Catalogue information

British Museum

BM 40939

81-4-28,486

Babylon›(Babylon)

CDLI:

P461194

Commentary

Miscellanea›Unknown

Broken

Base text:

Uncertain

Tablet information

Babylonian

Fragment

Lines:

Size:

4,5 × 1,3 × 2 cm

Neo/Late Babylonian, specifics unknown

Record

Jiménez, 07/2015 (Transliteration)

Jiménez, 07/2015 (Translation)

Jiménez, 07/2015 (Introduction)

Finkel, 07/2015 (Collation, suggestions)

Gabbay, 07/2015 (Suggestions [ll. 3', 10'])

Jiménez, 05/2017 (Commentary markup)

By Enrique Jiménez |

How to cite

Jiménez, E., 2015, “Commentary on Uncertain (CCP 7.2.u43),” Cuneiform Commentaries Project (E. Frahm, E. Jiménez, M. Frazer, and K. Wagensonner), 2013–2024; accessed December 9, 2024, at https://ccp.yale.edu/P461194. DOI: 10079/18932b9

BibTex XML RIS

Introduction

This fragment preserves remains of a commentary on an unidentified text. Since some of its lines equate constellations and gods, and one entry cites the “Great Star List” (l. 7′), it seems very likely that the text commented upon is of astrological character.

Some of the entries are well attested elsewhere in astronomical commentaries, such as [sar-meš-ḫu : it-t]a-na-an-pa-ḫu in l. 2′. Several of the lines provide equations between celestial bodies and gods. For instance, the constellation Scorpius is said to represent the goddess Išḫara (l. 5′), whereas the rise of the sun is equated with the god Enlil (l. 7′). Line 10′ cites several deities of Gula’s entourage, such as Meme, Dāmu, and Azu. In addition, the commentary contains a quotation from the lexical series Antagal (l. 4′).

The tablet has been collated by I.L. Finkel, who also made several important suggestions. The results of his collation are acknowledged in the textual notes below.

Edition

ccpo

BM 040939[via ccpo]


Obverse
x176	obverse
1'1'	[...] ⸢kab⸣-tú : ÉR DÉ^? [...]	[… means] “noble.” … […]
2'2'	[... SAR-MEŠ^ḫu : it]-⸢ta⸣-na-an-pa-ḫu : DIRI : na-nu/kul-[...]1	[… SAR-MEŠ(-ḫu) means “to f]lare up repeatedly.” DIRI means […]
3'3'	[... ZAG].⸢GAR⸣.RA : eš-ret : É-MEŠ ⸢DINGIR-MEŠ^?⸣ [...]	[… ZAG].GAR.RA means “sanctuaries,” (i.e.), temples of the gods […],
	lower edge
4'4'	[... BÚR]^du-^du.BÚR : da-a-lu : ZAG.⸢10^?⸣ ⸢:^? eš^?-re⸣-[ti ...]2	[… BÚR].BÚR, read /dudu/, means “to roam.” ZAG.10 means “temp[les” …].
5'5'	[...] ⸢^d⸣DAM.KI.AN.NA : ^múlGÍR.TAB : ^diš-⸢ḫa⸣-[ra ...]3	[…] is Damkiana. The constellation Scorpius is Išḫ[ara …]
6'6'	[...]-⸢x⸣-ti : ^dereš-ki-gal : u MÚRU-MEŠ-šú SÌG⸢^iṣ⸣ [...]4	[… the constellation …] is Ereškigal. And its middle parts are beaten […].
7'7'	[... ^d]⸢UTU⸣ ina KUR-šú ^den-líl : ú-na-áṭ^aṭ-ṭa : NU : [...]5	[…] the sun at its rising is Enlil. It beats (can be written as) NU, […].
8'8'	[...] ap-pi : GU-MEŠ : qu-u : šér-a-ni : ⸢rik⸣-[su ...]6	[…] means “nose.” GU-MEŠ means “thread.” “Ligament” means “bo[nd” …].
	reverse
9'9'	[... ^dDAM].⸢KI⸣.GAL : Á.TAB : ik-ri-bi : Á.TAB : ⸢ḫa^?⸣-[...]7	[… the constellation … is Damk]igal. á.tab means “prayer,” á.tab means […].
10'10'	[... ^d]ME.ME : ^dda-mu : ^da-zu^a-^na A a ZU zu [...]8	[…] Meme means Dāmu, Azu (gloss /ana/) (reading) A (as) /a/ (and) ZU (as) /zu/, […].
11'11'	[... e^?-še^?]-⸢ri⸣ : a-la-ku : U₄ 1.⸢KAM ša^? ITI^?⸣ [...]9	[… to go we]ll means “to go.” The 1st day […].
12'12'	[...] ⸢x⸣ : ⸢ḪAL^?⸣ : ⸢iš^?⸣-[...]	…

1Compare šummaMUL-MEŠ SAR-MEŠ^ḫu, “If the stars flare up repeatedly,” in Reiner & Pingree Enūma Anu Enlil Tablets 50-51 (BPO 2), 1985, p. 35 I 18, 42 III 16, and 46 IV 11 (line 11a šummaMUL-MEŠit-t]a-na-an-pa-ḫuIM.DIRI NU ZI⸢^a⸣).

2Compare Antagal E iv 13' (MSL 17 212): BÚR^du-^du.BÚR = MIN ̌šá da-a-lum.

3The equation ^múlGÍR.TAB = d.išḫāra is also attested in 3.8.2.A r 16.

4The constellation associated with Ereškigal could be alluttu, anunītu, narkabtu, or zibānītu. Elsewhere Ereškigal is associated with Hydra (ṣerru, ^mul^dMUŠ, see Wiggermann, F.A.M. “Transtigridian Snake Gods” CM 7 (1997) pp. 34-35).

5Compare “Great Star List” 288 (Koch-Westenholz, U. Mesopotamian Astrology, 1995, p. 202): ^dUTU ina KUR-šú ^den-líl, “the sun at its rising is Enlil.”

6The reading riksu at the end is courtesy of I.L. Finkel.

7It is uncertain how the sequence Á.TAB should be rendered.

8The interpretation of the end of the line (“A read ‘a’ and ZU read ‘zu’”) is courtesy of I.L. Finkel. Although a-na is written in a smaller script than the surrounding signs, no reading of the god name Azu as /ana/ is known, and therefore the interpretation of the signs as a gloss results is not entirely satisfactory. As U. Gabbay points out, they could also be taken as the technical term ana, used for linguistic contextualization.

9The reading ⸢ša? ITI?⸣ is courtesy of I.L. Finkel.

DOI: 10079/18932b9