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Authors: Bruce Judisch

Word Fulfilled, The

BOOK: Word Fulfilled, The
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The Journey Begun

Book One

 

The Word Fulfilled

Book Two

 

 

The Prequel:

Ben Amittai: First Call

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Word Fulfilled

 

Published in the U.S. by:

OakTara Publishers

P.O. Box 8

Waterford, VA 20197

 

Visit OakTara at

www.oaktara.com

 

Cover design by
Muses9 Design

Cover image, desert and camels © iStockphoto/
Roberto Caucino

Cover image, map of Armenia © Clipart.com

Author photo © 2009, Collin McCann

 

Copyright © 2010 by Bruce Judisch. All rights reserved.

 

Scripture is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

 

ISBN: 978-1-60290-225-1

 

The Word Fulfilled
is a work of fiction.
References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity and are used fictitiously. All other characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lll

 

To My Sister, Robin

 

Forever a best friend

 

 

 

 

Lll

 

With Thanks to . . .

 

 

Dr. John Walton
, Professor of Old Testament in the Department of Biblical and Theological Studies at Wheaton College and Graduate School, for his scholarly work on ancient Mesopotamian lore. Excerpts from his
Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament
(Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2006)
appear in this book by permission.

 

Dr. David Carnahan
, author and friend, for his honest manuscript reviews of both this title and Book One,
The Journey Begun,
in A Prophet’s Tale series.

 

Jeannie,
the wife of my youth, in whom I rejoice—and also a most supportive and constructive reviewer.

 

Finally, to
Ramona, Jeff
, and the staff at
OakTara
for enabling this book to see the light of day.

 

 

 

 

 

Cast of Characters

 

 

Historical

 

Adad-nirari III—king of Assyria (811-783
b.c.
)

Jonah (2 Kings 14:25; Jonah 1-3)—son of Amittai, prophet of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II

 

 

Fictional

 

Major

 

Ahu-duri—Senior Scholar to King Adad-nirari III

Ianna—daughter of Mordac and Hani

Jamin—son of Obadiah and Judith; nephew of Hiram and Rizpah

Hani—Mordac’s wife; Ianna’s mother

Hiram—chief elder of the Jewish enclave in Nineveh; Rizpah’s husband

Hulalitu—
naditu
priestess of Ishtar; Ianna’s mentor

Zakir—senior court
tupsharru
(astrologer) to Adad-nirari III

 

Minor

 

Abim—young Assyrian soldier

Akhyeshah—Jonah’s guide from Damascus to Tadmor

Anardu—Assyrian soldier, leader of the guard detail

Iquisha—city magistrate of Nineveh

Issar-surrat—formerly Prahthah; now High Priestess of Ishtar

Jamal—caravan leader and Jonah’s guide from Tadmor to Mari

Judith—Jamin’s mother

 

Kasiru—court
baru
(haruspex—performs
extispicy
, “reading animal en-trails for omens”)

Mordac—Hani’s husband; Ianna’s father

Nurzani—court
muhhu
(casts lots and reads leaves for divination)

Obadiah—Jamin’s father

Prahthah—
naditu
priestess of Ishtar; becomes the High Priestess Issar-surrat

Rizpah—Hiram’s wife

Sasi—priest at the Temple of Marduk

Shalla—senior
naditu
priestess of Ishtar

Shera—
naditu
priestess of Ishtar

Suhru—young
ishtaritu
initiate

Thura—
naditu
priestess of Ishtar

Urdu—apprentice astrologer to Zakir

Zakheri—aide to Ahu-duri

 

 

 

 

Glossary

 

 

Baru—
an Assyrian haruspex; a seer specializing in extispicy (reading the vital organs of sacrificed animals)

Enuma anu Enlil
—(literally “When Anu Enlil”; more helpful, “In the Days of the God Enlil”) a vast canon comprising thousands of astrological omens; used by ancient Assyrian astrologers to interpret celestial events and their meanings

Entu
—a senior priestess of Ishtar, from which the High Priestess was chosen

Idiqlat River
—Akkadian name for the Tigris River

ha eretz
—literally, “the land”; Hebrew term for the Promised Land.

Ishtaritu
—a young girl (or any woman) undergoing her carnal rite at the Temple of Ishtar; sometimes also used of a prostitute priestess of Ishtar

Ittu
—an omen or sign

Kalakku
—a flat wooden riverboat or raft used for commerce on the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers

Muhhu—
an Assyrian seer specializing in divining communications from the gods through casting lots, reading leaves, etc.

Naditu
—a temple priestess in service to Ishtar

Quppu
—a small, round-bottomed boat made of animal skin stretched over willow branches; used for travel on the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers

Purattu—
Akkadian name for the Euphrates River

Qadishtu
—a temple prostitute in service to Ishtar

Tabiltu—
Akkadian name for the Khosr River, which flowed through the center of Nineveh before joining with the Tigris River

Sukallu
—a senior secular advisor to the Assyrian king; regent over a district of the kingdom and second only to the king in power

Tupsharru—
an Assyrian astrologer

 

 

 

 

About Ancient Mesopotamia

 

 

How the Ancient Mesopotamian calendar

relates to the modern calendar:

 

 

Month
  
Days
Equates to

Nisannu

31

March/April

Ajaru

31

April/May

Simanu

31

May/June

Du’ûzu

31

June/July

Âbu

31

July/August

Ulûlu

30

August/September

Tašrîtu

30

September/October

Arahsamna

30

October/November

Kislîmu

30

November/December

Tebêtu

30

December/January

Šabatu

30

January/February

Addaru

29

February/March

 

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