Nabu's consort having thus been transferred to Marduk, a new mate had to be found for the former, when once his rivalry was no longer to be dreaded, and his cult again rose to prominence.

'Tashmitum' is an abstract noun in Assyrian, signifying 'revelation.' As such, it is bestowed in historical texts upon Nabu himself, who is called _itu tashimeti_, 'god of revelation.' Nabu is, above all, a 'revealing' god,--revealing knowledge, the art of writing, and the method of ruling.

The appellation is therefore a most appropriate one, and there seems little reason to question that Tashmitum was originally nothing but one of the terms by which Nabu was designated, just as he was called Papsukal in his role as 'messenger' of the gods,--the messenger of his father Marduk and of his grandfather Ea, in particular.

But Tashmitum, being feminine in gender, as an abstract noun, seemed appropriate as the designation of a goddess.
It would appear, then, that 'Revelation,' from being so constantly associated with Nabu, was personified, dissociated from him, as it were, through the conception of a distinct goddess bearing the name of 'Tashmitum.' This process of thought, in giving rise to a new goddess, may have been, in part, a popular one.

The translation of a metaphor into reality is a phenomenon that may be observed in almost all religions of antiquity.