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OT101 Old Testament 1 (Genesis – Deuteronomy)External Readings

The Egyptian Creation Epic (circa 1800 B.C.)*Harmonized1 from various versions of the Mythos by Aaron Leitch; ed. By Dillon R. Hill and Shelly Ficalora

In the beginning there was only the Nun: the great celestial waters of the Unmanifest; the depths of the [night-time] sky. Swimming within this primordial Deep were the mighty Ogdoad: eight gods who consisted of four Serpents and four Frogs. [Their] names were Nun and Nunet, deities of the watery abyss; Heh and Hehet, deities of infinite space; Kek and Keket, deities of darkness; and Amon and Amonet, deities of the invisible. These primordial Gods swam within the Waters, guarding the Great Egg that incubated the Creator.

In time, the Egg began to hatch. It split into two halves, dividing the waters of the Nun into the upper and lower, and making between them a space wherein the Creator could fashion the world.From the Egg arose a single blue Lotus. It rose high above the darkness of the abyss, and opened [its] great petals. Within [its] golden heart rested a beautiful young god, the Creator Amen-Re, with one single finger pressed against his lips in Silence.

Light streamed from the body of this Divine Child, banishing darkness to the far reaches of the universe. Like a phoenix with flaming plumage he arose, uttering a cry that shattered the eternal silence. This was the first sound—the first Word—and that Word manifested as a living God. Thoth was his name: the Self-Created, the Logos, Wisdom.

Amon-Re then constructed an island for himself to rest upon, and he surveyed the expanse of water around him. He knew that he was alone, and soon found he could not bear the solitude. He longed for others to share the Light with him.

Thus, he began his creation. In this he is known as Khephera, the god of Creation, the god of the Rising Sun. He brought order to the chaotic Ogdoad—setting them in their proper places—and it was thus the world came into existence. He accomplished this through the mighty power of the Divine Word, Thoth, and that power was yet another God: Ptah, the architect of the world and all of its creatures.

The first to be created was the great goddess Maat; Justice, Truth, the Judge and Balance of Dualities; for, duality is the law of the universe. Thoth took her as his wife, and the two sustain the universe even unto this day; the Divine Word and Truth.

1 What Leitch has done in this document is combine the various texts which provide only parts of the overall story of the Egyptian Creation story into a cohesive whole. This is not in itself [an] ancient document, although it does represent the ancient texts. [DRH]

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And more were created, in their turn, by the thoughts of Amen-Re. He empowered them with his word—by naming them. First among them were Shu, the god of Air, and Tefnut, the goddess of Moisture.

Yet, Shu and Tefnut were quickly lost to Re in the waters of the abyss, and he was once again alone. He therefore took an eye from his face and filled it with his own power. He called the Eye his daughter, Hathor, goddess of the Sky, and sent her out into the darkness to find his children.

The light of Hathor pierced the forces of darkness and Shu and Tefnut were quickly found and returned to their Father. As a reward, Re set the eye upon his brow in the form of the great Cobra, the Uraeus Serpent. He swore an oath to her that she would [always] have power over his enemies, and in ages to come both gods and men would fear her.

Now Shu and Tefnut loved each other, and in time Tefnut gave birth to twins. The [elder] was Geb, god of the Earth. The younger was Nut, goddess of the Heavens. Re took the Star goddess Nut for his wife, yet it was Geb for whom [Nut] yearned. It was Geb that she moved toward. The Earth and Sky, entangled in love, were intermixed and chaotic. The universe was formless as if rebelling against order.

Re, unaware, stumbled upon this union of Geb and Nut. Angered at his unfaithful wife, he forced the lovers apart. He pulled the Sky far above the Earth, and held them distant by force. He then set Shu between the lovers, upholding Nut in her place to keep them forever apart. It was thus that the Air came to reside between Sky and Earth.

[However,] Re's wrath against his wife was not yet complete. He further decreed that Nut, impregnated by her union with Geb, should never give birth to her young in any month of any year. Instead, [her young] were to be locked within her, never to see the light of day.

Nut mourned for her loss; the loss of both her lover and her unborn children. Her lamentations reached even unto the ears of Thoth, the Self-Created. He rushed to her side, and dried her tears. He soothed her and spoke with her, discovering the pain which inflicted her. Thoth, who was the Lord of all magic and spells, knew that Re's decree could not be undone. Yet, he knew also that there was a way in which to relieve great Nut of her suffering.

To this end, Thoth created the game of draughts and challenged the Moon goddess Silene, whose light [at that time] rivaled that of the sun. Thoth convinced her to gamble a seventieth part of her light for each day of the year. Being the Lord of Wisdom, he easily won from her this light, and to this day the moon dwindles and darkens at certain periods. Thoth pieced together the light he had won—enough to fashion five whole days—and added them to the end of the 360-day lunar year.

These days did not rest within any month, nor any year, and thus Nut was able to bear her children, one on each day. On the first was born Osiris. As he came into the world a great Voice was heard throughout the heavens proclaiming that the Lord of Creation was born.

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On the second day was born the great Elder Horus, whose right eye is the sun, and left eye the Moon. The Sky goddess' name, Hathor, literally means "The Abode of Horus."On the third day was born dark Set, the Lord of warfare and the burning deserts.

On the fourth day was born Isis, goddess of Love, Magic, and Wisdom. [She was] The great Lady of the heavens. Osiris took her as his wife, and there was great love between them.

Finally, on the fifth day, was born Isis' beloved sister Nephthys. The dark aspect of her sister, she was taken by Set as his wife, but there was never love between them at all. She, instead, remained always loyal to her sister.

And thus [occurred] the birth of the great Shining Ones, the Company of the gods of Annu. They are the Ennead, the great company of gods: Re, his children Shu and Tefnut, his grandchildren Geb and Nut, and his great-grandchildren Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. Many other gods were also created by Re, and He filled the sky above the earth and the abyss below it with spirits, demons, and lesser deities.

Last of all was created man and the other creatures of the earth. The mighty Khnem'u fashioned them upon his potter's wheel, and Re breathed into them the breath of life. Further, he made a land for them to dwell within, and named the kingdom Khemet (Egypt).

He protected the land with great barriers of desert, and created the river Nile so that [its] waters would flood the land and rich crops would be plentiful. He also made other countries, and for them he created a Nile in the sky that would rain down its waters and sustain their life. He populated the world with all forms of animal, bird, fish, and plant and gave them also the breath of life.

Each day Re walks through his kingdom or sails across the sky in his Barque of Millions of Years (that is—the Ship of Eternity). To restrain the forces of darkness and chaos, he created the kingship. He then established himself as the first and greatest King of Egypt and reigned for countless centuries in joy and peace.

But, alas, every evening the great primordial Lotus closes [its] petals and sinks once more into the waters of the abyss. Darkness reigns throughout the Night until the young god within the Lotus is reborn. The forces of darkness were not conquered forever at the beginning of time; instead they surrounded the earth as serpents poised to attack the Sun god. The war between darkness and light sustains the world; and when it comes to a final end, so too will the world.

The Treaty of Bar-ga’yah with Matiel (circa 750 B.C.)Assryian RegionTranslation by Joseph F. Fitzmyer, S.J.; edited by D. R. Hill and Shelly Ficalora

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This document was produced by the king of a place known only as KTK. It was produced in a region that was soon to be overtaken by Tiglath-pileser III in 740 B.C. Bar-ga’yah was the king of a large city state who made a suzerain-vassal treaty with Matiel, the king of a smaller city state. Note on the map below the location of a place called Arpad north of Aleppo near the Mediterranean Sea. This is the supposed near location of KTK. Please note any capital letter groupings in the following text are names or words which are not translatable from the Semitic context or are simply unknown. Rely on context for meaning. Also bracketed material is material which is a rough translation section which is not completely secured from the text. The brackets sometimes come in strange places as well. For the most part they can be altogether ignored.

Brisco, Thomas. Hollman Bible Atlas. Nashville: Holman Reference, 1998.Map Number 18

THE INSCRIPTIONS OF BAR-GA}YAH AND MATI{EL FROM SEFIRE (2.82)

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These inscriptions of Sefire (once called Sujin) were discovered by S. Ronzevalle in 1930 in a village southeast of Aleppo. Two of them became the property of the Damascus Museum in 1948. The third stele, a stone tablet, was acquired by the Beirut Museum in 1956. The three steles are related not only by their provenance, but also by their contents, script, and language. They are inscribed in Old Aramaic and date from the mid-eighth century, some time prior to 740 BCE, the year in which Tiglath-pileser III conquered Arpad and made it part of the Assyrian empire.

STELE I

What remains of this inscription is engraved on three sides of a basalt stone, 51.5 inches high, which was cut [after] its engraving so that it lacks several letters at the end of the lines of face A and at the beginning of the lines of face B. The text that was engraved on face D is completely lost today. Also missing are several lines in the middle of the faces that [would otherwise be] preserved.

Face A

The Title, Introducing the Contracting Parties

(lines 1–6a)The treaty of Bar-gayah, king of KTK, with Matiel, the son of Attarsamak, the king of Arpad; and the treaty of the sons of Bar-gayah with the sons of Matiel; and the treaty of the grandsons of Bar-gayah and his offspring with the offspring of Matiel, the son of Attarsamak, the king of Arpad; and the treaty of KTK with the treaty of Arpad; and the treaty of the lords of KTK with the treaty of the lords of Arpad; and the treaty of Ḥaburu with all Aram, and with Miṣr--- and with his sons who will come after him, and with the kings of all Upper-Aram and Lower-Aram and with all who enter the royal palace.

The Gods who are Witnesses to this Treaty

(lines 6b-14a)And the stele with this inscription they have set up this treaty. Now this treaty which Bar-gayah has concluded in the presence of Assur and Mullesh in the presence of Marduk and Zarpanit, in the presence of Nabu and Tashmet, in the presence of Ir and Nusk, in the presence of Nergal and Laṣ, in the presence of Shamash and Nur, in the presence of Sin and Nikkal, in the presence of Nikkar and Kadiah, in the presence of all the gods of Raḥbah and Adam . . . in the presence of Hadad of Aleppo, in the presence of Sibitti, in the presence of El and Elyan, in the presence of Heaven and Earth, in the presence of the Abyss and the Springs, and in the presence of Day and Night — all the gods of KTK and the gods of Arpad are witnesses. Open your eyes, O gods!, to gaze upon the treaty of Bar-gayah with Matiel, the king of Arpad.

Curses Against Matiel, if He Violates the Treaty

(lines 14b-35a)

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Now if Matiel, the son of Attarsamak, the king of Arpad, should prove unfaithful to Bar-gayah, the king of KTK, and if the offspring of Matiel should prove unfaithful to the offspring of Bar-gayah . . . and if the BenР--- Gush should be unfaithful . . . [      ] from YM[...] [... and should seven rams cover a ewe, may she not conceive; and should seven nurses anoint their breasts and] nurse a young boy, may he not have his fill; and should seven mares suckle a colt, may it not be sa[ted; and should seven cows give suck to a calf, may it not have its fill; and should seven ewes suckle a lamb, may it not be sated; and should seven hens go looking for food, may they not kill anything! And if Matiel should be unfaithful to Bar-gayah and to his son and to his offspring, may his kingdom become like a kingdom of sand, a kingdom of sand, as long as Assur rules! And may Hadad pour every sort of evil on earth and in heaven and every sort of trouble; and may he shower upon Arpad hail-stones! For seven years may the locust devour Arpad, and for seven years may the worm eat, and for seven years may TWY come up upon the face of its land! May the grass not come forth so that no green may be seen; and may its vegetation not be seen! Nor may the sound of the lyre be heard in Arpad; but among its people let there rather be the din of affliction and the noise of crying and lamentation! May the gods send every sort of devourer against Arpad and against its people! May the mouth of a snake eat, the mouth of a scorpion, the mouth of a bear, the mouth of a panther. And may a moth and a louse and a . . . become to it a serpent’s throat! May its vegetation be destroyed unto desolation! And may Arpad become a mound to house the desert animal, the gazelle and the fox and the hare and the wild-cat and the owl and the [      ] and the magpie! May this city not be mentioned, nor MDR nor MRBH nor MZH nor MNLH nor Sharun nor Tuim nor Bethel nor BYNN nor . . . nor Arneh nor Ḥazaz nor Adam!

Curses with accompanying rites

(lines 35b-42)Just as this wax is burned by fire, so may Arpad be burned and her great daughter-cities! May Hadad sow in them salt and weeds, and may it not be mentioned again! This GNB and [      ] are Matiel; it is his person. Just as this wax is burned by fire, so may Matiel be burned by fire! Just as this bow and these arrows are broken, so may Inurta and Hadad break the bow of Matiel, and the bow of his nobles! And just as the man of wax is blinded, so may [Matiel] be blinded! Just as this calf is cut in two, so may Matiel be cut in two, and may his nobles be cut in two! And just as a harlot is stripped naked, so may the wives of Matiel be stripped naked, and the wives of his offspring, and the wives of his nobles! And just as this wax woman is taken and one strikes her on the face, so may the wives of Matiel be taken [and      ]

Face B

The Sacred Character of the Treaty

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(lines 1–15?)The treaty of Bar-gayah, king of KTK, with Matiel, son of Attarsamak, the king of Arpad; and the treaty of the son of Bar-gayah with the sons of Matiel; and the treaty of the grandsons of Bar-gayah with the offspring of Matiel and with the offspring of any king who will come up and rule in his place, and with the Ben-Gush and with Bet-ṢLL and with all Aram; and the treaty of KTK with the treaty of Arpad; and the treaty of the lords of KTK with the treaty of the lords of Arpad and with its people. The treaty of the gods of KTK with the treaty of the gods of Arpad. This is the treaty of gods, which gods have [finalized].2 Blessed forever be the reign of Bar-gayah, a great king, and from this happy treaty [      ] and heaven. All the gods shall guard this treaty. Let not one of the words of this inscription be silent, but let them be heard from Arqu-- to Yadi and BZ, from Lebanon to Yabrud, from Damascus to Aru--- and M..W, and from the Valley to KTK . . . in BРt-Gush and its people with their sanctuary, this treaty . . .YTH HSÛK.HW. . . in Muṣr--- and MRBH . . . DSÛ. . . . . TM to Matiel, son of Attarsamak . . .

[A few letters are legible on lines 14–15; lines 16–20 are missing.]

The Stipulations of the Treaty

(lines 21–45)[. . .] to your house. And if Matiel will not obey and if his sons will not obey, and if his people will not obey, and if all the kings who will rule in Arpad will not obey the .[      ] [      ]. .LMNYN, you will have been unfaithful to all the gods of the treaty which is in this inscription. But if you obey and carry out this treaty and say, “I am an ally,” I shall not be able to raise a hand against you; nor will my son be able to raise a hand against your son, or my offspring against your offspring. And if one of the kings should speak a word against me or one of my enemies should so speak and you say to any king, “What are you going to do?” and he should raise a hand against my son and kill him and raise his hand to take some of my land or some of my possessions, you will have been unfaithful to the treaty which is in this inscription. If one of the kings comes and surrounds me, your army must come to me with every archer and every sort of weapon, and you must surround those who surround me and you must draw for me [. . .] and I shall pile corpse upon corpse in Arpad ... some king LWYN WMWT [. . .] and if on a day when the gods [. . .] the rebels, you do not come with your army and if you do not come with your armies to strengthen my house and if your offspring does not come to strengthen my offspring, you will have been unfaithful to the gods of the treaty which is in this inscription. And when [. . .] YPN with me, I shall be able to drink water of the well of . . . L; whoever lives around that well shall not be able to destroy it or raise a hand against the water of the well. And the king who will enter and take LBKH or H¸. . . , who will take ... BH. . . . to destroy NGD . . MLHM . . M . . KD in the town of YMM. And if you do not do so, you will have been unfaithful to the treaty which is in this inscription. And if . . Q. LY . . . LK.L . . . LHMY . Y.NSÛ, you shall send . . . [. . .] M, and if you do not give me my provisions, or deduct provisions from me, and do not deliver them, you will have been unfaithful to this treaty. . . . You cannot deduct provisions NH¸ KYM YQM LK, and you yourself will seek and will go . . . to your city and to your house YN. . ZR. . for myself and for every person of my household and for Ṭ . . . in it your son; and the kings of

2 Original edition says “concluded.”

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Arpad will not cut anything off from them because it is a living pact. . . . H.... ṬLL H WSḤ H WBL H NTRḤM for yourself M. . . . . . . K . . . with you; so you will cut the PL. And if . . . NQ he will strengthen the QLBT of my house against . . . L.ḤY QL. . . . against my son or against one of my courtiers; and if one of them flees and comes . . .

Face C

Conclusion

(lines 1–9)Thus have we spoken and thus have we written. What I, Matiel, have written is to serve as a reminder for my son and my grandson who will come after me. May they make good relations beneath the sun for the sake of my royal house that no evil may be done against the house of Matiel and his son and his grandson forever

Blessings

(lines ?-16)... may the gods keep all evils away from his day and from his house.

Curses

(lines 17–24)Whoever will not observe the words of the inscription which is on this stele or will say, “I shall efface some of its words,” or “I shall upset the good treaty-relations and turn them to evil,” on any day on which he will do so, may the gods overturn that man and his house and all that is in it! May they make its lower part its upper part! May his [offspring]3 inherit no name!

3 Original text translated here as “scion.”