Reading akkadian PRayeRs & Hymns An Introduction

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READING AKKADIAN PRAYERS AND HYMNS: AN INTRODUCTION
33. šá i-pu-šú kiš-pi ki-ma MUN liš-ḫar-miṭ
34. ki-iṣ-ru-šá pu-uṭ-ṭu-ru ep-še-tu-šá ḫul-lu-qa
35. kal a-ma-tu-šá ma-la-a EDIN
36. ina qí-bit iq-bu-ú DINGIR.MEŠ mu-ši-ti TU 6 ÉN
in line 33 must be lišānu, “tongue.” ḪUL-tì = lemutti, “evil, wickedness.” Itattuku (Gtn of
natāku), “to drip ever away.” The form of the verb is 3cs precative.
ša iqbû amāt lemuttīya kīma lipî littattuk
Line 33: Lišḫarmiṭ is a Š precative 3cs from naḫarmuṭu, “to dissolve.” There is a variant
that reads liḫḫarmiṭ, an N precative 3cs. Semantically, liḫḫarmiṭ seems to be the better
reading, but it is only attested in two MSS, one Babylonian, the other from Nippur, whereas
lišḫarmiṭ is found in four MSS, including all Nineveh texts.
ša īpušu kišpī kīma ṭabti lišḫarmiṭ
Line 34: Kiṣru, “bond, knot.” Puṭṭuru (D of paṭāru), “to release.” Ḫulluqu (D of ḫalāqu),
“to nullify.” Both puṭṭurū and ḫulluqā are predicatives; the former is 3mp, the latter 3fp.
The reading ḫulluqā is to be preferred over the variant ḫulluqū because its subject is a
feminine plural noun epšētūša, “her deeds.” Lines 34–35 assert that the actions (line 34)
and the utterances (line 35, actually accusations) of the witch have been nullified. These
two lines parallel the initial description of the witch’s deeds in lines 4–5: 34 4 and 35
5.
kiṣrūša puṭṭurū epšētūša ḫulluqā
Line 35: Kal, “all” (see kalû in line 22). Amâtu is the plural of amātu (see line 28). A
variant in this line shows the precative limlâ rather than malâ (compare line 23). EDIN =
ṣēru, “field.”
kal amâtūša malâ ṣēra
Line 36: Ina qibīt, “according to the command of/that.” Qibīt in construct introduces a
subordinate clause, which follows in the second half of the line. TU 6 .ÉN marks the end of
the ritual wording (compare ÉN in line 1). This last line sounds like a standard legitimating
formula and therefore blurs the boundary between supplicatory and incantatory speech
(see page 20 in the general introduction). Note, however, the variant in line 35, which, if
accepted, would give this last sentence a very different tone.
ina qibīt iqbû ilū mušīti TU 6.ÉN
COMPARATIVE SUGGESTIONS:
Our incantation-prayer, as many others in Maqlû and elsewhere, accompanies
a dynamic ritual and thus gives expression to the changes in state experienced
by the patient and witch throughout the ritual. In this context we note
that some psalms of individual lament seem, because of the apparent use of the
perfect, to contain not only the petitioner’s prayer, but also an expression of
trust that the deity has heard him (e.g., Ps 6). Some have taken this to mean that
the psalm is part of a ritual and that the statement of confidence is the suppli-