32 DISCUSSION. 



point). The likeness of the word Zi, in Akkadian "life" or 

 "the soul," to the Russian Zhi, and the Greek ^wry, is very remark- 

 able. I hare myself noticed likenesses between Akkadian words 

 and those of the Indo-Germanic languages, but I have always 

 been afraid to make comparisons with them, as such might, in 

 most cases, turn out to be merely chance-likenesses. Nevertheless 

 they arc always worth observing. 



Of course, as Dr. Lowy said, some villages may have had their 

 own deity, and that deity was, to the j^eople of that district, the 

 most important, and the head, to them, of the pantheon, and that 

 would, of course, tend to monotheism, i.e., amongst those people 

 that deity was the one deity, and as far as that deity was 

 concerned, this Avould be monotheism. 



It is peculiar, as was remarked by the second speaker, that 

 Balak seems to have thought that by a change of place he could 

 get a change in the mind of the deity directing the prophet whom 

 he was consulting. He evidently thought that by going to another 

 place he would get under the influence of another deity, or form of 

 that deity, and be able to get a more favourable answer. 



May I here say how very much we are indebted, to Mr. Rassam 

 for his discoveries. They have been most important to our 

 researches, the amount of material which he has gained — and thus 

 enables us to add. to our knowledge — is enormous, and of 

 exceeding great value. If I remember rightly, the text of 81, 

 11, 3, 111 was found by him, and. many of the most important 

 names, including that of Yase-Yawa, come from tablets found by 

 Mr. Rassam. 



As regards the third letter read, I observe that Major Condor points 

 out that the god Ninip was not the god worshipped at Jerusalem, 

 and suggests that I should look at the passage again. I have done so, 

 and the text, in those lines referring to Jerusalem, runs as follows: — 

 " The City of the Mountain of Jerusalem— the City of the god 

 Ninip, its name is the City of the King, patarat." Now patarat 

 is the third person singular for patrat, from pataru " to open" or 

 " split." One may take that passage in two ways. Either three 

 cities are mentioned, or one is mentioned in three different ways. 

 As the verb is the third person singular, I am inclined to think 

 that one city is intended and that the three lines are to be trans- 

 lated either, " The city of the mountain of Jerusalem. Its name 

 is the City of the Temple of ISTinip— the city of the King — was 



