Page:The Chaldean Account of Genesis (1876).djvu/87

 5. Those waters at the beginning were ordained; but

6. a tree had not grown, a flower had not unfolded.

7. When the gods had not sprung up, any one of them;

8. a plant had not grown, and order did not exist;

9. Were made also the great gods,

10. the gods Lahmu and Lahamu they caused to come

11. and they grew

12. the gods Sar and Kisar were made

13. A course of days, and a long time passed

14. the god Anu

15. the gods Sar and

16.

On the reverse of this tablet there are only fragments of the eight lines of colophon, but the restoration of the passage is easy, it reads:—

1. First tablet of "When above" (name of Creation series).

2. Palace of Assurbanipal king of nations, king of Assyria,

3. to whom Nebo and Tasmit attentive ears have given:

4. he sought with diligent eyes the wisdom of the inscribed tablets,

5. which among the kings who went before me,

6. none those writings had sought.

7. The wisdom of Nebo, the impressions? of the god yinstructor [sic]? all delightful,