A Primer on Ugaritic: Language, Culture, and Literature - enenuru

Legal Texts 99
5.1.3 Notes and Commentary (KTU 3.3)
In KTU 3.3, a group of individuals guarantee, or stand surety
for, another person’s ability to repay a loan. These people obligate
themselves, or co-sign, to use a modern phrase, to make good on
the money owed. In contrast, the other guarantee text, KTU 3.5,
describes the group guarantee of two individuals. The texts differ
in their organization and expansion of the basic materials. Both list
the guarantors, though the second is much more elaborate than the
first in detailing how the guarantors will make good any damage
done. According to the first text, the guarantors pay any damage
that occurs, while the second document specifies the amount of
silver to be paid. The second text also mentions that guarantors
unable to fulfill their obligation will be shipped off to Egypt. The
persons agreeing to the guarantee in both texts assure the
authorities that should the person vouched for “run away,”
payment will follow. As expected for transaction texts, both
documents end with a list of witnesses.
1. /sipru {urrubaœnˆäma/ Record of guarantors,
The vocalization of the noun of the heading, /{urrubaœnˆäma/,
comes from a syllabic cuneiform text from Ugarit, PRU 3
37b:5–8. 1 If you have studied Greek, you might recall this root as
aÓrrabw»n, and also remember that the down payment is a promise
that the remainder of the outstanding amount will be paid. Thus,
the guarantors assure, as cosignatories, to by means of willing to
make a down payment, that the terms of the legal agreement will
be fulfilled.
2. /duœti {arabuœ/ who entered into
Note that /duœti/, which should agree with its antecedent, should
agree with {rbnm. The root of {rbn also occurs in Hebrew, bro, “to
stand surety for, be responsible for someone, to pawn.” 2 In this
document somebody who assumes responsibility for another’s
1 Huehnergard, Ugaritic Vocabulary in Syllabic Transciption, 162.
2 KB, s.v. bro.