This book is the first volume in the new series Heidelberger Emesal-Studien (HES) under the editorship of Stefan Maul (henceforth HES 1). Emesal prayers are a very significant yet under-studied group of texts in cuneiform studies. They are an invaluable source for Assyriology as well as other fields of the humanities and social sciences.
The book is a revised and expanded version of Gabbay's 2007 PhD dissertation from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The edition of Eršema prayers, comprising the second part of the same dissertation, is due as The Eršema Prayers of the First Millennium bc (HES 2). HES 3 is Die Šu'ila-Gebete im Emesal by D. Shibata. The work under review here is a reference book on Emesal prayers of the first millennium bc. Chapter 1 draws attention to Emesal prayers as part of a religious system with its recurrent themes, cultic contexts, and performance by the kalû (“lamentation/prayer priest”, Sumerian gala).
Chapter 2 establishes the main genres of Emesal prayers: Balaĝ, Eršema, Eršaḫuĝa and Šuila. “Emesal prayers”, a modern label, refers to prayers performed by the kalû, in Sumerian (mostly in the Emesal dialect but some are also in the main Sumerian dialect and/or with mixed forms) and usually with Akkadian translations. Šuila appears as a new genre in the first millennium bc. Details for the Šuila genre are relegated mostly to Shibata's HES 3. See also W. G. Kunstmann, Die babylonische Gebetsbeschwörung (Leipzig 1932) and W. Mayer, Untersuchungen zur Formensprache der babylonischen ‘Gebetsbeschwörungen’ (Rome, 1976).
Chapter 3 argues that the essential purpose of Emesal prayers was to pacify the heart of the gods. The kalû presented the supplicant's prayers with offerings: musical instruments yielding sounds pleasing to the gods. The god addressed would then intercede on behalf of the supplicant and calm the angry deity. Given their daily use in regular ritual, Gabbay's classification of Emesal prayers instead of laments is convincing.
Chapter 4 traces selected theological themes in Emesal prayers. Divine manifestation has two phases: the first is the god's utterance announcing his/her decision to appear and what will happen. The appearance itself, the occurrence of the (disastrous) event, is the second. Aspects of divine manifestation, along with what may constitute sin, the motif of revenge, the divine control of enemy forces, and the role of divination, are discussed. Images of natural phenomena express divine manifestation. Divine concealment, the withdrawal of divine favour during a catastrophe, is pictured with images of body parts. Key animal imagery describes cities and events. The “heart pacification unit” (a term coined by M.E. Cohen in Sumerian Hymnology: The Eršemma (Cincinnati, 1981), p. 21), a literary unit committed to the theme of pacifying the heart of the god, is then explored. A section is committed to a key line which ends the Balaĝ prayers: šùd-dè še-eb TN(-ta) ki NE-en-gi4-gi4. Gabbay translates this as “May the prayer cause the heart to turn (away) from (-ta) the brickwork of TN (=Temple Name)” or “May the prayer (coming) from the brickwork of TN turn the heart”. Gabbay then proceeds to four archetypical groups, based on Enlil, “the lamenting Goddess”, Dumuzi, and Ninurta, through which Emesal prayers describe many gods. These and other groups of deities and/or cities are then traced in litanies.
Chapter 5 introduces the kalû, the main performer of Emesal prayers (occasionally the king repeated the dictation of the kalû and recited Eršaḫuĝa prayers). Much detail about their profession and activities is provided. Gabbay's view is that by the first millennium, kalû became exclusively male (as opposed to his original third gender identity). His role was to transmit sacred ritual knowledge.
Chapter 6 details the musical context of the Emesal prayers. Profitable information is given about the instruments and their performance. The deified instruments were part of temple cult. By the first millennium bc, the lilissu-kettledrum replaced both the balaĝ-lyre and the ùb-drum as the main accompaniment of the Balaĝ-prayers.
Chapter 7 explores the ritual context of Emesal prayers from the text of the prayers and other texts. Details regarding phraseology and terms are presented. The calendrical cult and the special cultic events are described. Aside from their original intent, Emesal prayers served in other rituals and became part of regular procedures. By the first millennium bc, they were performed mainly in the temple's inner shrine and rarely outside the temple.
Chapter 8 deals with the textual standardization of Emesal prayers, the fixing of text groups and the sequenced organization of standardized texts. Gabbay calls this the “canonization” of Emesal prayers. “Canonical” compositions were divided into prayers to male deities and those to female deities, each with Balaĝ, Eršema and Šuila prayers. The evidence is unclear about the Eršaḫuĝa prayers. Textual standardization went together with the Babylonianization of the prayers (not all of them) due to the political dominance of Babylon's Marduk theology. New Balaĝ and Eršema prayers were composed for Marduk and Nabû. Older traditions were also preserved. There is a return to local traditions in some cities in the Late Babylonian period.
Chapter 9 concerns the cuneiform tablets underlying present knowledge of Emesal prayers. Their formats, catalogues, arrangements, the scribes and families associated with the kalû, and detailed provenance information are made available. Chapter 10 clarifies the Sumerian and Akkadian dialectical features of the Balaĝs and Eršemas in particular. A detailed typology of Akkadian translations is then provided.
Chapter 11 concludes the book with comments on the role of Emesal prayers within Mesopotamian religion: they served the king in fulfilling his religious responsibilities. Strong conservatism pervaded the Emesal prayers. New circumstances were incorporated by syncretism, exegesis and similar tools. Antiquated elements were preserved. Eventually the gap between these elements and contemporary belief was far too wide.
The indexes for names of persons, deities, places, temples, museum and excavation numbers, text publications and editions, and compositions are very useful. The footnotes also contain a wealth of information but must be read carefully.
