Reading akkadian PRayeRs & Hymns An Introduction

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READING AKKADIAN PRAYERS AND HYMNS: AN INTRODUCTION
2. i-lum ša la i-du-ú {ana aš-ri-šú li-tu-ra}
3. d iš-tar ša la i-du-ú {ana aš-ri-ša li-tu-ra}
4. i-lum i-du-u la i-du-ú {ana aš-ri-šú li-tu-ra}
5. { d iš-tar i-du-u la i-du-ú ana aš-ri-ša li-tu-ra}
cant wants the anger of the deity to subside and the deity’s disposition toward the petitioner
to return to status quo. Litūra is the precative form of the verb târu “to return,” with
a ventive suffix. The “anger” of a god is only mentioned in line 1 (in fact, the only time it
is the subject of the refrain’s verb, litūra). Lines 2–10 each simply identify a deity (or a
deity’s heart, as in lines 6–7). We should probably assume that these deities are also considered
angry (see the next note and the restoration in lines 9–10). As indicated in the
introduction, line 1 is distinguished from the following lines, which are all paired to incorporate
both genders. It provides a summary of the intent of the prayer: to placate the
god(dess).
ša bēlim nuggat libbīšu ana ašrīšu litūra
Line 2: Ilum, “god.” Ša marks a relative clause. Lā is a negative particle used in subordinate
clauses, questions, and prohibitions while ul is used in independent declarative
sentences. Edû (idû), “to know.” The form is a 1cs preterite, īde, with a subjunctive = īdû.
The petitioner begins the prayer by addressing the god and goddess that they do not know,
indicating their ignorance of the offence committed. Since the petitioner does not know
how or whom they offended, they must “cover the bases” and make sure to include every
possible deity. While the scribe left the second half of lines 2–7 and probably 9–10 blank,
ana ašrīšu/ašrīša litūra is implied (see line 8). The gender (and number) of the pronominal
suffix on ašru will vary according to the grammatical gender of the deity/item named in
subsequent lines.
ilum ša lā īdû ana ašrīšu litūra
Line 3: Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, was a major deity during the Neo-
Assyrian empire (see Tzvi Abusch, “Ishtar,” DDD, 452–56 and Black and Green, 108–9).
However, in this text ištar is used generically to indicate a “goddess.” This line begins a
typical construction seen in this prayer in which consecutive lines repeat the phrase with a
divine subject of the opposite gender.
ištar ša lā īdû ana ašrīša litūra
Line 4: Idû lā idû is rendered “known or unknown, i.e., whatever” according to CAD
I/J, 29b. Notice the assonance in the first half of the phrase as well as the fact that three of
the first four words contain two syllables providing a quickly moving rhythm.
ilum idû lā idû ana ašrīšu litūra
Line 5: There is no Akkadian translation of the Sumerian line, ama- d innin ì-zu nu-unzu
ki-bi-šè; however, the assumed translation is easily provided since the only difference
between lines 4 and 5 is the shift in subject: from “god” to “goddess.”
ištar idû lā idû ana ašrīša litūra