Johnson 2004 - CDLI - UCLA

perception (“he saw that . . .”) and an indefinite relative that has, subsequently, been
made definite (“he is the one who saw . . .”). In line 139, if we can base ourselves on the
opposition between direct, bi 2.in.du 11, and indirect speech, im.mi.in.du 11, we might
expect a form such as igi im.mi.in.du 8. But the fact that the statement is a rhetorical
question that expects a negative answer, may have led the copyists to draw an analogy
with a negated verb of perception such as igi nu mu.ni.du 8.am 3 (Gilgamesh and the
Netherworld 302), which closely mirrors the form of the verb in several witnesses. All of
these factors would seem to indicate that igi mi.ni.in.du 8.a is simply ungrammatical, the
result of either phonological or grammatical misprision.
(34) Dumuzi and Geshtinana [1.4.1.1], lines 52-55 (Sladek 1974, 229, 234-235; Wilcke
1969b, 86)
52. ßu.œar sa 6.ga nu.tuku.me.eß sa 6.ga Demons are never kind, they do not know
˙ul nu.zu.me.eß good from evil,
53. lu 2.u 3 e 2.nu ni 2.te.na zi.ni Who has ever seen a man, without a family,
silim.ma 32 a.ba.a igi mi.ni.in.du 8
233
all alone, escape with his life?
54. ki ku.li.bi nu.um.ßi.du ! .de 3.en ki We shall go neither to the dwelling of his
mi 2.us 2.sa 2.bi nu.um.ßi.du.de 3.en friend nor his in-laws,
32 The syntax of this line is quite interesting: the topic of the line, zi.ni, “his life,” forms the final component of the
anticipatory genitive construction ni 2.te.na zi.ni. The reflexive pronoun /niten/ then acts as a pivot for and is
coreferential with the clause initial lu 2.u 3, which acts as the subject of the initial phrase, lu 2.u 3 e 2 nu, “a man without a
house, lit. the man, to/for whom there is no house.” The topical phrase, zi.ni, is the subject of silim.ma, “that it (= zi.ni)
is well/whole,” and the adjectival predicate followed by the complementizer *-a, silim.ma, then serves as the
“complement” of mi.ni.in.du 8. If my suggestion as to the derivation of *mini-√ from *bi-ni-√ is true, it may even be
possible to interpret mi.ni.in.du8 as the head of an anticipatory genitive: “Of a man without …, who is his perceiver
([*igi bi 2.in.du 8]-ni),” but the matter clearly requires further study.