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Listen to the Oldest Song in the World: A Sumerian Hymn Written 3,400 Years Ago | Richard Dawkins Foundation

2014-09-03T11:34:00.001-07:00

Listen to the Oldest Song in the World: A Sumerian Hymn Written 3,400 Years Ago | Richard Dawkins Foundation:

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The Creation of Man (and Woman)

2011-05-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

The Enuma Elish is the first known creation epic. Scholars are convinced however that this Babylonian creation epic is also a copied and somewhat modified version of earlier Sumerian history. Modified to show the Babylonian God Marduk as the hero of creation.

The biblical book of Genesis, compared to the Enuma Elish, is evidentially a condensed and edited version of creation taken almost directly from the Babylonians. The book of Genesis originated in the time of Moses when the Hebrew people were wandering the desert, they, as was the tradition, were orally recounting events that had occurred thousands of years before at the dawn of time. They were recounting the Enuma Elish. Which is not surprising considering that Abraham, the patriarch of the Hebrew religion was the son of a Summerian high priest. For more information on Abraham click his name to the left.

Most scholars, with the exception of those with strong religious convictions, are convinced of this fact.

Man's creation came about as a result of the hardships and trying conditions that the Anunnaki workers were subjected to in their mining operations.

Ea, and his team, were sent to Earth to remove gold from the waters, but, given the difficulty of this process, mining was started in Africa. Enlil was sent to Earth to manage the settlement in the Middle East, this area was called by them the E.DEN.

Ea was then sent to Africa to oversee the mining; his name was then changed to EN.KI.(All the Nibiru names have descriptive meanings regarding their roles/functions, etc.) This laborious mining was done initially by the Annunaki, which eventually led to a minor revolt by Anunnaki workers (apparently lead from behind the scenes by Enki). There were several brief bloodless conflicts, which resulted in a plan to create slave labor. The result of this revolt was Ea's suggestion that he create workers from beings present in Africa, through a process of genetic manipulation beings called "Lulus" who were unable to reproduce (possibly the Neanderthals), were created by Ea and Ninhursag, requiring the female Annunaki to birth each of these new workers, males and females. This was, obviously, a severe hardship on them.

That the Elohim wanted an intelligent worker to help with the labor is also reflected in the Bible:

Genesis 2:15 The LORD Elohim took man and put him in the Garden of Eden To work it and take care of it.

From the Sumerian text:

The newborn's fate thou shalt pronounce; Ninti would fix upon it the image of the gods; And what it will be is Man.

Ninti nipped fourteen pieces of Clay; (same word is used for egg)

Seven she deposited on the right, Seven she deposited of the left;

Between them she placed the mold.

The wise and learned, Double-seven birth-goddesses had assembled.

Seven brought forth males, Seven brought forth females; The birth goddesses brought forth the wind of the breath of life.

Initially the Elohim, Enki and Ninti (AKA Ninhursag) attempted to work with the existing primate species of Earth. They tried to enhance the primate's intelligence and physical stature. They tried genetically to cross breed several different species of local animals. After suffering many set backs of which resulted many strange creatures of various descriptions and is the origin of "mythical beasts" such as the Centaurs, Harpies, Minotaurs etc.

Finally they decided to splice their genes with those of our primate ancestors. The resultant being, they called "Adamu," or "Man of Earth." Through all the genetic manipulation the Adamu were made to look like smaller versions of the Elohim, themselves.

Now you know the answer to one of the greatest questions of the Bible - why Genesis 1:26 says, Then the Elohim said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness..."

This information from the Sumerians explains many other scientific mysteries and of the evidence amassed to support the conclusions. Exhibit ‘A’ is us, man himself;

-Why do we humans have a gene pool with over 4000 genetic defects and our closest genetic relatives, chimps and gorillas, have very few?

-Why do we humans have genes that are only 250,000 to 300,000 years old and anthropologists insist that we descend from creature's 4,000,000 years old?

-Why we humans in no way resemble those ancient so-called "pre-humans"?

-Why we humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes for a grand total of 46 and our closest genetic relatives (sharing 98%-99% of our DNA) total 48. How could we humans lose 2 whole chromosomes in only 250,000 years?

-Why is our skin is so poorly adapted to the amount of sunlight striking the Earth?

-Why, of all the known primates, are we the only ones without any pigmentation in the palms of our hands or the soles of our feet?

-Why are we so physically weak compared to our closest genetic relatives?

-Why can scientists today tell us all about our ancient ancestors but as yet have failed to produce one iota of evidence to explain the missing link between them and us?

-Why have humanoid remains been found that are up to four and a half million years of age, yet leading geneticists state that the DNA for the planetary population of human beings can be traced back to a common root no more than three hundred thousand years old?

-How could Neanderthal, a supposed pre-cursor to the homo line have co-existed for thousands of years with Cromagnon?

The Adamu were originally created to work in various labor projects around the world. These included mining, food growing, construction, etc.

Against a general consensus of the Elohim, Enki/Ea, on his own, developed a new creature that could reproduce independently, whom he named "Adapa", the cause of man's fall from grace and expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The “new” Adamu population began to multiply quite rapidly.

This explanation is more scientifically accurate than to say that the entire human race sprung from the loins of two people, which is a genetic impossibility.

Soon, word of what was occurring on the Earth, reached the leader Anu on the home planet. He demanded to be brought an Adamu for examination. The Elohim on Earth worried that their leader would consider what they had created to be an abomination and would order all of the Adamu destroyed. They had no choice but to comply, and so sent one of their Adamu to the great vessel of Anu, which was then orbiting the Earth. When this Adamu arrived, he was questioned and examined thoroughly by Anu. He was enchanted with this little version of an Anunnaki, and said so to his sons in charge of Earth. He ordered that the Adamu be taught civilization, as well as establishing rules governing their care.

This story is also reflected in the Bible. The Adamu that the Elohim sent, was kept by their leader, and did not remain on Earth. His name in the Bible is Enoch.

Genesis 5:24 "And Enoch walked with the Elohim and was not, for the Elohim took him."

These events as well as many others are not just verifiable to the believers of the bible. They are reflected time and time again in many of the world’s religions and mythologies - many of which pre-date Judaism.

After these events, the population of Adamu began to increase dramatically. They lived alongside the Anunnaki and Elohim as servants or slaves and later, in many cases concubines, wives or lovers.

It became a status symbol among the Elohim and Anunnaki to own as many Adamu as they could. This led to some serious problems resulting in some skirmishes among them. Slaves would leave their masters and run off to other Elohim territories. Needless to say, the "Master" who had lost his slave was very angry. Sometimes, this led to conflict among the Anunnaki, and in certain cases, bloodshed.

The leaders of the Anunnaki, the Elohim, determined that physical means of containment were both impractical and ineffective. They had to find a way to make their Adamu want to stay with their respective masters.

The answer was psychology. An emotional bond had to be formed between the Elohim and their slaves. One so strong it would overcome any desire to leave or stray. The result was what we call Religion.

Religion is the most powerful enslavement tool ever created. It worked in this way. The Elohim would become the "God" or "Goddess" of a particular group of Adamu in their “City-States”. Priests and Priestesses were trained to teach the various rituals and laws of obedience as well as scientific knowledge to the others.

The Adamu were taught that their God(s) were the only God(s), and that any neighboring "supposed" Deity was evil, and should therefore be avoided at any cost.

To centralize their individual sphere of authority, each Sumerian “City-State” became a home of a "God or Gods". These cities became the home of both man and "God." The solution worked beautifully for many years. If you wish to study this particular aspect of early religion further, you may find the original story in the Sumerian texts most of which are available readily online.

The Elohim leader on Earth, at the time was Enlil, son of Anu, younger brother of Enki, he was particularly angry at the situation. To Enlil the Adamu were an abomination and began to become troublesome, their constant fornication everywhere disgusted him. After an attempt to teach them better ways through punishment failed the Adamu became violent, rebelling against their "Anunnaki Parents".

Enlil ordered that the population of man be cut down. This was to be accomplished by limiting the amount of food supplied, and so starve off a portion of the population. This was a complete failure, as most Elohim could not stand to see their Adamu, many of which were in part their descendants suffer in this manner.

To add insult to injury, Enlil received even more distressing news... The Anunnaki started to reproduce with the Adamu!

Genesis, chapter 6, "The sons of the Elohim said of the daughters of man, that they were fair, and they took them wives, all of which they chose. There were Nephilim on the Earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of the Elohim came unto the daughters of man, and they bore them children."

Some of their offspring became great leaders living in the cities.

This portion of the tale is probably best documented and relayed through the extra-biblical text known as the Book of Enoch wherein it tells the story of the “Watchers” who came down to earth and cohabitated with the daughters of man. They taught them civilized arts, metal smithing, jewelry making, music, medicine and many more things.This portion works well with the Sumerian records as well if we consider the “Igigi”, the “shuttle craft” corps left in orbit to receive and relay messages and visitors from the home Planet Nibiru. They have also been called the “Watchers”. It was they who orchestrated several rebellions.

Enlil remained disgusted by the thought, so much so, that when an opportunity presented itself to fix the problem once and for all he took it.

The Anunnaki monitoring the Earth from space were aware of an imminent global catastrophe that would produce a lot of precipitation, and tidal flooding especially along the coastlines.

This catastrophe was predicted from several factors. The melting of the polar icecaps combined with the Antarctic ice sheet sliding into the sea. To further exacerbate the situation the close physical proximity of the Planet Nibiru, which always has a dramatic affect on Earth's global weather patterns. Another possibility is the theory of Earth Crust Displacement as another contributing factor.

All Annunaki were ordered into orbiting spacecraft and the entire area of the Sinai Peninsula was evacuated of Anunnaki by order of Enlil. There was one other small thing they were required to do. They were ordered to leave all their Adamu.

When the Elohim and Anunnaki returned to earth, they had a surprise waiting for them. Enki had secretly warned Ziusudra/Utnapishtim (Ziusudra in Sumerian, Utnapishtim in Babylonian) to build a ship for his family and all the animals and plants of the Earth. Ziusudra did as advised by his "God" and also allowed the families of the people who worked on his ship to accompany him and his family.

Yet another startling parallel between the much older Summerian records and the Bible. Most people today know of Ziusudra, as Noah. Almost every ancient civilization has a story of the great flood and the survivors who were warned by a God.

The biblical version of the "Great Flood’s" happy ending is chock full of biblical contradictions. It begins by telling of man's abominations including the corruption of the purity of the "Sons of God". A decision is reached to have all flesh perish. The same Deity rushes Noah in 7 days to build an Ark to save the seed of mankind and all living things. Why? Was the Deity's purpose in this to defeat his own plan? When the flood is over and the Ark lands the deity is enticed by the smell of roasting meat, forgets his original determination to end all mankind, and even makes a covenant with Noah to never do so again.

The nagging contradictions can easily be placed to rest if one considers the fact that the bible’s version is an edited version of the original Sumerian account. As in many other instances, the edited "monotheistic" Bible has compressed into one deity the roles played by one or more other “gods” who did not always act in accord.

From the Sumerian version, Enki who disagreed with his brother Enlil’s command to destroy all humans warned Utnapistim/Ziusudra.

'Man of Shuruppak, son of Ubar-tutu: Tear down thy house, build a ship! Give up possessions, seek thou life! Foreswear belongings, keep soul alive! Aboard ship take thou the seed of all living things; That ship thou shalt build - Her dimensions shall be to measure…

From the Bible, God determined to end all mankind then gives a reprieve and warns Noah.

Genesis 6:14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

Genesis 6:15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

After the flood, Utnapishtim/Ziusudra built an altar and offered a sacrifice.

From the Enuma Elish;

'the gods smelled the savor, the gods smelled the sweet savor the gods crowded like flies about a sacrificer'

From the Bible;

Genesis 8:20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Genesis 8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

At first when Enlil discovered Enki's ploy of saving the Adamu he was furious. He soon relented after discovering that all livestock and produce had been destroyed in the flood and that Enki's forethought had also prevented a disaster for the Anunnaki. Enlil was very forgiving after hunger set in and he partook of the burnt sacrifices offered by Utnapishtim/Zuisudra/Noah.

A pledge was then made to the Adamu by the Elohim and also by Yahweh to Noah, that never again would the Elohim order their destruction. It is a promise made to man that has been kept ever since (so far).

By Summerian and biblical reckoning this occurred at approximately 11,000 BC. Coincidental to the end of the last Ice Age and the time frame for the Earth Crust Displacement theory, and the approximate time frame when geologist's believe the water erosion on the Sphinx Occurred.

The Anunnaki

2011-04-28T15:47:00.000-07:00

According to the Sumerian records, over four hundred thousand years ago, our planet was visited by a race of Beings from what is now known as the planet Nibiru.

These events were recorded at the very beginning of mankind on the earth. Back to one of the oldest known civilizations, Sumeria. Their civilization predates any other known ancient culture including Babylon, Assyria and Egypt. (According to modern science, however many current scientists are claiming older civilizations in Mesoamerica and the Indus Valley).

Sumeria seems to have sprung suddenly to life about 6 millennia ago and has no known origins other than that which is given in it’s own written records.

Sumeria is credited with many of the Firsts of mankind.

The "Sumerians" made use of an extensive written language, and a library system. In fact all written languages of the past, Akkadian, Babylonian, Aramaic, Arabic, Hebrew, Sanskrit and all other ancient Semitic languages, can trace their origins back to Sumeria.
They had the first known schools.
They had advanced agricultural techniques utilizing elaborate irrigation systems.
They had wide use of the wheel and animal drawn wagons.
They made boats for travel on the rivers and in the sea.
They made textiles and fine pottery.
They had an extensive medical practice; in fact the records indicate knowledge and use of surgery including appendectomies and caesarian sections.
They even had a court system to settle disputes.
The base 12 number system. (This is the reason most number systems are based on the number 12 - nine known planets + Nibiru + the Moon + Sol, the sun = 12. There are 12 months in a year, 12 in a dozen, 360 degrees in a circle, 24 hours in the day etc. For us it would have been more logical to base our number systems on 10, since we have ten fingers, ten toes.)
They founded one of the first religions, of which many others are but distorted reflections.

Most extraordinary of all, the Sumerians had advanced knowledge of the planets and the solar system that had not been matched by modern man until recently. The Sumerians knew all about Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. When in fact we (modern man) found Uranus only in 1781, Neptune in 1846, and Pluto in 1930.

In their writings the Sumerians describe the planets of the inner and outer solar system, their relative size to one another and their orbits and the history of their creation. In picto-graphs made by the Sumerians, they clearly depict the total of all the planets including Pluto, Earth and its giant moon, the gas giants and one thing more, a 10th planet, that seems to be missing from the system today.

You can see from this drawing how close their knowledge is to that which we have observed in modern times.  The missing planet that the Sumerians called Nibiru is of special interest.

According to their records the Sumerians claim there was once a watery planet in an orbital plane between Mars and Jupiter. Corresponding to the location of the asteroid belt today. On one of Nibiru’s passes, one of it’s moons collided with Tiamatand split it in two. The smaller of the two pieces was pulverized and became the asteroid belt and the comets and more importantly, the larger piece of Tiamat settled into a new orbit and became the planet Earth. In Hebrew Tiamat was referred to as Rahab.

This may seem a fantastic claim but it cannot be taken lightly in lieu of other evidence that supports it.

The most popular scientific theories of today describe the origin of the asteroid belt with two possible explanations:

Matter that failed to become a planet, because of insufficient mass.

There was once a planet between Mars and Jupiter and that through some celestial catastrophe was somehow destroyed and the asteroid belt is all that remains.

The Sumerian explanation complements the second theory above and also offers yet another plausible scientific postulation.

Astronomers have long been searching for another planet because the swing and orbit of all the planets in our solar system show that there must be another gravitational influence on them that can only be explained by another and as yet undiscovered planet. Often referred to by modern scientists as Planet "X" (“X” the symbol for unknown and also the roman numeral ten). This knowledge has come to us only in very recent times. More information about Planet "X" is readily available online.

It is worth examining the stories of Sumeria, especially when you consider the unbelievable fact that they knew anything at all about the asteroid belt and other planets 6 millennia ago. This as yet undiscovered planet "X" (at least by modern astronomers) they called Nibiru, the home of their gods.

According to the Sumerians, the planet Nibiru, has a very long elliptical orbit, and passes through our solar system only once every 3,600 years circling our sun in the opposite direction of all the other planets and travels in or near the same plane as where Tiamat was and the asteroid belt is.

Below is a portion of the Babylonian version of the creation of the Heavens and the Earth. This event in the creation of the heavens, they understood as a war between the gods.

The hammered canopy He stretched out in the place of

Tehom, (Tiamat)
The earth suspended in the void,
He penned waters in its denseness,
without any cloud bursting
His powers the powers did arrest,
His energy the Haughty One did cleave
His wind the Hammered bracelet measured out,
His hand the twisting dragon did extinguish.

The other half of her he set up as a screen for the skies,
Locking them together as watchmen he stationed them
He bent Tiamat’s tail to form the great band as a bracelet.

The bracelet joined at both ends is a reference to the asteroid belt. Its location is given as being between the planets Mars and Jupiter. This is also the dividing line between the inner and outer solar system. To the ancients this band was known as the heavens.

The Bible has brief references to this splitting in two of Tiamat (Rahab).

Isiah 51:9 Awake, awake! Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through?

Job 26:12 By his power he churned up the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.

The story continues with the cooling of the earth. It says that the place where Tiamat was torn apart healed over and is now the basin of the Pacific Ocean, which explains why the Pacific crust is so much thinner than the Atlantic it also lends credence to the currently accepted scientific theory of Pangaea. According to the Sumerians this collision with the moon of Nibiru caused a seeding of the earth from bits of life that were on the Nibiru moon which would lend credence to a valid scientific theory of Panspermia. Check with modern scientist’s today who are very interested in the fact that asteroids believed to be from Mars have been found in Antarctica, and seem to contain fossilized microscopic life forms. More information on this topic can be easily found online.

The Sumerian account also helps to explain other scientific mysteries.

Why the Earth is minus a huge part of its crust, specifically where the Pacific Ocean is.

Why the Earth alone of all the other planets and moons in our solar system has moveable tectonic plates.

Why the Earth's moon is so extraordinarily outsized relative to the moons of the other planets in our solar system.

Why the Earth has so much water (A good website on this topic > http://www.darkstar1.co.uk/water.html)

The accepted scientific theory of Pangaea.

The Sumerians themselves are a scientific mystery. They should have had no technology advanced enough to have discovered these things on their own 6,000 years ago. Galileo supposedly invented the telescope in 1608. They attribute their knowledge to the Anunnaki. The word Anunnaki in Sumerian means "Those who from heaven to earth came".

The Sumerian records state that the Anunnaki came from the planet Nibiru.

After Tiamat was split, the remaining half settled into a new orbit eventually cooling and stabilizing. The Anunnaki are said to have come down and set up a colony called Eridu. In Hebrew Eretz, which is where the name Earth comes from. These people, according to the Sumerians, imparted to them great knowledge about many things including our origins.

For our purposes here it is important to note that the term "Anunnaki" can be used to describe any being from the planet Nibiru, the leaders or commanders of the Anunnaki we will call "Elohim" as titled by the Hebrews.

The primary "cast of characters", in the Sumerian records appear, over an over again in many different mythologies under many different names worldwide. Heretofore thought to be completely different accounts, but in the last several decades scholars now agree they are the same deities, with the same attributes, and there are too many parallels and coincidences of "stories" to ever say the pantheons were different.

Anu, the King of planet Nibiru, Ruler of the Heavens.

Enlil the younger son of Anu, but legitimate heir to the "throne", Lord of Upper Earth.

Enki the elder son of Anu, (also called Ea and Yah, considered by some scholars to be the pre-cursor or original term which was later rendered “Yahweh”). Enki was the leader of the first expedition to Earth to mine gold, Lord of Lower Earth.
You may also know these three as Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, or Mitra, Varuna and Indra. Or even as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The "Holy Spirit" aspect of the Holy Trinity came about as a result of mistranslation of "Lower Earth" (Enki’s domain), through time and interpretation Lower Earth became the "Underworld". This is not a far fetched assumption, law-breakers were often sentenced to the mines of lower Earth as a punishment, these workers never again saw the light of day and lived by the lights of torches and the fires of the smelting plants (eternal darkness, hell-fire and brimstone etc). The "God" of the Underworld became the collector of spirits and subsequently was considered a spirit himself.

The other Gods and Goddesses were all in some way related to Anu, Enlil and Enki, through blood or by marriage and sometimes by both.

Antu, wife/half-sister of Anu, mother of Enlil.

Ninlil, wife of Enlil.

Ninki, wife of Enki.

Ninhursag(AKA Ninti), daughter of Anu.

Marduk(AKA Ba'al), son of Enki and Ninki.

Nanna(AKA Sin/Yeru/Jeru) son of Enlil and Ninlil.

Ninurta, son of Enlil and his half-sister Ninhursag.

Inanna(AKA Ast/Ashera/Ishtar/Isis/Astoreth/Astarte/Kali/Innin/Ninni) daughter of Nanna and twin sister to Utu. Other more familiar names for her are Venus/Aphrodite.

Utu(AKA Shamash), son of Nanna and twin brother to Inanna.

The ruling “Gods and Goddesses” always numbered twelve. Sometimes the cast of characters change and a new God or Goddess steps up and replaces an older sometimes a God or Goddess is also recorded by one of his/her attributes or names.
There were also many other Gods and Goddesses.

Bau, wife of Ninurta.

Ningal, wife of Nanna/Sin.

Dumuzi (AKA Tamuz), husband of Inanna and a younger son of Enki.

Ishkur(AKA Adad), a younger son of Enlil and Ninlil.

Erishkigal, sister to Inanna and Utu.

Nergal, younger son of Enki and husband of Erishkigal.

There were also many "Lesser" Gods who were of Earth, no more than local deities, given some lesser operation to run, such as the Goddess Ninkashi, titled "lady-beer".

The Anunnaki, initially led by Enki came to earth, for some sort of mining purpose. There is more than enough archeological evidence to support this notion. According to ancient records it was specifically to mine gold and return it to the home planet to solve some sort of atmospheric problem. After their home planet Nibiru continued on its journey the Elohim left on Earth were cut off from the home planet and essentially on independent operations. Prior to the creation of man there were also wars between the "Gods" for supremacy of the Earth. Some older texts also lead us to believe that the outcome of the wars on Earth would also determine leadership on Nibiru.

All of this information and more can be verified through the histories of the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Hittite, Hindu and Hurrian peoples and the Holy Bible. They have left us the entire story of these events.
An interesting coincidence to ponder is the fact that the Ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Chinese, Hindus, Amer-Indians, Aztecs, Incas, Mayans and even the Celts all have stories of "Celestial Visitors" in one form or another.

The Elohim

2011-04-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

Elohim is a Hebrew word which literally translates to "Gods and Goddesses" or more simply "Deities". The term Elohim occurs in the more ancient versions the Old Testament. Recent interpretations, of which there are many, appear to have completely edited out the term, regarding it as archaic. Understanding the term and where it came from is a key element to understanding the Bible and more importantly the ancient sources from which the Bible was derived.

The word Elohim is dominant in the five Books of Moses, generally known as the Pentateuch or as the Elohist Tradition, in which 'Elohim' rather than 'Yahweh' was used to refer to the Creators. In Hebrew, the term 'El', stemming from the Akkadian word "Ilu", was a generic term for a God or Deity, and 'Elohim', being it's plural literally meant 'the gods'.

Every place you see the word 'God' in Genesis, replace it with the word Elohim, the original word used. In several cases when the leader of the Elohim is addressing the other 'Gods', it has been rendered in English as "the Lord God"; it should be read as "the Leader of the Gods".

The Elohim were also known by the Hebrews as the Anakim, which is a derivative form of the Sumerian word 'Anunnaki'. Anakim was used by the Hebrews exactly as the Sumerians used Anunnaki, when referring, collectively, to the race of Gods.

When talking of a specific God the Hebrews used "El" normally in a context such as "El Shaddai", which means God of the mountainor any specific title. In Hebrew Elohim and Anakim are often confused, even by "experts" with the Nephilim. The Nephilim is the term employed to describe the children of a union between people of the race of Anakim and Humans a "Demi-God" if you will.

There is no doubt that the word Elohim is a plural word:

Genesis 1:26 Then the Lord Elohim said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness..."
Genesis 3:22 Then the Lord Elohim said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever."
Genesis 11:4-8 And they said, "Come let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a Shem for ourselves lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."
But the Elohim came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.
And the Lord Elohim said, "Behold the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.
Come let us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech."
So the Elohim scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.

As in many other cases, the edited "monotheistic" Bible has compressed into one deity the roles played by one or more other"Gods" who did not always act in accord.

A little Background

2011-04-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

The Sumerians developed one of the earliest civilizations on earth (3500-1750 B.C.), but the existence of such a people and civilization was not even suspected until the middle of the 19th century. People had long known about the Babylonians, since the ancient Egyptians, Hebrews, and Greeks had all come into contact with them and written about them. But no one knew that the Sumerians had preceded the Babylonians and had developed the writing, religious, and agricultural systems which the Babylonians adapted and modified later. In the early 19th century, British, German and French archeologists began to dig out the earthen mounds that are the remains of cities that once flourished thousands of years ago in the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys, a region called Mesopotamia ["between the rivers"] in the history books and called Iraq today. In the process of deciphering tablets written in the Babylonian language (called "Akkadian"), they came to suspect that the writing system was ill-suited for that language and thus must have been invented for an earlier, unknown tongue. Eventually, after a half-century of decipherment and excavation, the existence of the Sumerian language, people, and civilization was confirmed.

Sumerian civilization originated in what is now southern Iraq, just upriver from the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. "Civilization" in this context means a settled town or city-dwelling people who possess a stable agricultural technology (including domesticated animals) and have developed a hierarchical system of social classes (peasants, laborers, slaves, craftsmen [smiths, masons, carpenters, potters, etc.], farmers, fishermen, merchants, doctors, architects, priests and temple attendants, bureaucrats, scribes, advisers, priest-kings). Since the climate of southern Iraq is hot and dry, agriculture requires an extensive irrigation system of canals and dikes. Often, the Sumerians wrote as if their civilization (agricultural techniques, cities, classes of people) came first, and people later. (Why do you think they thought this way?) In such a hot climate, we find some recurring images and motifs: the tree of life, shade, the desert or steppe beyond the irrigated areas, the storehouse for grain and other agricultural products, bricks for building cities and temples, and the measuring rod of the priest-king.

Sumerian cities were close agglomerations of one or two story mud brick dwellings. These low structures were overshadowed by the temple of the god, "a massive staged tower" (Kramer, Sumerians 73) called a ziggurat. Each city was sacred to one god, and the priest-king of each city followed the god's instructions on how to run it. Perhaps as much as ¼ of the land surrounding the city was owned by the god (the temple as an institution); the rest was owned by "nobles" (ruling princes, palace administrators, and priests) and ordinary citizens (Kramer, Sumerians 75-77). The Sumerians developed a form of writing called cuneiform around 3000 BC This script began as pictographic writing but eventually developed into a "purely phonetic system of writing in which each sign stood for one or more syllables" (Wolkstein and Kramer 125). This writing is called cuneiform because it consists of wedge-shaped marks which were inscribed into wet clay tablets with a reed stylus. The tablets were then baked, thus preserving a brittle and heavy, but rather permanent record of a very old civilization. For more on the Sumerians, read S. N. Kramer's "Sumerian History, Culture, and Literature" (Wolkstein and Kramer 115-126).