The sun., 1910-06-05
THE DELUGE TABLET.


The controversy over the -paug1-
tablet. the discovery oi wlhrh Wa .-.
nounced In sensational manner Hy PIE
fezsOr Hiiprecht a short time AZ. Ia.
been transferred to tho other side 1' rr.
OCEAN Dr. 7. q. Pinches IT I1rH.,
whose supposed endorsement Of prris-.r
Hilprccht was widely quoted has stated
20 a correspondent of THE Sry o.. ..
now accepts the arguments uf prrIr...-.
Barton and Clay for tho kassitc .a.r.
which instead of making the me-, '-rs.
ment the oldest version. as Was c,Al,r.#
would make il several centuries later than
the table, In J. Pierpont Morgan hhury.
Now another scholar Of eminenCr ..mas
along and almost without uabllrur
indOrses the attitude taken bv Professor.
Barton and Clay and other American ard
European scholars, Il u Profess ,lr
BezOld. who holds the chair for Ns.yr
ology at the University oi Heidelberg
and who il regarded a. one Of the sad.
ing AssyriOlogists Of Germany. Prpless,-
BezOld IL particularly oompctent to spctS
with authority on the literary proiuDurus
Of BabylOnia and Assyria bcCausc D. vas
he who was selected by the authouu,s 4
tho British Museum IN prepare the .,rl-
lOgue Of the great library Of King Aslr-
hanapal C0gs-Gc0 n. a. collected by rls
King and discovered by layard in the
ruins of the Kings palace about fifty wears
ago. Professor Bezold spent NOR man
ten years on this vast undertaking whirn
WAS published by the British Museum IN
five large volumes. and in the preparation
Of which Dr.. Bezold examined and studiei
about twenty thousand fragments II clay
tablets constituting the remains ot this
royal library.
Professor Bezold's article on the subject
appears in the FraRkiartCr Zsiiung the
editors of which requested him to give
his opinion 80 that laymen might have
some guidance In the matter. Protessor
Bezold admits that the new fragment is
bit Of the Delugs story. but II is ~ small
biz that there IN little more 20 he said.
He does not accept any Of Professor Hil.
precht's rcstontions Of lines. and more.
over shows that the professors transla.
tions of the parts preserved are quite
defective. Instead Of translating the sao.
Ond line I will loosen and adding -ihs
confines Of heaven and earth a. Profes.
sor Hilprecht does. DR. Bezcld refers the
one word TO be read ON this line 10 the
'looacning Of the han.' or the like. whirh
gives a totally different meaning and do
poses Of the proposed rest oration. The
word In the twelfth line which Hilprecht
translates number DR.. Bezold says may
mean -as' or crown a. well. and 90 the
professor proceeds line for line. leaving
little Of Hilprecht's rendering intact.
A. 20 the date. Professor Bezold saws
emphatically that there II not the slight.
est warrant for placing Il at ?iOD B. e..
and he IL of the opinion that Professor
Barton and Professor Clay have shown
that II may belong TO the Kassite period.
Even more emphatic il the professors
denial that the new fragment has any
special hearing on the Biblical versions
of the Deluee. Il adds nothing 10 or
knowledge oi the relationship between the
! AAANtAAAAA anu AAAAN AAAAAA aNAANNaa
sor Bezod regards With contempt HI
prechts attempt 70 bring about closs
parallel between the new fragment and
the -Priestly Code" Of Genesis. He char
itably suggests that Hilprecht's -unlucky
idea. ~ he calls IL. TO render the HebrVv
phrase INSTEAD Of a number in place oi
according to their kind should he
covered with eternal silence and then
adds sore caustic remarks on the absurd
i,y Of surprising any special relationship
between this fragment and the -PricsflY
Code which was not written TN the end
of the sixth century B. G.
incidentally Professor Bezold says that
he has reaSons for Questioning Hilprechts
statement that the tablet was unpackei
and examined for the first time In Octo-
her. 1879 Bezold's survey and summary
will probably h. regarded as the final ve--
dict Of scholarship on the subject.