Th e holy house, the house of the gods, in the holy
place had not yet been made;
No reed had sprung up, no tree had been created.
No brick had been laid, no building had been set up;
No house had been erected, no city had been built;
No city had been made, no creature had been created.
Nippur had not been made, E-kur had not been built;
Erech had not been created, E-ana had not been built;
Th e Deep had not been created, Eridu had not been
built;
Of the holy house, the house of the gods, the
habitation had not been made.
All lands were sea.
At that time there was a movement in the sea;
Th en was Eridu made, and E-sagil was built,
E-sagil, where in the midst of the Deep the god
Lugal-dul-azaga dwelleth;
Th e city of Babylon was built, and E-sagil was
fi nished.
Th e gods, the Anunnaki, he created at one time;
Th e holy city, the dwelling, of their hearts’ desire,
they proclaimed supreme.
Marduk laid a reed upon the face of the waters,
He formed dust and poured it out beside the reed.
Th at he might cause the gods to dwell in the
habitation of their hearts’ desire,
He formed mankind.
Th e goddess Aruru together with him created the
seed of mankind.
Th e beasts of the fi eld and living creatures in the
fi eld he formed.
He created the Tigris and the Euphrates, and he set
them in their place;
Th eir names he declared in goodly fashion.
Th e grass, the rush of the marsh, the reed, and the
forest he created,
26. Th e green herb of the fi eld he created,
27. Th e lands, the marshes, and the swamps;
28. Th e wild cow and her young, the wild calf; the ewe
and her young, the lamb of the fold;
29. Plantations and forests;
30. Th e he-goat and the mountain-goat... him.
31. Th e Lord Marduk laid in a dam by the side of the sea,
32. [He... ] a swamp, he made a marsh,
33. [.. .] he brought into existence.
34. [Reeds he form]ed, trees he created;
35. [.. .] he made in their place.
36. [Bricks he laid], buildings he set up;
37. [Houses he made], cities he built;
38. [Cities he made], creatures he created.
39. [Nippur he made], E-kur he built;
40. [Erech he made, E-an]a he built.
...
3f. Th y exalted minister is Papsukal, the wise counselor
of the gods.
5. May Nin-aha-kudû, the daughter of Ea,
6. Purify thee with the pure censer,
7. And may she cleanse thee with cleansing fi re!
8f. With a cup of pure water from the Deep shalt thou
purify thy way!
10. By the incantation of Marduk, the king of the hosts
of heaven and earth,
11. May the abundance of the land enter into thee,
12. And may thy decree be accomplished for ever!
13f. O E-zida, thou glorious dwelling, thou art dear unto
the hearts of Anu and Ishtar!
15. May [Ezida] shine like the heavens, may it be bright
like the earth, may it [be glorious] like the heart of
heaven,
From: Leonard William King, Th e Seven
Tablets of Creation (London: Luzac and
Co., 1902). Th e Enûma Elish (Babylonian Creation Myth),
excerpt, ca. 12th century b.c.e. Th e Middle Eastreligion and cosmology: primary source documents 867