Divine Justice in Mesopotamia: O sagacious mentor, come, let me tell you!

Abstract

Since the 19th century, there has been a growing engagement in re-reading and reinterpreting foundational myths and their core texts in an effort to uncover the existential insights and enduring questions that have long preoccupied human thought. Among the most significant of these are the questions surrounding divine justice in ancient Mesopotamia. The Theodicy, also known as O Sagacious Mentor, Come, Let Me Tell You, represents one of the earliest attempts in recorded history to challenge the traditional paradigm of reward and punishment. The dilemma in The Theodicy unfolds through a couplet dialogue between a suffering man and a wise friend who desperately seeks to defend the justice and wisdom of the Mesopotamian gods. In this context, modern intellectual approaches—particularly from psychoanalytic theory—offer divergent angles to interpret these foundational texts. Thus, this ancient text may be viewed as an early expression of the enduring tension between divine authority and the individual's struggle to comprehend divine justice.