Epic of Paradise, Mountain Dilmun / Tilmun, Flood, Fall of Man - Column I

  1. Holy is [the place] where you are;
  2. The mountain Dilmun is holy.
  3. Holy is the place where you are;
  4. ......the mountain Dilmun is is holy.
  5. The mountain Dilmun is holy, the mountain Dilmun is pure,
  6. The mountain Dilmun is pure; the mountain Dilmun is brilliant.
  7. Alone in Dilmun they lay down;
  8. Where Enki and his consort lay,
  9. That place is pure; that place is brilliant.
  10. Where Enki and Ninella lay,
  11. That Place is pure, that place is brilliant.
  12. In Dilmun the raven cried not,
  13. The dar-bird its dar-cry uttered not.
  14. The deadly lion destroyed not,
  15. The wolf a lamb seized not,
  16. The dog the weak kid tore not,
  17. The dun-animal (sow) the food-grain destroyed not,
  18. The planned not for young off spring...
  19. The birds of heaven their offspring hatched not,
  20. Doves laid noteggs (?)_
  21. Of eye-disease, "it is eye-disease," one said not;
  22. Of headache, "it is headache," one said not.
  23. To a mother, "mother," one said not,
  24. To a father, "father," one said not.
  25. In the holy place a libation was poured not; in the city one drank not;
  26. The river-man "cross it?" said not;
  27. The overseer filled no right hand;
  28. The musician "sing," said not;
  29. The prince of the city spoke not.
  30. Ninella to her father Enki Said:
  31. "A city thoust founded, a city thou hast founded, its destiny thou hast fiexe;
  32. In Dilmun a city thou has hast founded,
  33. ......thou hast founded a city,
  34. ........a canal there is not
  35. ..;;;.....thou hast founded a city."

"The rest of the first column is broken away; probably about nine lines are missing.

All the first column is descriptive of a place inhabited only by a god and godess. Many activities are absent, because there is no one there to carry them out. Lines 16-21 remind one a little of Isaiah 11:6-i

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. Isaiah 11:6

And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. Isaiah 11:7

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den. Isaiah 11:8

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:9

Source:

Prior to 2000 B.C.From: George A. Barton, Archaeology and The Bible, 7th Edition revised, (Philadelphia: American Sunday School, 1937), pgs 337-338


The Land of Tilmun/Dilmun known account of a paradisial garden appears on a cuneiform tablet from ancient Sumer. Here we learn of the mythical place called Dilmun, a pure, clean, bright place where sickness, violence, and old age do not exist. At first this paradise lacks only one thing: water. Eventually this is provided by the Sumerian water god, Enki. At once, Dilmun is transformed into a garden of fruit trees, edible plants, and flowers. Dilmun, however, is a paradise for the gods alone and not for human beings, although one learns that Ziusudra (the Sumerian counterpart of Noah) was exceptionally admitted to the divine garden." (An Encyclopedia of Archetypal Symbolism)

"The origin of the Sumerians, a broad-headed people, who were physically and linguistically quite different from the Semites, is one of the great unsolved problems of history. It has been conjectured that they came from the south-east, either by way of southern Persia or by the Persian Gulf. Their early familiarity with ships seems to support the late view, and it is perhaps significant that the scene of one of their myths is laid in Tilmun [Dilmun]. which has been identified with the island of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf....The tradition of civilization emerging fully developed without the long, painful process of evolution agrees with the sudden urban settlement of southern Mesopotamia by a people from overseas who brought with them the necessary skills and political organization to control in such a region." A millennium later "dominance was won by the Semitic power in the city of Agade, or Akkad, under Sargon, the first really great imperialist in history (2242-2186 BC)." - John Gray, Near Eastern Mythology

Til-mun: The Restricted Area From an analysis of The Earth Chronicles:

"Many scholars, down through history, have known about a place called Til-mun. Many have speculated, given the evidence found in the ancient writings, as to where this "Place of the Olden Gods, this Restricted (holy) Area, might be. Naturally, many scholars, in the past, considered Til- mun to be a mythical place, just as the Place of the After- Life of the Pharaohs must be mythical. After all, most people thought those ancient writings must be nothing but "fabulous" figments of imagination, for religious or political consumption. But then, there have always been those scholars who thought, "Maybe, just maybe, there's some basis in fact for these fantastic stories." (Is it not odd that the more we learn about our ancient past, the less mythical it becomes? Think of what we might know to be true, if the library at Alexandria hadn't been destroyed -- about all of the ancient civilizations that were considered myth - - mere "stories" to entertain (instruct?) the minds of the peasants of yesteryear!)

If one were to trace the route of Alexander, as he began his conquest of the known world, it would be apparent that he was closest to the olden "Restricted Area," at the very beginning of his march! Isn't it ironic, that the thing we desire most in life turns out to be that which is closest to us, both in time and in space! Almost as if we had "missed" something, in our haste to "conquer" our own world.

After exploring all of the theories put forth by very intelligent scholars, Sitchin proves (tests) beyond a shadow of a doubt that Til-mun was actually in the Sinai Peninsula -- that little triangle of land that was the bridge between the middle East and the continent of Africa! Even the ancient writings made it plain where Til-mun was. It was right next to Magan: read the old text...

The lands of Magan and Tilmun
looked up at me.
I, Enki, moored the Tilmun-boat at the coast,
Loaded the Magan-boat sky high.
The Joyous boat of Meluhha
transports gold and silver.

[Magan, of course, is ancient Egypt.]

And, after a simple, but convincing, argument, Sitchin goes on to test the truth of his assertions. In the words of Gilgamesh...

At the mountain of Mashu he arrived,
Where by day the Shems he watched
as they depart and come in...
Rocket-men guard its gate...
they watch over Shamash
as he ascends and descends.

"That, indeed was the place whereto Ziusudra [Noah] had been taken":

In the Land of the Crossing
in mountainous Tilmun --
the place where Shamash ascends --
they caused him to dwell.

Eridue Genesis

Epic of Paradise Column I, II, III, IV, V, VI

Kenneth Sublett

Babylonian Documents

Home Page