Go to Related Reading
About this book

Surpu

Sumerian and Akkadian Incantations

About this book
Chapter 3

The effect of any oath this man, son of his god, is under, Asalluḫi, exorcist among the gods, will undo; the oath of father and mother he is under, the oath of his father’s father, the oath of his mother’s mother, the oath of brother or sister, the oath of seven generations of his father’s house he is under, the oath of old or young, the oath of family or in-laws, the oath of offspring or sucklings, the oath of friend or companion, the oath of comrade or associate, true or false oath, heavy or light oath, the oath: to invoke the name of the god holding a spade, the oath of bellows or stove, the oath: to stretch out one’s hands toward a lamp, the oath: to invoke the name of the god holding a lamp, the oath that fire was thrown in front of this man, the oath of cup or table, the oath of bed or couch, the oath: to drink water from an unfired clay cup, the oath: to set something aside for the god but ask again for it, the oath: to sit on a seat facing the sun, the oath: to pronounce a judgement for bribe, the oath: to tear up grass in the plain, the oath: to break reeds in the marsh, the oath of bow or chariot, the oath of sword or spear, the oath of lance or arrow, the oath: to strike the cheek of an animal, the oath: to crush a clod or throw a clod into the water, the oath: that a cult lamp? was placed in front of this man, the oath of road or path, the oath: to swear faithfulness to a friend, but kill him, the oath: to slaughter a sheep but misuse the cuts, the oath: to show the symbolic pestle in the assembly, the oath of the cymbals or harp, the oath: to ask on a dark day, but deny it, the oath: to ask for a promised thing, but deny it, the oath: to tear out a clod in the field, the oath: to invoke the name of the god holding a plow, the oath that the man has asked in the vicinity of the stable or the animals, the oath: to swear by Šamaš at sunrise, the oath: to invoke the name of the god while making the prayer gesture with unclean hands, the oath of protective spirit or protecting goddess, the oath of tamarisk or date-palm, the oath of boat or river, the oath of harbor or ferry, the oath of canal or bridge, the oath that the man has set out on a journey, the oath that the mann has touched a pitchfork in the river, the oath: to draw a shovel in … …, the oath: to sprinkle his hand and a frontier, the oath: to fix a boundary, but change it, the oath: to promise, but change one’s word, the oath: to transgress the commands of god, the oath: to dam up an open ditch, the oath: to eat stolen meat, the oath: to listen to a wicked person, but deny it, the oath: to mark frontier or boundary, the oath: to overturn a chariot but touch its equipment, the oath: to drink water from a ṣarṣaru-vase, the oath: to urinate or vomit into a river, the oath of the Ṣalīḫu-river or the canals, the oath of mountain or ravine, the oath of source or torrent, the oath of pass or .., the oath of ram, owl, or frog, the oath: to pull out a reed from its bundle, the oath: to break down door or bolt, the oath: to show a weapon in the assembly, the oath of Ninurta, lord of the censer, the oath of chapel or shrine, the oath of dais or throne, the oath of Silakku or Barittu, the oath of Bēlili, the always weeping one, the oath of Manungal, the snatcher, the oath of Kilili looking out of the windows, the oath of Gazbaba, the always laughing one, the oath of Abtagigi, goddess of news, the oath of Lady of the city-wall and crenels, the oath of the …-demons of the corners, the oath of the open altar or its socle, the oath of the laughing protective spirits, the oath of the demons who chase around, the oath of the ghosts, the revenants, the oath of the lurking-demons who sneak around, the oath of drum and kettle-drum, the oath of timbrel and cymbals, the oath of lyre, harp and timbūtu-harp, the oath of lute and pipe, the oath of pit or ditch, the oath: to invoke the name of god holding a torch, the oath: to throw grain into the mill, but pull it out?, the oath: to roast salt and cress in fire, the oath: to retaliate against someone, the oath: to put the breast into the mouth of a small child, the oath: to cause the drying up of the breast, the oath: …, the oath: … and invoke the name of god, the oath of holy eve and …, the oath of holy day and …, the oath of night …, the oath of Sîn …, the oath of Šamaš …, the oath of Ninurta …, the oath of Ningiršu …, the oath of Nusku …, the oath of the Igigi …, the oath of the Anunnaki, great gods …, the oath of the gods of the night, the oath of Ea, lord of wise understanding, the oath of heaven and earth, the oath that he mentioned the patron god of the day, the oath of day, month or year, the oath of nadītu-priestess or qadištu-woman, the oath of …-priest or high-priestess, the oath of skipping-rope or ankle-bell, the oath of barley or silver, the oath of cattle and wild animals, the oath of thorns and thistles, the oath of pair or team, the oath of hunger or hardship, the oath that the name of god was invoked before this man, the oath that this man has seen bad luck, the oath that bad luck entered into the home of this man, the oath: to go down into a magic circle at sunlight, the oath that an accursed man touched this man, the oath: to stretch out his hand to his god or goddess when accursed, the oath: to talk to an accursed man, the oath: to eat an accursed man’s food, the oath: to drink an accursed man’s water, the oath: to drink an accursed man’s leftovers, the oath: to talk to a sinner, the oath: to eat a sinner’s food, the oath: to drink a sinner’s water, the oath: to drink a sinner’s leftovers, the oath: to intercede for a sinner, the oath: to carry, but swear to the opposite, the oath: to take, but swear to the opposite, the oath of sin or interdict, the oath: to commit neglect, the oath of error or crime, the oath of lie or blasphemy, the oath of lamp or stove, the oath of the Lord of the poplar or the Euphrates, the oath of throne or assembly, the oath of dead or living, the oath of wronged man or wronged woman, the oath he knows or does not know; the oath of Anu and Antu, the oath of Enlil and Ninlil, the oath of Ea and Damkina, the oath of Sîn and Ningal, the oath of Šamaš and Aya, the oath of Adad and Šala, the oath of Marduk and Ṣarpanītu, the oath of Nabû and Tašmētu, the oath of Ninurta and Bēlet-Nippuri, the oath of Damu and Gula, the oath of Ningirsu and Bau, the oath of Birdu and Bēbi, the oath of Nusku and Sadarnunna, the oath of … and mountains, the oath of …, the oath of …, the oath of Nin…, the oath of Papsukka…, the oath of the ‘Seven’ …, the oath of day and night, the oath of the gods …, any oath …. The sin of father or mother,⁠ the sin of his father’s father or his mother’s mother, the sin of brother or sister, the sin of friend or companion, the sin of family or in-laws, the sin of late offspring or sucklings, the sin of dead or living, the sin of wronged man or wronged woman, the sin he knows and the sin he does not know,⁠ Asalluḫi, exorcist among the gods, will undo. The committing of assault or violence.

Texts in conversation

Compare Surpu III and Leviticus 5:17

Ancient Near East, Babylonian · Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

Leviticus 5 requires those who sin unknowingly to still make atonement, following ancient Near Eastern tradition such as in the Surpu tablet, which similarly accounts for those who commit sin unknowingly.

Passages

Surpu III

Ancient Near East, Babylonian · Sumerian and Akkadian Incantations
The sin of father or mother, the sin of his father’s father or his mother’s mother, the sin of brother or sister, the sin of friend or companion, the sin of family or in-laws, the sin of late offspring or sucklings, the sin of dead or living, the sin of wronged man or wronged woman, the sin he knows and the sin he does not know, Asalluḫi, exorcist among the gods, will undo. The committing of assault or violence.
1200 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Surpu

Leviticus 5:17

Hebrew Bible
16 And whatever holy thing he violated he must restore and must add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest will make atonement on his behalf with the guilt-offering ram, and he will be forgiven. 17 “If a person sins and violates any of the Lord’s commandments that must not be violated (although he did not know it at the time, but later realizes he is guilty), then he will bear his punishment for iniquity 18 and must bring a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels, for a guilt offering to the priest. So the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his error that he committed (although he himself had not known it), and he will be forgiven. 19 It is a guilt offering; he was surely guilty before the Lord.”
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Leviticus

References

"... In the Priestly Source, all sins are confessed collectively on an annual basis, as we learn in Leviticus 16:21. The sins of Leviticus 5, which were not committed completely unwittingly, require, an additional confession as stated ... Comparable circumstances can be detected in Šurpu, although this source contains a much longer list of offenses. Similar to what we had observed for P, the types of transgressions listed are broad and include offenses committed either on purpose, unwittingly or through carelessness. While it is true that some sins of the catalogue cannot be committed unknowingly, such as shedding the neighbor’s blood or sleeping with the neighbor’s wife (Šurpu II 48 – 49), Šurpu also lists sins which might have been committed unwittingly or through carelessness. This is the case, for example, when the supplicant sins by coming into contact with an accursed person (Šurpu II 98–103). The claim that this list of potential transgressions is deliberately vague and also includes unknown sins is supported by the concluding line of the catalogue, “The sin he knows, the sin he does not know” (Šurpu III 183). In short, Šurpu was phrased to include as many potential transgressions as possible ..."
Isabel Cranz, Atonement and Purification: Priestly and Assyro-Babylonian Perspectives on Sin and Its Consequences (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017), 48.

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

Your feedback

Surpu III and Leviticus 5:17

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library