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INFLECTION AND POSTFIXES 85
property " POEBEL, no. 42, 3'. ~ indicates the plural in as-me ás-ás
=samsati, 'sun disks ". The Semitic scribes indicate the dual by n
min, the ordinary word for ' two " but this method does not appear to be
Sumerian. su-min,' two hands '; igi-min, , two eyes '.
§ 131. To express the genitive relation between two nouns Sumerian
employs the suffix ge (rectus) and ka (obliquus)3. Generally speaking,
if the construct be in the rectus the genitive will be indicated by ge, if
the construct be oblique the genitive will be indicated by ka. Yet ge
may be employed if the genitive be put into relation with an oblique
construct by the vowel a, as in gig-u-na-ge, 'in the height of the night',
IV R, 26 a 184; or in á-zid-da lugal-zag-ge 5, 'at the side of thy king "
Cyl. A 6, 12 (§ 78). This proves that the essential force of the element
Vg, k, is one of emphasis binding the descriptive noun to its construct
(if we may employ that term loosely here) to form a single conception.
The inflection of the particle itself cannot be original and the reason for
employing k in the oblique case and g in the rectus is not apparent. We
should have expected either ge-ga or ke-ka 6. The genitive may be
possessi ve, dam lugalage, 'wife of the king " or descri ptive, namlugal
kalama-ge, 'lordship of the land '. Ordinarily the possessive suffix
follows the genitive particle if its antecedent is the genitive, but precedes
if its antecedent be the construct : gisdúr-gar-mag nam-nin-ka-ni, , the
great throne of her ladyship " Gud. F 3, 8. Here ni refers to the goddess
possessor of the quality namnin. But arad ni-tug nin-a-na-kam, 'the
1. AIso uncertain. We may read kunuk gal, i e., kunuk zitti.
2. Date formula of Samsuditana. - ather examples cited by BRúNNow, 5936.
3. HOMMELapparently made the first correct statement in regard to the genitive
force of ka, Semitische Volker und Sprachen, p. 510. AMIAUD,ZK. 1, 236­
243, discovered most of the principIes governing the use of these particles.
4. Apparently the sense is 'darkness of supreme highness '. eL zag gistir_
ra-ge, 'at the side of the forest', ibid., 20.
5. For za-ge. See also RADAU,BE. V, Ser. D, pt. 2, p. 17.
6. It is probable that the original particle of the gen. rectus was ki, ke. The
sign ordinarily employed for ge t::TTT has the major value kit. It may have been
differentiated to [fe to avoid confusion with the postfb::ed determinative of place
ki. (See above, p. 58.)