t always know the
exact pronunciation to be assigned to them. Thus, in English, the
ideograph + may be pronounced "plus," "added to," or "more," according to
the pleasure of the reader. The Assyrian scribes usually attached one or
more phonetic characters to the ideographs they employed, in order to
indicate their pronunciation in a given passage; but these "phonetic
complements," as they are termed, were frequently omitted in the case of
well-known proper names, such as those of the native kings and deities.
Hence the exact pronunciation of these names can only be settled when we
find them written phonetically; and there are one or two proper names,
such as that of the hero of the great Chaldean epic, which have never yet
been met with phonetically spelt.

Another disadvantage due to the hieroglyphic origin of the Assyrian
syllabary is the number of different phonetic values the same character
may bear. This caused a good deal of trouble in the early days of Assyrian
decipherment; but it was a difficulty that was felt quite as much by the
Assyrians themselves as it is by us. Consequently they adopted various
devices for overcoming it; and as these devices have become known the
difficulty has ceased to be felt. In short, the study of Assyrian now
reposes on as sure and certain a basis as the study of any ancient
language, a knowledge of which has been traditionally handed down to us;
and the antiquity of its monuments, the copiousness of its vocabulary, the
perfection of its grammar, and the syllabic character of the writing--which
expresses vowels as well as consonants--all combine to make it of the
highest importance for the study of the Semitic languages. Its recovery
has not only shed a flood of light on the history and antiquities of the
Old Testament, it has served to illustrate and explain the language of the
Old Testament as well.

CHAPTER II. THE BOOK OF GENESIS.

Recent discoveries, especially in Babylonia and Assyria, have
thrown much light on Genesis.--The Accadians.--An Assyrian account
of the Creation.--The Babylonian Sabbath.--Traces of an account of
the Fall.--Site of Paradise.--"Adam" a Babylonian word.--The Chaldean
story of the Deluge.--This compared with the record in Genesis.--The
Babylonian account of the building of Babel.--The light thrown by
the Assyrian inscriptions on the names in Gen. x.--Gomer; Madai;
Javan; Cush and Mizraim; Phut; Canaan; Elam; As