The Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament; - The Search For ...

SECOND BOOK OF KINGS XVIII. 293
give any further particulars; — 36. irsu "bed", "couch"; so with
Hoeming we express the ideogram NU on the ground of II Rawl. 23.
52 b. c. This ideogr. is explained in Syllab. 649, quoted in Haupt
ibid., by rab^su = Hebr. v^"). And it is also defined in the first
place by the prefixed I.S to be a resting place, fashioned out of wood,
that is a "bed-stead" or "couch" ;
and next by the prefixed KA, meaning
first "bone" and then in particular "ivory" (Lotz, die Insch. Tigl. -Piles.
I p. 161), it is likewise described as a couch "of ivory" i. e. of course
"inlaid with ivory": on kussu see p. 279. 287; on nimidu p. 280;
masak is written ideogi-aphically with the sign SU. This is phonetic-
ally determined by the Syllab. II Rawl. 16, 57: ma-sa-ak = Syr.
) " ^ -.^ , see Assyr.-Babyl. Keil. p. 108 no. 31. The "hide" (repeatedly
mentioned in the inscriptions when flaying is spoken of) derives its
name from the fact that it may be "drawn off" ("ItJ'tS)- -^^^- SI i. e. 300
"horned AM" would mean in the first place a buffalo, since AM =
rimu CN1- ^^^ ^^^ investigations of Lotz (Die Inschr. Tigl.-Piles. I
pp. 160 foil.) have shown that this was the term used by the Assyri-
ans for the elephant, whose tusks, i. e. the ivory, were accordingly
designated KA. AM. SI, or more briefly KA [y.ux' iSo'/r/v). Comp. also
above note on 1 Kings X. 22 (p. 177 and footnote *).— 37. There follow two
species of wood, of which is. KAL would mean a "hard wood", without
informing us more particularly as to the kind of tree from which it came.
Ofcourse Oppert's "sandal wood" is only a conjecture. That which
comes next, is KU, is a species of wood which is likewise a subject of
complete uncertainty. Oppert renders by "ebony", see Keilinsch. u.
Gesch. pp. 27 foil. Since KU in other places means "service", perhaps
we ought to understand some sort of "timber" as meant, and with this
would accord the phrase nin Sum-su = "whatever its name" = "of
every sort" (see below); nisirtu means properly "preserved", root ^^J
"protect", hence probably "stores", "treasures"; kabidtu(ttu?) fem. adj.,
root n^D (HDD');—28* ban&ti "daughters" assumed as the plur. of the
form bintu "daughter" (Oppert) certified by the text (Assyr.-Babyl.
Keil. p. 193). In the text we have the ordinary ideogram for "daughter"
TUR. RAK with the sign of the plural, meaning "female people", and
which is determined phonetically by Smith's Assurban. p. 132, 20;
165, 123; ikalu "palace"^ '^D^m ; on the ideogram see Assyr.-Babyl.
Keil. p. 90 and comp. my Hollenfahrt der Istar p. 148; nisi lub (?)
"servants of the harem" is written in the first part ideographically
with the sign UN, the usual sign for "man" (Assyr.-Babyl. Keilinschr.
p. 97 no. 12); lub or lib might signify "heart", then the "interior"
of the palace or harem; rabbi lub accordingly means "governor of
the harem" in the List of Governors II Rawl. 52 Obv. 34; Rev. II,
see Studien u. Kritiken 1871 p. 691 note f. With this perhaps we should