The 12th Planet

by Zecharia Sitchin

  So that this not be forgotten,

  Let the "Soul" in a blood-kinship be bound.

  These are strong words, little understood by scholars. The text states that the god's blood was mixed into the clay so as to bind god and Man genetically "to the end of days" so that both the flesh ("image") and the soul ("likeness") of the gods would become imprinted upon Man in a kinship of blood that could never be severed.

  The "Epic of Gilgamesh" reports that when the gods decided to create a double for the partly divine Gilgamesh, the Mother Goddess mixed "clay" with the "essence" of the god Ninurta. Later on in the text, Enkidu's mighty strength is attributed to his having in him the "essence of Anu," an element he acquired through Ninurta, the grandson of Anu.

  The Akkadian term kisir refers to an "essence," a "concentration" that the gods of the heavens possessed. E. Ebeling summed up the efforts to understand the exact meaning of kiir by stating that as "Essence, or some nuance of the term, it could well be applied to deities as well as to missiles from Heaven." E. A. Speiser concurred that the term also implied "something that came down from Heaven." It carried the connotation, he wrote, "as would be indicated by the use of the term in medicinal contexts."

  We are back to a simple, single word of translation: gene.

  The evidence of the ancient texts, Mesopotamian as well as biblical, suggests that the process adopted for merging two sets of genes—those of a god and those of Homo erectus—involved the use of male genes as the divine element and female genes as the earthly element.

  Repeatedly asserting that the Deity created Adam in his image and in his likeness, the Book of Genesis later describes the birth of Adam's son Seth in the following words:

  And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years,

  and had an offspring

  in his likeness and after his image;

  and he called his name Seth.

  The terminology is identical to that used to describe the creation of Adam by the Deity. But Seth was certainly born to Adam by a biological process—the fertilization of a female egg by the male sperm of Adam, and the ensuing conception, pregnancy, and birth. The identical terminology bespeaks an identical process, and the only plausible conclusion is that Adam, too, was brought forth by the Deity through the process of fertilizing a female egg with the male sperm of a god.

  If the "clay" into which the godly element was mixed was an earthly element—as all texts insist—then the only possible conclusion is that the male sperm of a god—his genetic material—was inserted into the egg of an ape-woman!

  The Akkadian term for the "clay"—or, rather, "molding clay"—is tit. But its original spelling was TI.IT ("that which is with life"). In Hebrew, tit means "mud"; but its synonym is bo, which shares a root with bia ("marsh") and bea ("egg").

  The story of Creation is replete with plays on words. We have seen the double and triple meanings of Adam–adama–adamtu–dam. The epithet for the Mother Goddess, NIN.TI, meant both "lady of life" and "lady of the rib." Why not, then, bo–bia–bea ("clay–mud–egg") as a play on words for the female ovum?

  The ovum of a female Homo erectus, fertilized by the genes of a god, was then implanted within the womb of Ea's spouse; and after the "model" was obtained, duplicates of it were implanted in the wombs of birth goddesses, to undergo the process of pregnancy and birth.

  The Wise and learned,

  Double-seven birth-goddesses had assembled;

  Seven brought forth males,

  Seven brought forth females.

  The Birth Goddess brought forth

  The Wind of the Breath of Life.

  In pairs were they completed,

  In pairs were they completed in her presence.

  The creatures were People–

  Creatures of the Mother Goddess.

  Homo sapiens had been created.

  •

  The ancient legends and myths, biblical information, and modern science are also compatible in one more aspect. Like the findings of modern anthropologists—that Man evolved and emerged in southeast Africa—the Mesopotamian texts suggest that the creation of Man took place in the Apsu—in the Lower World where the Land of the Mines was located. Paralleling Adapa, the "model" of Man, some texts mention "sacred Amama, the Earth woman," whose abode was in the Apsu.

  In the "Creation of Man" text, Enki issues the following instructions to the Mother Goddess: "Mix to a core the clay from the Basement of Earth, just above the Abzu." A hymn to the creations of Ea, who "the Apsu fashioned as his dwelling," begins by stating:

  Divine Ea in the Apsu

  pinched off a piece of clay,

  created Kulla to restore the temples.

  The hymn continues to list the construction specialists, as well as those in charge of the "abundant products of mountain and sea," who were created by Ea—all, it is inferred, from pieces of "clay" pinched off in the Abzu—the Land of Mines in the Lower World.

  The texts make it abundantly clear that while Ea built a brick house by the water in Eridu, in the Abzu he built a house adorned with precious stones and silver. It was there that his creature, Man, originated:

  The Lord of the AB.ZU, the king Enki ...

  Built his house of silver and lapis-lazuli;

  Its silver and lapis-lazuli, like sparkling light,

  The Father fashioned fittingly in the AB.ZU.

  The Creatures of bright countenance,

  Coming forth from the AB.ZU,

  Stood all about the Lord Nudimmud.

  One can even conclude from the various texts that the creation of Man caused a rift among the gods. It would appear that at least at first the new Primitive Workers were confined to the Land of Mines. As a result, the Anunnaki who were toiling in Sumer proper were denied the benefits of the new manpower. A puzzling text named by the scholars "The Myth of the Pickax" is in fact the record of the events whereby the Anunnaki who stayed in Sumer under Enlil obtained their fair share of the Black-Headed People.

  Seeking to reestablish "the normal order," Enlil took the extreme action of severing the contacts between "Heaven" (the Twelfth Planet or the spaceships) and Earth, and launched some drastic action against the place "where flesh sprouted forth."

  The Lord,

  That which is appropriate he caused to come about.

  The Lord Enlil,

  Whose decisions are unalterable,

  Verily did speed to separate Heaven from Earth

  So that the Created Ones could come forth;

  Verily did speed to separate Earth from Heaven.

  In the "Bond Heaven-Earth" he made a gash,

  So that the Created Ones could come up

  From the Place-Where-Flesh-Sprouted-Forth.

  Against the "Land of Pickax and Basket," Enlil fashioned a marvelous weapon named AL.A.NI ("ax that produces power"). This weapon had a "tooth," which, "like a one-horned ox," could attack and destroy large walls. It was by all descriptions some kind of a huge power drill, mounted on a bulldozer-like vehicle that crushed everything ahead of it:

  The house which rebels against the Lord,

  The house which is not submissive to the Lord,

  The AL.A.NI makes it submissive to the Lord.

  Of the bad ... , the heads of its plants it crushes;

  Plucks at the roots, tears at the crown.

  Arming his weapon with an "earth splitter," Enlil launched the attack:

  The Lord called forth the AL.A.NI, gave its orders.

  He set the Earth Splitter as a crown upon its head,

  And drove it into the Place-Where-Flesh-Sprouted-Forth.

  In the hole was the head of a man;

  From the ground, people were breaking through

  towards Enlil.

  He eyed his Black-headed Ones in steadfast fashion.

  Grateful, the Anunnaki put in their requests for the arriving Primitive Workers and lost no time in putting them to work:

  The Anunnaki stepped up to him,

  Raised their hands in gree
tings,

  Soothing Enlil's heart with prayers.

  Black-headed Ones they were requesting of him.

  To the Black-headed people,

  they give the pickax to hold.

  The Book of Genesis likewise conveys the information that "the Adam" was created somewhere west of Mesopotamia, then brought over eastward to Mesopotamia to work in the Garden of Eden:

  And the Deity Yahweh

  Planted an orchard in Eden, in the east ...

  And He took the Adam

  And placed him in the Garden of Eden

  To work it and to keep it.

  13

  •

  THE END OF ALL FLESH

  Man's lingering belief that there was some Golden Age in his prehistory cannot possibly be based on human recollection, for the event took place too long ago and Man was too primitive to record any concrete information for future generations. If Mankind somehow retains a subconscious sense that in those earliest days Man lived through an era of tranquillity and felicity, it is simply because Man knew no better. It is also because the tales of that era were first told Mankind, not by earlier men, but by the Nefilim themselves.

  The only complete account of the events that befell Man following his transportation to the Abode of the Gods in Mesopotamia is the biblical tale of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden:

  And the Deity Yahweh planted an orchard

  In Eden, in the east;

  And he placed there the Adam

  Whom He had created.

  And the Deity Yahweh

  Caused to grow from the ground

  very tree that is pleasant to the sight

  And good for eating;

  And the Tree of Life was in the orchard

  And the Tree of Knowing good and evil....

  And the Deity Yahweh took the Adam

  And placed him in the Garden of Eden

  To work it and to keep it.

  And the Deity Yahweh

  Commanded the Adam, saying:

  "Of every tree of the orchard eat you shall;

  but of the Tree of Knowing good and evil

  thou shalt not eat of it;

  for on the day that thou eatest thereof

  thou shalt surely die."

  Though two vital fruits were available, the Earthlings were prohibited from reaching only for the fruit of the Tree of Knowing. The Deity—at that point—appeared unconcerned that Man might try to reach for the Fruit of Life. Yet Man could not adhere even to that single prohibition, and tragedy followed.

  The idyllic picture soon gave way to dramatic developments, which biblical scholars and theologians call the Fall of Man. It is a tale of unheeded divine commandments, divine lies, a wily (but truth-telling) Serpent, punishment, and exile.

  Appearing from nowhere, the Serpent challenged God's solemn warnings:

  And the Serpent ... said unto the woman:

  "Hath the Deity indeed said

  'Ye shall not eat of any tree of the orchard'?"

  And the woman said unto the Serpent:

  "Of the fruits of the trees of the orchard

  eat we may;

  it is of the fruit of the tree in the

  midst of the orchard that the Deity hath said:

  'Ye shall not eat of it, neither touch it,

  lest ye die.' "

  And the Serpent said unto the woman:

  "Nay, ye will surely not die;

  It is that the Deity doth know

  that on the day ye eat thereof

  your eyes will be opened

  and ye will be as the Deity—

  knowing good and evil."

  And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat

  And that it was lustful to behold;

  And the tree was desirable to make one wise;

  And she took of its fruit and did eat,

  And gave also to her mate with her, and he ate.

  And the eyes of both of them were opened,

  And they knew that they were naked;

  And they sewed fig leaves together,

  And made themselves loincloths.

  Reading and rereading the concise yet precise tale, one cannot help wondering what the whole confrontation was about. Prohibited under threat of death from even touching the Fruit of Knowing, the two Earthlings were persuaded to go ahead and eat the stuff, which would make them "knowing" as the Deity. Yet all that happened was a sudden awareness that they were naked.

  The state of nakedness was indeed a major aspect of the whole incident. The biblical tale of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden opens with the statement: "And the both of them were naked, the Adam and his mate, and they were not ashamed." They were, we are to understand, at some lesser stage of human development than that of fully developed humans: Not only were they naked, they were unaware of the implications of such nakedness.

  Further examination of the biblical tale suggests that its theme is Man's acquisition of some sexual prowess. The "knowing" that was held back from Man was not some scientific information but something connected with the male and female sex; for no sooner had Man and his mate acquired the "knowing" than "they knew that they were naked" and covered their sex organs.

  The continuing biblical narrative confirms the connection between nakedness and the lack of knowing, for it took the Deity no time at all to put the two together:

  And they heard the sound of the Deity Yahweh

  Walking in the orchard in the day's breeze,

  And the Adam and his mate hid

  From the Deity Yahweh amongst the orchard's trees.

  And the Deity Yahweh called to the Adam

  And said: "Where art thou?"

  And he answered:

  "Thy sound I heard in the orchard

  and I was afraid, for I am naked;

  and I hid."

  And He said:

  "Who told thee that thou art naked?

  Hast thou eaten of the tree,

  whereof I commanded thee not to eat?"

  Admitting the truth, the Primitive Worker blamed his female mate, who, in turn, blamed the Serpent. Greatly angered, the Deity put curses on the Serpent and the two Earthlings. Then—surprisingly—"the Deity Yahweh made for Adam and his wife garments of skins, and clothed them."

  One cannot seriously assume that the purpose of the whole incident—which led to the expulsion of the Earthlings from the Garden of Eden—was a dramatic way to explain how Man came to wear clothes. The wearing of clothes was merely an outward manifestation of the new "knowing." The acquisition of such "knowing," and the Deity's attempts to deprive Man of it, are the central themes of the events.