The Balag Prayer “Oh, My Abzu!”

Uri Gabbay presents a critical edition of the ancient Mesopotamian prayer of lamentation Oh, My Abzu! (a abzu-gu10) which belongs to the group of Balag prayers and is written in the Emesal register of the Sumerian language. This prayer has only been partially identified and addressed in previous research. The edition of the prayer is based on several cuneiform tablets and fragments from the first millennium BC, mainly from the cities of Nineveh, Babylon, and Uruk, as well as on a cuneiform tablet from Babylon dating back to the second millennium BC. Some of these tablets and fragments are published for the first time. The prayer includes laments about the destruction of the temples of the god Enki in the city of Eridu and of the god Asallu?i in the city of Kuara. Gabbay offers a general discussion on the prayers and laments related to the god Enki, as well as on the image of this god in comparison to the god Enlil. In addition, the image of the lamenting goddess and other literary and theological themes that can be found in the prayers and laments of the god Enki are explored.