Editing Enki (section)

== The names Enki and Ea ==
The meaning of the names Enki and Ea is uncertain. It is presumed that they were originally the names of separate deities<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Jimmy J. M. |title=The earliest Semitic pantheon: a study of the Semitic deities attested in Mesopotamia before Ur III |date=1972 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-0-8018-1388-7 |location=Baltimore |page=21}}</ref> that were syncretized at some point in the third millennium.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Espak |first=Peeter |title=Ancient Near Eastern Gods Ea and Enki; Diachronical analysis of texts and images from the earliest sources to the Neo-Sumerian period |date=2006 |degree=master |publisher=Tartu University, Faculty of Theology, Chair for Ancient Near Eastern Studies |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28581203_Ancient_Near_Eastern_Gods_Enki_and_Ea_Diachronical_Analysis_of_Texts_and_Images_from_the_Earliest_Sources_to_the_Neo-Sumerian_Period |page=38}}</ref>Due to the lack of written evidence, it is impossible to clearly define the process of assimilation between Enki and Ea.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Espak |first=Peeter |title=The God Enki in Sumerian Royal Ideology and Mythology |date=2010 |degree=master |publisher=Tartu University, Faculty of Theology, Chair for Ancient Near Eastern Studies |url=https://www.academia.edu/1034652/The_God_Enki_in_Sumerian_Royal_Ideology_and_Mythology |page=35}}</ref>

=== Enki ===
The name Enki is usually translated as “Lord of the Earth” in [[Sumerian language|sumerian]].<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Espak |first=Peeter |title=Ancient Near Eastern Gods Ea and Enki; Diachronical analysis of texts and images from the earliest sources to the Neo-Sumerian period |date=2006 |degree=master |publisher=Tartu University, Faculty of Theology, Chair for Ancient Near Eastern Studies |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28581203_Ancient_Near_Eastern_Gods_Enki_and_Ea_Diachronical_Analysis_of_Texts_and_Images_from_the_Earliest_Sources_to_the_Neo-Sumerian_Period |page=23}}</ref> This explanation is not universally accepted.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Lambert |first=Wilfred G. |date=1989 |title=Reviewed Work: Eblaitica: Essays on the Ebla Archives and Eblaite Language. Vol. I by Cyrus H. Gordon, Gary A. Rendsburg, Nathan H. Winter |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/617916?read-now=1&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=116 |via=JSTOR}}</ref> Several scholars argue that it does not seemingly fit the functions of the god.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Galter |first=Hannes D. |url=https://www.academia.edu/45092567/Der_Gott_Ea_Enki_in_der_akkadischen_%C3%9Cberlieferung_Eine_Bestandsaufnahme_des_vorhandenen_Materials_Dissertationen_der_Universit%C3%A4t_Graz_58_Graz_dbv_Verlag_1983 |title=Der Gott Ea/Enki in der akkadischen Überlieferung: eine Bestandsaufnahme des vorhandenen Materials |date=1983 |publisher=dbv-Verl. für die Techn. Univ |isbn=978-3-7041-9018-5 |series=Dissertationen der Universität Graz |location=Graz |page=8}}</ref><ref name=":32">{{Cite journal |last=Kramer |first=Samuel Noah |date=1960 |title=Sumero-Akkadian Interconnections: Religious Ideas |journal=Genava |volume=8 |page= |pages=276 |issn=0072-0585}}</ref>While they accept the translation ‘’Lord of the Earth’’ for Enki, [[Samuel Noah Kramer]] and [[Thorkild Jacobsen]] have suggested that it was originally an epithet of the god that eventually replaced his original name. Kramer argued that this epithet was given to the god by the theologians of [[Eridu]] in order to elevate his position in the pantheon and make him a rival of [[Enlil]].<ref name=":32" /> However, Jacobsen points out that there is no conclusive evidence of a rivalry between Enki and Enlil in sumerian texts.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jacobsen |first=Thorkild |title=Shaʾarei Talmon: studies in the Bible, Qumran, and the Ancient Near East presented to Shemaryahu Talmon |date=1992 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=978-0-931464-61-4 |editor-last=Fishbane |editor-first=Michael A. |location=Winona Lake, Ind |pages=415 |chapter=The Spell of Nudimmud |editor-last2=Ṭalmon |editor-first2=Shemaryahu}}</ref>Jacobsen interpreted Enki as a personification of the power of sweet waters. He explained his name ‘’Lord (productive manager) of the Earth’’ as a reflection of the role of water in the fertilizing of the earth.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jacobsen |first=Thorkild |title=The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion |date=1978 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-02291-9 |location=New Haven, CT |pages=111}}</ref> He proposed that Enki’s original name was [[Abzu|Abzû]], later regarded as his under-earth sweet water domain and living place.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jacobsen |first=Thorkild |title=Toward the Image of Tammuz and Other Essays on Mesopotamian History and Culture |date=1970 |publisher=Harvard University Press |others= |isbn=978-0-674-89810-3 |series=Harvard Semitic Series |location=Cambridge |pages=22}}</ref> However according to Peeter Espak there is no conclusive proof that Enki was regarded as an ancient personification of water in the available sources of the old sumerian period.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Espak |first=Peeter |title=Ancient Near Eastern Gods Ea and Enki; Diachronical analysis of texts and images from the earliest sources to the Neo-Sumerian period |date=2006 |degree=master |publisher=Tartu University, Faculty of Theology, Chair for Ancient Near Eastern Studies. |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28581203_Ancient_Near_Eastern_Gods_Enki_and_Ea_Diachronical_Analysis_of_Texts_and_Images_from_the_Earliest_Sources_to_the_Neo-Sumerian_Period |page=26}}</ref> Despite the similarity between their names, Enki of Eridu and [[Ancestors of Enlil|the primordial god Enki]] were separate figures.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Jacobsen |first=Thorkild |title=The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion |date=1978 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-02291-9 |location=New Haven, CT |pages=252}}</ref>Thorkild Jacobsen proposed that their names had slightly different meanings and he translated the name of the primordial god as “Lord Earth”.<ref name=":12" /> The forms of their names in the [[Emesal]] dialect are different; the name of Enki of Eridu is written Amanki, while the name of the primordial god is written Umunki.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Babylonian creation myths |date=2013 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=978-1-57506-247-1 |editor-last=Lambert |editor-first=W. G. |series=Mesopotamian civilizations |location=Winona Lake, Indiana |pages=414}}</ref>

[[Edmond Sollberger]] and [[Wilfred G. Lambert|Wilfred]] [[Wilfred G. Lambert|G. Lambert]] have proposed a different translation for the name of Enki of Eridu. It has been remarked that an omissible g appears at the end of the second element of his name, which does not appear in the name of the primordial god.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Babylonian creation myths |date=2013 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=978-1-57506-247-1 |editor-last=Lambert |editor-first=W. G. |series=Mesopotamian civilizations |location=Winona Lake, Indiana |pages=417}}</ref>For this reason they interpret this second element not as ki, ‘’earth’’, but as ki(g) of unknown meaning.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Espak |first=Peeter |title=Ancient Near Eastern Gods Ea and Enki; Diachronical analysis of texts and images from the earliest sources to the Neo-Sumerian period |date=2006 |degree=master |publisher=Tartu University, Faculty of Theology, Chair for Ancient Near Eastern Studies |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28581203_Ancient_Near_Eastern_Gods_Enki_and_Ea_Diachronical_Analysis_of_Texts_and_Images_from_the_Earliest_Sources_to_the_Neo-Sumerian_Period |page=27}}</ref>Sollberger understood an element ki(g) meaning ‘’favour, benevolence, love’’ in sumerian. Therefore he translated Enki(g) as ‘’Lord Love’’,<ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last=Sollberger |first=Edmond |title=The Business and Administrative Correspondence under the Kings of Ur |date=1966 |publisher=J.J. Augustin |location=Locust Valley |pages=141}}</ref>or ‘’Lord Benevolence’’.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sollberger |first=Edmond |title=Inscriptions royales sumériennes et akkadiennes |date=1976 |isbn=9782204035736 |edition=CERF |location=Paris |pages=301}}</ref>He argues that this translation reflects Enki’s well attested role in myths as a friend of mankind.<ref name=":22" />However, this explanation is not generally accepted. It has been remarked that it is possible that the omissible g developed via [[dissimilation]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lisman |first=Jan J. W. |title=Cosmogony, theogony and anthropogeny in Sumerian texts |date=2013 |publisher=Ugarit-Verlag |isbn=978-3-86835-095-1 |series=Alter Orient und Altes Testament |location=Münster |pages=128}}</ref>though similar examples of dissimilation are so far not attested in sumerian.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Espak |first=Peeter |title=Ancient Near Eastern Gods Ea and Enki; Diachronical analysis of texts and images from the earliest sources to the Neo-Sumerian period |date=2006 |degree=master |publisher=Tartu University, Faculty of Theology, Chair for Ancient Near Eastern Studies |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28581203_Ancient_Near_Eastern_Gods_Enki_and_Ea_Diachronical_Analysis_of_Texts_and_Images_from_the_Earliest_Sources_to_the_Neo-Sumerian_Period |page=28}}</ref>

=== Ea ===
The name Ea first occurs in personal names from the [[Akkadian Empire|Old Akkadian period]]. Earlier translations interpreting Ea as a sumerian name meaning ‘’House of Water’’ or ‘’House of the Moon, Moon station’’ are regarded as implausible by modern scholarship.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Galter |first=Hannes D. |url=https://www.academia.edu/45092567/Der_Gott_Ea_Enki_in_der_akkadischen_%C3%9Cberlieferung_Eine_Bestandsaufnahme_des_vorhandenen_Materials_Dissertationen_der_Universit%C3%A4t_Graz_58_Graz_dbv_Verlag_1983 |title=Der Gott Ea/Enki in der akkadischen Überlieferung: eine Bestandsaufnahme des vorhandenen Materials |date=1983 |publisher=dbv-Verl. für die Techn. Univ |isbn=978-3-7041-9018-5 |series=Dissertationen der Universität Graz |location=Graz |pages=3}}</ref>In a few modern publications, the interpretation ‘’House of Water’’ is sometimes presented as a scribal popular etymology. However, according to Lambert, there is no evidence for such a reinterpretation.<ref name=":02" />

Due to the fact that the name appears associated with semitic elements in the sources of the Old Akkadian Period, it has been suggested that Ea is most likely a semitic name.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Jimmy J. M. |title=The earliest Semitic pantheon: a study of the Semitic deities attested in Mesopotamia before Ur III |date=1972 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-0-8018-1388-7 |location=Baltimore |pages=20-21}}</ref>It has been proposed that the etymology of the name is connected to the semitic root ḥyy, ‘’to live’’.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Archi |first=Alfonso |title=Opening the tablet box: Near Eastern studies in honor of Benjamin R. Foster |date=2010 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-18652-1 |editor-last=Melville |editor-first=Sarah C. |series=Culture and history of the ancient Near East |location=Leiden Boston |page=15 |chapter=The god Hay(y)a (Ea/Enki) at Ebla |editor-last2=Slotsky |editor-first2=Alice L. |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/98043392/God_Hayya_Ea_Enki_Fest_Foster}}</ref>Following this interpretation, a possible translation of the name would be ‘’the Living one’’. This explanation has not been proved with certainty, though it is considered the most convincing possibility as of 2006.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Espak |first=Peeter |title=Ancient Near Eastern Gods Ea and Enki; Diachronical analysis of texts and images from the earliest sources to the Neo-Sumerian period |date=2006 |degree=master |publisher=Tartu University, Faculty of Theology, Chair for Ancient Near Eastern Studies. |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28581203_Ancient_Near_Eastern_Gods_Enki_and_Ea_Diachronical_Analysis_of_Texts_and_Images_from_the_Earliest_Sources_to_the_Neo-Sumerian_Period |page=34}}</ref> It has been proposed that the name of the god [[Haya (god)|Haya]] was originally an alternative spelling of Ea.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Civil |first=Miguel |date=1983 |title=Enlil and Ninlil: The Marriage of Sud |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/601859?origin=crossref |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=103 |issue=1 |pages=44 |via=JSTOR}}</ref>Margaret W. Green proposes that the names Ea and Haya were both derived from the name of a pre Sumerian deity that was integrated into the pantheons of the sumerians and of the semitic peoples, and that Haya persisted as a separate deity after Ea was syncretized with Enki.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Green |first=Margaret W. |title=Eridu in Sumerian Literature |date=1975 |degree=PhD |publisher=University of Chicago |page=75}}</ref>Peeter Espak remarks that in the absence of written sources there is no conclusive evidence to prove or deny these theories.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Espak |first=Peeter |title=Ancient Near Eastern Gods Ea and Enki; Diachronical analysis of texts and images from the earliest sources to the Neo-Sumerian period |date=2006 |degree=master |publisher=Tartu University, Faculty of Theology, Chair for Ancient Near Eastern Studies. |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28581203_Ancient_Near_Eastern_Gods_Enki_and_Ea_Diachronical_Analysis_of_Texts_and_Images_from_the_Earliest_Sources_to_the_Neo-Sumerian_Period |page=102}}</ref>