "ale-
n. F., XIII (1947), 181-223. While the general house," Akkadian (bit) astammi,has been widely
 THE MYTH OF INANNA AND BILULU 185
discussed, see e.g. Holma, K6rpert., p. 172, e and s e d i, "to be cold," pertaining to the
Langdon,OECT, I, p. 27, n. 3, Ebeling, Hymnen- various compounds MUSXA, MUS XA-DI, ZA-MiUS-DI,
katalog, p. 28, Weidner, AOB, I, p. 91, n. 3, A-MUS-DI (cf. ZA, n. F., VIII, 149, etc. Note
Landsberger, OLZ (1931), p. 135a, Belleten, a MUi i - d 6, Gudea Cyl. A, ii, 8, "he libated
XIV, No. 53, 240, and Oppenheim, Cat., p. 112, cold water," and a MUS d 6, "libation of
M 19 a. The meaning is, with Landsberger,prob- cold water," TEO, 5672, iii. 19. This is the nor-
ably "Gasthaus mit Herberge" rather than the mal older orthography. For the use of the KUS
very specialized one of "Bordello" even though A-EDIN-LA : nadu, cf. the Sennacherib passage
the (6) e6 - d a m was typically frequented meme-ea ku5na-a-dika-?u-te a-na su-um-me-{alu
by and owned by the k a r - k e4 harimtu as-ti, "for my thirst I drank the cold water of
(cf. SBH, 56, 49-50, BE, XXXT, No. 12, rev. 10, the water skin" (Luckenbill,Annals of Sennacher-
ana ittigu, 7, ii. 25). As for reading, the commonly ib, IV, 8-9). The statement a ub-ta-an-
accepted e s- d a m-clearly indicated by the bal-bal zi ub-ta-an-dub-dub,
Akkadian astammu-is probably correct even "when water has been libated from it, flour
though some older texts, (cf. Langdon, loc. cit.) poured from it," seems to presuppose that both
seem to have (6) TG -d a m, as here, not water and flour could be carried in a KUS A-EDIN-
(6) es-dam. LA. This does not agree with other references
In the translation we have assumed that the according to which flour was carried in a
e - d a m represents the social center of the KUS A-GA-LA : naruqqu, see e.g. the ancient
estate or village of Edin-lil-1 , a place myth, Barton, MBI, No.1, iv, KUS A.GA-LA- k e4
in which the inhabitants would typically gather zi a-ba-ta-si-ge KUS A.EDIN-LA - e a
for talk and recreationafter the end of work (the a-ba-ta-di, "when he(?) has filled the
harvest was just in!) as in a modern coffee- naruqqu with flour, when he has poured water in
house or village inn. Such a meaningwould agree the water skin." Note also BE, III, 76:3, a
well with the passage from the Nergal hymn referencewhich I owe to Dr. Geers, and PBS I,
cited above (11.16-19. Only the more important No. 3, i, 4-5 and 11-12. The latter passages
variants are noted): i-mu-un e-kas suggest the word may have ended in - d. On
-a-ka na-an-ne-tu-tu: be-lum a- the dl am m a - e d i n - n a into which Bilulu is
na bit si-ka-ri la ter-ru-ub, u m - m a z changed, cf. the temple E - dL a m m a - e d i n -
kas-e tus-a-ra ag nam-mu-un- n a referred to above in note 21. Landsberger
g i4 - g i4: pur-sum-tam sa asar si-ka-ri [as-] calls my attention to the double meaning of
bat la ta-da-ak, f-mu-un es-dam- Hebrew M1 ; "water skin" and "ghost," as
ma-ka (var. as-te-ba) na-an-ni- possibly relevant to the status of Bilulu as
t u - t u : be-lum a-sar si-tul-ti (translates the both water-skin and 1 a m m a of the desert
variant as-te-ba) la ter-ru-ub, a b - b a after she has been killed.
enem-zu-bi tus-a-ra ag nam-mu- 70 The combination of SID/SANGA with z i,
u n - g i4 - g i4 : i-i-bu mu-de-e a-ma-ti sa
"flour," suggests that it is to be taken in the
as-bu la ta-sab-bi[], "Lord enter not the ale- meaning IdSu, "to knead," Deimel, SL, 314, 12.
house, smite not the old woman who sits be- After we had considered this possibility but had
side the beer (to serve it), Lord, enter not the given preference to the vague "keep count of"
astammu,smite not its old man wise in lore(?)." (because it seemed difficult to us to connect an
Inanna presumably goes to the 6e - d a m as acceptable meaning with "may he stand [or
the place where she is likely to find the people "wander"] in the desert and knead flour"-
gathered. especially since the pouring of the flour from
Landsberger,referringto the Nergal passage its container is not mentioned until the next line),
quoted above and to the epithets u m - m a and Landsberger independently urged the same trans-
b u r - s u - m a used of Bilulu in 11.88-89 of the lation. It may well be the correct one, the seeming
text, would consider going a step further and difficulties of meaning arising our of our failure
viewing Bilulu under the type of sabitum "inn- to visualize the precise situation to which the
keeper." Such a role would indeed be quite in line has reference.
keeping with her aspect of agricultural deity; 71The identity of the "lad wandering in the
note that Imdugud/Ninurta's mother in the
desert" poses a problem. Three possibilities
Lugalbanda epic (11. 15-23) is Ninkasi and note present themselves: (1) Since g u r u s is a
the emphasis placed on her role as dispenser
of beer (loc. cit.). For the parallels in nature stereotyped epithet of Dumuzi one may think
of him or rather of his shade. Cf. for this especial-
between Bilulu and Imdugud/Ningirsu see edin
above note 20. ly SK, 123, ii, 16', gurus z6-ba,
"the lad in the pleasant desert," and g u r u s - e
69 KUS A-EDIN-LA : e d i n- n a, "the lad in the desert," of lines
nddu, "waterskin," see
Deimel, SL, 579,219. The following A MUS DI 8', 9', 14', 15' and 16' (cf. Falkenstein, ZA, n. F.,
we read as a s ex - d i, "cold water," assum- XI (1945), 186). This is the interpretation we
ing that also the simple sign MUS had the values have adopted in the translation; it accords ex-
186 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

ceptionally well with the implications of the fol- but from which he has now disappeared, in
lowing k i s a - h a (see n. 57) and in its favor is order that he may enjoy the offering.
the further consideration that it adds point to As a general cultic term n i g - k i - s a h ax,
Inanna's vengeance that Bilulu and her son "offering-materials for the place from which he/
should serve Dumuzi whom they have killed. she disappeared," may be assumed to refer to
(2) g u r u s might stand for any young traveller offerings to deities who like Dumuzi were
in the desert making an offering at any.time. If thought to be alive, or at least present, only for
so, the precise meaning of the following passage a part of the year; offerings made at the place
remains obscure. (3) Landsberger suggests to where they were typically present when alive.
us that the guru s edin- n a DU is identical In favor of such an interpretation is the frequent
with SIR-RU Edin-lil-la, of whom the occurrence of these offerings in the cult of the
preceding line has stated, e d i n - n a h u - m u - goddesses Belat-suknir, Belat-Tiraban and their
n i - DU, "let him stand/wander in the desert." group, (on these deities, imported from the Kir-
Landsberger would consider him the subject of kuk region, see "OIP," XLII [19401, 143-44)
the following verbs and would assume that the deities in whose cult, as in that of Dumuzi, rites
passage prescribes how he-who alone is left of lamentation played a major role. Note also
alive of Bilulu's household-is to provide offer- Uh, xiii. 155 (Oppenheim and Hartmann, JNES,
ings for Bilulu and her son in their new forms IV [1945], 164) where udu ki SA (emend to
of la m m a and ut u k k u of the desert. zba ?) - b a: so-u is listed with u d u k i - s -
If Landsberger is right, CT, XXV, 6, 23-24, g a : II (=immer) ki-is-pi "sheep for a funereal
dGURUSbi-ir-dUEDIN : Bi-ir-du, dGURUSar-.ra-bu sacrifice." On the use of z a h for recurrent
EDIN: sar-ra-bu and ibid., line 28, dGURUS MIN absence such as that of the gods of vegetation
EDIN : MIN (=i-lu ki-lal-la-an), may be relevant and of the milk, see BE, XXXI, No. 50, obv.
even though our text gives no indication that the 7-11' and dupl., SRT, 26, ii, 3' = 7', in which
gurus edin-na DU was thought of as one the hoe chides the plough: il-la-zu tur-
of a pair. We have read dGUJRUS in these passages ra-am a-ra-zu mah-am U4 zag-mu
rather than dL a m m a since male deities seem itu 12-am u4-gub-ba-zu itu 4-Am
to be involved. On sarrabu see Landsberger, u4-sahay-zu itu 8-am gub-ba-zu-
Archiv fur Orientforschung, X, 141, n. 3. gesl min-am ba-du-un, "your turning
72Doubtful. See Kramer's comment in the up is (of) short (duration, lit., 'little') your going
Appendix. (away) is long (lit., 'huge') at year's end are 12
73 We read originally s a(?) -1 a h - h a - [a] - months; the time you have been present is 4
n a, on which see Kramer in the Appendix. The months, the time you have been absent is 8
reading ki-sa-ha-[a]-na seems to have months, you are gone twice as long as you are
the support of the photo. For ki-sa-ha present."
here and in 1. 125 see Legrain, UET, III, 897: 74 This line is one of the stereotypes of Su-
5 sila e a 5 sila sikx 2 sila zi-se nig- merian literature occurring in slightly varied
ki-sa-ha-s aa- - s GABA-GUG(?) - s 6, etc., form as introduction and/or close of sections
"5 'cups' sasqu flour, 5 'cups' hisletum flour (see relating that a divine "determining of fate"
Oppenheim, Eames Coll., p. 137) X 'cup' tappinu took effect (cf. Landsberger, Die Welt des Orients,
flour as offering materials for the ki- s a- a I, 364, n. 19). A particularly close parallel offers
for the field GABA-GUG(?),etc." Landsberger the myth of Enki and Ninhursaga (Uttu myth)
convincingly connects this k i - s a - a with in the section relating how Enki's divine orders
the well-attested term of offering n i g - k i - that Dilmun be provided with fresh water took
z a h ax-(AXHA. See his Kult. Kal., p. 75, effect. The passage is introduced with the lines
Schneider, Orientalia, XVIII, 69, Oppenheim, (Kramer, BAOS, Suppl. St., 1, 11. 52-53) i - b i -
Cat., p. 43, to E 3, e. Since originally A and ZA s dUtu u4-ne-a dUtu an-na gub-
were merely graphic variants of the same sign b i - e, "immediately, on this day and (position
AXHA represents a writing s A. a .We have of the?) sun, the sun (still) being up (lit. stand-
therefore no hesitation in positing a value ing in heaven)"; then follows an account of the
s a h ax besides z A h). The writing of the term fulfillment of Enki's words, and the passage
as k i - s a h ax suggests a meaning "place from closes with the line (ibid., 1. 64) i - b i - e s
which he/she/it has disappeared/fled." Such a dUtu u4-ne-a ur5 he-na-nam, "im-
meaning makes excellent sense in the passage mnediately, on this day and (position of the ?)
under discussion where ki sa-ha-a-na, sun it verily became thus." We interpret U4-
"in the place from which he disappeared," ne-a as "on (-a) this (-ne) day (u4)" and
stands parallel to e d i n - n a, "in the desert." assume it to stand asyndetically with the pre-
The import of Inanna's instructions is then that ceding dU t u. On U4- n e, "this day," cf.
Bilulu and Girgire, who have been made the Falkenstein, GSGL, I, p. 55. In dU t u, "Sun-
la m m a and ut u k k u of the desert, have a god," we see a variant and more poetic expression
duty to call Dumuzi whenever an offering to him for "day." Another possibility would be that the
is made in the desert, which he once frequented expression is short for "(position of the) Sun-
 THE MYTH OF INANNA AND BILULU 187
god" in which case it would correspondroughly 78 With 11.149 and 150 compare CT, XVI, 9,
to "hour." dUtu an-na gub-bi-e is i, 32-35, tumu"en ab-lal-bi-ta ba-ra-
difficult and allows of various interpretations, an-dib-dib-bi-ne : su-um-ma-ti ina
the simplest is perhaps "on/at its (i.e. the day a-pa-ti-si-na i-bar-ru, b u r u5 - b r-b i-
just mentioned) Sun (dU t u) standing (g u b) t a b a - r a - el - n e : iq-qu-ru ina ab-ri-su 'i-e-el-
in heaven (a n - a)," an elaboration of the ele- lu-i. On ab-ll cf. also PBS, X2, No. 2,
ment dU t u of the preceding phrase. Other obv. 14. We can offerno parallel for the construc-
parallels to the phrase as a whole offer tion a d - e - 6 s-g i4 which also occurred in
Lugal-e in the section in which Ninurta 1. 29 above. It seems not to differ essentially in
determines the "fate" of the various stones. meaning from the more usual a d-g i4.
There the phrase comes at the end and takes 79See Kramer's comment in the Appendix.
theform: i-bi-es nam-tar-ra dN i n - 80 We read t u - here and in 11. 171, 176, and
urta-ka-ta u4-da kalam-ma.......
ur4 be-na-nam-me, 183 and assume that it developed from the
"immediately through
the determining of fate by Ninurta and (now) Eme-sal optative elements 1 p. da- (see
today in the land ......thus it verily is" (see Poebel, GSG, ?666) by assimilation to the
Landsberger,loc. cit.). following -mu -.
81 It is possible that these lines should be com-
75For the expression u-d -a used of
the dead Dumuzi see BE, XXX, 1, iii, 15-16, pleted on the pattern of 11. 165-66. For a con-
and CT, XV, 20-21, obv. 28-29. Cf. Falkenstein, vincing restorationsee Kramerin the Appendix.
82 Restored on the basis of 1. 184. We would
ZA, n. F., XI, 24, and XIII, 207.
76Thus with Kramer (see Appendix) who on analyze n e - n a m as consisting of n e n:
the basis of the photo rightly rules out our kiam and the enclitic -a m. With the line as
original reading b i(?) -. a whole compareTCL, VI, 31 (Elev. of Inanna),
77The reading must count as uncertain. obv. 19-20, Ki-sar nitalam(gloss: ni-
Another possibility would be to read b u r U5- it-la-am) e-da-di b6-na-nam:lu-d
d a rmuSen translated as burrumtu and tarru, An-tum r i-ir-tum sun-na-at-kasi-ma.
83 - r a is very doubtful. See Kramer's com-
Deimel, SL, 79a, 15. The b ur us - d a rmuSen
seems to be different from the d a rmuSenwhich ment in Appendix.
-as Landsbergernoted-would have been par- 34
Perhaps meant to be completed on the pat-
ticularly appropriate in this passage since it is
tern of 1. 176.
known as a lamenting bird (see Kramer,BASOR, 85 Little effort has been made to
distinguish'
Suppl. St., 1, p. 22, n. 34a). On the buru - translations of restored passages or to separate
a b r u d amuSen, Akkadian i~ur hurri, see what is uncertain from what is even more un-
Ehelolf, Boghazkoi-Studien, X (1924), 59 ff. certain in the translation. The wholeof the trans-
Ehelolf argues convincingly for a meaning lation must be considered tentative in a very
"Stein-huhn." In view of the damaged condi- high degree.
tion of the text a decision as to which bird is
meant in the present passage can hardly be THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE
made until a duplicate is found. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

APPENDIX: A NOTE BY S. N. KRAMER

The following note was prepared after Ningal with a plea to let her go to her
a careful study of Thorkild Jacobsen's husband's sheepfold, presumably to bring
completed manuscript which he was kind him aid and comfort. Ningal agrees, and
enough to forward to me. It obviously Inanna goes forth with some plan in her
adds very little to Jacobsen's exemplary mind (11.36-51 and the first part of the
study. Nevertheless it may prove of broken passage at the top of column ii).
some value, particularly because of the As she approaches the sheepfold, how-
different view which it presents of the plot ever, she is informed by someone that
of the story. Dumuzi is no longer in his sheepfold,
1. Story. Dumuzi's holy sheepfold is since he has "carried off his soul" to the
in ruins and someone (perhaps Dumuzi house of Mother Belili, presumably in
himself) is lamenting its destruction the nether world, after he has been turned
bitterly (11. 1-35). Inanna, Dumuzi's into a gazelle by Utu at his own request
wife, therefore comes before her mother (second part of the broken passage at the
188 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

top of col. ii up to 1. 79). Inanna then Emesal precative - d a. L. 73 is probably

fashions a song for the dead Dumuzi, and to be restored to read: [- u m- m] a-
in order "to make good" his resting place be-li-li-se [zi-ni ba-si-in-
in the nether world, comes upon the t u m] (cf. BE, XXX, 3, ob. 18); if this
idea of killing Bilulu. According to this should prove to be correct the passage im-
version of the first part of the plot of the mediately preceding 1. 73 may be identical
myth-I can add nothing constructive with at least ibid. 6-17, the lines which
to Jacobsen's superb exposition of the narrate of Dumuzi's transformation to a
part of the story which follows-it is to be gazelle at his own request. Note, too,
particularly noted that Dumuzi did not that according to BE, XXX, 3, Belili is
meet his death by having his head not to be identified with Dumuzi's sister
smashed in, that Bilulu had nothing to Geshtin-anna, since it is only after some
do with Dumuzi's death, and that there- untoward incident in the house of Mother
fore Inanna did not decide to kill Bilulu Belili that Dumuzi pleads with Utu to
in order to avenge Dumuzi. I am inclined transform him once again into a gazelle in
to believe that Bilulu is not even men- order that he might "carry off his soul,"
tioned in the poem before 1. 88, and that this time, to the holy sheepfold of his sister;
the poem nowhere states the reason for cf. ibid., 1.47, which reads: [am a -ku g -
Inanna's selection of Bilulu, rather than ga-n]in9-mA-se zi-mu g[a-b]a-
some other deity, as her victim. ni-in-t um and the corresponding
2. Mythological Interpretationand Pos- 1. 53 which reads: amas-kug-ga-
sibilities of Appreciation. Jacobsen's state- ning-na(!)-se zi-ni(!) ba[-si-
ments on these matters depend largely i n - t u] m (note the scribal errors - s e
upon a psychological analysis of the for -na and -mu for -ni). In 1. 117
mind of the ancients which differs funda- the tentative restoration s ex and d u b
mentally from what I believe to be true; do not agree with the traces (cf. photo-
for full details cf. JCS, II, 39-70. graph); the same is true of the - a -
3. Transliteration and Translation. The of the following line which seems to be
traces at the beginning of the first extant RUaccording to the photograph. In 11.147
line do not point to the restoration of the and 148 the last sign might perhaps be
sign LU; hence the restoration of i- l u restored as fL; certainly it is not BI. L1.
and z a - r a in 11. 1 and 5 is more than 151-52 might perhaps better be rendered:
doubtful. The first sign of the indented "My king gladdens only his mother
half of 1. 5 is AMAA(not SIG7-ALAM). The
Duttur, Dumuzi gladdens only his mother
suggested restoration of the first part of Duttur." Ll. 168 ff. should be restored to
1. 34 as gurus nitalam fa-mu-un z d - 1u m read: i-lu
[6-a-ra-li]-a za-ra;
does not seem to fit the sign traces. The
[du6-suba]-a i-lu-za-ra; [bad-
first sign in 1. 40 is DAG not GURUS. The
t i b i r a]k - a i-lu; [ki- n a m-
indented 1. 43 is probably to be read
amas-se B (not GA) ... da- DU; the sipa-da i-[lu za-ra i-l]u tu-
verb would thus begin with the expected mu-ri-ib-[gi4]. In 1. 175 the sign
Emesal precative particle d a-. In 11.45 following ga- a-an-na seems to be
and 46 the third complex is d us - n a - BARAG, not RA. In line 183 the verbal
b i, that is, the sign following - n a - is form is probably t u [- m u - r i - i b - g i4].
not GAbut BI; the verbal form in these THE UNIVERSITYMUSEUM
lines, too, therefore begins with expected UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
 PLATE LXVI

IST. 4486. OBVERSE, CONTAININGCOL. I, LL. 1-38 AND COL. II, LL. 70-87
 PLATE LXVII

OBVERSE, CONTAINING COL. I, LL. 39-51 AND COL. II, LL. 88-100;
IST. 4486.
REVERSE, CONTAININGCOL. III, LL. 101-116 AND COL. IV, LL. 146-162
 PLATE LXVIII

IST. 4486. REVERSE, CONTAINING COL. III, LL. 117-134

AND COL. IV, LL. 163-187
 PLATE LXIX

AXXXX
Vlaxv lq lpl QUIP 'quarO

V-% -r
, q\Uf\\/

A PAHLAVISEAL.-A seal of smoky brown

agate with lighter layers, in the form of a flat-
tened spheroid with a segment cut away to
make an oval base. Height 20 mm., width 25
mm., thickness 17 mm. Base 18 X 13 mm. Per-
forated transversely. Base slightly chipped, with
damage to one or two letters of the inscription.

Rt AIA Al

STELAOFMAIN
B REDGRANITE