Reading akkadian PRayeRs & Hymns An Introduction

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READING AKKADIAN PRAYERS AND HYMNS: AN INTRODUCTION
8. i-na GIŠ.LI.U 5.UM-ka ki-i-nim mu-ki-in pu-lu-uk 9. ša-mi-e ù er-ṣe-tim 10. i-bi a-ra-
ku UD-mi-ia šu-ṭù-ur li-it-tu-ú-tim 11. ma-ḫa-ar d AMAR.UTU LUGAL ša-mi-e ù er-ṣe-tim
12. a-bi a-li-di-ka e-ep-še-tu-ú-a šu-um-gi-ri 13. qí-bi du-um-qú-ú-a
Line 8: Ina, “on, in.” GIŠ.LI.U5 .UM = lēʾu, “writing board.” Writing boards were flat
boards made of wood, ivory, lapis lazuli, gold, or silver which were covered with wax.
(Only the first two materials are attested among discovered artifacts.) The scribe would
inscribe a text into the wax, which could then be erased by heating. For the discovery,
restoration (including Agatha Christie’s role), and description of the 32 examples found at
Nimrud, see Joan and David Oates, Nimrud: An Assyrian Imperial City Revealed (London:
British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 2001), 97–99, 104 (fig. 62), and 219–20. Kunnu, “to
establish firmly, to define, to fix.” The participle modifies lēʾu. It is bound to the following
noun, pulukku, “boundary, limits.” As a scribal god, Nabu holds a writing board that has
power over the cosmos as well as individuals’ fates (see line 10).
ina lēʾīka mukīn puluk
Line 9: Šamû, “heavens.” U, “and.” Erṣetu, “earth.” In this common word pair, the
“earth” refers to the netherworld, forming a cosmic merism.
šamê u erṣetim
Line 10: Nabû, “to name, to decree.” Arāku, “to be long, to last long.” UD = ūmu,
“day.” Šaṭāru, “to write, to inscribe.” Lines 8–10 comprise the second petition. The two
imperatives with their objects are parallel, describing sequential action Nebuchadnezzar
wants the god to do on his behalf: he wants the god to pronounce long life and then inscribe
that decree on his tablet.
ibi arāku ūmīya šuṭur littūtim
Line 11: (Ina) maḫar, “before, in the presence of, in front of someone.” LUGAL = šarru,
“king.”
maḫar Marduk šarri šamê u erṣetim
Line 12: Abu, “father.” Alādu, “to give birth to” (female subject), “to engender” (male
subject). Note that epšētūya harks back to line 3, where “my good deeds” formed the basis
of the first petition. Now in the third petition (lines 11–13) Nebuchadnezzar requests Nabu
to commend his good deeds to Marduk. Šumguru (Š of magāru), “to cause to be acceptable,
agreeable, to induce a deity to accept a prayer, pious deed” (on the latter meaning, see
CAD M/1, 42). The final vowel on the imperative, which we expect to be šumgir, is superfluous.
abi ālidīka epšētūya šumgir(i)
Line 13: Qabû, “to say, to speak, to command.” Dumqu, “favor, goodness.” Idiomatically,
dumqī (pl) qabû means “to decree one’s well-being” (see CDA, 62). Nebuchadnezzar
requests Nabu to give him general well-being. The two imperatives are again sequential: