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'{{Other uses}} {{short description|Mesopotamian god of literacy and scribes}} {{Infobox deity | type = Mesopotamian | name = Nabû | image = Colossal statue of the god Nabu, 8th century BCE, from Nimrud, Iraq Museum.jpg | alt = | caption = Colossal statue of the god Nabu, 8th century BC, from Nimrud, on display in the [[National Museum of Iraq]] | god_of = God of [[literacy]], the [[Science|rational arts]], [[scribe]]s, and [[wisdom]] | abode = [[Borsippa]] | symbol = [[Clay]] tablet and [[stylus]] | consort = [[Tashmetum|Tashmet]] | parents = [[Marduk]] and [[Sarpanit]]um | siblings = | children = | planet = [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]] | mount = | Norse_equivalent = [[Hermes]] | Greek_equivalent = [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] | equivalent1_type = Norse | equivalent1 = [[Thoth]] | equivalent2_type = Greek | equivalent2 = [[Odin]] }} [[File:Image from page 39 of "Ancient seals of the Near East" (1940).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Late Assyrian seal. Worshipper between Nabu and [[Marduk]], standing on their servant dragon [[Mušḫuššu]]. 8th century BCE.]] {{Mesopotamian myth}} {{Fertile Crescent myth (Arabian)}} '''Nabu''' ({{lang-akk|cuneiform: 𒀭𒀝 Nabû}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lanfranchi|first1=Giovanni B.|title=The Correspondence of Sargon II|date=1987|publisher=Helsinki University Press|location=Helsinki|isbn=9515700043|page=92}}</ref> {{lang-syr|ܢܵܒܼܘܼ\ܢܒܼܘܿ\ܢܵܒܼܘܿ}} Nāvū or Nvō or Nāvō<ref>{{cite web |title=Dukhrana Lexicon Lookup |url=http://dukhrana.com/lexicon//lookup.php?p=604&l=6 |website=Dukhrana Analytical Lexicon of the Syriac New Testament |publisher=Dukhrana Biblical Research |access-date=17 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon |url=http://cal.huc.edu/oneentry.php?lemma=nbw%20d&cits=all |website=The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon |access-date=17 January 2021}}</ref>) is the [[ancient Mesopotamian religion|ancient Mesopotamian patron god]] of [[literacy]], the [[Science|rational arts]], [[scribe]]s, and [[wisdom]]. ==Etymology and meaning== The Akkadian "nabû" means "to announce, prophesize", derived from the [[Semitic root]] {{lang|ar-Latn|[[:wikt:نب|N-B]]}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Semitic Roots Appendix |url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/semitic.html |website=The American Heritage Dictionary |access-date=6 December 2019 |quote=nbʾ To name, proclaim, summon."}}</ref> It is cognate with the [[Syriac language|Syriac]] {{lang|syc|[[:Wiktionary:ܢܒܝܐ|ܢܒܝܐ]]}}({{lang|syc-Latn|nvīyā}}), [[Arabic]] {{lang|ar|[[:Wiktionary:نبي|نبي]]}} ({{lang|ar-Latn|nabiyy}}), and the [[Hebrew]] {{lang|he|[[:Wiktionary:נביא|נביא]]}} ({{lang|he-Latn|naví}}), all meaning "prophet".{{Citation needed|date=December 2019}} ==History== Nabu was worshiped by the Babylonians and the Assyrians.<ref name="Bertman">{{cite book|last1=Bertman|first1=Stephen|title=Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia|date=2005|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford|isbn=9780195183641|page=122|edition=Paperback|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1C4NKp4zgIQC&pg=PA122|access-date=2016-08-08|language=en}}</ref> Nabu gained prominence among the Babylonians in the 1st millennium BC when he was identified as the son of the god [[Marduk]].<ref name="Bertman"/> Nabu was worshipped in Babylon's sister city [[Borsippa]], from where his statue was taken to Babylon each New Year so that he could pay his respects to his father.<ref name="Bertman"/> Nabu's symbols included a stylus resting on a tablet as well as a simple wedge shape; King [[Nabonidus]], whose name references Nabu, had a royal sceptre topped with Nabu's wedge.<ref name="Bertman"/><ref name="Green">{{cite book|last1=Green|first1=Tamara M.|title=The City of the Moon God: Religious Traditions of Harran|date=1992|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|location=Leiden|isbn=9004095136|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hrJ97aZr3AcC&pg=PA34|access-date=2017-01-04|language=en}}</ref>{{rp|33-34}} Clay tablets with especial calligraphic skill were used as offerings at Nabu's temple. His wife was the [[Akkadia]]n goddess [[Tashmetum|Tashmet]].<ref name="Bertman"/> Nabu was the patron god of scribes, literacy, and wisdom.<ref name="Bertman"/> He was also the inventor of writing, a [[oracle|divine scribe]], the patron god of the rational arts, and a god of vegetation.<ref name="Green"/>{{rp|33-34}}<ref name="Britannica">{{cite web |title=Nabu |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nabu |website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |access-date=August 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702144238/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nabu |archive-date=July 2, 2016 |language=en}}</ref> As the god of writing, Nabu inscribed the fates assigned to men and he was equated with the scribe god [[Ninurta]].<ref name="Britannica"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Leick |first1=Dr Gwendolyn |title=A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology |date=2002 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9781134641024 |page=124 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_pqEAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA123|access-date=March 7, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> As an oracle he was associated with the Mesopotamian moon god [[Sin (mythology)|Sin]].<ref name="Green"/>{{rp|33-34}} Originally the planet Mercury was connected with Ninurta (as well as [[Saturn]]); because in the [[MUL.APIN]] Ninurta is consistently identified with Mercury,{{sfn|Koch|1995|p=127}}{{sfn|Hunger|Steele|2018|p=127}}{{sfn|Horowitz|1998|p=172}} and it is read that: "Mercury whose name is Ninurta travels the (same) path the Moon travels." As Marduk took over the role of [[King of the gods]] from [[Enlil]] and inherited both his cultic roles and epithets as well as his position within the [[pantheon (religion)|pantheon]] – the role of the most important son of the father of the gods that had previously belonged to Ninurta as son of Enlil (now replaced by Marduk); was thus taken over by Nabu, and Nabu became associated with the planet Mercury as well as being given connections with the moon god Sin, because as addressed in the MUL.APIN – even when Mercury was considered the planet of Ninurta, it still retained some moon-like aspects since it traveled the same path of the moon. Nabu wore a horned cap, and stood with his hands clasped in the ancient gesture of priesthood. He rode on a winged [[dragon]] known as [[Mušḫuššu|Sirrush]] that originally belonged to his father Marduk. In [[Babylonian astrology]], Nabu was identified with the planet [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Colligan |first1=L. H. |title=Mercury |date=January 15, 2010 |publisher=[[Marshall Cavendish]] |isbn=9780761445517 |page=[https://archive.org/details/mercury0000coll/page/22 22] |url=https://archive.org/details/mercury0000coll |access-date=March 7, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=James R. |title=The Astrology Book: The Encyclopedia of Heavenly Influences |date=Mar 1, 2003 |publisher=[[Visible Ink Press]] |isbn=9781578593019 |page=442 |edition=Second |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nPMnUMhZzswC&pg=PA442page |access-date=March 7, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> Nabu was continuously worshipped until the 2nd century, when [[Cuneiform script|cuneiform]] became a lost art.<ref name="Bertman"/> Today in [[Mandaean cosmology]], the name for [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]] is ''{{okina}}[[Nbu]]'' ({{lang|myz|ࡏࡍࡁࡅ}}), which is derived from the name Nabu.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bhayro |first1=Siam |chapter=Cosmology in Mandaean Texts |title=Hellenistic Astronomy |date=10 February 2020 |pages=572–579 |doi=10.1163/9789004400566_046 |url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004400566/BP000051.xml |access-date=8 February 2022 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |location=Leiden |isbn=9789004243361 |s2cid=213438712 |language=en}}</ref> ===Outside Mesopotamia=== Nabu's [[cult (religious practice)|cult]] spread to [[ancient Egypt]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Porten |first1=Bezalel |title=Archives from Elephantine: The Life of an Ancient Jewish Military Colony |date=1968 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=9780520010284 |page=166 |edition=First |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aVKtP0w4HkIC&q=nabu+worshipped+in+elephantine&pg=PA166 |access-date=October 4, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> Nabu was one of five non-Egyptian deities worshipped in [[Elephantine]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2019}} In the Bible, Nabu is mentioned as Nebo in [[Isaiah 46|Isaiah 46:1]] and [[Jeremiah 48|Jeremiah 48:1]].<ref name="Bertman"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah%2046:1-46:1&version=NIV |title=Isaiah 46:1 NIV – Gods of Babylon – Bel bows down, Nebo |website=[[BibleGateway.com]] |access-date=2015-06-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+48%3A1&version=NIV |title=Jeremiah 48:1 NIV – A Message About Moab – Concerning Moab |website=[[BibleGateway.com]] |access-date=2015-07-02}}</ref> In [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] times, Nabu was sometimes identified with the Greek [[Apollo]] as a giver of prophesies.<ref name="Bertman"/><ref name="Green"/>{{rp|71}} As the god of wisdom and a divine messenger, Nabu was linked with the Greek [[Hermes]], the Roman [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]], and the Egyptian [[Thoth]].<ref name="Green"/>{{rp|71}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Bibliography== *{{cite book|last=Koch|first=Ulla Susanne|title=Mesopotamian astrology: an introduction to Babylonian and Assyrian celestial divination|year=1995|publisher=Museum Tusculanum Press|isbn=9788772892870|url=https://www.academia.edu/441807}} *{{cite book|last1=Hunger|first1= Hermann|last2=Steele|first2=John|title=The Babylonian Astronomical Compendium MUL.APIN|year=2018|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn= 9781351686815|url= https://www.google.it/books/edition/The_Babylonian_Astronomical_Compendium_M/z7JjDwAAQBAJ?hl=it}} *{{cite book|last=Horowitz|first=Wayne|title=Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography|year=1998|publisher=Eisenbrauns|isbn= 9780931464997|url= https://www.google.it/books/edition/Mesopotamian_Cosmic_Geography/P8fl8BXpR0MC?hl=it}} ==External links== *{{Cite NIE|wstitle=Nebo|short=x}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Arts gods]] [[Category:Creators of writing systems]] [[Category:Deities in the Hebrew Bible]] [[Category:Knowledge gods]] [[Category:Mercurian deities]] [[Category:Mesopotamian gods]] [[Category:Scribes]] [[Category:Wisdom gods]]'