The Flood Story

The opening segment-A line is reduced to im-ĝa2-ĝa2 'he was placing' — an imperfective form whose subject the lacuna does not preserve. The line is the first preserved word of the composition (after the opening ~36-line lacuna); ETCSL leaves the line near-untranslatable. The default surface takes the third-person animate subject from surrounding context (probably Enki or a divine speaker initiating the city-and-foundation-laying sequence of A:5-7) and surfaces the bare verbal action with both ends bracketed. See the overlay entry lacuna-bracket-convention-sumerian-mesopotamian-project-standard.

nam-lu2-ulu3-ĝu10 'my humankind' (the 1sg-possessive on the abstract-collective nam-lu2-ulu3; covered by the central entry nam-lu2-ulu3-sumerian-humankind-cross-corpus) is the divine speaker's first explicit reference to humankind as his / her possession. The phrase ḫa-lam-ma-bi-a 'in its destruction / being-lost' anticipates the coming flood-decreed-destruction by foreshadowing the verb ḫa-lam 'to be lost / destroy' — the same verb that names the flood-decree at FLS-WOH-C:23 (covered by the central entry divine-decree-to-destroy-humankind-flood-trope-cross-corpus). The verbal continuation is unrecoverable; the surface preserves the divine first-person-resolve construction.

Nintur — the birth-goddess (one of multiple epithets: Nintur, Nintud, Ninḫursaĝa, Ninmaḫ — all designating the same Sumerian-Akkadian birth-goddess function; covered by the new central entry nintur-nintud-ninhursaga-birth-goddess-epithet-cluster-cross-corpus, promoted from the Enki-and-Ninmaḫ overlay). The line associates Nintur with the niĝ2-dim2-dim2-ma 'creatures (made)' that the speaker intends to restore (verbal gi4 iterative 'to return / restore'). The promotion of the epithet-cluster from overlay to central reflects the multi-text recurrence (Enki and Ninmaḫ; this Flood Story; future Mesopotamian texts).

uĝ3 ki-ur3-bi-ta ga-ba-ni-ib-gur-ru-ne — I will return the people from their foundations. The verbal gur 'to turn / return' iterates the gi4 'to return / restore' of the preceding line; the divine speaker resolves to restore humanity from its foundations after the destruction is complete. The line is the structural-counterpart to FLS-WOH-E:10 (Ziusudra preserves the seed of humankind through the flood; covered by the central entry preservation-of-the-seed-of-humankind-and-animals-flood-aitia-cross-corpus).

ĝissu-bi ni2 ga-ba-ab-dub2-bu — the dub2 verb admits two distinct meaning-clusters: (a) to refresh / cool (ETCSL / Jacobsen / Black et al. default — the cities' shade as a place of cool repose for the divine speaker) and (b) to tremble / quake (the alternative — the cities' shade as awe-inspiring, causing the speaker to tremble in reverence). The surface follows ETCSL with reading (a); the alternative is preserved in the source _note_alt field and in the overlay entry dub-shade-refresh-vs-tremble-crux. Both readings are theologically-equivalent in context.

The line completes the city-founding sequence at vv 5-7: the cities are built; their bricks are cast on holy ground. The brick-as-foundation-material is the standard Mesopotamian city-foundation idiom (the construction-formula recurs verbatim at FLS-WOH-B:9 as the inclusio-opening of the five-antediluvian-cities pericope). The holy-ground-of-the-brick-casting indicates that the city-foundations are simultaneously cult-foundations — the Mesopotamian inseparability of city-and-temple.

ki-eš- me-a — the partially-broken ki-eš- is restored by ETCSL as ki-eš-bar 'place of (divine) decisions' (the oracular-decision-place; the inner-sanctum / cella where the cult-statue presides over omen-and-extispicy questions). The triad iri-šeg-ki-eš-bar (city-brick-decision-place) at vv 5-7 is the Sumerian city-foundation template: cities, brickwork, and oracular-loci constitute the threefold-foundation-package. See the overlay entry ki-eshbar-place-of-divine-decision.

The line is partially-obscure; ETCSL preserves KUG^? and A as unparsed cuneiform-signs (the ^? indicates philological-uncertainty in the sign-reading). The preserved continuation niĝ2 izi ten-na si mi-ni-in-si-sa2 — he directed straight the thing that extinguishes fire (i.e. water) — names the water-as-fire-suppressant trope. The line plausibly belongs to the divine-speaker's resolution-sequence (vv 1-10) in which the speaker establishes the elementary-cosmographic-arrangements; here the water-fire relationship is fixed.

ĝarza me maḫ šu mi-ni-ib-šu-du7 — he perfected the rites and the august divine offices. The line deploys the Sumerian creation-summary formula: a divine actor perfects (verbal-phrase šu šu-du7 'sets-in-hand to-complete') the ĝarza (rites) and the me (the Sumerian flagship-untranslatable theological-keyword for divine-offices / cosmic-functions; covered by the central entry me-sumerian-divine-offices-cosmic-functions). The subject is implicit (probably An or Enki). The line recurs at FLS-WOH-B:8 as the closing-of-the-kingship-descent pericope. An alternative more-literal rendering — he set in (his) hand the august rites and divine functions — is preserved in the source _note_alt field.

ki a im-ma-ab-dug4 silim ga-mu-ni-in-ĝar — he commanded water for the land, saying: I will establish well-being there. The line closes the divine-speaker's resolution-sequence by binding the water-allotment to the well-being-establishment: water is commanded for the land precisely so that silim 'well-being / health / soundness' can be established. The Sumerian silim (Akkadian-loanword šalāmu 'to be well') is the broad-eudaimonia-vocabulary; cognate with Hebrew shalom (West-Semitic; the cognate is direct via Akkadian intermediate).

The divine quartet — An, Enlil, Enki, Ninḫursaĝa. The standard Sumerian senior-divine-cluster (the cosmic-triad An / Enlil / Enki plus the birth-goddess Ninḫursaĝa). This is the flood-decision council in the Mesopotamian flood-tradition; the same four gods preside at Atrahasis I.i.6-15 and Gilgamesh XI.14-19. The new central entry an-enlil-enki-ninhursaga-flood-council-quartet-cross-corpus houses the quartet specifically; the existing central entry an-enlil-nudimmud-cosmic-triad-cross-corpus houses the triad (An-Enlil-Nudimmud / Enki) in general-cosmic-function contexts. The Hebrew flood-narrative collapses the divine-quartet into the singular-deity YHWH; the Mesopotamian-Hebrew shift is documented at the new central entry's rationale.

saĝ gig2-ga — the black-headed (people). The standard Sumerian self-designation for humans / the Sumerian-Akkadian population; the lexeme is corpus-wide across Sumerian literature (the Sumerian King List, Gudea Cylinders, Enki and the World Order, Inana's Descent) and corpus-wide across Akkadian literature (Atrahasis, Enuma Elish, Gilgamesh — under the Akkadian-cognate ṣalmāt qaqqadi). The new central entry sag-gig-ga-black-headed-people-sumerian-self-designation-cross-corpus houses the lexeme as the concrete-ethnonymic-counterpart to the abstract-collective nam-lu2-ulu3-sumerian-humankind-cross-corpus. The Hebrew comparandum is bnei Adam — patronymic rather than ethnonymic.

niĝ2-gilim ki-ta ki-ta mu-lu-lu — the small animals multiplied from the ground in every place. The line opens the creation-of-animals sequence at A:13-14 (Sumerian parallel to Gen 1:24-25). The verb lu 'to be abundant / multiply' is iterated-and-reduplicated for intensified-aspect: the animals multiply abundantly from every locality. The niĝ2-gilim small-animal-class noun is the broad-category for terrestrial small-fauna; covered in the Enki and Ninmaḫ overlay glossary.

maš2-anše niĝ2-ur2-4 edin-na me-te-a-aš bi2-ib2-ĝal2 — and the herd-beasts, the four-legged creatures, were set as fitting ornament of the open country. The line completes the creation-of-animals sequence. The Sumerian me-te 'fitting ornament / proper attribute / decorum' (overlay entry me-te-edin-fitting-attribute-of-open-country) is the aesthetic-cosmological category — the world adorned with its proper inhabitants. The Hebrew Bible parallel is the tov / tov me'od declarations of Gen 1 (each day's creation pronounced good / very good); a comparative-mythology link of the fittingness-aesthetic-cosmology type.

Reduced to a single preserved verbal-prefix mu-un-. The line is unrecoverable; only the cuneiform sign-residue confirms continued narrative-action by an animate subject.

Reduced to the unparsed sign-cluster AM3. The line is unrecoverable beyond confirming residual cuneiform-sign-presence.

X de5-ga ga-ba-ni-in-X — I will give counsel. The preserved verb de5 'to collect / gather / take-counsel' (in the imperfective ga-ba- future-cohortative) signals a first-person divine speaker resolving to give counsel; the addressee is unrecoverable. The line plausibly opens the segment-B section in which the divine speaker plans the city-foundation arrangements (B:4-10).

[du]-lum-bi igi ga-ba-ni-ib-du8-du8-X — Let me cause their toil to be relieved before (my) eyes. The line is a parallel-passage to the Atrahasis I.i divine-toil pericope; the du-lum / Akkadian-loanword dullu is the cross-corpus divine-toil-keyword covered by the existing central entry du-lum-dullu-divine-toil-relieved-by-humans-cross-corpus. The verb du8 'to spread / relieve / release' indicates the toil is to be relieved — the standard Mesopotamian humans-relieve-divine-toil theology; the divine speaker plans to alleviate the gods' burden through the institution-of-humans.

X šidim kalam-ma-ke4 uš gen6 ḫa-ba-ab-ba-al — let the builder of the Land dig (its) firm foundation. The line names the šidim 'builder' (the Sumerian construction-foreman / architect; Akkadian-loanword šitimgallu / šitimmu) as the city-and-foundation-laying agent. The kalam 'Land' is the Sumerian collective-territorial-identity (covered by the existing central entry kalam-ka-na-ag-the-land-cross-corpus). The line transitions from divine-speech to the human / institutional construction-implementation.

nam-lugal an-ta ed3-de3-a-ba — when kingship had descended from heaven. THE foundational Sumerian antediluvian-kingship formula — the opening of the Sumerian King List (ETCSL 2.1.1) and the keynote of the Mesopotamian primordial-kingship-tradition. Covered by the new central entry nam-lugal-an-ta-ed-de-a-ba-kingship-descended-from-heaven-cross-corpus. The formula recurs at FLS-WOH-B:7 immediately (the regalia-couplet men-gu-za — crown-and-throne — descending alongside kingship). The Hebrew Bible's kingship-from-divine-source theology (Exod 15:18, malkhut shamayim, the covenanted-kingship concept) is functional-parallel rather than philologically-cognate.

men maḫ ^ĝišgu-za nam-lugal-la an-ta ed3-a-ba — when the august crown and the throne of kingship had descended from heaven. The regalia-couplet — men 'crown' + gu-za 'throne' — are the synecdochic-regalia of the descended-kingship; the same pairing is the canonical Sumerian-Akkadian royal-iconography. The Hebrew comparandum is keter 'crown' + kisse melekh 'throne of the kingdom' (Esth, 1-2 Kgs); the comparative-mythology link is documented at the overlay entry men-gu-za-nam-lugal-crown-and-throne-of-kingship-regalia-formula.

[ĝarza me] maḫ šu mi-ni-ib-šu-du7 — he perfected the [rites and] august [divine offices]. The line recurs the creation-summary formula of FLS-WOH-A:9, here applied to the kingship-and-regalia descent of vv 6-7: kingship descends; the august-rites-and-divine-offices are perfected (i.e. instituted in their proper-functional-arrangement). The me divine-offices-and-cosmic-functions lexeme is covered by the existing central entry me-sumerian-divine-offices-cosmic-functions.

[iri-bi-e]-ne [šeg12-bi ki kug-ga im]-ma-an-da-šub — for those cities the bricks were cast on holy ground. The line opens the five-antediluvian-cities pericope (B:9-16) by re-deploying the brick-cast-on-holy-ground formula of FLS-WOH-A:6 — establishing the antediluvian-cities as ritually-grounded foundations. The brick-cast inclusio is the structural-frame for the five-cities-and-five-founder-divinities listing at B:11-15.

mu-bi ba-an-sa4 kab dug4-ga ba-ḫal-ḫal-la — their names were called out and they were assigned by gauged measure. The line is the opening of the city-foundation inclusio (closed at FLS-WOH-B:16). The Sumerian kab dug-ga 'gauged-measure-declaration' + ba-ḫal-ḫal-la 'they were distributed by allotment' is the administrative-juridical idiom for formal-divine-allotment-by-quantified-measure. Covered by the overlay entry kab-dug-ga-ba-hal-hal-la-allotment-by-gauged-measure-city-founding-formula. The Hebrew comparandum is the goral 'lot' and cheleq 'portion' divine-allotment vocabulary (Deut 32:8-9).

The first antediluvian city — Eridug, given to Nudimmud (Enki). nesaĝ 'first-fruit-offering' opens the list (the first city is the first-offering of the city-foundation sequence). Eridug (Akkadian Eridu; modern Tell Abu Shahrein) is the southernmost Sumerian city and traditionally the first city of the Sumerian world; Nudimmud (the Enki-fashioner-epithet, covered by the existing central entry an-enlil-nudimmud-cosmic-triad-cross-corpus) is its tutelary deity. The five-antediluvian-cities pentad is covered by the new central entry five-antediluvian-cities-eridug-bad-tibira-larag-zimbir-shuruppag-cross-corpus; cross-corpus to the Sumerian King List antediluvian-section, the Berossus-tradition, and the Apkallu-tradition.

The second antediluvian city — Bad-tibira, given to the nu-gig (high-status / sacred-class woman). The nu-gig is anonymous — designated by class-noun rather than proper-name; she is most-plausibly Inana under her nu-gig-epithet (Bad-tibira had a major Inana-cult). The deliberate epithet-rather-than-name parallels Eridug-Nudimmud (Enki as fashioner) — both founder-divinities are designated by office / epithet rather than standard-cult-name. The nu-gig lexeme is covered by the new central entry nu-gig-high-status-woman-sacred-class-cross-corpus which sits in cross-corpus sibling-cluster with the Hebrew qedeshah and zonah class-terms; the modern-scholarly deprecation of the older 'sacred prostitute' translation is documented in the entry.

The third antediluvian city — Larag, given to Pabilsaĝ. Pabilsaĝ is a relatively-obscure Sumerian deity, associated with Larag and with the late-Mesopotamian astronomical zodiacal-Sagittarius (Akkadian pa-bil-sag-ga / Greek Toxotēs); see the overlay entry pabilsag-bowman-deity-larag-founder-divinity. The ETCSL form ^dpa-bil2-«ḫur»-saĝ contains the editorial-emendation marker «ḫur» (the manuscript reads ḫur; the editor regards it as scribal-error and prefers pa-bil2-saĝ); per the project-wide overlay convention manuscript-variant-inline-rendering-convention the variant is silently collapsed in the English prose.

The fourth antediluvian city — Zimbir (Akkadian Sippar), given to Utu (Akkadian Šamaš), the young hero. Zimbir was the cult-center of the sun-god Utu / Šamaš; the city is famous in modern scholarship under its Akkadian-form Sippar (modern Tell Abu Habbah). The new central entry utu-shamash-sun-god-justice-divinity-cross-corpus houses the deity with cross-corpus comparanda (Akkadian Šamaš, Hebrew shemesh, the Beit Shemesh cult-name). The Sumerian-source form Zimbir is preserved per the project-wide overlay convention sumerian-proper-name-transliteration-convention.

The fifth and final antediluvian city — Šuruppag, given to Sud. Šuruppag (Akkadian Shuruppak; modern Tell Fara) is the home-city of Ziusudra (the flood-survivor); cross-corpus to Gilgamesh XI.11 (Šuruppak) and the Sumerian Instructions of Shuruppak (ETCSL 5.6.1). The founder-deity Sud is the pre-Ninlil name of Enlil's spouse (Enlil-and-Sud myth ETCSL 1.2.2 narrates the courtship and the name-change). See the overlay entry shuruppag-ziusudras-city.

iri-be2-e-ne mu-bi ba-an-sa4-a kab dug4-ga ba-ḫal-ḫal-la — these cities — their names had been called out, they had been assigned by gauged measure. The inclusio closes the city-foundation pericope by recurring the formula of FLS-WOH-B:10 in the perfective. See the overlay entry kab-dug-ga-ba-hal-hal-la-allotment-by-gauged-measure-city-founding-formula.

id2 IM GUN2^? ma-an-šu4-am3 im-ma-al-la a im-ma-an-de6 — partially-obscure; ETCSL preserves IM, GUN2^?, and the im-ma-al-la as unparsed sign-clusters with philological-uncertainty markers. The preserved continuation a im-ma-an-de6 — (the) water was carried — names the water-allocation moment in the post-city-founding institution of the watercourse-system. The line plausibly continues the divine-water-allotment sequence of FLS-WOH-A:10.

id2 tur-tur-re šu luḫ-bi ĜAR ḪAR-ḪAR mi-ni-ib2-ĝar-ĝar — of the smaller watercourses, their cleansing-channels were set in place. The line completes the water-allocation institution at B:17-18: the major watercourses (id2, B:17) are allocated; the minor cleansing-channels (id2 tur-tur, B:18) are likewise set up. The Sumerian šu luḫ 'cleansing / purification' is the technical-irrigation-and-temple-purification vocabulary.

ki-tuš an-na X ... — the dwelling-place of heaven .... The line opens segment C (after the ~34-line lacuna) with a reference to the dwelling-place of heaven (ki-tuš an-na — the cosmic-residence of An / the celestial realm). The continuation is bracketed.

Reduced to e-... — a single preserved verbal-prefix or noun-fragment. Unrecoverable.

a-ma-ru ... — the flood .... The first explicit mention of the flood in the preserved-text. The Sumerian a-ma-ru — the textual-keyword of this composition and the foundational Sumerian flood-vocabulary lexeme — is covered by the new central entry a-ma-ru-abubu-mabbul-great-flood-vocabulary-cross-corpus. The lexeme sits in cross-corpus three-way sibling-cluster with the Akkadian abūbu (Atrahasis / Gilgamesh XI) and the Hebrew mabbul (Gen 6-11). The line's continuation is bracketed; the announcement of the flood is fully-developed at FLS-WOH-C:22-26.

nam-lu2-[ulu3 ...] — humankind .... Only the abstract-collective nam-lu2-ulu3 (covered by the existing central entry nam-lu2-ulu3-sumerian-humankind-cross-corpus) is preserved; the continuation is bracketed. The line plausibly begins the description of humankind's-impending-fate after the flood-announcement at C:3.

ur5-gin7 bi2-in-ak ... — thus it was done .... The Sumerian demonstrative-equative ur5-gin7 'in this manner / thus' + the perfective bi2-in-ak 'he / they did' is a narrative-summary formula. The continuation is bracketed.

ud-bi-a ^dnin-tur5 ... DIM2 A ... — In those days Nintur ... fashioned .... The temporal-deictic ud-bi-a 'in those days' opens a narrative-flashback or reorienting-temporal frame. Nintur (the birth-goddess; covered by the new central entry nintur-nintud-ninhursaga-birth-goddess-epithet-cluster-cross-corpus) is the subject of the dim2 'to fashion / create' verb (preserved as the upper-case unparsed DIM2). The line is fragmentary but signals Nintur's role as the fashioner of (humankind / creatures) — paralleling the Enki and Ninmaḫ creation-of-humans pericope.

kug ^dinana-ke4 uĝ3-bi-še3 a-nir mu-[un-ĝa2-ĝa2] — Holy Inana was setting up a lament for her people. The line places Inana (Akkadian Ishtar) as the divine-feminine lament-figure in the face of the coming flood. Covered by the new central entry inana-laments-her-people-flood-divine-feminine-lament-cross-corpus. The Sumerian city-lament tradition (ETCSL 2.2.x — the Lament for Ur, Lament for Sumer and Ur, Eridu Lament) develops the divine-feminine-lament genre extensively; the Hebrew structural-parallel is the Rachel-weeping-for-her-children at Jer 31:15 (covered by the existing central entry havah-li-banim-rachel-cry).

Enki šag4 ni2-te-na-ke4 ad i-ni-in-gi4-gi4 — Enki took counsel in his own heart. The foundational Enki-private-deliberation trope: the wisdom-god, alone, considering the divine flood-decree. Covered by the new central entry enki-deliberates-in-his-own-heart-wisdom-god-private-deliberation-cross-corpus. The Hebrew structural-parallels are Yahweh's pre-flood deliberation at Gen 6:6 (va-yit'atzev el libbo — and he grieved to his heart) and Yahweh's pre-Sodom deliberation at Gen 18:17 (ha-mekhasse ani me-Avraham asher ani oseh — shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?).

The divine quartet — An, Enlil, Enki, Ninḫursaĝa — recurs (cf. FLS-WOH-A:11) in the flood-council context. See the new central entry an-enlil-enki-ninhursaga-flood-council-quartet-cross-corpus.

diĝir an ki-ke4 mu an ^den-lil2 mu-X-[pad3] — the gods of heaven and earth invoked the names of An and Enlil. The verb pad3 'to find / invoke (a name in an oath)' is the standard Sumerian oath-invocation idiom; the line foreshadows the zi an-na zi ki-a i3-pad3-de3 oath-formula at FLS-WOH-E:1-2 (covered by the new central entry zi-an-na-zi-ki-a-nish-ilim-oath-by-life-of-heaven-and-earth-cross-corpus). The deities here perform the assembly-oath that binds the flood-decree as irrevocable (covered by the new central entry di-til-la-puhrum-irrevocability-of-divine-assembly-decree-cross-corpus).

Ziusudra's introduction in the preserved text — ud-ba zi-ud-su3-ra2 lugal-am3 gudug X ... — In those days Ziusudra was the king, the gudug-priest, .... Ziusudra's name parses transparently in Sumerian as zi 'life-breath' + ud 'day' + su3-ra2 'long, distant' — life of long days. The name is proleptic: it encodes the protagonist's eventual apotheosis (FLS-WOH-E:7-8 — til3 diĝir-gin7 'life like a god'; zi da-ri2 diĝir-gin7 'eternal life like a god'). Covered by the new central entry ziusudra-atrahasis-utnapishtim-noach-flood-survivor-name-cluster-cross-corpus — the five-tradition cross-corpus sibling-cluster (Sumerian Ziusudra / Akkadian Atra-ḫasīs / Akkadian Ūta-napishtim / Greek Xisouthros / Hebrew Noach). The line also gives Ziusudra two titles: lugal 'the king' and gudug (a specific Mesopotamian priestly-office; covered by the overlay entry gudug-priest-mesopotamian-temple-office). The priest-king dual-office parallels the Hebrew Melchizedek (Gen 14:18-20).

an saĝ NIĜIN mu-un-dim2-dim2 EN ... — He fashioned a ..., turning (his) head (towards) heaven .... The unparsed NIĜIN and EN sign-clusters preserve philological-uncertainty in the cuneiform-reading. The preserved-fragment indicates Ziusudra's head-turned-towards-heaven posture — a ritual / supplicatory gesture preceding the revelation-of-the-flood-warning.

nam-sun5-na inim sig10-sig10-ge ni2 teĝ3-ĝe26 ... — in humility, placing his words, drawing near in awe .... The nam-sun5-na 'humility' + ni2 teĝ3 'to draw near in awe / fear' construction is the Sumerian reverent-supplication formula. Ziusudra's day-by-day standing-attendance posture (continued at C:14) is the wakeful-vigilant-supplication preceding the revelation.

ud šu2-uš-e saĝ us2 gub-ba ... — day after day, standing in steady attendance .... The ud šu2-uš-e 'day-after-day / continuously' + saĝ us2 gub-ba 'standing with head adjacent / in steady attendance' continues the day-by-day-vigilance posture of C:13. The line sets up the revelation-by-waking-utterance at C:15.

ma-mu2 nu-me-a ed2-de3 inim /bal\ ... — something that was not a dream came forth, an utterance .... The waking-revelation / not-a-dream trope: Enki communicates to Ziusudra not through a dream but through an audible-utterance that the text explicitly distinguishes from dream-revelation by negation. Covered by the new central entry ma-mu-nu-me-a-not-a-dream-waking-revelation-cross-corpus. The Hebrew structural-parallel is Num 12:6-8 (the dream-vs-mouth-to-mouth distinction in Yahweh's prophetic-revelation hierarchy).

mu an ki-bi-ta pad3-pad3-de3 ... — invoking by name (the gods of) heaven and earth .... The verb pad3 'to invoke (a name in an oath)' is reduplicated for iterative-aspect; the line continues the oath-and-invocation pattern of C:10 and foreshadows the FLS-WOH-E:1-2 oath-by-the-life-of-heaven-and-earth.

ki-ur3-še3 diĝir-re-e-ne e2-ĝar8 ... — toward the Ki-ur the gods (made) a wall .... The Ki-ur is the courtyard / cult-precinct of the E-kur temple of Enlil at Nippur — Enlil's principal cult-center (the E-kur is covered by the existing central entry ekur-house-of-the-mountain-enlil-temple-cross-corpus). The e2-ĝar8 'wall' here is the wall through which Enki speaks — anticipating the wall-side-wall trope at FLS-WOH-C:19-21.

zi-ud-su3-ra2 da-bi gub-ba ĝiš mu-[un-tuku] — Ziusudra, standing alongside, gave ear (to it). The Sumerian idiom ĝiš tuku (literally 'to have ear / wood') is the standard 'to hear / attend to' idiom; the construction da-bi gub-ba 'standing at the side' positions Ziusudra at the side-wall — the geometry of the through-the-wall-revelation.

iz-zi-da a2 gab2-bu-ĝu10 gub-ba ... — (He said:) 'Side-wall, stand at my left side ...'. The talking-through-the-wall trope — Enki addresses not Ziusudra directly but the side-wall, so as not-technically-violate the oath-of-silence. Covered by the new central entry iz-zi-da-kikkish-talking-through-the-wall-to-keep-an-oath-flood-trope-cross-corpus. The cross-corpus Akkadian parallel is Gilgamesh XI.21-22 (kikkiš kikkiš igâru igâru — reed-hut, reed-hut! wall, wall!); Atrahasis III.i.20 deploys the same trope. The Hebrew flood-narrative has no exact parallel; the Yahweh-singular-decision has dispensed with the assembly-oath that motivates the wall-trope.

iz-zi-da inim ga-ra-ab-dug4 inim-[ĝu10 ḫe2-dab5] — 'Side-wall, I will speak a word to you; let [my] word [be heeded]'. The reduplicated address-to-the-wall continues from C:19; the construction inim dug4 + inim dab5 'to speak a word / let the word be seized' frames the address as binding-instruction (the wall is to retain Enki's word for the listening-Ziusudra).

na de5-ga-ĝu10 ĝizzal [ḫe2-em-ši-ak] — '[Let attention be paid] to my counsel'. The Sumerian na de5 'counsel / advice' + ĝizzal ak 'to give ear / attend' is the standard wisdom-literature attention-formula (parallels in the Instructions of Shuruppak ETCSL 5.6.1 — addressed from Šuruppak to Ziusudra in the wisdom-tradition).

DAG-me-a a-ma-ru ugu kab dug4-[ga ...] ba-/ur3\ ... — 'By our [...], a flood will sweep over the cult-centres ...'. The explicit announcement of the coming flood. The opening DAG-me-a is partially-obscure (the DAG sign has multiple values; ETCSL preserves the sign-uppercase to flag the philological-crux); the most-plausible parsing is dag-me-a 'in our cult-stations / dwelling-places' — the divine collective's seats. See the overlay entry dag-me-a-our-dwelling-places-c22-crux. The continuation ugu kab dug4-ga ba-ur3 — will sweep over the cult-centres / the gauged-places — recurs verbatim at FLS-WOH-D:2 as the actualization. The destruction-decree cluster is covered by the new central entry divine-decree-to-destroy-humankind-flood-trope-cross-corpus; cross-corpus Atrahasis II.viii, Gilgamesh XI.14, Hebrew Gen 6:5-7.

numun nam-lu2-ulu3 ḫa-lam-e-de3 [nam-bi ba-tar] — 'To destroy the seed of humankind — [such has been its destiny decreed]'. The explicit destruction-decree. The verbal nam tar 'to cut a destiny' (covered by the existing central entry nam-sumerian-destiny-fate-cross-corpus) is here applied to the destruction-of-the-seed-of-humankind (covered by the overlay entry numun-nam-lu-ulu-seed-of-humankind-c23 and the new central entry divine-decree-to-destroy-humankind-flood-trope-cross-corpus). Cross-corpus Atrahasis II.viii, Gilgamesh XI.14, Hebrew Gen 6:7 (emcheh et ha-adam — I will blot out humankind). The structural-counterpart is Ziusudra's preservation-of-the-seed at FLS-WOH-E:10.

di-til-la inim pu-uḫ2-ru-[um-ma-ka šu gi4-gi4 nu-ĝal2] — 'It is a concluded verdict; the word of the [assembly cannot be revoked]'. The foundational Sumerian irrevocability-of-divine-decree formula. The technical-juridical di-til-la 'completed-court-case' + pu-uḫ2-ru-um 'assembly' (the Sumerian-Akkadian puḫrum) + šu gi4-gi4 nu-ĝal2 'no returning the hand' (= no revocation). Covered by the new central entry di-til-la-puhrum-irrevocability-of-divine-assembly-decree-cross-corpus. The Hebrew structural-parallel is sod YHWH (Jer 23:18; Ps 89:8) and the irrevocability-of-YHWH's-plan (Isa 14:24-27; 46:10-11).

inim dug4-ga an ^den-[lil2-la2-ka] [šu bal-e nu-zu] — 'The command spoken by An and En[lil] [cannot be overturned]'. The line restates the irrevocability-of-the-flood-decree with the specific divine-actors named — An and Enlil; the senior-divine-pair whose command-spoken cannot be reversed. The verb šu bal 'to overturn / reverse' + negative nu-zu 'unknown / not-existing' is parallel to the šu gi4-gi4 nu-ĝal2 of C:24.

nam-lugal-bi bal-bi ba-[bur12 e-ne šag4 kuš2-u3-de3] — 'Its kingship, its term (of office), has been [torn out — they have wearied of taking counsel]'. The line announces the end-of-the-antediluvian-kingship-era: the kingship that descended from heaven at FLS-WOH-B:6 is now torn out (verb bur12 'to tear out, remove'); the bal 'term-in-office' is over. The gods have wearied of taking counsel (šag4 kuš2 'to tire the heart / be tired in deliberation') — a poetic-anthropomorphism for the decree-as-final. Cross-corpus to the Sumerian King List's transition-between-kingships and to the post-flood restart-of-kingship at Kish.

e-ne-eš2 ... — 'Now ...'. The Sumerian narrative-deictic i3-ne-eš2 'now' opens a new discourse-segment; the continuation is bracketed. The line likely begins a transitional-or-imperative-instruction following the kingship-revocation announcement.

a-na MU-MU ... — 'What ...'. The Sumerian interrogative a-na 'what' opens a question; the continuation (with the unparsed MU-MU) is bracketed.

im-ḫul-im-ḫul ^tum9si-si-ig du3-a-bi teš2-bi i3-sug2-ge-eš — All the destructive storms and gale-winds, every one of them, stood together as one. The opening of segment D — the actualization of the flood-storm decreed in segment C. The Sumerian im-ḫul (Akkadian-loanword imḫullu) is the foundational Mesopotamian destructive-wind vocabulary (covered by the new central entry im-hul-imhullu-destructive-storm-wind-mesopotamian-storm-vocabulary-cross-corpus); cross-corpus to Enuma Elish IV.96 (Marduk's evil-wind weapon) and the Hebrew ruach ra'ah. The paired si-si-ig gale-wind (covered by the overlay entry si-si-ig-gale-wind-storm-vocabulary) escalates. The reduplication-and-pairing produces a comprehensive all-storm-and-wind-vocabulary-mobilized image: the entirety of the storm-weather-system is mobilized as a single agent.

a-ma-ru ugu kab dug4-ga ba-an-da-ab-ur3-e — the flood swept over the cult-centres. The line is the actualization of the flood-announcement at FLS-WOH-C:22 (a-ma-ru ugu kab dug4-ga ba-ur3 — a flood will sweep over the cult-centres). The verbatim-recurrence of the announcement-and-execution couplet is the Sumerian narrative's prophecy-fulfillment-marker.

ud 7-am3 ĝi6 7-am3 — For seven days and seven nights. THE SEVEN-DAY FLOOD — the canonical Mesopotamian flood-duration formula. Covered by the new central entry seven-day-flood-vs-forty-day-flood-duration-tradition-cross-corpus. Cross-corpus Atrahasis III.iv.24-25 (seven days seven nights); Gilgamesh XI.128 (six days and seven nights — the variant); contrast Hebrew Gen 7:12 (forty days and forty nights). The Mesopotamian-7 → Hebrew-40 transformation is one of the most-cited cross-corpus Mesopotamian-Hebrew flood-tradition diagnostics — the Hebrew tradition multiplies the Mesopotamian seven by approximately six to yield the typologically-intensified forty.

a-ma-ru kalam-ma ba-ur3-ra-ta — after the flood had swept over the Land. The temporal-subordinate clause introduces the post-storm-pericope at D:5-11. The kalam 'the Land' is the Sumerian collective-territorial-identity (covered by the existing central entry kalam-ka-na-ag-the-land-cross-corpus).

^ĝišma2 gur4-gur4 a gal-la im-ḫul tuku4-tuku4-a-ta — and the great boat had been tossed by the destructive storms on the great waters. The Sumerian ma2 gur4-gur4 — the great boat / the rounded boat — is Ziusudra's vessel. Covered by the new central entry ma-gur-eleppu-tevah-flood-vessel-cross-corpus — three-way sibling-cluster with the Akkadian eleppu (Atrahasis, Gilgamesh XI) and the Hebrew tevah (Gen 6:14-16, Exod 2:3). The verb tuku4 'to shake / toss' captures the boat's storm-tossed motion on the great-waters.

^dutu i-im-ma-ra-e3 an ki-a ud ĝa2-ĝa2 — Utu came forth, casting his light over heaven and earth. The post-storm-sunrise: Utu (Sumerian sun-god; Akkadian Šamaš; covered by the new central entry utu-shamash-sun-god-justice-divinity-cross-corpus) emerges after the seven-day storm. Cross-corpus Gilgamesh XI.131-134 (the storm subsides; the day brightens); Hebrew Gen 8:1 (va-yaaver Elohim ruach al ha-aretz va-yashoku ha-mayim — Elohim caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters abated).

zi-ud-su3-ra2 ^ĝišma2 gur4-gur4 ab-BUR2 mu-un-da-buru3 — Ziusudra cut an opening in the great boat. The boat-window / aperture trope. The Sumerian ab-BUR2 (covered by the new central entry ab-bur-aptu-chalon-ha-tevah-flood-boat-window-cross-corpus) sits in three-way sibling-cluster with the Akkadian aptu (Gilgamesh XI.135-136 — aptam upattī-ma ūru iqtul ina pānīya — I opened the window, and light fell upon my face) and the Hebrew chalon ha-tevah (Gen 8:6 — va-yiftach Noach et chalon ha-tevah). The flood-survivor-opens-aperture trope is one of the most-cited cross-corpus diagnostics for the Mesopotamian-Hebrew flood-tradition.

šul ^dutu ĝiš-nu11-ni-da ^ĝišma2 gur4-gur4-še3 ba-an-kur9-re-en — The young hero Utu brought his light into the great boat. Utu's light enters through the just-cut aperture (D:7); the Sumerian ĝiš-nu11 'light' is the technical-luminescence vocabulary. The line is the symmetric-counterpart to Gilgamesh XI.135-136 (ūru iqtul ina pānīya — light fell upon my face).

zi-ud-su3-ra2 lugal-am3 — Ziusudra the king. The Sumerian lugal 'king' title continues from C:11; here functions as the subject-of-the-following-line (D:10), with the line-break used for emphatic-position.

igi ^dutu-še3 giri17 ki su-ub ba-gub — prostrated himself before Utu, rubbing his nose to the ground. The full-body prostration gesture — Sumerian giri17 ki su-ub (literally 'rubbing the nose to the ground'); cross-corpus the Akkadian appa labānu and the Hebrew shachah apayim artzah. Covered by the new central entry giri-ki-su-ub-appa-labanu-prostration-gesture-cross-corpus. The first post-flood-prostration (the second is before An and Enlil at FLS-WOH-E:5). Ziusudra's prostration before Utu is the thanksgiving-for-the-post-storm-sunrise moment — Utu the sun-god (and divinity-of-justice) is the first deity acknowledged after the storm.

lugal-e gud im-ma-ab-gaz-e udu im-ma-ab-šar2-re — The king slaughtered an ox and offered up sheep in abundance. The post-flood thanksgiving-sacrifice — one of the most-cited cross-corpus Mesopotamian-Hebrew flood-tradition parallels. Covered by the new central entry post-flood-thanksgiving-sacrifice-trope-cross-corpus. Cross-corpus Atrahasis III.v (Atrahasis's sacrifice; the gods crowd around the smoke like flies); Gilgamesh XI.155-160 (Utnapishtim's sacrifice; the gods smell erīša ṭāba 'the sweet savor'); Hebrew Gen 8:20-21 (Noah builds an altar; YHWH smells reiach ha-nichoach 'the sweet savor'). The Hebrew reiach ha-nichoach and the Akkadian erīša ṭāba are lexical-and-semantic cognates — one of the most-direct Mesopotamian-Hebrew lexical-parallels in the flood-tradition.

[...] X si gal [...] sikil-la-da — [...] a great horn [...] (made) pure [...]. The line is heavily-fragmented; the preserved si gal 'great horn' and sikil-la-da 'in purity / purified' indicate residual sacrifice-and-purification vocabulary continuing from the D:11 thanksgiving-sacrifice scene.

[...] X mu-un-na-X-X-ba — [...] was allotted to him [...]. The preserved verb ba 'to allot / divide / distribute' suggests a continuing-allocation-and-allotment scene; the addressee (-na- '-to-him-') is implied to be Ziusudra. Unrecoverable beyond the verbal-sense.

Reduced to bare brackets — [...]. Fully-lacuna.

[...] bi2-in-si — [...] he filled. The preserved verb si 'to fill / fill up' indicates a residual filling-action; the object is unrecoverable.

[...] X tab-ba — [...] paired [...]. The preserved verb tab 'to be parallel / paired' indicates a pairing-action — possibly the pairs-of-animals continuation (Gen 7:2-3 has Noah load the pairs into the ark; the Mesopotamian flood-tradition's pair-of-animals motif may be reflected here).

[...] A X — fully-lacuna with only residual cuneiform-sign-traces. Unrecoverable.

zi an-na zi ki-a i3-pad3-de3-en-ze2-en za-zu-da ḫe2-em-da-la2 — 'You (gods) have sworn by the life of heaven and the life of earth — you yourselves should be bound by it'. THE OATH-BY-LIFE-OF-HEAVEN-AND-LIFE-OF-EARTH FORMULA — the foundational Mesopotamian oath-formula. The Sumerian zi an-na zi ki-a deploys the zi life-breath keyword (covered by the existing central entry zi-sumerian-breath-of-life-cross-corpus) to invoke the animating-vitality of heaven and earth as the binding-substance of the oath. Covered by the new central entry zi-an-na-zi-ki-a-nish-ilim-oath-by-life-of-heaven-and-earth-cross-corpus. The cluster spans three-way Sumerian-Akkadian-Hebrew: Sumerian zi an-na zi ki-a ↔ Akkadian nīš ilī / nīš šamê u erṣetim ↔ Hebrew chay YHWH (1 Sam 14:39, Jer 4:2; covered by the existing central entry chei-x-oath-by-the-life-formula). Reception-history extends through Matt 5:34-35 (Jesus' prohibition of swearing-by-heaven-or-earth).

an ^den-lil2 zi an-na zi ki-a i3-pad3-de3-ze2-en za-da-ne-ne im-da-la2 — An and Enlil swore by the life of heaven and the life of earth, and were bound by it themselves. The reciprocal-binding of the divine assembly by their own oath. An and Enlil — the senior pair who decreed the flood (FLS-WOH-C:25) — are now bound by their oath. The narrative-effect is the reversal-of-the-flood-decree-irrevocability at the divine-self-binding level: the gods who decreed the flood now swear-themselves-into-restraint regarding any repetition.

niĝ2-gilim-ma ki-ta ed3-de3 im-ma-ra-ed3-de3 — The small animals that come up from the earth came forth. The line names the post-flood-emergence of the small-animals — paralleling the creation-of-animals at FLS-WOH-A:13-14 (where the small-animals multiplied from the ground in every place). The cyclical pattern: animals are fashioned from the ground (A:13) → destroyed in the flood → re-emerge from the ground (E:3). The continuity-through-the-flood is the diagnostic of Ziusudra's preservation-mission (covered at FLS-WOH-E:10 by the new central entry preservation-of-the-seed-of-humankind-and-animals-flood-aitia-cross-corpus).

zi-ud-su3-ra2 lugal-am3 — Ziusudra the king. The Sumerian lugal 'king' title continues from D:9 and C:11; here functions as the subject-of-the-following-line (E:5), with the line-break for emphatic-position. The same enjambment-construction recurs at FLS-WOH-E:9.

*igi an ^den-lil2-la2-še3 giri17 ki su-ub ba-/gub^!* — prostrated himself before An and Enlil, rubbing his nose to the ground. The second post-flood-prostration (the first was before Utu at FLS-WOH-D:10). Now before An and Enlil — the senior pair of the divine quartet — preceding the apotheosis-grant of FLS-WOH-E:6-8. The prostration-gesture is covered by the new central entry giri-ki-su-ub-appa-labanu-prostration-gesture-cross-corpus; the same idiom across Sumerian-Akkadian-Hebrew (Hebrew shachah apayim artzah).

an ^den-lil2 zi-ud-su3-ra2 mi2-e-/eš2^?\ [...-dug4-...] — An and Enlil cherished Ziusudra and [spoke ...] to him. The Sumerian mi2 dug4 (literally 'to speak loving-care') is the technical-idiom for divine-favor / cherishing. The line is the transition into the apotheosis-grant at FLS-WOH-E:7-8.

til3 diĝir-gin7 mu-un-na-šum2-mu — Life like (that of) a god they gave him. The apotheosis-grant. Covered by the new central entry til-digir-gin-kima-ilani-apotheosis-of-flood-survivor-cross-corpus. The Sumerian til3 diĝir-gin7 sits in cross-corpus sibling-cluster with the Akkadian kīma ilāni (Gilgamesh XI.193-196 — let Utnapishtim and his wife become like the gods); the Hebrew structural-parallel is the Hanokh-translation (Gen 5:24 — for the Elohim took him) and the Eliyahu-whirlwind-ascent (2 Kgs 2:11); cross-references to the existing central entry noach-vayithallech (the Noah walked with the Elohim parallel-construction). The Hebrew Bible has no flood-survivor apotheosis — Noah dies a natural death (Gen 9:29); the Mesopotamian apotheosis is conspicuously absent at the Hebrew flood-narrative.

zi da-ri2 diĝir-gin7 mu-un--ab-ed3-de3 — Eternal breath of life like (that of) a god they brought down for him. The line doubles the apotheosis-grant with the explicit zi da-ri2 'eternal life-breath' qualifier (covered by the new central entry zi-da-ri-balatu-daru-eternal-life-cross-corpus). The Sumerian da-ri2 'eternal' is the source of the Akkadian-loanword dārû; the Akkadian balāṭu dārû 'eternal life' is the direct cognate-parallel. Hebrew comparanda: chayei olam (Dan 12:2 — the Hebrew Bible's most-explicit eternal-life formula) and brit olam 'everlasting covenant' (the olam eternal-modifier in covenantal contexts; covered by the existing central entry brit-olam).

ud-ba zi-ud-su3-ra2 lugal-am3 — In those days Ziusudra the king,. The temporal-deictic ud-ba 'in those days' opens the closing-narrative-frame; the enjambment continues to E:10-11 (the for-preserving / they settled him aitia-and-destination).

mu niĝ2-gilim-ma numun nam-lu2-ulu3 uru3 ak — for preserving the small animals and the seed of humankind. The explicit aitia for Ziusudra's apotheosis: he is rewarded because he preserved both the small-animals and the seed-of-humankind through the flood. Covered by the new central entry preservation-of-the-seed-of-humankind-and-animals-flood-aitia-cross-corpus. Cross-corpus Atrahasis III.vi (the zēr napišti preservation); Gilgamesh XI.193-195 (Utnapishtim's preservation-merit); Hebrew Gen 7:3 (l-chayyot zera al penei kol ha-aretz — to keep seed alive on the face of all the earth) and Gen 9:1-7 (the post-flood-blessing; covered by the existing central entry peru-urevu-postflood). The Mesopotamian reward-form is apotheosis-of-the-survivor (immortality-grant); the Hebrew reward-form is fertility-blessing-of-the-descendants (mortal-blessing). The transformation is one of the most-significant Mesopotamian-Hebrew flood-tradition divergences.

kur-bal kur dilmun-na ki ^dutu e3-še3 mu-un-til3-eš — they settled him in an overseas country, in the land of Dilmun, the place where Utu rises. DILMUN — the eastern paradise. Covered by the new central entry dilmun-eastern-paradise-cross-corpus. Dilmun is identified historically with modern Bahrain and the eastern Persian Gulf region; archaeologically attested from the third millennium. The Sumerian kur dilmun-na + ki ^dutu e3-še3 (the place where Utu rises) is the eastern-cosmographic-orientation. Cross-corpus: Akkadian Gilgamesh XI.205-206 (Utnapishtim is settled ina rūqi ina pî nārāti 'in the far-distance, at the mouth of the rivers'); Hebrew Gen 2:8 (va-yitta YHWH Elohim gan b-Eden mi-qedem — YHWH planted a garden in Eden, in the east; covered by the existing central entry gan-be-eden). The Sumerian Enki-and-Ninhursag composition (ETCSL 1.1.1 — the Dilmun-paradise-text) is the most-developed Sumerian Eden-comparandum. The entry's rationale documents explicit operational disavowals against the ancient-astronaut interpretive overlays (Sitchin-corpus Dilmun-as-spaceport readings).

za-e^? X [...] /BA\ X-bi til3-eš X — 'You, [...] there they shall live [...]'. The preserved fragments contain the 2sg-pronoun za-e 'you' and the verb til3-eš 'they shall live / let them live'. The line is plausibly the closing-direct-address to Ziusudra or to the audience — possibly the opening of a doxological-closing-formula (cf. the Sumerian za-mi doxological tradition covered by the existing central entry za-mi-doxological-praise-formula-sumerian-cross-corpus). The composition's expected closing-doxology is mostly-lost in the lacuna.