The 12th Planet (67 page)

Though relatively little is known as yet regarding the Indus valley civilization, we do know that they, too, venerated the number twelve as the supreme divine number; that they depicted their gods as human-looking beings wearing horned headdresses; and that they revered the symbol of the cross
—
the sign of the Twelfth Planet. (Figs. 163, 164)

If these two civilizations were of Sumerian origin, why are their written languages different? The scientific answer is that the languages are not different. This was recognized as early as 1852, when the Reverend Charles Foster
(The One Primeval Language)
ably demonstrated that all the ancient languages then deciphered, including early Chinese and other Far Eastern languages, stemmed from one primeval source
—
thereafter shown to be Sumerian.

Similar pictographs had not only similar meanings, which could be a logical coincidence, but also the same multiple meanings and even the same phonetic sounds
—
which suggests a common origin. More recently, scholars have shown that the very first Egyptian inscriptions employed a language that was indicative of a prior written development; the only place where a written language had a prior development was Sumer.

So we have a single written language that for some reason was differentiated into three tongues: Mesopotamian, Egyptian/Hamitic, and Indo-European. Such a differentiation could have occurred by itself over time, distance, and geographical separation. Yet the Sumerian texts claim that it occurred as the result of a deliberate decision of the gods, once again initiated by Enlil. Sumerian stories on the subject are paralleled by the well-known biblical story of the Tower of Babel, in which we are told "that the whole Earth was of one language and of the same words." But after the people settled in Sumer, learned the art of brickmaking, built cities, and raised high towers (ziggurats), they planned to make for themselves a
shem
and a tower to launch it. Therefore "did the Lord mingle the Earth's tongue."

Fig. 162

Fig. 163

Fig. 164

The deliberate raising of Egypt from under the muddy waters, the linguistic evidence, and the Sumerian and biblical texts support our conclusion that the two satellite civilizations did not develop by chance. On the contrary, they were planned and brought about by the deliberate decision of the Nefilim.

Fearing, evidently, a human race unified in culture and purpose, the Nefilim adopted the imperial policy: "Divide and rule." For while Mankind reached cultural levels that included even airborne efforts
—
after which "anything they shall scheme to do shall no longer be impossible for them"
—
the Nefilim themselves were a declining lot. By the third millennium
B.C.
, children and grandchildren, to say nothing of humans of divine parentage, were crowding the great olden gods.

The bitter rivalry between Enlil and Enki was inherited by their principal sons, and fierce struggles for supremacy ensued. Even the sons of Enlil
—
as we have seen in earlier chapters
—
fought among themselves, as did the sons of Enki. As has happened in recorded human history, overlords tried to keep the peace among their children by dividing the land among the heirs. In at least one known instance, one son (Ishkur/Adad) was deliberately sent away by Enlil to be the leading local deity in the Mountain Land.

As time went on, the gods became overlords, each jealously guarding the territory, industry, or profession over which he had been given dominion. Human kings were the intermediaries between the gods and the growing and spreading humanity. The claims of ancient kings that they went to war, conquered new lands, or subjugated distant peoples "on the command of my god" should not be taken lightly. Text after text makes it clear that this was literally so: The gods retained the powers of conducting foreign affairs, for these affairs involved other gods in other territories. Accordingly, they had the final say in matters of war or peace.

With the proliferation of people, states, cities, and villages, it became necessary to find ways to remind the people who their particular overlord, or "lofty one," was. The Old Testament echoes the problem of having people adhere to
their
god and not "prostitute after other gods." The solution was to establish many places of worship, and to put up in each of them the symbols and likenesses of the "correct" gods.

The age of paganism began.

•

Following the Deluge, the Sumerian texts inform us, the Nefilim held lengthy counsels regarding the future of gods and Man on Earth. As a result of these deliberations, they "created the four regions." Three of them
—
Mesopotamia, the Nile valley, and the Indus valley
—
were settled by Man.

The fourth region was "holy"
—
a term whose original literal meaning was "dedicated, restricted." Dedicated to the gods alone, it was a "pure land," an area that could be approached only with authorization; trespassing could lead to quick death by "awesome weapons" wielded by fierce guards. This land or region was named TIL.MUN (literally, "the place of the missiles"). It was the restricted area where the Nefilim had reestablished their space base after the one at Sippar had been wiped out by the Deluge.

Once again the area was put under the command of Utu/Shamash, the god in charge of the fiery rockets. Ancient heroes like Gilgamesh strove to reach this Land of Living, to be carried by a
shem
or an Eagle to the Heavenly Abode of the Gods. We recall the plea of Gilgamesh to Shamash:

Let me enter the Land, let me raise my
Shem
....

By the life of my goddess mother who bore me,

of the pure faithful king, my father
—

my step direct to the Land!

Ancient tales
—
even recorded history
—
recall the ceaseless efforts of men to "reach the land," find the "Plant of Life," gain eternal bliss among the Gods of Heaven and Earth. This yearning is central to all the religions whose roots lie deep in Sumer: the hope that justice and righteousness pursued on Earth will be followed by an "afterlife" in some Heavenly Divine Abode.

But where was this elusive land of the divine connection?

The question can be answered. The clues are there. But beyond it loom other questions. Have the Nefilim been encountered since? What will happen when they are encountered again?

And if the Nefilim were the "gods" who "created" Man on Earth,
did evolution alone, on the Twelfth Planet, create the Nefilim?

SOURCES

•

I.
Principal sources for biblical texts

A. Genesis through Deuteronomy:
The Five Books of Moses,
new edition, revised by Dr. M. Stern, Star Hebrew Book Company, undated.

B. For latest translation and interpretation based on Sumerian and Akkadian finds: "Genesis," from
The Anchor Bible,
trans. by E. A. Speiser, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1964.

C. For "archaic" flavor:
The Holy Bible,
King James Version, Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Co., undated.

D. For verification of recent interpretations of biblical verses:
The Torah,
new translation of the Holy Scriptures according to the Masoretic text, New York: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1962;
The New American Bible,
translation by members of the Catholic Biblical Association of America, New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons, 1970; and
The New English Bible,
planned and directed by the Church of England, Oxford: Oxford University Press; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970.

E. For reference on usage comparison and translation aids:
Veteris Testamenti Concordantiae Hebraicae Atque Chaldaicae
by Solomon Mandelkern, Jerusalem: Schocken Books, Inc., 1962;
Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible,
a translation and adaptation of the work by A. van den Born, by the Catholic Biblical Association of America, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1963; and
Millon-Hatanach
(Hebrew), Hebrew-Aramaic by Jushua Steinberg, Tel Aviv: Izreel Publishing House Ltd., 1961.

II.
Principal sources for Near Eastern texts

Barton, George A.
The Royal Inscriptions of Sumer and Akkad. 1929.

Borger, Riekele.
Babylonisch-Assyrisch Lesestucke. 1963.
Budge, E. A. Wallis.
The Gods of the Egyptians. 1904.

Budge, E. A. W., and King, L. W.
Annals of the Kings of Assyria. 1902.

Chiera, Edward.
Sumerian Religious Texts. 1924.

Ebeling, E.; Meissner, B.; and Weidner, E. (eds.).
Reallexikon der Assyrologie und Vorderasiatischen Archiiology. 1932-1957.

Ebeling, Erich.
Enuma Elish: die Siibente Tafel des Akkadischen Weltschapfungsliedes. 1939.

___.
Tad und Leben nach den Vorstellungen der Babylonier. 1931.

Falkenstein, Adam, and W. von Soden.
Sumerische und Akkadische Hymnen und Gebete. 1953.

Falkenstein, Adam.
Sumerische Goetterlieder. 1959.

Fossey, Charles.
La Magie Syrienne. 1902.

Frankfort, Henri.
Kingship and the Gods. 1948.

Gray, John.
The Cananites. 1964.

Gordon, Cyrus H. "Canaanite Mythology" in
Mythologies of the Ancient World. 1961.

Grossman, Hugo.
The Development of the Idea of God
in
the Old Testament.
1926.

___.Altorientalische Texte und Bilder zum alten Testamente. 1909.

Giiterbock, Hans G. "Hittite Mythology" in
Mythologies of the Ancient World.
1961.

Heidel, Alexander.
The Babylonian Genesis. 1969.

Hilprecht, Herman V. (ed.).
Reports of the Babylonian Expedition: Cuneiform Texts. 1893-1914.

Jacobsen, Thorkild. "Mesopotamia" in
The Intellectual Adventure of the Ancient Man. 1946.

Jastrow, Morris.
Die Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens. 1905-12.

Jean, Charles-F.
La religion sumerienne. 1931.

Jensen, P.
Texte zur assyrisch-babylonischen Religion. 1915.

___.Die Kosmologie der Babylonier. 1890.

Jeremias, Alfred.
The Old Testament
in
the Light of the Ancient Near East.
1911.

___.
Das Alter der babylonischen Astronomie. 1908.

___.
Handbuch der Altorientalische Geistkultur.

Jeremias, Alfred, and Winckler, Hugo.
lm Kampfe um den alten Orient.

King, Leonard W.
Babylonian Magic and Sorcery, being "The Prayers of the Lifting of the Hand." 1896.

___.
The Assyrian Language. 1901.

___.
The Seven Tablets of Creation. 1902.

___.
Babylonian Religion and Mythology. 1899.

Kramer, Samuel N.
The Sumerians. 1963.

___. (ed.):
Mythologies of the Ancient World. 1961.

___.
History Begins at Sumer. 1959.

___.
Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta. 1952.

___.
From the Tablets of Sumer. 1956.

___.
Sumerian Mytlwlogy. 1961.

Kugler, Fra.nz Xaver.
Sternkunde und Sterndienst in Babylon. 1907-1913.

Lambert, W.
G.,
and Millard, A. R.
Atra-
H
asis, the Babylonian Story of the Flood. 1970.

Langdon, Stephen.
Sumerian and Babylonian Psalms. 1909.

___.
Tammuz and Ishtar. 1914.

___. (ed.):
Oxford Editions of Cuneiform Texts.
1923 ff.

___. "Semitic Mythology" in
The Mythology of All Races. 1964.

___.
Enuma Elish: The Babylonian Epic of Creation. 1923.

___.
Babylonian Penitential Psalms. 1927.

___.
Die Neu-Babylonischen Ki'migsinschriften. 1912.

Luckenbill, David D.
Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia. 1926-27.

Neugebauer, O.
Astronomical Cuneiform Texts. 1955.

Pinches, Theophilus G. "Some Mathematical Tablets in the British Museum" in
Hilprecht Anniversary Volume. 1909.

Pritchard, James B. (ed.).
Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. 1969.

Rawlinson, Henry C.
The Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia. 1861-84.

Sayce, A. H.
The Religion of the Babylonians. 1888.

Smith, George.
The Chaldean Account of Genesis. 1876.

Thomas, D. Winton (ed.).
Documents from Old Testament Times. 1961.

Thompson, R. Campbell.
The Reports of the Magicians and Astrologers of Nineveh and Babylon. 1900.

Thureau-Dangin, Francois.
Les Inscriptions de Sumer et Akkad. 1905.

___.
Die sumerischen und akkadische KOnigsinschriften. 1907.

___.
Rituels accadiens. 1921.

Virolleaud, Charles.
L'Astronomie Chaldeenne. 1903-1908.

Weidner, Ernst F.
Alter und Bedeutung der Babylonischer Astronomie und Astrallehre. 1914.

___.
Handbuch der Babylonischen Astronomie. 1915.

Witzel, P. Maums.
Tammuz-Liturgien und Verwandtes. 1935.

Ill.
Studies and articles consulted in various issues of the following periodicals

Der Alte Orient
(Leipzig)

American Journal of Archaeology
(Concord, Mass.)

American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures
(Chicago)

Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research
(New Haven)

Archiv fur Keilschriftforschung
(Berlin)

Archiv fur Orientforschung
(Berlin)

Archiv Orientalni
(Prague)

Assyrologische Bibliothek
(Leipzig)

Assyrological Studies
(Chicago)

Das Ausland
(Berlin)
Babyloniaca
(Paris)

Beitrage zur Assyrologie und semitischen Sprachwissenschaft
(Leipzig)

Berliner Beitriige zur Keilschriftforschung
(Berlin)

Bibliotheca Orientalis
(Leiden)

Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
(Jemsalem and Baghdad)

Deutsches Morgenliindische Gesellschaft, Abhandlungen
(Leipzig)

Harvard Semitic Series
(Cambridge, Mass.)

Hebrew Union College Annual
(Cincinnati)

Journal Asiatique
(Paris)

Journal of the American Oriental Society
(New Haven)

Journal of Biblical Literature and Exegesis
(Middletown).

Journal of Cuneiform Studies
(New Haven)

Journal of Near Eastern Studies
(Chicago)

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
(London)

Journal of the Society of Oriental Research
(Chicago)

Journal of Semitic Studies
(Manchester)

Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek
(Berlin)

Konigliche Museen
zu
Berlin: Mitteilungen am der Orientalischen Sammlungen
(Berlin)

Leipziger semitische Studien
(Leipzig)

Mitteilungen der altorientalischen Gesellschaft
(Leipzig)

Mitteilungen des Instituts fur Orientforschung
(Berlin)

Orientalia
(Rome)

Orientalische Literaturzeitung
(Berlin)

Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society
(Philadelphia)

Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology
(London)

Revue d'Assyrologie et d'archeologie orientale
(Paris)

Revue biblique
(Paris)

Sacra Scriptura Antiquitatibus Orientalibus Illustrata
(Vatican)

Studia Orientalia
(Helsinki)

Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology
(London)

Untersuchungen zur Assyrologie und vorderasiatischen Archiiologie
(Berlin)

Vorderasiatische Bibliothek
(Leipzig)

Die Welt des Orients
(Gottingen)

Wissenschaftliche Veroffehtlichungen der deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft
(Berlin)

Zeitschrift fur Assyrologie und verwandte Gebiete
(Leipzig)

Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
(Berlin, Gissen)

Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenliindischen Gesellschaft
(Leipzig)

Zeitschrift fur Keilschriftforschung
(Leipzig)