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Updated: May 1, 2025
The latter were aware only of the intended destruction of a single place, Shurippak. At this moment Bel approaches. He does not deny his deed, but is enraged that the planned destruction should not have been complete, since Parnapishtim and his household have escaped. As Bel approached And saw the ship, he was enraged, Filled with anger against the gods the Igigi.
Shamashnapishtim, king at this time in Shurippak, was saved miraculously in a great ship. Concerning him and his voyage strange fables are recorded. After the deluge, 86 kings ruled during 34,080 years. One of these was Nimrod, the mighty hunter of the Bible, who appears as Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, and is the hero of extraordinary adventures.
The city Shurippak, a city which, as thou knowest, Lies on the Euphrates, That city was old, for the gods thereof, Decided to bring a rainstorm upon it. All of the great gods, Anu, their father, Their counsellor, the warrior Bel, The herald Ninib, Their leader En-nugi, The lord of unsearchable wisdom, Ea, was with them, To proclaim their resolve to the reed-huts. Reed-hut, reed-hut, wall, wall!
The destruction of Shurippak has a Biblical parallel in the destruction of Sodom and of the surrounding district. Sodom, like Shurippak, is a city full of wickedness. Lot and his household are saved through direct intervention, just as Parnapishtim and his family escape through the intervention of Ea.
It is to be noted, too, that no emphasis is laid upon Lot's piety, and in this respect, as in others, Parnapishtim bears more resemblance to Lot than to Noah. The hostility between Bel and Ea, which we have seen plays a part in the Babylonian narrative, belongs to the larger mythological element in the episode, not to the specific Shurippak incident.
The address to the huts and structures has been appropriately compared by Professor Haupt to the opening words of Isaiah's prophecies. Hear, Heavens! and give ear, Earth! Ea's words are intended as a warning to the people of Shurippak.
O man of Shurippak, son of Kidin-Marduk! Erect a structure, build a ship, Abandon your goods, look after the souls, Throw aside your possessions, and save your life, Load the ship with all kinds of living things. The god then tells Parnapishtim in what manner to build the ship. Its dimensions should be carefully measured.
Its sad fate would naturally have impressed itself upon the memory of the people, and given rise to legends precisely as the disappearance of Sodom or of the destruction of the tribes of Ad and Thamud gave rise to fantastic stories among Hebrews and Arabs respectively. Ea, not content with the general warning, sends a special message to Parnapishtim, one of the inhabitants of Shurippak.
Moreover, there are traces in the Sodom narrative of a tradition which once gave a larger character to it, involving the destruction of all mankind, much as the destruction of Shurippak is enlarged by Babylonian traditions into a general annihilation of mankind.
Of Shurippak, against which the anger of the gods is enkindled, we unfortunately know nothing, but it is fair to assume that there was an ancient city of that name, and which was destroyed by an overflow of the Euphrates during the rainy season. The city need not necessarily have been one of much importance.
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