abylonian theology, the son
of Ea. Since this distinction[129] is given to Marduk, no direct
indication of an original relationship to Ea has survived.

But besides being the god of wisdom and intelligence, Nabu is a patron
of agriculture, who causes the grain to sprout forth. In religious and
historical texts, he is lauded as the deity who opens up the
subterranean sources in order to irrigate the fields. He heaps up the
grain in the storehouses, and on the other hand, the withdrawal of his
favor is followed by famine and distress. Jensen[130] would conclude
from this that he was originally (like Marduk, therefore) a solar deity.
This, however, is hardly justified, since it is just as reasonable to
deduce his role as the producer of fertility from his powers as lord of
some body of water. However this may be, in the case of Nabu, there are
no grounds for supposing that he represents the combination of two
originally distinct deities. A later--chiefly theoretical--amalgamation
of Nabu with a god Nusku will be discussed in a subsequent chapter.[131]
Hammurabi and his immediate successors, it is noteworthy, do not make
mention of Nabu. A sufficient number of inscriptions of this period
exists to make it probable that this omission is not accidental. This
dynasty was chiefly concerned in firmly establishing the position of
Marduk. Other deities could, indeed, be tolerated at his side, provided
they were subservient to him; but Nabu, the god of a place so near
Babylon, might prove a dangerous rival because of this proximity. The
city on the west bank of the Euphrates was probably as old as that on
the east, if not, indeed, older. It did not seem consistent with this
devotion to Marduk that Hammurabi and his successors should also
recognize Nabu. Policy dictated that Nabu should be ignored, that the
attempt must be made to replace his worship, even in Borsippa, by that
of Marduk. Viewed in this light, Hammurabi's establishment of the Marduk
cult in Borsippa assumes a peculiar significance. It meant that Borsippa
was to be incorporated as part of Babylon, and that Marduk was
henceforth to take the place occupied by Nabu. In order to emphasize
this, Hammurabi actually transfers the name of Nabu's temple in
Borsippa, E-Zida, to the one erected by him at that place to Marduk. Did
he perhaps entirely suppress the worship of Nabu at Borsippa? It would
almost appear so from Agum's utter omission of Nabu. Only the statues of
Marduk