The Biblical Archaeologist - Vol.31, N.4

24 Pages·1968·1.15 MB·English

by  American Schools of Oriental Research

The
BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST
do r0t
Published by
THE AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH
Jerusalem and Bagdad
Jloom 102, 6 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Mass.
Vol. XXXI December,1 968 No. 4
Fig. 1. One of the Mari ladies, From Syria, XLX,P late VIII.
Prophecy in the Mari Letters
HERBERTB .
HITFFMON
Drew University
In view of the abundance of time, energy and money that has been
devoted to archaeological undertakings in Palestine, mostly with the goal
of illuminating the Bible, it is interesting to note that the fuller under-
standing of the religious and socio-economic setting of the Bible, or, more
102 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXXI
The Biblical Archaeologist is published quarterly (February, May, September, December)
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non-technical, yet thoroughly reliable account of archaeological discoveries as they relate to the
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specifically now the Old Testament, is more indebted to the archaeological
discoveries at the famous Syrian sites of Ras Shamra (Ugarit) and Tell
Hariri (Mari) than it is to the discoveries at the vast majority of Pales-
tinian sites even considered together. The reason for this striking situation,
of course, is that Ugarit and Mari have yielded many thousands of texts.
For it is texts that permit us to look most fully into the life and thought
of the biblical world. Ugarit is best known for the multitude of mytho-
logical texts that have put Canaanite religion into a much clearer focus.
The Mari texts, while lacking in the realm of mythology, have greatly
illuminated the religious and socio-political setting of the Patriarchs and
of early Israel, shedding special light on a number of institutions of early
Israel such as covenant-making," Judges,"a nd, of course, the present topic,
prophecy.'
Before we can proceed much farther in our discussion we must have
some understanding of what prophecy is. One danger here is to conceive
of prophecy strictly in terms of figures like Amos and Jeremiah, a view
that rules out many figures called prophets in the Bible itself. A wider
understanding of the prophetic type is needed for historical or compara-
tive purposes. Prophecy has of course been defined in many different
ways. But if we are going to discuss prophecy in the ancient Near East,
including Israel, it is more fruitful to abandon classical models with their
emphasis on prediction and their mixture of what may be distinguished
as prophecy and divination. The differentiation between natural and arti-
ficial divination, between what Plato (Phaedrus) calls "inspired madness"
and what he terms "the rational investigation of futurity" (i.e., learned
augury), includes under natural or intuitive divination such items as
1. For an older survey article on Mari see G. E. Mendenhall, BA, XI (1948), 1-19. For studies
on Mari prophecy, see the Appendix.
1968, 4) THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST 103
dreams that require interpretation by specialists.2 This is not helpful in
distinguishing prophecy. For our purposes prophecy may be defined as
having the following general, but not exclusive, characteristics: 1) a
communication from the divine world, normally for a third party through
a mediator (prophet) who may or may not identify with the deity; 2)
inspiration through ecstacy, dreams (apart from induced dreams in most
instances), or what may be called inner illumination; 3) an immediate
message, i:e., a message that does not require a technical specialist to
interpret it; 4) the likelihood that the message is unsolicited (unlike
divination except in the case of unusual natural phenomena); 5) the like-
lihood that the message is exhortatory or admonitory. Divination, on the
other hand, may be characterized as the use of technical expertise in the
interpretation of natural or induced phenomena, the most common tech-
nique being the examination of animal livers; it is normally solicited.
Prophecy Outside Israel
Although it has long been recognized that prophetic activity was
not confined to the prophets of Yahweh, since the Bible itself refers to
the prophets of Baal and the prophets of Asherah (I Kings 18; II Kings
10:19), evidence for prophets in the ancient Near East is very sparse
indeed.3 We can refer to the Wen-Amon report, first published in 1899,
which concerns a journey to Phoenicia ca. 1060 B.C. in the course of
which, Wen-Amon says, "Now while he [the Prince of Byblos] was
making offering to his gods, the god seized one of his youths and made
him possessed."T he youth then delivered an oracle instructing the Prince
of Byblos to pay heed to the messenger, Wen-Amon, and the god Amon
who sent him.4 There is also the Zakir stele, found near Aleppo, first
published in 1908. In this text, dating from the early 8th century B.C.,
king Zakir reports that when under siege "I lifted up my hands to Baal-
Sha[may]n and Baal-Shamay[n] answered me [and spoke] to me by
means of seers (.zzyn) and diviners (?) ('ddn)."5 Needless to say Baal-
Shamayn gave an oracle of deliverance.
The Mari prophets must be seen in the light of Mesopotamian cul-
tural practices, Mari being an old but marginal center of Mesopotamian
2. P. Amandry, in La diviniation en Mesopotamie ancienne (1966), p. 174, reacting to the clas-
sical distinctions, comments that "the only form of revelation that fully merits being called
intuitive is that which is received directly, without intermediary, at any time whatsoever and
in any place whatsoever, by a person capable of immediately comprehending the divine mes-
sage and of communicating it." This is a good definition of prophetic revelation.
3. On the "Akkadian Prophecies," really part of the omen tradition, see R. D. Biggs, Iraq, XXIX
(1967), 117-132. For the Old Babylonian oracle from Uruk, see Biggs' translation in the forth-
coming new edition of Ancient Near Eastern Texts. On the different characters of "prophecy"
in Egypt, see S. Hermann, Vetus Testamentum Supplementum, IX (1963), 47-65.
4. Translation by J. Wilson in Ancient Near Eastern Texts (2nd ed., hereafter ANET), pp.
25-29, esp. p. 26 quoted here. Wilson (note 13) adds that "the determinative of the word
'(prophetically) possessed' shows a human figure in violent motion or epileptic convulsion."
5. The precise meaning of this word is not known. Comparison with Arabic suggests that it
may refer to diviners by lot. An alternative view is that it refers to people who are "sent (by
a god)." For a translation of the text, see F. Rosenthal, ANET, pp. 501-2.
104 THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXXI
culture. Mesopotamian practices include, for example, some references to
ecstatic cultic personnel who transmit divine messages. But even the Ibest-
known class, that of the mzahhu-ecstaticw ho received divine messages es-
pecially by way of dreams, is known only from a small number of texts,
mostly of the Neo-Assyrian period. Although these ecstatics seem obviously
related to the mwhhu-lecstaticos f the Mari texts, the equation is hot exact
(see further below). There are also the divine oracles delivered to king
Esarhaddon by individuals, mostly women, who address him in the name
Q'II
-14
Fig. 2. Inscribed liver models for the divination expert. From Syria, XX, 102, fig. 2.
of Ishtar, announcing favorable oracles in the first person." But nothing
is known as to how the oracle was received. In other texts a ragintu
("one who cries out"), a prophetess of some kind, delivers a divine mes-
sage.7 But, as has been remarked by A. L. Oppenheim, divine communi-
cation by means of ecstacy or through persons who could be called pro-
phets was not at all typical of Mesopotamia and such evidence for it as
6. For a translationo f a collection of these oracles, see R. H. Pfeiffer in ANET, pp. 449-450.
For some similar oracles to Esarhaddonb y Ishtar of Arbela and by Ashur, but without the men-
tion of any mediator, see S. A. Strong, Beitriige zur Assyriologic,I I (1894), 627-643.
7. L. Waterman, ed., Royal Correspondenceo f the Assyrian Empire, I (1930), letters 149 and
437. The same term is applied to the goddess Ninlil as an oracle giver in a text translatedb y
Pfeiffer, ANET, pp. 450-1 (translated "sibyl"). A male counterparta ppears in other texts.
1968, 4) THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST 105
there is comes mostly from marginal areas in the west or from the eclectic
culture of late Assyria.8
The factor that changes the picture of prophecy outside (and prior
to) Israel is the recent evidence for prophecy in the Mari letters. This
material not only antedates Israel but also comes from an area that is the
larger focus of Patriarchal activities. The published Mari texts now num-
ber about 2800, of which 1000 are letters and the others are almost ex-
clusively economic, administrative or juridical, with, for example, but one
ritual text. It is from this seeming multitude of letters that one may cull
some twenty-odd that are concerned with prophetic activities. And the
bulk of this group has appeared within the last two years, some of them
being available only in the cuneiform copies. The translations below are
based on the copies and the transliterations,w herever they exist.
Since these Mari letters present a number of different designations
for "prophets"a nd a variety of types, they are here grouped accordingly.
The "Answerer"
One class of prophet is termed apilu (fem. ipiltu), "one who an-
swers." The etymology of the word suggests that the "Answerer" gave
oracles in response to questions put to the god, but the texts do not re-
quire that interpretation. There is a good possibility of at least indirect
solicitation in some instances, but on other occasions it is apparent that
the message was not solicited by the person addressed. The term is con-
sistently used from Aleppo to Sippar and, although otherwise very rare,
is acceptable as provincial Akkadian. W. von Soden cites only one other
pertinent reference, a vague mention in a later text from Assyria that
"the king will not receive the apilu in his palace."9
But in addition the texts concerning the activities of the assinnu
(see below) make it clear that the apilu listed in one lexical series be-
longs here and represents a lesser known class of cultic personnel. The
apilu/pilpilu together with the isinnu/as[in]nu and two other cultic types
are equated with the kulu'u, a type of male cult prostitute.10S peculation
is tempting, but a reasonable conclusion is that the ipilu was some kind
of cultic personage. As for Mari, it is interesting to note that a man
named Ili-andulli, an apilu, receives a garment from the royal stores just
as did various agricultural, commercial, and ship workers.11I n one capa-
city or another, therefore, he was supported by the crown.
8. Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia (1964), pp. 221-222. For the Hittite "prophet" (the
term used means "man of the god" or the like) see the texts translated by A. Goetze in ANET,
pp. 394-396, pars. 2, 10, 11 (text A), and text B.
9. W. von Soden, Akkadisches Handwdrterbuch (1959-), p. 58a. The entries under nos. 2 and
3 are not relevant. For the possible variant aplu (abru), see the dictionaries.
10. The lexical text is a combination of CT 18, 5 (K.4193), 9'-11', and LTBA 2, No. 1, vi.
45-49. The preceding sections agree. For the abbreviations used and the terms discussed see
von Soden, Akkadisches Handworterbuch. Note also the lexical material cited by B. Landsber-
ger and referred to by A. Malamat, Supplements to Vetus Testamentumn, XV (1966), 212, n. 2.
11. Archives Royales de Mari (hereafter ARM), IX (1960), No. 22.14.
106 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXXI
The following two letters, the first cited being the initial publica-
tion to mention the "Answerer," belong together.
A.1 12112
[Speak to my lord: the message of Nur-Sin, your servant.]
. (undetermined number of lines missing)
".
[as fo]r [transferring (?)] the pasture-land (?) [and cattle (?)],
the Zipil[lum (?)] (or: Abi-[Addu (?)]) spoke in the presence of
Zu-hatnim as follows: 'Give over the pasture-la[nd] (?) and the
cattle.' My lord, in the presence of kin[gs .. .] said to give the
pasture-land (?) [ . . (?)], as follows: 'In the future do not rebel
against me.' I arranged witnesses for him. Let my lord take note!
Addu, the lord of Kallassu, [has confirmed (?)] in extispicies (the
message of the apilu-men?), as follows. 'Am I not [Ad]du, the
lord of Kallassu, who raised him between my legs and restored
him to the throne of his father's house? Since I restored him to
the throne of his father's house, I have also given him a dwelling
place. Now, inasmuch as I restored him to the throne of his father's
house, I will take the nihlatu-property13 from him. If he will not
give (it) over, I am the lord of the throne, the land, and the city,
and that which I have given I can take away. If (he does) other-
wise, however, and grants my request, throne upon throne, house
upon house, land upon land and city upon city I will give to him.
And )the country, from east to west, I will give to him.' This is
what the apilu-men said and it continues to stand up in the extis-
picies. Now, in addition, the a[pi]lum of Addu, the lord of Kallassu,
is watching over the threshing-floor'4 of the town of Alahtum as
nihlatu-property.L et my lord take note. Earlier, when I was staying
in Mari, whatever word the dpilumn or iipiltumn sa[id] to me I
turned over to my lord. Now that I am staying [in] a different
land, shall I not write to my lord concerning what I hear and
(what) they say to me? If in the future there is any kind of si[n],
let not my lord say, as follows, 'Why did you not send me the word
which the iipilum spoke to you while watching over your threshing
floor?' Now I have [wr]itten to my lord. Let my lord take no[te.
More]over, the l~piluimo f Addu, the lord of Halab, came to [Abu]-
halum and spoke as follows, [saying, "Sen]d to your lord ... (un-
ei11nn23 t.. a tlhF FroSoelreol ociwopecutincybu,gl ri cLraeaXtn iXocsenuXs g IgIiin ens [ft1oAi9or.m6n12 1a]2t,o i1fo n1B 4a.9n o,d nL naA.nt .hd22e9s8 b2)e,M5 r gaiewtr rii itshl( es tnetteoeh wres A wd.q eiudtMeoertlameyld ai mnaagsatertiee,v eeJd Ao fputohprrane tnaa ld tihcxoiit.fs y ,wt hioesr daA, mpwreroritpitceearnn noOonurcnie-
connected with inheritance.
14. The noun translated "threshing-floor" is perhaps to be understood as meaning "tent-shrine,"
as does the Hebrew correspondent, following a suggestion by A. Malamat, Eretz-Israel, V (1958),
69. In these letters, however, the god's interest seems to be in more tangible goods.
1968, 4) THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST 107
determinedn umbero f lines missing) [ ... the country from east]
to west [I myself] will give to you. [This] is what Addu, the lord
of Halab, said in the presenceo f Abu-halumL. et my lord take care-
ful note of this.
A.2925
Speak to my lord: the messageo f Nur-Sin, your servant." Once,
twice, (even) five times I have written to my lord concerningg iving
some livestock to Addu and concerning the nihlatu-property(! )
that Addu, the lord of Kallassu,a sks of you . . . (two lines left
untranslateda nd some not preserved).
'Am I not Addu, the lord of Halab, who has raised you . . .
and who made you regain the throne of your father'sh ouse?I never
as[k] anything of you. When a man or woman who has suffered
an injustice addressesh imself to you, respond to his appeal and
give him a ver[dict]. This which I ask of you, this which I have
written to you, you will do. You will pay attention to my word,
and the country, from its ge[tting up to its lying down], as well
as the countryo f ... [I will give to you].' This is what the 5p[ilum
of Addu, lord of Halab, said to me]."
The first of these two texts is unique in mentioningt he apilu-men
in the plural. Elsewheret he message is deliveredb y an individual,b ut
here the prophetss peak in the plural, reminiscento f the many refer-
ences in the Bible to propheticc ircles and group prophetica ctivity,p ar-
ticularlyd uring the earlierp eriods.A ddu (Hadad) of Kallassua nd Addu
of Halab (Aleppo) agree (indeed, Kallassum ust have been either a sector
of Halab or a dependentc ult center nearby), remindingt he king of past
favors and making conditionalp romisesf or the future while requesting
some royal grants.I n the second letter we note with special interest that
the appeal is cast in terms of general considerationse,x hortingZ imri-lim
,to rule justly and to right wrongs. Doubtless the king's ambassadocro r-
rectly understoodt he drift of the admonitionw hen he recounteda gain
Addu's request for livestock and property.
The next letter is unique in a differentw ay, as it is the only letter
written by any of the prophetsd irectly.A ll other letters representr eports
to the king by one of his representativesT. he dpilu writes from the
Babylonianc ity of Sippar, a leading cult center of Shamash,a nd ranges
widely in his interests.
A.4260
Speak to Zimri-lim: the message of the apilum of Shamash.
"This is what Shamash, the lord of the land, has said: 'Send me
quickly at Sippar, [fo]r (your) life, the throne intended for my
108 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXXI
splendid residence as well as your daughter whom I had requested
of you. . . ." (Lines 15-18 concern the asakkum, something especially
reserved for gods and kings, perhaps here in the sense "treasure,"
which must be brought to the temple of Addu in Halab.) (Lines
24-31: Shamash orders Zimri-lim to have a great bronze sword
forged and to send it to the god Nergal of the town of Nishalim.)
"As for Hammu-rapi, the king of Kurda, he has uttered libel-
ous words against you. But wherever he puts his hand your hand
[will remo]ve him, and within the country you will free it from
his obligations. As for me, the whole land is restored to your hands.
When you get hold of the city you must free it from his obliga-
tions."
There are three further letters, all from the newest volume of texts,
in which the content of the message is either broken or too obscure.
X.9
Speak to my lord: the message of the lady Shibtu, your servant.
"The palace is all right. Qishti-Diritim, the ipilum of the goddess
Diritum, on the second day, at the [ ] of the pala[ ce . .
.
['Th]us sent [Diritum (?)], Before the t[hro]ne . . . No one
s[ays (?)], "A woman citizen is gi[ven (?) ] to Zimr[i-lim]." [?]
The lance of the man of E[lahut (?) ]. This [is what the ipilum
said (?) ].
Mor[eover .. .] (several lines are missing)'5
X.53
[Sp]eak [to] my lord: [the me]ssage of the lady Adad-duri, your
[serva]nt. ["The ap]ilum in the temple of the goddess [Hi]shame-
tum, Izi-ahu by name, got up, saying, ['...] after you, [...] they
are eating . . . (three lines broken) [The]se things (?) your
[opp]onent(s) ... (one line missing) [I my]self trampled on them
(or: bound them).'"
X.81
Speak to the Star (i.e., Zimri-lim): the message of the [lad]y
Inibshina. "Lady Innibana, the apiltum, got up and spoke as fol-
lows, saying, 'O Zimri-lim, until my attendants surround his enemy
and those around him [. . . (four lines lost)] go about [. . . (part
of one line lost)] he determines, but let him not establish (it).
Now, my hair and my hem I have given to you (i.e., to Inibshina).
Let them declare (me) free (of guilt).' Now then, I had the hair
15. The reverse takes up a different matter without any reference to the apilum of the goddess
Diritum. It concerns a dispute among the gods over the treatment of Mari. Ea has the gods
and goddesses affirm: "We will not act wantonly against the brickwork of [Ma]ri or the guard-
ian (?) of Mari."
1968, 4) THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST 109
and the hem sent to the Star. [Let] the Star have an extispicy
[ma]de and [le]t the Star act in accordance with his extispicies.
Let the Star take care of himself."
The one remaining report is again unique in that whereas the other
oracles are addressed to the king, either directly in the second person
or indirectly in the third person, this oracle is addressed directly to (the
king of) Babylon, with Zimri-lim referred to in the third person. This
oracle is akin to the woe oracles against the nations in the Bible (cf.
Obadiah 1-4, for example).
XIII.23
Speak to my lord: the message of Mukannishum (!), your
servant. "(When) I offered a sacrifice to the god Daga[n] for the
life of my lord, the apli'6 of Dagan of the city of Tutt[tul] got
up and spoke as follows, saying, 'O Babylon, what are you trying
to do? I will gather you up in a net. Your god (?) is a wild bull
(?). (Or: I will gather you up in a . . . net.)'7 (One line erased.)
The (royal) houses of the Seven Allies and all their property (!)
I will [pu]t in[to] Z[im]ri-l[im]'s [h]and.'
Also, the aplii of D[aga]n g[ot u]p (?) [and .. .] s[poke a]s
follo[ws . .. . ](about five lines lost).
The texts do not tell us the means of inspiration of the iipilu-prophet.
Since in two instances the message is connected with either a cultic
ceremony (XIII.23, where the woe oracle against the foe might be re-
garded as a response) or a shrine (X.53, where the oracle is delivered
in a temple), one may conjecture that the fipilu was part of the cultic
staff and-at least on occasion-responded with an oracle received by
unstated means to a cultic act or even a specific request for an oracle.
But the texts nowhere specifically indicate such a request. The oracle
given may be critical of the king for failing in his proper recognition of
the god(s) (A.1121, A.2925, A.4260), may generally admonish the king
to rule justly (A.2925), or may declare against a foe and in favor of the
king (XIII.23; cf. A.4260). That these oracles were not regarded as a fully
acceptable means for divine revelation by the royal administration seems
clear from the way in which extispicies, or technical, professional divina-
tion results, are cited as conformation of the oracle (A.1121) or are ad-
vised as a means of examining the validity of the oracles and governing
the king's reaction (X.81). As must be expected in any center of Meso-
potamian culture even if it is provincial, technical divination was the ac-
ceptable practice.
16. The spelling of the title used here is doubtless a permissible variation.
w17il.d Tbhuel l ed(?it)o"r , aJr.e Bsoot tp6rlaoc, edre ctehnattl y thineyd iccaotuedld trheaptr etsheen t siag nms otdriafinesrl atoefd thaes "wyoorudr fgoor d "n(?e)t "; iss eae
A. Malamat, Supplements to Vetus Testamentum, XV, 218, n. 1.
110 THE BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST (Vol. XXXI
Fig. 3. From the bottom up: Chamber a, corridor 114, and room 115. Many tablets were found
in room 115, including A.15. From Syria, XIX, Plate XIV, 1.
The assinnu
Surely a surprising feature of the newly available texts is that one
of the prophetic types is identified as an assinnu (the restoration in at