Instructions of Shuruppak

[2] Wisdom literature, intended to teach proper piety, inculcate virtue, and preserve community standards, was common throughout the ancient Near East.

Ubara-tutu is briefly mentioned in tablet XI of the Epic of Gilgamesh, where he is identified as the father of Utnapishtim, a character who is instructed by the god Ea to build a boat in order to survive the coming flood.

[4] Grouped with the other cuneiform tablets from Abu Salabikh, the Instructions date to the early third millennium BCE, being among the oldest surviving literature.

The text consists of admonitory sayings of Šuruppak addressed to his son and eventual flood hero Ziusudra (Akkadian: Utnapishtin).

Moral precepts are followed by the negative practical results of transgression: You should not play around with a married young woman: the slander could be serious (lines 32–34).

Large pieces of stone with cuneiform on them
Fragments of the Instructions of Shuruppak : "Shurrupak gave instructions to his son: Do not buy an ass which brays too much. Do not commit rape upon a man's daughter, do not announce it to the courtyard. Do not answer back against your father, do not raise a 'heavy eye. ' ". From Adab , c. 2600 – c. 2500 BCE