29 THE TEARS OF GOD IN THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH Another lament over Eridu identifies the tears of another goddess: Nammu, the mother of Enki, went out from the city. Her hands have become heavy through wailing. She cries bitter tears. She beats her chest like a holy drum. She cries bitter tears 15. Although weeping deities appear regularly in Mesopotamian city laments, the motif is found outside this genre. The goddess Tashmetu weeps for her divine lover Nabu, and Ishtar weeps for Tammuz 16. Deities also weep in Mesopotamian narratives. In Gilgamesh, the goddess Ishtar weeps over the death of the bull of heaven (VI.168). Belet-ili and the Annunaki weep over the flood both in Gilgamesh (XI.115) and Atraḫasīs (III.iii.32; iv.10, 15-18), and Enlil weeps over the misery of the gods and then makes humans to do their work (Atraḫasīs, I.iii.167). In the Descent of Ishtar, Papsukkal, vizier of the gods, weeps before Sin as he describes the lack of fer- tility following Ishtar’s descent (83-84). In Nergal and Ereshkigal, Ereshkigal the goddess of the Underworld weeps because she misses her lover Nergal (IV.53). Divine tears are not limited to Mesopotamian literature. In Egyp- tian literature, Isis weeps for her son Horus and her husband Osiris 17. In Ugaritic poetry, Anat weeps over the dead god Baal (KTU 1.5 IV 25–1.6 I 7). In Greek epic, Homer depicts Artemis crying in humili- ation after being beaten and chased off the battlefield by Hera (Iliad, 21.493-496), and Thetis when she begs Hephaistos to make new armor for her son (18.428). Given the abundant tears shed by ancient deities in the literatures of several cultures surrounding Israel, there is no reason in principle why OT texts may not depict YHWH as weep- ing. YHWH, like other deities, is presented as angry, repentant, loving, and possessing eyes and face, among other body parts. It should not be surprising if YHWH, like other deities, is also shown to weep. COHEN, Canonical Lamentations, 85. 15 See Context of Scripture. Canonical Compositions from the Biblical 16 World (ed. W.W. HALLO) (Leiden 2003) 445 and 419, respectively. W.K. SIMPSON (ed.), The Literature of Ancient Egypt. An Anthology of 17 Stories, Instructions, Stelae, Autobiographies, and Poetry (New Haven, CT 2003) 97 and 263. 3 © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati