Reading akkadian PRayeRs & Hymns An Introduction

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READING AKKADIAN PRAYERS AND HYMNS: AN INTRODUCTION
22. ana-ku d GIŠ.NU 11-MU-GI.NA ÌR-ka
23. as-ruq-ka ši-riq mu-ši el-la
24. aq-qí-ka re-eš-ta-a ši-kara da-áš-pa
25. ina GIŠ.GÁN.LAGAB ? qud-du-ši šum-ka az-kur
26. al-si-ka be-lí ina qé-reb AN-e KÙ.MEŠ
Line 22: This self-presentation is only preserved in two MSS, Butler’s A and b; the
ritual actions and gestures described in the next several lines, however, are attested in
these and other MSS. Anāku = “I.” d GIŠ.NU 11 -MU-GI.NA = Šamaš-šum-ukīn (“Shamash established
the name”), king of Babylon from 667–648 BCE and the brother of the great Assyrian
king Ashurbanipal. Shamash-shum-ukin waged a civil war for four years against his
brother in Nineveh. ÌR = ardu (wardum), “servant.”
anāku Šamaš-šum-ukīn aradka
Line 23: Sarāqu, “to sprinkle, to pour, to strew.” Širqu (also sirqu, serqu), literally,
“sprinkling,” but generally refers to an offering of strewn flour. Note this word is a cognate
accusative of the verb. Mūšu, “night.” Ellu, “pure, clean,” conceptually must refer to the
offering, širqu, rather than the night. In lines 23–24 the supplicant describes the ritual
actions they perform. These are similar but not identical to the actual instructions attested
on some of the textual witnesses, which vary among themselves. If the actions in lines 23–
24 were performed, it is likely they were done before the reciting of the prayer (see Mayer,
UFBG, 208–9).
asruqka širiq mūši ella
Line 24: Naqû, “to pour out, to libate.” Šikaru, “beer.” SAG = rēštû, “first, preeminent.”
Šikaru rēštû designates first-rate beer, a very common item to libate (see CAD
Š/2, 426). Dašpu, “honey.” Compare the use of honey here with that in the ritual instructions
in line 38.
aqqīka rēštâ šikara dašpa
Line 25: GIŠ.GÁN.LAGAB ? is obscure. Quddušu, “purified, consecrated.” Šumu, “name.”
Zakāru, “to name, to invoke.” After reminding the deity of the ritual actions already performed,
the supplicant makes their appeal in lines 25–27 for the god’s attention, what
Mayer calls the “turning” (Hinwendung) part of the prayer (UFBG, 122–45). The verbs are
probably best taken as performative utterances, the speaking of which executes the ritual
action. One might translate these “I hereby do X.” These lines lead up to the petitions
proper in lines 28ff.
ina GIŠ.GÁN.LAGAB qudduši sumka azkur
Line 26: Šasû, “to call on, to appeal to.” Bēlu, “lord.” Ina qereb, “in the midst of.” See
line 5 for the vocabulary in the rest of the line. (Butler’s MS C 1 adds a line after this one,
see 387.) Grammatically speaking, the elements of lines 25–26 are arranged chiastically:
prepositional phrase, substantive referring to the deity, verb / verb, substantive referring