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The phase of the sun symbolized by Nin-azu is, as in the case of Tammuz and others, the sun of the springtime and of the morning. If it be recalled that Gula, the great goddess of healing, is the consort of Ninib, it will be clear that Nin-azu must be closely related to Ninib and is, indeed, identified with the latter.
From its original meaning, the word became a poetical term in Hebrew for 'worthless, 'useless, and the like, e.g., in the well-known phrase "Sons of Belial." See p. 482. See p. 537. See above, p. 523. IIR. 59; reverse 33-35. See above, p. 175. IIR. 57, 51a, a star, Nin-azu, is entered as one of the names of the planet Ninib. See above, p. 565.
It is more plausible that a god like Nin-azu was understood under 'the god of the great city. Besides these gods, there is another series of beings who belong to Allatu's court, the demons who are directly responsible for death in the world. Of this series, Namtar is the chief and the representative.
With Nergal in control, Nin-azu had to yield his privilege to be the husband of Allatu. The substitute of the fierce sun of the summer solstice for the sun of spring is a most interesting symptom of the direction taken by the Babylonian beliefs, regarding the fate of the dead.
In this sense, we have seen that Marduk, the god of spring, was also addressed as 'the restorer to life. But while the revivification of nature controls the conception of gods of healing, like Nin-azu, Ninib, and Gula, the extension of the idea would lead, naturally, to the association of these gods with the ruler of the nether world, at a time when it was still believed that this ruler could be moved by appeals to loosen her hold upon those whom she was about to drag to her kingdom.
If he falls from heaven, he naturally enters the realm of Allatu, and it is possible that the story in its original form was suggested by a myth illustrating the change of seasons. The question, however, must for the present remain an open one. A god associated with the nether world who again appears to be a solar deity is Nin-azu.
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