NOTES from Malamat's "A Forerunner of Biblical Prophecy: The Mari Documents
1. A. Malamat, "Prophecy in the Mari Documents," EI 4 (1956) 74-84 (Hebrew; English summary, pp. vif.); idem, "History and Prophetic Vision in a Mari Letter," EI 5 (1958) 67-73 (Hebrew; English summary, pp. 86*f.); idem, "Prophetic Revelations in New Documents from Mari and the Bible," VTSup 15 (1966) 207-27; idem, "A Mari Prophecy and Nathan's Dynastic Oracle," Prophecy: Essays Presented to G. Fohrer (ed. J. A. Emerton; BZAW 150; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1980) 68-82.
2. We list here only general works on the entire corpus of "prophetic" materials and not studies of individual Mari documents: E. Ellermeier, Prophetie in Mari und Israel (Herzberg: Verlag Erwin Jungler, 1968); W L. Moran, "New Evidence from Mari on the History of Prophecy," Bib 50 (1969) 15-56; idem, ANET (3) 623-25, 629-32; H. B. Huffmon, "Prophecy in the Mari Letters," BAR, 3 199-224; J. E Craghan, "The ARM X `Prophetic' Texts: Their Media, Style and Structure," JANESCU 6 (1974) 39-57; E. Noort, Untersuchungen zum Gottesbescheid in Mari (AOAT 202; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1977); R. R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980) 98-115; A. Schmitt, Prophetischer Gottesbescheid in Mari and Israel (BWANT 6/14; Stuttgart: Kohlhammer Verlag, 1982); I. Nakata, Acta Sumerologica 4 (1982) 143-48.
3. See J. Margueron, "Rapport preliminaire sur la campagne de 1979," M.A.R.I. 1 (1982) 9-30; "... de 1980," ibid., 2 (1983) 9-35; "... de 1982," ibid., 3 (1984) 8-14, 197-206. On the archive of Asqudum discovered on the site, see now D. Charpin, "Les archives du devin Asqudum dans la residence du `chantier A'" M.A.R.I. 4 (1985) 453-62.
4. The texts have recently been collected by S. Parpola, Letters from Assyrian Scholars to the Kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal (AOAT 5/2; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1983) 2. 486-91. For extispicy in Mesopotamia in general and at Mari in particular, see now I. Starr, The Ritual of the Diviner (Bibliotheca Mesopotamica 12; Malibu, Calif: Undena Publications, 1983), and index s.v. "Mari" (p. 141); and cf. J. Bottero in Divination et rationalite (Paris, 1974) 7-197.
5. See A. Malamat, "The Ban in Mari and the Bible," Biblical Essays - Proceedings of the 9th Meeting of Die Ou-Testamentliche Werkgemeenskap in Suid Africa (1966) 40-49; idem, "Mari," BA 34 (1971) 18-21; E. A. Speiser, "Census and Ritual Expiation in Mari and Israel," JBL 79 (1960) 157-63; M. Held, "Philological Notes on the Covenant Rituals," BASOR 200 (1970) 32-37; and see now H. Tadmor, "Treaty and Oath in the Ancient Near East: A Historian's Approach," Humanizing America's Iconic Book: SBL Centennial Addresses 1980 (ed. G. M. Tucker and D. A. Knight; SBL Centennial Publications; Chico, Calif.: Scholars Press, 1982) 127-35.
6. An exception is J. M. Sasson's remark in his review of Noort's book (above, n. 2) in Afo 27 (1980) 130a.
7. Noort (Untersuchungen zum Gottesbescheid, 24ff.) rejects the characteristics mentioned below as typical of prophesying at Mari and accordingly denies any relationship to biblical prophecy. But his approach is too extreme in requiring every single characteristic to appear in each and every "prophetic" text. He has been justifiably criticized by, e.g., I. Nakata, JAOS 102 (1982) 166-68.
8. This identification has gained currency ever since the overemphasis on the Canaanite origin of early Israelite prophecy by G. Holscher, Die Profeten (Leipzig, 1914), and cf. J. Lindblom, Prophecy in Ancient Israel (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1962) 47, 105ff. In contrast, subsequent scholars occasionally pointed out the continuity of certain early elements through the period of classical prophecy; see, e.g., M. Haran, "From Early to Classical Prophecy: Continuity and Change," VT 27 (1977) 385-97 (with previous literature).
9. The question of center and periphery in the status of the prophets has been raised only in recent years under the influence of sociology. See Wilson, Prophecy and Society, which emphasizes the peripheral role of all Mari prophets when compared with the central role of the baru: and see most recently D. L. Petersen, The Roles of Israel's Prophets (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1981). The author considers the nabi' and the hozeh to be "central" in both Israel and Judah, while the ro'eh and the 'is ha'elohim as well as the bene nebi'im ("sons" of the prophets), are regarded as peripheral.
10. This document has recently been joined to the text A 1121, published long ago; see B. Lafont, RA 78 (1984) 7-17. For earlier treatments, see M. Anbar, UF 7 (1975) 517ff. and Malamat, "A Mari Prophecy," 73 and n. 6.
11. Here I fully agree with Noort, Untersuchungen; see his summary on p. 109; I do reject, however, the remarks such as those of Schmitt, Prophetischer Gottesbescheid, 13.
12. The West as a separate sphere of culture from the East (Southern Mesopotamia) with regard to certain basic religious elements has been appreciated by A. L. Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1964) 221ff. For the ecstatic prophesier in Hittite sources, see ANET (3), 395a; for the prophet from Byblos, see most recently A. Cody, "The Phoenician Ecstatic in Wenamun," JEA 65 (1979) 99-106. The author derives the Egyptian word `dd from the West Semitic `dd, which in the Aramaic inscription of Zakkur (see below) designates a type of diviner-prophet, and see Malamat "Prophetic Revelations," 209 and n. 2.
13. For this prophesier, see most recently Wilson, Prophecy and Society, 106-7 with bibliography.
14. For this term and additional bibliographical references, see now CAD Q, 2b.
15. Malamat, "Prophetic Revelations," 210-11 and n. 4, for additional references and earlier literature. Cf. now J. Renger, ZA NF, 25 (1969) 219ff.; CAD M/I 90 including Old Babylonian references outside Mari.
16. J. M. Durand, Textes administratifs des salles 134 et 160 . . . , ARM(T) 21 (1983); J. R. Kupper, Documents administratifs de la salle 135 . . . , ARM(T) 22 (1983); G. Bardet et al., Archives administratives de Mari 1, ARM 23 (1984).
17. Malamat, "History and Prophetic Vision," 71ff.; idem, "Prophetic Revelations," 212f. and n. 2, for the various spellings apillu, aplu, apilum; see now CAD A/II, 170a; idem, "A Mari Prophecy," 68ff.; M. Anbar, RA 75 (1981) 91.
18. Interestingly, compliance with this prophetic demand seems to be alluded to in the female correspondence. Further on in our document the name of Zimri-Lim's "daughter" is given as Erishti-Aya. Indeed, a woman by this name sends several doleful letters to her royal parents from the temple at Sippar; see ARM X 37:15; 43:16; etc. Cf. E R. Kraus, Konigliche Verfugungen in altbabylonischer Zeit (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1984) 98 and n. 224.
19. Malamat, "History and Prophetic Vision," 72-73.
20. Balaam was certainly not a prophesier of the baru type, as was long ago suggested by S. Daiches, "Balaam-a Babylonian baru," H. V. Hilprecht Anniversary Volume (Leipzig, 1909) 60-70. This claim has often been correctly refuted; see recently A. Rofe, The Book of Balaam (Numbers 22:2-24:25) (Jerusalem:Sinor, 1979; Hebrew) 32 n. 53. Offering sacrifices in preparation for deriving the word of the deity as is found in the Balaam pericope is similarly alluded to in the beginning of the Mari texts ARM XIII 23 and A 1221 (cf. Malamat, "A Mari Prophecy," 69-70); it is explicitly mentioned in a "prophetic" document that has so far been published only in French translation, A 455: ". . . One head of cattle and six sheep I will sacrifice. . . ", i.e., seven sacrificial animals. In what follows, a muhhum "arises" and prophesies in the name of Dagan. Compare the seven altars, seven bulls, and seven rams that Balaam had Balak prepare before delivering his oracle (Num 23:29-30).
21. See the Deir `Alla inscription, first combination, line 11; J. Hoftijzer and G. van der Kooij, Aramaic Texts from Deir `Alla (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1976) 180, 212. The editors interpreted `nyh as female answerer indicating a prophetess, following our conclusion about the title apilum at Mari and its relationship to biblical terminology. This opinion has been accepted by Rofe, The Book of Balaam, 67 and n. 33, among others. Indeed, in the dialect of this inscription, verbs with a third weak radical are spelled preserving the yod before the final he, like Hebrew bokiyah (courtesy B. A. Levine). This term has nothing to do with "poor woman," despite the Hebrew homograph `nyh, as various scholars contend; see, e.g., A. Caquot and A. Lemaire, Syria 54 (1977) 200; P K. McCarter, BASOR 234 (1980) 58; H. and M. Weippert, ZDPV98 (1982) 98; J. A. Hackett, The Balaam Text from Deir 'Alla (HSM 31; Chico, Calif.: Scholars Press, 1984) 133 s.v. "`nyh."
22. See J. C. L. Gibson, Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1975) 2.8ff. The author translates the word `ddn as (prophetic?) "messengers" on the basis of `dd in Ugaritic (p. 15), and cf. above n. 12. For a possible connection between prophecy at Mari and at Hamath, see J. F Ross, "Prophecy in Hamath, Israel and Mari," HTR 63 (1970) 1-28.
23. Especially the motifs of gathering into a net and delivering into the hand, which are found frequently in both ancient Near Eastern and biblical literature in connection with vanquishing the enemy; see Malamat, "Prophecy in the Mari Documents," 82, and "Prophetic Revelations," 217£; cf. J. G. Heintz, VTSup 17 (1969) 112-38, who relates these motifs to the "Holy War" in the ancient Near East and the Bible.
24. This has been indicated by, among others, B. Uffenheimer, Early Israelite Prophecy (Jerusalem, 1973; Hebrew) 27, 37; Noort, Untersuchungen 93, 109; and recently J. Blenkinsopp, A History of Prophecy in Israel (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1983) 45. Remarkably, just before the conquest of Mari by Hammurabi there is a noticeable rise in future-telling activities of the barn; see Starr, Ritual of the Diviner, 107.
25. For the "false" prophets and their dependence on the Israelite establishment, see among others M. Buber, Der Glaube der Propheten (Zurich, 1950) 253ff., E L. Hossfeld and I. Meyer, Prophet gegen Prophet (Fribourg: Universitatsverlag, 1973); S. de Vries, Prophet Against Prophet (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978).
26. Moran ("New Evidence from Mari," 20) holds that ARM VI 45 deals with the same event as ARM X 50, while Sasson (Afo 27 [1980] 131b) associates it with ARM X 8. Neither suggestion is compelling. ARM X 50 does not mention a priest by the name of Ahum, while ARM X 8 mentions a prophetess by name but without title, and ARM VI 45 speaks of an anonymous muhhutum. It may be assumed, therefore, that before Ahum, a priest in Mari, both professional and lay prophesiers would occasionally appear.
27. On ARM X 4, and the mode of prophesying, see the recent studies: A. Finet, "Un cas de cledonomancie a Mari," Zikir Sumim (E R. Kraus Festschrift; ed. G. van Driel et al.; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1982) 48-55; J. M. Durand, "In vino veritas," RA 76 (1982) 43-50; M.A.R.I. 3 (1984) 150ff. C. Wilcke, RA 77 (1983) 93.
28. Note, above all, the motif of the gods marching alongside the king in time of war and saving him from his enemies, a motif resembling the intervention of the Lord in the wars of Israel. This involves as well driving the enemy into flight (cf. "Arise, O Lord, and let thy enemies be scattered," Num 10:35; see also Ps 68:2) and eventually decapitating the foe who will be trampled under the foot of the king of Mari. Cf. M. Weinfeld, "Ancient Near Eastern Patterns in Prophetic Literature," VT 27 (1977) 183ff.
29. For this type of oracle, see CAD E, egirru, 45: ". . . oracular utterances . . . which are either accidental in origin (comp. with Greek kledon) or hallucinatory in nature:' For the parallel with Hebrew bat qol, see D. Sperling, "Akkadian egirru and Hebrew bt qwl," Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society of Columbia University 4 (1972) 63-74.
30. See in particular Moran, "New Evidence from Mari," 25-26; Weinfeld, "Ancient Near Eastern Patterns," 181-82.
31. Malamat, "Prophecy in the Mari Documents," 83; "Prophetic Revelations," 221-22 and n. 1 on p. 222, for literature on the dream in the Bible. For the ancient Near East, see the basic study of A. L. Oppenheim, The Interpretation of Dreams in the Ancient Near East (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1956).
32. An exact parallel to these three alternative means of inquiring of the deity may be found in the Plague Prayers of the Hittite King Murshili Il; see ANAT (3), 394b-95a, and S. Herrmann, Die prophetischen Heilserwartungen im Alten Testament (Stuttgart: W Kohlhammer, 1965) 54f.
33. The West Semitic form was pointed out by Held; see apud Craghan, "The ARM X `Prophetic' Texts," 43 n. 32. The standard Akkadian form would be ina suttim sa amuru/attulu; compare a similar West Semitic usage in one of the first prophecies published: ina paniya (lit. "in front of me," meaning "on my way"); Malamat, "Prophecy in the Mari Documents," 81.
34. See Malamat, "Prophetic Revelations," 223ff. The phenomenon of an identical dream recurring several times is known especially from the classical world; see J. S. Hanson, "Dreams and Visions in the Graeco-Roman World and Early Christianity," Aufstieg and Niedergang der Romischen Welt, II, 23/2 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1978) 1411, and the passages from Cicero, De divinatione, cited there.
35. See A. Malamat, Jeremiah Chapter One-The Call and the Visions, lyyunim 21 (Jerusalem, 1954; Hebrew) esp. 39-40.
36. The document was published by G. Dossin, "Le songe d'Ayala," RA 69 (1975) 28-30 (attributed by him to King Yahdunlim!); and see the comments of J. M. Sasson, JAOS 103 (1983) 291. His interpretation of enutum (see below) as "utensils" rather than "priesthood" is unsatisfactory.
37. Divination by bird behavior is a typically Western practice; cf. Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia, 209-10. This practice was especially widespread among the Hittites; see A. Kammenhuber, Orakelpraxis, Traume and Vorzeichenschau bei den Hethitern (Heidelberg: C. Winter, 1976). The book deals only briefly (p. 11) with the kind of bird mentioned in our document: MUSEN HURRI; see for this bird A. Salonen, Vogel and Vogelfang im Alten Mesopotamien (Helsinki, 1973) 143-46; and cf. J. P. McEwan, ZA 70 (1980) 38, 58ff.
38. See CAD A/I1, amaru A 2, p. 13: to learn by experience (especially stative . . .). The stative form with the meaning "experienced" or "trained" is especially prevalent in the Mari idiom, and we may therefore assume the same nuance for the stative of natalu: natlat in our document.
39. Malamat, "Prophecy in the Mari Documents," 81, 84; "Prophetic Revelations," 225ff. and notes. For other explanations, see now Uffenheimer, Early Israelite Prophecy, 29-33; Ellermeier, Prophetie, 97-110; Moran, "New Evidence from Mari," 19-22; Noort, Untersuchungen; and Craghan, "The ARM X `Prophetic' Texts," 53ff. Note in two documents (A 455:25; ARM X 81:18) the illuminating but problematic addition appearing after the dispatch of the hair and hem; in the latter: "let them declare (me) clean" (lizakku); according to Moran, "New Evidence from Mari," 22-23: ". . . it is the haruspex who `tries the case' and it is his response that will in effect declare the prophetesses clean." Cf. now ARM X, 267, ad loc.; Noort, Untersuchungen, 85-86; and S. Dalley et al., The Old Babylonian Tablets from Tell al Rimah (London: British School of Iraq, 1976) 64 f., no. 65.
40. See Moran, "New Evidence from Mari," 22-23; Craghan, 41-42; and H. W. E Saggs, The Encounter with the Divine in Mesopotamia and Israel (London: Athlone Press, 1978) 141.
41. This study was prepared by a grant from the Fund for Basic Research, administered by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and during my term as Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies of the Hebrew University.