Wikipedia

Gibil

Gibil(𒀭𒉈𒄀), also known under theAkkadiannameGirra,was aMesopotamian godassociated with fire, both in its positive and negative aspects. He also played a role inritual purification.Textual sources indicate his symbol was a torch, though no representations of him have been identified inMesopotamian art.Multiple genealogies could be assigned to him. The god listAn = Anumindicates his spouse wasNinirigal.He was also frequently associated with deities such asShamash,NuskaandKusu.He is first attested in Early Dynastic texts from Shuruppak, such as offering lists. He was also a member of the pantheon ofEridu.In theKassite periodhe was worshiped inNippur.Later attestations are available fromAssyriaand fromUruk.He also appears in a number of literary texts.

Gibil
God of fire
Other namesGirra, Mubarra
Major cult centerShuruppak,Eridu(disputed[1]),Nippur
AbodeIrigal
Symboltorch
Genealogy
SpouseNinirigal

Names

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Gibil (dgibil6) is considered the conventional reading of atheonymwritten incuneiformasdNE.GI (variant:dGI.NE), though Jeremiah Peterson notes that it has yet to be fully verified by primary sources.[2]Ryan D. Winters also stresses lack of direct evidence for the reading Gibil, despite its conventional status in Assyriological literature.[3]Manfred Krebernik[de]and Jan Lisman similarly conclude that despite being commonly used in scholarship, the reading Gibil, in contrast with Girra, is not securely supported by primary sources.[4]Peterson suggests that it is not impossible thatdNE.GI was instead read asdgiraxgi,which would presumably reflect derivation from theAkkadianwordgirru,"fire".[2]The Akkadian form Girra was derived directly from the termgirru.[5]These terms are ultimately derived from theroot*ḥrr,"to burn" or "to scorch", similarly as another theonym,Erra.[6]Jeremy Blackand Anthony Green treat names Gibil and Girra as referring to the same deity.[5]Johanna Tudeau argues that they were initially separate, but came to be fully merged with each other either in theOld Babylonian periodor shortly after it, with later sources such asAssyriancopies of theWeidner god listindicating they were used interchangeably to refer to one figure.[7]Gebhard J. Selz[de]describes Gibil and Girra as already analogous to each other in the context of the text corpus fromLagashfrom theEarly Dynastic period.[6]Instances ofdGIBIL6being used as a logogram meant to be read as Girra are known fromastronomicaltexts.[8]A further attested writing of the theonym Gibil isdGIŠ.BAR.[9]Selz argues that originally it referred to a distinct god, Gišbar or Gišbarra, attested intheophoric namessuch as Ur-Gišbar-izipae from theUr III periodand later conflated with Gibil.[10]

InEmesaltexts, Gibil was referred to with the variant name Mubarra.[11]Additional names or epithets attributed to him include Nunbaranna (or Nunbaruna; translation uncertain), known from the god listAn = Anum(tablet II, line 337), its Old Babylonian forerunner and a number of incantations from the same period;[12]Nunbarḫada ( "prince with a burning white body";An = Anum,tablet II, line 339),[13]and Nunbarḫuš ( "prince with a glowing body", present both in theAn = Anumforerunner and inAn = Anum,tablet II, line 340).[14]Piotr Michalowski notes that the last of these names also appears as a synonym of the termziqtu,"torch", inlexical listsfrom the first millennium BCE.[15]

The name Gibil was also used as a designation for a star in the Old Babylonian period, though its identification remains uncertain and is complicated by late astronomical text treating it as synonymous with the planetMars.[8]

Character

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Gibil was thegod of fire.[16]He could represent this element in its positive aspect, for example in association withfurnacesandkilns,[5]and in this context could be treated as a tutelary deity ofmetallurgists.[7]However, he also represented fire as a cause of destruction.[5]Anamburbi,a type of ritual text focused on warding off the negative consequences of specificomens,[17]documents that it was believed that situations in which houses were set on fire by a lightning strike were considered a display of Gibil's wrath.[18]He could be also blamed for the burning of fields.[7]As indicated by the incantation seriesMaqlûandŠurpu,a further function of the fire god was warding off malevolent magic and unlucky events foretold by nightmares.[19]He additionally played a role inritual purification.[2]It has been argued that this was his main function in the sphere ofcult.[20]

While textual sources indicate that Gibil's symbol was a torch, no iconographic representations of him have been identified.[7]

Associations with other deities

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Family and court

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Piotr Michalowski argues that the beliefs about the origin of Gibil reflected his proposed association with the city ofEridu,as he could be considered "the son of theAbzu".[9]According to another tradition his father wasEnlil,as documented in anOld BabylonianAkkadiansource (tabletBM29383) and possibly in aSumerianliterary text from the same period.[21]Maqlûinstead calls him a "scion" ofAnu(tablet II, line 77).[22]The same series of incantations also refers to him as offspring ofShalash(tablet II, line 137), though a copy whereShalaoccurs instead in the same passage has been discovered too.[23]References toNuskaas his father are known as well.[24]

The god listAn = Anum(tablet II, line 341) indicates that the goddessNinirigalcould be considered the spouse of Gibil.[25]It is not certain if they were already regarded as a couple in earlier periods.[4]The same text states that his divine attendant (sukkal) was Nablum (tablet II, line 342), "flame", who might have been linked to him due to being a divine representation of the effects of his activity, similarly to how the weather godIshkur'ssukkalwas Nimgir, "lightning".[26]Furthermore, it assigns him two counselors, the divine representations of a torch (dníg.na) and a censer (dgi.izi.lá).[27]

Other associations

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As already attested in anUr IIItext fromNippur,Gibil was connected with the sun godShamash(Utu), who according to Piotr Michalowski was the deity he was most commonly linked to in Mesopotamian tradition.[9]Jeremiah Peterson proposes that the connection between the two was related to the belief documented inMaqlû,according to which in some rituals, possibly these which took place during the month Abu, the fire god was believed to take the place of the sun god at night.[28]He was commonly described as his "friend" or "companion" (Akkadiantappû).[9]

Gibil was also closely associated withNuska.[27]They are attested together in Old Babylonian seal inscriptions fromSippar.[29]He also appears after Nuska and his wifeSadarnunnain theWeidner god list,and he is explicitly linked to the former of these two deities in a boundary stone inscription from the reign ofNazi-Maruttash.[30]Andrew R. Georgenotes that he could effectively function as an "agent" of Nuska.[31]However, the two could be identified with each other as well, which led to the development of a tradition in which Nuska, normally associated with Enlil, was instead portrayed as a son or attendant of Anu.[32]

In late commentaries on religious texts, Gibil was often paired withKusu,a purification deity associated withcensers.[27]Both of them could be grouped into a triad withNingirima,a deity who also belonged to the sphere ofritual purification.[33]

Worship

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Gibil is relatively sparsely attested in Mesopotamian texts, though he nonetheless is known from sources from various time periods and locations.[2]Most of the evidence postdates the third millennium BCE.[4]

The oldest references to Gibil occur in texts fromEarly DynasticShuruppak(Fara), where he might have been a relatively important deity, as in offering lists he occurs alongside the major members of the local pantheon.[9]Additionally, the forty-third of theZame Hymnsis dedicated to him.[34][a]This text has been discovered inAbu Salabikh.[35]Piotr Michalowski argues that his cult center in this composition isEridu.[9]An association between him and this city is also accepted by Julia Krul.[32]However, Manfred Krebernik and Jan Lisman instead translate the line describing Gibil's cult center as "NE.GI, pure place of the prince" (NE.GInun ki).[36]They consider it implausible that Eridu (NUNki) is meant instead.[1]They point out that NE.GI is likely to be a logographic spelling of the name of an unknown city due to the widespread phenomenon of the same logograms designating both a deity and the corresponding cult center, attested as well for example forSudand Shuruppak or Enlil andNippur.[37]Jeremiah Peterson additionally suggests that like his spouseNinirigal,he might have been associated with Uruk and Kullaba.[38]

In sources fromLagashfrom the Early Dynastic period, Gibil is only attested in a singletheophoric name,Ur-Gibil.[39]InAdab,he occurs in a singleOld Akkadianoffering list and in a number of theophoric names, such as Geme-Gibil and Ur-Gibil.[16]

Only a single house of worship associated with Gibil is known.[7]Under the name Girra, he was worshiped in the Emelamḫuš ( "house of awesome radiance" ), thetempleofNuskain Nippur, as attested in theCanonical Temple List,[31]dated to theKassite period.[40]Two theophoric names invoking him appear in texts from this city from the same period.[41]He also appears inAssyriantākultutexts as a member of a group of deities associated withShamash.[42]

Late attestations of the fire god are known fromSeleucidtexts from Uruk, though he was not yet worshiped there in theNeo-Babylonian period.[43]Most likely similarly as in the case ofKusuandKusibanda,his introduction to the local pantheon reflected his role in craftsmanship and his importance in the eyes ofāšipuandkalûclergy.[44]Despite being actively worshiped, he is absent from legal texts, and no theophoric names invoking him are attested.[43]

Literature

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The Gibilimgida

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Animgidatext focused on Gibil has been identified by Jeremiah Peterson on a fragmentary tablet fromOld BabylonianNippur.[28]Due to its state of preservation much about its plot remains uncertain, though based on the surviving sections it can be established that it described his birth in a place referred to as AB-gal,to be read as eitheriri12-galoreš3-gal.[45]This location is also described as his dwelling in other sources.[20]Peterson chooses to render it as Irigal in his translation.[46]He argues that thetempleof Gibil's spouseNinirigalinUrukis meant, rather than theunderworld,as while the latter location could be referred to with the termirigal,[b]it was typically written as AB✕GAL(GAL),AB-gunû(GAL)or IRI-GAL, as opposed to AB-gal,in contrast with the theonym Ninirigal, consistently spelleddnin-AB-galfrom theUr III periodonward.[47]As an alternative he proposes that the termešgalmight be used instead, as it could be a designation of many temples, for exampleEkur.[38]The view that the Irigal associated with Gibil is to be understood as the underworld has originally been formulated by Piotr Michalowski.[20]Another passage of theimgidadescribes Gibil joining the moon god,Nanna,in the sky in the evening.[48]He is apparently responsible for providing light during the night alongside him.[38]It is possible that the rest of the text originally described his visits to the cult centers of others gods, as a fragment mentionsEnliland his temple Ekur, where Gibil apparently had to purify an oven, while in another references toInannaand the city ofZabalamoccur.[49]

Girra and Elamatum

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A fragment of a myth focused on Girra, provisionally referred to asThe Myth of Girra and Elamatumin absence of any references to its original title, is preserved on an Old Babylonian tablet from eitherSipparor nearbyTell ed-Der(BM 78962), though based on thecolophonthe surviving fragments only represent the seventh part of a longer multi-tablet sequence, which might have originally consisted of a total of around three hundred and fifty lines.[50]The initial lines are not possible to decipher, but the first passage describes Enlil proclaiming the destiny decreed for Girra after his defeat of Elamatum ( "the Elamite woman" ), possibly either a supernatural representation ofElamas a geopolitical rival of Mesopotamian states or a personification of famine, illness or sorcery, with the last of these interpretations possibly supported by the fire god's common role as a deity countering it in incantations.[51]Her remains are apparently turned into an object visible in the sky.[50]The name appears as a designation of an unidentified group of stars in an Old Babylonian prayer among many better attestedconstellations,but it is absent from later compendiums ofMesopotamian astronomy.[52]It is to be distinguished from the "Star of Elam" (MUL.ELAM.MAki) identified withMars.[53]Christopher Walker notes that parallels can be drawn between the surviving section of this myth and the celebration ofNinurta's victory in compositions such asLugal-eorMarduk's inEnūma Eliš.[50]

Other literary texts

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In theLament for Sumer and Ur,Gibil is mentioned among the causes of destruction described in this composition.[54]He is apparently responsible for setting fire to reeds.[55]As noted by Nili Samet, a direct parallel to the passage describing this is present in the mythInannaandEbiḫ,where the eponymous goddess threatens that she will tell Gibil to perform the same action.[55]

In theEpic ofAnzû,Girra is one of the three gods who refuse to fight the eponymous creature to recover theTablets of Destiny,the other two beingSharaandAdad.[56]

In theEnūma Eliš,Gibil is the forty sixth of the names bestowed uponMardukafter the defeat ofTiamat.[57][c]The function attributed to Marduk under this name might be "who makes weapons hard",[59]possibly a reference to the fire god's role inmetallurgy,but the passage is unclear.[60]

A literary text dealing withShalmaneser III's campaign inUrartu[61]mentions Girra in passing as one of the two gods who accompanied this king, the other beingNergal.[62]

Notes

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  1. ^Krebernik and Lisman tentatively suggest reading the logogramdNE.GI as Girra in their edition of theZame Hymns.[34]
  2. ^This designation might be the source of later termIrkalla,which is first attested in theMiddle Assyrian period.[20]
  3. ^Wilfred G. Lambertrenders the name as Girra instead in his translation.[58]

References

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  1. ^abKrebernik & Lisman 2020,p. 133.
  2. ^abcdPeterson 2014,p. 302.
  3. ^Lambert & Winters 2023,p. 62.
  4. ^abcKrebernik & Lisman 2020,p. 134.
  5. ^abcdBlack & Green 1992,p. 88.
  6. ^abSelz 1995,p. 138.
  7. ^abcdeTudeau 2013.
  8. ^abHorowitz & Wasserman 1996,p. 60.
  9. ^abcdefMichalowski 1993,p. 156.
  10. ^Selz 1995,p. 139.
  11. ^Frankena 1971,p. 383.
  12. ^Cavigneaux & Krebernik 1998,pp. 614–615.
  13. ^Cavigneaux & Krebernik 1998a,p. 615.
  14. ^Cavigneaux & Krebernik 1998b,p. 615.
  15. ^Michalowski 1993,p. 154.
  16. ^abSuch-Gutiérrez 2005,p. 17.
  17. ^Krul 2018,p. 159.
  18. ^Krul 2018,p. 201.
  19. ^Foster 2005,p. 660.
  20. ^abcdMichalowski 1993,p. 157.
  21. ^Peterson 2014,p. 311.
  22. ^Abusch 2015,p. 296.
  23. ^Abusch 2015,p. 299.
  24. ^Horry 2016.
  25. ^Peterson 2014,p. 308.
  26. ^Wiggermann 1987,p. 22.
  27. ^abcKrul 2018,p. 195.
  28. ^abPeterson 2014,p. 303.
  29. ^Tanret 2010,p. 103.
  30. ^George 1993,p. 24.
  31. ^abGeorge 1993,p. 124.
  32. ^abKrul 2018,p. 151.
  33. ^Michalowski 1993,p. 159.
  34. ^abKrebernik & Lisman 2020,p. 23.
  35. ^Krebernik & Lisman 2020,p. 9.
  36. ^Krebernik & Lisman 2020,p. 41.
  37. ^Krebernik & Lisman 2020,p. 132.
  38. ^abcPeterson 2014,p. 309.
  39. ^Selz 1995,p. 137.
  40. ^George 1993,p. 6.
  41. ^Bartelmus 2017,p. 310.
  42. ^Frankena 1971,p. 384.
  43. ^abKrul 2018,p. 73.
  44. ^Krul 2018,p. 75.
  45. ^Peterson 2014,pp. 303–304.
  46. ^Peterson 2014,p. 306.
  47. ^Peterson 2014,pp. 308–309.
  48. ^Peterson 2014,p. 304.
  49. ^Peterson 2014,p. 305.
  50. ^abcWalker 1983,p. 145.
  51. ^Walker 1983,pp. 145–146.
  52. ^Walker 1983,pp. 146–147.
  53. ^Walker 1983,p. 147.
  54. ^Samet 2014,p. 65.
  55. ^abSamet 2014,p. 107.
  56. ^Foster 2005,p. 555.
  57. ^Foster 2005,p. 482.
  58. ^Lambert 2013,p. 130.
  59. ^Lambert 2013,p. 131.
  60. ^Lambert 2013,p. 491.
  61. ^Foster 2005,p. 779.
  62. ^Foster 2005,p. 780.

Bibliography

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