THE CHALDEAN LEGENDS AHD Their Relation to the Book of Genesis.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3371, 11 October 1879, Page 1

THE CHALDEAN LEGENDS AHD Their Relation to the Book of Genesis.

Lewis G. Janes some months ago delirered in Brooltljn, before the Philosophical Society, an essay on th# Chaldeaa legends of the Creation, Fall of Man, the Deluge. From it ii taken the following excerpt: The creative process adrancea in lix distinct; stages, and their order it identical with the first account in Genesis. la Tarious fragments of the inscription!, man is «j»lli3d Admi or Adawi, whick is , precisely {be term used in the Bibl«. In fchc Cha Mean. legend, bowerer, it is always represented as a * common designation, applicable to the nice, and never as a proper name. It is also sometimes used in this sense in Genesis; i.e., " Male and female created He them and blessed them, and called their name.Adam." (Gen., t., 2.) Sir Henry Bawlinson says that the Chaldeans recognized two principal ncei of men: the Adamtt, or dark race, which was the race that fell, and the Sarku, or light race, who retained their holiness. Traces of this legend are recognizable in the Bible, two races being there men* tioned: the soni of Adam and the soni of ; God. In one place we are told that they actually intermarried: "The sons of God saw the daughters of men that thej were fair, and took to themselves wives of all which they chose," (Gen., vi., 2.) The dragon Tiamat, in the Chaldeaa legend, seems to perform the saai office as the serpent in Genesis; bat in the inscriptions his history is given at much greater length, and his appearance as a temper is less abrupt and unnatural. He was the personification of the original chaos of waters out of which the universe was created. He is recognized ts identical with the Thalatth of Berosos, the Babylonian historian, and akin to Thailassa, the sea of Greek literature. This dragon, the genius of Chaos, was at war with the gods and the divine principle of order from the beginning. After the fall of man, the god Bel, Merodach, or Bin, attacks Tiamat and finally vanquishes him; a legendary event which waa ! a favorable subject of Assyrian and Babylonian sculpture, but has been strangely misinterpreted by the author of the Apoehryphal -book, Bel and the Dragon, wherein both Bel and the Dragon are represented as gods who were worshiped by the Babylonians; which is very much as if we should say that orthodox Christian* worshiped; equally Christ and the Devil. Introductory to the Creation legends is a curiouti account of a conflict between the gods in Heaven, and the rebellions deities in.* whose place man is created. There are other legends in which sepeata and animals are made to speak; reminding the reader of the talking serpent in Genesis, and the story of Balaam in Numbers. Equal in interest to the Genesis legends of Chaldea are those contained in a remarkable series of twelve tablets, which recount the exploits of a mythical hero whoso name has not yet been correctly deciphered, but whom Mr George Smith, culls, provisionally, Izdubar. The eleventh tablet of this series contains the Chaldean story of the deluge, which is ■ related to Izdubar by Hasisadra, or Sisit, the Chaldean Noah, who has been translated and become as one of the gods. The account is not perfect, but is much less mutilated than the Creation tablets, so that there is no difficulty in discovering the main featnres of the story. I shall present it somewhat at length, mainly in the translation of Mr George Smith. The god Hea thus orders Hasisadra to the ark: 11 Sou of Übaratutu, Make a ship after this manner: For I will destroy tlie sinner and the life. Cause all of the seed of life To go into the midst of the ship. Tho ship which thou shalt make, Six hundred cubits shall bo tho mqasnro of . its length, And sixty cubits tho amount of its breadth and height. Into tho deep launch it. . I perceived, and said to Hea, 'My Lord, Making tho ship which thou luisfccoinmanded mo" When it is made, young and old will deride me." Hea opened his mouth and spake, And said unto me his servant: ' The flood shall come which I will send to you.* Strong was the ship, On the fifth dayj I completed it. I placed* water planks against the water within it. Thrco measures of bitnmon I poured over tho ■ outside. Three measures of bitumen I ponrod over the inside. Tho men constructed chests. I placed in them tho offering for the sacrifice. Two measures of boxe3 I distributed to the boatmen. Wine in a roceptaclo I collected like the waters of a liver; All food, liko tho dust of tho earth. Tho material of tho ship was completed. Tho reed oars of the ship I causod to be placed abovo and below. AH I possessed; all I possessod of silver, All I possessed of gold; all I possessod of the seed of life, — Tho whole I caused to go up into fcho midst of tho ship ; All my male servants and my female servants, Tho boost of the field, tho tmjmal of fcho field, Tho sona of my people,—all of them I canecd to go up. , » Shamas § maclo a flood, and ho spake to me, saying: * In tho night I will cnuso it to rhiii henviJyi Enter into tho ship and sJmt thy door.' The Hood happened of which ho spake, saying: „., - . {.The translation is uncertain. A lougcr period Own a day may be auUeiiutetl. i'fhe sun-god. . > ■ Contjmted in Fourth JPage.