Reading akkadian PRayeRs & Hymns An Introduction

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READING AKKADIAN PRAYERS AND HYMNS: AN INTRODUCTION
39. ana DINGIR-ia réme-ni-i at-ta-na-as-ḫar un-ni-ni a-qab-bi
40. ša d iš-tar-ia še-pa-ša ? [ú-na-áš-šaq ina IGI-ki] ap-ta-na-ši-il
41. ana {DINGIR i-du-u la i-du-ú} [na-ás-ḫi-ra-an-ni un-ni-ni a-qab]-bi
42. {ana d iš-ta-ri i-du-u la i-du-ú} [na-ás-ḫi-ra-an-ni un-ni-ni a-qab-bi]
43. [b]e-lum n[a-ás-ḫi-ra-an-ni un-ni-ni a-qab-bi]
Line 39: Rēmēnû, “merciful.” Attanasḫar is a Ntn durative of saḫāru, “to search constantly.”
Unnīnu, “prayer, petition.” To speak (qabû) a prayer or petition (unnīnu) to a divine
being is to implore them. The description of the god as “merciful” contains an implied
request that the deity act in accordance with this characteristic. Lines 39–46 comprise a
transition section between the lament and the petition section in which the supplicant
turns to the deity for help. The duratives should now be translated as referring to the present.
ana ilīya rēmēnî attanasḫar unnīni aqabbi
Line 40: Šēpā is a dual form of šēpu, “foot.” Nuššuqu (D of našāqu), “to kiss.” The restoration
in the middle of the line is suggested by the Sumerian mu-un-su-ub-su-ub; see
Maul, 239, 245 and Langdon, 42. Aptanaššil is a Gtn from pašālu, “to crawl.” The repeated
use of š heightens the emotional thrust of this line and possibly imitates a crawling sound.
The pronominal suffix on šēpāša is redundant with the ša at the head of the line.
ša ištarīya šēpāša unaššaq ina maḫrīki aptanaššil
Line 41: Nasḫuru (N of saḫāru), “to return, to show favorable attention, to repent.”
After an initial ana, the first half of line 41 is blank (an assumed translation) and most of
the rest of the line is broken. The Sumerian suggests the Akkadian translation for the first
half of the line: dìm-me-er ì-zu nu-un-[zu . . .] (see likewise lines 42 and 44–46). The second
halves of lines 41–46 take their cue from Langdon’s conjectural restorations (42).
These are reasonable but quite uncertain. If the reconstruction is accurate, the supplicant
tries to get the deity’s attention with the use of direct imperatives here and in the next
several lines in order that the deity might pay attention to the supplicant’s plight.
ana ili idû lā idû nasḫiranni unnīni aqabbi
Line 42: Presumably, this line follows the pattern of repeating the previous plea with
a goddess as the subject. The Sumerian suggests the Akkadian translation: ama- d innin ì-zu
[nu-un-zu . . .].
ana ištar idû lā idû nasḫiranni unnīni aqabbi
Line 43: Lines 43 and 44 address a particular deity whereas lines 41–42 and 45–46
are addressed to “whichever god/goddess.” The Akkadian reconstruction of this line follows
Langdon’s conjecture tentatively (42), but see Maul’s reservations, particularly concerning
the reading of the GUR sign (239, 246). Even if the reading of the GUR sign is
valid, it is doubtful that the Akkadian analogue would be saḫāru since there is only one