Word Fulfilled, The

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

About Ancient Mesopotamia

How the Ancient Mesopotamian calendar

relates to the modern calendar: