Table of Contents

Foreword ....................................................................................................................... VII

Conventions ................................................................................................................... XI
List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................. XIX

Introduction ...................................................................................................................1

Chapter I: Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi ...................................................................................3

Introduction ......................................................................................................................3
Manuscripts of the Poem ..................................................................................................5
Plot of the Poem ...............................................................................................................9
The Narrator and the Authorship of Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi ................................................14
Narrator/Protagonist...................................................................................................14
Author, Main Motif, and Setting of the Poem ...........................................................18
The Sumerian Man and his God ................................................................................19
The Babylonian Man and his God .............................................................................22
Ugaritica 5, no. 162 ...................................................................................................24
Akkadian Prayers to Marduk .....................................................................................26
Raison d’être of Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi ...............................................................................28
Suffering and Blessing: Signs of Divine Rule ................................................................34
Retribution by Marduk according to Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi ...........................................34
Marduk’s Harsh but Compassionate Role in the Personal Beliefs of the Kassite
Period .........................................................................................................................39
The Foundations of Marduk’s Double Role as Punisher and Redeemer ...................44
Righteous Sufferer Motif: Profession of Innocence? ................................................47
Ancient Teachings on Piety and Impiety ...................................................................49
The Role of Piety in Ancient Babylonian Ethics .......................................................52
Complaints about the Inscrutability of Divine Judgment ..........................................56
Human Ethics and Moral Responsibility among the Ancient Mesopotamians .........61
Marduk’s Will as the Sole Basis of Moral Principle .................................................66
Summary: Main Message of Mesopotamian “Righteous Sufferer” Literature..........68
XVI Table of Contents

Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi as a Political Criticism against the Kassite Kings ...........................69
Possible Religious Reform in Babylon? ....................................................................71
Concluding Remarks .....................................................................................................73
The Composite Text .......................................................................................................78
Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet I ........................................................................................78
Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet II.......................................................................................86
Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet III .....................................................................................94
Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet IV ...................................................................................102
Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet V ....................................................................................106

Chapter II: The Babylonian Theodicy ................................................................115

Introduction ..................................................................................................................115
Remarks on the Literary Style ......................................................................................117
Odd Lines .................................................................................................................117
Rhymes ....................................................................................................................120
The Author and the Date of Composition ....................................................................121
Protagonists ..................................................................................................................125
The Sufferer .............................................................................................................126
The Friend ................................................................................................................127
Abstract of the Babylonian Theodicy ...........................................................................127
The Message of the Babylonian Theodicy ....................................................................130
The Three Major Points Repeatedly Made by the Friend ........................................130
The Last Argument of the Sufferer and the Friend’s Response (Strophes XXV–
XXVI) ......................................................................................................................133
The Prayer of the Sufferer (Strophe XXVII) ...........................................................134
Summary: The Position of the Author .....................................................................142
The Ancient Readers of the Babylonian Theodicy .......................................................143
Concluding Remarks ....................................................................................................144
The Composite Text .....................................................................................................150

Chapter III: Critical and Philological Notes .....................................................169

Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi ........................................................................................................169

Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet I ......................................................................................169
Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet II.....................................................................................221
Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet III ...................................................................................273
Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet IV ...................................................................................304
Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet V ....................................................................................317
The Babylonian Theodicy .............................................................................................343
 Table of Contents XVII

Chapter IV: Partitur ................................................................................................376

Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi ........................................................................................................376

Sigla .........................................................................................................................376
Manuscripts ..............................................................................................................377
Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet I ......................................................................................380
Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet II.....................................................................................396
Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet III ...................................................................................413
Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet IV ...................................................................................423
Reconstruction of Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet IV .....................................................423
Lines Cited on Ludlul Commentary (K 3291) Reverse ...........................................425
Partitur of Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet IV .................................................................426
Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi Tablet V ....................................................................................429
The Babylonian Theodicy .............................................................................................439
Manuscripts ..............................................................................................................439
The Babylonian Theodicy .......................................................................................440

Chapter V: Editions of Related Texts .................................................................465

A Legal Document or Letter Referring to Šubši-mešrê-Šakkan ..................................465

A Document Possibly Related to BM 38611................................................................470
VS 24, 94: A Prayer to Marduk ....................................................................................470
An Akkadian Prayer .....................................................................................................472
Acrostic Nabû Hymn of Nebuchadnezzar II ................................................................473

Bibliography .................................................................................................................481

Glossary ........................................................................................................................517

Selective Index of Cited Texts......................................................................................539

Selective Index of Discussed Words ............................................................................549

Selective Subject Index ................................................................................................554

Index of Cuneiform Tablets by their Museum Numbers ..............................................561

Index of Lambert’s Unpublished Copies according to their Museum Numbers ..........565

Index of Texts according to the Publications of Hand-Copies .....................................567

Index of Texts according to Lambert, BWL and Annus and Lenzi, SAACT 7 ............569
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Index of Texts according to Lambert Folio Numbers ..................................................571

Cuneiform Texts .............................................................................................. Pls I–LXIV