142 THEOPBILUS G. PINCHES^ LL.D.^ M.R.A.S._, ON THE 



had made the flood, however, was to all appearance unmoved by 

 this demonstration made against him by the goddess, for seeing 

 that some of the condemned race of mankind had been saved, 

 he was exceedingly wroth, and filled with anger against the 

 gods who had enabled Ut-napistim and his family to escape 

 the general destruction. Mnip (or Nirig) then spoke, point- 

 ing out that it was Ea (Ae) who had done the thing — i.e., 

 warned the Babylonian Noah that a flood was coming, and thus 

 enabled him to build the ark and escape from the catastrophe. 

 It may here be noted as a curious point in Babylonian mythology, 

 that Enlil, " the god of lordship and dominion," should have 

 been conceived as ignorant of what was passing on the earth. 

 Professor Hommel and other Assyriologists have already pointed 

 out that the name of Ea was in all probability connected with 

 Jah, and this would seem to be a confirmation of that theory, 

 for Ea, who revealed the coming of the Flood to the patriarch, 

 is mentioned by Ninip as one who knew every event ; and he, 

 therefore, was the Babylonian prototype of the great Omniscient 

 One. 



Ea himself then spoke, uttering what seems to be an 

 admonition to the god Enlil, telling him that he had not been 

 considerate, and had made a flood ; the objection apparently 

 being, that such a visitation was calculated to destroy all 

 mankind, which the gods did not want. Should it be needful 

 to destroy the inhabitants of the earth on account of their 

 wickedness, wild beasts, such as the lion and the hyaena ; or 

 famine, or pestilence, would sufficiently lessen their number, 

 and serve as the instruments of the gods' wrath. And here 

 occurs a little quibble on the part of the god Ea, who pleads 

 that he did not reveal the decision of the great gods — he simply 

 caused Atra-hasis (Xisithrus, another name for the Babylonian 

 Noah) to have a dream, and then he heard the decision of the 

 gods, without its being communicated to him. 



Next comes the deification of the patriarch, which took place 

 at the hands of the god whom he worshipped, namely, Ea, who 

 went up into the ship, and taking the hand of Ut-napistim and 

 his wife, touched them and blessed them, saying : " Formerly 

 Ut-napistim was a man, now let Ut-napistim and his wife be 

 like unto the gods, even unto us ; and Ut-napistim shall dwell 

 afar at the mouths of the rivers." Thither was he transferred, 

 and there Gilgames visited him, and heard this wonderful story, 

 the personal narrative, according to the Assyro-Babylonians, of 

 the hero of the great Flood, when all mankind was destroyed, 

 and he only, by the favour of the god whom he worshipped, and 



