أرشيف المعارف

تمثل هذه الرواية تقليداً قديماً مختلفاً عن رواية مَرْدوخ الرسمية. نلاحظ هنا عدة نقاط مثيرة:

• حجم التنين: النص يقدم قياسات رقمية (الذراع والـ"كاسبو" - وهو يعادل نحو 10 كيلومترات)، مما يجعل التنين هنا كائناً هائلاً بشكل خرافي يمتد لمئات الكيلومترات.

• البطل البديل: يظهر اسم "تِيشْهُو" (ربما هو "تيشباك" إله مدينة إشنونة) كبطل مرشح للمهمة، مما يشير إلى أن كل مدينة بابلية كانت تضع إلهها المحلي في دور البطولة.

• خاتم الحياة: الأداة السحرية المستخدمة هنا ليست مجرد سلاح حربي، بل هي "خاتم الحياة" أو الختم الإلهي الذي يمنح الغلبة.

• النهاية الدموية: استمرار تدفق دم التنين لأكثر من ثلاث سنوات يرمز إلى ضخامة قوى الفوضى التي تطلب قهرها زمناً طويلاً.

  [الوجه الأمامي للرقيم - OBV]

• أَنَّتِ المُدُنُ، وَالبَشَرُ [...]،

• رَفَعَ النَّاسُ العَويلَ، [وَهُمْ ...]،

• وَلأَجْلِ نَحِيبِهِمْ لَمْ يَكُنْ هُنَاكَ [مُغِيثٌ]،

• وَلأَجْلِ حُزْنِهِمْ لَمْ يَكُنْ هُنَاكَ مَنْ يَأْخُذُ [بِأَيْدِيهِمْ].

• [فجوة في النص - فُقدت بقية الوجه الأمامي وبداية الوجه الخلفي]

  ---

  [الوجه الخلفي للرقيم - REV]

• [وَحِينَهَا...] فَتَحَ فاهُ وَ[تَحَدَّثَ] إِلَى الإِلَهِ [...]:

• "أَثِرِ السَّحَابَ، وَالعَاصِفَةَ [وَالإِعْصَارَ]!

• وَخَاتَمَ حَيَاتِكَ [ضَعْهُ] أَمَامَ وَجْهِكَ،

• أَمْسِكْ بِهِ، وَسَوْفَ [تَصْرَعُ] التِّنِّينَ."

• فَأَثَارَ السَّحَابَ، وَالعَاصِفَةَ [وَالإِعْصَارَ]،

• وَ[وَضَعَ] خَاتَمَ حَيَاتِهِ أَمَامَ وَجْهِهِ،

• أَمْسَكَ بِهِ، وَ[صَرَعَ] التِّنِّينَ.

• وَلِمُدَّةِ ثَلَاثِ سَنَوَاتٍ وَثَلَاثَةِ أَشْهُرٍ، وَيَوْمٍ وَ[لَيْلَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ]،

• ظَلَّ دَمُ التِّنِّينِ يَتَدَفَّقُ [...]

•  

• مَنْ كَانَ ذَلِكَ التِّنِّينُ [...]؟

• تِيامات كَانَتْ ذَلِكَ التِّنِّينُ [...]!

• "بِيل" (المَوْلَى) فِي السَّمَاءِ قَدْ شَكَّلَ [...] (أَيْ خَلَقَ عَدُوَّها).

• خَمْسُونَ "كَاسْبُو" (وَحْدَةُ قِيَاسٍ) كَانَ طُولُهُ، وَ"كَاسْبُو" وَاحِدٌ [ارْتِفَاعُهُ]،

• سِتُّ أَذْرُعٍ اتِّسَاعُ فَاهِهِ، وَاثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ ذِرَاعاً [مُحيطُ...]،

• اثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ ذِرَاعاً هِيَ اسْتِدَارَةُ [أُذُنَيْهِ...]؛

• وَعَلَى امْتِدَادِ سِتِّينَ ذِرَاعاً كَانَ [يَصطادُ؟] الطُّيُورَ؛

• وَفِي مِيَاهٍ عُمْقُهَا تِسْعُ أَذْرُعٍ كَانَ يَجُرُّ [خُطَاهُ؟...].

• يَرْفَعُ ذَيْلَهُ عَالِياً فِي السَّمَاءِ [...]؛

• كُلُّ آلِهَةِ السَّمَاوَاتِ [ارْتَعَدُوا...]؛

• فِي السَّمَاءِ انْحَنَى الآلِهَةُ سُجُوداً أَمَامَ [إِلَهِ القَمَرِ...]؛

• وَبِأَطْرَافِ رِدَاءِ إِلَهِ القَمَرِ [تَشَبَّثُوا] بِمَهَابَةٍ:

• "مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي سَيَمْضِي وَ[يَصْرَعُ] التِّنِّينَ،

• وَيُحَرِّرُ الأَرْضَ الفَسِيحَةَ [مِنْ سَطْوَتِهِ]،

• وَيُصْبِحُ مَلِكاً [عَلَى...]؟"

• "امْضِ يَا 'تِيشْهُو' (Tishhu)، وَ[اصْرَعْ] التِّنِّينَ،

• وَحَرِّرِ الأَرْضَ الفَسِيحَةَ [مِنْ سَطْوَتِهِ]،

• وَكُنْ مَلِكاً [عَلَى...]؟"

• (أَجَابَ تِيشْهُو): "لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْتَنِي يَا رَبُّ [لِمُوَاجَهَةِ] مَخْلُوقَاتِ النَّهْرِ الهَائِجَةِ،

• وَلَكِنِّي لَا أَعْرِفُ [بَأْسَ/قُوَّةَ] التِّنِّينِ!"

  الحواشى

  
   

  117:1 For the text, see Cuneiform Texts, part xiii, pl. 33 f., Rm. 282; for a previous publication, cf. Delitzsch, Assyrisches Wörterbuch, p. 390 f.; translations have been given by Zimmern in Gunkel's Schöpfung und Chaos, pp. 417 ff., and by Jensen in Schrader's Keilins. Bibl., vi, pp. 44 ff. Strictly speaking, the text is not a creation legend, though it gives a variant form of the principal incident in the history of creation according to the version Enuma elish. In the tablet Rm. 282 the fight with the dragon did not precede the creation of the world, but took place after men had been created and cities had been built; see further the Introduction.

  117:2 The form of the name here used is Tâmtu, i.e., the Sea."

  117:3 The kaspu is the space that can be covered in two hours travelling, i.e., about six or seven miles. These general dimensions of the size of the dragon are in accordance with the statement made in l. 8f. of the reverse to the effect that after the dragon had been slain his blood flowed for more than three years. The. second measurement in the line is taken by Zimmern to refer to the dragon's breadth, but, as Jensen points out, this is not consistent with the measurement of the mouth given in the following line. Even Zimmern's readings of 60 GAR in l. 10 and 65 GAR in l. 11 do not explain, but render still more anomalous, the ½ GAR in l. 9. Without going into the question of the probable length of the Babylonian cubit, it is obvious that the dragon's breadth can hardly have been given as so many miles, if its mouth only measures so many feet. This difficulty can be got over by restoring sîrûtishu in place of the suggested rupussu at the end of l. 8. We then have a consistent picture of the dragon as a long thin snake, rearing his head on high; his coils might well have been believed to extend for three hundred or three hundred and fifty miles, and the raising of his head in the air to a height of six or seven miles would not be inconsistent with the measurement of his mouth as six cubits, i.e., some ten feet or more across.

  119:1 Lines 17-19 are the appeal of the gods to the Moon-god; ll. 20-22 contain the address of the Moon-god to Tishhu; and ll. 23 ff. give Tishhu's answer to the Moon-god.

  119:2 Jensen, ri-hu-ut, which he renders as "moisture." The plural, dalhûti, may perhaps be explained by supposing that, according to this version also, the dragon had other creatures to help her in the fight.

  121:1 Jensen suggests the restoration ^ilu B[êl], which he deduces from the traces upon the tablet as published by Delitzsch; for, as he states, the only other restoration possible would be ^ilu I[shtaar], and this is rendered unlikely by the masculine form of the imperatives in ll. 2 and 4. This would prove that the slayer of the dragon was Bêl, or Marduk, in both the versions of the story. As a matter of fact, the traces are incorrectly given by Delitzsch; they represent the sign AN and not the conflate sign AN +EN (cf. Cun. Txts., pt. xiii, pl. 34), and it is not possible to conclude from the text who is the hero of this version.

  121:2 Jensen suggests the restoration u [ . KAS-PU], i.e., "for three years, three months, a day and [ . hours]." The trace of the next character after u is the single diagonal wedge (cf. Cun. Txts., pt. xiii, pl. 34); according to Jensen's restoration this sign can only be the number "10," i.e. X KAS-PU, "twenty hours," a not very probable reading. The diagonal wedge is more probably the beginning of the sign MI, i.e. mûshu, and the end of the line may be restored as umu I^KAN u [mûshu I^KAN]; this may be rendered "one day and one night," or possibly, as Zimmern in his translation suggests, "day and night."

  121:3 The lower part of the tablet is taken up with the common colophon found upon tablets from Ashur-bani-pal's palace.