the King of Assyria, Asshurbanabal, made in the eighth century B.C.,
from a very ancient specimen in the sacerdotal library of the town of
Uruk, founded by the monarchs of the first Chaldean empire. It is
difficult precisely to fix the date of the original, copied by Assyrian
scribes, but it certainly goes back to the ancient empire, seventeen
centuries at least before our era, and even probably beyond; it was
therefore much anterior to Moses, and nearly contemporaneous with
Abraham. The variations presented by the three existing copies prove
that the original was in the primitive mode of writing called the
hieratic, a character which must have already become difficult to
decipher in the eighth century B.C., as the copyists have differed as to
the interpretation to be given to certain signs, and in other cases have
simply reproduced exactly the forms of such as they did not understand.
Finally, it results from a comparison of these variations, that the
original, transcribed by order of Asshurbanabal, must itself have been a
copy of some still more ancient manuscript, it, which the original text
had already received interlinear comments. Some of the copyists have
introduced these into their text, others have omitted them. With these
preliminary observations, I proceed to give integrally the narrative
ascribed ill the poem to Khasisatra:

"'I will reveal to thee, O Izdhubar, the history of my preservation-and
tell to thee the decision of the gods.

"'The town of Shurippak, a town which thou knowest, is situated on the
Euphrates--it was ancient, and in it [men did not honor] the gods. [I
alone, I was] their servant, to the great gods--[The gods took counsel
on the appeal of] Ann--[a deluge was proposed by] Bel--[and approved by
Nabon, Nergal and] Adar.