ENLIL DECIDES TO DESTROY Humankind WITH A FLOOD
The Atra-Hasis epic is the Babylonian flood story written in Old Babylonian on clay in Babylonia circa 1900 BC in cuneiform script. When the Neo-Babylonian account of the flood story as part of the ‘Gilgamesh Epic’ was discovered in the 19 th century, it caused a sensation. It turned out that this was an abbreviated account extracted from the Old Babylonian Atra-Hasis epic, written some 1,000 years earlier. The flood is the climax of the whole story in which the gods created the human race to take over the hard labour on Earth. They were created with the power to reproduce, but were condemned to die as a result of age. The human race multiplied and made such a noise that the chief Sumerian god, Enlil, could not sleep. He therefore plotted to reduce their numbers, first by plague, then by famine. In each case the god Ea (Enki), who was mainly responsible for creating the human race, frustrated the plan. Enlil then got all the gods to swear to co-operate in exterminating the whole human race in an impending flood. This failed because Enki saved his favourite, Ziusudra, by allowing him to build an ark and so save the human race and the animals. This tablet starts after the famine attempt by the gods had just failed, Enlil plotted against Humankind and came up with another plan.
Partial tablet translation:
“…THEY BROKE THE COSMIC BARRIER! - THE FLOOD WHICH YOU MENTIONED, WHOSE IS IT? - THE GODS COMMANDED TOTAL DESTRUCTION! ENLIL DID AN EVIL DEED ON THE PEOPLE! THEY COMMANDED IN THE ASSEMBLY OF THE GODS, BRINGING A FLOOD FOR A LATER DAY, ‘LET US DO THE DEED!’ ATRA-HASIS…”
This is a good time to take a look at some of the other flood stories from around the world, to see the incredible similarities in these stories which were written on different continents, thousands of miles apart, by ‘primitive’ people, hundreds of years apart. Does that not ring very loud alarm bells with you? Mark Isaak has compiled an incredible collection of these stories at www.talkorigins.org and I would urge you to see his website for truly captivating reading. Here are a few excerpts:
Greek:
“Zeus sent a flood to destroy the men of the Bronze Age. Prometheus advised his son Deucalion to build a chest. All other men perished except for a few who escaped to high mountains. When the rains ceased, he sacrificed to Zeus, the God of Escape. An older version of the story told by Hellanicus has Deucalion's ark landing on Mount Othrys in Thessaly. Another account has him landing on a peak, probably Phouka, in Argolis, later called Nemea.”
“The Megarians told that Megarus, son of Zeus, escaped Deucalion's flood by swimming to the top of Mount Gerania, guided by the cries of cranes.”
“An earlier flood was reported to have occurred in the time of Ogyges, founder and king of Thebes. The flood covered the whole world and was so devastating that the country remained without kings until the reign of Cecrops.”
Roman:
“Jupiter, angered at the evil ways of humanity, resolved to destroy it. He was about to set the earth to burning, but considered that that might set heaven itself afire, so he decided to flood the earth instead. With Neptune's help, he caused storm and earthquake to flood everything but the summit of Parnassus, where Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha came by boat and found refuge. Recognizing their piety, Jupiter let them live and withdrew the flood. Deucalion and Pyrrha, at the advice of an oracle, repopulated the world by throwing ‘your mother's bones’ (stones) behind them; each stone became a person.”
Scandinavian:
“Oden, Vili, and Ve fought and slew the great ice giant Ymir, and icy water from his wounds drowned most of the Rime Giants. The giant Bergelmir escaped, with his wife and children, on a boat. Ymir's body became the world we live on.”
Celtic:
“Heaven and Earth were great giants, and Heaven lay upon the Earth so that their children were crowded between them, and the children and their mother were unhappy in the darkness. The boldest of the sons led his brothers in cutting up Heaven into many pieces. From his skull they made the firmament. His spilling blood caused a great flood which killed all humans except a single pair, who were saved in a ship made by a beneficent Titan.”
Welsh:
“The lake of Llion burst, flooding all lands. Dwyfan and Dwyfach escaped in a mastless ship with pairs of every sort of living creature. They landed in Prydain (Britain) and repopulated the world.”
There are many more flood stories such as Lithuanian, German, Turkish, Vogul, Egyptian and Persian. Even the Koran (11:25-48) refers to the flood, adding that the Earth swallowed the water, and the boat came to rest on a mountain called Al-Judi, and one of Noah's disbelieving sons drowned in the flood.
An apocryphal scripture tells us how Adam instructed that his body, together with gold, incense, and myrrh, should be taken aboard the Ark and, after the flood, should be laid in the middle of the Earth. God would come from thence and save mankind (Platt, p. 66, 80 and 2 Adam 8:9-18, 21:7-11). Here we are really mixing the history of Humankind. Wasn't Adam dead by then? How would he know that a flood was looming to give such instructions? How sure are we of these facts?
The Babylonian tale is virtually identical to the Sumerian story and even the Chaldean story is filled with Sumerian influence. Remember that the Sumerian Noah was called Ziusudra:
“The god Chronos in a vision warned Xisuthrus of a coming flood, ordered him to write a history and bury it in Sippara, and told him to build and provision a vessel (5 stadia by 2 stadia) for himself, his friends and relations, and all kinds of animals, all of which he did. After the flood had come and abated somewhat, he sent out some birds, which returned. Later, he tried again, and the birds returned with mud on their feet. On the third trial, the birds didn't return. He disembarked in the Corcyraean mountains in Armenia and, with his wife, daughter, and pilot, offered sacrifices to the gods.”
The Zoroastrian story:
“After Ahura Mazda has warned Yima that destruction in the form of winter, frost, and floods, subsequent to the melting of the snow, are threatening the sinful world, he proceeds to instruct him to build a vara, ‘fortress or estate’, in which specimens of small and large cattle, human beings, dogs, birds, red flaming fires, plants and foodstuffs will have to be deposited in pairs.” (Dresden, p. 344)
What all these stories really point to is a time and place when the gods of Heaven and Earth conspired to wipe out all of humanity. Why? Because they were showing signs of independence, intelligence and possible rebellion against their makers. I have presented you with their motives which have been expanded on by many scholars in numerous studies of the Sumerian tablets and other ancient scriptures. But there is one story in the Bible which in my humble opinion supersedes all the others in presenting evidence of god’s manipulation of humanity. This is the story of Abraham, his son Isaac and Sodom and Gomorrah. It reads like a plot from a Hollywood mafia movie, where certain people are set up to have their loyalty tested, before they can be trusted by the ‘godfather’ to perform certain acts which are not necessarily always kosher. Ask any writer and they will confirm that the plot laid out in this particular story of the Bible has the perfect structure for a screen play, which includes a ‘good-cop-bad-cop’ situation, planting seeds of suspicion and distrust, while demanding absolute loyalty: a code of silence and obedience. These events are perfect examples of a ‘master-slave’ relationship, with a constant undertone of possible violence to be inflicted on the slave if he should step out of line. It has perfectly crafted moments of transparent leniency and hints of empty compassion towards the slaves who are perpetually filled with mortal fear.
It all starts with the ‘god-master’ setting up his slave for personal conflict by evicting his mistress. The slave is Abraham, the mistress is Hagar. Abraham’s wife Sarah supports this move as Hagar is a real threat to her because Hagar had given birth to a son of Abraham, who will become a competitor to her own son in time to come. But the clever twist lies in that the god-master tells Abraham to evict Hagar personally. By doing this, the master tests his slave’s loyalty and he drives a wedg
e between him and the mistress. No sooner has Hagar been left to die in the unforgiving desert, than the god-master comes to the rescue of the evicted young slave girl and her newborn son, winning her undivided loyalty, spreading the word of the loving, benevolent god.
Genesis 21: 8 -21. Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away:
“The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, ‘Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.’ The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. But God said to him, ‘Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring.’ Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, ‘I cannot watch the boy die.’ And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’ Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.”
This clever manipulation showed the gods that Abraham was extremely loyal and trustworthy of performing future tasks. It also made Hagar eternally indebted to god for saving her and her son’s lives. But what future tasks do the gods have in mind for Abraham you might ask? Possibly the earliest recorded examples of espionage in human history. This was however not enough of a test of obedience for the future top spy of the gods. Before they could entrust Abraham with a full army of well equipped men, chariots, advanced weapons, large stretches of land and wealth beyond belief, they had to devise a test of ultimate obedience, which they did. The story is famous even outside of Judeo-Christian circles. Abraham is ordered by god to take his son Isaac onto a distant mountain and sacrifice him to the gods. Their premeditated maliciousness is evident in that they told Abraham to ‘go to a distant mountain’, where they would be alone, so that nobody would witness the brutal event as well as a premeditated murder. Who knows, something may have gone wrong and Abraham may have killed Isaac on the mountain that day. It was better that there were no witnesses around, or confused relatives, to add to the growing discontent among the humans towards the gods. Abraham passed the test with flying colours. He was now ready to perform any task for the conniving gods. From this moment on, the gods made sure that everyone knew about their favourite boy, Abraham. Many tribal heads, kings and even priests came to seek his favour, and in truth suck up to him to avoid any possible acts of vengeance from the gods.
Genesis 22: 1 -18. The Sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham:
“Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.’ So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.’ Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ And he said, ‘Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’
Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together. Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.’
Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.’ Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, ‘By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.’”
This is surely the most malicious manipulation of early man by the gods to establish his loyalty. It also provided a model for the gods with which they could exercise future control over their human subjects, while promising their loyal and obedient humans rich rewards. You have to see through all the grandstanding, posturing and impressive narrative in the Old Testament, to recognise the absolute fear under which the people lived at all times. The gods were bloodthirsty and ruthless manipulators. But they had a very good reason to behave this way: man had grown visibly unhappy with their abuse, and man was beginning to form groups of resistance, which were led by rebellious gods like Marduk, the son of Enki.
At this point, building up to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Marduk had officially revolted against his commanding god Enlil, developing a huge global following among humans, as he promised them life after death. He also proclaimed himself as ‘god above all’. People who were thought to be in any way involved in such activity against the ruling gods, would be classified as vile and evil, committing unspeakable acts of sin against god, and they would be punished severely. It is not quite clear whether it was Enlil who committed the gruesome acts of violence against humans, but the evidence seems to point towards Marduk, as he grew more and more desperate to take control of the world. Marduk devised his own plan to control his human worshippers with fear and intimidation. After all, it had worked perfectly well until then. His ‘recruitment campaign’ began shortly before the rise of the Egyptian empire and lasted way beyond the events at Sodom. Marduk travelled the whole world, wherever other gods had settled, proclaiming himself as ‘god above all’. It worked especially well in the biblical lands including Egypt, where the origins of the Bible are set. And so began the calculated recorded manipulation of Humankind by the so-called ‘god of vengeance’ of the Old Testament.
Compare this behaviour to that of some notorious dictators many years later like Stalin, Mao and Hitler and you will see there is not much difference. ‘Like father, like son.’ The gods have taught us well and their inherited DNA is clearly visible in our actions even today. We will see some support for this in a few choice extracts from the Bible.
Meanwhile, the early activists against Enlil would congregate in places where the
y would not be easily spotted by potential gossipers and spies. The resistance kept on growing among the humans, and activists were plotting various ways to overcome the brutal gods. It is also clear that certain towns and cities became strongholds of the early revolutionaries, possibly inspired by the very early ‘thinkers’ among humans, or the philosophers who became so highly admired in latter days. Two such cities were Sodom and Gomorrah.
So while Enlil was nurturing Abraham into a loyal general, other kings saw that the instability among humans was on the rise and realised that there was serious trouble brewing. It must have been common knowledge that humans were growing increasingly unhappy with their gods and the resistance was gaining momentum. Abraham and his followers were constantly manipulated and brainwashed by the gods with stories that the world was full of ‘sinful and evil’ people. Do me a favour!… How is this possible? How was it possible that suddenly it was only Abraham and his clan who were okay in god's eyes while mostly everyone else was evil, involved in unacceptably sinful behaviour which meant that they had to be destroyed? Ask yourself again… what could those people have been doing that was so evil? What could they have been scheming that meant the total annihilation of two entire cities? Did the almighty and loving god not have other means at his disposal? Just imagine this kind of behaviour today. Even in outright war situations, the aggressor usually never obliterates entire cities. The humanitarian element elects not to harm innocent women and children. It is mainly the soldiers who are targets in war situations. I must rush to add that although this kind of annihilation is pretty much what George W. Bush did in Afghanistan and Iraq, there were however many survivors. The kind of annihilation that describes the events at Sodom and Gomorrah, was much more malicious, with a clear intent to kill all living things in those two cities.
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