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Updated: May 18, 2025
The distinction is much of the same order as we find in the case of the Hebrew temple at Jerusalem, where the court in which the worshippers gathered was distinct from the 'holy of holies, which was originally regarded as the dwelling of Yahwe, and in later times was viewed as the spot where he manifested himself.
If this conjecture is justified, the main purport at least of the Dibbarra legend becomes clear. It is a collection of war-songs recalling the Hebrew anthology, "Battles of Yahwe," in which the military exploits of the Hebrews were poetically set forth. The closing tablet of the Dibbarra legend is preserved, though only in part. It describes the appeasement of the dreadful war-god.
On the other hand, while the dead were weak and generally inactive, although capable of suffering, they were also regarded by the Hebrews as possessing powers superior to those of the living. As among the Babylonians, the dead stand so close to the higher powers as to be themselves possessed of divine qualities. They are invoked by the living. The dead can furnish oracles, precisely as Yahwe can.
The power to snatch the individual from the grasp of Sheol was also ascribed to the national god, Yahwe.
One is reminded of the Biblical injunction with regard to the Laws of Yahwe, Deut. vi. 7: "Thou shall teach them to thy sons and speak constantly of them." I.e., to the kings who are frequently called 'shepherds' in the historical texts. Or, according to the earlier view, to an atmospheric god. "The Gilgamesh Epic."
thus becomes clear. As the Hebrews were commanded, in order to secure the protection of Yahwe, to write his law On the doorposts of the house, so the Babylonians were instructed by their priests to hang tablets in their homes probably at the entrance on which Dibbarra was glorified.
The Biblical narrative is based upon this combination, but discarding those portions of the tale which are of purely local interest makes the story of a deluge, a medium for illustrating the favor shown by Yahwe towards the righteous man, as represented by Noah.
Parnapishtim declares his readiness to obey the orders of Ea, but like Moses upon receiving the command of Yahwe, he asks what he should say when people question him. What shall I answer the city, the people, and the elders? Ea replies: Thus answer and speak to them: Bel has cast me out in his hatred, So that I can no longer dwell in your city.
These blessings consist chiefly of long life and plenty of offspring. The dead need not praise Yahwe. Ecclesiastes although a late composition expresses the old popular view in the summary of the fate of the dead, when it is said that the dead know nothing of what is going on. Their memory is gone; they neither love nor hate, and they are devoid of any ambition.
The so-called song of Hannah expresses the new view when it praises Yahwe as the one 'who kills and restores to life, who leads to Sheol, and who can lead out of it. Such a description of Yahwe is totally different from the Babylonians' praise of Ninib, Gula, or Marduk as the 'restorer of the dead to life, which simply meant that these gods could restrain Allatu.
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