Simo Parpola
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Simo Parpola (born 4 July 1943) is a Finnish archaeologist, currently professor of Assyriology at the University of Helsinki. He specialized in epigraphy of the Akkadian language, and has been working on the Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project since 1987. He is also Honorary Member of the American Oriental Society.[1]
Simo Parpola has suggested that the oldest versions of the Sephirot extend from Assyrian theology and mysticism. Noting the general similarity between the Sephirot of the Kabbalah and the tree of life of Assyrian mysticism, he reconstructed what an Assyrian antecedent to the Sephirot would look like.[2] Matching the characteristics of Ein Sof on the nodes of the Sephirot to the gods of Assyria, he found textual parallels between these Assyrian gods and the characteristics of the Jewish God.
The Assyrians assigned specific numbers to their gods, similar to the way the Kabbalah assigns numbers to the nodes of the Sephirot. However, the Assyrians used a sexagesimal number system, whereas the Sephirot use a decimal system. Using the Assyrian numbers, additional layers of meaning and mystical relevance appear in the Sephirot. Normally, floating above the Assyrian tree of life was the god Assur—this corresponds to Ein Sof, which is also, via a series of transformations, supposedly derived from the Akkadian word Assur.
Parpola re-interpreted various Assyrian tablets in the terms of these primitive Sephirot, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, and concluded that the scribes had been writing philosophical-mystical tracts rather than just adventure stories. Traces of this Assyrian mode of thought and philosophy eventually reappeared in Greek Philosophy and the Kabbalah.
Parpola is also the chairman of The Finland Assyria Association (Suomi-Assyria Yhdistys).[3]
Views on modern Assyrians
Parpola is a strong advocate of Assyrianism, supporting the link between the modern Assyrians and their ancient ancestors. He argues for a direct link between the ancient Assyrians and those who call themselves and their Aramaic language Assyrian today.[4]
See also
- Sefiroth, for Parpola's reconstruction of an Assyrian Kabbalistic Sefiroth
- Asko Parpola, his brother, a specialist on the Indus script. pdf
- Panbabylonism
- The Melammu Project
Works
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- Neo-Assyrian Treaties and Loyalty Oaths
- The Correspondence of Sargon II
- The Standard Babylonian, Epic of Gilgamesh - cited in the article Epic of Gilgamesh
- Letters from Assyrian and Babylonian Scholars
- Assyrian Prophecies
- "The murderer of Sennacherib" in Death in Mesopotamia: XXVI Rencontre assyriologique internationale
- The Mesopotamian Soul of Western Culture
Notes
- ↑ http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/ANE/ANE-DIGEST/2001/v2001.n089
- ↑ Parpola, S. (1993). The Assyrian Tree of Life: Tracing the Origins of Jewish Monotheism and Greek Philosophy. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 52 No. 3, pp. 161-208
- ↑ Assyrian Association Founded in Finland
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Curriculum Vitae: Simo Parpola
- The Neo-Assyrian Corpus Project
- Professor Simo Parpola
- Sons of God - The ideology of Assyrian Kingship. In: Archaeology Odissy Archives, December 1999. Article by Simo Parpola
- Video on YouTube AUF - Assyrian Youth Federation in Sweden meet Simo Parpola
