The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-02-08
NEW STORY OF THE DELUGE.

Newly Discovered Tablets Dating
Seven Centuries Before Moses.
The announcement by Pere Scheil,
the French assyriologist who has given
SO much time to study of the collec-
lions in the museum at Constantine
pie, that he had discovered Babylo-
MAN account of the Deluge much older
than Moses, was so interesting to the
Biblical student that we asked the dis
coverer for an account Of it. He kind
lily consented, and his account, the first
thus far published in America, and,
we think, in Europe, will be OF no little
interest.
Every Biblical scholar knows that
the Hebrew account of the deluge
found in Genesis has been paralleled
by two Babylonian accounts, one that
|of Berosus, Bahylonian historian,
whose narrative has been handed
down to US by early Greek Christian
writer's, and the other that found on
Assyrian tablets by George Smith.
Both resemble. and yet both differ
from the Genesis story. Biblical crit
les have differed as to the age Of the
Biblical story, the more conservative
holding that, being written by Moses
| it Is older than his time and was incor-
porated by him into the Book of Gene
sis, while the newer school of critics
were, until the discovery of the Tel-el-
lAmarna tablets, inclined to believe
that the story was borrowed from Min
even or Babylon at the time of the
captivity, or not long before it, at
which time the Book of Genesis was
written.
The discovery by George Smith Of a
full poetical account of the deluge, on
tablets In King Assurbanipaps library
at Nineveh, was of immense interest;
| but 1t did not assure us Of the age Of
the deluge story among the inhabi-
tants of the Euphrates valley; for 1t
was on tablets written in Assurhani-
| pals reign, that is scarce six hundred
years before Christ. To be sure, these
were said to be copied from tablets in
Babylonian libraries, but we did not
know how old these original tablets
were. Besides, the deluge story was
on the eleventh tablet in long poem,
compiled in twelve books, one for each
month, in a quite artificial way, and
might belong to comparatively late
period Of religious and literary syn
cretism. The original Babylonian tab
let's, from which the Assyrian copies
were made. were much desired.
Now Pere Scheil has made the dis
covery. To be sure, the record on the
tablet does not amount to much, 1t is
such fragmentary bit; but it is large
enough to make sure that the tablet
contained the story of the deluge, and
most fortunately, the most important
part of all is preserved. the celephon,
with the date. 1t Is dated in the reign
of Ammi- zaduga, King of Babylon
and we know that he reigned about
214O B. c. That Is, we have here a
Iprecious bit Of clay on which was writ
ten a poetical story of the deluge, sew
en- centuries before Moses and about
the time of Isaac or Jacob. That Is
enough to make the discovery memo
rable. We learn positively that the
story of the deluge was familiar to the
common people of Babylonia, and
therefore of all the east from Syria tc
Persia.
Professor Sayce has lately stated
misapprehendIng Pere Seheirs oral an.
nouncement, that the new text verbal.
ly agrees with tndt discovered DS
George Smith, showing the care an6
accuracy with which the document
was preserved from generation to gen
Grafton, with mo change even in the
form of single word" This is no
the fact This Is an entirely different
redaction, and Pere Scheil suggest:
that different cities would have theil
different poetical editions of the story
This fragment belongs to the storl
current at Sippara, where the frag
ment was found, and we may suppos'
that the account given by Berosus wa!
also from the Sippara edition, for Der
losus tells US that Xisuthrus NOAH
before the food. buried in Slppara tn,
records of the worlds anteluvian his