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The seventh king in the Sumerian King List, Enmenduranna, ruled Sippar, the city of the sun god. The seventh patriarch in Genesis 5, Enoch, lived exactly 365 years, the number of days in a solar year, before God took him away.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Sumerian King List 1:8
Ancient Near East
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.
Date: c. 2100 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Genesis 5:21
Hebrew Bible
20 The entire lifetime of Jared was 962 years, and then he died. 21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. 23 The entire lifetime of Enoch was 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and then he disappeared because God took him away. 25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech.
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Notes and References
“… An intriguing character in the Sumerian King list is Enmeduranki (Enmeduranna), the king of Sippar, the city of the sun-god Šamaš. In three copies of the List, he occupies the seventh place, which in the Genesis genealogy belongs to Enoch. Moreover, in other Mesopotamian sources Enmeduranki appears in many roles and situations which demonstrate remarkable similarities with Enoch’s story. VanderKam’s research shows that the priestly author responsible for the biblical portrayal of Enoch in Genesis 5:21-24 was aware of these broader Mesopotamian traditions which served as a prototype for Enoch’s figure, whose symbolical age of 365 years reflects the link between the patriarch and the solar cult of Šamaš. …”
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