CCP 3.1.5.A - Enūma Anu Enlil 5 (?) A

Catalogue information
British Museum
K.75
NinevehNineveh (Kuyunjik)
joins: 
K.75 + K.237
CDLI: 
P237772
Publication
Copy: 
3R 2 20 [colophon]
ACh Suppl 7
Photo: 
Fincke AOAT 401 RAI 52 (2014) p. 271 [rev]
Editions: 

Virolleaud, 1910C. Virolleaud, L'Astrologie Chaldéenne: le livre intitulé "Enuma (Anu) ilu.Bel". Librairie Paul Gauthner, 1910.: 7-8 no. 7

Commentary
DivinationAstrological. Enūma Anu Enlil

None

Base text: 
Enūma Anu Enlil 5 (?)
Commentary no: 
A
Tablet information
Babylonian
Complete tablet (rev. partly damaged)
Columns: 
1
Lines: 
obv 27, rev 25
Size: 
7,2+ × 7,1+ × 2,3+ cm
Late 8th / Early 7th cent (mostly Kalḫu, Nabû-zuqup-kēnu)
Colophon
Nabû-zuqup-kēnu s. Marduk-šuma-iqīš d. Gabbi-ilāni-ēreš
694/XII/23
Babylon (tablet of Nabû-naṣir s. Ea-pattāni)
Bibliography

Brinkman, 1964J. A. Brinkman, Merodach-Baladan II, in Studies Presented to A. Leo Oppenheim, The University of Chicago, 1964, pp. 6-53.: 22 fn. 120

Fincke, 2014aJ. C. Fincke, Babylonische Gelehrte am neuassyrischen Hof: zwischen Anpassung und Individualität, in Krieg und Frieden im Alten Vorderasien. 52e Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale. International Congress of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archaeology Münster, 17.–21. Juli 2006, H. Neumann, Dittmann, R. , Paulus, S. , Neumann, G. , and Schuster-Brandis, A. , Eds. Ugarit-Verlag, 2014, pp. 269-292.
[Babylonian scholars in Nineveh, colophon. Assyrian scholars could write in Babylonian script.]
: 271

Frahm, 2011E. Frahm, Babylonian and Assyrian Text Commentaries. Origins of Interpretation. Ugarit-Verlag, 2011.
[EAE 5]
: 139, 153, 265-67, 305, 412

Frahm & Jiménez, 2015E. Frahm and Jiménez, E. , Myth, Ritual, and Interpretation. The Commentary on Enūma eliš I–VII and a Commentary on Elamite Month Names, Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel, vol. 4, pp. 293-343, 2015.
[One of the few known tablet written by the scribe Nabu-zuqup-kēnu in Babylonian script]
: 336

Gehlken, 2012E. Gehlken, Weather Omens of Enūma Anu Enlil. Thunderstorms, Wind and Rain (Tablets 44–49). Brill, 2012.
[On line 6]
: 222 l. 6'

Hunger, 1968H. Hunger, Babylonische und assyrische Kolophone. Neukirchener Verlag, 1968.
[Transcription and translation of the colophon.]
: 94 no. 305

Koch, 2009bJ. Koch, Hatten die Pleiades (MUL.MUL) mit dem "Buckelstier" (mulGU4.AN.NA = Taurus) der Babylonier zu tun?, N.A.B.U. Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires, vol. 2009/23, 2009.
[Star bālu]

May, 2018N. M. May, The Scholar and Politics: Nabû-zuqup-kēnu, his Colophons and the Ideology of Sargon II, in Proceedings of the International Conference Dedicated to the Centenary of Igor Mikhailovich Diakonoff (1915–1999), The State Hermitage Publishers, 2018, pp. 110-164.
[Nabû-zuqup-kēnu, colophon]
: 122, 131

Reiner, 1998aE. Reiner, Celestial Omen Tablets and Fragments in the British Museum, in tikip santakki mala bašmu.. Festschrift für Rykle Borger zu seinem 65. Geburtstag am 24. Mai 1994, S. M. Maul, Ed. Styx, 1998, pp. 215-302.
[EAE 3?]
: 216

Reynolds, 1998F. Reynolds, Unpropitious Titles of Mars in Mesopotamian Scholarly Tradition, in Intellectual Life of the Ancient Near East. Papers Presented at the 43rd Rencontre assyriologique internationale, J. Prosecký, Ed. Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Oriental Institute, 1998, pp. 347-357.
[On line 9: Mars as The Non-Existent Star or the Lacking Star (bālu)]
: 353

Verderame, 2002L. Verderame, Le Tavole I-VI della serie astrologica "Enūma Anu Enlil". Di.Sc.A.M., 2002.
[A series of articles on the commentaries is in preparation by the author.]
: ix

Virolleaud, 1910C. Virolleaud, L'Astrologie Chaldéenne: le livre intitulé "Enuma (Anu) ilu.Bel". Librairie Paul Gauthner, 1910.: 7-8 no. 7

Record
Frazer, 05/2016 (Transliteration)
Frazer, 05/2016 (Translation)
Frazer, 05/2016 (Introduction)
Jiménez, 08/2016 (Commentary markup)
By Mary Frazer | Make a correction or suggestion
How to cite
Frazer, M., 2016, “Commentary on Enūma Anu Enlil 5 (?) (CCP 3.1.5.A),” Cuneiform Commentaries Project (E. Frahm, E. Jiménez, M. Frazer, and K. Wagensonner), 2013–2024; accessed December 7, 2024, at https://ccp.yale.edu/P237772. DOI: 10079/pg4f53m
© Cuneiform Commentaries Project (Citation Guidelines)
Introduction

This landscape-oriented tablet contains a commentary in the indentation format, written in Babylonian script. Although it provides information on the circumstances in which the tablet was produced, the tablet’s colophon does not refer to the text with any designation, nor does it identify the base text. Accordingly, this introduction to the commentary deals with the four topics in the following order:

The identity of the base text

Since the majority of the preserved commentarial entries refer to omens derived from the moon’s appearance, it has been suggested that the base text may be one of the first 22 (or 23) tablets of Enūma Anu Enlil, all of which (in the recension represented by the tablets in Neo-Assyrian script from Nineveh, at least) deal with lunar phenomena. Reiner1 tentatively suggested that the base text is EAE 3, but Frahm2 proposes EAE 5 on the grounds that five of the omens deal specifically with the moon’s horns, which is the main focus of EAE 5.

The obverse of the tablet, which is almost entirely preserved, quotes from twenty-one different omens. In fact, of these twenty-one, six or possibly seven are non-lunar omens: ll. 4-8 treat five omens that begin “If the storm howled ...,” l. 10 treats a solar omen, and in l. 9 too little of the omen is cited for its nature to be clear. In view of the diverse nature of the omens, this commentary may represent a compilation of entries from multiple commentaries on various tablets of EAE.

 

The purpose of the commentarial entries

If we are dealing here with a compilation of multiple commentaries, it is necessary to recognize that the compiler probably had a distinct purpose in mind; however, owing in part to the poor condition of the reverse of the tablet, it is not clear what this purpose was. The following paragraph provides an overview of the patterns of the commentarial entries when viewed as part of the same text, as well as noting unusual features of some of the entries.

In the majority of the entries preserved on the obverse, the commentator’s purpose is to explain the protasis of an omen. In order to do so, he cites either the protasis of the omen (ll. 4-8, 11, 17-18, 21, 22) or the omen in its entirety (protasis and apodosis: ll. 1-3, 12-16, 19-20, 23-27). In l. 9, the commentator is concerned with the appearance of the divine name Šimut in an (otherwise uncited) omen; the divine name is introduced in an unusual manner, namely by citing only the first two words of the omen (“If Šimut ...”). In l. 15, the entry ‘“On each side” (means) “the horns correspond”’ seems to refer to a different omen from that treated in ll. 14-15, despite the scribe continuing on directly from the preceding entry.

Also of relevance to determining the commentator’s purpose is l. 10, where the commentator cites an entire solar omen but instead of then proceeding to explain part of the omen, he cites a “variant” (kimin) of what seems to be the omen’s apodosis.

 

The contents of the tablet’s poorly preserved reverse

The text on the tablet’s reverse has been much less fortunate than the text on the obverse: until the colophon, only the last third of each line is legible. The reverse appears to begin with a ten-line section (ll. 28-37) which is demarcated from subsequent entries by a single-ruling (it may, however, have been conceived as a continuation of the lines on the obverse). In this ten-line section, several omens, which were presumably cited in the missing parts of the lines, seem to be interpreted as related to an eclipse.

The contents of the final eleven lines of the commentary are also less than certain: ll. 38-40 seem to contain commentarial entries on omens, perhaps of a lunar nature; ll. 41 and 48 mention two gods, namely Ninurta (twice, once with the learned spelling dninnu.urta) and Ningirsu; ll. 42-44 refer to stars, namely the Lion and the Ninkasi constellations, as well as to the planet Mercury; finally, ll. 45-47 seem to cite omens of uncertain nature in full, since each line ends with an apodosis.

 

The circumstances in which this tablet was produced

The tablet is furnished with a detailed colophon (BAK 305) in which the owner of the tablet is identified as a well-attested Assyrian scholar, Nabû-zuqup-kēnu 3 Since the tablet is written in Babylonian script but belonged to an Assyrian, it has been cited as evidence that the most learned Assyrian scholars were able to write using Babylonian as well as Assyrian sign forms,4 but the colophon does not explicitly state that the tablet is the product of Nabû-zuqup-kēnu’s hand.5

The colophon also identifies the text as a copy, made in the Assyrian city Kalhu, of an original that was from Babylon and owned by one Nabû-nāṣir son of Ea-pattāni. In this respect K. 75+ seems to be connected to a Nineveh manuscript of another commentary, Rm.2,127 (CCP 3.9.1), also in Babylonian script, which contains a colophon that identifies it as a copy of an original from Assyria (BAK 439) and which seems to have been owned by a son of Ea-pattāni. In light of the existence of K. 75+, this son is quite possibly Nabû-nāṣir himself. If this assumption is correct, then Nabû-nāṣir and Nabû-zuqup-kēnu seem likely to have been contemporary scholars who engaged in some sort of exchange of scholarly texts at Kalhu. Perhaps Nabû-nāṣir travelled there, and the two scholars copied each other’s manuscripts. Comparison of the hand-writing of K. 75+ and Rm. 2 127 might indicate who was responsible for copying the tablets. As suggested by E. Frahm, if Nabû-nāṣir is the copyist, he might have been a student of Nabû-zuqup-kēnu.

A final piece of information given by this well-preserved and particularly informative colophon is the date of the tablet’s production: 694/XII/23. This was the year in which Sennacherib undertook his sixth military campaign, with disastrous results: initially directed against Chaldeans living in Elamite territory in southeastern Mesopotamia, it triggered Elamite reprisals in the form of attacks on northern Babylonia. In the course of the ensuing conflict, Sennacherib’s son, whom he had appointed king of Babylon, was handed over to the Elamites by a group of Babylonians, and probably killed. It is sheer speculation, but perhaps Nabû-nāṣir’s sojourn in Kalhu was connected with political disturbance in Babylon.

 

The edition below was collated in the British Museum in May 2015, and a number of new readings, marked with an asterisk, were obtained.

Edition

Powered by Oracc
(Base textCommentaryQuotations from other texts)

ccpo

ACh Suppl. Sin 07[via ccpo]

Obverse
x33obverse
11

[*] 30 ina AN.BIR₉ È-ma SI-MEŠ-šú KI IGI-MEŠ ILLU DUkám lu U₄ 2.[KÁM lu U₄] 3.KÁM DINGIR BAR-ma GUBaz-ma

"[If] the moon rises at midday and its horns are looking at the earth, a flood will come" (means) "on the seco[nd o]r third [day] the god (i.e., the moon) is split in half while standing."

22

[*] 30 ina AN.BIR₉ È-ma KIMIN<(SI-MEŠ-šú)> KI IGI-MEŠ : KIMIN U₄ 3.KÁM U₄ 4.KÁM ma-gal GAL-ma1

"[If] the moon rises at midday and ditto (i.e., it horns are looking at the earth), ditto (i.e., a flood will come)" (means) "on the third day (and) the fourth day [(...)] it (i.e., the moon) becomes unusually big."

33

* 30 ina IGI.-šú BALut LUGAL KUR-su ul -te--šèr U₄ 14.KÁM KI [20] NU IGI KIMIN 30 IGI-ma DUNGU ia-ʾ-nu

"If the moon, on its first appearance, is inverted, the king will not set his land aright" (means) "on the fourteenth day it is not seen with [the sun]." Variant: "the moon is visible and there is no cloud."

44

* U₄ is-si dIŠKUR ina la si-[ma]-ni-šú -šú ŠUB-ma

"If the storm howled" (means) "Adad at an unexpected time thunders ."

55

* U₄ is-si-ma 30 a-dir ina AN.GE₆ 30 dIŠKUR -šú ŠUB-ma

"If the storm howled and the moon was dim" (means) "at an eclipse of the moon Adad thunders."

66

* U₄ is-si-ma 20 a-dir ina AN.GE₆ 20 dIŠKUR -šú ŠUB-ma

"If the storm howled and the sun was dim" (means) "at an eclipse of the sun Adad thunders."

77

* U₄ UD.DA-su KÚR.KÚRir IM 4ba DU-MEŠ-ma

"If the storm (and) its heat change" (means) "the four winds will blow."

88

* U₄ is-si-ma dIŠKUR -šú ŠUB TA AN.GE₆ GAR-ma2

"If the storm howled (and) Adad thundered" (means) "after the eclipse occurred."

99

* dší-mut mulṣal-bat-a-nu šá-niš dba-lu šal-šiš* mulUD.KA.DU₈.A3

"If Šimut" (means) "Mars"; alternatively (it means) "(the god) Balu"; thirdly (it means) "(the constellation) Open Mouthed Storm Demon."

1010

* 20 7 AGA-MEŠ a-pir LUGAL kib-ra-a-ti i-be-el KIMIN ŠUB MÁŠ*.ANŠE* mi-šil-šu AN.GE₆ GAR-ma

"If the sun is bedecked with seven coronas, the king will rule the four (quarters)." Variant: "collapse of cattle, half of it (i.e., the sun) will be eclipsed."

1111

* 30 ina IGI.DU₈.A-šú ina dUTU.È it-tan-mar lu ina [ lu ina] AN.BIR₉ U₄ 30.KÁM EGIR 20 IGI-ma

"If the moon, on its first appearance, has been seen at sunset" (means) "either at [the rising or at] midday on the thirtieth day it (i.e., the moon) will be visible after the sun."

1212

* 30 ina IGI.-šú pal-lu-ur-ti MUL-MEŠ e-bi-iḫ ina MU* [BI] ina KUR-MEŠ MUNUS.KÚR-MEŠ GAR-MEŠ

"If the moon, on its first appearance, is surrounded by a cross of stars, in [that] ye[ar] war will take place in the lands"

1313

    dUDU.IDIM.SAG. ddil-bat dṣal-bat-a-nu IGI-ma mulMAŠ.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL.LA NÍGIN-MEŠ-šú-ma

(means) "(the moon) looks at Saturn, Venus (and) Mars, and the Great Twins surround it (i.e., the moon).

1414

* d30 ina IGI.-šú SI-MEŠ-šú ṣer-ši SA₅-MEŠ AN.GE₆ GARan ina SI-MEŠ-šú ki-lat-tan 2 MUL-MEŠ4

"If the moon, on its first appearance, its horns are full of protuberances, an eclipse will occur" (means) "in both of its horns 2 stars

1515

    GUB-MEŠ-ma : Á ana Á-šú : SI-MEŠ-šú mit-ḫa-ra5

stand." "On each side" means "the horns correspond."

1616

* 30 ina IGI.-šú NU iq-qab-bi ŠÚ AN.GE₆ ŠÚ-ma KI 20 IGI-ma GIŠKIM NU ú-kal-lam

"If the moon, on its first appearance, without anything being said, the eclipsed (moon) sets and is seen with the sun" (means) "it shows no sign."

1717

* 30 ina IGI.-šú SI 150-šú PA TUKU* MUL 1 ina SI 150-šú 1 ŠU.SI 2 ŠU.SI DIM₄*-ma

"If the moon, on its first appearance, its left horn has a branch" (means) "one star approaches its left horn by 1 finger (or) 2 fingers"

1818

* 30 ina IGI.-šú SI 15-šú GE₆át SI 15-šú er-rem-ma

"If the moon, on its first appearance, its right horn is black" (means) "its right horn will be covered."

1919

* 30 20 la ú--ma ir-bi na-an-dur UR.MAḪ u UR.BAR.RA ina dUTU GUBzu ad-riš

"If the moon does not wait for the sun, but sets, the Lion and the Wolf will rage" (means) "while the sun is still standing, it dimly

2020

    È-ma : U₄ 15.KAM IGI-ma

rises"; (or) "it is seen on the 15th day (of the month)."

2121

* 30 u 20 im-daḫ-ru-ma 30 te-diš- NU KURud 14.KÁM DINGIR KI DINGIR IGI-ma ḫap-ra- ul ina--šar

"If the moon and the sun have entered conjunction/opposition, and the moon does not reach the renewal" (means) "on the fourteenth day the god (i.e., the moon) is visible with the god (i.e., the sun), and the visible surface (of the moon) is not diminishing."

2222

* 30 ina IGI.DU₈.A-šú SI-MEŠ-šú ka--a TÙN.BA.AB GI ka- TÙN.BA.AB GI ku-pi6

"If the moon, on its first appearance, its horns are blunt (ka-pí-a)" TUN₃.BA.AB GI (means) ka-pí (and) TUN₃.BA.AB GI (also means) ku-pi.

2323

* [30 ina IGI.-šú mul]ŠUL.PA.È ina ŠÀ-šú GUBiz LUGAL KUR MAR.<TU>ki ŠÚ

"If [the moon, on its first appearance,] the Šulpae constellation stands in its midst, the king of the land of Amurru will exercise power

2424

    [a-bi-ik-ti] KUR KÚR-šú GARan7

and bring about the defeat of his enemy's land."

2525

[* 30 ina IGI.-šú mul]SIPA.ZI.AN.NA ina ŠÀ-šú GUBiz LUGAL KIŠ* ŠÚ 8

[If the moon, on its first appearance, the Ši]taddaru [constellation] stands in its midst, a king of the universe will exercise power"

2626

    [mulSIPA].ZI.AN.NA ulUDU.IDIM.SAG.

(in this case) "[Šitad]daru" (means) "Saturn."

2727

[* 30 ina IGI.-šú] mul.IKU ina ŠÀ-šú GUB ulṣal-bat-a-nu ina ŠÀ-šú GUB-ma9

["If the moon, on its first appearance,] the Field constellation stands in its midst" (means) "Mars stands in its midst (i.e., in the moon)."


reverse
2828

[...] LÁL x x x [... ina] ITI EN.NUN ana AN.[GE₆]

[...] ... [... in] the month of the watch for an ec[lipse].

2929

[...] x-i ina ITI EN.NUN ana AN.GE₆

[...] ... in the month of the watch for an ecli[pse].

3030

[...] AN.GE₆ GÁLši

[...] there will be an eclipse.

3131

[...] ana AN.GE₆

[...] for an eclipse.

3232

[...] AN.GE₆ GARan

[...] an eclipse will occur.

3333

[...] x BI? AN.GE₆ GARan

[...] ... an eclipse will occur.

3434

[...] KIMIN

[...] ditto.

3535

[...] AN.GE₆

[...] eclipse

3636

[...] AN.GE₆

[...] eclipse

3737

[...] GUB-ma AN.GE₆ ta-nam-bi

["...] will stand" (means) "you should declare an eclipse."


3838

[...] gišTUKUL : ÉRIN DAGAL ina BAD₅.BAD₅ ŠUBut

["... w]eapon" means "the far-flung army will be defeated."

3939

[...] ITI 12 ITI i-šal-lim-ma10

["...] month 12" (means) "the month will be complete."

4040

[...] BAD GUB-ma KAL

["...] ... stands and is strong."

4141

[...] GAL ŠÚ dNIN.URTA

[...] ... Ninurta.

4242

[...] x mal-ku mulUR.GU.LA

[...] ... the Lion constellation .

4343

[...] mulnin-ka-si

[...] the Ninkasi constellation.

4444

[...] AN.GUB še-e GU₄.UD

[...] standing in the sky ... Mercury.

4545

[...] x IDIM-MEŠ KU₅-MEŠ

[...] the underground waters will cease.

4646

[...]-MEŠ ILLU DUkam

[...] ... the flood will come.

4747

[...] x-qu ILLU-MEŠ KU₅-MEŠ

[...] ... the floods will cease.

4848

[...] x dnin-gír-su dninnu*-urta11

[...] ... "Ningirsu" is Ninurta.


4949

ki-i pi-[i gišDA GABA.RI TIN].TIR*ki šá mdAG-ÙRIir DUMU mdé-a-pat-ta-ni TIN.TIRki-i

According to [a writing board, a manuscript from Babyl]on, which Nabû-nāṣir son of Ea-pattāni, the Babylonian,

5050

a-na ta-mar-ti-šú is-su-ḫa AB.SAR.ÀM BA.AN.È ṭup-pi mdAG-zu-qu-up-GI.NA DUMU mdAMAR.UTU-MU-BAšá DUB.SAR

had excerpted, written and checked for his reading. Tablet of Nabû-zuqup-kēnu, son of Marduk-šumu-iqīša, scribe,

5151

ŠÀ.BAL.BAL mgab-bi-DINGIR-MEŠni-KAM GAL DUB.SAR-MEŠ uruka-làḫ itiŠE.KIN.KU₅ U₄ 23-KÁM

descendant of Gabbi-ilāni-ēreš, chief scribe. Kalhu, Month XII, Day 23,

5252

li-mu mDINGIR-KI-ia šá-kìn urušá-i-me-ri-šú ù MU 11.KÁM dEN::ZU-ŠEŠ-MEŠ-eri-ba LUGAL KUR -šurki

eponym of Ilu-issīya, governor of Damascus, and Year 11 of Sennacherib, king of Assyria.

1It seems odd that the same omen as is quoted in l. 1 is quoted also in this line.

2It is unclear why the explanation takes the form of a subordinate clause.

3On the association of (1) the Elamite deity Šimut and (2) the constellation "Open Mouthed Storm Demon" with Mars, see Reynolds (1998: 354-356). The Akkadian "Balu" ("Without") seems to be otherwise attested as a name for Mars only in the text HAR-gud B (Reynolds 1998: 348-349, 353).

4The word ṣeršu, "growth, protuberance," is attested only in divinatory literature (AHw 1093b, CAD Ṣ 209b). For a discussion of the word's meaning, and an argument against the appearance of the word in the third caption of the Sippar Sun God Tablet, see Woods (2004: 64-66).

5Despite sharing a line with the previous explanation, the phrase idi ana idīšu ("on each side") seems to be drawn from a different, otherwise uncited omen in the base text.

6The general purpose of the commentator is clear: to explain the writing of the uncontracted form of the 3 fp G stative of kepû, "to bend," as a form of that verb. The commentator does so by means of the Sumerian phrase TUN₃.BA.AB GI. The sign GIN₂ (read TUN₃) is elsewhere attested in reference to a reed stylus (GI) in the lexical list Nabnītu Tablet 22, ll. 121-126 (cited by CAD K 312b).

7The restoration at the beginning is courtesy of L. Marti, who noticed that the line is a parallel to SAA 8, 147 r 6-7: 30 TÙR NÍGIN-ma dŠUL.PA.È ina ŠÀ-šú GUB-iz LUGAL MAR.TU ŠÚ- -ma a-bi-ik-ti KUR KÚR-šú GAR-an.

8The constellation "Šitaddaru" = Orion.

9The constellation "Field" = Pegasus.

10The verb šalāmu is attested in reference to a period of time (as in the present interpretation of this line) in a Neo-Babylonian text (CAD Š I 218 c).

11Since Ningirsu is the local (in Girsu), pre-OB period form of Ninurta, Ninurta could be cited here as the explanation of an appearance of Ningirsu in the base text.

Photos by E. Jiménez and © Trustees of the BM

Courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum