Shamash, the Dispeller of Darkness!

Shamash, the Dispeller of Darkness!

Shamash, the most common Akkadian name for sun god, was the embodiment of justice. The giver of light, Shamash was known to disperse darkness by bringing wrong & injustice to light. The early Babylonians and Assyrians considered Shamash to be an inspiration to many and put together the pre-existing laws and legal procedures into a code that was in adoration of Shamash, the dispeller of darkness.

Sun God (Shamash, giver of light) was also regarded as the one who relieved the sufferers from the clutches of evil spirits and demons. All worshipped him as the god who relieved them of their suffering. The Babylonian literature is testament to this aspect of Shamash, which can be seen in the hymns that have been written in praise of the sun god. He was the deity personified and reined over all other deities because of his supreme powers and healing qualities. The strong Shamash cults at Sippar and Larsa ensured of that. The minor sun gods thus are known to serve Shamash, the supreme power.

Samson aka. Shimshon, meaning “of the sun”, was the son of Shamash and third to last of the Judges of the ancient Children of Israel as mentioned in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible), and also the Talmund. He was known to be mighty and radiant, which is an obvious fact of being Shamash’s son.

In Hebrew, Shamash also means to serve/servant, just as in Yiddish shammesh meaning a caretaker, attendant or a custodian. All of these in their entirety mean the same, ‘to serve’ and they are all pronounced as Shamash.

Hence, Shamash has a great significance and is worshipped with great reverence, especially by the present day Hebrews and Yiddish people.