Name Word Play and Marduk’s Fifty Names in Enūma Eliš

David Danzig

4/15/2013

Master’s Thesis in Assyriology

Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

Yale University
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Introduction ……………………………………………………………... 2

2 Intertextuality and the Fifty Names Section …………………………… 8

3 Interpretations of Names in Cuneiform Literature …………………... 18

4 Literary and Philological Analysis of the Fifty Names Section ……… 24

5 Conclusions ……………………………………………………………… 150

Bibliography …………………………………………………………….. 164

Appendix ………………………………………………………………… 168

1
1.0 Introduction: Names, Word Play, and Cuneiform Exegesis

Textual hermeneutics holds an important position in all literate cultures. The literary

cultures of the ancient Near East each employed particular exegetical modalities in their writing,

but also enjoyed a shared tradition of exegesis. The cuneiform literature of ancient Mesopotamia

may be treated as a subculture within this regional literary milieu.1 Cuneiform culture enjoyed a

special advantage in regard to its hermeneutics. The juxtaposition of the multilingual background

of cuneiform culture with its inherent complexity bolstered the availability of multiple literary

interpretations in many contexts. The multivalency of cuneiform writing amplifies the

possibilities for linguistic interconnections as polyphonous and polysemous signs become the

nexus of those new connections. Sumero-Akkadian bilingualism expands interpretive options

due to the large differences between the two languages.2 The interactions of other languages of

major cultures in the area, including sequentially, Elamite, Hittite, Hurrian, Aramaic, and

Persian, with Akkadian only add to the literary potential of intricate works.

Innovative linguistic interpretation was particularly important to ancient Near Eastern

readers, since they understood the word, both spoken and written, to have an intimate connection

with reality. Language and writing were integrated with the things that were spoken and written

about. Consequently, they placed a great emphasis on the meanings of words. Conversely, a

common way of understanding the essence of something was by exploring its linguistic

counterpart.

In light of this notion, the meanings of names, in their initial bestowal and later

(re)interpretation, are crucially important. Because of a name’s identity with the named, its

1
In speaking of a ‘literary culture,’ we mean to refer to the agglomeration of literary knowledge and styles of the
writers and readers of that literature.
2
Although this is mitigated to some degree by their special relationship, in which Sumerian maintained primacy in
terms of both writing and language.

2
meaning gives insight into the characteristics of its referent, whether person, god, place, or thing.

Furthermore, any possible reinterpretations of that name through creative exegesis bring about

deeper understandings of the referent, rather than distance from it as the modern philological

enterprise often suspects. This cross-cultural ancient Near Eastern phenomenon finds expression

throughout its geographical expanse and literary diversity. Names and their meanings play an

important role in the more mundane genres of lists and incantations, as well as the high literary

culture of hymns, myths, and epics.

Enūma Eliš is a text that stands out in this regard because even though it is an elaborate,

elegant myth, it includes a lengthy final section in which fifty names are given to the protagonist,

Marduk, and are beautifully interpreted. Many of these fifty names were invented by expanding

upon or varying names already known to refer to Marduk. All of the names are systematically

interpreted in the text, often via word play, in order to extract more characteristics to ascribe to

Marduk. We will analyze the interpretations of each of Marduk’s fifty names in Enūma Eliš,

including the exegetical methods used for name word play, the themes that are adduced via word

play, and the intertextual connections that are thereby created with the narrative of the myth.

1.1 Introduction to Enūma Eliš

The most basic description of the narrative of Enūma Eliš is found in its last line

(VII:162): [šá] tiā[mat i]kmuma ilqû šarrūti, “How he (Marduk) defeated Tiamat and took

kingship.”3 This encapsulates one of the main themes of Enūma Eliš, the elevation of Marduk to

3
Most normalizations of text from Enūma Eliš are my own, based off of the transliterations in W. G. Lambert,
Enūma Eliš (unpublished ms.), cited by tablet and line. Regarding the choice of signs/text from various manuscripts,
the main text of Lambert, EE, was followed. Variants were explored in his textual apparatus, as well as in Thomas
R. Kämmerer and Kai A. Metzler, Das babylonische Weltschöpfungsepos Enūma elîš (Alter Orient und Altes
Testament 375; Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2012). As a rule, the translation id from Benjamin R. Foster, Before the
Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature3 (Bethesda, Md.: CDL Press, 2005), 439-85. Where I found it
necessary to deviate from his translation, I consulted Philippe Talon, Enūma Eliš: The Standard Babylonian
Creation Myth (State Archives of Assyria Cuneiform Texts 4; Helsinki: Neo-Assyrian Text Project, 2005); Lambert,
EE, translation (basically identical with W. G. Lambert, “Mesopotamian Creation Stories,” in Imagining Creation

3
the head of the pantheon. In larger outline, the story goes as follows: after a short theogony, in a

time before the world existed, Tiamat (the Sea) is spurred to fight against some of the other gods.

As none of the gods has the will to oppose her, Marduk seizes the opportunity to achieve glory

and fights Tiamat, but only on condition that he be crowned as the head of the pantheon if he

succeeds. Upon killing Tiamat, he dismembers her body and creates the world from its pieces,

including mankind. As reward for his success, Babylon and his temple therein, Esagil, are built

for him. Then the gods give him the fifty names.4

The date of the authorship of Enūma Eliš is open to debate, with possibilities spanning

from the Old Babylonian period to the early first millennium BCE. There seems to be a partial

scholarly consensus pinning the date in the 12th century, possibly in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar

I (1125-1104 BCE), and possibly in connection with his rehabilitation of Esagil and the return of

Marduk’s statue to its rightful place.5 Enūma Eliš became more important in time, especially due

to its role in the annual Akītu New Year festival in Babylon, a focal point of the religious

calendar. During the festival, Enūma Eliš was read publicly. We have texts as late the Seleucid

period that describe the festival and the role of Enūma Eliš in it. The myth became so popular

[Eds., Markham J. Geller and Mineke Schipper; IJS Studies in Judaica 5; Leiden: Brill, 2008], 37-59); and
Kämmerer and Metzler, EE. All citations in parentheses in the text of this thesis are to Enūma Eliš, by tablet and
line.
4
Foster, Muses, 436-86.
5
For the Old Babylonian dating position, see S. Dalley, “Statues of Marduk and the Date of Enuma eliš,” Archiv für
Orientforschung 24 (1997), 163–71. For the 12th century dating opinion, see Eckart Frahm, Babylonian and
Assyrian Text Commentaries: Origins of Interpretation (Munster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2011), 346-47, after W. G.
Lambert, “The Reign of Nebuchadnezzar I: A Turning Point in the History of Ancient Mesopotamian Religion,” in
The Seed of Wisdom: Essays in Honor of TJ Meek (Ed. W. S. McCullough; Toronto: University of Toronto Press,
1964), 3-13. However, this seems to be too neat of an historical placement for the writing of a literary text that
contains no particular historical indicators within the text other than its overarching themes. Certainly Enūma Eliš
would have been a very valuable piece of polemical literature in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar I, but that does not
necessarily lead to the conclusion that it originated then. It may have been written in the few centuries after the
return of Babylon to central authority in southern Mesopotamia. Or, it may have even been written earlier by an
author(s), who personally viewed Marduk as supreme lord in spite of the trends current at the time, and became
more popular as time went on.

4
that there are even Neo-Assyrian versions of Enūma Eliš that substitute Aššur for Marduk.6

Regardless of the precise date of its authorship, it eventually achieved great popularity and

influence.7 As such, the interpretations of Marduk’s fifty names, had a concurrently widespread

readership.8

1.2 Introduction to the Fifty Names Section of Enūma Eliš

The final section of Enūma Eliš in which Marduk receives fifty names plays an important

role in the text as a whole. Out of the seven tablets of Enūma Eliš, the section of the fifty names

takes up the last quarter of Tablet VI and all of Tablet VII, or approximately a sixth of the whole

myth. It consists of a list of short stanzas announcing a name and interpreting it either with

respect to part of the myth, to some other feature of Marduk’s divinity, or to both. The

incorporation of a list of this length into the text of a literary work makes Enūma Eliš fairly

unique among cuneiform literature.9

The Fifty Names Section serves several functions in the myth. It contains a disjointed

agglomeration of pieces of the narrative in many of the name explanations. The entwinement of

the myth with Marduk’s character traits as explicated through his names argues for him as the

perfect hero for the story and concretizes his primary place in the cosmogony over and above all

the other gods. This should be viewed in light of the upcoming discussion of the metaphysical

nature of names to the ancient Mesopotamians and the importance of interpreting them.10 The

6
W. G. Lambert, “The Assyrian Recension of Enūma Eliš,” in Assyrien im Wandel der Zeiten: XXXIXe Rencontre
Assyriologique Internationale, Heidelberg, 6.–10. Juli 1992 (Eds., H. Waetzoldt and H. Hauptmann; Heidelberg:
Heidelberger Orientverlag, 1997), 77–79.
7
Frahm, Commentaries, 345-68.
8
This is not fully true, since there are fewer extant manuscripts of the final two tablets than of the first, though more
than of the fourth (Philippe Talon, Enūma Eliš: The Standard Babylonian Creation Myth [State Archives of Assyria
Cuneiform Texts 4; Helsinki: Neo-Assyrian Text Project, 2005], 5-10). This seems to be a common situation for
multi-tablet cuneiform texts.
9
On the combination of genres in ancient Mesopotamian literature, see for example, Niek Veldhuis, Religion,
Literature, and Scholarship: The Sumerian Composition “Nanše and the Birds” (Cuneiform Monographs 22;
Leiden: Brill, 2004), especially 105-6.
10
See Section 1.3.

5
names given to Marduk are not just forms of praise from the other gods, but the other gods are

either giving powers to or manifesting latent powers in Marduk by associating the names with

him. The section also forms the denouement of the myth, since Marduk abundantly resolves the

initial problem of the myth – of things not having names and so not existing.11 He creates the

world and sets the cosmic and divine orders in the context of naming. His accretion of names and

powers is directly related to his creation of the world, through which all of his powers have

meaning in relation to mankind and the other gods.

1.3 The Role of Naming in Enūma Eliš

The power vested in names as seen in the Fifty Names Section accords well with another

of the main themes of Enūma Eliš – the duality of naming and creation. The opening passage

frames the myth in this context by announcing that enūma eliš lā nabû šamāmu/ šapliš ammatum

šuma lā zakrat, “When on high no name was given to heaven, / nor below was the netherworld

called by name” (I:1-2).12 So too, enūma ilāni lā šupû manāma / šuma lā zukkurū šimātu lā šīmū,

“When no gods at all had been brought forth, / nor called by names, none destinies ordained”

(I:7-8).13 These statements create a direct connection between naming and creation or existence,

since at the beginning of the world, when nothing particular yet existed, neither primordial

substances, such as heaven and earth, nor the gods had been named. As the gods are born, they

are named, solidifying their creation. The initial theogony of Enūma Eliš bookends the myth in

conjunction with the giving of Marduk’s fifty names at its end. The connection between the

11
Andrea Seri, “The Fifty Names of Marduk in ‘Enūma eliš,’” Journal of the American Oriental Society 126 (2006),
517-18, has a similar idea that by receiving fifty names at the end of Enūma Eliš, Marduk makes up for the gap in
his genealogy, since he does not appear to be in direct descent from the early generations of gods. I am not
convinced for two reasons. Marduk is connected to Ea, through being identified with Asalluḫi, which was well
known outside of Enūma Eliš. And, the fifty names Marduk receives do not seem to be genealogical in any sense –
they are not ordered as such (although I’m not sure how they could be) and do not make mention of descent from
previous generations.
12
Foster, Muses, 439.
13
Ibid.

6
power of creation and naming is made explicit in the hands of Marduk, when the gods create a

constellation, lumāšu, for him and have him bring it out of and back into existence through

speech by calling its name and commanding its disappearance and reappearance.14

Scholars of the first millennium BCE were certainly cognizant of this connection; to

them, it was not a meaningless, frozen literary topos. Evidence showing the understanding of the

intimate connection between naming and creating is in the Commentary to the Fifty Names to

the name Tutu-Ziku (VII:19). There, a word play interchanging nabû, “speak,” and banû,

“create,” is employed based on their phonetic similarity.15 Although this paronomasia allows the

commentary to complete its interpretive objective, it also shows the latent ancient Mesopotamian

notion that speaking and creating are interchangeable.

These facts set the proper context in which to understand the Fifty Names Section. It is an

integral part of one of the most important works of literature in Mesopotamia in the first

millennium BCE. That work was one of very few to have enjoyed a public role in a great annual

gathering in the most important city in the region.16 And, it contained a large focus on the

importance of names and naming, a deeply rooted cultural phenomenon to those who listened to,

read, and studied it.

2.0 Intertextuality and the Fifty Names Section

14
EE IV:19-28.
15 d
TU.TU.dZI.KÙ : dKIMIN.AN.NA. : ZI.KÙ.GA
šalšiš : :
: DÙ : ba-nu-[ú]
imbû : DÙ : na-bu- ú
(J. Bottéro, “Les Noms de Marduk: l’écriture et la ‘logique’ en Mésopotamie ancienne,” in Ancient Near Eastern
Studies in Memory of J. J. Finkelstein [Memoirs of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 19; Ed. Maria de
Jong Ellis; Hamden, CT: Archon, 1977], 7). See, Frahm, Commentaries, 116.
16
The degree to which the text itself was read publicly in addition to the re-enactment is debated. See B. Pongratz-
Leisten, Ina šulmi īrub: Die Kulttopographische und ideologische Programmatik der akītu- Prozession in
Babylonien und Assyrien im 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr. (Baghdader Forschungen 16; Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 1994).

7
 The section of Marduk’s fifty names is connected intertextually to other parts of Enūma

Eliš, to god lists, and to other texts containing mention of Marduk in various guises, or as called

by different names. Links exist between the body of the myth and the Fifty Names Section.

First, all three primary names of the first nine names in the list appear in the body. Also, many of

the explanations of the fifty names allude to parts of the narrative, either directly or obliquely.

The Fifty Names Section enjoys an intimate connection with the god list sub-genre, since it is

basically a dressed up list. In terms of the names of Marduk listed and their order, it is fairly

close to the Marduk section of the god list AN : Anum.17 There are many other texts that refer to

Marduk, especially prayers and incantations. In them, several of Marduk’s names are used, most

of which correspond to one (or more) entries in the fifty names list. These texts also conceive of

Marduk’s powers similar to some of the explanations of the fifty names list.18 For example,

Marduk is often called upon in incantations as a healer, which accords with some of the

explanations of the Tutu names, such as muballiṭ mītī, “reviver of the dead” (VII:26).19

2.1 God Lists: a Sub-Genre of Lexical Lists

Lists of gods first appear in the Early Dynastic period. They belong to the ancient

Mesopotamian literary genre of lexical lists, which are lists of words and/or signs that are at least

generally categorized and have some general ordering principles. From the Old Babylonian

period and on, the god lists grew to be significantly longer, following the trend concurrent with

the other kinds of lexical lists. More divine names were available for inclusion as syncretisms

developed over time, historical shifts of power emphasized new divinities, and nicknames of

gods multiplied. Later lists become a bit more complicated; they correlate syncretisms or

17
The lines of names of Marduk in AN : Anum are II: 185-235 (Richard L. Litke, A Reconstruction of The Assyro-
Babylonian God-Lists, An: dA-nu-um and An: Anu šá amēli [New Haven: Yale Babylonian Collection, 1998], 89-95.
18
Takayoshi Oshima, Babylonian Prayers to Marduk (Orientalische Religionen in der Antike 7; Tübingen: Mohr
Siebeck, 2011).
19
See also below, pp. 18-22, on the restorative, purifying, and generally magical senses of the Tutu names.

8
identifications explicitly, record nicknames as divine names, and begin to add in some

explanation. The god list AN : Anum grew to approximately 1800 entries.20

2.2 God Lists and Marduk’s Fifty Names in Enūma Eliš

Interesting for our discussion is the intersection of the section of names of Marduk in AN

: Anum with the fifty names of Marduk in Enūma Eliš. The groups of the first twelve names in

Enūma Eliš nearly mirror the names at the beginning of the section on Marduk’s names in AN :

Anum. The major discrepancy between the two is that in AN : Anum the group of Asalluḫi and

Asari comes before the subgroup of Marduk (see Table 2).21 This seems to imply a perceptual

difference in the understanding of Marduk’s divinity, whereby Enūma Eliš saw fit to have the

name Marduk headline the list, but the god list did not. This may be due to the fact that AN :

Anum is ordered genealogically in this section, listing the names of Ea/Enki and Damkina, and

then their offspring, Asalluḫi. The argument follows that since Marduk was identified with

Asalluḫi it is his section of names that follows those of Ea/Enki and Damkina. In order to make

the connection with his putative parents clearer, the Asalluḫi group was placed before the other

groups of Marduk’s names. However, in Enūma Eliš the need to emphasize Marduk’s connection

with Ea/Enki and Damkina is not as strong as that of staking his own claim as head of the

pantheon. So, it leads the way with his main name, Marduk.22

Another god list lines up perfectly in order with names 37-50 of the fifty names.23 That

three-column list has significant explanation of each name in its third column, each of which

corresponds very well to the explanatory remarks on the names in Enūma Eliš. Although many

20
On god lists, see W. G. Lambert, “Gotterlisten,” Reallexikon der Assyriologie 3 (1957-71), 473-79. On Early
Dynastic god lists, see Gonzalo Rubio, “Gods and Scholars: Mapping the Pantheon in Early Mesopotamia,” in
Reconsidering the Concept of Revolutionary Monotheism (Ed. Beate Pongratz-Leisten; Winona Lake, In.:
Eisenbrauns, 2011), 97-101. On AN : Anum, see Litke, An: dA-nu-um.
21
Seri, “Fifty Names,” 510.
22
Ibid.
23
Seri, “Fifty Names,” 512. This list is comprised of the tablet fragments published in STC 1: 165-166 + CT 25 46-
47.

9
of the explanations in Enūma Eliš are longer than those of this god list, all but one of the

explanations in the god list have a close counterpart in Enūma Eliš.24 In actuality, they mostly

match line for line, aside from some small discrepancies in word and sign choice.25 The

commonality between the two lists is so similar, it must be that one was borrowed from the

other. Seri does not make a determination on which direction the borrowing followed.26 We will

attempt to show later that this list was probably excerpted from the Fifty Names Section.27 Even

if it is not possible to decide, we still have succeeded in finding a very close connection between

the Mesopotamian listing genre and the elaborate explanatory list in Enūma Eliš. The Fifty

Names Section is but one example of the combination and integration of genres in Enūma Eliš,

which seems to have been an important and effective literary device used by its author(s).28

2.3 Marduk’s Fifty Names and Other Texts Mentioning Marduk’s Names

Although fifty names are ascribed to Marduk in Enūma Eliš, only thirteen alternate

names for Marduk appear in other literature (see Table 3). The overlap between the alternate

names found in the corpus of literature mentioning or invoking Marduk in prayers and

incantations with those in Enūma Eliš only covers nine of the thirteen names (see Table 4). Four

points may be extracted from these facts. First, the list of fifty names in Enūma Eliš is not

comprehensive, in that there were other names by which Marduk was known that were not

included in it. Second, the vast majority of the names in the Fifty Names Section do not appear

elsewhere as ascribed to Marduk or any other deity. Third, even after the text already existed and

was prominently featured in Babylonian life, most of the names were still not used elsewhere.

And fourth, seven of the overlapping names are found at the beginning of name groups. These
24
Nēberu’s explanation is the only one that does not match with the explanation in Enūma Eliš.
25
See comparative chart in Seri, “Fifty Names,” 513-14.
26
Seri, “Fifty Names,” 515.
27
See Section 5.4.
28
Other short lists are found in the text, including the lists of Marduk’s winds, IV:43, 45-47, and his horses, IV:52.
The final lines of the myth, VII:145-162, read like part of an instruction text.

10
points indicate that the guiding principle for the formation of the list of fifty names in Enūma

Eliš (and the god lists) is not to compile all known alternate names for Marduk. Rather, it was to

purposefully orchestrate new nexuses of meaning vis-à-vis Marduk through literary creation. By

compiling newly derived names and explaining them in connection with the powerful story of

Enūma Eliš, the author of the Fifty Names Section created a masterful, highly literary synthesis

of ancient Mesopotamian cultural memes related to their notions of power and leadership. All of

this was done in support of the narrative, which refocused devotional attention on the new and

improved head of the pantheon, Marduk.

2.4 The Structure of the Fifty Names Section of Enūma Eliš

The fifty names as listed in Enūma Eliš can be broken down into several groups (see

Table 1). Many of these groups of names begin with a major name of Marduk and continue with

other names. These names often connect to the first of the group, and sometimes may be said to

be derived from it, either through phonetic similarities or as compound names built off of the

first name of the group.29 The first of the group is often a name that is attested outside of Enūma

Eliš, for example in incantations and prayers.30

The groups of names may be combined into four subsections of the fifty names with

some overlap between them. The first subsection of names 1-9 contains three groups, beginning

with the names Marduk (names 1-4), Lugaldimmerankia (5-6), and Asalluḫi (7-9). These are all

at the end of Tablet VI of Enūma Eliš, which may indicate that they are somewhat more

integrated with the story of the myth than the rest. In support of that, the names that start the

groups, Marduk, Lugaldimmerankia, and Asalluḫi, are the only names to appear elsewhere in

29
Frahm, Commentaries, 115, correctly views the derivation of the derived names as evidencing a more basic level
of exegesis that precedes the explicit interpretations. In favor of a self-awareness of this in the text, he cites difficult
lines from the final passage of Enūma Eliš that instruct the reader to study the text, EE VII:145-46, 157-78. I am not
sure that this refers to the names, as Frahm thinks, or to the explanations of the names.
30
See Oshima, Prayers to Marduk, 437-56, for indices of names and epithets of Marduk used in prayer texts.

11
Enūma Eliš.31 In the narrative, Lugaldimmerankia and Asalluḫi are explicitly given as extra

names to Marduk. Also, it seems that the Commentary to the Fifty Names, which will be

discussed below, only interprets the names on Tablet VII.32 This may indicate that the author of

that Commentary viewed the names on Tablet VII somewhat differently than the first nine which

are listed on Tablet VI. The question arises as to whether the names Lugaldimmerankia and

Asalluḫi are original to the story or to a list. I think the contexts in which these names appear in

the narrative were original to it, since they are found near the end of tablets after the completion

of some action by Marduk, when he is being lauded.33 The reason for choosing those particular

names to give Marduk in these contexts may have come from their belonging to the early part of

the god lists, as well as being known as alternative names of Marduk.34 Further, the combination

of writing these instances of Marduk receiving other names near the end of tablets and the

choosing of names from a known god list may have served as the impetus for the author to

integrate the whole god list into the myth and create the Fifty Names Section.

The second subsection of names 10-29 contains groups that are focused on a major name

of Marduk found in texts other than Enūma Eliš. Each group works off of the first name to

construct other derived names, built as “primary name + secondary name.” For example, Šazu

(18) is followed by Šazu-Zisi (19) and then four more names of the pattern “Šazu-x.” The groups

in this section also count each of the derived names, using a loose formula to connect them to the

main name of the group. Additionally, the derived names in these groups often use the MIN, or

31
V:112, V:150, and VI:28 for Lugaldimmerankia and VI:101 for Asalluḫi.
32
Frahm, Commentaries, 114, n. 583. See Section 5.2.
33
The first is given after Marduk creates the world and is enthroned (V:111-116). The second is given after he sets
up the new divine order and builds Esagil (VI:95-120).
34
See Table 3.

12
“ditto,” sign to denote the first part of the derived names.35 This subsection may be divided into

the following groups: the group beginning with Asari (10-12), Tutu (13-17), Šazu (18-23),

Enbilulu (24-27), and Sirsir (28-29). The Asari group is placed first in this section since it

overlaps with previous Asalluḫi group as its continuation onto Tablet VII. The two groups may

be seen as one since they work off of the name primary name segments “asar” or “asal,” which

share the same cuneiform sign. The Sirsir group is the only one that does not have a primary

name that appears in texts outside of Enūma Eliš. However, it does follow the pattern of counting

and dittoing, and as such forms a bridge to the next section.

The third subsection of names 30-45 are not as connected to one another as in the

previous section. Most are not grouped (35-45), and even the ones that are grouped, after Gil

(30-32) and Zulum (33-34), do not keep count of derived names. Nor do they write the derived

name using the MIN sign, but spell out the first part again. That is because they are actually

variations of the primary name and not compounds of the name with another word.

The last subsection of names 46-50 is different than all of the previous for two reasons.

First, they are all Akkadian, rather than Sumerian, names. As such, their placement at the end of

the list may make sense in light of the prestige accorded to Sumerian over Akkadian. Second,

they are important divine names that are appropriated to Marduk from other deities at a more

recent date than the Sumerian names/deities.36 Although some of the other names of Marduk

were originally of separate deities, such as Tutu, they were names of local, tutelary gods of cities

that became syncretized with Marduk and had not enjoyed widespread recognition as national

level gods. On the other hand, Girru (46), the fire-god, and Addu (47), the storm-god, were major

35
This is the case in most manuscripts for most of the derived names, although sometimes the derived name appears
without the MIN sign before it. Infrequently, the primary name will be spelled out too. See Talon, Enūma Eliš, on
each name as well as his renderings in “Glossary and Indices,” “Logograms and Their Readings.”
36
That is aside from Ašaru (48).

13
parts of the pantheon throughout Mesopotamia, as was Enlil, alluded to through his epithet of Bēl

Mātāti (50). Nēberu (49) also has semi-divine, celestial referents prior to its association with

Marduk. It refers both to the apex of the ecliptic, which is reached at the summer solstice, and

the constellation that is there at that time. Nēberu also may refer to Jupiter, due to its connection

with that constellation during its rise in the month of Tišritu.37 Both of these aspects of Nēberu

were connected to Marduk as part of his new status as king of the gods, since the high point of

the ecliptic was seen as leading the celestial sphere and Jupiter is the second brightest planet to

the naked eye.38 The granting of these major divine names to Marduk caps off the list on a high

note, completing the proclamation of Marduk as the new king of the gods.

2.5 How the Text Understands the Fifty Names Itself

The Fifty Names Section is placed after the narrative of Enūma Eliš. Its preceding

context in Tablet VI is the final exaltation of Marduk, including the realization of his bow as a

constellation, an oath taken by the gods affirming his royalty, and the giving of an extra name

(Asalluḫi) by Anšar (VI:79-120).39 The Fifty Names list then follows, continuing the theme of

the end of the narrative in multiplying the exaltedness of Marduk. The immediate introduction to

the Fifty Names Section announces this connection (VI:121-122):

121 i nimbēma ḫaššā šumēšu Let us pronounce his fifty names,

122 alkatuš lū šupâtu epšētuš lū mašlat That his ways shall be (thereby) manifest, his
deeds likewise:

This sentence explicitly connects the giving of names to Marduk to the manifestation of his

deeds and behavior (alkatuš) in accordance with those names, i.e., with the meanings of those

37
Johannes Koch, “Der Mardukstern Nēberu,” Die Welt des Orients 22 (1991), 48-72.
38
Venus is the brightest and was associated with Ištar.
39
See Section 4.7 below on the connections between this passage and the name Asalluḫi in the Fifty Names.

14
names.40 It simultaneously includes the following list within the bounds of the previous context

of exaltation of Marduk and explains the purpose of the list. Once we begin reading the list, we

understand that each name is to be explained in order to extract the meaning from it to elucidate

the possible manifestations of Marduk’s abilities and deeds.

There are two other portions of the Fifty Names Section that describe what is going on

with the names. The next of these consists of the last ten lines of Tablet VI. Although the list

could certainly have fit on only one tablet, the author chose to include some of the list on the

sixth tablet in order to help incorporate it into the myth. These lines at the end of Tablet VI act as

a bridge between the end of the first nine names appearing in it and the remaining forty-one yet

to come in Tablet VII. They also point out some interesting relationships between the list of Fifty

Names and the narrative of the myth in which some of the key names appear or are given as well.

These lines read (VI:157-166):

157 šulušā šumēšu imbû anšar dlaḫmu u
d
laḫamu
158 ana ilāni mārēšunu šunu izzakrū
159 nīnūma šulušā nittabi šumēšu
160 kī nâšimma attunu šumēšu zukrā
161 iḫdûma ilāni išmû sekaršun
162 ina upšu’ukkinaki uštaddinū šunu
milkassun
163 ša māru qarrādu mutīr gimillīni
164 nīnu ša zānini i nulli šumšu
165 ušibūma ina ukkinnīšunu inambû
šīmātu
166 ina mēsi nagbašunu uzakkirūni šumšu
Anšar, Laḫmu, and Laḫamu named three each
of his names,
They said to the gods their sons,
“We have named three each of his names,
“Do you, as we have, invoke his names.”
Joyfully the gods heeded their command,
As they took counsel in the Assembly Place
of the Gods,
“The valiant son, our champion,
“Our provider, we will exalt his name!”
They sat down in their assembly to name (his)
destinies,
In all their rites they invoked of him a name.

Here we have an emphasis on the number three. By Marduk being given three names by each of

a triumvirate of old gods it seems that he is embodying some extra-special divine space all by

40
Although the second line has been taken as a general appellative of Marduk (e.g., Lambert, EE, translation, ad
loc.), it conveys more meaning when we take it to be an explanation for naming the fifty names.

15
himself.41 In addition, by this sort of baton passing from the old gods to the regular gods, the text

makes it so that all of the gods have input into elevating Marduk. It is also interesting to note the

location where the remainder of the namings take place, that is to say, in the divine assembly. In

fact, it is mentioned several times in the name explanations as well. This is probably because of

its central role in terms of the leadership of the gods. Since it is in the assembly where the gods

decide fates, it makes most sense for Marduk to receive his names, and thereby his new destiny

there. Plus, the assembly, which was once dominated by Enlil, now becomes Marduk’s power

base.

The other explanatory portion of the Fifty Names Section comes immediately after the

list. It contains several elements including Ea’s confirmation of the name giving and the addition

of his own name, a concluding couplet, and a postscript calling for the future study of the Fifty

Names (VII:137-148):42

137 zikri digigȋ imbû nagabšun…
143 ina zikri ḫanšā ilāni rabûti
144 ḫanšā šumēšu imbû ušātirū
alkassu
145 liṣṣabtūma maḫrû likallim
146 enqu mudû mitḫāriš limtalkū
147 lišannīma abu mārī lišāḫiz
The Igigi-gods pronounced all the names…
The great gods called his fifty names
“The Fifty,” they made his position supreme.
They must be grasped: the “first one” should reveal
(them),
The wise and knowledgeable should ponder (them)
together,
The master should repeat, and make the pupil
understand.

Immediately after the explanation of the fiftieth name, there is a note concluding the name-

giving by informing the reader that these names were given by the Igigi-gods. This brackets the

point at the end of Tablet VI regarding the gods giving the names in Tablet VII. Although there

is no qualitative difference between the names and explanations in Tablet VII relative to those at

41
The problem of the names not exactly fitting into a pattern of three groups of three is discussed later (Section 4.4).
42
Ea’s name giving is discussed in Section 4.51.

16
the end of Tablet VI, the choice of changing who the name givers are seems to imply that some

difference was understood in ancient times. This is compounded by the fact that the Commentary

on the Fifty Names, though written significantly later than the text of Enūma Eliš, seems to only

be devoted to the names on Tablet VII.43 Yet, the reason behind this remains unclear.

After Ea gives Marduk his own name, which is also explained, we have a concluding

couplet that emphasizes the number fifty. This again refers to the usurpation by Marduk of the

seat of Enlil as head of the pantheon. Enlil’s divine number was 50; now it is Marduk’s.44

Although some scholars read this as recording the giving of “Fifty” as a name to Marduk, it

seems better to read these lines as slightly repetitive.45 The first informs us that the great gods

gave him his fifty names and the second tells us that by doing so, they set his destinies and

embellished his powers. Another possibility is that this number 50 at the end of the list may be a

remnant of a count of the total names that sometimes is recorded at the end of a section of names

devoted to one god in god lists. Perhaps this is why “50” had to be accounted for here.46 In

addition, just as we have plenty of intertextual hints in the Fifty Names Section that bring the

narrative into the discussion, there is also a blatant allusion in the narrative after Marduk’s birth

to the fifty names that will be given him much later: pulḫātu ḫaššāssina elīšu kamrā, “Fifty

glories were heaped upon him” (I:104).

43
This is not certain since the beginning of the ms. is not extant, though likely due to the fact that the title given to
the Commentary tablet in its colophon is “dASARI[..],” indicating that the first word of the commentary was
d
ASARI, the tenth name in the list and the first word of Tablet VII (Bottéro, “Les Noms de Marduk,” 14). The three-
column god list with explanations also seems to only deal with names on Tablet VII (Seri, “Fifty Names,” 512).
44
For more on Marduk and Enlil, see Section 4.50.
45
For instance, Piotr Michalowski, “Presence at the Creation” (in Lingering Over Words: Studies in Ancient Near
Eastern Literature in Honor of William L. Moran; eds., T. Abusch et al.; Harvard Semitic Series 37; Atlanta:
Scholars Press, 1990), 394. Lambert, EE, “The Meanings of the Fifty Names,” brings evidence against this by
showing that the Commentary on the Fifty Names did not count “50” as a name.
46
Lambert, EE, “The Meanings of the Fifty Names.”

17
 Lines 145-147 have been much discussed by scholars.47 I wish to offer a different

interpretation based on a connection with the Fifty Names Section. I submit that the unspoken

object on which the verbs in these lines act is the fifty names and their explanations. As such, we

might translate: “They (the fifty names) should be internalized: the foremost (teacher) should

interpret (them), / The wise and knowledgeable should expound (them) together, / The master

should recite and make the pupil memorize.” In this rendering, we translate liṣṣabtūma as

slightly more ingressive than “grasp,” likallim as an exegetical term related to one type of

commentary, called mukallimtu,48 limtalkū as “to give advice” about a text, i.e., “expound” it,

and lišannīma and lišāḫiz in a vocal teaching setting with recitation and memorization as was the

norm in ancient times. Read in this way, the whole passage may be seen as a call for further

expansion and explanation of the names. This would naturally lead to an even greater sense of

the awesomeness of Marduk. Perhaps the Commentary on the Fifty Names is following these

instructions all too literally. And, maybe that is why it stops immediately before these lines, since

it makes no sense to repeat the instructions that one is following while following them.49

3.0 Interpretations of Names in Cuneiform Literature: Prolegomena

There are several conditions that intertwine to create a particularly rich context for the

interpretation of names in Enūma Eliš. Each factor allows for more layers of interpretation on its

own and in combination with other factors. First is the bilingual situation of Sumerian and

Akkadian. This allowed for some homophonous words and word parts to be interpreted in either

language. Also, the vagaries of translation allow for a wealth of connections that are not exact,

47
Claus Wilcke, “Die Anfänge der akkadischen Epen,” Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische
Archaeologie 67:2 (1977), 172, n.30.
48
This is the participle of kullumu, from which likallim also derives. CAD k, 523, s.v. kullumu, 3, b, offers a possible
translation of “explain.” Frahm, Commentaries, 42, defines it as “the one that shows/demonstrates,” relating the
name to the “explanatory function of the commentaries it designates.”
49
The Commentary finished its word play for every word of the text after line 139, but then simply copies the next
five lines and ends before line 145 (See Bottéro, “Les Noms de Marduk,” 14).

18
but still make interpretive sense, such as near synonymity between the two languages. On the

other hand, imbalances between the two languages guide and constrain interpretive maneuvering.

Sumerian was long dead in the late second and first millennia BCE, leading to uncertainty in its

basic understanding and therefore to much space for creative reinterpretations. In addition,

Sumerian was seen as the prestige language with respect to Akkadian, skewing the situation so

that Sumerian words and word parts were viewed as more interpretable than their Akkadian

counterparts. An early example of texts emerging from this bilingual environment was found at

Ebla in the mid-third millennium BCE, in the form of a commentary on ḪAR-ra = ḫubullu. It

stands as an early precursor to the type of bilingual exegetical interplay that is later seen more

fully in Enūma Eliš.50

A second factor in the exegetical background of Enūma Eliš is the cuneiform writing

system, which allows for significant ambiguity and variety. This is due in large part to the

multivalent nature of its signs, which often may represent multiple syllables and/or words. The

fact that the writing system was originally devised for Sumerian and later adapted to Akkadian

also has bearing on interpretive possibilities. Due to this, there may be some limitations in the

use of cuneiform for Akkadian, leading to a narrowing of choices of how to render a sign.

However, over time, new usages of signs and even new signs were created in Akkadian

cuneiform, leading to greater symbolic diversity and wider possible interpretation.

Third, the scholarly intellectual culture of ancient Mesopotamia was one that conserved

knowledge over long periods of times and underwent few major shifts over the course of

cuneiform civilization. There grew a corpus of symbols, images, and representations, both

physical and mental, which were used artistically in forming physical objects as well as textual

50
See A. Archi, “Transmission of the Mesopotamian Lexical and Literary Texts from Ebla,” in Literature and
Literary Language at Ebla (Quaderni di Semitistica 18; Ed. P. Fronzaroli; Florence, 1992), 1-39.

19
ones. This representational milieu becomes even more self-selected as a culture endures over

stretches of time as did that of ancient Mesopotamia. To be sure, this was no island civilization

and there were many intercultural influences upon ancient Mesopotamia, but those may be

considered to be included into our concept of the cultural milieu. This scholarly symbolic culture

constitutes the final piece of the rich background of cuneiform interpretation.

3.1 Interpretations of Names in Cuneiform Literature: Exegetical Techniques

Regarding the interpretation of names, there are four units which may be interpreted in a

name through many exegetical techniques. Interpretable parts of a name include: the word(s) of

which it is composed, the phonological parts of the word(s), the sign(s), and parts of the signs.

The most recent Assyriological classification of the basic hermeneutical techniques used in

cuneiform literature, all of which may be applied to names as well, is as follows:51

(1) synonymity between two words in the same language or in different languages;

(2) explanation of logograms that are not well known;

(3) complex synonym chains connecting from like word to like word in an associative pattern

of a = b = c, therefore a = c, etc.;

(4) pronunciation of difficult signs or unusual sign values;

(5) phonological variation, sometimes diachronic and dialectal;

(6) morphological derivation of the basic meaning of a word and variations on that

morphology;

(7) antonymity, whereby a word is explained as referring to its opposite;

(8) paraphrastic explanation expanding on an idea;

(9) figurative meaning based on symbolic connections;

51
Frahm, Commentaries, 60-79. I paraphrase his list and break up his 11th item for clarity to expand the list to 13
items. Though intended more specifically as a classification of exegetical techniques in cuneiform commentaries,
these techniques may well be applied to any cuneiform text.

20
 (10) etymology based on homonyms;

(11) etymography or polysemy based on the multivalency of signs;

(12) complex etymology and etymography that is sometimes similar to the biblical and

rabbinic exegetical technique of noṭariqon, in which a word is parsed as an acronym with

letters, sounds, or syllables serving as the first part of the referenced words;

(13) numerical connections with words and signs, similar to the biblical and rabbinic

techniques of gemaṭria, whereby words are equated with others based on the total number

value of its component letters (or signs for cuneiform), and at-baš, in which each letter is

swapped with its numerical antipode to form a new word.

3.2 Interpretations of Names in Enūma Eliš: An Application of Techniques

Enūma Eliš uses many of these techniques in its explanations of the fifty names of

Marduk, but rarely in the obvious manner in which commentaries do. There are also many more

complex intertextual techniques at play in the explanations of names in the Fifty Names Section,

working off of the rest of Enūma Eliš, other literary texts, and known idioms, figurative

connections, and cultural metaphors. But, in this thesis we will limit ourselves only to

connections internal to Enūma Eliš.

More explicit connections between the names and their interpretations in Enūma Eliš are

made by the unusual Commentary on the Fifty Names.52 This commentary takes a novel

approach by attempting to show how the explanations of the names in Enūma Eliš are derived

from the names themselves. It uses complex interplay of techniques of phonic and graphic word

52
Bottéro, “Les Noms de Marduk,” 5-28, compiled fragments of the text, which apparently covers only the names in
Tablet VII, 10-50, although the reconstruction of the full text is not complete. In his notes Foster, Muses, 476-84,
seems to use Bottéro’s work, and translates into English. Lambert, EE, text, “Tablet VII,” “Commentaries,”
apparently has his own collation of these fragments with some different readings and reconstructions than Bottéro.
There is another commentary on all of Enūma Eliš, which explains select lines, sometimes acting like a
cultic commentary, i.e., with the aim of connecting Enūma Eliš with the Akītu festival rites. It does contain a few
entries on some lines in the Fifty Names Section, but they only provide basic explanations of difficult phrases
(Frahm, Commentaries, 113; idem, ms. of collation of the commentary).

21
dissection. More precisely, parts of the mostly Sumerian names are broken down into smaller

parts and syllables, which are then interpreted on their own in several ways , including

synonymy, homonymy, paronomasia (close homonymy), and etymography. Each of the names’

pieces’ interpretations is then connected to a word of the Akkadian explanation of the name in

Enūma Eliš, thereby recreating the explanation from the name. Even though the larger approach

of the commentary is aimed at interpreting the explanations, it does in effect interpret the names

often close to how Enūma Eliš seems to have done. Examination of the modus operandi of the

explanations in Enūma Eliš in connection with the commentary will highlight the close

connection between the commentative genre and these name explanations.

In our examination of word play on names in the fairly structured environment of the list

of Marduk’s fifty names we will see use made of many of the exegetical techniques that are

listed above.53 These will include (1) synonymity; (3) complex synonym chains; (5)

phonological variation; (6) morphological derivation; (8) paraphrastic explanation; (9) figurative

meaning; (10) etymology based on homonyms; (11) etymography or polysemy based on the

multivalency of signs; (12) complex etymology and etymography that is sometimes similar to

noṭariqon; and (13) numerical connections with words.

The main mode from which the name explanations find material to elaborate upon is by

parsing the name of Marduk at hand into syllables and performing some hermeneutical

operations on them to produce an Akkadian text. The syllables that the name is parsed into may

be those in which it is written in the text of Enūma Eliš, or homophones of those syllables, or any

other breakdown of the name into syllables. These syllables are treated as Sumerian or Akkadian

logograms and are either read for a common value of that syllable/sign or are used to find other

syllables to interpret. This is done by finding a homophone or near homophone of that syllable,
53
Section 3.1.

22
leading to another sign, and either interpreting that homophone or near homophone or looking at

the other possible values of that sign to interpret. Near homophones are found by changing

consonants with similar consonants, usually between voiced and unvoiced consonants of the

same region of the mouth (e.g., G/K, D/T), but sometimes between consonants that were very

similar to one another in reconstructed Sumerian pronunciation or in the Sumerian-to-Akkadian

transliteration (e.g., M/B, G/N, D/R).54 Vowels were generally treated as immutable in this study,

since in general Sumerian vowels change only due to environment in a word and are maintained

in Akkadian. Plus, in the earlier stages of my word play research on the names, changing vowels

were left open as a possibility, but did not seem to be used by the word play choices in the Fifty

Names Section.

A word on my methodology for finding word plays on the names is indicative. There

were two methods used, each approaching the problem from the opposite direction. In the

Sumerian-to-Akkadian direction, I parsed the syllables in the name and searched for more

obvious meanings in the Sumerian dictionaries55 and then for homophones and related signs and

their possible readings. In the Akkadian-to-Sumerian direction, I looked at the key Akkadian

words in the explanations and looked for possible Sumerian syllables via the Akkadian

dictionaries56 that fit with parts of the name. And, of course, any input from the modern

translators or other scholarly sources were evaluated and included where appropriate. In general,

54
See Marie-Louise Thomsen, The Sumerian Language: An Introduction to Its History and Grammatical Structure
(Mesopotamia, Copenhagen Studies in Assyriology 10; Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag, 1984), 41-47..
55
John Alan Halloran, Sumerian Lexicon: A Dictionary Guide to the Ancient Sumerian Language (Los Angeles:
Logogram Publishing, 2006), and The Electronic Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary (ePSD) (University of
Pennsylvania; http://psd.museum.upenn.edu/epsd/; Accessed 5/22/2012-4/15/2013). René Labat and Florence
Malbran-Labat, Manuel d’Epigraphie Akkadienne: Signes, Syllabaire, Idéogrammes6 (Paris: Geuthner, 1994), was
also used in searching for alternative logographic values of signs.
56
Primarily The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD) (Chicago: Oriental
Institute, 1956-2010), due to its extensive listings of lexical lists and bilingual texts, but also W. von Soden, ed.,
Akkadisches Handworterbuch (AHw) (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1965-81), and Jeremy A.Black, Andrew George,
and Nicholas Postgate, eds., A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian2 (CDA) (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2000).

23
Sumerian sign values that are uncommonly used were avoided unless a connection was found

between the value and an Akkadian word used in a name explanation in a common lexical list.

This assumes that the author of the Fifty Names Section had access to the most important lexical

lists, which a scholar of his almost unparalleled training and ability most likely did.57

4.0 Literary and Philological Analysis of the Fifty Names Section: Preliminaries

Before proceeding to in depth investigations of the explanations of the Fifty Names

Section of Enūma Eliš, a description of the format of each name entry is in order. Most of the

entries share a basic literary framework: the Sumerian divine name, some explanation of its

meaning(s), then, sometimes, a benediction. The blessing at the end may consist of a call for

Marduk to be exalted and/or the name and/or Marduk’s deeds previously described to be

repeated and/or endure among the gods and/or men. Regarding the explanation, there is often a

further breakdown into: a basic definition or etymology, followed by further explication of that

meaning, other definitions, contextualizations of the name explanation relative to the narrative of

the myth, and/or to external cultural metaphors. The order of all of the elements presented here is

the most usual, but is sometimes variable.

There is also some framing terminology that repeats through many of the entries, but not

systematically. These syntactical words offer guidance when reading the name explanations to

understand which type of phrase is being encountered, whether definitional/etymologizing,

elaborative, contextualizing, benedictional, or a combination of them. As these were identified in

the process of my literary analysis of the name explanations, they were used to better understand

the structure of the explanations. The word lū, “it means,” sometimes introduces the basic

57
Another project based off of this work would be to attempt to ascertain which lexical lists were commonly used
by the author of the Fifty Names Section. If successful, this would stand as solid evidence for the intentionality of
word plays attested as equations in those lexical lists.

24
definition of the name.58 Infrequently šū(ma), “he is,” will follow a name definition, signaling its

end. Plus, name definitions themselves are quite commonly written as Akkadian participles of

verbs related to the name via word play. Often a word indicating ‘naming’ modifies the name,

either before or after it, especially in the first twenty-nine names. This word may take the form of

šumšu, “is his name,” followed by N šumšu, “his Nth name is,” in the following entries for

names derived from that name. Alternately, the derived names may omit šumšu, and read: šaniš,

“secondly,” šalšiš, “thirdly,” etc.59 Another option used to express the giving of the name is a

verb appropriate to that, usually a form of nabû or qabû, synonyms meaning “to speak, invoke.”

Often this is combined with the numbering. For example, the fourth Enbilulu name is announced,
d
enbilulu-dḫegal... rebiš liqbû, “As Enbilulu Ḫegal... may they call him fourthly.” Another

commonly used word is ša, “who, that,” which almost always appears in the name explanations

at the beginning of an elaboration of a definition. We see the full meaning of ša in the few

instances where it is written more verbosely, such as in the name explanation to Asalluḫi, ša

kīma šumīšūma, “who, as his name indicates,…” (VI:149). There are also several other

infrequent syntactic words, such as mā, “this means,” aššu, “since,” a repetition of the name

itself, and perhaps ilu, “the god who is.” Lastly, regarding blessings, although they often have a

verb in the precative, that form is a common usage throughout the name explanations, so it is not

a full identifier of a blessing. Rather, the content of the phrase is looked at along with placement

in the name explanation, either at the end or infrequently at the beginning.

58
Though often indicative of a modal wish, the consistent use of lū in the name explanations immediately before a
definition cannot be wishing that Marduk’s name be so understood as such. Rather the text is saying by using lū that
this name that was given to Marduk means as follows.
59
The use of šaniš, “secondly,” to indicate another option in a highly exegetical context is reminiscent of its
common use as such to introduce alternative apodoses in omens.

25
 At the beginning of each name section, I have presented the text encoded by various

underlinings to show which part of the explanation structure each word belongs to. The

following table outlines this (repeated in Appendix, Table 5):

Fonts for Different Structural Elements in the Name Explanations:

Bold: Name or word related to the name via word play
Double Underline: Primary Interpretation (Definition or Etymology of the Name)
Single Underline: Expansion of a Primary Interpretation
Dashed Underline: Reference to Narrative
Wavy Underline: Reference to Narrative & Expansion of a Primary Interpretation
Dotted Underline: Word Used as Formatting for the Name Explanation
Thick Single Underline: Blessing

Lastly, each analysis of the name explanations of the fifty names contains these four items: (1)

an attempt at finding the basic meaning of the Sumerian name, (2) a literary analysis of the name

explanation emphasizing the word plays that form the basis for the extraction of multiple

meanings from the name, (3) elucidation of connections to the narrative that support and enhance

explanations of the name, and (4) a discussion of theme(s) of the name explanation.

4.1 Name 1: Marduk

d
123 marūtuk (damar-utu) ša ultu Marduk! Who, from his birth, was named by his
ṣitīšu imbûšu abūšu danum forefather Anu,
124 šākin mirēti u mašqīti muṭaḫḫidu Establisher of pasture and watering place, who
urišin enriches (their) stables,
125 ša ina giškakkīšu abubi ikmû Who by his Deluge weapon subdued the stealthy
šaputi ones,
126 ilāni abbēšu iṭiru ina šapšaqi Who saved the gods his forefathers from danger,
127 lū māru dšamši ša ilāni nebû He is indeed the Son, the Sun, the most radiant of
šuma the gods,
128 ina nurīšu namri littallakū šunu They shall walk in his brilliant light forever.
kayyān On the people whom he made, creatures with the
129 nišī ša ibnû šikitti napšu breath of life, He imposed the gods’ burden, that
130 dulli ilāni imidma šunu ippašḫū those be released.
131 banû abātu napšura enēna Creation, destruction, absolution, punishment:
132 lū bašīma nannûššu lū naplusu Each shall be at his command, these shall gaze upon
šunu šâšu him.

26
 The name Marduk is spelled in Sumerian logograms as dAMAR.UD. Commonly

normalized /amar-utu-(ak)/, it means “Bull-calf of Utu,” the Sumerian sun god.60 Utu was

originally the god of Larsa and/or Sippar, and, through his manifestation as the sun, was later

identified with Šamaš. The appellation “bull-calf” implies a filial relationship to the modified.

Accordingly, this sumerogram standing for “Marduk” indicates his kinship to Utu as his first son

or heir. There are two problems with this reading of the name. The first is that there is no divine

determinative written before the UD sign in any of the manuscripts of Enūma Eliš or anywhere

else where Marduk’s name is written logographically. This is not a concern, since divine names

appearing in the middle of names often did not receive the divine determinative before them,

especially in earlier periods such as the Early Dynastic, to which first mention of Marduk’s name

belongs.61 The second issue is that there is no attested relationship between Marduk and Utu. For

this reason scholars have attempted to find other interpretations of the name. All have failed,

leaving us where we began.62 Perhaps most convincingly, we must remain with a phonetic

reading of the Sumerian as /amar-utu-(ak)/ due to the late pronunciation of the name. Lambert

shows how the name transitions from early on losing the initial /a-/ (marūtuk), to later losing the

middle vowel (martuk[u]) and a slow change of t to voiced d (marduk).63 If we must understand

60
This is the scholarly consensus, as quoted in W. Sommerfeld, Der Aufstieg Marduks: Die Stellung Marduks in der
babylonischen Religion des zweiten Jahrtausends v. Chr. (Alter Orient und Altes Testament 213; Neukirchen-
Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1982), 9, although he disagrees and leaves the etymology unknown.
61
Lambert, EE, “The Meanings of the Fifty Names,”
62
Ibid. cites and refutes attempts to connect the name Marduk to ddumu-du6-kù, rendering it partly in Akkadian as
mār-du6-kù, “Son of Holy Hill” (see Name 40 in Section 4.40), and to gišmar-tuku, “the spade holder,” referencing
the artistic symbol of Marduk that looks like a spade. It seems these renderings take the logogram AMAR.UD as
either late or not fully indicative of the pronunciation and meaning of the name.
63
Lambert, EE, “The Meanings of the Fifty Names,” and W. G. Lambert, “Studies in Marduk,” Bulletin of the
Schools of Oriental and African Studies (1984), 6-8, contra Sommerfeld, Der Aufstieg Marduks, 7-12. Curiously, the
genitive ending /-ak/ is kept even though it would not have appeared in the early writing. This implies that the name
was pronounced as such from early on when Sumerian was still spoken and became a fixed element of the name that
was maintained through its history. Also, since Babylon is north of Sumer proper, it may equate with other divine
names that were outside of Sumer that kept a final –k, including Inšušinak of Susa (Lambert, “Studies in Marduk,”
7).

27
the name as “Bull-calf of Utu,” then perhaps a filial relation that would imply a connection

between the home cities of these divinities, Babylon and Larsa or Sippar, is misconceived.

Rather, we may take this relationship figuratively and see it as placing Marduk in the close

company of one of the most powerful Sumerian warrior gods, Utu, giving him the same

connotation.64 As such we might understand his name as “Knighted Warrior.”

The aforementioned variations of the name roughly correspond to the names listed after
d
AMAR.UD here, so that this first group of names of the Fifty Names Section is more a group of

variations rather than derived names.65 Although some themes recur in the explanations of the

following three names, as a whole, the group is more of a thematic hodgepodge than unity. From

this point of view, the explanations of the Marduk group may stand as a sort of thematic

introduction to themes of the explanations of the other names of Marduk in the Fifty Names

Section. The explanation of the name Marduk includes the themes of Marduk as fertility god,

destroyer of the evil enemies, savior of the gods, head of the pantheon (light of the gods),

provider for the gods via mankind, and magical creator/destroyer (VI:124-132). The following

names add the themes of Marduk as trustworthy and stable, compassionate, and wise (VI:135-

138). In toto, these themes match the general themes of the rest of the Fifty Names’ explanations

Regarding Lambert’s collection of evidence, he insists that the personal name that ranges from mmar-tu-ku
m
to mar-duk is not connected to the divine name, presumably in order to shore up his development of the
pronunciation of the divine name. I, however, do not see the need for this. Just as names are shortened from a
sentence with positive verb and theophoric element to just the verb, so too the reverse can occur, leaving just the
theophoric element. Which is to say, what evidence is there that this name is not related to Marduk? Additionally,
Lambert’s use of biblical Hebrew and Greek spellings of names containing Marduk, which emphasize the middle
vowel, and the name Morděḵāy, which reduces that vowel, as evidence of a similar dichotomy are not airtight. Aside
from the peripheral issues of textual transmission (not to mention the Masoretic vocalization, which dates to the 9th
century CE, though it has often been shown to excel) and interlingual transcription, the name Morděḵāy may have
initially had a middle vowel that was viewed by Jews in Late Antiquity as a short vowel and thus reduced according
to the normal rules of Biblical Hebrew grammar. A full study of Masoretic transcription of foreign names is needed
to ascertain the validity of this claim.
64
See Amar Annus, The God Ninurta in the Mythology and Royal Ideology of Ancient Mesopotamia (State Archives
of Assyria Studies 14; Helsinki: Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, 2002), 109, n. 304.
65
See Sections 4.2-4. Marukka is probably an Emesal variation. Marutukku is the second stage spelling of the name.
Meršakušu poses greater issues as to its belongingness here.

28
almost perfectly.66 As such, the Fifty Names explanations are constructed as an extended

thematic commentary on the themes of the explanations of the “proper” names of Marduk.

Marduk is described several times elsewhere in the narrative of Enūma Eliš. At his birth

(I:79-104), his genealogy is emphasized as well as his unparalleled divine, powerful,

supernatural body and appearance. His surpassing wisdom is also mentioned. When Marduk is

provisionally given powers as head of the pantheon prior to his encounter with Tiamat (IV:1-18)

he is given kingship and supreme command over all the gods. Along with this comes

responsibilities, including support of the gods’ sanctuaries and commitment to those who trust

him. Marduk then prepares for battle and is destined for success. He is girded with weapons,

both of human and supernatural type, including fiery and storm-like arms as well as the spell of

the magician (IV:26-64). Marduk’s compassion and wisdom is displayed in his use of the

defeated gods and Tiamat for purposeful things, reorganizing the gods and creating the universe

out of Tiamat (IV:123-146, V:1-66). Marduk displays his booty and fulfills his responsibility of

caring for the gods and their sanctuaries and is confirmed as King in response (V:67-110). After

that point he is granted the names Lugaldimmerankia and Asalluḫi. We will discuss the powers

correlated with those names in the narrative when we encounter those names in the list.67 From

this summary of the descriptions of Marduk and his actions in the narrative we see a significant

overlap with the themes of the explanations of the Marduk group (and hence of many of the

themes of the remaining names). One might say that the explanations of the Marduk group (and

therefore of the rest of the Fifty Names’ explanations as well) serve as a thematic summary of

Marduk’s powers and abilities in the narrative. These themes are either explicitly said to belong

to him or are seen to exist through his actions.

66
See Conclusions, Section 5.5.
67
See Sections 4.5, 4.7.

29
 The prime example of word play on a name of Marduk in Enūma Eliš is that of the name

Marduk itself. The explanation of this name offers two or three initial readings, or what we will

call definitions of the name. The last defines the name as lū māru dŠamši ša ilāni, “Its meaning

is: the son, the sun-god of the gods” (VI:127). This play on the name is nearly identical with that

said in the narrative at the time of Marduk’s birth: māriutu māriutu / māri dŠamši dŠamši ša

ilāni (I:101-2). This has been rendered either “Little son, little son / son of the Sun, Sun of the

gods,”68 or “The son Utu, the son Utu/ the son, the sun, sunlight of the gods!”69 In fact, the first

line of the Fifty Names Section refers directly to these lines of Marduk’s naming in the narrative:
d
Marduk ša ultu ṣitīšu imbûšu abūšu dAnum, “Marduk! Who, from his birth, was named by his

forefather Anu” (VI:123). Although Anu is not explicitly said to speak these words at Marduk’s

birth, it is he who is viewing the young god (I:89), so it makes sense that the explanation here

understands him as speaking. Either way it is translated, the first line of the narrative’s name

explanation is a paronomastic pronunciation of the name Marduk, which sets up a word play in

the second line.70 These are the steps in the etymology: Marduk or probably Marūtu(k) may be

pronounced māriutu,71 which at face value reads in Akkadian as māri dŠamši, “son (of) the sun

god,” which thereby indicates that Marduk is dŠamši ša ilāni, “the sun god of the gods.”

This definition parses the name differently than the straightforward translation of the

Sumerian name. Rather, the explanation here takes Sumerian amar as another of its possible

68
Victor A. Hurowitz, “Alliterative Allusion, Rebus Writing, and Paronomastic Punishment: Some Aspects of Word
Play in Akkadian Literature,” in Puns and Pundits: Word Play in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern
Literature (Ed. Scott B. Noegel; Bethesda, Md.: CDL Press, 2000), 74; and idem, “Name Midrashim and Word
Plays on Names in Akkadian Historical Writings,” in A Woman of Valor: Jerusalem Ancient Near Eastern Studies in
Honor of Joan Goodnick Westenholz (Bibliotecha del Próximo Oriente Antiguo 8; Eds., Wayne Horowitz, Uri
Gabbay, and Filip Vuskosavović; Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2010), 89-90.
69
Foster, Muses, 442. A. R. George and F. N. H. Al-Rawi, “Tablets from the Sippar Library VI. Atra-ḫasīs,” Iraq 58
(1996), 150, understand it similarly.
70
George and Al-Rawi, “Atra-ḫasīs,” 150.
71
Lambert, EE, “The Meaning of the Fifty Names,” insists, probably correctly, that the parsing of mariutu ought to
be wholly Sumerian as mar-utu (with mar as a shortened form of amar, as he shows from a lexical list), which is
then translated to Akkadian as māri dŠamši.

30
meanings, “son,” rendering it in the text as its Akkadian equivalent, māru, and reads the UD sign

for its value utu, “sun,” equivalent to Akkadian šamšu, emphasizing Marduk’s divine radiance,

rather than equating him to the solar deity Šamaš.72 This interpretation of Marduk’s name

supports his rise to power in the narrative of Enūma Eliš by emphasizing his developmental

transformation from legitimate heir to the divine throne to being securely installed as head of the

pantheon. That is, he moves from being the “bull-calf of Utu” to being recognized as the sun vis-

à-vis the rest of the not-as-bright gods. So, aside from the word play, the explanation is also

using a celestial metaphor to indicate Marduk’s elevation to the head of the pantheon. Marduk’s

radiance is also emphasized elsewhere in the Fifty Names Section. For example, Asalluḫi is

defined as: “He is the light of the gods” (VI:148). So too in the narrative we are told of Marduk’s

surpassing light. For instance, Marduk at his birth radiates with the divine aura equivalent to ten

gods’ aurae (I:103).73

This blessing that Marduk receives at birth which foreshadows his future triumph is

reiterated near the beginning of the Fifty Names Section, due to both its importance and its

wording as a pun. In effect, the repetition of this pun validates the word play that continues

through the remainder of the explanations of the Fifty Names. Additionally, it explicitly ties

together the name explanations of the Fifty Names Section with the narrative. We will continue

to see much less explicit connections throughout the remaining name explanations.

Returning to the beginning of this name explanation, after we are reminded of Anu’s

naming of Marduk in the first line, we are given the following name definition: šākin mirēti u

mašqīti, “Establisher of pasture and watering place” (VI:124a), which is elaborated as

72
There is also close homonymy at play here between Sumerian ‘amar’ and Akkadian māru, which both contain the
sound /mar/. It is a cute coincidence that the English words “sun” and “son” are homonyms, which is part of what
the explanation is getting at – that Marduk, “the son,” is now on par with Utu, “the sun.”
73
Hurowitz, “Name Midrashim,” 89-90, connects this play on the spelling AMAR.UTU to two other texts, which
connect the name to Marduk’s resuscitative powers and emphasize his radiance. Both of these motifs appear in
explanations of some of the fifty names, such as of Tutu-agaku and Asalluḫi, respectively.

31
muṭaḫḫidu urišin, “who enriches (their) stables” (VI:124b). The definition plays on the name

Marduk by parsing it into new syllables that were not in the original writing, which allows for

new meanings. Here, the syllable /mar/ is used as the sign MAR, whose eponymous value, mar,

is the Emesal writing of gar, meaning “to set, place, establish,” equivalent to Akkadian šakānu,

of which the word šākin, “establisher,” is its participle.74 So too, /uku/, taken as ú-kú, may mean

“pasture,” equivalent to Akkadian merītu, the singular of mirēti, “pastures.”75 The last element,

mašqīti, “watering places,” was probably added as an opposite to mirēti, “pastures,” in order to

make a merism meaning “all types of agricultural lands.”76 The further explanation muṭaḫḫidu

urišin, “who enriches (their) stables,” perhaps extends Marduk’s role as fertility god from

agriculture to animal husbandry.77

The following two lines are as follows: ša ina giškakkīšu abubi ikmû šaputi / ilāni abbēšu

iṭiru ina šapšaqi, “Who by his Deluge weapon subdued the stealthy ones, / Who saved the gods

his forefathers from danger” (VI:125-126). They ought to form an elaboration to this definition

because of their introduction of ša, “who.” However, the connection is actually lacking and

makes it unclear what the original order of the explanatory elements here was. Perhaps these

were meant to elaborate on another name variation of Marduk that does not actually appear in the

Fifty Names Section, but is known from AN : Anum, “dmar-uru5-gištukul = dmarduk a-bu-ub
giš
kakkīmeš,” “Marduk of the flood weapon.”78 Alternately, this may be a variation from the

normally consistent use of ša throughout the rest of the Fifty Names Section and in fact we here

74
Lambert, EE, “The Meaning of the Fifty Names.”
75
Ibid.
76
Ibid., attempts to find a play from Sumerian a-nag, “watered.” Sometimes the equivalent of šaqû, “to water,” is
written dug-a-nag, which comes closer phonically if the last syllable is dropped (CAD š/2, 24, s.v. šaqû B, CAD m/1,
384, s.v. mašqû). However, this seems highly unlikely and out of line with the approach of the name explanations to
word plays – parts of Sumerian words are rarely dropped to achieve a phonic similarity with some other syllable.
77
A possible connection to part of the name Marduk exists for muṭaḫḫidu, since du8 is its Sumerian equivalent
(Lambert, EE, “The Meaning of the Fifty Names”).
78
Lambert, EE, “The Meaning of the Fifty Names,” cites AN : Anum II:193 as written here. Litke, AN : Anum, 91,
agrees.

32
have another definition of the name Marduk. Treated as such, we find a fairly simple play on the

name that equates to the phrase abūb kakkī, or here giškakkīšu abūbi. The first part of the name,

/maru/, may be read as Sumerian a-ma-ru, “flood,” equivalent to Akkadian abūbu, especially if

we leave the most ancient pronunciation with initial /a-/. The second part of the name /tuk(u)/ is

a near homonym of tukul, “weapon,” equivalent to Akkadian kakku.79 Or, perhaps, the

connection may come via the syllable /ru/, of which its homonym rú is a value of the KAK sign,

which has kak, “weapon,” as its eponymous value, equivalent to Akkadian kakku. The only

issue is the ordering of the elements. It seems that this epithet initially meant “flood of weapons”

as written in AN : Anum, with a-bu-ub clearly in the construct form, but was then reversed in our

definition to mean “flood-weapon.” This puts the phrase in direct contact with the narrative,

which states that Marduk confronted Tiamat and, iššīma bēlum abūba giškakkāšu rabâ, “The

Lord raised the Deluge, his great weapon” (IV:49, 75).80 Here the meaning “flood-weapon” is

used to match the narrative. The line then situates the use of this flood-weapon in the

“subdu[ing] of the stealthy ones,” also relating it to the narrative wherein Marduk defeats

Tiamat’s minions (IV:105-122). The following line then relates this defeat of Tiamat back to the

good, old gods that Marduk was protecting, proclaiming their salvation due to him. The

placement of a flood-weapon in the armament of Marduk is not only a counter to the Sea

(Tiamat) that he fights using kind against kind, but is also purposefully included since it equates

Marduk with Ninurta, who is both called a flood and carries a flood-weapon.81

After the next solar definition, which we discussed previously, the text elaborates upon it:

ina nurīšu namri littallakū šunu kayyān, “They shall walk in his brilliant light forever” (VI:128).

79
Lambert, EE, “The Meaning of the Fifty Names.”
80
Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 208, 213, show that both lines have a vowel after the second be of abūbu/a,
precluding a genitive relation, and so setting up an apposition, indicating that the flood is Marduk’s great weapon.
81
Annus, Ninurta, 123-24.

33
Here we see explicitly that the solar metaphor is used to place Marduk as the head of the

pantheon, since the other gods are to follow his bright light. This metaphor also plays on an

epithet used of the sun god, Šamaš, and some other deities, nūri ilī, “light of the gods.” It also is

used again in the Fifty Names Section as a definition of the poorly understood name Asalluḫi

(VI:148).82 This stands as a good example of the use of epithets of other gods in application to

Marduk by the explanations of the Fifty Names Section.

The following two couplets discuss other topics that are not based on full definitions of

the name, but are still connected to the name via word play. They raise important themes that

occur in the narrative and in some of the following name explanations in the Fifty Names

Section. The first, nišī ša ibnû šikitti napšu / dulli ilāni imidma šunu ippašḫu, “On the people

whom he made, creatures with the breath of life, / He imposed the gods’ burden, that those be

released” (VI:129-130), adumbrates the relationship that Marduk set up between the gods and

mankind, in which man was created by him to provide for the gods and relieve them from the

necessity to do so for themselves (VI: 1-16). The second, banû abātu napšura enēna / lū bašīma

nannûššu, “Creation, destruction, absolution, punishment: / Each shall be at his command”

(VI:131-132a), abstracts Marduk’s absolute power over all things both positively and negatively.

The first example of this is in the narrative, when he successfully blinks a constellation out of

and back into existence as a test of his new powers by the gods (IV: 19-26). Both couplets

discuss creation, derived from the name Marūtuk via the syllable /ru/, of which its homophone

rú of the KAK sign may also be read as dù, “to build, create” equivalent to Akkadian banû.

Plus, regarding the appearance of mankind in the name explanation, it too may be a play working

off the syllables /uku/, of which the homophone ùku is a variant reading of un, “people,”

82
See Lambert, EE, notes to VI:147-156, where he cites lines from god lists, including AN : Anum, that use this
epithet.

34
equivalent to Akkadian nišū. Finally, the explanation of the name Marduk concludes with a

blessing, wishing that all the gods and mankind lū naplusu šunu šâšu, “these shall gaze upon

him” (VI:132b), with adoring favor.

4.2 Name 2: Marukka

d
133 marukka (dma-ru-uk-ka) lū ilu Marukka shall he be, the god who created
banûšunu šuma them (humankind),
134 muṭīb libbī danunnakī mušapšiḫu digigȋ Who granted (thereby) the Anunna-gods
contentment, who let the Igigi-gods rest.

The first name variation of Marduk, Marukka, is the Emesal writing of the name, as seen

from an Emesal litany that writes da-ma-ru-uk-kám for Marduk.83 The name is defined: lū ilu

banûšunu šuma, “this means he is the god who created them (humankind)” (VI:133). This

definition reiterates the play on the syllable /ru/ to arrive at banû as in the previous name

explanation (its homophone rú of the KAK sign may also be read as dù, “to build, create”).84

The first word of the definition, ilu, “god,” is best understood as an obvious fact of a divine

name; no etymology seems to apply.85 The context of Marduk’s creative power is then located in

the next line. He created mankind to be the muṭīb libbī danunnakī mušapšiḫu digigȋ, “Who

granted (thereby) the Anunna-gods contentment, who let the Igigi-gods rest” (VI:134), since

man takes over the work of the gods (VI: 1-16). Here the word muṭīb, “who makes pleasant,” is

probably another word play on the name. However, oddly, it works off of the variant of the name

that has a stop consonant in it, since Sumerian dùg, a paronomastic play on the syllable /tuk/,

means “(to be) good,” equivalent to Akkadian ṭābu, of which muṭīb is its D-stem participle. This

83
Lambert, EE, “The Meanings of the Fifty Names.”
84
See Section 4.1.
85
Although Lambert, EE, “The Meanings of the Fifty Names,” attempts an etymology via ma for mu, which is
Emesal for ilu, we need not etymologize each word in a name definition, only the crucial parts, as will be seen in
future definitions. We find ilu as an un-etymologized part of a name definition again under the names Asalluḫi-
Namtila (4.8), Asalluḫi-Namru (4.9), and Mummu (4.34). Perhaps it is used syntactically to clarify the beginning of
a name definition in these instances.

35
name’s theme simply restates that of Marduk’s creation of humanity in order to appease the

gods, which was already raised under the previous name, Marduk.

4.3 Name 3: Marutukku

d
135 marutukku (dma-ru-tu-uk-ku) lū Marutukku shall be the trust of his land, city,
tukultu māti āli u nišīšu and people,
136 šâšūma litta’’idaššu nišī aḫrâtaš The people shall heed him forever.

The name Marutukku is another variant of the old pronunciation of Marduk, Marūtuk,

adding a repeat vowel at the end. The text defines the name, lū tukultu māti āli u nišīšu, “shall

be the trust of his land, city, and people” (VI:135), parsing the name in several ways. First,

tukultu, “trust,” was brought to mind via its later logographic writing, TUKUL, either as a close

homophone with /tukku/ of the name, or via the use of ku as the final sign, which also has the

value tukul.86 Second, the first element of the name, ma, is equated in several lexical lists with

mātu, “land.”87 Third, uru, the close homophone of the syllables /aru/ in the name, means

“city,” equivalent to Akkadian ālu.88 Last, the syllables /uku/ are homophonic with ùku, which

is a variant reading of un, “people,” equivalent to Akkadian nišū.

The next line blesses Marduk that this trust and belief in him by mankind should last:

šâšūma litta’’idaššu nišī aḫrâtaš, “The people shall heed him forever” (VI:136). This seems to

imply that, along with Marduk’s creation of mankind (VI: 1-16), came a responsibility to protect

them, and that such a connection was reciprocated by mankind to Marduk. Of course, the focus

on this theme of mankind’s relationship with Marduk would make much sense if the historical

86
Lambert, EE, “The Meanings of the Fifty Names;” CAD t, 461, s.v. tukultu; ePSD, s.v. tukul [WEAPON].
87
Lambert, EE, “The Meanings of the Fifty Names;” CAD m/1, 414, s.v. mātu.
88
The syllable /uru/ also appears as a separate element in some versions of the name, such as in AN : Anum II:193,
“dmar-uru5-gištukul,” and in all of the Marduk names in the list K 4209+.

36
context of the rise to prominence of the myth coincided with the 13th century BCE renaissance of

Marduk’s cult.89

4.4 Name 4: Meršakušu

d
137 meršakušu (dmer-šà-kúš-ù) ēziz u Meršakušu, angry but deliberative, furious but
muštāl sabus u târ relenting,
138 rapāš libbāšu lā’iṭ karassu Deep is his heart, all encompassing his feelings

The final name in the Marduk group is Meršakušu. Although according to the

breakdown stated in the text of three names each given by Anšar, Laḫmu, and Laḫamu, referring

to the first nine names on Tablet VI (VI:157), this name seems to fit better with the Marduk

names than with Lugaldimmerankia and its derived name, Nari-Lugaldimmerankia. Nonetheless,

one cannot claim that Meršakušu is a variation of Marduk. We might try to reason that it takes

the first syllable of Marduk (or a close homophone of it) as a shortened form of the name and

then adds some further components. In terms of the list, it certainly is not erroneously placed

here, since it appears in the Marduk group in most god lists that preserve this section of

Marduk’s names.90 However, perhaps the element mer- connects to the same in the following

names (Lugaldim-mer-ankia, Nari-Lugaldim-mer-ankia) and so was placed before them to make

the three triple namings work out. This might then explain why Lugaldimmerankia and its

derived name were placed here, between Marduk and his most prominent syncretized name,

Asalluḫi. That is, once Meršakušu was a part of the Marduk group, the author of the Fifty Names

Section kept it together, but found another small group (or invented it91) to place after it and

fulfill some desire for a numerical hyper-trinity of names. It may also explain why the Emesal

form of diĝir, dìm-me-er, was used.

89
See Section 1.1.
90
AN : Anum, BM 32533, K 4209+ (Lambert, EE, “Marduk’s Names”).
91
Nari-Lugaldimmerankia does not appear in any of the extant god lists (Lambert, EE, “Marduk’s Names”).

37
 The name itself translates straightforwardly along the lines of the following name

definition, ēziz u muštāl (VI:137b), which already appears in AN : Anum.92 Sumerian mer means

“angry” (equivalent to Akkadian uzzu) and šà-kúš-ù means “deliberative” (equivalent to

Akkadian muštālu), leading to a dual translation of “Anger and Consideration,” or more loosely,

“Ultimately Agreeable.” The explanation continues, rewording the duality of the said qualities in

relation to man and the gods as sabus u târ, “furious but relenting” (VI:137c). In the end,

Marduk’s commands, which we will be assured repeatedly are decisive and everlasting, are

manageable because he will ultimately come around to a moderate position. This ought to be

understood in the context of Marduk’s actions in the myth Lugal-e, where divine beings are

displayed as acting carelessly toward humans, although sometimes things end well.93 On the

other hand, if an internal reference is to be found, perhaps this may be understood as referring to

the defeated gods and Tiamat in the narrative of Enūma Eliš. They are viciously attacked by

Marduk, but then dealt with fairly kindly as the gods are reorganized (V:63-66) and Tiamat’s

body is used to create the universe (IV:135-146), rather than being discarded and debased. In

fact, after battle and immediately before creating the universe from Tiamat’s body, Marduk is

said to īnuḫma, “he relaxed” (IV:135), in order to carry out the creation. And, this word, the

preterite of anāḫu, to be tired, rest,” is the equivalent of Sumerian kúš-ù.

The explanation continues in a slightly different direction: rapāš libbašu lā’iṭ karassu,

“Deep is his heart, all encompassing his feelings.” (VI:138). This seems to refer to both

Marduk’s deep wisdom and emotion, viewing both positively. Both play on šà in the name,

meaning “heart, insides,” with libbu as the more common Akkadian equivalent, but karšu as

92
II:192 (Litke, AN : Anum, 90).
93
Lambert, EE, notes to VI:137; Foster, Muses, 474, n. 2.

38
another option.94 Both of these terms are also used metaphorically to stand for intellect and

emotion as they doubtless are used here. Marduk’s wisdom is also spoken of later in the Fifty

Names Section in the explanations to the names Irugga, Irqingu, Kinma, Dingir-Esiskur, and

Girru, as well as in the narrative (I:94, 97, II:149, III:113, IV:93, VI:37).95

4.5 Name 5: Lugaldimmerankia

d
139 lugaldimmerankia (dlugal-dìm-me-
er-an-ki-a) šumšu ša nimbû puḫurni
140 zikrī pȋšu nušašqû eli ilāni abbēšu
141 lū bēlu ilāni ša šamê u erṣetim
kalīšun
142 šarru ana taklimtīšu ilāni lū šu’durū
eliš u šapliš
Lugaldimmerankia is his name that we all
pronounced,
Whose commands we exalted above those of
the gods his fathers.
He shall be Lord of All the Gods of Heaven and
Netherworld,
The king at whose revelations the gods above
and below stand in dread.

Once the text has finished explicating the various forms and byforms of Marduk’s main

name one might expect the list to continue to name groups headed by deities with which Marduk

has been syncretized. However, the text first turns to the theme of Marduk’s elevation above and

control over all the other gods, through the explanations of the name Lugaldimmerankia and a

name derived from it. This indicates the large importance of this theme in accordance with its

pervasive treatment in the narrative of the myth.

The explanation begins with two lines connecting this name to its previous mention in the

narrative (V:107-116, 150-157), šumšu ša nimbû puḫurni / zikrī pȋšu nušašqû eli ilāni abbēšu, “is

his name that we all pronounced, / Whose commands we exalted above those of the gods his

fathers” (VI:139-140). Then, the explanation gives its definition as bēlu ilāni ša šamê u erṣetim

kalīšun, “Lord of All the Gods of Heaven and Netherworld” (VI:141), which is nearly a direct

translation of the name from Sumerian, /lugal-diĝir-an-ki-a(k)-(ene)-(ak)/, “king of the gods of

94
CAD k, 223, s.v. karšu.
95
For more on the theme of wisdom, see Sections 4.42-46.

39
heaven and earth.” Although more commonly translated to Akkadian as šarru, “king,” the more

general meaning bēlu, “lord,” is used, probably since this is referring to Marduk, whose most

common nickname is precisely Bēl.96 The only seeming addition is kalīšun, “all of them,” which

either is translating an unwritten plural or is a grammatical gloss explaining “heaven and earth”

to be a merism, standing for the totality of the world. Alternatively, it is possible that the author

understood ‘diĝir’ to stand for the collection of all of the gods and expressed that with kalīšun.

The next line goes a bit further in turning the gods’ wishes that Marduk’s command be listened

to into a statement of the awesomeness of his taklimtu, perhaps here “orders, instructions,”97 as

king of the gods.98 All of this reflects some of the major themes of the narrative of Enūma Eliš,

Marduk’s creation of heaven and earth, structuring of the duties and stations of the gods, and

their acceptance of his overlordship.

Like the name Marduk, Lugaldimmerankia is also given earlier in the narrative as implied

in the first line of explanation, ša nimbû puḫurni, “that we all pronounced.” Since the use of the

preterite indicates something that has already happened, it must refer to a previous event in the

narrative. This reference is further confirmed by that occurrence being in the assembly as well,

as noted at that initial name giving: šaniš izzakrūma iqbû puḫuršun / dlugaldimmerankia zikrāšu

šuāšu tiklāšu, “Next all of them spoke and said, / ‘Lugaldimmerankia’ is his name, trust in him!”

(V:111-112). Further reference is made to the earlier passage in the second line of explanation of

this name, zikrī pȋšu nušašqû eli ilāni abbēšu, “Whose commands we exalted above those of the

96
ePSD, s.v. lugal [KING], gives “master” as the second meaning, citing 3 versions of the professions list, Lú.
97
CAD t, s.v. taklimtu 2.
98
This may stem from a paronomastic play on the Emesal form of diĝir, dìm-me-er, with dím-ma equivalent to
Akkadian ṭēmu, “thought, planning, reasoning” (See CAD ṭ, s.v. ṭēmu 2). Why the Emesal form is used here is
unknown. dìm-me-er and alternative spellings are only attested in OB Sumerian literature and never as lugal-dìm-
me-er-an-ki. Although Eannatum uses lugal-an-ki as an epithet of Enlil, assumedly he is referring to the world of
man, not of the gods (ePSD, s.v. lugal [KING]). But if this were connected to our name, it would stand as another
instance of usurpation by Marduk of an epithet or denotation of Enlil, combining with en-kur-kur and the number
50.

40
gods his fathers.” This harkens back to the end of passage of the naming of Lugaldimmerankia in

the narrative, when the gods announce to Marduk, mimmû atta taqabbû i nīpuš nīni, “Whatever

you shall command, we will do” (V:116).

The final line, šarru ana taklimtīšu ilāni lū šu’durū eliš u šapliš, “at whose revelations

the gods above and below stand in dread” (VI:142), locates the elevation of Marduk and the

gods’ imprimatur of his authority over them within the opening cosmic context of myth,

referring to the empty spaces of above and below: enūma eliš lā nabû šamāmu / šapliš ammatum

šuma lā zakrat, “When on high no name was given to heaven, / Nor below was the netherworld

called by name” (I:1-2). Then, there was nothing in those places, as no names had been called

identifying any substance there. But now, Marduk has desginated the spaces and filled them with

gods as we see in the explanation to the next name.

The naming of Lugaldimmerankia in the narrative is referred to twice in Tablet V

(V:107-116, 150-157). Before giving the name Lugaldimmerankia in the narrative, Laḫmu and

Laḫamu introduce their change of name by referring to the previous name of Marduk with a play

on it: panâma [dmar]ūtuk māru naramni, “Formerly (so named,) [Mar]duk was ‘our beloved

son’” (V:109). The play switches the order of consonantal sounds in naramni, “our beloved,”

which derives from râmu, “to love,” and māru, “son.” But now, by receiving this new name,

inanna šarrakun qibissu qalā, “Now he is your king, pay heed to his command!” (V:110). They

then bless him, ultu ūmē atta lū zāninu parakkīni / mimmû atta taqabbû i nīpuš nīni, “Henceforth

you shall be provider for our sanctuaries, / Whatever you shall command, we shall do” (V:115-

116). As we might expect, these ideas are taken up in the explanation to the Lugaldimmerankia

names in the Fifty Names Section. As we have seen, part of the emphasis in the first name is on

41
the elevation of Marduk’s command. The first line, about providing for the gods’ sanctuaries, is

also reflected in the second line of the explanation of Nari-Lugaldimmerankia.99

After Marduk carries through on the blessing with regard to sanctuaries and builds his

own sanctuary, Esagil, for the gods to rest in and its city, Babylon, the tablet concludes with

several garbled lines reiterating the naming of Lugaldimmerankia. Although the preparers of the

text and translators try to make some sense of them, all that is clear is the first few lines, which

indicate the beginning of a blessing upon the naming of Marduk as Lugaldimmerankia. When

they speak, they begin almost exactly as before: panâma bēlum māru n[aramni] / inanna šarrani,

“Formerly, Lord, [you were our beloved] son,’ / Now you are our king…” (V:153-154).100

Thematic connections await further discoveries of copies of Tablet V with complete lines at its

end.101

4.6 Name 6: Nari-Lugaldimmerankia

d
143 narilugaldimmerankia (dna-ri-
lugal-dìm-me-er-an-ki-a) šumšu ša
nizkur āšir ilāni kalāma
144 ša ina šamê u erṣetim ittaddû
šubatni ina pušqi
145 ana digigȋ u danunnakī uza’’izu
manzāzu
146 ana šumēšu ilāni lištaribū linušū ina
šubtī
Nari-Lugaldimmerankia is the name we invoked,
instructor of all the gods,
Who founded for us dwellings out of danger in
heaven and netherworld,
And who divided the station for the Igigi- and
Anunna-gods.
At his names102 the gods shall tremble and quake
in (their) dwellings.

99
See section 4.6.
100
Translation after Lambert, EE, ad loc. This follows better in the pattern set above in the first instance of this
phraseology, V:109-110, than Foster’s (Muses, 468) attempt at focusing even more on names.
101
Lambert, EE, Foster, Muses, 468, and Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 245-46, all try to eke out some meaning from
the final 4 lines of the tablet. They tend to agree on something about spells of reviving in the fourth to last line,
regalia of kingship in the third to last line, and skillful planning and enactment in the last two lines. It is tempting to
make connections to such similar ideas about Marduk elsewhere in the text, such as magical revival in the Asalluḫi
and Tutu names of the Fifty Names Section, regalia of kingship in Tablet IV, and the planning and execution of
organization of the gods and construction of earth and things on it in Tablets V-VI. However, the full text is
necessary to understand the nuances and permit an accurate construal of those possible connections.
102
Plural reading is mine, assuming it refers to both names in this group.

42
 The derived name, Nari-Lugaldimmerankia, adds an element before the previous name

known from the Old Babylonian professions list, Lu, as well as other Sumerian literature. The

Sumerian na-RI, read either na-ri or na-de5, indicates some type of supervisory position, as

indicated by its following translation, āšir, “instructor, organizer” which is generally the

equation found in lexical lists.103 It may be an asyntactic form that is used to construct words

denoting professions, but with a variant using /na-/ instead of the usual /nu/.104 As in the previous

name, we understand dìm-me-er as the Emesal form of diĝir, “god.” Here too the explanation

includes a term denoting the totality of the gods, kalāma, “all,” in line with the theme of

Marduk’s power over all of them.105

The explanation continues by explicating some of the organizational things that Marduk

has done in the narrative. Playing on the name, the text explains how Marduk came through for

the gods in a difficult time and set up their dwellings afterward: ša ina šamê u erṣetim ittaddû

šubatni ina pušqi, “Who founded for us dwellings out of danger in heaven and netherworld.”

Possibly using na-RI in two ways simultaneously, the explanation seems to play paronomasticly

on the Akkadian translation āšir as similar to ašru, commonly “place,” but also “divine

dwelling,”106 here given as its synonym, šubatni. Parsing the word in Sumerian may also lead to

playing on the verbal element /ri/, possibly equivalent to Akkadian nadû, “to throw,” but also “to

lay (foundations)” with respect to buildings, here written in the N perfect, ittaddû.107 This play

103
See ePSD s.v. na [CVNE], ~deg (http://psd.museum.upenn.edu/cgi-
bin/distprof?cfgw=na%20deg[clear]&res=akc&eid=e3871), and s.v. na [MAN] (http://psd.museum.upenn.edu/cgi-
bin/distprof?cfgw=na[man]&res=aby&eid=e3868). See CAD a/2, s.v. ašāru, āširu.
104
See Thomsen, Sumerian, 55-56, where one example is given of a variant for nu.mu.su, “widow,” as na.ma.su.
This probably only works if RI is taken as a noun, which is generally not the case. Otherwise, this may be a
truncated verbal form /na-ri/, “he directs him,” with /-na-/ taken as the 3rd person singular dative case infix.
105
See the possible explanations for the derivation of “all” from the name under the previous section, 4.5.
106
CAD a/2, s.v. ašru A 2.d.2ʹ.
107
CAD n/2, s.v. nadû 2.b.

43
may also come from a different angle if na-RI was read as na-de5 and taken as a close

homophone of Akkadian nadû.

This line connects to the narrative, when, after Marduk defeats Tiamat, he creates the

world and establishes the temple Ešarra (IV:144-146) for Ea, Enlil, and Anu. After creating

mankind, Marduk also sets the gods’ places above and below (VI:39-46) and has the Anunna-

gods build Babylon and Marduk’s temple Esagil, followed by their own shrines (VI:68). Marduk

establishes the roles and places of the Anunna-gods as in the next line of explanation, ana digigȋ

u danunnakī uza’’izu manzāzu, “And who divided the station for the Igigi- and Anunna-gods”

(VI:145). This line also contains a possible connection to the name, since ri has a homophone ri6

that is written by the DU sign, which may also be read as gub, “to stand,” equivalent to

Akkadian izuzzu.

The explanation’s partial repetition mirrors the multivocity of the resting places of the

gods. While the gods live in terrestrial temples, they also have homes in the celestial heaven and

netherworld. The use here of manzāzu, “station,” also implies a dual sense and is used repeatedly

in the narrative with these meanings. First, it refers to the gods’ roles in the pantheon (VI:78-81).

A line from the text there is parsed to form parts of our two lines: manzāz šamê u erṣetim

uza’’izu ilāni gimrāssun, “All the gods had divided the stations of heaven and netherworld” (EE

VI:79). The explanation here reads this line as occurring at the command of Marduk. Second, in

reference to the celestial phenomena that Marduk created (V:1-44), which are often identified

with the gods, forms of the verbal root from which manzāzu derives, izuzzu, are used numerous

times.

The short Lugaldimmerankia group, consisting of only two names, concludes with a

blessing that emphasizes the theme of Marduk’s power and control over the gods, admonishing

44
them to be cognizant of his dominance over them: ana šumēšu ilāni lištaribū linušū ina šubtī,

“At his names the gods shall tremble and quake in (their) dwellings.” This fear is said to be

engendered directly by his names.

4.7 Name 7: Asalluḫi

d
147 asalluḫi (dasar-lú-ḫi) šumšu ša
imbûšu abūšu danum
148 šū lū nūru ša ilāni gešṭṭu dannu
149 ša kīma šumīšūma lamassi ili u māti
150 ina šašmê danni īṭeru šubatni ina
pušqi
Asalluḫi is that name of his which Anu, his father,
pronounced.
He is the light of the gods, the mighty leader,
Who, according to his name, is protective spirit of
god and land,
And who in mighty combat108 saved our dwellings
from harm.

The approach to the name Asalluḫi and the following 5 names in terms of name word

play is obfuscated due to our lack of knowledge of the meaning of the ASAR sign, written

URUxIGI, and its centrality in these names. Lambert collects the relevant attestations, but finds

no useful information.109 The only texts that he mentions containing some possible hint of the

meaning of this sign are lines from god lists that use signs similar to ‘nu-ur-ili-meš’ as

determinatives preceding either the ASAR or LUGAL signs, indicative of their potential

pronunciation or meaning. Even though this correlates excellently with the first interpretation

given in our text, šū lū nūru ša ilāni, “He is the light of the gods” (VI:148a), Lambert dismisses

this as “surely theological exposition.”110 Nevertheless, I argue that the structural context in the

Fifty Names Section of Enūma Eliš is solid evidence in favor of understanding this as a

translation of at least part of our name. That is because in five of the preceding six names and

explanations the primary translation or definition of the name given is immediately introduced
108
Foster translates šašmê as “single combat.” Calling this word for combat, “single,” seems to be unnecessary, as
well as not colloquial today. It seems this stems from the translation of Von Soden, AHw II, s.v. šašmu, as
“Zweikampf.” See CAD š/2, s.v. šašmu, where the word is clearly often used in general. Perhaps, “one-on-one” or
“hand-to-hand” combat would be better in colloquial American English, but even so, there is no need here to qualify
the word so.
109
Lambert, EE, notes to VI:147-156.
110
Ibid.

45
by ‘lū,’ “this means.”111 In this pattern, nūru ša ilāni stands as the primary translation of the

name. At least, the author of this explanation thought that it is the basic meaning of this name,

probably just of the ASAR sign. Additionally, šū, “he,” may have been first used in the Fifty

Names Section here in order to further emphasize the definitional nature of the following phrase,

since dŠÚ is a logographic writing for Marduk.112

Further evidence is found in the next line, ša kīma šumīšūma lamassi ili u māti, “Who,

according to his name, is protective spirit of god and land” (VI:149). The first words, ša kīma

šumīšūma, indicate that the following phrase is an interpretation of the name. The only other

instance of this phrase in the Fifty Names Section is in the explanation to the name Ašaru,

whereby the words following ša kīma šumīšūma are īšuru ilāni šīmāti, “mustered the gods of

destinies” (VII:122). There, īšuru is certainly just a different morphology of the same verb ašāru,

“to muster,” and so is a definition of the name, even though no further vocabulary was called on.

So, here, the indicated definition of Asalluḫi is within the phrase lamassi ili u māti. Dropping the

end of the line from the definition, gives lamassi ili, which is remarkably similar to nūru ša ilāni

of the previous line. That is because both “light” and “protective spirit” are very positive things,

which when connected genitivally with “the gods” can both indicate a unique divine quality that

adds to the holiness of the gods.

The explanation of Asalluḫi as nūru ša ilāni or lamassi ili provides a connection to the

name Marduk, which is interpreted as dšamši ša ilāni, “Sun-god of the gods” (I:102, VI:127) and

is also a brightly positive phenomenon. Along the same lines, Marduk is said to be the pinnacle

111
See my explanation of the syntactical markers in our text, such as lū, Section 4.0.
112
Oshima, Babylonian Prayers to Marduk, 456. šū or šūma appears several other times in the Fifty Names Section.
Each one of course stands as a pun for Marduk’s name, just as each time bēl, “Lord,” a common nickname of
Marduk, is used. Other instances occur under Asaralimnunna (VII:5), Tutu (VII:9), Šazu-Zaḫgurim (VII:56),
Enbilulu (VII:57), Sisir-Malaḫ (VII:76), and Ea (VII:140).

46
of divine grandeur, as denoted by the name Asalluḫi. Perhaps this connects to the melammu,

“divine radiance,” as well, ten of which were said to crown Marduk’s head after his birth (I:103).

Regarding the second half of the name, lú-ḫi, Lambert argues for a phonological writing

of luḫ-e, meaning “to clean,” connecting it to the healing and magical powers associated with

Asalluḫi.113 Although this is certainly possible, it is unusual among these names, which as

Sumerian names seem to keep their meaningful Sumerian elements in line with the original sign

values in Sumerian. Another possibility, though conjectural is to take the ends of the two

interpretations as explaining lú-ḫi. In the first case, gešṭṭu dannu, “mighty leader” (VI:148b),

may be interpreting lú, commonly “man,” as “special man” or “ruler,”114 in which case dannu is

either an added epithet that does not attempt to translate ḫi, or it may be an unknown meaning of

ḫi. In the second, u māti, “and land,” may be interpreting lú as its plural, “people,” and ḫi

adjectivally as “numerous,” or in its later Akkadian use of ḫi-a as an orthographic plural

complement, in connection with māti, to be understood as “population of the land.”115

In sum, from the similarities between the two basic interpretations of the name offered by

the explanation, we can surmise that the name Asalluḫi imputed of its bearer a quality of divine

sacredness with respect to the gods and mankind. A range of concepts meronymous to this are

developed in the next five names derived from Asalluḫi and its partial byform Asare. Marduk

under these guises “maintains life” (VI:151), is the “pure god” (VI:156), is “honored” (VII:3, 5),

and is the “light of his grandfather” (VII:5). Some fertility concepts are also expounded, building

off of the name Asare referring both to providing for the gods (VII:7) and the people of the land

(VII:3-4, 8).

113
Lambert, note to VI:147-156.
114
See ePSD, s.v. lu [PERSON], 6, “ruler.”
115
Halloran, Sumerian Lexicon, 112-13, s.v. ḫi, ḫi-a; CAD m/1, s.v. mātu 4.

47
 In our understanding of the pattern previously noticed by the other two names which

appear in the narrative, Marduk and Lugaldimmerankia, the first line of the Asalluḫi name

indicates its previous giving in the narrative: dasalluḫi šumšu ša imbûšu abūšu danum, “Asalluḫi

is that name of his which Anu, his father, pronounced” (VI:147). However, the ascription of the

giving of the name Asalluḫi to Marduk in the narrative to Anu is somewhat problematic.

Although Anu is first acting in the scene where the name is given by making Marduk’s bow into

a constellation (VI:82-91), once the gods are convened, Anšar gives the name (VI:101).116 This

contradicts our first line as well as the interlude at the end of Tablet VI that discusses the first 9

names, which claims that Anu, Laḫmu, and Laḫamu gave three names each, implying that this

name belongs to the Laḫamu triad.117 Although one might argue that the name giving in the

narrative was done by Anšar under the auspices of Anu, this contradiction probably derives from

whatever redactional processes led to the final text.118

The explanation of Asalluḫi includes another connection to the narrative: ina šašmê danni

īṭeru šubatni ina pušqi, “And who in mighty combat saved our dwellings from harm” (VI:150),

referring to Marduk’s confrontation with Tiamat that saved the gods from Tiamat and her

minions. This line is a variation of a similar comment made regarding Nari-Lugaldimmerankia,

ittaddû šubatni ina pušqi, “Who founded for us dwellings out of danger” (VI:144). The

discrepancy between the foundation and saving of the shrines in these lines is an example of a

recurring ambiguity in the Fifty Names Section. That is, the divine sanctuaries and sometimes

even the gods are both said to be created and refurbished or saved by Marduk, implying both

their prior existence and lack thereof.

116
Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 267, show agreement in all three extant mss., written an-šár.
117
Lambert, note to VI:147-156.
118
Even though all extant mss. agree in both locations, a confusion of deities with similar sounding names, who are
both ancestors of Marduk and play only small roles in the narrative, is very weak evidence to argue against the
integrative nature of the Fifty Names Section into the myth of Enūma Eliš.

48
 Following the pattern established in the narrative by the giving of Marduk’s first

additional name, Lugaldimmerankia, before giving Asalluḫi, the text refers to the previous name

with a play on it. The gods swear an oath of fealty to Marduk, which is summarized as:

iddinūšumma šarrūt ilāni epēša / ana bēlūt ilāni ša šamê u erṣetim šunu uktinnūšu, “They

granted him exercise of kingship over the gods, / They established him forever for lordship of

heaven and netherworld” (VI:99-100). However, this is not the case in the subsequent naming,

but rather harkens back to the previous naming of Lugaldimmerankia. After acknowledging the

previous name, Anšar gives Marduk the name Asalluḫi as the last part of the narrative before the

Fifty Names Section. The naming is followed, naturally, by a blessing containing the explication

of the powers thereby endowed to Marduk and wishes for what those powers should bring in

terms of the service of gods and man (VI:101-120).

The themes in the narrative’s blessing are Marduk’s supreme command, support of the

gods, and shepherdship of the people. In other words, he should be recognized as the prime deity

both by the gods and mankind and, in return, support them both. Although these themes occur

elsewhere in the Fifty Names Section, they do not appear in the Asalluḫi group, indicating that

they were not chosen based on name word play. Rather, they seem to follow along the lines of

the themes of Marduk’s supreme command and his support of the gods’ sanctuaries that are

related several times in the narrative. The first instance is upon Marduk’s initial crowning before

his battle with Tiamat (IV:1-30), followed by the Lugaldimmerankia naming (V:109-116),119 and

finally here by the Asalluḫi naming. This implies that these are the main factors in Marduk’s

kingship over the gods – that he be listened to by the gods and that he support them in turn – and

that the giving of extra names in the narrative is viewed as the extension and embellishment of

Marduk’s kingship over the gods. Although this works perfectly with the meanings of
119
See section 4.5.

49
Lugaldimmerankia, it is only loosely connected with those of Asalluḫi in the sense of the divine

grandeur that is implied by the name and the effect that would have upon the gods vis-à-vis

heeding Marduk’s command. Other than that loose connection, there lies in the name Asalluḫi

the issue of pedigree, since in ancient lore Asalluḫi is the son of Ea. It may be more likely that

this connection would have given Marduk the prestige to make his command be heeded by the

gods and that this would be why the name Asalluḫi is given in the narrative and is followed by a

blessing that Marduk’s command should be supreme.

4.8 Name 8: Asalluḫi-Dingir-Namtila

d
151 asalluḫi-diĝir-namtila120 (dasal-lú-ḫi
diĝir nam-ti-la) šaniš imbû ilu mušneššu
152 ša kīma binûtīšuma ikširū kalû ilāni
abtūti
153 bēlum ša ina šiptīšu elleti uballiṭu ilāni
mītūti
154 mu’abbit egrūti zā’irī i nibbûšu
Asalluḫi-Dingir-Namtila they named him
secondly, god who maintains life,121
Who, according to his nature, repaired the
shattered gods,
The lord who revived the moribund gods by
his sacral spell,
Let us praise the destroyer of the wayward
foes!

The first name derived name of Asalluḫi, Asalluḫi-Dingir-Namtila, turns in a different

thematic direction. A straightforward translation of the derived part of the Sumerian would be

“God of Life.” However, the new addition to the name is defined more complexly as ilu

mušneššu, “god who maintains life,” a translation of the Sumerian /diĝir nam-til/ as an

asyntactic clause, which ignores the final /-a/ that normally marks the subordinate, and that

assumes some causative meaning. Then the text makes an extraordinary parenthetical comment,

ša kīma binûtīšuma, best translated in this context as “Who, as its (the name’s) form
120
I write out diĝir in this and the following name because of how the primary interpretation of each name includes
ilu – ilu mušneššu and ilu ellu, implying it to be part of the name and not a determinative. Foster, 475, n.5, sees this
as a possibility.
121
I translate the derived names as one hyphenated name, as opposed to Foster’s consistent rendering of the first
name being called also another name, such as here: “Asalluḫi they named secondly Namtila.” Some evidence for
this may be brought from the god lists in which the names are never separated as they similarly are not here.
Obviously an explanation of a derived name is going to focus more on the qualities extracted from the second part of
the name, but the first part of the name will sometimes be explicated again or anew in derived name explanations.

50
(etymological construction)” (VI:152a). This frames the following phrase ikširū kalû ilāni abtūti,

“repaired the shattered gods” (VI:152b), as an explanation of the basic meaning of the name,

validating our understanding of many of the phrases that follow the initial definition. The

explanation contextualizes the name that means “god who maintains life” with the narrative, in

which Marduk saves the gods from certain death at the hands of Tiamat and her minions, thereby

keeping them alive.122 The text continues adding elements to the explanation in the following

line: bēlum ša ina šiptīšu elleti uballiṭu ilāni mītūti, “The lord who revived the moribund gods by

his sacral spell” (VI: 153).123 Marduk saved the gods from imminent death at the hands of

Tiamat with his magical spell. This connects to the common power of magical healer or exorcist

associated with Asalluḫi.124

The final line explaining this name gives a sort of blessing, exhorting the gods mu’abbit

egrūti zā’irī i nibbûšu, “Let us praise the destroyer of the wayward foes!” (VI:154). This line

contains a second word formed on the verb abātu, “to destroy” (mu’abbit, “destroyer,” and

previously abtūti, “shattered,” lit., “destroyed”). This repetition hints at some special reason for

the word choice in this name explanation, which might be due to the connection between the

Sumerian morphemes ti, “to live,” and gul, “to destroy.” This possible word play would use the

homophone of ti, ti7, written with the TE sign to connect to another of the values of TE, gùl,

which is a homophone of gul, cognate to Akkadian abātu. If so, the name Asalluḫi-Dingir-

Namtila is explained to have two opposite meanings – the one who enlivens and the one who

122
Foster understands this connections to the narrative similarly, Muses, 475, n. 5.
123
An almost identical phrase is used as the primary interpretation of the name Tutu-Agaku, the fourth Tutu name:
bēl šiptu elletim muballiṭ mītī, “Lord of the sacral spell, reviver of the moribund” (VII:26), the only difference being
the voice of the sentence, here active, there passive. There are numerous other instances of such repetition in the
Fifty Names Section. How to interpret this phenomenon remains difficult. Possibly, the author found some powers
of Marduk in multiple names. Alternately, this may indicate some prior influence to the writing of the Fifty Names
Section. That is, the use of certain epithets repeatedly may have come from the author’s having seen them
previously ascribed to Marduk.
124
On Asalluḫi as exorcist and his historical syncretism with Marduk in the 2nd millennium, see Takayoshi Oshima,
Babylonian Prayers to Marduk (Orientalische Religionen in der Antike 7; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011), 42-47.

51
destroys. Of course, the choice of which power to use is at Marduk’s discretion as he saves the

gods under attack and destroys the attackers.

4.9 Name 9: Asalluḫi-Dingir-Namru

d
155 asalluḫi-diĝir-namru (dMIN diĝir Asalluḫi-Namru, whose name was called thirdly,
nam-ru) ša innabû šalšiš šumšu
156 ilu ellu mullilu alaktīni The pure god who purifies our ways.

The derived part of the name Asalluḫi-Dingir-Namru was originally read by scholars as

nam-šub, understood as a known Sumerian noun meaning “incantation, spell.” This allows the

whole name to be read as “Asalluḫi of the spell,” a quite sensible name for Asalluḫi, considering

his magical character.125 Lambert argues against this reading, but in favor of nam-ru due to the

appearance of a parallel name in a god list as mu-nam-mi-ru. Further, he attempts to find

contexts where ru may be understood as a verb equivalent to šub, meaning “to throw, cast (a

spell).”126 Although Lambert is focused on trying to understand the Sumerian derivation of the

name, we are looking at how Enūma Eliš understands the name. This thinking seems to have led

scholars in the direction of reading nam-ru as Akkadian namru, “bright, clear, radiant, healthy.”

Since namru may also mean “ritually pure,”127 synonymous with ellu¸128 the definition in

Enūma Eliš, ilu ellu, “pure god” (VI:156a) seems to impute that it read the name as -namru.129

125
Franz M. Th. Böhl, “Die fünfzig Namen des Marduk,” Archiv für Orientforschung 11 (1936-37), 214, at least
reads this as a possibility for the corresponding name in a god list.
126
Lambert, EE, note to VI:155-156. I am not so certain that his proof holds since the line he reads in the god list
BM 32533 is broken and although it stands before dasar-re, it seems to be the fourth Asalluḫi name on that list, in
which case, the third one, even more illegible, is more likely to correspond to the third name in the Fifty Names
Section. Also, it is unclear whether mu-nam-mi-ru is actually a Sumerian word, in which case it would seem to have
an extra conjugation prefix, mu, before the presumed modal prefix /na/. In fact, munammiru seems to be a fine
Akkadian participle of the D-stem of nawāru, “to light,” meaning “cheerful, bright one.” If so, the god list meets the
same pitfall that scholars have in understanding this name, by reading it as an Akkadian word and dismissing a
Sumerian usage.
127
CAD, n/1, s.v. namru, 1d.
128
See ibid. for a text with a direct parallel between namru and ellu.
129
Böhl, “Die fünfzig Namen,” 198; Foster, Muses, 475, n. 6; Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 387, in their glossary of
names, translate Namru as “der Glänzende,” “the brilliant one.” Assumedly they would not read diĝir as a semantic
part of the name, but rather as a determinative.

52
 However, this is unsatisfactory since in most of the Fifty Names Section we find only

Sumerian names.130 Only in the final group of five names do we find Akkadian names. But that

is only becaue they were added to the list as Akkadian names, probably in an attempt by the

author of Enūma Eliš to syncretize Marduk with those gods.131 So, it seems best to seek to

understand ru as “to throw, cast (a spell)” as Lambert did or to plainly read the RU sign as šub

with the same meaning. But, rather than understanding the form as nam-šub usually is, as

“incantation spell,” we may understand nam as part of an asyntactic clause similar to the

previous name, dasalluḫi-diĝir-namtila, and translate nam-ru or nam-šub as “who casts spells.”

This allows for a reading of the name as Sumerian, but leaves room for the primary definition of

Enūma Eliš to be ilu ellu, “pure god,” because the god who casts spells is de facto pure himself,

since he is the source of the efficacy of the spells.

This last line of the explanations of the first nine names in Tablet VI packs together

several of the themes that are expanded upon in the explanations in Tablet VII. The second half

of the line, mullilu alaktīni, “who purifies our ways” (VI:156b), further explains the definition

by taking the next step after that which was taken in the previous name132 and transforming the

word into a causative. This relates this power of Marduk to his relationship with the gods, which

is one of the major themes of the Fifty Names Section. It also hints to another important theme,

that of Marduk’s power of purity as controller of supernatural phenomena, which is taken up in

depth in the explanations to the Tutu names.

Another interesting group of themes is hinted at here by the use of alaktīni, “our ways.”

Built off of the stem alaktu or alkatu, deriving from the verb alāku, “to go,” this word may have

130
Of course, the Sumerian-Akkadian play on nam-ru/namru is still meaningful and intended here. I just mean to
emphasize that this name was most probably read primarily as Sumerian, as were most of the rest of the names in
the Fifty Names Section.
131
See Section 4.46.
132
Section 4.8.

53
been extracted from the name dasalluḫi-diĝir-namru from the final syllable ru, whose allophone

ri133 has a homophone ri6, which is written with the DU sign, also used to stand for the verb du

and its allomorphs (including ere as the plural ḫamṭu form).134 The word alaktu/alkatu appears

several times in the Fifty Names Section referring to either Marduk or the gods. This word

conveys a variety meaning, perhaps best translated to English as “way,” in order to include the

literal meanings of “gait” and “road,” as well as figurative ones, such as “correct behavior,

activities, experiences” and “passage, advance, movement.”135 In the statements that bracket the

Fifty Names Section as introduction and conclusion the word appears in explanation of what the

gods are doing by giving Marduk fifty names. Before beginning to list and explain Marduk’s

names, the gods hope alkatuš lū šupâtu, “may his ways be thus famous” (VI:122), and upon

completing the list they similarly exclaim ušātirū alkassu, “his ways have become extraordinary”

(VII:144). This is confirmed in the explanation to the name Aranunna: ša ana alakti rubûtīšu lā

umaššalu ilu ayyumma, “Whom no god can equal in respect of his lordly way” (VII:98).136 Here

the text specifically associates the gods’ general wish for Marduk with one of the names they

give him. In these lines the word is used in the sense of “divine character” of Marduk, the ideal

of behavior, which man was said to try to understand and emulate.137

On the other hand, with respect to the gods, alaktu/alkatu is used to mean “celestial

path.”138 Under the name Tutu-Zi’ukinna, the explanation reads: alkassun iṣbatūma u’addû

133
See ePSD, s.v. ri [IMPOSE], which has approximately a quarter of its attestations spelled as ru.
134
The noun alaktum itself may also by cognate to the Sumerian a-rá, rá being another possible value of the
multifarious DU sign.
135
CAD a/1, s.v. alaktu.
136
Translation is mine in light of benedictory posture that is taken throughout the Fifty Names Section as well as
purposefully rendering alkatu vaguely as “way” to incorporate all meanings.
137
See Nahum M. Waldman, “God’s Ways: A Comparative Note,” Jewish Quarterly Review, N. S., 70:2 (1979),
67-72.
138
This is the basic meaning understood by I. Tzvi Abusch, “Alaktu and Halakhah: Oracular Decision, Devine
Revelation,” Harvard Theological Review 80:1 (1987), 15-42, when he adds the meanings “divine decision” or
“oracle,” since they stem from “the astral course or celestial movement from which is inferred or which makes
known the divine decision” (Ibid., 17).

54
[manzāssun], “Who took charge of their courses, who appointed [their stations]” (VII:17). This

sets up a power relationship between Marduk and the gods with Marduk as direct controller of

the gods’ activities and fates. This relationship between celestial movements and divine activity

is made more explicit in the explanation to the name Neberu: ša kakkabāni šamāmī alkassunu

likīmma / kīma ṣēni lir’a ilāni gimrašun, “Let him fix the paths of the stars of heaven, / Let him

shepherd all the gods like sheep,” (VII:130-131). Marduk’s fixing of the paths of the stars, each

of which corresponds to a divine being, is akin to his shepherding them like sheep. This celestial

metaphor, broached through the polysemous word alaktu/alkatu, is also connected to the

destination of the celestial path of a star, its manzāzu, “station,” another word that connects to

multiple cultural realms.139

The count, šaniš, “second,” šalšiš, “third,” given to these first two derived Asalluḫi

names makes this group the first that explicitly counts derived names as second, third, etc. This

is a strong indication that the author of the Fifty Names Section understood the names as derived

from the first. However, in part due to the break of tablets between the third and fourth names,

switching from Tablet VI to Tablet VII, the numbering does not continue for the names Asare,

Asaralim, and Asaralimnunna. This is indicative of some friction between the inclusion of the

names Asare, etc. in the group beginning with Asalluḫi versus their constituting a separate group.

Other than for space reasons on the tablets, there seems to have been a tradition involving the

number ‘3’ and Marduk’s names, by which three gods, Anu, Laḫmu, and Laḫamu named him

each three names, necessitating a break after Asalluḫi-Dingir-Namru. The emphasis on three can

be shown from the exclusion of one of the names following Marduk that appears in several of the

god lists, either mar-uru5-giš-tukul140 or má-ru-ùdug141, which was not carried over to the list in

139
For more discussion see Sections 4.6, 4.14.
140
9th name in AN : Anum. Litke, An = Anum, 91.

55
Enūma Eliš. This was necessitated after the insertion of the two Lugaldimmerankia names

between the Marduk and Asalluḫi groups, in order to keep the first names to 9, putatively 3

groups of 3 names.142

This may stem from a desire to place Marduk in the company of the ancient divine

triumvirate of Anu-Enlil-Ea. Together, they form the three sections of the night sky, highest to

the pole, middle, and lowest to the horizon, respectively.143 These three come up explicitly in the

explanation to Asaralimnunna,144 with Marduk said to be their muštēšir têret, “Who implements

the decrees of” (VII:6). They also may appear as giving Marduk names: Anu is said to give the

name Asalluḫi (VI:147), Enlil gives Enkurur (VII:136), and Ea gives his own name (VII:140).145

They also appear several times in the narrative. Upon Marduk’s defeat of Tiamat, Anu, Enlil, and

Ea bring him presents (V:80); he makes them dwelling places alongside his own in Esagil

(IV:146, VI:64). In fact, other than in the end of the Fifty Names Section and in the conclusion to

the myth, Enlil is only mentioned as part of this triad. This purposeful exclusion of Enlil, to

whose position Marduk accedes,146 is only broken for Enlil to explicitly hand over the reins of

his position as chief god and to mention him as part of the ultimate triad of Anu-Enlil-Ea from

which he seemingly cannot be dropped. In another duality, although Marduk takes over from

Enlil the top position among the gods, he cannot break the ancient triad, but rather gets as close

to them as he can. He receives gifts from them, builds sanctuaries for them along with his own,

implements their decrees, and is named by them. The last point of naming seems to be also the

141
9th name in god list on BM 32533. Lambert, EE, “Introduction,” section entitled “Marduk’s Names.”
142
This artificial division does not work so well since there are really four Marduk names in the Fifty Names Section
of Enūma Eliš. In order to match the insertion at the end of Tablet VI which asserts that Anšar, Laḫmu, and Laḫamu
each gave 3 names (presumably each triad of names given by each of those gods were connected with each other),
the last, Meršakušu, becomes the first of the second group of 3 names, followed by Lugaldimmerankia and Nari-
Lugaldimmerankia, even though it has no direct connection with them. See Sections 4.4, 4.5, 4.6.
143
Lambert, EE, “The Organization of the Universe,” “The Thirty-Six Stars.”
144
See Section 4.12.
145
Foster, Muses, 475, n. 2.
146
See Section 4.50.

56
reason for why the breakdown of the first nine names into three groups of three names each is so

important at the beginning of the Fifty Names Section. That is, the symbolism of being named in

triads by the triad, places Marduk at the apex of the currently active pantheon, placed there by

the ancient divine titans. And, even if the text tells us that Anšar, Laḫmu, and Laḫamu are the

naming triad, their antiquity lets them stand as obvious symbol for the slightly younger, yet quite

ancient triad of Anu-Enlil-Ea.

4.10 Name 10: Asare

d
1 asare (dasar-re) šārik mīrišti ša Asare, bestower of cultivation, who established
israta ukinnu plough-land,147
2 bānû še’am u qê mušēṣṣû urqēt[i] Creator of grain and fibrous plants, who causes
vegetation to sprout.

Before the name Asare at the beginning of Tablet VII, comes a short introduction to the

remaining names (after the first nine) at the end of Tablet VI. The gods come together in

assembly in some type of ritual in order to give Marduk the remaining names. They say of

Marduk: ša māru qarrādu mutīr gimillīni / nīnu ša zānini i nulli šumšu, “The valiant son, our

champion, / Our provider, we will exalt his name!” (VI:163-164). Other than under the first

overall name, Marduk, the theme of provider of the gods, in the sense of subsistence rather than

residence, is first brought up in the following name, Asare. It recurs several times through the

remaining names. It may connect to an archaic understanding of Marduk as a god of

vegetation.148

147
According to Lambert, EE, ad loc. See my discussion below.
148
This stems from some scholars’ understanding of parts of the New Year and Akītu festivals as having developed
over time, in part originally from semi-annual agricultural cycles, over which Marduk presided (see J. A. Black,
“The New Year Ceremonies in Ancient Babylon: ‘Taking Bel by the Hand’ and a Cultic Picnic,” Religion 11:1
[1981], 49).

57
 The name Asare is probably simply a shortened form of Asalluḫi (dasar-lú-ḫi).149 Asare

is initially glossed as šārik mīrišti, “bestower of cultivation” (VII:1). This seems to have been

deduced from the name by a paronomastic play on the ASAL sign, reading it as “alal,” of which

the àlal and alal4 values have the meaning “cultivation, field,” equivalent to Akkadian mēreštu.

The second sign, read here ‘re,’ is an allophone of RU, as in a ru, “to dedicate,” the Sumerian

equivalent of Akkadian šarāku.

The text continues with a somewhat ambiguous explanation: ša israta ukinnu, “who

established plough-land” (VII:1). Although normally translated as “surveys,”150 “ground-

plan,”151 “cadastre,”152 reading the word as iṣratu (with a ṣade), Lambert reads the word as

isratu, a hapax that he shows is equated to tamīrtu, which is a type of “meadow” or “cultivated

land,” as he translates, “plough-land.”153 Although this reading keeps to the theme of agriculture,

it does not add much as an explanation of the previous phrase, contrary to what we generally

expect in the second level explanations in the Fifty Names Section. As such, it may be better to

read more simply iṣratu, as a slightly more detailed description of the cultivation that Marduk

bestows. That is, he even draws up the plans for fields, implying that he sets up their irrigation

properly. This also holds a double entendre, since the word iṣratu connects to the narrative,

where a form of the word, miṣratu, is used to describe some of Marduk’s creations: u’addi šatta

miṣrata u’aṣṣir, “He marked the year, described (its) boundaries” (V:3). That line comes in the

context of Marduk’s creation and periodic organization of the celestial bodies and their

movements.

149
It is possible that the second sign in the name is actually a phonetic complement, which indicates that the
asal/asar sign here be read ‘Asare,’ as per Bottéro, “Noms de Marduk,” 5.
150
Foster, Muses, 476.
151
Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 281, translate “Grundrisse.” But see n. 3 which may read as does Lambert,
“Felfluren,” “meadow.”
152
Talon, EE, translation, ad loc.
153
Lambert, EE, ad loc., note to VII:1-2.

58
 The next line reads: bānû še’am u qê mušēṣû urqēt[i], “Creator of grain and fibrous

plants, who causes vegetation to sprout” (VII:2). The first part of this line is a stock phrase often

said of gods that pairs še’u, “barley,” as the paradigmatic food crop with qû, “flax,” as the same

textile crop.154 This builds upon the previous line, identifying Marduk as the fertility deity who

not only provides cultivation, but even creates plant life. Along these lines, the phrase is applied

outside of Enūma Eliš to Marduk, but also to Adad, the storm god, who is identified with

Marduk later in the Fifty Names Section when he is given that very name.155 The next phrase,

mušēṣṣû urqēt[i], “who causes vegetation to sprout,” is a word play on Asare. Dropping the first

/a/ gives SAR, read as ninda, the equivalent of Akkadian warqu, “vegetation,” of which urqēti

is the plural form; taking the /e/ from the last syllable, allows it to be interpreted as the value è,

“to go out,” equivalent to Akkadian waṣû.156 Here as before the verb is taken as the causative.157

The theme of Marduk as fertility god who provides abundantly for people on earth must

stem from other religious associations with Marduk and is only implicitly, though necessarily,

connected to the narrative of Enūma Eliš. Since Marduk creates the world and its sources of

abundance, earth and water (V:45-62), along with the people on it and does so in order for them

to serve and feed the gods (V:115, 139; VI:1-16), he must provide well for mankind so that they

provide well for their masters. This connection is made somewhat more overtly in the

explanation of Asaralimnunna by the juxtaposition of the two lines: šūma zāninšunu mu’addû

isqī[š]un / ša šukūssu ḫegalla uṣappû ana māti, “He is their provisioner, who assigns their

incomes, / Whose turban multiplies abundance for the land” (VII:7-8). The first line refers to the

gods; in order to provide for the gods, Marduk must multiply abundance for the people of the

154
See CAD q, s.v. qû A, 1, b.
155
Section 4.47.
156
See CAD a/2, s.v. aṣû, where both SAR (for mu-u) and è are shown to be Sumerian equivalents of waṣû or šūṣû.
157
See Sections 4.8, 4.9.

59
land, who implicitly are the ones who actually provide for the gods. Although the fertility aspect

of Marduk made only little impact on the narrative of Enūma Eliš, it is prominent in the Fifty

Names Section. Mentioned quickly under the name Marduk (VI:124), it appears here under

Asare, as well as in the explanations to Asaralimnunna, Tutu-Ziku, the Enbilulu group, Sirsir,

Gil, Zulum, and Addu. Although this power is of implicit importance to the scheme of mankind’s

support for the gods that Marduk sets up, it probably is borrowed from other deities.

4.11 Name 11: Asaralim

d
3 asaralim (dasar-alim) ša ina bīt
milki kabtu šūturu milikšu
4 ilāni utaqqû adīršu aḫzū
Asaralim, who is honored in the house of counsel,
whose counsel exceeds,
Whom the gods heed, since they are seized with
fear.158

The name Asaralim was initially arrived at as a derived form of the shortened version,

Asare, of Asalluḫi.159 Although the ALIM sign initially signified a bovine, probably an aurochs,

it secondarily came to mean “heavy, honored” when used as an epithet, such as part of our

name.160 As such, the explanation here focuses on kabtu, “honored,” and finds the context for

this honor in counseling, ša ina bīt milki kabtu, “who is honored in the house of counsel”

(VII:3). This plays on the sound /sa/ in asar, of which the homophone sá means “advice,

counsel,” Akkadian milku. The further embellishment, šūturu milikšu, “whose counsel

exceeds,” plays in some more depth, using the homophone sa5, written as SI.A, to lead to its

other value diri, “to exceed,” equivalent to Akkadian šūturu. The explanation continues, ilāni

utaqqû adīršu aḫzū, “Whom the gods heed, since they are seized with fear” (VII:4). This

158
Translation as per Lambert’s choice of text, against Foster, Muses, 476, as he notes there, n. 2.
159
See Lambert, EE, note to VI:147-156.
160
Piotr Steinkeller, “Studies in Third Millennium Paleography, 4: Sign KIŠ,” Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und
Vorderasiatische Archaeologie 94:2 (2004), 183, n. 31.

60
connects back to the meaning we adduced for Asalluḫi of “light of the gods,”161 which induces

fear, aiding in keeping the gods in line with Marduk’s command.

The notion of counseling appears several times in the narrative, although none is

performed by Marduk other than when conferring with Ea about the creation of mankind (VI:4).

If we take counseling to refer to Marduk’s command, we find such speech when he orders the

gods to build things (e.g., VI:57-58), as well as in his creation of a constellation (IV:19-26).

4.12 Name 12: Asaralimnunna

d
5 asaralimnunna (dasar-alim-nun-
na) karūbu nūr abi ālidī[šu]
6 muštēšir têret danim denlil dea u
d
n[inš]iku
7 šūma zāninšunu mu’addû isqī[š]un
8 ša šukūssu ḫegalla uṣappû ana māti
Asaralimnunna, the honored one, light of the
father(s) who begot [him],
Who implements the decrees of Anu, Enlil, Ea,
(who is) Ninšiku.
He is their provider who assigned their portions,
Whose tiara increases abundance for the land.

The last name of the Asar- group expands on the previous name, adding another

appellative, nun or “princely, noble,” to form Asaralimnunna. The definition given is karūbu

nūr abi ālidī[šu], “the honored one, light of the father who begot [him]” (VII:5). This reads as a

scrambled interpretation of the name: karūbu, “the honored one,” or more literally, “greeted

reverently,”162 is synonymous with the Akkadian translation of alim, “heavy, honored;” nūr,

“light,” was shown to be a meaning of asar;163 and taking the last syllable as only /a/ rather than

/na/, we may interpret it as standing for a-a, an alternative writing of ab-ba or ad-da, meaning

“father, ancestor,” equivalent to Akkadian abi ālidī[šu], “the father who begot [him].”

The explanation elaborates, muštēšir têret danim denlil dea u dn[inš]iku, “Who implements

the decrees of Anu, Enlil, Ea, (who is) Ninšiku” (VII:6). Continuing in the same vein as the last

name, having an honored position coincides with being listened to. Here, however, it is Marduk

161
Section 4.7.
162
AHw I, s.v. karūbu, translates accordingly: “ehrfurchtsvoll gegrüßt.”
163
See Section 4.7.

61
who ensures that the instructions of his venerated elders are in force. Although the inclusion of

Ninšiku in this group of gods is probably only as a gloss to Ea,164 it is curious that this line

moves beyond the singular of the last line and presents us with the special triumvirate as a source

of authority to whom even Marduk must be cowed. Another interpretation that avoids this issue

might view this line in a divinatory sense, in which Marduk is said to have the authority to

interpret the omens appearing in the three areas of the night sky, Anu, Enlil, and Ea. The closing

lines of this name’s and group’s explanation return to the theme of fertility: šūma zāninšunu

mu’addû isqī[š]un / ša šukūssu ḫegalla uṣappû ana māti, “He is their provider who assigned

their portions, / Whose tiara increases abundance for the land” (VII:7-8). As in the name Asare,

the concept of abundance elaborated through these lines, especially from the words zāninšunu,

“their provider,” and ḫegalla, a Sumerian loanword for “abundance,” may be drawn from the

syllable /sar/ in the name via the SAR sign, which points to words in the same semantic field:

growth (mú) and vegetation (ninda).165 This rounds out the explanation to this name, having

touched on most of the themes raised in the Asar- group.

4.13 Name 13: Tutu

d
9 tutu (dtu-tu) bān tēdištīšunu šūma Tutu is he who effected their restoration,
10 līlil sāgīšunūma šunu lū pašḫū He shall purify their shrines that they may be at
rest,
11 libnīma šipta ilāni līnuḫū He shall devise the spell that the gods may be calm.
12 aggiš lū tebû linē’ū [irāss]un Should they rise in anger, they shall turn [back].
13 lū šušqûma ina puḫur ilāni He shall be supreme in the assembly of the gods his
[abbē]šu [fathers],
14 mamman ina ilāni šu’āšu lā No one among the gods shall [make himself equal]
um[daššalš]u to him.

164
As per Foster’s translation that includes “(who is).” This is in line with a commentary that omits Ninšiku (STC I
216 2-3, apud Lambert, EE, note to VII:5-6).
165
For more on these lines, see Section 4.10.

62
 The group beginning with Tutu has four names that derive from it (Sections 4.14-4.17).

The basic meaning of the name may connect to the value tu(d), “to bear (children),” of the TU

sign. Taken as an asyntactic verb, of the reduplicated ḫamṭu type, tu-tu may mean “master

creator” or “creator of all.”166 As such it stands as the designation of a creator or fertility god.

This name is first attested as the city god of Borsippa, a smaller, neighboring city to Babylon,

and was later syncretized with Marduk. Another meaning could be arrived at by taking the

phonetic value /tu/ and correlating it to one of the many other signs that may be pronounced as

such.167 Most appropriate in this case as connected to Marduk from our knowledge of his

connection with Asalluḫi is the homophonous tu6, borrowed directly from Sumerian to Akkadian

as tû, which is synonymous with šiptu, “spell, incantation.” This value was certainly seen in

ancient times as a possible interpretation of Tutu since we find tu6-tu6 in several god lists instead

of tu-tu or as part of the tu-tu group.168 Using this value to translate Tutu, we may understand it

as a collective nominal form, perhaps meaning “All Spells,” or more to the point, “The

Magician.”169 This fits well with the explanations in the Fifty Names Section, since a major

focus of the word plays for Tutu and its derived names is on using magic or creating purity,

which was accomplished through magic.

However, the basic definition of Tutu given in the Fifty Names Section is quite different:
d
tutu bān tēdištīšunu šūma, “Tutu is he who effected their restoration” (VII:9). Here, the name

166
Marie-Louise Thomsen, The Sumerian Language: An Introduction to Its History and Grammatical Structure
(Mesopotamia, Copenhagen Studies in Assyriology 10; Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag, 1984), 320, indicates that
the verbal class of tu.d is unknown.
167
This is a fine example of the great homophonic variety available within cuneiform as there are 28 Sumerian signs
that have a value read as /tu/ and 30 that may be read as its near homophone /du/, according to the ePSD.
168
See the god lists quoted in Lambert, EE, “Introduction,” “Marduk’s Names,” K 4210, AN = Anu = ša amēli, and
especially K 2107+6086.
169
Hanspeter Schaudig, “Cult Centralization in the Ancient Near East? Conceptions of the Ideal Capital in the
Ancient Near East,” in One God – One Cult – One Nation: Archaeological and Biblical Perspectives (Eds.,
Reinhard G. Kratz and Hermann Spieckermann; Berlin: de Gruyter, 2010), 154, interprets the name slightly
differently as “The one who brings forth the incantation.” He seems to understand one of the TU syllables in Tutu as
tù = DU = de6, “to bring,” or possibly as TU = tud, “to bear,” understood metaphorically.

63
Tutu is used to emphasize Marduk’s accomplishments in connection with the narrative. Marduk

defeats the rebelling gods, thereby saving and protecting the other gods (IV: 65-134) and creates

man to let the gods rest by doing their work for them (VI: 1-16). This work is none other than

providing shelter and food for the gods, or in other words, the upkeep of their temples and daily

offerings. As such, Marduk has become, in double entendre, the restorer of their peace (i.e., the

previous state of calm) and the renovator of their temples.170 Etymographically, this explanation

dissects the name Tutu and uses its two halves somewhat differently. Its interpretation plays on

the near homophone dù, “to build,” which when translated to Akkadian as banû, can mean both

“to build” and “to create.” It seems that both syllables in Tutu were interpreted as dù in a

nominal sense, one as “creator,” or bān, and the other as “something that is restored” or

“rebuilt,” which is synonymous with tēdištu, “restoration.”171 So we get the interpretation of

Tutu as dù-dù, translated to bān tēdištišunu, literally “creator of their rebuilt situation.” This

may refer both to the gods’ temples and to the refurbishment of their idols.172

The explanation of Tutu continues, līlil sāgīšunūma šunu lū pašḫū / libnīma šipta ilāni

līnuḫū, “He shall purify their shrines that they may be at rest, / He shall devise the spell that the

gods may be calm” (VII:10-11). These lines flesh out the initial etymography of the name and

explain further how Marduk accomplishes the restoration of the gods, by using magic to purify

their temples and create peace. This expansion is achieved by playing on the name Tutu further,

using other etymographic options. The word for “purity,” which is used repeatedly in the

explanations of the Tutu names, may be derived via homophones of tu in two ways. Either it was

170
See Section 4.10.
171
This connection between tēdištu with dù is not philologically ironclad, especially since its verbal root, edēšu, “to
be new,” bears no relation to dù. But, from the semantic point of view, if taken as a noun, something that is restored
or renovated, is in a sense also built. This seems to be how the Commentary understands this word in relation to the
name Tutu, since it interprets, “tēdištišunu = TU = banû” (Bottéro, “Le Noms de Marduk,” 6). I could find no other
plausible connection.
172
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:9-14.

64
found from the alternate values of the UD sign: beginning with the homophone tú, and looking

for other values of its sign, UD, may lead to babbar, which when the sign is doubled, UD.UD,

may be read bábbar or dadag, which means “clean, bright,” equivalent to Akkadian ellu/elēlu,

ebbu, namru. Or, it was based off of the TÚG sign: beginning with the homophone tu9, and

looking for other values of its sign, TÚG, may lead to taškarin, a word that usually means

“boxwood tree,” but which is also associated with positive adjectives in the lexical tradition,

including Akkadian ellum and ebbum in the lexical list Diri (lines 167, 168).173 In these lines of

the explanation of Tutu, līlil is a form of elēlu (connected to Tutu via tú or tu9), libni of banû

(via dù), and šipta is synonymous with tû (via tu6). Hence, this is a great example of how the

author finds multiple possible meanings from the name or its parts by looking for associated

homophonous and paronomastic sounds and thereby constructs the explanation, developing a

theme he finds in the name. Regarding magic in the narrative of Enūma Eliš, we find Marduk

using a magical spell when he defeats Tiamat (IV:61).

Curiously, all of this magical force to be summoned by Marduk is aimed at keeping the

gods calm and appeased, as made clear in the next line, aggiš lū tebû linē’ū [irāss]un, “Should

they rise in anger, they shall turn [back]” (VII:12). Even if the gods do begin to get rowdy,

Marduk will quell their clamor. Why exactly do the gods need to be kept calm? Why should

Marduk be responsible for this? Perhaps this derives from Marduk’s stirring of the gods soon

after his birth that provoked them into rousing Tiamat’s ire, which led to the second upsetting of

the tranquility of the older gods (I:105-110) and thence to the threat of their destruction by

Tiamat. To make up for this Marduk seems to gain the job of keeping the gods calm and at bay.

Perhaps this is also part of the responsibility he gains in becoming the head of the pantheon. As

173
Seemingly, this is how the Commentary found the connection: “lilil = TU9 = el-lu4” (Bottéro, “Le Noms de
Marduk,” 6).

65
we have seen, he must in turn provide for their sanctuaries, but maybe he must protect them and

keep them in peace as well.174

Finally, the explanation returns to the theme of Marduk’s exaltation with a blessing. All

of the Tutu names and most Šazu names contain a blessing in the explanation, most commonly at

the end of the explanation. The blessings have one of three themes: that Marduk be elevated

among the gods, that his names be pronounced by the gods, and that mankind not forget his

names. Most often, the blessings are not connected to the theme of the explanation nor to any

word play on the name. However, sometimes they hint at the next name’s explanation, as is the

case here: lū šušqûma ina puḫur ilāni [abbē]šu / mamman ina ilāni šu’āšu lā um[daššalš]u, “He

shall be supreme in the assembly of the gods his [fathers], / No one among the gods shall [make

himself equal] to him” (VII:13-14). This leads into the next name which focuses on Marduk’s

role as head of the divine assembly or puḫru.

4.14 Name 14: Tutu-Zi’ukkinna

d
15 tutu-dzi’ukkinna (dtu-tu dzi-ukkin-na)
napišti ummānī[šu]
16 ša ukinnu ana ilāni šamê ellū[ti]
17 alkassun iṣbatūma u’addû [manzāssun]
18 ay immāši ina apâti epšētā[šu likilla]
Tutu-Ziukkinna, life of [his] masses,
Who established the holy (lit., pure) heavens
for the gods,
Who took control of where they went,
assigned their stations.
He shall not be forgotten by teeming
humankind, [let them hold fast to] his [deeds].

The next name, Tutu-Zi’ukkinna, is explained first by the basic etymology of Sumerian

Zi’ukkinna, /zi-ukkin-a(k)/, as napišti ummānīšu, “life of his masses” (VII:15).175 This

definition reads the Sumerian signs plainly as ZI, “life,” equivalent to Akkadian napištu, and

174
See Section 4.1.
175
This Sumerian grammaticalization is borne out by the added kám at the end of the name in Lambert’s Ms. A (see
variants in Lambert, EE, ad loc.). This form of the enclitic copula shows that at least this scribe understood there to
be a possessive /ak/ after ukkin.

66
UKKIN, “assembly (of the gods).” Although ukkin is usually translated to Akkadian as puḫru,

here it is rendered by the nearly synonymous ummānu, “masses.” The further explanation of the

name turns the focus to the heavenly manifestations of the gods, reminding the reader that

Marduk established the heavens as a place for the gods: ša ukinnu ana ilāni šamê ellū[ti] /

alkassun iṣbatūma u’addû [manzāssun] “Who established the holy (lit., pure) heavens for the

gods, / Who took control of where they went, assigned their stations” (VII:16-17). This passage

is full of celestial language. He established šamê, “the heavens,” directed the paths of the gods in

their guises as celestial objects, reading alkatu in the sense of “the path of a celestial object,” and

“assigned their stations,” reading manzāzu as “station of a divine constellation.”176 As part of his

creation of sky out of Tiamat in the narrative, Marduk has established the places and courses of

the celestial objects, which are connected to various deities (V:1-11). Furthermore, Marduk sets

new rules for the gods’ behavior (another meaning of alkatu), devising the new divine order

(V:63-72, VI:39-46). Finally, a blessing is pronounced, ay immāši ina apâti epšētā[šu likilla],

“He shall not be forgotten by teeming humankind, [let them hold fast to] his [deeds]” (VII:18).

This explanation is arrived at using word play on both parts of the name Tutu-Zi’ukkinna.

From the second part of the name, ukkinna is read homophonously as Akkadian ukinnu, the D-

stem of kânu, “to be firm, establish.”177 It also uses the Tutu part of the name to add in the

recurring theme of the Tutu names, purity, as ellūti, a form of elēlu (via tú or tu9). In the second

line, alkatu is derived from a homophonous play on TU, where the value tù (more commonly

túm or tùm) of the DU sign may be read as Akkadian alāku, “to go.” The word manzāzu can be

reached through a similar exegetical path: the homophonous value tù leads to the DU sign which

176
See section 4.9 for further discussion.
177
The derivation of the name Tutu-Zi’ukkinna from Tutu may have been partially arrived at in an intricate bilingual
word play using inter-lingual homophony. TU may be read as its near homophone DU. Then, using one of its values,
gin = Akk. kânu, the name may be devised by finding the near homophonous Sumerian word ukkin. This leaves the
‘zi’ part of the name unexplained.

67
may also be read gub, “to stand,” equivalent to Akkadian izuzzu, which is the verbal form of the

noun manzāzu, itself equivalent to Sumerian ki-gub.178

4.15 Name 15: Tutu-Ziku

d
19 tutu-dziku (dtu-tu dzi-kù) šalšiš imbû Tutu-Ziku they called him thirdly, who maintains
mukīl tēlilti purity,
20 il šāri ṭābi bēl tašmê u magāri God of the fair breeze, lord who hears and
accedes (to prayers),
21 mušabši ṣimri u kubutê mukīn ḫegalli Producer of riches and wealth, who establishes
abundance,
22 ša mimmāni īṣu ana ma’dê utirru Who turned all of our want to plenty,
23 ina pušqi danni nīṣinu šāršu ṭābu Whose fair breeze we caught whiff of in our great
danger,
24 liqbû litta’idū lidlulā dalīlīšu Let them ever speak of his exaltation, let them
sing his praises!

The second derived name, Tutu-Ziku, could be basically translated from Sumerian as

“holy breath,”179 or perhaps “pure soul,” since zi means “breath, life, soul” and kù means “bright,

pure, holy.”180 Following the name is a count indicating this to be the third Tutu name, šalšiš

imbû, “they called him thirdly.” Although the previous name is not called “second,” the counting

continues in the following Tutu names. The explanation gives several basic etymologies, the first

of which, mukīl tēlilti, “who maintains purity” (VII:19), continues on the theme of purity. This

etymology may be explained as working off of the near homophone of tu, du8, which can mean

“to hold,” and translates to Akkadian as kullu, the infinitive of mukīl.181 The second element,

178
manzāzu carries multiple connotations, many of which may relate to this name and Marduk’s powers in general.
They include, “emplacement, stand, socle” of a stele, “position, office, rank,” whether political or military, “position
of a celestial body,” an ominous constellation in the omen literature, a feature of the liver in extispicy texts, and
“pledge, security” in a legal sense (see CAD m/1, s.v. manzāzu).
179
W. G. Lambert, “Babylonian Linguistics,” in Languages and Cultures in Contact: At the Crossroads of
Civilizations in the Syro-Mesopotamian Realm (Orientalia Lovaniensa Analecta 96; Proceedings of the 42nd
Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale; Eds., K. Van Lerberghe and G. Voet; Leuven: Peeters, 2000), 223.
180
Halloran, Sumerian, 313, s.v. zi, 149-50, s.v. kug.
181
ePSD, s.v. šu du [HOLD].

68
tēlilti, which is a form of elēlu, is derived simply from kù, which means “pure,” equivalent to

Akkadian elēlu.182

Rather than embellish upon this etymology, the following line contains two different

etymologies of the name, portraying Marduk as a fertility god and as protector: il šāri ṭābi bēl

tašmê u magāri, “God of the fair breeze, lord who hears and accedes (to prayers)” (VII:20).

Literally, šāri ṭābi means “sweet wind.” This definition is probably closest to the plain Sumerian

meaning as it translates the two signs of zi-kù. This etymology works as follows: zi, “life,” may

also mean “breath.”183 Although šāru literally means “wind,” through the physical commonality

and linguistic near synonymity of breath and wind, šāru is seen as a viable interpretation of zi.

Alternately, as noted in the Commentary, the connection to šāru may be via the homophone of

tu, tu15, written by the IM sign.184 The main value of that sign, im, means “rainstorm,” which

can be translated to Akkadian as either zunnu, “rain,” or šāru, “wind.”185 The other part of the

phrase, ṭābi, stems from a play on a homophone of KÙ, ku7, which means “sweet,” equivalent to

Akkadian ṭābu, or from another play on tu, to du10, also read as dùg, equivalent to Akkadian

ṭābu, “sweet.”186

The third etymology, tašmê u magāri, literally means “hearing and agreeing.” To

understand how tašmê can be found in the name we must look at a near homophone of tu, du12,

written by the TUK sign. This sign when pronounced tuku in combination with geš, as in geš
182
Alternatively, Ziku may be understood as Akkadian, where perhaps zikû is a byform of zakû, the verbal adjective
of zakû, “to be pure,” as emphasized in the basic etymology. If so, and if Tutu is understood as “Pure one,” via tú
or tu9 (See Section 4.13), Ziku could be an Akkadian translation of the Sumerian and form a doubled bilingual
name, perhaps meaning “Ultra pure.” In addition, the magical sense given to this name may stem from a connection
to the type of magical practice or spell called zikurudû, spelled most commonly zi-ku5-ru-da (CAD z, s.v. zikurudû).
When claiming this name expresses “who maintains purity,” which we know to have magical connotations (See
Section 4.9), the explanation may have connected Ziku with zikurudû.
183
This semantic connection comes from breathing being obviously associated with human life. Akkadian also has
the same two connotations stem from the same root – napištu, “life,” as it was used in the previous name
explanation (Section 4.14), comes from the verbal root napāšu, “to breathe.”
184
Bottéro, “Le Noms de Marduk,” 7; Frahm, Commentaries, 115.
185
ePSD, s.v. im [RAIN].
186
Second option as per Lambert, EE, notes to VII:19.

69
tuku, may also mean “hear, listen,” equivalent to Akkadian šemû, the infinitive of tašmê.187

Although magāru generally means “to agree,” in this context, it is synonymous with the meaning

“to listen” of šemû and so may be said to be a similar play as well.

The following lines further explain these two etymologies in combination, but organized

chiasticly, mušabši ṣimri u kubutê mukīn ḫegalli / ša mimmāni īṣu ana ma’dê utirru / ina pušqi

danni nīṣinu šāršu ṭābu, “Producer of riches and wealth, who establishes abundance, / Who

turned all of our want to plenty, / Whose fair breeze we caught whiff of in our great danger”

(VII:21-23). The “lord who hears and accedes” is embellished as the god who listens to one of

the most common things man prays for, material well-being, and then the “god of the fair

breeze” is interpreted as Marduk’s presence which brings with it security in dangerous times.

Here some word play comes up again. The word mukīn is used since it plays on Tutu through

the homophone tù of the DU sign, which also may be read gin, “to establish,” equivalent to

Akkadian kânu, from which mukīn derives as its D-stem participle. The words šāru and ṭābu

appear again and connect to the name as previously explained. This combination of ideas of

Marduk’s saving the gods and then providing for them is explicitly adumbrated here, perhaps

connecting the explanations of Asalluḫi (magical savior) and Asare (provider).188

The explanation concludes with a blessing, liqbû litta’idū lidlulā dalīlīšu, “Let them ever

speak of his exaltation, let them sing his praises!” (VII:24), returning to the idea expressed in the

blessing to the name Tutu.189

187
The Commentary (Bottéro, “Les Noms de Marduk,” 7) connects šemû to ZI. However, this equation does not
appear in other lexical lists or bilinguals as per CAD š, s.v. šemû.
188
See sections 4.7, 4.10.
189
Perhaps this alliterative phrase was chosen due to the phonic resemblance between Tutu-Ziku and alternate
values of the Sumerian phrase for dalālu, “to praise,” katar sil, spelled ka-tar si-il. Alternate values of those
syllables or signs matching our name include: ka, written KA, has a value du11, which sounds similar to tu; tar,
written TAR, has a value ku5; and si of si-il is a near homophone of zi. So, the explanation may have chosen to
emphasize the word dalālu in this blessing due to the possible connections between the Sumerian name and the
Sumerian equivalent of dalālu.

70
4.16 Name 16: Tutu-Agaku
d
25 tutu-dagaku (dtu-tu daga-kù) ina Tutu-Agaku fourthly, let teeming humankind
rebî lišarriḫū abrāte magnify,
26 bēl šiptu elletim muballiṭ mītī Lord of the sacral spell, reviver of the moribund,
27 ša an ilāni kamûti iršû tayyāru Who had mercy on the vanquished gods,
28 abšāna endu ušassiku eli ilāni Who removed the yoke imposed on the gods, his
nakirīšu enemies,
29 ana padȋšunu ibnû amēlūtu Who, to free them, created humankind,
30 rēmēnû ša bulluṭu bašû ittīšu The merciful, whose power is to revive,
31 likūnāma ay immašâ amâtušu Word of him shall endure, not to be forgotten,
32 ina pȋ ṣalmat qaqqadī ša ibnâ qātāšu In the mouth of the people of this land, whom
his hands have created.

The derived part of the name Tutu-Agaku seems to have the fairly simple Sumerian

meaning of “holy crown,” from aga, “crown,” and kù, “pure, holy.” However, this interpretation

of the name is not taken up in the explanation at all. This leads Lambert to argue that aga, written

DÙN, was confused for the vaguely similar EZEN sign before the Fifty Names Section was

composed. This would lead to a reading of šìr, forming šìr-kù, a “sacred song,” or

“incantation.”190 This is an interesting idea, especially in light of Lambert’s evidence from the

last two Tutu names in the god list K 2107+6086, dšìr-kù : ša ši-pat-su el-let / dtu6-kù : ša tu-ú-šú

el-let, “Širku : whose incantation is pure / Tuku : whose spell is pure” (lines 26-27), which

correspond to the first explanations of Tutu-Agaku (bēl šiptu elletim) and Tutu-Tuku (tâšu ellu)

in Enūma Eliš.191 However, upon investigating the context of that god list, we see that the

previous four derived names and the name Tutu itself on that list (lines 21-25)192 do not

correspond to the names in Enūma Eliš, nor do their explanations. So, it is not convincing to

argue that since the last two correspond in terms of one of the names and both of the

explanations, we should emend the name in Enūma Eliš of aga-kù to match šìr-kù in the god list.

190
Halloran, Sumerian, 261, s.v. šir3-kug.
191
Lambert, EE, note to VII:25-26.
192
See the god list K 2107+6086 quoted in full in Lambert, EE, “Introduction,” “Marduk’s Names.”

71
 Therefore, we search for an alternative to how the explanation interpreted Tutu-Agaku as

bēl šiptu elletim muballiṭ mītī, “Lord of the sacral spell, reviver of the moribund” (VII:26).

Possibly, the explanation read the beginning of the name tu-tu-aga as tu6-du11-ga, “spoken

exorcistic formula,”193 translated here as šiptu, followed by kù, “holy,” translated normally as

elletim. In any event, this sentence is basically the same as part of the explanation of Asalluhi-

Namtila, bēlum ša ina šiptīšu elleti uballiṭu ilāni mītūti, “The lord, who brought to life the dead

gods by his pure incantation” (VI:153), with only the voice being different, there active, here

passive. Clearly this relationship between magical powers and revival of the dead is a classic

trope, but in connection with the narrative of Enūma Eliš it serves to emphasize how desperate

the situation was before Marduk came along to save the day.

After some elaboration in connection to the narrative, the explanation of Tutu-Agaku

returns to this theme: rēmēnû ša bulluṭu bašû ittīšu, “The merciful, whose power is to revive”

(VII:30).194 This supplies the causal connection between Marduk having magical powers and his

revival of the gods – i.e., he is merciful. This meaning is also a play on another name, Šazu, of

which šà may mean “womb” or “pity, mercy.”195 We will see other instances of word play

crossover between name explanations, although this may also be due to crossover between name

explanation themes.196

193
Halloran, Sumerian, 278, s.v. tu6-du11-ga.
194
If the author might have known Sumerian cuneiform, we could argue that the choice of rēmēnû, “merciful,” here

might be a play on the Sumerian sign used to write aga, DÙN ( ). That sign is in the same shape as the
Sumerian DA sign, but with vertical gunû inside the upper portion and the horizontal gunû of the left hand part of
the sign moved outside the shape to the left. The Sumerian equivalent to rēmēnû, meaning “womb” or
“compassion” is written arḫuš, which is sometimes written Á.TUR (arḫuš5) or Á.SAL (arḫuš6). From those

writings, the Sumerian Á sign ( ), shaped like DA, but with šeššig in the upper part, an extra winkelhaken, and
slightly longer right hand stem, is very similar to the DÙN sign. This visual connection may have aided in the word
choice of rēmēnû.
195
See Lambert, EE, notes on VII:35-36.
196
See Section 4.46, where in the explanation of Girru is another play on Šazu.

72
 In between the talk of reviving the dead gods, we have reference made to the narrative

where the gods are not precisely dead, but defeated and bound as captives: ša an ilāni kamûti

iršû târu / abšāna endu ušassiku eli ilāni nakirīšu / ana padȋšunu ibnû amēlūtu, “Who had mercy

on the vanquished gods, / Who removed the yoke imposed on the gods, his enemies, / Who, to

free them, created humankind” (VII:27-29). These lines make dual reference to the narrative

forming a type of “before and after,” in which the middle line is used differently in connection

with the first and last lines. With the first, it describes Marduk’s freeing of the defeated gods as

they had been bound by him (IV:105-118). With the last, it refers to the yoke of toil necessary to

feed the gods which Marduk removed from the gods themselves and placed on mankind when he

created man for this purpose (VI: 1-16). A couple of connections may be made between these

lines and the name Tutu-Agaku. The reference to Marduk’s creation of mankind may be drawn

from the Tutu part of this name, connected to the meaning of tu, “to bear (children).” And, the

use of ilāni kamûti for “the bound gods” may relate via tu of Tutu to Sumerian šu du3 “to bind

the hands,” equivalent to Akkadian kamû.

There are two blessings in this name explanation – one at the beginning, lišarriḫū abrāte,

“let teeming humankind magnify (this name)” (VII:25), and one at the end of the explanation,

likūnāma ay immašâ amâtušu / ina pȋ ṣalmat qaqqadī ša ibnâ qātāšu, “Word of him shall

endure, not to be forgotten, / In the mouth of the people of this land, whom his hands have

created” (VII:31-32). Both wish for the future praise of Marduk by mankind, who appear at the

end of the exegetical part of the name explanation. As previously stated, Marduk’s creation of

man, ša ibnâ qātāšu, may be a further link to the name, related to the meaning of tu, “to bear

(children).”

73
4.17 Name 17: Tutu-Tuku
d
33 tutu-dtuku (dtu-tu dtu6-kù) ina ḫašši Tutu-Tuku fifthly, his sacral spell shall ever be
tâšu ellu pâšina littabbal upon their lips,
34 ša ina šiptīšu elletim issuḫu nagab Who with his sacral spell uprooted all the evil
lemnūti ones.

The final derived Tutu name, Tutu-Tuku is fairly self-revealing as “Tutu of the Sacral

Spell,” since tu6 means “spell” and kù means “holy.” Rounding out the theme of holy magic, the

explanation follows along with its definition accordingly, tâšu ellu pâšina littabbal, “his sacral

spell shall ever be upon their lips” (VII:33), including a short blessing. However, this time, the

explanation for what Marduk did with his magic spell differs: ša ina šiptīšu elletim issuḫu nagab

lemnūti, “Who with his sacral spell uprooted all the evil ones” (VII:34). Rather than focusing on

the saved gods, it takes the opposite point-of-view, directing Marduk’s spell at the destruction of

the evil gods, or Tiamat’s cohort. The narrative bears this out as one of Marduk’s weapons with

which he girds himself before battle with Tiamat is his sacral spell (IV:61). This leads into the

following Šazu group which elaborates on the theme of Marduk’s defeat of the evil gods.

4.18 Name 18: Šazu

d
35 šazu (dšà-zu) mūde libbī ilāni ša Šazu, who knows the heart of the gods, who was
ibarrû karšu examining the inside,
36 ēpiš lemnēti lā ušēṣû ittīšu Lest he allow evildoers to escape from him,
37 mukīn puḫri ša ilāni muṭīb libbīšun Who established the assembly of the gods, who
contented them,
38 mukanniš lā māgirī ṣ[ullu]lšun Who subdued the unsubmissive, their (the gods’)
rapšu broad [pro]tection,
39 mušēšir kitti nasi[ḫ] itguru dabāba Who administers justice, uproots twisted
testimony,
40 ša sarti u k[it]tum umtassâ ašruššu In whose place falsehood and truth are
distinguished.

74
 As a head name of a group of names, we assume the name Šazu originally belonged to

another god that was syncretized with Marduk.197 Simply, the name means “midwife.” However,

in our context, it makes sense to read it piecemeal, along the lines of “Knower of the Heart,”

which in ancient Mesopotamia was taken to be the seat of intention as well as emotion. So,

perhaps a better modern translation would be “Knower of the Mind,” or “The Omniscient.” This

translation derives from the meanings of šà, “heart,” and zu, “to know.” The explanation of the

name follows suit in its understanding of this name as, mūde libbī ilāni ša ibarrû karšu, “who

knows the heart of the gods, who was examining the inside” (VII:35). This knowledge is said to

be directed at the insides of the gods. By using the verb ibarrû, “to examine, see,” the

explanation brings to mind the connotations of divination which the word carries, as the barû,

“diviner,” also attempts to gain insight into the mind of the gods. This accords with the notion

that the initial Šazu, before his identification with Marduk, should be equated with Šazi, who was

a god of the river ordeal in Susa, which was a type of discovery of justice.198

As the explanation continues, it describes how Marduk used this power of omniscience to

undermine the rebelling gods and defeat them. This sets the theme for much of the explanations

to the names derived from Šazu as well. The text reads, ēpiš lemnēti lā ušēṣû ittīšu / mukīn puḫri

ša ilāni muṭīb libbīšun / mukanniš lā māgirī ṣ[ullu]lšun rapšu, “Lest he allow evildoers to escape

from him, / Who established the assembly of the gods, who contented them, / Who subdued the

unsubmissive, their (the gods’) broad [pro]tection” (VII:36-38). These lines alternate between

remarking on Marduk’s bringing about the evil gods’ defeat (VII:36, 38a) and keeping the good

gods happy (VII:37, 38b). This intimates a causal connection between the evil gods’ destruction

(IV:106-120) and the good gods’ well being (IV:142-146), implying some sort of cosmic balance

197
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:35-36.
198
Ibid.

75
that must be held in place by Marduk to maintain good over evil. In addition, the regular

Sumerian meaning of “midwife” for šà-zu may connect here to the explanation’s portrayal of

Marduk as establisher of the assembly of the gods and not allowing the evil gods to escape,

literally “not allowing them to go out,” possibly implying to be born.

Then the explanation gets more particular as to the type of good and evil that is being

dealt with, that of justice and truth versus crookedness and falsehood: mušēšir kitti nasi[ḫ] itguru

dabāba / ša sarti u k[it]tum umtassâ ašruššu, “Who administers justice, uproots twisted

testimony, / In whose place falsehood and truth are distinguished” (VII:39-40). This may connect

to the previous role of the god Šazi as god of the river ordeal, but also reflects on the narrative,

where Marduk sees through the deception of the evil gods who had spurred Tiamat into action

(I:111-124) and defeats Tiamat’s lying spell in battle (IV:71-72).199 Although the text is broken,

it seems that part of Marduk’s creation of the world includes the assignment of celestial bodies as

omens for judgment, using the related term dīnu instead of kittu (V:23-24).200

4.19 Name 19: Šazu-Zisi

d
41 šazu-dzisi (dMIN dzi-si) Šazu-Zisi they shall praise secondly, who silenced
mušē[bb]i tēbȋ šaniš litta’idū those who rose (against him),
42 mukkiš šuḫarratu ina zumur ilāni Who banished paralyzing fear from the body of the
abbēšu gods his fathers.

The extrapolation of this name, Šazu-Zisi, as the first listed derived name of Šazu, may

stem from the version of the name Šazi, doubling and nearly redoubling the final syllable. The
199
Contra ibid., who thinks these lines refer to an excerpt from Enmešarra’s Defeat that is reused in Tablet VI in
EE.
200
The phrase mušēšir kitti may be another definition of the name arrived as by a more complicated play on words.
The emphasis on kittu, “truth, justice,” may stem from a paronomastic play on Šazu or Šazi as saĝ zi, which is
equated with kittu in a lexical list (M. Civil, O. R. Gurney, and D. A. Kennedy, The Sag-Tablet, Lexical Texts in the
Ashmolean Museum, Middle Babylonian Grammatical Texts, Miscellaneous Texts [Materials for the Sumerian
Lexicon, Supplementary Series 1; Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1986], 17-27 ii 12, apud ePSD, s.v. zid [RIGHT]).
And, mušēšir, “administrator,” or “organizer,” which is a Š-stem (factitive) participle of ešēru, “to be straight,”
may be a play on the Sumerian si-sà “to make straight.” Both of these plays require some looseness in sibilant type,
which should not be much of an issue as it is of the same order of difference as that between unvoiced tu and voiced
du, which we have seen played on numerous times in the Tutu names.

76
derived part of this name probably meant something near to the explanation’s interpretation,

mušē[bb]i tēbȋ, “who silenced those who rose (against him)” (VII:41), as zi(g) means “to rise,

muster” as in troops for rebellion, equivalent to Akkadian tebû, and si can mean “to silence,”

equivalent to Akkadian šapû, here spelled with voiced b’s in the D-stem participle.201 The

explanation obviously refers to Tiamat and her minions who rose against the gods. Again, as in

the Tutu derived names, we here have a blessing, litta’idū, “they shall praise,” placed in the first

line in a short explanation.

The name is further explained as mukkiš šuḫarratu ina zumur ilāni abbēšu, “Who

banished paralyzing fear from the body of the gods his fathers” (VII:42). The phrase mukkiš

šuḫarratu is an alternative translation of the name definition, mušē[bb]i tēbȋ, with šuḫarratu,

“awesome stillness,” a possible rendering of si-si-ig, and mukkiš, “banisher,” giving the negative

of sense of the removal of that stillness.202 This puts a different spin on the notion of “silence,”

removing that as a negative quality to free the gods. This refers to Marduk’s acceptance of and

success at the role of savior, since the problem that he solved, Tiamat’s uprising, was said to

have silenced the gods, making them incapable of defending themselves. Consistently, the text

uses a word from the same root, ušḫarir, “he was horror-stricken.” (II:6, 82, 106), to denote the

level of paralysis that Tiamat’s rebellion engendered among the gods. Again the text presents us

with a duality – the downfall of the evil gods correlates to the well-being of the good gods.

201
ePSD , s.v. zig [RISE]; CAD š/1, s.v. *šapû C, with lexical equations to Sumerian si.
202
A more direct connection exists from zi to nasāḫu, for which akāšu (from which is derived mukkiš), is a synonym
in this context. And, in fact, one of the god lists (K 2107+6086) gives an explanation for this name of nasiḫ šāpûti,
“who uprooted the silenced ones” (Lambert, EE, “Introduction,” “Marduk’s Names,” line 30).

77
4.20 Name 20: Šazu-Suḫrim
d
43 šazu-dsuḫrim (dMIN dsuḫ-rim) šalšiš
nāsiḫ ayyābi gimiršunu ina kakku
44 musappiḫ kipdīšunu mutirri šāriš
45 muballi napḫar raggī mala yârūšu
46 ilāni lištālilū šunu ina puḫri
Šazu-Suḫrim thirdly, who uprooted all enemies
with the weapon,
Who thwarted their plots, turned them into
nothingness,
Who snuffed out all the wicked ones, as many
as came against him.
The gods shall ever be joyful in the assembly!

The derived part of the second derived name, Šazu-Suḫrim, may be understood simply

as “Uprooter of the Enemy,” as suḫ means “to tear out, uproot,” and the second syllable of the

derived part of the name, rim, may be a shortened form of erím, “people, troops,” especially of

the enemy, as in gú-erím.203 It and the following three derived names are all variations of

basically the same phonic assemblage (sibilant-vowel-ḫ-[gú]-rim) and meaning (“destroy the

enemy”). The explanation accordingly translates, nāsiḫ ayyābi, “who uprooted enemies,” adding

gimiršunu ina kakku, “all of them, with the weapon.” As we have seen before, the text has a

tendency to add words that are all inclusive in meaning, such as gimiršunu here, to magnify the

issue at hand.204 Regarding ina kakku, “with the weapon,” it may be used here from a play on

suḫ, often spelled suḫ5, which is written with the KU sign, for which tukul, or “weapon,” is

another value. The notion of a weapon for Šazu seems to exist elsewhere, especially with regards

to executing justice.205 Even though this name explanation is no longer focused on justice as was

the explanation of Šazu, this still may explain the inclusion here of a weapon. Additionally,

Marduk’s flood weapon is the only weapon mentioned as such in the narrative (IV:48), and so

probably is a good referent for this phrase.

203
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:41-56.
204
e.g., Section 4.5, VII:141, where kalīšun is added.
205
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:35-36.

78
 The explanation embellishes further on how Marduk countered the actions of the evil

gods: musappiḫ kipdīšunu mutirri šāriš / muballi napḫar raggī mala yârūšu, “Who thwarted

their plots, turned them into nothingness, / Who snuffed out all the wicked ones, as many as

came against him” (VII:44-45). Marduk undid the evil gods’ plot that they had convinced Tiamat

to undertake (I:111-128). Furthermore, working off another connection of suḫ to the D-stem of

the word balû, “to extinguish,” Marduk completely wipes out the gods, which again are

emphasized to be very many.206 Also, the use of a word denoting the many gods here, gimiršunu,

napḫar, and mala, may come from the use of gú in the following name, Šazu-Suḫgurim, and the

last name in this group, Šazu-Zaḫgurim. It seems to be another example of a word that crosses

over between explanations throughout the whole group. We return to the theme of positive

contrast to the destruction of the evil gods in the blessing: ilāni lištālilū šunu ina puḫri, “The

gods shall ever be joyful in the assembly!” (VII:46). The good gods now can enjoy their freedom

from fear of annihilation.

4.21 Name 21: Šazu-Suḫgurim

d
47 šazu-dsuḫgurim (dMIN dsuḫ-gú-rim) Šazu-Suḫgurim fourthly, who ensured
ina rebî šākin tašmê ana ilāni abbēšu obedience for the gods his fathers,
48 nāsiḫ ayyābi muḫalliq niprīšun Who uprooted the enemy, destroyed their
offspring,
49 musappiḫ epšētīšunu lā ezibu Who thwarted their maneuvers, excepting none
mimmêšun of them.
50 lizzakir liqqabi šumšu ina māti His name shall be invoked and spoken in the
land!

Since Šazu-Suḫgurim only adds the element gú, “all, entirety,” to the middle of the last

name, we may translate its derived part similarly as “Uprooter of the Enemy.” Although the

explanation does take up this definition, it first interprets the name as šākin tašmê ana ilāni

abbēšu, “who ensured obedience for the gods his fathers” (VII:47). The definition šākin tašmê
206
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:43-56. CAD b, s.v. balû, quotes the lexical equation of igi.suḫ with bullû.

79
probably derives from the first part of the name, Šazu, perhaps as we read it previously in

connection with the god by the name of Šazi.207 The word šākin, the participle of šakānu, “to

place, set, establish,” is usually rendered in Sumerian as ĝar and the GAR sign also may be read

as šá, a homophone of the šà of Šazu. The derivation of the word tašmê, a nominal form of

šemû, “to hear, listen,” is a bit more complicated. It may be arrived at either via si, through a

play on the zi part of Šazu read as Šazi,208 or through another play on šà, using the near

homophone of še(g).209 Following this definition of the name, the text explains that this

obedience is targeted at the good gods, Marduk’s forebears.

Returning to the common theme of all the Šazu derived names, the explanation gives

another definition, nāsiḫ ayyābi, “Who uprooted the enemy,” translating exactly as it did for the

last name, Šazu-Suḫrim. It then clarifies this phrase as muḫalliq niprīšun, “destroyed their

offspring” (VII:48), a common understanding of uprooting when modifying people. This

elucidation is achieved via the meaning of záḫ, “to destroy,” equivalent to Akkadian ḫalāqu,

from the following two names. The use of the uncommon word for “their offspring” here,

niprīšun, may connect to its use in the narrative when describing Tiamat’s preparation for battle

in reference to the good gods that were under attack (II:2). Here Marduk takes vengeance against

Tiamat by vanquishing her other children, the evil gods.

The remainder of the explanation is quite similar to the end of the previous name’s

explanation: musappiḫ epšētīšunu lā ezibu mimmêšun / lizzakir liqqabi šumšu ina māti, “Who

thwarted their maneuvers, excepting none of them. / His name shall be invoked and spoken in the

land!” (VII:49-50). First it gives a further explanation of how Marduk goes about this

destruction, by undoing their plans and not letting any of them be successful. Then, it blesses

207
See Section 4.18.
208
CAD š, s.v. šemû, notes one such correlation in a lexical list to si, although it is an outlier and is from Boghazkoy.
209
Ibid., much more common in the lexical data compiled there.

80
Marduk; however, here the blessing is aimed at the veneration of Marduk by the people of the

land rather than by the gods, stemming from another possible meaning for the oft-used puḫru,

“assembly (of gods or people).”

4.22 Name 22: Šazu-Zaḫrim

d
51 šazu-dzaḫrim (dMIN dzáḫ-rim) ina Šazu-Zaḫrim, later generations shall tradite
ḫašši lištaddinu arkûti fifthly,
52 muḫalliq nagab zāmânê lā māgirū Who destroyed all adversaries, all the
kalīšun disobedient,
53 ša napḫar ilāni munnabti ušēribu Who brought all the fugitive gods into their
ešrētiš sanctuaries.
54 likūnma annû zikiršu This his name shall be the truth!

This name, Šazu-Zaḫrim, and the next replace suḫ with záḫ, “to disappear, withdraw, be

lost, be fugitive,” or when intensified, “to destroy.”210 A translation of the derived part of the

Sumerian might best be “Who Disbands the Enemy.” The text offers a similar definition,

muḫalliq nagab zāmânê, “Who destroyed all adversaries” (VII:52a). It reads záḫ as the D-

stem of one of its Akkadian translations, ḫalāqu. But then, the definition seems to insert a

translation of gú, “entirety,” nagab, which would be more appropriate with the following name.

Possibly, however, this is a play on rim to niĝin, “entirety,” via the LAGAB sign. Lastly,

zāmânê, “adversaries,” is synonymous with ayyābi, “enemy” (derived from rim, standing for

erím, “enemy”), which is used in the definitions of the other three similar Šazu derived names;

so, it breaks up the monotony a little bit. The line continues to repeat the totality of Marduk’s

destruction of the enemy, saying it encompassed lā māgirū kalīšun, “all the disobedient”

(VII:52b).

In a slight departure from our theme of destroying the evil gods, the explanation indicates

a positive action which Marduk did for the defeated gods, describing him as the one, ša napḫar

210
ePSD, s.v. zah [DISAPPEAR].

81
ilāni munnabti ušēribu ešrētiš, “Who brought all the fugitive gods into their sanctuaries”

(VII:53). This line plays off of parts of the name, taking a different angle. Here, záḫ is translated

as munnabti, “fugitive,”211 gú (or niĝin via the LAGAB sign, which also reads as rim) as

napḫar, “all,” and rim perhaps as ušēribu, “he brought into,” equivalent to ku4, which may be

a paronomastic play on kur4, a value of the LAGAB sign, which is how rim is written. In that

case, the only idea supplied that was not seen to be hinted at in the name was the place they

entered, which is naturally into their shrines. Although no direct reference is made to the

refurbishing of the defeated gods’ sanctuaries in the narrative, the gods’ sanctuaries in general

are provided for by Marduk (V:115-116) and the defeated gods are re-organized as per Marduk’s

command (V:65-67).212

The explanation contains two blessings, one at the beginning, lištaddinu arkûti, “later

generations shall tradite” (VII:51b), and at the end, likūnma annû zikiršu, “This his name shall be

the truth!” (VII:54). Interestingly, as in the blessing to the previous name, these blessings focus

on mankind’s acceptance of Marduk even though the explanation concerns the gods only.

4.23 Name 23: Šazu-Zaḫgurim

d
55 šazu-dzaḫgurim (dMIN dzáḫ-gú-rim) Šazu-Zaḫgurim, moreover, sixthly they shall
ina šešši appūna kalȋš lištamrū render all honor (to him).
56 ša napḫar ayyābi uḫalliqu šū tāḫāziš He it is who destroyed all foes in battle.

The derived part of the last Šazu name, Šazu-Zaḫgurim, simply translates again as

“Who Disbands the Enemy.” The explanation has no fancy substitution of synonyms, but straight

forwardly defines the name as napḫar ayyābi uḫalliqu, “who destroyed all foes,” within an

awkward syntactic structure, ša napḫar ayyābi uḫalliqu šū tāḫāziš, “He it is who destroyed all

foes in battle” (VII:56). As in the previous name, the explanation reads záḫ as the D-stem of
211
As per the equation in OB Lu B (CAD m/2, s.v. munnabtu).
212
This makes Lambert’s idea linking this line to a mythology of the refurbishing of idols unnecessary (Lambert,
EE, notes to VII:35-36).

82
ḫalāqu, gú, “entirety,” as napḫar, and rim, standing for erím, “enemy,” as ayyābi. The only

additions are the syntactic marker šū, “it (his name) is,” following the definition of the name, and

centering the locus of destruction, tāḫāziš, “in battle,” an obvious reference to Marduk’s battle

against Tiamat and her underlings (IV: 65-134). The blessing wraps up the sixth name vaguely,

appūna kalȋš lištamrū, “moreover… they shall render all honor (to him)” (VII:55b), perhaps

including both gods and man. This completes the Šazu names whose explanations highlight

Marduk’s defeat of the evil gods and secondarily Tiamat, which will be taken up again with

emphasis on Tiamat in the Sirsir names.

4.24 Name 24: Enbilulu

d
57 enbilulu (den-bi-lu-lu) bēlum Enbilulu, lord who made them flourish, is he,
mudeššûšunu šūma
58 dannu nābûšunu šākinu taklīmi The mighty one who named them, who instituted
offerings,
59 ša rȋta mašqīta ušteššeru ukinnu Who established grazing and watering places for the
ana māti land,
60 berāti upattû uza’’izu mê nuḫši Who opened channels, apportioned abundant waters.

The name Enbilulu and its derived names are well suited for shifting the theme of the

text to a more positive ideology, that of the abundance that Marduk provides for man and thereby

for the gods. As a head name, Enbilulu falls into the pattern of belonging to a deity that once

existed separately from Marduk and was later syncretized with him. Although the name is not

easily translated from Sumerian, Enbilulu is known to be the god of irrigation.213 Perhaps the

Sumerian may be rendered as “Lord Who Makes Abundance,” taking bi-lu-lu as a verb,

normalized /bi-ni-lu-lu/. This could be a marû form of lu, “to be abundant,” with bi as an unusual

spelling for the conjugation prefix and ni as the causative element.214 In fact, the explanation

213
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:57-69.
214
Thomsen, Sumerian, 310, places a ? by the verb ‘lu’ when noting that it may belong to the reduplication class, as
I assume here.

83
takes the name to mean almost the same thing, bēlum mudeššûšunu šūma, “lord who made them

flourish, is he (his name)” (VII:57). This takes en as “lord,” Akkadian bēlum, lu as “to be

abundant,” or Akkadian dešû in the factitive D-stem, and possibly bi as a possessive, here

referring to -šunu, “them.” Another play may be found in the last line of the explanation. There,

the word upattû, lit. “he made open, available,” the D-stem of petû, may play on bi in Enbilulu,

since the near homophone be is the common spelling of bad, “to open,” which translates to

Akkadian as petû.

The explanation elaborates, dannu nābûšunu šākinu taklīmi, “Their great chosen one,

who instituted offerings” (VII:58).215 Marduk, who has been called to duty to lead the gods (V:

89-116), has thereby become there provider by way of creating mankind and establishing the

periodic ritual offerings to the gods (VI: 1-16).216 Particularly, Marduk is said to have acted to

secure abundance through water: ša rȋta mašqīta ušteššeru ukinnu ana māti / berāti upattû

uza’’izu mê nuḫši, “Who established grazing and watering places for the land, / Who opened

channels, apportioned abundant waters” (VII:59-60). As opposed to the fields that are said to be

opened up for cultivation by Marduk under the name Asare,217 here the focus is on water, both

stationary waters for drinking and grazing of cattle and moving waters for irrigation of lands.

This idea is also included under the primary name, Marduk (VI:124). So too in the narrative, as

part of creating the world out of Tiamat’s carcass, Marduk creates waterways, including the great

rivers (V:54-55) and some type of irrigation works (V:58). The rest of the Enbilulu names

continue with this theme of abundance, especially as supplied through water.

215
Foster, Muses, 479, translates the first part of the line as, “The mighty one who named them.” I have gone with
Lambert’s translation (EE, ad loc.), since Marduk does not directly name the gods in EE.
216
See Section 4.10 for an exposition of this relationship as presented in the narrative of EE and the Fifty Names
Section.
217
See Section 4.10.

84
4.25 Name 25: Enbilulu-Epadun
d
61 enbilulu-depadun (dMIN de-pa5-
dun) bēl namê u atê šaniš li[zakrū]
62 gugal šamê erṣetim mukinnu abšenna
ša mīrišta elleta ukinnu ina ṣēri
63 īka u palga uštēšerū uṣṣiru apkīs
Enbilulu-Epadun, they shall invoke secondly,
lord of open country and flood,
Irrigator of heaven and earth, former of furrows,
who formed the sacred plowland in the steppe,
Who regulated dike and ditch, who delimited the
plowland.

The first derived name of Enbilulu, Enbilulu-Epadun, has its derived part simply

translated as “Canal Digger,” taking e as the value ég, “levee,” and pa5, “canal” together as a

word meaning something like “canal works” and dun, “to dig,” as an asyntactic verb, “one who

digs.” This is represented in the second and third lines of explanation in different ways.

However, the first line gives in the usual space of the name definition, bēl namê u atê, “lord of

open country and flood” (VII:61). The use here of bēl, the Akkadian translation of en, matching

the first syllable of the combined name, indicates that this is in fact a definition. The questions

remain: how did the explanation derive the remaining words and what exactly do they mean?

Since lu can mean “pasturage,”218 it is possible that lu-lu was taken as a collective, meaning

“the whole area of pasturage,” or “the steppe,” sometimes translated in Akkadian as namê. This

word, written logographically as A.RI.A,219 may have been etymologized as “distant from

water,” taking a as “water” and ri as “distant.” The explanation then found something akin to

the opposite of the steppe for its understanding here of the derived part of the name. With the

logographic reading in mind, along with the notion of providing water as indicated by Epadun

(“Canal Digger,” as we previously translated), the explanation seems to have found a word of

similar logographic rendering that is an opposite of the steppe, the “flooding (river),” or

218
Halloran, Sumerian, 159, s.v. lu.
219
Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 293.

85
atû/edû.220 This word derives from Sumerian a-dé, may be written A.DÉ.A,221 and is

etymologized as “pouring of water” from a, “water,” and dé, “to pour.” With this complex

interpretation of the name, the explanation sets up the idea of the comprehensiveness of control

of Marduk over all the domains of agricultural production, from the least watered pastoral steppe

to the most watered fields bordering on the rivers and canals.

The explanation continues, gugal šamê erṣetim mukinnu abšenna ša mīrišta elleta ukinnu

ina ṣēri, “Irrigator of heaven and earth, former of furrows, who formed the sacred plowland in

the steppe” (VII:62). The line begins with another rendering of Epadun which is also used as the

next derived name – gugal, “canal inspector.” Similar to the previous line which used a merism,

taking opposites to imply totality, this line sees Marduk as the canal inspector of šamê erṣetim,

“heaven (and) earth.”222 Plus, this may be a reference to Marduk’s terrestrial control over man

and his celestial control of the gods. Further expanding on the agricultural setting that has been

broached, the text calls Marduk mukinnu abšenna, “former of furrows,” and spatially locates this

agricultural activity, ša mīrišta elleta ukinnu ina ṣēri, “who formed the sacred plowland in the

steppe.” Not only does he control all water flow, but Marduk is able to make the steppe flourish,

expanding the cultivable areas and raising overall yields, thereby creating new abundance.

Reiterating these capabilities, the explanation offers, īka u palga uštēšerū uṣṣiru apkīs,

“Who regulated dike and ditch, who delimited the plowland” (VII:63). Here is a third definition

of the name, derived part only, in a mostly literal sense. Akkadian īku translates ég, “levee,”

another reading for the E sign, and palgu translates pa5, “canal,” which is written nearly

similarly PAP.E. From here the definition diverges from the literal, rendering dun, “to dig,”

metaphorically as uštēšerū, “he regulated,” rather than the expected literal Akkadian equivalent,

220
See CAD a/2, atû D; e, edû.
221
Ibid.
222
See Section 4.5, where the same merism is discussed.

86
ḫerû. Finally, the explanation repeats Marduk’s agricultural control over the land, uṣṣiru apkīs,

“who delimited the plowland.” Perhaps a more literal rendering, “who sets furrows,”223 is best as

a direct repetition in different wording of the previous mukinnu abšenna, “former of furrows.”224

As in the previous name, this all connects to the narrative via Marduk’s creation of the world,

during which he established agricultural irrigation (V:54-55, 58) and, as such, became the

controller of this realm for ever more.

4.26 Name 26: Enbilulu-Gugal

d
64 enbilulu-dgugal (dMIN dgú-gal) Enbilulu-Gugal they shall praise thirdly, irrigator of
gugal miṭrat ilāni linādū šalšiš the watercourses of the gods,
65 bēl ḫegalli ṭuḫdi išpiki rabûti Lord of abundance, plenty, high yields,
66 šākin mešrê munaḫḫiš dadmē Producer of wealth, enricher of all the inhabited
world,
67 nādin šu’e mušabšû ašnan Bestower of grain, who causes barley to appear.

The derived part of Enbilulu-Gugal, Gugal, is a common Sumerian word for “canal

inspector” or some such profession. The text defines this name a bit more expansively as gugal

miṭrat ilāni, “irrigator of the watercourses of the gods” (VII:64), possibly playing on the sounds

/ilu/ in Enbilulu, reading it as Akkadian ilu, “god.” What precisely watercourses of the gods are

is unknown. It may be a metaphor for the source of life of the gods or perhaps it actually refers to

terrestrial canals that are used by man to produce food for the gods.

The rest of the explanation expounds the results of better watering – abundant grain: bēl

ḫegalli ṭuḫdi išpiki rabûti / šākin mešrê munaḫḫiš dadmē / nādin šu’e mušabšû ašnan, “Lord of

abundance, plenty, high yields, / Producer of wealth, enricher of all the inhabited world, /

Bestower of grain, who causes barley to appear” (VII:65-67). This passage moves from general

(“abundance, plenty, high yields”) to more specific (in terms of the beneficiaries of Marduk’s

223
Lambert, EE, ad loc.
224
Interestingly, both words for “furrow” are Sumerian loanwords.

87
giving, “…the inhabited world,” and vis-à-vis the stuff of abundance, “…grain…barley”). In

truth, these concepts have more to do with the following name, Enbilulu-Ḫegal, which already

made its appearance here, bēl ḫegalli, “lord of abundance.” As an aside, the inclusion of dadmē,

“the inhabited world,” may be an oblique play on the homophone of the /lulu/ part of the name,

lullû (LÚ.U18.LU), “primeval man,” which is what mankind is called when Marduk creates it in

the narrative (VI:6-7).

4.27 Name 27: Enbilulu-Ḫegal

d
68 enbilulu-dḫegal (dMIN dḫé-gál) Enbilulu-Ḫegal, they shall speak fourthly, who
mukammir ḫegalli ana nišī rebiš liqbû heaps up abundance for the peoples,
69 mušaznin nuḫša eli erṣetim rapaštim Who rains prosperity over the wide earth, who
mudeššû urqēti makes vegetation flourish.

Enbilulu-Ḫegal, of which its derived part is a common Sumerian word for “abundance,”

is the last in the logical chain of the concept of provider. First Enbilulu is more specifically

Epadun, “Canal Digger,” then Gugal, “Canal Inspector,” and finally, Ḫegal, “Maker of

Abundance.” The explanation contextualizes the name as mukammir ḫegalli ana nišī, “who

heaps up abundance for the peoples” (VII:68), putting the discussion squarely in the arena of

mankind, as opposed to the ambiguity of the previous names’ explanations. Possibly this is due

to a play on Enbilulu, using lu-lu to mean “people.” Even though “man” is usually denoted in

Sumerian by lú, sometimes lu is used.225 In addition, this concept of abundance relates back to

the name Tutu-Ziku where the word ḫegalli is used in the context of Marduk as provider in that

name explanation.226

The final line of the Enbilulu group completes the discussion of water for agriculture,

including Marduk as the provider of rain: mušaznin nuḫša eli erṣetim rapaštim mudeššû urqēti,

225
Halloran, Sumerian, 159, s.v. lu.
226
See Section 4.15.

88
“Who rains prosperity over the wide earth, who makes vegetation flourish” (VII:69). Although

this would commonly be under the power of the storm god, Addu, it is included among Marduk’s

powers regarding water. Perhaps it foreshadows the addition of Addu to the list of Marduk’s

names and powers later on.227

4.28 Name 28: Sirsir

d
70 sirsir (dsirsir) šāpik šadî elēnuš Sirsir, who heaped up the mountain(s) above Tiamat,
tiāmat
71 šālil šalamta tâwati ina kakkīšu Who ravaged the corpse of Tiamat with his weapon,
72 muttarrû māti re’ûšina kī[n]a Ruler of the land, their faithful shepherd,
73 ša šārtuššu mīrišu šukūssu šer’u To whom have been granted the cultivated field, the
subsistence field, the furrow,
74 ša tiāmat rapašta ītibbiru Who crossed vast Tiamat back and forth in his wrath,
uzzuššu
75 kī titūri ītittiqu ašar šašmeša Passing back and forth, as a bridge, at the place of
combat.228

The name Sirsir and its derived name focus mainly on the destruction and downfall of

Tiamat. Although the metaphors supplied here do not directly tie in to the narrative of Enūma

Eliš, they certainly fit within the framework of the story, making reference to some other

unknown mythic battle with the sea unnecessary. The sirsir sign is composed of two BU signs or

a similar sign (SUD or MUŠ) and the AB sign.229 It is possible that the doubled BU is a gloss on

the main logogram AB, providing the pronunciation as sír-sír, since sír is a value of BU.230

However, this seems unlikely because we would expect the double BU to appear after the main

logogram if it were a gloss. The question of how to interpret the Sumerian name is wide open.

Although it seems tempting to dissect the logogram for the meanings of its parts, as does the

227
See Section 4.47.
228
CAD š/2, s.v. šašmu, translates as “battle, warfare,” in line with its many citations that can refer to a single
instance of battle or warfare in a more general sense. Hence I have removed Foster’s translation of “single combat,”
seemingly an anglicization of a German word that distinguishes a particular instance of battle.
229
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:70-77.
230
Pietro Mander, Il Pantheon di Abu-Ṣālabīkh: Contributo allo Studio del Pantheon Sumerico Arcaico (Naples:
Istituto Universitario Orientale, Dipartimento di Studi Asiatici, 1986), 6, apud Lambert, EE, notes to VII:70-77.

89
explanation, it seems to make more sense to interpret it as it would have been heard, /sirsir/.

Whether taken as sir or sír, we find a fitting divine name. If understood as sir-sir, we may

interpret the name according to the sud value as an asyntactic marû verb, “Profound One.”231

Alternately, if the name is understood as sír-sír, we may propose the interpretation “All

Perfection,” stemming from the meaning of bu, “perfect,”232 due to the BU sign also having the

value sír.

The explanation of the name offers several readings of the name, deconstructing it

phonically and graphically. As previously mentioned, the overall context of this and the next

name is the defeat and slaughter of Tiamat, the sea goddess. This probably arose out of the AB,

“sea,” in the sign for Sirsir (BU/BU.AB), and its obvious connection with the myth of Enūma

Eliš, which is narratologically and physically233 centered on the confrontation between Marduk

and Tiamat (IV: 65-134).

First the text explains Sirsir as šāpik šadî elēnuš tiāmat, “who heaped up the mountain(s)

above Tiamat” (VII:70). It defines the name as šāpik, “pourer,” which is the participle of

šapāku, “to pour, heap up.” Cutting off the first consonant from the syllable /sir/, gives its near

homophone IR, which is a possible way of writing dé, the equivalent of Akkadian šapāku. Using

the theme of the battle between Marduk and Tiamat the text contextualizes this “heaping up” as

of “the mountain(s) above Tiamat.” This particular image derives from the narrative, where,

while creating the world out of Tiamat’s carcass, Marduk heaps up dirt on her head (V:53) to

create mountains and then opens holes for springs to come through and form the great rivers

(V:54-55). The spelling of Tiamat here is curious: ti-GÉME. It may have been written that way

231
Thomsen, Sumerian, 316, places the verb ‘sud’ in the reduplication class.
232
ePSD, s.v. bu [PERFECT].
233
This passage is on IV: 65-134, which is half way through the text as it comprises the second half of the fourth
tablet out of seven.

90
here, as opposed to ta-à-wa-ti in the next line, to emphasize something in the logogram GÉME,

“slave woman.” In fact, since GÉME is written SAL.KUR, this may have been the impetus to

use the word šadî, “mountain(s),” here too spelled logographically as KUR.

The next line similarly gives a verbal definition followed by an explanation regarding the

Marduk-Tiamat battle: šālil šalamta tâwati ina kakkīšu, “Who ravaged the corpse of Tiamat

with his weapon” (VII:71). Here again it seems the explanation derived its definition of the name

Sirsir from the near homophone ir, which means “to plunder,” equivalent to Akkadian šalālu.

The use of a weapon to carve up Tiamat is found implicitly in the narrative, first when Marduk is

given a weapon and told to cut her up with it (IV:30-31), then when Marduk fulfills the gods’

command, cutting open her arteries so that she bleeds out (IV:131) and splitting her carcass in

half like a fish (IV:137), a task usually accomplished with a knife.

The last two lines of explanation seem to specify some type of combat interaction,

emphasizing repetitive movement “back and forth:” ša tiāmat rapašta ītibbiru uzzuššu / kī titūri

ītittiqu ašar šašmeša, “Who crossed vast Tiamat back and forth in his wrath, / Passing back and

forth, as a bridge, at the place of combat” (VII:74-75). In other literary works, the use of ebēru,

“to cross over,” regarding the sea is usually aimed at showing how great a feat it was that the sea

was crossed with ease and has nothing to do with battle on or with the sea.234 Either the meaning

is different here, or perhaps the text is referring to Marduk’s crossing of Tiamat in order to battle

her minions far away in her midst. If so, ašar šašmeša, “the place of her combat,” would refer to

Tiamat only indirectly, as the place where her cohort was prepared for battle. This may connect

to the narrative if we take this to be referring to Marduk’s rounding up of Tiamat’s scattered

troops after he had defeated her (IV:105-114). These lines may be playing on the components of

the sirsir sign, written BU/BU.AB or on the sound sir, using the homophone sír, which is
234
CAD e, s.v. ebēru A, 1.a.2’.

91
written with the BU sign. From there, we could read bu as “to flit,”235 synonymous with the Gtn-

stem’s iterative sense of the words ītibbiru, from ebēru, “to cross over,” and ītittiqu, from etēqu,

“to go past.” In addition, if using the graphic approach, ab means “sea,” equivalent to Akkadian

tiāmat here.

In the middle of the explanation is an interesting couplet: muttarrû māti re’ûšina kī[n]a /

ša šārtuššu mīrišu šukūssu šer’u, “Ruler of the land, their faithful shepherd, / To whom have

been granted the cultivated field, the subsistence field, the furrow” (VII:72-73). Having nothing

to do with the current theme, these lines relate better to the previous names of Enbilulu. As we

saw in relation to Enbilulu-Gugal and Enbilulu-Ḫegal, some of the text relating to other names

has been mixed in with adjacent names. This may be a similar phenomenon or may relate to an

unknown fertility aspect of Sirsir.

4.29 Name 29: Sirsir-Malaḫ

d
76 sirsir-dmalāḫ (dMIN dmá-laḫ4) ina Sirsir-Malaḫ they named him secondly, let it
šanî imbû šī lū kīam remain so,
77 tiāmat rukūbšūma šū malāḫša Tiamat is his vessel and he the boatman.

The only derived name of Sirsir, Sirsir-Malaḫ, has a fairly unique derived part, which

surprisingly shows up elsewhere in other god lists.236 The addition of má-laḫ4, “Sailor,” to the

name points squarely to an aqueous understanding of Sirsir by the pantheon elaborators who

worked up the god-lists. The explanation of Enūma Eliš already grasped this connection in its

explanation of Sirsir. Here it continues, but only after the obligatory naming language and

counting, ina šanî imbû, “they named him secondly,” followed by a deliciously ambiguous and

unobtrusive phrase: šī lū kīam. Most scholars translate it as a blessing: “let it remain so,” “so be

235
ePSD, s.v. bu [FLIT].
236
See Lambert, EE, notes on VII:70-7, where he notes the appearance of the name as a derived name if Irugu in Sm
78+115+1078, though it’s mostly been restored as such by Lambert. Nonetheless, this seems to point to some
connection between the Sirsir names and the Irqin- names (Sections 4.42-44), which are also thematically focused
on battle.

92
it,” “qu'il en soit ainsi,” “so möge es sein.”237 In line with how we have understood the syntactic

phrases in many of the name explanations, I propose to interpret this similarly with šū or lū being

a syntactic marker for what follows as the definition of the name. In this instance both are used

together, but with the feminine, šī lū, “it (the name) means.” The following definition is then

tautologically phrased as kīam, “thus.” So, this short phrase stands for: Sirsir-Malaḫ means

malaḫ, “sailor.”

The explanation directly connects this aspect of being a sailor with battling Tiamat:

tiāmat rukūbšūma šū malāḫša, “Tiamat is his vessel and he the boatman” (VII:77). Although

there are no sailing references in the narrative, Marduk is said to have a chariot (IV:50).

Conceivably, the explanation may have connected the chariot with Tiamat’s body as boat and

viewed Marduk as replacing his chariot with Tiamat’s body as he wrestled with her. The

connections between this line and the name are obvious as malāḫ is in the name and tiāmat is

derivable from Sirsir (via the AB part of the sign).

4.30 Name 30: Gil

d
78 gil (dgil) muštappik karê tīlī bitrûti Gil, who stores up grain in massive mounds,
79 bānû ašnan u laḫrī nādinu zēr mātim Who brings forth grain238 and flocks, grantor
of the land’s seed.

The name Gil and the two following, Gilima and Agilima, are phonetic or spelling

variations of the same basic Sumerian name, assumedly all carrying the same original Sumerian

meaning.239 They are built around the sign GI%GI, which may be read variously and with similar

meanings as gil, gili, gilim, and gi16. Its meanings may be summarized as “reed rope” or

“jewelry,” when nominal, and “to entwine” or “to destroy,” when verbal. The name is poorly

attested elsewhere, but probably signified a separate deity before being connected with Marduk
237
Foster, Muses, 480, Lambert, EE, ad loc., Talon, EE, ad loc., Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 295, respectively.
238
Foster, Muses, 480, translates ašnan as “barley,” but the general term “grain” is better (see CAD a/2, s.v. ašnan).
239
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:78-83.

93
in god lists.240 The connection with Marduk may stem from a play on the name of the temple of

Marduk in Babylon, Esagil.241 The explanations in Enūma Eliš treat three different possible

meanings of the name, along the lines of “Provider of Grain,” “Rope Master,” and “Exalted

One,” respectively. Due to his role in creation in another myth, we may expect Gilima to mean

something related to that concept, although which of these meanings would fit best, or if it might

mean something else altogether, is not decidable at this time.242

The explanation of Gil is centered on the god creating an abundance of grain. He is said

to be the god muštappik karê tīlī bitrûti / bānû ašnan u laḫrī nādinu zēr mātim, “who stores up

grain in massive mounds, / Who brings forth grain and flocks, grantor of the land’s seed”

(VII:78-79). This stems from another value of the sign that gil is written with, GI%GI: gib,

“wheat.”243 From deified Wheat, the text extrapolates Gil as the god who makes huge amounts

of grain (karê), creates grain (ašnan), and provides for next year’s crop’s seed (zēr) under this

rubric. The choice of ašnan as one of the synonyms used for grain in this passage is purposeful

due to that also being another name of deified grain, dašnan (dŠE.ŠE.NUN/NUN) or dŠE.TIR.

Another possible avenue to understanding Gil as a god of abundance is a play that substitutes the

phonetically close l for r, reading gu-ur for karû, “heap.”244

The notion of Marduk as provider for mankind was first discussed regarding the name

Asare. Contrary to much of the discussion under Enbilulu, which focuses on providing water,

240
See Ibid. The only completely separate attestation is in a Hittite myth. There is a problem in that this section is
missing due to lacunae in several of the lists, including AN = Anum, although Lambert restores it there with
confidence.
241
At least after the fact such a play is found in the commentary on the name Esagil. Franz Kocher, “Eine
spätbabylonische Ausdeutung des Tempelnamens Esangila,” Archiv für Orientforschung 17 (1954/56), 132, line 4,
apud W. G. Lambert, “Gili(ma),” Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 3 (1957-71),
374.
242
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:78-83, cites the mentioning of Gilima as creator in the myth he calls The Founding of
Eridu.
243
Although it is usually spelled gig. See ePSD, s.v. kib [WHEAT].
244
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:78-83.

94
much of which is for the production of a wealth of grain, this explanation speaks explicitly of the

production of bountiful grain. Although there are no direct references to Marduk acting as such

in the narrative, it is a necessary conclusion that he must do so, since he created mankind in order

for them to serve and feed the gods (V:115, 139; VI:1-16) and their well-being is requisite for

their keeping of the gods.245

4.31 Name 31: Gilima

d
80 gilima (dgili-ma) mukīn ṭurri ilāni Gilima, who established the bond of the gods,
bānû kīnā[ti] creator of enduring things,
81 rappu la’issunu mušaṣbitu damqā[ti] The bridle that curbed them, provider of good
things.

The explanation to the name Gilima focuses on the meaning “rope”/”twiner” of the

GI%GI sign, as follows: mukīn ṭurri ilāni bānû kīnā[ti], “who established the bond of the

gods, creator of enduring things” (VII:80). The “Twiner” is explained in Akkadian as mukīn

ṭurri ilāni, “who establishes the bond,” referring to the durmaḫu, the mythical rope that connects

heaven and earth, tethering the celestial sphere to the earth and thereby regulating the movement

of the celestial bodies relative to the ground, as well as providing a way to for the gods to travel

between heaven and earth.

The notion of Marduk as creator of lord of the “Great Bond” appears elsewhere in Enūma

Eliš, in the Fifty Names Section in the name Lugaldurmaḫ (VII:95-96), “King of the Great

Bond,” as well as in the narrative, where, as part of creation of the universe, he creates the Great

Bond out of Tiamat’s tail (V:59). This is the final and crucial part of creation since it couples the

two regions and orients the heavens with respect to the earth. The symbolism of connecting

heaven and earth resonates throughout Enūma Eliš, since Marduk is supposed to become the

king of both the gods and mankind as well as the controller of both divine (heavenly) and human

245
See Section 4.10.

95
(earthly) domains. This is another indication of the myth’s understanding of the duality of the

universe, whereby both areas, above and below, mirror and support each other. Other examples

of this are the mirroring of temples, with the creation of Esagil to match Ešarra (V:119-122); the

creation or assignment of celestial bodies to the gods as their celestial locations (V:1-8) and the

building or renovation of their earthly temples (V:83-84); and the creation of man as the provider

for the gods (V:1-10, 34).

The word ṭurru is Akkadianized dur, “rope, knot, bond,” sometimes written with the

determinative gi to emphasize its reed quality as it was adduced from gil (GI%GI). ṭurru is a

synonym of dur-maḫ, “Great Bond,” itself Akkadianized as durmaḫu.246 The remainder of the

phrase may have been arrived at via word plays on the syllable /gi/ from gil, for which the GI

sign has a value gin6, “to establish,” equivalent to Akkadian kânu, here used as the participle

mukīn, “establisher.” Perhaps ilāni, “gods,” was seen through the /ili/ part of Gilima, taken as

Akkadian ilī, “gods.” Or, if a Sumerian path is preferred, a homophone of the syllable /il/ of gil,

ìl, written with the AN sign, also means ilu, “god.” The following phrase embellishes further,

bānû kīnā[ti], “creator of enduring things,” generalizing the eternally fixed “Great Bond” to

general stability. These words may also have been arrived at via word play: kīnā[ti] from gin6,

“to establish,” via /gi/ from gil, and bānû from gi18, homophone of the /gi/ part of the name,

which is written DÍM, which when read eponymously means “to create, fashion,” equivalent to

Akkadian banû.

The next line explores further the idea of a rope, but this time in its use as a tool of

constraint, with which to control the evil gods: rappu la’issunu mušaṣbitu damqā[ti], “The bridle

that curbed them, provider of good things” (VII:81).247 This refers to the net of rope that Marduk

246
ṭurru is equated with durmaḫu in HAR-ra VII:180, 186, apud Lambert, EE, notes to VII:78-83.
247
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:78-83.

96
used to capture the evil gods (IV:112-113). It also contains the same dialectic that we have seen

in some other name explanations – when ill befalls the evil gods, good things are in store for the

good gods.

4.32 Name 32: Agilima

d
82 agilima (da-gili-ma) šaqû nāsiḫ Agilima, the lofty one, remover of the diadem,
agȋ āšir šal[g]i who controls the sn[ow],
83 bānû erṣetim eliš mê mukīn elâti Creator of the earth above the waters, establisher
of the heights.

The explanation offers two different definitions of Agilima, within the ideological sphere

of “exalted, elevated:” šaqû nāsiḫ agȋ āšir šal[g]i, “the lofty one, remover of the diadem, who

controls the sn[ow]” (VII:82). The first definition, šaqû, “the lofty one,” may be adduced

through word play by reading gil as gìl, which is written with the ÌL sign, which when read

eponymously means “to be high/raise.” As an adjective, meaning “raised, honored, elevated,” it

is equivalent to Akkadian šaqû.248

The second definition is nāsiḫ agȋ, “remover of the diadem.” The word agȋ may be

reached via the reading of gil as “jewelry,” equivalent to Akkadian šukuttu, of which one type

may be the agû, “crown,”249 or through a link to aga, “crown,” via gi11, which is written DÙN,

which also has the value aga, “crown,” when gunufied. nāsiḫ may derive from the syllable /gi/

of gil, through its homophone gi27, which is written with the BU sign, which when read bur12

means “to tear out,” equivalent to Akkadian nasāḫu. Alternatively, the first part of the name,

/agil-/ may be parsed differently as aga-ìl, which would mean “to raise off the crown,” possibly

translated by nāsiḫ agȋ.250 This metaphor is fairly strange, since we usually think of people in

248
e.g., as in the Akkadian rendering of saĝ il, “to raise the head,” šaqû ša rēši (see ePSD, s.v. saĝ il [RAISE]).
249
See CAD š/3, s.v. šukuttu A, c.
250
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:78-83.

97
lofty positions as receiving crowns, not removing them. Perhaps, it means to say that Marduk is

so powerful since he has the power to remove other kings’ crowns.

The following phrase attempts to explain further, āšir šal[g]i, “who controls the sn[ow].”

Seemingly, this image connects to the previous definition and endows it with a physical, natural

quality. If we view a crown as a snow cap, we see that Marduk is so great as to have power over

the highest part of mountains.251 Interestingly, the phrase āšir šal[g]i may be a sort of code for

Agilima, possibly made up of swaps for each syllable, as follows: A = ā, gi = gi27 = BU = šír =

šir, li = lí = NI = šàl = šal, ma = ĝá252 = ĝe26 ≈ gi.

This line taken en masse is certainly in dialogue with the passage in the narrative in

which Marduk creates the world out of Tiamat’s body. Then, in conjunction with creating the

moon, Marduk is said to have u’addīšumma šuknat mūši “assigned to him the crown jewel of

nighttime,” and to ina agê uṣīr “exalt him with a crown” (V:13, 14). Giving the crown jewel

seems to parallel the controlling of the glittering snow here, especially with the connection of

šuknat, a variant of šukuttu, with Sumerian gil. So too, being exalted with a crown pairs with

removing the crown here. These connections imply that a similar context is indicated here, so

perhaps our passage is referring to Marduk’s control over the moon.

Another reading of this whole line is also possible, šaqû nāsiḫ agȋ āšir rag[g]i, “the lofty

one, who removes the flood, who controls the wicked,” since agû can mean “flood” and šalgi

could be read raggi, “wicked ones,” since šal and rag are both common values of the SAL sign.

In this case, agû might be a play on the name as its Sumerian rendering, a-ĝi6, matches the

beginning of this name, /Agi-/. If so, we might see the context as Marduk’s battle with Tiamat

251
Unnecessarily, Lambert, EE, notes to VII:78-8, takes this explanation as an indication that Agilima is the “god of
the summer heat.” However, the method of removal of the snow cap is not the focus of this statement, but the fact
that Marduk is so powerful that he is able to affect the tops of mountains, the most dominant of landscape features. It
is not a statement about the deity that previously was designated as Gilima.
252
ĝá is the Emesal equivalent of ma.

98
and her minions, seeing the flood as a reference to Tiamat and the wicked ones as her cohort. If

so, the explanation could be reading gil as “to destroy,” in connection with Marduk’s military

feat in Enūma Eliš.253

The narrative also connects to the second line of explanation from the same creation

story, since Marduk creates heights (elâti) out of Tiamat’s liver (V:11). That is basically the

same thing as Marduk being bānû erṣetim eliš mê mukīn elâti, “Creator of the earth above the

waters, establisher of the heights” (VII:83), taking into account that Tiamat, the sea-goddess, is

equivalent to the waters above which Marduk creates heights.254 In addition, several of the words

in this line may be adduced from a play on the name Agilima. The words from the Akkadian root

elû, eliš, “above,” and elâti, “heights,” may connect to a homophone of gil, gìl, which is written

with the ÌL sign, which when read eponymously means “to be high/raise,” and when nominal,

“elevation, heights.” Plus a homophone of the /gi/ part of the name, gi18, is written DÍM, which

when read eponymously means “to create, fashion,” equivalent to Akkadian banû. So too, the

homophone of /gi/, gi5, is written KI, which when read eponymously means “place” or “earth,”

equivalent to Akkadian erṣetim. Lastly, the Sumerian equivalent of “sea” or “water,” a, is the

first syllable in this name and is equivalent to Akkadian mê. So, although this line is a rephrasing

of the line in the narrative, it also fits exceptionally well with the name Agilima in terms of word

play on this name. The general concept of creation also fits with Agilima, since as previously

noted, the god Gilima is said to be a creator god in another myth.255

253
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:78-83, raises this possibility but rejects it because he thinks the verbs (nāsiḫ, āšir) do
not fit with these objects (agȋ, raggi, respectively). However, two citations in CAD r, s.v. raggu, have “watching,
looking (at raggu),” which seems to mean something like being wary of them, not too far from “controlling” them,
as in āšir raggu. And if agû is a symbol for Tiamat, directing nasāḫu at an object that is an enemy or evil
person/entity is a common usage (see CAD š/2, s.v. nasāḫu, 1.a.4’, 3.
254
Even though the waters below the earth are generally not equated with the sea, Tiamat, in this instance the
similarity between the passage in the narrative, where Marduk is creating mountains above Tiamat, and our
explanation, where land is built over water and then heights are established, allows for this connection.
255
See Section 4.30.

99
 This line holds one of the few manuscript variants in the Fifty Names Section that

changes a whole word – one has urpēti, “clouds,” instead of erṣetim, “earth.”256 Perhaps this

makes sense if we understand the word before it as bānu, a synonym of “crown,”257 somehow

related to agû of the previous line. If so, we might read this phrase in conjunction with the end of

the previous line, āšir šal[g]i / bānu urpēti, “who controls the sn[ow], / the crown of the clouds,”

separately from the remainder of the second line. Perhaps this would contrast the removal of the

crown in the previous line with its replacement with a crown of snow.

In sum, although an understanding of the precise original meaning and context of Gil is

lacking, Enūma Eliš uses it very intricately. The explanations to the Gil names work off of all of

the different possibilities for translation of the main part of the name, gil, and show a high degree

of word play in the choice of words. Additionally, several interesting metaphors are raised that

interact with similar ones in the narrative portion of the myth. Overall, there is an emphasis on

creation, as bānû, “creator,” appears in each explanation, and stability, due to the concatenation

of a plethora of grain, the concreteness of the connection between heaven and earth, and the

permanence of mountains.

4.33 Name 33: Zulum

d
84 zulum (dzu-lum) mu’addi qerbēti Zulum, who assigned fields, measured off tracts
ana ilāni pālik binûti for the gods,
85 nādin isqī u nindabê pāqidu ešrēti Grantor of portions and food offerings, tender of
sanctuaries.

The list of names of Marduk given in Enūma Eliš is actually longer than fifty if we

include Zulum and both of its derived names, Mummu and Zulumummu, not to mention the

256
Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 296, ms. F.
257
CAD b, s.v. bānu B. There is still an issue in that all 3 mss. have the final u doubled, spelling ba-nu-u/ú
(Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 296).

100
name Ea at its end. Assuming that Ea is an addition, as the explanation seems to indicate,258 we

are still left with the problem of fifty-one names being in a list that repeatedly says fifty names

were given to Marduk (VI:121, VII:143, 144). Scholars have debated which name to discount

and have looked to discard Mummu or Zulumummu. Mummu is a name of a demi-god in the

narrative, clearly separated from Marduk, is an Akkadian name rather than the usual Sumerian

(other than the last five names), and is not counted as a derived name. On the other hand,

Zulumummu is counted as a derived name and falls out of the pattern of being the first word in

its line.259 Nevertheless, due to the structure of the explanation that follows each (definition,

initial explanation, further elaboration, contextualization relative to the narrative) along with the

use of the divinity determinative for both, we conclude that both were treated as names by the

Fifty Names Section. The god list with commentary also viewed the names as equally valid since

it gives the first line of explanation of all three names, parallel to VII:84, 86, 88.260

In order to fit with fifty for the total number of names, we can perform some mental

gymnastics, as certainly was done in ancient times as well. It is quite possible that the author of

the explanations was already dealing with this problem by moving the name Zulummu to the end

of its line, so as to remove it from the official count. Even if we are not to discount one of the

258
See Section 4.50.
259
For example, Lambert, EE, notes to VII:86-87, leans in the direction of discarding Mummu due to the fact that
the Commentary on the Fifty Names does not write out the name at the beginning of its comments on that line, as
does Talon, EE, ad loc., due to the fact that he does not put Mummu in a bold font or count it. However, Foster,
Muses, 480-81, emboldens and counts both names, yet oddly assigns name number 35 to both Zulummu and the
following name, Gišnumunab. Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 386, 390, seem to think that there really are only two
names, Mummu and Zulum(mu), and seemingly Mummu and its explanation were inserted into the Zulum(mu)
explanation, so the name was repeated before the explanation continues. This inference comes from their “Inventar
der Figuren und Orte,” in which they count Mummu as the 34th name and have one entry for Zulum(mu), counting it
as the 33rd name and citing both appearances of the name (VII:84, 87), whereas for a similar name with variants in
the list, Gilima, they have likewise one entry, but count it as both the 31st and 32nd names. This then removes the
problem of the total count exceeding fifty.
260
The other god lists containing names of Marduk give no assistance on this matter since none have these names
grouped together and in fact only Mummu appears in any other lists, in an Assyrian single column list as mú-mú and
possibly in the later commentary on AN = Anum, An = Anum = ša amēli as mu7-mu7, although this may be read tu6-
tu6. See Lambert, EE, “Introduction,” “Marduk’s Names,” for quotations of the relevant portions of the god lists
containing names of Marduk.

101
names, perhaps fifty-one names was seen to be close enough to fifty to be rounded off and called

as such.261 Alternatively, it is possible that the name dBēl Mātāti (den-kur-kur) was not seen as

the fiftieth name, but as an additional name. Perhaps all of the fifty preceding names added up to

Enlil’s number and by Marduk receiving them, he then became worthy of receiving dBēl Mātāti

as well. There is some evidence for this, since the repeated use of a word for name calling in the

explanations of the names often comes in the plural in agreement with the opening lines and the

interlude at the end of Tablet VI, where the gods are said to be naming Marduk together.

However, for the name dBēl Mātāti, Enlil is said to give it to Marduk and the text reads dBēl

Mātāti šumšu ittabi, “he called (him) his own name, ‘Lord of the Lands’” (VII:136), with ittabi

in the singular.

Returning to the name Zulum, although here spelled zu-lum, it probably stems from the

Sumerian zú-lum, “date,” especially since it appears elsewhere as a name of Ea and is followed

by –mar, a verb denoting an agricultural process with dates.262 The deified date would be similar

to the deified wheat of Gil, when read gib, “wheat,” and the more common dašnan found

elsewhere.263

The text explains the name as mu’addi qerbēti ana ilāni pālik binûti, “who assigned

fields, measured off tracts for the gods” (VII:84). The first phrase is the definition of the name,

mu’addi qerbēti, “who assigned fields.” This was arrived at via reading zu normally as “to

know,” equivalent to Akkadian edû/wadû, which when in the D-stem can mean “to assign.”

261
Rounding of numbers also appears in Assyrian royal inscriptions in the numbers of captives and booty (see M.
De Odorico, The Use of Numbers and Quantifications in the Assyrian Royal Inscriptions (State Archives of
Assyria Studies 3; Helsinki: The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, 1995), 83-86. This use of numbers also existed
elsewhere in the ancient Near East, including in early Jewish writings. For instance, the number of lashes is
enumerated in the Bible to be forty, but the Rabbis limited the number to thirty-nine, yet continued to call it forty
(see Sidney B. Hoenig, “The Designated Number of Kinds of Labor Prohibited on the Sabbath,” Jewish Quarterly
Review, N.S., 68:4 (1978), 193).
262
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:84-85.
263
See Section 4.30.

102
Probably, lum, meaning “to fruit,” was taken nominally as “place of fruit,” for which the generic

term qerbetu, “field, land” was used as a translation.264 The explanation specifies further that

Zulum is nādin isqī u nindabê pāqidu ešrēti, “Grantor of portions and food offerings, tender of

sanctuaries” (VII:85). These fields and tracts for the gods, in the context of the bringing of their

regular offerings, refer to the lands which temples owned that produced food for the offerings.

As we have seen, Marduk created man in order to feed the gods. This explanation continues the

elaboration of that system of provisioning the gods.265 Also, we have here a reiteration of

Marduk’s role of renovator of the gods’ shrines as part of his directorship of them.266 This name

and the following two of the Zulum group continue in the general themes of the Gil group of

creation and stability. As Zulum, Marduk organizes the rituals of the gods and their shrines so

that stability is maintained and the gods should not have to worry, just as they made him promise

upon his preliminary inauguration to the head of the pantheon before his battle with Tiamat

(IV:11-12).

4.34a Name 34a: Mummu

d
86 mummu (dmu-um-mu) bān šamê u Mummu, creator of heaven and netherworld, who
erṣetim mušēšir parsī guides those astray,
87a ilu mullil šamê u erṣetim Divine purifier of heaven and netherworld.

The word mummu means “craftsman, creator” in Akkadian. Although possibly a

loanword from Sumerian, the text of Enūma Eliš certainly treats it as Akkadian, making it

anomalous as only the last five names are also Akkadian names.267 Scholars have posited various

Sumerian sources for this borrowing, including (lú-)umún, “craftsman;” mú-mú(-a), “creator,”

lit., “grower;” mu-mu, “creator,” from mud, “to bring forth, create;” or mu7-mu7, “incantation,”

264
CAD q, s.v. qerbetu, 2.
265
See Section 4.10.
266
See Section 4.6.
267
All mss. have mu-um-mu/ma/mi- for all appearances in EE (Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 110, 116, 120-21, 122-
23, 126, 127-28, 139, 297, 304).

103
or possibly “noise.”268 Most common are contexts where a creative meaning makes the best

sense. As such, the name Mummu probably denotes a demi-god who is often involved in creative

endeavors. It appears as a deity in Old Akkadian and Mari texts.269 He makes other appearances

in Enūma Eliš as Apsû’s advisor, whose plot to kill the young noisy gods backfires, leading to

Ea’s killing of Apsû (I:30, 31, 47, 48, 53, 66, 70, 72, 118). The word mummu also is used twice,

at the beginning of the myth modifying Tiamat, seemingly with some creative meaning (I:4), and

in the explanation of the name Addu, as some sort of meteorological phenomenon associated

with clouds (VII:121). Possibly similar to the first, it also appears elsewhere as a common epithet

of Ea.270 The second meaning may stem from a different origin – as a loanword or play on

Sumerian mu7-mu7, which is equated with Akkadian rigmu, “voice, sound, noise,” in a

commentary.271 Recent scholarship has tried to connect all of the occurrences in Enūma Eliš to

understand the word mummu generally as “creative or active force/spirit.”272

In accordance with this, the explanation first defines Mummu as bān šamê u erṣetim,

“creator of heaven and netherworld” (VII:86a), with šamê u erṣetim serving as an elaboration of

the type of creation meant. This accords with two of the aforementioned possible derivations of

the name, either from mú, “to grow,” or mud, “to bring forth, create.” Plus, the connection to

“heaven” here may be due to a play on the Emesal value of mu, which is equivalent to Akkadian

šamû.273 Of course, this jives very well with Marduk’s role as creator of the physical heaven and

earth (IV: 135-146, V: 1-76). Nonetheless, the explanation maintains its context of discussing

268
CAD m/2, s.v. mummu A, 1. For its Sumerian origin, see, respectively, AHw II, 672, s.v. mummu I; Bohl, Die
fünfzig Namen, 206; M. Krebernik, “Mum(m)u,” Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 8
(1993-97), 416; and Michalowski, “Presence at the Creation,” 386.
269
Krebernik, “Mum(m)u,” 415.
270
Ibid.
271
CAD m/2, s.v. mummu C.
272
Eckart Frahm, “Creation and the Divine Spirit in Babel and Bible: Reflections on mummu in Enuma elish I 4 and
rûah in Genesis I:2” (Forthcoming).
273
CAD š/1, s.v. šamû.

104
Marduk’s relationship with the gods in these Zulum names, as it continues in another direction,

describing Mummu as mušēšir parsī, “who guides those astray” (VII:86b). This connects to

Marduk’s capture and rehabilitation of Tiamat’s evil gods, rather than killing them (IV:106-127,

V:63-67). It also alludes to the Mummu of the narrative, who is Apsû’s vizier and guides him in

his decision making, with special reference to the conversations regarding what to do with the

noisy, young gods (I:29-54). An alternative reading is mušēšir parṣī, “who administers the cultic

offices,” which draws a connection between creation and purification and dovetails well with the

following line.274

The next line begins with a partial repetition of the first line’s explanation: ilu mullil

šamê u erṣetim, “Divine purifier of heaven and netherworld” (VII:87a). Assuming that this

phrase is an expansion on the first line of explanation, as is common in the Fifty Names Section,

we treat it as part of the explanation to Mummu, not to the following name, Zulumummu.275

Presumably the derivation of the notion of purity connects to similar word plays that were used

for Tutu regarding purification through magic.276 Here we simply take mu-um-mu as a

homophone of mu7-mu7, which may mean “incantation” in Sumerian.277 As we have seen in

other name explanations a major use of incantations is to purify, or in Akkadian, mullulum.278

Another possible connection may be made here: perhaps mullil is meant here as a pun on the

Emesal writing of Enlil, Mullil.279 In that case we may read the line as dMullil šamê u erṣetim,

274
Frahm, Commentaries, 358.
275
Reasons for this include the repetition of part of the previous line, implying a direct elaboration, which should
belong to the explanation of the same name, and the pattern that the explanation of each name follows the name,
save for the last name of all, dBēl Mātāti (Section 4.50).
276
See Section 4.13.
277
ePSD, s.v. mu [INCANTATION].
278
See also Sections 4.8, 4.9, 4.15, 4.16, 4.17.
279
This idea came from Krebernik, “Mum(m)u,” 416, who adds into his translation of our explanation, “Enlil von
Himmel und Erde.” Bohl, Die fünfzig Namen, 206, also raises this possibility. Although forms of elēlu, “to be pure,”
appear often in the Fifty Names Section, the participle of the D-stem only appears one other time, in the explanation
to Asalluḫi-Namru. The surrounding context does not seem to make sense for a punning on Mullil there.

105
“dEnlil of heaven and netherworld.”280 This would be very similar to the explanation given for a

nickname of Enlil, dBēl Mātāti or den-kur-kur, “Lord of the World,” at the end of the Fifty

Names Section: aššu ašrī ibnâ iptiqa dannina, “Because he created the firmament and fashioned

the netherworld” (VII:135). The words ašrī, “firmament,” and dannina, “netherworld,” there

compare perfectly with šamê u erṣetim, “heaven and netherworld,” here. This close similarity

gives good credence to mullil as a pun here. But, the question remains as to why a pun for Enlil

would be placed under the name Mummu? Perhaps it was due to Mummu’s aspect as creator,

which the explanation naturally expanded to “creator of heaven and netherworld,” that allowed

for the connected to Enlil, who although not thought of as the creator of heaven and netherworld,

nevertheless was the Lord thereof. Now, both of these concepts, creator and ruler of heaven and

netherworld, have been incorporated into the divinity of Marduk.

4.34b Name 34b: Zulumummu

87b šaniš dzulumumm[u] (dzu-lum-um- Secondly, Zulumummu,

m[u])
88 ša ana dunnīšu ina ilāni šanû lā To whom no other among the gods was equal
m[aš]l[u] in strength.

The name Zulumummu first has some issues in its actual rendering. Some scholars wish

to read it as Zulummu, viewing the um after lum as a phonetic complement.281 Presumably, this

views the name as a variation of Zulum, as we have seen names with variants listed separately,

including the Marduk names and Gil names, and thereby avoids having to understand another

name. However, since this is the only time out of all of the names in the Fifty Names Section that

we would have a phonetic complement in the name, it seems unlikely that it really is so. The

280
One of the four mss. that Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 297, have for this line (T) probably has mul-lil, possibly
implying the connection with Mullil. The rest read mu-lil. Here I read the AN sign, rendered DINGIR (Kämmerer
and Metzler) or ilu (Lambert, EE, ad loc.) as the divine determinative.
281
Lambert, EE, ad loc.; Foster, Muses, 480; Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 297, 351, and 390, where they imply that
this name ought to be viewed as the same as Zulum, implying the explanation is a continuation of that of Zulum as
well (see Section 4.33, n.258).

106
alternatives are to read the name as a derived name of Zulum, with the additional part of

ummu,282 maybe to be understood as a combined Sumerian-Akkadian name meaning “Mother

Date;” as a derived name of Mummu, with the additional part Zulum preceding the main

name,283 with a meaning relating to fertility “Knower of Fruiting,” as derived names usually

focus on the new part; or as a combination of the names Zulum and Mummu, perhaps combining

the ideas of creation and fertility.

The explanation introduces Zulumummu with šaniš. As in the context of derived names

throughout the Fifty Names Section, the first reaction is to translate this as a count of

Zulumummu as a derived name, “secondly.” However, due to the murkiness in the relationship

between the names Zulum, Mummu, and Zulumummu, perhaps it is best to translate šaniš as

“otherwise.”284 The explanation that follows immediately in the next line has no definition, but

reads: ša ana dunnīšu ina ilāni šanû lā m[aš]l[u], “To whom no other among the gods was equal

in strength” (VII:88).285 This may play off of parts of the name Zulumummu. For instance,

dunnīšu, “his strength,” has a Sumerian equivalent in lirum, of which the value lírum is written

with the AŠ sign, which also has a value zux. Alternatively, the value lìrum is written

GIŠ%GIŠ, which also has a value ùl. The emphasis on the negative of the other gods not

having Marduk’s strength may have been reached through the syllable /ul/ in the name, which

has a homophone, úl, that is written with the NU sign, commonly expressing negation. Just as

Marduk’s strength is said here to have no parallel, so too is he announced as unmatched among

282
As per Talon, EE, in his translation, ad loc.
283
This could work well if we take all three names as separate names in the list, since when Zulumummu is referred
to as šaniš, “secondly” (assuming that translation), it would actual be the second name (and only derived name) of
the Mummu names, leaving Zulum on its own before Mummu and Zulum-Mummu.
284
As per CAD š/1, s.v. šaniš, 2.
285
My choice of placing this line as the explanation to Zulumummu, and placing most of line 87 as part of the
explanation to the previous name, Mummu (Section 4.34a), is probably in agreement with the Three-Column God
List with commentary (Lambert, EE, text, “Tablet VII,” “God List”) which most often has the first line of
explanation of a name and in this instance includes lines 86, 88, and 89, implying that line 88 is the first line of
explanation to this name.

107
the gods at his birth (I:91-100). Perhaps this explanation should also be read in the context of the

explanation of Zulum and Mummu that emphasize creation, so that we understand Marduk’s

unique strength as stemming from his creative abilities.

4.35 Name 35: Gišnumunab

d
89 gišnumunab (dgiš-numun-áb) Gišnumunab, creator of all people, who made the
bānû napḫar nišī ēpišu kibrā[ti] world regions,
90 ābit ilāni ša tiāmat ēpiš nišī ina Destroyer of the gods of Tiamat, who made
mimmȋšun humankind from parts of them.

The name Gišnumunab is the first of seven assorted names that have no obvious

relationship with one another. That is they do not fall into a group of names due to derivation or

variation from a main name, but are so grouped merely on the basis of their nonconformity and

togetherness. That is, they appear together, rather than interspersed elsewhere. This name is

curious since it begins with ĝiš, often taken as a determinative when appearing at the beginning

of a word indicating a following noun in the category “tree” or “wood.” As this clearly does not

apply here, it leaves a strange combination of signs, which if read in the most common sense of

each sign would be “wood-seed-cow.” The first step in interpreting this name is to realize that

the meaning lies within the notion of fertility, taking numun, “seed,” as a central part of the

name. One way to read the name may be to take ĝiš as its homophone ĝìš, “penis,” quite possibly

pronounced as a homophone of ĝiš, “wood,” due to the metaphor of an erect penis as akin to

wood. Then, we could read the name as “Penis with Seed for Cow,” or “Virile Bull,” similar to

the name Marduk, deriving from amar-utu, “Bull-calf of Utu.”286 The name is probably also a

pun on ĝišnumun-ĝar, “seeding plow,”287 also hinting at a virile bull as replacing ĝar with áb

gives the impression of “Plow that Seeds the Cow.” Furthermore, there is another play on this

286
See Section 4.1.
287
Halloran, Sumerian, 211.

108
name that connects to Marduk. The word ĝiškul-mar, “shovel,” is similar to Gišnumunab because

numun is another value of the KUL sign.288 So, this word may be seen as the same as our name

except for the last sign, mar. Perhaps this hints to why this name was chosen to be given to

Marduk, since mar, the “spade,” was the symbolic representation of Marduk.289

The explanation understands the name within the realm of fertility, but does not take a

sexual approach, rather one connected with creation: bānû napḫar nišī ēpišu kibrā[ti], “creator

of all people, who made the world regions” (VII:89). By creating all the many kinds of peoples,

Marduk creates the four areas of the word outside of Mesopotamia. This idea is hinted at through

the word play connections in the name. The word bānû, “creator,” the participle of banû, “to

create,” may be found in the name from the syllable /mu/, in the same way it was found in the

name Mummu, either via mú, “to grow,” or mud, “to bring forth, create.”290 Separating the

syllable /un/ from the name, gives an avenue to realizing the word nišī, “people,” since it is the

equivalent of un in Sumerian. A possible connection between the name and napḫar, “all,

totality, lies in the whole Sumerian word numun. Due to the closeness in sound between ‘m’ and

‘ĝ’ for the Sumerians, these were sometimes interchanged, as seen in the possible pronunciations

of numun as nuĝunx and niĝunx.291 Seeing how there was also an interchange in this word

between ‘u’ and ‘i’ in the first syllable, we may posit a near homophone for numun of niĝin,

“total,” which is an equivalent of Akkadian napḫar. The elaboration of ēpišu kibrā[ti], “who

made the world regions,” may have been connected to the name as well since in this sense

epēšu, “to do, make,” may mean “to create,” synonymous to banû, and the final part of the name,

288
ePSD, s.v. kul [HANDLE], cites an attestation in OB Nippur HAR-ra 1 591.
289
See Lambert, EE, “Introduction,” “The Meanings of the Fifty Names,” n. 14, which cites some scholars who even
thought that the name Marduk originated from mar, “spade.”
290
See Section 4.34a.
291
Halloran, Sumerian, 211, lists numun, nuĝunx, and niĝunx together in one lemma. See Thomsen, Sumerian, 44-
45, on the possible connections between [ĝ] and labials, including [m], especially the citation to Miguel Civil, “From
Enki’s Headaches to Phonology,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 32: 1/2 (1973), 61.

109
áb, is a near homophone of ub, “corner,” which is translated to Akkadian as kibratu, especially

in the phrase designating the four regions of the world.

The next line presents a somewhat opposite interpretation of the name, focusing on the

destruction of the rebel gods, as continues in the next name: ābit ilāni ša tiāmat ēpiš nišī ina

mimmȋšun, “Destroyer of the gods of Tiamat, who made humankind from parts of them”

(VII:90). The first part of the line, ābit ilāni ša tiāmat, “Destroyer of the gods of Tiamat,”

seems to be another definition of the name, with elaboration following from the word ēpiš and

on, in parallel to the line before it. The definition plays on the name, taking numun, “seed,

offspring,” as referring to the rebel gods who were Tiamat’s children, and áb, “cow,” as a

reference to Tiamat herself. Perhaps this connection is semantic, connecting cow to a sea cow,

similar to Tiamat in her guise as sea monster, or viewing a cow as matronly, just as Tiamat

was the mother of the rebel gods. Alternatively, as these connections are often made pseudo-

etymologically, áb is a homophone of ab, the “sea,” a more obvious association to Tiamat, the

sea goddess. The link to ābit, “destroyer,” from Akkadian abātu, “to destroy,” is more opaque.

Perhaps this was arrived at via the relation of the sign KUL, which is how numun is written,

with its homophone kúl, written with the GUL sign, which has as its main reading gul, “to

destroy.” Alternatively, the author may have been reminded of the GUL sign due to its graphic

similarity to the ÁB and GIŠ signs, since GUL is written as a combination of ÁB on the left with

an enlarged GIŠ to its right with the some sign between its horizontal wedges, depending on the

time period and geographic location.292

The explanation elaborates that from the destroyed gods, mankind was created by

Marduk, which correlates to the narrative, in which Qingu, the leader of the rebel gods under

292
See René Labat and Florence Malbran-Labat, Manuel d’Epigraphie Akkadienne: Signes, Syllabaire,
Idéogrammes6 (Paris: Geuthner, 1994), 136-37, 190-91, 194-95.

110
Tiamat, is given over to Marduk, who then kills him and orders the creation of man out of

Qingu’s blood (VI: 17-38). This is just the final detail in a name explanation which is very

interconnected with the narrative, with its dual emphasis on Marduk’s creation of humanity (VI:

1-16) and the terrestrial world (V: 45-62), as well as his destruction/defeat of the rebel gods

(IV:105-114). This duality transitions thematically from the ideas of creation in the Gil and

Zulum groups to a return to the topos of defeating Tiamat that was discussed in the Sirsir group.

This theme of defeat will be continued in the explanation to the next name as well.

4.36 Name 36: Lugalabdubur

d
91 lugalabdubur (dlugal-áb-dúbur) šarru Lugalabdubur, the king who thwarted the
sāpiḫ epšēt tiāmat nāsiḫu kakkī[ša] maneuvers of Tiamat, uprooted [her] weapons,
92 ša ina rēši u arkati duruššu kunnu Whose support was firm in front and rear.

The name Lugalabdubur again reads oddly as Sumerian, with the elements “king-cow-

foundation.” Nonetheless, since a similar name, dnin-ab-dubur, appears referring to Marduk’s

consort, Zarpanitu, the epithet is certainly meaningful.293 Since the writing for Zarpanitu’s name

as well as in one manuscript here is AB, perhaps the appropriate reading is lugal-ab-dúbur,

“King of the Foundation of the Sea.”294

The text gives the name a different definition: šarru sāpiḫ epšēt tiāmat, “the king who

thwarted the maneuvers of Tiamat” (VII:91b). This was arrived at through parsing the parts of

the name as follows: lugal is translated normally as Akkadian šarru, “king;” áb, via its

homophone ab, the “sea,” is taken as Tiamat; the syllable /du/ is read as dù, “to do, make, act,”

equivalent to Akkadian epēšu, which, as used here in the plural of the nominalized infinitive,

293
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:91-92.
294
Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 298, ms. L. The other three mss. have ÁB, perhaps due to a copying from the
previous name, dgiš-numun-áb. God list K 4210 also has the AB sign (Lambert, EE, “Introduction,” “Marduk’s
Names”). See also Lambert’s reconstruction of the name in god list K 2107+6086, aligning it with the explanation
“[šà]r ka-la ti-me-a-ti” (Lambert, EE, “Introduction,” “Marduk’s Names”), which he interprets as a play on the
name, reading it as lugal-ab-dù-bi, meaning “king of all the seas” (Lambert, EE, notes to VII:91-92). Although we
do not have the text of the name there, it was at least understood as ab, “sea.”

111
epšēt, may be translated either as “maneuvers,” lit., “actions,” or as “creations,” i.e., the rebel

gods; and the older writing of dúbur, dubur (ḪI׊E),295 is the BIR sign, which when read by

its main value means “to scatter,” equivalent to Akkadian sapāḫu, from which is derived here

sāpiḫ, “thwarter,” or (for the second definition of epšēt) “scatterer.”296 The text then gives

another definition, nāsiḫu kakkī[ša], “who uprooted [her] weapons” (VII:91c). This both makes

sense as an explanation of how Marduk defeated Tiamat’s maneuvers or her minions of the

previous phrase, as told in the narrative (IV:105-114), and stands as its own definition of the

name as well. It is derived from the /dubur/ part of the name by using the syllable /bur/ in

connection with its homophone bur12, which means “to tear out,” equivalent to Akkadian

nasāḫu, and reading the syllable /du/ as dù, written with the KAK sign, which for its main

value, kak, means “weapon,” borrowed into Akkadian as kakku.

The next line seems to give a vague explanation for how Marduk was able to accomplish

these feats of undermining Tiamat’s advances, ša ina rēši u arkati duruššu kunnu, “Whose

support was firm in front and rear” (VII:92). Marduk’s support, possibly his own cohort of

gods297 or perhaps a reference to his armor (IV:57), helps to counter Tiamat’s minions or battle

maneuvers. This line contains a couple of word plays on the name. duruššu, “support,” or

“foundation,” is synonymous with išdu, “foundation,” the Akkadian equivalent of dúbur.298

Also, using the syllable /du/, we can arrive via the DU sign at the value gin, which is equivalent

to Akkadian kânu, of which the D-stem kunnu also means “to be/make firm.”

This line may also have an astral association, since rēši u arkati, “front and back,” may

connect to Sumerian kun-sag-gá, which seems to be some type of connection between the earth
295
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:91-92.
296
Word play as per W. G. Lambert, “dLugal-ab-dubur,” Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen
Archäologie 7 (1987-1990), 109-10.
297
Never explicitly mentioned in the narrative, although it makes sense that he would have had some such group of
“troops” to counter Tiamat’s minions, even though the battle seems to be fought only by him.
298
See CAD d, s.v. duruššu.

112
and the heavens, perhaps a sort of staircase between them.299 Plus, the word duruššu is

sometimes used to connote the place to where the sun goes or a foundation for heaven.300 If so,

Marduk would be said here to have made the foundations of the kunsaggû firm. This may also

refer to some celestial area or alignment as it appears in the explanation to Neberu, where

Marduk is said to hold the kunsaggû in the context of his placement of Jupiter (Neberu) in the

heavens (VII:126-127). The narrative has a long discussion of Marduk’s creation of the celestial

bodies (V:1-46), but for much of it we still do not have an unbroken text. Although the kunsaggû

is not specifically mentioned in the part of Tablet V that we have, there is emphasis on Marduk’s

fixing of relationships of celestial bodies with respect to one another and the fixing of the

heavens vis-à-vis the earth with the durmaḫu and perhaps something else called retât šamāmi,

“the brace of heaven” (V:59-61). The question remains how this connects to the durmaḫu, the

rope that ties heaven and earth, which may also serve as a path for transport between the two.301

Perhaps they are parallel structures if we understand retât šamāmi as another phrase for

kunsaggû. Read in this fashion, this line may serve as a transition from the short reiteration of the

theme of defeating Tiamat and her minions in the name Gišnumunab and this name, toward the

theme of the supreme elevation of Marduk in the following five names of the assorted names

group.

Another possible context for the second line of explanation is provided by a cultic

commentary.302 It associates this line with the appearances of Bēl, presumably Marduk, to join

Nabû at the parak šīmāti or the place where destinies were said to be ordained. Read in this light,

the foundation that Marduk is said to make firm here may refer to the parak šīmāti or the Duku.

299
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:91-92.
300
See CAD d, s.v. duruššu.
301
See Sections 4.31 and 4.38.
302
Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 298, n. 3.

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This places this line in parallel to the explanations to the name Dumuduku and adds to the theme

of cultic restoration and renovation.303

4.37 Name 37: Pagalgu’enna

d
93 pagalguenna (dpa4-gal-gú-en-na) ašarēd Pagalguenna, foremost of all lords, whose
napḫar bēlī ša šaqâ emūqāšu strength was supreme,
94 ša ina ilāni aḫḫēšu šurbû eṭel Who was greatest of the gods his brethren,
napḫaršunu lord of them all.

The name Pagalgu’enna probably is best interpreted as “Great Leader of the Assembly

(lit., All Ens).”304 So the explanation correctly interprets the name as, ašarēd napḫar bēlī,

“foremost of all lords” (VII:93b). This reads pa4-gal straightforwardly as “great leader,”305

close to the Akkadian ašarēd, “foremost, first,” and gú-en-na(-ak) as “of the assembly”306 or

“of all the lords,” equivalent to Akkadian napḫar bēlī. The explanation elaborates, ša šaqâ

emūqāšu, “whose strength was supreme” (VII:93c), explaining how Marduk gained control of

the assembly of the gods. That is, he was the strongest of the gods who went to fight Tiamat and

succeeded after Ea (II:82-94) and Anu (II:106-118) failed.

This is brought out of the name through a word play on gú, which is attested as meaning

“force,” equivalent to Akkadian emūqu. The next line continues in the same vein, ša ina ilāni

aḫḫēšu šurbû eṭel napḫaršunu, “Who was greatest of the gods his brethren, lord of them all”

(VII:94). Here we have some more plays on parts of the name, since pa4 may be translated as a

kinsman or “brother,” equivalent to Akkadian aḫu;307 gal means “big, great,” and may be

rendered in Akkadian as rabû, of which šurbû is the Š-stem; the PA sign of the homophone pa

303
See Section 4.40.
304
One other possibility reads pa4-gal as “great canal” (Halloran, Sumerian, 213, s.v. pa4,5,6(-r)) and gú-en-na as
“silted” (ePSD, s.v. gu’ena [SILT]), but what exactly they mean together in the context of a divine name is unclear.
305
Halloran, Sumerian, 214, gives a possible definition of “leader” for pap, pab, pa4.
306
Halloran, Sumerian, 85, s.v. gu2-en(-na), and ePSD, s.v. gu’enak [ASSEMBLY].
307
Halloran, Sumerian, 214, s.v. pap, pab, pa4. Lambert, EE, notes to VII:93-94, points out this word play.

114
of pa4 may be read mu, given in some lexical lists as equivalent to eṭlu, “man;”308 and as before

gú may mean “totality,” equivalent to Akkadian napḫar. This name explanation’s theme of the

exaltation of Marduk among the gods continues through the following four names, each one

pointing out some variation on the theme.

4.38 Name 38: Lugaldurmaḫ

d
95 lugaldurmaḫ (dlugal-dur-maḫ) Lugaldurmaḫ, king of the juncture of the gods,
šarru markas ilāni bēl durmāḫi lord of the great bond,
96 ša ina šubat šarrūti šurbû an ilāni Who was greatest in the abode of kingship, most
ma’diš ṣīru exalted among the gods.

The name Lugaldurmaḫ also translates simply as “King of the Great Bond,” referring to

the connection between heaven and earth that holds the cosmos together. This name is perfectly

apt for Marduk since as part of creation from Tiamat’s carcass, he created the durmāḫu, “Great

Bond” (V:59-61). This notion was also raised under the name Gilima, although there in the

general context of creation and stability.309 There too the explanation connected this “rope” to

the tying up of the rebel gods. Here however, the explanation keeps to the current theme of

Marduk’s specialness, using this as another instance of his uniqueness among the gods.

The text defines the name twice, first as šarru markas ilāni, “king of the juncture of the

gods,” and second as bēl durmāḫi, “lord of the great bond” (VII:95). As we have seen

previously, the alternate use of šarru, “king,” or bēl, “lord,” to translate lugal by the explanation

fits with the lexical tradition as well as with the semantic field of Sumerian lugal.310 First the

explanation defines the name in connection with the gods, since the bond seems to be meant for

the traversal of the gods between heaven and earth. In this phrase, markas, from the verb rakāsu,

“to bind,” is a straightforward translation of dur, “bond,” and ilāni, “the gods,” seems to be

308
CAD e, s.v. eṭlu.
309
See Section 4.31 for more on this topic.
310
See Section 4.5, EE VI 141-142.

115
implied in the syllable maḫ, “great.” The second definition is more of an Akkadianized

recapitulation of the name.

The explanation elaborates, ša ina šubat šarrūti šurbû an ilāni ma’diš ṣīru, “Who was

greatest in the abode of kingship, most exalted among the gods” (VII:96). This adds to the

particular idea of Marduk’s majesty, by emphasizing his šubat šarrūti, “royal palace” and/or

“throne.”311 The building of his temple on earth, Esagil is discussed in the narrative (VI:47-65),

as well as is the installation of his throne (VI:93-94). The choice of words here comes from a

play on the name. The homophone of dur, dúr means “to sit,” equivalent of Akkadian wašābu,

of which šubtu, “dwelling,” is a nominal form. So too šarrūti, “kingship,” is a form of šarru,

“king,” the equivalent of Sumerian lugal. The appellatives in this sentence (šurbû, Š-stem of

rabû, ma’diš, adverbial of mādu, and ṣīru) are all possible Akkadian translations of maḫ, “to be

majestic, magnificent, exalted, great.”

4.39 Name 39: Aranunna

d
97 aranunna (da-rá-nun-na) mālik dea Aranunna, counselor of Ea, fairest of the gods
bān ilāni abbêšu his fathers,
98 ša ana alakti rubûtīšu lā umaššalu ilu Whose noble ways no god whatever could
ayyumma equal.

Aranunna is attested earlier in a Sumerian incantation and may originally have been a

divine epithet rather than a stand-alone divine name.312 It probably means “Advisor of the Noble

One,” reading a-rá as “advisor”313 and nun as “noble.”314 The explanation’s first definition

311
CAD š/3, s.v. šubtu A, 1 and 3.
312
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:97-98, who implies it may have been an epithet of Asalluḫi.
313
Ibid. Also, Halloran, Sumerian, 6, s.v. a-ra2, offers “discernment, understanding” as part of its definition.
314
Another possibility may be to read this name as a finite verb, /a-ra-nun-e/, meaning “He rises for you.” This takes
nun as a verb meaning “to rise up” (Halloran, Sumerian, 212, s.v. nun) in the marû, 3rd person, singular with the
change of final /-e/ to /-a/ due to vowel harmony. /-ra-/ is the 2nd person, singular dative and /a-/ is the uncommon
conjugation prefix (Thomsen, Sumerian, 166-69). This may make some more sense if this was initially an epithet.

116
understood the name likewise, mālik dea, “counselor of Ea” (VII:97b).315 This reads a-rá as

“advisor” and nun as the logogram for Ea.316 If the relationship between Asalluḫi and Enki may

be said to fit this pattern of advisor to the noble, respectively, then later, when Asalluḫi was

syncretized with Marduk and Ea became later name of Enki, we may say that Marduk and Ea fit

this pattern as well.317

The second definition given is quite different, bān ilāni abbêšu, “fairest of the gods his

fathers” (VII:97c). This translation, taking banû as “beautiful” or “to be beautiful,”318 avoids the

problems of the more straightforward rendering of “creator of the gods his fathers,”319 which

seems to be impossible. However, it leaves no room for derivation from the name. Another

possibility exists whereby ba-an is to be normalized ban and understood as the bound form of

the stative, meaning “built,” or “creation of.”320 This would lead to a translation of the line as

“creation of the gods his fathers.” This seems to be a good solution since it is in line with a

word play on the name, taking a-rá as a-ri-a, “impregnated,”321 synonymous with “created,

creation,” and avoids the absurdity of Marduk being said to have created his forefathers. The

rest of the definition is based on a play on nun, which may mean “master,”322 which also may

be translated as Akkadian abu.323 In this context, the more common meaning of abu, “father,” is

used to connect Marduk to ilāni abbêšu “the gods, his fathers.” Although this interpretation

315
I. Tzvi Abusch, “Alaktu and Halakhah: Oracular Decision, Devine Revelation,” Harvard Theological Review
80:1 (1987), 19, n. 12.
316
The Commentary on the Fifty Names (Bottéro, “Le Noms de Marduk,” 10) parses these words from the name the
same way.
317
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:97-98.
318
See CAD b, s.v. banû adj., c, 4’, for a stative or predicative sense as would be here, which may be spelled ba-an
too. Also see CAD b, s.v. banû B.
319
Lambert, EE, text translation ad loc., Talon, EE, text translation ad loc., Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 299.
320
See AHw I, 103, s.v. banû III, translated as “gebaut.”
321
See Lambert, EE, notes to VII:97-98. He is still working on the idea that bān means “creator of” here. But, his
discovery of the word play seems excellent. The Commentary on the Fifty Names (Bottéro, “Le Noms de Marduk,”
10) agrees on the meaning of bān, but derives it from RU, presumably as a near homophone of rá, via rú, which is
written with the KAK sign, which also has the value dù, “to build,” equivalent to banû.
322
Halloran, Sumerian, 212, s.v. nun.
323
CAD a/1, s.v. abu A, 5.

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seems to present a tautology, first we should note that the explanations in general are not above

drawing tautologies from names and second we may find meaning in this statement in the

context of the “multiplication of ancestors,” which occurs elsewhere in the Fifty Names

Section.324 Whether taken as “fairest” or “creation” of the gods, this phrase serves to further

explain Marduk’s specialness.

The next line is more particular: ša ana alakti rubûtīšu lā umaššalu ilu ayyumma,

“Whose noble ways no god whatever could equal” (VII:98). This sentence seems to be built

around a third definition of the name, alaktu rubûtu, “noble ways.” It translates the name with

a-rá as “road, way,”325 equivalent to Akkadian alaktu, which in fact has numerous connotations

in different contexts,326 and nun(-e), “princely, noble,” as Akkadian rubûtu.327 This line stresses

how Marduk was created as such a unique divine being that he has no rival. It directly parallels

the wish of the gods that introduces the Fifty Names Section: i nimbēma ḫaššā šumēšu / alkatuš

lū šupâtu epšētuš lū mašlat, “Come, let us call the fifty names / Of him whose character is

resplendent, whose achievement is the same” (VI:121-22).The narrative also repeats this several

times – at his birth (I:91-94), before battle with Tiamat (IV:4, 6, 10), and after (VI:106), as does

the Fifty Names Section, under Tutu (VII:14) and Zulumummu (VII:88). This uniqueness makes

Marduk more special than both Anu and Ea who are said to be made equal to their parents (I:14,

16). The point of repeatedly stressing the ways in which Marduk is exalted among the gods in

324
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:97-98, citing VII:5-6, where Anu and Enlil are included with Ea in parallel to the
phrase abī ālidīšu, “his (Asaralimnunna’s) forefathers” (see Section 4.12).
325
Halloran, Sumerian, 6, s.v. a-ra2.
326
See Section 4.9.
327
Abusch, “Alaktu and Halakhah,” 19, n. 12.

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these last five assorted names is to place him on a plane above and beyond all of the gods. This is

also arguably the major focus of the whole myth.328

4.40 Name 40: Dumuduku

d
99 dumuduku (ddumu-du6-kù) ša ina
duku ūtaddašu šubassu e[llet]
100 ddumuduku ša balīšu purussû lā
iparrasu dlugalduku
Dumuduku, whose pure dwelling is renewed in
holy hill,
Son of holy hill, without whom the lord of holy
hill makes no decision.

The name Dumuduku translates simply as “Son of Holy Hill,” or perhaps the “One of

Holy Hill,” as dumu means “son” or “citizen,”329 du6 means “mound” or “hill,” and kù means

“pure” or “holy.” Perhaps the name is itself a play on the name Marduk, taking the first syllable

as Akkadian māru, “son,” and translating it back to Sumerian as dumu and then continuing by

copying the sounds of the rest of the name so that mar-duk could be rewritten as dumu-du-ku.

There were several locations or installations called Duku (du6-kù), including foremost

among them the “cosmic seat of the king of the gods in the divine assembly, whence destinies

are determined,” known in Akkadian as parak šīmāti.330 Clearly, this is the location to which the

names here refer, since we are speaking of Marduk’s exaltation to head of the pantheon. Duku is

also what the shrine of Enlil in the Ekur in Eridu was called. From the combination of these two,

the name was appropriated for Marduk’s throne in the Assembly of the Gods in Esagil. There

were several other shrines called Duku or É-Duku, including one for Ea in É-Abzu in Eridu and

in the Esagil temple in Babylon. It was also the throne of Lugalduku, probably here associated
328
See Foster, Muses, 436, where he introduces the myth as focused on Marduk’s exaltation to head of the pantheon,
as well as Lambert, “The Reign of Nebuchadnezzar I,” 3-13, who makes this point the focus of his historical
placement of the authoring of the myth.
329
Halloran, Sumerian, 50, s.v. dumu, offers “citizen” as one meaning of dumu. The meaning of dumu as “one
belonging to a certain place” is supported by Claus Wilcke, Early Ancient Near Eastern Law: A History of Its
Beginnings: The Early Dynastic and Sargonic Periods (Revised Ed.; Winona Lake, In.: Eisenbrauns, 2007), 51, n.
136.
330
Wayne Horowitz, Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography (Mesopotamian Civilizations 8; Winona Lake, In.:
Eisenbrauns, 1998), 315-16; A. R. George, House Most High: The Temples of Ancient Mesopotamia (Mesopotamian
Civilizations 5; Winona Lake, In.: Eisenbrauns, 1993), 77.

119
with Ea, in the Chariot House of Esagil.331 With these locations in mind, calling Marduk

Dumuduku, the “One/Son of Holy Hill,” places him into the context of the head of the pantheon,

usurper of Enlil, and relation to Ea. The Duku was also said to be a place where heaven and earth

came together, somewhat similar to the kunsaggû and durmāḫu, and from where creation may

have begun.332 Lugalduku was originally an ancient god, said to be the father or forebear of Enlil

and connected to the Duku in Nippur. This name was later also used as a nickname of Ea in

relation to the Duku in Eridu where Enki/Ea was part of the pantheon.333

The explanation offers no definition of the name, assumedly since it is so obvious as it

later uses a direct translation to Akkadian in part of the explanation, šubassu e[llet], “his pure

dwelling.” The first line of explanation is in full, ša ina duku ūtaddašu šubassu e[llet], “whose

pure dwelling is renewed in holy hill” (VII:99). Oddly this seems to take du6-kù in two ways

simultaneously, both as the duku, an Akkadianization of the Sumerian, a location where Marduk

renovates something, and as the designation for the thing he renovates, “his holy seat,” via the

aforementioned Akkadian translation of du6-kù as šubassu e[llet]. Perhaps this jives with the

previously listed usages of Duku elsewhere in that it sometimes refers to a shrine and other times

to the seat or throne of a deity.334

Presumably each time an explanation throughout the Fifty Names Section begins a line

with ša…, “that…,” it refers back to the name. Here the text happens to repeat the name at the

beginning of the second line, perhaps due to an ancient dittography.335 The following text reads,

331
Ibid.
332
Bernd Janowski, “Der Himmel auf Erden: Zur kosmologischen Bedeutung des Tempels in der Umwelt Israels”
(In Das biblische Weltbild und seine altorientalischen Kontexte [Forschungen zum Alten Testament 32; Eds., Bernd
Janowski and Beate Ego; Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 2001]), 233-36.
333
W. G. Lambert, “Lugal-dukuga,” Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 7 (1987-1990,
133-34.
334
This is not an issue for ms. M of Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 300, which does not have ša ina duku.
335
The repetition of the name that starts a name entry also occurs in the explanation to Neberu at the beginning of its
third line (VII:124, 126).

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ša balīšu purussû lā iparrasu dlugalduku, “without whom the lord of holy hill makes no

decision” (VII:100). This is a clear reference to the deciding of fates which occurs at the Duku.

Additionally, this activity was spoken of in legalistic terminology, such as in the full name of the

cosmic location, du6.kù-ki.nam.tar.tar.(re).e.de, “Duku, where Destinies are Determined,” lit.,

“cut.”336 This parallels the explanation here since tar, “to cut,” is equivalent to Akkadian parāsu,

used twice here. This may also be a play on part of the name Dumuduku, since the homophone

of kù, ku5, also means “to cut,” similarly equivalent to Akkadian parāsu. The deity referred to

here as Lugalduku is certainly Ea, who also operates in conjunction with Marduk in the narrative

of Enūma Eliš, such as when he devises the idea for Marduk to gain power by fighting Tiamat

(II: 119-162) and when he executes the creation of mankind that Marduk thought up (VI:1-16,

33-38).

The notion of renovating shrines or temples has already been raised in the Fifty Names

explanations several times, but always for the other gods.337 Here Marduk refurbishes his own

shrine or throne as part of his self-aggrandizement, in parallel to his installation on his throne in

the narrative (V:103-105) and the building of Babylon and Esagil for him (VI:45-66).338 On the

other hand, the concept of deciding fates is newly broached here in the Fifty Names Section. It

fits well with the narrative, in which Marduk takes the Tablet of Destinies from Qingu after

defeating him and his army (IV:121-122), since the bearer of the Tablet of Destinies had the

power to control the future by deciding fates. After re-organizing the gods (V:66-67),

presumably using the new power accorded to him by the tablet, he gives the tablet to Anu (V:69-

336
George, House Most High, 77.
337
See Sections 4.6, 4.7, 4.13, 4.22, 4.33.
338
Marduk’s seat was only first mentioned under the second name before this, Lugaldurmaḫ (Section 4.38).

121
70). It is unclear why he does so, but he certainly retains significant power over the other gods as

the head of the pantheon, since they made his destiny the highest (VI:96).339

This is the second name in which a relationship is spoken of between Marduk and

another god. In the last name, Marduk is Ea’s advisor, here Marduk is necessary for Lugalduku,

a.k.a. Ea, to operate, and in the following name Marduk is the warrior of Anu and nominated by

Anšar. All of these relationships are with deities that were already near the top of the pantheon.

By relating Marduk to them, especially with the favorable twist in the relationship that implies

Marduk to be in the power position, the text solidifies Marduk at the head of the pantheon.

4.41 Name 41: Lugalšu’anna

d
101 lugalšuanna (dlugal-šu!-an-na) šarru ša Lugalšuanna, king whose strength was
ina ilāni šaqâ emūqāšu outstanding among the gods,
102 bēlum emūq danim ša šūturu nibût Lord, strength of Anu, who became supreme
anšar at the nomination of Anšar.

The last of the assorted names, Lugalšu’anna, is actually written lugal-la-an-na in the

only manuscript with the name unbroken. Lambert has ascribed this to a scribal error due to the

similarity of Neo-Assyrian ŠU and LA signs. Seemingly, the impetus for this emendation, other

than the appearance of the name as such twice elsewhere, is to put it in line with the explanation

here and with an alternate name of Babylon in a learned text, Šuanna, in order to understand the

name as “Lord of Babylon.”340 Although this emendation has been widely accepted,341 it is

339
For more on the Tablet of Destinies and the relationship between it and its bearer and it and fate, šīmtu, see Jack
Newton Lawson, The Concept of Fate in Ancient Mesopotamia of the First Millennium: Toward an Understanding
of Šīmtu (Orientalia Biblica et Christiana 7; Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1994). On the relationship of šīmtu and
purussû, “decisions,” see ibid., 41.
340
W. G. Lambert, “Lugal-Šuanna,” Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 7 (1987-
1990), 152, and Lambert, EE, notes to VII:101-102. The name of Babylon, Šuanna, in Tintir I:4, is the first name
following the name Tintir itself, repeated twice (A. R. George, Babylonian Topographical Texts [Orientalia
Lovaniensa Analecta 40; Leuven: Peeters and Departement Oriëntalistiek, 1992], 38-39). One of the parallel god
lists (K 2107+6086) certainly took the name as referring to Babylon since it has a chain of explanations that ends in
be-el bābiliki, “Lord of Babylon,” and mud-diš bābiliki, “Restorer of Babylon” (Lambert, EE, “Introduction,”
“Marduk’s Names”).

122
possible that the name here really is Lugal-la-an-na, perhaps “Exalted King.” The appearance

elsewhere of the name with -šu- is not necessarily indicative of it here, the name may not

actually be emphasizing a connection to Babylon, and the explanation of the name here is

derivable from -la- as well.

In any event, the explanation defines the name verbosely as šarru ša ina ilāni šaqâ

emūqāšu, “king whose strength was outstanding among the gods” (VII:101). This parses the

name as follows: lugal, “king,” equates to Akkadian šarru; šu may mean “strength,” sometimes

translated to Akkadian as emūqu,342 or (if parsing Lugal-la-an-na) using the syllable /a/, its

homophone á means “strength,” equivalent to Akkadian emūqu as well;343 and an, usually

translated “sky,” may be an adjective meaning “high,” equivalent to Akkadian šaqû.344 It seems

that the phrase ina ilāni, “among the gods,” was added here to emphasize the context of

Marduk’s exaltation here as in the divine realm.345

The second line offers another definition of the name, bēlum emūq danim, “Lord,

strength of Anu” (VII:102a). This follows the same parsing of the name as above, other than

taking an as the name of the god Anu. Another manuscript has a different definition in this line,

bēlum emūqān ṣīrāt or bēlum emūqam ṣīreš, “Lord, supremely strong.”346 This dissociates

341
Foster, Muses, 481; Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 300, 385; Talon, EE, ad loc.; and Bottéro, “Le Noms de
Marduk,” 10 (reconstructed), all take this as a given, so much so that they do not even note the emendation other
than an unexplained “!” in Bottéro and Kämmerer and Metzler, 300.
342
Halloran, Sumerian, 262, s.v. šu. Lambert, EE, notes to VII:101-102 and CAD e, s.v. emūqu, cite a bi-lingual
parallel that equates šu an-na-ke4 with šá e-mu-qa-šu šá-qa-a, “whose strength is supreme.” CAD e, op cit., also
cites two other bilingual texts that equate šu with emūqu.
343
CAD e, op cit.
344
CAD š/2, 16, s.v. šaqû A.
345
The same phrase appears in the explanation to Pagalgu’enna (Section 4.37, VII:93) without ina ilāni, since the
context is clear from the next line which has the phrase.
346
Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 300, ms. I. They offer the second reading of the signs in this ms., whereas Lambert,
EE, notes to VII:101-102, reads the first way. As Lambert, EE, notes to VII:101-102, points out, this is one of the
few instances of “recensional activity” in the Fifty Names Section, here due to different interpretations of the name.
Another instance was in the name Agilima (Section 4.32), where urpēti, “clouds,” appears in one ms. instead of
erṣetim, “earth.” Although this may indicate that there was some reworking of the name explanations over time, I do

123
Marduk from Anu and gives a definition that is practically equivalent to the first one. This line

explains further, ša šūturu nibût anšar, “who became supreme at the nomination of Anšar”

(VII:101b). There seems to be no reason for intentionally removing Anu from this line,

especially since in the early theogony Anšar is Marduk’s great-grandfather, clearly separate from

Anu, his grandfather (I:12-15). In fact, treating the line with Anu in it gives a quaint reference to

both of Marduk’s ancestors together. Plus, both connect to the narrative. Marduk may be said to

be the strength of Anu as he filled in for Anu after Anu (and Ea) failed to confront Tiamat (II:

95-118). Marduk also fits as the one who became supreme by Anšar’s nomination through the

same process of Anšar’s search for a champion to defeat Tiamat. Although Marduk was actually

brought to Anšar’s attention by Ea, Anšar, due to his apparent role as the leader of the gods at

that time, was the final nominator of Marduk to take on Tiamat when he convinced the divine

assembly to accept Marduk as their champion (III:1-12, 125-138, IV:1-18).

As the last of this group of names, Lugalšu’anna finishes off the theme of Marduk’s

exaltedness by focusing on his surpassing strength and situating him as the favorite of Anu and

Anšar. It does so in part by repeating a phrase that was stated at the beginning of the names that

emphasize this theme, under Pagalgu’enna, ša (ina ilāni) šaqâ emūqāšu, “whose strength was

outstanding (among the gods)” (VII:93, 101).347 The explanation uses this phrase to bookend

these name explanations and make their focus on this theme perfectly clear.

4.42 Name 42: Irugga

d
103 irugga (dir-ug5-ga) šālil gimrīšunu Irugga, who ravaged all of them amidst Tiamat,

qirbiš tiāmat

not think this interferes with our understanding of the relationship between the text of the Fifty Names Section and
the god list with explanation (see Section 5.4).
347
Section 4.37.

124
 104 ša napḫar uzni iḫmumu ḫasīsa Who gathered all wisdom to himself, profound

palkû in perception.

The name Irugga348 is the first of three names that seem to be connected, including

Irqingu and Kinma. Lambert suggests that they form a group of variations of the name of a god

attested elsewhere as Irqingi, Irqingal, and Kingal.349 Perhaps an alternative is to see the names

as a group, though not as variations of one name, but rather as several separate names connected

through cascading sound connections.350 After Irugga, the list chooses Irqingu since it begins

with the same sound, /ir/. Then the list chooses Kinma due to the phonic similarity with Irqingu,

since both contain the sound /kin/.351 Additionally, there may be an even closer affiliation if /ma/

is alternated via Emesal equations with /ga/, which is close in sound to /gu/.

Treating Irugga on its own as a Sumerian name leads to several possibilities for its

meaning. The alternative spelling in a fragment of a god list of ir-u-gu gives no good potential

meanings, leaving us with the spelling here.352 Since the middle sign in the name, EZEN×BAD,

only makes sense in this context as ug5, “to die,” all potential interpretations of the name take an

ominous tone. Presumably ga at the end represents some grammatical feature, leaving us with the

348
Another possible reading of the name is raised in CAD h, 59, s.v. ḫamāmu: LUGAL.UG5.GA. Kämmerer and
Metzler, EE, 301, n. 4, read IR as does the Commentary to the Fifty Names (Bottéro, “Les Noms de Marduk,” 20).
349
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:103-108.
350
The main issue is that I do not see a strong connection between Irugga and the next two names since kin/qin
seems to play a crucial role in this name in the attestations elsewhere, yet it seems to have no connection with /u/ (or
the value u as per the writing in the god list Sm 78+115+1-78 [Lambert, EE, “Introduction,” “Marduk’s Names”) or
/ug/ (or the value ug5 as per the writing here) in Irugga. This leads to the idea that the connection is superficial,
possibly phonic, as I propose in the continuation.
351
There seems to be no textual evidence here or elsewhere to prefer reading qin or kin of the KIN sign in both the
names Irqingu and Kinma. Lambert, EE, notes to VII:103-108, cites four texts where he thinks the god who went by
some similar name is attested and none of them show evidence for q or k. As such the conventional reading of q in
Irqingu seems to be only due to the explanation’s use of the name as šālil dqingu, “ravager of Qingu.” And,
oppositely Kinma is spelled with a k probably since it does not superficially relate to Qingu, though Lambert argues
it does as we stated in the text here. However, there seems to be no particular reason for the choice of q in Qingu
either and Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 384, actually choose to render the names Kingu and Irkingu. Talon, EE, ad
loc., also reads Ir-kingu. I have left the traditional rendering, since, although the name does not seem to be Akkadian
and there is no precise /q/ phoneme in Sumerian, perhaps as the name was read by Akkadian speakers, they took it
as an emphatic as sometimes happens in the transition of stop consonants in loanwords from Sumerian to Akkadian,
such as dub > t/ṭuppu, “tablet.”
352
See n.349.

125
question of how to understand ir. If we take ir to mean “to bring,” the name may mean “Bringer

of Death” in a homicidal sense or “Bringer of the Dead” as somehow related to the afterlife. This

possibility is interesting in light of the affinity between Irugga and a word for “netherworld,”

irigal/urugal. Alternatively, ir may mean “to plunder,” as it is understood by the explanation to

this name and the next, which translate ir as šālil, “plunderer,” giving the name a meaning akin

to “Deadly Ravager.”

The text defines the name as šālil gimrīšunu, “who ravaged all of them” (VII:103b),

equating ir with šalālu, “to plunder, ravage,” to form the basis for the definition. The next sign

in the name, ug5, “to die,” probably impacted on the choice of šalālu rather than other possible

options for translating ir. It also helps contextualize this interpretation with respect to the

narrative, directing the connection to Marduk’s ravaging of Tiamat’s minions as the text explains

that this happened qirbiš tiāmat, “amidst Tiamat” (VII:103c). Marduk sent his weapons, wind

and arrow into Tiamat to slay her as well (IV:96-104).

The next line contains a seemingly totally different understanding of the name: ša napḫar

uzni iḫmumu ḫasīsa palkû, “Who gathered all wisdom to himself, profound in perception”

(VII:104).353 The first part of the line contains a definition of the name, napḫar uzni iḫmumu,

“Gathered All Wisdom.” This connects more to the alternative spelling of the name previously

mentioned, ir-u-gu, which may be parsed as follows: ir may be taken as its near homophone ur4,

“to heap up,” equivalent to Akkadian ḫamāmu; Sumerian u may be equated to Akkadian uznu,

353
CAD ḫ, 59, s.v. ḫamāmu, translates this line as: “he who gathered all the ears (of the dead gods) has become
outstanding in wisdom.” This literalism is unnecessary as uznu most often means “wisdom” rather than “ears” (see
CAD u/w, s.v. uznu). Also, the notion “dead gods” here is misapplied since it is clear in the narrative that the gods
whom Marduk defeats are not killed, save for Qingu and Tiamat. The rest of their minions are repurposed to other
tasks (V:65-68). Although the phrase uballiṭu ilāni mītūti, “he revived dead gods” (VI:153), appears once in the
Fifty Names Section, under the name Asalluḫi-Namtila (Section 4.8), it must be taken figuratively as it is in parallel
to ikširū kalû ilāni abtūti, “he restored all the ruined gods” (VI:152). The real focus, as it is elsewhere in the Fifty
Names when the defeated evil gods are spoken of, is on their capture and restoration due to Marduk’s good graces,
befitting a king.

126
“wisdom;”354 and the homophone of gu, gú means “entirety,” equivalent to napḫaru. The line

ends with a nearly synonymous recapitulation of this idea. The notion of Marduk’s surpassing

wisdom is prevalent in the narrative as well (I:94, 97, II:149, III:113, IV:93, VI:37).

Although the change in thematic direction from military conquest to gatherer of wisdom

seems drastic, it seems that it was not so in Enūma Eliš. Immediately before engaging in combat

with Tiamat, Marduk is referred to in this military context as apkal ilāni, “sage of the gods”

(IV:93). This shows that the connection between wisdom and battle is not only located in the

Fifty Names Section, but is a more general notion. The theme of Marduk’s wisdom begins in this

name explanation and continues through the Qingu group and the two names following it,

Dingir-Esiskur and Girru. Marduk’s wisdom is praised in its different aspects, including

creativity, direction, and organization. The theme of Marduk as violent (conqueror), either

toward Tiamat or in general exists in the Qingu group alone.

4.43 Name 43: Irqingu

d
105 irqingu (dir-qin-gu) šālil dqingu abiš Irqingu, ravager of Qingu, … of battle,
tāḫāzi
106 muttabbil têret napḫari mukīn bēlūti Who took charge of all commands, established
lordship.
355
The name Irqingu has several possible combinations of Sumerian meanings, the best

of which probably reads as “Messenger.” This understands ir as “to bring” and kin as “message.”

This dispenses with gu as a phonetic complement for the final n of the /kin/ syllable, indicating a

possible /ŋ/ sound. Another possibility in keeping with the theme of violence could be “Ravager

by Sickle,” taking ir as “to plunder, ravage,” and kin as “sickle.” Similarly, gu would be treated

phonetically rather semantically.

354
CAD u/w, 362, s.v. uznu.
355
On the choice of q in the names Irqingu and Qingu, see n. 350.

127
 The explanation parses the name quite literally as ir-Qingu, šālil dqingu, “ravager of

Qingu” (VII:105b), as borne out in the narrative, when Marduk captures Qingu and then has Ea

kill him to create mankind from his blood (IV:119-121, VI:29-34). As in the first line of the last

name’s explanation, this takes ir, “to plunder, ravage,” as its Akkadian equivalent šalālu. The

text continues with a poorly understood explanation of the situation of this ravaging of Qingu,

abiš tāḫāzi, “in/by … of battle.”356 The second line of explanation contains two other definitions

of the name. The first, muttabbil têret napḫari, “Who took charge of all commands”

(VII:106a), reads ir as “to bring,” equivalent to Akkadian wabālu, here as the participle of the

Gtn-stem, which means “to manage, organize;”357 kin as “command,” equivalent to têrtu,358 and

gu as its homophone gú, “entirety,” equivalent to napḫaru. The third definition overall, mukīn

bēlūti, “who established lordship” (VII:106b), arises from a play on qin as its near homophone,

gin6, “to establish,” equivalent to Akkadian kânu, here as the participle of the D-stem, and on

the syllable /in/ as its near homophone en, “lord,” equivalent to Akkadian bēlu.

As part of the theme of Marduk’s great wisdom, here we speak of his control of all

commands in terms of running the organization of the gods, which was seen as a mirror of

human communal organization. As head of the pantheon he takes on the role of En, or “leader,”

of the gods, reflected in the use of the word bēlūti, written with the EN sign. His directorship is

also viewed regarding military activities, due to the juxtaposition with battle in the first line of

explanation. The narrative attests to these ideas as well. For instance, when Marduk is

preliminarily confirmed as head of the pantheon before defeating Tiamat, he is given the

356
Foster, Muses, 482, and Lambert, EE, translation ad loc., do not translate the word. Lambert, EE, notes to
VII:105 explains the possible variants and translations, but concludes that none are good. Talon, EE, ad loc.,
translates “en plein combat,” probably taking the word as ayyābiš, which Lambert discards as a probable later hyper-
correction. So too do Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 301, agree, translating “feindlich in der Schlacht.” However, their
collation raises the possibility of reading from their ms. H an a-bi ta-ḫa-zi, “for the father of battle,” which may be a
reference to Anšar, who had been the force behind the resistance to Tiamat.
357
CAD a/1, 10, s.v. abālu A, 7.
358
CAD t, 357, s.v. têrtu.

128
supreme command, including the power to destroy and create by his word (IV:1-28). Then, after

being victorious in battle, his new position is confirmed (V:109-110), he commands the creation

of Babylon (V:117-130) and humanity (VI:18), and he is blessed by Anšar with the ability of

supreme command when given the name Asalluḫi (VI:101-104). Marduk also organizes both the

defeated gods (V:65-67) and the good gods (VI:39-46). Lastly, in preparation for battle he

organizes all of his various weapons and spirits that accompany him (IV:35-58).

4.44 Name 44: Kinma

d
107 kinma (dkin-ma) muma’’ir napḫar ilāni Kinma, leader of all the gods, grantor of
nādin milki counsel,
108 ša ana šumēšu ilāni kīma meḫê išubbū At whose name the gods quake for fear like
palḫiš a whirlwind.

The name Kinma359 is most probably an alternative spelling for Kinga using a partial

Emesal spelling, by which ĝá is replaced with ma.360 Assuming the final /-a/ indicates an

asyntactic verb, the name may be taken participially as either “Messenger”361 or “Commander.”

If this name is taken as Qingu, it may mean “Work” or “Worker,” which would jive with the use

Marduk makes of him in creating mankind to do work for the gods.362 Another possibility is that

the name is an alternate form of Kingal, a high official in Sumerian times, which may be

translated as “Commander, Director.”363 This alternation may have occurred via the same

Emesal-like change from ga to ma and a dropping of the final consonant, which commonly

occurs in the writing of Sumerian.

359
On the choice of in Kinma, see n. 350.
360
W. G. Lambert, “Kinma,” Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 6 (1980-1983), 603.
The juxtaposition of nm is extremely rare in Sumerian, which gives some reason to look for an alternative spelling.
A search of the ePSD turned up only 4 examples of words with nm back-to-back, each attested fewer than 20 times,
and 3 of which were only found in OB texts.
361
“Messenger” was most commonly spelled in Sumerian with kíĝ-gi4-a. Maybe in our first millennium version of
this name, we may propose that there may have been a combination of gi4 and a to ga, which was swapped with ma
by an advanced scribe.
362
Thorkild Jacobsen, The Harab Myth (Sources from the Ancient Near East 2/3; Malibu : Undena Publications,
1984), 16, apud Foster, Muses, 445, n. 1.
363
ePSD, s.v. kingal [OFFICIAL]; Halloran, Sumerian, 145, s.v. kingal.

129
 The explanation defines the name along these lines as muma’’ir napḫar ilāni, “leader of

all the gods” (VII:107b). Lambert takes this as evidence that the name that the explanation was

translating was Qingu due to the use of napḫar, which is equivalent to Sumerian gú.364 However,

if the name is a version of kingal, which is directly equated with mu’irru, “leader,”365 it is quite

possible that the words napḫar ilāni, “all the gods,” are a contextualizing explanation of the

name.366 This would keep the focus on Marduk’s supremacy over the gods rather than over

mankind. If so, my theory of cascading phonic connections is best to explain these names as a

group.367

The explanation adds more particulars in its continuation as usual. First, it explains this

role of leadership to include nādin milki, “grantor of counsel” (VII:107c). Here Marduk is said to

take on the aspect of the vizier, of which there were several in the narrative, including Ea,

Kakka, and Mummu. It seems somewhat odd that Marduk should be given this ability, which is

often held by members of the court below the king. A solution may be that the author wishes to

give to Marduk all positive divine aspects and abilities that appear in the narrative, no matter

who previously held them.368 The text elaborates further on Marduk’s superiority toward the

other gods and thereby his leadership of them, ša ana šumēšu ilāni kīma meḫê išubbū palḫiš, “At

whose name the gods quake for fear like a whirlwind” (VII:108). Interestingly, the text brings

up explicitly that his name is what avails Marduk of this power, which was implicit in almost all

of the name explanations.369 Possibly, the word meḫê in this line is used based on a word play on

the sound /in/ in the name. Its near homophone im commonly means “violent storm,” often

364
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:103-108.
365
CAD m/2, 178, s.v., mu’irru.
366
Even according to Lambert’s parsing of the name, the word ilāni must remain as an added explanation in the
definition that does not connect to part of the name.
367
See Section 4.42.
368
See Section 4.11 for more on Marduk and counseling.
369
i.e., any of the name explanations could have inserted ana šumēšu, “at his name,” after the common ša…

130
associated with winds.370 The image of the gods shaking or vibrating in fear like a windstorm

seems to be fairly unique. Usually the opposite situation is pictured where a divinity manifests or

is powerful like a windstorm, which engenders the fear of other gods or men. Perhaps this image

was used to connect to the narrative where immediately prior to Marduk’s confrontation with

Tiamat, the gods were said to be “stirring about him” (IV:63-64). Additionally, this occurs in the

same context of Marduk’s preparations for battle in which he gathers about him the four winds

that Anu made for him as well as creates seven more winds, including the meḫâ (IV:45). So, this

explanation of Kinma connects the gods’ stirring round Marduk with Marduk’s violent winds of

battle to construct an image in which the gods’ are shaking like a meḫû for fear of him.

The possibility that this name stems from Qingu raises a potential contradiction with

Marduk being both named Qingu and being Qingu’s opponent in the narrative and his ravager

according to the last name explanation.371 However, certainly vis-à-vis our myth, we stand in the

position in mythical time in which Qingu has already been defeated, captured, and killed. Thus,

the assumption of his name by Marduk can make sense, since as his killer he can take Qingu’s

attributes, just as he takes the Tablet of Destinies from Qingu. In some sense, Marduk has

already used Qingu positively, since it is with his blood that Marduk orders the creation of

humanity. So too with regard to Tiamat, after her defeat, Marduk uses her to create the world.

Perhaps this also relates to the duality that was seen earlier of the combination of the evil gods’

defeat and the good gods’ renewal, which is also a case where positive outcomes are generated

from defeated evils.372

In any event, this name explanation wraps up a streak of three explanations that

emphasized violence, here that holds the gods in abeyance and previously that was used to

370
CAD m/2, 5, meḫû A.
371
Section 4.43, of the name Irqingu.
372
See the explanations of the Šazu names (Sections 4.18-23, especially 4.19).

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destroy Tiamat’s minions. It also continues on the theme of Marduk’s wisdom and organization

by pointing out his ability to counsel and his leadership of the rest of the gods. This notion is

continued in the following two names as well.

4.45 Name 45: Dingir-Esiskur

109 dingir-esiskur (dingir-é-sískur) šaqiš
ina bīt ikribi lišibma
110 ilāni maḫrīšu lišēribū katrâšun
111 adi iribšunu imaḫḫaruni
112 mamman ina balīšu lā ibannâ niklāte
113 erba ṣalmat qaqqadī binâtuššú
114 ela šâšu ṭēme ūmēšina lā yadda ilu
mamman
Dingir-Esiskur shall dwell aloft in the house of
prayer,
The gods shall bring in their presents before him,
Until he receives (all) their due.
None besides him can create artful things,
The four people of this land are his creatures,
No god but he knows how long they will live.

The name Dingir-Esiskur translates simply from Sumerian as “God of the House of

Sacrifice,” since é means “house, temple” and sískur means “prayer, sacrifice.”373 This is an apt

name for Marduk because é-sískur was the name of Marduk’s Akītu temple outside of

Babylon.374 Also appropriate for Marduk is the spelling of sískur, AMAR׊E.AMAR׊E, since

Marduk’s main name, spelled logographically as AMAR-UTU, also use the AMAR sign.375

The first line of explanation combines a blessing with the definition of the name: šaqiš

ina bīt ikribi lišibma, “shall dwell aloft in the house of prayer” (VII:109). In this line, bīt ikribi,

“house of prayer,” or “house of sacrifice,” is an Akkadian translation of Sumerian é-sískur.376

Marduk is blessed to be dwell there above the other gods. His position above the other gods is

explicated further: ilāni maḫrīšu lišēribū katrâšun / adi iribšunu imaḫḫaruni, “The gods shall

bring in their presents before him, / Until he receives (all) their due” (VII:110-111). The

explanation understands this name in the context of the Akītu festival, which emphasized

373
As per George, House Most High, 142, entry 993, “é-sískur.”
374
Ibid. This is only attested by a mid-first millennium text in which Nebuchadnezzar II is said to renovate it. It may
also have been mentioned in line 47 on the Khorsabad Temple List, DŠ 32-14 (idem, 45).
375
ePSD, s.v. siškur [PRAYER].
376
As per the Nebuchadnezzar text (see George, House Most High, 142, entry 993, “é-sískur”).

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Marduk’s role as head of the pantheon and centered on a large procession of Marduk and the

gods to the Akītu house, the é-sískur, where they were installed and feted.377 As part of this, the

explanation envisions a giving of gifts to Marduk by all of the gods, displaying their fealty and

subservience to him.

The following lines describe Marduk’s relationship with mankind as he is their creator

and decider of their fates: mamman ina balīšu lā ibannâ niklāte / erba ṣalmat qaqqadī binâtuššú

/ ela šâšu ṭēme ūmēšina lā yadda ilu mamman, “None besides him can create artful things, / The

four people of this land are his creatures, / No god but he knows how long they will live”

(VII:112-114). Perhaps this connects to the previous lines of explanation as it relates to the Akītu

festival, when on the day after the installations in the Akītu house, there was a return procession

to Babylon and a festival at which the destinies of mankind were destined at the parak šīmāti.378

Marduk’s deep divine insight into the destinies of man further embellishes the theme of the past

few names regarding his ultimate wisdom. The role of decider of destinies befits Marduk based

on his acquisition of the Tablet of Destinies in the narrative (IV:121-122). Plus, since he creates

mankind for the express purpose of doing the gods’ work for them (VI: 1-16, 33-38), ipso facto

he has already decided their fates.

377
Black, “New Year Ceremonies,” 46. Although Enūma Eliš was read during and mirrors parts of the Akītu
festival, it may have been influenced by it nonetheless, since certainly the festival in some form predated the myth
(see Black, “New Year Ceremonies,” 50).
378
Black, “New Year Ceremonies,” 48. See Section 4.40 for more on Marduk and deciding fates in the explanation
to Dumuduku.

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4.46 Name 46: Girru
d
115 girru (dbil.gi=gìra) mukīn aṣât Girru, who ensconced the protrusion(s)379 of the
kakkī weapon,
116 ša ina tāḫāz tiāmat ibannâ niklāti Who creates artful things in battle with Tiamat,380
117 palkâ uznī etpeša ḫasīsa Profound of wisdom, ingenious in perception,
118 libbu rūqu ša lā ilammadū ilāni Whose heart is so deep that none of the gods can
gimrassun comprehend it.

The name Girru, usually of the Babylonian Fire-god, is the first of the final five

Akkadian names given to Marduk. Of them, only the names Ašaru and Neberu are found in the

other god lists, both usually at the end as well. These names are probably placed at the end of the

list due to the view of Sumerian as older and more superior to Akkadian. In addition, the fact that

Girru, Addu, and Enlil were well established gods, which had not previously been associated

with Marduk, makes their placement at the end of this list of deities syncretized with Marduk

chronologically appropriate. It seems that the author of Enūma Eliš is hereby attempting to

announce new these as new syncretisms. Another unusual phenomenon for these names is that

the explanations of these names are somewhat different than most of the previous names. The

text searches for alternative methods of analyzing each name (due to the newly Akkadian as

opposed to Sumerian writing). Aside from straightforward translation, it sometimes parses the

name in the usual method of noṭariqon-like word play by dissecting the Akkadian name into

Sumerian syllables! It also looks for other ideas, previously associated with the given deity or

with others already on the list, to flesh out the significance of each name for Marduk. In some

379
Foster, Muses, 482, does not translate a-ZA-AD. Lambert, EE, translation ad loc., translates idiomatically “makes
weapons hard,” according to the presumed fiery quality of Girru. Here we translate according to Kämmerer and
Metzler, EE, 301, “Zacken” (after AHw III, 1475, s.v. (w)āṣītu(m), 10, b), and add “ensconced” for mukīn, to render
it in line with “protrusion(s).”
380
This line is adjusted from Foster’s reading (“Who because of the battle with Tiamat can create artful things”) in
order to better connect with our rendering of the previous line.

134
sense we might say that the text struggles a bit with handling the explanations of these names

and attempts approaches that are novel with respect to the previous name explanations.381

Regarding Girru, there are some grounds in Enūma Eliš for associating him with Marduk,

since in the narrative Marduk breathes fire after his birth (I:96) and, when he prepares for battle

with Tiamat, he is covered in fire (IV:40). The definition offered for Girru, mukīn aṣât kakkī,

“who ensconced the protrusion(s) of the weapon” (VII:115), seems not to connect to the main

quality of Girru, god of fire,382 but rather to his characteristic of smithery.383 This leads to an

explanation focused on weaponry in this line and the next. As we said before, the text applies its

method of word play to this name, parsing the syllables as Sumerian even though the name is

Akkadian.384 The word play may have been adduced as follows: the syllable /gi/ may be taken

for the sign GI as its other value, gin6, “to establish,” equivalent to Akkadian kânu, here written

in the D-stem participle, mukīn, “who ensconced;” the syllable i may be an alternate Sumerian

spelling of è, “to go out,” equivalent to Akkadian waṣû, here nominalized as aṣât, “things that go

out,” or “protrusions;”385 and lastly, if we transpose the syllable /gir/ for /rig/, the homophone

rìg is equivalent to Akkadian kakku.386

The text embellishes this definition by situating the creation of weapons, ša ina tāḫāz

tiāmat ibannâ niklāti, “Who creates artful things in battle with Tiamat” (VII:116). This broadens

the weapons which Marduk created in preparation for battle with Tiamat from one with

381
Although it does use a similar approach to parsing the name Mummu (see Section 4.34a).
382
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:115 and translation ad loc., attempts to make a connection between fire and the
hardening of weapons, but that is unnecessary in light of Girru as a god of smithery (see next note).
383
R. Frankena, “Girra und Gibil,” Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 3 (1957-71),
384.
384
I could not find any good plays on the Sumerian spelling (bil.gi) or reading (gibil) of the name that would
account for more than mukīn in this definition.
385
CAD a/2, 356, s.v. aṣû.
386
An alternative possibility for arriving at kakku is to take the final syllable /ru/ for the RU sign, which when read
gešbu is equivalent to Akkadian tilpānu, which is nearly synonymous with kakku (as per OB Aa 600:1 [ePSD, s.v.
ĝešbu [WEAPON]]).

135
protrusions to “artful things,” which may include those mentioned in the narrative, his bow,

thunderbolts, and seven new winds (IV:35-46). The explanation of Girru continues with two

lines that seem to be disconnected from this name, but rather continue on the theme of Marduk’s

wisdom as discussed in the previous four name explanations. The first reads palkâ uznī etpeša

ḫasīsa, “Profound of wisdom, ingenious in perception” (VII:117). This helps complete the theme

of wisdom, reusing the words palkâ uznī and ḫasīsa to end the theme how it began (VII:104).

Oddly, the last line seems to consist of a definition, libbu rūqu, “Whose heart is so deep,”

followed by an elaboration, ša lā ilammadū ilāni gimrassun, “deep that none of the gods can

comprehend it” (VII:118), that work off of the name Šazu!387 The definition contains a fine play

on that name, taking šà as “heart,” and sù as “remote, deep.” This common epithet may have

been moved from an original position somewhere in the Šazu group of names to here as an

appendage to the end of the text regarding the theme of wisdom.

4.47 Name 47: Addu

d
119 addu (dad-du) lū šumšu kiššat
šamê lirimmâ
120 ṭābu rigmāšu eli erṣetim lirtaṣin
121 mummu erpēti lištakṣibâmma
šapliš ana nišī te’ûta liddin
Addu shall be his name, the whole sky he shall cover,
His beneficent roar shall thunder over the earth,
As he rumbles, he shall reduce the burden of the
clouds, below, for the people, he shall grant
sustenance.

The remaining four names cover a smorgasbord of themes, all previously encountered in

the Fifty Names Section. The name Addu marks the theme of vegetation and fertility from a

stormy perspective, as appropriate for a name usually ascribed to the Storm-god. Since the author

of the Fifty Names has not syncretized Marduk with all powerful gods we ought to entertain

possibilities for why Addu was chosen. Perhaps the relationship to Marduk comes via storm

387
See Sections 4.18-23. As per Lambert, EE, notes to VII:35-26

136
clouds, which were called Addu’s “bull calves,”388 similar to the translation of Marduk’s name,

amar-utu, “Bull-calf of Utu.” Or, maybe it stems from a play on the writing of Marduk’s name

AMAR.UD, since UD, taken as ud can mean “storm.” Plus, in the narrative, when Marduk

readies for battle with Tiamat, he is spoken of in language descriptive of a storm-god (IV39, 49).

Lastly, there is other evidence that Marduk was syncretized with Adad of Babylon at some

point.389

The explanation begins with a blessing, kiššat šamê lirimmâ, “the whole sky he shall

cover” (VII:119), invoking the whole sky as Marduk’s domain, in line with the Storm-god who

fills the sky. Then a definition of the name parsing the syllables as Sumerian is offered, ṭābu

rigmāšu, “His beneficent roar” (VII:120a). This translates ad as “voice,” equivalent to Akkadian

rigmu, and takes the syllable /du/ as its homophone du10, “good,” equivalent to Akkadian ṭābu.

This is then explained vis-à-vis the noise the storm as eli erṣetim lirtaṣin, “shall thunder over the

earth” (VII:120b). Furthermore, mummu erpēti lištakṣibâmma šapliš ana nišī te’ûta liddin, “as he

rumbles, he shall reduce the burden of the clouds, below, for the people, he shall grant

sustenance” (VII:120). This takes the understanding of the goodness of the thunderous noise

towards rain that produces sustenance for mankind. It may also connect to the explanation of the

name Mummu, which also discusses Marduk with respect to heaven and earth, although there as

their creator.390 Here too Marduk’s place is in the heavens and he brings good to mankind šapliš,

“below,” on earth.

The notion of Marduk having aspects of the Storm-god also exists in the narrative. For

example, when Marduk is preparing for battle with Tiamat, he includes thunderbolts in his

388
Jeremy A. Black, and Anthony Green, Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated
Dictionary (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1992), 111.
389
Lambert, EE, notes to VII:57-69.
390
See Section 4.34a.

137
armament (IV:39). He also creates the physical parts of the storm, clouds, rain, and wind (V:49-

51), and is even called a Storm Demon (IV:49). Just as in the narrative, so too in the explanation

here, Marduk’s storm-god-like attributes contain both violent and positive, sustaining aspects.

4.48 Name 48: Ašāru

d
122 ašāru (da-šá-ru) ša kīma Ašaru, who according to his name, mustered the
šumīšūma īšuru ilāni šīmāti gods of destinies,
123 kullat kal nišī šū lū pāqid He has taken all peoples in his charge.

The name Ašaru, “Marshal,” is another Akkadian name. Although it does appear in some

other god lists always before Neberu,391 it does not appear elsewhere. The name is parsed simply

as the infinitive of the verb ašāru, meaning “to control, muster, organize, instruct, etc.” This

meaning is taken up tautologically in the first line of explanation, ša kīma šumīšūma īšuru ilāni

šīmāti, “who according to his name, mustered the gods of destinies” (VII:122). Explicitly, the

text tells us that it is reading the name as the verb ašāru, here as applied to the gods of destinies.

This harkens back to Marduk’s role of ultimate controller of the gods, initially broached under

the Lugaldimmerankia group and recently discussed as well, where the connections to assigning

fates were drawn out.392

The text continues by turning this aspect of Marduk toward mankind as well: kullat kal

nišī šū lū pāqid, “He has taken all peoples in his charge” (VII:123). The first phrase, kullat kal

nišī, reads the name Ašāru as its near homophone un-šár-ra, a Sumerian phrase meaning “of all

people,” with un meaning “people” and šár as “all.”393 The rest of the line translates literally as

“he is their overseer.” The infinitive of the word pāqid, paqādu, “to entrust, take care of, muster”

391
AN : Anum, BM 32533, K 4209, K 4210 (Lambert, EE, “Introduction,” “Marduk’s Names”).
392
See Sections 4.5-6, 4.36-41.
393
CAD p, 115, s.v. paqādu, cites a very close equation to that of our explanation: kuru7 u[n]-šár-ra dutu-kam : pa-
qí-id nīš kiššati [Ša]maš, “Šamaš who cares for all mankind.” CAD k, 504, s.v. kullatu A, cites one instance of šár
meaning “all” and equated to kullat: nin-zu nin-me-šár-ra šu-du7 : bēletka bēltu ša kul-lat parṣī šuklulat, “your
mistress is the Lazy who expertly performs all the divine offices.”

138
is also synonymous with ašāru of our name.394 Marduk’s ownership of man derives ostensibly

from his creation of them as per the narrative (VI: 1-16).

4.49 Name 49: Nēberu

d
124 nēberu (dné-bé-ru) nēberet šamê u Neberu, he shall hold the passage of heaven and
erṣetim lū tameḫma earth,
125 eliš u šapliš lā ibbirū liqe’’ūšu šâšuSo they shall not cross above and below without
heeding him,
d
126 nēberu kakkabšu ša ina šamê ušapû Neberu is his star that he made visible in the
skies.
127 lū ṣabit kunsaggȋ šunu šâšu lū It shall hold the point of turning around, they
palsūšu shall look upon him,
128 mā ša qirbiš tiāmat ītebbiru lā naḫiš Saying, “He who crossed back and forth, without
resting, in the midst of Tiamat,
d
129 šumšu lū nēberu āḫizu qirbišu “’Neberu’ shall be his name, who holds the
position in the midst.”
130 ša kakkabāni šamāmī alkassunu He shall maintain the motions of the stars of
likīmma heaven,
131 kīma ṣēni lir’a ilāni gimrašun He shall herd all the gods like sheep,
132 likmi tiāmat napištāšu lisīq u likri He shall keep Tiamat subdued, he shall keep her
life cut short,
133 aḫrâtaš nišī labāriš ūmē In the future of humankind, with passing of time,
134 līsēma lā uktalû lirīq ana ṣâta She shall always be far off, she shall be distant
forever.

The Akkadian name Neberu is commonly used for a prominent body in the night sky.

Scholars have argued whether this is to be taken as Jupiter, or a different planet or star, or even

an area of the sky or the Milky Way.395 In general this star, as the ancients termed most celestial

bodies, is associated with Marduk, which makes it an obvious inclusion in the lists of names of

Marduk. The name itself derives from a nominal mapras* form of Akkadian ebēru, “to cross,”

394
CAD p, 115, s.v. paqādu, cites a synonym list that equates them.
395
See A. Cavigneaux, and M. Krebernik, “Nēberu,” Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen
Archäologie 9 (1998-2001), 191-92; Johannes Koch, “Der Mardukstern Nēberu,” Die Welt des Orients 22 (1991),
48-72; Lambert, EE, “The Organization of the Universe,” “The Thirty-Six Stars.” See also citations in Horowitz,
Cosmic Geography, 115, n. 11.

139
meaning “ferry, ford, crossing; ferryboat, ferrying.”396 In reference to a celestial body that moves

through the night sky, we might say the name here means “Crosser.”

The explanation to Neberu is the longest in the whole Fifty Names Section, comprising

eleven lines that break down into several segments that are somewhat intertwined. The main

themes discussed are Marduk as anchor of the connection between heaven and earth, leader of

the celestial sphere, and destroyer of Tiamat.

The first definition offered is a recapitulation of the name with contextualization as in the

previous name, Ašaru: nēberet šamê u erṣetim, “the passage of heaven and earth” (VII:124b).

This takes the name to mean “passage or bridge” and refers to both the motion of the stars in the

heavenly sphere and the motion of the gods passing between heaven and earth. The line ends

with a short blessing, lū tameḫma, “may he hold” (VII:124c), emphasizing the crux of the issue,

the stability of the motions of the stars and of the connection between heaven and earth. Further

explanation is given, eliš u šapliš lā ibbirū liqe’’ūšu šâšu, “So they shall not cross above and

below without heeding him” (VII:125), using the verbal root of the name Neberu again in ibbirū,

“cross.” As translated this refers best to the gods, who shall not cross between the two planes

without Marduk’s agreement. In other words, Marduk is the gatekeeper of the gods between

heaven and earth. In several places in the narrative we read of Marduk’s involvement with the

connection between heaven and earth. He creates the “Great Bond” out of Tiamat’s tail to hold

together the halves of her carcass that were made into heaven and earth (V:59-61). Also, as part

of his idea for creating Babylon and Esagil as a mirror to Ešarra of the heavens, Marduk tells the

gods that they can stop there to rest on their traversal back and forth between the two planes

(V:125-128). Seemingly, this sets the connection between heaven and earth in Babylon, probably

396
CAD n/2, 145-47, s.v. nēberu. On the nominal form, see John Huehnergard, A Grammar of Akkadian3 (Harvard
Semitic Museum Studies 45; Winona Lake, In.: Eisenbrauns, 2000), 378-79, where he explains that if a root
contains a labial, the initial m switches to n, as here.

140
in Esagil. This is made even more clear when the gods build Babylon and Esagil and the

“ziggurat of Apsû” therein to parallel Ešarra (VI:62-66). Discussion of the “Great Bond,”

durmaḫû or ṭurru, the stabilizing connection between heaven and earth also comes up in the

explanations to Lugaldurmaḫ and Gilima.397

However, the second line may be rendered somewhat differently: “So they shall not cross

above and below, but shall heed him.”398 Read this way, it may refer to the paths of the stars,

which must stay within their areas of the sky, meaning within the bounds of Anu (high), Enlil

(middle), and Ea (low). This concurs with the narrative, which speaks of Marduk’s creation of

the celestial bodies and describes his creation of Neberu as: ušaršid manzāz dnēberi ana uddû

riksīšun / ana lā epeš anni lā egû manāma / manzāz denlil u dea ukīn ittīšu, “He fixed the position

of Neberu to mark the (stars’) relationships. / Lest any make an error or go astray, / He

established the position(s) of Enlil and Ea in relation to it” (V:6-8). Here clearly, Neberu controls

the positions of all the stars in each of the three areas of the sky.399

There follows a seemingly intrusive restating of the name with a new type of definition:
d
nēberu kakkabšu, “Neberu is his star” (VII:126a).400 The text defines the name not by some

superlative attribute, nor by connection to the narrative or other known stories, but as a real

concrete object. This is the only time where a name is said to also be something else - Neberu is

397
Sections 4.40 and 4.31, respectively.
398
The connection between the two halves of the sentence is ambiguous and can be read both contingently and
appositely. My second possible translation is similar to Lambert’s translation, “but should wait for him” (EE,
translation, ad loc.), in its use of apposition. Although in this case one might expect a -ma after ibbirū, it is not
necessary.
399
Enlil and Ea are mentioned as the lead stars of the two other areas of the sky since traditionally Neberu was in the
section of the sky headed by Anu (see MA Astrolabe in Lambert, EE, “The Organization of the Universe,” “The
Thirty-Six Stars;” see also Horowitz, Cosmic Geography, 115-116). In the narrative, the text seems to be replacing
Neberu for Anu as the lead star of the uppermost area of the sky.
400
It seems interesting that the god list with closest affinity to the Fifty Names Section, STC 1:165-66 + CT 25:46-
47, in that it has whole lines of explanation that match the Fifty Names, does not have the first two lines of EE’s
Neberu explanation at all, but begins with the equivalent to line 126. Perhaps the name Neberu appears in this line
since it was originally the first line of the name explanation and the previous two lines were inserted later, but the
then repetition of the name was not erased. See Section 5.4 for more discussion of the relationship between this god
list and the Fifty Names Section.

141
not just Marduk, it is also his star. Also, perhaps due to this uncommon mode of explanation, this

is the only name that repeats the name again before an alternative definition or explanation (other

than Dumuduku).401 The text elaborates, ša ina šamê ušapû, “that he made visible in the skies”

(VII:126b), referring either to Marduk’s general creation of the celestial bodies (V:1-44) or

perhaps to his creation of his constellation (IV:19-26). If the latter, then Neberu may be part of

that unnamed constellation.

Then the explanation returns to the previous discussion: lū ṣabit kunsaggȋ šunu šâšu lū

palsūšu / mā ša qirbiš tiāmat ītebbiru lā naḫiš / šumšu lū dnēberu āḫizu qirbišu, “It shall hold the

point of turning around, they shall look upon him, / Saying, “He who crossed back and forth,

without resting, in the midst of Tiamat, / ‘“Neberu” shall be his name, who holds the position in

the midst’” (VII:127-129). Again these lines may refer to either Marduk’s organization and

stabilization of the stars or his creation and oversight of the tie between heaven and earth. This

hinges on how we understand kunsaggû and āḫizu qirbišu. According to this translation, we

maintain the discussion of the stabilization of the stars as kunsaggû is rendered “point of turning

around,” or some fixed reference point in the sky, and likewise āḫizu qirbišu means “who holds

the position in the midst,” denoting the same fixed point.402 Alternatively, kunsaggû may be

understood as a staircase that affords passage between heaven and earth,403 possibly near or

overlying the durmaḫû that pins the two planes together. If so, āḫizu qirbišu may be read “who

holds its middle,” referring to the middle of the whole world, which is the connection between

heaven and earth.

401
See Section 4.40.
402
See CAD m/2, 177, s.v. muḫru, 2, for a discussion of a cultic building read as muḫru, but written KUN.SAG.GÁ.
This seems to lead the CAD’s understanding of kunsaggû here as it is cited in the entry kunsangû (CAD k, 542),
translated as “crossing point.” Lambert seems to understand the word in all of these texts as referring to a staircase,
either a terrestrial symbolic one, or a heavenly mythical one (see Lambert, EE, notes to VII:127).
403
See previous note.

142
 Within these lines we came across another definition of Neberu and a third naming and

definition. These are marked by lū, it means:” (VII:127, 129). After explaining the repetition of

the name Neberu practically as kakkabšu, “is his star” (VII:126a), the next line offers the usual

definition via play on words. However, rather than parsing the Akkadian name, the text parses

the logographic writing of Neberu, SAG.ME.GAR. As such, the name is defined as ṣābit

kunsaggȋ, “who controls the kunsaggû (turning point/staircase)” (VII:127a).404 This is arrived at

through the use of GAR as the logogram for aḫāzu, “to hold,” which is synonymous to ṣabātu,

“to seize, grasp.”405 This is followed by a blessing that šunu šâšu lū palsūšu, “they shall look

upon him” (VII:127b), meaning that the gods should look at Marduk favorably as either they

hold their positions relative to him in the sky or they traverse the staircase that he grasps

firmly.406

The next two lines (VII:128-129) are one of the few cases of a reversed name definition

and elaboration structure, in which the elaboration precedes the naming and definition. This is

hinted at by the unusual mā at the beginning of the first line. Although it may be taken as some

type of interjection or a syntactical word that introduces direct speech,407 in the context of the

structured name explanations here, it is best read as “this means,” introducing the elaboration.408

It is necessitated here to notify the reader that we are in an unusual ordering and so to look to the

next line for the naming and definition on which this line elaborates. The naming begins (in the

404
Here we read lū ṣābit…, “It (the name) means: who seizes/controls…,” as the participle of ṣabātu, “to seize,
grasp” rather than lū ṣabit…, “It shall hold.” See CAD ṣ, 5, s.v. ṣabātu, 3, d, “to take possession of real estate,”
which holds the same figurative meaning as “to control” an item or piece of property.
405
See CAD ṣ, 6, s.v. ṣabātu, where several lexical lists equate these two Akkadian words.
406
Perhaps the uncommon use of palāsu, “to look at” (usually used in the N-stem, naplusu, “to see”), stems from a
play on Neberu, spelled dné-bé-ru, whereby bé may be an alternate writing for bad, which appears in a lexical list
as equated to pa-la-súm (see ePSD bad [OPEN], MSL 14, 122-127 09 [http://psd.museum.upenn.edu/cgi-
bin/cdlhtml?project=ctxt&mode=ctxt&item=P333154&line=P333154.112&frag=P333154.109#a.P333154.109], li.
706).
407
Here translated, for example, as “Yet” (Lambert, EE, translation, ad loc.), or “Saying” (Foster, Muses, 483),
respectively.
408
CAD m/1, 1, 4, s.v. mā, 4.

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second line of the couplet, VII:129) with the syntactic dressing of šumšu lū. Normally read

“[DN] shall be his name,” in this exegetical context we ought to read, [DN] šumšu lū, “[Name] is

his name; it means:”, introducing the definition.409 The definition reads, āḫizu qirbišu, “who

holds the position in the midst,” which was derived as before via word play on the logogram for

the name, SAG.ME.GAR. GAR is the logographic writing for aḫāzu, “to hold,” and SAG.ME

is nearly homophonous with ŠÀ.MEŠ, the logographic writing of qerbu, “inside, middle.” Then

the contextual explanation of the previous line makes sense, ša qirbiš tiāmat ītebbiru lā naḫiš,

“who crossed back and forth, without resting, in the midst of Tiamat” (VII:128). This situates

the name definition of Neberu in the context of Marduk’s battle with Tiamat, making it seem

even grander than the quickly decisive battle in the narrative (IV:91-104), implying that Marduk

had to fight repeatedly without resting to gain the victory. Additionally, the explanation reuses

the Akkadian verbal source of Neberu again in ītebbiru, “crossed back and forth.” Alternatively,

this may be referring to Marduk’s unceasing work of creation with Tiamat’s carcass. Near the

beginning of his creation the same verb is used to describe part of Marduk’s preliminary

surveying of her carcass.410

The following line gives an explanation: ša kakkabāni šamāmī alkassunu likīmma, “He

shall maintain the motions of the stars of heaven” (VII:130). Perhaps this line was switched

accidentally with line 128, since both are elaborations beginning with ša, and this line seems to

make more sense elaborating upon the fixing of the kunsaggû and relating it to the motion of the

rest of the stars in heaven, whereas line 128, as we previously noted, is really interpreting the

definition of āḫizu qirbišu in line 129. Although this line seems to fit better with the

interpretation of the previous passage as regarding the organization of the stars, it may be

409
See Section 4.0 for discussion of this syntactical phenomenon in the name explanations.
410
IV:141 reads šamê ībir ašrāta iḫīṭamma, “He crossed heaven, he inspected (its) firmament.”

144
stretched to connect to the movement of the gods between heaven and earth if we take

kakkabāni, “stars,” to refer to the gods and alkassunu more literally as “their walking.”411

The last several lines of the explanation to Neberu sum up the themes and gives a

blessing. The theme of Marduk’s control over the gods, whether in their manifestations as stars

or of their movement between the planes of heaven and earth is summarized with an ovine

metaphor: kīma ṣēni lir’a ilāni gimrašun, “He shall herd all the gods like sheep” (VII:131). The

theme of Tiamat’s subordination is also addressed, likmi tiāmat napištāšu lisīq u likri, “He shall

keep Tiamat subdued, he shall keep her life cut short” (VII:132). Then, one or the other, or

maybe both, if intended as double entendre, is blessed: aḫrâtaš nišī labāriš ūmē / līsēma lā

uktalû lirīq ana ṣâta (VII:133-134). If regarding Tiamat, we may read: “In the future of

humankind, with passing of time, / She shall always be far off, she shall be distant forever.”412

Alternatively, it may refer positively to Marduk’s dominance of the other gods: “In the future of

humankind, with passing of time, / May he continue unchecked, may he persist into eternity.”413

Perhaps the two themes of Marduk’s control of the gods/stars and of his defeat of Tiamat may be

tied together. If we take the classic scholarly view of Enūma Eliš as a myth of the battle between

chaos and order, then this name explanation may be understood as follows: Tiamat, or chaos, is

kept dead, or under control, by Marduk by maintaining the divine heavenly order. And, perhaps,

we may understand likewise the juxtaposition of Marduk’s killing of Tiamat and initial

dissection of her to create the background to the universe at the end of Tablet IV (135-140), with

the first detailed creation in Tablet V, which is of the heavenly bodies (1-44).

411
For more on alkatu, see Section 4.9. Perhaps the unusual plural ending of kakkabāni here, -āni, may indicate a
connection to the gods, who are often pluralized as il-āni rather than the more common ending for most nouns, il-ī.
412
Foster, Muses, 483.
413
Lambert, EE, translation, ad loc.

145
4.50 Name 50: Bēl Mātāti

135 aššu ašrī ibnâ iptiqa dannina Because he created the firmament and fashioned
the netherworld,
d
136 Bēl Mātāti (den-kur-kur) šumšu Father Enlil pronounced his name ‘Lord of the
ittabi abu dEnlil World.’

The final fiftieth name, though written en-kur-kur, similar to when it is used as an epithet

or name of Ninurta,414 probably ought to be read as a logogram for Akkadian Bēl Mātāti, “Lord

of the World,” since it is together with the other Akkadian names at the end of the list.415 The

elevation of Marduk to replace Enlil after his slaying of Tiamat is analogous to the exaltation of

Ninurta by Enlil after he kills Anzû.416 Its placement at the end of the list of fifty names is most

poignant since it is commonly an epithet of Enlil. At the end of Enūma Eliš, Marduk has finally

reached the pinnacle of the pantheon and overtaken Enlil, its former head. Hence, the final name

accorded to him in the list is one that was previously held by his predecessor, Enlil. Even more

so, Enlil himself explicitly gives Marduk this name, as opposed to the assembly or any other god:
d
Bēl Mātāti šumšu ittabi abu dEnlil, “Father Enlil pronounced his name ‘Lord of the World’”

(VII:136). It is especially fitting that this be the fiftieth name, since Enlil is often associated with

the number 50 through the numeric writing of his name as d50, as indicated by a commentary.417

We find several other connections between Marduk and the characteristics of Enlil in

Enūma Eliš. The notion of Marduk as head of the pantheon is raised in numerous discussions in

414
E. Ebeling, “Enkurkur,” Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 2 (1933–38), 382. In
the Sumerian myth Angim, Ninurta is called lugal kur-kur-ra, which is almost identical due to the semantic overlap
of lugal and en (Amar Annus, Ninurta, 122). The god Zababa is also given this name via word play due to his
identification with Ninurta (Lambert, EE, notes to VI:149 and idem, “A Late Babylonian Copy of an Expository
Text,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 48:3 (1989), 218).
415
Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 308, render it as such due to ms. B, which reads be-el-KUR.KUR instead of
EN.KUR.KUR. This is also noted by Lambert, “Studies in Marduk,” 4.
416
Annus, Ninurta, 122, citing Lugal-e 1:12.
417
A commentary interprets VII:144, ḫanšâ šumēšu imbû ušātirū alkassu, “(the gods) called his fifty names and
assigned him an outstanding position,” as “50 ḫanšâ 50 denlil,” “the number 50 is fifty, (and) the number 50 is Enlil”
(Lambert, EE, text, “Tablet VII,” “Commentaries,” 144). See Section 4.5, n. 97, for another possible epithet of Enlil
that Marduk may have usurped.

146
the narrative (III:125-138, IV:1-18, 27-30, V: 89-116, VI: 92-100). So too is it indicated in the

name Lugaldimmerankia.418 Marduk’s relationship with the assembly of the gods, similar to

Enlil’s position at its head, is also adumbrated repeatedly, especially in the Fifty Names

Section.419 So too Marduk has his city, Babylon, take over as the hub of the gods (V: 117-157),

instead of Enlil’s city Nippur.420 Marduk also is connected to Enlil celestially as Marduk creates

his star, Neberu, as the leader of the Anu stars, to which the Enlil stars are subservient (V:6-8).421

In Marduk’s association with Addu as the powerful windstorm, he is also associated with Enlil,

whose name may is commonly rendered en-líl, “Lord of the Wind.”422 This also connects to the

concept of fertility of the land, as expressed likewise in the explanations to Asare,

Asaralimnunna, Tutu-Ziku, the Enbilulu group, Sirsir, Gil, and Zulum, as well as Addu.423 The

concept of Marduk as creator and hence lord of the universe equivalent to Enlil is also raised in

the explanation to the name Mummu, in which a play on Enlil’s Emesal name, Mullil, is placed

in this context. The line ilu mullil šamê u erṣetim may be read as a pun, “(he is) the god Mullil

(Enlil) of heavens and earth (VII:87).”424

This is in line with the explanation of this name, which actually precedes the naming.425

Presumably, the name was placed in the last line to bookend the list of fifty names and

explanation with Marduk’s name in its first line and Enlil’s alternative name in its last line. The

preceding line of explanation begins with a syntactic word, opting for one not previously used,

418
See Section 4.5.
419
Under Lugaldimmerankia (VI:139), Tutu (VII:13), Šazu (VII:35), and Šazu-Suḫrim (VII:46).
420
Lambert, “Studies in Marduk,” 5.
421
See Section 4.49.
422
F. Nötscher, “Enlil,” Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 2 (1933–38), 384. See
Section 4.47.
423
See especially Section 4.10, and also Sections 4.12, 4.15, 4.24-27, 4.28, 4.30, 4.33, 4.47.
424
See Section 4.34.
425
However, the god list with full explanation contains these lines in the reverse order as collated by Lambert, EE,
text, “Tablet VII,” “God List,” 135-136: šá a-bu den-líl im-b[u-ú-šú áš-šú] áš-ra ib-nu-u ip-ti-q[u dan-ni-na].
Inexplicably, Seri, “Fifty Names,” 512, 514, does not quote this line nor the next regarding Ea’s naming.

147
aššu, “because,” rather than the common ša, “who, that.” The unusual choice is probably made

to inform the reader of the atypical order, just as the equally uncommon mā, “this means”

(VII:128), in the explanation to Neberu, introduces an explanation that precedes its definition.426

There seems not to be a separate definition of the name, but only an explanation that

contextualizes it in terms of Marduk’s creation of the world: ašrī ibnâ iptiqa dannina, “he

created the firmament and fashioned the netherworld” (VII:135). The obvious implication is

that Marduk’s creation of the universe leads to his lordship over it. Another surreptitious

exegetical extension is the movement from mātāti “all lands, countries, or the civilized world,”

to all of creation, included in the merism of ašrī, “heavens,” and dannina, “netherworld.” This is

achieved via word play. The word dannina connects to mātāti through its earthy connotation in

that it derives from danānu, “to become strong,” of which its abstract form, dannatu, can mean

“ground, terrain.”427 On the other hand, the rare use of ašru here to denote “heavens” puns on

the more common use of ašru as “place, location,” often in a terrestrial sense.428 It is also

possible to read the ašrī as “places, locations,” in which case the line probably refers only to

terrestrial loci, more in line with the regular meaning of mātāti “lands.”429 This line probably

stands as a double entendre, indicating both readings.

4.51 Name 51: Ea

140 šū kīma yâtīma dea (é-a) lū šumšu His name, like my name, shall be ‘Ea.’
141 rikis parṣīya kalīšunu libēlma He shall provide the procedures for all my offices,
142 gimri têrētīya šū littabbal He shall take charge of all my commands.

426
See section 4.49.
427
CAD D, 83-86, s.v. danānu, CAD D, 90, s.v. dannatu 3, and CAD D, 91, s.v. danninu.
428
CAD a/1, 459, s.v. verb ašru A, especially 2, e.
429
Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 308, translate ašrī (other mss. have -ra, -ru) vaguely as “Orte.” Talon, EE,
translation, ad loc., translates similarly, “lieux.” Most others translate it along the lines of “heavens” (Lambert, EE,
translation, ad loc.; CAD a/2, 459, s.v. verb ašru A, 2, e; AHw I, 83, s.v. ašru(m) III, 8, a) or “firmament” (Foster,
Muses, 483). The latter are under the influence of the Commentary on the Fifty Names, which adds a line explaining
“áš-ru = šá-mu-ú,” “ašru means ‘heavens’” (Bottéro, “Le Noms de Marduk,” 13).

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 The giving of the name Ea is explicitly made in the text to exceed those given to Marduk

as part of the gods’ name giving, assumedly to exclude it from the count to fifty. However, both

the god list with commentary and the Commentary on the Fifty Names include the name Ea as

part of the names given to Marduk. The god list includes a line on the name Ea that is a synopsis

of the lines in the Fifty Names Section, rather than a direct copy of one or more of the lines. This

stands out as the only line that is not basically identical with one of the lines of explanation in the

Fifty Names Section of Enūma Eliš. It reads šá dé-a abī-šú ú-šat-lim-šú…, “that which Ea his

father bestowed upon him…”430 The Commentary on the Fifty Names ends its commentating

immediately before these lines regarding the giving of the name Ea, but includes the lines as text

only, along with the following lines regarding the number 50.431

Ea relinquished his own name following Enlil’s same action. In some sense, this further

completes Marduk, since the only holes to his complete control in the narrative are that Ea is the

one who devises the plan for him to fight Tiamat and become head of the pantheon (II:127-135)

and Ea is the executor of Marduk’s idea to create mankind (VI:31-38). By giving Marduk his

name, Ea helps make Marduk’s power even more comprehensive than that achieved in the

narrative.

The meaning of the name Ea is debated,432 but its application here is fairly clear, since

even though there is no formally patterned name explanation, there are two lines that indicate the

power accorded to Marduk through the name Ea: rikis parṣīya kalīšunu libēlma / gimri têrētīya

šū littabbal, “He shall provide the procedures for all my offices, / He shall take charge of all my

commands” (VII:141-142). Both Akkadian words parṣu, “divine authority, command,” and

430
Lambert, EE, text, “Tablet VII,” “God List,” 138-140.
431
Bottéro, “Le Noms de Marduk,” 14. On the following lines regarding the summation of the total number of
names, see Section 4.0.
432
See Samuel Noah Kramer and John Maier, Myths of Enki, the Crafty God (New York: Oxford University Press,
1989), 144-46.

149
têrtu, “divine decree,” can be translations of Sumerian me, the sacred, magical, creative word.433

Perhaps one of the alternatives for rendering têrtu in Sumerian, á, may supply a play on the

homophonous second syllable of Ea (é-a).434 Ea transfers his essential powers to Marduk and

removes himself from any possible conflict of father versus son.435 Another word play here is the

use of Marduk’s main nickname, bēl, “Lord,” here as a verb, libēlma, “he shall control.” So too,

the use of šū, “he,” in the phrases šū littabbal, “he shall take charge,” and šū kīma yâtīma, “he,

like me,” is reminiscent of a logographic writing for Marduk, dŠÚ.436

5.0 Conclusions

By thoroughly analyzing each of the names given to Marduk and their explanations in the

Fifty Names Section of Enūma Eliš, we have developed a full picture of what is actually

happening in this text. Some god list, or combination of god lists, has been expanded and

expounded and fleshed out into a literary text. Word play on the divine names of Marduk and the

incorporation of details, ideas, and themes from the narrative of the myth have been the main

vehicles for the growth of the text. The final product is a text that literarily matches the narrative

to such a degree that it raises the question of whether it was written together with the narrative or

appended to it. Certainly, we now have a full appreciation of the grandeur of Marduk.

5.1 History of Explanation of Divine Names in Cuneiform Literature

To contextualize the text we have combed through, we will lay out an historical map of

the understanding and interpretation of divine names. In this context, we will see how the Fifty

Names Section of Enūma Eliš interacts with the various types of divine name reckoning.

433
CAD p, 195, parṣu s., 3, 5; CAD t, 357, s.v. têrtu, 5.
434
CAD t, 357, s.v. têrtu, citing Nabnitu.
435
Kramer and Maier, Myths of Enki, 146.
436
Oshima, Babylonian Prayers to Marduk, 456.

150
Through that, we will draw conclusions about the place of the Fifty Names Section with respect

to its literary relatives and to the myth of Enūma Eliš.

A basic sketch of the history of the cuneiform textual evidence pertaining primarily to

divine names is as follows. As a subset of the wider genre of lists, divine lists first appear near

the beginning of cuneiform writing. These lists were collected for basic instructional use vis-à-

vis writing and in order to categorize and construct knowledge of the world. Here we are at the

stage of the earliest Sumerian god lists. Just as other types of lists expanded over time, so did god

lists. But, they grew in a different way. When listing stones or animals or even grammatical

usages, there were always more things to add to lists to make them more inclusive. But, the

pantheon was not actually so expansive. That is when the listing approach to knowledge first

combined with the explanatory approach, at least for divine names. Lists of divine names were

added to by grouping together names of deities who had been identified with one another and

expanded by including variations of the names and epithets of the deities. This gave room for

much expansion as presumably epithets and name variants were culled from numerous sources

and probably expanded freely as well. Part of this expansion was the normal trend of an epithet

to become sacralized over time and become part of a divine name or become another way of

calling the same deity.

Soon after, the trend of expansion moved horizontally as well, both physically on the

tablet, as well as figuratively in including some explanation with a name. Now we are at the

stage of the great god lists, such as AN : Anum. Not too much later is when we meet up with the

Fifty Names Section of Enūma Eliš. In terms of the development we have been tracing, it

represents a big leap forward. In order to incorporate a list into a narrative myth, several steps

needed to be taken. Explanations of divine names needed to be multiplied, amplified, and made

151
to be on par with a great literary work. They also needed to suit the same purpose that the whole

project was aimed at. This we have seen was accomplished by using the bilingual relationship of

Sumerian and Akkadian and name word play in highly innovative, yet largely systematic ways. It

seems the author combined the genres of commentary, lists, and epic/mythic literature to

construct the masterpiece of the Fifty Names Section of Enūma Eliš.

Although this enormous effort joined in a common literary technique of including lists in

narratives, its large novelty mainly did not catch on. Only some centuries later, when the

commentative genres had fully developed did some scribes return to the approach to name

interpretation that the author of the Fifty Names Section had boldly built. Then we see lists of

divine names with significant explanation using word play.437 Finally, we have the Commentary

on the Fifty Names, which takes the methodology first used regularly by the author of the Fifty

Names Section to its ultimate extent. It needs to derive every word of explanation from the name

and it will use any permutation of bilingual word/sign play to arrive at its goal.

5.2 An Excursus on Hyper-Commentary: The Commentary on the Fifty Names

The Commentary on the Fifty Names deliberately connects each word that appears in the

explanations of Marduk’s names in Enūma Eliš with any part of the name that is being

explained. Its comprehensive modality is well exemplified by its interpretation of the lines

surrounding the fiftieth name of Marduk, Bēl Mātāti:438

437
Examples include the text with explanations of the temple of Marduk, Esagil, a list of explained assorted divine
names, and one of Nabû names (see Lambert, “The Meanings of the Fifty Names,” n. 6, 7).
438
See Section 4.50.

152
 EE VII:135-136 Translation439 Commentary (Rm 366+: r. ii)440
aššu Because of IR šu
ašrī the firmament DINGIR ašru
ašru šamû
ibnâ he created RÚ banû
iptiqa he fashioned RÚ patāqu
dannina / the underworld RU dannini
danninu erṣeti
d <d>
Bēl Mātāti ‘Lord of the World’ EN.KUR.KUR šumšu
šumšu his name MA šumu
ittabi he pronounced MA nabû
abu Father A abu
d d
Enlil Enlil EN.KUR.KUR Enlil
This example shows some of the lengths to which the Commentary will go to be utterly thorough

and incorporate every word of the Fifty Names Section in its text. For example, it includes an

entry for the name itself, sometimes marking it tautologically, as in this example,

“<d>EN.KUR.KUR = šumšu.” Another interesting point here is that the Commentary uses

syllables from the Akkadian version of this fiftieth name, dBēl Mātāti, such as MA and A, rather

than from its Sumerian written form, <d>EN.KUR.KUR.441 This is an example of the bilingualism

of Sumerian and Akkadian being used creatively by ancient scholars to construct interpretations.

Some of the connections made by the Commentary between elements of the name at hand

and its explanation in Enūma Eliš are close to how we surmise the author(s) of the Fifty Names

Section devised their explanations, as we have seen above.442 However, to some large degree, the

connections discovered by the Commentary are rather farfetched. Certainly for various

connective words and words not directly connected to the name, we would expect that significant

creativity is necessary to derive those words from the name and that the author of the Fifty

439
After Foster, Muses, 483-84.
440
Bottéro, “Le Noms de Marduk,” 13-14.
441
Frahm, Commentaries, 115-16. Perhaps this is in line with how the Fifty Names Section goes about handling
some of the last five Akkadian names itself, as was shown in some of the explanation to Girru (Section 4.46).
442
An example is in the explanation to Tutu-Ziku (Section 4.15), where šāru is understood as a play on the name via
TU = tu15 = IM, “rainstorm,” = Akk. zunnu or šāru.

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Names Section did not use word play on the name to arrive at those words. But, quite often even

the words that seem to have been connected to the name by the author(s) of Enūma Eliš in their

explanations are derived in an overly complicated manner by the Commentary.

A fascinating example of the degree to which the Commentary sticks to its method is in

regard to this last name. It seems that the Commentary will only use a name to reconstruct the

lines that follow it up to the next name. But, in this last name, its elaboration is given in line 135

before the name is given in line 136. Yet still, the word segments used by the Commentary to

explain the words in line 135 are from the previous name, Nēberu. Due to the great inventiveness

of the Commentary’s author, we would expect him to be capable of discovering connections

from <d>EN.KUR.KUR to the words in line 135, but he has chosen not to. This may indicate that

the commentary was more of a highly advanced hermeneutical exercise based on a set of

exegetical rules rather than a metaphysical treatise invested in the close connection of Marduk,

via his names, with his mythical story and deeds.

The Fifty Names Section, on the other hand, is different in two ways. The more obvious

is that it does not derive every word from the names. In fact, this is proven by the Commentary,

since its farfetched equations make it clear that its associations for many words were not

intended by the Fifty Names Section’s author. But, this connects to the second point, which is

that the Fifty Names Section is interested primarily in thematic development. It uses name word

play as a tool to find keywords in the name that help develop themes that aggrandize Marduk and

tie the fifty names into the narrative. This is markedly different than the Commentary, which is

only interested in linguistic games and cares for nothing in the realm of ideas.

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5.3 Name Word Play in the Narrative

As the phenomenon of name word play is fairly common in Mesopotamian literature, we

are not surprised to find some in the narrative portion of Enūma Eliš as well. It is certainly fitting

that there be some in the narrative in the context of the huge amount of name word play in the

Fifty Names Section of the myth.

The most obvious is that already discussed, of Marduk’s initial naming upon his birth.443

Another instance is a twist on the common word play on the name of Marduk’s capital city,

Bābili, Babylon. When Marduk plans the building of the city, he is said to adumbrate the word

play explicitly: lubbīma šumšu bābil[i] bītāt ilāni rabûti, “I shall call its name Babylon, the

Houses of the Great Gods” (V: 129). Although usually taken to mean “Gate of the god,”444 this

word play parses the name bābili as bābī ilī, “neighborhoods445 of the gods.” This seems to be

taken as referring to the city quarters where gods had their bītātu, “temples,” or “houses.”446

Several other names are played on in the text, including Apsû. After killing Apsû, Ea

renames his shrine after him: imbīšumma apsâ u’addū ešrēti, “he called it, ‘Apsû, They

Recognize the Sanctuaries’” (I:76). This plays on the Sumerian name, written ZU.AB, taking

443
See Section 4.1.
444
Lambert, “Studies in Marduk,” 9.
445
See CAD b, s.v. bābu A, 2.
446
This word play, which putatively was known since the Old Akkadian period (Lambert, “Studies,” 9), is countered
in the Hebrew Bible by etymologizing Babel to be from the root b-l-l, “mingle, mix, confuse, confound” (F. Brown,
et al., The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1906;
repr., Peabody, Ma.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2000), 117, s.v. bālal) in reference to the languages of the world in
the Tower of Babel story. Gen 11:9 shows a bi-level interpretation of the name similar to the explanations in the
Fifty Names Section: ‘al kēn qārā’ šӗmāh bābel kȋ šām bāllal ’ădōnāy sӗpat kol hā’āreṣ ûmiššām hӗpȋṣām ’ădōnāy
‘al pӗnê kol hā’āreṣ, “That is why it was called Babel, because there the Lord confounded the speech of the whole
earth; and from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.” After the introductory notice of a
following word play, ‘al kēn qārā’ šӗmāh, and the name, the text gives a first etymological explanation and
continues with a more expansive one – first it explains that God confounded peoples’ speech and because of that he
spread them out over the earth. ‘Babylon’ is also played on in the Hebrew Bible through use of at-baš, a code that
swaps letters of the alphabet, matching the first and last, then second and second to last, etc. Twice in Jeremiah
(25:26 and 51:41) the word šēšak is used instead of bābel, representing the at-baš coding of the name (b = š, l = k).
The reason for the use of at-baš in these passages is unclear since there is certainly no timidity found in the rest of
those prophecies that would warrant a code name to prevent offending a Babylonian listener or reader. Rather, it
seems to be a purely literary device, perhaps intending to slight Babylon by not deeming it worthy to mention its
proper name.

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ZU commonly as “to know, recognize,” equivalent to Akkadian edû/wadû, and AB, of which

the value èš may mean “shrine, sanctuary,” equivalent to Akkadian ešertu.

Other names played on may include Mummu, Apsû’s vizier; Kakka, Anšar’s vizier;

Marduk’s bow, which is thrice named (VI:82-92); Tiamat, oft spelled ti-GEME, using the sign

for slave woman;447 and the term for “primeval man,” lullû (LÚ.U18.LU), which is what mankind

is called when Marduk creates it in the narrative (VI:6-7).448 The name plays we have quickly

discussed here all share the same type of Sumerian-to-Akkadian syllabic etymologizing that is

done in the Fifty Names Section.

5.4 God Lists and the Fifty Names Section

The list of names of Marduk in the Fifty Names Section of Enūma Eliš is in dialogue

with several other god lists. It has a close affinity to the section of Marduk’s names in AN :

Anum, as well as with the list on BM 32533.449 Plus, there are several other lists of which we

have only fragments that have somewhat similar names in vaguely similar orders.450 From all of

these, it is fair to say that the author of the Fifty Names Section either used another similar list or

combined the lists he had to his satisfaction. We are met with a conundrum when we compare

447
Kämmerer and Metzler, EE, 388, n.1, discuss ti-GEME. They note that ti means “arrow” and read the signs
together as “the slave woman that was killed by an arrow,” in accordance with how Marduk kills Tiamat with his
wind/flood/arrow in the narrative.
448
The text says lū amēlu šumšu, “so ‘man’ is his name,” which seems to use the same naming formula as in the
Fifty Names Section.
449
See comparison chart in Lambert, EE, “Marduk’s Names.” According to Lambert, “Studies in Marduk,” 4, tablet
II of AN : Anum, which contains the Marduk subsection of names is at least a few generations before our earliest
copy, which was made by the scribe Kidin-Sin (c. 1120-1090), who was contemporary with Nebuchadnezzar I
(ruled c. 1126-1103). Tablet I has a ms. from Boghazkoy, c. 1300 BCE, but it is possible that it existed alone earlier.
The order of the sections of divine names in AN : Anum is Anu, Enlil, Mother Goddess, Ea ( with Marduk
subsection), so clearly Marduk is not yet thought of as Head of the Pantheon (ibid.). Lambert, ibid., wished to see
these lists and the Fifty Names Section as belonging to the same pool of lists, since none match as much as 80% to
one another. However, it is important to note that most of the variations occur in the assorted names “group” and
that the variations are less significant within the groups of derived and varied names. On the other hand, there is
variation in the order of some of the name groups. This leads to a final picture in which several gods were known to
be identified with Marduk already and had already had chunks of epithets attached to them that were turned into
names for the listing purpose. This explains why the variation is more in the assorted names (perhaps newer epithets
for Marduk, or newly borrowed from other gods), and in the order of groups.
450
Lambert, EE, “Marduk’s Names.”

156
the Fifty Names Section with another very advanced list, the Three-Column God List with

commentary.451 This list, when reconstructed as best possible, matches the names in the Fifty

Names Section (names 31-51). In fact, it also matches the text of the explanations of the names

incredibly well, aside from skipping almost every other line. It seems to have mainly the first line

of each name explanation only, although there are some significant exceptions to this. Due to an

assortment of factors, it seems that the author of the Fifty Names Section was not so original, but

took this list and merely added to it.452 These factors include this list’s similarity to the Fifty

Names Section, the common perspective that we have about most of these lists that they are

precursors to that of Enūma Eliš, and the notion that lists are not integral to texts.

However, I argue the contrary, that the Three-Column God List is probably excerpted

from the Fifty Names Section of Enūma Eliš. My main argument for this is from the structure of

the explanations. There are various different structural elements that are in the god list’s

explanation lines. Even though it seems to match usually the first line of a name explanation,

these explanations have different elements in them, most containing definitions, but some with or

without elaboration. Plus, the lines that are not matched in the god list are sometimes second

level elaborations, but also sometimes new definitions as well. If the Fifty Names Section had

taken this list and simply added to it for each name, we would have expected all of the first lines

of the explanations to have one structural quality and all the additions to be elaborations on

those.

In terms of specific internal evidences, the god list matched both lines of explanation for

the names Lugaldurmaḫ, Aranunna, and Dumuduku, as well as the first and second lines of Girru

451
See Seri, “Fifty Names of Marduk,” 512-14, and Lambert, EE, text, “Tablet VII,” “God List.”
452
This position is held by Lambert, “Studies in Marduk,” 4: “And in fact the list in Enūma Eliš with most of the
accompanying epithets is incorporated in toto from a triple-column god list, of which fragments have long been
available: CT 25, 46-7, K 7658 + 8222; STC i, 165-6, K 8519 and K 13337.”

157
and Addu. The second line of Lugaldurmaḫ, Girru, and Addu clearly have a second level

elaboration, including beginning with ša, “who,” for Lugaldurmaḫ and Girru .453 The second line

of Girru also has a clear tie in to the narrative of Enūma Eliš! This would take much explaining

were the god list not excerpted from the Fifty Names Section. Another point of evidence is the

last line of the god list, which gives a summary of the giving of Ea’s name. Since the name Ea is

not found in any of the other lists of Marduk’s names and Ea is a significant figure in the

narrative of Enūma Eliš, I would argue it must have been taken from the Fifty Names Section.

But, since it was understood that Ea’s name was beyond the fifty names of Marduk, the excerpt

need not be precise and simply summarized the name explanation. Nonetheless, it was included

for completeness’ sake.

Internal evidence against my idea may be the matching in the god list of the third line of

the name explanation of Neberu in the Fifty Names Section. A possible counter-argument, other

than some unknown decision on the part of the composer of the god list, is that perhaps these

lines were not yet in the text of the Fifty Names Section when the god list did its excerpting.

Another potential issue is the order of the lines regarding the name Bēl Mātāti, which seems to

be the inverse of those in the Fifty Names Section (which are reversed from the norm, with the

explanatory line preceding the line with the giving of the name). However, I would argue that

this was done in order to make the god list more easily understandable. In fact, one point in favor

of the existence of possible differences between the god list and the Fifty Names Section, even if

the former was excerpted from the latter, is that we have other evidence of manuscript

discrepancies that show that the text was not completely fixed.454

453
See Sections 4.40, 4.46, 4.47 and the discussion of framing terminology in Section 4.0.
454
See Sections 4.41 (especially n. 344) and 4.32.

158
 Arguments counter to my idea using notions about the mixing of genres exist. But, the

notion that lists do not belong in texts is patently false in cuneiform literary texts. Even in the

narrative of Enūma Eliš itself, there are several lists, such as those of the demons of Tiamat

(I:141-144) and the winds of Marduk (IV:43-46). Also, if one might argue that excerpting was

not done, although I know of no other text that does so systematically, many cuneiform

commentaries excerpt from texts of all types. In the end, I think there is significant evidence,

both internal to the god list relative to the text of the Fifty Names Section and structural, in the

variety of types of name explanation elements found and not found in the god list, that proves

that the Three-Column God List was excerpted from the Fifty Names Section of Enūma Eliš.

5.5 Themes of Enūma Eliš and the Fifty Names Section

The narrative of the myth contains many different themes. The following short list is an

attempt to cull the most important of these based on their centrality to the story and their

repetition in it. The primary theme is (1) the elevation of Marduk to head of the pantheon. Other

important themes include (2) creation and the power of speech and naming, (3) the workings of

the pantheon as an inter-generational royal family, (4) birth, death and renewal, or the cycle of

life, (5) the importance of the ideology of destinies, with emphasis on the fact that they can only

change within the power structure, as those who attempt its overthrow fail, and (6) the mirroring

of the divine and earthly realms.

The themes in the Fifty Names Section are slightly different in that they are all about

Marduk’s powers. Many name explanations have several themes tightly wound into them. But,

for the most part, themes are organized in blocks of name explanations. The Marduk group

contains a hodgepodge of themes, many of which appear later in the Fifty Names Section. The

Lugaldimmerankia group emphasizes Marduk’s leadership of the gods. The Asalluḫi group

159
discusses aspects of Marduk’s supernatural holiness. The Asare names contain assorted themes.

The Tutu group focuses on Marduk as magical exorcist, protector of the gods, and renovator of

their shrines. The Šazu group highlights Marduk’s destruction of the bad gods. The Enbilulu

group centers on Marduk’s role as provider for man and the gods. The Sirsir group is interested

in Marduk’s defeat of Tiamat. The Gil and Zulum groups have the themes of creation and

stability at their heart. The first assorted name, Gišnumunab, transitions from creation to the

recapitulation of the theme of the defeat of Tiamat that it shares with the following name,

Lugalabdubur. The following five assorted names underscore Marduk’s position as supreme

among the gods, again. The Qingu group, followed by Dinger-Esiskur and Girru, draw attention

to Marduk’s wisdom and organizational and leadership abilities. The remaining name

explanations contain assorted themes, including Marduk’s providing/fertility, leadership,

celestial control, and creation of the world. Distilled from all this is the following list, in which

Marduk is:

(A) Creator
(B) Provider/Fertility God
(C) Head of the Pantheon/Supreme among the Gods
(D) Magical Healer/Exorcist
(E) Compassionate Leader
(F) Destroyer of Evil Foes/Tiamat
(G) Maintainer of Stability
(H) Wisest, Most Able Organizer/Director/Leader

Even though these themes are of Marduk’s powers, all of them may be aligned with one

of the themes of the narrative, either parallel to Marduk’s positive actions or in response to a

problematic or unstable manifestation of the theme in the narrative. Marduk as (A) creator and

the fact of his receiving names conforms with (2) his actions of creation as well as resolving the

early issues of namelessness and formlessness. Marduk as (B) provider or fertility god, (D)

160
magical healer or exorcist, and (F) destroyer of Tiamat and her minions fit with the themes of (4)

the cycle of life and death in the narrative, regarding both mankind and the gods as (6) their

realms mirror one another. Marduk as (C) (1) head of the pantheon and supreme among the gods,

(E) compassionate and (H) wise and able leader, and (G) maintainer of stability mark the

qualities that enable him to (5) maintain the ideology of Destinies and stabilize the discord in (3)

the family of the gods. The interconnections of the themes of the Fifty Names Section with the

themes of the narrative shows the two parts of the myth to be truly intertextual as they are

literarily blended together. The result of this is that we ought to understand the Fifty Names

Section as a literary appendix to the narrative that extracted all of the qualities of Marduk from

the narrative and assigned them to names from some concatenation of the god lists. From this

larger point-of-view, it makes much sense how the epithets used as plays on the names in the

name explanations often have their meanings constrained or redirected by concepts or details

from the narrative. That is because the goal of expanding on the names was to incorporate the

text of the Fifty Names Section with the narrative to create a complete myth.

5.6 Final Conclusions:

At this point we should be equipped to handle the question of whether the author of the

Fifty Names Section was identical with him of the narrative of the myth. However, there does

not seem to be evidence with which to answer this question. The narrative was clearly built off of

earlier mythical concepts (including Ninurta mythology and perhaps west Semitic mythological

material455) and has the same basic goal as the Fifty Names Section (the elevation and

glorification of Marduk). Certainly the author of the Fifty Names Section had the myth or some
455
On Ninurta mythology in Enūma Eliš see W. G. Lambert, “Ninurta Mythology in the Babylonian Epic of
Creation,” in Keilschriftliche Literaturen (Ausgewählte Vorträge des XXXII. Rencontre Assyriologique
Internationale, Münster, 8. – 12.7.1985; Eds., Karl Hecker and Walter Sommerfeld; Berliner Beiträge zum Vorderen
Orient 6; Berlin: Dietrich Reimler Verlag, 1986), 55-60. There are possibly West Semitic underpinnings to some of
the myth, especially since the main antagonist is Tiamat, the sea goddess. Even though the divine sea is not female
in West Semitic lore, he certainly plays a much more central role than in Mesopotamian mythology.

161
version of the myth in mind or in hand and used some god list or amalgamation of god lists to

flesh out a literary masterpiece that could be fitted into the end of the myth of Enūma Eliš. But,

whether that author was different from the one who wrote the narrative remains unclear. It is

quite possible that the author of the narrative also wrote the Fifty Names Section. It is even

possible that he had this combination in mind from the outset of his endeavor. There is no

obvious information to prove one way or the other.456

Here is a short summation of our major conclusions about the Fifty Names Section. The

Fifty Names Section was purposefully written to connect a god list or compilation of lists to the

narrative of the myth of Enūma Eliš in order to further substantiate the greatness of Marduk. The

major method of culling ideas from the names in the list was using name word play. This was

done in combination with the restrictions of details and themes of the narrative guiding the name

explanations. The author developed his own schematic loose structure for creating explanation

entries, based on the list, commentative, and perhaps divinatory genres. This allowed for the

construction of themes in the name explanations that closely match the themes developed in the

narrative in order to reinforce the main point, that now Marduk was the supreme god.

The Fifty Names Section serves as the denouement of the myth of Enūma Eliš where

Marduk abundantly resolves the main problem of the myth – the attempt to disrupt the power

structure of the divine realm. His accretion of names and powers concretizes his role and abilities

as head of the pantheon and stabilizes the divine realm and the human realm as well. Plainly

said, the list of Marduk’s fifty names is a very strange thing to find at the end of a fine example

of ancient Mesopotamian mythic/epic poetry such as Enūma Eliš. The list is clothed in beautiful

456
Although Lambert seems to indicate throughout his introduction and notes to EE that the Fifty Names Section is
its own, odd text, he remarks at least about the Epilogue after the fifty names are given: “…Enūma Eliš from
beginning to end exists solely to assert Marduk's headship of the pantheon, and in the Epilogue, which there is no
reason to consider a later addition, urges that it should be used for general instruction of the whole populace” (EE,
“Studies in Marduk,” 4).

162
imagery and poetic language, connecting it to the story of the text and going further in building

the grand picture of the greatness of Marduk. But, it still ought to be inherently disconnected

from the poetic mode. Nonetheless, upon the decision to append the list to the narrative a

considerable and thoroughgoing effort was made to integrate the two. Name word play was

comprehensively employed as the main method to overcome the awkwardness of the overlapping

of genres. By directly connecting the names to pieces of the story, creating a reality in the mind

of the ancient reader in which the names manifest the participations of Marduk in the myth, the

author(s) effectuated the union between the story and the list of Marduk’s names.

163
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 APPENDIX

TABLE 1: Marduk’s Fifty Names in Enūma Eliš by Subgroups

1 Marduk 18 Šazu 35 Gišnumunab

2 Marukka 19 Šazu-Zisi 36 Lugalabdubur
3 Marutukku 20 Šazu-Suḫrim 37 Pagalgu’enna
4 Meršakušu 21 Šazu-Suḫgurim 38 Lugaldurmah
5 Lugaldimmerankia 22 Šazu-Zaḫrim 39 Aranunna
6 Nari-Lugaldimmerankia 23 Šazu-Zaḫgurim 40 Dumuduku
7 Asalluḫi 24 Enbilulu 41 Lugalšu’anna
8 Asalluḫi-Namtila 25 Enbilulu-Epadun 42 Irugga
9 Asalluḫi-Namru 26 Enbilulu-Gugal 43 Irqingu
10 Asari 27 Enbilulu-Ḫegal 44 Kinma
11 Asaralim 28 Sirsir 45 Esizkur
12 Asaralimnunna 29 Sirsir-Malaḫ 46 Gibil / Girru
13 Tutu 30 Gil 47 Addu
14 Tutu-Zi’ukkinna 31 Gilimma 48 Ašāru
15 Tutu-Ziku 32 Agilimma 49 Nēberu
16 Tutu-Agaku 33 Zulum 50 Enkurkur / Bēl Mātāti
17 Tutu-Tuku 34 Mummu & Zulummu
Note: Numbering is in the order of appearance in the list of Marduk’s fifty names at the end of Enūma Eliš.
Subgroups alternate as shaded and unshaded. Names that appear outside of Enūma Eliš, as per Oshima, Prayers to
Marduk, 455-56, are in bold font (see Table 2).

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TABLE 2: Side-by-Side
Side Comparison of the B
Beginning
eginning of the Lists of Marduk’s Names in
AN: Anum and Enū
Enūma Eliš

Based on Seri, “Fifty Names,” 510.

TABLE 3:: Names of Marduk Appearing in Texts other than Enūma Eliš

From Oshima, Babylonian Prayers to Marduk

Marduk, 455-56.

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TABLE 4: Names for Marduk from Prayer Texts and Their Correspondence to the fifty
names in Enūma Eliš

# in 50
Name Names in
EE
Marduk 1
Amaruk 2?
Dimmerankia 5
Asalluḫi 7
Asare 10
Tutu 13
Šazu 18
Enbilulu 23
Binduku 40
Girru 46?
Addu/Adad 47
An (Anum) --
Engišgalanna --
d
ŠÚ --

TABLE 5: Formatting Key for 50 Names Text

Bold: Name or word related to the name via word play

Double Underline: Primary Interpretation (Definition or Etymology of the Name)
Single Underline: Expansion of a Primary Interpretation
Dashed Underline: Reference to Narrative
Wavy Underline: Reference to Narrative & Expansion of a Primary Interpretation
Dotted Underline: Word Used as Formatting for Naming
Thick Single Underline: Blessing

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