ed, and Ziusudu, standing beside
it, apparently hears a voice, which bids him take his stand beside
a wall and then conveys to him the warning of the coming flood. The
destruction of mankind had been decreed in "the assembly (of the gods)"
and would be carried out by the commands of Anu and Enlil. Before the
text breaks off we again have a reference to the "kingdom" and "its
rule", a further trace of the close association of the Deluge with the
dynastic succession in the early traditions of Sumer.

In the opening words of the warning to Ziusudu, with its prominent
repetition of the word "wall", we must evidently trace some connexion
with the puzzling words of Ea in the Gilgamesh Epic, when he begins his
warning to Ut-napishtim. The warnings, as given in the two versions, are
printed below in parallel columns for comparison.(1) The Gilgamesh Epic,
after relating how the great gods in Shuruppak had decided to send a
deluge, continues as follows in the right-hand column:

SUMERIAN VERSION SEMITIC VERSION

For (. . .) . . . the gods a Nin-igi-azag,(2) the god Ea,
. . . (. . .); sat with them,
Ziusudu standing at its side And he repeated their word to
heard (. . .): the house of reeds:
"At the wall on my left side take "Reed-hut, reed-hut! Wall,
thy stand and (. . .), wall!
At the wall I will speak a word O reed-hut, hear! O wall,
to thee (. . .). understand!
O my devout one . . . (. . .), Thou man of Shuruppak, son of
Ubar-Tutu,
By our hand(?) a flood(3) . . . Pull down thy house, build a
(. . .) will be (sent). ship,
To destroy the seed of mankind Leave thy possessions, take
(. . .) heed for thy life,
Is the decision, the word of the Abandon thy property, and save
assembly(4) (of the gods) thy life.
The commands of Anu (and) And bring living seed of every
En(lil . . .) kind into the ship.
Its kingdom, its rule (. . .) As for the ship, which thou
shalt build,
To his (. . .)" Of which the measurements
shall be carefully measured,
(. . .) Its breadth and length shall
correspond.
(. . .) In the deep shal