Reading akkadian PRayeRs & Hymns An Introduction

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ESSENTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY:
READING AKKADIAN PRAYERS AND HYMNS: AN INTRODUCTION
Gula. R. Frankena. “Gula. A. Nach Texten.” RlA 3 (1971), 695–97. U. Seidl.
“Gula. B. In der Bildkunst.” RlA 3 (1971), 697. Hector Avalos. Illness and Health
Care in the Ancient Near East: The Role of the Temple in Greece, Mesopotamia, and
Israel. Harvard Semitic Monographs 54. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995, 99–231.
Text. Edition: Mayer, UFBG, 450–54. i Translations: Foster, 671–72. Seux, 337–
39. von Soden, 327–28. Study: Claus Ambos, Der König im Gefängnis und das
Neujahrsfest im Herbst: Mechanismen der Legitimation des babylonischen Herrschers
im 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr. und ihre Geschichte. Habilitation. Heidelberg, 2010; rev.
forthcoming.
i Two new duplicates are published in copy in Loretz-Mayer, AOAT 34, nos. 19–20.
1. ÉN d gu-la GAŠAN šur-bu-tum AMA re-mé-ni-tum a-ši-bat AN-e KÙ.MEŠ
2. al-si-ki GAŠAN.MU i-ziz-zi-im-ma ši-mi-i ia-a-ti
Line 1: ÉN = šiptu, “incantation.” This word marks the beginning of the prayer. It is
not a part of the prayer itself. Three MSS (Mayer’s B, E, and H) direct this same prayer to
the goddess Belet-ili simply by substituting her name for Gula’s. GAŠAN = bēltu, “lady”
(but also šarratu, “queen”). Šurbūtu (fs), šurbû (m), “exalted, supreme,” is often used to
describe deities and their epithets (see CAD Š/3, 341–42). The Š stem verbal adjective is
used here as an elative (i.e., superlative), “most exalted.” The form is not to be confused
with the infrequently occurring noun šurbûtu, “greatness, exaltedness.” The TUM sign may
also be read as tu 4 , indicating SB Akkadian’s loss of mimation. AMA = ummu, “mother.”
Rēmēnītû (f), rēmēnû (m), “merciful,” is also frequently used to describe deities and their
epithets (see CAD R, 238). Compare this epithet to Marduk’s on page 296. (W)ašābu, “to
dwell, to sit.” The participle is functioning substantively, in apposition to the other epithets
in the line. AN = šamû, “heavens,” is always plural. KÙ = ellu, “pure, clear.”
Gula bēltu šurbūtu ummu rēmēnītû āšibat šamê ellūti
Line 2: šasû, “to call out to, to shout.” The G preterite form of the verb, išsi (3cs),
often becomes ilsi in later Akkadian. Alsi is a 1cs preterite. MU = 1cs pronominal suffix.
Izuzzu, “to stand.” The suffixed –m on the verb is the ventive morpheme. Šemû, “to hear, to
listen to.” Yâti, “to me.” The supplicant interrupts the string of epithets to request Gula’s
attention directly with performative verbs, the speaking of which executes their ritual
actions (i.e., “I hereby call to you”). The imperatives demand Gula’s presence and attention.
This and the following line illustrate a common rhetorical move in Mesopotamian
prayers.
alsīki bēltī izizzīm-ma šimî yâti