Instructions of Shuruppak
Ancient Sumerian wisdom sayings attributed to King Šuruppak.
The Instructions of Shuruppak are a significant example of Sumerian wisdom literature, intended to teach proper piety, instill virtue, and preserve community standards. The precepts are placed in the mouth of a king named Šuruppak, son of Ubara-Tutu, who is recorded in most extant copies of the Sumerian King List as the final king of Sumer prior to the deluge. The text consists of admonitory sayings addressed to Šuruppak's son Ziusudra, who is also known as the flood hero Utnapishtim in Akkadian tradition.
- type
- Sumerian wisdom literature
- earliest_extant_copy
- mid–third millennium BCE (Abu Salabikh tablet)
- attributed_author
- King Šuruppak (SU.KUR.RUki)
- addressee
- Ziusudra (Akkadian: Utnapishtin)
- language
- Sumerian/Akkadian
- known_for
- Among the oldest surviving literature; contains precepts similar to the Ten Commandments and the biblical Book of Proverbs
Lore & Background
The Instructions of Shuruppak are set in great antiquity, as indicated by their incipit: 'In those days, in those far remote times, in those nights, in those faraway nights, in those years, in those far remote years.' The text is placed in the mouth of King Šuruppak, son of Ubara-Tutu. Ubara-Tutu is briefly mentioned in tablet XI of the Epic of Gilgamesh as the father of Utnapishtim, who is instructed by the god Ea to build a boat to survive the coming flood. The name 'Šuruppak' also appears in one manuscript of the Sumerian King List (WB-62) as an additional generation between Ubara-Tutu and Ziusudra, though in every other instance they are father and son. Lambert reports that this interpolation may have arisen through an epithet of the father ('man of Shuruppak') being taken wrongly for a proper name, but that epithet in the Gilgamesh XI tablet is applied to Utnapishtim, not his father.
Reader's Guide
The Instructions of Shuruppak are among the oldest surviving literature, with the earliest extant copy dating to the mid–third millennium BCE from Abu Salabikh. The numerous surviving copies attest to its continued popularity within the Sumerian and Akkadian literary canons. The counsels are pithy, occupying one to three lines of cuneiform, and range from purely practical advice—such as not locating a field on a road or making a well in one's field—to moral precepts followed by the negative practical results of transgression, such as warnings against playing around with a married young woman due to potential slander. Community opinion plays a major role, whether the valued opinion of 'the courtyard' or the less valued opinion of the marketplace. The Instructions contain precepts similar to those later included in the Ten Commandments and other sayings reflected in the biblical Book of Proverbs, highlighting their enduring influence on wisdom traditions.
Did You Know?
- The Instructions of Shuruppak are among the oldest surviving literature, with the earliest copy dating to the mid–third millennium BCE.
- The text is addressed to Ziusudra, who is also known as the flood hero Utnapishtim in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
- One manuscript of the Sumerian King List interpolates 'Šuruppak' as an additional generation between Ubara-Tutu and Ziusudra, though they are otherwise father and son.
- The precepts include warnings against slander and advice on practical matters such as field placement and well construction.
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