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THE VERB 135
and the middle voices 1. These suffixes evidently acquired the force of
passives by association vvith the obliquc instrumental and the force of
the middle voice by association with the oblique dative.
The passive is .reproduced by several Semitic translations which
leave no dou bt concerning this construetion. ga-ma-abbi = lilslsabá.
, may it be spoken', AL'. 136,3 and variant gC¿-ba-abSBH_ 99, 50.
[Here abbi and bi are forms of the root bi to speak. ] im-ma-bw'-ra-nw =
sa issalu, 'which has been plundered', SBH. 88,15. ba-an-zi-ir-zi-ir­
ri-da = i!J!Jilsa, 'whieh is torn away". ba-sub = ittancli, 'she is
thrown'3. Examples in classieal texts are abundant. bal- bi ba-bal,
'this dynasty was overthrown '4. ba-gul,' it was destroyed', passim
in date formul:::e, eL SAK. 228-8, with whieh compare the active lugal-e
urbillwn-(lú) mu-gúl-a, '(year when) the king destroyed Urbillum' 5.
ulm ba-gal'-gar kalam(e) ba-gubgub, 'The people are created by it, the
land is established by it " eyl. B 1, 10'. ma passive perhaps in dúg-gar
ság-ga-a galu ma-a-gar", 'man is brought unto pious thoughts', Cy 1. A
20, 38• ueZ temen-11m ma-si(¡-,qi-na, 'when my foundation iDserip-
1. The passive construction 01 ma and ba appears to have been c1iscovQred
by THUREAU-DANGINand LANGDON,each independently ol the other. Vide Bab.,
II 73, and ZA. XX 398. The reflexive function ol ba was first inc1icated _by THU­
REAU-DANGIN.
2. CT. XVI, lO, col. V 1. The for111is really a doub1e passive, the da (§ 202)
being thrown to the end ol the verb to indicate the depenc1ent formo Tbe correct
lorm wou1d be ba-an-da-zi-il'-zi-il'-ra, in case we are not c1ealiLJgwith the e1ement
da in § 153.
3. ASKT. 120 rey. 13.
4. HILPRECHT, BE. XX, no. 47 rey. 7.
5. Second year 01 Bur-Sin.
6. The majority oí ¡he lorms given in my SYlltamc under ba, pp. 241-5, are
actually passive.
7. The vowe1s 01 the prefixes are Irequent1y prolonged, as ba-a-de, ba-a-gí-iJída
(Syntamc, 242), ba-a-gal' (CT. III 28, A. 60), mLH¿-cla-zu (Cyl. A. D, 4). imma-a-tag
(Cy!. B. 1, 17), apparent1y 101' purpose ol accent. TH1:l