En-men-dur-ana (also Emmeduranki) of Zimbir (the city now known as Sippar) was an ancient Sumerian king, whose name appears in the Sumerian King List as the seventh pre-dynastic king of Sumer. He was also the topic of myth and legend, said to have reigned for 21,000 years.[1][2]

Name

His name means "chief of the powers of Dur-an-ki", while "Dur-an-ki" in turn means "the meeting-place of heaven and earth" (literally "bond of above and below").[3]

City

En-men-dur-ana's city Sippar was associated with the worship of the sun-god Utu, later called Shamash in the Semitic language. Sumerian and Babylonian literature attributed the founding of Sippar to Utu.[4]

Myth

A myth written in a Semitic language[5] tells of Emmeduranki, subsequently being taken to heaven by the gods Shamash and Adad, and taught the secrets of heaven and of earth. In particular, Emmeduranki was taught arts of divination, such as how to inspect oil on water and how to discern messages in the liver of animals and several other divine secrets.[6][7][8][9][10][11]


See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Sumerian king list: translation". etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  2. ↑ "4. Ancient Near Eastern Context", Toward a Poetics of Genesis 1-11, Penn State University Press, pp. 122–230, 2013-05-06, doi:10.1515/9781575066943-006, ISBN 978-1-57506-694-3, retrieved 2023-03-11
  3. ↑ A. R. George. Babylonian topographical texts. p 261.
  4. ↑ James B. Pritchard. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. 3rd ed. pp 43, 164, 265, 270, 271.
  5. ↑ Enmenduranki is on the Sumerians Kings List. The Sumerians are Non-semitic.
  6. ↑ Robert Alter. Genesis. p. 24
  7. ↑ John W. Rogerson and Philip R. Davies, The Old Testament World. p 203
  8. ↑ Wilfred G. Lambert. Babylonian oracle questions. p 4.
  9. ↑ Wilfred G. Lambert, Enmeduranki and Related Material. Journal of Cuneiform Studies. Vol. 21, Special Volume Honoring Professor Albrecht Goetze (1967), pp. 126-138
  10. ↑ J. J. Collins. The apocalyptic imagination: an introduction to Jewish apocalyptic literature. pp 44-47
  11. ↑ I. Tzvi Abusch, K. van der Toorn. Mesopotamian magic: textual, historical, and interpretative perspectives. p24.
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