Mesopotamian Prayer

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Mesopotamian prayer are the

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

s of

ancient Mesopotamia The Civilization of Mesopotamia ranges from the earliest human occupation in the Paleolithic period up to Late antiquity. This history is pieced together from evidence retrieved from archaeological excavations and, after the introduction of writ ...

. There are nine classifications of poem used within Mesopotamia.

Prayers

One definition of prayers of Mesopotamia is "''praise to god followed by request''".Journal of Hebrew Scriptures The ''Journal of Hebrew Scriptures'' is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published by the University of Alberta. It was established in 1996 with Ehud Ben Zvi as the founding editor, and covers the Hebrew Bible and the history of ancient Israel ...

(designation DOI:10.5508/jhs.2012.v12.r17) of"> According to one source (Bromiley) the form of the word, known and used to signify prayers during the Mesopotamian era, is described today as šu-il-lá. With regards to šu-il-lá, the scholars ''Lambert'', ''van der Toorn'' and ''Oshima'' posit an alternative use for the term, which they submit is instead with reference to the way in which a prayer is to be recited, not a general signifier (rubric) for prayer itself (a notion expressed by ''Bromiley'').Journal of Hebrew Scriptures The ''Journal of Hebrew Scriptures'' is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published by the University of Alberta. It was established in 1996 with Ehud Ben Zvi as the founding editor, and covers the Hebrew Bible and the history of ancient Israel ...
(designation DOI:10.5508/jhs.2012.v12.r17) of"/> Šu-il-lá is held to refer to an act of praying, by prayer exhibited by either ''lifting of hands'', ''to lift hands'', or ''to lift the hand''.

Types

Prayers are divided into the following

classifications Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identif ...

Incantation An incantation, spell, charm, enchantment, or bewitchery is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung, or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremonial ri ...

prayers, Ershaḫungas, Gottesbriefe, Ikribus, Royal, Tamitas and other queries,

Hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

, Šigû, and Namburbi.()

Incantation

Tribal specialists in ritual were required to perform incantations to accompany the use of texts known, for example, from Ugarit which are attested to contain ways to aid in the removal of snake-venom. Ugarit is also known to have contained additional health-related incantation texts.

Gottesbriefe

The term ''Gottesbriefe'' is literally, petition-prayers, or letter prayers. ''Gottesbriefe'' is a modern German word. It can be literally translated into both ''God´s letters'' or ''Letters for/to/about God''. They were mostly in the form of pleas for relief from illness and for the deliverance of personal longevity.

Ikribus

These prayers were performed for the purposes of divining. Another source shows ''ikribū'' were benedictions.

Royal

The rulers' (Kings of Babylonia) prayers were made to a variety of

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

, for example

Marduk Marduk (; cuneiform: Dingir, ᵈAMAR.UTU; Sumerian language, Sumerian: "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) is a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of Babylon who eventually rose to prominence in the 1st millennium BC. In B ...

(the god of Babylonia), Nabû, Ŝamaš. The kings had inscribed prayers made onto cylinders made of clay and kept within buildings, in order to fulfill this function. Prayers of this type tended to not be for reason of the seeking of mercy and salvation as is found in ''Šuila'' prayers.

Hymns

By study of the prayers, it seems apparent to scholars, that these types of prayers seem to be reformations of earlier

topos In mathematics, a topos (, ; plural topoi or , or toposes) is a category that behaves like the category of sheaves of sets on a topological space (or more generally, on a site). Topoi behave much like the category of sets and possess a notio ...

made, for example, in a similar vein to prayers such as the ''Prayer to the Gods of the Night''.

Šigû

Šigû are lamentations. Lamentations are either complaints, or expressions of

grief Grief is the response to the loss of something deemed important, particularly to the death of a person to whom or animal to which a Human bonding, bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, ...

or sorrow. Both meanings are related (combined) within šigû.

Namburbi

Prayers of this classification were performed during namburbi rituals. These rituals were undertaken firstly if an

omen An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient history, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages ...

announced a

fate Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predeterminism, predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words wiktionary ...

that was

evil Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extreme ...

, and a person wished to counter-act the fate, and secondly to counter

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

.Journal of Hebrew Scriptures The ''Journal of Hebrew Scriptures'' is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published by the University of Alberta. It was established in 1996 with Ehud Ben Zvi as the founding editor, and covers the Hebrew Bible and the history of ancient Israel ...
(designation DOI:10.5508/jhs.2012.v12.r17) of"/> Ehud Ben Zvi review of work of S.M. Maul in
Perspectives on Biblical Hebrew: Comprising the Contents of Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, Volumes 1-4
', Gorgias Press LLC, 1 Jan 2006 (934 pages) ''Volume 1 of Gorgias Perspectives on Hebrew Scriptures Series'' etrieved 2015-05-20''namburbi ritual'' sourced at p.575)

Citations

{{Reflist

Sources

*J. Hehn, ''Hymnen und Gebete an Marduk'' (published 1905
as shown here
Prayer Mesopotamian religion Sumerian texts