Editing Enki (section)

== Alternative names and epithets ==

=== Nudimmud ===
Nudimmud, one of the most frequently attested alternative names and [[epithet]]s of Enki/Ea, was almost exclusively used in literary texts. In [[Akkadian language|akkadian]] sources, it could also appear in royal inscriptions, prayers, and [[incantation]]s.<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=13}}</ref> It already appears in the [[Zame Hymns]] under the form ''<sup>d</sup>''en-nu-te-mud.<ref name=":0">{{Cite thesis |last=Espak |first=Peeter |title=The God Enki in Sumerian Royal Ideology and Mythology |date=2010 |degree=dissertation |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=54}}</ref> The standard writing was ''<sup>d</sup>''nu-dím-mud. Alternative forms include ,for example, nu-te-me-nud from the Fāra period or nu-da-mud from the [[Third Dynasty of Ur|Ur III period]]. The verbal elements dím and mud in the standard orthography respectively mean ‘’to build, create’’, and ‘’to bring forth’’.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Cavigneaux |first=Antoine |last2=Krebernik |first2=Manfred |date=1998 |title=Nudimmud, Nadimmud |url=https://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#9146 |access-date=2025-05-24 |website=Reallexikon der Assyriologie |page=607 |language=german}}</ref> The god list An=Anum ša ameli explains Nudimmud as Ea in his aspect as the god of creation.<ref name=":0" /> [[Thorkild Jacobsen]] interpreted the name as ‘’Image fashioner’’, ‘’God of shaping’’, reflecting Ea’s role as the god of crafts and as the god who creates figures from [[clay]].<ref name="Jacobsen 1978 111"/> It has been remarked that older spellings of Nudimmud do not feature the element dím.<ref name=":2">{{Cite thesis |last=Espak |first=Peeter |title=Ancient Near Eastern Gods Enki and Ea: 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=41}}</ref> Antoine Cavigneaux and Manfred Krebernik conclude that the orthography with dím is likely due to a later etymological reinterpretation of the name.<ref name=":1" /> The meaning of Nudimmud in the older periods is unclear.<ref name=":2" />

=== Nagbu ===
Nagbu, ‘’Source, spring’’,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=J. 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=80}}</ref> was an alternative name of Enki/Ea which reflected his role as the lord of the [[Spring (hydrology)|springs]] and [[Groundwater|subterranean waters]]. In this aspect he was not only connected to irrigation and fertility,<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Galter |first=Hannes D. |date=1998 |title=Nagbu |url=https://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#8169 |access-date=2025-05-24 |website=Reallexikon der Assyriologie |page=77}}</ref> but he was also associated with the art of incantation, as subterranean water played an important role in [[Mesopotamia]]n magic and incantation rituals.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Galter |first=Hannes D. |date=1998 |title=Nagbu |url=https://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#8169 |access-date=2025-05-24 |website=Reallexikon der Assyriologie |page=78}}</ref> Nagbu is attested chiefly in sources from [[Babylonia]], and in the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Neo Babylonian period]], the name often appears in incantation texts.<ref name=":5">{{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=11}}</ref> It was written with the logogram ''<sup>d</sup>''IDIM. This logogram already appears as a theophoric element in Akkadian and Neo Sumerian names.<ref name=":3" /> Starting from the second millennium BC it often appears in Babylonian personal names.<ref name=":5" /> In the god list [[An = Anum|An=Anum]], Nagbu is equated with Ea. It is unclear whether Nagbu was originally an independent deity or an aspect of Ea.<ref name=":4" />

=== Niššiku ===
Niššiku was an alternative name and epithet of Enki/Ea of uncertain meaning. It is first attested in literary texts of the [[Old Babylonian Empire|Old Babylonian period]].<ref name=":6">{{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=12}}</ref> Wilfred G. Lambert and Alan R. Millard propose that the name was derived from the Semitic element ''nasīku'' ,’’chieftain’’, which reflects Enki’s sumerian epithet ''nun''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Atra-ḫasīs: the Babylonian story of the flood |date=1969 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-813153-3 |editor-last=Lambert |editor-first=W. G. |location=Oxford |pages=148–149 |editor-last2=Millard |editor-first2=Alan R.}}</ref> Hannes D. Galter considers that a connection between an Old Babylonian expression and a loanword from [[Aramaic]] is implausible.<ref name=":6" /> Alternative spellings of the name include Naššiku and Ninšiku.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Cavigneaux |first=Antoine |last2=Krebernik |first2=Manfred |date=1998 |title=Niššīku |url=https://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#9117 |access-date=2025-05-24 |website=Reallexikon der Assyriologie |page=590}}</ref> Ninšiku is likely a later [[folk etymology]] from [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]. It is attested from the [[Middle Babylonian period]] onwards.<ref name=":6" /> One god list explains Ninšiku as Ea in his aspect as god of wisdom. In this interpretation, -šiku was likely equated with Sumerian ''kù-zu'', ‘’wise’’.<ref name=":7" />

=== DIŠ ===
The logogram DIŠ often designates Enki/Ea in [[Assyria]]n texts. In [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Neo Assyrian]] sources, it chiefly appears in royal inscriptions and incantation literature.<ref name=":8">{{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=10}}</ref> It is sometimes attested as a theophoric element in personal names of the [[1st millennium BC|first millenium]]. In Neo Babylonian [[Uruk]] it designates [[Anu]] instead. The reading of DIŠ in akkadian is unknown. Galter suggests that DIŠ was possibly a numeral symbolizing the number 60, a number associated with Anu, and that its use for Ea could have been a way to equate him with the supreme god of the pantheon.<ref name=":8" />

=== Other names and epithets ===
Enki/Ea had a variety of other names and [[epithet]]s reflecting his different functions and his association with his abode, [[Abzu|Abzû]], and his cult center, [[Eridu]].<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=10–51}}</ref> Galter remarks that the majority of other names of Ea are only documented from sources from the late [[2nd millennium BC|second millennium]], and therefore he presumes that they represent an effort to fully encompass and describe all of the aspects of the god.<ref name=":102">{{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=32}}</ref> Craftsmanship deities such as [[Uttu]] and [[Ninagal]] could be regarded as alternative names of Ea in late sources.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lambert |first=W. G. |title=An = Anum and Related Lists: God Lists of Ancient Mesopotamia, Volume I |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |isbn=978-3-16-161382-1 |pages=29}}</ref>

The majority of [[Akkadian language|akkadian]] epithets of Ea reflect his role as the god of wisdom.<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=51}}</ref> Such epithets include for example, ''bēl nēmeqi'' (‘’Lord of wisdom’’),''bēl tašīmti'' (‘’Lord of understanding’’),<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=37}}</ref> and ''apkal ilī.''(‘’Sage of the gods’’).<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=34}}</ref> ''Bēl nagbi,'' (‘’Lord of the subterranean waters’’)<ref name=":9">{{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=36}}</ref> was a frequently attested epithet of Ea in his aspect as a water god.<ref name=":5" /> He could be referred to as ''bēl tenēšēti'', ‘’Lord of mankind’’.<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=38}}</ref> His association to the arts of incantation was reflected in his epithets ''mašmaš ilī'', ‘’Exorcist of the gods’’,<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=40}}</ref> and ''bēl išīputti'' (‘’Lord of the purification rites’’).<ref name=":9" />

Ea could be referred to as Ea-šarru in some akkadian texts.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Atra-Ḫasīs: the Babylonian story of the Flood |date=1969 |publisher=Clarendon P |isbn=978-0-19-813153-3 |editor-last=Lambert |editor-first=W. G. |location=Oxford |pages=149 |editor-last2=Millard |editor-first2=A. R. |editor-last3=Civil |editor-first3=Miguel}}</ref> According to Galter, it is unclear whether Ea-šarru was simply an epithet of Ea or if a foreign deity was identified with Ea and -''šarru'',‘’king’’, was added to distinguish them. He remarks that the earliest attestations of this name occur outside of [[Mesopotamia]], which could indicate that the name did not originate in the region.<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=15}}</ref>

A common epithet of Enki/Ea in literary texts was Enlil-banda, ‘’the junior [[Enlil]]’’. An early attestation of this epithet dates to the [[Old Babylonian Empire|Old Babylonian Period]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lambert |first=W. G. |title=An = Anum and Related Lists: God Lists of Ancient Mesopotamia, Volume I |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |isbn=978-3-16-161382-1 |pages=131}}</ref> Several possible interpretations of this name have been suggested by scholars. It could indicate that Ea was regarded as a younger brother of Enlil, it could have been a way to equate Ea with Enlil, it could have been a way to assert that he is ‘’like Enlil’' in his domain,<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=26}}</ref> or it could mean that he received his functions and abode from Enlil.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Espak |first=Peeter |title=The God Enki in Sumerian Royal Ideology and Mythology |date=2010 |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=59}}</ref>

Enki’s epithets king of the Abzû and king of Eridu are already attested in [[Sumerian language|sumerian]] sources from the [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic Period]].<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Espak |first=Peeter |title=The God Enki in Sumerian Royal Ideology and Mythology |date=2010 |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=99}}</ref> Another of his epithets was [[Ibex]] of the Abzû (''<sup>d</sup>dàra-abzu).''<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=45}}</ref> The ibex was associated with Enki in historical times.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lisman |first=J. 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=131–132 |oclc=869208493}}</ref> An early attestation of this byname is found in an [[Old Babylonian Empire|Old Babylonian]] hymn. Several compound bynames of Enki/Ea formed with the element ''dàra'' appear in a later god list.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boivin |first=Odette |title=The first dynasty of the Sealand in Mesopotamia |date=2018 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-1-5015-1639-9 |series=Studies in ancient Near Eastern records |location=Boston |pages=40}}</ref><ref name=":102"/>