# Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions/A Myth of Enlil and Ninlil

No. 4.
A MYTH OF ENLIL AND NINLIL.
This tablet, though fragmentary, as the copies show, contains a more complete text of a myth, a portion of which was published by Pinches in 1911 in PSBA, XXXIII, 85 ff. The text of Dr. Pinches contained an Akkadian translation; the Philadelphia text is in Sumerian only. The myth concerns the irrigation of Nippur and the establishment of its prosperity, the first line of Dr. Pinches text read "At Duranki, their city they dwelt" instead of At. . . . . . their Nippur(?) they dwelt." A colophon at the end of his tablet states that it was "First tablet, At Duranki, their city. Not finished." In reality his text covers only parts of columns i and ii of our tablet. The two texts in general agree closely, though there are minor variations here and there.
The myth itself is of great interest. It represents the courtship and marriage of Enlil and Ninlil. He was a young hero; she a handmaid. She was standing on the bank of a canal, when he saw her, ran to her, and kissed her. Her heart was captivated; she yielded to him, and from their marital union fertilizing rain was born. The story is not unlike that of the union between Enki and Nintu in the Epic of Paradise published by Langdon. The idea of creation by birth from the marital union of deities appears to have been particularly ​popular at Nippur. The creation of men occurred in this way according to the myth published below as No. 8.
After the creation of irrigating waters and the settling of some marital differences between the god and goddess, they proceeded to Nippur accompanied by fifty great gods and seven gods of fate; they cast out the poisonous plants and gave intelligence to the inhabitants. For these and other blessings our text ascribes praise to Enlil and Ninlil.
Transliteration and Translation.
(i) (i) i en(?)-lil ;t -na-nam na-an-dur- . At. . . .their Nippur(?) they dwelt; [ru-ne-en-ne-en] 2. en]-ltf n uru-ki-na-nam na-an- 2. At Nippur, the city which is theirs, dur-ru-ne-[en-ne-en] they, dwelt; 3. dur-sag 1 uru-ki-na-nam na-an- 3. At the favorable dwelling, the city dur-re-ne-en-ne-[en] which is theirs, they dwelt. 4. id sal-la 1 id a^ag-ga na-nam 4. The wide river is their holy river; 5. kar-pigu-na 3 kar-bi na-nam 5. Its close-shut dyke, its dyke is theirs; 6. kar-a-sar* kar gtS md-us-bi na-nam 6. The crowded dyke, the dyke of its large ships is theirs; 7. tul-lal 5 tul-a-dug-ga-bi na-nam 7. The good well, the well of sweet water is theirs; 8. id nun-bi-ir-rd gud-mul-bi na- 8. The canal Nunbiirra, its star- nam bright one, is theirs; 9. ib-ta-bu-i-ne buru-gan-seg-ga gar- 9. They reap a bur of irrigated land; bi na-nam its food is theirs; 10. d en-lil gurus-tur-bi na-nam 10. Enlil, its young hero, is theirs; 1 Possibly Dur-lag should be read as a proper name. It has been translated to give the English reader the meaning. 2 Pinches takes Idsalla as a proper name. 3 Pinches reads Kar-geliin-na, which is quite possible, and takes it as a proper name. That would mean the "vine-dyke" or the "wine-dyke," which seems to me improbable. I have pre- ferred rather to interpret by OBW, 2I3 4 . 4 Kar-a-lar (spelled Kar-ular] is regarded by Pinches as a proper name. 5 Tul-lal (read Tul-amar-uduk) is taken by PINCHES as a proper name. ​Page:Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions.djvu/50 ​Page:Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions.djvu/51 ​Page:Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions.djvu/52 ​Page:Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions.djvu/53 ​Page:Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions.djvu/54 ​Page:Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions.djvu/55