Concerning this god， and how he arose to the position of king of all the gods of heaven， has been fully shown in chapter III.Though there is but little in his attributes to indicate any connection with ？ama？， there is hardly any doubt that he was originally a sun-god， as is shown by the etymology of his name.The form， as it has been handed down to us， is somewhat shortened， the original pronunciation having been /Amar-uduk/， "the young steer of day，" a name which suggests that he was the morning sun.Of the four names given at the end of chapter III.， two--"lord of Babylon，" and "lord god of heaven and earth，"--may be regarded as expressing his more well-known attributes./En-ab-？ar-u/， however， is a provisional， though not impossible， reading and rendering， and if correct， the "36，000 wild bulls" would be a metaphorical way of speaking of "the 36，000 heroes，" probably meaning the gods of heaven in all their grades.The signification of /En-bilulu/ is unknown.Like most of the other gods of the Babylonian pantheon， however， Merodach had many other names， among which may be mentioned /Asari/， which has been compared with the Egyptian Osiris， /Asari-lu-duga/， "/Asari/ who is good，" compared with Osiris Unnefer；/Namtila/， "life"， /Tutu/， "begetter (of the gods)， renewer (of the gods)，" /？ar-azaga/， "the glorious incantation，" /Mu-azaga/， "the glorious charm，" and many others.The last two refer to his being the god who， by his kindness， obtained from his father êa， dwelling in the abyss， those charms and incantations which benefited mankind， and restored the sick to health.In this connection， a frequent title given to him is "the merciful one，" but most merciful was he in that he spared the lives of the gods who， having sided with Taiwath， were his enemies， as is related in the tablet of the fifty-one names.In connection with the fight he bore also the names， "annihilator of the enemy，" "rooter out of all evil，" "troubler of the evil ones，" "life of the whole of the gods." From these names it is clear that Merodach， in defeating Tiawath， annihilated， at the same time， the spirit of evil， Satan， the accuser， of which she was， probably， the Babylonian type.But unlike the Saviour in the Christian creed， he saved not only man， at that time uncreated， but the gods of heaven also.As "king of the heavens，" he was identified with the largest of the planets， Jupiter， as well as with other heavenly bodies.Traversing the sky in great zigzags， Jupiter seemed to the Babylonians to superintend the stars， and this was regarded as emblematic of Merodach shepherding them--"pasturing the gods like sheep，" as the tablet has it.
A long list of gods gives as it were the court of Merodach， held in what was apparently a heavenly /ê-sagila/， and among the spiritual beings mentioned are /Mina-？kul-bêli/ and /Mina-i？t？-bêli/， "what my lord has eaten，" and "what has my lord drunk，" /Nadin-mê-gati/， "he who gives water for the hands，" also the two door-keepers， and the four dogs of Merodach， wherein people are inclined to see the four satellites of Jupiter， which， it is thought， were probably visible to certain of the more sharp-sighted stargazers of ancient Babylonia.
These dogs were called /Ukkumu/， /Akkulu/， /Ik？suda/， and /Iltebu/， "Seizer，" "Eater，" "Grasper，" and "Holder." Images of these beings were probably kept in the temple of ê-sagila at Babylon.
Zer-pan？tum.
This was the name of the consort of Merodach， and is generally read Sarp(b)anitum--a transcription which is against the native orthography and etymology， namely， "seed-creatress" (Zer-ban？tum).The meaning attributed to this word is partly confirmed by another name which Lehmann has pointed out that she possessed， namely， /Erua/ or /Aru'a/， who， in an inscription of Antiochus Soter (280-260 B.C.) is called "the queen who produces birth，" but more especially by the circumstance， that she must be identical with Aruru， who created the seed of mankind along with Merodach.Why she was called "the lady of the abyss，" and elsewhere "the voice of the abyss" (/Me-abzu/) is not known.Zer-pan？tum was no mere reflection of Merodach， but one of the most important goddesses in the Babylonian pantheon.The tendency of scholars has been to identify her with the moon， Merodach being a solar deity and the meaning "silvery"--/Sarpanitum/， from /sarpu/， one of the words for "silver，" was regarded as supporting this idea.She was identified with the Elamite goddess named Elagu， and with the Lahamum of the island of Bahrein， the Babylonian Tilmun.
Nebo and Ta？mêtum.
As "the teacher" and "the hearer" these were among the most popular of the deities of Babylonia and Assyria.Nebo (in Semitic Babylonian Nab？) was worshipped at the temple-tower known as ê-zida， "the ever-lasting house，" at Borsippa， now the Birs Nimroud， traditionally regarded as the site of the Tower of Babel， though that title， as has already been shown， would best suit the similar structure known as ê-sagila， "the house of the high head，" in Babylon itself.In composition with men's names， this deity occurs more than any other， even including Merodach himself--a clear indication of the estimation in which the Babylonians and Assyrians held the possession of knowledge.The character with which his name is written means， with the pronunciation of /ak/， "to make，" "to create，" "to receive，" "to proclaim，" and with the pronunciation of /me/， "to be wise，" "wisdom，""open of ear，" "broad of ear，" and "to make， of a house，" the last probably referring to the design rather than to the actual building.
Under the name of /Dim-？ara/ he was "the creator of the writing of the scribes，" as /Ni-zu/， "the god who knows" (/zu/， "to know")， as /Mermer/， "the speeder(？) of the command of the gods"--on the Sumerian side indicating some connection with Addu or Rimmon， the thunderer， and on the Semitic side with ênu-rê？tu， who was one of the gods'
