The Old Testament In the Light of The Historical Records and Legends Part 40

At the end are the seal-impressions of the two scribes.

The Loan To Make Up The Sum Required To Purchase The Property.

"1- mana 8- shekels of silver of Iddina-Marduk, son of Ikia, descendant of Nur-Sin, upon (= due from) Abil-Addu-nathanu, son of Addia, and Bunanitu, his wife. It increases to them monthly at the rate of 1 shekel of silver upon each mana. They shall pay the interest from the month Sivan of the 5th year of Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon. The silver was the balance of the silver for the price of a house, which was paid to Iba. They shall pay the interest monthly."

After the names of two witnesses and the scribe comes the date-

"Barsip (Borsippa), month Iyyar, day 3rd, year 5th, Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon."

As this tablet was written two years and three months after the house at Borsippa was bought, it is clear that the money had been advanced, but the indebtedness of Abil-Addu-nathanu had not been placed, until the date of the second tablet, on a legal footing. Probably he intended to pay the money, but had not the wherewithal, and this being the case, the lender agreed to allow the debt to remain unpaid, stipulating only that the interest should be paid at the usual rate of one mana upon every mana monthly. As will be seen from the other doc.u.ments, the princ.i.p.al was not paid for many years after this. There is no record whether any payment of interest had been made in the meanwhile, but, in any case, the rate is far beyond what at the present time is considered fair.

A First Payment Made After The Death Of Abil-Addu-Nathanu.

This is a small tablet similar in shape to the last, and is now preserved in the Museum of Art at New York.

"8 shekels of silver Iddina-Marduk, son of Ikia, descendant of Nur-Sin, has received from the hands of Bunanitu, with the first payment, which (has been made) since the death of Ablada-nathanu, her husband, from the interest of his money. In the presence of Tabnea, son of Nabu-a?e-iddina, descendant of the priest of ...; Nabu-kain-abli, son of Marduk-um-ibni, descendant of Dannu-Nabu. Barsip (Borsippa), month Adar, day 18th, year 8th, Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon.

"There is to be no abatement (?)."

As the loan was contracted in the second year of Nabonidus, it cannot be said that Iddina-Marduk had been by any means pressing in the matter. The numerous doc.u.ments which exist show that the Babylonians were good at making contracts, but they were probably not so strict in keeping them, and certainly not so merciless (to judge from the history here unfolded) as the people of the modern West in enforcing them.

The phonetic spelling of the name of the husband, Ablada-nathanu, is interesting, as it shows the Babylonian p.r.o.nunciation. Ben-Addu-nathan, however, was a possible form, and may have been even a fairly common one.

The Legal Action After The Death Of Abil-Addu-Nathanu.

"Bunanitu, daughter of ?ari?aa, said thus to the judges of Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon-

" 'Abil-Addu-nathan, son of Nikmadu', had me to wife, and he took 3- mana of silver as my dowry, and one daughter I bore to him. I and Abil-Addu-nathan, my husband, traded with the silver of my dowry, and we bought 8 canes, a built house, the territory of a large property,(143) which was within Barsip, for 9-2/3 of a mana of silver, with 2- mana of silver which was from Iddina-Marduk, son of Ikia, descendant of Nur-Sin, as balance, and we fixed (it) as the price of that house, and we paid and received it together. In the 4th year of Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon, I made an agreement with Abil-Addu-nathan, my husband, concerning my dowry, and Abil-Addu-nathan, in the kindness of his heart, sealed the 8 canes, (and) that house which is within Barsip, and bequeathed it to me for future days, and on my tablet made it known thus: '2- mana of silver, which Abil-Addu-nathan and Bunanitu took from Iddina-Marduk, and paid as the price of that house, they received together.' He sealed that tablet, and wrote thereon the curse of the great G.o.ds. In the 5th year of Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon, I and Abil-Addu-nathan, my husband, took Abil-Addu-amara as our son, and wrote the tablet of his sons.h.i.+p, and made known 2 mana 10 shekels of silver and the furniture of a house as the dowry of Nubta, my daughter. Fate took my husband, and now Aqabi-ilu, the son of my father-in-law, has laid claim upon the house and everything which had been sealed and bequeathed to me, and upon Nabu-nur-ili, (the slave) whom we had acquired by the hands of Nabu-a?e-iddina for silver. I have brought it before you, make a decision.

"The judges heard their words, they read the tablets and contracts which Bunanitu brought before them, and they caused Aqabi-ilu not to have power over the house at Barsip, which had been bequeathed to Bunanitu instead of her dowry, over Nabu-nur-ili, whom she and her husband had bought for silver, or over anything of Abil-Addu-nathanu; Bunanitu and Abil-Addu-amara, by their tablets, they caused to be confirmed.

Iddina-Marduk pleads for (?), and will receive, the 2- mana of silver which had been given towards the price of that house. Afterwards Bunanitu will receive the 3- mana of silver, her dowry, and her share besides.

Nubta will receive Nabu-nur-ili, according to the contracts of her father.

"By the decision of this judgment.

"Nergal-banu-nu, the judge, son of the builder; "Nabu-a?e-iddina, the judge, son of egibi; "Nabu-um-ukin, the judge, son of Irani; "Bel-a?e-iddina, the judge, son of ...

"Bel-e?ir, the judge, son of ...

"Nabu-bala?-su-iqbi, the judge, son of ...

"Nadinu, the scribe, son of ...

"Nabu-um-ikun, the scribe, son of the ...

"Babylon, month Elul, day 26th, year 9th, Nabuna'id, king of Babylon."

Two copies of this doc.u.ment exist, neither of them being the original.

They were probably made for persons interested in the result of the judgment.

It has been suggested that the claim of Aqabi-ilu to all his brother's property was based upon the fact that he was the eldest of the family.

This, however, is hardly likely to have been the case, the Babylonian law concerning the wife's dowry-_i.e._ that it was her own in any event-being clear and incontrovertible. The probability therefore is, that he claimed the property hoping that she might not be able to prove her right. The clear statements of this doc.u.ment, and the common-sense judgment delivered by Nabonidus's judges are full of simplicity and dignity, and show well the Babylonian character.

The Final Repayment Of The Loan To Iddina-Marduk.

A tablet recording the payment of interest has already been translated (p.

461), and from that it would seem that no repayment on account of the money lent to Abil-Addu-nathanu and Bunanitu took place until after the former's death. When the last payment was made is unknown, but it must have been some time after the lawsuit. From the portion of the tablet recording it, it would seem that the amount remaining to be paid was 2 mana and 10 shekels, which was paid jointly by Abil-Addu-amari and "Bunaniti, his mother," who probably lived on the property with him and her daughter.

Thus ends the life-story of this Babylonian family, as far as at present known.

In addition to the names Abil-addu-nathanu and Abil-Addu-amara (or -amari), both of which contain the name of the deity Abil-Addu or Ben-Hadad, the name of the brother, Aqabi-ilu, is interesting. It is naturally a synonym of a Hebrew name found under the form of Aqabi-yawa, the Talmudic Aqabiah, with _-yawa_ or _-iawa_ for _-iah_, as in aniawa, which appears on p. 458.

e-Sagila-Ramat And Her Father-In-Law's Slave.

"Ikia, son of Kudurru, descendant of Nur-Sin, sealed a tablet of adoption for Remanni-Bel, his slave, whose name is called Remut, for the giving of his food and his clothing. Remanni-Bel, whose name is called Remut, after he had sealed the tablet of his adoption, ran away, and he did not give him food, oil, and clothing. e-sagila-ramat, daughter of Zeria, descendant of Nabaa, wife of Iddina-Marduk, son of Ikia, descendant of Nur-Sin, reverenced him, feared him, and befriended him, and gave him food, oil, and clothing. Ikia, son of Kudurru, descendant of Nur-Sin, in the joy of his heart, annulled the tablet of the adoption of Remanni-Bel, and sealed and bequeathed him to e-sagila-ramat and Nubta, her daughter, daughter of Iddina-Marduk, descendant of Nur-Sin. He shall reverence e-sagila-ramat and Nubta, her daughter. Afterwards e-sagila-ramat shall leave him to Nubta, her daughter. Whoever changes these words, and destroys the contract Ikia has drawn up and given to e-sagila-ramat and Nubta, her daughter, may Merodach and Zer-panitum command his destruction."

The names of four witnesses and the scribe follow. Date: "Babylon, month Iyyar, day 9th, year 13th, Nabu-na'id, king of Babylon." Postscript: "At the sitting of Bissa, daughter of Ikia, descendant of Nur-Sin."

From this it would seem that Ikia made Remanni-Bel his heir, freeing him from the position of a bondsman, in exchange for his (Ikia's) keep, but that Remanni-Bel, declining the advantage and the responsibility, ran away, whereupon the burden fell upon Ikia's daughter-in-law, e-sagila-ramat. This the last-named seems to have undertaken willingly, and in return, Ikia annulled Remanni-Bel's adoption, and bequeathed him, as a slave, to e-sagila-ramat and her daughter. Means probably existed for bringing back the runaway, when the news of his return to his old condition would be communicated to him. e-sagila-ramat's husband, Iddina-Marduk, is the one who advanced to Abil-Addu-nathanu and Bunanitu the money to make up the price of their house.

Iddina-Nabu Sells His Egyptian Slave And Her Infant.

"Iddina-Nabu, son of Muezib-Bel, has cheerfully sold Nanaa-ittia, his slave, and her daughter, a child of three months, Egyptians captured by his bow, for 2 mana of silver, the complete price, to Itti-Marduk-bala?u, son of Nabu-a?e-iddina, descendant of egibi. Iddina-Nabu has received the money, 2 mana of silver, the price of Nanaa-ittia and her daughter, from the hands of Itti-Marduk-bala?u. Iddina-Nabu guarantees against the existence of any liability of defeasor (?), legal claimant, royal service, or freedmans.h.i.+p with regard to Nanaa-ittia and her daughter."

Here come the names of four witnesses and the scribe.

"Babylon, month Kisleu, day 23rd, year 6th, Kambuzia (Cambyses), king of Babylon.

"Besides the contract of 240 gur of fruit, from Itti-Marduk-bala?u, which was unto (or due from) Iddina-Nabu."

This doc.u.ment may be held to testify to the reality of Cambyses' campaign in Egypt, which took place in his 5th year (525 B.C.). It is also a proof that the Babylonians took part in the campaign.

It is noteworthy that three copies of this doc.u.ment exist, one being in the British Museum, another in the Museum of Art at New York, and the third in the museum founded by the late Sir Henry Peek at Lyme Regis. The tablet recording the contract for the 240 gur of fruit also exists, and is preserved in the British Museum.

Among the tablets of the time of Nabonidus, translations of all the records known which refer to the family of Ben-Hadad-nathan or Abil-Addu-nathanu have been given, and examination of the numerous other tablets of the reigns of his predecessors and his successors down to the time of Darius, and perhaps Xerxes, shows that similar more or less complete family histories could be made. One of the most interesting of these, and the most complete on account of the number of doc.u.ments (by far the greater number of the contracts from Babylon and its neighbourhood, of the period to which he belongs, contain his name) are those referring to irku, a tablet from whose slave Daan-bel-u?ur has been given above (p.