The life-giving water (1)

Text
The idea of reviving purification is found in Descent of Ištar to the Netherworld where Enki created kurĝarra and galaturra by removing dirt from the tip of his fingernail, and then gave them the “life-giving plant” and the “life-giving water” in order to bring Inanna back from the netherworld. The soul, represented by Inanna, fell out her arrogance to conquer the netherworld. She “died” in the material world, represented by the netherworld, but was purified and born again. The kurĝarra and galaturra (assinnu in the Nineveh version) correspond to the Gnostic “helper,” or the “call,” sent by the Father (here Inanna’s father Enki) to awaken the “sleeping” soul. These helpers comfort the suffering Ereškigal, who is the sinful aspect of Ištar (= the fallen soul), who at this moment is moaning like “a woman about to give birth” (ll. 227-233 = 251-257). One of helpers sprinkles “the life-giving plant” and the other “the life-giving water” on the corpse. The sprinkling of Inanna’s corpse with the water of life corresponds to baptism which, in the Exegesis on the Soul, is necessary for the rebirth and cleansing of the soul. The Exegesis on the Soul (NHC 2.6 132.2-5) also states, “Then she will begin to rage at herself like a woman in labor, who writhes and rages in the hour of her delivery,” making the raging Soul (= Sophia) a parallel with the raging Ereškigal (= Inanna). The same idea is used in Ludlul bēl nēmeqi where the righteous sufferer sees a series of dreams where his body is sprinkled with water, and pronounced a life-giving incantation. Later in the text, the sufferer claims that Marduk, the Lord, gave him life, and both Marduk and Zarpanitu rescued him from destruction.

Sources (list of abbreviations) (source links will open in a new browser window)
Descent of Ištar to the Netherworld 227-233
Descent of Ištar to the Netherworld 251-257
Exegesis on the Soul, NHC 2.6 132.2-5

Bibliography

Pirjo Lapinkivi

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