Reading akkadian PRayeRs & Hymns An Introduction

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READING AKKADIAN PRAYERS AND HYMNS: AN INTRODUCTION
11. ana-ku NENNI A NENNI ÌR-ka
12. šib-sat DINGIR u d IŠ 8.DAR iš-šak-nu-nim-ma
Line 11: Anāku, “I.” NENNI = annanna, “so-and-so.” A = māru, “son.” ÌR = ardu (wardum),
“servant.” In place of the generic formula, “I (am) so-and-so, the son of so-and-so,
your servant,” of line 11, two MSS (Mayer’s MSS B and G) add different expanded versions
of the self-presentation. The texts read as follows:
B: 12. ana-ku Id aš-šur-DÙ-IBILA ÌR-ka anāku Aššurbānipal aradka
13. ina ḪUL AN.GI 6 d 30 šá ina ITI UD GAR-na ina lumun attalî Sîn ša ina arḫi ūmi iššakna
14. ḪUL Á.MEŠ GISKIM.MEŠ ḪUL.MEŠ NU DÙG.MEŠ lumun idāti ittāti lemnēti lā ṭābāti
15. šá ina É.GAL-MU u KUR-a GÁL-a ša ina ekallīya u mātīya ibšâ
I, Ashurbanipal, your servant,
On account of the evil of the lunar eclipse that took place
in month (so-and-so and) day (so-and-so)
The evil of the unfavorable, not good signs (and) portents,
That happened in my palace and my land, . . .
G: 12ʹ. [ana-ku Id ]GIŠ.ŠIR-MU-GI-NA DUMU DINGIR-šú anāku Šamaš-šum-ukīn mār ilīšu
13ʹ. [šá DINGIR-šú d AMAR].UTU d15-šú dzar-pa-ni-tu4 ša ilšu Marduk ištaršu Zarpānītu
14ʹ. [ina ḪUL Á.MEŠ] GISKIM.MEŠ ḪUL.MEŠ NU DÙG.GA.MEŠ ina lumun idāti ittāti lemnēti lā ṭābāti
15ʹ. [šá ina É.GAL-ia u KUR]-ia ib-šá-a-ma ša ina ekallīya u mātīya ibšâ-ma
16ʹ. [pal-ḫa-ku ad]-ra-ku u šu-ta-du-ra-ku palḫāku adrāku u šutādurāku
17ʹ. [ḪUL.BI ana É].GAL-ia a-na KUR-ia lumuššina ana bītīya ana mātīya
! 18ʹ. [a-a TE a-a KU.NU]-ma a-a DIM4 a-a KUR-an-ni ayy-iṭḫâ ayy-isniq(a) ayy-iqrib(a)
ayy-ikšudanni
I, Shamash-shum-ukin, the son of his god,
Whose god (is) Marduk, whose goddess (is) Zarpanitu,
On account of the evil of the unfavorable, not good signs (and) portents,
That happened in my palace and my land,
Am afraid, anxious, and constantly in fear.
May their evil to my house and my land,
Not come near, not approach, not come close, (and) not reach me.
MS B adds the so-called attalû (“eclipse”) formula to the self-presentation formula, which
names Ashurbanipal (see Mayer, UFBG, 100–102 for a brief discussion). MS G attests a
longer self-presentation, naming Shamash-shum-ukin, adds the attalû formula but without
the line mentioning the eclipse (see UFBG, 101, n.65), and also includes a sterotypical
lament and petition for the removal of the evil (UFBG, 73–75 and 265–69).
anāku annanna mār annanna aradka
Line 12: Šibsātu, “anger,” is a feminine plural. The construct form is šibsāt. Note the
plural form of the verb. IŠ 8 .DAR = ištaru, “goddess.” Naškunu (N of šakānu), “to be placed,”
here “to beset.” The form iššaknūnim is a 3mp preterite with a 1cs dative suffix. This line is
omitted in MS G. The omission comes immediately after the introduction of Shamashshum-ukin
as the speaker of the text and the request that the evil portended by signs not
affect the palace and land. The omission may be due to the fact that when the scribe intro-