THE RIVER OF CREATION

Origin/Historian/Author: Babylonian
Source: The Sacred Books and Literature of the East, By Prof. Charles F. Horne, Ph.D.
The Sacred Books and Literature of the East Translations conducted by:
Morris Jastrow, Jr., LL.D., Rev. A.H. Sayce, LL.D., Robert W. Rogers, LL.D., George A. Barton, LL.D., Leonard W. King, F.S.A., Stephen Langdon, PH.D., Arno Poebel, PH.D., and other scholars.

Introduction
This version of the River of Creation text was recorded during the early Babylonian period. Although short, it contains important information regarding the deluge and its origin. This mystical river of creation was evidently suggested to be the Euphrates, on the waters of which the fertility of Sumer so largely depended.

Featuring Ea and Marduk, it is here acknowledged that the flood could not have been created until the irrigation of the Euphrates was complete. It also mentions the group who dug these canals to be none other than the gods. It would be reasonable to conclude the identity of the gods to have been full blooded middle to upper class Sumerians, which would later be replaced by a class of slaves otherwise known as amelu/ardu, or man.

Full Text Below

O thou River, who didst create all things,
When the great gods dug thee out,
They set prosperity upon thy banks,
Within thee Ea, the King of the Deep, created his dwelling,

The deluge they sent not before thou wert!
Fire, and wrath, and splendor, and terror
Have Ea and Marduk presented unto thee!
Thou judgest the cause of mankind!

O River, thou art mighty!
O River, thou art supreme!
O River, thou art righteous!