FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE - ADAPA AND THE FOOD OF LIFE

sandalphon (62)in #knowledge • 6 years ago

Preamble: How old is our civilization? The answer to this question keeps changing over the last 2,000 years and will continue to change as we learn more and more about “our past”. One thing is clear – our “civilization” isn’t the first to have existed on this planet.

Just how many civilizations existed before us? The “oldest” civilization that is widely accepted at this time is the Sumerian which is believed to have existed around 4000 BC. Not everyone agrees though since several other pieces of “history” are not accounted for. The giants mentioned in the bible, the “fluvial” erosion in the body of the Sphinx in Egypt that could not have occurred before 10,000 BC, the Nephilim mentioned in Genesis (6:4) who took earthy women for wives who gave birth to the “giants”, the Anunnakis - believed to have created humans by altering ape’s DNA and ruled over earth for over 400,000 years plus the recent discovery of a 700,000-Year-Old Stone Tools found in the Philippines used to butcher a Rhino.

History as we know it is incomplete and convoluted with mythology. But advances in technology is allowing us to separate history from myths.

Who or what created us and for what purpose? I think this is the ultimate riddle that sentient beings like us should strive to get an answer for. Imagine that you woke up one day with no memory of who you are. Would you not spend the rest of your life finding out who you really are, who your parents were, whether you have a family etc.? In a way, this is what happened to us. We forgot. Or maybe something tricked us to forget our true nature and our rightful place in the universe.

It is clear that "higher knowledge" has been deliberately hidden from us for thousands of years. Therefore, you and me are beholden to uncover and bring this information out to enlighten the world. To end the battle between knowledge and ignorance. To free us from the obstruction caused by established dogmas and lies; for this knowledge could lead us to a greater understanding of our universe and of ourselves.

The Tale of Adapa (also known as "Adapa and the Food of Life") was found in two places in the ancient world: (1) El-Amarna in Egypt in the archives of the Egyptian kings; and (2) in the encyclopedic library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal.

Below is a summary of the tale followed by the original translation made in 1912:

Summary: Adapa, or perhaps Adamu, son of Ea, had received from his father, the god Ea, wisdom, but not eternal life. He was a semi-divine being and was the wise man and priest of the temple of Ea at Eridu, which he provided with the ritual bread and water. In the exercise of this duty, he carried on fishing upon the Persian Gulf. When Adapa was fishing one day on a smooth sea, the south wind rose suddenly and overturned his boat, so that he was thrown into the sea. Angered by the mishap, he broke the wings of the south wind so that for seven days it could not blow the sea's coolness over the hot land. Anu calls Adapa to account for this misdeed, and his father Ea warns him as to what should befall him. He tells him how to fool Tammuz and Gishzida, who will meet him at the gate of heaven. Ea cautions him not to eat or drink anything in heaven, as Ea fears that the food and drink of death will be set before Adapa. However, the food and drink of eternal life are set before him instead, and Adapa's over-caution deprives him of immortality. He has to return to Earth instead.

The following translation of the myth is by Robert W. Rogers from his 1912 work, Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament:

THE FIRST TABLET:

He [Adapa] possessed intelligence . . .
His command like the command of Anu ...
He [the god Ea] granted him a wide ear to reveal the destiny of the land,
He granted him wisdom, but he did not grant him eternal life.
In those days, in those years the wise man of Eridu,
Ea had created him as chief among men,
A wise man whose command none should oppose,
The prudent, the most wise among the Anunnaki was he,
Blameless, of clean hands, anointed, observer of the divine statutes,
With the bakers he made bread
With the bakers of Eridu, he made bread,
The food and the water for Eridu he made daily,
With his clean hands he prepared the table,
And without him the table was not cleared.
The ship he steered, fishing and hunting for Eridu he did.
Then Adapa of Eridu
While Ea, ... in the chamber, upon the bed.
Daily the closing of Eridu he attended to.
Upon the pure dam, the new moon dam) he embarked upon the ship,
The wind blew and his ship departed, With the oar, be steered his ship Upon the broad sea . . .

THE SECOND TABLET:

The south wind ... when
He had driven me to the house of my lord, I said,
O South Wind, on the way I shall to thee ... everything that,
Thy wing, will I break." As he spoke with his mouth,
The wing of the South Wind was broken, seven davs
The South Wind blew not upon the land. Anu
Called to his messenger Ilabrat:
Why has the South Wind not blown upon the land for seven davs?
His messenger Ilabrat answered him: "My lord,
Adapa, the son of Ea, the wing of the South Wind
Has broken."
When Anu heard these words
He cried,"Help!" He ascended his throne,
"Let some one bring him,"
Likewise Ea, who knows the heaven. He roused him
... he caused him to wear. With a mourning garment
He garbed him, and gave him counsel
Saying: " Adapa, before the face of Anu the King thou art to go
... to heaven
When thou comest up, and when thou approachest the door of Anu,
At the door of Anu, Tammuz and Gishzida are standing,
they will see thee, they will ask thee; 'Sir,'
For whose sake dost thou so appear, Adapa? For whom
Art thou clad in a mourning garment?' 'In our country two gods have vanished, therefore
Am I so.' 'Who are the two gods, who in the land
Have vanished?' 'Tammuz and Gishzida.' They will look at one another and
Be astonished. Good words
They will speak to Anu. A good countenance of Anu
They will show thee. When thou standest before Anu
Food of death they will set before thee,
Eat not. Water of death they will set before thee,
Drink not. Garments they will set before thee,
Put them on. Oil they will set before thee, anoint thyself.
The counsel that I have given thee, forget not. The words
Which I have spoken, hold fast." The messenger
Of Anu came: "Adapa has broken
The wing of the South Wind. Bring him before me."
The road to Heaven he made him take, and to Heaven he ascended.
When he came to Heaven, when he approached the door of Anu,
At the door of Anu, Tammuz and Gishida are standing.
When they saw him, Adapa, they cried: "Help,
Sir, for whom dost thou so appear? Adapa,
For whom art thou clad in a mourning garment?"
"In the country two gods have vanished; therefore am I clad
In mourning garments." "Who are the two gods, who
have vanished from the land?"
"Tammuz and Gishzida." They looked at one another and
Were astonished. When Adapa before Anu, the King,
Drew near, and Anu saw him, he cried:
" Come hither, Adapa. Why hast thou broken the wings
Of the South Wind? " Adapa answered Anu: " My lord,
For the house of my lord in the midst of the sea,
I was catching fish. The sea was like a mirror,
The South Wind blew, and capsized me.
To the house of my lord was I driven. In the anger of my heart,
I took heed." Tammuz and Gishzida
Answered ... "art thou." To Anu
They speak. He calmed himself, his heart was . . .
"Why has Ea revealed to impure mankind
The heart of heaven and earth? A heart
... has created within him, has made him a name?
What can we do with him? Food of life
Bring him, that he may eat." Food of life
They brought him, but he ate not. Water of life
They brought him, but he drank not. Garments
They brought him. He clothed himself. Oil
They brought him. He anointed himself.
Anu looked at him; he wondered at him.
" Come, Adapa, why hast thou not eaten, not drunken?
Now thou shalt not live." ... men ...Ea, my lord
Said: "Eat not, drink not."
Take him and bring him back to his earth.
... looked upon him.

THE THIRD TABLET

When [Anu] heard that
In the anger of his heart
His messenger he sent.
He who knows the heart of the great gods
............
To King Ea to come,
To him, he caused words to be borne.
... to him, to King Ea.
He sent a messenger
With a wide ear, knowing the heart of the great gods,
... of the heavens be fixed.
A soiled garment he made him wear,
With a mourning garment he clad him,
A word he spoke to him.
"Adapa, before the King Anu thou shalt go
Fail not the order, keep my word
When thou comest up to heaven, and approachest the door of Anu,
Tammuz and Gishzida at the door of Anu are standing.

COMMENTARY

The above myth is interesting and curiously exciting in many ways depending on which point of view one is "looking" at it. Let me highlight few of the things that I personally find very interesting.

First, is the phrase "he broke the wings of the south wind so that for seven days it could not blow the sea's coolness over the hot land". What is the south wind? A literal interpretation would not make sense since the wind has no wings that can be broken. And if it's not the wind, it must be something else. Something artificial, which supposedly relieves the hot climate in what is now Iraq in order for vegetation to flourish.

Curiously, there is another Sumerian myth called the "Myth of Zu", which is also written in Sumerian tablets. The myth tells of an epic battle between two gods in particular against Anzu - the god who stole the Tablet of Destinies from Enlil, the god of heaven and earth. In this myth, the battling gods brought with them weapons of terrible destructive power - the Seven Winds. The south wind could be one of these weapons. But what kind of weapons? A fighter aircraft, a spaceship?

In his book "The Reptilian Past of Mankind", R A Boulay wrote:

“Meanwhile, in his heavenly abode, the chief god Anu is worried because the South Wind did not blow on the earth for seven days. His deputy investigates and informs Anu that a mere mortal has put it off. Full of fury and contempt, Anu summons Adapa human in the mothership.”

Second, this myth has been studied extensively not just by historians but by theologians and religious organizations as well. Foremost of these studies was made by Andrews University Seminary Studies published in Autumn 1981. The study entitled "ADAM AND ADAPA: TWO ANTHROPOLOGICAL CHARACTERS" compares and contrasts the first man Adam with Adapa, and concludes that while there are many parallelisms between the two characters, they are not the same person as many other studies suggested.

Third, while the story of Adapa is still viewed as myth as there is no archeological evidence to confirm otherwise, the underlying story of the Annunaki and the Sumerian civilization is an established fact. A fact well rooted in our history. The Enuma Elish, The Babylonian Epic of Creation, for example, was later found to be the inspiration for the Hebrew scribes who created the text now known as the biblical Book of Genesis.

Prior to the 19th century CE, the Bible was considered the oldest book in the world and its narratives were thought to be completely original. In the mid-19th century CE, however, European museums, as well as academic and religious institutions, sponsored excavations in Mesopotamia to find physical evidence for historical corroboration of the stories in the Bible. These excavations found several cuneiform writings which after translation, it was believed that a number of biblical narratives were Mesopotamian in origin.

Famous stories such as the Fall of Man and the Great Flood were originally conceived and written down in Sumer, translated and modified later in Babylon, and reworked by the Assyrians before they were used by the Hebrew scribes for the versions which appear in the various versions of the Scripture.

Sources: 1. "Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament" by R.W. Rogers, 1912; Source 2; Source 3.