Johnson 2004 - CDLI - UCLA

In the two exemplars from Nippur, we find the phrase ne.en de 6.a, which consists of what
Woods has described as a “demonstrative adverb of manner” followed by a nominalized
form of the verb √de 6 (Woods 2001, 67). On the basis of Woods’ interpretation, the line
should probably be translated as follows: “he (= Sisig) has told you that the bane of
humanity is brought about in this way (i.e., by means of death).” The scribes at Meturan,
however, arrived at the form i.da/de 6 instead of ne.en de 6.a, presumably because they
were unfamiliar with the use of demonstrative manner adverbs in Sumerian. I suspect that
Meturan scribes may have reinterpreted a later orthographic form of ne.en de 6.a as an
Akkadian gloss of some kind, i-da and i-du respectively. That is to say i-du and i-da may
have been interpreted as first person forms of the verb edû, “to know,” which may also
explain the otherwise inexplicable presence of a first person possessive pronoun in the
Sumerian of the witnesses from Meturan, when no such pronoun appears in the Nippur
manuscripts.
(25) Enlil and Sud [1.2.2], ll. 145-148 (Heimerdinger 1979, 1-2; Civil 1983)
145. nam i.ri.tar.ra.œu 10 ˙e 2.em.ßi.œal 2
223
As for the fate I have determined for you,
(var. niœ 2 nu.kur 2.ru) saœ il 2.la it should be fulfilled (not be altered)!
e 2.ma˙.ße 3 œen.na Go to the Emah head held high,
146. ßu.ni im.ma.an.dab 5 d a.ru.ru eß 3
As for her hand, it was Aruru, the one who
ma˙.ße 3 mi.ni.in.kar led her to the Eshmah, who grabbed it,
147. e 2.kur e 2 d en.lil 2.ke 4
mu.un ! .ßi.ib.ku 4 x [...] Enlil, and …,
She brought her into the Ekur, the house of