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

Legal Texts 115
10. /}issa{u/ I shall pull out.
The G prefix 1cs verb of NS{ indicates SÁamuœmaœnu’s punishment.
He must pull money from the club resources, or, better, from his
own pocket to reimburse the person expelled. According to Barth’s
Law, the theme vowel is /a/ since an /i/ prefix is indicated. This
form is analogous to the word lqh > }iqh (/}iqqahu < *}ilqahu/), “I
will take.”
The next part of the contract, words to the members, begins,
appropriately, on the reverse side of the tablet, which creates a
natural break in the action. Thus, though the writing may indicate
an “unskilled” hand, the person who wrote this document
organized it so that the two parts most directly related to
SÁamuœmaœnu was on the front of the tablet, and the parts concerning
the activities of others, the members and witnesses, were on the
back.
To emphasize the shift in focus, the reverse of the tablet begins
by restating the organization chart of the club. SÁamuœmaœnu is the
top member and he appears at the top of the of the tablet when one
turns it over.
11. /wasûamuœmaœnu/ Now SÁamuœmaœnu
12. /rabbu }al yiddad/ is head. Let not wander
The term rb, which completes the binary nominal sentence,
establishes that SÁamuœmaœnu heads the roster of mrzh members.
The negative injunction /}al yiddad/ may be the singular,
yiddad, orplural, yiddaduœ, ofNDD. Possibly, see Hebrew ddn. Itis
not clear whether the theme vowel should be /u/, yaddud, or/a/ as
here.
13. /mutu marzihi/ a man of the marzihu
14. /wa-yargum le-/ nor say to
The G jussive 3ms/pl continues the negative command indicated
by }al in l. 12. Apparently, the command addresses two opposite