Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Rolf Furuli <furuli AT online.no>]

Noel O'Riordan wrote,



    Hello all   Concerning the following two lines   The gods smelled a
sweet savor.    Epic of Gilgamesh  tablet XI:160 The lord smelled a sweet
savor     Gen.  8:21   Are these accurate translations of the lines,
i.e. Are the Akkadian and Hebrew translations equivalent, or are  there
more accurate variants?   Regards  Noel O Riordan


Dear Noel,


I do not have a copy of the Gilgamesh text at hand but I have a copy of
"Athrahasis" which in many respects is similar. In the Old Babylonian
version III,iv, 34,35 we read:


I-CI-NU I-LU E-RE-$A

ICINU = "preterit" 3pl OF ECENUM ("to sniff,smell").
ILU = Plural nominative of ILUM ("god").
ERE$A = Accusative singular of ERE$UM ("to smell")

"The gods sniffed the smell."


KI-MA ZU-UB-BI E-LU NI-QI-I PA-AH-RU

KIMA = "like"
ZUBBI = Plural oblique case of ZUBBUM ("flie")
ELU = "above", preposition
NIQII= Genitive singular of NIQUM ("offering") - Genitive because it
follows a preposition.
PAHRU = Stative 3. p.plur of PAHARUM ("to gather")

"Like fies they gathered over the offering."

Flies were viewed as positive rather than negative creatures.

Looking at the Hebrew, you will see that the verb RWX  and the noun RYX of
Genesis 8:21 has the same meaning as the Babylonian verb and noun, but the
Hebrew noun is modified by the noun NYXX "soothing". There is a remarkable
similarity between Athrahasis, Gilgamesh and the flood account of the
Bible. Because of all the remarkable details that are similar, there is
strong reason to believe that the accounts have not arisen independently.
It would be a fine study to compare them and make a list of all the
similarities. One remarkable point, however, in my view, is the difference
in "quality". in the Accadian accounts the Gods have all the bad qualities
of mankind and make decisions based on these. The God of the Bible has
comepletely different qualities, although some criticize him for having
caused the flood to destroy mankind.



Regards

Rolf


Rolf Furuli
University of Oslo