Early Israel and the Surrounding Nations Part 21

13. O man of Surippak, son of Ubara-Tutu,

14. frame the house, build a ship: leave what thou canst; seek life!

15. Resign (thy) goods, and cause thy soul to live,

16. and bring all the seed of life into the midst of the ship.

17. As for the ship which thou shalt build,

18. ... cubits shall be in measurement its length;

19. and ... cubits the extent of its breadth and its height.

20. Into the deep [then] launch it.'

21. I understood and spake to Ea my lord:

22. 'As for the building of the ship, O my lord, which thou hast ordered thus,

23. I will observe and accomplish it.

24. [But what] shall I answer the city, the people and the old men?'

25. [Ea opened his mouth and] says, he speaks to his servant, even to me:

26. ['If they question thee] thou shalt say unto them:

27. Since (?) Bel is estranged from me and

28. I will not dwell in your city, I will not lay my head [in] the land of Bel;

29. but I will descend into the deep; with [Ea] my lord will I dwell.

30. (Bel) will rain fertility on you,

31. [flocks] of birds, shoals of fish.'

_Lines 32 to 42 are lost_.

43. On the fifth day I laid the plan of it (i.e. the ship);

44. in its hull (?) its walls were 10 _gar_ (120 cubits?) high;

45. 10 _gar_ were the size of its upper part.'

Another version of the account of the Deluge, of which a fragment has been preserved, puts a wholly different speech into the mouth of Ea, and gives the hero of the story the name of Adra-Khasis. This fragment is as follows:--

'I will judge him above and below, [But] shut [not thou thy door]

[until] the time that I shall tell thee of.

[Then] enter the ship, and close the door of the vessel.

[Bring into] it thy corn, thy goods, [thy] property, thy [wife], thy slaves, thy handmaids, and the sons of [thy]

people, the [cattle] of the field, the beasts of the field, as many as I appoint ...

I will tell thee of (the time), and the door [of thy ship]

shall preserve them.'

Adra-Khasis opened his mouth and says, he speaks to Ea [his] lord:

'[O my lord,] none has ever made a ship [on this wise]

that it should sail over the land.' ...

Here the fragment is broken off. The other version proceeds thus:--

46. 'I fashioned its side, and closed it in;

47. I built six storeys (?), I divided it into seven parts;

48. its interior I divided into nine parts.

49. I cut worked (?) timber within it.

50. I looked upon the rudder and added what was lacking.

51. I poured 6 _sars_ of pitch over the outside;

52. [I poured] 3 _sars_ of bitumen over the inside;

53. 3 _sars_ of oil did the men carry who brought it ...

54. I gave a _sar_ of oil for the workmen to eat;

55. 2 _sars_ of oil the sailors stored away.

56. For the [workmen?] I slaughtered oxen;

57. I killed [sheep?] daily.

58. Beer, wine, oil and grapes

59. [I distributed among] the people like the waters of a river, and

60. [I kept] a festival like the festival of the new year.

61. ... I dipped my hand [in] oil:

62. [I said to] Samas (the Sun-G.o.d): 'The storeys (?) of the ship are complete;

63. the ... is strong, and

64. the oars (?) I introduced above and below.'