1The sign following the second SI is not, pace Frahm (2011 p. 140 n. 691), an erroneous writing of 2,30, but rather GUB₃ (collation by E. Jiménez). The emendation of the second quotation and the restoration of the beginning of l. 2 follow parallels in source j (rev. 4-5, 8-9, 12-13) of EAE 5 (Verderame 2002: 145).

2The restoration of the words broken away at the start of the line is made on the basis of a parallel line in a manuscript of EAE 5: see the preceding note. Pace Frahm (2011 p. 140 n. 691), “Mars approaches it on the right” is part of the base text, not a commentarial explanation.

3The beginning of the line is restored on the basis of l. 18, in which the phrase AN.GE₆ TIL^tì (“complete eclipse”) also appears. On both occasions it is unclear why the phrase is in the genitive case.

4The feminine gender of kappat indicates that the subject of the explanation is the horn not the moon. Although the moon’s horns are compared with a makurru-boat in the base text (source d l. 8’), the colon preceding GIM in the present line seems to indicate that the comparison belongs to a commentarial explanation rather than the base text. The signs following GIM ^gišMÁ.GUR₈ defy confident interpretation. One possibility is to read RU as the logographic writing of the verb nadû, ŠUB; another is to read BAD as the logographic writing of the verb gamāru, TIL, with RU as a phonetic complement. However, neither possibility solves the problem of how to interpret the preceding signs.

5An omen that begins “If (the moon, when it appears,) a horn of the moon is pointed” occurs in sources j (obverse 26’) and o (l. 6’) of EAE 5.

6As a logogram, the sign GAZ is attested in three apodoses in sources f (l. 28’) and i (ll. 35’ and 37’) of Tablet 5. In all three cases the apodosis is: “the king of GN will be killed by his servants in a revolt” (LUGAL x^ki ÌR-MEŠ-šú ina ḪI.GAR GAZ.MEŠ-šú). However, since this commentary usually comments on protases, and since the signs preceding GAZ in the commentary do not correspond with those preceding GAZ in the aforementioned apodoses, this entry probably does not refer to any of them. An omen featuring the phrase “If it lets its horns hang” – which is also the subject of the entry in l. 7 – is otherwise unattested in EAE 5.

7An omen featuring the phrase “it (i.e., the moon) lets its horns hang” – which is also the subject of the entry in l. 6 – is otherwise unattested in EAE 5. The explanation resembles that given for the first protasis cited in l. 6.

8Omens featuring the phrase “If its horns pierce the sky” are attested in sources f (ll. 1’ and 4’) and l (ll. 1 and 4) of EAE 5. A red eclipse is also attested in l. 12. The explanation seems to be based on (ancient) etymological connections: ṭerâ (“pierce”) is connected with adāru (“to grow dark”), by means of the sign DIRI, which is phonetically similar to ṭerâ and can be read as SA₅ (“red”). However, the commentary does not explicitly make the connection between ṭerâ and SA₅.

9The explanation of “If its horns are very bent” as referring to the thirteenth day of the month has little bearing in reality because by this point in its 29.5 day cycle the moon is nearly full. The same may also apply for the thirtieth day, the time of the new (i.e., no longer visible) moon. See l. 14 for a similarly unrealistic explanation of a protasis. The explanation “it will wear a crown,” with the durative form rather than the more usual stative form of apāru, is elsewhere attested in an unedited commentary on EAE 1-13, K.5967+ (ii 25) [= CCP 3.1.u93]. See Verderame (2002: 7 n. 43) for a transliteration of the line in question.

10Omens featuring the phrase “If its horns are stretched out” occur in sources f (l. 9’), l (l. 8), o (l. 12’), and v (l. 4) of EAE 5. LAL is also equated with both tarāṣu and maṭû in Syllabary A Vocabulary (source Q, ll. 26’ and 16’ = MSL 3 p. 70).

11The verbs kapāṣu and sapāhu are also treated in close proximity in CCP 3.1.5.D obverse, column i, 5’-6’ (Verderame 2002: 136).

12In the scholarly royal correspondence of the Neo-Assyrian period, the brightness of stars is often associated with the presence of Venus (Brown 2000: 92 n. 229).

13The translation of GIM MURUB₄-šú kab-ri is based on an earlier manuscript of EAE from Emar (Arnaud 1987: 254), in which kab-ri is written kab-ra (reference courtesy of E. Jiménez).

14The explanation of the protasis “If its horns are very bent” as referring to the thirtieth day seems astronomically impossible because the thirtieth day would have been the time of the new moon. See l. 9 for a similar problem.

15A similar omen is treated in CCP 3.1.5.A (l. 14), where one finds the different explanation: “in both of its horns two stars stand.” The reasoning behind both explanations is unclear.

16MEŠ is equated with mādu / mâdu in CCP 3.1.u7 (r iii 2 and 4). The MEŠ in question is presumably the plural determinative following GÍD.DA.

17The phrase salīm šamê, written DI AN^e, is also attested in EAE 20 Text G obverse l. 8 (Rochberg 1988: 224), K 7029 l. 7’ (Rochberg 1988: 282), and SAA 8 103 l. 8. Collation of all three instances shows that the sign before AN^e is DI not NE. The reading of the sign DI as SILIM rather than as ṭe follows the suggestion of E. Jiménez (personal communication).

18ed-da-ma kabāru. The equation ZI = sâmu is not otherwise attested, and the reason for the commentator using ZI to explain the base text is unclear.

19The equation ZI = kânu is also attested in the so-called “Esangil Commentary” (AfO 17 133: 34) and CCP 1.1.B.b, a commentary on Enūma eliš 7: 1, 21, and 40. (references from CAD K 160a). The stative of šalāpu appears to be otherwise unattested (CAD Š/1 230b-1). In addition, this appears to be its only attestation in reference to a celestial object.

20The reasoning behind the explanation given in the first part of this line is unclear. The protasis cited in the second part of the line is attested in source k (l. 5’) of EAE 5, albeit without the reference to the thirteenth day.

21It would be tempting to read the signs ana ki-dá-nu, “outwards,” as ana KI.TA^nu, “downwards,” were it not for the writing of the phrase as ana ki-da-nu kun-nu-[šá] in sources d (l. 2’) and i (col. ii l. 20) of EAE 5 (Verderame 2002: 131 and 142). The writing ana ki-da₂-nu is otherwise attested only is k (l. 6’).

22The two protases cited in this line are also attested in source d of EAE 5 (Verderame 2002: 131 ll. 3’-4’) where, instead of TÉŠ-MEŠ, one finds TÉŠ.BI, the usual logographic writing of mithāriš. The repetitions of U₄ 30.KAM in this line and of U₄ 1.KAM at the beginning of the next line are assumed to be scribal errors.

23The moon’s horns are said to be ki-lat-tan mit-ha-ra in source d (l. 5’) of EAE 5; they are compared to a bow in sources d and k (ll. 7’ and 9” respectively) of EAE 5; and the protasis “If one horn extends beyond the other” appears in source v 12.

24The protasis “If one horn wraps around another” appears in source v 14 of EAE 5 (Verderame 2002: 164). The “white star” appears in a commentary on EAE 1, VAT 7827 (column 2, l. 5).

25The word pallurtu, “cross,” is attested in source e (reverse, ll. 16’-18’) of EAE 5.

26The restoration of šá at the beginning of the line is based on the means of introducing the incipit of EAE 16 at the end of l. 40.

27The restoration is based on a parallel line in Text e (reverse 2) of EAE 20 (Rochberg 1988: 222)

28The restoration at the beginning of the line and the emendation of the base text is based on parallels in CCP 3.1.16 l. 15 (ina TÙR DU^ak u ZÁLAG) and l. 47 (dilhu ibašši).

29The beginning of the line is tentatively restored based on CCP 3.1.16 (ll. 31-32), but with the proviso that this would be the only time that an apodosis is explained in this commentary. The phrase TÉŠ.BI i-rim-ma ana bir-ṣa GUR is cited as part of the base text in CCP 3.1.16 (ll. 41-42), a commentary on EAE 16.

30The same protasis is cited in CCP 3.1.16 (l. 46), but with a different explanation from the one offered here.

31The same protasis is cited in CCP 3.1.16 (l. 50), but with a different explanation from the one offered here.

32The line concludes with the incipit of EAE 16, thereby confirming that this section is a commentary on that Tablet.

33Gabbay & Jiménez suggest that the phrase used to express filiation in this line, māru ša, may indicate that the tablet was written during or after the reign of Darius I (522-486), when māru ša became more common than māršu ša (Jursa 2005: 7 n. 35). However, they also suggest that the choice of phrase might be due to geographical rather than chronological factors.

34The work to which this quotation belongs is yet to be identified. Incipits of incantations as well as a quotation from Angim appear in other Gimil-Sîn colophons: see Gabbay & Jiménez (forthcoming: 25-37).