Analysis: Babylonian Proverbs

Date: c. 1600 BCE

Geographic Region: Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq)

Author: Unknown

Translator: Stephen Langdon, et al.

Summary Overview

This document translates proverbs recorded in the ancient Sumerian language around 1600 BCE, during the Babylonian Empire (c. 1850 to 1600 BCE). The tablets were preserved in the library of Ashurbanipal, who ruled nearby Assyria from about 668 to 626 BCE. The excerpt is a sample from a genre of ancient literature known as “wisdom literature,” in which authors extol religious virtue among their readers. Likely deriving from even earlier traditions, the proverbs in this document give insight into the social and religious mores of ancient Mesopotamia.

Defining Moment

The proverbs recorded in this document descend from the era of the old Babylonian kingdom, which rose to power in Mesopotamia under King Hammurabi (ruled 1792 to 1750 BCE). Under Hammurabi, the Babylonians conquered neighboring Assyria and much of Mesopotamia. The first Babylonian kingdom began to collapse following Hammurabi's death, as the Kassite people of the Zagros Mountains to the north took control. Recorded around the start of Kassite rule and the invasion of the Hittites, these proverbs likely preserved earlier Sumerian ideas. Some historians have even suggested that they are themselves translations of an earlier Akkadian text.

Though the original proverbs were probably recorded around 1600 BCE, this document was set down later, during the rule of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal in the seventh century BCE. Ashurbanipal inherited the Assyrian throne from his father, Esarhaddon, ruler of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Ashurbanipal shared his reign with his half-brother Shamash-shum-ukin, who had been appointed by their father as ruler of neighboring Babylonia. As king, Ashurbanipal found his attentions split between his desire to improve the civic and cultural life of Assyria and his need to extend and defend the empire's borders. In time, Shamash-shum-ukin began forming a potential alliance to overthrow Ashurbanipal as ruler of Assyria. Ashurbanipal quelled the conspiracy in Babylon, removed his brother from power, and extended his sole rule over Babylonia and the rest of the empire.

While defending the reach of his empire, Ashurbanipal also set about preserving the vestiges of Assyrian (and other Mesopotamian) culture and traditions. He had mastered many scribal and religious arts, and he became a great patron of the arts, religion, and literature. Perhaps his greatest achievement was the construction of a library at Nineveh. There, he ordered scribes to collect, copy, and preserve more than twenty thousand tablets in ancient Sumerian, Akkadian, and other languages. Among these works—many of which were brought from other Mesopotamian city-states—were not only the proverbs recorded in this document, but also the Babylonian creation epic and the Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2000 BCE; English translation, 1917). Many of these works might not have survived had they not been saved in Ashurbanipal's library.

Author Biography and Document Information

Though the author is unknown, the proverbs were likely first written by scribes in the Babylonian kingdom, around 1600 BCE. In ancient Mesopotamia, writing was an elite skill, learned and practiced by a privileged group of professionals known as “scribes.” The tablet on which the proverbs appear was preserved in the great library at Nineveh constructed at the command of Ashurbanipal. Historian George Aaron Barton explains that the proverbs were recorded on the tablet in two languages, Sumerian and another Semitic language, and “arranged as reading lessons for students.”

The tablet was recovered from the remains of the library at Nineveh and has been preserved at the British Museum. Other tablets and fragments with additional proverbs have also been preserved and translated. This document transcribes twenty-five of more than one hundred proverbs, recorded in six columns on both sides of the tablet, as prepared by Barton and based on an earlier translation by historian Stephen Langdon. Translations have changed over time as more has been learned about ancient Sumeria. Barton has listed the proverbs in the source document consecutively, as they appear on the tablet, but has renumbered them, without accounting for lines that have been omitted.

Langdon notes that this tablet and others include copies of earlier Babylonian tablets. They were made specifically for preservation in Ashurbanipal's library, so these proverbs were recorded (if not authored) by scribes.

Document Analysis

Situated in the Tigris and Euphrates River Valley, Assyria shared the same cultural roots and traditions as Babylonia to the south. The evolving civilization of ancient Mesopotamia comprised Assyrians, Babylonians, Akkadians, and Sumerians. Each people centered on a city-state and its surrounding lands; as one city-state and its dynasty of rulers rose to power, new kingdoms and empires were declared. Throughout, the peoples shared similar religious beliefs and practices, their mythologies evolving to accommodate new influences and societal changes. The proverbs in this document largely reflect the economic, social, political, and religious characteristics of not only the Babylonians, but also the earlier Sumerians and Akkadians (as well as the later Assyrians under Ashurbanipal).

The proverbs vary in theme, from ethical behavior to religious devotion, military defense, and private family life. Some offer advice; some suggest a universal truth. Ancient Mesopotamian life was shaped in great part by religious belief and devotion. Mesopotamians believed in a pantheon of gods and goddesses who controlled the elements and other aspects of life. Humans were made and existed to serve the gods. This theme recurs in several of the proverbs from the document. The first proverb advises against committing hostile acts so as to avoid retribution and echoes other cultural variations on the “golden rule” of treating others as one would like to be treated. The second proverb builds on the first, adding divine weight and religious significance by advising against evil acts so that “life… eternal you may obtain.” This line affirms the Mesopotamian belief in an afterlife.

The proverbs also demonstrate the importance of agriculture to Mesopotamian life. Several lines reference grains, fields, and farming activities, in both literal and metaphorical senses. “The tall grain thrives, but what do we understand of it? The meager grain thrives, but what do we understand of it?” This proverb invokes the relative lack of control that a people have over the natural forces of the world. The proverb “If the husk is not right, the kernel is not right, it will not produce seed” not only suggests the importance of farming well, but also of doing all tasks well in order to produce the desired end.

Other proverbs reflect the central concern of military and defense. Throughout ancient Mesopotamian history, city-states vied for supremacy and control. Conflict was a persistent aspect of life. Proverbs 15 and 16 each offer cautions regarding the city's defensive and offensive postures. However, the latter proverb might also be applied to either one's personal life or society as a whole: aggression invites aggression. Likewise, proverb 21 advises readers to treat enemies with care.

Proverb 20 seems to touch on the heart of the proverbs (and that of whatever person(s) labored to record them): “Writing is the mother of eloquence and the father of artists.” Likewise, the line can serve as an apt motto for the literary undertakings of Ashurbanipal's reign. Many of the other proverbs touch on personal precepts, such as friendship and hard work, giving some insight into the social nature of life in ancient Mesopotamia. “He is altogether good, but he is clothed with darkness,” perhaps echoes modern ideas that appearances can be deceiving, and “The life of day before yesterday has departed today,” shares similar meaning to the Latin phrase “carpe diem,” or “seize the day.”

The final proverb, 25, returns to the significance of not only religious faith, but also the rule of the king, whom ancient Mesopotamians believed had divine sanction: “When you see the gain of the fear of god, exalt god and bless the king.” This line exhorts readers to appreciate the merits of devotion and to be thankful for the rewards of virtue, suggesting that only through faith and through honor of the rightful ruler may people achieve gain.

Bibliography and Additional Reading

Barton, George A. Archaeology and the Bible. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: American Sunday School, 1920. 407–9. Print.

Bauer, Susan Wise. The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome. New York: Norton, 2007. 118–27. Print.

Contenau, Georges. Everyday Life in Babylon and Assyria. New York: Norton, 1966. Print.

Kirwaczek, Paul. Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization. New York: St. Martin's, 2010. Print.

Van De Mieroop, Marc. A History of the Ancient Near East. 2nd ed. Malden: Blackwell, 2007. 63–84. Print.