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river which also "rises" or overflows, to form four rivers including the 
Tigris and Euphrates.  It too is lush and has fruit bearing trees. (Gen. 
2:9-10) In the second version of the creation of man "The Lord God formed
man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of
life, and so man became a living being."  Enki and Ninmah (Ninhursag) use
a similar method in creating man.  Nammu, queen of the abyss and Enki's
mother, bids Enki to "Kneed the 'heart' of the clay that is over the Abzu
" and "give it form" (Kramer & Maier p. 33)  From there the similarities
cease as the two create several malformed humans and then the two deities
get into an argument.

    Returning to Enki and Ninhursag, we find a possible parallel to the
creation of Eve.  Enki consumed the plants that were Ninhursag's children
and so was cursed by Ninhursag, receiving one wound for each plant
consumed.  Enlil and a fox act on Enki's behalf to call back Ninhursag in
order to undo the damage.  She joins with him again and bears eight new
children, each of whom are the cure to one of his wounds.  The one who
cures his rib is named Ninti, whose name means the Queen of months,
(Kramer & Maier 1989: pp. 28-30) the lady of the rib, or she who makes
live.  This association carries over to Eve. (Kramer, History Begins at
Sumer 1981: pp. 143-144)  In Genesis, Eve is fashioned from Adam's rib and
her name hawwa is related to the Hebrew word hay or living. (New American
Bible p. 7.)  The prologue of "Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Underworld" may
contain the predecessor to the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  This
tree not only contains a crafty serpent, but also Lilith, the legendary
first wife of Adam.  The huluppu tree is transplanted by Inanna from the
banks of the Euphrates to her garden in Uruk, where she finds that:

	...a serpent who could not be charmed 
	made its nest in the roots of the tree, 
	The Anzu bird set his young in the branches of the tree, 
	And the dark maid Lilith built her home in the trunk. 
(Wolkstein and Kramer 1983: p. 8)

It should be noted that Kramer's interpretation that this creature is
Lilith has come into quiestion of late.  See 
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Topics/Lilith/relief_question.html#KRAEMERCRIT

  Another possible Sumerian carry-over related to the Fall of man is the 
lack of "pangs of childbearing" for those in Dilmun.  In particular, 
Ninhursag gives birth in nine days, not nine months, and the pass "like 
good princely cream" (Kramer 1981: p. 142,145) or "fine oil" (Kramer & 
Maier 1989: p. 25)

  The quarrels between herder god and farmer deity pairs such as Lahar 
and Ashnan or Enten and Emesh are similar in some respects to the quarrels 
of Cain and Abel.  In the Sumerian versions death appears to be avoided, 
although we do not have the complete Lahar and Ashnan story.  (Kramer 1961 
pp. 49-51, 53-54)

  The ten patriarchs in Genesis born prior to the flood lived very long 
lives, most in excess of 900 years.  The seventh patriarch, Enoch, lived 
_only_ 365 years before he "walked with God". (Genesis 5)  The eight 
antediluvian kings of in the Sumerian King List also lived for hundreds 
of years. (Kramer 1963 p. 328)

  The clearest Biblical parallel comes from the story of the Flood.  In 
the Sumerian version, the pious Ziusudra is informed of the gods decision 
to destroy mankind by listening to a wall.  He too weathers the deluge 
aboard a huge boat.  Noah's flood lasts a long time, but Ziusudra comes 
to rest within seven days and not the near year of the Bible.  He does not
receive a covenant, but is given eternal life.  (Kramer 1963 
pp. 163-164; Kramer 1961 pp. 97-98)

  As far as the New Testament goes, many also draw a parallel between 
Dumuzi and Jesus because Dumuzi is a shepherd and he is resurrected from 
the dead.  This is perhaps appealing to some as Dumuzi's Akkadian analog, 
Tammuz, appears in the Bible, however Dumuzi's periodic return from the 
underworld is not unique even in Sumerian literature.  His sister, 
Geshtinanna, also rises from the dead, and if one counts those born as 
deities, Inanna does as well.  Periodic death and rebirth is a common theme 
in agricultural myths where the return of the deities from the earth mirrors 
a return to life of plants.    

VII. Sources

Black, Jeremy and Green, Anthony, _Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient 
  Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary_, University of Texas Press, 
  Austin, 1992.  This up-to-date and thorough resource on Mesopotamian 
  mythology has great photos and illustrations by Tessa Rickards and 
  very useful entries which often indicate the times and places when 
  variant tales were current. My only complaint is that it is not always 
  clear whether information in an entry is applicable to the Sumerian, 
  Akkadian, or both versions of a particular deity or hero. 
Crawford, Harriet, _Sumer and the Sumerians_, Cambridge University Press,
  Cambridge, 1991.  (This is a briefer but more up to date archaeological
  look at the Sumerians than you'll find with Kramer.  There isn't much 
  mythic content in this one, but there are many wonderful figures 
  detailing city plans, and the structure of temples and other 
  buildings.) 
Kramer, Samuel Noah, and Maier, John, _Myths of Enki, the Crafty God_,
  Oxford University Press, New York,1989.  The most recent work that 
  I've been able to find by Kramer.  They translate and analyze all
  of the availible myths which include Enki.  I've only seen it availible
  in hardcover and I haven't seen it in a bookstore yet. 
Kramer, Samuel Noah, _Sumerian Mythology_, Harper & Brothers, New York,
  1961.  This slim volume contains much of the mythological material that
  wound up in _The Sumerians_ but concentrated in one spot and without
  much cultural or historical detail.  Many of the myths are more developed 
  here, some of which are only glossed over in _The Sumerians_, however in 
  some cases _The Sumerians_ holds the more complete or updated myth. 
Kramer, Samuel Noah _The Sumerians_ The University of Chicago Press, 
  Chicago,1963.  This is a more thorough work than Kramer's
  Section at the end of _Inanna_, but the intervening 20 or so years  
  of additional research and translation allow  _Inanna_'s section   
  to be perhaps more complete, regarding mythology.
Wolkstein, Diane and Kramer, Samuel Noah, _Inanna: Queen of Heaven and 
  Earth_, Harper & Row, NY, 1983.  Ms. Wolkstein's verse      
  translations of the Inanna/Dummuzi cycle of myths are excellent,    
  and Kramer gives a 30 or so page description of Sumerian cosmology    
  and society at the end. 
_The New American Bible_, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, 
  1970. 

VIII. Other books of interest

Algaze, Guillermo, "The Uruk Expansion", Current Anthropology, Dec.
  1989.  This article helped with the introduction material. 
Hooke, S. H. _Middle Eastern Mythology_, Penguin Books, New York, 
  1963.
  This work covers Sumerian, Babylonian, Canaanite/Ugaritic, Hittite, 
  and Hebrew mythologic material in brief and with comparisons. 
Fagan, B. M., _People of the Earth_, Glenview Il, Scott Forsman, 
  1989.  This archaeology text book helped provide some of the
  introductory material. 
Jacobsen, Thorkild, _The Treasures of Darkness_, Yale University Press,
  New Haven, 1976.  A good alternative to Kramer, Jacobsen explores
  Mesopotamian religious development from early Sumerian times through
  the Babylonian Enuma Elish.  Most of the book winds up being on
  the Sumerians. 
Kramer, Samuel Noah, _History Begins at Sumer_, University of 
  Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1981.  This text runs through a bunch
  of "firsts" that Kramer attributes to the Sumerians.  I only looked at 
  it briefly, but it seemed to contain about the same information as    
  was in _The Sumerians_ only in a "Wow neat!" format instead of    
  something more coherent. 
Pritchard J. B., _Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament_,
  Princeton, 1955.  I understand that there is a later edition of this
  work.  It seems to be the authoritative source for all complete texts
  of the Sumerians, Babylonians, Canaanites, Hittites, and perhaps 
  other groups as well.  It's pricy but many libraries have a copy. 
Stephenson, Neal, _Snowcrash_, Bantam Books, New York, 1992.  Cyberpunk 
  meets "Inanna, Enki, and the "me"". 
Wooley, C. Leonard, _Excavations at Ur_, 1954.  This is one of the 
  earlier works on the subject, and as such is not as complete as 
  the others although it is of historical interest. 

See also the Assyro-Babylonian Mythology FAQ.

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