[The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria by Morris Jastrow]@TWC D-Link bookThe Religion of Babylonia and Assyria CHAPTER VIII 66/110
In combination, Anu, Bel, and Ea did not mean as much, nor the same thing, to a Babylonian or an Assyrian, as when he said Marduk, or Nabu, or Ashur, or Sin, as the case might be.
It was different when addressing these gods individually, as was occasionally done.
The Assyrians were rather fond of introducing Anu by himself in their prayers, and the Babylonians were prompted to a frequent mention of Ea by virtue of his relationship to Marduk, but when this was done Anu and Ea meant something different than when mentioned in one breath along with Bel. Belit. One might have supposed that when Bel became Marduk, the consort of Bel would also become Marduk's consort.
Such, however, does not appear to be the case, at least so far as the epoch of Hammurabi is concerned.
When he calls himself 'the beloved shepherd of Belit,' it is the wife of the old Bel that is meant, and so when Agumkakrimi mentions Bel and Belit together, as the gods that decree his fate on earth, there is no doubt as to what Belit is meant.
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