Skip to Content
intertextual.bible
Go to Related Reading
About this book

Sumerian King List

About this book

When kingship had come down from heaven, kingship was at Eridu.
At Eridu, Alulim was king; he reigned 28,800 years.⁠
Alalgar reigned 36,000 years.
At Bad-tibira, Enmenluanna reigned 43,200 years.
Enmengalanna reigned 28,800 years.
The divine Dumuzi, the shepherd, reigned 36,000 years.⁠
At Larak, Ensipaziana reigned 28,800 years.
At Sippar, Enmenduranna was king; he reigned 21,000 years.⁠
At Suruppak, Ubartutu was king; he reigned 18,600 years.⁠
Five cities; eight kings ruled 241,200 years.
The flood swept over.⁠

Texts in conversation

How Abel Echoes Dumuzi the Sumerian Shepherd King

Ancient Near East, Sumerian · Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

The Sumerian King List describes Dumuzi as a shepherd who reigned for 36,000 years in the age before the flood. Genesis 4 similarly identifies Abel as a keeper of flocks in the earliest generations of humanity, before the flood wipes out the world.

Passages

Sumerian King List 1:6

Ancient Near East, Sumerian
When kingship had come down from heaven, kingship was at Eridu. At Eridu, Alulim was king; he reigned 28,800 years. Alalgar reigned 36,000 years. At Bad-tibira, Enmenluanna reigned 43,200 years. Enmengalanna reigned 28,800 years. The divine Dumuzi, the shepherd, reigned 36,000 years. At Larak, Ensipaziana reigned 28,800 years. At Sippar, Enmenduranna was king; he reigned 21,000 years. At Suruppak, Ubartutu was king; he reigned 18,600 years. Five cities; eight kings ruled 241,200 years. The flood swept over.
2100 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Sumerian King List

Genesis 4:2

Hebrew Bible
1 Now the man was intimate with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created a man just as the Lord did!” 2 Then she gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground. 3 At the designated time Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering to the Lord. 4 But Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock—even the fattest of them. And the Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

References

“… A model of sorts for the story of Cain and Abel may be found in the Sumerian disputation between Enkimdu and Dumuzi. Cain and Abel are the Bible’s antediluvian prototypes of farmer and shepherd respectively—indeed its vehicle for recalling the domestication of plants and animals. Similarly, Enkimdu and Dumuzi are the prototypical and probably likewise antediluvian farmer and shepherd, respectively, of Sumer. In the perennial struggle to please his god and reap the rewards of piety and good behavior, Sumerian man, like his successors including modern man, was often frustrated by the fickleness or capriciousness of fate. His good behavior went unrewarded, while the misdeeds of his neighbor were not visibly punished. …”
William W. Hallo, The World’s Oldest Literature: Studies in Sumerian Belles-Lettres (Leiden: Brill, 2010), 700.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Your feedback

Sumerian King List 1:6 and Genesis 4:2

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library