A Mesopotamian proverb and its Biblical reverberations.

• Author: Greenspahn, Frederick E.

A Mesopotamian proverb, "The tallest man cannot reach heaven; the widest man cannot cover the mountain (or earth')," uses themes and phrases found throughout cuneifonn l iterature to express the limitations of human existence. Traces of this saying, which corresponds to the Biblical view that heaven is accessible only to God, can be found in several parts of the Heb rew Bible, including Deut. 30:11-13 and the story of Jacob's dream. However, its most notable relevan nce is to the account of the Tower of Babel, which includes language derived from this tradition. Thi thematics connection supports those who have contended that the builders' "sin" was their effort to reach heaven, precisely the kind of hubris against which the proverb warns.

An ancient proverb has been found in several different cuneiform texts, written over a period that spans more than a thousand years. The earliest occurrence is in a Sumerian composition:

sukud-da an-na-se nu-mu-un-da-la lu dagal-la kur-ra la-ba-an-su-su

The tallest (man) cannot reach heaven, The widest man cannot cover the mountains.(2)

The message of this saying is self-evident: human beings are limited by nature; no matter how strong they are, there remain things they simply cannot do. From this, the text draws a straightforward conclusion:

ti nig.dug sa.hul-la su he-ni-ib-kar-kar-re The pleasant life - let it elapse in joy.

The proverb was also incorporated into the story of "Gilgamesh and the Land of the Living," where the hero employs it before the sun god, Utu, in order to justify his quest. After reciting the proverb, Gilgamesh describes the purpose of his mission:

kur-ra ga-an-ku(4) mu-mu ga-am-gar ki-mu-gub-bu-ba-am mu-mu ga-bi-ib-gub ki-mu-nu-gub-bu-ba-am mu-dingir-re-e-ne ga-bi-ib-gub

I would enter the land, I would set up my name In its places where names have been raised up, I would raise my name. In its places where names have not been raised up I would raise up the names of the gods.(3)

This aspiration of making his name (mu) famous in order to overcome mortality was retained when the episode was woven into the classic epic during the Old Babylonian period.(4) Presented again by Gilgamesh, this time the proverb about human limitations appears in kkadian and is directed toward Enkidu, whom the hero seeks to persuade to join him in battling Humbaba. To sharpen its message, an explicit contrast is drawn with the gods, who are immortal:

mannu ibri elu sam[ai] iluma itti Samas daris u[ssab] awilutumma manu umusa mimma la iteneppesu saruma

Who, my friend, can scale heaven? Only the gods dwell forever with [or: like] Shamash. As for mankind, their days are numbered. Whatever they achieve is but wind.'

The tone of futility at the close of this passage is echoed in Ecclesiastes, which bases its own carpe diem philosophy on the observation that our deeds are mere wind, paralleling the logic of the proverb's earliest set- ting.(6) Also noteworthy is the reference to mortality as that which distinguishes human beings from deities, a position widely attested in cuneiform literature and beyond, including the Bible.(7)

The original proverb occurs yet again in what has come to be known as "The Dialogue of Pessimism," when the servant responds to his master's inquiry, "What is good?" by saying:

ayu arku sa ana same elu ayu rapsu sa ersetim ugammeru

Who is so tall as to ascend to the heavens? Who is so broad as to compass the underworld?(8)

In this setting, the by-now millennium-old proverb plays a radically different role from that of its earlier attestations. No longer is its actual meaning of any direct importance; instead it serves as a stock saying, offered in response to a profound philosophical query. Its meaninglessness in this context, like that of the proverbial responses to earlier inquiries, demonstrates the vacuity the author imputes to the wisdom movement, which is presented as having been reduced to spouting traditional verities without concern for their relevance.(9)

Cumulatively, these attestations demonstrate this proverb's long life and wide familiarity. Beginning as a depiction of human limitations, it came to highlight the gulf between mortals and deities before finally being used as a literary cliche, mocked less for its inaccuracy than its triteness.

Although these texts constitute the primary evidence, the saying itself draws on standard themes and phrases. For example, a famous hymn praises Inanna by pointing out:

You are as lofty as heaven You are as broad as earth.(10)

Ugaritic literature characterizes Baal similarly:

Baal sits as a mountain sits Hadd is [ ] like the ocean.(11)

Mountains, Which the original proverb claimed were too wide for men to encompass, are also, of course, a familiar image for great height. It is in that sense that they are used for deities in the well-known epithet sadu rabu (`great mountain'), as is clear from the description of IM.HUR.SAG as "a great mountain whose peak rivals the heavens, whose foundations are laid in the holy apsu" (sadu rabu [.sup.d]MIN im-hur-sag sa resasu samami sanna apsu ellim sursuda ussusu).(12)

In light of the conventional status such terminology achieved as a way to describe important deities, it is hardly surprising that traces of this tradition can be found in the Hebrew Bible, which has a special interest in both divine uniqueness and human limitations. These themes play a particularly important role in the book of Ecclesiastes, where the concept can surely be discerned in Qohelet's assertion that "God is in heaven...