306 THE YEN. ARCHDEACON POTTER, M.A., ON THE INFLUENCE 



out that the name Ea was in all probability connected with Jah. 

 Mnep speaks of Ea as the one who knew every event. Boscawen 

 says, "The position occupied by Ea in the classical religions 

 texts approaches very near to that of Jehovah in the Biblical 

 narrative." Merodach was his son, the protector of good 

 men." In certain Chaldean hymns ]\Ierodach appears as the 

 mediator between God and man. He was Asari the good one, 

 and greatly resembles the Egyptian Osiris, the god of the 

 resurrection, and of the dead. The similarity of the correspon- 

 dence between the relationship between Ea and Merodach, with 

 that between Jehovah and our Lord, is very striking. 



Professor Hilprecht recently discovered at Nippur (or 

 Niffur) — identified with the Biblical Calneh — another flood 

 fragment, which he considers is not Jess old than 2005 B.C. A 

 paper was recently read before this Institute by Dr. Pinches 

 on this flagmen c. It speaks of building a ship with divisions, 

 into which every beast and bird and i^oah's family shall 

 enter, and includes the following passages : " I will loosen — it 

 shall sweep away all men together. On as many as there are 

 I will bring annihilation and destruction — build a great ship — 

 it shall be a house-boat carrying what is saved of life, with a 

 strong deck over it, etc." Canon Driver drawls my attention to 

 the fact that this text contains no parallels with the P. portion 

 of Genesis as distinct frovi the J. portio7i , the supposed resem- 

 blances being contained only in Hilprecht's conjectured 

 restorations, and depending on a doubtful explanation of a 

 word Kumminu. But Genesis vi, 6, 7, and vii, 4, and 

 Genesis vi, 13, the former a " J.," the latter a " P.," portion of 

 Genesis, are both parallel with this fragment : tlie former says, 

 it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth " : and 

 he said, " I will destroy man whom I have created, both man, 

 and the beast and the creeping things, and the fowls of the air — 

 every substance that I have made will I destroy off the face of 

 the earth : the latter (P.) says, " the end of all flesh is come 

 before me, for the earth is filled with violence, and behold, I 

 will destroy them with the earth." 



The story of Adapa, preserved in the Tel-el- Amarna tablets 

 (1400 B.C.), reminds one of the "Tree of Life" in Genesis (a J. 

 section). Ea had warned Adapa not to accept meat and drink 

 from the gods, because he feared they would slay him : so Adapa 

 would not eat or drink. But Anu says to him : " Why dost thou 

 neither eat nor drink, for now thou canst not live ? " So Adapa 

 missed the immortality which Anu had really intended for him. 



Among similarities between the Hebrew and Assyrian 



