At the same time, the hieroglyphic origin of the cuneiform mode of writing has been productive of disadvantages as well as of advantages. The characters which compose it may express ideas as well as sounds; and though we may know what ideas are represented, we may not always know the exact pronunciation to be assigned to them. Thus, in English, the ideograph + may be pronounced "plus," "added to," or "more," according to the pleasure of the reader. The Assyrian scribes usually attached one or more phonetic characters to the ideographs they employed, in order to indicate their pronunciation in a given passage; but these "phonetic complements," as they are termed, were frequently omitted in the case of well-known proper names, such as those of the native kings and deities. Hence the exact pronunciation of these names can only be settled when we find them written phonetically; and there are one or two proper names, such as that of the hero of the great Chaldean epic, which have never yet been met with phonetically spelt.
Another disadvantage due to the hieroglyphic origin of the Assyrian syllabary is the number of different phonetic values the same character may bear. This caused a good deal of trouble in the early days of Assyrian decipherment; but it was a difficulty that was felt quite as much by the Assyrians themselves as it is by us. Consequently they adopted various devices for overcoming it; and as these devices have become known the difficulty has ceased to be felt. In short, the study of Assyrian now reposes on as sure and certain a basis as the study of any ancient language, a knowledge of which has been traditionally handed down to us; and the antiquity of its monuments, the copiousness of its vocabulary, the perfection of its grammar, and the syllabic character of the writing--which expresses vowels as well as consonants--all combine to make it of the highest importance for the study of the Semitic languages. Its recovery has not only shed a flood of light on the history and antiquities of the Old Testament, it has served to illustrate and explain the language of the Old Testament as well.
Recent discoveries, especially in Babylonia and Assyria, have thrown much light on Genesis.--The Accadians.--An Assyrian account of the Creation.--The Babylonian Sabbath.--Traces of an account of the Fall.--Site of Paradise.--"Adam" a Babylonian word.--The Chaldean story of the Deluge.--This compared with the record in Genesis.--The Babylonian account of the building of Babel.--The light thrown by the Assyrian inscriptions on the names in Gen. x.--Gomer; Madai; Javan; Cush and Mizraim; Phut; Canaan; Elam; Asshur; Arphaxad; Aram; Lud; Nimrod.--The site of Ur.--Approximate date of the rescue of Lot by Abraham.--Egypt in the time of Abraham.--Records of famines.--The date of Joseph's appointment as second ruler in Egypt.--The Tale of the Two Brothers.--Goshen.