Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-10-17
Light ON FLOOD
God Sent Famine Before Drowning
the Earth.
ADDITION TO The Bible NARRATIVE
Notions of Most Profound Scholars
May be Upset by Tabet-Frasment
Has Been Partly Deeiphered.

May be Upset by Tablet-Fragment
Has Been Partly Deciphered.
Examination of a small clay tablet
inscribed with mysterious wedge
shaped characters recently caused
Professor Albert T. Clay Of Yale Uni
versity to advance theories concerning
the familiar story of Noah's flood that
may upset even the most profound
scholars notions about this ancient
part of sacred history, says the New
York World.
An entirely new chapter seems to
have been added to the Biblical narra-
tive-a chapter telling of a great fam
inc that God visited upon his unruly,
riotous people before wiping them off
the face of the earth by water.
For many years it has been regarded
as one of the most significant coinci-
dences in the history of ancient civili-
zation that almost all oriental nations
and many western peoples have passed
down some recorded legend Of the
Deluge. Naturally these stories differ
in details, but the main facts remain
substantially the same, even when
found in American Indian myths.
A Critical Study.
Professor Clay's recently published
monograph, "a Hebrew Deluge Story
in Cuneiform" (Yale Oriental Series,)
critical and convincing study Of the
very oldest extant record of the Flood,
provides a translation and interpreta-
ticn Of the legend that seems to prove
conclusively two things: First, that the
version in the Book of Genesis is in
complete; second, that the prevailing
notion that the Hebrews took over the
story from the ancient inhabitants of
Babylon, who dwelt farther to the east
is in all probability an error.
This scholar reaches the conclusion
that the story Of the great downpour
was actually a part of the mythology
of Abraham's nation long before the
Babylonians took it over into their own
traditional lore.
All the conclusions are based on the
tiny "clak book" now in the Pierpont
Morgan library, written in the Hebrew
language, but in cuneiform letters, by
an Amorite, or ancient Hebrew, whose
name was Azag Aya- This man ranked
as Junior scribe" in the land Of
Amurru in Asia Minor, which extend
ed, roughly, from the western boun-
dairy of Babylonia to the Mediterran-
can shore, covering what is now Pales-
tine. Here dwelt all the great charac-
ters Of the Old Testament, from Noah
to Joseph. Alag Aya was contern-
porary of the famous patriarch Abra-
ham, and thus did his writing several
centuries before Moses, to whom ira
dition credits the Pentateuch, or first
five books Of the Sacred Writ.
The Bible Antedated.
When he wrote, therefore, antedates
even the most ancient sections Of the
Bible. He was mere scribe, however,
and did no original composition. He
was engaged merely in making fair
copies of documents. many of them al
ready in existence long before his own
time.
On the 2Sth day of the month Shebett
in the eleventh year Of Ammizaduga
lin terms Of the modern calendar this
indicates 1866 B. c. he took his stylus
in hand and imprinted on soft clay a
copy of an original document estimated
to have been composed somewhere
around 1000 B. c. The original, 5000
years old, is of course, lost forever but
chance has preserved precious frag-
ment, corner of the table upon which
Alag Aye wrote. He inscribed in all
eight columns total of 439 lines, but
of these only parts of columns, l, 2, 7
and s, or 81 lines, remain.
The decipherable parts of the ffag
ment, carefully cleaned and translated
by Professor Clay, read as follows:
The land had become great; the
people had multiplied.
Tho land like bull had become
satiated.
In their assemblage God was absent.
He heard their clamor.
He said to the great gods
Those observing the clamor Of men,
In their assemblage he spoke Of
desolations.
Let the fig tree for the people be
cut off.
In their fields let the plant become a
weed.
The sheep let Adad destroy.
The fountains of the deep let not
flow,
That the flood rise not at the source.
Let the wind blow:
Let it drive nightly.
Let the clouds be held back, that rain
from the heavens pour not forth.
Let the field withhold it's fertility.