Mesopotamian Chronicles

Jean-Jacques Glassner's 2004 critical edition and translation (Society of Biblical Literature) of the Mesopotamian chronicle tradition, including the Sumerian King List in its various recensions. The Sumerian King List records a sequence of pre-Flood kings with reigns of extraordinary length — Alulim at 28,800 years, Alalngar at 36,000 years, and others — interrupted by the Flood, after which reign-lengths drop sharply. The structural parallel to Genesis 5 (ten antediluvian patriarchs with vast lifespans ending in the Flood) is among the most discussed parallels in comparative ancient Near Eastern literature.