Reading akkadian PRayeRs & Hymns An Introduction

52
READING AKKADIAN PRAYERS AND HYMNS: AN INTRODUCTION
themselves with some formulaic phrase(s). Sometimes kīam is followed by a description
of the ritual acts involved in the extispicy. 197
The tamitu-prayers are very similar to the NA queries to Shamash, written
during the Sargonid-era (722–609 BCE) in SB Akkadian and edited by Ivan Starr
in Queries to the Sun God (SAA 4). Unlike the tamitus in Lambert’s edition, these
prayer-queries are coarsely written one to a tablet without duplicates and seem
therefore to be intended for one and only one occasion. Also unlike the tamitus,
they are only addressed to Shamash; Adad is entirely absent. There are many
structural similarities between the two kinds of queries and they share many
phrases, but on the whole the NA queries are more rigid and formulaic.
These prayers invariably open with the phrase, Šamaš bēlu rabû ša ašallūka
anna kīna apalanni, “O Shamash, great lord, whom I am asking, answer me with
a firm yes.” 198 The stipulated term is designated and then follows the query
proper, formulated as a direct question, as in the tamitu-prayers. Unlike the
question in the tamitu-prayers, however, the query in the NA texts have a highly
formulaic structure and utilize stereotyped phrases throughout, some of which
are keyed to particular topics that arise in the queries somewhat frequently. 199
The first and last of three closing formulae in the query correspond to what
Lambert calls persuasions (see above). The middle closing formula in the query
reads, ina šalimti ina pî ilūtīka rabīti Šamaš bēlu rabû qabi kūn, “with a favorable
reply, according to the command of your great divinity, O Shamash, great lord,
speak (and) confirm (it).” 200
The ezib-clauses follow the query. Unlike the tamitu-prayers, these clauses
are quite extensive in the NA texts and may be divided into three sections. The
first section of ezibs derives from the particular situation of the query and therefore
contains clauses of quite variable content. The second section contains ezibs
that are attested between three and eight times and seem to be somewhat stereotyped
(e.g., “disregard that an angry man, or one in distress spoke angrily the
words of his report” 201 ). They are much less common than those found in the
third section, the standard ezibs. These seven clauses are concerned with the
ritual performance itself and the purity of everything involved in the extispicy
(the diviner, the lamb, and the location of the ritual). These ezibs are always
found in the queries, appear in the same order, and, apart from the last two,
show little variation in their construction and wording. 202
197
See Babylonian Oracle Questions, 5, 18–20.
198
The following general outline of the NA query to Shamash is based on Starr’s work in Queries
to the Sun God, xvi–xxviii.
199
See ibid., xviii.
200
Starr translates all three closing formulae as questions (ibid., xx). The above translation follows
Lambert’s notion that the phrases that conclude the query are intended to persuade the
deity to give a positive reply. Therefore, they are translated as statements.
201
See ibid., xxi.
202 See ibid., xxii–xxvii for details.