ORACLES AND OMENS.
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Jastrow, Morris
[Many[536] (?)] are my sins beyond endurance?[537]
[Lord (?)] of Nineveh, I come before thee, the warrior among the gods, his brothers.
[Prolong (?)] the life of Ashurbanabal for a long period.
... At the feet of Nabu I prostrate myself.
The god reassures the king:
I will grant thee life, O Ashurbanabal, even I,
Nabu, to the end of days
Thy feet shall not grow weary, nor thy hands weak (?),
These lips of thine shall not cease to approach me,
Thy tongue shall not be removed from thy lips,
For I give thee a favorable message.
I will raise thy head, I will increase thy glory in the temple of E-babbara.[538]
The reference to the temple of Shamash at Sippar reveals the situation. Babylonia was the cause of much trouble to Ashurbanabal, owing chiefly to the intrigues of his treacherous brother Shamash-shumukin.[539] Ashurbanabal at one time was not merely in danger of losing control over the south, but of losing his life in the rebellion organized by his 'faithless brother.' A successful rebellion is a clear sign of a god's displeasure. Marduk, as we have seen, was not often appealed to by the Assyrian kings, but Nabu seemed always ready to help them. Hence the king confesses his sins and makes an appeal to the great Babylonian god and not to Ashur. He is encouraged by the promise that his life will be spared, and that his supremacy will be recognized in Babylonia. The great sanctuary of Sippar is here employed figuratively for the temples of Babylonia in general. To be glorified in that famous temple was equivalent to a recognition of royal authority.
That these oracles served a practical purpose is definitely proved by the manner in which they are introduced by the kings in their annals. Ashurbanabal tells us that in the course of one of his campaigns against Elam, he addressed a fervent prayer to Ishtar of Arbela, and in reply the message comes, as in the texts we have been considering, "Fear not"; and she adds, "Thy hands raised towards me, and thy eyes filled with tears, I look upon with favor."[540]