Reading akkadian PRayeRs & Hymns An Introduction

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READING AKKADIAN PRAYERS AND HYMNS: AN INTRODUCTION
25. ter-ra ki-šad-ka šá taš-bu-su UGU-ia
26. suḫ-ḫi-ra pa-ni-ka ana KÙ ma-ka-le-e DINGIR ú-lu-u šam-ni
27. šap-ta-ka ṭu-ba lim-ḫu-ra qí-bi-ma lu-šir
28. ina pi-i-ka KÙ qí-bi [T]I.LA
Line 25: Turru (D of târu), “to turn (a part of the body),” see CAD T, 273–75; with
kišādu, “neck,” as object, the verb means “to turn back, to relent” (see 275, with other
examples). The –a on the end of the imperative form is the ventive. Šabāsu, “to be angry,”
also has kišādu, the referent of the relative ša, as object (see CAD Š/1, 5), in which case the
idiom means “to turn away in anger.” UGU = eli, “against, on, upon.” The line, therefore,
means literally, “turn back your neck which you turned away in anger against me.” Like
the one preceding it, this line is both a description of the sufferer’s plight as well as a petition
to change it, though the latter is foregrounded.
terra kišādka ša tašbusu elīya
Line 26: Suḫḫuru, (D of saḫāru), see line 14. Used with pānu, the verb can denote a
positive or negative action (see CAD S, 49–50). The ventive on the verb confirms what the
context requires, a turning toward. In parallel with line 25, the supplicant petitions the
deity for favor using the language of turning. KÙ = ellu (see line 23). The adjective again
precedes the noun that it modifies (see also line 15). Mākālû, “meal, food,” with reference
to a deity (note the genitive ili, which may be translated as an adjective here, “divine”)
means “offering.” Ulû šamni, “the best oil” (see AHw, 1411 and CDA, 421 s.v. ulû), is in
apposition to mākālê ili and defines the items presented in the offering. Here the text of the
prayer gives us a window onto the ritual action that accompanied it: the setting out of an
offering of choice oil.
suḫḫira pānīka ana elli mākālê ili ulû šamni
Line 27: Šaptā, “lips” (nom. dual). Ṭūbu, “goodness,” is the object of the transitive
verb maḫāru, “to receive.” Qabû, “to speak, to command.” Ešēru, “to be straight, to go
well, to be well, to prosper.” The first part of the line describes the result of the supplicant’s
petition for the deity to turn toward the offering in line 26: so he may receive it. The
end of the line, paralleling the syntax of imperative + precative of the previous two
phrases, shows what the supplicant wants (expects ?) in exchange for the offering: they
want a divine decree that will result in prosperity.
šaptāka ṭūba limḫurā qibī-ma lūšir
Line 28: Pû, “mouth.” TI.LA = balāṭu, “life, health, well-being.” The petition for a
divine decree (qibi) is repeated, though this time with a more direct request (imperative +
object rather than imperative + precative): the supplicant wants life. The deity’s mouth
becomes the instrument of action rather than the beneficiary of the supplicant’s offering
(i.e., the deity’s lips received the offering in line 27).
ina pīka elli qibi balāṭa