Based on his study of tablets in the British Museum, Haupt realized that his collation of the tablets of the Gilgamesh legend revealed some previously unnoticed facts. He published in this format his observations on his renewed collation. The Nimrod Epic (as Gilgamesh had been formerly known) contains twelve tablets, of which Haupt gives text-critical remarks of the first ten. For the eleventh text he follows Delitzsch’s presentation, giving detailed textual notes. A period piece for scholars wishing to know early perceptions of the Akkadian language and the state of Gilgamesh studies, this booklet will prove an informative source. Although some of his conclusions would doubtless be challenged today, Haupt remains an influential, indeed, a formative figure in this early treatment of a cultural classic.

Paul Haupt (1858-1926) was a renowned biblical scholar and Assyriologist. He wrote works on many of the books of the Jewish Scriptures and matters of Semitic linguistic import. He received his doctorate degree in Semitic Languages from the University of Leipzig. He taught at the University of Göttingen and Johns Hopkins University and was a founder of Beiträge zur Assyriologie and also became coeditor with Friedrich Delitzsch of the Beiträge zur Assyriologie und semitischen Sprachwissenschaft. Professionally active, he served as President of both the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Oriental Society.