Thread on a Babylonian poem that is remarkably similar to Biblical Book of Job (Hazrat Shoaib, sabr-e-shoaib): With greater awareness of the religions & literature of ancient Egypt & Mesopotamia, Karl Jasper's idea of 'Axial Age' seems more of a myth than reality. We now know >

> that the themes of justice, order, compassion, mercy had been a persistent theme in both traditions for at least 2000 years prior to the 'Axial' & indeed the Biblical Age. One example of this is a 3000-to-3500-years-old poem we call Babylonian Theodicy, also called >

> An Akkadian Dialogue on the Unrighteousness of the World.

In structure, form, & themes it is remarkably similar to the Biblical Book of Job, which was most probably written around 600 BCE. Some of the parallels include: debate b/w the Babylonian ‘sufferer/skeptic’ & his >

> friend & the biblical debate b/w Job & his ‘comforters’; both protagonists complain that gods have failed to respond to their piety & they question divine justice; the 4 counselors in Book of Job offer advice based on a notion of divine justice & retribution that resembles >

> the counsels of the friend in the Babylonian Theodicy; their repeated demands for Job to admit his unknown sins also echo the advice of the friend in the Babylonian Theodicy; both texts use creation stories to explain the human condition. The poem is written in a dialogue >

> form b/w 2 men, a suffering/skeptical man & his wise friend. They exchange views on the meaning of worship of the gods & its benefit. Although the poem does not specify their identities, judging from the contents, it seems that the protagonists are based on ancient scribes or >

> temple scholars/priests. The first protagonist, called ‘the sufferer’, repeatedly bewails his unrewarded devotion to the gods & plight. The sufferer presents his plight & the richness of the godless as the proof of the uselessness of piety. The wise friend advocates worship >

> of the gods. He asserts that, unlike wild animals, humans are capable of acknowledging the divine &, through rituals, can gain insights into the divine wisdom, no matter how incomprehensible the gods’ decisions might seem. He also teaches that the true reward for one’s piety >

> is not wealth but divine grace. It is remarkable to me how contemporary this 3000 year old poem sounds, it values poverty over wealth, in fact it compares godless rich with wild animals, it values humility & piety, it advises patience & worship of gods in the form of prayers >

> & rituals, (& what is nimaz/salath, roza, hajj, if not rituals), it suggests that the reward of prayers & rituals is not wealth but gods' grace. The poem is acrostic, which means that the 1st syllabic sign of each line form words when read downwards. When we read these signs >

> acrostically, they reveal what appears to be the name & identity of the author: I am Saggil-kī[na]m-ubbib, an incantation-priest, the one who worships the gods & the king. The name literally means ‘Saggil, Absolve-the Righteous (of accusation/sins)’. Saggil is a short form of >

> Esagil, the name of Marduk’s temple in Babylon & refers to the primary Babylonian god Marduk. It seems that he was a well-known thinker in antiquity. In a Neo/Late Babylonian school exercise found at Sippar, his name was used in order to learn 2 different orthographies of the >

> same name. Also it is very likely that he had served as counselor to kings Nebuchadnezzar I & Adad-apla-iddina.

The first line reads:

O sage...come let me speak to you...let me recount to you...

The 'sufferer' complains he has been persecuted by the godless wealthy people.>

> He vows to act like a robber, to reject the gods, & to abandon his ritual duties, imitating the godless fools & impious rascals. The poem is actually part of the long Babylonian tradition of wisdom literature. The sufferer’s notion of devotion to the gods is based on beliefs >

widely accepted by the ancient Babylonians. For example, the Counsels of Wisdom, a collection of moral exhortations composed in the 2nd half of the 2nd millennium BCE teaches:

Reverence begets blessing,
offering prolongs vigor,
and a supplication absolves sins.
>

> Blessing will not fall short of the one who reveres the gods,
[the days of] the one who reveres Anunnaki-gods will be long.

Similar teachings on human piety & wellbeing as its divine reward are attested in various Sumero-Babylonian wisdom texts.

The friend repeatedly speaks >

>of the enduring principles of wisdom. Throughout, the friend reiterates the same 3 themes, using different words to do so:

(1) rituals are important as means to attaining divine blessing;
(2) wealth of the godless is not permanent
(3) divine judgment/plan is incomprehensible

>

> One of his arguments is that rituals can secure good relations b/w humankind & the gods; & according to Mesopotamian belief, they are the key for a flourishing & healthy life:

The one who serves (one’s) god has (one’s) protective-sp[irit],
the one who is in danger but honors >

> (one’s) goddess amasses wea[lth].
Follow the tradition of the god, keep his cultic rites,
[be h]umble & be ready for wellbeing.
In (response to) supplication, the furious pre-eminent gods will respond;
the friendly goddess will return in (response to) prayers;
gods have mercy >

> on the buried & misguided ones (in response) to (their) p[rayers].

The friend repeatedly warns the sufferer that material prosperity which has not been gained through piety will eventually be taken away, & that the rich-but-godless rascals will ultimately perish, he also >

>insists that the pious person will always receive whatever is needed to sustain his life:

The villain who has no gods may gain possession,
(but) a killer with his weapon pursues him.
If you do not seek the will of the gods, what is your gain?
The one who bears the yoke of the >

> gods is indeed thin, but his meal is regularly (served).
Seek constantly after the gratifying divine wind,
you shall regain at once what you have lost at the harvest time.

The sufferer claims that he has been mistreated by the gods. In reply, the friend explains that the >

> gods’ will & judgment are beyond human comprehension:

The mind of a god is as remote as the center of the heavens,
comprehending it is very difficult; people cannot understand.

The sufferer claims that the wealthy-but-impious persons amass riches just like wild animals that >

> enjoy good food without observing divine teaching or their obligations:

The one who is assigned wealth, the rich man who piled up treasures,
like the Fire-God, the ruler will burn (him) before his time.
Do you wish to go the way these (people/things) have gone?
>

> Always seek the everlasting blessing of favour of the gods.

Babylonian thinkers believed that both the impious but rich & powerful people & the wild animals were equally deprived of ethical thinking. Speaking through the mouth of the friend, the author states that, although >

> the reasons for the god’s treatment of humankind are not always evident, in their leniency & compassion, the gods do requite prayers & come to one’s aid in plight & adversities.

The poem ends with the sufferer’s >

> pleading to his personal god & goddess & to the king for mercy & forgiveness:

May (my) god who forsook me establish help (for me).
May (my) goddess who d[eserted me] have mercy on me.
May the shepherd (i.e. the human king), my Sun, gui[de] the people [back] to the gods.