Johnson 2004 - CDLI - UCLA

26. d en.ki me a.na œal 2.la mu.u 8.ur 4.ur 4 Enki, you gathered up all the divine powers,
abzu.ße 3 mu.u 8.œar lit., whatever (of them) existed, and
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stored them in the abzu,
27. ki.tuß ku 3 ßa 3.ge bi 2.pa 3.da.zu Your holy dwelling, chosen by heart,
abzu eß 3 ma˙-a x x the abzu, the august shrine …,
28. me.bi me.a diri œiß.˙ur.bi a.re.eß As for the plans of these Me, which exceed
gub.ba me.en all others, you have made them
praiseworthy,
Although the interpretation of *-a as either a genitive or locative remains somewhat
unclear in this example, its translation is fairly clear: “of/with regard to a holy place
favored by you.” In the following example, the role of the nominal postposition is
somewhat clearer.
(53) A balbale to Inanna and Dumuzi [2.08.a]
30. lugal ßa 3.ge bi 2.pa 3.da.zu For your king, chosen by heart,
31. d dumu.zi dumu d ≠en.lil 2±.ra Dumuzi, the son of Enlil,
32. e 2.tur 3.e i 3 ga ˙e 2.en.da.ab.be 2
May the cattle-pen produce ghee and
cheese,
Here the familiar pattern of an indefinite descriptor followed by a personal name is
repeated. The English translation is somewhat misleading and a more literal if somewhat
stilted translation might be as follows: “a king, your favorite one, (namely) Dumuzi, the