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Nabu: The Babylonian God of Wisdom and Writing

Nabu (sometimes known as Tutu) was the Babylonian god of wisdom, learning, prophecy, scribes, and writing, also responsible for the abundant harvest and all growing things. His name means “the Announcer,” which refers to his prophetic and creative powers in calling forth words, the harvest and other plant life, and the visions of prophecies.

His wife was Tashmit (also known as Tasmetu) and, later, Nanaya, who was originally the divine consort of the Sumerian god Muati, who became syncretized with Nabu. Nabu himself was developed from the earlier Sumerian goddess of writing and accounts, Nisaba (also known as Nidaba, Nissaba), who is attested to by the Early Dynastic period (circa 2900 to circa 2350/2334 BCE). Sumerian hymns and other compositions, which concluded with the ritual phrase “Praise be to Nisaba!” became the paradigm for later Babylonian works ending with “Praise be to Nabu!”

From these early Sumerian origins, Nabu became increasingly popular during the Old Babylonian period (circa 1894-1595 BCE) and, particularly, in the reign of King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BCE), when, generally, male deities were elevated in Mesopotamia at the expense of older goddesses.

In some myths, Nisaba is Nabu’s wife and divine assistant in keeping the records and maintaining the library of the gods (much in the same way as the goddess Seshat worked with Thoth in Egypt). Originally regarded as the vizier and scribe of the god Marduk, following the Kassite period (circa 1595 BCE), Nabu was regularly depicted as Marduk’s son and almost equal to him in power.

His symbol was a wedge-shaped cuneiform mark or a stylus at rest upon a writing tablet, but he was also depicted as a bearded man in royal garb, holding a stylus, standing on the back of a snake-dragon (known as the Mushussu Dragon, a powerful protective spirit associated with Marduk and other gods and included in images on the Ishtar Gate). Nabu was honored as the son of Marduk, king of the gods and patron of Babylon, and grandson of Enki (also known as Ea), the god of wisdom.

After Marduk, Nabu was the most important god of the Babylonians and became so popular that he was adopted by the Assyrians and known as the son of their god Ashur/Assur. Even after the fall of the Assyrian Empire in 612 BCE, Nabu – unlike many of the other Assyrian gods – continued to be worshiped until at least the 2nd century. His cult center was at Borsippa, near Babylon, and among his many important duties was traveling to the latter city to visit his father during the Akitu festival marking the beginning of the New Year.

Nabu was associated with the goddess Nisaba by the Sumerians, and the god Thoth by the Egyptians, Apollo by the Greeks, and Mercury by the Romans. He is referred to as Nebo in the Bible, where he is mentioned with Marduk (called “Bel”) in Isaiah 46:1-2. Mount Nebo, the site from which Moses looked down upon the promised land and where, according to legend, he is buried, takes its name from Nabu. Among the many gods of Mesopotamia, Nabu became the most prominent, outlasting even the great Marduk in the memory of the people.

The Power of Nabu

Writing was invented in Mesopotamia by the Sumerians circa 3600/3500 BCE, known as cuneiform, and consisting of wedge-shaped marks made in wet clay, which was then set to dry. Although this writing system most likely developed due to trade and the need to send messages over long distances, it was considered (as it was in Egypt) a gift of the gods and, primarily, of Nabu. Scholar E. A. Wallis Budge writes:

He was endowed with great wisdom, like his father; and he acted as scribe to the gods; he had charge of the Tablet of Fate of the gods and had the power of prolonging the days of men.

Like the Egyptian Thoth, his eyes travelled over the circuit of the heavens and over all the earth. He was the personification of knowledge and, as a god of vegetation, he caused the earth to produce abundant crops.

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Nabu’s cult center at Borsippa (referred to as a second Babylon) was almost as important as the Esagila, the temple-ziggurat of Marduk, at Babylon. Priests of Nabu cared for the god’s statue there, operated the temple complex, and were highly respected. The written word was held in such high esteem that, naturally, the patron god of writing was regarded in the same way, and so were his representatives. Nabu was so important to the Babylonians that he featured dramatically in their Akitu festival, arguably the most important the city celebrated, to honor the gods and the harvest at the beginning of each new year.

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