From The Alpha and the Omega - Chapter Four
by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © 1995, all rights reserved
"Scorpio, Kudurru, Meli-Shipak and Nebuchadnezzar boundary stones "

   Scorpio, as the opposite, was the basis of all matter, known as Air, Earth, Water and Fire, these blind forces of nature finding expression, with spiritual consciousness lost, without reason for opposing the way to eternal life and an attempt to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life and become as Gods.

   Scorpius, as the king of the special locust (like scorpions) in Revelation 9:11, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon (Heb. ‘avaddon, ruin, perdition, destruction), or the Greek Apollyon (‘Olothreutes’ personal, apolluon, the Destroyer; ‘apolluon’ is the present participle of ‘apollumi,' to destroy utterly of the loss of well-being in the case of the unsaved hereafter.). Apollyon is the angel who reigns over the infernal regions.

   In the New Testament the Greek word for Scorpion is (‘Skorpios’), akin to ‘skorpizo’, to scatter, is a small animal (the largest of several species is 6 inches long) like a lobster, but with a long tail, at the end of which is its venomous sting; the pain, the position of the sting and the effect are mentioned in Rev. 9:3,5,10.

   Jesus made a rhetorical question as to the provision of a scorpion instead of an egg, Luke 11:12, is firstly, an allusion to the egg-like shape of the creature when at rest; secondly, an indication of the abhorrence with which it is regarded.

   In the OT the word Akrabbim (Heb. ‘aqrabbim, scorpions), a word always found with ma’aleh, meaning "the going up to," "ascent of," or "pass." Under the star clusters in Cancer there is a word Ma’alaph which means "Assembled Thousands," which is similar to the ma’aleh.

   Thousand (Heb. eleph, Gr. chilioi) is used for a very large but indefinite number, or a division of a tribe (Num. 3:15; Josh. 22:14).

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   Babylonian symbols of the day can be seen quite clearly in the following for this age.

   The first settlers probably came to Babylonia about 4000 B.C. and some of the earliest ziggurats, that of the old Sumerian city of Kish (Heb. qish, bow, power), early third millennium B.C. has mythology of a god, floating in his celestial craft. Kish is an ancient city of Mesopotamia in the Euphrates River valley of present-day central Iraq. Its extensive ruins have yielded valuable archaeological evidence about Sumerian culture.

Kudurru, a Babylonian boundary stone

   From Joseph Campbell’s book The Mythic Image we see the Kudurru, a Babylonian boundary stone shown above is dated to the Twelfth century B.C. and shows the manifestations of deity in the six stages.

   The Kudurru from top down it shows (left to right) the planet Venus of the goddess Ishtar, then the lunar crescent of the moon-god Sin, and the solar disk of Shamash (the sun god). There is a huge serpent (note Tiamat, is Akkadian for "sea," the female half of the primordial couple) winding up the left side of the sculptured stone where the head is above the cup of the crescent moon. This reptile is symbolic of the primal generative waters that surround the universe, support it from beneath, and rain down upon it from on high. As you go downward, stage by stage it is the elements of the watery abyss. The star, moon and solar disk represent the ultimate governing powers of the cosmos.

   On the first of the lower stages are three chapels, or thrones of deities such as Anu, the sky god (light or fire) which is associated with Nuska, the fire god, Enlil the storm god (of the air and atmosphere), akin to Ramman-Adad (Heb. Rimmon) and Ea (Enki, Oannes) the water god in his "sea house," associated with the tortoise of the watery elements.

   Next below are the seats and symbols of the special patron gods of Babylon: Marduk, son of Ea, patron god of the city, whose animal is a dragon; was called the king of the gods. Nabu (Nebo), son of Marduk, a messenger, the god of writing and wisdom, shown as a goat; Ninhurshag-Ninlil, the goddess-queen herself, the Mountain Mother.

   The following two ranges are of this earthly plane, first of the atmosphere all about us and then of the earthly powers below ground.

   The first shows the standards of the guardians of the four world quarters. It has a bizarre hawk’s head at the left and double-lion column beside it are emblems of two monster-slayers, Zamama of Kish and Ninib of Nippur; the enshrined image of a horse’s head is an Aryan, warrior god; and the miserable eagle to the right is a war god.

   Below ground sits the goddess Gulu, (the earth-goddess; also Ninmah, goddess of the underworld), where the cosmic serpent begins to rise. She is the patroness of herbs, healing, life, as her flowered garment shows. Hands lifted in prayer, she sits with her dog, defender of homes, while before her a Scorpion Archer mounts guard at the uttermost bound of the earth (cosmic sea), to defend against demonic powers and protect the rising and setting sun.

    Beneath all, in the abyssal sea are the symbols of the four elements of which all things above are composed; at the right, the lamp of Nuska (Nunska), a god of fire; at the left, the bull and thunder-sign of Ramman-Adad (Heb. Rimmon), an air and storm god; below, the scorpion, earth-dwelling dealer of death; and above, the swimming tortoise, here supporting with his feet the entire cosmic mountain. The ones on the bottom have connections to those on the top.

Boundary Stones Pictures

Boundary Stones Descriptions

    For more information on a well documented subject please see the following link E: Late Mesopotamian Constellations - 6: Kassite kudurru iconography as constellations? which is copyrighted © 2001-2014 by Gary D. Thompson.

    Or click on this page to open a page with the same information Kuduuru from Gary D. Thompson.

    This file was updated on 10/22/2014.
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