Reading akkadian PRayeRs & Hymns An Introduction

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READING AKKADIAN PRAYERS AND HYMNS: AN INTRODUCTION
20. ana EN SÍG u TÚG.sÍG an-ni-i la ú-pa-as-s[a-ru]
21. ŠÀ-šú la GIG-ṣu la i-lam-me-nu
22. e-zib ana EGIR a-dan-ni šá ITI e-ri-bi
23. ta-mit ana SILIM-um EN.NUN
as ḫadû, “joy,” dumqu, “favor,” or lumnu, “evil,” to specify its meaning (see CAD B, 346–47
for attestations). The noun is fem. pl. here. MUNUS. ḪUL = lemuttu, “evil, wickedness.”
u bussurāti ša lemutti
Line 20: The person for whom the diviner is inquiring appears yet again at this structural
junction, the start of the last section of the inquiry, as one who might receive bad
news resulting from the enemy’s violent actions. Ana, “to, for.” Bussuru (pussuru), “to deliver,
to send, to receive news.” Although often used for good news, the verb does not
necessarily have this connotation (see CAD B, 347–48).
ana bēl šipāti u sissikti annî upassurū
Line 21: Libbu, “heart.” GIG = marāṣu, “to be(come) sick.” Lemēnu, “to be(come) bad,
to fall into bad times.” Both verbs, however, when used with libbu as subject can mean “to
be(come) angry, displeased” (see CAD M, 274 and L, 117). Lambert therefore renders the
verbs as “be distressed or distraught.” Since libbu must be the subject of the verbs, the final
u on both are superfluous, perhaps added by dint of the fact that the verbs in lines 16–18,
20 end with the 3mp –ū. The query concludes with the potential reaction of the person for
whom the query is being made. There is no praise offered or promised to the deities invoked.
libbašu lā imarraṣ(u) lā ilammen(u)
Line 22: The only ezib-clause reinforces the stipulated term, adannu (adānu), “time
limit, fixed time, deadline” (see lines 6–7). Ezib is a ms impv. from ezēbu; the impv. means
“leave aside, ignore, disregard.” Ana arkat (warkat; = EGIR), “after.” Ēribu, “entering, incoming,”
refers here to the coming month, the one after the stipulated term during which
the inquiry was applicable. Presumably the person for whom the diviner was inquiring was
on guard duty for one month and only interested in that period of time.
ezib ana arkat adanni ša arḫi ēribi
Line 23: This line is the rubric to the text. It is not part of the diviner’s prayer. Tamītu,
“inquiry, oracle-inquiry” (see page 49). SILIM = šulmu, “well-being, peace, safety.”
tamīt ana šulum maṣṣarti
COMPARATIVE SUGGESTIONS:
The suggestions offered in the OB Prayer to the Gods of the Night (see page
79) supply a broad comparative view on the issue of extispicy and divination
and are relevant to developing a comparative perspective on this prayer, too.
The suggestions made here will focus on two particular issues: the use of binary
oracles and the BH equivalent of the term bussurtu.