Editing Nergal (section)

==Later relevance==
Nergal is mentioned in the [[Books of Kings|Book of Kings]] as the deity of the city of Cuth (Kutha): "And the men of Babylon made [[Succoth-benoth]], and the men of Cuth made Nergal" (2 Kings, 17:30). According to the [[Rabbinic Judaism|rabbinic]] tradition, he was associated with the image of a foot or a rooster.{{sfn|Klein|2018|p=347}}

In [[Mandaean cosmology]], the name for [[Mars]] is ''[[Nirig]]'' ({{lang|myz|ࡍࡉࡓࡉࡂ}}), a derivative of Nergal, which is a part of a recurrent pattern of Mandaean names of celestial bodies being derived from names of Mesopotamian deities.{{sfn|Bhayro|2020|pp=572-573}}

Victorian lexicographer [[E. Cobham Brewer]] asserted that the name of Nergal, who he identified as "the most common idol of ancient Phoenicians, Indians and Persians", meant "dunghill cock".{{sfn|Brewer|1895|p=268}} This translation is incorrect in the light of modern research, as Nergal's name most likely was understood as "Lord of the big city",{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=215}} his emblematic animals were bulls and lions,{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998a|p=223}} while chickens were unknown in Mesopotamia prior to the ninth century BCE based on archeological data, and left behind no trace in cuneiform sources.{{sfn|Powell|2005|p=13}}