創世記創造敘述的近東背景(三)

上一回簡略《近東開闢史詩》的內容，情節停在馬獨克(Marduk)向水神徹墨(Tiamat)宣戰，神話繼續敘述兩神單打獨鬥，情節更為精彩：

IV.87徹墨聞之，
IV.88頓失理智，舉止若狂，
IV.89勃然大怒，咆吼不已。
IV.90又搖震雙足以抵地，
IV.91復鼓其舌而作咒，
IV.92而陣上諸神，亦皆磨戈植矛，(準備搏鬥。)
IV.93徹墨繼而與聰明神武之馬獨克，
IV.94單獨比鬥，酣戰不休。
IV.95至尊乃布網以掩徹墨，
IV.96魔風則尾隨之，伺機揚擊其面；

IV.87 When Tiamat heard this
IV.88 She went insane and lost her reason.
IV.89 Tiamat cried aloud and fiercely,
IV.90 All her lower members trembled beneath her.
IV.91 She was reciting an incantation, kept reciting her spell,
IV.92 While the battle-gods were sharpening their weapons of war.
IV.93 Tiamat and Marduk, the sage of the gods, came together,
IV.94 Joining in strife, drawing near to battle
IV.95 Bel spread out his net and enmeshed her;
IV.96 He let loose the Evil Wind, the rear guard, in her face.

近東神明撃殺怪獸

出自亞述王Ashur-nasir-pal皇宮浮雕

公元前885-860年

有學者認為是馬獨克殺戮徹墨的描繪[1]

緊張刺激的描述，一方面要說明徹墨(Tiamat)的勢力，另一方面就是要強調馬獨克(Marduk)的威力和最後的勝利：

IV.97當徹墨張口意欲吞噬(馬獨克)之際，
IV.98彼乃鼓策魔風猛進，使其雙唇難閉，
IV.99眾風群起而吹襲其腹，
IV.100使其軀體膨脹而其口闊張，
IV.101彼即以箭射其腹，
IV.102洞穿五內，並裂其心。
IV.103彼既一戰而勝之，遂了結(徹墨)之生命。
IV.104並暴其屍體，(以為京觀)而踐踏之。

IV.97 Tiamat opened her mouth to swallow it,
IV.98 She let the Evil Wind in so that she could not close her lips.
IV.99 The fierce winds weighed down her belly,
IV.100 Her inwards were distended and she opened her mouth wide.
IV.101 He let fly an narrow and pierced her belly,
IV.102 He tore open her entrails and slit her inwards,
IV.103 He bound her and extinguished her life,
IV.104 He threw down her corpse and stood on it.

馬獨克(Marduk)完全打敗徹墨(Tiamat)之後，便生擒潰不成軍的叛逆神靈，又奪去罪魁金固的「天命之銘」(“Tablet of Destinies”) [IV.121]，掌握宇宙和諸神的控制權。隨後，又轉回徹墨(Tiamat)的屍首，用她創造萬有：

IV.128轉而顧其為彼所繫之徹墨。
IV.129於是，至尊遂踐踏徹墨之足，
IV.130以其執法嚴厲之權杖，敲碎其頭顱焉。
IV.131彼既已切斷其動脈之血矣，
IV.132北風乃吹拂之於冥漠之地。
IV.133其父等覩此(勝利)，喜極而歡呼；
IV.134彼輩爭擕禮品以致賀之。
IV.135惟至尊止步而視(徹墨之)殘骸
IV.136思欲分割其體而有所創造焉。

IV.128 And returned to Tiamat, whom he had bound.
IV.129 Bel placed his feet on the lower parts of Tiamat
IV.130 And with his merciless club smashed her skull.
IV.131 He severed her arteries
IV.132 And let the North Wind bear up (her blood) to give the news.
IV.133 His fathers saw it and were glad and exulted;
IV.134 They brought gifts and presents to him.
IV.135 Bel rested, surveying the corpse,
IV.136 In order to divide the lump by a clever scheme.

我們讀到這裡，需要重溫一下史詩敘述的脈絡，如果記得史詩的開首，徹墨(Tiamat)是水和混沌之神靈，馬獨克(Marduk)打敗徹墨(Tiamat)之後，便開始創立世界，情節要到下一篇短文才繼續，以下暫作另一小結。

神靈爭霸
《近東開闢史詩》刻在七塊泥版之上，全詩有1096行(根據Lambert編譯的版本為準)，由神話故事一開始，到馬獨克的出現和最後打敗徹墨(I.1-IV.136)，共佔598行，即全史詩篇幅之55%。如果減去史詩結尾稱頌馬獨克的五十大名(VI.123-VII.164)，共207行，全詩只有889行，敘述馬獨克大戰徹墨的篇幅，佔神話篇幅67%。

這種的運算特別重要，因為我們可以看到史詩花最多的心血，正在於神靈之間的爭霸(theomachy)，即使史詩之後會交代得勝者創立世界的經過，也只是後加的註腳。神靈爭霸是近東創造敘述和宇宙論的固有特色[2]，神明殺敗起初混沌的大水，稱霸群神後便創立宇宙，宇宙創立的經過，是由混沌到宇宙。

從這方面考慮，創世記創世敘述的特色就更顯而易見，創世記一章的敘述，沒有近東神話精彩的神靈爭霸戰，沒有什麼星空大戰，卻以異常簡樸的敘述，成為以色列的「信仰文獻」(document of faith [3])，宣告著神是超越萬有之主。

備註：
[1] 儘管有些人仍然認為，這圖象描繪馬獨克和徹墨之間之戰鬥。但是，這兩塊石板是在尼姆魯德(Nimrud; 聖經中的迦拉 [Calab])戰神Ninurta寺廟hi9入口處被發現。圖象上亦刻有向Ninurta祈禱文。所以我們可以肯定，追殺怪物是神是Ninurta，不是馬獨克。 此外，左面怪物顯然是男性，也是地和空中之物，也就是說，牠不可能是女性和水神徹墨。Heidel, Alexander. 1951. The Babylonian Genesis, 2nd edition. Chicago: University of Chicago, p. 86-87.
[2] Nahum M. Sarna, Genesis, The JPS Torah Commentary (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989), 2–3.
[3] Ibid.