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~ULBA.ZI.ZI:

Ancient Mesopotamian Exorcistic Incantations

by

Irving L. Finkel

1\

For the Degree of Ph. D.

Faculty of Arts
University of Birmingham

Dept. of Ancient History and Archaeology

April 1976

Nederlands Instituut
voo.r het Nabije Oooten
Leiden - Nederland
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This Thesis is Dedicated to

my Parents
in Grateful Acknowledgement
or all their Help
 SYNOPSIS

The following thesis is concerned with the reconstruction, trans-

lation and analysis of sixty-five exorcistic incantation texts in the
cuneiform script that were used in Ancient Mesopotamia from approxi-
mately the latter half of the Second Millenium B. C. onwards. Written
in the Sumerian ~nd Akkadian languages (some texts are "mixed"; some
are bilingual), these incantations are part of a wider genre of magical
texts that were intended to combat the demons, ghosts and evil spirits
that were believed to cause disease and other misfortunes in human
society.
~esearch to this end has identified some 75 various Manuscripts,
which in juxtaposition permit the recovery of almost all the 376 lines
of the original compilation. The greater part of these Manuscripts is
here published for the first time, and they have been copied by hand
and given here in some 60 Plates. The variety of sources that have now
become available allows considerable insight into the various ways in
which these incantations were employed. As well as the big tablets
written by scholar-scribes to collect all the texts together (which
provide the structure of the reconstructed series). 1 medical 1 texts
have been identified that illustrate their use as part of long sequen-
ces for the treatment of diseases, and they are also found inscribed on
cylinder seals and a~ulets. These latter objects were worn about the
person, or perhaps sometimes hung up in a suitable place, and were be-
lieved to provide immunity against demons.
As well as investigating the different technical uses to which
the individual incantations were put. the thesis discusses their lite-
rary characteristics and originality. their religious content, and how
they compare with other incantation texts concurrently in use. Finally,
a Commentary discusses the variant readings offered by the sources. and
investigates philological and related problems.

c. 100, ODD words

 i

PREFACE

All Sumerian ideograms that occur in an Akkadian context have

been put into Akkadian, while in the less common or ambiguous cases,
the Sumerian is added afterwards in round brackets in the usual .way.
However. since an italic typeface has not been available for this
thesis, in order to remove the need for underlying all the Akkadian
throughout, all such Sumerian when it is quoted is given in capitals.
even though the readings are largely assured.
In the few passages written in the unusual mixture of Sumerian
and Akkadian that sometimes occurs in these incantations, the Sumerian
is left as Sumerian, and is also in capitals. Passages in Sumerian
proper are, of course, not in capitals, and have full stops between
the elements. In words cited in the critical apparatus, ideograms
are left in Sumerian and are likewise in capitals. The same practice
applies in the Commentary, and ·in the passages quoted from medical
tablets, all ideograms are left in Sumerian. The only exceptions to
this principle are ~n.(~.nu.ru) at the begi~nin~~ and tu .(~n) at the
6
end of incantations, which are:written in small script both in the
reconstructed text, and the critical apparatus. Sundry Akkadian words
that cannot be translated and that are quoted in English are under-
lined for clarity.
With few exceptions, hand copies of all unpublished sources are
given in the Plates at the end; several texts are republished from new
photographs (b, f and g: cf. Acknowledgements, ·ahd pp. 332-5 ), and
new copies have also been drawn from those texts already published in
photograph (i. e. cylinder seals and amulets). Furthermore, published
copies of the remaining material have been reproduced here for greater
convenience in almost every case: the few texts of which there is no
copy are either inaccessible. or readily available in good, reliable
form. (For details. see pp. 332-5.) Erasures are always indicated
on the copies, but are not noted in the critical apparatus. An ex-
clamation mark indicates that the copy reproduces what is on the tab-
let, in awareness of the problem caused by the sign as given.
Certain of the incantations appear to follow a poetic structure.
not only in th~ wording, but also in the lay-out on the tablets. Some
 ii
I
~
ill[
.,,,
effort has been made to reproduce this in the transliteration.
·'~
<
:· Abbreviations used in this thesis have not been listed, since
they follow those in current Assyriological usage in the Assyrian
Dictionar~ of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago,
and the Akkadische Handw8rterbuch of Wolfram von Soden (cf. also
R. Borger, Handbuch der Keilschriftliteratur vols. I and II).
Material not appearing in those works is cited in such a way as to
be self-explanatory.
Three tables have been included in the thesis for clarifica-
tion of the material, namely to show the page nos. for the discus-
sions of the individual incantations and their various practical
contexts, to show the detailed use in medical texts, and to show
'\
the different types of amulets found with texts from this compi- l
lation. .r

,,'·
 iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It is a great pleasure here to acknowledge the divers helps

received in the writing of this thesis. Thanks are due particularly
to Drs R. D. Barnett (sometime Keeper), E. Sollberger (Keeper) and
Mr C. 8. F. Walker of the Dept. of Western Asiatic Antiquities, the
British Museum, and the "tablet'' staff of the same Dept .• who have
always shown great kindness and been really helpful. Unpublished
texts from the British Museum are here published by courtesy of the
Trustees.
I should also like to thank Prof~ D. R. Gurney of the Oriental
Institute, Oxford, who loaned me the excavation photographs of our
Mss. a (STT 214-7) and d (STT 275), and permitted the use here of
sundry small collations. Likewise I may acknowledge the help and
advice received from Or P. R. S. Moorey of the ·Ashmolean Museum, Ox-
ford, who made three amulets available for copying. Two of these
objects are published here with the kind permission of the Visitors
of the Ashmolean Museum. Prof. R. Borger was kind enough to draw one
duplicate (our C) and other relevant material to the author's attention,
while I am grateful also to Dr:w. Schramm. and Deirdre Linton M. A. for
their help with other incantation matters (from Utukki Lemnuti and
Di'u respectively).
My greatest debt is, of course, to my teacher, Prof. W. G. Lambert,
an inspiring and encouraging supervisor to whom I owe the benefit of
his ready help in all the rang~ of problems inv6lved in editing a text
of this nature. In addition to supplying much Wisdom, he provided most
of the Museum nos., and has also made available earlier collations of
two of our texts, b and c, published by E. Ebeling as KAR 88 and 75.
New copies of b and our f have been prepared for this study from excel-
lent photographs kindly provided by the Staatliche Museum in Berlin,
while doubtful points from all ~hree Mss. were rilarified by a second
set of collations generously made by Prof. Lambert on a recent trip to
that Museum. I may also acknowledge use in the early stages of a pre-
liminary transliteration of some Mss. made by Mr T. Donald (see also
below, p. 8 n. 1). A useful photograph of our ·g was kindly supplied
by the Musee Geneve. permitting a new copy to be made here.
 iv

Finally, I should simply like to express my gratitude to all who

have been of help during the process of writing this thesis, particu-
larly Dr M. J. Geller, in matters magical and practical, and Odette
Murray, for her support, criticism, and innumerable small points as
regards the Plates.

.I
.~

i
r . V

I
'

:
t
~ Contents
Plate
f
t Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

l
$
Acknowledgements iii

l Contents . . . . V
~
~ INTRODUCTION: THE NATURE AND FUNCTION OF THE COMPILATION
t

General Background 1

The Previous Study of the Incantations .. 7

The Manuscripts of the Series 10
The Title of the Series . . . 32

The Literary Study of the Incantations 38

Matters Mythological . . . . . . . . . 61

Matters Theological . . . . - . 62

Matters Orthographical (and Related Points) 66

The Date of the Series - . . . 69

Concluding Remarks and Table for Reference . 71

THE CATALOGUE OF MANUSCRIPTS . . . . 74

THE RECONSTRUCTED TEXT, ALL VARIANTS AND TRANSLATION 82

PHILOLOGICAL COMMENTARY . . ; .138
APPENDIX I: THE MEDICAL USE OF THE INCANTATIONS . . . . . • . . • . 245
APPENDIX II: THE USE OF THE INCANTATIONS ON CYLINDER SEALS
AND AMULETS . 284
LIST OF MUSEUM NUMBERS • 332

SELECT LIST OF WORDS AND SIGNS DISCUSSED 336

PLATES: HAND-COPIES AND LIST OF COLLATIONS . .PLATES 1-62
i
!i
Ii
I
 l

Introduction
THE NATURE AND FUNCTION OF THE SERIES

In ancient Mesopotamia, the constant problems that beset the

human world were in large part attributed to supernatural forces be-
yond mortal control or understanding. This state of affairs led (as
elsewhere both in the ancient and modern world) to a considerable be-
lief in superstition, an elaborate system of gods and goddesses, and
a complicated concept of numberless lesser, but always potentially
dangerous, beings. This latte~ class of spirits, both semi-divine and
human (that is to say, the vengeful ghosts of dead people), were al-
~ays liable to attack a man, or otherwise wreak~~heir spite on him,
commonly by making him ill.
As a result, a sizeable proportion of the surviving cuneiform
material consists of texts designed in one way or another to deal with
this situation. A wide range of what may broadly be termed "magical"
texts have come down to us, containing rituals, prescriptions and,
what most concerns us here, incantations, all of which served (or were
intended) to cure people subject to these dangers, and also to protect
I
l them from attack. It is in this general context that the texts edited
I
l here are to be placed.
i

It is important to realise that the whole relationship between

human beings, the gods and these spirits or evil demons is based on a
concept of justice. There were certainly circumstances under which a
man might expect to be attacked~ the individual exposed to the sea of
contradiction, paradox and misfortune that surrounds all but the few,
turns to a personal god for protection and intervention. For reasons
tha~ were never fully intelligible, however, good social behaviour
 2

and cultic propriety did not invariably guarantee the desired effect.
Normal people suffered apparently unmerited catastrophes. A 'Wisdom'

literature of ever-increasing maturity, sensitivity and perception

1
evolved that treated of the problem. As a complement, special incan-

tations were composed that had as their purpose the recapturing of the
2
favour of an estranged personal god. Without his protection, whether
deliberately withdrawn (in response to some human inadequacy), or un-
wittingly so through carelessness (a typically mortal failing from
which the old gods of Mesopotamia were by no means immune), the unfor-
tunate individual would be left vulnerable to the misery that could be
caused by demons. 3 This is clearly illustrated in the first tablet of
Ludlul, an eloquent testimony to this predicament.
When there is no apparent reason for misfortune, a sense of ag-
grieved injustice is wont to appear in the texts. Side by side with
the moral question "What is my guilt?" (~ PP• 10, 16) runs the ques-
tion addressed to the ghosts or agents of divine displeasure, "Why do
you torment me?" A good example from this present compilation is line
26 (cf. also 36 and 89): ammini ni~ kebti 1~ taplab, "Why did you not
4
fear a solemn oath (and return from the grave to persecute me)?", or

1 see w. G. Lambert, in the Introduction to BWL.

2 see JNES 33 (1974) p. 270.

3 .
Such an estrangement could also be brought about by witches: cf.
notes to line 304 below. The incantations of the series Maglu ~ere
used against witchcraft, which is not ·a matter concerned with the texts
edited here.
4 . -
Cf. ammini ~immatu e~la u ardata takassesi, "Why, O_paraly~ia,
do ~ou affect men and women thus?" (BE 31 56 rev. 17)~ ammin tabba ..,.
ammin te.Bsa. "Why (eyes) have you been clouded over, why have you be-
come blurred?" (AMT 10: 1 10), effectively addressed to whatever ia
causing that affliction, etc.
 3

line 202: ammini ki~~d mar b~bili kima qan&ti taba~~a~, "Why do you.

break the neck of the Babylonian(s) like reeds?" A similar idea un-
derlies the min~ talqi lemnu, "What have you gained (by afflicting me)

0 Evil One?~ of line 370. The attempt is virtually an appeal to the

demon's "better nature", that he should relent of his unproductive
persecutions, and leave the sufferer alone. Following on from this,
many texts of what may conveniently be described as the "incantation/
prayer" category are phrased as a court defense addressed to Samas,
the divine judge (cf. line 374 below, drawing briefly on such material),
in which the speaker humbly avows his abject state of mind, the glory
of the god, and his need for intercession. 1
In the magical field, a principle of justice had practical ap-
plication, in that divine help being once secured, the evil demons
would be obliged to yield to superior magic authority. Help could be
sought either from the personal god, or more commonly, from one of the
. 2
grea~ gods such as Marduk, or Ninu~ta. · It had been standard practice
since the classical Sumerian incantations of as early as the Third Mil-
·lenium B. C. f6r the speaker (whether the patient himself, or an exor-
cising priest) to declare himself the "man~ or "messenger~ of the
great gods, thereby assuming the lawful protection of white magic to
prevent his being harmed by malevolent cacodemons. 3 This theme is
fundamental to Mesopotamian exorcistic incantations. Whereas in the
so-called "canonical" incantations studied by Falkenstein this was one
constituent element of carefully and traditionally structured literary

1
cf., briefly, J. Laessoe. Bit Rimki p. B6ff.
2
Ninurta is. unusually, the most prominent god in this compila-
tion; see further below •
..,. 3
This is the "Legitimatiunsthema" of A. F~lkenstein, LSS NF I P·
23ff.

~-

' . ·····--····-------·-- __ . ________________ .....__

 5

use. It is probably easy to overestimate their popular availability,

and although it may be assumed that much "folk-magic" material never

found its way onto a tablet, the impression sometimes given by the

secondary literature that the Mesopotamian walked about in constant

fear of unseen evil at every turn is no doubt misleading.

Nevertheless, it is evident that the fears and apprehensions

mentioned above were very real, and that exorcistic texts such as those
here answered an important need. When it comes to this particular
collection of incantations, we are fortunate that there is much that

can be said about the practical use of the individual texts. In ad-

dition to the 1
compilation 1 .texts themselves, other incantation tab-

lets, medical texts, amulets and cylinder seals have been used in the

reconstruction of the incantations (further details below), and these

various groups of manuscripts point to different magical uses that

must here be investigated. and taken together indicate that these texts

were certainly relied on in practical use.

The process of collecting related incantations together on large

tablets began a~ a remarkably early date, indeed, such texts have been
1
recovered from the Early Dynastic period (Early Third Millenium B. C.).

Although our knowledge of the history of cuneiform incantations is at

present rather sketchy, it may be assumed that scribes maintained an
2
unbroken tradition in passing on compil~tions oF incantations. Cer-

are now in ~he process of being more fully reconstructed and re-edited.
e. g. Utukki Lemnuti, Asakki Marsuti. Di 1 u. Maglu etc. The history,
comparison and analysis of magical techniques of these various series
is really yet to be undertaken.

1
See R. D. Biggs, JCS 20 (1966) nos. 46, 54 and 71; DIP XCIX p.
38 372; A. Westenholz, OSP nos. 6-7.
2
See J. J. A. van Dijk, St·;dien Falkenstein pp. 238-9 for an im-
 6

tainly the better-known incantation series date from the latter end of

the cuneiform tradition, by which time "canonisation 11 had meant that

old, and in some cases probably separate strands were combined into

long compositions for a more or less specific purpose. In some such

series, Maglu for example, the sequence of incantations is accompanied

by a progressive set of ritual instructions, the whole working for a
clear purpose; 1 others like Utukki Lemnuti have sundry rituals scat-

tered throughout. With our series (for the term here, see below), a
cursory glance suffices to indicate that there is no such thread run-
ning through the incantations. In other words. we are not dealing
with a structured composition to be used or recited in sequence. (The
single short ritual that is included is discussed below.)
The very range of sources suggests that we have here a compila-
tion of incantations, a fact borne out by a study of the texts themsel-.
ves. Before commencing such a study, we must briefly survey the ear-
lier work on these incantations. investigate the nature of the different
manuscripts, and discuss the title of the series. We may then turn to
a literary analysis of the incantations, a formal description of their
style, general characteristics, and individual features. The informa-
tion to be gained from the medical texts, and from apotropaic objects
(i. e. amulets and cylinder seals) is treated below in two Appendices.

portant distinction between two classes of incantation series: (1) the

linking up of incantations on a similar theme; (2) linking of incanta~
tions already part of a ritual sequence. Our series belongs to the
former group, and is similar in this respect to Utukki Lemnuti, Asakki
Mar~uti, Di'u etc.; see above.

1
See now I. T. Abusch, ~ 33 (1974) p. 260.
 ?

THE PREVI~US STUDY OF THE INCANTATIONS

The incantations of the series edited here have only partly been

treated before. The first published manuscripts containing any of the

texts were amulets (e. g. bin F. Lajard, V~nus (1837-49), ~by A. H.

Sayee in 1888, or Q and f by V. Scheil in 1898), and the cylinder seal

first published by J. M~nant in 1883.

The first tablet source was the large fragment K 255 (here part

of A), published by J. A. Craig in a rather unreliable copy in ABRT 2

in 1897. This was followed by our b and c in E. Ebeling 1 s ~ 1 (nos.

88 and 76 respectively) appearing in 1915-19. Manuscripts of all three

kinds have been published in a gradual ~tream ever since.

1

The only serious attempt to collect the mariuscripts together and

to reconstruct the series was made by E. Ebeling, who in 1953 produced

f
a long article in Ar. Dr. 21 entitled "Sammlungen von Beschw8rungen' 1

(pp. 357-423). Here he edited four groups ("Gattungen"), divided on

the basis of formal structure and contents; our texts form Gattung IV
of this classification. 2

1 .
It has been decided not to list here all.the various articles
and comments on the incantations scattered throughout the Assyriologi-
cal literature, since the bulk of them are largely redundant. Most
ll are, of course, appended to the publications of the actual manuscripts
l and can therefore be readily located from the refs. in the Catalogue
of Manuscripts (below), from R. Borger, HKL 1 and 2 (s. v.), and from
E. Ebeling, Ar. Or. 21 (1953) pp. ~03-4 etc. Articles that are still
of use are referred to where relevant.
2
Our series is unrelated in anything but title to the others
treated by Ebeling. For a discussion of the ancient title to Gattung
IV, see p. 32-37.

i :'

L,
 8

As a preliminary study, Ebeling's treatment was a useful piece

of work, and it has naturally been the starting point for the present

reconstruction. It was somewhat marred, however, by his confusion of

the arrangement of the five piece~ of b (see below), by the inadequate

quantity of material then available, and by such oversights as his

; .
utilisation of F. Lajard's Venus Pl. XVII, and H. Schlobies, AfD 3
(1926) p. 56f., as separate (and varying!) manuscripts, whereas they
are in fact one and the same amulet.

Since this study by Ebeling, a considerable amount of ~ew mate-

rial has become available. The excavations at Sultantepe produced a
well preserved, six-column tablet (here a, = STT 214-7), at present

the most complete Ms. known. In addition, a total of twenty-four fur-

ther fragments and pieces from the Kouyunjik Collection in the British

Museum has also been identified. 1 Of these, all of which are here pub-

lished for the first time, some eight pieces have been joined to K 255.
and eight other joins have been made, with the result that ~hree six-
column tablets (like a) have been identified, and one edition on two,

four-column tablets. Due to the script and other considerations, these

pieces can be attributed to their original tablets with a high degree

of probability.
2
As may be seen from the Catalogue, twenty-two 'medical' texts

f
'i

r
II
I
1 unpublished pieces from the K Collection were mostly identified
by Prof. W. G. Lambert, and Mr T. Donald, to whom sincere thanks are
f
due. To the same parties must also go the credit for the individual
"joins''· The author is likewise indebted to Prof. R. Borger for his
pointing out K 7988 (here C) as a duplicate. It may be acknowledged
that Ebeling had already realised that K 2506 (here part of 8) be-
longed here (cf. Ar. Dr. 21 (1953) p. 361 and p. 422), although that
text was inaccessible to him at the time.·
2
Many of these are from R. Campbell Thompson's AMT; Ebeling,
rather strangely, had only used one text from that source in Ar. Or.
21 (p. 421). - -
 9

have to date been discovered to contain incantations From the series,

sufficient to indicate that this constituted an important element in

the practical use of the texts. Sundry other incantation tablets in-

eluding practice tablets also furnish examples, and as many as thirty-

one amulets, and seven cylinder seals have been utilised in the present
study.

Progress has also been made with b. Two joins overlooked by

Ebeling have now been made, a small unnumbered fragment has been dis-
covered and joined on, and a further small piece from the tablet also
identified, although this does not actually join. Certain parts of

II the tablet as copied by Ebeling have now disappeared. A new copy of

b made from excellent photographs will most simply illustrate the pre-
sent state of this manuscrint: restorations after KAR have been inclu-

i ded.

I The not inconsiderable body of source material that has been

assembled here has meant that the series is almost completely restored;

of the sixty-five incantations .collected by the scribes on the large

six-column tablets, probably only two lines are completely missing,

while the broken passages that remain unrestored are neither so nu-
merous nor so significant as to prevent a clear impression being

acquired of the original form taken by the series here under study.

The large quantity of unpublished texts, and the information offered

by the range of manuscripts about the use of these texts makes a new
edition of the series a timely undertaking.
 10

THE MANUSCRIPTS OF THE SERIES

The incantations of this compilation are to be found on three

types of manuscript, namely on tablets, cylinder seals and assorted

amulets. ·
Tablets
Among the first group, the most important are obviously the

large compilation tablets. sections (1) and (2) in the Catalogue of

Manuscripts below. These are referred to henceforth as 'compilation'

tablets: they contained the whole series, and the usual practice was
to write the entire collection on one large six-column tablet (with
same 75 lines to a column). The surviving parts of five such manu-
scripts have been utilised here for the reconstruction of the text:
one from Sultantepe (a), three from Kouyunjik (A, 8 and C), and one
from Assur (b). Of these tablets, the best preserved is a which
1
offers 339 lines aut of the actual total of 392 reconstructed lines.
A then follows with 213, b with 196. 8 with 105 and C with a mere 13

so far.
The inclusion of C in this group is admittedly a little uncer-

tain since so few lines are preserved. but in appearance and orthog-

raphy it corresponds closely with the other examples from Assurbani-

pal's library, and even these 13 lines attest four incantations in .

the same order. Although its lines are not duplicated by A (or D be-

low), this piece cannot be from either of these Mss. due to the dif-

1
This literal total counts each line of a bilingual couplet se-
parately, in contrast to the line numbering of the reconstructed text:
for simplicity, a and b are given the same number of lines for nos.
15 and 16.
 11

ference in the size, and particularly the shape of the script. It ap-

pears to be from a tablet of more than one column, and it is therefore

assumed that this is all that is at present identified from one of

1
these compilation 1 tablets.

The K collection of the British Museum has also produced a ver-

sion of the series written on more than one tablet (D), and it seems

most probable that the text was there written on two, four-column tab-
lets. From the appearance of the two surviving pieces, it is clear

that they were from the hand of the same scribe, and from the same

composition. There is, however, no join. and it is impossible that

they are part of the same tablet. K 8215+9255 is clearly the remain-
der of a four-column tablet; the curvature makes it virtually certain

that this is the rev. and that the left edge is ther-efore the edge of
the tablet. Traces of the very beginnings bf some lines of col. 3
are preserved, although unfortunately nothing is legible, while some

25 lines of eo~. 4 survive. These 25 lines are ~ines 230 to 250 of

the series. This would suggest, therefore, that this tablet original-
ly had approximately 65 lines per column. with col. 4 containing,

roughly, lines 200 to 265 (of the tablet's internal numbering). It is

clear from this that K 8215+9255 and K 13369 cannot be from the same

tablet, if one is to assume that the order followed by the scribe is

the same as the 'compilation' tablets described above, since the mate-

rial in the right colu~n of K 13369 comes after-that at the bottom of

rev. col. 4 of K 8215+9255. As there is no evidence either way, the

reconstruction of this Ms. must at present remain tentative, but if it

is true that the text was in the same order, then they can never have !'

been part of the same tablet.

Assuming then for the moment that the order was the same, we

must attempt to fit K 13369 into the scheme. This piece also preserves

N sderlands Instituut
voor het Nabije Ooeten
Leiden - Neder!and
 i.s--
r 1;
12

'
. part of two columns, and although its shape will not emphatically de-

cide its being obv. or rev •. it is assumed to be the obv. due to the

relative proximity of its contents in the series to the end of K 8255+

9255. The traces of lines on the left col. cannot independently be

placed in the series.

The eight lines of the right col. are lines 298 to 302. From

the reconstructed text it may be seen that there are some 49 lines

missing between the last line at the bottom of Tablet 1 rev. col. 4,

and the first line of Tablet 2 obv. col. 2, namely lines 251 to 297.

By this reconstruction, the 65 or so lines at the beginning of obv. 2

in Tablet 2 must account for 46 lines. Comparison of K 8215+9255 with

A, for example, shows that the spacing of the former is considerably
more leisurely than that of the six-column version, as one might ex-
pect, but it is open to question whether this fact will adequately

explain all the space that is apparently available before obv. 2 of K

13369 begins. This might be taken as indicating the possibility of

the material being differently arranged. It is also possible that

other, quite separate material has been incorporated. If the expla-

nation of the spacing suggested above is unsatisfactory, then it is

equally possible that K 13369 is the rev. of Tablet 2, with the addi-

;
.t
. ~
tiorial conclusion that the material is definitely arranged differently

.·~ l.,r
in the Ms. In conclusion it may be said that, an the present state of

. I the evidence, it seems reasonable to regard these fragments as the re-

:.I
mains of two tablets containing all, or part of the series, possibly
:.1'!
. d: ~
.~
I
with other material added, and quite probably in the usual order.

As for the other traces on K 13369, of the 46 lines available

between the two identified passages only l~nes 263 to 266 are missing
Ci
"I]"
.~!l
9'
completely from the other Mss., and since these traces cannot other-
\1~ \.
·~r wise be placed, it appears that Tablet 2 obv. col. 1 included these
i~
,_
. '
'l
.;
 13

missing lines, and that the ends of these four lines are all that now

remain. If other material has been included, then of course this may

be quite a different passage, but for the time being, it is assumed

otherwise.

It is this group of 'compilation' tablets that provides the basis

for the establishing of the text. As far as can be seen, all Mss. are

unanimous about the contents and orde~. The only variations that are

to be observed a~e insignificant: incantations 15 and 15, written

separately in A, are blended together in a and b, for example, and A

omits the rubric in line 317, and the following three lines of ritual

instructions that occur in a and b. Apart from these minor points, it

may be said that this series had the same format in Sultantepe, Nineveh

and A;~u~. All manuscripts that carry the whole series date from the

Neo-Assyrian period; the two tablets that give us the name of the

series have partly preserved colophons. Source a from Sultantepe was

... - 1
written by one Mannu-ki-Babili, a scribe not otherwise known. A, on
. 2
the other hand simply comes from Assurbanipal 1 s library; neither

colophon gives us any external information about the text itself.

When surveying the remaining material on tablets, a difficulty

;
in classification presents itself, since it is clearly desirable to
'
ff . avoid imposing modern artificial distinctions for the sake of a con-

1
The emendation of the c6py proposed by H. Hunger, Kolophone p.
112, no. 358, is now confirmed by collation. (With this name compare
T. Bauer, Asb. p. 99 23-4.)
2 .
The text of this colophon (not copied) may be found in H. Hun-
ger, EQ· cit. pp. 97-8 (type c) •

. '
'l
--·-• L · - - - - · · · · - · · - - - - - - - - - - - :
 14

venient simplicity. The Catalogue of Manuscripts is arranged so as to

demonstrate the essential types of tablet sources, and thus consists

of a further four groups. It is important to realise that these tab-

lets differ from those of the preceding sections in a fundamantal way,

in that they reflect certain aspects of the PRACTICAL USE of the in-
cantations, whereas the Mss. of sections (1) and (2) are, as far as we
know, compilation documents for reference purposes.

Section (3) contains a unique example of the use of these incan-

1
tations, namely c from Assur, also NA in date. Collation has shown
what is disguised by ~beling's copy, the fact that this tablet has the '!

remains of a rectangular projection at the top with a hole running

horizontally through it to enable the tablet to be hung up. This tab-
lat is thus to be added to the list of such tablets in E. Reiner, ~
19 (1960) p. 155. 2 This Ms. includes one incantation not appearing in
the series (obv. 20-22), and there are traces of one line at the bottom
3
of the rev. that are too scant to be recognised.
It is noteworthy that the order of the incantations written on c

1 ...
See p. 1~1.

2 rn note 11 on p. 154 of that article, Miss Reiner does refer to

this tablet in a context that is more fully discussed below on p. 303.

3 rhe only place where new material could possibly be inserted in

the series is in the broken passage 263-266 (should K 13369 not belong
there: see above), but it seems improbable that the two surrounding
passages are from separate incantations. Since similar incantations
are to some extent grouped together, this short text would be more ap-
propriate at an earlier point in the text, although this is not com-
pelling as there are exceptions to this principle.
 15

is quite unrelated to that of the 'compilation' tablets. The order of·

the twelve incantations is as follows: 60, 8, 48, 18, (obv. 20-22), 15-

16, 43, 27, 26. 10, 19, (traces). Now although the whole question of

•scribal practice' or excerpt tablets remains to be fully investigated,

it has been observed that (when the source of the extracts is known)
the order of the quoted material is usually the same as that of the
source, a principle that remains true even when the scribe has quoted
selected passages rather than one consecutive piece (see, on lexical
texts, J. Laess~e, Bit Rimki p. 91). Compare as an example the texts

from Ur discussed below •. On the grounds that the separate incantations

are in this quite different order, it may be suggested that c is not a

''
scribal 'excerpt' tablet for training or practice purposes based on a

I 'compilation' tablet such as constitutes our sections (1) and (2), but
rather a secondary compilation itself drawing on the same class of

Il material. The scribe of c has collected a group of short, exorcistic

incantations of the type assembled in th~ bul.ba~zi.zi series, in order

to inscribe them on an amulet-shaped tablet then hung up in some suit-

able context. 1 It may be siQnificant in this respect that the text of

this Ms. offers more variant readings than do the other c~mpilation

tabletsthat provide the structure of the series, i. e. a, A, B, C and

l b. These Mss. are, as mentioned above. closely related in wording

I
l
and orthography, but compare the version of c in. for example, 39, 44,

45, 46, 114 etc. All such variants are in themselves insignificant,

but in~ give the impression.that the transmission of the texts

I quoted there involved a different history in some way from that of the
'compilation' tablets. In the absence of any subscript on the tablet

1
compare those copies of the Erra Epic on tablets of this shape,
as well as excerpts on amulets themselves: JNES 19 (1960) p. 148.
 16

itself, its original purpose must remain undetermined, b~the shape

of the tablet certainly implies that it differs from all the other

Mss. so far recovered quoting texts from the series.

We may not~ here the extraneous passage in c. obv. 20-22:

, V, d A ( Y' ,. V Y V Ae
. tim a-na- k u
20 en sa nabu AG) sar kls-sat same u er~e t 1m

21 a-na du-sur-ra sukkal 8!-zi-da

"en: I belong to Nabu, the king of the whole of Heaven and

Underworld; I am commended to Usurra, the vizier of Ezida.
0 Evil One, do not come near! tu .en"
6
Notes:

This incantation is not otherwise known, but significantly it cor-

responds to the pattern "I belong to ON; I am commended to ON", to
be found in a fair number of the incantations of the series itself
(see below), and is thus formally related to texts of the bul.ba.
zi.zi genre. In other words, this is an incantation that one might
independently have expected to find included in Gattung IV.
Nabu does not appear in the series. but he is readily explicable
i.
in a text that must date from the latter part of the First r~illen­
ium B. C., since Nabu in LB times was identified with Ninurta, each
in turn the son of the chief god of the pantheon (in turn Enlil, and
Marduk). A god Usurra (Usurra?) is not mentioned elsewhere, but as
Nabu 1 s vizier in Ezida, his role is understandable here; compare
Ubanuilla named side by side with Ninurta in no. 8. The of line e!-
21 reads KID on the tablet (call.).

This manuscript then is an important illustration of the practi-

cal use of incantations of this type. Clearly they were held to have

powerful protective qualities, and the implied level of popular belief

in their efficacy is borne out by the usage on cylinder seals and amu-
lets: see further below.

In section (4), we turn to what is loosely referred to as 'medical'

literature. a term that requires clarification at this point. It has

been stated above that diseases were considered to have been caused by

___...i,._ __
 17

demons, or rather were actually demons themselves. These demons had

to be expelled from the body of the sufferer, and there was a consi-

derable body of texts designed to effect this liberation. These are

conventionally described as •medical' texts, because they respond in

function (although not altogether in technique!) to the modern prac-

tice of medicine. In addition to magical incantations, they contain

recipes and prescriptions for treatment involving the use of plants,

parts of animals and a multitude of mineral and other substances.

These are variously to be ground up, mixed together, dissolved in

beer and so on, and then applied to the long-suffering patient, in-

ternally or externally, at specific times of the day or night, ac-

companied by ritual activities and the incantations themselves, and

all combine to bring about the desired effect.

Texts of this kind specifically describe how certain incanta-

tions from the series (among others not from the series, with no im-

mediate difference in many cases) were practically to be used, and

are therefore important for our study here. Twenty-two individual

Mss. of the 'medical' genre have been identified and here utilised,

and of these some nine carry ritual sequences that are duplicates

(i. e. one of three different sequences), the other Mss. being from

separate compilations. This total includes one tablet from Sultan-

1
tepe (~), sixteen from Kouyunjik (E toT), two from Assur (e and f),

one from Sippar (l) and two from Babylon C! and~). gs regards the

date of these Mss .. the Kouyunjik material is, of course, Neo-Assyrian

1
ct is perhaps rather less·appropriately termed a 'medical' text,
but has-been included here for simplicity: see Appendix I.

.-'.

-
 ·.'
18

of the time of A~~urbanipal, except for E (also from A~~urbanipal's

1
library?) which is in Babylonian script. The Sippar fragment and
! from Babylon are Neo/Late-Babylonian, but ~ from Babylon is impor-

tant being the first of two Middle-Babylonian tablets so far recovered

2
with any material from this series; see below p. 69. Appendix I
below examines the use of incantations specified in these texts, and
summarises the evidence at present available.

Section (5) contains four Mss., none of which is completely pre-

served, carrying incantations from the series together with others not
there included, but without any rituals describing their use. Such a
distinction may appear to be arbitrary, since the absence of such rit-
uals may be due simply to the broken state of these texts, but as far
as may be seen, these compilations differ in function from the 'medi-
cal' texts proper, and it seems easier to gain understanding of the
i'
use of our texts if such differences as are detectable are stated.
The first Ms. of this section is~· which preserves on its obv.
and the beginning of the rev. some nineteen lines of a bilingual in-
cantation not apparently known elsewhere. After this are incantations

58 and 59 from the series: note that they occur consecutively, and in

the order of the 1 compilation 1 tablets. With some reservations. the

last three lines preserved on this tablet have been identified with

This tablet was writ~en by Enlil-zera-ibni, son of Sumu-libsi,

1
the "apprentice scribe" ( lu~amallQ [a-g]a-a;-gu-~)- For Bab. tablets
in Assurbanipal 1 s library. see F. K5cher, MID 2 (1954) p. 218ff. Note
that there is no guarantee that tablets in-s8b. script with K numbers do
come from Nineveh: cf. BWL p. 257: E. Weidner, Gestirn-Darstellungen, p.
11.
2
For the MB ductus of this tablet see F. K8cher. BAM 4 p. XXVII
no. 385.
·.' 19

our no. 62, although this is uncertain (see below, and Commentary).

At any rate, this last incantation is certainly concerned with Ninurta,

since his temple e-su-me-sa4 is mentioned in rev. 13, and in this res-

pect the incantation corresponds to those in our series, Ninurta being

the god most commonly addressed there. There is no catchline or cola-

phon preserved to this tablet, and thus nothing can be said about how
its incantations were used: from the script the Ms. is Neo/Late-
Babylonian in date.

Since the bilingual passage is as yet unduplicated, it may be

permissible here to offer some notes:
Obv.

1' . . . ] rli?1 x li x (x)

2' . . . ]x be.en.tus
3' -t ]u li-si-ib
4
41 bel ap-si]-fil lugal abzu.ke 4
- - ki
5' . mar eri 4-d]u dumu NUN .ga~ke 4
10
6' bel tar-ba]-~u lug~l
tur.ra.ke 4
7' bel su-p]~?-ru lugal amas!(DAG.KISIM xLU+U?).a.ke
5 4
8' • • . be-1 nam-m Jas-se-e. : lugal mas.anse.ke
V V '"" V

, 4
9' • • • bel na]-a-ri lugal id.da.ke 4
10 1 bel iki u p]al-gi lugal P.A .E.ra.ke 4
5
11 1 bel me-res-ti] lugal URU4.da.ke
4
12 1 i1 ql-is-t]u 4 dingir 916 tir.ra.ke 4
13' .tar-ba-~i] tur.ra.ke 4
14 1 si-i-ri_ ] gi.du.a
Rev.
1 • • . ] - r ti 1 : sa.la.a.ke
"
4
2 • • . ] rd1 lamma e.a.ke
,
4
3 l]a-mas-si blti
4 . • . ]x.~ me.tes be~pf~.i
5 • . . ab]zu.ke4 sa6.ga zil.zll.bi za.a.kam

Notes
4•-sr The stock epithets of Ea and Asalluhi: it is uncertain to which
deity this incant3tion j~ addressed~ as many of the epithets
 20

are not generally applied to either of these gods • . The text

certainly g{ves the impression of having been put together
from stock material.

71 The parallel with 6' suggests supuru here (the traces perhaps
according better with -pu- ?): cf. e. g., AfO 16 (1952-3), p.
301 (Utukki Lemnuti 13) 29-30:
, lu! . , , V
en s~pa ku.ga tur amas nam.mi.in.gin

re-'-u ellu tar-ba-~a u su-pu-ra u-kin-ma

For amaS (properly written DAG.KI~IM xLU.M~~). and related
5
signs see MSL 2 98, MSL 3 145-246.

8' mas.anse does not appear elsewhere to have nammassu as its

equivalent, but the word is regularly equated with bulu (see
~ s. v., lex.), and the two are virtually synonymous. They
occur frequently together, so theequation here is quite accep-
table. By way of a parallel. note that in CT 41 29 rev. 5
(Alu commentary), both nammassu and bulu are equated with a.
dam, normally only used for ~ammassu. The line here has no
Akk. version: perhaps it just complements 6'-7', or the scribe
may have omitted a line.

10 1 The Sum. should read E PA 5 CPAP.E) = iku u palgu, but the signs
have been misplaced by the scribe. For the sequence, and the
final -r, see J. J. A. van Dijk, Sagesse p. 77.

11 1 The line suggests uru 4 as the Sum. reading, for which meristu
'cultivation' seems a possible equivalent; cf. ~urpu IV 101,
where Ningirsu is called bel me-res-ti, 'lord of agriculture'
in a partly parallel selection of epithets (cf. 103: den-nu-gi
bel iki(E) u palgi(PA 5 ) for example). The final consonant of
uru 4-Cd) does not seem ·to be clarified elsewhere.

13' tur seems to require tarba~u again, cf. 6 1 • For siru as the
Akk. for gi.du.a see MSL 2 67 17-18, where it also appears as
an equivalent to tur:

. ,
g~.du.a = s 1 -1-ri =MIN cma-sal-lu sa
v, 1ure
-,·)
~

I
~
 21

Note also MSL 2 15 112: [gi.du].a = si-i-ri. In view of 5'-7'

this couplet is superfluous, indicating a late date for the
compilation. The ending .ke 4 is to be expected in 1~'-scribal
omission?-see below.

Rev.
1 Since sa is commonly ser 1 anu, and one well known equivalent to
la is kasu, one might restore

!I
. of the paralysed sinews"(?);
UZUv - • ~ ,
cf. e. g •• KAR 80 rev. 27 : ser 1 an~-1a ik-su-u. This would
be an appropriate epithet if a ptc. such as p~~ir preceded: cf.
in a less specific context the epithet of ~amas in CT 23 16 20:
pa-~ir ka-se-e at-ta-ma.

4 For.me.tes i . i (var. te.es) = nadu, 'to praise', see U. Ph. R8-

rner, ~ 168 84 and refs. Our scribe was clearly copying
from an earlier tablet, as is shown by his use of oe-p{ to in-
dicate a break. The missing sign is most probably be.

5 This common formula is part of-the "stahdard Marduk doxology",

see 1.!1. W. Hallo, J. J. A. van Dijk, VNER 3 p. 194; T. J. Meek,
~ 10 (1913) 13 5-12. Some form of ~1arduk 1 s name is probably
to be restored, cf. CT 17 21 i i 96f.:

dasar.alim.nun.na dumu.sag abzu.ke4 sa .ga Zll.zll.le.bi

6
za.a.kam
d - ... ..,, r 1
marduk maru res-tu-u sa ap-si-i bu-un- nu -u du-um-
mu-qu ku-um-ma

The scribe here was copying from another tablet; he also ap-
pears to have been rather careless, unless that first text were defec-

ti ve. In addition to those errors indicated abcive, he seems to have

omitted the .e in ba.ra.e (rev.· 9 = our li.ne 316; see Commentary).

One also expects te ~n at the end of that line. The level of relia-

bility reflected in. this text may explain the problems that result if

l
'
;
~
.. ~. -·--··-- ---·~---­
--==~ - ·~·
··~.
'
22

it is assumed that rev. 13-15 do represent some form of our no. 62,

with which it only partly accords.

Returning to our list of Mss., the next text,~' is a little

more informative. The obv. duplicates BM 33534; a composite copy of

the two is to be found on CT 17 33. This is another bilingual incan-

tation, whose first couplet runs as follows:

dal-ba-a-ti ka-sa-a-ti ~a} a-lu-u sa amela i-kat-tam

11
en: Troubling, binding, the alu-demon who overwhelms a man 11

1
This incantation is apparently for use against the Evil Eye; see 5:
,
igi.bul.dim.ma : i-ni le-mut-ti a-na mu-tal-li-ki : pap.bal.la.ke 4
11
"The Evil Eye (looked upon) the distraught person

A further example on a Babylonian tablet is BM 40687 <=Bl-4-28, 232),

and the incantation is also attested on some of the Assyrian versions
of the series Di'u, e. g. Rm 219 obv. 2, although not all examples in-
clude it. 2 It also occurs on the Assyrian text from Sultantepe, STT

179, where it takes up two sides of a one-column tablet. Unfortu-

nately, the colophon to the latter source is quite obscure (see H.
Hunger, Kolophone p. 120), so it cannot be seen whether any light

is to be shed on the alternative uses of this text to its appearance

1
For the Evil Eye in Mesopotamia, see Commentary to line 282.

2
For an edition of this incantation, together with a full dis-
cussion of these matters, see the forthcoming edition of Di'u from Mrs
Deirdre Linton, to whom I owe this information about that series, and
the reading of line 5 quoted above. The incantation is omitted from
the Gabylonian version of Di'u VII. which is in fact Utukki Lemnuti
XXIV.
 23

in Di'u. At the bottom of BM 33534 rev., after the ruling below the

last line of the incantation appears the following couplet:

40 en su.si roul.gall nam.lu.ux.lu

, J
ti-ri-i~ [u-ba -nu LU
,ut-tim
lem-nu

_This, in other words, is the opening line of the first incantation to

appear on the tablet subsequent to BM 33534. Furthermore, it is the
incantation preserved on the rev. of our tablet ~. and is no. 57 of
the series. This tablet, together with BM 33534, shows that the two
incantations were used together, in the same order. for purposes at
present unknown. The first line of the third incantation in this se-
quence is partly preserved on b:

. . • ] x Cx) lem-nu [. . .
The traces are perhaps to be read U]DUG!· (?). but the incantation can-
not be identified from this Ms. It is most probably in Akkadian only,
and if so, it may be assumed that it is not from Utukki Lemnuti,
Asakki Marsuti or Di 1 u. 1 Here then we have evidence for late use of
an incantation from the Assyrian bul.ba.zi.zi series in Babylonia among
other incantations, as part of a structured sequence compiled for
(perhaps) a specific function.

The colophon of b shows it to be an Achaemenid copy, and reads

as follows:

1 . .
As far as is known at the moment, none of these three ser1es
contains incantations purely in Akkadian; and w~re this to be a bi-
lingual text, the Sumerian would also be given. It should perhaps be
admitted, however, that if the layout were to be the same as for the
preceding incantation, the traces as preserved could just possibly
disguise such a bilingual, so it is possible that this is a text also
to be found in one of those series.
 24

, kirpa?, - v, v
[gabaru b] ar-s 1pa kima labiri(SUMUN)-su sa~ir(DU?) bari

MA[~

[qat mx ( x)] f\JU ~E LAM [ x mar mx)x-ta-ni pa-lib d[ nabu? . . •

[. ITI]6[C+X).KAr~ riU.X.KA]M mar-takl-sat-[su sar matati(KUR.

KUR)]

[. . . ] a x[ .•

11 [A copy from] Borsippa, written and collated according to its ori-

ginal [.
[Hand of Mr • . • ] •. [son of Mr .] •• who fears [NabO?
[ • . • . . . . . . • ] 6[C+th month], of the • . • year of Artaxerxes
·[king of the lands

[. ,,
Notes
For colophons from Borsippa, see H. Hunger, Kolophone 50-55. The
sign after the determinative KI appears to be fsA 1 , and is ten-
tatively interpreted as a phonetic complement to the name bar-
sipa. None of the colophons listed by Hunger shows this use of
BA, however, and the Syll8bar of W. van Soden and W. R8llig does
not offer the value p~ for the Achaemenid period, although it is
included (in parentheses) for "Inschriften der ChaldMerkBnige"
(Bk). The surviving signs of the PN do not correlate with any
scribe from an .!J.rtaxerxes in Hunger, E..E.· ci t. dBel· is an alter-
native for dNabO, or both gods might have appeared. The amount
of space missing at the ends of these lines is hard to assess
accurately, since the ends of the latter lines of incantation no.
57 are at present missing from all Mss. Line 307 at least makes
it clear that the Sum in this tablet was divided into two parts:
[du .u.da] must thus have appeared after the Akk. translation,
8
which gives some idea of the spacing. The year number is lost,
but the king is definitely one of those named Artaxerxes. For
this writing of the name, cf. e. g. CT 12 17 iv 37. Which of
the three possible kings is the one here cannot be known.
 25

Finally to be included in this section (6) is our second t-liddle-

Babylonian Ms., a fragment from the Kassite city of Dur-Kurigalzu, and

although bearing no date (no colophon is preserved~ for the source see

0. R. Gurney, Sumer 9 (1953) p. 25 29), it is clearly to be dated to

the Middle-Babylonian period by virtue of its script and provenance

(see D. R. Gurney, Iraq 11 (1949) p. 131). This piece, our 1, pre-
serves part of four incantation texts, but no element of ritual in-
struction as to their use. This may, of course, be purely accidental,
and this tablet is perhaps better classed as a •medical' text, but as
there is no way of assessing how much of the tablet is missing, it is
reviewed as part of this section.

The obv.(?) of this Ms. contains an incantation that is to be

found on medical texts too, among which are tablets with incantations
from this series: for this passage see p. 254.

On the rev.(?) appear first traces of three lines from the end
of a Sum. incantation, in which, significantly, Ninurta seems to play
a prominent role:

• • • ]x (x) [ • • • •
rd1
2' .]x nin.urta lugal kalag.rga mel.en
3' .] ur.sag e.a me.en

As well as invoking the aid of Ninurta, this incantation clearly

shares a further characteristic of the texts of the series, in that
this is the end of some form of 1 Legltimations 1 -formula in which
the speaker identifies himself as an emissary of a protective god:
see p. 3 • The e-a of 3 1 may mean :"of the house/temple 11 I or per-
haps the AN of de-a has been accidentally omitted.

The next passage is the ends of what constitutes the 21st incan-
tation of our series. So far this incantation has only been found on

'compilation• tablets. It is interesting that this Kassite-period

 26

tablet offers a shorter version of this incantation than that which

appears in the later compilation tablets; see p. 49-50.

The final passage preserved is our no. 18. Since this has not

yet been found on a medical text to be recited as part of a ritual

(the only medical text that does prescribe its use requires that it

be written on an amulet, and for this reason is the text quoted ver-
batim), its presence here might support its not being a medical text

proper, although this point must remain uncertain. It may be obser-

ved that the two incantations from the series do not appear in the
same relative order in this Ms.

l
In section (6) we turn to texts of the 1 scribal excerpt' cate-
r
gory, two good examples of which come from Ur, namely UET VI/2 nos.
r
391 and 392, respectively our ~ and ~- For the identification of the
various passages quoted on these tablets see C. J. Gadd, UET VI/2 p.
6, and particularly R. Gorger, .ADAT l p. 2 (and HKL II p. 79).

As indicated by Borger, the two tablets bear a similar mutual

relation to the two scribal excerpt tablets VAT 10071 and VAT 10756,

published by ~. G. Lambert, BWL pp. 356-7 and Pl. 73. In both cases,
the tablets offer ~consecutive extracts from the same works~. With

~ VI/2 391 and 392, the passages in 391 follow on those of 392.
Since 391 bears the subscript UD.l4.KAM, it has been assumed that

392 would have been written on UD.l3.KAM (seeR. Borger, AOAT), which

gives some idea about the quantity of work expected of a trainee

scribe at this stage of his work. 1

1
Compare W. ~- Hallo, J. J. A. van Dijk, YNER 3 p. 39 for some
Dld-Babylonian information on this subject.
 27 1

The passages quoted from the series may be taken to be:

1
UET VI/2 392 (c) rev. 38ff. = 13-15 (STT 214 I 13ff. ).

UET VI/2 391 (9_) rev. 36-9 = 16-19 (STT 215 I 19-24);
2
11
rev. 40-43 = 2f)-24 (STT 215 I 25-27 ).

A third tablet that has been grouped in this section is ~· a Neo/

Late-Babylonian piece most probably from Babylon. Obverse 1 1 -4 1 are
lines 33-35 of Tablet VII of Enuma Elis:

d tu- tu d t u 5 - [ ku' i na ba-as-si ta-a-su ellu pa-si-n a lit-ta-bal J

,V V ] y , v [

V, 1na
[ sa • v.
Slp t•1-su V'] e 1 lut1m
- • tim
1s-sub na-gab lem-nu-tu
0 ,.

[d~~-zu mu-de-e llb-bi il~ni(DINGIR.DINGIR)] ~~ i-bar-ru-~ kar-~~

e-pis lem-ne-t[u la ~-se-;u-u it-ti-s~]

The scribe for some reason omitted kar-8~ at first, and only later per-
ceived his mistake, whereupon he wrote it in underneath in smaller

script. l~fter this passage, the tablet has lines 68-70 of our no. 18

from the series, the popular invocation to Sirius-Ninurta, after

which the text is quite broken away.
,,
The reverse preserves the following twelve lines:

1' [. •J X [. • •

2' [. . J llb-b[l • . •

1 sTT refs. (our a) are given to allow easy comparison with R.

Borger, ££· El!· He suggested there either STT .I lff., or 13ff. The
latter is to be preferred: see next note. For lines 14-15 on ~ see
the Commentar'J•

2 sorger here gave rev. 40-43 as STT 1 30-33 (i. e. our 28-34).
This would mean that d omits STT I 20-~ If the lines are construed.
as aoove, 392 gives lines 13-~ and 391 16-24 from the reconstructed
series, and thus the two tablets 2::cord perfectly with the principle
of consecutive excerpts.
 28

3' [ • . • -u]s? ser-a-ni [ • . •

,, ,,rd1[
4• [ • • • ] x-u sip-tu 4 sa •.•

5' (as)-rsul tap-su-uo-tu 4 ab-b[e-e-su (? cf. Ee VI 12)

61 at ki x EN dBE [.

71 atrux[x]xCx)xx[ . . .

8' a su [.

9• di? u su? [.
10 1 ser-a-ni-rsu? li?l-[.
1
11 1 ina q{-bit dBE rd [.
d
12 1 x[. . .

Once again, it must be· admitted, the correct classification of this Ms.

is uncertain. The presence of an excerpt from Ee in a late tablet

such as this would normally suggest a practice/excerpt text, but this

passage on the rev. has all the appearance of being ritual instruction,

prescribing the use of certain incantations to cure afflicted sinews

(ser-a~ni). If this is truly some form of ritual, it may suggest, if

the obv. and rev. go together (or perhaps even if they don't), that the
section of Ee is here used as an incantation in its own right. There
appears to be no other clear example of an identified passage from a
1 .
literary text being used in such a way, butthe actual lines quoted
would be most appropriate in this context with their emphasis on in-
cantations and the expelling of evil.

1 rhe occurrence of material inAtra-basi~ duplicated by a well-

known theme of certain potency (sa.zi.ga) incantations may be a second
case, although it was assumed by W. G. Lambert and A. R. Millard in
their edition (p. 156) that the myth was drawing on the incantations.
 29

This completes the range of Mss. included under Tablets. The

following two sections are different classes of inscription altogether;

they are briefly surveyed in turn:

CYLINDER SEALS
Seven cylinder seals have so far been identified that carry in-
cantations from this series as their inscriptio~. Such objects raise
interesting points about the function of the cylinder seal and its in-
scription, since the presence of such texts indicates that the seal
was, at least to some extent, viewed as much as an amulet as a seal
proper. Each of these seals dates from the Kassite period; the indi-
vidual specimens and their texts are discussed together with related
problems in Appendix ~ below.

AMULETS

Lastly come the amulets with incantations from this series. The
thirty-one examples may conveniently be divided into three types:
(1) Amulets in the shape of a cylinder seal, made of clay.
(2) Amulets commonly known as 11
Lal')'lastu Plaques".
(3) Amulets of ~what is here termed) 11
Jewellery 11 shapes.
Dating in some cases is uncertain, but it appears that all the amulets
assembled here ere to be dated to the First Millenium B. C. The date
of these objects is treated in the discussion of the amulets in Appen-
~ ][ below.

This survey completes the range of manuscripts that has been

available for the reconstruction of the series. In comparison with
other incantation s~ries. the variety in source material is unusual,
in fact unparalleled. In the m~j;·:-ity of cases, incantations that were
 30

compiled into series in the First Millenium are not simultaneously to

be found outside that series. This is only to be expected in the case

of ritual compilations like Maqlu or Surpu, elaborate ritual sequences

with incantations interwoven that are designed for a specific function

in a highly practical way. Even with these series, however, some occa-

sional use of individual incantations in other contexts can be discer-.

1
ned. In the case of the long incantation series like Utukki Lemnuti

or ~· however, the individual incantations are not to be found in

other contexts (excluding scribal 1 excerpt 1 tablets, of course). This

is rather a confusing situation, since one might have expected to find

passages from these series in practical use elsewhere. The whole

question is bound up with the nature of these so-called series. Such·
an incantation as that mentioned in n. 1 below is not quoted from Maq-

lu when it appears in the medical text, but rath~r has been used in
both contexts as part ~nd parcel of the Mesopotamian magical litera-

ture. It cannot yet be determined just how far the use of an incan-

tstion is in any way restricted by its inherent qualities (i. e. what

the text actually says), or its historical and traditional background.

As a generalisation one may assume that the greater part of the incan-

tations that finally found their way into the •canonised' incantation
series of the First Millenium were not used simultaneously in other

contexts. For our immediate purposes one might make the observation
that the only other incantations to be found both on amulets and tab-

.i

I
t
1 An example is the incantation that begins "ezzetunu samratunu
···" found in Maqlu V 139ff., also quoted in sundry texts of the medi-
cal genre, e. g. 8AM 221 i i i 25-29 etc.
 31

y , l
lets are the Lamastu, Pazuzu and some nam.bur.bi texts. By virtue of
this fact alone we arrive at the general position of our incantations
2
in the magical literature as a whole. The discovery that texts from
Gattung IV are also found in practical use in the medical texts makes

this series unique in that literature.

1
It appears that the only incantation from a cylinder seal th9t
is not included in Gattung IV (see Appendix II), has not been found
written down on a tablet, although future discoveries may alter this.
There are also some incantations on amulets that have not yet been
discovered on a tablet, but enough is not known to decide whether an
independent tradition existed that transmitted texts on amulets with-
out regard to the mainstream tablet tradition.
2
The factor that aligns these three types of incantation with
those of Gattung IV is most simply described as their all being "prac-
tical, everyday" incantations for the purpose of demonic exorcism, or
similar functions.

L
 I ~

32

THE TITLE OF THE SERIES

After the final line of the last incantation, below the ruling.

appears the following subscript (reconstructed from a and A):

KA.inim.ma bul.ba.zi.zi.ke 4

In other compilations of incantations. it often occurs that just such

a subscript is appended to each separate incantation of the series (as

commonly with Utukki Lemnuti. or MaqlQ, for example). but with our

series only one other subscript is to be found (line 317, see below),
that applies only to the particular text that precedes it. It is.
therefore, most probable that this last line is rather a title that

applies to the series as a whole. It is the only line that may be

construed in this way, since both a and A subsequently carry a colo-

phon, and neither refers to the nature of the text. It is, of course,

just possible that this rubric -merely refers to the preceding incan-
tation too, but this is really-most unlikely, since the same wording

is known elsewhere as a term applied to other incantation texts.

An important occurrence of the expression has been missed in a

text that has been available for a long time. KAR 44 (and dupls.) is

a well-known text that details the various responsibilities that con-

stitute the craft of asiputu, the exorcistic and healing functions

practised by the asipu-priest. The text was first edited by H. Zim-

mern in ZA 30 (1915-16), p. 206ff. He was unable to complete the per-

tinent line 7, which may. however, be restored as follows:
Y V V Y

,
a.ku.ga mes udug.bul.a mes a.ba me.en mes ur.sag u bul.ba.z [ i.zi mes]
oul. gal me. en
a restoration that is now confirmed by the unpublished duplicate. Rm
y

. .mes
717 + ( co 11 . ) , wh ere h_u 1 • b a.zl.Zl is fully preserved. The phrase is
 33

mentioned together with many well-known series of incantations used to

remove evil demons of one sort or another, and the naming of what is

no doubt our compilation in this context accords quite happily with

what we know independently of the use of these texts.

It remains to assess whether bul.ba.zi.zi is to be interpreted

as a type of incantation text, or the name of a specific series. The

expression is to be found in one further context. It is applied in a

similar way to a compilntion of different incantation texts. In ~r.

Or. 21 (1953) p. 357ff •. E. Ebeling edited four groups ("Gattungen"),

of what he broadly termed "8eschw8rungsformeln 11 • The texts of his

Gattung IV are those that form the subject of the present study: Gat-

tung I, II and III are all related, but Gattung IV is not related at

~
all. Gattung I bears the same subscript 1·11\. inim.ma bul.ba. zi. zi. ke 4 •
It consists of rigidly bilingual incantations of a consistent pattern:

I , '
zi.DN ( +epithets) .•• be.pa nis or·J C+ epithets) .•• lli tamata.

These lengthy and somewhat scholarly texts are also exorcistic in

function: the principle of their structure is related to t~e common zi.·

an.na be.pa zi.ki.a he.pa (:nis same

V
lu tamata nis ersetim
•
lu tamata)
1
formula. Unlike those of Gattung IV, the incantations of this corn-
pilation have not so far been found in use outside of those t~xts that

actually provide the series. Gattung II is much briefer in wording,

but includes more gods, and differs in the manner of presentation, in

that the Sumerian is written above the ~kkadian; in Gattung I it is

placed to the left. No subscript presently survives for this Gattung,

1see A. Falkenstein. LSS NF I p. 34. and below. p. 43.

 34

but recently a chalcedony amulet has been identified as carrying an in-

cantation closely related to those of this second category. an interes-

ting parallel to the similar use of the texts of our Gattung IV. 1 Gat-
tung III is much shorter, and only in Sumerian. The subscript to this

compilation calls it KA.INIM.MA UDUG.~UL.A.KAM, although there is no

external evidence otherwise to connect this material with what is usu-

ally known as Utukki- Lemnuti.
- 2 Further details as to the three Gattung-
en are to be found in Ar. Dr. 21 (1953) pp. 357-9, and see W. G. Lambert
in RlA 3 p. 478 f 14.

Since the same subscript is applied at least to this one other

compilation of incantations that are formally quite different, it seems
that bul.ba.zi.zi is better interpreted as the name of a series (of
which the two Gattungen form part in unknown sequence), rather than a

I
type of incantation as such. The only factor that is shared by the two
groups of texts is their exorcistic function, a characteristic equally
true of a wide range of other texts. If bul.ba.zi.zi is then the name
~

I of an incantation series, it is unknown whether any furthe~ material

was anciently conceived to be part of it, but it should certainly be
borne in mind that Gattung II may indeed belong with it.

t
t
I 1 rhis amulet is shortly to be published by W. G. Lambert in Iraq;
a new edition of Gattungen I, II and III is likewise to appear in the
'r.
t near future.
'fi 2 -:... -
As Utukki Lemnuti is notv¥et f~lly restored. 1t cannot be sure
whether any recensions (e. g. Assur) ever included material of this
I I
!
kind: it may not seem immediately appropriate, but cf. for example, the
long string of zi. .• he.pa formulae in CT 16 13. If Gattung IIJ were
~
I properly a tablet fr~m that series, one-might expect to see the series
! number in the rubric as is the usual practice. This number would not
b~ expected after individual incantations, but certainly at the end of
a tablet. The subscript to Gattung III might simply mean that its in-
cantations could effectively be used against utukku-demons if necessary.
rather than that they come from the structured series of the same name,
although note that R. Borger, HKL III p. 89, assigns them to Utukkl
Lemnuti.
 35

We have now to examine the meaning of this expression. The Sum.

root zi (or often zi.zi) occurs frequently in exorcistic contexts con-

cerned with the removal of demons or diseases. This is readily intel-

ligible in view of the known Akk. equivalents (e. g. zi = tebu, 'to

get up' t 'to depart' j zi = nasaou. 'to tear out'. 'to remove' etc.),
and the root is often addressed to demons in the form of an imperative,
as in LKA 85 obv. 9-10, for example:
,
en udug.bul zi.zi udug.t:Jul zi.zi
su.lu.ra nam.ba.te.ga.de

or cf. lines 67 and 210 (and notes) here. zi.zi is thus an appropriate
element, as is bul <= lemnu) for the object of the verb. The only
problematical element is the .ba. Towards an explanation, note the
particular use of the suffix bi in Sum.: 11
••• the Sum. bi implies
1
determination to be expressed in English by the use of the article."
This ba might th~n be connected with such usage, and it would presumably
..
11
mean that particular Evil", i. e. whatever evil is conceived to be
afflicting the sufferer. This seems fitting as a title for a compila-
tion, summarising what must broadly be termed general exorcistic or
apotropaic magical formulae (the breadth of the description thus incor-
porating Gattung I above). and a provisional translation might be:
"causing (certain) Evil(s) to depart.u (Such is the translation adop-
ted here~ Each separate incantation, or group_of incantations of the
series would then have a more or less specific purpose to circumscribe
its use. The final -a vowel is still, however, something of a problem.

1
A. Goetze, JCS 9 (1955) p. 15; see the same author also in JCS
5. (1946) p. 188ff •. -e5pecislly p. 191, notes 22-23. The question ig--
also treated by A. Poebel, Sum. Gram. pp. 307-8.
 36

If this bi is appropriately identified here, one might think of empha-

tic bi + am = ba BB the explanation for the VOWel, but the form might
not bear too precise an analysis since this is late, and consequently
unreliable Sum. 1
As noted above, the series contains one further example of a rub-
ric following after an incantation, that is line 317. In this case, it
is followed by three lines of ritual instruction. Presumably, the rub-
ric and ritual are to be taken just with the preceding incantation (no.
58), since KA.INIM.MA ..• is written without a number, and the text would
otherwise be ambiguous; where more than one incantation for a complaint
2
is given in sequence, the number is often specified (as in AMT 38: 2).
Unfortunately, this particular rubric is broken at the pertinent point,
but reads:

l'iA.INIM.MA amelu lemnu ana ameli x-su la itetJtJaa

"Incantation to prevent an evil man from ~pproaching a man's ···"

The ritual then prescribes the salve that will give protection for the
subject; cf. 320: am[elu lemnu l]a i~ebbi-su. (For details, see notes.)
The occurrence of this rubric and the accompanying ritual is
surprising, since in all the Mss. that provide the whole compilation,

1· . -
On the other hand, cf. perhaps the Sum. sag.ba (= mamitu), in
which .ba is an intrinsic part of the name. If bul.ba existed, however,
then being essential synonymous with nlg.nam.oul, one would expect to
find it named somewhere in this series, and in similar contexts, so the
element here must be otherwise explained.
2
Numerals, or even an indication of plurality, are often consid-
ered superfluous when a rubric contains the title of a series (see n. 2
on preceding page), although the total number of incantations quoted in
a tablet is sometimes specified; an OB example is in J. J. A. van Dijk,
~ NF 1 10 rev. vi 135: su.nigin.bi 21! l'iA.inim.ma g{r.tab eme.egi.
It may be assumed with our context that merely the one preceding text
is referred to.
 37

all the other incantations are given simply as they are, with neither

rubric nor any other indication us to how they were to be employed.

That the scribe who wrote A did not include these lines accords with

the feeling in the modern reader, that their inclusion just for the

one incantation is surprising. As far as other incantation series

are concerned, the inclusion of rituals among the incantations in CT

16 and 17 Blso seems to be a little random; a closer parallel to our

phenomenon occurs in the medical omen series sag.gig <= enuma asipu

ana bit mar~i illaku ... ). where two solitary ritual prescriptions

have likewise crept in to a rigidly structuralised text, where in re-

1
ality they have no place.

In view of the uncertainty that persists about the meaning and

significance of the title bul.ba.zi.zi, and the nature and signifi-

cance of the series (if indeed this is correctly named a series). it
seems a good idea to.maintain the term coined byEbeling, Gattu.!::.9_ IV,

as an unambiguous and convenient label for this compilation of incan-

tations.

1 see R. Labat, TOP p. 192, 39; p. 222 42-43, and cf. J. V. Kin-
nier Wilson, Iraq 19 <T957) p. 45.
 38

THE LITERARY STUDY OF THE INCANTATIONS

The series as it is now reconstructed consists of sixty-five

mostly short incantations (the shortest is of two lines, the longest

of twenty-five), this total including monolingual Sumerian and Akka-

1
dian, bilingual and "mixed" texts. Eight are pure Sumerian (1-3, 34,.
42-3, 58 and 63), twenty-eight pure Akkadian (8-16, 19, 24-30, 48-9,

51, 53-5, 60-2 and 54-5), and two are truly bilingual (5 and 57). The
remaining twenty-seven are written in a varying mixture of Sumerian
and Akkadian, some texts also including sundry obscure lines that may
be in neither tongue (see below). Analysis of this latter group of
"mixed 11 texts reveals several patterns which may now be indicated in
detail:

(1) Certain incantations are written more or leas in pure Akka-

dian, with the addition of one or more lines of Sumerian at the end,
acting as a general protective utterance of banishment addressed to

the demon; e. g. 17, 18 and 23.

(2) Some have the opening line or lines in Sumerian, the remainder
in Akkadian. without there necessarily being any specific link or
correspondence between the two; e. g. 6-7, 21-2, 35. 40-1, 50, 52

and 56.

(3) Some are written in a peculiai "semi-bilingual" form that

1This is in contrast with the other incantation series: Utukki ·

Lemnuti, Asakki Marsuti and Di'u each contain only monolingual Sum.
and bilingual incs., but no monolingual Akk.; ~urpu has bilingual incs.
in both languages, similarly monolingual texts, while Maglu is purely
in Akk. The presence of purely Akk. texts in our series is to be noted
for dating purposes; see below.
 39

varies in the level of correspondance between the two versions.

There is here an effort to translate the approximate sense while
abandoning the word-by-word equation of truly bilingual passages.
This is an unusual phenomenon, and one of the more notable charac-
teristics of this series; examples are 4 (cf. the notes, and 5),
46-7 and cf. 44.

(4) Some contain words or phrases treated in this study as "mum-

bo-jumbo 11 • Some examples appear to be garbled Sumerian (32-3); in
some there appears to be an attempt to furnish an Akkadian para-
phrase or development. e. g. 20, 37-8 and 59(?). In effect, these
represent a similar pattern to (3) above. except that the meaning of
the Sumerian is sometimes uncertain. Other passages, however, have
unintelligible lines inserted into the body of an Akkadian incanta-
tion, e. g. 31, or placed at the beginning, e. g. 36 and 45. In
these, the language is open to doubt: see further below, and the res-
pective notes.

It may be seen that a remarkably large proportion of these incantations

are written in a mixture of Sumerian anq Akkadian. Passages of this
kind (especially the "semi-bilingual" examples 6f (3) above) are other-
wise rare in incantations, not to say the wider· span of cuneiform lite-
rature.1

It was suggested above that this series is appropriately descri-

bed as a "compilation", in that the incantations have been collected
together for reasons we have yet to determine. Now, a sizeable number

1
Dther texts that manife~t a "mixed'r usag~ are. for example, OB
legal documents, or some royal inscriptions, e. g. those of the Susian
rulers (see E. Sollberger, JCS 22 (1968) p. 30). Another.incantation
example is R. D. Biggs. TCS~p. 76 2-6: cf. note 5 on'p. 77.
 40

of the incantations can be shown to have been selected and juxtaposed

for reasons of formal similarity. although not all of the material falls
conveniently into place.

The first seven incantations are a clear example. This group of

texts serves to identify the speaker as the lawful agent, the "man" of

the great gods, a process which, as we have seen above, will gain him
protection against the forces of evil. Of the seven, nos. 1-3 are
identical but for the god to whom each is addressed, namely Marduk,
Ninurta and Ninazu. The version with Marduk opens the series, perhaps
in deference to his being the chief god of magic. The generalisation
above must be refined then, since the compiler has assembled three
versions of what is in effect a single incantation, used to invoke
three deities. This is certainly a real case of selection rather than
of scholarly invention: at least one version of this text has already
been found on amulets and cylinder seals (see notes to line 5), and the
assumption that nos. 1 and 3 w~re likewise in use is borne out by the
pattern of other texts in the series; see presently.
No. 4 represents an amplified, more or less bilingual version of
the first three texts, with some interesting differences discussed in
the notes. Here the speaker declares himself tq,be the "man" of Marduk

and Ninurta both. No. 5 is truly bilingual, although the traditional

Sumerian ga.e lu.DN me.en is translated by the Akkadian paraphrase sa

DN aniku, "1 belong to DN", rather then amil DN~an~ku, a~ occurs in

no. 6, far example. Once again, Ninurta and Marduk are addressed. No.

6 is written half in Sumerian, .half in Akkadian, and devotes the opening

three lines to the banishment of the demon: there is a progressive amp-
lification of this element in each successive incantation. Here, how-
ever, Ninurta alone is invoked. Finally, no. 7. is closely related to
no. 6, and is merely a slightly fuller version. The last two are appa-
 41

rently directed against demons returned from the grave, although it ie

unknown whether they were used in so specific e context; purely from

the wording they would seem to be less general in use than the prece-

ding texts.
As regards this opening group, the principles guiding the campi-
ler are reasonably clear: the texts are formally related by literary
pattern, and by the deities invoked. Four other incantations from
later in the compilation have points in common with this group. No.
22, for example, duplicates part of nos. 6 and 7, and is likewise con-
cerned with a ghost come from the grave. The characteristic epithet
of nos. 1-4, mas.sag = massO, also reappears in no. 34, and although
broken, this text has all the appearance of being related in structure.
In no. 47, the identification theme is clearly to be found, while no.
1
58, a Sumerian incantation mentioning the ''exorcist of Eridu", also
contains the same element, and the theme appears in other texts too.
Since this is a common formula in texts of this genre, one cannot say
that its occurrence in scattered passages here is in itself signifi-
cant, except that the collection of several texts at the beginning
where this feature is prominent mav have suggested the inclusion of
others where it also appears. In a similar way, the examples of the
comparatively rare sign sil in nos. 1~5 may have triggered off the
7
selection of no~ 21, where the same sign occurs three times. Another

example may be the expression mustarbi~ er~etim, otherwise unknown,

which is to be found here in nos. 39 and 45. If this principle of as-
sociation be appropriate here, it would explain the curious fact that

1
Cf. A. Falkenstein, ~ NF I p. 25; J. J. A. van Dijk, ~ NF
I p. 9. This is the only mention of the "exorcist of Eridu" in this
compilation, although it occurs commonly in other exorcistic texts.
,_.-; !J:.'''ilmlll!illi..--
'
!

42

!
I the grouping of related texts such as we have just seen does not apply

consistently throughout the series, but is erratic, and is convincingly

f
applicable only to approximately half of the incantations. Further-
more, such a principle if correctly detected might suggest that the
compilation as it is now available to us is the work in the main of a
single individual who has assembled a collection of incantation texts
out of a wide selection of similar material, his choice being a perso-
nal and subjective one. Since it might be thought that successive
scribal redaction wo~ld render the texts more systematic, it seems a
feasible possibility that this compilation, having been drawn up from
the ~vailable sources by an influential and learned man, was subse-
quently transmitted in the same form. Obviously, such a point is
highly speculative, and on present information incapable of clarifica-

tion.
Incantations 8-16 comprise a second group where the identification
theme is fundamental. It was observed above that in no. 5, the Sumerian
expressing the identification is translated by sa DN anaku. This short
expression is the unifying factor of this second group, all of which
are in Akkadian. It also occurs in subsequent incantations, indeed the
frequency with which it is to be found led Ebeling to see.in it a cha-
racteristic of Gattung IV (cf._~·~- 21 (1953) pp. 358-9). In some
texts it is central to the structure (e. g. 8-16), in others it is a
secondary appendage to increase the efficacy of the incantation. In
8-16, this formula ia the entire message to be ~onveyed, the force of
the statement (and from our point of view, the literary quality) of the
separate texts being built up by means of epithets to laud or cajole
the god in question into a state of protective benevolence. Nos. 8-10,
probably 11 and 13 are to Ninurta, no. 12 either to Ninurta or Marduk,
nos. 14-5 to Nergal and no. 16 to Ea. There are close links between
 43

the texts. Those addressed to Ninurta emphasize his warlike qualities,

his exalted status, his power as a killer. The principle of editorial

selection is again clearly to be seen at work. Note how closely rela-
ted are nos. 10 and 16. Nos. 11 and 13 also draw on what is clearly
mythological material, following a w~ll-known technique of incantation
texts, a point discussed further below. The sa DN anaku formula is
amplified in some texts of this group by the parallel expression ana
DN paqdaku, 11
! am comrnended to DN 11 (cf. Ebeling, £12.· £.!.:!!.). Once
again, the speaker claims divine protection to render himself invulne-
rable. In some subsequent texts, as noted above, this sa ON anaku is
appended to incantations otherwise unrelated to this group. Examples
are lines 85, 199 and 215. Is the presence of the expression in these
latter texts the grounds for their inclusion?
-
After this point, the compilation becomes less orderly in its
arrangement. Texts of different types are interspersed with small
groups that have some points in common with the. texts just discussed.
We will look first at those that are yet in noticeable groups.
Nos. 18-9 are both addressed to Ninurta under his astral form as
Sirius, the Dog-Star, and thus constitute a pair, although they differ
after the opening line. Note that the var. of ~· to line 68 is closer
to line 73 of no. 19 (see notes to line 68).
No. 20 offers further clear evidence for the way in which mate-
rial has been selected. After an obscure opening line is a short pas-
sage related to the zi.DN oe.pa (= nis DN lu tamata, "Be conjured by
1
ON!") formula, addressed to the "King of the gods 11 • According to a,

1
, , Cf. E. E~el~ng, Ar. £!• 21 (1953) pp. 357-8. Gf. the zi.an.na
be.pa zi.ki.a be.pa formula, A. Falkenstein, LSS NF I pp. 34-5, the
common exorcistic formula found here only in "iiCiS. 1-3, and 23.
 ......

44

this epithet applies to Marduk, but this is the only 'compilation' tab-

let in which the ON is preserved. Of the eight other Mss. at present

available, four read Ninurta instead of Marduk. This is quite inappro-

priate, and Marduk is obviously the correct god in the context, but it
is interesting that the medical texts demonstrate that other versions
than those included in this compilation were in practical use.
Nos. 24-7 form another such group.Each begins: attamannu mimma
lemnu ~a ••• , "Whoever you are, Any Evil, who ••• " 1 Nos. 24 and 25 are
closely related, the principal difference being the alternation bet-
ween Lugalurimma and Lugaledinna in the second line. Note that L,
another medical text listed here for simplicity as a variant of no. 25
(see notes to line lOB), reads Lugalurra instead, and shows again that
a different version was simultaneously in circulation; so far nos. 24
and 25 have not been found in a practical context. These two incanta-
tions do have other slight differences: in lina 105, of the three Mss.,
8 and b include one of the 'precative' formulae discussed below, and a
well-known exorcistic formula: ina qibit ON, in the following line. 2
On the other hand, a has two such formulae for the two lines. In no.
25. all four Mss. agree on two,formulae for the two corresponding lines
· 110-1. It may be noted that a is corrupt where this variation occurs,
and in view of the otherwise close correspondence between the 'compila-

1mimma lemnu, lit. 'anything evil.', itself becomes personified as

an evil force to cover all forms of evil not mentioned by the speaker,
hence the consistent use of capital letters. mimma lemnu is named as
the object in a large proportion of the incantations here, indeed, this
may constitute another characteristic of. the series, but this is diffi-
cult to assess because the phrase: mimma lemnu la tetebba is common
throughout exorcistic texts: see below. It should be noted, however,
how many of these incantations conclude with that utterance.
2
For this formula, well attested in exorcistic texts, see R. D.
Biggs, TCS 2 P• 39. Cf. the short form here in lines 330-1, and the
ina ama~N + epithet, repeated four times in our no. 62.

. .
 45

tion' tablets, one wonders if the variants as well ss the errors were

not of this particular scribe's responsibility.

No. 26 bears no relation to these two after the opening words,
1
although it is linked partly to no. 27, while another precative' for-
mula is used. Line 116 introduces a theme developed at greater length
in no. 27, itself drawing on standard material (see notes on 125). No.
27 adds a more poetic description of the demon, in one of the finer
passages of the series. No. 26 also utilises another concluding for-
mula of hallowed use, the: iiptu ul jattun iipat ON •..• "The incanta-
tion is not mine; the incantation is of DN ••• u formula. 1
Nos. 28-31 broach a new theme, in which the ill-effects of the
demon's attentions are described in detail, with a blend of literal
observation and poetic metaphor. This is also a well-known incantation
technique: see the relevant notes. These incantations are built up
from 'precative' formulae and other stock incantation expressions, of
sufficient overall similarity to indicate why they are juxtaposed in
the series. Beyond this, little may be said.
Nos. 32-3 share a related first line too, with no. 33 having the
(unexplained) variant with nu. In neither text does the remainder of
the incantation appear to be connected in sense to the introductory
line, and this is all the more interesting in that the ·first example
occurs quoted by itself in a medical text (186 on f), while the latter
is found alone on a cylinder seal inscription (189 on y). In both cases,
the subsequent lines of the incantation can easily be paralleled here

1 .
For this formula, see R. D. Biggs, Q.Q• cit. pp. 38-9 ("only in
texts for exorcising demons"): our lines 117-9 are there quoted. Note
also our line 310 (and note), and the sipat dninurta ili ezzi sa ianina
la isu in lines 83, 197, 221, 223 and 300. The sipat dninurta ill mut-
talli, and sipat das[allubi] of nos. 40 and 41 may also be compared.

-··-•.A-Jr!......~-
 46

From other texts. Nos. 36-8 open with the same line (different, that

is, from the preceding incantations), also largely obscure at present.

These texts afford some insight into e new aspect of the composition

of the series. As shown in the nates, the obscurity of the opening

line has led to spurious 'interpretations' through a partial word-by-

word equation of signs (see notes to no. 38). gs in the case of nos.
32-3, the obscure opening line occurs by itself as the defensive in-
scription on amulets and cylinder seals. We have then two short, tra-
ditional and probably old texts that have been filled out by means of
standard formulae. At present, none of the fuller versions either of
32-3, or 36-8 has yet been discovered outside of the 'compilation' tab-
lets (although this may be accident), and this raises the question of
whether the creation of these incantations was due to the compiler of
the series building new incantations out of older, separate material,
or whether the passages as included were already in circulation when
the selection was made. 1

Nos. 42-3 are really the last pair of incantations that can be
formally related in this way: both are in good Sumerian, and both ad-
dressed to n{g.nam.oul.dim.ma (cf. mimma lemnu above).
The preceding comments have only touched upon approximately half
of the incantations. To summarise, it is clear that, particularly at
the beginning of the series, the compilation includes texts that rea-

dily fall into groups. some texts being included b~cause they are mere
variants of one another (while the selection does not list all examples

1Either way, the development is perhaps curious, since if these

short utterances (i. e. lines 186 and 210)·were in common use, as is
suggested by their appearance on amulets and seals, one might have ex-
pected them to have been included as they stood in the series, in view
of the conservative attitude usual in the case of traditional, magical
material, rather than being extended as apparently here.
 47

currently in use). others being placed side by side du~ to their having

the same opening line. These are two distinct editorial processes, and

show that the series as we now have it represen~an attempt to bring

together different types of text aut of the doubtless wide range of

material in circulation.
Th~ aforegoing groups have been partly distinguished by means of
recurrent phrases that seem characteristic of this series because they
do not appear elsewhere. Examples are:

sa ON anaku: lines 38, 40, 42, 44. 47. 49-50 51 54 55 56 60

' ' ' ' ' '
82, 85, 199, 215 and 254.

ana DN paqdaku: lines 40, 43.

mar manzazi reste: lines 46, 57 and 62.
mustaroi~ er~etirn: lines 213 and 236.·

On the other hand,. the remaining incantations contain a liberal

sprinkling of repeated phrases that are to be found in other incanta-
tion texts, and this difference is to be borne in mind if an attempt
is to be made to demonstrate any links between these texts. As the
tangible groups of texts become less clear as the compilation develops,
these expressions appear more commonly. Three expressions are parti-
cularly frequent:

mimma lemnu 1; te~ebb~. "Any Evil, do not come near!"

pu!ur lemnu li te~ebo&, "Remove yourself. 0 Evil One, do not come
near!"
ana er~et li t~ri pu~ur lemnu, "Remove yourself, 0 Evil One. to the
Land-of-no-return!"

Admittedly, the frequency with which these phrases occur is due to the
nature of the texts themselves, they express a sentiment that will ap-
ply in anv exorcistic context. NevP~theless, if the compilation is
 48

read through as a whole, these short utterances are reiterated in such

a way as to suggest to the reader that short incantations containing

one or more were deliberately included here.

There is little specific that can be said about the rest of the

incantations, since in the main they simply represent commonplace in-

cantation material. Some texts contain an abbreviated version of stock

material that is more fully extended in incantations from outside this

series, e. g. the list of demons in lines 184-5, or 219, or line 187,

1
which should be compared with Maglu V l56ff. (see notes). The so-
called 1 precative' formulae can also readily be duplicated from other
texts. These are short utterances, usually addressed to a demon, whose

disappearance is adjured by means of a precative verb: a whole incan-

tation may be constructed by stringing a sequence of such formulae to-

gether. The series includes good examples, both sprinkled throughout

the incantations generally, and used to create complete texts, e. g.

nos. 17 and 28. These formulae are another important element in in-

cantation technique, and although they have been considered a charac-

teristic of BM texts, individual examples can be traced in DB; see

notes to no. 17.

1since it is apparently not possible to write in cuneiform same

such convention as our "etc.", it is difficult to assess how far any
given text of this kind might be composed in a complete farm for a
specific purpose to be recited verbatim, or haw far it might be consi-
dered as a "working madel 11 , flexible in detail, that could be adapted,
extended or abbreviated in a particular context. That this principle
may not be quite aut of place is indicated by the use of the formula
annanna mar annanns, "So-and-so, son of So-and-so", where the offici-
ating priest or the individual himself, would substitute hie name and
patronymic. This is not so far from writing down a text in the same
way. It is suggested below that this series is a general "handbook"
for "everyday practical prophylactic purposes", and if this be correct,
this principle would be most suitable applied to these incantations.
See also the notes to no. 14, where this seems most likely to apply.
 49

Individual lines may be duplicated with increasing facility as the se-

ries progresses, indeed with some texts, it is possible to parallel al-

most every line (e. g. particularly no. 61).

The u~e of common exorcistic material in these texts is readily

explicable. The series is provisionally dated to the period at the

end of the Second Millenium to the beginning of the First (see below).

At this period, a lively attention to literary matters was having a

1
profound effect on the incantation as well as other literature:

The inherited texts, both Sumerian and Babylonian, were being

selected and edited, totally new texts were being written, and
between these two extremes was a third category of literary
activity: constructing new texts from existing literary frag-
ments and motifs. Akkadian incantations were often composed
in this last-named way. Behind the compilers was a large cor-
pus of Sumerian and Babylonian incantations and related lite-
rature. From it they selected, combined and composed new texts,
After this creative activity the final development consisted of
purely editorial work: related texts were gathered into collec-
tions both in Babylonia and Assyria.

This latter process is applicable in our case. It seems probable that

the separate incantations were creuted in this way towards the end of

the Second Millenium; we know for certain that they were collected to-
gether on the large tablets in the First.

Unfortunately, sources from the MB period for our texts are at

present not very numerous. One, however, may be seen (with reserva-

tions) to throw a little light on the literary history of the texts.

This is 1 from DDr-Kurigalzu, which carries nos. 21 and 18. In both

cases, this Ms. contains a shorter version than that available from

the later sources. In no. 18, it appears from the spacing that line

71 (ana annanna mar annanna l~ tasanniq~ 1~ te~ebb&) is omitted. In

no. 21, i offers a more intelligible reading for line 82 (reading sa

1
W. G. Lambert, AfO 23 (1970) p. 39.
 so

dnin-urta Z~LAG.GA ME.EN for ZALAG.GA.KE 4 in the later Mss.; see note), 1

and it also omits lines 84 (ana er~et la tari pu~ur lemnu) and 85 (sa
Ninurta anaku lemnu la te~ebba tu 6 .en). Now one must be wary of jump-
ing to conclusions in a case where there is only a single Ms., and an
incomplete one at that, but it is suggestive that this text omits in
both cases what has already been outlined above as stock incantation
material, what are virtually incantation cliches. This certainly lends
support to the idea that our texts represent a reworking of earlier
material, a filling out by the compiler of each incantation, or perhaps
just certain incantations, with standard, reliable and well-worn utter-
ances to enhance their magical value.
Several individual lines in the series (often those that are not
now immediately intelligible) conform to a stylistic pattern most sim-
ply represented as A A B A; compare the following:

237 [en K)A tJI M tji dMA~ kalag.ga KA tJI

, d d d 2
249 en nin.a.zu nin.a.;ZU kalag.ga nin.a.zu

322 bi.za.ab ..
bi.za.ah (MIN) bi.za.ah.an.na
"'
bi.za.ah 3..
Other examples are:

28

1 Thus supporting the integrity of this text, otherwise perhaps

thrown in doubt by the unexpected omission of (tu ).en after its ver-
sion of no. 21 Cor does the tu5].en.e.nu.ru after 6no. 18 (line 11') act
for both texts?), and the certain om. of -tu
after ur-oe in line 69 (9').
2
Note, however, that a reads for this line~
[en dni]n.a.zu dnin.ra.zul dnin.a.zu kalag.ga
3 For the variants to this line from a and P see the notes.
 51

, d 1
186 en zi tJa.ra zi tJa.ra zi. MA~ tJa.ra

Compare the following slightly amplified forms:

,. d , d , , . ,. d ,.
227 en a.ra.nun.na a.ra.nun.na ga.e lu. a.ra.nun.na
368 en lem-nu lem-nu a-a 1-bur ze-er lem-nu

Finally, note three reiterative patterns that are partly related:

76 en ka(k).kib ka(k).kib lugal ka(k).kib lugal ka.na.kib

V
181 su zi.ga su zi.ga su ba.ra.zi
,
235 en da.da.(an) da.da.(an) bsn.da da.da.(an) gu.1a

Such a pattern is by no means limited to the texts of this series,

but may readily be duplicated from elsewhere:
,
en ni.ir.tJa.ab ni.ir.ba.ab ·.cgidim ni.ir.ba.ab
(R. Caplice, Qt 36 (1967) p. 35 11')
zi.i:i.zi.le zi.iz.zi.le i.le.e? zi.iz.zi.le
(V. Scheil, ~VI pp. 49-51)2
,
en zur.ru.ga zur.ru.ga ki.li zur.ru.ga
(Sm 70 obv. ii 8)
en kar.zu.ma.BS kar.zu.ma.as . ·x[(x)]x rkar.zu.mal.[as]
(BAM 12~ no. 19 20) 3

1
cf. line 189:
d
en zi tJa.ra zi NU tJa.ra zi. MA~ tJa.ra
2
cf. Scheil's notes on this inc., and his observations on the
pattern.

3
cr. the similar in Th. 1905-4-9, ·57 1-2 (C. Bezold, Suppl. Pl. 4)
en.e.nu.ru gis.gi sup.pa.ao gis.gi sup.pa.ab gis.gi glr.ma sup.pa.ab
Note also from a literary context (G. A. Reisner, SBH 19 20-1): -.
zi.ga us .. e.a en zi.ga us.e.a
ti-bi ri-kab be-lu 4 · ti-bi ri-kab
,....----
~~j·
-·,
52

It is noteworthy that of these examples, both those from this

series and also the others, the majority constitutes the opening line

of an incantation. Reiteration according to a simple pattern is a

natural feature of incantation style, and the principle behind all

such patterns is the increased emphasis of the meaning to effect the
1
banishment. It is to be observed that many incantations open with

some form of reiteration, although often simpler: cf. here no. 40, 11.
216-7, or Maglu, which is particularly rich in examples:

.
I 37: en ersetumtum ersetum
•
turn
erseturn
turn
. -ma
I 42-3: en ali-ia 5 zab-ban ali-ia zab-ban sa ali-ia zab-ban sittata
., 5 5
- mes v,
abullati -su
IV 1: ~n bis-li bis-li ql-de-e q{-de-e
V 89: en i-sa-a i-sa-a re-qa-a re-qa-a etc.
Cf. also R. D. Biggs, TCS 2 pas~im for other go6d examples.

Of the examples in the series here, most are in Sumerian, or gar-

bled Sumerian, in which the formulaic structure and perhaps the process
of transmission has affected (at least to us) the clarity of the war-
ding. The following lines have here been construed as garbled Sumerian:
76, 186, 189, 200 (and 204. 210), possibly 212. Furthermore, lines 311-

2 and 321-2 are provisionally assumed to be in phonetically written Su-

merian, although these lines at present defy interpretation. 2

1
The "Just as the recurrent blows of a sledge-hammer drive a
wedge inexorably into a recalcitrant block of wood, so repetition of
an incantation enhances its force, by making it ·much more difficult
for the_spirits to escape its bompulsion" of J. Trachtenberg, Jewish
Magic and Superstition p. 117 applies equally when the wedges are
cuneiform: most rituals specify that the whole incantation is to be
repeated, usually seven times; something similar is no doubt to be
understood in line 320 here.
2
ni.bi za.ab seems likely to be de;ived from nl.bi za.la.ab;
see notes to 322.
 53

There are some lines here. on the other hand, that cannot be in-
terpreted satisfactorily as Sumerian or Akkadian, however garbled. No.
31. a 14 line incantation otherwise in Akkadian, contains six lines of

this category:

175 d.DAH/D~H(etc.).NU
..., " A.DAH.NU
....
NA.DA~.NU MU.DAti.NU

177 UR.PA.(A).GU.NA/BA.A UR.PA.(A).GU.NA/BA.A

178 ~U.RI.IN NA.RI.TA TA.~U.RE.E/~U.UD.~U NA.tiA.TA
(a, apparently: [T)A?.r~U.UN!l N[A.~]A.rTA TAl.~(U.U)N NA.~A.rA)
d ,
179 na-au-un-di NIG.GA.DU/RU dna-au-un-di NfG.GA.DA

180 NA.PI.IR. NfG.GA.DU [N]A.PI.IR [NIG.GA.DA]

183 UL.PI.NA.A AL.PI.NA.A ·

~U.NA.BA. [ X ] /NA. r AB 1

The possibility is that some (or all?) of these lines are in Elamite~

certainly Naaundi is an Elamite deity,.1 and the napir of line 180 is

known to be the Elamite word for 'god' .(being equated with ilu in a
lexical text); the separate lines are discussed in detail in the notes.
The first editor of these lines was tempted to see in them (with the
exception of 175) 11
Z. T. aicher, auslandische [elamische, kassitische

(?)] G~tter 11 (E. Ebeling, Ar. f!.E.· 21 (1953) p. 419 n. 203). His in-
dividual suggestions,·most of which are now shown to be less probable
by our fuller texts, are discussed belciw, but on.present knowledge it
cannot be demonstrated that any of the other sign groups form meaning-
ful Elamite (etc.) words. 2

1 d . ·· d hu
Note that a appears to read na-ru-un-di and na-ru~ -un-di:
the text here is rather uncertain, but Narundi is· also an Elamite god.
2
In matters of Elamite, the principal guide has been E. Reiner
"The Elamite Language 11 in Handbuch der .Orientalistik, Erste Abteilung
II. Band. 1 und 2. Abschnitt, Lieferung 2, which book is also essential
for the other possible languages underlying these phrases~ see notes.
,.~
! 54

Compare also here from no. 36, after a lfne provisionally read as Sum.:
,
201 E NIG A~ TU BI E DI KU E [NfG A~ TU BI E DI KU]
(var.: f(N?1 [IG? .••

L]I SI E DI I KU KIHIN)

Finally, note the unexplained BA.DA.~E/BA?.rzr?.€?1 in line 250, which

could conceivably represent the battered survivor of a Sumerian sign
complex, but is perhaps to be classed here.

Whether or not these lines will finally be proved to be in one

or another language from beyond Mesopotamia, their use in a magical
context is an interesting phenomenon. Whatever their origin, it may
certainly be doubted whether all those who used and transmitted them
were able to understand them. and thus they fall into the category of
"magic words", o~ "mumbo-jumbo". Generally speaking; the use of appa-
rently meaningless words in incantation texts is as old as the texts
themselves, and is a characteristic of the genre throughout many cul-

tures. In fact, such utterances play a comparatively small role in

cuneiform incantations, when viewed against, for example, Hebrew an~

Aramaic. Egyptian or Heilenistic incant~tions. 1

From Mesopotamian sources, the material of this kind seems mostly

to be limited to medical incantations, where obscure passages of uncer-

tain antecedents are not hard to find. 2

1
Cf., e. g., L. Blau. Das AltjBdische Zauberwesen p. 72ff.; J.
Trachtenberg, Jewish Magic and Superstition p. BOff.; J. A. Montgomery,
~ 3 p. 56ff.; F. Ll. Griffith, H. Thompson, The Demotic Magical~­
rus of London and Leiden, passim; cf. A. Erman, Life in Ancient Egyet
(Eng. ed.) pp. 354-5.

2 Examples are scattered throughout AMT and BAM; good examples

also in sa.gal.la incs. in CT 23i TCS 2-pp:-46, 4~48 and 71. Cf.
Maglu n 149-so. -
 55

These incantations have, on the whole, been carefully avoided by most

scholars, while the few who have mentioned the texts consider them

either as (ultimately) Sumerian, or as mere abracadabra; see A. Falken-

stein, LSS NF I p. 3: "die zahlreichen, in den medizinischen Texten

vorkommenden sumerischen Beschw8rungen, die fast ausschliesslich in ge-
ktirzter Form niedergeschrieben sind ••• ", although since he was able to
distinguish "verschiedene Gruppen" among these texts, it is probable
that he was referring only to those Sumerian incantatiuns in the medi-
cal texts that are yet (mostly) intelligible; cf., however, R. D. Biggs
in TCS 2 p. 5 n. 8.

An essential prerequisite for any serious work on these passages

is that all the texts be available; it may be assumed that F. Kllcher
will provide some treatment of the problems when the text editions to
his ~are published (see below p. 245). The dictionaries have mostly
avoided the problem too; the CAD goes as far as to classify certain ex-
pressions as possibly a "magic formula''. e. g. kararatu, K p. 207 (cf.
AHw p. 447) or oulqi oulqi oaltib baltib, H pp. 53 and 230. Neverthe-
less, whole incantations are written in quite obscure language, so the
problem.is big enough to merit investigation. With some examples, gar-
bled Sumerian seems to be decidedly feasible, particularly if the text
were originally written in phonetic Sumerian. 1 With other texts, on

the other hand, even violent emendation and contrived ingenuity cannot
provide a convincing reading in Sumerian.2

1
cr. the Sum. in the MA incantation tablet in W. G. Lambert, AS
16 p. 285.
2
The 08 incantations supposedly in Hurrian are to be distinguished
from this discussion (see J. J. A van Dijk, VAS NF I pp. B-9), al-
t~ough their use may reflect a similar motiveto. that behind the First
M111. texts described above. OB texts in ''abracadabra" were written,
 56

By way of an illustration of the difficulties, note the three

following incantations from K 3174+8165 (Pl. 41), part of a sequence

1
for the healing of sick ears. The apportioning of word groups, and
the sign readings are, of course, provisional.

1--Dupls. AMT 35: 1 2 1 (first line only); AMT 37~ 2 rev. 16-7.

2' en na.pi.ir ae.is.ri.is p[a.ta.ar.re]

3' su.ga.le ir.ri.pa.ad oal.le p[a.tar.re]

, ...
4• su.ma.as pa.ad.ri pa.ku.un da.ra.ta.x

5' ik.ki ri.ri da.ra.ao tu 6 .en

21 ~ 35: nJa!.pi.ir Is this the (Elamite) napir of our line 180.

above? AMT 35: se.er.ri.is 3' = i.ri.pad? (cf. A. Fal-
kenstein, LSS NF I p. 34 n. 2) 4t AMT 37: di.ra.ta 51
~ 37: da.ra.as

2--Dupls. ~ 38: 2 rev. iv 28-30; our N (=CT 51 199) obv. 14-6.

6' en bu-bu.un.ti ib.ni.a.ti ib.ni.ir.ra da.na.an

7' ak.ka 1i.ir.ri su.gar.re s,.ad.ri ku.uk.t[i]
,v ,
8' ou.ma.ad.ri su.ma.as tu6.en

6' f.I 51: ib.ni.ti lu.ni.ir.ra AMT 38: s~.na.an for da.na.an
(i. e. going back to an original sa.na.an?) CT 51: fal.na.ka for
.na.an ak.ka of K 3174+ and AMT 38 71 CT 51: li.ir.ra su.ga.
ar 81 CT 51: ku.ma.ad.ri for ou.ma.ad.ri (so better ku.un.da.
ra in 4 1 above?) CT 51: su.ma.as om. tu .en
6

however; see J. J. A. van Dijk, E£· cit. p. 8. Note in this connection

his no. 10 i 29, at the end of a short Sumerian incantation: za.ab zi.
r111.ib zi.li.ib. This may be, e. g., a Sum. imperative verb, but cf.
such expressions as R. D. Biggs, TCS 2 p. 48 52: za.az.zal ba.al •.•
1
Note 10 1 : [KA.inim.ma DI~ NA] GE~TuGII_su i-sag-gu-ma (cf. AMT
37: 2 rev. 13 etc).
 57

3--Dupls. AMT 38: 2 rev. iv 32-4; CT 51 199 obv. 18-20.

--- --
,
9' en a.me am.ma.an ku.um.ma am.ma
10 1 su.um.ma.ad.ri

11 1 ..
x.rral.na ku.uk.ti hu.un.di hu.ma
.... tu .en
6

91 CT 51: a.mes am.me.am (phonetic Sumerian? Read AN above as am 6

perhaps?) ku.um am.me 10 1 CT 51: ku.ma.ad.ri (cf. 8'
above and var.?) 11 1 CT 51: x.ri.ra ku.uk.ti where K 3174+
has merely X (~ 38 broken): QU.un.da QU.um.ma

Compare also the following text in a similar style, reconstructed

from ·three tablets of UGU III (K 8090, K 7834 and K 4023, each collated;
a composite copy is AMT 103), from our 0 (Plate 24), obv.(?) 10 1 -1 1 ,
and S (Plate 27) i 11 1 -5 1 , and their duplicate K 6329 (see notes to·nas.
30 and 57 in Appendix I).

1 (~]n sur.ru.ga dib.ba ri.ba.ak.ti ti.e na.ua.factl.[ri]

2 [ ••• ] ru.nu.um.ma ki.in.re.es na.ua.ad.ri (~) uk.kis turn ku.

an.na
3 [ ••• ] x.di.im lu.pi.tum sap.di.~m (~) an.ta.sur.ra tu6.~n

1 Cf. zur.ru.ga from Sm 70 (quoted-~bove as A A 8 A)? K 7834:

su.ma for dib.ba (=Sum. "seizi~g"?); Qu.ma.ak.t6 0: bu.ba.ak.[
S: ou.ba.ak.ti 2 K 8090: .r)u.um.ma K 7834: si.na.an
for ku.an.na (or better, tus.an.na?) Read as Akk. uk-kis? 3
K 7834: sap.ki.im

These four incantations exemplify _ many of the characteristics of

this group of texts, with their recurrent sign complexes, peculiar
1
variants (e. g. bu-/ku-, or -a~/-ab), and almost complete obscurity.

l
Note tJ > k ~" Akkadian; se! GAG~ 25 d.
 58

With the last-quoted passage, it is clear that Babylonian manuscripts

have played a decisive role at some point in its history, since several

differences in readings are doubtless to be explained by their simi-

larity in the Babylonian script, i. e. dib.ba/su.ma, ri.ba/ou.ma/ou.ba,

and sap.di/sap.ki. This phenomenon is perceptible elsewhere in texts

of this kind; cf. F. KBcher, BAM 4 p. XXXI 415, note on obv. 9 1 ; com-
pare the .NA/BA of 177. the tiU.RE.E/~U.UD.~U of 178, and the .TU.BI/
.LI.BI of 201 in the present series. The disparity between ku.an.na
and si.na.an in line 2 above shows corruption that is no doubt due to
r
the obscurity of the passage. (Note that K 7834 employs the Glossen-
keil, and cf. the notes to line 27 here.)

As regards the examples from our series, a note might be added

on why Elsmite deities and words in particular (si~ lectio) should
be used in an exorcistic context. The Elamite pantheon was presumably
known in some measure to particular scribes, although the theological
niceties may not have been familiar in detail, and it seems likely
that the names of these foreign deities would have rung with an attrac-
tive barbarity in the ears of a Mesopotamian exorcist; cf. the list of
Elamite gods in W. Hinz. RlA 3 pp. 546-7. 1 Elam may conceivably have
had a more meaningful significance in the world of demons. Lamastu is

sometimes accorded an Elamite origin (e-la-ma-ti; see D. W. Myhrman,

~ 16 (1902) p. 190 3; A. Falkenstein, LKU p. 8 33 4). This is perhaps
to be taken literally (cf. J. J. A. van Dijk, Or NF 41 (1972) p. 343
n. 16), or alternatively it ~ay be a simple association of evil with
that which is foreign (as nakru = •strange', 'foreign', 'hostile'):

P~haps too an urge to ensure that "those who are with us are
1

more than those who are with them" as in 2 Kings 6: 16?

 59

compare Myhrman, .!:!£· £!..:!:.. 147: 11

Sie (Lemastu) wird wie andere D~monen

aus Ausl~nderin, Elamiterin, Sut~erin betrachtet." A similar reason

may lie behind the specific mention of the Ulai river (in Elam) in AMT
27: 5 5-7:

[lis-sa-a-ni] ta1-li-si-na sa ~ar-pi u kan-du-ri-si-na ou[ra~i?] sa

.
[1 ~-sa-pa-a-nim ] -ma meAmes {d,u-la-a ta-ma-te ra-pa-as-t
,V [ J
e
11
Let them raise their pitchers of silver and their juglets of goldt
Let them draw the water of the Ulai (of/and?) the broad seal 11

This passage, an "action of the benevolent Seven' .•• supposed to drive

out the various ailments", is found with interesting variants; see A.
Goetze, JCS 9 (1955) p. 16 and n. 58.

Narundi and Naoundi play a benevolent role in the birth incanta-

tion BAM iii 36 40 in the company of sin, although their presence there
has been considered a problem; see R. Labat, Religions p. 286 and note.
The former deity is equated with sin and the latter with ~amas in the
parallel medical commentary in M. Civil, JNES 33 (1974) pp. 332, 27 and
334.

One further point that may be made here is that a characteristic

alternation is often to be found in such passages, alternation both of
vowels and consonants. Sundry examples are CT 23 9 4: za.zi.ib Qa.zi.
ib ta.zi.ib; E!, 23 8 38: ia.bi.tu 4 e.bi.tu 4 e.te.ma.ao e.bi.tu e.te.
4
r
ma.ab e.bi.tu ti.la.ke 4 tu 6 ·.en ; CT 23 9 8: .ga zak.ti mu.~I.ti.
? ' ?1 i
1
mab i.ga zak.ti ti.la (cf. CT 23 6 5: ia.ka sak.ti ou!.ri.in.ti 2 ).

1
cf. BAM 129 i 3-4; BAM 324 1 1 12 1 ; D. W. Myhrman, ZA 16 (1902)
p. 188 46: en-ki/ka.sag.ti/te •••

2
cr. perhaps the ~U.RI.IN of our line 178?
 60

See also the notes to lines 287-8, 1 below.

In the lines quoted from our no. 31. an alternation between the
vowels A and U is to be observed in lines 175, 179, 180 and 183. It

may be noted that an alternation between these vowels is a characteris-

tic of certain wards in Sumerian: cf. M. Civil, JCS 20 (1966) p. 119ff.:

"··· formations of the type G1 uCC 2 )-C 1 aCC 2 )-za which express the making
of different types of noises ••• " (p. 121). As well as verbs, certain
nouns may be found with an alternation of this kind; note also from
Civil: "Twin words with vocalic or consonantal (cf. English hodge-padge
1 .
roly-poly ) alternations are a particular type of reduplication found
in many languages, mostly with an onomatopoeic or expressive value and
rather limited in use, there are nevertheless cases where the pattern
is productive rr It is possible that the stru~ture of our lines is
2
influenced by a sympathetic principle of this kind.

We may now turn to a consideration of other questions raised by

this compilation that have not yet been discussed, namely mythological
and theological matters, orthagraphical and related points, the date
to which the series should be assigned, and some concluding remarks
to this Introduction.

1 For the present purpose, a more relevant illustration would be

"hocus-pocus", or even "mumbo-jumbo 11 •
2
Some interesting observationson the r8le of vowels in Hebrew
and Greek magic texts are made by L. Blau. Das Altj~dische Zauberwesen
p. 141ff. and refs. For an interesting discussion of the use of bar-
barica onomata in other magic texts, see J. A. Montgomery, PBS 3 p:-59ff.
 61

MATTERS MYTHOLOGICAL

Some incantations in the cuneiform script rely for their magical

efficacy on reference to some ancient, mythological event, in the hope

that mention by name or implication of some old-world, timeless triumph
of a god over the forces of evil will effect a repeat performance for
1
the benefit of him who now utters it. This is partocularly clear when
incantations accompany a symbolic ritual-in which the events are re-
2
. enacted, . but a ~imilar principle underlies the choice of epithets
that make oblique reference to divine prowess or achievements.
The incantations of Gattung IV include several such epithets
which are discussed in the notes, but sa an example, cf. line 48:
aplu dannu mutir gimilli Enlil abisu, "the mightv son who avenges Enlil
his father," referring to the recapture of the Tablet of Destinies. or
line 51: na~ir napistim bel tamati rapasti. "guardian of life, lord of
the Broad Sea" etc. 3 (Cf. also lines 49-50, 213, 236 etc.)
No. 27 contains a more elaborate reference to some mvthological
conflict whose details and relevance are obscure at present. No. 59,
on the other hand, belongs to a large group of incantations where the
divine spawning of some demon by Heaven and Earth is described; cf.
the comments of Landsberger and Jacobsen, quoted below p. 281.

1
This magical technique is also a·characteristic of other incan-
tations; see J. A•. Montgomerv. PBS 3 p._62ff.
2
see w. G. Lambert. JSS 13 (1968}.p. 108, -and W. G. Lambert, A. R.
Millard, Atra-basis p. 28.---
3
Apparently applying to Ninurta: for his conflict with the pri-
maeval waters, see the notes to this line.
 62

MATTERS THEOLOGICAL

An interesting and important question raised by these incanta-

tions is the r6le played by Ninurta. Ninurta is not a deity commonly

invoked in exorcistic texts. As is well known, he is primarily a war

god, and a god of agriculture, whose valour is celebrated in the Sume-

rian epics Lugale and Angim, the hero of the Akkadian Epic of Zu, the
brave and bellicose son of Enlil who is referred to throughout cunei-
form literature as a symbol of bravery and fighting ski11. 1 In the·
Third Millenium B. C., Ninurta was worshipped in Nippur as the son of
Enlil, as was Ningirsu in Lagas. The two deities had many character-
istics in common. and gradually the identity of Ningirsu became sub-
sumed into that of Ninurta, who became increasingly important in the
Second Millenium. 2 After 1100 B. C., as Marduk tended to replace
Enlil as the head of the pantheon, so the place of Ninurta as Enlil 1 s
A 3
son was taken over by Marduk's son Nabu.
As stated above, Ninurta 1 s role in incantation texts is usually
a modest one. His is not normally a name to conjure with, but is most·

commonly restricted to simple mention among other gods in short lists

of protective formulae. Compare. as an example, Th. 1905-4-9, 67 (=

L. W. King, Suppl. 56. 577). 1-3:

1 His character is most conveniently guaged from the epithets

assembled in K. Tallqvist, GE pp. 421-7~

2
Cf. A. Schott. ZDMG NF 13 (1934) pp. 316-7; W. G. Lambert, Or NS
36 (1967) p. 111 Note the occurrence of Ningirsu here in line 146-.-

3
W. G. Lambert, The Seed of Wisdom p. 6; Studies A1bright p. 337~
Nabu is mentioned once in Ms. c; see above, p.
 63

, ,
en.e.nu.ru li-lik d nin-urta ina pa-ni-ia
d ...
mes-lam-ta-e-a ina arki-ia
d
sebettu ~U ~U ina pa-da-nam ina ~e-ri-ia

and Sm 504 (unpub.) obv. 7-13:

zi.an.na be.pa z[i.ki.a be.pa]

zi.den.1!1.1i luga1.kur.kur.r[a.ke 4 b~.pa]
zi.dnin.l!l nin.kur.kur.r[a.ke be.pa)
4
zi. d nin.urta ibi1a e.aar.r
, "'' [ a.ke4 oe.pa
, ']

zi. dne.iri
... 1 , [ ki be.pa
, ']
11 .ga1 uga1.gu.d u8 .a
zi. d utu lugal.lar [ sam ki be.pa
, ... ]

zi.dPA+rKU?1 X X X (x)(. - -

A bilingual example is fi 16 4 143-8, restored after Konst. 2320 ii

50-2 in A. Falkenstein, LSS NF I p. 30:
d , V ... d . , V'
utu ~gi.mu.se nanna a.ga.mu.se
dvsamaav ~na-pa-n
• i -la ~ 1 na ar-ki-ia]
• [d s~n.
d ·...
ne.ir1 11 .gal i.zi.da.mu.~~ ··
· dnergal ina i[m-n1-ia]
d , .. . "''
nin.urta a.gub.bu.mu.se
dMIN 1 na su-m
• [ e- 1··~- i a ] • l

As Fa1kenstein remarked about this passage: "Die AufzHhlung ist sehr

merkwflrdig, da die genannten vier Gottheiten in dem sonstigen sumeri-

sche Beschw8rungen fast keine Rblle spielen." In passages such as these

1
For the function of such passages. see A. Falkenstein, EQ• cit.
pp. 30-1, "Bitte zum Schutz." They are related in function to those
passages cited in the notes to lines 289-91, to gain security on all
sides. The format of these lines, which occurs quite commonly in in-
cantations, has a faint echo in a children's "prayer" of our own time,
in the opinion of J. Trachtenberg ' Jewish Magic
156. - and
- - Superstition p. .;:;..;::::.<;:;_...;;...;.._ _ __
 64

three, his function seems to consist simply in being mentioned by vir-

tue of his general importance as a major god of the pantheon, among

other important gods, without specific reference to powers of magical

protection.
In contrast to this picture, Ninurta is invoked by name in as

many as 27 of the 65 incantations of Gattung IV. Furthermore, he is

probably also the subject of nos. 11 and 44; nos. 18 and 19 are ad-
dressing him under his astral name of Sirius (mulKAK.SI.SA, and some
medical tablets offer a variant to no. 21 in which his name has been

substituted for that of Marduk. Indeed, where Marduk and Ninurta occur
in the same incantation, the former even takes precedence, e. g. lines
18 and 330-1. The unusual prominence of Ninurta in this compilation is
so marked as to constitute one of the characteristics of Gattung IV
(cf. p. 40f.), and there is no really satisfactory explanation for this
state of affairs. 1 There is an additional explanation required for
the fact that although Ninurta is the god normally associated with the
medical craft of asutu, all the evidence points to this compilation

being part of the contrasting asiputu, and while there is some evidence
for an interaction between the two, they are by and large fundamentally
to be distinguished: see the discussion in Appendix I, p. 280ff.
Aside from this question, the compilation contains little of
theological importance, since it offers the usual collection of divine
names that occurs in the exorcistic texts, although we may note here
the appearance of Usurra. the otherwise unknown vizier of Nabu (p. 16),

1
. Note also no. 3, addressed to Ninazu, side by side with the same
text addressed to Marduk and Ninurta (nos. 1 and 2). It is to be ques-
tioned to what extent this means Ninazu as a clearly separate deity, in
view of the late tendency (CT 25 8 13). to equate him with Ninurta.
Ninazu does occur here. on the other hand, as the "prime son of sin 11 in
no. 50. Cf. W. G. Lambert. Or 36 (1967) p. 111.
~~~:.:
~!1'.: .. ' 65
:;J.··~
c •....

and the less well known deities that are named here are Lugalurimma
(103), Lugaledinna (108), Dada, Dadabanda and Dadagula in 235, an uni-
dentified goddess Ninmetenten (245, see note), and Marduk is invoked

under the more esoteric names of Aranunna (227) and Irkingi (243), both
. otherwise known from Ee.
 66

MATTERS ORTHOGRAPHICAL

(and Related Paints)

As mentioned above, there is a close carrespondance between the

six 'compilation' tablets, and also the various other sources, as to

the text of the individual incantations. Several points which have

required attention in this study are briefly noted here; the details
in each case are to be found in the appropriate notes. The tablets
from Assurbanipal 1 a library exhibit the customary high standards in
grammar and orthography; a from Su1tantepe, on the other hand, is not
so consistently reliable, indeed there are two passages in particular
where the scribe's attention seems to have wandered, namely obv. i i
(104, 105, 109, 126, 149), and rev. iv (268, 269, 271, 273, 274 and:
282-4), both containing a sequence of omissions and suspected corrup-
. 1 Signs in fact are more regularly omitted throughout this Ms.;
t 1ons.

compare also 34. 166, 167, 170, 183, 254 and 360. It is interesting
that both b and c (each from Aasur) concur in the mistaken omission of

the -e- in the DN d ner-e-tagmil

- - i n li ne 128; a further unexpected
, ,
agreement is the repeated EN EN in line 300 fromboth A and D, where a
,
single EN is apparently quite sufficient (as in B and b).

Glosses worthy of note are KAL as dan in 159 from a (e-a i-bi-
an an
~an -ni), and 248 from D (lip-dan -ni). Note also the variant rea-
i v,
ding in the gloss ta-ze-azz z in a for tazzazzu in 115, the u-s 8 saman
ma
in 310, and the ta- mat of D in 231.

New sign values from these texts are three: UO = pur in 281,
X

1 .
The single example of a superior reading from Sultantepe against
Kouyunjik is in line 50: si-pi~ for si-pat.
 67

UD = ham
U X
in 358, and SAG c zaq X in 165. Note also the UR = tan X in
107-8 (with van Soden in Syllabar 2 ), and the probable confirmation of

diGI.DU = palil in 32. New meanings are aukbutu, 1 to honour•, 'to

respect' in 89, and a tentative first example of a root *etimu, '~o
\

block' in lines 172 and 176 (see notes). Unknown words are ma-~IR-ti

in 147 (pert of a she-ass or donkey), and the anatomical pitru in 153,

which although quite well attested still defies translation. Line 71
also includes the first example of a PN that may well be the counter-
part of the English Susan, namely su-sa-an-nu.
In lines 34 and 214 we hava two examples (respectively from Kou-
yunjik and ~ssur) of 6 where a would be expected, indeed is offered by
other Mss., and note also the variant mu-er-ri-bu from A for the
mu-un-n]ar-bu of a in 336, a phenomenon for which there is no convin-
cing explanation.
Finally we may observe that, as is the custom with tablets of
this kind, the Sum. tu before the final en is included or omitted at
6
random throughout in the 'cornpilation 1 tablets, and by the other
, ,
sources. It is interesting, however, that the description en.e.nu.ru
which is sometimes added when a separate incantation is written on an
amulet or cylinder seal (either at the-beginning or the end of the text)
is not as a rule included on any of the tablet sources. 1 As regards
the amulet snd seal inscriptions. incantations 2 (5 and 8), 9 (42 and
43) and lines 189 and 210 when quoted alone are described as tu .en.
6
~.nu.ru. Of these, only no. 9 is in Akkadian (~nd this occurs in con-

junction with a Sumerian incantation, on amulet ~), while the six other

1
The sole exception is the MB i, which adds tuh.en.e~nu.ru after
no. 18 (A~k.) and perhaps no. 21 ("mixed"); see above, p. 50.
 68

incantations that occur in these sources, all of which are in Akkadian,

do not carry this description (i. e. nos. 18, 19, 48, 60, 62 and 65).
The meaning of en.e.nu.ru is still undetermined; see A. Falkenstein,
b2§ NF I p. 4ff.; R. D. Biggs, TCS 2 p. 24; J. J. A. van Dijk,
Studien Falkenstein p. 238.

' .. ·:
~-­

;~~~;
,·•
69

THE DATE OF THE SERIES

In discussing the date of a cuneiform text, the distinction must

always be made between the date of the actual manuscripts, and the date
of composition, and sometimes compilation. As regards Gattung IV, the
date of the individual tablets and other sources has been indicated
above (p. !Off.), but may be summarised here as follows: with two ex-
ceptions, all tablet sources are Neo-Assyrian or Neo/Late-Babylonian.
The exceptions are one medical text (h from Babylon), and one incanta-
tion tablet of uncertain use (~from Dur-Kurigalzu), both of which are
Middle-Babylonian. The cylinder seals are all likewise from the Kas-
site period (see Appendix I), and although the dating of the various
amulets is sometimes less sure (again, see the relevant Appendix). it
may be taken that all are to be dated to the First Millenium B. C.
The written evidence for the existence of any incantations from this
compilation thus covers the period since c. 1400 B. c. up until as late
as one of the_ kings named Artaxerxes. i. e. at least as late as post
464 B. c. (~; seep. 23ff.).

As yet, therefore, there is no evidence for any of this material

from the Dld-Babylonian period, although it is always possible that
future research may uncover examples from this earlier date. A search
throughout the Akkadian material from Boghazk8y (cf. R. D. Biggs for
its relevance, If§. 2 p. 6, note .35) hEm revealed no word from Ga ttung
IV either, so the indications are that these texts first made their
appearance during the Middle-Babylonian period. We have no indication
that an effort was made to assemble these incantations into this corn-
pilation before the seventh century B. c•. at which point the text
current in the priestly circles in Nineveh, Assur and Sultantepe was
substantially the same; see abov· . p.
 70

As for the date of composition, this is always a notoriously

difficult problem in the absence of direct evidence, but the theory

generally accepted that "the traditional corpus of texts was fixed

during the Kassite period, about the fourteenth century 8. C." (R. D.

Bigga, Q£• cit. p. 5, and refs.) seems quite appropriate in our case.
The prominence of Ninurta in these incantations certainly rules out
any date before the middle of the Second Millenium (cf. A. Schott,

~ NF 13 (1934) pp. 316-7), and the description of Marduk in no. 21

v.. - mes ), despite the variant with Ninurta
as 11 King of the gods" (sar ilani
V

instead, suggests a date after 1100 B. C. (see under 'Matters Theola-

gical') at least for that text. It is always possible that texts such
as these were already in existence before this period, and that they
were adapted for inclusion in Gattung IV, but in the absence of any in-
dependant textual forerunners earlier than the two MB pieces, this must
remain a matter of speculation. (For a comparison of the MB sources

with the later versions, see p. 49f.)

The general "lateness" of these texts is indicated by the unusual
number of "mixed" texts in Sumerian and Akkadian {cf. pp. 38-9), and a

similar derivative tenor is noticeable in the longer Akkadian passages,

where a casual approach to the creation of the text involving the use
of well established formulae and elements without particular attention
to their structure is noticeable ~ee notes to nos. 27 and 61, for
example). A similar impression is given by the :apparent transmission
of material that was no longer quite understood. e. g. in the word-by-
word 'interpretation' of line 210 (cf. notes). and the copying of simi-

lar but different signs in. e. g. na/ba in 177, or tu/li in 201.

Finally; although we do not know where these incantations were

originally composed, a Babylonian origin for no. 36 at least is sugges-

ted by line 202 reads: 11

Why do you break the necks of the Babylonians
like reeds? 11
 7l

CONCLUDING REMARKS

In conclusion, then, it may be stated that we are dealing in our

Gattung IV with a compilation of magical, exorcistic incantations. as-

sembled towards the end of the Second Millenium B. C. under the title
Dul.ba.zi.zi, as an aspect of practical magic falling under the res-
ponsibility of the asipu-priest. As well as the scholarly 'compilation'
tablets and a few other incantation texts, the written sources show that
these incantations were used in medical contexts, on cylinder seals and
amulets alike for the business of removing demons. Furthermore, study
reveals that these particular texts represent an important proportion
of the magical texts used in these latter genres. Since one cannot
point to any clear factor that formally distinguishes the texts of Gat-
tung IV from those found in similar contexts, we cannot be entirely
sure what led to the selection of these particular incantations and the
omission of others. Although literary patterns are shared by some pas-
sages, there is no one characteristic common to all the texts; possibly
the most significant factor is the unusual frequency with which Ninurta
is invoked, but since he is not by any means named in every text, the
significance of this fact might be open to exaggeration. It was pro-
posed above that the compilation may well represent the work of o~e

scribe, and two possible motives may be mentioned. The first is that
a compilation of short exorcistic formulae not to be found in the better-
known and 'canonised' series of incantations may well have been assem-
bled for teaching purposes (although direct evidence for their quota-
tion in excerpt tablets is admittedly scant at present). Secondly,
since the general tenor of these incantations is non-specific in orien-
tation, mimma lemnu ("Any Evil") being most commonly addressed, these
 72

texts may have been collected into an 'everyday' manual of more or less

all-purpose magical efficacy. the sort of magical utterance that would

protect a man if inscribed on an amulet worn around his neck, but that
could also find a place in a more complicated, sophisticated ritual.
For the present, than. it has here been assumed that hul.ba.zi.zi
... is

to be seen as a handbook for general magic protection.

We may now anticipate the details clarified below, and summarise

what has been noted above in the following table, which shows the dif-
ferent contexts in which our incantations have so far been discovered.
with the addition of page refs. for greater conv~nience.

TABLE to show the TYPES of CONTEXT

in which the Incantations of Gattung IV are to be found

Text 11
Amulet Medical Inc. Tablets Scribal Cylin- Amulets
-
from -the ShaEed 11 Tablets with other Excer~t der
'comEi- Tablet (cf. pp. Inca. but no Tablets Seals
lation 1 i. e. c 245-83 ) --rituals- (6) (cf. PP• 284-331 )
Tablets "C"p. T4if.) (4) (5) (7) (8)
(1-2) (3)

2 - - - - *P-140 *p.l40
4 - - - *P-267 - -
5 - - - *P·Z67 - -
6 - - - *P-267 - -
8 * - - - - -
9 - - - - - *
10 * - - - - -
17 - *pp. 247-8 - - - -
18 * (* cf. pp.
265ff.)
*.9.: pp. 27-8
~: pp.26,4,-SO
- - *

19 * - - - * *
20 - * p . 2. 4-8- 5 J - - - -
 73

Text Amulet
11
Medical Inc. Tablets Scribal Cylin- Amulets
---
from the
•comgi-
lation'
Shaped"
Tablet
(c)
Tablets with other Excerpt
irics. but no Tablets
--rituals-
der
Seals
Tablets
21 - - *pp 25- 2G,
4~-50 - - -
25 - *p.2.52 - - - -
26 * - - - - -
27 * - - - - -
30 - *pp. 252-5 - - - -
32
(1. 186)
- *p. 256ff, - - - -
33
(1. 189)
- - - - * -
38
(1. 210)
- - - ..
- * *

42 - *p. 258 - - - -
43 ·* *pp- 258-9 - - - -
48 * - ·• - - - *
57 - *pp- 2.59- b'3 *pp. 22-2.4 -. - -
58 - *pp. 36-7 *p. J 8 H. - - -
59 - *p. 265 ff. *p. !Sff. - - -
60 * - - - - *
62 * - *p. jg£f. - - *
64 - *pp. 263-4 - - - -
65 - *pp- 2G4-5 - - - *

Having thus concluded the Introduction. we may now pass to a list

of the Manuscripts that have been used in the reconstruction of Gattung
IV, the Text itself, with Transl~tion and Commentary, postponing con-
sideration of the other questions raised by these incantations to the
two Appendices at the end.
 74

Catalogue of Manuscripts
TABLETS

(1) TABLETS of SIX COLUMNS containing the WHOLE SERIES

SULTANTEPE:

a S.U. (19)52/129, Copies by Gurney 1-23, 25-7, 29-55,

51/146+52/2+78+ in D. R. Gurney, equiv. of 56-62, 63-
85+118+129, 52/ P. Hulin, STT 2 127, 137-91, 194-6,
85, 53/360 214-7; collations 209-38, 240, 242, 244,
pl. 61 262, 267-89, 291-304,
311-21, 323-76

KOUYUNJIK:
The material from the K collection of the British Museum
has so far yielded three six-column tablets; no. 1 = A, no. 2 ~ B,
and no. 3 =C. In the case of A, B (and D below), the col. nos.
given in brackets after the line nos. refer to the whole tablet as
now reconstructed, but the lines preserved are given _separately
for each piece.
no. 1
A K 255+2430+3176 Copy of K 255 1-63 (obv. i), 64-88,
+ 4875+6893+8275 only by J. A. 110-18, 120 (obv. ii),
+12943+13350+ Craig, ABRT 2, 288-305a, 306-16, 321-
15800 pl. 14-IS:pl. 22, 326-36 (rev. v),
1-4, 6-9 337-49, 354-76 (rev.
vi)
K 10260+14037+ Pl. 5-6 181-201 (obv. 111),
Sm 87 219-26 (rev. iv), 291-
6 (rev. v)

no. 2
B K 9022+10128+ Pl. 10 (obv.); 42~54 (obv. 1), 104-
10732+13819 pl. 13 (rev.) 18 (obv. ii), 289-99
(rev. v)
K 2506+8908+ P1. 11 (obv.) 103-15, 121-5 (obv.
13777 ii), 171-96 (obv. iii),
200-20 (rev. iv), 273-
9~ 282-7 (rev. v)
K 14375 PI. 11 12~-5 (obv. ii)
K 11255 PI. 11 171-82 (obv. iii)

~ ' no. 3
c K 7988 Pl. 14 207-19
. -
 75

A~~UR:

b VAT 9997 Copy by E. Ebeling, 31-2, 34-45, equiv. of

KAR 88; new copy 56-62, 63-74, 103-26,
from photo. and col- 128, 132-51, 170-89,
lations; pl. 15-18. 200-30, 241, 243-58,
Small passages now 288-9, 291-304a, 308b,
missing from tablet 309b, 313-32, 358-73
restored after KAR
on copy; two extra
fragments, one joined,
also there included.

(2) TWO TABLET compilation, each of FOUR COLUMNS, containing

(apparently) the WHOLE SERIES

KDUYUNJIK:
D Tablet 1
K 8215+9255 Pl. 19 230-50 (rev. iv), rev.
111 small illegible tra-
ces of beginnings of
lines.
Tablet 2
K 13369 Pl. 19 263-6(?) (obv. i 1 1 -4 1 ) ,
298-302 (obv. i i 1 1 -8 1 ) .

(3) nAMULET-SHAPEDn TABLET containing SOME INCANTATIONS from

the SERIES with SOME EXTRANEOUS MATERIAL

A~!juR:

c VAT 9678 Copy by E. Ebeling, 38-41 (obv. 9-11), 44-

KAR 76; collations 6c(rev. 21-4), equiv. of
pl. 62 56~62 (obv. 23-5), 68-72
(obv. 14-19), 73-5 (rev.
25-8), 112-15, 117-19
(rev. 13-20), 120-29
(rev. 1-12), 227-8 (obv.
26-8), 243-4 (obv. 12-3),
326-33 (obv. 1-8) (For
obv. 20-22, see p. 16

(~) "MEDICAL" TABLETS containing INCANTATIONS from the SERIES

interspersed with rituals, prescriptions, and some other
INCANTATIONS

SULTANTEPE:
 76

d s.u. (19)52/ Copy by Gurney in 76-9 (obv. i 24-7)

74+382 STT 2 275; collations
pl. 62

j·
I KOUYUNJIK:
I •·
l Where tablets from the K collection have already been
jr. published, fresh copies have only been made of the relevant
I~ lines; unpublished tablets are, however, copied in full. Copies
11; in AMT and CT 51 are by R. Campbell Thompson. Mss. linked below
j~
V by~* ***-or**** carry duplicate sequences (see Appendix I).
l: In Babylonian script:
r·I':· E K 2542+2772+
2991+3300+
Partial copy by S.
Langdon, BE 31 no.
63-7 (obv. i 1-5)
224-6 (obv. ii 6-7)
1:I l0223+DT 85 60; AMT 29: 4; pl. 227-8 (obv. i i 1-2)
+DT 170* 20
II
!'
The remaining K pieces are in Assyrian script:

F K 2359** AMT 97: 1; p1. 21 76-9 (4-7)

G K 3398+6015+ AMT 97: 1; p1. 21 76-9 (obv. 4-7)

,. 7186+14166**

I H K 3612+8010
+8124*
AMT 47: 3; pl. 23
(rev. iii), pl. 20
(rev. iv)
63-7 (rev. iii 2-6)
224-6 (rev. iv 17-9)
227-8 (rev. iv 23-5)

I K 2566+10475*** AMT 102: l; pl. 22 302-4, 305b, 306b,

307b-8a (obv. i 7-12)

J K 7642*** AMT 102: l, p1. 22 302-10 (obv. 4 1 -15 1 )

K K 9658 Copy by S. Langdon, 76-8 (rev. 11 1 )

i BE 31 no. 58; AMT

88: 1: pl. 2 1 -

t L K 239 AMT 38: 2; p1. 20 107-8 (obv. i 31 1 -2 1 )

I - e,An so8
M BM 134574 (= er s1 59 198; pl. 227-B (13 1 -4 1 )
1932-12-12, 569) 23
N BM 122631 (= CT 51 69 199: pl. 373-5 (rev. iv 10 1 -
1930-5-8, 20) 23 121)

0 K 3442**** P1. 24 163-71 (obv.(?) 1-9)

p K 3628+4009 Copy in cuneiform 68-72 (rev. 3-7)
+Sm 1315 type of rev. 1-8 321-5 (obv. 27-9), rev.
(without Sm 1315) 1-2)
by c. Bezold, ZA 3
(1888) 249; p1--.25-
6

Q K 10371 Pl. 24 160, 162-3 (8 1 -10 1 )

R K 2477+2539+ AMT 95: 2; pl. 21 76-9 (rev. ill 24 1 -5 1 )

9685** P:, /i f7 ~! •t'·
 77

S K 8211**** Pl. 27 165-71 (obv.(?) i 1'-

101)

T K 9839*** Pl. 28 302a, 303a, 305a, 306a

(obv.(?) i i 14 1 -17')

A~~UR::

e 0. 195** Copy by L. Spe- 76-9 (rev. i i i 22-4)

leers, RIAA 313; F.
I K8cher, BAM 221
l~
f VAT 11097 Copy by E. Ebeling, 302-9 (obv. 1 5-20)
t KAR 255; new copy
t
from photo., and col-
lations, pl. 29
I SIPPAR:
t e BM 65458 (= Pl. 30 368-72 (rev. 14 1 -16 1 )
t 82-9-18, 5445)
t-
'f BABYLON:
'I

f BM 45637+ Pl. 31-2 186 (rev. 14)

45814 <=
81-7-6, 30)
h VAT 17580** Copy by F. K8cher, 76-9 (rev. iv 17-19)
BAM 385

(5) TABLETS containing INCANTATIONS from the SERIES together

with OTHER INCANTATIONS (apparently) WITHOUT RITUALS

SIPPAR: ··.f.

BM 64270 <= Pl. 33 311, 313-6 (rev. 6-9)

-a 82-9-18, 4246) 321-5 (rev. 10-12), 358-
9{?) (rev. 27-9)
(For abv. 1-14, rev. 1-
5, seep. 19ff.
b BM 93081 (= Pl. 34 303a-304, 305b, 306b-7b,
83-1-18, 1905) 3D8b-9b, 3l0b (For rev.
seep. 22ff.

DUR-KURIGALZU:

1 IM 49981 Copy by 0. R. Gurney, 68-70, 72 (rev.(?) 8-11)

Sumer 9 (1953) no. 29 80-83 (rev.(?) 4-7)
 78

(6) SCRI8AL PRACTICE TABLETS

UR:

c (No Mus. no. Copy by c. J. Gadd, 13-14a, 15 (rev. 38ff.)

yet assigned) UET VI/2 392; new
copy of relevant lines
pl. 35

d (No Mus. no. Copy by c. J. Gadd, 16-24 (rev. 36-44)

yet assigned) UET VI/2 391; new copy
of relevant lines, pl.
35 j.
i
I·
BABVLON: ,.
I
[,
!
I

g BM 47889 (= Pl. 36 68-71 (obv. 5-8)

81-11-3, 596)

* * *

CYLINDER SEALS

!;

V Photo. in E. Porada, CNAS 5-8 'I'

h
Copy from that photo.-pr7 57 ~~

,,'i
w (Whereabouts Cuneiform unpublished: translite- 5-8 I•

unknown) ration, courtesy w. G. Lambert,

p. 140
X AD 1167 Photo. in L. Delaporte, CCL 2, A 73-5
602: copy from that photO:: pl. 58
y (Private Call.) Copy from impression, pl. 59 189 {3-5)'
210 (1-2)
z (Whereabouts Copy by J. Menant, Glyptigue I p. 210
1.

II .
unknown) 196; copy reappears in L. de I
Clercq, J. Menant, CdC I p. 148
no~ 253; copy by·J. Oppert, ibid.
1-k
photo. ~· pl. 25; photo re=--
appears in W. H. Ward, SCWA no.
540; new copy from these, pl. 57

-AA Photo. in E. Porada, CNAS no. 583

copy from that photo.:-pi. 58
210

-88 Photo. ibid. no. 587; new copy from

that photo. pl. 58
210

* * *
 79

AMULETS

Cl) AMULETS in the SHAPE of a CYLINDER SEAL

A (No Mus. no.) Copy by R. Campbell Thompson, Iraq 7 68-72

(1940) Fig. 5 no. 38; reproduced p1.
44
8 BM 134064 (= P1. 42 68-72
1932-12-12, 599)
C "ND 280" Cuneiform unpublished; trans1itera- 68-72
tion by D. J. Wiseman, Iraq 12 (1950)
p. 197 (quoted here in full, p. 162
D (Whereabouts Part copy in cunei form type by V. 6B C69)
unknown) Scheil, RT 20 (1898) p. 201; repro- 70-72
duced here pl. 44
E (Whereabouts As D 68 (69)
unknown) 70-72
F BM 85-4-8, 1 P1. 42 68-72
G 11
ND 1103" Copy by D. J. Wiseman, Iraq 14 (1952) 73-5
p. 63 pl. 12; reproduced here pl. 44

HH BM 103058 (= Pl. 43 68-?2

1910-4-13, 2)

(2) LAMASTU AMULETS

H YBC 2193 Copy by C. E. Keiser, BIN 2 pl. 8 no. 5-B

14; photo. ibid. pl. 7r;-copy repro-
duced here, p1. 49
I (Private Call.) Pl. 45 5-8
J (Whereabouts Copy by J. Menant, and photo. in L. 210
unknown) de Clercq, J. Menant, CdC 2. p1. 10
no. 7; new copy from. that photo. p1.
45

K (Whereabouts Copy in cuneiform type by A• H. Sayee 326-33

unknown) BDR 3 (1888) p. 18~ copy reproduced
here pl. 49
h (Whereabouts Copy by F. Lajard, Venus pl. 17; photo. 326-33
unknown) in H. Schlobiee, AfO 3 (1926); copy re-
produced here pl. 50
 80

M A0.2491 Copy by F. Thureau-Dangin, RA 18 326

(1921) p. 197 fig. 1; photo:-ibid.;
copy reproduced here pl. 50 - -

N AD 7888 Copy by F. Thureau-Dangin, RA 18 326-30

(1921) p. 197 fig. 2; photo--.ibid.;
copy reproduced here pl. 50 - -

0 Nat. Mus. Copy by Th. Jacobsen, CTNMC no. 78; 326-30

6686 photo. ibid. p. 68; copy reproduced
here pl. 51
p w. 19940 Photo. in H. Lenzen, UVB 16 (1960) 327-32
pl. 21 c-d; new copy from that photo.
p1. 48

g Musee Geneve Copy by E. Sallberger, MAH p. 32; 326-33

19228 new copy from new photo:-p1. 46
CC Metropolitan Copy by H. H. van der Oaten, BMMA 326-7
Mus. 86.11.2 19 (1924) p. 145; photo. in H:-H':"
van der Osten. AfO 4 (1927) p. 90
<= MVAG XIV/2 Tafe1 I); new copy
from-the photo. pl~ 48
DD Ass. 15665 (= Photo. in H. Klengel, MID ·7 (1959- 326-33
VA 8278) 60) pl. IV Sb; reproduced here pl.
47

EE Ass. 15412 (= Photo. in H. Klenge1, MID 7 (1959- 326-30

VA 5289) 60) pl. IV 6b; reproduced here pl.
47
FF Ass. 4850 (= Photo. in H. K1enge1, MID 7 (1959- 331-3
VA 5163) 60) pl. V 10 a-b; copy-rbid. pp. 350-
1; copy reproduced pl. 51
GG IM 74648 Photo. in K. M. Abadah, Sumer 28 243-44
(1972) Fig. 3-4; reproduced here pl. (26-28),
47 326-33
(9-17)'
358-63
(18-25),
373-75
(29-32)
Q BM 127371 P1. 52 210
JJ BM 104891 (= Pl. 53 326-33
Rm IV 467)

~ 1925-7-15, 1 Pl. 55 326-30

bb Ki 1902-5-10, Pl. 54 326-33
36 Cl-8)
 (3) AMULETS of "JEWELLERY" SHAPES

BM 89904 Copy by F. Lenormant, Choix 42-43 (obv.

-R no. 27; new copy p1. 56 1-6, rev. 1-
2), 210 (rev.
3-6)

5 (Whereabouts Photo. in L. de Clercq, J. Me- 210

unknown) nant, CdC I pl. 28 no. 12; copy
from that photo. p1. 56

To Ashmolean Copy in cuneiform type by s. 210

1921. 947 Langdon, JRAS 1921 p. 574; new
copy p1. 56

Copy by L. J. Krusina- ~ erny,

-u (IJhereabouts 210
V #

unknown) Ar. Dr. 18/III (1950) p1. 14

no. 26; copy reproduced here
pl. 54

* * *
 Reconstructed Text
no. 1

a A 1 en s11 CSARxA.LAL).la lu.erfm.ma

7
, '1
tu.lu lu.bul.ga
, i
a A 2 igi mas.sag dasal.lu.oi.ke4 lu, d asal.lu.b me.en
a A 3 n{g.nam.bul nam.ba.te.ga.e.de

a A 4 zi.an.na be.pa zi.ki.a be.pa

no. 2
, , , ,
a AHI V w en sil .la lu.erim.ma tu.lu lu.oul.gal
---- 5
7
, d
d
a AH I VW igi mas.sag
---- 6 nin.urta.ke4 lu nin.urta me.en
aAHIVW 7 nam.ba.te.ga.e.de
----
a AHI VW zi.an.na oe.pa zi.ki.a be.pa
---- 8

no. 3
, ,
B A 9 [en si17.la] lu.erim.ma tu.lu lu.hul.gal
...
d , d
a A 10 [igi mas.sa]g nin.a.zu.ke 4 lu nin.a.zu me.en
a A 11 [n{g.nam.bul n Jam.ba.te.ga.e.de
, ..
, .
a A 12 [zi.an.na be.pa z]i. ki.a be.pa

no. 4

a A c l3 [en si]l7.la lu.er{m.ma tu.lu lu.bul.gal

a A c [du]p-pir a-a-b[u n]e-'_ri leml-nu

1 a: sil CSARxrA.LAL1); oul.gal 5 H: AN.e.nu.ru! V:

' . 7
'~ [e]n.[e.nu.ru] w: en.e.nu.ru a: si1 (SARx[A].LAL) H W:
.
7
sil CEZENxA).la ~: sil ?(fEZENxA7 1 ).ls r: 1u.
6 6
d
bul 6 H V: mas.sag I: mas!.sag; AN for nin.urta.ke 4 .• om.
 Translation
no. 1
,
1 en: Go away, 0 Enemy! Begone, 0 Evil One!
2 From the presence of the I am the man of Asallubi

leader AsalluiJi

3 Any Evil do not come near!

4 Be conjured by Heaven! Be conjured by Underworld!

no. 2
5 en: Go away, 0 Enemy! Begone, 0 Evil One! .
6 From the presence of the I am the man .of Ninurta.

leader Ninurta;
7 Any Evil do not come near!
8 Be conjured by Heaven! Be conjured by Underworld!

no. 3
9 [en: Go away], 0 Enemy! Begone, 0 Evil One!
10 [From the presence of the] I am the man of Ninazu.
leader Ninazu;
11 [Any Evil] do not come near!
12 [Be conjured by Heaven!] Be conjured by Underworld!

no. 4
13 [en: Go] away, o Enemy! Begone, 0 Evil One!

,. , ,
me.en 7 H I: om. nig.nam.bul I: adds en.e.nu.ru
before [n]am.ba.DA.t[e.ga] H W: om. • e. 8 H:
[zi?].an.rna? oe?l.[ps? I: [zi?J.a.ni [ V: am. this
~
line, adds tu .en. r e. . , • [ nu.ru J 9
6
13 a: IJ[ul.ga]l
 14 [igi m~]~.s[ag dasal.l~.bi.ke 4 1~ dasal.l~-b]i,me.en
a Ac
[i]na ma-bar rd 1 (mar]duk mas-si-i [ . . . ] mar de-a
a A
15 1~ dnin.urta me.en gu 4 .ud.da du 8 gu 4 .ud.da
a A
um-ma amel d[nin-ur]ta-ma ina si-ib-~1-ka lu-u
a Ac
tu-~i-ma lu t[e-es?-s]i? tu 6 .en

no. 5
gal .la gal.la
a Ad 16 en sil7.la 1u.oul.gal 5
gal-lu-u ra-bu-u
a Ad dup-pir lem-nu
dingir.bul.a.mes
a Ad 17 tu.lu gaba.zu.ne y

. -
~lani
mes lem-nu-ti
a Ad ne-1-a i-rat-ku-nu
, , d d ,
18 ga.e lu nin.urta asal.lu.bi me.en
a A d
... , d nin-urta u d marduk ana-ku
sa
a Ad , .
nam.ba.te.ga.e.de
a A.£ 19 n!g.nam.hul ..
a Ad mim-ma lem-nu

no. 6
a A. d 20 en gu4.ud.da du8 gu4.ud.da

a Ad 21 ur.sag gu .ud.da du 8 gu 4 .ud.da

4
dnin.urta gu .ud.da du gu .ud.da
a Ad 22 4 8 4
-
um-ma amel d nin-urta-ma
a Ad 23

A d i-lit-ti sa-a-ra at-ta-ma

25 [i-n]a qab-ri na-da-ta-ma u-se-rid-ka

a A

a A 26 [am]-me-ni ni-is kab-ti la tap-lab

siQ}i(GU 4 .UD)~ -ka
1
27 [tu]-ur lem-nu ana tu 6 .en
a A

a: d]x x me.en; rd 1 [AMAR.U]TU as above

14 c: ••• ]x x x[ •.•
d nin-ur]ta-ma
dnin-urta ME].rEN 1 c:
(call.) 15 A:
... A: tu-~1!-ma a:
A: i-n]a · . r ki 1 ; te-:;;i-[m]a
a: si-ih-ti-
....

16
c: ta?-x-n]u-UZ. om. tu 6 .en
lu t[e- v. copy (coll.)
 85
., .·.·

From the presence of the I am the man of ~sallubi.

leader AsallulJi;

(Akk.: From the presence of Marduk, the leader son of Ea)

15 I am the man of Ninurta: Jump! Remove yourself! Jump!

Thus says the man of Ninurta: "By your jumping may you go out

tu .~n
and may you be far away!"
5
no. 5
16 en: Go away, 0 Evil One, 0 great gallu-demon!

17 Turn back, 0 Evil Gods!

18 I am the man of Ninurta and Marduk;

19 Any Evil, do not come near! tu 6 .en

no. 6
20 en: Make jump (away)! Make remove! Make jump (away)!
21 0 hero. make jump (away)! Make remove! Make jump (away)!
22 0 Ninurta, make jump (away)! Make remove! Make jump (away)!

23 Thus says the man of Ninurta:

24 "You are the offspring of the wind;
25 You are cast dowri into the grave; I have brought you down!
26 Why did you not fear a solemn oath?
,
27 0 Evil One, jump (away) again!" tu .en
6
, ,
d: om. en a: SARxPI(sic.) A d: om. gal d: lu.ga1 • 1'
a: gal-
, 5
lu-li GAL u 17 A: .z]u.na 18 d: dMA~ a: om. u;
dTU~ for dAMAR.UTU A: a-na-ku 19 I t
d: nam.ba·. , d'e;
e.ga.
la te-~e-eb-tla-a a: om. tu 6 20 d: du ! 21 a:
8
ur.sag (g]u4!. 23 A: me.en for -ma 26 a: ka]b-ta
 BG

no. 7

8 A 29 [ur].sag gu 4 .ud.da du 8 gu 4 .ud.da

8 A 30 [dMA]~ gu 4 .ud.rda du gu 4 1.[ud.d]a

8
d
a A b 31 asar.alim gu 4 .ud.da du gu 4 .rudl.[d]a
8
a A b 32 rd 1 [p]a-li[l] r gu 1 .ud.da du gu .ud.da
4 8 4
a A 33 ruml-[ma am]el dnin-urta ME.EN

a A b 34 i-lit-ti sari(IM) at-ta-ma

a A b 35 i-na (qa]b-rl na-da-ta-ma u-se-rid-ka
a A b 36 am-me-ni zik-ri kab-ti la tu-sak-bit
a Ab 37 tu-ur lem-nu ana sio~i
V (
GU 4.UD)·ti -ka KIMIN ana atluki ?
(DI.DI)-ka tu 6 .en

no. 8

a Ab c 38 en sa dnin-urta dan-dan ilanimes mus-mit ilanimes

..,
kas-kas ilanimes

a A b c 39 [gas]-ri qar-di na-ram llb-bi den-lfl ana-ku

a Ab c 40 a-na du4-ba-nu-fl-la giskakki dan-ni sa dninurta

paq-da-ku
8
a Ab c 41 r pu 1 -~ur lem-nu l'a tetehhaA
• ~v ,
tu 6 .en

no. 9
..,. , d me"' d
a A8 b R 42 en sa ninurta dan-dan ilani s na-ram llb-bi en-1!1

ana-ku

31 a: du MIN
8 32 A: rdl[x (x))x; du gu 4 .ud.d(a!]
8
33 a: L]d as above (call.) 3~ e: i-li t-(t;) A:
il-lit-ti sa-a-ri 35 A: -dal- 37 a: am. tu
.... 6
r d, ~
38 A: MA dan-dan-ni c: am • mus-mit DINGIRmes kas-kas
...
DINGIRmes 39 A: a-na-ku b: d]BE c: (for whole
 B1

-no. 7 en: Make jump (away)!

28 Make jump (away)! Make remo~e! Make
jump (away)!

29 0 hero, make jump (away)! Make remove! Make jump (away)l

30 0 Ninurta, make jump (away)! Make remove! Make jump (away)!

31 0 Asaralim, make jump (away)! Make remove! Make jump (away)!
32 0 Palil, make jump (away)! Make remove! Make jump (away)!
33 Thus he says/I say: "I am the man of Ninurta;
34 You are the offspring of the wind;
35 You are cast down into the grave; I have brought you dawn!
36 Why did you not respect my solemn oath?
37 0 Evil One, jump (away) again! 0 Evil One, _go away again!~

no. 8
38 en: I belong to Ninurta, mighty one among the gods, slaughterer
among the gods, powerful one among the~gods,
I
!-
39 Strong, warlike, beloved of Enlil 1 s heart;
40 I am commended to Ubanuilla, the mighty weapon of Ninurta.

41 Remove yourself, 0 Evil One! Do not come near! tu 6 .en

no. 9
42 ~n: I belong to Ninurta, mighty one among the gods, beloved of

En1il 1 s heart;

,, d :1"
1 ine) IBILA dan-nu sa en-1~1 a-na-ku 40 a: kak-k[i]
d
(call.) c: dan-nu; nin-urta paq-rdak1 41 c: om.·pu-

R: en.e.nu.ru sa d nin-urta
, , V

~ur 42 A: dan-dan-ni
8: r na 1-r[ a-am R: na-ra-am ~A; a-na-ku
 88

d d .
a A 8 b R 43 a-na sebetti(IMIN.8I) u a-nim paq-da-ku tu .en
6

no.. 10
..,
a AB b c 44 en sa dninurta qar-rad ilanimes e-pis qab-11 mu-du-u

tu-qu-um-tu
a A 8 b c 45 e-pis ta-ba-zi dan-ni sa 1na taoazi(Mt)-su la i-ram-mu-u

irat-su
a A B c 46 mar man-za-zi res-te-e ana-ku tu5.en

no. 11
, ..,, ... V
d
e A8 47 en sa dan-dan-nu U kas-kas ilanimes mus-mit ilanimes
d
a AB 48 ap-lu dan-nu mu-tir gimi1li (~~) en-111 abi-su ana-ku

tu 5 .en

no. 12
a AB
tim ... ,
er~etim a-sa-re-du
. ... .., ... e tim
a A 8 50 mu-pat-~lr si-pi~ same u er~etim ana-ku mim-me 1em-nu

no. 13
. . ti - .;· tim .., ,
a AB 51 fen sa na-~irl napisti bel ta-ma-ti rapastim sa
dninurta ana-ku

a AB 52 e-sar tu-~e-a tu-ur 1em-nu sipat dan-ni dninurta sa

..,_ ' VAU
sanina la isu

ki
u ~: (for whole line) a-na UDmusen/UZ UD.NUN
V

43 A: paq-da-ak
, ,
tu .en.e.nu.ru 44 c: UR.SAG a: qab-le c: MURU8 4
6
a: m[u-d]u-u c: na-du-u for mu-du-u A: tu-qu-un-tu 8:
....
]-un-tu c: tu-qut-ti 45 c: oDes
Mt dan-nu c: i-ne-'u for i-ram-mu-u 45 c: DUMUr[u)

a: man-za-a]z re~-ti-re1 (call.) c: man-za-zu UR-ti-su a: om.

 89

43 I am commended to the Sebettu, and to Anu. tu 6 .~n~

-
no• l_Q
44 ~n: I belong to Ninurta, warrior of the gods, the fighter
expert in warfare,
45 The one who does fearful battle, who in his battle does not
give up,
46 He of the first station. tu 6 .~n

no. 11
47 ~n: I belong to the mighty one, ••• , powerful one among the

gads, ~laughterer among the gads,

48 The mighty son who avenges Enlil his father. tu 6 .en

no. 12
49 en: I belong to the lard, the prince, son of the lord, the
prince, the lord who shatters the Underworld, foremost one,
50 He who upsets the equilibrium of Heaven and Underworld; Any
Evil, do not come near! tu .en
6
no. 13
51 en: I belong to the guardian of life, lord of the broad sea,
to Ninurta;
52 Whence you came out, do you return, 0 Evil One! (This is) an
incantation of mighty Ninurta who has no rival;

tu 6 48 a: :gil-mil-r111 (call.); am. tu 49 a:

6
rel-tel-rlul; dEN rMIN1; [DA]GALtim for a-58-re-du 8: a)-sa-red
50 A 8: si-pat 51 a: ZI tim ; ta-mat A: a-n[a-ku J
52 d fu?1
a: ninurta (as above) v. copy (call.); TUKU ·
 90

a A 8 53 ana erset la.. tari

"' pu-~ur 1em-nu
.., , d · ... ...a
a A B 54 sa ninurta ana-ku mim-ma lem-nu la te~eaba

no. 14
V V

a A 55 ..,, dnerga l( U. GUR ) dan-dan 1. 1-an 1 mes kas-kas

, sa
en .., .., ilani
- mea
..,
... - mes ana-ku
mus-mit ilani

The following two incantations, preserved

separately in A, have been blended into one
in a and b (which appear largely to corres-
pond with one another). A variant incan-
tation containing half this material occurs
in c. The line numbering follows A, while
transliterations of the other three MSS. are
included for clarity.

no. 15
V V

A 55 en sa dnergal kas-kas ilanimes dan-dan-ni ilanimes

mus-mit 1 lan1 mes]

V [ -

A 57 mar man-za-zi r[e]s-te-e a-na-k[u]

d . .
A 58 sa qar-ra-du n[i]n-urta i-ram-m[u)
A 59 la ta-mab-ba~ l[a t]e-ne-er tu 6 .e[n]

no. 15
d,
A 60 e-a e-p[is qab-l]i mu-du-u tu-qu-un-[tu]
A 51 e-pi; t~ba~iCMt) dan-n[i 8~ ina t~b~zi-s~ l]a i-ram-
[mu-u] riratl-[su]

A 52 mar man-za-za res-[te-e ana-ku tu6.en]

54 a: om. sa dMA~ ana-ku; la A: om. [mim-ma] by spacing

y
... mea
a: am. tu 55 A: da[n-d]an-ni a: mus-mit DINGIR
5 ..,
... v mes
kas-kas DINGIR
 91

53 Remove yourself, 0 Evil One, to the Land-of-no-return!

1
. , ;
54 I belong to Ninurta; Any Evil, do not come near! tu~.en

~·~
55 en: I belong to Nergal, mighty one among the gods, powerful
one among the gods, slaughterer among the gods.

no. 15
56 en: I belong to Nergal, powerful one among the gods, mighty
one among the gads, slaughterer among the gods,
57 He of the first station,
58 Whom the warrior Ninurta loves;
·.':
59 Do not strike! Do not smitel tu 6 .en

no. 16
60 en: I belong to Ea, the fighter expert in warfare,
61 The one who does fearful battle, who in his battle does not
give up,
62 He of the first station. tu 6 .en

'~.

.,
Version from a:
[en sa dnergal? ka]s-kas ilanimes dan-dan ilanimes mus-mit
V

ilanimes

[mar man-za-z]a/a]z res-t[e~e ana-ku]

[ • . • • • . . • • - • e-pi]s qab-la mu-du-u tu-q[u-um-tu]
[e-pis taoazi dan-ni] sa iria taoazi-su la 1-ne-•-ful
[irat-su]
[mar man-za-za] res-te-e fanal-(ku]
[la ta-mao-oa~] rlal te-ne-er en
 92

Version from b:
V V
,... , d ? ., .. - mes - mes ..,
[ en sa nergal· kas-kas ilani dan-dan ilani mus-mit
....
ilanimes]

[mar man-za-zi res-te-e] ranal-ku

[. . .......... . . • e-pis qab-11 mu-du-u
tu-qut-t]u?

[e-pis tabazi dan-ni sa ina taoazi-su la i-r]a-rmul-u

irat-su

[mar man-za-zi res-t]i-i ana-ku

[. . . • . . l]a ta-ma-oa~! la te-ne-er

no. 17

3 A b E H 63 ~n ds!n(30) ~~r ag!(AGA) .11-ni-ib-ka

3 A b E H 64 dnin-urta bel 918 kakki 918 kakka-ka lis-bir

d d tim
1 A b E H 65 nergal enlil(SO) ersetim ina qab-ri lik-la-ka
1A b E H 66 d,e-a u d asal-lu-Di
, lip-ru-su i -ma t - ka

1 A b E H 67 zi.zi.da zi.zi.da tu 6 .en

no. 18
I A b c p
, mul ... v (
i A B C
. ----
I 68 en KAK.SI.SH~ sumsu ) ... ,
MU.NE mu-sa-111 qab-li
·- --
I E F HH

c P
A b
y ..., V y I
i A 8 C 69 mus-te- 1 -u ur-be-ti mu-sak-lil mim-ma sum-su
Q-~) HH f

d
i4 65 H: en-1[11 E: qab-rl 66 b:
1
Lfl-a A: PAP for u 68
IU] 1 KAK.SI.SA mulKAK.SI.[SA g_: MU.NE.E HH: sum-sui b:
'ab-r rll c: MURUB
4 HH: ~ati)-l[i] 69 c: mus-te- 1
-U
 ~-

93
..

Version from c:

.,
en sa dnergal ( N'E • IRI 11· GAL) kas-kas il-animes
. .
' V, y v

rdanl-dan ilanimes mus-mit ilanimes

na-ram 1lb-b1 den-lll ana-ku lem-nu la

no. 17
, ...
63 en: May Sin, king of the tiara, quieten you down!

64 May Ninurta, lord of weapons, break your weapon!

65 May Nergal, the Enlil of the Underworld, constrain you

within the grave!

65 May Ea and Asallubi cut off your poison!

67 Be off! Be off!

no. 18
68 en: Sirius is his name, he that utters the battle-cry
in war,
59 He that seeks out paths, he that completes(?) everything,

V ,
C: mus-te-u .!_: mu s-te-u
] c: ur-
oe-e-ti g: ur-be-rel-[ i: ur-be- (ti) A: ur-tJe-tli
C: ur-be-tu HH: UI'-be- ta c: rnu-sak-li-lu; sum-su
,
C: Sum-Su HH: NIG.NAM
 94

a A b c P
~!.e..§f 70 gismittu(TUKUL.AN) sa ina pan giskakki na-an-du-ru
D E F HH
te-bu-u
a Ab c P
~B.E!fQ 71 - (A) annanna 1'a
a-na annanna mar ... a
te~eaoa la" tasanniqa
E F HH
a A b c P
i A B C D 72 lu.zi.zi lu.zi.zi nam.ba.te.ga.e.de tu6.en
-----
E F HH
---
no. 19
a Ab c GX 73 , . . mul v mul ,{ ... d
en nis KAK.SI.SA nis KAK.SI.SH nis a-nim
d en-l;.l
"' u d,
e-a
a Ab c GX 74 nis reme-ni-i dmarduk nis ldidiglat u {dpuratti
a A c G X 75 pu-.ur
t 1 em-nu l 'a tetehha~
• __ 8 t u .en
'
6
no. 20

a A d F G K 76 en ka.kib ka.kib lugal ka.kib lugal ka.na.kib

R e h

I
i"8 • V

70
.
c: me-tu A 8 C F: g me-tu Q: gls·(BAR) TUKUL c
F: Sa c: ana _g_: i/a-n]a HH:om. ina c P: pa-sn
919
c: kak-ki HH: rkak!-ki!l(?) A: na-an-du-r[ul _g_: A[ for
na-an-du-ru A: na-an-duru(KU) 8: na-an-du-ru! C: na-du-ru
F: na!-an-du-ru HH: na-an-duru 5 CA) c: te-bu-u A 8 F HH:

Ziu C: ti-bu-u D E: Ziu 71 A D E: ana HH: om.

a-na ~: m(blank) A DINGIR-su 8: mKGR7.ERIM DUMU DINGIR-su

~
0: ana-ku d NH.TIN "' sa
A-su ~
"' md NH.D D.~E~
~ ~ f: m{v,
su-u-pi-tu 4 DUMU.MUNUS
kil-la-a-ni [ DJUMU DINGIR-su
", m{!?
sa l'lUNUS-ia F:. md sa-mas
... , ....
HH:
V

su-sa-an-nu DUMU!7.MUNUS DINGIRmes_su A P: TEbi 8: TEbi!

C: TEu(i. e. TEbi!?) Q[ HH: TE c: DIM qa C: om. NU DIM 4

4
i: om. this line 72 A 8 HH: l~.zi.zi KIMIN c o: lu.zi
1u.z1 E: lu.zi MIN F: lu .. zi.zi tv1IN
 95

70 The divine weapon that rages and surges up in the face of

(other) weapons,

71 Do not come near or oppress So-and-so. son of So-and-so!

72 0 attacker, 0 attacker, do not come near! tu .en

0
no. 19

73
.
en: (Be conjured) by Sirius, by Sirius,
by Anu, Enlil and
Ea,
74 By the JtTErci ful Marduk, by the Tigris and Euphrates!
75 Remove yourself, 0 Evil One! Do not come near! tu6. en
no. 20
.
76 en: •! •!
-.. the king! . . . the king!

!i'i= nam!.ba!.t[e!. A F: am. . e. c: om •• e.de

a b: om. != tu 6 .e]n.e.nu.ru A : om. tu • en F:
6
am. tu HH: te en 73 G: mulKAK.SI.SA E once
6 only
(see Comm.) G X: dBAD a: om. u (?) 74 A: reme !_
, ,
ni-i G: reme-ne-e X: reme-ni G: d~t1 A: niB-
over A~ G X: ldljAL.IjAL
§: pu-rat X: p[u?- b:
Jx at end 75 c: am. pu-~ur ••• TE 8 ,· adds l]u-u ta-ma-ti
G: lem]-nu! NU! X: am. pu-~ur 8
TE , adds two lines: mim-
ma lem-nu[ ~N
r ... , dl
sa X x[ G: om. tu
6 76 a: kak.kib
kak.k[ib A: kak.kib kak.kib d: kak]Jkib 1 k[ak.ki]b v.
copy (call.) F: ka.kib MIN a: • ki]b! lugal ki.rkab? •
ne/'b[e].e A: lugal kak.kib lugal [ d: lugal kak.[
R: lugal ka.na.K~.kib
 96

a A d F G 77 sarre tum-ma-tu sarra tum-ma-tu

KR e h
a A d F G 78 be-1 8 sa-qa-a
", raba... a sar il~ni mea . dmarduk tum-ma-ta
K R e h

B A d F G 79
KRe.b_
no. 21
a A1 80 en en.na.da.a
!
I
a A i 81 sil .1u.er!m.ma
7
sil7 .lu.er!m.ma
a Ai 82 pa-as-lat pa-as-lat oa-as-lat oa-as-lat ll tam-!Je-e
sa dninurta ZALAG.GA ME.EN
,
a Ai 83 sipat dninurta ilu ez-zu sa sanina la isuu
a A 84 a-na er~et la tari [pu-t]ur lem-nu
y, d
a A 85 sa ninurta ana-ku

no. 22
a A 86 en ga.an.dib ga.an.d[ib X X X (x)]x x.rkur? 1 .ra.ke4
a A 87 um-ma amel dnin-urta !--1E. [EN i-li)t-ti sari at-ta-ma
a A 68 i-na qab-frll n[a-da-ta-ma] u-se-rid-ka

~ 89 am-me-[ni nisa/zikra kab-t]a la tu-sak-b1t

(tu-ur lem-nu ana sib~i(GU 4 .UD)~ -k)a KIMIN ana
1
a 90
atluki?(DI.DI)-ka en

77 a: second L[UGAL tum-m]a-tu! A R: LUGAL tum-ma-ta (once)

d: LUGAL tum(NUMxGAR+G~N)-ma-[t]a/[t]u/[t]u [(repeated)] F e:
LUGAL tum-ma-tu (once) G: LUGAL tu-um-ma-tu LUGAL ftul-u[m-ma-tu]

K: LUGAL NUM-ma-tu (once) ~: [LU]GAL tum-ma-[tu] (once) 78

a
K: be-l[a a d: GAL e: om. GAL
d
F Re h: nin-urta F e h: tum-ma-tu 79 a d: om. tu 6
8
K: TE -m]a? 80 a: en.da.fal i: fsil 1(EZENxfA1).la.du.a
6
 1. •

97

·~
1
77 You are conjured by the king! You are conjured ti.Y the king!

78 You are conjured by the exalted and great lord. the king of

the gods, Marduk!

79 Remove yourself. 0 Evil One! Do not come near! tu .en

6

no. 21
80 en: Begone(?)! Go away!
81 Go away, 0 Enemy! Go away, 0 Enemy!
82 You are creeping(?), you are creeping(?): you are crushed(?),
you are crushed(?); 0 god of the dawn! I belong to

shining Ninurta;
/
83 (This is) an incantation of Ninurta, furious god who has no
rival.
84 Remove yourself, 0 Evil One. to the Land-of-no-return!
85 I belong to Ninurta: o Evil One, do not come near! tu .en
6

no. 22
86 en: The Seizer, the Seizer ( • • • ) • • • of the Underworld;
87 Thus (he says): "I em the man of Ninurtai you are the off-

spring of the wind;

88 You are cast_ down into the grave; I have brought you down!
89 Why did you not respect a solemn [oath]?
90 [o Evil One, jump (away) again]! 0 Evil One, go away again!

81 i: ] rs11 1.Ia.a.a 82 a: pa-as-lat MIN; rsa 1 (call.)

6
a A: Z~LAG.GA.KE 4 83 a: • TUKU. TUKU 1: la 1-su-u 84

a: ana 1: am. this line 85 a: am. tuf: am. this

6
line 86 a: (for whole line) rga?.an?l.[ ••• ]x.rke 4 ?1 n[u?.(x)]
90 a: -k]a (as above) v. copy (call.)
 98

no. 23 ,·:·

a [en sa] itti(KI) annanna mar annanna

X X X X (x) (

-
innammaru(IGI) mes r·ru 1

a 92 [x x x x x (x)] lu-u utukku ma-su-u

a 93 [x X X X (x)]x sa pa-q{-du la iSUU
a 94 [x x x x (x)] mu-rkil-res-lemuttimtim,
a
95 [x X X X (x)]x S~ a~-sa-t~ la ab-fzul
a 96 [x X X X (x)]x Sa la ma-la-t~ qa-ratl
a
....
918
97 [x x x x dalatCI]G) babi-su li-ne-'1 i-rat-ka
a
98 [x x x Cx)]x ana majali(KI.NA)-su la tasanniqaCDIM )
4
a
99 [x x x (x)]x la ta-sa-a-kip ~I.BI.IN.DU.[RU]
a lOO [x x x (x)]x.ba fnal.an.BA[D?]
a 101 z[i.an.na be.p]a zi.ki.a ae.pa
no. 24

a
102 en at-ta-[man-nu mim-ma l]em-nu sa ana pani-ia te-se-ra
a 8 b
103 tas-qu-l(a ta-pa-d]a lis-bir kap-pa-ka dlugal-urim-ma
a B b ...
104 [11]-ssm-q[i]t si-it pi-i-ka apkal(NUN.ME) ilanimes
d
marduk
a 8 b 105 d.~-sum
., dn1n-g
. s-z i - da 1"1-ru-ru- k a
i"'

a 8 b , d, ., ., - mes d , ,
106 ina q1-bit e-a mas-mas i 1 an 1 asal-lu-bi tu .en
6

96 a: ]x sa (as above) v. copy (call.) 103 8: tas]-

fqu!l-l[a 104 a: [~1-sa~-q]l-it (? by spacing: see~.);

NUN.~E) b: d]rMEsl 105 a: am. this line, reads ina ql-
(bit) dasa[l-lu-bi sar DIN)GIR!?mes sa ANe ful K!tim 106 a:
ina q{-bit drel-[a sar Z]U.AB b: am. tu
6
 1'
I -

99

no. 23
~
91 [~n: • . . • • • . that] have been appearing to ~a-and-so,

son of So-and-so
92 [. . .... . ] or a forgotten Utukku-demon,
93 [. . . .] which has no-one to care for it,
94 [. . . ] the Sustainer-of-~-demon,

95 [. . J who do not marry wives,

96 [. . . ] who have been given no commission,
97 [. . . .] may the door of his gate turn you back!
98 [. .. J do not approach his bed!
99 [. .... . .] do not repel .
lOO [. ... . . J . . do not .
101 Be [conjured by Heaven!] Be conjured by. Underworld!

no. 24
,
102 en: Whoever you are, Any Evi~, who made ~traight far me,
103 Carried me off, captured me, may Lugalurimma break your wing!
104 May the sage of the gods, Marduk, render ineffective your
utterance!
105 May Isum and Ningiszida pronounce a curse upon you!
106 At the command of Ea, exorcist of the gods, and of Marduk.
tu
6
.en
 lOO

•
no. 25

a 8 b L 107 . en at-ta-man-nu mim-ma lem-nu sa ana pani-ia te-se-ra

d
a 8 b L 108 tas-qu-la ta-pa-da lis-bir kap-pa-ka lugal-edin-ne
a 8 b 109 - mes d marduk
li-sam-qit ~i-it pi-i-ka apkal ilani
110 ? d , .... ... .... e tim
B A 8 b i na q~-bit asal-lu-bi sar 4 same u er~etim

a A 8 b 111 i na ?
q~-bit
d,
e-a sar 4 ap-s i -1 tu .en
V '
6
no. 26
tu
a A 8 b c 112 en at-ta-man-nu mim-ma lem-nu sa ta~batu(DIB)

barrana tap-ri-ku oarrana!

a A 8 b c 113 a-na er~et la tar! dninurta qar-rad ilani meB lis-

' A

pur-ka
dl d,
a A 8 b c 114 e-a lik-kil-me-ka e-a li-zer-ka
ZU
a ABb c 115 ina qaq-qar tazzazzu de-a [1]1-sutJ-ka
1li
a A 8 b 116
V

mus-sir
..,,

etla-ma . re-be-[ta l]i-ti-iq

a A 8 b c 117 siptu ul ia-at-tu-un ..

sipat d..
e-a u d asa 1 - 1,u-~hi

a A 8 b c 118 sipat dda-mu u dnin-kar-ra-ak

a b c 119 sipat dnin-girimmax be-let sip-ti tu6.en

I
107-8 L: at-ta DINGIR 1em-nu sa· a-na •.•
V
b: om. ana a:

x x] x te-se-ra 8: ia-a-si [u]R-rba/na-a?l [te-se-r]a ta-pa-

da tas-qu-la L: tan CUR)-na-su-u ftas 1 -q[u-la t]e-se-ra ta-pa-da

X I

1isl-bir b: kap-pa-ka 1 dlug[a1'- L: drlugal-url-ra 109

a: pi-i-k]a! rNuNl.~~ b: dMES 110 b: dKAxiGI-lu-bi t

112 c: ta-a~-bat b: bar-ra-an c: [tap-r]ik KASKAL! l
8: bar-r]a-nu 113 b: ana a: qar-rad DINGIRmes rd [MA~
1
••• t

b: EN (for qar-rad) DINGIR.DINGIR 8: d,

e-a 1 [ i- l
d,
e-a li-i [ k- c: lim-ba~-ka c: 11-is-su-x-ka l
A: ruling follows 115 c: i-na
ziz
a: ta-za-az
 n• TTVW!REMT"w !! 'I 'PJFFE'!"f"'""l

101

no. 25
107 ~n: Whoever you are, Any Evil, who made straight for me,

108 Carried me off, captured me, may Lugaledinna break your wing!

109 May the sage of the gods, Marduk, render ineffective your

utterance!

110 At the command of Asalluai, king of Heaven and Underworld.

111 At the command of Ea, king of the Apsu. tu .en
6

no. 26
112 en: Whoever you are, Any Evil, who seized the road, who
blocked the road,
113 May Ninurta, warrior of the gods, send you off to the Land-of-
no-return!
114 May Ea look furiously upon you!
115 May Ea pluck you out from the place where you are standing!
116 Set free the young man, that he may cross the (city-)square!
117 (This) incantation is not mine: the incantation is of Ea and
Asallu!Ji:
118 The incantation is or Damu and Ninkarrak;
119 The inc~ntation is of Ningirimma, mistress of the incantation.
tu
6
.2n

ta-az-z[iz A: d,e-a li- [ sub-ka .-. '. ruling follows

li-suh-ka
... 116 b: GURU~; r11!l_ c: om •
r
this line 117 c: sip-ti ul iu-u-tu-un si-pat b: dKAxiGil_
118 c: si-pat b: (d)da-[mu a: dgu-la for dnin-kar-ra-ak
119 c: si-pat a b: tN for sip-ti a b: om. tu
6
 102

no. 27 1:
;
a Ab c 120 en at-ta-man-nu mim-ma lem-nu sa ~al-mat klma ittf
{

(ESIR) sa-qu-u kima gisgisimmari

a 8 b c 121 ina qul-ti sa mu-si il-ta-nak-ka-na sepeii_su te-
ba-a a-na da-ki-ia
a 8 b c 122 V, der
urn-m a d nin-urta sa - ( BHD.DINGIR)
11 ki be-el-ka-ma

a 8 b c 123 um-ma a-na mar dba- 1 -ir-al-1u-tim-ma

a 8 b c 124 a-na se-ep se-lip-pi-i u ki-sad raq-ql-im-ma
."
mus-slr eflsm-ma ina 9 ~ samml(Zll..M!) re-be-ta 11-ti~iq
9
a 8 b c 125
a b c 126 mus-syl r ardata-ma li-qat-ta
V , me-lul- [ ta ] -sa
y,
a c 127
b c 128 [ a-n ] a d ne-er-
, > . - . .
~e -tag-m~1 bel su-se-e [a-qa ]b- bi -ma
c 129'

no. 28

At least one line (with en), more probably

two, is missing from the beginning of this in-
cantation. Collation of b showed that about
eight lines are missing between um-ma (i. e.
122 above) and ina pem1-ia (of this inc.).
5
The ends .of five lines are preserved on b, up
to a-qa]b-bf-ma (i. e. 128), sob had our 127-
128 in one line. Therefore, b has three lines
missing after 128, and since the first of these
is 129 above, two lines must be missing from
the beginning of no. 28.
130 [en sa? ia-a-si? .J
131 [ .. . . . .. . . .. .]
132 ina pemi(dR)-ia
5 . . .]
120 c: [ki]-ma; sa-qu-u ki-rmal 121 c: 11-ta-nak-ka-nu
a: ti-ba-a b: ti-rba1-[a a: ana c:
ruling follows 122 c: .um-rna-a dMA~ a: rial a c:
BAD b: EN-k[a] c: · EN-ka-ma 123 .•
8 c: um-ma-a
 103

£!.0· 21
120 ~n: Whoever you are, Any Evil, who are as black as pitch,

lofty as a palm-tree,
121 In the silence of the night he places his feet again and

again: they have set out to kill me!

122 Thus says Ninurta of Der, your master,
123 Thus he says to the son of the 11 Crab-catcher 11 ,
124 To the foot of the tortoise, the neck of the turtle:
125 "Set free the young man, that he may cross the (city-)square
. to the (sound of) the harp!
125 Set free the young maiden. that she may finish her dance!
127 If you fail to set (them) free,
128 [I will] give an order to N~r-i-tagmil, lord of the reeds,

129 ·And he will not permit:.you to pass out of the gate!" ~u .~n
6
no. 28
130 [en: He who 7 . . . . . .]
131 [. . .]
132 [Who . . .] in my thigh(s), in my feet.

b: rum 1-ma! a: ana ba-r'-ir-al1-lu-tim-ma B: b[a- 1 -i]r-al-

lu-tim-ma c: dba-ir-al-lu-t[i-m]a (call.) 124 a: ana
• ~.'!
a: se-lip-pe-e' om. u 8: am. u (?) c •. LJu

a: ra-q!-ma c: BAL.Gik[u6!) 25 .
c: et-lu 8: i-na

a c: z~ .~tr a: re-be-[t]u c: re-bet 126 a: KI.

SIK]IL-ma ~d[; me-lul-~~-88 c: me-lul-[tas?J (1 sign missing)
127 c: om. -ma 128 b: a-

qab]-bl'-ma
 104

b 133 is-sa-na-atJ-bar-an-ni 1em-ni [ s.., ka1·? u 4-mi·? ]

~

b 134 ir-ri-ia id-ki-rku?l x x (x) 1~-b[a-tu-u-n~]

5
b 135
- ,
idi(A)-ia is-pu-ku [bir-ki]-ia 5 i[k-su-u-ni]
5
b 136 u-pu-un-ti X {X) mur~u t[a-ni-QU i-mi-du-u-ni]

a b 137 di-'u di-lip-tu um-tal-l[u-u-ni]

a b 136 dnam-tar mar

- s1p-r
v,' i sa
y d[ eres- ki -ga 1] I' V

a b 139 kima rlmi ez-zi-is 1is-k[ip-su]

a b 140 dadad gas-ri ilanimes ri-gim-~u) lid-d[i]-su
ct gis gis , ,. ,. , .
a b 141 nin-urta bel kakki! kakka-su llis-b~]r
a b 14 2 - mes
d,e-g ma- 1'~k i lani me-lik-su li-is-p[u-u]b.
a b 143 d
marduk mas-mas llani mes oa-laq-su liq- r bi 1
y V o - VI'

a b 144
d
.
dsamas e-tu-tu la u-nam-mar-su
d ,
a b 145 da-mu u gu-la irat-su li-ne-'u
a b 146 d nin-g f r-su bel g{ r-su ki u lagasvki

a b 147 ina ma-~IR-ti atani(EME) qat-su lim-oa~

.,
146 _ mes rabuti
ilani A mes irat-su li -ne-
' ,u
a b

a b 149 ina zumri-i[a] li-is-su-tJu-su

.... .

a b 150 'u ia-a-ti ana qate

- -II damqat
- 1mes sa v, dbel
-

8 b 151 a-na sul-me bala~i(TI.LA) lip-q{-du-in-ni tu 6 .en

no. 29

a 152 en sa V

ia-a-si im-ba~-an-ni ina puti(SAG.KI) rill-

pu_r tan 8 nl_ni

a 153 ina kisadi-ia 5 i-na-ra-an-ni ina pit-ri-is

V
5
ulappitu?(TAG)mes

142 a: me ] -lak-su
V,
rli-is-pu-bu 1 144 b: la t 145
d
b: dME.ME for gu+-1a a: i-[ra]t-su b: li-r ne- •1-u
,
146 a: gir-su 11•7 a: AN~E! .SAL 146 b: li-
 105

133 Who constantly pursues me for evil, [all day lorig],

134 Who • . • my intestines, who seized [my • • • ),

135 Who poured out my strength, who [bound] my [knees/loins}

'
136 Who (imposed upon me) • • • (and?) grievous sickness,
137 Who filled [me] with headache and sleeplessness,

138 May Namtar, messenger of [Ereskigal]

139 Overwhelm [him] furiously, like a wild bull!
140 May Adad, strung one of the gods, hurl <Sis) thunder at himt
141 May Ninurta, lord of weapons, break his weapon!
142 May Ea, counsellor of the gods, confound his counsel!
143 May Marduk, exorcist of the gods, command his destruction!
144 Samas will not illumine his darkness!
145 May Damu and Gula turn him back!
146 May Ningirsu, lord of Girsu and Lagas
147 Strike his hand with the • • • of a female donkey!
148 May the great gods turn him back!
149 May they oust him from my body,
150 And may thay commend me to the benevolent hands of Bel
151 For well-being (and) for life! tu 6 .en

no. 29
152 en: He who has struck me, and hurt me in my temples,
153 Who has smitten me in my neck, and given me pains in my pitru,

f..

·r ne-
, 1 -u 1
149 b: su-i]a 5 a: [1]i-is-~u)-ou-su b:
rd1
150 a: [Cx)]x 151 ·a: ana;
 106

a 154 mur~u ta-ni-QU i-mi-dan-ni

a 155 rdil-•u di-lip-tu rus? 1-[x-x-1]a/]ma-an-[ni]

a 156 dnam-tar klma a-le-e lik-kip-rsul

d v m ...
a 157 adad gas-ri ilani es ez-zi-is e1i-su ill-si
dv V - A ( )mes V ~ mes
a 1 58 samas bel elati AN.TA u saplati(KI.TA)

ana er~et la tari lip-qid-su

8
a 159 1em-nu a-a i-tu-rral a-a i-bi-tan n-ni

no. 30
a Q 160 en a-ou-zu pag-ri si-pat ba-la-~i
8
a 161 r mi ml -ma 1 em-nu i na zumr i - i a a-a i tha""
.v
5
a Q 162 lumun(~UL) siri(UZU) sa zumri-ia 5 lit-bal

a 0 Q 163 at-ta-man-nu mim-ma lem-nu ma-ai-i~ puti-ia 5

a 0 164 sa ina rputi1-ia5 tam-ba~-an-ni ina kisadi-ia5

ta-nar-an-ni
a 0 S 165 sarti(SfG) qaqqadi-ia tu-zaqx(SAG)-q{-pu ina
5 i
i
uzneii_ia tas-gu-mu ,\
5
a 0 S 166 X X X-ia
5
rur?1-ta- 1 i-bu 1iq pi-i8 Ub-bu-la-ta I'
tar-~a-at i
8 0 s 167 se-et rdamiqtiml[t]im gis-par-ru-ka I
I.

su-nu-lu-u-ni

8 0 s 168 x gis im? x rdlmarduk nB-•-ri ne-er dmarduk

919
a 0 s 169 kakku

dan-nu sa qati-ka

160 Q: a-ou-uz; ba-la-[ti] 162 a: ~UL as above v.

copy (coll.) Q: zu-u[m- 163 164

0: ta-na-ra-a[n-ni] 165 166 a:

KA-ia ub-(by)-la-tu 167 a: su-qlU)-lu-r in 1-nl 0:

5
su-nu-lu-i[n-ni] 168 0: ne)- 1 -er for ne- 1 -ri S: ne- I]-
 107

154 Who imposed grievous sickness upon me,

155 Who . . . me (with) headache and sleeplessness,

156 May Namtar butt him like a bull!

157 May Adad, strong one of the gods, screech furiously round

about him!
158 May ~amas. lord of above and below, commit him to the Land-

of-no-return!

159 May the Evil One not return! May he not injure me! tu .en
6

no. 30
160 en: Seize hold of my body, 0 incantation of life,

161 (so that) Any Evil will not approach my body!

162 May it (the incantation) remove the Evil of the flesh of

my body!

163 You, whoever you are, Any Evil. that struck my temples,
164 You who struck me in my temples, smote me in my neck,

165 Who made the very hair of my head to stand on end, who

roared in my ears,

156 Who made my • . • tremble: you are the one who dried up

my palate!
167 The good net is stretched out! The trap (to catch) you
is laid out!

158 • 0 Mardt..ik! Kill my killer, 0 Marduk!

169 May the exalted(?) [.] . .' the divine weapon, the mighty

weapon in your hand

er 169 S: ~i-r]u? a: kak-ku a s: sa .

 108

d
a b 0 S 170 lip-~ur irat di-'1 nam-tar la-pi-ta-ni-ia
a 8 b 0 S 171 lim-ba~ mub-oa-su-nu li-ma-al-li ~era tu 6 .en

no. 31
, ,
a B b 172 en e-tim suqu pa-rik re-be-t[u]
a B b 173 ma-bi-i~ mub-bi mu-ub-bll 1iq rpl-ial
,
a B b 174 mu-ub-bil qaqqadi a-k11 se[r]-a-ni
,
a 8 b 175 U.DA~.NU A.DA~.NU NA.rDA~l.NU MU.DA~.NU
d - ,
a 8 b 176 ki-i nam-tar barranu e-tim ki-1 dnergal rbarl-ra-
nu pa-ri, k '7
·

a 8 b 177 UR.PA.A.GU.NA.A UR.PA.A.GU.NA.A

B 8 b 178 tiU.RI.IN NA.RI.TA TA.~U.RE.E NA.~A.TA
d ,
a 8 b 179 dna-bu-un-di NfG.GA.DU na-hu-un-di
... NIG.GA.DA
,
a 8 b 180 NA.PI.IR NIG.GA.DU [N]A.PI.IR [NfG.GA.DA]
a A 8 b 181 su zi.ga Su zi.ga su ba.ra.zi
d ,
a A 8 b 182 me-ha-a
... is-kun asa1-lu-bi
a A 8 b 183 UL. PI.NA .A tjU.NA.8A.[xJ
,
8 A 8 b 184 u-tuk-ku kat-til-1u ra-bi-su . .
e-tim-mu

a A 8 b 185 u mim-ma lem-nu mu-~ab-bit a-me-lu-te

d
170 a: r nam 1_ <tar) (?) rla-pi-ta-al-n[i-ia] 171 8: -a]l-
1[ i! 0: 11 ]-mal-11 a: om. tu 5 172 b: su-qa 8:

pa-r]i-ik b: pa-ri-ik 173 b: UGU mu-ub-bil; p[i- 174

,
8: mu-bi1 b: mu-ub-bil 8: S[A] 175 8 b: DAij for DA~

throughout b: rNAI?l.oA~. 176 8 b: om. each ki-1 b:

e-r~{!lJrki 1-im; DU[ for oar-ra-nu 177 a b: .BA. for .NA.

8: UR.PA.GU. 178
 109

170
-
Banish(?) the di'u-demon (and) Namtar who are causing me pain!
~;

171 May it strike their skulls, and fill the Underworld (with
their corpses)! tu
6
.en
no. 31
t~ ... ~s.·tt ... ~ . ·· ...,.:r.t ~~--~ ... ;~:
172 en: the road k ·t:fl~~et:0--l--;-L.the street ~ o~!

173 He who strikes my skull, who dries up my palate,

174 Who dries up my head, and devours my sinews,
175 udahnu
... adahnu nadahnu
... mudahnu
"" ...
176 As if by Nergal, the path is blocked(?); as if by Namtar the
path is obstructed!
177 urpaguna -
urpaguna-
178 burin narita taoure nahata
"'
179 o Nsoundi, niggadu! o Naoundi, niggada!
180 0 (my?) god, niggadu! 0 (my?) god, (niggada]!
181 Raise (your) hand! Raise (your) hand! He did not raise a
hand.

182 Asallubi swirled up a stormwind (against you?)!

183 ulpina alpine bunaba
184 Utukku-demon, Kattillu-demon, Rabi~u-demon, Etimmu-demon,
185 And Any Evil that seizes hold of mankind. tu .en
6

~[U.U]N NA.~A.TA (? See Comm.) 8: ~U.RI.x[; ~u.uo.~u for ~U.RE.E

,
179 a: dna-rru?l_un-rdil NIG.GA.RU rd?l[n)a?-fru?bu?_un!?-di!1
-·----
[MIN?) (?) 180 a: rNfGl.GA.DA for NIG.GA.DU; M[IN] for 2nd
..,
wr. 181 a: su zi.ga MIN
b: is-ku-na drKAxiGil- 183 A: tjU].NA.fABl b: [tj)U.N[A!.
a: r]a!_rbil-~u! e-tlm-~u) a: a-me-lu-t]i en
 110

no. 32
, 1
a A 8 b f 186 en zi tJa.ra zi oa.ra zi. dMAG ha·~; ra
~

,
~ ... u
a A 8 b 187 our-sa-nu lik-1a-ka sadu 11-ni-ib-ka
a A 8 b 188 x-RI-li-ka li-tir-ka ana arki-ka tu 6 .en

no. 33
d
a A 8 b Y 189 en zi ba.ra zi NU ba.ra zi. MA~ ba.ra
a A 8 190 ou ut t[u? x x (x) i]t ta gab ra a
a AB 191 kima al[pi a-n]a tarbasi(TUR)-ka
A 8 192 kima immeri(UDU.NITA) a-na supuri(AMA~)-ka
A 8 193 [kima i~9uri a-na qin-ni-k]a tu-ur tu 6 .en

no. 34
HUG
a A 8 19 4 , r AN 1 [ . . • J x [( x )] x
en ,v
mas.sag MU~xA.NA .e.ma

MU~
a A 8 195 igi m[as.sag MU~)xA.NA me.ren 1 tu 6 .en

no. 35
a A 8 196 en [x x tJ)ul.a gir TAR.du.d[e?J
,
A 197 rsipatl [d]ninurta ilu ez-zu sa sanina rla isul[u]

A 198 [ana er~]et la tari pu-!ur lem-nu

A 199 sa rdl[ninurta ana-ku l]em-nu la te~ebbaa tu5.en

no. 36
A 8 b 200 en zi.zi.ig nu.e.de.es sag.gis! nu.ab.rsi.e91

A 8 b 201 E NIG A~ TU BI E DI KU E [NfG A~ TU SI E DI KU]

186 b: zi!. dMA~ f: zi. d nin. urta HI[N] 188 a: u(

for x above, v. copy (call.) A: [x x] ana or [Cx) a-n]a a:
om. tu 6 189Y: dnin.urta,. adds tu !.AN.e.nu.[ru] 191
- 6
a: [GIM UDU.NITA (apparently) precedes the GIM G[u of above
4
194 a: rANl as above. v, copy (coll.) A: d[e!J (?)
195 a: AN x[ at beginning (coll.) 200 b: as above; cor-
 111

"\

no. 32
,
186 en: t"1ay he (speak) the life for you! May he (speak) the life

for you! May he (speak) the life of Ninurta for you!

187 Hay the mountain constrain you! May the peak calm you down\

188 May your ... turn you back whence you came! (?) tu .en
6

no. 33
189 ~n: May he (speak) the life for you! May he (speak) the

life for you! May he (speak) the life of Ninurta for you!

190 . . • . [. .] •

191 Like an ox to your stall,

192 Like a sheep to your fold,

[Like a bird to your nest]. do you return! tu .~n

193
6
no. 34
194 en: . . • [ . • • ] • [.] • the leader,

195 From the presence of the leader: I am the [ • . • . . • ] tu .en

6

no. 35
196 ~n: [ • . • ] is evil; the foot . . •

197 (This is) an incantation of Ninurta, furious god who has no

rival.

198 Remove yourself, 0 Evil One, [to the Land-of-no-return]!

199 [I belong] to Ninurta; 0 Evil One, do not come near! tu 6 .en

no. 36
,
200 en zizig nuedes saggis nuabsies
201 e nig as tu bi e di ku
V

e [nig as tu bi e di ku]

rupt(?): see Comm. 201 b: L JI BI E DI I

KU KIMIN

Nederlands Instituut
voor het Nabije Oosten
Leidon- Nederland
 112

8 b 202 am-me-ni ki-sad mar babili(KA.DINGIR.R[Aki]) klma

qana""times! ta-oa-a!?- ~a-a~)

8 b 203 pu-~ur lem-nu ana er~et la tari ina pan apkal

- mes dmarduk tu .en
ilani
6
no. 37

8 b 204 en zi.zi.ig ~u.e.de.e; sag.gis nu.ab.de.es

....
8 b 205 li-is-sub-ka ina sik-nat napistim~ 1 m
B b
.. , .. Ae tim -
206 a-sa-red same u er~etim bel qabli(MURUB ) u
4
ta-ma-tu
- .., ib mursi
8 c b 207 nasih . .
mu-bal-lit miti(ADDA)
8 c b 208 na -sl·r
• r nap1s
... t.1m ltim bel qabli u tabazi
d ,
a 8 C b 209 marduk itti-ka-ma tu .en
6
no. 38

a B C b J
R S T U Y 210 en zi.zi.ig nu.e.de.es sag.gis nu.ab.de.es
z AA-BB
- --- Ir
a 8 C b 211
V
na-an-si-ib ina sik-nat napist1m
V • tim -
ina pan

.
202 b: Gd; K~.DINGIRmes 205 b: li-sub-ka 206

b: a-sa-re-du 8: MURUB !; ta-am[at]

4
..,
207 .
b: mur-si
b: NAMmes for Zitim 8: MURUB ! C: qab-li i ta-
4
209 a: om. tu .en (by spacing)
6
b: om.
6
tu 210 U II: en.e.nu.ru V: zi.zi.da
R T: nu.e.da.as u:
• . gls·.
_J . . .., I

x[x] J R r uz AA BB: lu.ab.da.as s: lu.ab.DI.as V: 1U'.

 113

202 Why do you snap the necks of the Babylonians like reeds?

203 Remove yourself. 0 Evil One, to the Land-of-no-return, from

tu .~n
the presence of the sage of the gods, Mardukl
6
no. 37
204 en: zizig nuedes saggia nuabdes

205 May he tear you out from among living creatures,

206 The foremost of Heaven end Earth, lord of battle and strife,

207 He who tears out sickness and heals the dying,

208 The guardian of life, lord of battle and war,

209 0 Marduk, (it rests) with you (to protect)! tu .en

6

no. 38
210 en: z izig nuedes saggis nuabdes

211 Be ousted from among living creatures, from the presence of

the foremost, lord of strife! tu .en

6

U: adds KA.en.e.nu.ru
, .
Z: adds en.e.nu.ru 211
sik,-na-at b: DI~ ina; ZI c: ri 1-na; a-sa-red x 8:

te-amat a: adds DA]GALti (call.); om.

...
I
 114

no. 39

a 8 c b 212 en e.nir GABA TIL ba an dir.ta {l.la

tim V Ae
a 8 c b 213 mus-tar-bi-i? er~etim same ur-pe-te

a 8 c b 214 si-pit si-oi-it . . ..

salam(NU) titti(IM)
y, d ' ... a ,
a a c b 215 sa ninurta ana-ku pu-tur lem-nu la tetebba tu .en
6

no. 40
,
a 8 c b 216 en d alad.bi
"'
su.du 7
y
alam.bi su.du7
' d
a 8 c b 217 gu4 su.du7 gu 4 alad.bi su.du 7V

,
a 8 C b 218 u-tuk-ku kat-ti1-lu4 ra-bi-~u e-tim-mu

a A 8 c b 219 sag-ga-su our-ba-su

1emuttimtim

a A 8 b 220 sa blti-su si-ma ana na-me-e at-lak na-an-si-ih...

la ta-tur-ra
a A b 221 sipat dninurta ili mut-tal-11 tu6.en

no. 41

a A b 222 en kal.kal.rlal igi x[ X ]x rzil.zi nu.zi.zi

a A b 223 sipat das[al-1u-oi] dup-pir tu6.en

no. 42

a A b E H 224
, , "
en nlg.nam.oul.dlm.ma
,
nlg.nam.mu.• sa 4 .a

a A b E H 225 lu . r l d ,
kin.gi .a ding1r.re. e.ne gaba.zu.ne asal.lu.bi
4
a A b E H 226 tu 6 .ku.ga.a.ni be.dib tu .en
6

212 a: .n]ir r GABA!? l T[IL? b: nir; TIL rlal/rbal a:

da.a]r.tu C: rdal.ar.ta b: da.ar.ta a: el.la b: i .la

213 a: i]r-pi-ti C: ir-pi-it b: ir-pit 214 b:

si-pit . a c: si-ih-ti .... . b: si-b1-it 8 c b: !?a-1am .

b: ti-
d
.
ti 215 b: nin-urta C: a-na-k[u] b: lem!-nu a:
om. tu 216 b: [a]lamJbi ?l 218 8 b: kat-til-lu
6
 115

no. 39
212 en: .. . . . . • •i • •

213 Who causes the Underworld to be destroyed,

214 Lament! Jump! 0 image of clavi

215 I belong to Ninurta; remove yourself, 0 Evil One, do not come

no. 40
216 en: That sedu-spirit is perfect; his figure is perfect.
217 The hero is perfect; the hero, that sedu, is perfect.
218 0 (you) Utukku-demon, Kattillu-demon, Rabi~u-demon, Etimmu-

demon,
219 Murderer-demon, Terror-demon (or) Sustainer-of-Evil demon
220 Inside his house, come forth! Be off to the steppe-land!
Be ous·ted! Do not come back!
221 (This is) an incantation of Ninurta, the princely god. tu .en
6

no. 41
222 en: Very precious, before • [.] •• depart! Do not depart!
223 (This is) an incantation of Asalluo1; begone! tu 6 .en

no. 42
224 en: Any Evil-Doing Thing, Anything that may be named,
225 May the messenger of the gods, Asallubi
226 Seize your breast (by means of) his holy incantation!(?) tu 6 .en

219 C: sag-g a-su

V ] V,
b: sag-ga-su b:

220 b: rna! 1-me-e 222 a: [x]x-

d
ma b: kal.kal x[x x]x[. 223 a: asa]l-l[u!-bi 225

H: gaba.zul. E: d asal-lu-hi·
' I
226 H:
"
o]e!.dib; om. tu
5
 116

·,•-

no. 43
, d , d , , ,d , :
a b c E H M 227 en a.ra.nun.na a.ra.nun.na ga.e lu. a.ra.nun.na
a b c E HM 228 nfg.nam.aul.dfm.ma nam.ba.te.ga.e.de tu 6 .en
no. 44
, d ..
a b 229 en zi. er.ra zi.ki.a
d d
a Db 230 zi. u.gur zi. a.nun.na.[k]e4.e.ne oe.pa
~
r nisVl d nin-gis-zi-d [ a guzalu ti]m lu-u ta-mat
a D 231 A
er~etim

a D 232 [u? ni]s der[es-ki-gal? x (x)]x pa.a zalag.ga

a D 233 [sipat dninurta ili] ez-zi sa sanina la isuu

"

a D 234 [ ..... . y
. . . • iq]Jba l_a a-na-ku
- vUS ,
epus en

no. 45
,
a D 235 en da.da.~~ da.da.~~ b2m. da da.da gu.la

236
tim tu .en
a D mus-tar-hi-iso V
er~etim
6
no. 46

a D 237 [en in]im be inim be d1·1A~ kalag.ga inim be

a D 238 [. . . .. . . . KJA-su V r
iq-bi [ . . . . . .J X lem-nu
,
li-mut en

no. 47
,
D 239 [en ... . . . . . . J en nfg.BAR ga.e me.en
.

B D 240 [. "
. J nig.BAR du .ma.ab
11 ·~.

D 241 [. . . . J-su a-na-ku vI'

,
a b 0 242 [. . . . J AN sip-ri qi-ba-ni tu
6
.en

d
227 a E H M: om. E H M: t-11 N for second wr. 228
d
H: adds rzil.an.na tJe.p[a zi.ki.a be.paJ 230 b: ne-ir ]1 ll-
gal D: b[ e, '.. 231 a: G]ABA7 lu-u D: lu a:
ma ,
ta- mat 233 o: TUKU 238 D: Jx en 240 a:
~:·
!-· 117

no. 43 -:;
!
, ;
227 en: Aranunna, Aranunna, I am the man of Aranunna:!

228 Any Evil-Doing-Thing, do not come near! tu .en

6

no. 44
,.
229 en: Be conjured by Erra, by the Underworld,

230 By Nergal, by the Anunnaki!

231 Be conjured by Ningiszida, [chamberlain of the Underworld]!

232 [And be] conjured by [Ereskigal • . • ] • who shines forth!

233 [This is an incantation of Ninurta], furious [god) who has

no rival;

234 [ . . • . . . . . . . • . . ] spoke, and I (duly) performed

(it) tu .en
6

no. 45
235 ~n: 0 Dada! 0 small Dada! 0 large Dadal

236 He who causes the Underworld to be destroyed. tu .en

6

no. 46
237 [en:] May he speak [the word]! May he speak the word!
May mighty Ninurta speak the word!
238 He spoke his • • • , . . • let the Evil One die! en

no. 47
239 [en: .] lord? of . . • am I,

240 [. . .] . . . speak for me!

241 [. . • • ] • • am I,
242 [. . . . . .] •• , speak the message to me.
tu .~n
6

b: A)N? X X a: om. tu
6

~~~
~- ..
 118

no. 48
D b c GG 243 en ni-is dir-kin-gi a-pil ap-si-1 lu-u ta-ma~ta

a D b c GG 244

no. 49

a D b 245 ~n b~ltu(fGA~ANl) dnin-me-te-en-te-en be-let be-le-

te i-lat 1-la-ti
...
a Db 246 ti-fz-qar-tu ~ir-tu ba-nit ilanirnes
a Db 247 sa ina puti-ia5 im-ba-~a-a-ni rnab-~i-su
Db 248 turn , . turn
B er~eturn lim·-bur-an-nl er~etum lip-dan-ni

no. 50
, d . d . d
a D b 249 en n1n.a.zu n1n.a.zu kalag.ga nin.a.zu
d d .
a Db 250 nin.a.zu dpali 1 ( IGI. DU) nln.a.zu
a b 251 dnin-a-zu maru res-tu-u sa dsinC3D)
d V, , d •
a b 252 . ..
titti nin-a-zu sa blt n1n-a-zu
na4 d V, v - • ... v .... U I'
a b 253 kunukku nin-a-zu sa san1na la isu en

no. 51

a b 254 , sa
en ... ,d.......
sar-sarba t'(
1 ASAL
) .......
sar
ld puratti ana-ku
• X
, '""'a ,
a b 255 pu-~ur lem-nu la te~ebba en

d
243 c: dir-kin-gal GG: ir-kin-gu
b: IBILA rzul.[AB GG: IBILA ZU.AB c: ZU.AB D GG: lu
V
''

ta-mat 244 c: am. pu-!ur 245 D: GA]~ANrnes

V

b: GA;ANmes i-lat!(~E) 246 b: ba-ni-tu 247 a:

]-fafl_ni (call.) 0: irn-ba-~a-ni 248 D b: Kitirn (2nd

fanl
wr.) D: lip-dan -n[i] a: final dnin.a.zu
 119

no. 48
243 en: Be conjured by Irkingi, son of the Apsu!

244 Remove yourself, 0 Evil One! Do not come near! tu .en

6

no. 49
245 en: 0 lady Ninmetenten, lady of ladies. goddess of god-

desses,
246 Exalted and lofty. creatress of the gods,
247 Strike him who etruck me in my temples!
248 May the Underworld accept (him) from me! May the Under-

world spare me! [tu 6 .en]

no. 50
249 ~n: Ninazu, Ninazu, the mighty one, Ninazu;
250 Ninazu, Pslil. Ninazu •••
...
251 Ninazu, prime son of Sin,
252 Clay of Ninazu from the Temple of Ninazu;
253 A seal of Ninazu who/which has no rival. en

no. 51
254 en: I belong to the King of the_Euphratee-Poplar, to the
King of the Euphrates;

255 Remove yourself, 0 Evil One! Do not come near! en

precedes kalag.ge 250

C:7 1 (call.) 251 ~= om. dnin-a-zu; res-tu-u: om. sa (call.)

d I
252 b: nin-a-zu· at end 254 a: <{d)p[u?- (cell.)
 . ..: ,,,.,.,
f
120

no. 52
,
a b 256 en mu x x [Cx)] e.kur.ra ab.rba?l.ri X [x)

a b 257 mu x[. . . . .].na nam.mu.un.si.[in.x(x)]

El b 258 r ArJl [ . . . .]x mu.p~.da na x X [x X Cx)]

a 259 [. . .]x-lu-u pa-nu-s[u (x)]
d?
a 260 (. . x]x ruu? l sur-bu-u GfD.DA x[x]

a 261 [. ] bur-ba-s[u (x)]

a 262 [. ]x (x) [. . . . . . . . . .]

It is clear from a that "about five

lines" are missing at this point (see
STT 2 pl. CLXXXIX). Collation shows that
slight but illegible traces of one more
line than is shown on the copy survive
(i. e. line 262): see List of Collations.
Lines 263-266 seem to be missing from all
Mss .. but it is possible that the ends of
the four lines on col. 1 of K 13369 (D,
Tablet 2) belong here; see p. They
are quoted here accordingly. It is just
possible that the gap disguises a division
into two incantations, but for the time
being it is assumed otherwise.

K 13369 CD Tablet 2) col. 1:

26J? •.. ] X

264? . . . ]-r ri 1

2657 . . . b]eli-ia
2667 . • • ]x-r tu 1
4
1
a 267 rdal x(x) [x] rd MIN x[x x (x)] x Cx)[x x]

a 268 alu ana ali bitu ana biti bur b[a7] X X x[x x)
a 269 gisqistu(TIR) GI~ rKARl ana ali sa [l]a? ul-li-

lu-u-m[a?J
a 270 mas-mas-um-ma i-kas-sa-dan-ni
a 271 ina llb-bi-rkal lu-u ta-ma-<t~ en
 :mm:rwmnn m~ ,....;

121

no. 52
,
256 en: [. J Ekur . . . . . . . . [.]
257 . . . [. . . ] • did not . . .
258 . . [. . •J . called/conjured . [. . . ]
259 [. . ] . . his face(?) [. J
260 [. . . . . . ] . . the mighty god, . . . [.]
261 [. . . .] fear [.]
262 [. .. . . . .] • . [ . . . .]

2637
264?

2657 • my lord,
266? .

267 [.] the god . • [ • • • • ] [ .. ]

268 City to city, house to house, [.] .. [ .. ]
269 The forest, • • • to the city that they have not(?) made
pure;

270 It is the exorcist who reaches(?) me:

271 If
• • be conjured!" ~n

'
!
t
~
~

l
r
~.
t
•'

[ 256 a: e.kur.ra v. copy (call.)

'
I. 257 b: ]x[ approx.
r
t
at ].na above 262 a: see Collations for traces
l
!:le

l
~,:;:.
-.
.
 122
~ - ·-
:
' ~:~. . ::
.,_,
.· ..
~

no. 53

a 272 en ki-di-nu a-ia-an-na si-rma? 1

1
a B 273 mu- SBl-li-mu li-sal-li-4r-Y -ka r en

no. 54
274 , dv v "' / ,'\
a B en samas sar \(it-t~

lis-kip
275 - .mes d marduk rpa! 1 -ni-rkal li-rim
apkal ilan1
a 8
rd1 , r ,
a 8 276 nin-gestin- an-na x x x x x-na-ma
V

a 8 277 ina sa[mee] ru er~etimltim memes [li]p!-ru-us-ka

a B 278 rd n 1 n 1 -g1s-z1-
·" . d
a guza 1 u... er~e
t'1m tim [ rapastim
.., t]im

irat-ka li-ne-'i
a 8 279 dusmu(ARA) sukkal eridu(NUN)ki 1[1-ru-ur-k]a

a 280 ina zumri!(ZU) ameli mar ili-~u na-as-oa-at tar-

•
da-rat 1

a 281 uk-ku-sa-at dup-pur (PIR)-[ra]t

X

a 8 282 ina pan beli na-as-oa-at IM.DIS x kun a [x Cx)]x

a B 283 dum-<m~-qa!-nim-ma mas-mas er14-dul0 ana-ku

a a 284 ~-tam-me-ka ana arki-ka 1~ tappallas renl

no. 55

a B 285 en ar-qat le-es-su

a 8 286 kisad-su na-bu re-su ni-ra-bu

a B 287 as-suk pe-en-te at-ta-pab isata
a A b 288 pe-en-te e-se-gi ne-bu-tu ap-pu-uh....

275 a: rpa!l_ (as above) v. copy (coll.) 276 8: ]-ki at

end of a line 277 8: lip?-ru?-u]s?-~~ ? 278 8:

li-ne]-r' l_u ? 283 a: dum-~i)-qa!-nim-ma (as above) v. copy

I
 '·'

123

no. 53
272 ~n: Where is (my) protection? Come forth!

273 May he who keeps (people) healthy keep you healthy! en

no. 54
274 en: May ~amas king of ~ustice) and uprightness derange

you!
275 May Marduk sage of the gods cover your face!

276 May Ningestinanna, the

277 Cut you off (with?/from?) the waters of Heaven and Under-
world!

278 May Ningi~zida chamberlain of the [broad) Underworld turn

you back!
279 May UsmG vizier of Eridu (pronounce a curse against you]!
280 From the body of (this) man, son of his gad, are you
ousted. banished,
281 Driven away, dispelled!

282 From the presence of the lord are you ousted • • • • [ •• ]!

283 Be favourable to me! I am the exorcist of Eridu;

284 I have conjured you! Do not look behind you! en

no. 55
,
285 en: His cheek is yellow. his beard (like) kalu~clay;

286 His neck is a louse. his head is 8 serpent:

287 I threw down coals, then I kindled a fire.

288 I kindled glowing acacia embers:

(call.) 8: .k]e ? at end of a line

4 285 a: zi-rqinl-
 124 ,
A 8 b

8
289

290
dup-pir ar-ku
V

V
,
dup-pir sa pa-d[ a-ni
,
pu-tur ku-ru-u

pu-~ur sa ~u-u-di]
V,

......
',
'
t'
..

A 8 b 291 dup-pir sa pa-ni-ia pu-uz-ru a-hu-zu

... sa arki-ia
5 V

d
A 8 b 292 ana-ku arki ninurta qar-rad ilani mes al-rlakl
,., ... ,V V d
A 8 b 293 as-su bi ti e-kur as-su askuppi(KUN 4 ) dam-ki-
na

A 8 b 294 - V,
bitu sa in a ll.b-bi-su ar-ku ku-ru-u i-bit-tu

A8 b 295 si-i ar-ku-ma ku-ru-u li-sap-sib

A 8 b 296 - ( KUR ) ha dv V
a-di napaha
... "" samas pa-sir-ku-nu
d, d
A 8 b 297 sip tu ul ia-tu-un si pat e-a u asal-lu-bi
d
A B D b 298 si pat d da-mu gu-la si pat d
nin-girimma bel et
X
,
sipti en

no. 56

A 8 D b 299 en en.nu.da MIN sa.du.da tvliN H\R.da 1'1IN nu.dug.ga. n

,
AD b 300 sipat dninurta ili ez-zi sa sanina la isuu 1'
ADb 301 ana erset la tari pu-~ur lem-nu tu 6 .en

39

291 b: IGI-ia
a b: om. this line 8: p[a]-(da)-

8: ruling after
'i1
i.

1is line 292 A: a-na-ku; al-l]a-ak

33 A: 1--IU for as-su a: om. t b: KID e-kur A: M[U

b: MU 294 a: ~A-su be-e-tu 295 A: GfD.D[A

: GfD.DA-ma a: om. -ma 8: LUGUD.DA a: li-sap-si-ib

dv, . ,. .
36 b: sa-mas a: pa-sir-su-nu
: pa-s[lr-ku/su-n]u 297 a: ia-tu b: (ia) -tu-un
 125

289 Go away, 0 Long One! Remove yourself, 0 Short Onl!

290 Go away, you in (my) way! [Remove yourself, you :!i.n (my) path!]

291 Go away, you in front of me\ Hide yourself, you behind me!

292 I walk behind Ninurta, warrior of the gods.

293 Concerning the house Ekur, concerning the threshhold of

Damkina,

294 The house in which the Long One and the Short One spend the
night:
295 Come out, 0 Long One, that the Short One may give rest!

296 Until the rising of the Sun, who dispels you.

297 (This) incantation is not mine; the incantation is of Ea and

Asallubi:
293 The incantation is of Damu and Gula; the incantation is of

Ningirimma, mistress of the incantation. en

no. 56
299 en: Begone!(?) Begone!(?) Be off!(?) Be off!(?) Go away!(?)
Go away!(?), 0 you Evil One;

300 (This) is an incantation of Ninurta, furious god who has no

rival;

301 Remove yourself, 0 Evil One, to the Land-of-no-return! tu .en

6

d d, ~> d d d
a: DI~ b: e-a 298 b: da-mu; ME.ME for gu-la; nin-

A.ZA.QUD.DU 299 a: en.nu.du MIN A 0: nin.n[u. 8:

J fnin.nu1.[ (2nd) a: sa.du.du MIN D: sa.AB.d[a 0:

TAR. da TA[R. da 300 b: ez-zu; TUKU]ful

301 a: a-na

·: .....
-:-""·
,·•:
 126

no. 57

a A D b I J f ti-ri-is u-ba-ni a-me-lu-ti lem-nu

,
a A b b I J T f 303 inim.gar ~ul.dim.ma kalam.ma.ke 4

a A b b I J f e-gir-ru-u lem-nu sa ni-si

a A b b I J f 304 ~~.bal gig.ga dingir.AMA.diNNIN.e.ne.ke 4

a A b I J f ar-ra-tu ma-ru-us-tu sa ili u dis-tar

A J T f 305 da e.na dingir.re.e.ne.ke4

...
b I J f V, il-animes
e- t e-eq i-t e-e sa
A J T f 305 igi.bi.e.ne silim.ma du.du.de

A b I J f ma-har-su-nu sal-mes i-tal-lu-ki

"'
A b J f 307 nam.tag.ga.[ne].e.ne du .u.da
8
A b I J f a-ra-an-su-nu pa-~a-ri
A b I J f 308 dingir.na.me an.da rnul.ub.da.[s]i.a

A b b I J f ilu ma-am-man ul i-[l]e-'i [( • . . )]

A b b J f 309 den.ki lugal.abzu.ke 4 dumu.a.ni dasal.lu.bi

an.da na.nam

A b b J f d, "'
e-a sar ..,, d marduk [ . . • Jx
ap-si-i u maru-su

AJ 310 g~.e gi.ba ga.rel [gi.ba]

A b J ,. .... ,
a-na- k u u-sa-an-n
i [ , y, .
a-na-ku u-sa-an-n1 tu 6 .en
, J

302 First line quoted on BM 33534 rev. 41 (CT 17 33: see p. ):

u-b]a-nu u)ut-tim I: ti-ri-PA f: a-me-lu-ti a A:

ruling follows, as with following couplets. 303 J: bul.dim!.

ma b: e-gir-ru-u 304 a I: ].re.ne 1 J: .ke 4 .e.ne

" r tu 1 ·
b: mJa-ru-us- ... rt u 1
f ·. ma-ru-us- 4
T: om.
4
this couplet(?) 305 A: this couplet in one line by spacing~

see Comm. T: da.AN.n[a? f: e-ti-e 306 J: di.di.da

 127

no. 57
302 en: Evil Finger-pointing of mankind,

303 Evil reputation among the people,

304 A grievous curse of god and goddess,

305 Transgressing the limits (prescribed) by the gods;

306 To walk about safely in their presence,

307 To absolve their punishment,

308 No god is able (to accomplish this?):

309 Enki/Ea, king of the Apsu, and his son Asallubi/Marduk

[are able to accomplish this?]

310 I repeated (this incantation?); I [repeated (this incan-

tation?). tu .en)
6

!?_: i-tal-lu-k[u? f: 1-tal-lu-kam 307 For restoration

see Comm. 30B

ra?l b~ MES LA-am-man J: i-lu 4 309 b: abz]u.

ke J: dumu.ni ma-ri~[
4 ! dumu.mu b: 310 b:
... "'
u- 68 saman_nu-rul [
 128

no. 58 ~.

,
A a 311 en lu.IJul ba.an.sa .sa 5 mu.un.gi.da bar a. ga. ke;4
5
A 312 "
ba.an.da sa.me.ra si.ga.k[e 4 ( . . •) J
A b a 313 su.lu ugu.na.ke 4
,V
A b -a 314 1'v!A[; g1s IJu.luiJ.IJa sa.nu. til.la
, k'1
A b a 315 ga.e lu .mu7"mu 7 [rJUN ].ga.ke 4

A b a 316 sa .!Jul. ta ba.ra.e tu 6 .en

KA.inim.ma amelu lemnu ana ameli x-su 1a i~eiJIJa

V , 8
b 317

After this rubric, a and b insert

three lines of ritual instruction which
are omitted in A (as is line 317 too).
It cannot be known whether the other
1 compilation 1 tablets included them or

not: ~· the only other Ms. to have nos.

SS and 59 in sequence, omits them.

' b 318 epustu-su(DU.DU.BI) na4annaka(AN.NA) na4KUR.NU.

DIB

b 319 teqqi(MAR) ina ~amniCixGI~) tapa~~ascSrS)-su-ma

I b 320 rEN?l 22 x[Cx)] am[e1u lemnu l]a i~eiJI]i-su

no. 59
, ...
A b a p 321 en e ba.an.ge.e ba.an.us.e
-
b a p 322 bi.za.ab bi.za.aiJ(MIN) bi.za.at.J.an.na bi.za.ab
v ..
I b a p 323 dingir.re.e.ne.ke 4 a.sa.ga ba.an.us
-
d ... e V

I b a p 324 a-num in a same i[g-ru-us]

V, ,
b -a p 325 u er-~e-tu 4 in a ra-ma-ni-sa-ma ig-ru-us tu .en
6

a: [en x]x ba.a[n.s]a ?.5[a 5 7 312 a: sam.ra[

5
>13 a: possibly ug]u v. copy (call.) 314 A : h u. l uh • hw u
~ ~
 129

. ·..
no. 58
311 en: The evil man . • . . . . . . . • .

312 . . . • • • [C ••• )]

313 The man's body, on his head,

314
315 I am the exorcist of Eridu:

315 From the si~k (lit. 1 evil 1 ) tendon come forth! tu 6 .~n

317 Incantation to prevent an evil man from approaching a

man's • . •

318 Its ritual: Lead and magnetic iron ore

319 You apply as a salve: you anoint him with oil;

320 [You repeat this incantation?] •.• times. and the evil

man Will not come near him.

no. 59
,
321 en: .

322

323 Water of the gods, in the field. he poured out? (?)

324 Anu copulated in Heaven,

325 And the Earth copulated on her own. tu .en

6

b: ]x
316 a: sa.x.ta
-a: ba.ra; om .. tu .en
6
317

(not L]U) 318 a~ na 4KU[RI. b: ina? sam?]-nu 320

a: rEN?l (coll.) 321 a: ]x for 2nd .e P: ba.an.sV['?]

u-

322 a: for whole line ni.bl za.la.ab ni.bi za.la.ao P:

ni.bi za.a]b ni.bi za.rabl 323 a: b]a.an.us P: ba.

d
an.u[i37] 324 P: a-nu b a: ik-nu-us 325 a:
rKrltim b a: ik-nu-us 8: te en
 130

.,.. . .

no. 60

a A b c KL MN 0 Q
CC OD EE-GG JJ-KK LL
- -------
a A b c KL N 0 P Q
CC DD EE-GG JJ-KK LL 327 u-pal-lib-an-ni u-sag-ri-ra-an-ni
...
';>< GI )mes par-
" d a-a- ti u-
' k a 1 - li m-
a A b c K L N 0 P W 328
"- -t e ( MA~.
suna
6
OD EE GG-JJ KK-Ll -
an-ni
d ' tim
a A b c K L N 0 P Q ana ne-du at0gal(I.DU .GAL) ersetim
329 8 8
DD EE GG-JJ ~K-L[ -
- ----- up-qi-du-su
, d
a A b c K L N 0 P q 330
ina qi-bit ninurta apli(IBILA) asaredi
DD GG JJ-KK Ll- -- (SAG.KAL) m~ri(A) ra-a-me

a A b c K L P Q DD ina q{-bit dmarduk a-sib e-sag-11 u

FF GG JJ-LL - - -- 331
babili(TIN.TIR)ki

a A b c K L P Q DD g iS daltu(IG) u giS sikkuru(SAG.GUL)

- ,
lu-u
FF JJ LL------ 332
ti-da-a
...
a A c K L Q DD FF 333
a-na ki-din sa sini(2) belemes an-da-qut
GG JJ LL-- -- -
tu .en
6

326 CC: adds after en at-ta dan-nu AN KUR NI or? ma!- h ~ g_ EE

r .5 V

I GG KK: mal-di DD: ma[l-di c: gl NA-ia l K: gisN]A-ia t

5
N EE: er-si-ia b GG: i t-ti-qu b. _g P'lK:

DIB 327 A: [~-pa]l-la-oa-an-[ni b: [u-pa]l!-llo-an-ni

~: ru-pal 1 -l[i]-ba-ni L: Nfni N EE: u-pa-llb-a-ni Q: N[f

DD KK: Nfan-ni , ... , [
a: u-sa- b GG: ~-sag-ra-ra-an-ni

c: u-sag-ra-[ K: u-sa-ga-ri-I (i. e. -r[a-ni]?)

,. .. r 1
N: u-sag-ri- ra -a-IR g: u-sag-gar-an-ni
,. I I [
I-
EE: u-sag-ri-ra-a-ni JJ: u·-sag-ri·-r
V
a- KK: u-sag-ri- <_RA+PA)-

ra-an-ni 328 b: par-da-a-te ~: par-da-ti

o: par-da-a-ti! K: u-kal-MA~~

an-ni L: IGini ~: u-kal-lim-a-[ni) 0 KK: ~U-an-ni P:

IGian-ni g: u-kal-lam-an-ni GG: · ·,-kal-la-man-ni 329

 131

no. 60
326 en: He who passed by the edge of my bed,
327 Frightened me, made me panic,
328 Showed me fearful dreams,
329 May they commit him to Nedu, chief doorkeep~r of the
Underworld!
330 At the command of Ninurta, prime son, beloved progeny,
331 At the command of Marduk, dwelling in Esagila and Babylon;
332 0 door and bolt, do you therefore know
333 That I have fallen under the protection of the(se) two
lords! tu .en
6

A c K N EE: a-na Q: dBI.NE KK: dne-du

8
MA Kiti L: I.
g: KI!timl LL: rKitil
r v, , V,
b: i-paq-q1-du-su c: i-paq-q[{]-d[u- ~: i-PI-qi-du-su L:
;>< ... ,
N: i-pa-ql- [ 0: oiD-su P: ~ID-s(u?) GG: 1-
;>< V,
paq-qi-du-s u
, V [ ']
KK: oiD-su 330 c: i-na K: ME for q{-bit
a b: dnin-urta K l P: A

_g: am. IBILA JJ: A! K: SAG! L P KK: MA~

a-68-re-du !:1.: ra?l-[sa- b: AD for DUMU K GG: OUMU c:

ra- 1 -mu K: ra-mu L 0 P: AG g: ra-a-ma JJ: A[G 331

c: 1-na P: ana K P: ME DD: DUll LL: D)Ull!?

JJ: dTU~ L: x(x) g_: a-LAL b= e,_
~ g GG: e-sag-gil L: e-sag-rgill P: e-GIL-SAG P: om. u
,
K FF: W\.DINGIR L: M.DIN[GIR P: KA.[ g: KA.DINGI~ki GG:
KA.DINGIRm[e] 332 Q: [(gis)I)G am. u FF: sik-
,
kur LL: SAG.GUL ~ _h .E_ _g GG: lu P:
.9_ GG: ti-da 333 c: adds ki-i before a-na
ri: ki-ti-ni a A LL: am. sa c K L: am. 2 a A:
.... .. ..
ENymes
L: DINGIRmes EN!mes g: GG:

LL: EN mes ni K: an-da-BA L: an-BAR-qut _g:

adds ana-ku K: QA en L: 5I. E5 en g: te en
 132

no. 61
V

a A 334 ' ed-du-tu la-a-di-ru- L-t]'il-animesl

en u em-nu- t e
...
a A 335 ... , suqat1
mu-tal-li-ku sa - - .mes

mu-sa re-ba-at
a A 336 mu-tab-la-ki-tu4 u-[ra-a-ti mu-un-n]ar-bu bitatimes
V

3 A 337 mu-tal-11-k[u sa? kal? u4-mi? la-a]-di-ru mu-si-ti

3 A 338 e~lu damqu ar[datu damiq]tu[t]u4 ina suqi is-te-ne- 1 -u
i A 339 il-ta-n[am-m]u-u is-sa-na-ou-ra
1 A 340 a-na mu-sam-si-i suqa par-ku
1 A 341 sa ina pa-ni-su-n[u] il-la-ku u-qa-a-u res-su
V

A 342 a-na la [b]el ilanimes 1-kat-ta-mu sa-pa-ris

A 343 lik-rtuml-[ku-n]u-si siptu ez-ze-tu rabitutu sa d[e-a
V V]
mas-mas
A 344 lik-l[a-ku-nu)-si deres-ki-gal sar-r[at erse)timtim
...
rapastim tim

A 345 lik-[bu-us] bu-bur-ku-nu atugallu gas-ru dne-du

8
A 346 1[17-x-x r]ig-me-ku-nu g[uzalu(GI[~.GU.ZA.LA)?
. t]im rabu... u d nam-tar
er~et1m

A 347 [lis]-rs~l-a sar(IM.l) beri(DAN[NA) ina zumur am]~li

mar ili-su
A 348 [x]-x-tu-nu n[a-ad?]-ra-tu-nu
A 349 [u]k-ku-s[a-tu-nu dup-p]u-ra-tu~nu
350 [x x x-tu-nu x x] x-tu-nu
-
351 . [ nis... d . . . . u-tam-me-ku
I ]
-nu-siV

d
352 [nis ,
. . . . u-tam-me-ku-nu J-si V

A: ed-du-ti a: la-di-ru-[t]u 335 a: [m]u-

V

336 A: mu-er-ri-bu [tmesl 341 A: ti-

 133

no. 61 :.
~
334 en: The pointed(?) ones. the fearless ones, the! evil gods,

335 Who roam about in the streets, and set (people) running

about by night in(?) the square (?),

336 Who clamber about on the roofs, and flit about(?) the
houses,
337 Who roam about (all day long?], and are fearless by night;
338 The fine young man and the fine young woman they seek out in

the street time after time,

339 Constantly they crowd around, repeatedly they seek (them).
340 They block the path of those who are about at night,
341 They await him who walks in their presence,
342 They overwhelm like a Det the man with6ut a (personal) god;
343 May the furious and great incantation of [Ea the exorcist]
overwhelm you!
344 May Ereskigal, the queen of the wide Underworld, constrain
you!
345 May Nedu, the chief and mighty doorkeeper, suppress your
noise!

346 May Namtar, the great [chamberlain] of the Underworld,

[silence] your clamourf

347 May they (lit. 1 he 1 ) be 3600 double-miles [from the body of]
(this) man, son of his god!
348 You are wild(?)! You are raving!
349 You are driven away! You are dispelled!
350 You are . . ..' You are . . •!

351 [I have conjured] you [by • .. . .]

352 [I have conjured] you [by .]
qa-u r[e-es-su] 343 a: rd!,[,e-a ] 345 a: gas-ri
 134

a 353 [. . . . • . • • . . . • . . . ] X

,,
a A 354 x[(x)]x[ . . . . . . . . su7-n]u?-ma ..
(

a A 355 la-x[Cx)]x[. . . . . . . .]
dv ... V I
a A 356 samas ilu ellu [x X X X (x)] x x-fsul su-nu-ma

a A 357
- ,
eli bi ti u babi s[a ali da-u]m-ma-tu il-tak-nu en

no. 62
, ..,, , V
d.vt
.
V
a A b a GG 358 en sa e-zi-da u e-su-me-sa 4 1s ar sa"' sera(EDIN.

NA) oa-am-mat
.., ,
-mes v , • v ""t·mes
a A b ~§ 359 a-na aobe -su ls-pa-as-su Qana 1 u-ma-al-li
d I V V

a A b GG 350 in a a-mat ninurta bel e-su-me-sa 4

a A b GG 361 in a a-mat dbel bel e-zi-da

a A b GG 362 in a a-mat d gu-la sar-ra-ti ra-bi-t[e]

d ,
a A b GG 363 in a a-mat nin-girimma b'EHet sipti tu 6 .en
X

no. 63

a A b 364 , d] nin.kur.kur.ra pa.e... d.1nanna d n i n. k ur. k ur.ra

[ en

pa.e'
a A b 365 ranl.ne rkul.ga mu.un.ni.sa 4 .a

a A b 366 lu.tu.ra oe.en.ti.la ki.bi.se be.en.gi4.gi4

a A b 367 dinanna nam.en.na.bi tu .en
6
------~-----------------
no. 54

a A b e 368 en lem-nu lem-nu a-a i-bur ze-er lem-nu

356 A: dUTU K[iJ? 358 GG: om. u; d ~E~.KI for d INANNA

A: ba-am-mu a: barn (UD)-me b: ]a x[ at end(?) of 358

- X
359 GG: ana; is-pa-su A: u-mal-li 360 a.• d n ]•1n-

urta; \~-su-me-sa 4 362 A: dMC:. f\'IE GA~AN GG: sar-ra-tu

A: GALti b: GA]ltu4 GG: GALtu 364 a: pa.e.a (lst)
, I
365 a: rkul. as above v. copy (coll.); .sa 7 366 A: be··
 135

353 [. ....... .] ..'

354 [. •J are they!
355 . .[. . .... . . . . .]
356 o ~amas, pure god [ •• • .] are they!
,
357 Over house and gate of the [city] they place gloom. en

no. 62
, y V
358 en: Of Ezida and Esumesa, the goddess who gathers the
steppe-land,
359 For his (sic.) brothers she filled her quiver with arrows:
360 By the word of Ninurta, lord of Esumesa;
361 By the word of Bel, lord of ·Ezida;
362 By the word of Gula, the great queen;
363 By the word of Ningirimma, mistress of the incantation. tu •
6
,
en

no. 53
364 [en:] Lady of the lands, brilliant one! 0 Inanna, lady of
the lands, brilliant one,
365 Named by holy Anu,
366 May (this) sick man be well! May he be restored to his for-
mer state!
367 0 Inanna, its nobility! (?)

no. 64
,
368 en: The Evil One, the Evil One, may the offspring of the
Evil not stay in fine health!

'
a: oe.en. r gi 1 .gi 367
a: n]am.en.bi
 136

",
a A b e .369 sa tam-bas amela su-a-tu tus-ta-ni te-en-su ., 1
i
i

a Ab e .370 .
x-Ab-si pi-su tap-ri-ka mi-na-a tal-qi lem-nu :
a A b e 371 [man]-nu le-mut-ta-su li-ir-H-di-su

a A b e .372 "
[du]p-pir lem-nu tJul-liq lem-nu oul-liq en

no. 65
,
a A b N GG .373 en ni-is gas-ri ra-as-bi su-pi-i dvsul-pa-e-a
"
mul d...
8 A N GG 374 u zappiCMUL) u er-ra-gal lu-u ta-ma-ta

a A N GG 375 mim-ma lem-nu 1a .

tetehha
., ...
8
tu 6 .en
a A 376 KA. inim.ma bul.ba.zi.zi.ke 4

* * * * * * *

,
369 a: tam-ba-a]~ V. copy (call.) A: LU-ma a:

370 A: me-na-a e: tal-qa [

371 e: l]i-ir-te-ed AN UD; om. dup-pir 372 a:

V
om. tu 373 GG: nis
6
y

ra-as-bu GG: su-pe-e 374 a: u (?) v. copy (call.)

GG: lu a: ta-ma-at GG: ta-mat

 369 You who struck that man, and drove him mad,'

370 You blocked the . . • of his mouth: what have you gained

(lit. •taken') thereby, 0 Evil One?

371 Who will carry off his evil for him?

372 Go away, 0 Evil One! Destroy the Evil One! Destroy!

tu 6 .en
no. 65
373 en: Be conjured by the strong, the mighty, the splendid
~ulpaea,

374 And by the Pleiades, and by Erragal!

375 Any Evil, do not come near! tu
6
.en
374 Incantation(s) to make "certain Evils(?)" depart.

* * * * * * * * * *
 --,-~

138

Philological Commentary

No. 1

1 ' occurs here also in a parallel

The sign EZ£NxA.LAL or £Z£NxA.LAL

context in lines 5 and 9, with the Akk. translation dup-pir in 13 and

16, and in 80-81. The signs are otherwise fairly uncommon; they are
nos. 159 and 160 in A. Deimel's ~L. The writings from our series are
as follows:

In a, the outer sign is consistently SAR, apparently xA.LAL, al-

though in 81 a has 'sARlx[A].LAL. A consistently writes SARxA.LAL.la.
In line 5, ~and W offer EZENxA.la (= sil , see below), while~ has
6
EZ£Nx[A?].LA.la. In lines Bl-82, l seems likewise to read EZENxrAl.la.

A writing of SAR for EZEN (as in a and A) is a common feature in

NA scribes, both for the sign itself, and in compound signs such as our
,
EZENxA.LAL/LAL, but that the sign was originally EZEN is clear from the

examples in aab. script (where the two signs are different), from Bab.

writings in other contexts (see below), from the lexical texts listing

signs of this type, and from such early writings of the group as the

OB VAS NF I no. 18 rev. 13: lu.bul.gal sil CEZENxA).la igi.mu.ta. 1

6
There is a sequence of signs formed by inserting another smaller
sign into EZEN; cf. CT 12 12; MSL 2 86f.; W. H. Ph. R8mer, SKIZ p. 258;

1
rt is a possibility that this sign is in fact our sil 7 rather
than sil6, with the LA being written outside the body of the sign. as
with other of the more complex signs at this period, but since sil5
(EZENxA) is well known as a variant in su=h a context, one may assume
ott1erwise. It is possible also tc read asilala; cf. Romer, SKIZ p. 258.
r
r 139

D. 0. Edzard, Sumer 13 (1957) p. 183. Direct evidence for the reading

of EZENxA.LAL/LAL seems to be lacking, but it is usuall~ transliterated

as sil • The related EZENxA has both the value asila, ~nd s11 (cf.
7 6
-
si-il in CT 12 12 76); see R~mer, ~· cit. pp. 258-9 (cf. also EZENxKAS
·-:

= sil 5 . after CT 12 12 76), and a similar value sil may be deduced for

our sign on analogy with these signs, by the resumption in -la (as

above), and by such parallels as EZENxA.LAL/LAL = duppuru (see below),

and ab.si.il.la = ud-da-pa-ru in CT 17 5 34-5. The use of sil

6
as a
graphic variant also confirms their having the same sound. (The styling
,
of both EZENxA.LAL and EZENxA.LAL as sil 7 may be paralleled by, e. g ••
~U+KAD and ~U+KAD+DI~ = kim, or the 4 forms of sasirra given by R. Labat,
Manuel p. 267, where a small graphic variant does not affect the real
structure of the sign.)
The meaning of sil(and var.) as duppuru, 1 to go away', 'depart',
7
is shown by 13b and 16b here, and from, e. g., CT 16 4 157-8:

sil CEZENxA.LAL) igi.mu.ta e.ta ba.ra.e

7
dup-pir ina pa-ni-ia is-tu blti ~i-1-[ma],

cf. also CT 16 37 49-50:

nlg.bu(l.dlm.ma] sil 7 CsARxA.LAL).la [igi.mu.ta]

mi[m-ma lem]-nu dup-pir [ina pa-ni-ia],

restored after the unpub. duplicate K 9382+12059, where the sign is

,
written EZENxA.LAL. Other unpublished examples are K 8758 14-15:

... 1~-o]ul.gal sil 7 CEZENxA.LAL).l[s

... ] lem-nu dup-pir [ ..• ,

and K 13419, where the first line of a Sumerian incantation (7 1 ) reads

sil CSARxA.LAL) igi.mu.ta [ ...

7

For tu.1u = ne'u, see l3b below, and, e. g •. KAR 31 rev. 4:

 140

,
pu-~ur dup-pir i-si re-e-qi i-rat-ka ne-'i

See also J. Nougayrol, RA 61 (1967) p. 190 n. 8.

2 For mas.sag; massu (cf. 14: mas-si-i), lit. 'leading goat', as

a divine epithet, see K. Tallqvist, GE p. 130, and W. G. Lambert, ~

p. 310. The equivalent of the word is variously given as.sarru, alik

mabri and asaredu; see MSL II p. 104. Note in a phonetically written

Sum. incantation from Bogazk8y, A. Falkenstein, ZA NF 11 (1939) p. 15

11-12: ni-in-nu-ur-t[a <= dnin.urta). ma-as-[sag (: mas.sag); see ibid.

note on p. 36.

No. 2
This incantation is so far known on two amulets (Lamastu type:
see Appendix I), ~and f, and two cylinder seals, ~and~. although it
should be-observed that the actual god name is omitted in I, and now
missing in V. For this reason. these could be considered as examples
of incantations 1 or 3, but the lack of unambiguous examples addressed
to Asallubi/Marduk or Ninazu makes their inclusion here logical.

6 Note the phonetic variant of mas.sag for mas.sag in H and ~·

Since W (a Kassite seal depicting a 1 fish-man 1 ) is only known

from a cast (the whereabouts of the seal itself is unknown), the text

of this Ms. is quoted here in full, courtesy W. G. Lambert:

, , 1 ,
5 (1-3) en.e.nu.ru sil (EZENxA).la lu.erim.ma tu.lu lu.bu .gal
6
,... d , d
6 ( 4-5) ig i mas.sag nin.urta.ke 4 lu. nin.urta me.en
7 (6) nlg.nsm.bul nam.ba.te.ga.de

No. 3

This is the first of two incs. from Gattung IV addressed to

N!nazu (cf. no. 50). For the tendency to identify him with Ninurta,

seep. 64 n. 1: this may explain his.mention here.

 141

No. 4
·.'•
In the co~y of a, nos. 214 and 215 have been mi~placed by one
~.

line: l4a in 215 should correspond with the last lin~ of 214, to give

for the whole line: [igi mi]~.sfag • • • d]x x me.en:·

13-14a This inc. presents a few problems. These lines follow the

pattern of the three preceding incs., and are a bilingu~l version of

no. 1 1-2 etc. The only evidence for the reading dasal.lu.oi is the
-b)i of £ at the end of a line. The traces of two(?) signs of the DN
are preserved in a, but collation and even the spacing preclude dasal.

1] u' I......h'~ I.• The name in a is presum~bly another Sum. name of Marduk al-

together. Traces are also preserved in £ which might include part of

the DN after m&~.sag at the beginning of the line (if so, transliterate
rd1
.s[a]g. a[sal. above), but this is uncertain.

14b The Akk. version is slightly different. ·The traces of the DN

rd1
on a (the only Ms. to offer any part of this name) can be read
. - d,
fAMAR.U)TU from the photograph. The ending of the l1ne .•• mar e-a

from A does not appear in th~ Sum •. Should d.:.\~1AR.UTU then be restored

in the broken space preceding, following the reiterative pattern of the

earlier incantations?

15a-b The pattern is then broken by the introduction of a formula

that recurs in nos. 6 and 7, namely lu.dnin.urta me.en, followed by

d
the Akk.um-ma amel ninurta-ma. This is the first attestation of a

feature that is to be ~een later on, Sum. and Akk. lines in alternate

lines that are not truly bilingual (see Introduction, p. 38). It. seems

that the ~kk. is to correspond with the ~um •. although the latter means
11
thus sa.ys the man of Ninurta'', while the former reads "I am the man of

Ninurta:'; cf. to line 23 below.

 The ends of two lines pr~served in E should correspond ~ith l4b-l5b.
·d
The reconstructed text here assumes that the first read~ nin-ur]ta-ma,

and the s~cond is presumably the end of the second Akk. verb.

The three verbs addressed to the demon ~re interesting. The

equation gu 4 .ud.da = ssba~u is well-known, altllough its use as here to

banish demons seems to be unparalleled. It is used literally for •to

spring off', e. g. in CT 40 36 43, a ~umma ~lu omen, where it refers

to a noble's head-dress coming off (kubus-su is-bi-is-su; cf. F. N8t-

scher. Or. 51-54 (1930) p. 20), an event that portended ill. As an

extension of this. the verb is used metaphorically in W. G. Lambert,

BWL p. 32 48: si-im-ti ip-pa-ri-is ta-ra-na is-~i-it, "my dignity has

flown away, my protection made off''. and the usage in our text is re-

lated to this. The corresponc:E nee between du and a~u, hmJJever, is

8
one of sense rather than lexicul precision. although both verbs are

used independently to banish demons in exorcistic texts. Collation of

a has shown that the lu-u[ of the copy is in fact lu t[e-; the resto-

ration from nesu seems to offer the best sense. although there is no

lexic31 support for the equation. and the restoration does not accord

particularly well with A or c. The latter seems to offer te-x-o]u-UZ

at this point. but the lack of tu .en might suggest that these signs
6
are not to be placed here.

No. 5

The Sum. and Akk. are here truly bilingual. no. 57 being the on-

ly other inc. where this is true. Note also that the demons are named

here, the gallu-demon, and the wicked gods (ilani lemnuti). What pre-

cisely is meant by 'evil gods' is not quite clear: all demons were

considered as gods (although not all gods were demons of course). cf.

J. J. ~- van Dijk. Rln 3 p. 538. In a context like this. the phra~e

is virtually synonymous with gallu, and does not refer to any particu-
)
lar group of gods. The expression ilu lemnu occurs passim in the lists
'·,
of malevolent forces that occur in exorcistic texts.

No. 6

20 That the verbs here are to be seen as causative imperatives

(rather than as above in 15b) is clear from the introduction of the

epithets and names of the god addressed in lines 20-22. The repetitive

structure of these lines serves to emphasize the invocation to Ninurta

for his assistance. It follows a literary devive that goes back to
classical Sum •. where it is a common feature to introduce successive
epithets before the deity is actually named. Certain hymns have some-
thing of a similar quality; see, for example, K 9270 (= D. Macmillan,

BA 5 659-60) lff.:

1 urnun se.er.ma.al.la an.ki.a mu.lu.ta.zu mu.un.zu

2 alim.ma umun se.er.ma.al.la an.ki.a mu.lu.ta

3 alim.ma umun dr a 1 .ma.ru.uk.kam

,
d ,
4 ur.sag.gal umun asal.lu.oi
d
5 alim.ma umun rasarl.alim.nun.na etc.
In a magic context, such literary technique is most appropriate: it

creates a tension in the wording that enhances its magical power, and
is a characteristic of incantations from elsewhere too.

23 The formula of line 15 recurs here, with an interesting dif-

ference, in that a and~ read as the reconstructed text, but A has the
, d
variant: um-ma LU nin-urta ME.EN. The Hss. here show a confusion of
two separate formulae. The Sum. version represents a short form of
the 'Legitimationstyp'-formule of A. Falkenstein (cf. Introduction),

while the Akkadian um-ma ••• -ma corresponds to the formula more corn-
 ·--- --.l...

144

manly found at the beginning of letters, um-ma PN-ma, "~hus says PN:"
To find this formula in such a context is extremely int~resting. It
is never used simply to express the subject of direct speech in, for
example, literary texts; its use is otherwise limited to introducing
the speech of someone sending a letter or message. This fact explains
its appearance here, since the speaker, the 1 man 1 of Ninurta, is acting
aa a messenger of Ninurta: the term 'messenger' (lu.kin.gi 4 .a) is often
used in this type of context. Both the Sum. and Akk. used here fulfil
the same function, the 1
Legitimation'-theme mentioned above. As a
parallel of sorts to the Akk. formula, it is worth noting the_ occasional
use of letters, quoted verbatim in incantation texts, addressed to gods.
Examples are STT 176 14'ff., AMT 52: 1 1-6 <=E. Ebeling ~ul no. 6);
cf. ~ 373, an incantation· in the form of a letter to Ninurta (= Ebeling,
Q! NS 20 (1951) 167ff.); see also notes to no. 27.

24 The expression "offspring of the wind" as applied to a demon

seems to be unique. Demons are, however, often described as evil winds
coming up from the Underworld; see the passages quoted sub. imbullu,
~I p. 116, lex., and A. L. Dppenheirn, Dreams p. 234. A demon thus
transported might be referred to in this way; alternatively, the des-
cription may be a reference to their literal parenthood, 1 although this
is not particularly meaningful, since demons are often claimed to have
been ~spawned of Anu 11 , whereas Enlil is not usually credited with
paternity of this nature.

25 This suggests that the demon or spirit addressed in this incan-

1
Knowledge of paternity (as with names) confers power; cf. J. A.
Montgomery, PBS 3 p. 118 8; Maqlu IV 3 etc.
 I',I
145

tation is one of those who, unable to find rest after death due to the

neglect of his funerarv rites (cf., e. g., M. Bayliea, 1rag 35 (1973)

p. ll7ff.), has returned to plague the living until he gets satisfac-

tion. See to no. 23 below. It is here implied that when the body was
lain in the earth, some binding utterance was pronounced there to con-
fine the spirit, namely a 11
solemn oath" (nlsu kabtu). For some reason,
the magical power of this oath has become ineffective.
The phrase nisu kabtu occurs elsewhere without the specific mean-
ing that it has here: see JNES 33 (1974) p. 24, or BWL p. 38 22 and note
p. 289, where the taking of such an oath lightly (qallis) has the effect
of estr~nging the personal god from the guilty party.

27 The expression taru ana sib~i. meaning 1 to jump again' is worthy

of note, and is to be compared with a parallel use of ~wb in Biblical
Hebrew. The injunction to ''jump again" means that having jumped here in
the first place to trouble the speaker, you should now precede to jump
back again. One might think of an ellipsis of ana er~et la t~ri, to
mean "return by your leaping to the Land-of-no-return!", but the prep.
before sibtika should rather be in a than ana, and the Sum. shows clearly
•
the hendiadys here. Compare the use of sanG or salasu with a verb, •to ·
do for the second/third time.•
Note that a adds the so-called Glossenkeil after line 22 to indi-
cate the passage from Sum. to Akk. It is commonly used to indicate the

same in bilingual texts (see J. Krecher, ~ III p. 43lff.), and it is

interesting to see it employed here where it is not actually a caae of

translation. See also-no. 7.

No. 7

28 Judging by the spacing, a must have written the second gu 4 .ud.

 '!

146

da by MIN (as at the end of 31), or omitted it altogether.

~

d
31 asar-alim is given as the fifth nBme of Marduk in CT 24 15 62
(AN-Anum II), and as the eleventh name in Ee Tablet VII 3-4:

dasar-alim sa ina blt mil-ki kab-t[u] su-tu-ru me-lik-su

llani(DINGIR.DINGIR) u-taq-qu-u a-dir la ao-zu
"Asaralim who is honoured in the council-house, who excels in
counsel, upon whom the gods await, and are not afraid."

There may be some play here between alim and kabtu, likewise between
d
asaralim, and zikru kabtu in our text. The name used here occurs else-
where in incantations for that of Marduk, as well as the more common
d
name asar-alim-nun-na; an example here is K 8211 CPl. 27) i i 22 1 •

rd1
32 (p)a-11[1]: the spacing, and need for a ON here strongly
suggest this restoration which, if correct, would be a unique syllabic
writing of the name usually written diGI.DU. The signs IGI.DU have
several nominal equivalents (~lik p~ni, -~lik maori, asar~du), and the
lexical evidence shows clearly that palil is one possible pronunciation
of the Sum. sign group; cf. Diri II. 92ff.~ pa-11-il IGI.DU = a-sa-re-du,
a-lik pa-na, a-lik mao-ri (quoted~ A i 343 lex.). This is not, how-
ever, the only pronunciation given; cf. Proto-Diri l02-102c: 1-gi-is-tu
IGI.DU with the same three equivalents (~lac. cit.); cf. VAT 9715
(8. Meissner, AS 1 Po 32) VI 5: ge-es-~u ~ IGI.DU = a-sa-re-du.
d
IGI.DU is derived from an original igi.se.du (as may be seen
from the loanword igistu), and literally translated means 'god-who-
precedes.' It is used to stand for Ninurta, cf. E. A. Speiser, .a§. 16
p. 389: "In independent usage, pilil (p~lil ia"hie reading of IGI.DU
in this context on unclear grounds: he considers it an Akk. ptc. from a
posited root *palalu), appears as a substitute for Ninurta. 11 This is
 147

based on K. Tallqvist GE p. 435, where, however, no evidence is offered

for the actual pronunciation of the signs. Speiser continues: "In

onomastic compounds. however, it may describe various deities" (see his

refs.). The most common usage is for Nergal; see E. van Weiher, Nergal
32
pp. 93-97; H. Tadrnor. Iraq 35 (1973) p. 147 • CT 25 12 17 shows that
d d d
IGI.DU could stand for nin-urta ina elamti, but in£! 24 36 52, IGI.
DU is given as the second name of Nergal in the long list of his names,
so the equation is not limited to purely onomastic contexts.
These late equations may represent the assimilation of what was
d .
once a separate deity; cf. the passage in which IGI.DU (whatever ita
pronunciation) is either an epithet for another deity, or possibly even

a separate god, noted by Tadmor, £2· cit. This is an Assyrian vassal

treaty, ~ 1105 rev. 17-18, in which Ninurta ( d nin-urta) and Nergal
(dU.GUR) are specified side by side with an diGI.DU. In such passages

as dn1n-ur
· t a I ni nur t a (u) diGI.DU sva sanguAti i rarnmu----see M• We i per
· t,

ZDMG Suppl. 1 (1968) 211 94 ~diGI.DU is perhaps for Nergal (thus Weiher,
gg. £!!. p. 101), while there is no reason why diGI.DU in ArO 8 (1932-
3) 22 rev. vi 19 should not stand for Ninurta (see otherwise, H. Tadmor,
loc. cit.), although see MVAG 6 p. 20 rev. 19 (cf. 108 below).
Note, however, the early use (U~ III, up to Ibbi-sin) in F. Thu-

reau-Dangin, .!!.!£ 254 rev. v 15, where it may stand for Nergal (cf. van
Weiher, op. cit. p. 93: "der wohl palil zu lesen ist"), or another
deity in itsbown right; it is obviously not Ninurta at such a period.
As regards the pronunciation br the name, compare J. N. Postgate
in Iraq 32 (1970) p. 33: "· • • there is no compelling evidence to

identify the god diGI.DU with Nergal (a propos of a PN) 1 and it there-

fore seems safer to retain the known reading, Palil.n In fact, there
has hitherto been no compelling evidence that palil is the correct read-
ing when the divine determinative is prefixed. Our context, if correctly
restored, is the first syllabically written example of the name, and thus
 148

will support what has up till now been only a widely ac~epted conjec-
'·
ture.

As for the other Mss., b preserves only .d]a at the end of the
rd1
line, while the traces from A, [x (x)]x, are rather unhelpful. They
rd1 rd1
are too widely spaced for [IGI.D]U. they do not read [pa-11]1,
r dl ·
and there is insufficient space for [pa-li-i]l. For the writing of

these signs in §!!. see no. 393 (Malku VI) obv. 75: der-ra pa-lil MIN

(= lubar) NI-lu-ti (= ~al-lu-ti, 'nightshirt'?); note the variant ~u-

bat ~al-ma-ti, CAD L 228.

34 Note the var. from A of sa-a-ri for the sari(IM) of the recon-

structed text (cf. sa-a-ra from£ in 24, and IM in 87). A change of

8 > s occurs sometimes in Assyrian, e. g. before b and p, and also under

other circumstances not readily explained, see W. van Soden, GAG § 30d.
The possibility is raised by the Hebrew transcription of the PN ~arrukln

as Sargon whether 8 in Assyrian might not have been pronounced as a;

termed "sehr fraglich" by van Soden, this syllabic writing of the ideo-·
gram IM is suggestive, although if so, it is surprisingly rarely attes-

ted in texts. A similar s for 8 occurs in certain words in Amorite

(West Semitic); cf. samsu for samsu in PNs, and skn for skn etc. at Mari;
see A. Fine, ALM p. 18. See also S. Moscati. Comparative Grammar of the

Semitic Languages p. 37, and C. Brockelmann, GVGSS 1 p. 237. A furth~r

unexplained variant of s for 8 occurs below in line 214.

36 A meaning 'respect', 'honour' for sukbutu is not in the dictio-

naries: for the III-stem AHw gives merely 1 m~ssiv arbeiten', as of

(metal) 1 Figuren 1 , while K of CAD gives 'to underline the importance of,

make heavy.' Such a meaning is clearly required by the context, however

Ccf. tap-lab, line 26), and is given for the I I-stem with nisu, 'to

respect an oath. 1 Compare the range of meanings of Eng. 'honour.'

 149

37 DI.DI is Found equivalent to the I/3 of alaku,· 'to walk about,

·go, live' etc. (see to 306 below). The present context, however, seems

rather to require the I/2. atluku, meaning 'to go away', but there is

apparently no evidence for di.di = atluku (see CAD A i p. 301), hence

the question mark in the translation.

No. 8
., y

38 The three epithets dandan ilanimes musmlt ilanimes kaskas

V

- mes , usually in that order, occur here also in nos. 11, 1 4 and 15.
ilani
Applying to Nergal in 14 and 15, and to Ninurta here and in no. 11, the
sequence occurs also in STT 159 rev. 4 (where the DN is broken away),

and in BWL p. 62, referring to Lugalgirra, and is clearly stock incan-

tation material.

mus-mit is here taken to be the III/1 ptc. of matu, 'to kill,' to

mean the 11
slaughterer among the gods," but it should be pointed out that
in the opinion of W. van Soden the reading is musidimmu. This he con-

strues (~ p. 683) as a loanword from Sumerian mus.idim. This has a

.
well-known Akkadian equivalent in kursindu (a type of snake, CAD K p •

567), but such a loan cannot be ruled out, although there is as yet no

other evidence for a *musidimmu: see the comments of W. G. Lambert, JSS

14 (1966) p. 250.

d
40 u 4-ba-nu-il-la is one of the weapons of Ninurta; cf. the des-

cription in Angim 132-3, among a list of his weapons (text from B.

Hrozny, ~ 8/V p. 13 obv. 25-28, checked against unpub. text of J. S.

Cooper):
d ,
mes kur gul.gul u .ba.nu.il.la.mu mu.
4
. . ri dMIN na-sa-ku-
et-la mu-ab-bit sadl v, [ ma ]
 150

gistukul usumgal.gim adda kul.e aga silig.ga.mu mu.~.

kak-ku sa ki-ma u-sum-gal-11 sa-lam-ta ik-ka-lu MIN

"I am carrying the hero who destroys the Mountain/Underworld,

Ubanuilla,
I am carrying the weapon which like an usumga1-dragon feeds on
corpses (Sum. adds: the powerful crown)"

The Akk. equivalent is given in II ~ 26 38 <= CT 19 43):

d ,
u4-ba-nu-il-la = u4-mu la pa-du-u, "merciless storm."
The weapon was conceived of as a mace, and it was the custom in Nippur
at the time of the OB dynasty to take oaths in the presence of an
image(?) of the weapon (which was sufficiently tangible to require
repairs on occasion); see A. Poebel, BE VI/2 p. 79, and the date for-
mula in no. 88 12ff.
d ,
With the naming of u 4-ba-nu-il-la here, cf. the banishing of
Lamastu by another weapon of Ninurta, A. Falkenstein, LKU 10 3-4 (see
D. w. Myhrman, ZA 16 (1902) p. 172): [u-t]am-me-ki dsar-ur 4 918 kakku
dan-nu sa resi bel matati.
This line includes the first example of a formula that recurs in
subsequent incantations, namely ana DN ( ••• ) paqd;ku, "I belong to/am
commended to DN ( ••• )." A meaning 1 entrust, 1 'commend' for paq~du is
commonly to be found in such passages (see AHw), and is clearly appro-
priate here. The root has a wide range of meani.ngs: here we have what
is in some measure technical exorcistic usage, 'to submit to the (magi-
cal) care of ••. '; cf. the parallel use in lines 150-1 below (ana qate 1 I
,
••• lip-qi-du-in-ni), and line 239, where the verb has the corresponding
meaning 'to commit (a demon) to the safekeeping of (Nedu, who will pre-
vent his escaping again from the Underworld).' A similar meaning occurs
in Biblical Hebrew: cf. Pa 31: 6,
e - e - •
b yad ka 1 apqid ru~y. "Into your hands I commend my spirit"
 151

It may be observed that although c is included hefe as an example

of this inc., it contains a relatively high number of v~riants for a

mere four lines (c obv. 9-11); seep. 15.

No. 9

43 There are two groups of Sebettu, 1 The Seven,• the one benevo-

lent, the other malevolent, cf. B. Meissner, Babylonien und Assyrien

II 203. Here it is clearly a case of the former group, since they are
being appealed to for protection. They occur elsewhere in exorcistic
contexts, e. g. IV R 21 no. 1 (8) rev. 22:
. -
dimin.bi ZBQ oul.x[.Cx)]
DINGIRmes si-bit mu-bal-liq lem-nu-ti

Note that the amulet R reads quite differently, and rather ob-

scurely, for this line:

a-na dUDmusen or duz UD.NUNk 1 , or dx.mud NUNki paq-da-ak tu .en.e.nu.ru.
6
UD.NUNki = Adab, the god of which city is Aski, whose name is written
daa-SIR-gi/gi 4/SIG7 (SIG 7 is to be explained as IGI.gunu). For the read-

ing of this DN, seeR. D. Biggs, JCS 24 (1971-2) p. lff., and for Aski

as god of Adab, cf. Ar. Dr. 21 (1953) pp. 384-5:

1
29 zi daski ensi.mab ud.dab(var. UD.NUN)k .ke 4 [be.pa]
.... .. ( uru) u-dab
n-1 s" dMIN is-sak-ku
... . . ,
30 1 ki ~i-(i)-ri sa lu- [ u ta-mat ]

Aski being identified with Ninurta in the god list GT 25 12 22, it

d musen d
seems reasonable to take UD or UZ as an epithet for Aski (al-
though still obscure), so that this variant for Ninurta would be intelli-

gible. On the other hand, a reading NUNki for Eridu would provide
d
x.mud as the DN: this would presumably be a name of Ea or Asallubi,
where mud would be a meaningful element. (The amulet is unprovenanced.)
 -rr
152

No. 10
44 With the na-du-u of c, cf. Or 36 (1967) p. 126 ~51, a similar

passage addressed to Lugalbanda <= Ninurta).

45 Note that a, A and 8 here attest a rather unusual use of ramu

with irtu; the more common ne 1 u occurs in c.

46 mazzazu/manzazu is well known to have astrological implications

referring to the position of the stars and other bodies in the heavens
(see F. X. Schaumberger, SSB Erg~nzungsheft 298 2 for the various astro-
nomical meanings), but it is doubtful whether the word here carries too
precise a meaning. An exact astrological description is not in place
here, and besides it can hardly characterise Ninurta exclusively since
it is subsequently applied to Nergal (line 57) and Ea (62). Something
like "he of prime importance in the Heavens" may be the idea, but our
manzazu restu does not occur eslewhere, and it may be preferable to
take the phrase in an even more general way: cf. the description of
Zarpan!tu in F. Thureau-Dangin, ~· ~· p. 13S 255: sa man-za-su
sa-qu-u, for example, where neither an astrological nuance nor the
meaning 'cult-centre' seem to apply. Cf. manzazu (Sum. gisgal) in the
en gisgal an.na : be-lu4 man-za-zu sa-qu-u, "lofty-throned lord" in
Lugale I 24 (Th. Jacobsen, Tammuz p. 343).

No. 11
47 The DN dU, preserved only in A, was read as dadad by Ebeling,
Ar. Dr. 21 (1953) p. 409, following the practice of writing dlO for
'
~ that name (in accordance with the numerical value assigned to some
~. d A d
t deities, e. g. 30 =Sin, 15 c r;tar etc.). ~his is common in the
t~J.' writing of PNs, where brevity is desirable (the equation does not seem
~;
~{ to occur in OB or MB, but ia attested in MA (cf. C. Saporetti, Onomas-
·t· ..•..
 \;
15)

tica 2 p. 179), and is common in the later periods; see; K. Tallqvist,

APN and NN in their respective glossaries), but outside:. of such con-

texts, the equation is less assured. It is not given in CT 25 50 (a

scholarly text-i.nam.gis.our.an.ki.a-where this ~quation of gods

with their numbers is listed end explained); according to this source,

10 is equated with dbe1 dmarduk in obv. 10, and with dgibil dnusku in
16
rev. 16. Adad is given as 6 in abv. 11 (see R. Labat, AS 16 p. 258 :
11
Adad, patron du 6e jour, 11 as is 11
Samas, du 20e 11 ) . There is, however,
other evidence for dlO = Adad. U R 36 i 8 gives the sign U ( glossed
gi-gu-ru-u d d
) as equal to IM (among seven other gods: a-nu-urn, an-turn,
d , d d d d V mes V
en-111, EN.ZU, UTU, is-tar and is-tar MUL ), where Adad is no
doubt meant; cf. III R 67 iv 47 (= QI 24 40 44), where dU: is given as
daded(MIN) sa bir-ki, 11
Adad of the lightning-bolt. 11
Adad is usually held to be the son of Anu (K. Tallqvist, GE p.
247), although he is named as the son of Enlil in some sources, e. g.
d , d V , #

CT 15 15: en.lil.le dumu.ni iskur.ra a mu.un.da.an.ag. The epithets

that follow in our text are not, however, suitable for Adad: the term
V

v
mus-m i t ilani
- mes is "only used _of Ninurta and his hypostases Nergal and

Luga1girra" (W. G. Lambert, JSS 14 (1966) pp. 250-1), and the following
epithet is even less fitting.

If the DN is read dUMUN, more hopeful possibilities are opened up.

Referring to this passage, K. Tallqvist, 2E• cit. p. 478, tentatively

d
suggests UMUN as a writing for Ninurta. In support of this claim are
the references throughout the literature to Ninurta's avenging his
father Enlil, namely by recovering for him the Tablet of Destinies
stolen by Anzu. See, for example, G. A. Reisner, SBH no. 12 rev. 14:

,.
dumu su.mar.gi a.a. [ na ] r"l ' "
u .ma.sa.sa.a.na ~ "
ka-sid ir-nit-te a-b 1 -su,
.,,

cf. SBH no. 18 obv. 30-31; ~ 307 rev. 22; W. G. Lambert, in Studies

Albright p. 337; Or 36 (1967) p. 126 156: mu-tir gi-mil-lu abi a-11-di-su

 !54 '\~
./:;~
.... j!
(of Lugalbanda ~ Ninurta). .. •!.
·-z
In contrast to this is the hymn to Nergal first e:di ted by D.• Mac- ·}'

millan, BA 5 582ff., quoted now in E. van Weiher, Nergal.p. 59 3-6:

3 der.ra ur.sag dingir.re.e.ne ni.tuku e.a kalag.ga dumu den.l!l.la

V

4 d (
nergal U.GUR ) - mea gas-ru
lut-ta-'i-id qar-rad 1 lani v
su-pu-u
" ,

- d ,
mar en-lil
, , d , , y
5 ki.ag.ga.a en.lil.la sag.kal mab ad.a.ni su.gar.ra.ke 4
6 • - i -ru mu- tir gi - mil - lu a - bi - s·u
[na-ra]m den-11'1 a-sva'-re-du si

3/4 11
I will praise Nergal, warrior of the gods, mighty and splendid.
son of Enlil,
5/6 Beloved of Enlil, the foremost and exalted one, who avenges

his father ••• "

Here the same role is attributed to Nergal. In the 08 version of this

story from Susa, Ningirsu is the hero: Ningirsu, perhaps originally a
separate deity in Third Millenium sources became rapidly identified with
Ninurta, since the two shared many characteristics (seep. 62). From
the end of the Second Millenium onwards there was an increasing tendency
to identify Nergal with Ninurta (likewise, see above); whether dUMUN is
read as Ninurta or Nergal here is largely a matter of taste. The
closely related no. 14 here is in fact addressed to Nergal, but all the
incs. in this group are related. Note in this context the NA personal
name in II R 51 31: mdninurta-mu-tir-gimilli(SU); cf. the Kmssite §S
15 175 57; 88 4; 199 9, and the NB BE 9 48 25. The absence of any such
names formed with Nergal as the agent (cf. the collection in van Weiher,
Nergal) illustrates that the story was originally associated with Nin-
urta, and thus supports the reading here.

No. 12

49 The epithets bilu and etellu are used particularly of Marduk,

 .,
155 '

although not apparently elsewhere in conjunction. The following . line

\~

rather suggests that Marduk is the god addressed here (~ee note), but
the incantation may originally have been addressed to Ninurta; note that
d ~ d -
the umun of the preceding incantation could also be read belu.
The expression oepi er~etim seems unparalleled, but cf. the
rnustaroi~ er~etlrn of lines 213 and 236, and line 50, all of which pre-
sumably refer to the same event.

50 sip~u is the word for 'equilibrium', the equilibrium of Heaven

and Underworld, with all things flourishing as they should. Once
loosened (pa~aru), the effects are catastrophic: the Erra Epic describes
the consequences of Marduk 1 s having done this as follows (Cagni, ~I):

tim
133 ina sub-[t]i-ia at-bi-rna si-pit samee u er~etim up-ta-at-tir
V

134 samee sa us-tar-1-bu sa [ka]kkabanimea 68-ma-rni man-za-as-su-nu

iS-ni-ma ul U-tir aB-ru-uS-Su-un
135 ir-kal-rluml sa 1-nu-su 88 si-ir-'i bi-lat-su irn-~i-ma a-di
ul-la a-na rel-me-da as-ta .
136
.,
si-pit ... . . e u er~et 1 mtim sa
same ... , up-ta-ti-ru nag- ( b ] u im-ta-~i-ma

rni-11 it-tao-su a-tur a-mur-ma •••

"When I got up from my seat, I disrupted the equilibrium of

Heaven and Underworld,
As for the Heavens which I caused to tremble, the stars whose
station had altered I did not restore.
As for the Underworld which shopk, the vield of the furrow
diminished, so that for a lohg time it was difficult to im-
pose (taxes).
Since I had disrupted the equilibrium of Heaven and Underworld,
the flood grew less. the waters subsided: I returned, I saw.

The reading si-pi~ is provided by a (from Sultantepe), in contrast

with the meaningless ;i-pat (= "incantation of ••• ") offered by A and 8
(from Kouyunjik); it may be added to the examples of superior readings
 156 .<

from the generally less dependable Mss. from Sultantepe](see W. G. Lam-

bert, RA 53 (1959) p. 124).

No. 13
51 It is clear that a mythological event lies behind these epithets.

and the question is raised whether the event is justly attributed to

Ninurta here, or whether he has accrued to his name what belongs else-
where. Certainly na~ir napistim applies most frequently to Marduk, as
line 208 below (or L. W. King,~ no. 22 6; KAR 26 obv. 13 etc.).
"lord of the Broad Sea'' is also most appropriate to Marduk, referring to
a cosmological conflict of the type described in Ee.
There is, however, evidence in the Ninurta mythology too for a
battle with primaeval waters. Lugale. the celebration of his defeat of
Asakku, sees him building a wall of stones to hold back the flood-waters
that were wreaking havoc in Sumer:

gu.ru.um na 4 kur.ra mi.ni~in.aka

1
gu-ru-un [ab]-ni ina sadi ig-[r]u-un

"He heaped up a pile of stones in the highland" CBE 29 p. 67 15 =

Lugale VIII 20)
This episode cannot be truly described as a battle: see the comments of
Th. Jacobsen, Tammuz pp. 124-5 on S. N. Kramer's interpretation in SM
pp. 80-81, where it is shown that Ninurta controls the surging waters
for the benefit of Sumer by directing them into the Tigris. This story
presumably gave rise to such epithets as en a.ma.ru mao, "exalted lord
of the flood" in M. Ci~, H. Kizilyay, 5. N. Kramer, ISETP I, Ni 9695
(p. 101) rev. 23. (It is possibly reflected in the epithet of Ningirsu,
a.bu; gi 4 .a, "who turned back the raging waters" in Gudea Cyl. A viii 15:
against this interpretation see the "(flood)-water angry-red poured

forth" of Th. Jacobsen, EE· cit. pp. 328-9; on the other hand, cf. the

date formula mu B ba.gi 4 . "year the water returned" for gi 4 in such s

 157

context, in T. J. Pinches, Amherst p. 15 rev. 6'.)

~

Compare also Sm 1875, given in transliteration by· 8. Landsberger

in WZKM 57 (1961) p. 57 n. 46, which preserves some mythological mat-

erial in which tukulti e~arra is mentioned in conjurction with the

asakku demon, and the tamtum: it is unclear in what way (if at all)

this material is connected with that above •. Cf. also the reference to
Ninurta as the "trampler of the Underworld" in 213 and 236 below, and
,
the description saduu ra-bi-i~ tam-t~m applied to Lugalbanda in the
Gula Hymn of Q! 36 (1967) p. 124 149, although again it is unsure whether
one and the same event could have resulted in the trampling on the Under-
world and on the sea.

No. 14

55 The order of the epithets differs between a and A; the recon-

structed text follows A. Both agree that this one line inc .• intro-
duced by en and followed by a ruling. lacks the expected (tu6).en at
the end. This is p~rhaps rendered superfluous by the brevity of this
inc.; alternatively, since the line is closely related to others (e. g.
38), with only the DN changed, one is left wondering whether this line
was included by the scribe with the idea that the other epithets inclu-
ded above could also be appended to Nergal's name if required. In this
case, the omission of the expected ending would correspond to our use
of "etc." (?)

No. 16
60 This is the only inc. of Gsttung IV addressed to Ea, and is
clearly included by virtue of its similaritv to no. 10 and no. 15; cf.
Introduction.
 ! -

1~

No. 17
A
63 bel agi is more common; see M. Streck, Assurbanipal II p. 2f.;
R. Borger, Asarhaddon p. 46, and cf. sar-ri in A. Goetze, ~ 22 (196~)

p. 27 60 (and cf. p. 29 n. 28).

64 Cf. line 141 below. The epithet is a stock one of Ninurta as

in, e. g., E. Reiner, ~urpu IV 96, and like other epithets, is used
equally of Nergal. Cf. in an edln.na dib.be.da inc., AfO 12 (1937-9)
p. 143 18: dnergal bel 918 kakki giskakka-ku-nu lis-bir. The literary
history of this formula is interesting. Although there seem to be no
Sumerian examples, it occurs towards the end of a monumental inscrip-
tion of Iabdun-lim of Mari, where it is part of the curse formula
d
designed to prevent anyone from damaging the monument: nergal be-e!

- .
ka-ak-ki-im ka-ak-ka-su li-is-bi-ir-ma (see G. Dossin, Syria 32 (1955)
p. 17 20). Cf. the passage in an OB "Prayer of a Divination Priest,•_
edited by A. Goetze, ~ 22 (1968) p. 27 60-63:
d A V
an-nu-urn a-bi Sa-me-e sin sar-ri a-gi-im
dne-iri 11-ga1 be-el ka-ak-ki-1
d istar !NANNA) be-le-et ta-ba-zi-im
V (

li-is-bu-u-ma it-ti-1-ka •••

and see the refs. there to p~ssages in NA baru-rituals in H. Zimmern,

BBR on his p. 29. A closer parallel comes from the MS kudurru text, L.
w. King, sss 8 iv 21-22: d nergal bel be-le-e u qa-sa-ti ka-ak-ki-su
V d A
li-se-bir; cf. also AnSt 8 (1958) 60 iii 1-2: 1-na a-mat ain(30)
d
nergal kak-ki-su-nu u-sab-bir-ma .. :
It has long been appreciated that there are strong links between
the curse formulae on kudurru inscriptions and those occurring in incan-
tations; indeed, this has been one criterion in establishing when the

canon of Mesopotamian literature was given the shape by which it is now

 159

known, see A. Schott, ZDMG 81 (1927) p. x1vi1, and E. R~iner, ~urpu P•

2, although the discovery of DB examples of such formu1~e now changes
the picture. The transmission of such literary material still awaits a
thorough investigation.

67 zi.zi.da: the root is assumed to be zi(g) = tebu, •to get up,'

1 to depart.' For the disappearance of the -g, see D. D. Edzard, ZA 61
(1971) p. 227 10 b): "8ei Reduplikation von I\VK schwindet K ..... The
2 2
form with ed +a is problematical: it serves normally to express the in-
finitive (cf. A. Falkenstein, Das Sumerische p. 43), but from the context
--.,..._ -----
an imperative might be expected, although this is formed otherwise (cf.
ibid. p. 51). Lines 80 and 196 below contain further cases of ed + a
where an imperative would seem necessary, so with reservations it is
assumed here that .this form is to be explained as late, inaccurate Sum.

No. 18
mul ,
68 The star KAK.SI.SA has been identified with Siriua: cf. P.
G3ssmann, Planetarium no. 212 and refs. The star is equated with Ninurta;
see CT 25 13 iv 4, and it is as Ninurta that it is invoked here. Note,
V I I
e. g., the inc. named in a catchline in a su.il.la tablet in L. W. King,
8MS no. 50 29:
en at-ta mulKAK.SI.SA dninurta a-sa-red ilanimes rabQ[times],

cf. CT 33 2 11 6: mulKAK.SI.SA sil-ta-bu qarradu raburu dl[ninurta], and

K 260 obv. 22: mulK~K.SI.SA : su-ku-du : sil-ta-hu. Note also the des-
"'
cription in a hymn to Ninurta as Sirius, E. Burrows, JRAS Cent. Suppl.
... mul ,
1924 p. 34 8: su-ku-du [la] a-ni-ou; cf. line 12 there: sa KAK.Sl.SA
... ...e .. .. -
ina same zi-kir-su, "whose name in Heaven is Sirius." sukudu is some-
times taken to be the Akk. pronunciation of mulKAK.SI.S on the basis of
such passages (e. g. CAD I p. 63): other authorities reserve judgement
Crec~ntly R. Borger, Zeichenliste). If this evidence bears such an in-
 160

terpretat!on, s!ltaou would be equally plausible: cf. ~he reconstruction

d ., · - me;
by D. J. Wiseman, Vassal Treaties 425: [ ninurta a-sa-red ilani ina

si1]-ta-oi-su sam-ri 11-sam-qit-ku-nu, which, if correct (Borger in ZA

54 (1961) makes no comment), would perhaps contain some play on the name.
(A different exorcistic inc. addressed to mulKAK.SI.SA is CT 51 no. 200.)
The signs MU.NE are construed as the Sum. for sumsu~ 'his name';
it is possible to read mu-bil as an analogous ptc. to the three that
follow Cas did Ebeling in his original publication of c in ZDMG 74 (1920)
p. 179), but sumsu lends better balance to the line, and the reading is
supported by the MU.NE.E of £. Although mu.ni might be preferred, cf.
mu.ne for sum-su in Ee V 137, and for su-us-su in Ee VI 101 (W. G. L.),
and cf. STT 108 (passim) etc. The Neo/Late-Bab. g here reads mu]l KAK.
SI.SA mul KAK.SI. [ SH.( .•. , a repetition paralleled in no. 19, demonstrating
that a var. form was in circulation (cf. p. 43).
musalil: the translation adopted here follows ~ A 1 332, the
III/1 ptc. of alalu, 1 to shout' etc., as suitable for Ninurta. For other
interpretations, see the earlier publications, and particularly E. Weid-
ner, 8§Q 9 (1921-3) p. 295ff. Note that b reads qab-ri for qab-11. This
may be influence from the ina qab-rl lik-la-ka of the preceding inc., or
a genuine phonetic interchange 1/r (e. g. 1agal1u/lagaru; laqlaqqu/
raqraqqu, or uz-zi-ru/u-~e-lu, quoted CAD E 335 under eseru B).

71 Although the majority of Mss. reads annanna api1 annanna, "so-

m
and-so, son of so-and-so" for the owner, ~ reads (blank for PN) apil
ili-su, 11
Mr ••. son of his god." Five other amulets name their owners:
8 reads mKUR?.ERIM mar ili-su; Dreads (ungrammat1cal1y after a-na)

a-na- k u
m A
nabu-uball
i
t apil-su sa md nabu-ban-aoi, "I,
V, V, A -
Nabu-uballi~, son

of Nabu-ban-abi"; s apparently
goes with Q (their whereabouts in unkown;
t hey were published together wi t hout details ) , and reads m{su-u-p
... , i
-tu 4
DUMU.MUNUS ;~ MUNUS-ia, ngQpitu, the daughter of my wife." This is an
 161

1
interesting inscription, since in the owner's mind, ~my ~ife" was
~
clearly sufficient to indicate to his protective deity, or to Sirius-
Ninurta whom he meant •. The daughter was presumably ~nmarried and still
living in her father's house, or perhaps he was a second husband. One
wonders if his anonymous wife would have had such an amulet in her awn
right. A PN su-u-pi-tu 4 ( from (w)apu) does not seem to occur else-

where. F was the property of md sa-mas

.. , ... k~l-la-a-ni
. [ m]-ar ili-su.
. ., ,
Fi-
,
nally, the minute inscription on ~reads:
mi!?vsu-sa-an-nu·
... ? -
mara t?
..
(DUMU?.Mf) ilanimes_su (cf. copy, Plate 43). Qespite the difficulties,
su-sa-an-nu? is clear. Such a name is also not to be found elsewhere,
but the evidence suggests it may well be a loan. In addition to its
nominal value 1 lotus 1 (A. Erman, H. Grapow, w8rterbuch III 485-6), the
.....
Egyptian ssn served, from the Old Kingdom onwards, as a personal name
both for men and women (H. Ranke, ~ Aegyptische.Personenamen I 297-8.
~ , 2"
Following J. Lerny, The Legacy of Egyp~ 199, the word passed into the
Near East in the thirteenth century B. C. or later. It certainly oc-
curs in Biblical Hebrew (susan/susanna), and although the Bible give~
no case of its use as a personal name (neither too do past-biblical
Hebrew or Aramaic, but it is a common feminine PN in modern Israeli
Hebrew), it passed into Greek, souson, and is supposed ultimately to be
the origin of the English name Susan. For the use of plant names a~

personal names in Mesopotamia, see J. J. Stamm, ~ 44 (1939) p. 255-

V
mes
6 .. For the use of DINGIR for a singular personal god, cf. w. G.
Lambert, ~ p. 67; ~ III p. 543. The_ writing of -su where -sa is
to be expected is common in late texts, and need give no trouble.

72 lu.zi.zi; a common equivalent of this root ia tebu, which may

mean both •to rise up in hostility', 1
to attack' (as in line 70), or
simply •to get up'. The construction here may be either a ptc. verb
form (the "sich (zum Kampfe) erhebende Mann" of Ebeling, Ar. Or. 21

,..
:~~:
 162

(1953) p. 407, or as an imperative addressed to lu (which must then be

, ,:
taken as the demon, 1. e. lu.(bul.gal), in other words)~ If the second
interpretation is followed, as here, then other values of zi, e. g.

ne'u or nasaou are equally applicable.

Note to amulet G:
This Ms. attests a surprisingly large number of variants
in these five lines, same of which are a little unusual, e. g.
mus-te-u or na-du-ru: this Ms. is only known from a translitera-
tion (D. J. Wiseman, Irag 12 (1950) p. 197), but_ since the pub-
lished translation omitted a line, the variants from this source
may perhaps be viewed with reserve. For convenience, this trans-
literation is quoted here:
(1) en mulKAK.SI.s·A MU.NE.E (2) mu-sa-lil qab-11 (3) mus-te-u
ur~oe-tu (4) mu-sak-lil mimma? sum-su (5) gisme-tu sa
ina IGI
giskak-ki (6) na-du-ru ti-bu-u (7) a-na.NENNI A NENNI la TEu
(B) lu.zi lu.zi

No. 19
?3 For mu 1 KAK.SI.SA c Sirius ~ Ninurta, see above to 68. The
published copy of G (see here, Plate 44) reads mulKAK.SI.S~ E which,
in view of the duplicates, seems likely to be an error· for mu!KAK.SI.
s~ KIMIN or similar: the writing of _r~url and r~ul (TE) shows either

the scribe or the copyist to have been a little careless.

74 The epithet remenu, 'merciful' is most commonly used for Mar-

duk (e. g. ~ 26 obv. 12; BAM 235 12, ~urpu VII 77; OECT VI 58 21-2,
59 9-11 etc.), and ~amas (e. g. DEGT VI 54 20; £!· 36 (1967) 2?5 22';
KAR 355 14, and cf. also Kassite seal inscriptions). It is also used
of other god-s, sin, Nergal etc., but is not particularly sui table when
applied to Ninurta, since he does not possess those qualities that re-
commend both Marduk and ~amas for intercession and sympathy. Here it
is no doubt in reference to his powers of healing, cf. the praise of
 163

her beloved by Gu1a in Or. 36 (1967) p. 122 114: ri-mi-rfu au-pe-e i-

sem-mi, and the emphasis on healing in that passage.

'<

No. 20

76 This line is difficult, and cannot at present be translated.

It has been assumed that the (underlying) language is Sumerian, al-

though this is not certain: the correspondance between the. LUGAL signs
and the sarru of line 77 suggest some form of parallel. if not a trans-
lation. Working backwards from this starting-point, and attempting to
read Sum., it appears that ka.(na).kib equals tummu in some way. Th~

reading of KA seems assured by the ·variant kak.kib. The most obvious

interpretation is that this is a compound verb ka • • • kib, with the
.na. in the second writing being the affirmative preformative. There
is, however, no other evidence for such a verb. ka would, of course,
be a meaningful element, but nothing can be found for· kib. If this
were indeed a compound verb. the kib would of necessity have an inde-
pendent meaning, whether the ka means 'mouth', 'word' or whatever: cf.
the list of compound verbs in A. Falkenstein, g§§h I pp. 119-128: the
first element is always the object of the verbal part that follows.
For the second writing, a offers the var. ki.rkab?.n,lfb[~].e,
which might suggest that this scribe found the passage apparently mean-
ingless. An alternative approach would be to see an imperative form
here, namely *l.b.ka(k), but once again the lack of verbal equivalent
argues against this. Whether or not this is Sumerian, it is likely
that the text we now have represents a garbled form that has evolved
in the way discussed above, p. 54ff. Certainly, if lines 76 and 77 do
correspond, there is no Akk. equivalent for the initial ka(k).kib ka(k).
kib, which lends a formulaic impression to the line.
 164

78 Four of the ten Mss. so far available offer Nin;urta for Marduk .
V' - .
as the object of this invocation. The epithet sar ilani was applied to
Marduk from 1100 B. C. onwards, which is useful for the dating of this
-
form of the incantation (see p. 62 and p. 70). As for the version with

Ninurta, however, note the Kassite PN Ninurta-res-ilani (e. g. A. T.

Clay, BE 14 22: 12, 132~ 9 etc.), and cf. L. W. King, ~ p. 35 39.

No. 21
BD The root of the Sum. en.na.da.a is a problem. Again, as with
line 67, the context seems to require an imperative meaning for verbs
ending in ed + a. The parallel occurrence here of sil 7 (= duppuru,
'go away 1 : see to line 1 above) suggests a similar meaning for this
root en, but there is no other evidence for such a root. In line 299
below, there i~.a similar obscure verb form en.nu.da, again addressed
to a demon (nu.dug.ga.ra1), to which A and 8 offer the variant nin.nu.da.
This context seems likely to have a similar meaning, so we must look for
a verb en/nin with the meaning 'to go away,' •to depa~t. 1

82 The verbs pasalu and oasalu are taken to be I/1 stative 2ms,
addressed to the offending demon, but with hesitation in view of the
general obscurity of this inc. Neither verb is particularly common, and
their usual range of contexts does not include exorcistic literature.
The second verb could alternatively be derivern from asasu, 'to catch in
a v •
a net' ( cf. Izi H App. 1 8: ur~ - ba -sa-su, quoted~ A i p. 425),
nets often being referred to in incantations against demons. The pos-
sibility might also be mentioned that pa.as.kur and oa.as.kur are some
 165

form of "magic word". since the parallel structure sugg~sts the influ-
ence of exorcistic style. and the Akk. possibilities ar~ not immediate-
ly meaningful, but for the present it is assumed otherwise.
-
The word tamou (if correctly read here) means •evening', 1 dusk 1 ,
or 'sunset•; see w. Muss-Arnolt, Dictionary p. 1168, and cf. sa-oar u 4-
me, tam-ou-u = 11-la-a-tum (Malku III l4Sf., quoted CAD L p. 185). The
reading i1 tam-oe-e, 'god of the dawn• is taken to be a poetic descrip-
tion of a demon, although one would normally expect demons to disappear
at dawn. Perhaps this demon is in the process of "softly and silently
vanishing away", since the stative verbs (again, if correctly read)
d
presumably apply to the demon. The possible reading tam-oe-e should
be considered. although there is no other evidence for such a deity .in
Mesopotamia, but cf. the dawn-goddess in the pantheon of Ugarit, s~r,
who together with the dusk-goddess ;lm formed ·the subject of a m~th
most recently edited by P. Xella, Studi Semitica 44. The second half
of this line is a short 'Legitimation' formula, "I belong to Ninurta".
The reading ME.EN follows the MS != contrast the meaningless .KE 4 of a
and A (and see above, p. 50). For ME.EN instead of aniku, see to line
23 above; note that i might have written LU instead of the sa of a and

A.

No. 22
86 The reading of this line follows A; what can be read of a is
quoted in the critical apparatus. This is evidently Sum., and is here
takeri to be the name of the demon. Literally meaning "Let me seize!",
the phrase should be compared with ga.an.tu; ("Let me sit/dwell") =
aii~bu, 'tenant•, or as a direct parallel the demon ga.ab.kar ("Let me
take away!")= ekkemu, 'snatcher-demon'. In view of the latter writing
it seems possible that ga.an.dib is a Sum. writing for aobazu, other-
 166

wise written as.ru, dDIM.ME.KIL or du.du (CAD). The words could rep-
_;

resent the speech of the demon rather than his name, i. ~. a pronounce~
ment in which he declares his evil intention; cf. the speech in the

well-known "Worm and Toothache" inc. where the worm doe~ just this, so
that:

as-sum an-na-a taq-bi-i tu-ul-tu lim-ba-a~-ki de-a i-na dan-na-ti

rit-ti-su,
"because you said this, 0 worm. may Ea strike you with his mighty
fist!"
The quoting of the demon's words would be a means of identifying him,
and ensuring that he was exorcised. The readings of a and A at the end
can be harmonised if a is read .rral.ke 4 as an (unusual) phonetic var.

87ff. The remaining lines duplicate 23-7, and 33-7 above, for
which see the notes.

No. 23

This incantation is related to those against the appearance of

the dead, such as those in CT 23 15-8. dupl. KAR·21, edited by G. Cas-
tellino, Q£• 24 (1955) p. 240ff. (a further duplicate is LKA 81 =£I 23
16 13ff.)~ where incs. to free a tormented person from the unwanted
attentions of a ghost have been collected. It is unclear whether a
specific composition was involved, or simply a grouping together of re-
lated texts (ibid. Pe 242), but no. 23 here certainly belongs in this
category. The inclusion of this inc. in our series is of interest:
see notes to nos. 6 and 7 above. In CT 23 15, lines 1-5 contain the

.
opening inc., and 6-8 a list of the various etimmu-ghosts included in
the hope that the one responsible will be named, and thus exorcised.
A more comprehensive list may be found in. e. g., CT 16 10 iv 42ff.;
 -----.---
1
I

167

further refs. are in CAD s. v. The demons listed are either dead hu-

man beings, unable to rest due to some ritual inadequacv (see to 25),

or a some specific demons who are named, e. g. Lamastu, Labasu etc •

·•.
.
Ghosts and demons alike are addressed here 1n a brief style that stands

pars pro toto, for the longer lists found elsewhere.

91 Cf. CT 23 15 1: (x e~imm)u? rsa itti1-i(a] ittanammaru(IGI.IGI)

ru X
[•• •

92 a clearly has UDUG here: cf. the.GEDIM of CT 23 15 7: lu-u

V ,, y # V, , 1 • V ,
e~immu ma-su-u sa su-ma la na-bu-u lu-u e~immu sa pa-q~-da a ~-su-u

There is not enough space in a to permit restoring exactly after this

parallel.

94 Perhaps restore [SAG.~UL.~A.ZA] as in 219 below (see note).

95 Cf. CT 16 15 V 6: as-sa-tu ul ab-ZU ma-ru ul al-du su-nu

96 malu II/1 with qatu, or ana qat ••• , meaning lit. •to fill the
hand', thus •to hand over', •to entrust• is presumed here to have the
meaning •to give a commission'; the demon in other words is behavind in
a motiveless and irresponsible fashion. for a similar idea, see line
,
370, mi-na-a tal-qi: uwhat have you gained (by your behaviour?)". What
the demon hopes to gain, of course, is the resumption of his neglected
'
attentions. ma-la-tu is taken to be I/1 3fs stative with subjunctive.

97 . Cf. CT 23 13 3: gisdalat babi-ia li-tir irat-ka.

99 ta-sa-a-kip is far tasakkip, although there is no apparent rea-

d
son for the writing. Thr restoration follows CT 23 15 5: za-qar IGI.la
 168

,
IGI.bi.in.du.ru gaba.zu b[e.zi.zi. the reading being con~irmed by CT 23 ·
18 37: KA IGI.bl.in.du .ru IGI.la.e : KA IGI.b{.in.du .r~ me.en; the
8 8
meaning, however, remains obscure. dzaqar is a god of dreams; see A.
Leo Oppenheim, Dreams p. 232f. The god also appears in CT 23 18 38
together with d ma.mu.da;
, their help is being recruited against ba d

dreams. In line 99 here the form is obscure: one might expect all
things being equal that this is a negative imperative following the
preceding verb, but this does not fit the construction, as the prefor-
,
mative bi does not have a negative force. Could this be a compound
verb igi ••• du(B)-(r), perhaps to 'bind the eye' with evil effect?

101 In CT 23 15 4, this concluding formula is there included, but

not at the end of an incantation.

No. 24
102 The pattern of this inc. is closely followed by the next two.
There are many other incantations that open with an address attamannu/
attimannu (e. g. Maqlu II 182, 206; IV ?6 etc.; R. D. Biggs, TCS 2 no.
4 = AMT 88 3: 9 llff.). The phrase is used where the responsible demon
is not known by name; cf. the use of mimma lemnu,"Any Evil". An inter-
esting extension is in Maqlu IV 3: at-ta-man-nu mar man-ni at-ti-man-nu
marat man-ni; s~e n. 1 on p. 144.

103 Ebeling, Ar. Dr.21 (1953) p •. 416, read the first three signs
ur-gu8 -la, 'L8we', but such a writing is otherwise unparalleled, and
the occurrence elsewhere of saqalu with padu supports the reading adop-
ted here; see W. G. Lambert, AfO 18 (1957-8) p. 49; JSS 19 (19?4) p.
83; JNES 33 (1974) p. 294. dlugal-urim-ma is given on CT 25 39 (K 2119)
15, but the corresponding entry is lacking. Nevertheless, it is clear
 169

from the meaning, 11

King of Ur". that sin is meant.
i,

104 With this use of sumqutu, cf. J. Laessoe, ·Bit Rimki p. 38 16:
_.,
mil-ki-ia us-ni-lu.

105 For this and the following line, a offers two ina qibit •••
formulae that are similar to those in lines 109-10; note that in both
cases, Asallubi precedes his father Ea.

106 ma~ma~ il;ni can apply either to Ea or Asalluoi. a is very

faulty at this point: the ME of NUN.ME is omitted in 104, and the -bit
of qi-bit in 106; one also suspects that li-~am- is omitted in 104 too,
although the state of the tablet (and the photograph) makes collation
difficult.

No. 25
107 a, 8 and L each have an additional verb before the sequence
tisera tasqula tap6da (which occurs in varying brders), but as their
respective readings cannot be reconciled, or even peciphered in two
cases, the reconstructed text therefore follows b, which ami ts a fourth
verb. The UR"na-su-u of L was read tan-na-su-u by R. Campbell Thomp-
son, JRAS 1931 p. 20 n. 5, followed by W. van Soden, W. RBllig, Syl-
labar2 p. 62, although support for UR = tan is otherwise scant. The
II/1 of enesu, •to weaken', makes good sense here; the CAD E omits
this passage, but parallel uses of the verb support the reading.

108 dlugal-edin-na is listed among names of Nergal in CT 25 35

rev. 8, and it may well be that he stands for Nergal here, since that
god is addressed in other incs. assembled in this series. That he was
a chthonic deity is clear from his name: for edin = seru as a name for
 170

the Underworld seeK. Tallqvist, StOr 5/IV 17-22i.Cf. d n\n.edln

."!r •
= be-1 et
;; d - -
.
seri, the scribe of the Underworld.! He is mentioned with latarak and
d... - ;>< d - - ..
sarraou in ~urpu II 177-8, and with latarak in Maqlu VI 7.
d
lugal-edin-na is also described in KAR 142 1 40 (the 'Archive of

Mystical Heptads'---CT 46, notes to no. 53) as one of the forms of

asakku defeated by Ninurta, a conquest celebrated in Lugale; cf. lines

8-10 (of KAR 142): 7 a-sak-ki mar da-nim ki-sit-ti dnin-urta; see E.
2
Ebeling, RlA I 108. This might mean that in the present context, the

god Lugaledinna was conceived to be so far dominated by and absorbed

into Ninurta that he could serve for him in a magical context to pro-
tect, when previously he had been a force for destruction. Col. i i 4

of KAR 142 shows that he had a shrine at the gate of the temple of Lu-
galbanda: istenen (the 4th. cf. iii 40) ina bsb bit dlugal-ban-da. 3

Note that L is used in the critical apparatus as an example of

this incantation, but its two lines contain enough differences
for it arguably to be considered as a separate incantation. It
is quite as different as is no. 24 from no. 25 (in as far as it
is preserved). but on the other hand, the 'compilation' tablets
do not include a version of this passage addressed to Lugalurra;
see also Introduction p. 44.

1
The Akk. translation of this name, sar seri. is applied to Ner-
and Ninurta in contexts emphasizing their hunting prowess and fierce-
ness (see E. von Weiher, Nergal p. 101); thus ~eru sometimes means
•steppe-land' rather than 'Underworld' in this epithet. ~ paopos of
the note to line 34 above, note that sar ~eri is applied to IGI.DU
after dnin-urta, dnergal and dza-ba4-be4 in BM 85-5-12, 130 rev. 19
(see MVAG VI 20). Since in late theology (see below) dza-ba4-ba4 =
dninurta, does tnis suggest that drGI.DU is for dnergal in this text?

2
Note that in ~urpu IV 3, this feat is attributed to Merduk, and
see p. 64 above.

3
In late theology, dlugalbanda = dninurta: see W. G. Lambert, Dr.
36 (1967) p. 111.
 171

No. 26

114 Cf. e. g. L. W. King, ~ p. 35 38; 41 14; 116 iG-7 etc.

zu ·- ziz
115 Note that for tazzazzu (from c), a offers ta-za-az , pre-

sumably a gloss with an alternative form; cf. the ta-az-z[iz of b.

ka
Note the DU of c for the lissuhka
... of the other Mss. There is no evi-

dence for DU= nasaau, but it is unclear which verb should be read here.

116 For this line, which is amplified in the next incantation, see

the note to 125.

No. 27
120 The image "black as pitch" occurs elsewhere; see F. Thureau-
Dangin, RAce 3: 4; ~ NF 9 (1936) p. 17 50.
For Ninurta of Der note the list of 11 gods of that city included
in the account of the fifth campaign of ~amsi-Adad V~ Col. iii of the
. - mes
stela pub 1 ished by E. Weidner, ~ 9 ( 1933-4 ) 89ff. llste the ilani
a-si-bu-ut uruBAD.DINGIRki (lines 42-8); see pp. 98-100 for the pan-
theon. The 11th god of this list is dsak-kud sa bu-be-e, who appears

also in a building inscription of Esarhaddon: dvsak-kud ! sa·

't '
bu-be-e ki Y

(following R. Borger, Asarhaddon p. 84). The god list fi. 25 11 34

equates dsak-kud with dnin-urta. If this equation is appropriate here,

then the presence of Gula as the god's spouse in the Der list makes
. d
good sense, although note CT 24 3 l9;·where the wife of sakkud is
d
given as nin-pa-mul-e-si.
What are the precise qualities of Ninurta of Der in particular
are unknown, ss is why the city should be specified in this context.

a and c write simply BAD; 8 and b write BAD.AN.KI. The second writing

is open to another interpretation, if the signs are read dur-an-ki,

 172

since Duranki is well known as a name for f'Jippur (cf. th~ epi tt1et of
...
1\Jinurta as il dur-sn-ki in zG II 45; from STT 21 and 19/see A. K.

Grayson, ANETJ p. 515). and this could be a trick writing that has not

been transmitted in a and c. Line 128 below, however. rather supports

the reading Der: see note.

123 A god d ba'ir-alluttim,

-
"Crab-catcher", is not known from other

texts; neither, of course, is his son. A Sum. myth involving a con-

flict between Ninurta and a turtle has been edited by B. Alster, JCS 24

(1972) p. 122 (UET VI/1 2). This turtle was created by Enki to defeat

Ninurta since he had caused a flood after his defeat of the Zu (Anzu)

bird due to his resentment at his treatment (line 25ff.). It seems

possible that the creature mentioned in line 123 is the same as that in

124, although it is quite unclear whether the episode referred to here

is at all linked with the myth.

124. It seems most productive of meaning to assume that the selippu,

'tortoise', and raqqu, 'turtle' are one and the same, i. e. the "Son of

the Crab-catcher". The idea here is evidently that Ninurta once gained

control over an aquatic monster (i. e. different from the text mentio-

n~d above?) who had been terrorising human b~ings, represented as so

commonly in incs. by the 11

young man 11 and the "young maid~n". An effec-

tive control over the present demon is acquired by reference to this

event. If the two creatures are identical, one might compare with this

poetic style such Akk. idioms as istu isdi ana resi, istu PB ana bura~i

.
or sehir
...
rabi. Other examples are zikar sinnis, and possibly in Gil-

game; X JS
lu qalal(U) lu-u
~ 1u e-til, Pwhether a poor man or a noble •.• "
X

see A. L. Oppenheim. Or NS 17 (1948) p. 50 n. 4; E. A. Speiser, JAOS

54 (1934) pp. 200-3; J. A. Fitzmeyer. Studies Albright p. 163: see also

 1'7"3

to line 294 below. Here totality is expressed by contrasting extremes

i v-
(CAD A i i 285-5: "per merismum 11 ) . The contrasting use of sepu, 1 foot 1

and kisadu, 1 neck 1 is open to the same explanation, but to find two

cases of what is an unusual literary structure in one couplet is pecu-

liar, and there seems no doubt that the full import of these lines is

lost at present.

,
lu
. ..,
, g1s A
125 Cf. R. Borger, Asarhaddon p. 50 37: it-ti nari u sammi
.
i na re- b 1 t n1nua ki e- t e-e t - t.1-1q.
. In this and line 126, note the poe-
tic use of song and dance to suggest the desired state of security and

freedom. The city-square has a similar symbolic value in other texts:

cf. KAV l i i 15 (Ass. Code§ 12), S. N. Kramer, The Sumerians p. 89.

128 In the Der list mentioned above, d ne-er-e-tag-mil precedes

d The name, meaning Kill do not spare!" is written for some
sak-kud. 11

reason without the expected -e- both in b and c, but the better reading

is known from other contexts, although he is not a common deity. An

- i , 'vlZ1er
example is K 95 4 2 ( Plate 37) where he is called sukkal d nar I • •

of the river god 11 . (rev. 4, cf. obv. 8 1 ) . 1 This watery epithet accords

well that here, b'El suse, .. 11

lord of the reeds 11 , which does not seem to

occur elsehwere. The river is no doubt that of the Underworld, some-

times called the ~ubur, and Ner-e-tagmil acts here as the doorkeeper

of the bab er~et la tari (usually Neti/Nedu, see to 329 below), who has
the power to control the passage of demons in and out of the Underworld.

1
Ebeling, ZDMG 74 (1920) p. 182, mentions an unpublished occur-
rence on VAT 9418 obv. i 12 written in its full form.
 174

It is clear that although Ner-~-tagmil is the vizier of \he River-god,

in this text he is subject to the commands of Ninurta as: regards the

passage of demons.

Lines 124-9 are here quoted (by the exorcising priest?) as a

direct speech by Ninurta to the demon. This text may therefore be based

on a written account of a mythological episode, i. e. quoted from an

unknown mythological composition: on the other hand this could well be

the type of folk tradition that only survived in oral form, having

crept into a literary incantation rather by chance (cf. Th. Jacobs~n,

8. Landsberger, JNES 14 (1955) p. 14). For the use of umma in this

context see the notes to line 23 above. In Ebeling 1 s opinion, this

inc. was a Gottesbrief of the type discussed in the above-mentioned

note; see Ar. Dr. 21 (1953) p. 359. He was referring specifically to

c which, it may be noted. has a ruling before these umma clauses.

No. 28

130 It seems likely that the first line opened in the same way as

in no. 29, since both texts belong to a well-known type that begins by

listing the adverse effects of the demon's attentions on the body of

the sufferer, and some such phrase as "He who ••• 11 or "You who ••• " is

needed.

132 The usual practice in these lists is to work from the head

downwards (BWL p. 23), but it does not apply here: this rather rein-

forces the impression that this text has been put together from stock

material without undue attention to the detailed structure. Thus line

145 is unnecessarily duplicated by line 148. Many of the phrases in

this inc. can be readily duplicated from related texts.

 ._,
175

134 id-ki-rku? 1 could well be the first example in a connected

text of dakaku, •to crush' (CAD D p. 34 for the lex. evidence): although

it is unknown whether this is an i-class verb, the meaning would be ap-

propriate; for the time being the question is left open.

135 For the restoration see AfO 18 (1957-8) p. 290 18; MaglG I 101.

136 The structure of this line is evasive since it cannot yet be

fully restored. For an unknown reason, specifically upuntu-flour is

mentioned in other passages in incantations, e. g. Maqlu I 10: u-pu-

un-ti pi-ia 5 ip-ru-su: o~ ~urpu V-VI 123: en ~E.NUMUN u-pu-un-ta ma-

la-a up-na-a-a, "my hands are filled with upuntu-flour 11 • See also CT
51 142, where upuntu plays an important (although obscure) role (21-3,

38). With the first examples and our passage, beyond the obvious
suggestion that this flour was particularly sticky and clogging, it is

hard to see what underlies the choice: none of the other contexts il-

luminates our passage. For mur~u t[a-ni-bu see 154 below, and ~urpu
V 78, 88, 98 etc.

137 Cr. 155 below, and, e. g.,~ 212, 4; JNES 33 (1974) p. 286,
30 etc.

d
140 Cf. F. Thureau-Dangin. Huitieme Campagne pl. VII 147: adad
.., - d , V tu
";" , V
gas-ru mar a-nim qar-du ri-g1m-su rab1tu el1-su-nu id-di-ma.

141 Cf. notes on line 64 above.

Cf., for example. AfO 12 (1937-9) p. 143 20: dbelet-~eri me-

 176

lik-ku-nu lis-pu-ua. The anomalous me]-LAK-su of a may have been in-

fluenced by the same sign in ba-laq-~~ in the next line.

146 It is interesting to find Ningirsu as if a separate deity in

a late incantation of this kind mentioned alongside Ninurta (141),

since his identity had by this time been subsumed into that of Ninurta

(seep. 62); this is another indication of the way in which older

elements have been rather indiscriminately blended in this incantation.

Ningirsu plays a notably small role in exorcistic literature.

147 W. von Soden, AHw p. 583, reads ma-bir-ti from mabirtu, 1

das

sich Entgegenstellende 1 , but adds 'unklar'. Indeed, that word is

meaningless in this context. CAD A ii p. 483 also reads ma-bir-ti,

but offers no translation. An alternative reading is ma-slr-ti, but

-);' V

the closest word to this (AHw gives no masirtu as such) is the troub-

lesome mi~ertu (W. G. Lambert, A. R. Millard, Atra-hasis p. 157, note

on V 20, and refs.), r produce of the sea '-equally inappropriate. The

spirit of the passage rather suggests that this is some form of insult;

cf. BWL 218 15-8 where the ass emerges as a lowly creature (in compa-

rison with the horse). or the jawbone of an ass employed in Judges 15:

15 (?)

150-1 With this concluding formula cf. C. J. Mullo-Weir, Lexicon

p. 350; E. Ebeling, AGH 38 20; Or NS 36 (1967) p. 11 11 1 ; H. Vorl~nder,

AOATS 23 p. 82. For a bilingual example see ~urpu V-VI 170-1. For

paqadu here, see to 46 above.

No. 29

152 Note the lEJte cc1reless use of the dative ia-a-si = jasi where
 -- 1·--·
'
"''
177

the accus. is really needed, a phenomenon well a tteste'Q in 58 texts·

( '
~
see ~ J p. 327. :

lapatu, 'to touch' also has the specific meaning 1 to attack',

'to afflict• when speaking of diseases: cf. lipittu as the name of a

disease. It is uncertain_exactly how TAGmes is to be read. Themes

certainly precludes the I/1 form, but both I/3 and 11/l would give a

suitable meaning. The meaning 'cause hurt' is more common with the
V

II/1. but the CAD lists no examples of the II/1 written TAGmes (TAG.

TAG being employed). Since. however, phonetic writings are not used

in this type of context, it cannot be sure which forms are to be read

in the II/1: for the present our II/1 is thus tentatively read

ulappitu.

153 pit-ri-ia : W. von Soden. AHw p. 870, gives a word pitru, 1 etwa
5
Bauchdecke' (~ 'abdominal wall'). together with a homonym pitru, 1 un-

bebautes GelMnde oder Grundst~ck'. On the present rather scant evi-

dence it is simpler to regard them as separate words: the derivation

of each is unknown. Anatomical pitru (not mentioned in H. Holme, ~)

occurs in two types of related texts:

(1) Passages such as 163 here describing the ill-effects of a demon

on a patient's body,

(2) Medical texts that prescribe treatment affecting that organ.

The following are the passages avail~ble:

Cl)

A typical example of this genre is KAR 80 rev. 26ff., dupl. RA 26 (19

29) p. 41 (BM 78240) rev. lff.: see E. Ebeling, ~1VAG 23 (1918) p. 30.

Following KAR 80:

26
V ,.
sa sere
V-
V
-mes • ' , J ,. ,
-1a u-z[a -qi-tu-nin-ni
 178

27 - ~ '\..
puti-~as~-la u-~ab-bi-
.. .. r tu.. l uzu...ser 1 ani-ia
- .. · t -r 1 -1a
ik-su-u~p1
·
5
u-tab-bi-ku
28 a-oi-ia u-~e-lu (var. uz-zi-ru) ni-is lib-bi-ia5 i~-ba-tu

ru-'-ti ub-bi-lu
u who caused my body to hurt me,

seized my temples, bound my sinews, poured aut my pitru,

imprisoned (CAD 8 335) my arms/strength, seized my potency,
dried up my spittle 11

The passag~ continues in a similar vein. Although there is sometimes

a tendency to work from the head down (see above to 132), this seems

of no help here. The verb here, tabaku II/1, •to pour aut', is not
--
very meaningful: verbs like tabiku, ~apiku etc. are often used figura-
tively in such contexts (e. g. line 29 from KAR 80 above: man-ga lu-'-
V
.,_ -mes
tu eli sere -ia 5 it-bu-ku, "poured out stiffness and debility on me 11 )
and is not suggestive if applied to a specific part of the body.

The pitru can be made to shake, as may be seen from~ 42 67:

"they caused li'bu-disease in my limbs, made my pitru shake 11

The verb is II/1 pret. of nasu, -'to shake 1 ; see AHw 762 (where pitru
is translated 'Zwerchfell' <= 'diaphragm', 'midriff'). A locality
cannot be deduced from this context either. A parallel usage is CT 17
25 20:

a)b?.tuku 4 .e

p 1] t-r i
.. .,,
u-na-"89 • var. u-na-a-su
(2)

A medical example is ~ 174 11-16, dupl. ~ 55: 1, 7-11. The recon-

structed text here follows BAM, vars. from ~are noted, with refs. to

CAD added for convenience:

 179

summa(DI~) amelu(NA) oasu(~AR)II_su itti(KI) KAK.TI-su i~-pu-qu 1 ana

v, (urudu) tamgusa(~EN.TUR)
bullu1i ( TI)-su .>< ....
me(A) u billati(D1~[ DA) 2 naspi
...
'Y V V • ,

(SIG)
3 916
si-i-b]u
4
giaar-k~n-r~u1 918
bar!r~tam(LU~.~A) uba;@(~AR.~AR)
uak-tam i
na/ana tanadd1 c~~UB) di tabassal (,>(~EGG )sal ta-sa-ua
libbi(~H)
,>(" 0 h 1 VY '< V,

5
ina libbi(~A) maroa~i(RA) tarabuas(<RA)) -su tusella(E ) itti(KI)
11
samniCl.GIS) eri 4-ni/e-re-ni tapa~~as(E~)-su SI/p1t-ra 6 sa billati
7
(DIDA) naspi tukattam(DUL)-su adi(EN) pit-ru-su 1-lab-bi-ku u zu 1 tu
(IR) nadu(~UB)u DU(ak)B semkukra(G~R.GUR) burasa(~EM.LI) semballukku
9 V- 0 ¥ nis
(BAL) KU GI[G X X (x)] 5 sam-me an-nu-ti isten1s(l) teqqi(MAR) ana
libbi(~A) ~abati(GE~TIN.BIL.LA) tanaddi(SUB)di ina Curudu)tamgusi(~EN.
TUR) tara-bak ina KU~.EDIN teterri(SUR)ri tasammis(LAL)-su-ma iballut
. . .
11
If a man 1 s lungs are hard as far as his breastbone, in order to niake
him better, you throw into a small copper pot water and choice fine-
beer, wormwood, conifer, sagapenum(?), hasu-spice (and) aktam-plant
(and) boil up (the mixture). Then you strain (it), and soak (it) in a
lotion, take (it) out (and) anoint him with (it mixed with) oil of
cedar. You cov. er him with a billatu of choice fine-beer; until his
pitru is decongested(?) and sweat is deposited (thus) you continue(?);
terebinth, juniper, ballukku-wood . . ..' these five plants you crush
together, (and) you throw them into beer (mixed) with vinegar and make
a decoction in a small .copper pot; you spread it on a waterskin and ap-
ply it as a poultice and he will recover."
Notes:

1cAD H 143-4 2 3
i. e. KAS.UCS).SA: cf. F. K8cher, BAM 2 xviii e. g.
4 5 6
CAD 8 226 CAD A 11 254 with e. g. CAD E 132-3 or bit-ru; see
CAD 8 279, "meaning uncert."; it is in any case quite separate from the
word under discussion here, since it is some preparation involving bll-
latu-beer applied externally to an aching part. There is no apparent

'.:
; ·.
~.
t'!f
.. ~---------------··--~--- ---~-----·------- .......... ·-~ ..• ..._, ,~..::-~'tt'l·..:s~ct. ~~------------
 180 I

7
. -
explanation of the SI- of BAM 174i CAD L 7-8 regards aa two words •
- 1
Construed as plural, CAD L 7; pit-ru-;~ could, of cour~e, be singular;
.:
the verb following is subj. after adi. Labaku, following ~ as nget
8
decongested(?)": the root essentially 1 to soften', •to steep'. The
only known equivalent of DU that fits with the phonetic complement is
9
alaku; meaning therefore as above 'continue'(?) These two and the
following signs should be plant names, and they are thus unconnected
with DdR.GIG = suburru mar~u (F. KBcher, AfO 18 (1957-8) p. 86).

Compare also~ 87, a text to cure a man suffering from pains

in the stomach (TUN GIG):

14 [or~ NA] TUN-su TAG. TAG-su [x X x]x-su rA?l u KA~ ut

15 [x-t]a-nam-mu pi-qam 1~ pi-qam i-par-ru-ud
16 [x x Cx)] r11-sa-bu-' ~A-su [x] x Cx) [x] pit-ru-su DU-su-nu
17 [x x (x)]x-su NA BI TUN GI[G x x (x) N]AM.ERfM KUR-su
18 [ x -ri-su lutlAL u-aar-
]
V, , VJ [ r 'l ' ,V
x x x as-ri-su u -ta-bu
V,

19 r11 uou ~IM.GIG i uou [ •.. ] Inis MAR BAR.SILmes_;u

20 ~Ames_su LALid [ • . • N]A BI NAG-su
21 pit-ra-sa DIDA.[SIG DUL-su EN] pit-ru-su i-la-rbak1

The treatment here partly corresponds to that above: with line 21 cf.
note to 6 and 7 there. Both texts are involved with trouble in the
abdominal area; in aAM 87 ("gegen innere Krankheiten"), TUN= takaltu.
'stomach', but from neither text can the exact location of the eitru
be established. Note that the word is plural in BAM 87 (kali-su-nu in
line 16).
BAM 319 is a ritual to cure someone who is in disfavour with his
personal god and goddess. who has been bewitched (line 8: LU, BI ep-su).
"

Note the decription of his afflictions:

 181

V " y, V k
1 sum-ma LU mi-na-tu-su GIM mar~~i roua1mes a
v, ,,
2 [ x ] x x x-su pit-ru-su ra-mu-u
3 i-qab-bi-ma la 1-kas-sad ni-is ~A-su e-ti-ir ••• .
"If a man's limbs, like those of a sick person, are flabby
(lit. 'poured out 1 ) ,
His ••• (and?) his pltru are loosened,
He talks, but fails to accomplish (what he intends), his
potency is gone away •.• "

One further passage that mentions this part of the body is a small un-
published fragment, K 14094 • Line 6 1 of the obv~(?) reads:

••• t]u-un-na-~1 pit-ri-ia, "you (f.) weaken my pitru."

In conclusion, our sources show that the pitru can be:

1 "poured out". i. e. rendered flabby?

2 "shaken". in the sing.
3 11
decongested? 11 , i. e., may become· congested.
4 "loosened". 1. e. made flabby?
5 1
'weakened".

It thus seems that the muscles of the abdomen, or the diaphragm, seem
to be the most likely possibilities (thus von Soden).
 182

No. 30
'\
160-2 The translation of these lines is tentative~ ~-bu-zu is taken

as the 2fs imperative (for a-bu-zi, alternative form for aozi; note the
var. a-bu-uz from Q) addressed to the "incantation .of life" (?), although

this seems to be highly unusual. Line 161 is actually a.negative imp.,

but an English translation requires that it be subordinate to line 160,

since it follows on in sense. tiUL UZU is perhaps best read as in the
text, 1. e. linked by a genitive, although this too is unusual. lemnu
does not normally have the meaning 'sick': it appears to have this mean-
ing also in line 316 below (see note). lihe present passage cannot be
translated as 'sick flesh' since the desired result is the curing of the
complaint, not the physical removal of the affected organ.
Note that Q (K 10371, Plate 24) contains traces (2'-4') of a
closely similar incantation:

2I . . • si]pat bala~i(TI.LA) mim-m[a lem-nu

3' zumri-i]a 5 lit-bal at-ta-man-nu fmim1-m[a lem-nu
r d, ..,
] nin-gis-zi-da bel sa-bi-i

163 Note that this and the following two lines are concerned with
ill effects on the sufferer's head: although (as we have noted) this ia
a common approach in passages of this kind, both this and the next inc.
seem to be concerned exclusively with troubles in that part of the ana-
tomy; perhaps, therefore, these are headache incantations---see below.

165 zuqqupu is well attested with sartu for •to make the hair
stand on end,' and for demons causing this in people, see L. W. King,
~ no. 53 obv. 9; KAR 267 rev. 7 etc. The sign SAG, following W. van
2
Soden, W. RBllig, Syllabar , has no value zaq so far, but the present
passage is convincing evidence for SAG ~ zaq •
X
 183

166 The form rur?l-ta-',-bu is taken to be from ra 1 abu (~ 1

zit-
~ .
tern', •zHrnen'). For the II-stem, von Soden refers to~the root r~bu

(p. 936: in the !-stem, 'beben 1 ) . ra'abu is used in the medical texte

to indicate trembling as a symptom (~ p. 932: cf. -.ra' ibu as the name

of a disease), most commonly referring to hands or feet. but with our

passage cf. R. Labat, .!.Qf 22 43: summa qaqqad-au qatalt_su u _sepaii-su
i-ra-•-u-ba pa-~u ana at-me-e 11-1a-a-t[u illak qit DN (etc.)], "If

his head, his hands and his feet tremble, and when he talks saliva runs

out of his mouth, [it is the hand of DN (etc.)]". In line 166 here,
the sign sequence ending -1a would seem to be a part of the head, in
5
view of the following clause, except that individual parts of the head

·cannot really 'tremble' noticeably: perhaps then 'limbs' or 'extremi-

ties' (?)

ubbulu, •to dehydrat~ 1 of the palate occurs in similar contexts

elsewhere, e. g. L. w. King, BMS no. 53 obv. 11: 1iq pl-ia ub-ba-1~
., 5
.,ser ,-an1.mes -ia 1-sam-ma-mu
. ... ks pag-ri-is ub-ba-lu; F. hureau- Dang 1n,
1 T
5
RA 18 (1921) 165 26; ~ 97 1 20 (1a-aq pi-ia ub-ba-[lu]) etc. See al-

so line 173 below. The form here has been taken as the II/1 stative

2nd masc. sing., "you are the dryer-up of ••• ", but the· 3 rd fern. sing.
is equally possible, since parts of the body are (most) often fern •. in
which case read ubbulat.

167 The interpretation offered for this line is tentative: the

reluctant parentheses seem necessary to fit it into the context of this

incantation. The description could be metaphorical. or perhaps is to

be taken literally. Mention of a net may be an oblique reference to

the common image of demons falling on men 11
like a net 11 , i. e. a form

of oral sympathetic magic. On the other hand, the speaker of these

words may be using a tangible object; compare CT 17 34, 11-14:

 11 gls.par nu.dib.ba bul.gal.ae du.a
12 gis-par-ru la e-te-qu sa ana lem-ni re-tu-u

13 aa.par nu.e.a oul.gal.se la.e

14 sa-pa-ru la a-~e-e sa ana lem-ni tar-~u

In this latter context it seems probable that some exorcistic ritual is

V ... V, d,
being carried out in which the gis-per-ru sa e-a (25-26) and the
aa-pa-ru sa dni-sa-ba (29-30) are used to dispel the mamltu, the 1 8an. 1
Line 167 of our text seems to reflect a similar idea.

d ,
169 Compare the mention of u 4-ba-nu-il-la in line 40 above, and
the note to that line.

170 If correctly read, this _line shows that di 1 u is the demon

against whom this incantation (and ritual) is intended; the weapon of
line 169 will send it away, and protect the sufferer.

171 Compare, for example, AfO 12 (1937-9) p. 143 16: lim-ba-a~

- d V A
muo-ba-ku-nu telitu istar; Maqlu III 148: a-mao-ba-a~ muo-ba-ki
u-sa-an-na ~e-en-ki. Compare also perhaps Ps 110: 6:

"He judges among the nations, (the land) is full of corpses;

He strikes heads over a broad land."
For malu with ~eru elsewhere, cf. AHw p. 597.

No. 31
172 A reading e-kim, the I/1 stative of ekemu, 1 to take away,' aa
applied to a street (cf. Ebeling's "(Er), der die Strasse wegnimmt" in • I~ l
&· 9.!:· 21 (1953) p. 419, and now W. von Soden, AHw p. 1063: 11
der fort-
nimmt"), makes little sense, and less so when compared to the following
 ,
pa-rik/pa-ri-ik rebetu, which invites a parallel meaning. In line 172,

both sources preserved (a and b) read e-KIM, while in the similar line

176, a and 8 have e-KIH, and b has [e-K]I-im on a aectiori now missing
from the tablet (see Pl. 15). Ebeling, QE• cit., read this [e-k]i-im,

but from his copy, and the general level of accuracy in his reading of

the tablet, a reading [e-D]I-im is not totally excluded, which would

,
then permit the reading e-tim above. . If e-kim be rejected on sense

grounds, this other possibility is more encouraging. Akkadian so far

has no root *e~~mu according to the dictionaries, but working from the
parallel meaning •to block' from paraku, one might compare the 'atam of

Biblical Hebrew, well known to mean 1 to shut up', •to shut', used both

literally (of windows), and metaphorically (of ears and lips). The
root occurs also in Mishnaic Hebrew, and Aramaic (cf. M. Jastrow, Dic-

tionary of the Talmud Babli, Yerushalmi, Midrashic Literature and Tar-

gumim p. 43), with a similar range of meanings. Cf. also the "coerci-
tus, restrictus" of c. Brockelmann, Lexicon Syriacum p. 14. (Arabic,

it may be noted, seems to lack a parallel verbal root, ~lthough 'u~m,

'fortress', 'tower', may be a possible cognate: cf. E. W. Lane, Arabic

Dictionary s. v.)

The range of meanings in Hebrew arid Aramaic would fit very well

with the use of suqu and barranu here, although none of the passages

listed under ekemu in the lexica is susceptible to reinterpretation

under this posited new root, so we must look to future discoveries to

confirm the matter.

173-4 As pointed out by D. R. Gurney, STT 2 p. 11, the incantation

on STT 241 7-8 opens with parallel wording:

,
enfmal-bi-9i mub-bi mu-bil liq pi-ia
mu-bll [S]AG.DU ra1-kil uzu 5 Ani

This incantation, unfortunately too broken to be treated here. is to

. -··~-· - --·--------.
-·-- ..... ·~------
 facilitate difficult childbirth (munusx nu.si.sa), and differs
1
material after these first two lines. They are stack~phrases: an
(

cantation beginning in the same way is prescribed far use against

Lama~tu in the ritu~l edited by F. Thureau-Dangini' RA 18 (1921) p. 165

26:

I
(restored after our passage).
r

I
r.
Only the first line of this incantation is there quoted, sa it is not

II yet known which text this was (pending perhaps the new edition of La-
I mastu), but its use was followed by that of the better known incanta-

II tion: ez-ze-ta sa-am-ma-rat dan-na-at •.• (cf. STT 145 abv.(?) 13 1 ; ~

16 (1902) p. 176 59 etc.). and then by the manufacture of a bronze

I Pazuzu head.
For ubbulu liq pi, see riates to 166, and cf. also ZA NF 11 (1939)
P• 206 9-11:

ma-bi-i~ mu-ub-bi mu-ra-am~mu-u ~er'~ni mu-ub-bi-11 11-iq p!-i •••

175 This incantation contains several line~ of complete obscurity.

Once again, even their language is uncertain.
The reading DAti is confirmed by the var. DAtl, but the line defies
interpretation. There is an apparent characteristic alternation bet-
ween the vowels U : A (cf. above. p. 50), both in U : A, and NA : MU.
,
Cin Ebeling 1 s view, U = sammu, A .,. mu, cf. Ar. Dr. 21 (1953), p. ltl~r.

although since the line was broken at that time, he restored the same
couplets again.)

176 This resumes the theme of the opening line, attributing the
trouble to these chthanic deities through, presumably, intermediary
demons. Note the var. from b of DU[. far barranu, perhaps for alaktu?
177 UR.PA.A.GU.NA.A, var. UR.PA.GU.NA.A and UR.PA.GU.BA.A: the
reading adopted in the text follows 8, but a offers the BA for NA, a

discrepancy known ·elsewhere in passages of this nature; cf. P• 58.

(Ebeling copied BA for NA in b, ~ 88, but the tablet clearly has

NA from the photo.)

Ebeling, Ar. Or. 21 (1953) p. 419, read Urpagub[ak] here, and
equated it with the Elamite god napu-bur-ku-ba-ak (A. Deimel, Pantheon
no. 1045; cf. W. Hinz, RlA III p. 547: Upurkupak). The presence of an
Elamite deity, simply invoked by name, cannot be ruled out here, parti-
cularly in view of lines 179-80; see notes.

178 Ebeling, ££• cit., equated tlU.RI.IN with napbu-ud-ra-an, also

an Elamite god (cf. Deimel, ££• cit. no. 1423), but without further
evidence this seems most uncertain. The reading of a at this point
(cf. the critical app.) is tentative, but seems reasonably reconcilable
with the reconstructed text, which follows b where it is clearly pre-
served. Note the tlU.UD.~U for tlU.RE.E in B, which probably indicates
copying without comprehension, since ~U and RE at least may easily be
confused (especially in Bab. script; cf. also to 177 above). The dif-
ference between NA.RI.TA and NA.tlA.TA after each half of the line is
probably similarly to be explained. It seems likely ~rom the context
that this line preserves (in garbled form?), some utterance in the
Elamite tongue (again, cf. p. 53), but scrutiny has revealed nothing
that may certainly be identified.

179 d
na-bu-un-di (Hinz, ~· cit.: Nahhunte) is, however, indubitably
an Elamite deity, the sun god, identified with ~amas. If correctly read,
a appears to offer d narundi instead, while the second writing is tenta-
tively read: rd?l[n]a?-rru?bu?_un!?-dill, and since Narundi is like-

wise well known as a god in Elam, it seems that the Sultantepe scribe
 who wrote a included an alternative reading in the form of a gloss,
~
either because his source was unclear, or also gave an ~lternative, or

perhaps because he felt such an addition would enhance the effective-

ness of the passage.

, ,
The sequences NIG.GA.DU and NIG.GA.DA are also obscure. For
the former, a offers NIG.GA.RU, which might encourage the reading as

NfG.GA.R~, but this would lose the alternation U : A which we might

well look for here. :I

r
~
f
180 The word nap(i) is the Elamite word for 'god', 'protective
deity' (cf., e. g., F. w. K~nig, AfO Beiheft 16 p. 205), while the

lexical equation nap = ilu is given in CT 25 18 rev. ii 106 (i-[lu]

NUMki). Note the repeated NfG.GA.DU and, presumably [NfG.GA.DA], which
makes this parallel with the preceding line. The .IR on nap(i) is ex-
plicable after E. Reiner, "The Elamite Language" (cf. p. 53 for ref.),
as the "allocutive gender suffix, animate.sing.•• appended to nouns,

e. g. sunki-r, "he (the) king" (seep. 77). so that napi-r will mean
"he (the) god•• if translated literally, and presumably acts here as an
,
invocation, with NIG.GA.DU/DA some form of verb? Note that a offers

NfG.GA.DA for NIG.GA.DU (and perhaps writes MIN for the second), which
might count against the vowel change U : A being of any particular sig-
nificance.

181 This may be read as good 5umerian, and represents a short,

formulaic utterance comparable in structure to the A A 8 A pattern '1 '·
,,~
discernible in other lines here (see p. 50). The subject of the verb ! '
1

is perhaps Asallubi as in the following line, indeed the action there I.

described is probably brought about by the act of raising the hand.

182 This then may be seen as following on line 181 (if Elamite is
indeed correctly read in some of these lines, the abrupt passage from
~
sum. to Akk. need cause no surprise; cf. also pp. 38-9. !"
~.
It seems likely that this is some form of 1 mythological 1 refer-

ence, of the type discussed above, p. 61, since the swirling up of

storms is strongly associated with the sort of cosmic battle that is

described in Ee, where, it will be remembered, Marduk employed the
Winds in his battle against Tiamat. Cf. also CT 13 33 2, in the in-
structions for Tispak for his battle against the Labbu:

su-us-bi-i~ ur-pa me-ba-a [su-kun]

1111 Whirl up the clouds, [swirl up] a storm!"

The idea then is that just as Marduk has used the winds to good effect
in conflict with evil forces in the past, so should he now act in the
same way.

183 UL.Pl.NA.A AL.PI.NA.A is to be compared with line 177, for

the alternation U : A, for the ending .NA.A, and the fact that it is
also repeated. (Note also a possible UL/UR.?) The ~U.NA.BA.[X] of a
(cf. b: ~U.NA.AB) may b~ another word of this group. or could alter-
natively be a further example of garbled Sum. verbal complex, with
the root e = qebu, 'to speak' being disguised at the end (cf. notes to
186 below). Indeed, bu.na.ab.[e] could be restored. This would sup-
port UL.PI.NA.A as being a 11
magic formula": 'let him eay "ulpini!'''·

184 A short list of familiar demons; cf. Maglu I 136-9 etc.

 190

No. 32

186 This line is taken to be Sum., and perhaps to be analysed zi

aa.(e)ra.(e). where e = qebu, and zi = nisu, hence the translation. e

as the maru-form of qebu is required before be., see A. falkenstein.

Oas Sumerische p. 50: for he.::> ha before .ra, ibid. It is unknown

- V V - -

whether under normal circumstances the e of the root could just fall

away. The .e of the e-agentive and locative-terminative postpositions

is prone to disappear, but whether this could happen when the root is
involved is open to question. Even if this were an abnormality, howe-
ver, the nature of the text provides a reasonable explanation, since

the formulaic structure is obvious, and the original meaning may have

been lost at the time of transmission. Cf. the ba.ra for ba.ra.e in

~rev. 9 (=our 316)~ a mistake or a further example of the late trans-

mission of Sum.? The (e)ra must refer to the demon, the whole being

an appeal for protection. uJho the "he" is remains obscure. The struc-

ture of the line is similar to. although slightly different from the

A A 8 A pattern discussed above, p. 50.

187 CF. Maglu V 156ff.:

,
, Y .... u ... V
en sadu lik-tum-ku-nu-si
,
V Au V
sadu lik-la-ku-nu-si
,.
saduu li-ni-io-ku-nu-si . • • etc •. addressed to
wizards and witches. Cf. I. T. Abusch, "Studies in the History~

Interpretation of Some Akkadian Incantations and·Pravers against Witch-

craft" (unpub. Ph. D. Thesis, Harvard 1972). p. 6: "After the ghost 1

1
Ac~ording to Abusch, the original function of Maglu was the "transfor-
mat~on of the witch into a ghost, and the expulsion of that ghost From
the world of the living and its banishment to the world of the dead"; "I
 191

has been pacified, the speaker expresses the wish that the mountain,
"!;

which, in some way. represents death, confine it". For the use of
'•.
sadu
to mean 'Underworld', seeK. Tallqvist, StDr 5/IV pp. 23-5, and cf'. the

expression sadasu emedu, a common euphemism for •to die'. This has

been interpreted 1 as •to put in (one's boat) at the mountain', that is,
2
to moor oneself at the edge of the mountain having crossed the inter-

vening waters.

188 The restoration at the beginning of this line should be clear,

but is difficult. The surviving signs would suggest kutallu as the

first word, but this is not immediately compatible with the traces of

a (see Collations) or B. According to 8, k]u -tal-li is just possible

8
Cor even k]u 9-?): in partial support of such a writing cf. F. R. Kraus,

Texte 36 i 8-14, where GU.TAL is used for the customary Gd.~A~ (=

kutallu). This word is used with taru with various idiomatic meanings

(see CAD K pp. 605~6). ~umma Alu supplies some cases of ana kutalli

taru meaning simply 1 to return', e. g.

V

DIS NA ana KASKAL ZI-ma ~UR.DDmusen TA 150 NA 75 i-ti-iq-ma ana ku-tal-

li-su GuR ~JA ar KI ouku ljA.LA Ku 1lb-bi ous.GA

The subject of litirka is-presumably the utterance referred to in 185.

see ~ 33 (1974) p. 260; the substance of his thesis is to appear in

future vols. of that journal.

1
Against this interpretation Con grammatical grounds) see 8. Lan-
dsberger, MAOG p. 320 n. 6.

2
Against the concept of a Weltberg implied in this interpretation
see Th. Jacobsen, Tammuz pp. 117-8; R. J. Clifford, The Cosmic Mountain
--- --- ---
12 Canaan and The Old Testament p. 9ff.
----~---
 192

The structure of this sentence is unusually cumbrous; perhaps la

tappallas is to be understood after ana arkika, which i~ otherwise su-

perfluous: see to line 284.

No. 33

189 A variant of line 186 above. The Function of the NU is un-

clear; a negative would make no sense. One might think of the emphatic

preformative na, but the change QU>ba is to be expected. The fact

that this NU element occurs in a version of the line on a cylinder seal

(V) as well as on the 'compilation' tablets discourages the tempting
solution as a scribal accretion.

191ff. These lines may be restored with the help of Sm 312 (Plat~

38) obv. 9 1 -11 1 , a partial duplicate to the long incantation against

simmatu-disease (STT 136 obv. ii) recently edited in part by W. von

Soden, JNES 33 (1974) pp. 341-4. Note here:

9' • ki-ma al-pi] ana tar-ba-~i-ki

10 1 • ki-ma immeri] ana su-pu-ri-ki

11 1 ••• ki-ma 1~-~u-ri] ana qin-ni-ki tu-ri

As a paint of literary style, note that the Akk. uses the 2 nd person
suffix as if to reinforce the identification with these animals and
their natural behaviour pattern, and effect the retreat of the demon
to its wonted haunts: English would spontaneously use the 3 rd person
"its''. Other passages in this style·may.be found in incantations, e.

g. £I 17 22 139ff. (from~):

139 sag.gig tu.musen.[gim] ab.la.se

1~0 mu-ru-u~ qaq-qa-di [ki-ma su]-um-ma-ti ana ap-ti
141 buru .musen.gim [a]n.bal.se
5
142 ki-ma a-ri-bi (a-na su-pu]k samee
 143 musen.gim ki.dagal.la.se oa.ba.ni.ib.dal.d[al!)
.
144 ki-ma i~-~u-ri <ana> as-ri rap-si l i t-tapl,ra-as
~
"May the headache-demon, like a dove to the ~indow,
Like a raven to the firmament of Heaven,
Like a bird to a broad place may it fly ~way!"

No. 34
194 At present, this incantation cannot be fully reconstructed.

For the sign ~~~xA.NA see M. Civil, df2 15 (1961) pp. 125-6.
1
It is

apparently to be read erina Cor similar), but none of its meanings that

Civil quotes fit into this context at all: 11

••• le sens le plus eau-

rant est "racin~" (~ur~u) et (que) le mat a design~ aussi probablement

certaines plantes (ou racines de plantes) sp~cifiques, d 1 autre part il

,
designe aussi un produit (a.uerina) utilise dans le tannage ou teinture
de peaux. 11

In structure, this short passage seems partly to parallel nos. 1-

3 above, where mas.sag, 'leader'' refers to a god with whom the speaker

identifies himself. Here. erina would then qualify the ma~.sag, either

as a name, or as a second epithet. The end of the line .e.ma (from B)

where the parallel reads me.en, 'I am', is unexplained, but compare the
me.en of line 195. (Or could e(r)ema be a gloss for pronunciation?)

.. No. 35

196 Apparently there is room for two signs, otherwise [dingir].

bul.a (?) TAR has a wide range of equivalents: the form here seems to

1 BU
A further example of the related BUxA.NA (also discussed in
~ 15) is in CT 33 10.
 194

...
parallel that in line 80 above; see note. Applied to gir, the meanings
1
nasaau or tarasu might be appropriate.

No. 36
200 This line is obscure, and occurs also at the beginning of the

next two incantations. The complete line here is only preserved on b

which by comparison is presumably corrupt: the problems are discussed

under line 210.

201 For clarity, the separate readings of the three Mss. are:

A: r ~N 1 [. • • • • . • •J
8: E NfG A~ TU BI E DI KU E [NIG A~ TU BI E DI KU]

b: [ . . . . L]I SI E DI I ~U KIMIN

The KIMIN of b (read KU by Ebeling, but KIMIN seems clear) supports the
obvious restoration of 8. The interpretation of this line is impossible
at present. The TU of B and the LI of b are easily reconcilable due to
,
the similarity of the signs; the E.NIG could conceivably be a phonetic
wr. of the ~N.[IG?, but the differences suggest that this was a text
transmitted without understanding, and it is taken as some ''magic" for-
mula. It is certainly not in Akk.

202 The remaining text is good and conventional Akk. The emendation
is based on parallel occurrences elsewhere, see CAD H p. 131. (Note
that their transliteration of KAR 88 ~ b is incorrect: -sa-as is not
broken away from the tablet, but quite omitted.) Note the mention of
Babylonians, .and cf. p. 70.

No. 37
204-S See notes on 210 below.
 195

206 For tamtu, •struggle'. •strife', see A. Goetze. An. Or. 12 pp.
~\

185-91; w. G. Lambert. A. R. Millard, Atra-hasis p. 151 .. '

208 It should be pointed out here that the "na~ir napsatimes"

quoted in ~w p. 738 as a parallel to the na-~ir nap-sa-a-ti of AfO 19

(1959-60) 56 2 6 on the basis of Ebeling's 11
napsati(mes)." in&· .Q.E.· 21·

(1953) p. 422, should be deleted.

V
The sources read here: G: rna-sir .
Zl tim 1 ; b : na-s1r
. NA Mmes •
. Ebeling's plural form is thus erroneous.

209 The final dmarduk itti-ka-ma is reminiscent of the refrain

bul-lu-~u ~ul-lu-mu dmarduk it-ti-ka-ma repeated after each line of

~urpu IV; cf. E. Reiner. ~urpu p. 2.

No. 38
210 This, as lines 200 and 204 above. is difficult. Six amulets

carry this line (one, ~. in conjunction with a var. form of no. 9),
and four cylinder seals (of which V also carries line 189. and Z three

lines of an unidentified text). None of these sources has the Akk. of

line 211, but it has been thoug~more logical to consider them as

forms of no. 38, since line 211 seems to be a partial effort at trans-
lation, and the tablets of the series do not carry line 210 on its own.

The line is obscure, and since it appears to have been a popular text,
it needs investigation. When the various readings are examined side

by side, certain points emerge:

1 Of the tablet versions. only b is preserved for all three

lines in full. Comparison with the other Mss. makes it clear that the
reading of b in 200, necessarily adopted in the text. is corrupt.

2 Six Mss. (~ ~ ~
AA BB II) offer the var. nu 5/numun for the
more common nu in nu.e.de.es.
 196

3 All amulets and cylinder seals offer lu for the nu of the

".
tablets in nu.ab.de.es.

4 All amulets and cylinder seals read .da.as for both writings
V
.de.es on the tablets.

It may be coincidence, but it seems remarkable that these variants oc-

cur consistently between tablet and other sources, i. e. lu for nu, and
.da.as for .de.es. No tablet offers nu for nu. There seems to be no
5
obvious explanation of these facts. i11
~·'

In lines 205 and 211. two related phrases in Akk. follow:

205 1 i-is-sub-ka ina sik-nat napist1m tim
V V •

211 na-an-si-ib ina sik-nat napistim tim

V V

"May he oust·you/Be ousted from among living creatures!"

zi = nasabu, 'to tear out•, and there is good evidence for zi.gal =
siknat napistim: cf. CT 17 36 (K 9272) 10:

(udug.bul.ga]l un zi.gal dib.dib.be : MIN sa ni-si sik-na-at na-pis-ti

i b- ta-na- •a-ru

(cf. CT 16 30 i 18: ]-'-ru!?(U); see CAD 8 p. 4). I'

Cf. also n1g.zi.gal,
,.

e. g. IV ~ 1 rev. 7-8:

[en] nig.zi.gal sa.la.su kalam.ma m[e.en]

be-el sik-na-at napist1m tim re-me-nu-u~ sa ma-ta-a-ti at- ta J

V , V • Y [

cf. IV R 29 l 43-4:
, ,. " , ,.
nig.zi.gal nig.a.na.mu.na.a kalam.ma gal.la.ba
V V - V,
sik-na-at na-pis-ti ma-la na-ba-a ina mati ba-sa-a
Note also CT 13 36 22: n{g.zi.gal ~ si-kin na-pis-ti, and note the
common zi.sa.gal with the same meaning.
,
The reading gal rather than ig is confirmed by the var. nig.zi.ga.
(see s. Langdon, ~ 6 p. 54 n. 4) to n{g.zi.gal, and DT 48 obv. 13-4:
dama.su.aal.bi ama.n{g.zi!(NAM).gal.la.ke
4
 197

d
MIN urn-me r sik
v 1-na-at napistim
v tim
(following C. B~zold,
t
Ca a-

logue p. 1545, against the copy of J. A. Craig, ABRT 118~ see C. J.

Mullo-Weir, JRAS 1929 8-9).

There are grounds, therefore, for equating these two phrases.

However, good Sum. would require nig.zi.gal.ta be.(en).zi, and there

is no correspondence of this kind for the rest of the two lines. In

view of this, it seems that an old (obscure) formula of hallowed use

has been set down here as part of a magical text, and subjected in

part to a spurious reinterpretation where the interplay of the signs

would enhance the effectiveness; cf. W. G. Lambert, Studies Albright

p. 348 note on lines 1-8. The discovery of 210 as a complete inscrip-

tion on amulets and seals shows that the formula could stand by itself.

As to the original meaning of the line, we may note firstly that there

is clearly a parallel between the two halves, cf. A. Falkenstein in L.

X ,
J. Krusina-Lerny,
V
Ar. Or. 18I III ( 1950) p. 303. 1 It is possible to
reconcile the variant readings by reading nu as la Cas against lu):2

the fact that there is a variant nu CNUMUN) to nu is only helpful if

5
this be construed as a noun with nu as a contracted form (as assumed

by C. Frank: "numun wohl gekl.'!rzt zu nu ••• " ibid.). The first three

signs may be read zi.zi.ig, i. e. the imperative of zi(g), 'to depart'

(; tebu, see to 72); the nu.e.de.es are then to be taken as a negative

1
rt is comforting to note the opinion of Falkenstein, confined
privately to Kru~ina-Cerny (gg •. ci t. p. 303 n. 48) that he had "frankly
his own doubts, about the possibility of this incantation being under-
stood".

2
Perhaps cf. nu.banda = laputtu, where nu seems to mean 'man' (as
in nu.kiri 6 = nukarribu, despite the persistence of the nu) (?)
 y,

r
I
I
imperative, "do not ... I 11
~ ' repeated in the second half. '!; DI as a Sum.
root is equated with alaku, and also dalu, 'to wander about aimlessly';

the latter often occurs in descriptions of harmful demons, and is the

more appropriate here. The sag.gis defies convincing analysis, but it

could conceal several possibilities. A meaning "depart. do not lurk

about! ••• , do not lurk about!" makes good sense as an exorcistic im-

precation, and it seems altogether likely that the original form was

something along these lines.

The Sum. has in time become slightly corrupted or abbreviated,

and its meaning presumably forgotten, so that pseudo-phonetic variants

such as lu for nu, or nu for nu could appear, and scribal ingenuity

5
could weave a partly related text about it. It would seem probable

that this formula is an old one to have undergone such a process, but

to date the four Kassite cylinder seals y, £, ~and~ are the earli-
est available examples. Note that V offers the.variant ti.zi.da for

our zi.zi.ig, a formula to be found elsewhere in incantations (e. g.

line 67 here: is this an imperative? See notes.to no. 21), although

in both forms, the root may be taken to .be the same.

Note that in MAOG XIV/2 p. 9, C. Frank considered the Akk. li-

h
su~-ka i na s"'i k-na t napist1m ~
"' · tim to be a "freien Ubersetzung" of z i zi •
gal nu e.de.es, but had no idea about the remainder. E. Ebeling, Ar.

Or. 21 (1953) p. 423 n. 209, considered even this equation dubious.

Frank is imprecise in his argument however, since the nu e.de.es is

superfluous to the Akk. he cites.

211 The phrase sikin/siknat napistim of·ten means animal life in

general, rather than human life exclusively, cf. CT 13 36 22:

,.., ...
mas.anse n{g.zi.g~l edin!~na ba.d~
dv V . V

bu-ul sakkan si-kin na-pis-ti ina ~e-e-ri ib-ta-ni

 "He created the wild animals, all living creatures in the steppe."
1
It emphasizes the complete removal of the demon being urged by the
\
1
speaker. For tamtu, see to 206 above.

It may be noted here that ~ (Plate 57) includes an extra three

lines as part of this incantation, before our line 210; these lines

are in part obscure, although the signs are quite clear:

1 A~ MI MI ZALAG IR (= ina e~uti inammirir ?)

2 A~ KA/SAG AN DA MA~ ina pi ... ?)
(=
_ V
y si
3 IGI ZALAG IGI (= pan samsi ?)

d
This short passage is not to be found elsewhere: no DA.MA~ seems to
occur either, and the interpretation of the remainder is tentative.

No. 39

212 This line defies interpretation, but note the variant writings.

213 The epithet mustarbi~ er~etim (also in line 236) does not seem
to occur elsewhere. It is here derived form rb~ I (AHw), 'to flood 1 ,
1 wash 1 , or •to trample on 1 , 'stand onr, and is also the first evidence
for either the III/2 or III/3 use of the root, "who causes the Under

world to be trampled/flooded." An apparently related epithet occurs in

the Gula Hymn of Bullu~sa-rabi; cf. Or 36 (1967) p. 124 149:
,
ez-zu na- -i-ru s~duu ra-bi-i~ tam-tim
1

"the fierce, the killer, the mountain that trampled on the sea .•. ''

1
· rs it possible that the amulets carrying this formula could have
been used to safeguard prized livestock? Cf. perhaps the use of amulets
on cattle by the Jews, L. Blau. Das AltjBdische Zauberwesen p. 86.
 200

There it Bpplies to Lugalbanda <=

Ninurta, see ibid. p. l09ff.): for
1
the mythological content, see to line 51 above.
The remainder of this line is most peculiar, despite the fact

that all wards are known and certain. There is clearlV a parallel in
the structure, but it is quite unexpected to find er~etum preceding

samu, and it does not seem possible to con~true mustaroi~u with 8

double accusative, and in any case this would hardly make sense, so
no translation is attempted at present.
I..

214 The opening words are provieionally read as imperatives ad-

dressed to the demon; 1 lament 1 in this context is virtually equiva-
lent to 'relent•, and for this use of saoa!u, see to line,l5 above.
This incantation contains a further example of the unexplained shift
a> s found in line 34: b offers si-pit and si-hi-it here.
V •
A ~alam

~1~~1 occurs in the potency incantations; see R. D. Biggs, TCS 2 p. 72

and cf. also Maglu IX 48. Aside from the variant readings of b, it is
interesting to note the relatively high proportion of emphatic conso-
nante in this short incantation: one wonders if thia is deliberate, an
imitation of spitting in order to oust the demon. 1

No. 40
~:
' 216-7 An incantation addressed to the warrior (gu 4 = qarr~du), with
'
'! ,•
~
~·

whom the sedu seems to be identified, to secure hie protection and at-
tention. sedu is not normally used in-thie type of context (see A. L.
. '

Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotami8 pp. 199-201). alam can be read ~almu

1
cf. the interpretation of the troublesome sz zt in the amulet
from Arslan T~sh (ANET pp. 658 9) of T. H. Gaster, or-rl (1942) p. 67.
 201

(thereby permitting an oblique connection with the preceding incanta-

1
tion of the type discussed in the Introduction), but lan~, 'figure'

seems a better equivalent; cf. CT 17 25 9f.:

[sag].bi uX .lu alam.bi uru.ern

qaq-qa-su a-lu-u la-an-su a-bu-bu-urn-ma

This is no doubt Ninurta himself, cf. line 221 below, and also Lugale
I 31 for Ninurta's physique:
d . , ,
nin.urta nita im.il.il.la alam.bi aul.la
dMIN zikaru mutlellu ea ana lanisu hadu
w

11
Ninurta, the young and exalted man who rejoices in his stature"
(quoted after~ L p. 78 lex.)

218-9 The relationship between SAG.~UL.~A.ZA and mukil-rea-lemuttim

has recently been discussed by W. Farber, ZA 54 (1974) p. 87ff.

220 The steppe-land is, of course. one of the normal haunts of de-
mans; cf. the incantation in CT 17 8 12ff. beginning:

en udug.aul edin.na.zu.ee
u-tuk-ku lem-nu a-na se-ri-ka
• etc •
11
0 evi 1 utukku, (be off) to your steppe:! 11 etc.

Other passages are conveniently listed in R. Campbell Thompson, Semitic

Magic p. 263 (under 'deserts'). These utterances are very much stock
material, cf. £I 16 31 108 etc. The form ei-ma shows that "or •• e or ••• "
•
ia to be understood: the attempt ie to name the demon responsible here.

No. 41

222 For the opening signs, the Mss. do not quite agree. The read-
ing adopted follows A, but compare the traces of a <[x]x.ma igi ••• ),

-
 202

b (kal.kal x[x x)x [ ••• ). The .1~ in A suggests that the preceding
~

sign is to be read kal: the translation "very precious"~ although it i~

unclearto what(or whom) this applies. The .ma of a (quite clear in

j
'
the photo.) could reflect the misreading of .la in an earlier source in

the tradition(?) The traces of b exclude the restoration of nu before

the first zi.zi. Since this appears to be an exhortation not to depart,

it is presumably addressed to a benevolent entity (the "most precious''
perhaps), and these traces could possibly then read ]x rnam1.zi.zi (?)

223 The restoration seems fairly certain. although the resulting I

wording of this line is somewhat abrupt. I
I
I
No. 42 I
I

224-6 As it stands, this incantation is most peculiarly worded.

1u d
The translation assumes that kin.gi 4 .a dingir.re.e.ne and asal.lu.Qi
are both anticipatory genitives resumed in the suffix .a.ni of line
226, while the tu 6 .ku.ga to which that suffix is appended has been un-
derstood as tu 6 .ku.ga.a.ni.ta, since the god rather than the incanta-
tion itself must be the subject of the verb dib, 'to seize'. The tor-
tuous word order is most unexpected in a simple and short incantation
of this type, so much so that one wonders if the whole pessage is cor-

rupt, i. e. the whole word order upset, or the .ta dropped out, but the
text is known from three medical tablets as well as the 'compilation'
sources, so if corruption has been at. work, it will have been at an

earlier stage than that represented by our Msa.

In addition, dib is not normally used with gaba, 'breast• as here

(presumably) to mean 'banish' or 'dispel•: gi would be expected, but cf.

the similarly unusual irta pa~eru in line 170, with what is most likely
to be taken as a similar meaning.

l
~i
.
'
 203

No. 43
d ,.
227 a-ra-nun-na is given as the 39th name of Marduk in Ee VII 97~
d , . d, " e"
8: a-ra-nun-na ma-llk e-a ba-an ilanimes abbim s-[su] a-na a-lak- sa
ti ru-bu-ti-su la u-mas-sa-lu ilu a-a-um-ma; note that A.RA = maliku,
alaktu, NUN = d ea, rubutu.

In structure this simple incantation is a highly abbreviated ex-

ample of the 'Legitimationstyp', and is nlso of the A A 8 A pattern.

No. 44
229ff. Note the 'semi-bilingual' nature of this incantation. All
I the deities mentioned are, of course, chthonic gods, and would be power-
I ful against any demonic force issuing from the Underworld. Erra is
I sometimes identified with Nergal; see, e. g., W. G. Lambert, Bi. Q£. 30
I
I (1973) p. 356.
I

231 For the epithet, cf. line 278 below. The reading is based on
the traces of D: a apparently read otherwise (G]ABA?).

232 If this be another nis ••• formula, the restored u seems to be

necessary, since lu tamata is not repeated. Even so, this wording is
unusual.

233 Cf. line 83 etc.

234 Although the restoration is not clear, this seems to be another

example of a formula designed to give the incantation divine authority:

cf. the ina qibit DN ••• formula, discussed above p. 44. Presumably a

DN is to be restored at the beginning. The epesu may refer rather to

an accompanying ritual ordered by the gods, since it is not normally a
 204

verb used of the performing or reciting of an incantation.

No. 45
d
235 There is a god ··da-da; cf. A. Dei-
Note the pattern A A 8 A.
d
mel, Pantheon p. 99; K. Tallqvist, GE p. 279. In KAV 63 iii 34, da-da

is equated with Ninurta (dMA~); see RlA II p. 97. (It is also a name
d
of Etallak and Adad; cf. ibid.) There is also a da-da-gu-1a, known

from CT 24 24 65-6 to be a musician:

VI dur.a
d da.da.gu.la luI balag.ga.tus I
nam.mab dingir.e.ne mu.un.du .du 12
12
dMIN NAR ~u (collated, courtesy W. G. L.)

"Dadagula, the one who sits at the balag, and sings of the splendour

of the gods." (cf. E. Ebeling. RlA II p. 97.)

Note also VAT 8084 in AfK 2 (1924-5) p. 6, a god1ist in archaising OB

script, where dda-da is followed by dda-da-gu-1a; cf. D. Schroeder, ~

33 (1921) p. 136. There is, however, no mention of a dda-da-ban-da.

For some reason, a writes da.da.AN ( and the AN reappears in the two
following phrases), but this is superfluous. D omits this AN, but is
only partly preserved, hence the transliteration. The writing of a is
perhaps due to the formulaic structure of the passage.

236 The Epithet is applied to Ninurta also in line 213 above.

No. 46

237 With reservations, the signs KA ~I are here read inim be, as-
suming that this is a peculiar writing for inim b~.(e), "may he speak
the word!", where the text has undergone a similar evolution to line

186, with which it is to be compared. There are, of course, other

ways of construing these sogns; inim.sar.sar. for example, is equated

with sutabulu, •to discuss, I
but this does not appear readily to fit
1
into this context. The line is a further example of A ACB A.
'·
238 From what survives of this line, it appears~to be an Akkadian

equivalent, or partial equivalent to the preceding Sumerian, although

the lem-nu li-mut seems to have no counterpart in the Sumerian. If

KA = amatu here, as implied by our interpretation of the Sumerian, the
suffix -su is unexpected.

No. 47

239-40 Another 'semi-bilingual' incantation, of the 1 Legitimations-

!YE·' If en is to be taken as 'lord,' then nig.BAR is perhaps an epi-

thet describing the god in question.

241-2 The Akk. appears to c~rrespond to the Sum.

No. 48

243 For the structure, see pp. 33 and 43. With dir-kin-gi (b:
dir-kin-[ga]l, c! dir-kin-gal), cf. dir-kin-gu, the forty-third name of
Marduk in Ee VII 105:

dir-kin-gu sa-lil dkin-gu a-bi-is ta-ba-zi

11
Irkingu, who carried off Kingu in the thick(?) of the battle." 1

1 For a-bi-is, see W. van Soden, ZA NF 13 (19 4 2) p. 23; E. A.

V

Speiser, ANET3 p. 72. ir = salalu occurs, e. g., in Antagal III; see

£! 18 32 ~
 206

No. 49
•245 A goddess Ninmetenten is named in CT 24 48 ii 8 as the hand-

maiden of sin (geme.dsu 1 en.na.ke ); this and our passage seem to be

4
the only occurrences of this deity so far. The same epithets apply to

Istar in L. W. King, STC 2 LXXV obv. 1 (= KUB 37 36 5'), and hardly

fit a minion of sin, so our goddess is perhaps a separate deity.

247 See nos. 29-31 for this idea.

248 Cf., for example, Or 36 (1967) 10 10'; JNES 33 (1974) 276

55ff. etc.

No. 50

249 The pattern is A A 8 A,_ although note the variant of b.

250 For diGI.DU = palil, see to line 34. The last three signs
are obscure: the reconstructed text follows b, while a is unclear (cf.
the call.). Is this perhaps a "magic word?"

251 There are conflicting traditions about the parenthood of

Ninazu; cf. J. J. A. van Dijk, SGL 2 pp~ 71-2.

252-3 Although the words here are perfectly clear, the sense is
not: the five lines of this incantation are not linked syntactically
at all, but are simply short phrases (cf. to no. 57). One might see
the clay here referred to as being used used to make the seal, which
would then be one such as those discussed in Appendix II. If so, this
incantation may possibly be one of those actually designed to be writ-
'· ~.
ten on such an amulet, the origin of the clay providing the protection .......
_

~
 207

for the wearer, although as yet no example has been found on an amulet.
·;.

No. 51
i"8
254 The tree 9 sarbatu(ASAL
• X
= A.TU.GAB+LIS) fs the Euphrates
dv,
Poplar (Populus euphraticus) according to CAD ~- For the DN sar-

~arbati as a name of Nergal, see E. van Weiher, Nergal p. 88. He is

described in JNES 15 (1956) 144 16 as: ra-kib ld idiglat 'u id puratti.
,
X · 4 d.,, id
With our line 25 4 , compare ~urpu III 1 6: ma-mit sar-~arbati u
puratt1, "the •oath' of the King of the Euphrates-Poplar and the Eu-
phrates." Elsewhere, d~ubula is named as the god of the Euphrates;
see J. A. Craig, ABRT r p. 58 11: di-sum u dsu-bu-la ilanimes ldidiglat
,
... id
u puratti etc.

No. 52
Enough survives of this passage to show it to be both in Sum.
and Akk.; for the Akk •. compare in a general way L. W. King, BMS no. 2
obv. llff.

258 The signs mu.pa.da, if construed as a verbal sequence (which

therefore serves as an epithet) means "whose name was called/chosen,"

as commonly in Sumerian royal inscriptions, e. g. F. Thureau-Dangin,

~ p. 20 b) 5 etc.; compare also the description of Lamastu as

mu.pa.da dingir.e.ne.ke 4 : zakrat sumi ilanimes (F. Thureau-Dangin, RA

18 (1921) p. 195).

260 arku, 1 long' has no meaning in this context: are these signs
perhaps therefore to be read as gft-ma!-l[u! (?); the two epithets
... ...
surbu and gitmalu occur frequently together. but unfortunately collation
from the photo. (of a) is impossible.
Passages st h as that apparr- 'tlV here, after the pattern ON ilu
 208

adj. adj. are not particularly common. but do occ~r

elsewhere, e. g.
1 dv
MaqlQ VI 2: dura~ ilu g{t-ma-lu •... and cf. 356 below:; samas ilu
V

·:
ellu [ •••

For the tentative placing here of lines 263-6 from K 13369 (D)

see above, pp. 11-13.

268 This and the following three lines have the appearance of

being partly corrupted. Here the context suggests aurbu, 'waste land'

as a suitable haunt of demons, whose movements of sweeping devastation

are presumably here being described. One might expect aurbu ana ourbi

after the preceding phrases. but a is the only Ms. preserved, and the

photo. defies collation.

269 Emend to gisqistu ana . vt.1·1

gis q1s (?.) Could la ulliluma be

a sardonic expression for 'defile'?

270 The exact meaning of kasadu here is obscure.

271 As it stands, this line is meaningless, and it seems likely

that more signs than our restored -ta have been omitted.

No. 53

272 For kidinnu, normally 'divine protection', as of the inhabi-

tants of a city for example, see CAD K s. v., and A. L. Oppenheim,

--.
Ancient Mesopotamia p. 12Dff. The kidinnu is a tangible object, "pro-

bably some kind of standard' 1 • which was "placed at the gateway of •.•
8 city as a symbol of divine approval and protection which safeguarded

the status of the citizens" (Oppenheim, ~· ci t.).

Over and above this s6cio-political function, the kidinnu could

also furnish protection in a magical or religious sense; cf •. for

 209

example, Maqlu VI l4Dff.:

ma-sar-t~ ina b~bi-ia

ina ••• -ia
5 5 az-za-qap ki-din-nu ~

ina imitti babi-ia5 u sumeli babi-ia5

ul-te-ez-ziz dlugal-gir-ra u dmes-l[am-t]a-e-a

...
. - mes ...
1lani sa ma-sar-te .
"In my .•• (there is) protection; in my gate I set up the kidinnu-
symbol,

On the right of my gate, on the left of my gate.

I established Lugalgirra and Meslamtaea.
Gods of protection n

Compare also Maqlu VI 124, 132 and 149. -

The expression kidinna zaqapu

clearly indicates that an actual object was set up in some form of apo-
tropaic ritual, together with statuettes or other symbols of the deities
mentioned.
The abstract.kidinnutu is derived to express the state of being

under this protection. kidinnu is twice used in this series. in con-

texts where it stands for kidinnutu, contexts that are related to the
1 As
usage in f'-1aqlu, where specifically magical protection is meant.

well as line 272, note 332-3 here:

• ... • y
QlS QlS - .
daltu u
sikkuru lu-u t1-da-a
V
. v, ... - - -mes
a-na- k1-din sa sini bele an-da-qut

"D door and bolt, do you therefore know. that I have fallen under
the protection of the(se) two lords!"

(Not'e that CAD K p. 343, quoting from KAR 76 (c), and referring to E.

1
A more personal, magical/religious meaning may also apply in
such PNs as mkidin-marduk etc.
 210

Ebeling in Ar. Or. 21 (195.3) p. 40Jff. as 11

passim in such texts'' is
'!r .
:-

misleading: all these passages are duplicates, edited hefe.)

In these contexts. the word means the protection afforded by the

kidinnu, in turn bestowed by the gods of magic on human beings. A fur-

ther example from the namburbi texts is in R. Caplice, Or .36 (1967) p.

10 10 1 : ma-oi-ru lim-ou-ra-an-ni pe-du-u 11-ip-da-an-ni su-tuq u-di

i-ba-~~-si ki-di-nu. "May a substitute receive (the Evil) from me!

May the merciful one release me! My trouble is past: protection is at

hand!", and see note on p. 13 there.

a-ia-an-na = ajanna, usually ajanu. with doubling of the-n- to I

compensate for the long vowel; other examples from Sultantepe are noted

by W. G. Lambert in RA 53 (1959) p. 125. The -ma is a little uncertain

but no obvious alternative suggests itself. The imperative is most

probably addressed to the god who is to provide the protection, named

"in the following line, although it is possible that it is the demon who

is addressed.

273 musallimu is particularly applied to Marduk, e. g. E. Reiner,

JNES 19 (1960) p. 152:

dingir.silim.ma.mu dasal.lu.[oi] ilu musallimu dmarduk,

and other invocations of this kind are common. e. g. AfO 14 (1941-4)

p. 142 14: i1u mu-sal-li-mu i-da-a-a lu-u ka-a-a-an, or E. Ebeling,

~ 22 4-7; 40 46-8 etc. On the term see H. Vorlander, AOATS 23 p. 18.

There is, however,_ no proof that it is Marduk in this incantation.

Since sullG, 'to pray' would make no ~ense here with mu~allimu

as the subject, it seems preferable to assume that -im has fallen out

from the text; only a is preserved here, and since it is clearly unre-

liable in both the preceding and following incantations, such an emen-

dation seems to be acceptable.

 ·l

211

No. 54

274 The presence of the copula demonstrates the omi~sion; the res-

toration is based on frequent passages in this vein, see C. J. Mullo-

Weir, Lexicon pp. 148 and 212: ~ K p. 470 etc. As··may be seen from

the reconstructed text (since 8 offers merely a few single signs). a

is noticeably corrupt at this point. In this incantation, it contains

at least two omissions and four miscopied signs, while lines 275 and

282 also give the impression of being garbled (cf. also above).

~ema sakapu usually refers to the human sufferer rather than a

demon (see to 359 below); ~amas is being exhorted to confuse the evil
spirit, and distract him from his purpose.

275 The broken passage no doubt contains an epithet.

277 It is assumed that Ningestinanna is the subject of the verb,

and for her chthonic role (= dbelet-;eri) see K. Tallqvist, StOr V/4

p. 16f. For demons being blocked off by water, cf •. e. g •. J. A.

Craig, ~ I 79 14: lik-la-ku-nu-si na-'-i-lu sa K[Itim (see ~ P•
292 note to 60) etc.

278 Cf. line 231 above, and e. g. AfO 14 (1941-4) 146 125; KAR
227 iii 18 etc.

279 For ~he reading dusmQ see AfO 14 (1941-4) p. 148 158-9, and

compare III E 66 26a: d,.u-su-mu-u, or Sm 312 (Plate 38 ) 1': d us-mu- r u"1 •

For similar epithets see K. Ta1lqvist, §f p. 481.

280 The same error of ZU for SU occurs in the parallel passage·

~ 323 obv. 14-16:

 en e~emmu mim-ma lem-nu is-tu4 u4-mi an-ni-i ina ZU annanna

ap il annanna nasbatu
tu V
su-~a-a-ta

~ar-da-ta u kus-su-da-ta (ras.) ilu sa-kin-ka

distaru(l5) sa-kin-ta-ka ina zumur annanna apil annanna

mar~i is-su-bu-ka (see F. K8cher, BAM IV p. X)

"en: 0 Ghost, Any Evil, from this very day, from the body of So-and-
so, son of So-and-so are you ousted, sent away, banished and driven
away! The (personal) god appointed against you, the (personal) god-
dess appointed against you have ousted you from the body of So-and-
so, son of So-and-so!"
Other similar passages are ZA 23 (1909) 374, addressed to Kulla,
the brick god:

dkulla(SIG 4 ) na-as-oa-t[a]

uk-ku-sa-ta ~ar-da-a-[ta],
or RA 65 (1971) 164:

3-su D~G.GA na-as-ba-tu-nu

[ta-ar-da-tu-n]u uk-ku-sa-tu-nu
or STT 237 obv. 2-3:

. . . IM.DIS] DANNA r9ar-ba-ta1

• • . IJM.DIS DANNA ou-ru~1-~a-ta

and note also the repeated examples in G. Meier, fft NF 11 (1939) 204
7-8, 202 32 etc. Other examples are noted in the Commentary to lines
348-40.

Utterances such as these statives of banishment represent the

essence of the exorcistic incantation, y~t the force of the
actual banishing is only.rarely emphasized by the structure of
the text; the source published by Meier in ZA NF 11 referred
to above is interesting in the way this theme is reiterated.
 It is instructive to compare cuneiform incantations in this
respect with the later Aramaic material, where i0may be seen
that this element underwent a substantial development; see J.
A. Montgomery. PBS 3 p. 56, where it is demonstrated that this
section of the magic practice was expanded to the virtual ex-
clusion of the other, what Montgomery calls tbe 'religious•
content. This means the appeal to higher powers, the winning
of approval by choice epithets and declarations of humility,
all of which later fall away. leaving a superstitious reliance
on the purely magical efficacy of similar verbs of banishing,
ousting and binding. In comparison with later magic texts,
incantations in cuneiform represent a noticeably higher level
in literary and psychological development. ·

281 The context clearly demands the II/1 stative of duppuru, pro-
2
perly duppurata. The Syllabar of van ·soden and R8llig does not give

a pur = UD, but the present clear writing certainly seems to prove
X

the equation, despite the unreliability of a at this point.

282 The belu of the text is the speaker, who has identified him-

self as the ma~ma~u of Eridu (283), that is Marduk. the b§lu par excel-

lence. The end of the line is probably corrupt (the photo. is ille-
gible), but one would expect IM.DIS DANNA followed by nesQ, 'to be dis-

tant' probably in the stative; possibly restore -a-[t]a (?)

284 The wish that a demon should not look at a person since this

has harmful effects is found elsewhere; compare CT 17 35 70ff.:

ab.tiota igi mu.un.<s~.in.bar.re.e.de

, .
.
sa ina ap-ti se-li ip-pal-la-sa
...
igi.bi be.en.sig.ga.e.de
. ba~.
. ... , 1'1-1m-
pa-n1-su
and cf. fi 16 11 vi 17-8. It is clear that in our text, the expression

ana arkika la tappallas applies to the demon. However, the admonition

'not to look behind you•, expressed precisely in these words. elsewhere

applies to the patient, or the person acting on his behalf. Compare,

 214

for example, ZA 16 (1902) p. 160 27, where the officiant~is given in-

structions for the requisite ritual against Lama~tu, whibh finish: ana

arkika la tappallas; see also ibid. p. 194 38. In ritual contexts such

as these, the reference is to a superstitious fear that may be related

to the Evil Eye:-

The Evil Eye plays a comparatively minor role in Mesopotamian

magic, at least those aspects of it that are covered by extant
texts concerned with exorcism. If analogy with other cultures
be not too misleading. one may suspect, however, that the Evil
Eye in Mesopotamia in reality was a more significant element
than the texts might imply. In Jewish folk magic and supersti-
tion, for example, the Evil Eye represents possibly the most
important single factor underlying popular fear and supersti-
tion. It becomes, as is reflected both in speech and practice,
the general term for superstitious fears unspecified or unnamed.
In this way it corresponds in some measure to the mimma lemnu
('Any Evil') of Akkadian incantation texts. The Evil Eye as a
particular entity is named in some cuneiform texts, most commonly
in contexts where the particular qualities of the Eye as such are
not stated, e. g. apud 'the evil tongue', 'the evil mouth' etc.
In such texts it is merely one element in lists, and such lists
are a stylistic feature of cuneiform incantations generally; cf.
the lists of demon names. Some few passages do elaborate the
qualities of the Evil Eye; an example is CT 17 33 and dupls.
(see p.22 ). and others are given CAD I-J-pp. !55-6. One may
point to the possibility that the Evil Eye (or a similar pheno-
menon) may have been a level of popular superstition too low to
be openly or commonly acknowledged in written documents. In a
similar way one may reasonably assume the presence of magical
practices analogous to those of later Eastern and European magic
manuals, folk spells and the like, which also would not be allo- !
wed under normal circumstances to find their way into literary.
and relatively sophisticated 'canonised' incantations. The pre- l
sence of practical evil magic is clearly illustrated by Maqlu,
of course, and it is a necessary assumption to accompany a study
of Mesopotamian magic. that much of what was practised and reci-
I
ted must be irretrievably lost. Il
In the case of the Lamastu text and similar contexts, it is probably

not an articulation of a conscious, logical idea, but rather an in- 1

j
stinctive, apotropaic superstition. SeeR. Caplice, Q£ 36 (1967) p. l!

8, who also offers a Latin parallel to the admonition. The episode of ~

lot's wife in Genesis may reflect a similar psychological reaction.

The use of the expression here addressed to a demon may reflect care- 1
lessness on the rart of the scribe. using well-worn themes in a rapid

.itI
lt~
 215
. '
ii

compilation, or this might be novel and deliberate use of standard

phraseology. No doubt the baleful glance of an angry ctJmon just

banished would be highly destructive to the human being:

No. 55

285-6 Cf. CT 51 142 16-17:

qit-mu sap-ta-su ka-lu-u pa-nu-su

y .,

sum-su mi-iq-tu 4 1em-nu ki-sa-as-SI (co11.) ni-ra-bu

"His lips are dark, his face (like) kalu-clay,

'Evil Miqtu' is his name, his(?) neck is a serpent"

These two· lines, inserted in a LB incantation against Utukku demons

,
(cf. rev. 43: KA.inim.ma nig gaba.ri udug.bul.a.mes), represent a
variant form of what is presumably an older, standard descriptive
couplet. Compare the description of Lamastu in IV~ 58 1 38 (Tab. 2):

. • . ki-ma] ka-le-e let(TE)-sa ar-qat

11
. her cheek is as yellow as kalu-clay."
The beard of our demon, presumably male, gives the same impression; cf.
the description of Damu in MID 1 (1953) 64 9': J le-ta za-qin.
nabu, 'louse 1 , is not a aommon word, but in view of the nature
of these lines, and the parallel nirabu, 'serpent' (assured by CT 51
above, although the -SI on kisadu is unexplained), the translation as
'louse' is offered here.

287-8 Note that these two lines represent a ritual instruction

that has been worked into the body of the incantation: whether the
speaker performed this activity is unknown; cf. Maglu I 135-43 etc
With the phraseology of this ritual cf. ~urpu V-VI 173ff. etc, and
for longer passages in a similar vein, see E. Reiner. JNES 15 (1956)

'···~"--"'"'"'"'-·--·'"" ....... ~----·~-~•• ~•.~.....~~ ..~~..1 •~""""'-------------

 216

p. 139. Note the sequence of tenses: "I did ..• , then I did ••• "; cf •.
1
1 This ~~ not usually
Maglu I 50: en ak-la ne-be-ru ak-ta-li ka-a-ru.
found after the OB period, see W. van Soden. GAG § 209 2. Could this

represent some survival of OB style from a text of that period? This

series contains no further example of the sequence.

289-91 These lines are duplicated and partly restored by two un-
- - 2
published fragments of Utukki Lemnuti Tablet II, K 9329 and Sm 725

(Plates 39 and 40 respectively). A further duplicate from line 11'

of K 9329 is H. F. Lutz. PBS I/2 no. 116 obv. 11-18, quoted here

separately due to its interesting differences.

K 9329 and Sm 725. composite:

9' [du]p-pir ar-ku pu-!ur ku-ru-u

[dup-pir ar-ku pu-!ur) ku-ru-u (Sm 725 only)

10 1 [du]p-pir sa pa-da-ni pu-tu[r] sa tu-u-di

11 1 dup-pir sa pa-ni-ia pu-uz-ra a-ou-uz arki-ia sa

...
12 1 dasal-lu-bi mas-mas ilanimes bel bala~i ir-ru-ba a-na biti
.....
13' dnin-urta qar-rad ilanimes ir-ru-ba [it-t]i-su

1 This is not necessarily a distinction in tense that is particu-

l~rly meaningful: cf. the incantation begin~ing asout asout astaoa~
astabat in AfO 18 (1957-8) p. 297, and 1'-laqlu VII 178. In fact, this
may rather be influenced by the general character of magical wording
in incantations: cf. possibly even the 11 pseudo-Sum. 11 (?) incantation
published by J. Nougayrol, RA 66 (1972) p. 141: nam.gu.la nam.ta.gu.
la (line 4 of the copy). -

2
These two fragments were kindly drawn to the author's attention
as being relevant by Prof. R. Borger. They are considered to be from
Tablet II since the section in Lutz no. 116 that parallels K 9329 9 1 ff.
is there followed by an excerpt from what is known to be Tablet III.
I am indebted to Dr. W. Schramm for his help in matters pertaining to
Utukki Lemnuti. of which he is currently preparing a new edition, in
which the two pieces will be incorporated.
 217

PBS I/2 no. 116 obv.:

I V ,

11 pu·-ut-~ur lem-nu sa pa-ni-ia uk-kis a-a-bi safar-[ki-ia]

..,
12 1 1u-b
dasa- ,. i mas-
v
mas... i 1-t ir-ru- b u ( ana b-it 1· 1
an1· mes
be-1 b a- 1 a-.u
d - mea ..
13 nin-urta qarrad i1ani ir-ru-bu ritl-t[i-su]

Compare also STT 230 obv. 24-25:

rdupl-pir lem-nu sa rpal-d(a!-n]i! rpul-uz!-ral a-rbu-uz 1 s[a!]

r arki-ia 1
5
' i mas-mas
d asal-lu-b ... ' 1
[J."l-ani]mes ri-bal_,_ri t u 1 .en
V
6

292 The speaker considers himself to be under the protection of

Ninurta, who is to defend him against two demons, the "Long One." and

the "Short One."

,
293 E. KUR cannot be the temple of Enlil of that name,' since the
parallel "threshho1d of Damkina" shows that it is an abode of Ea, and
there is no such temple dedicated to Ea (E. Ebeling, RlA II p. 323).
It may be assumed, therefore. that this is the ekur known to be an
abode of demons (see CAD E p. 70), and the wording may be compared to
CT 17 7 15-16:

es e.kur.ta e.a.ne.ne.ke4 [ •••

is-tu biti e-kur ina a-~i-su-fnu1 [ .••
The threshhold, too, is a place often magically significant (see CAD
under ·askuppu/askuppatu, and cf. J. A. Montgomery, PBS 3 no. 6 4, and

P• 43 etc.), although it is possible that the word is used here merely

1
With these lines, cf. the passages quoted above p. 63 and n. 1,
where the gods are appealed to, that they surround the speaker on all
sides, to protect him from demon~>. Note also the juxtaposition of
Marduk and Ninurta in PBS I/2 ~ -~5 12-13 above, and cf. p. 64 and n. 1.
 as a poetic balance to ekur.

294 In other words: 11

the house in which the "Long dne 11 and the

"Short One" should be spending the night." The proper place for the
two demons is ekur, not here, troubling whoever speaks the incantation.

295 The force of the incantation: the removal of the demons from
the house, or perhaps the body, of the speaker, so that they can return
to ekur. The line is a little obscure, since it suggests that the re-
moval of the "Long One" will preVent the 11
Short One" form further tor-
menting the speaker (?) It is unclear exactly who these two characters
are, but it seems most likely that they are demons. The opening lines
are addressed to a sing. demon; line 292 is in effect a short 'Legiti-
mation'-formula. If the passage will bear a literal interpretation, it
does seem that it is the so-called "Short One" who afflicts the person,
prompted in some way by the "Long One," against whom the incantation
will primarily be directed. It is possible that reference is here made
to a specific occasion now lost to us.
There is one other point that should be made about arku and kuru.
As noted by Ebeling in OLZ 23 (1920) p. 56, the two words can be used
together in contrast to express totality ("per merismum'': see to 124
above). A further example is~ 71 obv. 7: ar-ku su-ku-ut ku-ru-u
la tadabbub (KA.KA[ub]); see Ebeling, MVAG V/3 30-31. A meaning such
as 'everybody' in the present context, however, would seem to make no
sense.

295 Protection is apparently only needed for the hours of darkness

(when the demons should be "passing the night" in ekur). The arrival of
the sun's light automatically will dispel or remove them. (Note the
meaningless -su-nu preserved in 8: who would "they 11 be?) For this mean-
ing of pasaru, see A. L. Oppenheim, Dreams pp. 217-20).or, for example,
paair kispi, "he who dispels/removes (evil) ·magic," sa;~d of Marduk in.
BA 5 391 ·7.

No. 56
299 This line is in Sum., although the first three verbs are quite
obscure. Note that A, B and D offer the variant nin to the en of a and
b: for this, and the form of these verba, see to line 80 above. For
sa.du.da (presumably quite unconnected with the entry in II R 47 i-ii 6:
sa DU DU= i-mal-11-ku-su, an unidentified commentary; cf. CT 12 34:
sa
DI = ma-11-ku, Antagal III), apparent! y parallel in form to. en.nu. da,
there is n~ seeming equivalent either: is sa(d) another verb of banish-
ing perhaps? For TAR.da see line 196 above, where gir TAR.du.d[e?) may
reflect a similar verb. It is assumed that nu.dug.ga~ral, the 'no-go~d-

one,' means the demon to be banished, although the expression is unusual

cf. Akk. la ~abu, a stock expression for general evil portents, events
and manifestations; see C. J. Mullo-Weir. Lexicon pp. 369-70.

300 It is curious Cor suggestive?) that both A and D write EN EN

d ,. d
MA~ for the expected EN MA~ of a and b; this is here considered as
dittography, but it is possible to read siptu sipat ON ••• , i. e. as a
similar formula to the common siptu ul jattun sipa~ ON •••

No. 57

302 An example of this behaviour occurs in CH J 127:

sum-ma a-wi-lum e-li enti(NIN.DINGIR) u as•sa-at a-wi-lim u-ba-nam

u-~a-at-ri-is-ma la uk-ti-in

"If a man has caused the finger to be pointed at an entu-priestess,

or a married lady, and has not proved (what he implied) .•• "
 220

The expression is ~mplified in CH § 132:

sum-ma as-sa-at a-wi-lim as-sum zi-ka-ri-im sa-ni-im ~-ba-nu-um

.
e-li-sa it-ta-ri-is-ma
"If the finger has been pointed at a married lady with regard to

another man •.• "

i.
The phrase also occurs in the list of taboos against social wrongs in

~urpu Il 7:

[ar-ki mi-ib-ri)-su ubana(~U.SI) it-ru-~u

The restoration is supplied by ~ 119 = BWL p. 119 obv. 7-8:

lu.gaba.ri egir.ra.ni su.bul bl.in.du.a

sa ar-ki mi-ib-ri-su u-ba-an le-mut-ti i-tar-ra-~[u]
"He who points the finger behind his equal's back ... "
1
The phrase tiri~ ubani (lemnu) thus refers to social reputation,
and is virtually synonymous with the following couplet. Note that the
Sum. in line 302 contains no equivalent to tara~u. since su.si (lit.
1 hand-tip') is the word for finger (su alone sometimes occurs too, as
in KAR 119 above). It can apply not only to a man of his fellow men,
but also of a man with respect to his personal god, as is shown by
~urpu II 87:

a-na dlamassi(LAMMA) uban(~U.SI)-su it-ta-ra-as .

1 cf. G. R. Driver, J. C. Miles, The Babylonian Laws I p. 280:

11
This expressive and somewhat vulgar gesture is an echo rather of the
life of the marketplace than of a solemn indictment in a court of law."
Note their ref. to a parallel Hebrew idea: selab 1 esbac wedabber 'awen,
11
the putting forth of the finger and speaking wicke~ly" (Isaiah 58: 9);
mEreh be'e~becEt3w, "He maketh signs with his fingers'' (Prov 6: 13).
For a Latin parallel, see their footnote 7. Could this have magical
implications? See J. A. Montgomery, PBS 3 p. 89 •

.....
 221

Presumably this refers to slandering the reputation of a god by dis-

~ 1
respectful and bumptious talk, or by making oaths falsely in his name.
. i,,

The example from Surpu is there followed by a series of taboos cancer-

ned with swearing, no doubt swearing falsely, by the~personal god of

a father, mother, elder brother etc. (it-ta-mi, translated merely as
11 sworn 11 in Miss Reiner•s edition).
The stars were believed to affect this aspect of a man's life;
cf. A. Ungnad, AfO 14 (1941-4) p. 259 18:

a-mir-ka uban-su ana damiqtimtim ana muo-bi-ka ta-ra~as qaqqar

•
mul ab [ sinni J
11
• • so that someone who sees you should "point the good finger
at/after(?) you", region of the plough 11 ,

in Ungnad's translation; see also his note, p. 265, 18.

Compare also from the stone list in D. R. Gurney, UET VII 121·
obv. ii 12:

aban uban lemuttimtim arki ameli la tarasi .

11
stone (to prevent) the evil finger from being pointed after a man 11

Finally, note the introductory fo~mula for well-being in a Mari

letter, G. Dossin, TCL 31 38 4ff.:

be-l{ fu1 be-el-ti as-su-mi-ia ma-di-is u4-rmil li-ba-li-!u-ka-ma

a-na te-ri-is u-b~-ni-ka li-ni-du-ka
•

1
-v rn other words, a transgression akin to taking a solemn oath
(nisu kabtu) lightly (qallis) which would estrange the personal god
(see BWL p. 38 22 and note, and see to line 25 above). Cf. also R.
Labat-:--ToP 36 30: ••• amelu su ilsu u il alisu iZZUl'. 11 • • • this man
has cursed his (personal) god. or the gad of his city 11 ; for 'sinful
speech' generally, see BWL pp. 312-3, and p. 18.
:~r~- .
.. (.'-:..··
·.~~ ,-
.1'··
:;_

lit.: "in your finger pointing 11 • which must presumably be translated

'l;
11
11 when they (i. e. people generally, rather than the lo~·d and lady 11 of

the speaker) point the finger at you •.. 111 tiri~ ubani ana ili/sarrl

is also well known as an oath gesture: see 8. Landsberger, MAOG IV p.

297 n. 1; A. Draffkorn Kilmer, JADS 94 (1974) p. 183 n. 24.

303 CAD E p. 43 defines egirru as "reputation (as expressed in

utterances of friends or enemies)". and consequently translates this

phrase as "evil reputation among the people'', as followed here. See

also A. L. Oppenheim, AfO 17 (1954-6) 49ff., and Dreams p. 229. In

contrast to the present context, this and the preceding couplet have

also a benevolent counterpart; see CT 16 8 280ff.:

igi.mu.ta inim.gar sigs.ga oe.en.dull"ga

·
ana pa-n i -1a ·
e-g1r-r i damiqt1"mtim 1;q-qa-bi
~

bar.mu.ta su sig .ga be.en.du.du

5
ana ar-ki-ia u-ba-nu damiqtimtim lit-ta-ri-i~

"r-lay good words be said about me to my face!

May a good finger be pointed behind my back!"

Both 302 and 303 refer specifically to social misfortune, the

sort of discomfiture wrought by magicians against whom the incantations

of Maglu are designed. The two following couplets, on the other hand,

are concerned with afflictions of divine origin.

304 With the former of these. the question is raised whether the

1 The translation of W. H. Ph. R8mer, AOAT 12 p. 35~ "sicheres

Geleit(?)"- "a safe accompanying". does not bring out the meaning.
-...::

:1
;:' )
.
. ~I

,;~
·~

1
•,

'
curse of personal god and goddess is spontaneously due to the uncertain

temperament of those deities, or whether, like the preceding adversity.

it has been brought about by mongering magicians. The estrangement of

a personal god could certainly be induced by a third party according

to the texts, although this may conflict with modern ideas of justice:
cf. AfO 18 (1957-8) p. 293 68, for example; itti ili u distari(l5) u-

ze-nu-in-ni u-lam-me-nu-in-ni, "they (the sorcerers) made me odious to

my god and goddess, and did me wrong ••• 11 (note the var. u-sab-bi-ru

k[i-sad-sunJ. 11 made them turn away their necks (from me) 11 ) . Note

Further Maglu I 6: ili-ia 5 u distar-ias u-ses-su-u (subj. the sorce-

iers) eli-1a . The evil force termed ilu lemnu could be summoned by
5
witches to do his worst, as is shown by MaqlG VI 10-11: at-ta-man-nu
,
Y,lu kassapu
ilu lem-nu sa vv_ VV[-ap~u J is-pu-ru-n~s-su
u mi kass V ,vv, A
a-na daki-i [a ] :
5
11
Vou, whoever you are, the evil god that a wizard or witch has sent
against me to kill me .•• "
That our case may rather be of divine origin is suggested by
~urpu V-VI 154ff.:

inim.gar sag.ba hul

..., nam.lu.u X .lu.ke 4
ana e-gir-re-e ma-mit lem~nu [~~] a-me-lu-ti

as.bal.e dingir.re.e.ne.ke4
V
., , . - mes ·
a-na ar-ra-te sa 1lani

"Against the curse of evil reputation caused by people,

Against the curse of the gods"

It may perhaps be assumed that the curse of line 304 has not been in-

stigated by someone else, but that it is related to the following

couplet: it is the consequence of transgressing the limits.

For the possible reading of AMA.diNNIN as agarim, see· W. G. Lam-

bert, JNES 33 (1974) p. 298.
 !1
224
I

Note the anomalous .ke 4 .e.ne of J (and the broken ].e.ne of a and
1
I: the ke 4 of this late Sum. is not the -e agentive (whiph would be

superfluous here), but merely corresponds to the Akk. genitive -i(m).

According to the spacing. T omits this couplet-altogether; see

also below for this Ms.

305 In addition to its essential meaning of 'border', 1 boundary 1 ,

the word itu is also used metaphorically to mean the limit imposed on

human behaviour by the gods. In such contexts, the verb for 1 trans-
gress' is regularly etequ (CAD s. v. for abundant refs.). For the Sum.

equivalent, the CAD provides conflicting transliterations (I p. 313:

DA e.na; E p. 384: da.e.na). The reading da is confirmed· by~ II 139

C i i 3 (Proto-Ea): (da) DA 1-ti. The lex. equation e~ etequ is fur-

nished by A III/3 156: e [t] = re-te 1 -qu (~ E p. 384). As the Sum.

has the cstr. infin. for its Akk. counterpart, one might have expected
da.e.da/de; cf. A. Falkenstein, Das Sumerische p. 43: the infin. is

customarily "durch suffigiertes -a oder -ed.a bezeichnet". Since

the Sum. of late incs. does not always accord with the expected, how-
ever, the .na is perhaps to be analysed as late (a).ni for bi; 1 its 1 ,
referring to the da, i. e. for da e.a.ni.am, 'the limit, its trans-
gressing'. Note the (phonetic?) var. ofT; da AN~n[a?

In A. judging by the spacing. the scribe either wrote both parts

of this couplet in one line (thus, rather improbably, breaking the
interlinear pattern), or, as is more likely. omitted the Akk. transla-
tion accidentally.

306 du.du is well known as the Sum. equivalent of the I/3 of alaku,
atalluku/italluku (CADs. v.); di.di seems to be an acceptable phone-

tic variant, since di alternates for du in other p~rts of al~ku. The

 225

.bi/-su-nu doubtless refers to the gods; see below.

307 The restoration of the anomalous .[ne].e.ne, as in 303 above,

is based on the composite copy of J and I by R. Campbell Thompson, AMT

102: 1, where it is quite clear. although it is now broken away on the

tablet. It is interesting that the scribe of J wrote this peculiar

form twice in this incantation, although he was not fully consistent

(cf. 305, Plate 22).

308-9 These two couplets contain the essence of this incantation,

the structure of which remains obscure, despite the fact that the pas-

sage is mostly preserved. and each couplet intelligible: the unifying

factor behind the separate couplets is implied rather than stated. As

we have seen, the first four couplets simply give four broad categories

of social misfortune, the first two brought about by malicious human·

beings. the latter due to divine displeasure. It is not clear whether

the curse in 304 is the result of ·the transgression in 105. or whether

they are separate elements. Then follow two simple statements whose

connection with the preceding section is unclear: both have an infini-

tive verb as their characteristic feature.

In line 308, the Akk. equivalent to nu.ub.da.si.a is supplied

only by f. namely ul i-[l]e-'i. Lexical support for this equation comes

from Proto-Diri 24 (cf. Diri I 43): [di-ri] SI.A = le- 1 -u (after CAD l

P· 152). Although f has no further material in the Akk. line, our re-

constructed text has not equivalent to the Sum. an.da: note, however,

that one of the new fragments of b .(Plate 18) with this section shows

the simple interlinear arrangement to have been overrun in this couplet

C.s]i.a ~ ilu •.• ), and this is apparently the only couplet in which

this occurs. It is possible then that a new duplicate would add to

 226
1
this line.
·~

The pattern of these last four couplets is, in same measure,

paralleled by K 13868 (and unpub. dupls.); see S. Langdan, AJSL 28
(1911-12) p. 243. This composition includes a long ·section with alter-

nate lines containing infinitives as here in 306-7, and the line

ma-am-ma-an ul i-le- 1 -i [ . . . ] (W. G. Lambert)

It seems that our passage .is employing a similar style, in a much more
abbreviated form, as part of a laudatory incantation. The proffered
translation is an attempt to convey the apparent meaning of the text;
far na.nam having an "identifying and restrictive force" see Th. Jacob-
sen, Tammuz p. 355. The Akk. counterpart is often just -ma, but once
again the discovery of new material must be awaited.
Note the dumu.MU of£, either an unusually precise example of the
self-identification of the speaker with his protective god of magic, or
mu ·
perhaps a gloss dumu , although this is unexpected in so common a ward,
even in a late Ms. as this one. Note, however, the gloss in the next
couplet.

310 Lexically speaking. gi.ba = sunnu is unparalleled, but note

as no doubt connected, the equation gi .bi
4 = 2 in W. G. Lambert, ~ 14
(1969) p. 246, in a numbering system employed e. g. in the Sum. myth of
V,
Enki and Ninmaij. The gloss(?) here from ~' namely u- sam an -nu- r u'1 is
, 88v

unique in its form (cf. J. Krecher, RlA III p. 435). The closest pa-
V,
, v , sa-am v . -
rallel seems to be u-sam -na-si in Atra-Qasis p. xii 2; cf. p. 60
2. This would mean that £ must be derived from manu, to mean "I made
,.
(him) repeat/recite (this incantatio~)-" The uniqueness of the gloss }.

Cin that a sign both precedes and follows the sign glossed, which is
itself not notably obscure or ambiguous, and reads AN where AM would
be required) rather suggests that this is simply a scribal error: a
second d has crept in by dittography. In function, this line repre-
~
sents an abbreviated version of the formula appearing, for',, example, in

~ 398 rev. 20'-2':

si-ip-tu4 ul ia-at-tu-un
..,
si-pat de-a u dasal-lu-bi si-pat mas-mas ilanimes dmarduk

su-nu id-du-u-ma a-na-ku u-sa-an-ni tu6.en.e.nu.ru

This is the longer of the two truly bilingual incantations of

this series. All Mss. save T follow the most common pattern of inter-
linear Akk. translations slightly inset. T is important since, judging

by the spacing (which can be calculated from the preceding ritual which

is known in full from other tablets, see p. 260), the Akk. translation

was omitted altogether. This is most unusual. Some further discussion

of this incantation is included in the Medical section (Appendix I).
One may note here that it was described by E. ~. Ritter, AS 16 p. 317.
as a "classical incantation", although she appends to that classifies-
tion no hint of its meaning.

No. 58

311 sa5.sa5 is known as the equivalent of eteru ('to save'),

babalu ('to wrong') and QU~~u~u ('to break'), respectively CADs. v.,
but none seems especially suitable. For ba.ra. see below to 316.
The remainder of the line, and line 312, look like phonetically written
,
Sum., but the meaning is quite obscure: gi.da = gid(?); bara = parakku,
1
dais 1 (?)

312 Is ba.an.da a verbal complex. or ~ banda? The sam.ra of A

supports the sa.me.ra of a, used in the text, but the meaning is quite
obscure.

3 13 Fin abbreviated ritual apparen "ly, similar perh::Jps to those

 -~

:~:-:···.

-~:·

scattered throughout er 16 and 17. with whose incantat!ons this short

text has something in common: cf. lines 315-6.

314 bu.1ub·bu/ba could stand here for galgtu, ·'to twitch'. etc.

(~ s. v. for evidence). The signs could represent an adj. or ptc.

applied to gis = i~u, 'wood'; cf. TCL 6 51 rev. 35f.:

~.
I gis u.lub nam.lugal.la (gloss: u.luQ.QU nam.lugal.la) gis QUS

u-luo sar-ru-ti i~-~i ez-za

"the royal sceptre, terrible staff .•• 11 ,
so here ''terrible wood" (?): the MA~ is obscure too. Note also ur .ra
5
= bubullu XI g~ves
. urudu bu.luo.oa as me-su-u, •washed copper' (MSL VII

141 335).

315 The speaker identifies himself with the exorcist of Eridu, i.

e. Asallubi-Marduk.

316 oul. 'evil'. here appears to mean 'ill'' 'sick', as is shown

by the post-position .ta, and the injunction to 'come forth'. This is

unusual. but there seems no other way to construe this line; cf. the
,
sa nig.oul = ser'anu lem-nu of P. Haupt, ASKT 82-3. 21, and for a pos-
sible semantic parallel. the use of rar8 in Gen 40: 7 applied to panim.
'face', to mean distraught. Note that the LB text a has ba.ra for the
ba.ra.~ of the other Mss., most probably an error. but see to line 186
above. ba.ra. here is an imperative·. as, for example, in CT 16 157-8:

sil7 igi.mu.ta e.ta ba.ra.e

dup-pir ina pa-ni-ia is/ul-tu biti ~i-(i]

<,~·

~1-~
317 Unfortunately, the two Mss. at this point, a and b, do not Pre-
~
serve this line in its entirety. and the restoration i~ uncertain. a
~
clearly has Ld before the br~ak, while b resumes with ~-su: it is cer-
tain that the ]x of b ·is not the end of L]U, but there is only space

for one sign before -su. This is apparently borne out by a, in as far
as assessment is possible by comparison with the spacing of NU TEa

elsewhere on that tablet. This gives: ana ameli x-su la i~eaoa

8
as the

end of the line, an anticipatory genitive to mean: "a man's x will not

come near him"- a man's demon? For the presence of this rubric here,

and its significance. see above. pp.36-7.

318-20 This brief set of instructions for the use of a salve ap-

plied somehow in conjunction with the preceding incantation has the ef-
feet of achieving what is claimed in line 317, paraphrased in line 320.

This simply states that the "evil man" will not come near him. This
means that nothing is really needed after Ld in 317 (except perhaps
su-a-tu. or similar). so the x-su remains obscure. Collation of a re-
vealed a further wedge, suggesting rENl, which is presumably for adi
x-~u. but the numeral 22 is no doubt corrupt.

No. 59

321 These are perhaps two Sum. verbs: the reading .us rather than

.us is suggested by the .s[u7 ] of P. The meaning, however, is unclear.

It should be pointed out that U~ i~ ~iven as the equivalent of rebO.
'to spawn', a word most appropriate in the context, in fi 11 29: 34,.

where. however, the pronunciation of the sign US, there called ni-ta-bu,
is given as [I g]i-is. If this meaning be adopted, the var. of P, s[u?)
becomes difficult. For rebO here. cf. the passages mentioned below.
322 The reading of this line is taken from b, as this is the only
1 .
Ms. with the ~hole compilstion that preserves th2 whol~ line. The tra~

ces of A are of little use. Judging by the spacing, a either omits this

line altogether, dr has a much abbreviated version; The other two Mss.

offer interesting variants:

a: ni.bi za.Ia.ab ni.bi za.la.ab

P: [ni.bi za].ab ni.bi zaJabl

With these, compare BAM 248 iv 10, ·a short incantation to help a·

woman suffering difficult labour:

en za.la.ao iz.za(or UN).la.ab za.la.aa al.ti.la tu 6 .en ·

"ILA .1n1m.ma
• • · munus x 1 a.ra.ao.a.kam
,

Compare also the duplicates K 2413 and K 10507 (= AMT 66: 4), noted by
F. Kocher, BAM IV XIX:

1:'\2413, 1 1 :

[en] rzal.la.ab iz.za(or UN).la.ab za.la.ab al.ti.la tu 6 ~e[n]

. ;, .
K 10507, 6-7:

en za.la.ab MIN ana x[ • . • ~IDnu)

en za.la.ao za.la.[ab ••• (both collated)

These passages might suggest that the text of b represents the

latest form of evolution of a phrase that underwent the following de·;.;..
velopment:
,
ni.bi za.la.ab (!) > ni.bi za.ab (P) > bi.za.ati (b).
M'''
-.··'
Whereas~ and P merely repeated the.expression a second time, in band
. '
the related passage from the birth incantation, the formula haa bee~(:~

reduced to an A A 8 A structure. Since the form of! is.more meaning-

ful than that of b. this example tends to reinforce the conclusion al-
ready reached from other passages, that A A 8 A formulaf tend to rep-

resent a partly g~rbled text: SEe p. 50. It is intrigu~ng that the

Bab. a. later than both the Ass. b and P. should preserve what is ap-

parently the least garbled version. The al.ti.la of the birth texts

implies that the language is Sum .. but the meaning is unclear.

za.la.ao iS giVen aS zaqU, I to blOW 1 , I to Waft 1 in SeVeral bi-

lingual passages (CAD). It is commonly used to d~scribe the approach

~f demons, e. g. the "i.rresistible drifting of dream-demons 11 (A. L. Op-

penheim, Dreams p. 234). The ni.bi of a and P may possibly be a pho-

,.
netic writing for ni.bi. to find an echo in the ra-ma-ni-sa-ma of line

325. One might then look for a correspondance between za:la.ab and

garasu/kanasu. but none is furnished by the lexica.

323 ~ith ba.an.6~ (var. a: b]a.an.us. P: ba.an.u[s?]) compare ba.

an.us (and var.) in line 321. Once again U~ = reou would be fitting~

The structure here might be construed as an anticipatory genitive. "of

the gods, their water ••• 11 , with a= water meaning •seed', •semen•.

;~.ga must then be read "of the heart/in the heart''• but if this line

is to be linked with the following Akk., it is tempting to read a.s~.ga

as "in the field''. i. e. as an approximate equivalent to er~etu. Even

so, the texts would not correspond, and one would need to assume that

the incantation as we now have it is garbled.

324 For garasu, 1 to copulate', see the dictionaries, and R. D.

Biggs, TCS 2 p. 9. The word is not commonly found in connected texts,

and its occurrence here is all the more interesting in view of the var.

(from band~) of kanasu, •to bow down'. It seems that this may be a

deliberate substitution, since the Sum verb gur(GAM). the equivalent

to kan~~u, also has the same ·s~ecific nuance 1 to copulate• in some

 232

sum. literary contexts; see B. Alster, ZA 54 (1975) p. 21, and n. 1.

(For the question of positions in making love see J. 5. ~ooper, RlA 4

p. 259ff.) On the matter of sexual euphemisms, and the characteristic

lack of ~bashfulness'' in cuneiform texts generally, see R. D. Biggs,

TCS 2 pp. 8-10, and A. K. Grayson in Papyrus and Tablet pp. 140-52.

This incantation is one of that large class characterised by the

"fresh earthy pregnance" of folk mythology (8. Landsberger, JNES 14

(1955) p. 14 ). Passage~ of this kind customarily deal with the crea-

tion of some demon or monster. spawned by one of the gods, or as in

this text, the creation by heaven and earth together. This short text

is no doubt one o~ those that prefaces the dispelling of a p~rticular

demon by an account of its creation. For the power of the knowledge.

see to 24 above.

No. 60
326 ma-al/mal-DI is something of a problem. W. van Soden, AHw p. ·

625, suggests 1 etwa "Rand 11 ? 1 as a meaning, connecting it with the lexi-

cal equation garas?.g{d.da = ma-as-du (VAT 8755 III 59, Alam); cf. also

K 1913 obv. 14: [ ].da = ma-as-du (see T. J. t-1eek, RA 17 (1920) p.

120). As pointed out by W. G. Lambert, JSS 14 (1969), van Soden quotes

this same contest also under me;~Q (p. 649). "Darre" b) as "Bettge-

stell? 11 , i. e. 'bed-frame'. Since se~u means 'to dry', this trans1a-

tion seems open to question. A basic meaning edge is suggested by the

expression maldi nari. apparently 'river bank'. See also H. Zimmern,

Qbf 1917 pp. 103-4.

It should be noted that for this and the following four verbs,

the Mss. furnish ample examples in the present tense: the choice.of the

Preterite h~re is purely a matter of taste.

I
328 For this line see A. L. Oppenheim, Dreams p. 231, where the
1
origin of bad dreams such as that referred to here is discussed.
.
~

329 The stock epithet of Nedu: cf. Ar. Or. 21 ('1953) p. 388 75-

75a etc. The r~ading of this name is not altogether·certain: cf. the.

Gum. dne.ti (e. g. S. N. l'lramer, RA 34 (1937) p. 105, 89). Thefo1-

lowing epithet ~1.du .ga l m1g

· ht sugges t th e rea d"1ng dbr1- d u , a lth oug h
8
8
according to E. Sollberger. AfO 21 (1966) p. 90, note on no. 196 (and
1
refs.), the original Sum. for doo~k~eper 1 was nidu(b). The same

scholar suggested that the writing dBI.NE offered by g mav be sugges-

tive (see E 5 (1951) p. 20), since the sign NE has sometimes been

read du , which would then encourage the reading dbi-du for the DN.
14 8
The reading du , however. is derived from such lexical entries as
14
du-u LU.NE = ~al-tu 4 (see CAD ~ p. 86), and is hardly suited to a con-

text of this kind. (The value du is not included in W. von ~oden, W.

14
R8llig, Syllabar
z p. 22.) In the absence of other evidence, it may be

simpler to read dou !.NE on

8
g. with the signs written in .the wrong order

by this scribe, a type of mistake to be found on other amulets, although

J. Nougayrol. RA 61 (1967) p. 190 n. 7 read dNE+DU ! here. On the basis

8
of later Bab; examples, Prof. R. Borger has recently pointed to var.

writings with GABA for DU • For the god himself, see C. Frank, MAOG
8
16
XIV/2 (1941) pp. 34-5; K. Tallqvist. StOr 5/IV (1934) p. 10 ; R. Cas-

tellino, Driens Antiguus 8 (1969) p. 55 etc. Note that the article on

atugallu, to which reference is made,. CAD A ii p. 518, is actually omit-

ted from that vol.; the Akk. loanwd. is considered by~ pp. 786-7 to

be nidu(b)gallu.

332 Such a specific admonition is required against the slippery

demons: cf., for example. CT 16 12 28ff.; CT 17 35 54-5:

 234
i .:

gisig gissag.gul.ta sa nu.du .u.da be.ni.lb.sar.re.e de

8
dal-tu u sik-ku-ru mar-kas la pa-!a-ri lik-lu-su

"1'1ay door and bolt bar him with an impE:netrable bond!" etc.

333 For kidin(~tu) see to line 272 above. The two lords are, of

course, Ninurta and Marduk.

As noted in the critical apparatus, the amulet CC (see Plate 48)

adds seven signs at the beginning of this incantation, after the en-

sign, and thus conceived by that scribe to be part of this passage:

en at-ta dan-nu AN KUR NI.DI?/SAG (sa ma!-al-di ••• )

It is possible to read

~n at-ta dan-nu AN ~adO restO ••• , in which case the line would ap-
pear to correspond with the opening words of the "0::\monenkopf" incanta-

tion edited by R. Borger, in AfO 17 (1954-6) pp. 358-9. The AN would

therefore correspond to the elu of the parallel texts. Borger takes

elu as the I/1 ptc., "der ••• besteigt"; CAD E p. 111 reads the adj.

(elsewhere written AN.TA): "you nre ••• a high mountain". The verb

elO is not apparently written elsewhere AN. so perhaps the adj. is the
...
better reading. Alternatively. could this be a phonetic wr. ili to

stand for elu (or eli?), rather than AN.<f~? For this inscription,
see K. Frank, MAOG XIV/2 pp. 9-10.

No. 61

334 ed-du-tu/ti: the translation assumes this to be the m. pl.

adj. from eddu, 'pointed', referring to the ilani lemnute. The word

eddu is not common. and its use here is problematical: the only other
Possibility seems to be edu, 'well known', but there is no known use
of that word that would constitute any encouraging parallel. eddu, on
the other hand, could be taken in two ways, either refe~ring to the
':.
demons themselves, or perhaps to their horns.

A description of a demon as tall of spindly·makes sense; cf.

line 120 above:

- gisimmari,
6aqu kima 11
1ofty as a palm-tree, 11 and pointed
could be used in that sense. The parallel is not exact, however, since

8 palm-tree gets wider at the top, but cf. the sa ina ali sa-qu-u,
quoted below under 336.
Alternatively, perhaps one is to understand a reference to horns;
cf. ta-am-oa-~i ina qar-ni-ki, said of the disease-demon simmatu (see
W. van Soden, JNES 33 (1974) p. 342 34). The phrase e-da- ~ta))-am

qa-ar-ni-in is applied to the god Zababa in the OB fragment concerned

with Narim-Sin edited by H. GHterbock, AfO 13 (1939-41) p. 46 (cf. W.
van Soden, JNES 19 (1960) p. 164), and Nergal is described in J. B8llen-
V

rucher, LSS I I 6 p. 50 3 as: na-as... qarne-mes ed-de-e-ti (K 9880). The

latter passages presumably refer to the horned crown, 8 well-known
divine attribute. In early cylinder seals, 1 divine figures may be
found with horns on the head, "forerunners of the horned crown which
later formed the distinctive headgear of the gods" (H. Frankfort, Cylin-
~ Seals p. 32), and other similar figures may·be found from later
periods (ibid. p. 59, p. 61). It seems feasible that evil gods may also
be characterised by horns. 2

If both edu and eddu are found unconvincingy one might suggest
that the text is corrupt, being based an a Babylonian source, from which

1
of the Jemdat Nasr period.
2
From the Aramaic material, one might note the occurrence of hor-
ned demons in E. A. Yamauchi, Mandaean Incantation Texts, p. 267 25 B.

-----·---~-
 236

the qar- of qar-du-ti has been misread as ID. qardu as an epithet of

the seven evil spirits (who are manifestly at the root ~f this evil),
d !
would be most appropriate; cf., for example, qarradu sebettu, passim,

in the Erra Epic. la a-di-ru-[t]u (A: la a-di-ru-[tu]) may be read

either la adirutu or ladirutu; the uncontracted form is adopted here,

but cf. (e. g.) E. Weidner. Tn 1 i 26: ana ••• suknua la-di-ri-ia (see
CAD L p. 36); cf. W. van Soden, GAG j 17a.
That the description of these evil deities refers in particular
to the Sebettu is suggested by, for example, CT 16 21 140f.:
V, V, , V

im
i n.bi.e.ne dingir.bul.a.mes lu.ug .ga.mes ni nu.te.ga.da.mes
5
"
se-bet-ti-su/su-nu ilanimes lem-nu-tu4/ti mus-mi-tu-ti/tu la
a-di-ru-ti su-nu
"They are the Seven, evil gods, killers and fearless."

335 For refs. as to muttalliku, see CAD A i 325, and compare in

flavour:

sila.a DU.DU ab.ba su.su gis.su.dis ku 4 .ku 4 .e.de

mut-tal-lik su-qf mut-ta-at-bi-iq a-pa-8-ti mu-ter-ru/ri-bu
me/me-di-lu
~they (the demons) •.• wander up and down the street, swarming
(lit. 'pouring themselves 1 ) (over) the windows, coming in through
the-bars ... " (CT 16 31 103ff.)

The second part of the line is difficult. The tentative restoration

of grr III-stem will make sense of the lismu, •running,' but the
re-ba-at is very odd: one expects ina rebati. Since the spacing is hard
to calculate, it seems likely that new material would change the present
form of this line. An alternative restoration might be from kabasu:
mu-sa(k-bi-is]; cf. JNES 19 (1960) p. 32 18: •.• suq ali-su ina
... me ; " i
I

su 1me u-sak-ba-su, ~ ... and allow him to walk about undisturbed in

j
 237

the streets of his city."

~~
336 ldi th this anj the following lines cf. J. Nougayrol, Ugari tica

V p. 31 30-2:
rk·1 l h"
gal (KAL)-lu-u r3~G ~~ ina ~li ~a-qu-~ bit~tiu 1 • 8 e-ta-na-ru-ba
9
,.u-ra-ti it-ta-na-b3l- k"1-ta lu et 1 a d amqa munusx ar d a t a d am1q
. ta

ina suqi?(SfR) it-ta-na-rrl_u il-tn-rnaml-mu-u it-ta-rna 1 -as-oa-ru.

mu-tab-la-ki-tu is for muttublakkitu, the IV/3 ptc. of the quadilit.

4
verb nabalkutu. The only writing of this ptc. offered by AHw Cp. 696)

is J. Laessoe, Sht 57 13:·mu-ut-ta-ab-la-ka-tu, whose a-vowel is ano-

malous. For the meaning 1 to clamber over' see D. R. Gurney, Iraq 22

(1950) p. 227: cf. CT 16 12 i 24ff.:

ur.bad.da ur.dagal.la a.gi6.gim i.du7.du7.de

u-ri e-lu-ti u~ri rap-su-ti ki-ma a-ge-e i-sur-ru

e.ta e.a.se in.bal.bal.e.de

is/u[l]-tu bi-ti ana bi-ti it-ta-na-ba1-1ak-ka-tu

"They swirl over the high roofs. the broad roofs. like a flood;

Clambering from house to house, again and again",

and cf. CT 16 11 vi 21-4; 14 i i i 52-4; 14 iii 16 etc.

For the [mu-un-n]ar-bu of a. A offers mu-er-ri-bu. The former is

the ptc. of nerubu ( IV-s tern only). 'to flee 1 , and usually means either

someone who is fleet of foot. or more specifically, 'a fugitive': cf.

KAR 92, 5, where it parallels e~~eru. 1 deserter'. The meaning in ou~

text is 'fleet of foot', presumably referring to 'flitting about'. ap-

pearing to be in many places at once; cf. ~ 20 22 28, where Enlil is

V
.
descrlbed as i 1 u mu-un-nar-bu
.. ...
er-su mu-du-u, te-ret nise
v-mes .
oa-l-~
[
u
"
kibr-ati]mes, t•here
u h1's spee d lS
· b e1ng
· emp h as1ze
· d , h"1s a b"l"t
1 l y t o fl't
l .

from place to rtll1ce to keep a protective eye on the inhabitants of the

world.
 238

The variant from A is interesting. According to GAG § 33, a

1
doubled -nn- after the syllable carrying the stress (To~silbe) can fall

out in NA, e. g. dannin > da 11 in. Here. however, the stress would not

fall on the first syllable; the only other change that seems at all

parallel is the bintu > bi'tu of MA and NA (cf. C. ·srockelmann, GVGSS

174 A and J ). In view of the difficulty of this form, one wonders if

there may be some overtones of erebu in the~ribe's mind; cf., e. g.,

CT 16 11 vi 2lff.:

a-na bi-ti [la ter-ru-ub]

¥' nam.mu. [ un J.da.bal.e
ur.a.se
'

a-na u-ri [la tab-ba-la-kat]

Cf. CT 16 14 i i i 52ff.:

e.mu .
a-na biti-ia a-a 2-ru-bu-u-ni , '
nam.ba.te.ga.e.de

ur.mu nam.ba.bal.bal.e.de

ana u-ri-ia a-a ib-bal-ki-tu-ni,

and see the refs. in J. Nougayrol, Ugaritica V 37 32.

337 The reconstruction is suggested by the parallel with musitu,

and by such passages as P. Schol1meyer, HG~ p. 129 (= L. W. King, BMS

no. 53 3):
' u -mi irteneddanni(US.US)
ina kal(DU) , ' an-ni ina kal(DU)
' musi
..,
4
up-ta-na-1ab-an-n1
"All day long he repeatedly pursues me, all night long he repeatedly

terrifies me, 11

or £I 38 25b 6:
,
.,
DI~ bal-1u-la-a-a kal umi ana babti im-ta-be-pi···
~-.

"If the ha11ulaja-demon ..• -ed all day long to the precinct ..• "

(see CAD H p. 46)

 ~3'3

see also Maglu II 66-8:

sa sab-ta-ni-ma
. mu-;8 u ur-ra ireddunime8 ni
V
, , v- -mes
u-bat-tu-u sere -ia kal u 4-mi/me sab-ta-ni-ma
V , 'Y t V
kal mu-si la u-mas·-aar-an-ni

338-9 See to line 336 above.

340 A similar line occurs in CT 16 25 44f.:

,
e-tim-mu 1em-nu ga1-1u-u lem-nu sa ~na mu-sam-si-1 ina su-la-a
par-[ku]
"The evil ghost, the evil demon, who blocks the street for those
who walk about at night" (CAD G p. 19).

A noun musamsu (derived from musu), 'nocturnal wanderer', is not given

in AHw; for the root see M. Streck, Assurbanipal p. 526, and see A.
Falkenstein, LSS NF I p. 47 n. 4. Night, oF course, is a time of dan-
gers: cf. ~urpu p. 56 87 etc. CAD G regards the ina of CT 16 es otiose
since paraku would not normally require a preposition before its ob-
ject. The leek of ins in our line supports the emendation of CAD.

341 For a similar use of qu''u with ri~u, 'to ·lie in wait for',
'to waylay', see~ 104 130, and note on p. 315.

342 saparis: AHw p. 1026 offers only 'in a net' for this word.

This may certainly be appropriate in Ee IV 112, for example, where

sa-pa-ris na-du-me ka-ma-ris us-bu means "thrown into the net, they
crouch in the trap 11 , but the -is suffix in our passage must be taken as
th~ comparative, in view of the frequent deecriptions of demons attack-

1ng like a net, e. g. CT 16 28 38-9:

:i~io..------OiiWl . . . . . . ,. . . . .
~~· ,,._,_~, ,.~t~~--
 240

, ,
a.la aul lu.ra sa.dul.gim ab.dul.u8.a
be.me.en
,
~

MIN sa amela kl-ma/ki~a ka-tim-ti/tu 4 i-kat-ta-mu at-ta

"You, o evil alu-demon, are the one who claps down on a man like
a k~timtu-net»,

and cf. ~ 21 (1959) p. 56:

[gal-lu-~ lem]-rnu ;~ kil-m~ sa-pa-ri ~u-par-ru-ru man-ma la

kup-pu-ru,

and Maglu II 164: ki-ma se-e-ti ana ka-ta-mi-ia ... etc.

y

The plural ilanimes is paralleled in, e. g., CT 17 14 7f., and Iraq

21 (1959) 56 rev. 13f. The meaning in each case is clearly the per-

sonal god, of which there is only one.

343 This line occurs in Maqlu II 156.

344 kalQ as restored is possible. cf. line 65 above, or MaglQ V

157 etc. For the epithet, see K. Tallqvist. §f p. 308.

345 For kabasu used of the suppression of noise, cf. J. J. Fin-

kelstein, JCS 11 (1957) p. 86 iv 5: bu-bu-ur-sa ik-ta-ba-as; cf. ~·

p. 87 n. 5. Note the suggestion by G. Pettinato, Q! NS 37 (1968) pp.

168-200, that noise might mean 'evil behaviour', and the brief refuta-

tion in W. G. Lambert, A. R. Millard, Atra-hasis p. vi.

346 Perhaps restore 11-[seb-bi) (?) For Nedu, see to 329 above.

347 The writing [lis]-rsal-a is unusual in so common an expression.

but the traces of _rsal- are fairly certain. For IM I = sar, see BWL
p. 297, note on 17.
348-50 Cf. line8 280-1, and refs. there. snd Ugaritica V 31 44:
1
••• ]-tu-nu dup-pu-ra-tu-nu ku-u~-~u-de-tu-nu (see above .for thie text).
~.

351-3 Cf. BAM 338 rev. 14-6 etc.

354-7 These lines clearly contain further description of the evil

demons, surely out of place after the preceding exorcistic formulae?
In 356, A reads dsamas U[, 1. e. K[D? The restoration of 367 is based
on CT 15 19 29-30:
' d , , , V
uru uru.am usan.da ga.ga.mee
a-li ana a-11 da-um-ma-ta 1-sak-ka-nu su-nu
"It is they who cause gloom in city after city"- the Sebettu (cf.
27-8 there).

See also CT 17 4 B.

It may readily be seen that this incantation i~ another example

or the late assembling of standard incantation material; with little
or nothing of originality. The text follows the customary pattern of
describing in poetic terms the demons and the effects of their behavi-
our on people, before effecting their removal by exorcistic formulae.
Almost every line can be duplicated elsewhere; the addition of lineB
354ff. which seem unnecessary might ~uggest that an original break bet-
ween two incantations has been glossed over in the compilation of this
text.

No. 62
358-9 These two lines are a little obscure at present. After
mention of the temples of Bel (Marduk or Nabu?) and Ninurta (see 360),
"the goddess (or Iiter?) who gathers the steppe-land" is named. The
r~· . 242

reading diNANNA is provided by A (a and~ are broken at this point),

1
but the verb in this Ms. re~ds ha-am-mu
.., • The fern. ptc. ~omes from the
'·
d :d
amulet GG, but this latter Ms. reads ~E~.KI instead of INANNA. The

verb aamamu, 1 to gather', m~kes little s~nse when applied to the steppe-

land, and the object of the verb is perhaps better taken to be the
"
Gimes of 359. Support for this comes from several short, and partly

obscure incantations, of which the clearest is~ 53: 10-11:

en uu.ub.ba au.ub.ba ab.na a.ra.te.e a.ra.ba.te.e

d .., ,
es 8 -tar-MU
. ina UZ ZI ba-am-mat(last two signs over erasure)

UZ ZI here may be read us-~{, i. e. u~~u, 'arrow'; cf. LKA 132 rev.

3: dlS ina u~-r~i!l(copy: MU) ba-mat KIMIN KIMIN; KAR 252 iv 43: .••
1
ina] u~ 1 Ccopy: BE ~U)-[~f] ba-am-mat
The invocation 11 0 my goddess, who gathers (among) the reeds/arrows .•• "

is clearly related to our passage, suggesting that a tradition of a

goddess armed with arrows was deemed effective as a deterrent against

demons. For bamamu used elsewhere of reeds. cf. ARM 3 79 rev. 5'-6 1 :
. .,
qanahtihi.a
~
,u g~svsu-ra-am a- b a-am-ma-am.
V 'V, V

All surviving Mss. read -su or -su, although -sa would be expec-

ted after diNNANA. This may suggest that d~ES.KI is the better reading,

but the passages quoted above weigh against that, and a late use of su
far sa is not hard to duplicate elsewhere in such contexts.

Support for UD = oam

X
is at present only supplied by Di 1 u, from

which an unpublished duplicate (LBab) to the mu-ba-am-me-tu of £I 17 25

17 (Tablet I) reads: mu-UD-me-~u (information from Deirdre Linton).

1
, A further duplicate to the opening section is KAR 252 i i 19-20:
en hu.ub.ba hu.ub.ba ab.ni e.ra.a e.ra.a, us.ru.ub us.lu.lu tu6.en
Not~ also the variants of KAR 252 iv ~2 and LKA 132 rev 2 of a.ra.(ba).
tu. e.
At present these exx:-of mumbo-jumbo defy interpretation·, see A.
L. Oppenheim. Dreams p. 305 n. 223.
 243

360 For the reading of the temple name, see Th. Jacobsen, ZA NF 18
·.·
(1957) 103 n. 19, and note the writing e-su-me-su in or:36 (1967) p.

132, note to 127.

No. 63

365 The idea expressed in this line goes back to the earliest of
Sumerian inscriptions, for example the royal inscriptions of Lagas.

366 The phrase ki.bi.se be.en.gi 4 .gi 4 could also be taken as re-
ferring to the demon, i. e. ~may he return to his former abode!~ Note
the variant from A: na.an.gi .gi 4 , and contrast the Akk. translation
4
in CT 17 20 49-50:

in.nu.ri im.ri.a.gim ki.bi.se na.an.gi.gi

367 Sum. nam.en.na is taken here as the Akk. ~~1Dtu, 'nobility,'

and the phrase tentatively compared to the termination of some Sum.
' ,
hymns, ON za.mi, "0 ON, praise!" Alternatively, the equation nam.en.na
= bennu, 'epilepsy' might be equally fitting.

No. 64
369 Cf. the misfortune sin!t ~emi in~ 18 (1957-B) p. 290 14 etc.
'v , v, ' v, 4
Note Ee IV 88: maa-bu-tis i-te-mi u-sa-an-ni ~e-en-sa, and 27 here.

370 There is no obvious restoration for the first word. A cstr.

noun is needed. a synonym of ~itu, for example, that is susceptible to

being blocked by a naughty demon.

mina talqi, "what have you taken?" i. e. "what have you gained by
attacking this man?"; cf. p. 3.
 244

371 With the restoration mannu. 'who?'. cf., for example. BAM 235
, i . d,. d k'
12 (= BAM 236. rev. 2'): man-nu liq-b i ana re-me-n -1 ~ar u , "who
;
will speak to the merciful Marduk? 11 (to ensure the blocking of the

'carnelian river' in an incantation to stop excessive menstrual blee-

ding). For the use of mannu with the precative, see W. G. Lambert.

JCS 21 (1967) p. 131. For a similar appeal in an exorcistic context,

cf. the rnannam lu~pur ana m~rat Anim, "whom shall I send against the
daughter of Anu?" in A. Goetze, JCS 9 (1955) p.l4. With this use of
redu contrast L. w. King, 885 p. 47 14. where it has the opposite mean-
ing: a-na lemuttiti u la t~btiti 11-ir-te-ed-du-;u, "may they (all the
great gods) drive him into evil and misfortune!" BWL p. 194 20 might

be restored li-rir-te-edl-[di-~6] after this pass~g~.

1\lo. 65

d.. d
374 For er-ra-gal, an alternative to erra = nergal, see A.
i'< d, d ..
..e t heon p. 148, and cf. :>urpu II 175:
0 e i me 1 ,an er-ra er-ra-gal
d ...
er-ra-KAL-KAL lip-!u-ru.

376 For this line. presumably the 'title' of the series, see

p. 32ff.

* * * * *
I
~;,
'
I:~,
k
I
 i
',I

245

Appendix I
THE MEDICAL USE OF THE INCANTATIONS

As was discussed in the Introduction, some of the incantations

from the series edited here were employed together with rituals and
other incantations in the so-called •medical' texts. Our task now is
to examine the contexts in which these incantations are to be found,
to learn what insight is thereby afforded into their significance and
function. As was also indicated above, F. Kocher has an exhaustive
study of this genre in an advanced state of progress. The corpus of
material from Kouyunjik, however, has not yet appeared, 1 and although
the contents of the first four volumes has been carefully.scrutinised
(i. e. texts from Assur, Babylon, Nippur, Sippar, Uruk and some un-
provenanced tablets), it may no doubt be assumed that the various Mss.

utilised in the present study do not constitute all relevant tablets

from Assurbanipal's library. It should be emphasized, therefore, that

the discussion here is very much preliminary to K8cher 1 s finished opus,

and is offered as a summary of such information as is presently available

rather than a definitive statement.

Twelve of the sixty-five incantations of the compilation have to

date been found in medical texts. It seems that the simplest way to
convey this material in a lucid fashion is to take each of these incan-

1 11
See Kocher in BAM I p. VIII and BAM IV p. VIII. The future will
see the republication-of all the Kouyunjik texts from R. Campbell
Thompson's AMT, together with material since identified.
 246

tations separately, in the order in which they occur in the series. and
, .
to present the rituals that accompanied their use, and dther relevant
'
observations. Each incantation, moreover. is prefaced with a brief

summary or description, so that the degree to which ,it is outwardly ap-

propriate to its context may be seen.

Since some of these incantations are found prescribed on one and
the same tablet (nos. 17, 42 and 43, for example), it may be argued
that to gain a full understanding of their ancient use, an attempt
should be made to reconstruct the whole tablet, particularly since the
individual prescriptions are often to be understood as part of a se-
quence, a certain course of treatment to be followed if the preceding
one should fail. However, in view of the fact that some incantations
are merely a minor element in a ritual sequence from a tablet of up to
six columns (which may in itself be only part of a medical series, e. g.
UGU), it is not possible at present to be quite-consistent in the
study of the sources. For one. thing, this would necessitate too bur-
densome a weight of material, since the bulk of the information would
only minimally enhance our understanding of the use of our particular
incantations. Furthermore, as the texts that are available at present
are in many instances in unjoined and scattered fragments, to attempt
full reconstructions in advance of K8cher's editions would be foolhardy.
An exception has been made in the case of our P, which carries nos. 18
and 59, for two reasons. The text is almost complete, and seemingly
unparalleled, and may serve as an illustration of the genre (since we
must otherwise be content with short extracts). Second. this text is
of particular interest to our study since it casts light on the use of
a certain type of amulet.

The incantations that are here to be examined are: nos. 17, 18,
20, 25, 30, 32, 42, 43, 57, 59. 64 and 65. All tablets from the K col-
lection have been collated, but differences from the published copies
 ! •.
247

by R. Campbell Thompson or S. Langdon are not usually indicated.

'·
!

No. 17

A short, five-line incantation consisting of four 'precative 1

formulae in Akk., and a concluding formula of banishment in Sum., ad-

dressed to a single, unnamed male demon.
This incantation-is so far found in one medical context, repre-
sented by two Mss., namely E (K 2542+ =~ 29: 4 + §S 31 no. 60 +),
and H (K 3612 = AMT 47: 3). This text is designed to deal with some
affliction of the neck (gu.gig.ga). His a large, four-column tablet
(the obv. is partly given on~ 46: 1), while E is a smaller four-
column version in Bab. script,.doubtless the second of two tablets,
since the material on the obv. corresponds to that on the rev. of H.
The same composition prescribes the use of nos. 42 and 43: see below.
The ritual to accompany the use of this incantation may be re-
constructed as follows, from E obv. i 7-11, and H rev. iii 8 1 -12 1 , the
line numbering being that of E:

7 ou.ou.BI 14 GIG MA.NU ina rzr tu-rkabl-bab tu-pal-la-as

,
8 ina rsfG 1 [tlt.ME.DA] fub.oul uiGI.LIM BAR SUM KESDA NUMUN
gis~INIG NUMUN uiN.[N]U.U~
9 [Tiq{?] 14 lap-pi tale-pap ina GU-su rGAR 8 nl

10 KA.INIM.MA GU.G[IG.GA.KA]M TIR ina DUR TUG GI UD.DU ina GU-.

6
su GAR

11 ou.ou.sr [x (x)]x Tiq{ ins OUR TUG GI UD.DU ina GU-su GAR 8 n
6

Its ritual: you scorch 14 blocks of e 1 ru-wood in the fire, bore

(them) through. (and) string (them) on [red] wool. You tie on
imQur-limi-plant, and the skin of an onion. (You take?] seeds
from a tamarisk tree and the mastakal-plant, (and) wrap (all
these) around to make 14 burls, (and) place (these) around his
 248

neck.
"!;
[It is an) incantation for a [sick neck]: you string ••• on a
thread of black wool(?)' (and) place (it/them) arou'nd his neck.

Notes

7-8 CF. KAR 194 rev. iv 40: CT 23 4 rev. 13; 11 30 AMT 69: 9 5
etc. H reads ~ ~pal-la-as, perhaps a miscopied Babylonian tu- (7)
10-11 The structure here is a little uncertain: one expects the
instruction to recite the incantation, but KA.INIM.MA ••• can only be
used as a descriptive rubric (i. e. on cannot restore as ••• ~IDnu]x,
and the traces certainly seem to be KA]M ( /~). TUG here is taken
to be sipatu, 'wool', as in, e. g., CT 14 12 (9!3074) rev. 13, al-
though sfG might perhaps have been expected in view of line 8.
11 A second ritual of a similar nature: it is unclear whether
this is a complementary ritual, or an alternative.

This closes the section with our incantation, since a different

passage follows.

No. 18

See below, after no. 65, for the tablet with this incantation:

the ritual for making the clay amulet carrying it is discussed in~-

pendix II.

No. 20

This is a four-line, and still partly obscure incantation for use.

against an unspecified demon. The help of Marduk as nKing of the gods"

is invoked: some Mss. read Ninurta instead of Marduk (see below).

There are three contexts in which this incantation is written
out, first as part of a long ritual sequence against "hand of a ghost"
(su.gidim.ma =qat e~emmi). For this there are five Mss.: F (K 2359 ~

·~ 97: 1) obv. lff.; G (K 3398+ = AMT 97: 1) obv. lff.; R (K 2477+ ~

~ 95: 2) rev. iii 12ff.; e (0. 195 = BAM 221) rev. iii 19ff.; h (VAT
 249

17580 =~ 385 rev. iv l4ff. F and G represent the second of a two

tablet version of the material that R e and h contain on~.one large
i
four-column tablet. The ritual for no. 20 from these Mss. reads:
,
1 DIS SU.GIDIM.MA ina SU L~ 11-ta-za-az-ma NU DU ar
8
2 ana ZI-s"u' na4ru KA.A.A B• BA a- bat-t~· oa-ru- bi

3 ina IZI tur-ar ·ta-mar-raq ina

'
u~ gisEREN -
HI .HI EN 7-su SIDnu
~

If SU.GIDIM.MA.persists in a man's body and does not leave, in

order to remove it you roast ajarabu-stone (and) a carob stone
in the fire; you crush Cth.ese and) mix (them) with cedar resin,
and recite the incantation seven times. (The inc. is then
quoted.)

The sequence then prescribes the following incantation (composite text.

variants not given: seep. 30 n. 1):

8 en ez-ze-ta sam-ra-tu na-ad-ra-tu gaey-eya-tu gap-sa-tu

9 dan-na-ta pa-as-qa-ta lem-ne-ta a-a-ba-tu
10 "'1 a d,.
sa ,
e-a man-nu u-na-ah-ka
...
11 sa la dasal-lu-ai man-nu u-sap-sao-ka
d,
12 e-a li-ni-ib-ka
13 dasal-lu-bi li-sap-sib-ka tu .en
6

According to F and G, this second incantation is to be recited sepa-

rate1y from our no. 20. over the necessary salve:

.. ,
:
14 EN an-ni-ta 7-su ana UGU nap-sal-ti Sronu_m[a]

15 e-ma TAG-su SES-ma ina-a[b]

You recite this incantation over the salve seven times; where
he is in pain, you duly anoint him and he will find relief.

In ~. however, the two passages are to be used together; see rev. iv:

25 EN an-na-a-tu f?l-su ana [UGU nap-sal-ti]

....
26 [SI]Dnu_ma [e-m]a TAGmes_[su ~E~-ma ina-aiJ] (other Mss. broken).
 250

The second context is against pain in the right side, as part of

'
a long sequence against the disease ~immatu ('jaundice'1). The single
·: 1
source so far is K (K 9658 = AMT 88: 1 + K 3305+ = BE 31 no. 58 ). An
unpublished duplicate is K 9004 (seeR. Borger, HKL II p. 283), but

unfortunately this is no help to us here since the last traces preser-

ved in this piece correspond to line 8 1 of K (coll.), while our no. 20

is in line 9': only a part of the subsequent ritual survives:

11' [KA.INIM.MA or~ LU A].ZAG-su 1-sam-m[a-am-su]

2 , V, Y V, , [ ,
12 1 [ •••••••••• ]x A.ZAG-su tu-mas-sa-ma EN an- ni-tu

[Incantation for when a man 1 s] right side hurts him:

[ . • . . . . . . . . . ] . . you rub his right side, and re-
peat this incantation seven times.

With this text compare AMT 93: 3 (= BE 31 no. 57) which gives
incantations for pain in the left side (A.GUB-su i-sam-ma-am-su). and
then simmatum.
V
The incantation on line 4 'ff. of this tablet (,en dmar-
duk b~lu el-lu ap-lu ~~ de[n-ki ... ) is also to be found on our K fol-
lowing our no. 20 (line l3 1 ff.), which might suggest that the two

should be taken as duplicates (as assumed by s. Langdon, BE 31 p. 55ff.

for example). However, the traces of AMT 93: 3 1' which should, if
they were duplicates, be the end of our incantation no. 20. do not cor-
3
respond as far as they may be interpreted, and since the ritual is al-
so different, it seems that the two texts have been incorrectly juxta-
posed in BE 31.

1
wrongly given as no. 57 by R. Borger, HKL I p. 535 (he gave no.
58 to AMT 93: 3). and now correctly assigned in HKL II p. 283.
2 .• ·.L.._
X "'
3 Thompson's copy may be: slightly ir.1proved: ..~,.:l~·,.·. -'~;'·
 251

No. 20 is also to be found prescribed against sorcery (US

12
.zu =
V , - .;.

kispu) and curse (NAM.ERIM = mamitu). A single source ~s likewise

available, namely d (STT 275). This is a representative of a type of

medical text that is slightly different from those already encountered

since it lists (predominantly) the individual stones that are to be

used with various incantations in rituals (cf. D. R. Gurney, STT 2 P•

13). This is a four-column tablet, of which something over one half
is preserved. It covers a range of problems, from the reconciling of
a man with his personal god or goddess to the dispelling of sorcery,
portended evil, several diseases and Lamastu. The ritual far our no.
20 reads:

a
V

U~ .zu u NAM~ERIM
20' 4 N[A ]mes Ien
4 12
21 1 ana NA NU TE ina D[UR S)IG.SA x (x) UD.DU
5
22 1 3 KE~DA KE~DA e-ma KE~DA EN ka.kib ka.kib
23' [S]ronu ina GU-su GAR 8 n

Muiu-stone, egizaggu-stone, scorpion-stone, impur-esra-plant

•• (imaur-limi-plant)
Four stones and one drug to prevent sorcery and curse from
approaching a man; you ..• (and) string (them) on a thread of
red wool; you tie three knots, and where you tie them you re-
cite the incantation "kakib kakib''; you place (them) around
his neck.

Notes
19' The x is best seen as a Glossenkeil written over an erasure,
sa that IGI.LIM is an alternative reading recorded by the scribe to
IGI.NI~. since according to 20', the prescription only involves the
use of a single drug. The 4 of 20 1 is then an error for 3.
21' x (x) is presumably a verb.
 252

No. 25

This Akk. incantation is of five lines, addresse,~ to "Any Evil",

and invokes the assistance of Lugalurra. Marduk and Ea. This passage, ·

recovered from a medical tablet, is here for convenience viewed as a

variant to no. 25. which reads Lugaledinna instead. but could arguably

be considered a separate incantation; see notes. and Introduction p. 44 ..

The single Ms. that carries this particular incantation is L

(~ 239 = AMT 38: 2). This is the remainder of a large, four-column

tablet containing treatment for sick ears (cf. rev. iv 8: KA.INIM.MA

DI~ NA GE~TUGII-su 1-sag-g[u-ma]. "If a man, his ears roar ..• 11 ) . No.

25 appears at the bottom of obv. 1 (since the second col. is lost, the

end of the incantation is missing), among a long list of other incan-

tations, a sequence which may.be duplicated elsewhere (see notes to

no. 30 below). No information is preserved on how this incantation

was used.

No. 30

A twelve-line incantation in Akk. that describes the ill-effects

of a demon on the sufferer's body: the demon is again addressed as "Any

Evil" (attamannu mimma lemnu), and the help of Marduk is sought to

oust.him.

Three medical texts have so far been identified with this incan-
tation, two of which are duplicates. while the third is quite different.

The duplicates are 0 (~ 3442) and S (~ 8211). There is, in fact, a

third unpublished duplicate to these pieces, namely K 6329 (see F.

K8cher, BAM 3 p. XV), which preserves the final tu .e]n of the incan-
6
tation (i. e. our line 171). and is thus of little use for our purposes

Ccoll.). 0 is a mere fragment that contains. in addition to our no.

30. some two lines of another incantation (10-11). The rev. of 0 is

 .!

253

too vitrified to be identified at present. S, on the other hand, is

i
better preserved (K 6329 more or less equally), althoug~·only one side

survives. No information is preserved about the use of ~he incantation

as yet. butthat the function of this treatment was to deal with SAG.KI.

DIB.BA is clear from the rubric in S ii 23', which may be restored as

follows:

[5+)1 KA.INIM.MA SAG.K(I.DIB.BA.KAM] --see presently.

(The incantation that follows no. 30 on 0, S and K 6329 occurs

also on K 8090, K 7834 and K 4023. i. e. the third tablet of UGU~ see

the notes below to no. 57. 1 There the incantation is also used against
SAG.KI.DIB.BA caused by ~U.GIDIM.MA, but is part of a totally unrelated
sequence. This incantation is discussed above on p. 57 as an example
of "mumbo-jumbo".)

S i preserves part of two further incantations, but these have

not yet been identified. S ii offers the greater part of three incan-

tations before the rubric quoted above. They are also to be found in

the same sequence on our L (K 239 = AMT 38: 2) i 7 1 ff.; see preceding

note on no. 25. It seems assur~d that L, S and K 6329 would prove to
be full duplicates if fully restored. hence the restoration of the nu-

1 .
Where our Mss. have no. 30. UGU III has the following short inc.:
32 en a.ra.tu.e a.ra.ba.tu.e ti.la [
33 su.du.du.mes su.ne.ne.a.mes NUNk 1 .ga mu.un.gin[
Cf. STT 136 rev. i i i 29 1 -31 1 :
a.rra zil [ • . •
a.ra.tu.u.e a.r[a.ba
X ~
d nanna(~EQ.KI).mes
V ' ' V
su.du.du.mes V
su. V
NUN ki .ga.k [ e 4
I s su.ne.ne.a.mes perhaps a phonetic wr1ting of su. dnanna.mes? With
V V ' y V

line 32 of UGU III cf. the incantations cited in the notes to lines
 254

l
meral in the rubric.

The second of these texts, i. e. S ii 9'-19'. is ~ound also on

our 1 (Sumer 9 (1953) 29). not here considered a 'medical' text as

such (seep. 17). There is no information on i as to how this incan-

tation was employed, but in view of its occurrence in two contexts with

material from our series. a transliteration is given here (afterS):

9' en ur.sag dasal.lu.Qi igi.bi Qe.pa

10 1 sag.hul.rhal.za
~ ..., he.pa
...,

12' sag.oul.ba.za be.pa

d
13 1 ur.sag en.ki.ke4 igi.bi oe.pa

14' sag.hul.ha.za
.... .., he.pa
.....

15' ur.sag dnin.urta igi.bi oe.pa

16' sag.oul.ba.za ae.pa

17 1 , r ke 1 gu
d da.mu dumu.sag d na. ,
mu.un.na.an. d"'e.e
4
18 1 dumu.mu nam.ba.si.in.re lu igi nu.un.bar.ra

19' lu.a.zu di.ku ka.bi nu.mu.tar.ra tu .e[n] 2

5 6

, Id
35 8-9. Wi th the d nanna of UGU and STT cf. the d es.. -tar 15 of these
texts. and the similar variant to our-line 358? 8

oetails: S i i 1 1 -8 1 = L i 7 1 -14 1 ~ K 6329 ii 1 1 -8 1 ; S i i 9'-19 1

1
= L i 15 1 -21' = K 6329 ii 9 1 -17'; S ii 20'-23' = L i 22 1 -4 1 = K 5329'
i i 18'-20'. Note the reiterative pattern of the last text:
en rsagl.du bir sag.du rbirl sag.du bir sar.ra.a [x (x)] . . • ;
cf. the Introduction.
BA-17 s-;;'?
2
The same inc. is found in AMT 83: 2 ii 12-8, where it is part
of a ritual to cure a man from mu-kll-res-lemuttimtim, and persistent
"heat in his body" (ummu ina zumri-su la-zi-iz-ma). It is unclear
Whether the preceding five lines on i correspond to AMT 83: 2 ii 7-10
but it seems improbable. The incipit of this incantation is also quo-
ted on other tablets; see F. K5cher. BAM 3 p. XV note on 216 (where it
is also mentioned in obv. 15').
 255

The restoration of S ii 23' follows L i 25. Exactly what the SAG.~I.

"·

DIB.BA has done to the patient in this text is unclear~ the rev. of L

is concerned with ears (cf. p. 56 n. 1). Note that S i i i 3 1 -7 1 dupli-

cates AMT 45: 5 obv. ll 1 ff., and AMT 52: l l0-14. 1

The second context is available only from Q (K 10371), a small

flake of considerable interest here since in addition to no. 30 (8 1 -

10 1 ) , it preserves part of another, closely parallel incantation (2 1 -

41 ; see notes to lines 160-2). There is no rubric or ritual preserved

for no. 30 itself, but part of both is preserved for the preceding
passage: [~A.INH1.t-1]A7 SA[ • • • , for which the obvious restoration is
SA.[GAL.LA.KAt-1], although whether this is a sa.gaLla incantation must
2
remain unknown for the present. Two single lines of ritual then fol-
low for the first incantation, separated by a ruling:

6' . . • r]a r~r 1 .[~I

7' . • • ]x si ka ma ina ~~ kab t6 sal t6 SUD 3-~6
EN AN[ . . . ~IDnu] 3
Assuming this incantation to be that written above on the tablet, it
may be observed that it begins differently from our no. 30 (160: en

a-bu-uz pag-ri ... ).

1
For this incantation see R. Campbell Thompson, RA 26 (1929) p.
81 lOff.; E. Ebeling, Tul p. 27; ~ 10/II p. 104.

2
Incantations against sa.gal.la (AHw 1002~ 'eine schwere Bein-
krankheit') occur, e. g. in CT 23 1-14 and duple.
3 , ,
Read perhaps n~k-KAB-tu. 1. e. for nikkietu, 1 ein Euphorbia-
Strauch?' (AHw p. 788)? Read sal then as sinnis? Or, read SUD as
salaau, 'to-sprinkle', and perhaps *sal-bis ('in drops'?), although
the last word is not yet attested.
 No. 32: line 186 only

A single line of formulaic and probably partly corfupted Sum.

(see notes. and Introduction p. 52), addressed to a demon to banish

him.

This line is found once written on a medical tablet, namely!

(BM 45637+) rev. 14 1 • This is a highly interesting, Late-Babylonian

tablet, so far without a duplicate. but rather too broken to be edi-

ted here. The exact function fulfilled by line 186 in this context

is difficult to understand; accordingly the contents of the tablet

may be briefly indicated here:

obv. 1'-8': ritual instructions for the use of a sequence of incanta-

tions which are then given. The first mentioned, en dma.
mu dingir.mu.mu.da.ke 4 occurs in obv. 12'-15'. Tbe second,
however. en den-me-sar-ra is given on rev. 6'-13 1 , whereas
that following en dma.mu ••• on the tablet is apparently
different. 1 The third incantation, en( .••. is then either
that partly preserved in obv. 24 1 -5 1 , or that following en
d en-me-sar-ra
... , on the rev •. i. e. our line 18 6 . 2 Three more
incantations are noted: en im.du MIN in-7 1 3 en pap
, su ri
ri and what is doubtless another incantation en dalad u
d
lamma (cf. the repeated SID signs) in 8', all of which
cannot be certainly identified on the tablet.

1 It survives merely as en[, but cf. the end of the line. It is

, d ... ,
a 1 ways possible that there were two incs. beginning en en-me-sar-ra.
It does not seem possible to fit (at least) two inc. titles into the
space on obv. 3'-4', as would be necessary if two incs. beginning in
this way were quoted, and if the ritual mentioned all the texts to be
used, as is probable.

2 rr so, the ritual in obv. (4' and) 5 1 ending ana mu]b-bi ~ID-ma
would refer to our text.

3
cf., perhaps, those incantations beginning lillik i~ru, "let
the wind blow!" in R. D. Biggs, TCS 2 nos. 14-? (cf. p. 34)?
 257

, d V,
9 1 -11': ritual for an incantation ending ]ra (hardly en en-me-sar-ra,
i
but presumably one mentioned , in whatever lines preceded our
I
obv. 1'). Note the writing ua-na-mir(u) in 9' (cf. rev. 16 1 ) ,

not paralleled in·the dictionaries. 11 1 has the appearance of

an appeal, or an invocation, or at least a ~eries of epithets.

12 1 -15': inc. to dma-mu, god of dreams (cf. A. L. Oppenheim, Dreams p.

232f.). perhaps to secure good dreams; cf. 14 1 : ]x x lu-u dam-
qat •.• It is to be recited three times (obv. 3 1 ) .

, d[ en-me-sar-ra
16 1 -23': if the inc. in 4 1 above, then restore en ", ••• ] ;
cf. n. 1 on the preceding page. Note egirru dam[qu in 18 1 •

24 1 -5 1 : an incantation?

rev. 1' -5' : invocation to Harduk and Zarpani tu (3 1 ) to secure a 11 yes "-
answer to an oracular(?)-question (5 1 : [a]n-na ki-nim a-pul-
ran1-[ni]).

6 1 -14': inc. to Enmesarra and Ninmesarra etc. (cf. W. G. Lambert, RlA

III p. 470 and ref.) in some measure parallel to BAM 215 rev.
44-58 (sea F. K8cher, AfO 21 (1966) p. 18), which is for use
against utukku-demons (see line 59).

15': our line 186.

16'-7 1 : ritual which most probably goes with the following inc. rather
than line 186 above.

18 1 -23 1 : inc. with a 'mythological' beginning. For tukku, 'lamentation'

in 18' and 19', see w. G. Lambert, A. R. Millard, Atra-basis p.
152, where this passage is partly quoted. Note the peculiar
lu-u-lu in 20 1 , perhaps a (unique?) writing of the Akk. loan
lullu from the Sum. lu.u .lu (?)
X

It will be seen that we have come no further towards determining

the precise use of our incantation. It is, in fact, not altogether

clear whether this tablet carries one sequence (as is perhaps suggested
 258

by the long ritual sequence in abv. 1 1 -8 1 ) . or whether this is not a

collection of incantations and rituals far different purposes. As it

is, the use of the text from our series in this late context is to be

noted, and new materials awaited.

No. 42

A three-line incantation in Sum. to gain the protection of Marduk

, ,
against "Any Evil-Doing Thingn (nig.nam.bul.dim.ma).
No. 42 occurs on two duplicate Mss., E and H, already encountered
under no. 17 as coming from a composition concerned with an affliction
of the neck. The ritual is only partly preserved, and reads as fol-
lows, after~ obv. i i 9-10, and H rev. iv 27-8:

DU.DU.BI 14 na4ZALAGme Tiq{ ina OUR SIG BABBAR UD.DU

14 KE~DA KE~DA r ~-ma 1 KE~DA EN ~IDnu (i.na) GlJ-su GAR

Ita ritual: you take 14 zalaqu-stones. (and) string (them)

on a thread of white wool. You tie 14 knots, and where you
tie you recite the incantation: you then put (them) around his neck.

No. 43

A two-line, formulaic incantation in Sum •• addressed to Marduk .

,
under the name of Aranunna. It is also directed against nig.nam.hul.
y

dlm.ma (cf. no. 42).

As with the preceding text, E and H prescribe the incantation

', against an affliction in the neck. A further duplicate is our M Cf!
51 198), where the ritual section is now broken away. It may be res-
tored, however. from E obv. ii 4-5, and H rev. iv 21-2:
 259

,
DU.DU.BI 14 na4URUDU(me) Tiqi ina DUR [sfG x(x) UD.DU]

r71 (KA).KE~DA KE~DA e-ma KE~DA EN ~IDn[u ina GU-~u GAR] 1

Its ritual: you take 14 copper beads. (and) [string (them) on a]

thread of [ ••• wool]. You tie seven knots, and where you tie
you recite the incantation: [you then put (them) around his neck.]

No. 57

This is a bilingual incantation of nine couplets concerned with

general social well-being (see notes). No demons are mentioned, and
this is the only text in the series not directly exorcistic in purpose.
Three different uses for this-interesting text have so far been
noted. The first context is as part of Tablet III of the.medical
series UGU (thus known from the opening words DI~ NA UGU-su KUM u-kal:
"If a man, the top of his head keeps on being hot ••• "). Three dupli-
cate Mss. are I (K 2566+ = -AMT -
102: 1, AMT 103: 1, see CT 23 49); J
- .

(K 7642 = AMT 102£ 1, composite.with I), and T (K 9839). The ritual

itself reads as follows, after I and J:

1 sum-ma SAG.KI.DIB.BA ~U.GIDIM.MA ina SU NA 11-ta-za-az-ma

NU DU
8
2 .
ina IGI si-in-di u EN NU TARas
...
3 .
KUR.Gimusen bu-u-ra ta-ts~ba-sb U~-;u ur-us-su mu-se-rit-
ta-su

1
A parallel ritual was given at least twice in the pregeding
material on this tablet: see H rev. iv 9-10 (na4mu-~u with S!G.GDN.NA),
and rev. 15-16 (na4AN.N(E] with sfG.rZA.GlN1.NA). The AL.ME of E in
fact reads URUDU.ME (coll.).
 IIJ
~~
260
,
4 ~ DIB -su
1. v' u r il -pa
... q1- "' p i -sur-r1-su
sa · V' Tiqi ina IZI tur-a'r
I
5

;r. I I .., , ... "' , mes""

6 SAG.DU-su ;:,U -su u mim-ma ma-la TAG-su TAG .-ma 1-na-a-ab
SAG.KI.DIB.BA DU ZI
8

If SAG.KI.DIB.BA or SU.GIDIM.MA persists in a man's body and

does not leave, and will not cease even after bandages and in-
cantations (have been tried):
You slaughter a wild goose. (and) you take its blood, its wind-
pipe, its oesophagus, its fat and the skin of its •.• ; you
roast (them) in the fire; you mix (them) with cedar-resin, and
you recite the incantation "Evil finger-pointing of mankind" 3
times. You smear his head, his hands and whatever else hurts
him (with this mixture). He will experience relief, and the
SAG.KI.DIB.BA will leave and be removed. 1

Each text then cites the incantation in full, although as mentioned in

the notes to 310, T seems only to quote the Sum. version.

In addition to the main tablets of UGU. there are sundry texts

which quote material from that series (not necessarily in the same or-
der) together with other material; cf. F. K8cher, BAM I p. XII, note.
on no. 9, where rev. 42-6 include the sequence prescribing our no. 57.
A similar text is M. Jastrow, TCPP p. 400 29-41. One other text of
this kind, BAM 216 rev. 37 1 -47 1 • offers a slightly fuller version of
the ritual. For the sake of comparison, a transliteration of this
passage is included here:

1
See the interesting translation and discussion of this text in
the article by E. K. Ritter, AS 16 pp. 316-7, on the different elements
in Mesopotamian medical practiCe, asutu and asiputu. The relevance of
this question as regards our series is discussed below.
 261

DI~ NA GIDIM.MA zrOi KUR.Gimusen bu-'-[ra ~UMab]

.., .., )
u~ KUR.Gimusen IGI KUR.Gimusen ZE UGU [x X X (~)]
1;

I.DIB sa-a-q{ ur-u-da mu-se-rit-tu q[i-11-pu] :

, .

40 1
Tr qi ... ,
I-nis ina IZI tur-ar ina u~ 'x gis [
E REN ~I.tli-ma ]
, , , ,
41 1 utar-mus uiGI.LIM uiGI.NI~ uA[~.TAL.TAL?]
8
42 1
uLAL KA.A.AB.BA
uSIKIL.KUL.LA ru, [x x (x)]
ni-kip-tu NITA u SAL I-nis a-na [x x x]
44t na4mu-sa na4AN.NE na4NE BABBAR n[a 4x x]

45 1 na4ZALAG na 4 KUR.NU.DIB na4ZA.GIN ku ku -su-nu Tiq{

46 1 rN su.si QUl.gal.nam.lu.ux.lu.ke 4 7-su (~IDnu]
y

47 1 SAG.KI 11 -su GU-su bu-up-pat IGI 11 -su ~~~[me -su]

8

A second source in which our no. 57 is written out in full shows

it apparently in use to cure afflicted ears, if the rubric in line 3 1

that follows the ruling after the preceding incantation is correctly
restored as [KA.INIM.MA DI~ NA GE~TUG 1 ] 1 -su i-sag-[gu-ma] (cf. note
on the use of no. 25 above).
We are dealing here with a single Ms., f (VAT 11097 = KAR 255).
This is a fragment of at least a four-column tablet, no. 57 being writ-
ten out after the rubric referred to above. Of this there is a second
line which referred to the use of the incantation in i 1 1 -2 1 : there is
nothing preserved of the ritual to accompany our incantation. Some
part of the eleven lines of col. ii is still legible, enough to discern
four lines of a ritual to be carried out with an incantation beginning
en kab [ ••. ' kab sax( ..• , se'-[ .... r""'se- ,, - [ ••• (col. i i 8 1 -11 1 ) .
What appears to be the same incantation is also partly preserved on
§!I 136 rev. i i i 21-4, part of a long sequence against simmatu (for
this text see notes to lines 19lff. and p. 235 above). As copied, the
second line there reads kab tu x[ ••• , but the signs are sufficiently

.....--
 252

similar to make the identification probable. Line 24 isj no doubt to

;
~.

-,
In the Commentary to this text it was concluded that this was an

incantation concerned with matters of social well-being and good for-

tune. Neither of the contexts just discussed is particularly suitable

to this incantation. There is, however, one further tablet that pres-
cribes the use of no. 57 (it is quoted by incipit only) in a context
outwardly more suitable (see also below). The text in question is BAM
326 col. 11 2 1 ff. (cf. the edition by E. Ebeling, B£· Dr. 17 (1949) p.
202f.):
,
... ' u ,
2' DU.DU.BI kam-ka- [ du
,
3' ukam-ka-du [ .••
rQisNUMl gisbi-rnul [x]x MAR ina I giseri -nu E~mes_[su]
4
, , V , V,

5' EGIR-su EN su.si aul.gal 3-su

x nu , .. ,
61 ana UGU ~ID ina GU-su GAR-ma SILIM

The patient's condition becomes clear from the following description,

although it is unclear whether a second incantation would have been
prescribed for this section. or whether our no. 57 was used again:

8' 'u iz-zi-ir-ti KA UN mes

9' ma-'-da-a-ti GAR-su ana NU TEe

10' up-sa-se-e EN KA-su NU DIM 4 -su
11 1 ~u.sr tiULtim EGIR-su LAat
12 1 KI DINGIR ze-ni-i su-lum-me KI-su BURri
l3 1 ff. Drug names •••

If a man is •••. his behaviour is antisocial, if he is

cursed in the mouth of many people, in order that witch-
craft should not approach him, or that his adversary

:~
 263

should not come near him (if (also) the Evil Finger is
"\ .
pointed after him), in order (also) to reconcile him
with an angry (personal) god, and to absolve (him) with
him (i. e. the personal god?)

Notes
,
71 Read tiJ bl1-ma, 1 is excited 1 • 'worked up 1 (?) A.RA =
alaktu, cf. line 306. 8 -9
1 1 Lit. the curse
11 of the mouth of
many people is laid-against him"; cf. LKA 141 3. 11' Reads 1
rather strangely at this point, almost-a3 if added as an afterthought.
12 1 su-lum-me.for sullumu, cf. CAD Z pp. 84-5.
It is interesting to compare this passage with our no. 57, since
the sequence of infinitives in 9 1 and 10 1 (and possibly 11 1 , see n. 1
below) is reminiscent in some measure of that incantation.

No. 59

See below, after no. 65.

No. 64

A five-line Akk. incantation against "lemnu lemnu, z~r lemnu"

who has afflicted a man, "driven him mad", and apparently affected his
mouth in some way.

This incantation is to be found in one practical context, our ~·

The function of this fragmentary piece is at present unclear. Lines 1-

11 are from a bilingual incantation that greatly ressembles those in

CT 16 and 17, although the passage is as yet unidentified. Lines 12-

13 give the ritual for this text:

1 . . • ]x x[.
2 . . .] dnin.rgirimmal [ • • •

1
or, read <Nu) LA~i!. i. e. for a parallel infinitive (?)
··~
264
·'

3 [.. . ] sa dMIN (C . . . )]
4 [ . . • usl2"z]u u~l2 a.ri.a n!g.aka.a nig.aul.di~~[m~
, '"
5 [ . • • ki]s-rpil ru-ae-e ru-se-e up-sa-se-e lem-~[u]
6 [ • • . ku]n4? e.a.ke4 ba.ra.an.da.an.x[ •• -1
7 [. . . a)s-kup-pat bi" ti a-a ib-bal-ki-tu-ni [ (. • • ) ]
8 [ . • • ini)m.gar sig5.ga e.a te.en.ku4.k[u4.(de.e;)]
9 [ . . • ] rel-gir-ru-u dam-RU a-na blti i-ru-um-m[a]
10 [. . ?
• udu ] g·.aul ,
a.la.aul ......
bar.se ,
oe.e [
m.ta.gub ]
11 [. . • d ala'] d.sig5.ga d lamma.sig5.ga ae.en.sug.sug.g
,. .. .... [ e.es"']

12 [. • . • Jx x x (x) final IZI Ld.TU.RA SAR ra x( • • • )

13 [EN ina UGU ( • • • ) n] 8 4? UD ME ~ID-ma ina dis-pu KA[.
...
. .
• . • ~E~mes_su C?) c••• )]

Notes
6 More like ku]n (I+KU), although according to CAD A 1 334, this
only used for askuppu.5 x[ is not b[al (= nabalkutu). 9
dam-RU for dam-qa presumably, although the nom. in really needed.
Perhaps expect lirumma after the Sum.? 13 babu(KA) here may
literally be 'gate', 'door' i. e. of the house in line 9, so that this
is an exorcistic ritual to expel demons from a house, or it may stand
for a part of the body (cf. CAD B p. 24) in view of the fumigation of
a 11 sick man" in line 12. --

The last two surviving lines are apparently from another incan-
tation, to be used in conjunction with our no. 64 (14-6): line 17 reads
apparently udu[g or gidi[m. From the spacing it seems probable that
this text is also a bilingual. Unfortunately, therefore, there is not
much that can be said about the use of our particular text at present.

No. 65

The last incantation of the series is a three-line text in Akk.

against mimma lemnu, appealing to Jupiter, the Pleiades and Erragal.
A single medical text is so far available with this incantation,
 265

our N (CT 51 no. 199), the remainder of a tablet with at least four
-.
: 1
columns. Dbv. i shows again a course of treatment for ear trouble!

note line 10 1 : KA.INIM.MA /<

DI~ NA «r UG rr -su
GE~
., , .., · (17 1 adds:
i-sa~-gu-ma

ana ~~ GESTUG 11 ZAG-;~ LUH-~u

...
2
). One may note here~that obv. i 5 1 -9 1
duplicates CT 23 6 15-7 and BAM 129 i 12-6, while the second and third

incantations of this column may be found here, pp. 56-7. Traces of

two incantations survive on obv. col. ii.

It may provisionally be taken that the three incantations on the
rev. (of which our text is the second) were used for a similar purpose
(although this is not certain). Lines 17 1 -8 1 preserve part of the
ritual:

V, V
• x tu-mas-sa- 1
]

The three incantations were accordingly used in conjunction with some

form of salve.

Nos. 18 and 59

No. 18 is a five-line incantation in Akk. which puts the speaker

under the protection of Sirius-Ninurta, and thus prevents the appear-
ance of an evil force r·eferred to as an 11 attacker 11 (lu.zi.zi). the last
line being addressed to the demon in Sum.

1
This is accidentally given as »concerning the eye" in W. G. Lam-
bert, A. R. Millard, Cat. Second Suppl. p. 15.
2
Lu~ <=mesu/galatu)vis meaningless in this context~ so it seems
necessary to read lub(u)-su, i. e. the II/1 infin. of lbs, 1 to whisper'
as well attested in exactly this context (CAD s. v.), assuming an 11 over-
hanging vowel" as elsewhere in medical writings, e. g. tar(a)-kas etc.
(see R. Labat, AS 16 p. 257). Or, on the other hand. read lub-<b~-su?
 266

No. 59 is a partly obscure five-line incantation in mixed Sum.

~

and Akk., describing the origins of some unspecified demor.

These two incantations are prescribed together {in the reverse

order) on our P (K 3628+ =Plates 25-6), which, as indicated above, is

to be fully edited here. The tablet is well-preserved and largely

complete, an indeterminate but small number of lines lacking from the
top, and is written in an extremely clear and neat NA hand. 1 The text
conforms to the usual pattern of the medical tablets, but differs from
2
the majority in that it includes some lines quoted from sa.gig, and
is thus a rare illustration of the connection between that work and
, -
the medical practices that are gradually being reconstructed from the
medical texts proper. The contents may be summarised as follows:

Obv. 1'-7': ruled off by a double ruling, a section that may be recon-
structed from the. pattern of the later lines. Salves to
cure a baby attacked by su.dingir.ra were clearly given.
The preceding lines, and/or the end of the preceding tablet
probably dealt with an.ta.sub.ba and. d lugal.ur.ra
V ' if the
colophon here is to be restored after KAR 44 rev. 10 below.

Obv. 8 1 -11 1 : four lines quoted from Tablet 40 (the last) of the series
- -v 3
enuma ~bit marsi asipu illaku, which lists medical phe-
nomena perceptible in b~biea shortly after birth, and at-

1 The scribe has two consistent idiosyncracies:

(a) In such signs as KU, KI etc., the top horizontal is written higher
than the top of the right vertical, viz.:- )I
(b) In the sign SAL,· and signs formed from it, the·lower Winkelhaken is
written to the right of the first vertical, viz.:-~
2
The textbook of medical omens, edited by R. Labat in TOP.
3
on the relationship between this title, and the title sa.gig
see J. V. Kinnier-Wilson, Iraq 18 (1956) p. 13Dff.
 ... d
tributes each symptom to a god or demon: here su. inanna
is responsible (see below). 1
V d ~
Obv. 12'-lB': the practical steps against su. inanna, using salves.

Obv. 19'-26•: prophylactic measures against lfl.la~en.na,

.,
employing
salves and fumigants.

Obv. 26'-Rev. 7: Incantations 59 and lB of our series.

Rev. B: rubric showing that the two incantations are to cure a baby
attacked by an evil a.la demon.
Rev. 9-12: ritual in which no. 18 is written on a clay cylinder, which,
when hung up, will prevent the approach of mimma lemnu.
Rev. 13-17: ritual for a salve. The scribe seems here to have become
confused: lines B and 16 show that both amulet and salve
are against the a.ls demon, but mimma lemnu has been sub~
stituted in 12 and 13. Since the rituals otherwise fol-
low the pattern of the preceding cures, this is inaccu-
rate. The scribe has also confused the purpose of the
rituals. B shows the baby already to be a victim, 12-3
claim to be prophylactic, while 15 implies that the sec-
ond is a cure after all. This is not an arbitrary cri-
ticism. since the prescriptions are supposedly catering
for specific and distinguishable complaints.
Rev. lB-9: ritual against symptoms of bennu disease: beginning of next
tablet.
Rev. 20-3: Colophon.

The text reads as follows:

1r [x] x [ . . .
2• [x] x x[.
3 I [ • • •

[x] x (x) [ • . • ]x[.

5'
'hi a
[Uu ] an-[nu-ti sa
v x · , , me
~u.DINGIR.RA L]U.TUR ~[E~
s
-su~ma TI]

6' [n]ap-sal-a-t[i sa L]U.TUR ~U.DINGIR.RA D[IB-su]

 268

NU TEe u! am-r[u]

8' DI~ LLJ. TUR ib-ta-n[ak-ki u GU].Gu si ek-ke-em-tu 4 ~U dr151

, d
DUMIJ.MI a-nim
9' DI~ tu-1a-fal [i-ni]-riql-[ma ~u]Btu ~UB-su ~IJ dl5 ~ d30
LU. TUR
,
10' DI~ LU.TUR ina rKrl.N[A-s]u ina NU zuu is-si ~u dis-tar
11' (DI~ l]U.TUR ina K[I.NA-su i]s-[s]i mi[m-m]a sa i-mu-ru 1-qab-bu
~u d1s ik-ri-bu orsmes_su

12 1 [s)A?.GIG sa lU.rTURl (~)U diNANNA DIB-su ul-tu llb-bi DI~ LU.

..
TUR la- 1 -HU Zimes QB
...
13 ' [G]"'r R.PAD.DU LU.U
' .LU ina 'I+GI~;-c ka-a-a-na ~l<E';><mes_su
~
X
, y

14 1 [n]a4mu-~u u~a-~u-un-tu GIR.PAD.DU ~A~ MAR ina I ~{~mes_su

15 1 [BA]R MU~ UM.ME.DA GIR.TAB saa-le-e E~.NfG.IB.~U.LAL SIG.~AB

. . , mes
NAGA.SI ina I ~E~ -su
, r hi a 1 ;>< . d , , mes
16 1 [U) ~ " an-nu-ti a-na ~u INANNA LU.TUR ~E~ -su-ma TI

17' [nap]-sal-a-ti sa LU.TUR ~u diNANNA DIB-su

18'

19 1 DI~ a-na LU.TUR LIL.LA.EN.NA NU TEe

20 1 GIR.PAD.DU rLul.u .LU ina 1 ka-a-a-na ~E~mes_su
X

21 1 DI~ KIMIN
na
4mu-~a
r ul ~a-~u-un-tu, ...
GIR.PAD.DU ~A~ MAR ina }
~E~mes_su

22 1 or~ KIMIN sfG ur-gu-l[a] x ruRl.Gr 7 SIG.DZ ina rzr SAR-su

23' or~ KIMIN BAR M[u~] UM.ME.DA GIR.TAB sab-1e-e E~.NIG.IB.~U.LAL

24' sfG.[~A]B NAGA.sr ina rzr SAR-su

25' [~ap]-fsal-a-til qut-ari6 rsal a-na LU.TIJR LIL.LA.EN.NA NU TEe

26 1 [ne-pe-si x) X fme5-e!il u mas-qa-a-ti NU am-ra

Dbv. 27'-9', Rev. 1-2, and Rev. 3-7 are incs. 59 and 18 of the series.
 269

Rev. continues:

8 2 KA.rNrM.MA Lu.ruR A.LA ~uL ~u.[Su-suJ

9 oD.o~.BI na4KI~IB [b]i?-fnit?l kul-la-ti [DGu 9" -ma]

10 EN an-ni-tu ina mu[b-bi-su] SA[R-ma]
11 ina IZI IN.BUBBU ta-r~ar-rapl BE-ma ina GU-su rGARl[an]
gis , V, r 1
12 BE-ma ina SAG NA-su tal-lal-ma mim-ma lem-nu NU TE- su

13 DI~ mim-ma 1em-nu ana LU.TUR NU TEe NUMUN gisMA.NU NUMUN u~AKIRA
,
14 x NUMUN uHA E~.NfG.IB.~U.LAL ina I.GI~ HI.HI
V W W

15 [(x)]x[x]f~rl ina UBUR ana KA-su GARnu ~E~-su-ma Tiu~

16 [na4KI~IB?] u nap-sal-tu sa LU.TUR A.LA-~UL ~d.~d-su

17 [SA.G]IG? ne-pe-si qut-ari u mas-qa-a-ti ul am-ru
6

18 [~i)-bit be-en-num sa ina MU.7.KAM u tu si ia-az-za

19 [~a?) ~-ta-na-8~-is as ru ~u Suii_~u ana EGIR-su NIGINmi
V , . d
- - - 5f-tt-I-W
'
20 [x ni-i]s-bu bul-~i sa LU.TUR AN~TA.~UB.BA LUGAL.UR.RA
21 [SU.DINGIR.RA ~]U.diNANNA LIL.LA.EN.NA u A.LA ~UL DIB-su AL.TIL
22 [. . . . sa)-kik-ki u si-pir AN.TA.~UB.BA

23 [ ...... . • .J gisZUmes X x[. • • • • • • .]

1 1 -4' Traces.
5 1 You anoint the baby repeatedly with these drugs against "hand of
a god" and he will live.
6' The salves for a baby who has been seized by the "hand of a god".
7• The ritual, fumigant and potions to prevent the "hand of a god 11
from approaching a baby have not been seen.
81 If a baby constantly weeps and cries out, it is.the "snatcher-
(she)-demon, the "hand of a goddess", the Daughter of Anu.
9' If a baby sucks at the breast, and migtu-disease falls on him, it
"" 11 •
is the 11 hand of a goddess": 11 hand of Sin
10' If a baby while in his bed cries out unknowingly(?), it is the

-----·-- -·· ---··-· .. _______ ____. __

 C..IU

270

"hand oF a goddess".
~
11 1 If a baby while in his bed cries out, and speaks abbut whatever
'
he saw, it is the "hand of a goddess": an ikrib~ has seized him.

12 1 (These are) symptoms of a baby whom the "hand of a goddess" hae

seized: they have been excerpted from (the series beginning:)
"If~ baby ••• ".
13 1 You repeatedly anoint him continuously with a human bone (crushed)
in oil.

14' You crush mu~u-stone, ~a~untu-plant and a pig's bone, (and) repea-
tedly anoint him (with them) in oil.

15' You repeatedly anoint him with snakeskin, • • • (of a ?) scorpion,

cress, glue, combed-out hair (and)
16' You repeatedly anoint the baby with these drugs against the "hand
of a goddess". and he will live.
17' The salves for a baby who has been seized by the "hand of a god-
dess11.

18' The ritual, poultice, fumigant and potions have not been seen.
19' In order that the lilu-demon should not approach a baby:
20 1 You repeatedly anoint him continuously with a human bone (crushed)
in oil.
21' In order ditto: you crush mu~u-stone, ~a~untu-plant and a pig's
bone, (and) repeatedly anoint him (with them) in oil.
22' In order ditto: you f~migate him with hair from a lion, •.• from a
dog, (and) hair from a goat in fire.

23' In order ditto: you fumigate him with snakeskin, ••• (of a?)
24• scorpion, cress, glue, combed-out hair (and)
25' The salveB, (and) fumigants to prevent the lilu-demon from approa-
ching a baby.

26' [The ritual . • ] ••• poultice and potions have not been seen.

(Incantations 59 and 18 follow)

8 Two incantations for a baby whom an evil ~-demon has attacked.

9 Its ritual: you [mak8] a cylinder seal amulet out of potter's clay,

,:::
10 And write (thereupon) this (last) incantation (1. e. no. lB);
1
11 You bake it in a fire made from chaff: if you plac~ it around his
neck,
12 Or hang it at the head of his bed, Any Evil will be unable to ap-
proach him.

13 In order that Any Evil should not approach a baby: you mix seeds
of the e 1 ru-tree, henbane seeds.
14 ... , fennel seeds and glue together in oil,
15 .•. from the breast being placed(?) in his mouth(?), you repea-
tedly anoint him and he will live.
15
----------------------------
[The cylinder seal amulet] and salve for a baby whom an evil alu-
demon has attacked.
17 [The .] •• , ritual, fumigant and potions have not been seen.
18 An attack of bennu-disease having appeared(?) in a seven year old
child(?): he makes strange noises,
19 And his [insides?] repeatedly hurt him(?) • his hands you sur-
round (?) behind him.
20 [The x] extract from (a series of) cures for a baby whom miqit same.
biH-'Ori,
21 [ hand of a god", "hand] of a goddess". lilu-demon, or an evil i!!Q.-
11

demon has attacked. Finis.

22 [ . • the symp]toms of, and rites against migit
V A

~·
23 [. • • • • ] wooden tablets [- • • • • • •J

Notes
Dbv. 7 1 ul am-r[u]: cf. also obv. 18', 25 1 -5 1 and rev. 15-7. The
selective process here is clear: the scribe was aware that there was
other material that would be considered pertinent to his compilation,
but he is indicating that he has not consulted them. Similar cases are
noted in R. D. Biggs, TCS 2 p. 11. .

Obv. 8 1 -11 1 Four lines from sa.gig; 8 1 = R. Labat, TOP p. 220 28.
Ekkemtu is known elsewhere as a characteristic epithet of lamastu, the
Dread Daughter , Anu. e. g. in an incantation against her: ga~-~a-at
, of
l a b -bat en-ne-ne-et ek-ke-mat, "she is fierce, she is raging, she is
vindictive, she is the snatcher-demon" (H. F. Lutz, PBS I/2 113 iii 17)
and it is no doubt Lamastu who is this marat Anim; cr:-R. D. Biggs, £E·
ill- pp~ 18-9. The ~U dlS is thus translated as "hand of a goddess 11
then amRlified by a more explicit reference to Lamastu. and is in paral
lel to SU.DINGIR.RA, "hand of a god".
9• = TDP p. 224 50, and provides the restoration.
10 1 ,. TDP p. 230 112: CAD !/J translates. 11 if a baby cries in his
- -
 272

bed from unknown sources .•• ", implausible because ina la idu must then
refer to the mother, or the scribe/priest himself. This,is senseless,
since the cause of the crying is given in the apodosis, ~nd an expla-
nation has no place in the first half, where the symptom~ alone are
given. The expression must then apply to the b9by, and perhaps means
"without fully waking up" or similar. If the LU.TUR is to be taken as
older than a baby (see presently), it might mean "without being able
to say why" (cf. 11 1 ) .

11 1 =TOP p. 230 113; TOP reads i-qab-bi, preferable to our i-

qab-bu. The phrase mimma sa imuru iqabbi certainly suggests an older
child. CAD I/J reads here: ikribu sabtusu.v"a(n unpaid) votive offer-
ing has seized him 11 , compare Labat:"sabtiJmes_su, "de (mauvaises) pri-
eres l 1 ont saisi". The Disme/me~ suggests a plural: a rendering as the
I/1 stat. follows such parallels as TDP p. 230 114: •.• BI.LU sab-tu-
SU. Both translations call for comment: •

CAD implies that votive offerings have been made or promised on

behalf of a baby or a young child who is obviously too young to under-
take this himself. The cultic requirements have clearly not been met
in some way, so that evil consequences recoil on the baby. It might
rather be expected that the responsible party would be more likely to
suffer.

Labat 1 s 11 (bad) prayers" raises other problems. The implication

here is that prayers could be offered by some malicious party with the
intention of harming a child, a practice which would rather be classi-
fied as black magic, and termed kispu rather than ikribu. Evil magic
certainly occurs in the diagnose~, e. g. TOP p. 218. 19, but the usual
meanings of ikribu are far removed from evil ( 11 blessing 11 , "benediction"
and "good prayers"). There is. however, a single passage in which the
word is used in a pejorative sense, usually construed as sarcasm or

21 ki-ma sa a-wa-tim a-mi-a-tim

-
irony. This is an OA letter, see J. Lewy. KTS no. 15:
,
22 e-ta-pu-su-ni li-bi4
23 a-ba-u-su-nu u-la-me-nu-ni-ma 24 a-ba-u-su-nu mahar
... 1-11-su-nu
25 .. .,. ' r 1
ik-ri-bu-um i-pi-su-nu u- ~a -a-ni
11
as if they had committed such things repeatedly, had treated their
fathers badly, and a 11 benediction 11 had been pronounced against them 11 •
(see~ I/J p. 63).

Whether a nuance suitable to the flavour of an angry letter (and

an OA letter at that) may fittingly be transferred to the formally
structured apodosis of a NA omen/medical text is open to question, but
it is possible that a similar meaning is relevant here. The usage may
be governed by superstition: cf. a parallel use of berek in Hebrew to
mean 'curse' (see J. Lewy, Or NS 15 (1946) p. 402 n. 1 and ref.).
ikribu 9abatu occurs in TDP-rablet 40 in 11. 20, 103-5, 109 and 113
(cf. also Labat•s note 384 on BI.LU, p. 218), and in each case apart
from 113 quoted in our P, it is the only agent responsible for the af-
fliction.

12• The possible restoration [S]A.GIG accords with the spacing;

for the meaning SA.GIG = sakkiku, 'symptom', see below.
The scribe shows that these four lines have been quoted from sa.
gig Tablet 40, DI~ UJ.TUR la- 1 -tjU being the opening words (the 11 series 11
 273

of our translation means "tablet of a series 11 ) of that tablet. TDP

seems to be the only context in which the orthography la...:'-ljU oc'Ci:i'rs
(usually la- 1 -u), and there only in Tablet 40 1. It serves there as
a gloss to uJ. TUR, presumably to prevent the equally pos~'ible reading
serru (note that CAD reads serru passim in TDP). A transliteration
la- 1 -Us is possibre-(cf. W. von Soden. W. REilig, Syllabar2 p. 10),
but an alternative pronunciation is suggested b~ Erra'III a 17, where
Mss. 8 and K read la-ke-e for la-'-i in ik-kil s~r-ri u la-'~i ta-ri-
tu u-za-am-ma (see L. Cagni, Erra p. 92). This is perhaps another
example of k for b (von Soden, GAG j 25d), which would suggest a var.
.
form la 1 hu •

13' This salve is also used against the 1110-demon in obv. 20 1 •

It also appears for apotropaic purposes in BAMI248, for a woman in
childbirth. Five lines are there given at tFi"e bottom of col. iv to
combat ~U.DINGIR.RA and L~.LfL.LA. Cf. rev. iv 42:
DI~ KIMIN <=a-na Ld.TUR LU.LfL.LA NU TEe) GIR.PAD.DU LU.U .LU ina
X

, ,
Also against LIL.LA.EN.NA in obv. 21 1 • Cf. also BAM 248 iv
,
-
na 4 u , ... x ~
KIMIN (see to 13 1 ) mu-~u ~a-~u-tu GIR.PAD.DU ~A~ ina u
~E~me_su

This recipe and the preceding one have been merged in BAM 183 12-3:
V

mu-sa . .
. sa-su-um-tu GIR.PAD Lumes ina I E~-au
(Cf •. BAM 248 iv 39-40 which occurs exactly in BAM 183 8-9, and seen.
on rev:-21 below.)

15 1 This recipe serves as a salve against ~U.diNANNA here, but as

a fumigant against LfL.LA.EN.NA in 23 1 -4 1 • For BAR MU~= qilip ~eri,
'snakeskin' (cf. AMT 29: 7 1) see F. Kocher, AfO 20 (1963) p. 159. The
sequence UM.ME.DA-rcf. 23') is difficult. It makes no sense in Akk •.
but as an ideogram yields only taritu (see MSL 3 139 117). ·It seema
likely to be a part of a scorpion from the context. A whole scorpion
is prescribed in AMT 52: 3 10 as an ingredient for a salve; the only
part of this animar-mentioned in the texts is zu
(~E), 'excrement'
(e. g. AMT 4: 1 3). ,Other obvious parts are ziqtu, 'sting' or imtu,
'poison~ (Or note uu .ME.DA in R. Campbell Thompson, DAB p. 181?)
4
18' With me CA)-eli compare LKA 146 rev. 16, and E. Reiner. AfO
19 (1959-60) pp. 5 150-1. -

22 1 Cf. BAM 248 iv 41, also against LU.LfL.LA:

ur-gu-la sfG.Dz ina rzr SAR-su
sfG
and compare ~ 183 10-1:
SIG ur-gu-1a sfG.DZ ina rzr IGimes_su SAR
The x UR.GI 7 might be compared with ~t
GI in ~ 248 iv 39.
UR.GI
7 6
26' The restoration of ne-pe-si is suggested by the parallel lines
but there is room for probably two other signs before fme 5-elil. The
only parallel context here to supply an extra word is rev. 17, where
fx G)IG? is still problematic (see note). A possible word is maroa~u
tRA) = lotiony although it does not occur otherwise in this tablet.
 274

Rev. 0 Note that the two incantations from our series are descri-
bed as being for a baby whom an evil alu-demon has attacked (~U.~U-su
= ishupusu), restored from rev. 16 here: cf. KAR 26 3; AMT 96: 3 4 etc.).
V --- ---
'
Rev. 9-12 Although the incantations are given together, there is
no indication as to how no. 59 was to be used, but the ritual for no.
lB is given. which is of particular interest here, since clay, seal-
shaped amulets such as that described in this text are known with just
this incantation; furt~er discussion on this point is included in
Appendix li below.
It may be noted that na 4 KI~IB = kunukku is the word used for such
clay amulets. Kullatu. 'potter 1 s clay', is not elsewhere prescribed
for amulets, but it is used for figurines and in other ritual contexts.
For isat pe, 'fire made from chaff', the only parallel seems to be STT
136 iii 34: i-r s<P-a [ t J r pe l_e mut-tap-ris-tu, I "winged" fire made from
chaff' (AHw p. 874), in an incantation (presumably) as the name of a
disease.--

15 This seems to be the simplest way to construe the plural GARnu

<= saknu?).

17 The space. and lack of any clear alternative, suggest the res-
toration SA.G]IG. The meaning 'symptom' is inappropriate, but the name
of the series would ~ake sense if one translates: "The (relevant quota-
tions from) SA.GIG ... have not been seen." For the two meanings, see
below.

10-19 These two lines. coming as they do after the last line of
the alu recipes, but before the Colophon, would appear to be the open-
ing lines of a subsequent tablet, .. al th.ough the quotation is longer than
is usual. The signs u
tu si are difficult. The tentative translation
attempts to convey what is probable the essential meaning (i. e. U.TU =
aladu, and IGI = innammar?). TDP p. 196 BD (end of Tablet 26), is a
partial parallel, cf.:
Pl. LI 26 DI~ dLUGAL.UR.rRA!?l.BI u.Tu.
Pl. XLIX BD [DI~ dLUGAL.UR].rRA 1 GIM rDuL?l.sr u.Tu
("ligne d 1 amorce de la tablette suivante. que nous ne connaissons
pas par ailleurs. 11 )

The translation of the two following verbs is after that of CAD

A ii pp. 426 and 528, but it should be pointed out that their reading
follows the text of C. Bezold, Catalogue p. 550. whose coey does not
show sufficient room for another sign before i-ta-na-sa-&s, and the
Verb asasu I/3 requires a subject: the restoration of ~A <= libbu) fol-
lows the parallel quoted CAD A i i p. 424. as ru su remains obscure,
except,that -su
is likely-rD be the 3rd person singular sugfix.
NIGINm 1 strongly suggests lawu, but the verb is not used in this kind
of context: does 'surround' = 1 tie 1 ?

20-23: the Colophon

20-21 This text is an extract (nisbu) from a series of cures
(bultu) to protect a baby or young child from various diseases. The
word"bultu covers two ~ore or less distinct medical procedures:
(1) a cure for a disease alre~dy present, with the result that the
baby will get better (iballut). e. g. against ~u.diNANNA in obv. 15•.
(2) prophylactic measures against a particular demon, who conse-
 275

quently la i~ebbl, 11 Will not (be able to) approach", e. g~ against LIL.
LA.EN.NA in obv. 19 1 •
These are the distinctive, but well attested medical functions
of the ~sipu-priest; see E. K. Ritter: AS 16 p. 307. Although it is
obvious y profitable to classify and an8Iyse these functions (as in AS
16), it is difficult to insist on too precise a definition of each
function, since common inconsistencies according to this scheme must
then be explained as mistakes Cas p. 267 above).

The partial reconstruction of the names of disease-demons follows

e. 'g. KAR 44 rev. 10-2 (cf. p. 32 ):
bul-~i AN.TA.~UB.BA dLUGAL.DR.RA ~U.DINGIR.RA Su.diNANNA ~U.GEDIM.MA
A.LA ~UL LfL.LA.EN.NA SAG.HUL.HA.ZA ~U.NAM.ERfM.MA ~U.NAM.LU.U X.LU
V V

u bul-~i kal gim-ri ••• etc.

Similar lists occur elsewhere, e. g. A. Ungnad. AfO 14 (1941-4) P• 259,
and cf. the discussion p. 26Bff.
22 Cf. KAR 44 rev. 9:
si-pir sim-mat ri-mu-ti u SA.GAL sa-kik-ki KUR si-pir TI MA TU
This partial duplicate provides our restoration, another phonetic wri-
ting of the Akk. loan from SA.GIG, sakkiku, meaning here (presumably)
the name of the series. Other phon. writings occur in ABL no. 391 12
(sa-kik-ke-e) and BWL p. 44 108 (sa-kik-ki-ia); see J. u:-Kinnier Wil-·
son, Iraq 18 (1956~. 141. It seems now to be agreed that SA.GIG =
sakkiku has two separate meanings:
1 The ti t.le of the series edited in TDP.
2 "Symptom 11
see J. V. Kinnier Wilson, .QE.• cit., accepted by Ritter. AS 16 p. 301
n. ll(b). In the fourth section summary of the catalogue edited by
Kinnier Wilson in the above-mentioned article, the phrase SA.GIG AN.TA.
~UB.BA occurs (obv. 20), accordingly translated "symptoms of the
Antasubba-(group).n Our line 22 will mean "symptoms of, and rites
aga i ns t , An t asubba
V "c = migit ~).
V A

23 For medical colophons mentioning wooden tablets as the source

of the excerpted material cf. BAM 201 rev. 44; 52 rev. 102, 106 rev. 7
etc.; cf. E. K. Ritter, ~' cit• p. 303 note.

Discussion

An interesting question raised by this text is its place in the

medical corpus. From the tablet ND 4368 published in Iraq 19 (1951)
P• 40ff .. J. V. Kinnier Wilson deduced the existence of what he called
a "medical companion series to the series sa-gig" (see p. 44 there).
He pointed out that the existence of the sa.gig manual that we have at
present is in itself insufficient; having "discovered the agency res-
ponsible for his condition, his work had only begun, sa that a connec-
ted treatise on the proper measures·ta be taken if the prognosis was
favourable would have been a very definite requirement." His evidence
 276

for a postulated companion series is this tablet which has lines excerp-
~
ted from Tablets 26, 10 and 30 of sa.gig, in five different sections,
with medical prescriptions appended to each line. (By llne is meant
each passage that corresponds in structure to an omen with protasis and
apodosis.) The orthography of this tablet closely parallels that of
sa.gig. Arguing against his conclusion, it may be observed that, as
1
he freely admits, the order is inconsistent. Although fundamentally
coincident with sa.gig, the third correspondence is quite misplaced,
and even the passages that are quoted from the same tablet are in the
order 16ff., 14ff. and 18. After that, the tablet is broken to the
end, when it corresponds to Tablet 30. It is unwarranted to assume
that the "four missing columns of the fragment contained entries cor-
responding, in selection, to entries in sa-gig between Tablets 27-30 11 ,
since it is quite possible that they did not.
If, on the basis of the reasons cogently advanced by Kinnier
Wilson, one deduces the existence of a companion series, for those
very reasons and by definition of the name one would expect that the
series would take each line of sa.gig and give the relevant prescrip-
tions throughout, so that once the diagnosis had been made, the right
treatment would immediately be available •. What would be the practical
use of a companion series that only dealt with selected cases, and in
(apparently) subjective order?
The structure of ND 4368 suggests that it is a compilation of
excerpts from sa.gig for a specific purpose, so that medical Prescript-
ions could be added, but it is unclear what this purpose was. It may
even have served for teaching purposes, but its overall structure does
not suggest that it is the companion series sought by Kinnier Wilson.
As an excerpt tablet with rituals, this Nimrud text has much to
link it with our Ms. P. Our tablet is an assembly of excerpted mate-
rials (rev. 20 [x ni-i]s-ou ••• ) of which sa.gig is probably only one:
the wooden tablets (note the plural) of the Colophon probably refer to
other tablets, and it is clear that the scribe has made a personal se-
lection from various sources without having consulted all the medical

1
The detailed correspondence of the lines is:
NO 4368 Obv. 3ff. = sa.gig Tablet 26 16f.
11
11
lOff. = " · 11 26 14f'.
11
" 15ff. = 11 11
10 21
11 11
26ff. = 11
" 26 18
11
Rev. lff. = 11
" 30 1
 277

sources that might be equally relevant for the protecti~n or cure of a

baby vulnerable to certain well-known disease-demons. .
'
The four lines excerpted from sa.gig Tablet 40 correspond as we
have noted as follows: obv. 8' ~ 28, 9' ~ 60, 10' ~ 112 and 11' = 113 •
..
Each line is from the same tablet, in the same relative order, but
only lines 10 1 and 11 1 correspond to the exact order of sa.gig, and
were our whole passage to come from a "companion series", one would
again expect all four lines to correspond precisely. Note that it is
possible that a tablet preceded this one: there is room for a numeral
larger than 1 before ni-i]s-bu in rev. 20. Rev. 18-9 also suggest that
there was a subsequent tablet, although this may have dealt with older
children. Our particular extract, however, is said to be finished, al.
til in rev. 21.
Although the principle for selection of lines in ND 4368 is not
immediately apparent, there is some logic in the selection of passages
in our text. The descriptions in sa.gig 40 fall into two groups; those
that describe psychological conditions, and those that discuss physi-
cal conditions. Lines 8', 10 1 and 11 1 here describe the baby's state
of mind, line 9 1 is a physical disorder~ Precisely how critical miqtu
is here is unclear; although there is no·mention of inflammation, dis-
colouration etc., it is very serious elsewhere in Tablet 40 (in 26-7,
49 and 110 it is fatal, and in 111 it has serious social consequences
at least). Miqtu in two cases, here and lines 26-7 of sa.gig 40, in-
volves suckling of the child, clearly a moment when it is vulnerable.
The symptoms selected seem to be simply common manifestations of baby
behaviour, and with the possible exception of miqtu, relatively harm-
less problems. One may ask why similar passages were not selected:
presumably these four lines were chosen ta cover a particular range of
possibilities; in obv. 12' they are summarised simply as "symptoms of
a baby whom the "hand of a goddess has attacked".
If one is to accept the postulated "companion series", one must
assume that out text has, therefore,· excerpted these lines together
with some of the rituals from that second series, and that as yet we
have no text extant that can satisfactorily be explained as being part
of it~ Our text is related then to NO 4368, but in actual structure
and function appears to be unusual among medical texts.
Kinnier Wilson (~. cit. p. 45) has pointed to two further texts
that have demonstrable links with sa.gig. AMT 77: 1 1-10 quotes from
sa.gig 26 1-13, then gives the relevant rituals. It is not known whe-
 i~
278 !~
...
~··)·
.~ ·:
.1_!,

ther this process continued, since the text is broken, so as it stands

'l;
the piece speaks neither for nor against the 11 companion ~eries". AMT
19: 1 has correspondences with sa.gig Tablet 4, in the rgverse order,
and also with gaps between the nos. quoted (ibid. pp. 45-6). A third
exsmpl~ now is BAM 397 (:BE 31 no. 26), where rev. 33-7 is a close

parallel to, but not a precise quotation from, TOP p. 88 8-10. In the
present state of knowledge, therefore, AMT 77: 1 is the most suggestive
piece of evidence for the "companion series", with NO 4368 and our tab-
let P possibly being quotations or partial quotations from that work.

Nos. 59 and 18 on P represent the last two incantations from our

series to be identified to date in medical texts. It should also be
remembered here that one short ritual is preserved by two of the 1 corn-
pilation 1 tablets (a and b) for no. 58. This text is to be used in
conjunction with a salve made from lead and iron ore in oil, which will
prevent an "evil man" (amelu lemnu) from approaching (see notes, and
p .. 36f.).

It may be useful to summarise the essential information available

from the sources in the following table:

TABLE to show the MEDICAL USE of the INCANTATIONS

Tex t s ource usage Trea t men t

17 E, H Affliction of the neck AMULETS: 14 beads of e 1 ru-

(gu.gig.ga) wood on a string of rea-
wool, with itQur-limu,
onion skin, amar~and
mastskal seeds around the
neck.

18 p Safeguard bab~ attacked AMULET: Text inscribed on

by an evil alu-demon cylinder-shaped amulet of
baked patter's clay, and
hung at head of bed or
around baby's neck.
20 i F' G, R, Persistent trouble SALVE: Inc. recited 7 times
e. h from su.gidim.ma over salve frbm ajaragu-
- stone and a caroo stone in
cedar resin; 'afflicted part ·
then anointed.

ii K Pain in the right SALVE: Apply a salve, and

side caused by recite the incantation 7
simmatu times.

iii d Against sorcery AMULET: 3(!) stones and 1

and curse plant on red wool; three
knots tied, and inc. reci-
ted over each: hung around
sufferer's neck.

25 L Affliction of the (?)

ears

30 i o, s Affliction (of the (?)

(K 6329) ears?) by sag.ki.
dib.ba

ii Q sa.[gal.la ?] (?)

32 e (7) (?)

42 E, H Affli~tion of the AMULET: 14 zalagu-stories

neck (cf. to 17 on a thread with 14 knots;
and 43). inc. recited over each:
hung around neck.

43 E, H (M) Affliction of the AMULET: 14 copper beads on

neck Cas 42). thread of wool with 7 knots
over which inc. is recited:
hung around neck.

57 i I I J, T Trouble from sag. SALVE: anointing with parts

ki.dib.ba and of a goose in cedar resin
su.gidim.ma as salve after reciting inc
3 times.

ii f Affliction of the (?)

ears

iii
-BAM 326 Witchcraft and
social trouble
(?)

58 a, b Prevent approach SALVE: lead and iron ore in

of an 11 evil man" oil applied, .then the inc.
is repeated.
 280

59 p Safeguard baby (7)

i
attacked by an
evil alu-demon
-- '

64 e (?) (?)

65 N Affliction of the SALVE: After the inc. is

ears recited (with two others)
a salve is applied.

It may be observed that these incantations are used in conjunct-

ion with one of two magic techniques: either amulets (chiefly of
stones on coloured wool, twisted round with other substances), or sal-
ves (stones or animal substances in a base of oil or cedar resin).
Both of these practices belong to the craft of the ~~ipu, "magical ex-
pert", as opposed to the asQ, "physician~. the two classes of medical
practitioner; cf. E. K. Ritter, AS 16 p. 299ff. 1 The healing proce-
2
dure for both consists of two parts, incantation and rite, but the
use of amulets and salves as in our texts is characteristic of asiputu;
3
see AS 16 pp. 308-11. In the translations above, the verbs in the
ritual instructions have simply and ambiguously been given as "you",

1 11 The -asilt;
v
que healer views disease as a particular express i on
of the wider be 1efs that he holds, namely that a chain of events,
initiated under the influence of "supernatural" powers or forces, pro-
ceeds on a predetermined course to an outcome that can be predicted by
the skillful reading of 1 signs 1 • 11 (£E_. E..!!• p. 301)
2
The former is probably secondary to asutu: nAt some point not
yet determined it finds its way into asGtu as an ancillary or rein-
forcing therapeutic measure." C£2_. cit. p. 309)
3
The inscribing of incantations on clay. seal-shaped amulets (as
our no. 18 in P on A. 8 etc.: see Appendix II). may be added to the
rites of asiputu as-listed££· cit. pp. 310-1.
 281

but following the discussion in AS 16, it may be presumed in most of.

i
these cases that it is the asipu who is referred to. T~is is fully in

accordance with our discovery, discussed above pp. 32ff~ that the in-

cantations of Gattung IV are quoted in KAR 44 as one of the responsi-

bilities of asiputu.
Note further that in some medical texts, the failure of one tech-
nique or another sometimes leads to co-operation between the asipu and
the asu; a good example is the first context quoted above for our no.
57, and cf. ~ 16 pp. 316-7.
The discussion in AS 16 distinguishes (provisionally) between

incantations for the asipu, and those for the asu:

"The incantations reflecting the classical series, such as

those of Falkenstein's "Marduk (= Asallubi)-Ea-Typ (MET)"
(Falkenstein, Haupttypen, pp. 44ff.) are clearly asiputu;
those invoking Gula, her consort Damu, ·occassionally Nin-
urta and Nin-garim <= dNIN.A.HA.KUD.DU) must be ascribed
to asutu... ~
The Gula-Damu incantations belong to the type "still
clearly recognisable as having their origins in the simple
spells of folk poetry" (Landsberger and Jacobsen in d!'l.Ql
XIV (1955) 14); their Sumerian is usually a akind of abra-
-
cadabra (ibid. n~ 6), their
, imagery ,.. heavily mythological
or "folkloristic. 11 The siptu in asutu tends to be a ran-
dom thing: it may or not be integrated into the rite, the
number of its recitations is normally unspecified; with
great frequency it is accompanied-by the qualifying phrase
••• siptu ul iuttun sipat dEnki .1:! dAsalluhi, 11 • • • the in- l
cantation is not mine; it belongs to Enki and Asallubi·""

According to this scheme, incantations of both are included in our

Gattuns IV, since nos. 24-6, 55, 59 and 62 there contain these charac-
teristic elements. Obviously, se complex a question as the correct at-
tribution of individual incantations to ~~ipOtu or asOtu must await a

1 d d .
The DN NIN.A.~A.~UD.DU, commonly read nin-girimx should in
fact be read dnin-girimma: for the final -ma see E. Relner, Surpu p.
59 note on 20 and ref. The -ma is also made explicit in the ED text
in A. Wes~enholz, OSP I p. 13 iv 8, there given as ndnin.9igilim.ma"
(with no ref. for the reading), presumably= dnin.91girim .ma.
X
 282

more sophisticated knowledge of the medical literature, but there is

one problem that is particularly relevant to our texts ?~ regards the

placing of Gattung IV in its true context, and that is the matter of

divine patronage. It is maintained almost as an axiom that Ninurta

(together with his spouse Gula) is the god of asutu in the discussion

in AS 16, 1 and such occasions as his juxtaposition with Asallubi in

colophons (instead of the expected Ea) constitutes an inexplicable
"reversal of the general principle underlying our category of "mixed''
texts ••• in which the intrusion of asiputu into asutu is not recipro-
cal."; cf. p. 301 note 10. According to E. K. Ritter, however, that
principle of intrusion does explain the substitution of Ninurta for

Marduk in our no. 21 by some medical texts (if correctly understood),

implying therefore that our no. 21 is an asutu incantation. In view
of the consistency with which Ninurta 1 s name is invoked in our sixty-.
five incantations (s~e above, p. 62ff.), and since by other criteria
these are asiputu incantations. it would seem that attempts to clas-
sify separate texts an this basis will meet with only limited success. 2

Finally, it may be observed that there is very little outward

correlatibn between the nature of the incantations, and the contexts in
which they are used. To take one example, our no. 17 is used against
an affliction of the neck, but is addressed to an unspecified demon,
and no mention is made of the neck in question. Even those texts that

purport to describe ill-effects on a patient's body have become styl-

1
Compare. e. g. the epithets in K. Tallqvist, GE pp. 426-7.

2 The mention in KAR 44 certainly suggests that the compilation ·

was viewed by its compiier as asiputu material. The use of no. 62 in
amulet GG is to be noted. since this text is superficially asutu.
ised, and do not correlate in detail with the conditio~ to be treated
(e. g. no. 30). The reason for this, of course, is simple: incanta-
tions were not, in the main, composed for a specific medical need, but
already existed when the medical compilations were given the form by
which they are becoming known to us, and an immediate appropriateness
by virtue of content was not always apparently the first criterion
1
far selection.

1This is not invariably the case; cf. the eye incantations in

~ 9: 1, for example.
~~
~~i 284
I
I

Appendix II
THE USE OF THE INCANTATIONS
ON CYLINDER SEALS
AND AMULETS

The second category of source material that is to be considered

in an AppeMdix is that of the cylinder seals and amulets which carry
an incantation (or incantations) from our series as their inscription.
As will presently emerge, the two groups have certain points in common:
we must first consider the cylinder seals.

CYLINDER SEALS
Eight cylinder seals have so far been identified that carry an in-
cantation from Gattun~ IV. and each of these objects contains in addi-
tion to the inscription, the expected glyptic art that is a character-
1
istic of the cylinder seal. Yet here we have seals with texts that
are exorcistic in function; magic texts designed to protect the wearer
from attack be demons. This is not, of course, normally a function of
the seal inscription, so as well as discovering the date of these spe-
cimens (they are all from the same period), we must seek to understand
the appearance of such inscriptions.

1 The glyptic in Z is reduced to on~ of the nine ruled lines con-

taining two 'Maltese C~oss' motifs. one each side of an 'eye' motif,
both features typical of the Kassite period. The others each contain
a full 'scene'. Some Kassite seals have nothing but inscription.
 Four separate incantations are to be recognised (see further be-

low), namely nos. 2, 19, 33 and 38 (for the latter two, ~he first line
~
only). No. 2, a short invocation in Sumerian, seeks for:the wearer

the protection of Ninurta: a brief summary of the oth,er passages is in-

eluded in Appendix l• since they are also to be found in medical con-

texts. Each of these passages is acting as an incantation, relying on
the magical protection of powerful gods against the forces of evil. 1
Each of these eight seals is to be dated to the period of the
~assite domination of Babylonia: see the original publications, and for
W see notes to line 6. Up until the ~assite period, seal inscriptions
2
tended to be succint, and of a small number of types. The Kassite
period itself saw a flowering of the seal inscription; cf. for example,
H. Frankfort, Cylinder Seals p. 14:

"Towards the end of the Fitst Dynasty of Babylon, the seals

develop in two diametrically opposed directions. On the one
hand, secondary detail overcrowds the main scene and the in-
scription disappears: on the other, the seal designs become
more and more jejune, until they contain no more than one or
two divine figures with an inscription giving the name of the
owner, sometimes with the addition of "servant of NN 1' .
The Kassite seals are a development of the last-named
group; but the inscription becomes elaborated to an unprece-
dented extent."

This development is most important to us here, because it is in this

group that our seals are to be placed. It has recently been studied

by H. Limet in his monograph Les legendes des sceaux cassites (Brus-

sels, 1971). Different types may be distinguished among this range of

1
See the summary in H. Frankfort, Cylinder Seals pp. 8-14.
2
These inscriptions were certainly viewed as incantations by
their makers, since they carry the conclusive en.(e.nu.ru) and/or
Ctu 6 ).en.Ce.nu.ru) at the beginning and the end; see pp. 67-8.
 286
inscriptions; they are outlined by Limet, pp. 18-20. We see in these
~
inscriptions an attempt to secure divine favour in arde~· to procure a
~
long and healthy life, prosperity and well-being, judicious use being

made of protestations of loyalty and devotion. The.language of these

short utterances, Limet's 'prayers' (prieres), is in many ways remi-

niscent of that of the 'incantation-prayers' to be found on tablets,

the Akkadian su.{l.l~ texts, for example. Parallels in wording are
1
noted by Limet in his treatment of the individual passages.
In addition to the inscriptions of this kind, there are the hand-
ful of seals carrying exorcistic texts; as limet remarks (~. cit. p.
,
20 2. 10.): nNous avons conserve aussi des fragments d'incantation co-
pies a titre de legende sur des sceaux; !'intention est plutot magique.
en ce sens que le sceau, par la presence de ces formules, devient une
2
amuletie." Details of these seals are as follows:

Inc. no. 2: ~ <= CNAS no. 581), overlooked as an incantation by

Limet; ~ (unpub., see notes to line 6 here).
Inc. no. 19: ~<=A 602), Limet's 10. ·1 •• p. 112; his restoration
is to be corrected in several places.

1
A few examples may be noted here by way of illustration. Limet's
7. 9. (p. 95) requests: "ub~nCSU.SI) kit-ti lit-ta-ri-ie arki-ia;
a non-exorcistic theme concerned with social well-being to be found in
various inc. texts (see notes to line 302 here). Note the constant ap-
' . peals for mercy in arous.tuku.a (pp. 76-7), ri-mi ra-a-mi Cp. 78), the
~
emphasis on such epithets as remenu (pp. 78-9) etc., and other literary
expressions that demonstrate the close links between the seals and in-
cantation prayers. Other clear examples are Limet's 5. a. (p. 79) and
W. G. Kunstmann, LSS NF II p. 31; his 8. 15. (pp. 107-8) and w. G. Lam-
~ert, AfO 19 (1960) p. 56 196. Note also the formula e-te-ru ga-ma-lu
su-zu-bu DN it-ti-ka-ma (Limet's 8. 22., 8. 23, p. 117), echoing, for
example, the refrain of ~urpu IV; see also notes to line 209 here.

2 Ordered, that is, after the reconstructed series.

 Line 189 (no. 33): Y (Private Call., published here).
~;,

Line 210 (no. 38): Y (as above); Z - <= --

CdC I no. 253)~. omitted by

Limet; ~ (= CNAS no. 583). limet's 10. 2. p. 112;.88 (= CNAS

no. 587), Limet•s 10. 3., p. 112.

Limet 1 s collection of Kassite seal inscriptions includes only one fur-

ther passage that may be described accurately as an exorc1stic incan-

tation, and this interestingly is not included in Gattung IV. This

seal is published in UE VIII pl. 35; see C. J. Gadd, ibid. p. 95.

This text is limet's 9. 7. (pp. 111-2). It contains an ina qibit for-
mula addressed to ~amas,
and although not quite complete, is clearly
concerned with the banishing of demons: note lemnu and gallu. 1
This is the only period when incantations are to be found on·
cylinder seals. One may note here Limet's summary Qf developments ·Un-
der the Kassites:

"Ils ant exprim~ dans ces l~gendes des professions de foi, des
souhaits; ils ant inscrit sur les··sceaux des fragments d'incan-
tations DU des formules extraites de prieres. Ils ant done at-
tribue aux sceaux le caractere d 1 amulettes ou, au mains, une
valeur religieuse peu manifeste aux epoques anterieures ou ils
etaient consideres surtout comme des objets a
usage social et
juridique" (p. 25).

One might phrase this rather differently, and suggest that the inheren
magical-religious power of the cylinder seal is expressed through the

inscription in a direct way during the Kassite period. It seems a rea

sonable assumption that all cylinder seals were, to some extent, con-

aidered as amulets. As in the case of writing itself, the invention

1
A similar formula appears in Limet's 11. 1. (p. 113), but this
is not an exorcistic passage. The text represents an interesting use
of what is standard exorcistic phraseology in a non-exorcistic context
gee G. Dossin, Genava NS VI (1958) pp. 223-8 for this text. The zi.·
amar.utu in Limet 1 s ?. 3. may represent another example (see ibid. p.
94). ----
 and use of the seal is usually attributed to material motfves; see, H.

Frankfort, £E· cit. p. lff.; E. Porada, Mesopotamian Art in Cylinder

Seals pp. 7-8. In discussions of seals, the amuletic importance is

not widely acknowledged, but there is a considerable body of evidence

to indicate that the seal had more than a material significance. The

very size and portability of seals classes them in a similar category

to beads, pendants and other such objects, for which an amuletic sig-
nificance in_a Mesopotamian context can convincingly be argued; see B.
1
L. Gaff, Symbols in Prehistoric Mesopotamia p. 170ff. Aside from
this general analogy, texts contain more positive information.
The material from which seals were manufactured itself was felt
to be of great importance. the reason being that different magical
properties were attributed to different stones. A well-known example
dealing explicitly with such properties is KAR 185 <= BAM 194) rev. i
9-15, in which a short passage is quoted from the series abnu sikinsu. 2
The tablets of this series represent the handbooks to the study of
stone lore. A knowledge of its contents was required of the asipu-
priest; see KAR 44 rev. 3. Ritual and medical texts are consequently
always careful to specify the stone from which seals are to be made,
when their use is prescribed in a magical context. Often they are to
be worn about the patient's body for defensive or prophylactic purpo-
ses (e. g. in the ritual against Lamaitu in RA 18 (1921) p. 164 2ff.).

Alternatively, the seal may be employed in a practical way, as in the

magical sealing of the lips of a figurine (see E. Ebeling. ~· Or. 17

1
Reprinted from the Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Insti-
tute 19 (1956) p. lff.
----------
i .~
2 See E. A. Wallis Budge, Amulets and Superstitions p. 87; B.
I ,-~

Meissner AS 4 p. 64; E. Porada. ££• cit. p. 7; B. L. Gaff, ££• cit. pp.

198-9.
(1949) p. 193 obv. 35-rev. 6). Many similar passages could be adduced
~
to illustrate practices of this kind, but it is enough for our purposes
to observe that this employment of the cylinder seal was 8 common and

regular feature of ritual technique. 1 In contexts such as these, it is

to be noted that the usual word for cylinder seal is used (i. e.
na4~I~IB = kunukku), showing that there was no outward distinction in
the scribe's mind between a seal designed and carried for business
reasons. and seals employed for their magic properties in healing rit-
uals. As for seals carried on the person, the Assyrian Dream Book
contains a number of omens that make it clear that the loss of such a
seal was portentous of evil; see A. L. Oppenheim, Dreams p. 276 and p.
322; E. Cassin, Le Sceau: un fait de civilisation (Annales Economes
Societee Civilisations 4) 1960 pp. 746-7. Note. also L~ 110 1-2, and

R. Caplice, Or 34 (1965) 114 7.

There are two other aspects of the cylinder. seal that contribute
to its magical force, the engraved scenes, and the inscription. Scenes
that depict religious motifs, carry symbols of the gods, show gods and
'heroes' enacting mythological episodes defeating monsters or demons,
or, in a more personal way, the seals that show the wearer being in-
traduced to a major deity by his personal god might all be supposed to
have a· certain amuletic Quality, in that the representation of a desi-
red event will have the effect of encouraging its taking place. Such
an object, carried on a person and even embodying a portion of his per-
sonality must have afforded a sense of comfort and protection to the
individual. As a specific example. note the MA letter that mentions a
seal showing a laQmu-monster, ~AV 98 8-9: na 4 ~ISIB[k]i_ma sa la-ab-mi

1
A convenient selection of passages will be found in B. L. Gaff.
EE• cit. Chapter 9.
 290

(thus E. Ebeling, MAOG VII 1/2 p. 11. CAD and AHw; cf. flso H. Frey-

dank, FB 16 (1974) p. 8). Other apotropaic uses of the[labmu are to

be found in CAD sub. voc.

In addition to the power inherent in the engraving, the inscrip-

tion itself may be presumed to have had a similar cogency. Even before

the appearance of the longer 'prayer' texts an seals in the MB period,

the simple writing of the name of the owner's ruler, or more especially.
the names of gods, would be possessed of an intrinsic magic force. In
fact, an amuletic function is the simplest explanation for the extreme-
ly common inscriptions that name pairs of deities like Samas and Aja,
or sin and Ningal. The deities named on seals rarely correspond either
with the gods depicted (H. Frankfart, EE• cit. pp. 11-3), or with that
in the owner's name (e. g. L. W. King, BMS xxiv n. 1, which, inciden-
tally, should read 85-4-8, l = our[). In view of this discrepancy,
it is likely that these gods were named for protective reasons, and
that the space used for this purpose an seals became the vehicle for
magical/religious expression, correlating with the later developments
under the Kassites.
The magical properties of the seal are well illustrated by the
text called ~The slaying of the Labbu", in which Ti~pak succeeds in
killing the monster which has been terrorising the world, protected by

his cylinder seal, worn around his neck; cf. CT 13 33 rev. 6: ku-nu-uk-
ku v ..,,
na-p i s-ti-su v,
ina pa-ni-su u-kil J . 1 It is regrettable that no de-
['

tails shout this seal are given, but it is noteworthy that the simple
wearing of the object sufficed to protect the god in his danger.

1 V
napistu clearly means 'throat', and not 'life' as in A. Heidel,
Babylonian Genesis p. 143; cf. kunuk ki~§di (CAD for refs.). For this
point, but a different interpretation of the passage, see A. L. Oppen-
heim, ore 13 p. 54.
 Some seals, it may be noted, played a cultic role;in the temple;

see H. Frankfort, £e.• ~- pp. lO-ll; B. L. Goff, S!Q• cf.t. p. 203ff •.

and, particularly, R. Opificius, RlA III pp. 576-80. Furthermore.

there is also an important group of cylinders, unusually large and

ornate, with scenes ~arkedly similar to those on certain Lamastu

plaques (for which see presently); cf. B. Meissner, MAOG XVIII (1934)

pp. 14-26, and AfO 10 (1935-6) pp. 160-2; 8. Buchanan, Ashmolean I p.

111 612. and B. L. Gaff, £E• cit. pp. 201-2.

Returning to the question of Kassite developments, 1 it is clear

that the prcatice of wearing and using seals underwent a perceptible
change, although documents from that period are, unfortunately. insuf-
ficiently numerous to permit an evaluation of whether seal impressions
are (relatively speaking), as common as in preceding or subsequent
periods.
In the majority of cases. Kassite seals have their inscriptions
written in reverse, perhaps implying that they were designed for prac-
tical use as their primary function, but is possible that this is not
particularly significant, and that seals with a 1 prayer 1 inscription
were carried principally through a desire for 1 good luck', and that the
writing in reverse reflected more the influence of earlier seal cutters

than a deliberate provision for legible impressions.

1 The degree to which these developments constitute real origina-

lity in the Kassites is discussed by Limet, Q£• cit. pp. 20-26. Fore-
runners can be traced for most of the incantation types: "En conclu-
sion, un grand nombre de legendes etudiees dans cet ouvrage sont dans
la ligne d' une tradition bie"n attestee, mais qui a ete transformee
pour repondre ~ des exigences nouvelles." (p. 23)
The use of incantations on seals appears to be an innovation.
but cf. what appears to be a pre-Kassite move in this direction on a
seal from Tell Asmar in Th. Jacobsen, DIP XLIII p. 56 on no. 58.
 292

In many ways, it is quite artificial to attempt to distinguish

different and definable functions in a matter like the Jearing of a

cylinder seal. The practice is clearly related to what seems to be a

general human need for the wearing of ornament abou~. the body, for

which a magica~ origin seems a fea3ible possibility, and the wearing

of a seal, especially one adorned with a protective inscription, would

afford the wearer a certain sense of comfort and security.

When we come to consider those seals with exorcistic texts, the

amuletic importance is even more enhanced. Outwardly they look like

other seals (see above), and their inscriptions are also in reverse,

so it is possible that they are, in effect. very little different from

seals with 'prayer' texts. One would then assume that among the types
of seals commercially available were included some with magical texts,
catering for the more superstitious or apprehensive. On the other
hand, it is equally possible that such objects were produced purely to
serve as amulets, orientated to a specific need, with a conscious aim
in mind. It was noted above that seals of particular stones are a corn-

man ritual prescription in the magical/medical literature. Is it then

possible that seals with an incantation were occasionally stipulated

as part of a cure, or were worn subsequent to a cure, to prevent re-

peated attacks? It is fairly certain that such seals are not those

actually mentioned in the texts, since to be meaningful they would have

~ to specify the texts (and even the scenes?) that were to be engraved,
r·
and this is not done. The only time that inscribed cylinders are spe-
cifically prescribed is when clay cylinders are needed (see below).
We have one case where the same incantation is found both on a seal of
stone (~).·and also one one of these clay specimens (Q): the incantation
is our no. 19. Writing of the use of this cylinder seal, B. L. Goff

(~. cit. p. 206) commented: "This seal may be considered similar to

those already described, where the scene showed a "magical" rite being
I ~

il
 293

performed beside the bed of a sick person. Instead of the pictured

1
scene, here the spoken incantation is given. The fragme~tary figures
'·
also inscribed seem to be abstractions such as are found on many other
cylinder seals. Again the inference is unavoidable that such an object

was used to increase the efficacy of a »magical" rite." 1 We have no

information about the use of incantation no. 19, but is one to assume
that the stone cylinder was used in the same way as the clay ones?
Since the glyptic in this seal~ is reduced to a minimum (see above),
it corresponds outwardly to the clay cylinders far more closely than
do the other seven stone specimens with texts from our series .(and also
the seal from Ur), and it seems likely that the two groups are as dif-
ferent in function as they are in appearance.
In conclusion then let us say that the cylinder seal as a feature
of Mesopotamian society was, in addition to its practical function as a
seal, also to some extent valued as an amulet, and that during the Kas-
site period, seals are to be found with specifically exorcistic texts
as their inscriptions. Side by side with the many seals carrying
'prayers' there is this small group of seals with incantations, either
produced to be carried like other seals, or possibly manufactured as
part of a specific healing ritual. The clay cylindrical amulets dis-
cussed below may have evolved as a result of this development.

1 L. Delaporte identifies these "abstractions": "Un personnage

barbu, diademe, eleve la main fermee. Au dessus de sa tete, le ciseau
de Nabou sur un support." (CCL II p. 157). See also E. Douglas van
Buren, Or NS (1954) p. 18. ---
294 ···::
....
AMULETS

Amulets inscribed with incantations from our series may conveni-

ently be divided into three groups, each of which is now examined.

for each of these groups, there are also _specimens that carry incanta-

tions which are not part of Gattung IV, and some attempt is briefly

made to indicate this other material, in order that a clear idea may
be obtained of the role played by our texts in this magical context.
When all the material is surveyed, our incantations occur on the fol-
!owing types:

1. Amulets shaped like a cylinder seal, but made from clay. As

with cylinder seals, these objects have a hole from end to end.
and they were presumably worn around the neck. or perhaps the
wrist. Most of those so far known are similar in length to the
average cylinder seal: ·the smallest is c. 15mm. in length.

2. Amulets known as "Lamastu-plaques". These are most commonly

made from hard stone. They bear on one face a more or less
standardised figure representing Lamastu, who clutches a snake
in each of her hands, while standing on the back of a mule, and
being suckled by two hound-like creatures. Often included are
sundry objects associated with the banishment of Lamastu, usu-
ally identifiable from the ritual texts. The majority are in-
scribed, although many are known without an inscription. These
are often the smaller (and presumably cheaper) examples. The ·
amulets occur in a variety of sizes; the larger specimens are
too unwieldy and heavy to be worn on the person 7 and were no
doubt suspended in a suitable place. These plaques are further
characterised by their shape, that is, they have a small rec-
tangular projection at the top of the essentially oblong plaque
to allow suspension; cf. L. W. King, ZA NF 1 (1951) p. 51; E.
Reiner, JNES 19 (1960) p. 148. This shape is also to be found
in other amulets; see below.

3. Amulets of a less defined group, essentially pendants, or pieces

of jewellery. They are made also from hard stone, and although
 not particularly numerous at present, they may be subdivided in
turn; for details, see below.
~.

1. Amulets shaped like a cylinder seal made of clay

These amulets are not here considered as cylinder seals proper

1
for several reasons. Although seals made from clay are known, clay
is by no means a common medium for the manufacture of seals designed
2
to be rolled onto a clay tablet. With our amulets, too, the inscrip-
tions are written in small and shallow characters that would hardly
serve to produce the desired impression, and the signs are in each
case written the right way round (from the reader's standpoint), and
thus are incapable of transmitting a legible text, although cylinder
3
seals of the First Millenium do exhibit the same characteristic. It
is to be debated whether a seal of clay would be,sufficiently durable
to survive regular wear and tear, and so it would in any case represent
a rather specialised form of seal, and simply from the point of view
of simple description, our clay amulets lack entirely the ornamentation
or design that is usually associated with cylinder seals.
Before examiming how these objects were used, we may survey the
specimens available, starting first with those that carry incantations
from Gattung IV.

1A Jemdat Nasr example has recently been published by S. Dalley,

Irag 34 (1972) p. 125, RWH 1. The seal is of the 'abstract pattern'
type.

2
Note, however. the DB purgullu seals (not cylindrical) _which wer
made of clay, discussed in detail by A. Poebel, BE VI/2 p. 5lff.
3
See H. Frankfort, Cvlinder Seals p. 8 and n. 7. Note that the
clay cylinder from Tell Taya (below for details) is, on the other hand,
inscribed in reverse.

··-·---- -----·-- -·-·----··· ·--- -·--- ---···-- -------- -·-----------~

 ·::-'-

Symbol and Publication Dimensions Lines !·,

296 296

1 A R. Campbel1 Thompson, Iraq 7 32 x 11mm. 68-72

(1940) fig. 5 no. 38: pp. 109-
10; Pl. 44
2 8 BM 134064; cf. R. Campbell 32 x 11mm. 68-72
Thompson. ibid. no. 38a; Pl. 42
3 E NO 280; unpub., cf. D. J. Wise- 25 x 12mm. 68-72
man, Iraq 12 (1950) p. 197 1
4 D V. Scheil, RT 20 (1898) p. 200; 15 x Bmm. 68, 70-2
Pl. 44
5 f (As ~
above) c. 15 x Bmm. 68, 70-2
6 F BM 85-4-8, 1; Pl. 42 68-72
7 G ND 1103; D. J. Wiseman, Iraq 14 88 X 17 73-5
- (1952) p. 63 p1. 12; Pl. 44 1
8 HH BM 103058; Pl. 43 15 x·6 68-72

Examples not from the series:

The excavations at Nippur produced six clay cylinders of this
type, of which copies were given by L. Legrain. PBS 14 nos. 1088-93.
He gives no information about their date (they are described merely as
"Sundry pieces" on pp. 8 and 51). but the script shows them to be Neo/
Late- Babylonian. No photographs were given by Legrain, and the texts
can be only partly read from his copies; for his interpretations, see
pp. 365-6. Both nos. 1088 and 1089 are there described as clay cylin-
ders, but the remaining four are likewise of clay; cf. ibid. p. 51.
The description of his nos. 1090-93 as "stone of incantation" on p. 366·
refers to their function and not their material, since it follows
Legrain's 'translation' of the final line of nos. 1088 and 1089, based
in turn upon his misreading of te en (i. e. for tu6 = tu _en) as na en,
which he presumably construed as a phonetic writing of na .en ( = aban
4
sipti).
We may briefly note here the texts of these amulets: Legrain's
copies (ibid. pl. LXIV) ar~ here reproduced on Plate 60.

1
Both these objects, referred to here by their NO numbers, are
in the Baghdad Museum. and their Museum numbers have not been available.
The inscriptions of nos 1088, 1089 and 1090 (CBS 5559, 3992.and 3996)
~
are partial duplicates, although addressed to differen~·deities, each
written on behalf of the same lady (Babu-e~er):

no .. 1088 no.-1089
1 en dMA~ SAG.KAL DINGIRmes en de-a LUGAL ABZU EN NUNki
xExmes ..,, sal du~ t' sal d KA-e-te-er
' ' ..,,
2 ~ ~ -su r~-e- e-er
. DUMU.MUNUS sa
.., , sal ... sal D ., , .,
3 [ DU ] MU .. MUNUS sa · DU-ta-a .
D -ta-a sa NE sab-tu-si-rna
4
V,
sa NE
V
~ab-tu-si-rna GUR a NI.KU SU-tu-su
5 sa ~I .. A u-ma~-~u-u MU E KU ~A lip-pa-qid-rna·
6 NE u su MA TU a-oi-tu lil-lik
7 li-sam-SUH-ma
.... te! en
8 i-lik-ku(?) lil-lik

no. 1090
1 , d na [ m-tar
en
2 sal d KA-e-~e-
' " [ er DUMU.MUNUS ..•

3 IB KI x BA GIM ( . . .
4 x.ou 8/DE, NU·? x [ . • •

No. 1091
This is also an incantation (1: en d( . . . ), addressed to a goddess
(3: ina IGI-ki [ • . • ). although the text cannot yet be identified.

No. 1092
Apparently the end of an 'incantation-prayer', judging from the cha-
racteristic phraseology; it is also addressed to a goddess:
1• rnar?,_bi-rki, lu-sa-pi da-li-li-{ki)

21 lu-udl-lul

No. 1093
This is clearly part of an incantation, one that lists the ill-effect
 298
of demons on the sufferer's body (cf. notes to our no. 28 for the
~
type. This appears to be the first example of such an~incantation on
i

an amulet. The text reads:

2 1 : x-BE u-te-hi-su IZI

• V
3 1 : tu-88-a~-bit
V V

su-su tu-sab-ba-ba 4 •·. UZUmes -su

v, t
u- k'as-su-u, SAmes -su
v,

There are two other amulets of this category with incantations

not included in Gattung IV. One was found at Ugarit, RS 25.457, pub-
lished by J. Nougayrol, Ugaritica VI p. 404 n. 77, transliteration
only. It measures 36 x 2lmm., and the text duplicates STT 144 19-23;
see further below.
The second was discovered at Tell Taya (3 rd Mill., see below ) ,
and was published by J. N. Postgate, Irag 33 (1971) pp. 95-6. It is
35mm. in length (the diameter is not given), but the inscription is un-
paralleled, and defies interpretation.

It will be seen from the list on p. 296 that the eight amulets
with our material preserve onl~ two incantations, nos. 18 and 19. The
first of these is addressed to Sirius/Ninurta, and apart from the •corn-
pilation' tablets, it occurs only on these amulets, and in the medical
text that describes their preparation: see above, p. 265. No. 19 is
·also found on one stone seal (see above. p. 293): the two may have

fulfilled a similar function.

We have available one piece of information that is direct evi-
dence of how no. 18 was to be used on an amulet of this kind. This is
the medical text P, which is f~lly edited above, p. 265ff., but lines
9-10 of the rev. may be quoted again here:
V

na4KI~IB [b]i?-rnit?l kul-la-ti [Duus_ma)

EN an-ni-tu ina mu[o-bi-su) SA[R-ma]

11
You make a cylinder(-seal) of potter's clay, and write this incan-
tation thereupon ..• 11
Once the amulet is hung around the baby 1 s neck, or at the head of his
~.

bed, the evil force known as "Any Evil" (mimma lemnu) will be unable

to approach the baby. This passage is the only evidenc~ we have that
an incantation from Gattung IV was to be used on one of these amulets

as part of a ritual. However, a similar prescription involves the use

of an incantation against Lamastu. In the first Tablet of the Lamastu
series (IV~ 56), it is required that the first incantation quoted
(IV~ 56 i 1-9 =F. Thureau-Dangin, ~ 18 (1921) p. 198) is to be
written on a cylinder which is likewise to be hung around a baby's neck
for protection:
,
... "'
DU.DU.BI ina UGU na4 KI~IB
x
SAR ar LU.TUR
, "' v, GAR an
· ina GU-su

"Its ritual: you write (this incantation) on a cylinder(-seal), and

hang it around the baby's neck."
(IV !3, 56 i 10)

In this second case it is to be admitted that the cylinder is

not actually stated to be made of clay, but this seems to be a reason-
able assumption. In fact, the incantation has been found neither on a
stone seal nor on a clay cylinder; the only type of amulet so far re-
covered with this text is the Lamastu pla~ue, of which there are many
examples; see below. (What the Akkadian word is for amulets of the
'plaque' type is unknown. but it obviously cannot be kunukku.) The
deter~inative in the writing na4kunukku is not suggestive, since it

also appears in the na4kunukku made of potter's clay in P above. It

seems probable then that we have in IV R 56 a parallel use of a pro-
phylactic charm on a clay cylinder to protect a child.
Further information is supplied by the amulet from Ras 5hamra
mentioned above. This is a small, seven-sided clay cyli~der of the

same type, with a six-line inscription. (With the additional line

prepared on this amulet compare ND 1103 (=g), where the extra space
is cancelled by three horizontal wedges.) The text is given by J.
 300
Nougayrol in Ugaritica VI p. 404, where it is pointed out that the text
~
is a slightly corrupted version of the incantation of STT 144 19-23,
~
that is, another incantation against Lamastu. The first notification

of its discovery was given by Nougayrol in CRAIB 1963 p. 135, where it

wns stated to have been found in a tomb (information from C. Schaeffer).
In response to his comment in RA 61 (1967) p. 95 n. 2, Nougayrol was
able to cite in Ugaritica VI pp. 406-7 Schaeffer's own account with more

details of the circumstances under which the cylinder was found. Since

this is most relevant to our discussion, Schaeffer 1 s comments are given

here; the italics are Nougayrol•s:

• • • parmi les vestiges de grandes maisons greco-perses

11

de Leukos Limen directement superposees au niveau de l'U-

garit protophenicien (Ugarit Recent III, fin du XIII 8 et ·
debout du XIIe s.), dans un sarcophage monolithe avec cou-
vercle en place, sguelette en tres mauvais etat, apparemment
d 1 un enfant. Le mobilier funeraire comprenait des fragments
de tessons attiques eve. IV 8 et III 8 s.) noir vernisse, des
perles en cornaline, verre, argent, fritte, et une pendeloque
en tole de bronze provenant d'un collier dont faisie Eartie
~ doute aussi d 1 un prisme2 ~terre cUite ~ en forme
de barillet, avec inscription en cuneiformes (babyl.) sur 6
lignes horizontales. long. totale: 2cm diametre: l.lcm. Une
fibule en bronze a arc du type courant a
cette periode greco-
perse a servi sans doute a retenir le vetement DU linceul QUi
devait envelopper le corps.~

Here again, a clay cylinder inscribed with a charm is used for the pro-
tection of (apparently) a child. It is here worn as a constituent part
of a necklace, together with other, purely ornamental elements. It is
unclear from this discovery whether the amulet was normally worn for
mixed decorative and prophylactic purposes, i. e~ whether it was a pas-
session worn normally during the day. or whether, on the other hand, it
was part of the ritual designed to cure the child of whatever finally

1 It should be observed that the inscribing of cuneiform signs

had meant. in some cases. that the essentially cylindrical shape needed
to be altered to that of a prism. ·
caused its death. Since it is a reasonable assumption that an amulet
~
which had proved successful in time of sickness would b~cprized there-

after, and worn on the pers6n, it is equally feasible t~at in cases

where the treatment failed, such an object might be buried with the
corpse. The finding of so elaborate a necklace might rather suggest

the former explanation, but no clear deductions can be made from this
discovery. For one thing, this is a Babylonian object turning up in a
non-Babylonian context. (For the presence at ~garit of the amulet it-
self, and the tablets with Babylonian Lamastu incantations, cf. J. Nou-

gayrol, Ugaritica VI pp. 406-7.) Furthermore, it was found in a late

archaeological context, Graeco-Roman, and may conceivably represent a
misleading use of an older amulet from an ffirlier period. The amulet
itself cannot be exactly dated (see below for this aspect of the clay
cylinders), and in any case. ~ne, cannot assume that the practice at
Ugarit would necessarily reflect that of Mesopotamia.

MaqlG IX 48 contains as part of a ritual against a witch what

appears to be a similar practice:

salam ~i~~i ina na 4 kunukki arqi amita-~' ta-[8~-tar(?)] ;.·. '· . -·

A figurine of clay: you lflrite her word (? i. e. the word effecti~e

11

against her?) on a green cylinder seal. •. 11 ; -"-:..~--,

cf. B. L. Gaff, Symbols~ Prehistoric Mesopotamia p. 195.

A similar magic practice may be referred to in no. 50 of Gattung
IV; see the relevant notes.

We have clear evidence then that such objects played an important

ritual role in the protection of children, as well as certain indication!
of allied magical practices. It may be coincidence that all the evi-
dence so far available shows that babies or children are involved. This
is easy to understand in the case of the Lamastu incantation: in the

-- ___ ...... .-... ----··-- ----

-·
 302

case of the use of our no. 18, we have a specifically baby-orientated

i
ritual text, but it seems likely that both this and no.~ 19 were suit-

able also for use by adults. That there were some designed for use to

protect babies may conceivably be reflected in the actual size of same

of the specimens, since there are three that are particularly small.
D and f, for example, measure 15 x 8mm., while HH is a mere 15 x 6mm. 1
The extraordinarily diminutive scale of these inscriptions is remark-

able when it is remembered that they have to carry five lines of wri-
ting, and it seems at least a possibility that these smallest amulets
were made for children.

We have seen above that the cylinder seal served partly as an

amulet, and that the Kassite period witnessed the appearance for the
first time of seals carrying magical texts. Against this background,

the use of cylinder-shaped amulets of clay to be used in a prophylac-

tic ritual, or to be worn on the body, becomes quite intelligible. A
satisfactory process of development cannot, however, be demonstrated,
because incantations are not to be found on cylinder seals proper
after the Kassite period, whereas the clay amulets in this shape all
seem to be much later. Neo-Assyrian or Neo-Babylonian in fact.
There is one except~on. The last amulet mentioned in the list
above, that from Tell Taya, is apparently to be dated to the Third

Millenium B. c.; "the form of the DA favours an Agade date" (J. N.

Postgate, et. al., Iraq 33 (1971) p. 96). This object was considered
by its editors to be a ~prophylactic charm" (doubtless on analogy with
the later material), but the inscription remains quite obscure. It
differs also from the later amulets in that the inscription is careful!

:i

1 This text is, therefore, a stronger claimant for the title ~la '

plus petite inscription cuneiforme connue" which V. Scheil awarded

simultaneously to amulets Q and f in RT 20 (1898) p. 200.
in reverse, presumably to allow the text to be transferred after the
fashion of a normal cylinder seal inscription.

Those of the other amulets that can be dated are to be assigned

to the First Millenium B. C., that is A, 8, C and G {cf. their respec-

- - - -.
tive original publications); [was apparently excavated at Kouyunjik:
HH is from Babylon, and by the sign forms is Neo/Late-Babylonian. The
same criterion of script suggests a Neo-Assyrian date for the remainder
of our amulets, while the examples from Nippur mentioned above, that
carry other incantations not included in Gattung IV, are also Neo/Late-
Babylonian, and we have already seen that the example from Ugarit was
found in a Graeco-Roman context. and is in Babylonian script.
The amulet from Tell Taya is, therefore, the only evidence for
objects of this kind before the First Millenium, and this specimen is
in some measure anomalous: it is perhaps to be considered apart from the
later pieces. With such sparce material, the history of these amulets
cannot be reconstructed; it is quite probable that they were mare common
than it appears at present. 1 Such small objects of clay, especially if
unbaked, would all too easily be overlooked by any but the most care-

1 Note here E. Reiner an these inscriptions in JNES 19 (1960) pp.

154-5 n. 11: "··· many legends of such cylinders have been collected in
the text KAR 76 (i. e. our c). 11 This Ms. has twelve incantations. Two
may be discounted here: one is not from Gattung IV, although of a rela-
ted type (cf. p. 16). and it has not yet been found on an amulet. The
other is indecipherable. This means that KAR 76 has ten incantations
from Gattung IV. Of these, two occur on Lamastu amulets (nos. 48 and
60), one on a clay cylinder (no. 18), and only one on two amulet types
namely no. 19 on a stone seal, and a clay seal (although cf. above).
We can only say then that KAR 76 has incantations to be found on
various types of amulets (i. e. n~only cylinders), and we are no
nearer to clarifying the exact criteria that governed the selection of
material quoted there. It may well turn out that other of its passages
will be found on amulets, but since the shape of KAR 76 shows that this
Ms. served as an amulet in itself (cf. p. 14), it-seems unlikely that
this text was a reference compilation of amulet inscriptions (if such
is indeed implied in Miss Reiner's observation).
 304
ful excavator, so it is possible that clay cylinders were in use bet-
;
1
ween Tell Taya and the First Millenium. It may altern~tively be the

case that the use of these amulets was an offshoot from the develop-

ment of the cylinder seal under the Kassites; the problem awaits the

discovery of further ·examples.

It is clear then that usage on cylinder seals and clay amulets

of a cylindrical shape are related practices, and are good evidence
for the practical, and perhaps 1 everyday 1 role fulfilled by these par-
ticular incantations from Gattung IV.

Addendum I

A discussion of these seal-shaped amulets of clay seems a fitting

place to mention a small clay cylinder bearing an inscription that was
found by Sir Flinders Petrie at Amarna, now in the Ashmolean Museum in
2 The cylinder is some 3lmm. in length,
Oxford. with an average dia-
meter of 15mm. It is made from coarse clay (of Egypt?), and has a hole
running lengthways through it as do cylinder seals: the diameter of the
hole is some 3mm.
The inscription is of eleven lines, in which each sign is repea-
ted between four and seven times. A summary copy with one sign from
each line was given by A. H. Sayee in W. M. F,. Petrie (et. al.), Tell
el Amarna pl. 32 IX (and cf. p. 36), and the full transliteration was
given by J. A. Knudtzon, El-Amarna p. 963, no. 355. The translite-
ration of this object (cf. the new copy here. Pl •. 60) reads:

1
There is also the possibility that seals/amulets of this kind
were made of even more perishable substances; cf. the suggested use of
wooden cylinders discussed in B. L. Gaff. 2E· cit. p. 198.
2 The Museum number is Ashmolean 189J. 1-41 (416). The author is
indebted to Dr. P. R. S. Moorey for drawing this inscription to his
attention, and enabling him to study and copy it.
 du du du du
tu tu tu tu r
pap pap pap pap pap pap pap
na na na na na
V V V V
sa sa sa sa
an an an an an
ud ud ud ud ud ud ud
ni ni! ni ni ni ni
, , ,
q{ q{ qi Q1r qi qi
sar sar sar sar
dub dub dub! dub

Both Sayee and Knudtzon read the text downwards as an acrostic to pro-
duce the following legend:
dv v ~
DU TU NU NA sa samas-ni-q1 sa~ir tuppi
'' . • of ~ama~-niqi, the scribe"
Sayee in fact started with the phrase satir tuppi (there is no indica-
tion on the object which is the first line), assuming du-tu-nu-na to be
the name of an Egyptian servant of the Babylonian ~amas-niqi (see his
p. 24), but his order reads very uncomfortably in Akk., and there are
other grave difficulties here. For one thing, du-tu-nu-na is totally
obscure (an Egyptian word perhaps?), and in any case, the new copy
suggests that the sign in the third line is rather PAP, and the name
~amas-niqi makes no sense. (The only possible interpretation would
seem to be ''0 Samas, (accept this) my offering", which seems to be·
quite without parallel.) Knudzton read as quoted above, but deferred
judgement on DU TU NU NA (2£• cit. p. 24).
An acrostic of the type posited by these earlier writers would
be unique both in an amulet or a seal. but they are of course to be
found in other cuneiform texts (of a literary type), and they fall
into two categories. Sometimes successive lines begin with the same
sign= in others the initial signs of each line are used to write out
the name of the author/scribe: cf. W. G. Lambert, BWL p. 67; R. Borger,
~ III p. 120. The recognition of an acrostic here would be far more
convincing if DU TU PAP NA were intelligible, and a PN ~amas-niqi were
attested even in a parallel form. As it is, it seems the tempting SAR
DUB = sa~ir tuppi must be rejected, and the text tentatively viewed as
being written cryptographically. S. A. Mercer. in his translation of
 .•.. ·.
306
Knudtzon's work, considered this to be some kind of practice text, cf.
The El-Amarna Tablets II p. 796, but a small cylinder is an unsuitable
and quite improbable medium for scribal exercises, and this explanation
can really be dismissed.
The real cylinder seal was, it may be recollected. introduced
into Egypt from Mesopotamia at an early date. but it soon underwent
such fundamental developments that its ancestry was rapidly disguised,
and the cylinder became totally Egyptianised in use and decoration; cf.
particularly, H. Frankfort, Cylinder Seals pp. 292-300. This object is
quite different, however, and has all the appearance of being directly
of Mesopotamian inspiration. and it very likely represents in its for-
mat the idea of one individual.
Two points from the Mesopotamian background may be relevant.
First, the MS date of this cylinder. c. 1350 B. C•. corresponds with
the period when seals in Mesopotamia were beginning to extend the range
of their inscriptions, a development which, as we have seen above, may
have sparked off, or given new impetus to the creation of inscribed
cylinders of clay. and it is possible that the memory of such an object
prompted the shaping of our cylinder. (This could be true irrespeptive
of whether the inscription i~ •magical' or not.) Second, there are
some texts in cuneiform written in a cryptographic fashion whereby the
same sign is repeated several times, relying on obscure or scholarly
sign v'alues to convey the readings, and it is possible that this text
conceals a meaningful inscription that is yet to be discovered. There
are also some amulets from Mesopotamia that bear inscriptions which pn
first sight bear some ressemblence to that of the Amarna cylinder. In
these, the repetition of each sign seven times is no doubt of magical
significance, although the texts remain likewise obscure; examples are
C. E. Keiser, BIN 2 pl. VIII no. 16; V. Scheil. FS no. 585 and no. 554.
It is possible that these also are written cryptographically, and even
if the texts were never fully intelligible, acquaintance with amulets
of this type may also have played a part in the formation of this
cylinder, particularly if any prophylactic motif prompted its design.
2. Amulets known as "Lama~tu Plagues"

A considerable amount of work has already been done on amulets of

this type. The most recent study of importance is ·that of H. Klengel,
who in MID 7 (1959-60) pp. 334-55 surveyed the total number of examples
published up to that date, utilising the labours of his predecessors in
this field, particularly F. Thureau-Dangin, RA 18 (1921) p. 16lff., K.
Frank, MAOG XIV/2 (1941), and L. J. Krusina-Cerny, Ar. Or. 18/III (1950
p. 297ff. Klengel himself was able to add new pieces from the Vorder-
asiatisches Museum and the British Museum. He supplemented this inves-
tigation by a further article in MID 8 (1963) pp. 24-9, which then
brought the total number of Lamastu amulets exactly up to fifty.
Since 1963, however, new Lamastu amulets have appeared spasmodi-
cally in the literature, while four examples already published that are
. . 1· .
lacking from Klengel's list may also be_added. Finally, several un-
published amulets from the British Museum. and one each from the Ash-
molean-Museum and a Private Collection are also now to be included; see
below. Before discussing the use of incantations from Gattung IV on
amulets of this type. the extra material now available may be noted.

1 continuing with Klengel's numbering we may note:

51: R. P. Dougherty, AASOR 8 (1928) p. 43f.
52: B. Meissner, ~ 4 (1934) p. 9 n. 7
53: H. lenzen (et. al.), UVB 16 (1957-8) pl. 2la-b, and p. 41.
54: H. Lenzen, ibid. pl. 2lc-d, and p. 41. This is our P. (This was
published as part of a kudurru by Lenzen, being only a fragment.
The genre and the text itself were correctly identified by W. van
So den. AfD 20 (1963) p. 148.)
2 outline descriptions are given here: the author hopes to offer
a fuller account of the new material elsewhere in the near future •

.. ..... ,~-:-_, ..... ,...--....... - .........,.. ......... --=-....-~-- ... ·~----------

 ·~
. :~
The following Lamastu amulets have been published since 1963:

55: J. Nougayro1, Syria 42 (1965) pp. 227-34. His conclusions there

were modified in Syria 43 (1966) pp. 332-3.

56: E. Sollberger. JCS 5 (1951) p. 20 4.5.; ~ p. 32; MGBM 8/II (1951)

p. 2 f. 2. This is our g.

57: L. Woolley, UE. VIII pl. 28, and p. 106. This object is there des-
cribed as having a "Phoenician inscription."

58: G. Dossin, MUSJ 45 (1969) p. 250ff. An improved edition was given

by J. Nougayrol, RA 65 (1971) pp. 173-4.

59: K. M. Abadah, Sumer 28 (1972) Figs. 3-4, and p. 78. This is our GG. 1

Two Lamastu amulets with texts from Gattung IV have had their
designs published by Klenge1, but not their inscriptions·(which
are, of course, given here in copy). These are:

BM 104891 (Rm IV 467), our JJ. See H. K1enge1, MID 7 (1959-60) p.

349.

BM 11759 (1925-7-15, 1), our KK. See K1engel. ~· cit. pp. 351-3.

Two hitherto unpublished amulets with our texts are:

60: BM 127371, our II. Width: 29mm. Height: 33mm. Thickness: 4mm. (In
each case, and with subsequent dimensions.· the measurements are
maximum.) The signs are carefully made, although the rulings
are not parallel to the bottom of the amulet. Thedesign shows
the usual figure of the standing Lamastu: see Plate 52.

1
The somewhat ironic printing error that refers to "32 lies" as
regards this amulet (Sumer 28 (1972) p. 78) is unfortunately all too
appropriate, since the description of the text given there is wholly
wrong in almost every detail.
61: Ki. 1902-5-10, 36, our LL. W.: 67mm. H.: 79mm. Th.: llmm. Made
~
a hard, pale stone. One side entirely covered by three incanta-
tions. one from Gattung IV (see below). The sig~s are small,
but carefully written, lines being ruled between each row. The
other side appears to be unworked. Since the greater part of
the surface is at present covered by a hard, dark deposit this
cannot be certain. but patches that show through at various
points do suggest that there was no engraving on this amulet,
which may possibly be unfinished. Note that there are three
extra lines ruled after the last incantation. See Pl. 54.

The British Museum possesses (at least) another five unpublished

Lamastu amulets. with incantations not from our Gattung IV. These are:

62: BM 99373 (Ki. 1904-10-9, 406). W.:. 35mm. H.: 23mm. Th.: 2mm.
Made from obsidian. Approximately half (the lower half) only is
preserved. The inscription reads:
1 [en.(e.nu.ru)]
2 (dDlM.ME (or similar)]
3 [dumu.an.na]
4 [mu.pa.da]
5 dingir.re.e.ne
6 ama.nin.nir.
7 gal nin.e.ne
... I
8 am a gasan ·.mu
9 dam DI~ sag
Of the design, the lower half of Lamastu is still to be seen,
with clear bird's feet. and cross-hatching on the thighs. T~e
figure is placed unusually deep in the bottom left hand corner
of the field, so that over half of the surviving surface is left
empty of decoration.

63: BM 132520 (1959-2-14, 18). W.: 34mm. H.: 36mm. Th.: 6mm. Made
from obsidian. The inscription is clear and careful, and dupli-
cates F. Thureau-Dangin. R~ 18 (1921) pp. 195-6:
, ,
1 en.e.nu.ru
d ...
2 DIM.ME dumu.an.na
3 mu.pa.da dingir.re.e.ne.ke 4
,."

4 din.nin nir.gal
, ni n.e.ne
~

5 [su m]u.un.dui(NI) a.sag.gig.ga

6 [ux.l]u dugud.da nam.lu.ulu.ke 4
7 [dol]M.ME ib.gu.ul!
, , ...
8 lu.ra nam.ba.te.ga.de
, ...
9 zi.an.na be.pa
10 , r pa'1
zi.ki.a be.
This amulet is unusual in that when held conveniently to read the in-
scription, the design on the other face lies upon its side, with the
top of the figure to the left. This is no doubt unintentional, and is
all the more unexpected in view of the high standard of workmanship
noticeable in this amulet. Furthermore, Lamastu is here shown as a
double-headed demon, a manifestation not so far attested on the other
amulets of this kind. She has her claws outstretched, and the usual
bird 1 s feet. Two canine creatures are sitting up below her arms, but
are not actually suckling. There is no other decoration. Another un-
usual aspect is the lack of projection at the top, or any hole to allow
suspension, so presumably this amulet must have lain on a shelf. or
been carried in a pocket.

64: BM 120388 ~51-10-9, 43). W.: 32mm. H.: 23mm. Th.: 4mm. Made
from obsidian. At some point in its history this amulet was broken
approximately in half. The upper portion that is now preserved was
used as an amulet in its own right. This is clear from the fact
that the broken lower edge is worn as smooth as the other three.
The customary projection at the top is also broken away; this was
probably done deliberately to create a more comfortable shape for
wearing~ A hole was then bored in the middle of the first line of
the inscription. The date of these secondary operations cannot be
ascertained, but they may well be modern. The surviving signs of
the inscription read:
1 drolM 1 .ME
2 dumu.sn.na
~.
3 mu.DI~.pa!.da!
4 dingir.e.ne
Compare nos. 62-3.
Of the design. the remains of ~ and,§~ can still be made out
amid the scratches on the worn surface.

'·

·~
b): ~u-1-1~, 319. For details, cf. C. Bezold, Catalogue p. 1751. The
amulet is given there as being made of ivory, but tl1j7 substance ap-
pears to be a ki!1d of shell. This is the top, right:-hand corner of
what must have been a beautiful piece of craftmanship. On the obv.
there is a central panel with two priestly figures. Above this is
a single horizontal wedge that is all that survives from the first
inscription; below the panel are the ends of four lines from the
Lamastu incantation edited by F. Thureau-Dangin. £E• cit. p. 198:

1 [en dOIM.ME DU]MU da-nim

2 [ sum..:sa I]en V V

3 (a-oat DINGIRm]es sa SILAmes

4 [ • • • GIR sa SAG.D]U rul-nat-tu-ma

The design on the outer face contains two delicately carved rows,
the upper with two priestly figures carrying date-spathe and bucket
(?), the lower sh6wing a hero/priest and a lion-headed figure locke1
either in an embrace or in combat.

66: BM 91899 (81-7-27, 182). W.: 58mm. H.: 43mm. Th.: 15mm. The
projection measures 44 x 12mm. Made of a pale brown, very hard
stone. This amulet is also broken off approximately half way down
(and the lower half is probably somewhere in the Museum, since the
broken edge is coated with old glue). The missing section would, i1
all probability, have carried an inscription. On one side an upper
...
register has four divine symbols: the crescent moon of Sin, the
winged sun of ~amas, the horned crown of Anu, and the nine-pointed
star of Istar (as in, for example. MID 7 (i959-60) p. 346). The
lower register shows a lion-headed creature with a knife raised in
its left hand, and to the right is a bearded figure also with an ar1
in a raised position. The other side shows a grotesque portrayal o·
the head of Pazuzu, moulded in relief on the stone. The hair and
beard are stylistically represented by eight curled tresses around
the face. The mouth is drawn into a horribl~ grimace, and the now
wide-staring eyes were originally inlaid with some substance hence
lost.

This concludes the material from the British Museum.

Nsderlands InStitlkut
voor het Nabije Oosten
Leiden - Nederland

---··--~ .............
,-~--. _ .. ,..... ... ........,..__.tll;$,...,._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
 312

The Ashmolean Museum also contains a single unpublished example:

67: Ashmolean 1968.1291. W.: 30mm. H.: 34mm. Th.: 3m~. This amulet
of mottled brown and grey soapstone is of the usual shape. being
also slightly wider at the bottom than the top. The corners are
gently rounded. The projection measures 7mm. The object has
neither date nor provenance (it was given to the Museum by a Dr.
R. Moss), neither has it an inscription.

The final Lamastu amulet to be added is in a private collection:

68: This is our !• see Pl. 45. It was shown to the author in the BM in
1973, at which time it was in the possession of a private collec-
tor. Its present whereabouts is unknown.

Having surveyed the range of Lamastu amulets that is now available,

we may return to those with incantations from Gattung IV. The distri-
bution of our incantations on Lamastu plaques may be summarised as fol-

lows:

no. 2 (see Comm.): t!· I

no. 38 (line 210 only): ;2_, II
no. 48: GG
no. 60: _12, h· t_!, £:!.. Q. !:_, g_. cc. DD, EE. [[, GG, JJ, KK, LL
no. 62: GG
no. 65: GG

It may also be noted here that five of these amulets simultaneously

carry incantations not included in Gattung IV. These are:

DD : li nes 9- 10 rea d : [ e'] n rd!?lR AB .KA [ N.ME DUMU.AN.NA sum-sa

, V
"'" v, I en] .

[2)U a-o[at DINGIRmes sa

su-qa-a-ti] (or similar); for the
text cf. to no. 65 above. This text is explicitly against
Lama~tu. ~

GG: lines 1-8 duplicate the same incantation against Lamastu: cf.
again to no. 65. (Lines 9-17 = our no. 60; 18-25 = no. 62;
26-8 = no. ~~. ~nd 29-~2 = no. 65.)

......
 ,
= GG l-2), and
JJ: lines 9-10 are from the same incantatiori (i. e.
...
read: [en dR]AB.KAN.ME DUMU.AN.~~ , [2U a-b~t DINGIRmes
...
s]a! SILA! rn(e 8 ] •••

KK: lines 1-5 are from another Lamastu incantation (the "Daughter
of Anu 11 , cf. p. 271), and parallel KAR 165 rev. 5 1 ff.; cf.
E. Reiner, ~urpu p. 4; R. Caplice, Studies Dppenheim p. 66
(19ff.). See also LKA 153 (dupl. VAT 10297). KK itself
reads as follows:

1 en at-ti rna-mit 2 DUMU.SAL da-nim GALtu (cf.

KAR 165 rev. 5: en ma-mit DUMU.SAL ( ••• ) 8 ) 3 a-
ki-la-at la ta-ki-la 4 -a-ni ~a-bi-ts-at la ta-
!ia-bi-ti-ni 5 oa-si-sa-at la ta-oa-si-si-ni (Is
this from asasu. 'catch in a net'? See notes to line
34 of our reconstructed text.)
Then follows the first line of no. 60, introduced by
en, so line 5 must here rave been considered the end of
that incantation. In KAR 165, however, there are traces
of three further lines: 91 al-ki-ma oa-sis-ki [ •••
a?]-ka-le !0' IGI te-[ ••• ] 11 1 rki-ma?l [ ••• ]

It is interesting that the scribe who engraved KK (or who

provided the text) stopped quoting from this first incanta-
tion at the point where the repetitive structure of lines
3-5 had come to an end. The direct prohibitions addressed
to the mamitu are the most powerful section of the incanta-
tion, and are clearly all that were felt necessary to be in-
cluded.

LL: lines 1'-8' contain our no. 60. Lines 9'-18 1 are another well-
known Lamastu incantation, namely IV ~ 56 i 11-20 (= D. W.
Myhrman, ZA 16 (1902) p. 154. Lines 19'-26 1 are another
example of the text on no. 65 above, against Lamastu again.
 Space, and the present state of publication of the known material,

'
do not permit a full survey here of all the incantations so far to be
1;.

found on Lamastu amulets, but certain observations that are relevant to

the study of our texts may be made here. The first point that arises
is the clarification of the exact function that these texts fulfilled.·

None of the incantations in Gattung IV makes mention of Lamastu, either

1
by name or epithet. Yet in these amulets we have clear evidence that

they were employed as part of a magical device against that she-demon.

How is this to be accounted for? We have noticed above that there are

two or three other incantations used that are specifically addressed to

V d ...
Lamastu ( DIM.ME dumu.an.na), stereotyped passages that occur each
quite commonly among the corpus of amulets. In some cases, incantations

from Gattung IV are found together with one of these other texts on one
and the same amulet. This would suggest that our incantations were
being used for the same purpose~ i. e., for the banishment of Lamastu,
usually depicted in relief on the other side. There is a certain dis-
parity between the careful representation of a known, dangerous but
traditional!~ well~defineable.entity, and short magical texts addressed

to general forces of evil that. only superficially apply to a demon like

Lamastu. It is a characteristic of Mesopotamian exorcistic literature

that if a particular demon who is to be exorcised cannot be identified,

then a (more or less) full list of all possible guilty parties is given,

in the hope that the right one will thereby be named. The more that is
known of the responsible demon, then the more specifically he can be

1
In fact, none of the incantations is more specific in its address
than ilu lemnu, mimma lemnu, attamannu mimma lemnu sa ••• , or short lists
of evil forces of the type mentioned above. Lamastu as such is appar-
ently never named as such on an amulet, but the identification of the
design is as certain as is possible in the absence of a label due to the
descriptions in the incantations and rituals. See also p. 317-18.
named, pinned down and fully exposed to banishment. Thus is to be ex-
~

plained the incantation often found in these amulets (~A 18 (1921) p.

198), since her parenthood is stated, and her particular malevolent
attributes clarified by means of her own seven names.
Therefore we have a problem: if these passages are being used
against Lamastu on the Lamastu amulets, why are they so general in ap-
plication? In other words, if these texts are for use against Lamastu,
why do the amulet engravers select such passages for a particular and
well-defined task? It may be argued that the amulets are meant to
cover a wide range of possibilities, indeed, as wide as necessary, so
that the wearer of an amulet would hope to find himself safe from
Lamastu, and from all other forms of evil too, but even to that end one
might expect a more explicit correspondence from the text, while for
the Lamastu plaques that carry only an incantation from Gattung IV,
this is even less satisfactory as an explanation. Is one then to as-
sume simply that the inscriptions are not related to the designs? This
is not borne out by amulets that carry merely Larnastu incantations, es-
pecially since they correlate graphically with the descriptions in the
ritual texts.
A parallel of sorts to this situation lies in the kudurru manu-
menta, in which the symbols of the gods usually carved on the top and
sides often fail to correspond to those named in the closing curse-
formulae designed to safeguard them (cf. L. W. King, 885 p. xi). This
is possibly to be explained by the fact that different craftsmen would
be responsible for the decorations and the inscriptions, so that the
illiterate engraver would not be aware of the gods named by his fellow
workman. This really seems the only feasible explanation, since kudurrt
being heavy, awkward monuments, would no doubt be produced and finished
in a single workshop, and otherwise it would be a simple matter to
ensure that the gods drawn and described would coincide on the finished
 Jlb

article.
In the case of Lamastu amulets (and others), the often remarkably
poor standard of orthography, and even of the shaping of the signs, in-
dicates that those who carved them were relatively illiterate (cf. also

below). Whether these were the people who also produced the designs is

unknown, although this seems feasible. The illiteracy of these workers

may, of course, provide the explanation for the disparity between text
and design, but nevertheless it seems surprising in view of the respon-
sible function such amulets doubtless fulfilled in the protecting of
the apprehensive.

~ second important question raised by these texts is the process

by which the incantations found on amulets were transmitted, incan-

tations that are also to be found on tablets. We have seen above that

a group of incantations was assembled into a compilation under the

title bul.ba zi.zi, probably towards the end of the Second Millenium B.
C. The earliest evidence for any incantation from this compilation is
the MB period (cf. p. 69 ff.), when for the first time amulets, cylin-
der seals and also tablets are found that attest to their usage. The
problems of dating for the cylinder-shaped amulets of clay apply equally

to Lamastu plaques, but it seems assured that all such objects are to
be dated as Neo-Assyrian.

What, however, is the relationship between texts on amulets of

various kinds, and those on tablets? The orthography is, as already
mentioned, admittedly bad, but since this is due to the actual crafts-
men who ins~ribed them, and not to the "author" of the texts, this as-
pect may be dismissed as being of subsidiary importance. When these

inscriptions are looked at closely, it emerges that they are character-

ised by the usual scribal idiosyncracies expected in cuneiform writing.

Ideograms, phonetic complements and syllabic ·writings are used in nor-

'
mal proportions; the only noticeable phenomenon that mi~ht be discerned
i

is the occasional use of uncommon phonetic writings (see below), wri-

tings that are otherwise most unusual. This correspondence alone indi-

cates that 'normal' scribes who had undergone the traditional training
must have been responsible for providing some form of master copy (a
large clay tablet with big, clear characters?) for the benefit of the
craftsmen-copyists. (Cf., perhaps, s. Smith, Idri-mi p. 10.)
In the case of the Lamastu incantations, we do not know when the
texts were first composed, or written down, and the history of Lamastu
herself is but sketchily known. There seems to be a gap between the
OAss. incantation edited by W. von Soden, Or NS 25 (1956). which
attests to the existence of Lamastu (who is referred to as ma-ar-tu
a-ni-im), and the later First Millenium texts and amulets from Assyria,
filled only by the OB incantation published by C. E. Keiser in BIN 2
no. 72, edited also by van Soden in Or NS 23 (1954) p. 337ff. Both
texts have some parallels in wording with the later material, but there
is insufficient evidence at present to assume an unbroken tradition.
The amulets appear to be an innovation of the First Millenium B. C.,
although the stimulus for their production is obscure. Lamastu-type
beings are detectable in glyptic art as far back as the MA period (e. g.

H. Frankfort, Cylinder Seals p. 187 no. 56), but whether these are to
be identified with Lama~tu herself remains to be established.

It may be observed that only two Lama~t~ amulets are sa far

known with cuneiform signs written on the face that carries
the Lamastu representation (engravings of objects used to
banish Lsmastu, earlier considered to be cuneiform signs by
some scholars (e. g. C. E. Keiser. in nates an our H in
BIN 2) must. of course, carefully be distinguished): they
are our ~ which, according to A. H. Sayee in BOR 3 (1888) p.
18, has the two characters MA~ PA "above the left arm . .
 318

written backwards." (This is .::P-f-< : are these signs to be in-

terpreted as (ia) -mas-tu! perhaps?) The other ·:amulet is no.
35 of the list (cf. H. Klengel, MID 7 (1959-60) p··· 342 Abb. 4).
in which the sign !-;it is engraved below the right arm of the
demon; this appears to be a cuneiform sign rather than a repre-
sentation as mentioned above, but it is obscure. (Perhaps read
A~-su = tupai~assu, "you anoint him'', as in medical texts?)

3. Amulets of a less defined group, essentially Pendants

The amulets with texts from our compilation that have been

grouped under this heading are of shapes that are conditioned by their
use as pendants, i. e •. they are small and rounded objects that could
comfortably be worn suspended on a thread. They. may in turn be sub-

divided into two further types:

1 "Pilgrim Flask" shape 1

One example of an amulet in this shape has so far been discovered, BM

89904, our~- This text was first published, in copy only. by F. Le-
normant, Choix no. 27; a new copy is given here. Pl. 56. It received
attention from S. Langdon, Babyloniaca 3 (1910) pp. 11-12, and K. Frank,
~SS NF 3/III p. 53; MAOG XIV/2 II 5. The amulet is made of chalcedony,
and its dimensions are: W.: 16mm. H.: 25mm. Th.: 3mm. It appears
that the small projection at the top may have had a hole running through
it, although it is also possible that this was merely shaped in this
way, without actually having had an aperture.

1 For an illustration of a real Pilgrim Flask see, e. g.t Ruth

Amiran, Ancient Pottery_ of the Holy_ Land (Jerusalem 1969) pl. 51 (p. 168).
 ;r
I
319

It may be noted here that Lenormant mentions a duplicate

~
amulet to BM 89904, made of steatite, which he saw at the
;
same time in the British Museum, and which apparently has
not resurfaced since. It is clear from his comment that
the duplicate was of a different shape (his ter~'is. by
contrast, "forme carr~e"); it may be that this is rather
another Lamastu amulet (in which case it would be no. 69),
but perhaps this piece will be identified one day.

2 "Truncated ellipsoid" shape

Three of our amulets have this shape:

1. L. de Clercq, J. Menant. CdC II pl. 28 12, our~ (see Pl. 56).

This amulet is made from pink carnelian, and measures 23 x 12mm.; cf.

~ II p. 176 12.

2. Ashmolean 1921.947, our T (see Pl. 56).

This amulet was first publi~hed by S. Langdon, JRAS 1921 pp. 574-5:
no date or provenance is available, and the piece was formerly in the
Johns Collection. langdon gave the material as being onyx (confirmed
privately by B. Buchanan in Oxford), although the present Museum label
suggests calcite. The dimensions are: W.: 7mm. H.: 30mm. Th.: 16mm.
The hole is carelessly aligned, but the inscription is of a high stan-

dard for an amulet. A portion of the lower left corner is now broken

away.

3.
., c ,
L. J. Krusina- erny. Ar. .Q.t. 18/III (1950) p. 303 no. 26, and pl •

14. our U (see Pl. 54).

No date or provenance is available. Made from silex(?). Size given

as 40 X 33 x 2Dmm. Signs (as copied) are of inferior workmanship.

Of these four amulets, the first offers both a variant version

of our no. 9 (see Comma), and the obscure line 210. The other three
 320

each have simply line 210. No. 9 is not otherwise to be found on an

V

amulet, but line 210 does occur on some Lamastu amulets~ as noted above.
'

There is one other amulet of this shape that has been published
to date, and this has an incantation not included in Gattung·IV;
indeed, it is otherwise quite unknown. It was copied and edited
by J. Nougayrol in RA 54 (1970) pp. 57-8. It is made of chalce-
dony, and measures 24 x 44 x ?mm. The amulet was found in Syria,
and it belonged to an Assyrian gentleman named Assur-idin. The
text is an exorcistic passage against "evil messengers" coming
up from the Underworld, partly reminiscent of Utukki Lemnuti.

The wedges on this class of amulet are strongly reminiscent of those

occurring in the better cylinder seals of the Second Millenium onwards

(i. e., not those made crudely by drilling a hole o , e. g. our AA;
cf. Pl. 58, but clear, wedge-shaped signs.~~). Since these amulets
are also made of hard stones, it seems more than likely that they were
produced by the same class of workmen. Similar in some ways are the

curious 'eye'-stones discussed by W. G. Lambert, RA 63 (1969) PP• 65-

71, and these latter objects are perhaps to be grouped in the same

broad category of inscribed, functional pieces of 'jewellery'.

In conclusion, then, we may conveniently summarise the distri-

bution of incantations from Gattung IV on cylinder seals and the various

types of amulet, by means of the following table:

TABLE to show the Occurrence of Gattung IV Texts

on Cylinder Seals and Amulets

Text Cylinder Clay, Seal- Lamas tu- "Jewellery"-

Seal Shaped Amulet Amulet Amulet

2 V. w H, I
 321

Text Cylinder Clay, Seal- Lamas tu- 1•Jewellery 11 -

,;
Seal Shaped Amulet Amulet Amulet
~.

9 - - -
..
-R
18 - ~. ~·
_g_, Q., ~. f:_, - -
HH
-
19
-X -G - -
33
(line -y - - -
189)

38
(line
210)
'!_, _s, ~.
-BB - d· -II B_, §_, I.. -V

48 - - -GG -
60 - - ~·
l, M, f!,
0, P", Q, cc,
-
DD' -EE7 FF,
GG, JJ, KK,
LL

62 - - -GG -
65 - - -GG -

It may be noted that so far only four of these ten passages are
to be found both on amulets and seals, namely nos. 2, 19 (cf. above,
p. 293), 33 and 38 (in each case, the opening line of the incantation;
cf. the relevant notes). It will be interesting to see whether future
discoveries will alter this picture, indeed whether other incantations
from Gattung IV will be shown to have been used for the same purpose:
there is no unifying factor in these texts that outwardly distinguishes

them from others of this compilation that have not (yet) been found in

such a context.
 ):.
~~::
,,
322

Addendum I Use of the Plague amulet

The shape that characterises the Lama;tu amulet Cdr. p. 14 ) is

also utilised in amulets which either from the engraving or the in-
scription are not designed to repel Lama~tu, but ot~er evil forces. 1

It may not be out of place to note here amulets of this type, for the
sake of completeness.

1 F. Lenormant, Choix no. 25; cf. J. D. Beazley, Lewes.House p. 3f.

(text edited by L. W. King, then s. Langdon); W. St. C. Boscawen,
BOR 9 (1901) p. 67f.; E. D. van Buren. Or NS 23 (1954) p. 11; C.
Frank. LSS NF 3/III P• 52f.; ~ XIV/2 (1941) p. 7f. This amu-
let is now in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, no. 27.650 (after
Or NS 23). Note that Frank regarded this in both works cited
above as an incantation to Ninurta. The opening line, however,
reads:
d Y V V

mas.mas mas.tab.ba
It is thus invoking Lugalgirra: cf. Lewes House.

2 F. Lenormant, Choix no. 26. Since this inscription seems never to

have been edited, a transliteration may be offered here:

1 en udug.bul EN? TAR 2 bul.gal zi.ki.a 3 su.a.ni.ta

4 b a.mu.un. d a.e' 5 d a I'd .
a .s~g 6 dlama.sig .ga 7
5 .ga .. 5
udug.sig .ga
5
8 zi.ki.a ki a 9
...
be.du.de
10 , d ...
en mas.
maS maS 11 KA.inim.ma
Notes: 1 Perhaps 11 lord of the street"(?) 2 The zi.ki.a
seems out of place here. 8-9 If he.du.de refers, as seems
probable. to the benevolent deities in 5-7, the 8 is then for
a.mu (cf. A. Falkenstein, LSS NF I p. 30), and the zi.ki.a is
also out of place, being no-doubt the survivor of the common
formula zi.an.na Qe.ea
etc. The form~la in 10 seems to cor-
respond to the Akk. siptu ul jattun: sipat ON ..• formula (in
an abbreviated way), and if so. this is presumably a transla-
tion back from the Akk. into Sum •• since it does not appear

1 Just as the shape of the cylinder seal is sometimes exploited

for the production of votive, cultic objects (cf. p. 291), this amulet
·i
shape is also to be found in votive plaques quite separate in function "'
from incantation plaques. Exx. are BM 11384 (cf. B~dge, Amulets and
Ialismans p1. XII 1), BM 118796 (Budge, ibid. p. 98; cf. E. Reiner--,--
JNES 19 (1960) p. 155: H. W. F. Saggs, Greatness pl. 568); Rm II, 263
(cf., for the present. C. Bezold, Catalogue p. 1662. obv. only).
 323

elsewhere in Sum. (cf. R. D. Biggs. TCS 2 p. 39., With the

DN and the seemingly superfluous mas cf. the fir~t line of
the preceding amulet. Is .tab.ba to be supplied~here?

3 K. Frank, StrKT 18. cF. pl. X and p. 28. This is a clay tablet,
but it seems to carry an amuletic inscription of the type on
nos. 5-7 below.

4 J. A. Knudtzon, ~12 (1897) p. 256 no. 2. This amulet has no in-

scription, but note the engravings: "Auf der Vorderseite ein·
Mann, eine Gottheit anbetend, welche auf einem geflQgelte Un-
get~m thront; auf der Ruckseite 2 gefl~gelte, auf der Hinter-
FHssen aufrecht stehende phantastische Tiere mit Adlerkrallen."
It is made from bronze, and other than a drawn outline of its
shape in ZA 12. it remains unpublished.

5 C. E. Keiser, BIN 2 pl. VIII no. 16, and pp. 21-22. The obv. and
what survives of the rev. contain a magical inscription consis-
ting of signs repeated seven times, similar in type to nos. 6-7.
This amulet is made of black shell.

6 V. Scheil, SFS no. 554: unpublished.

7 V. Scheil. ~· cit. no. 585, likewise unpublished.

B W. G. Lambert. Iraq (forthcoming). An amulet of chalcedony with

extracts from Ebeling's Gattung II (cf. above, p.3~ ).

9 W. G. Lambert, Iraq (forthcoming). An amulet of chlorite, appar-

ently in Sumerian (?)

10 BM 22464 (82-7-14, 982). Photo. of engraving only in E. A. W.

Budge, op. cit. pl. XIII no. 1.; cf. p. 97. The amulet is made
from limestone, and carries on the rev. six lines of a partly
effaced inscription, which reads:
d . d
1 a-na nin-rKAxXl 2 DAM? miR. IGI.[D)U? 3 [x] x x
ana DIN zrme 4 [x] X lum/ar-ni-su 5 [Cx)] si-me-e 6
[x (x)] X X X
The present state of this text makes its inclusion here open to
doubt, since the inscription could conceivably be rather a dedi-
 324
il
i.,,'

'l
cation plaque of the type mentioned above in n. 1, p. 322. 1

11 There is also a whole group of amulets in this shap~ for use

against plague, fully discussed by E. Reiner in JNES 19 (1960)
pp. 148-54; there is no need to list here the individual amu-
lets given there. Miss Reiner also points to tablets that have
this same characteristic shape (including •votive• tablets as
mentioned above), of which hemerologies are also an important
type (cf. ibid. p. 155). As well as our text c (see above, p.
14), a further example that has to be added to that list is
'
STT 300; as pointed out by D. R. Gurney, STT II p. 15.

12 Finally, we may note here two amulets of this shape that have been
considered as prophylactic against the demon Pazuzu, since they
bear known Pazuzu inscriptions. These are:
D. J. Wiseman, J. V. Kinnier Wilson, Iraq 13 (1954) p. 115 (NO
484); cf. M. E. L. Mallowan, Nimrud and its Remains I pp.
117-8, and
.H. W. F. Saggs, AfD 19 (1959-60) pp. 123-7.

These amulets have been usually distinguished from Lamast~

amulets, as being against Pazuzu, because the inscriptions are
in both cases concerned with that demon. The distinction is
clearly brought out in the following quotation from H. W. F.
Saggs, Greatness p. 304; he is talking of a winged statuette oF
Pazuzu:
no 8 spite the totally inappropriate inscription, this amu-
·let ultimately came to be used to protect women in child-
birth, probably from the general similarity to the Lamastu
amulet, which was directly concerned with the being who
threatened women in childbirth and nursing mothers."2

i ~

1 The author hopes to publish BM 22464 together with the objects

j
j
mentioned in that note in conjunction with the remaining unpublished
Lamastu amulets in the British Museum noticed above.
1
.~
·~
2 .
Cf., for example, A. Parrot, Nineveh ~ Babylon p. 117, etc. ' ~
•.·.·_1

~
'

'
.
.
 325

The amulet in question has no similarity to Lamastu amulets,

~
and this explanation has serious drawbacks, and it may well
be that the background to the use of these amulets has an
alternative explanation. That Pazuzu was conceived of as a
baleful influence in himself is nowhere specifically stated.
The Louvre statuette published in photograph by F. Thureau-
Dangin in RA 18 (1921) pp. 190-1 shows Pazuzu bound and under
control would suggest that he may sometimes be a dangerous
force that was safer when dominated, but the iconography of
amulets makes it quite clear that Pazuzu was considered to be
prophylactic against Lamastu. On the famous bronze plaque
published by de Clercq, ~ II pl. xxxiv-v, for example, the
back of the object is entirely given over to a sculptured
figure of Pazuzu, whose head and hands reach over the top,
whence he grimaces savagely to discourage approach. Small
heads of Pazuzu carved in profile are also commonly seen: in
the bronze plaque just mentioned are included two little Pa-
iuzu heads, and a standing figure of Pazuzu brandishing a whip
to frighten her away. A similar function may be attributed to
the numerous small heads of Pazuzu in various substances (e. g.
stone, metal, shell etc.) that are sometimes to be found in
graves as part of a necklace: cf. P. R. S. Moorey, Iraq 27
(1965) p. 35ff. Note also the large Pazuzu heads in this con-
nection (cf. W. G. Lambert, FB 12 (1970) p. 4 ff.; B. K. Ismail,
Sumer 30 (1974) p. 12lff.), and also the full-figure statuettes
of Pazuzu (Moorey, Q£• cit. p. 33ff. and ref.).
This may not be the sole function of a Pazuzu representation,
but it seems clear that images of Pazuzu were certainly employed
against the dread Lamastu. This is stated in so many words in
the ritual in RA 18 (1921) p. 165 obv. 28-rev. 1. The reason
behind this is uncertain, since outside of the Pazuzu· incanta-
tions themselves, Pazuzu is only twice mentioned in texts (cf.
FB 12 (1970) p. 47), and neither context is revealing in this
matter. It is possible that this may simply be an example of
similia similibus curantur, a principle that applies elsewhere
in the field of protective magic (cf. T. Schrire, Hebrew Amulets
p. 6). It is probable. however. that there is an unknown link
between Pazuzu and Lamastu which meant that an image of the for-
mer would be loathsome to the latter. This link seems to be
 326

taken for granted in the late material at our disposal, and

'
it is even possible that their specific relationship had be-
come forgotten.
A revealing illustration of this relationship is pro-
vided by a small stone figurine from Sultantepe, published
(as a stamp seal!) by S. Lloyd, AnSt 4 (1954) p. 104 Fig. 2
(see below). in a drawing only. As was pointed out by J.
Nougayrol, Syria 42 (1965) p. 230 n. 1, this object bears so
close a ressemblence to the Louvre figurine referred to on
the preceding page here. the bound figure of the complete
Pazuzu, that it seems safe to take it as a parallel amulet.
The correctness of this identification is all the more cer-
tain in view of the design under the feet of the figure.
This was construed by S. Lloyd to be the pattern that would
produce the impression. but it·has all the appearance of a
standard representation of Lamastu, broken off about two-
thirds of the way down so that the two bird's feet and the
lower end of the snake on the right remain visible. This
a unique example of Lamastu symbolically depicted under the
foot of Pazuzu. and is a clear demonstration of his power over
· her. 1

(~ 4 (1954) p. 104 Fig. 2)

1 This was apparently overlooked by Nougayrol, since he makes no

comment, and the fact is relevant to his discussion. It would be in-
teresting to learn whether the Louvre statuette carries a design on its
base, although it presumably does not as Thureau-Dangin makes no comment.
The identification as Lamastu was also made by Moorey, Irag 27 (1965)
pp. 37-8; cf. his discussion. It is unfortunate that no clear copy was
made of the text. (Could line 2 read: ina q!-[bi]t [d]MAg A MAS .••.
i. e. our line 330 in incantation no. 60?)
 1
1

327

Addendum II The Orthography of Amulets

It was observed above (in the discussion about the =use of umagic

words 11 ) that a magical mystique often attaches to that which cannot be

understood, and that the use of umumbo-jumbou in incantation texts is
thus partly to be explained. A further manifestation of this tendency
is the use of illegible or garbled script in the actual writing down
1
of magic texts. In cultures where literacy was exceptional, badly
written texts may reflect laziness on the part of the scribe (who
could feel sure that the shortcomings in his handiwork would pass un-
noticed), or general incompetence. or a deliberate attempt to lend an
. 2
additional magic power to his product. In other contexts there is
probably a blend of all three at work; in the case of the Mesopotamian
material. 1 scribal 1 inadequacy is more probably the explanation. As a
rule, texts in the cuneiform script are extraordinarily well written;
the number of mistakes in manuscripts from the main Mesopotamian tra-

1 Cf.
E. A. Wallis Budge. Amulets and Talismans pp. 31-2: J. A.
Montgomery, PBS 3 p. 14; E. A. Yamauchi:-Mandaic Incantation Texts pp.
16-17.
2 where this is done. the scribe must obviously be literate: in
such cases as those Aramaic Incantation Bowls where the inscription is
reduced to a mere wavy line. the 'scribe' may be totally illiterate.
These bowls were not always produced by professional magicians, but were
privately written by individuals for their own use, cf. Montgomery, ££·
cit. p. 14 n. 9.
--- There are tablets with 'mock cuneiform' inscriptions (ignoring
fakes, of course), which may be relevant here; cf. Fr. Blame, Or 34-5
(1928) pp. 135-6 (cf. A. Deimel. ibid. p. 137); V. Scheil, RA 26 (1929)
pp. 10-ll: J. Dppert in de Clercq, CdC II p. 176 no. 12, of-a jewel-
shaped amulet. Note here the remarkable amulet published by J. Nougay-
rol, Syria 42 (1965) pp. 237-34 (no. 55 above). considered by its editor
to be a fake based on RA 18 (1921) p. 161 71(= TCL 6 49) with an arti-
ficially archaised script (cf. ibid. p. 229, an~p. 233-4). The rea-
son for this rather elaborate explanation is the remarkable no. of error!
(carefully documented by Nougayrol pp. 229-30). Since these correspond
in principle to those found in other, indisputably genuine amulets, this
conclusion ·is unnecessarily contrived. See later however, Syria 43 332f,
 328

dition is extremely small in view of the nature of the script. Amu-

1
lets as a corpus of texts probably represent the worst d~fenders in
'
1
this direction.
The reason for this is no doubt the fact that·Bmulet inscriptions

were engraved by people who were not qualified scribes. Whether the
man who produced the design was also responsible for the signs is not

known (cf. above, p. 315); it is possible that amulets were produced

in a workshop by a team of people who each had a function to perform

(as in the manufacture of reliefs and statues in Egypt); but however·
the work was arranged, it is clear that in most cases, the craftsman

was to all intents and purposes illiterate.

In the writing of amulet inscriptions, barbarisms occur that are
to be found in no other kind of text: words are split up over two lines,

for example. 2 It seems probable that the craftsman had a master copy
from which to work, which in some cases was rather cursorily followed.

The inscriptions on kudurrus manifest a similar carelessness in sign

forms, and it seems probable that these had to be commissioned and

drawn up subsequent to a clay document which might first be written

(cf. L. W. King, BBS p. xii, and e. g. p. 6 notes 7 and 10, p. 7 notes

1 Those clay amulets shaped like a cylinder seal are, however,

clearly from the hand of experienced scribed (clay is, after all, the
medium employed). and they conform to the normal high standard, despite
the extreme smallness of some examples. Cf. also p. 295 above. Note,·
for the problem of the transmission of incantations on amulets, that
STT 144, a tablet of Lamastu incantations, is conspicuously garbled.
rs-this significant perhaps?

2 It should be pointed out that in many cases, the size of an amu-

let makes it rather difficult to avoid this particular barbarity. never-
theless, there are ample examples where it could have been escaped, and
thus it is clear that the craftsmen here did not view the practice with
the horror one would expect in an orthodox scribe working with tablets.
 329

1 and 3). Compare also the sign forms on BM 118998 in JNES 19 (1960)
-r-
pp. 148-9, and Pl. II there.
For interest, the principle types of such 1 scribal' barbarity
that occur on the Mss. for Gattung IV are summarised'here. They rep-
resent the graver examples, since the standard of sign forms is consis-
tently unimpressive. The longer signs tend to abbreviated, for exam-
ple, indeed, the standard of orthography in amulets may be compared
with that of cylinder seals, where the inscriptions were reproduced by
the engraver over and over again, and whatever the level of knowledge
on the part of the engraver, the method of engraving often renders the
signs mangled. In both classes of manuscript, a knowledge of what the
text should say is often a prerequisite to their decipherment; cf. H.
Limet. Les Legendes des sceaux cassites pp. 31-4. The following are
the main types from our Mss.; they are, of course, easily paralleled
in other amulet inscriptions (cf. J. N~ugayrol, Syria 42 (1965) pp.
229-30 etc.):

1. Badly written signs

,., I h • r
Line 6 !: mas·.sag ?0 8: na-an-du-ruf 71 §_: (TE)IJ~.

I , I "'
72 §_: nam-.ba.te.ga.e-.de 326 M: NI-si-ria,

KK: -di (of mal-di); spacing distorted 327 N: u-sag-ri-ra-a-IR. .

328 K: u-kal-MAS-an-ni Q KK: ~U(= IGI)-an-ni 329 0: (KI)ti!.
(cf. the -ti in 328) 330 K: SI GIS for SAG.(KAL) 332 L: rzu1
cut) note spacing 333 K: an-da-B~ QA en L: EN!(mes) an-BAR-
,
qut en

2. Signs in the wrong order

331 P: e-GIL-SAG

3. Omission of signs
·~.
-·

6 I: AN (for dnin-urta) 327 K: u-sa-ga-ri-I (=r(a-ni? Or, error

- 'I
d d ... .·
of copyist?) 329 KK: ne-du MA (for ne-du i-duB.:..gal)
8 8

4. Inclusion of superfluous signs

7 I: rnaml.ba.DA.t[e 327 KK: u/-sag-ri-RA+PA-ra-an-ni

5. Splitting up of words over two lines 1

326 CC: ma!/-al-di KK: gisNA/-ia 327 KK: u/-sag-(cf. above)
5
328 KK: par-da-a/-ti 328 0: IGian/-ni HH: ur-oe/-ta etc.

6. Insertion of signs due at the end of a line at the end of the

preceding line
... ,
ti
329 KK: ••• Kll (11) ~IDsu (lO)

7. Unfinished inscriptions

KK stops in the middle of line 330 of no. 60 (11. 326-33), although

there is plenty of room on the amulet. The rulings for the remaining

lines have been made in preparation. It is interesting to observe the

relatively large number of irregularities in this amulet, since the

design on the other face is of a comparatively high standard (photo.

and hand copy by H. Klengel, MID 7 (1959-60) pl. V 11 and p. 352).

Another point that should be made about the orthography of amu-

lets is the use of rarer sign values in phonetic writings; cf., for

example:

1
Note also similar examples on Pazuzu Heads in FB 12 (1970) pp.
41-7, written with a stylus on clay. They exhibit also other barbarities.
Line 70 A: na-an-duru(KU) HH: na-an-duru (A) 328 L: par-
5 1

This is also a characteristic of the genre; cf. B[ 12 p. 47,

ES ~ nan? (parallel: na-an), accepted (in parentheses) in W. von
Soden, W. R8llig, Syllabar 2 p. 54 275.
 LIST Of MUSEUM NUMBERS

All hand-copies, unless otherwise stated. are by the author. In

addition, the published copies of almost all the Manuscripts have been
reproduced here, since many of the original publications are obscure,
or inaccessible. (Exceptions are a, d. e. h and i, since these are
readily available.) All British Museum medical texts used in this the-
sis are noted in this list, although same are partly quoted in trans-
literation only. The following Mss. are omitted from this list, since
their whereabouts is unknown: D. E, I. J. K, L, S, U, V, W, V, Z, AA
and BB. for their respective details, cf.-the Catalogue of Manuscripts.

BRITISH MUSEUM PLATE

K 239 (L) 20
255+2430+3176+4875+6893+8275+12943+ 1-4, 6-9
13350+16800 (A; cf. K 10260+)
2359 (F) - 21
2430 See K 255+
2477+2539+9685 (R) 21
2506+8908+13777 (8; cf. K 9022+. 11-12
K 14375 and K 11255)
2539 See K 2477+
2542+2772+2991+3300+10223+DT 85+DT 170 20
(E)
2566+10475 (I) 22
2772 See K 2542+
2991 See K 2542+
3174+8165 (See p. 56) 41
3176 See K 255+
3300 See K 2542+
3398+6015+7186+14166 (G) 21
3442 (0) 24
3612+8010+8124 (H) 20
3628+4009+Sm 315 (P) 25-6
4009 See K 3628+
4875 See K 255+
6015 See K 3998+
6893 See K 255+
7186 See K 3398+
7642 (J) 22
7988 (C) 14
8010 See K 3612+
8124 See K 3612+
8165 See K 3174+
8211 (S) 27
8215+9255 (D; Tablet 1) 19
8275 See K 255+
8908 See K 2506+
9022~10126+10732+13819 (8; cf. K 2506+, 10, 13
K 14735 and K 11255)
9255 See K 8215

-,,
:~;jj
K 9329 (See p. 215) 39
9542 (See p. 173) 37
9658 See K 2477+
9839 (T) 28
10128 See K 9022+
10233 See K 2542+
10260+14037+Sm 87 (A; cf. K 255+) 5-6
10371 (Q) 24
10475 See K 2566+
10732 See K 9022+
11255 CB; cf. K 9022+, K 2506+ and K 14735) 11
12943 See K 255+
13350 See K 255+
13369 CD; Tablet 2) 19
13777 See K 2506+
13819 SeeK 9022+.
14037 See K 10260+
14166 See K 3398+
14735 (8; cf. K 9022+, K 2506+ and K 11255) 11
16800 See K 255+
Sm 87 See K 10260
312 (See p. 192) 38
725 (See p. 216) 40
1315 See K 3628+
DT 85 See K 2542+
170 See K 2542+
Rm IV 467 ~ BM 104891 (~) 53
85-4-8, 1 (F) 42
1925-7-15, I (KK) 55
Ki 1902-5-10, 36 (LL) 54
BM 45637+45815 = 81-7-6, 30 Cf) 31-2
45815 See BM 45637
47889 c 81-11-3, 596 (g) 36
64270 c 82-9-18, 4246 ta) 33
65458 c 81-7-6, 5445 (e) 30
89904 (R) -
56
93081 =-83-l-18, 1905 (b) 34
103058 = 1910-4-13, 2 (HH) 43
122631 = 1930-5-8, 20 (NJ 23
12731 (II) 52
134064 ;-1932-12-12. 599 (8) 42
134574 = 1932-12-12, 569 CM) 23
Note also:

UET VI/2 no. 392 (No Museum No.), c 35

DEi VI/2 no. 391 (No Museum No.), d 35

ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, ANKARA

1951, 146+1952, 2+78+85+118+129 (a; cf. All STT texts in
1952, 85; 1952, 129 and 1952, 360) copy-sy o. R. Gur-
1952, 74 + 382 (d)
ney in STT 2: none
1952, 85 (a; cf. 1951, 146+; 1952, 129 are reproduced here.
and 1952, 360
Collations by author
1952, 129 (a; cf. 1951, 146+; 1952, 85 from excavation phot1
on Plates 61-62.
 334

and 1952, 360)

1952, 360 (a; cf. 1951, 146; 1952, 85 and 1952, 129)

VDRDERASIATISCHES MUSEUM, BERLIN

VAT 9997 (b) Copy by author from new Museum photos. 15-18
with the help of Collations by W. G. Lambert
VAT 9678 (c) Copy by E. Ebe1ing, KAR 76; Collations 52
courtesy w. G. Lambert ---
VAT 11097 (f) Copy by author from new Museum photo. 29
with the help of Collations by W. G. Lambert
VAT 17580 (h) Copy by F. KBcher, BAM 385
VA 5163 = Ass. 4850 (FF) Copy by ~K1engel 51
VA 5289 = Ass. 15412 TEE) Photo. from MID 7 (1959- 47
60) pl. IV 6b ---
VA 8278 = Ass. 15665 CQQ) Photo. from ibid. p1. IV 47
5b

ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM, OXFORD

1921, 947 (T) 56
1893. 1-41,-416 50

IRAQ MUSEUM, BAGHDAD

IM 44981 (i) Copy by D. R. Gurney, Sumer 9 (1953)
No. 29 -
IM 74548 (GG) Photo. in Sumer 28 (1972) Fig. 4 47
? (~)Copy by·R. C. Thompson, Irag 7 (1940) 44
Fig. 5 no. 38
"ND.280" (C) Cuneiform unpublished; cf. D. J. Wise-
man, Irfg 12 (1950) p. 197, and p. 142.
"N~ 1103" ~) Copy by D. J. Wiseman 44

LOUVRE, PARIS
AD 1167 (X) Copy by author after photo. in CCL 2 58
CA 602)
2491 (M) Copy by F. Thureau-Dangin 50
7888 <N) Copy by F. Thureau-Dangin 50

· MUSEES ROVAUX DU CINQUENTENAIRE, BRUSSELS

0. 195 =Ass. 9610 (e) Copy by F. K8cher, BAM 221
19288 Cg) Copy by author after new Museum photo. . 46

NATIONAL MUSEUM, COPENHAGEN

6686 (Q) Copy by Th. Jacobsen 51

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM, NEW YORK

86.11.2 (CC) Copy by author after photos. in BMMA 48
19 (1924) p. 145, and AfO 4 (1927) p. 90 ----

VALE BABVLONIAN COLLECTION

YBC 2193 (~) Copy by C. E. Keiser 49

DEUTSCHEN ARCHAOLOGISCHEN INSTITUT (?)

W. 19940 (P) Copy by author after photo. on UVB 16 48
(1960) pl. 21 c-d

UNIVERSITY MUSEUM, PHILADELPHIA

CBS 3992 Copy
3993 of
3994 each 60
3995 amulet
3996 by
5559 L. Legrain

Finally, the following unpublished amulets are here described

and transliterated (in Addendum I to Appendix !I), although no copy
has been included far these objects:
BRITISH MUSEUM
BM 80-7-19
91899 = 81-7-27, 182
99373 = Ki 1904-10-9, 406
120388 = 51-10-9, 43
132520 =
1959-2-14, 18

ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM, OXFORD

1968.1291
 ·sELECT LIST OF WORDS AND '
;

SIGNS DISCUSSED

dba'ir~alluttim, p. 172 .
mustarhisu,
...
pp. 199-200
dakaku, p. 175 napi(r), p. 188
DI.DI (= atluku?), p. 149 d ner-e-tagmi1,
- - pp. 173-4·
d
eddu, pp. 234-6 ninmetenten, p. 206
en/nin ("to go away?"), p. 164 dpa111(IGI.DU), pp. 146-8
*e~imu ("to block?"), pp. 184-5 pitru, pp. 1??-81
ga.an.dib (= aooazu?). pp. 165-6 pur (UD). p. 213
X
gaba dib ("to banish?"), p~ 202 sa(d) ("to go away"?), p. 219
gar88u, p. 231 BBI!U (= saru, "wind 11 ) , P· 148
,
gu4.ud.da (= saba~u), p. !42 si1 7 (EZENxA.LAL/LAL), PP• 138-9
oam (UO), p. 242 sip~u ("equilibrium"), P• 155
X d
diGI.DU See palil sukbutu ("to respect"). P• 148
'v V
irta pataru ("to banish"?). p. 202 ml.su-sa-an-nu (= Susan?), p.· 161
kidinnu, pp. 208-10 TAR.(da) ("to go away"?), p. 219
lemnu ("sick"), p. 182 t@ru ana ("to do again"), p. 145
lubu (LU~) p. 265 tiri~ ubani 1emnu, p. 220-22

ma-tliR-ti, p. 176 du, pp. 152-4

d ,
maldi, p. 232 u 4-ba-nu-il-la, pp. 149-50
-
mazzazu, p. 152
., ........
duomusencor dUZ) uo.ruuruki (or
musamsu, p. 239 dx.mud NUNki), P• 151
MU~ zaq (SAG), p. 182
MU~xA.NA (erina?), p. 193 X
zi.zi.da, p. 159
" ,.
musmitu, p. 149

. .·:~
 '
'

CUNEIFORM
TEXTS
·- ...
 PLATE 1

Obv Col. 1
K 3176
\ ';
~r~r+-AITMf~~~~
· .;_:nA..>-n::n~~l'.IT2rr.:-~~.~ ........._,./v r:-~w
. . ._ I. I t\'~H'i-, fl 1T}-.lJ-j fff >-y-11 1 HI[TfT!Trf"~!:frf'>'\r' f~'
~\ 8275
fr t--Rt~
~~~A~~~
1
Hfi th~~~~~Arr
5 r;r~r r-~mrt=~~~
~~~~
~<~~~
- ~~* >11~ Tf~~~ftT
~~~w-rtt .rr~~~nr-~
1o ·i nrttr(.~~nr'ffT~

K 255+ 2430 +3176

+~875+6893+8 275
+12943 +13350 +16800 .

(A)
m
-~f-tR::MTf

15 ~~~~

~ AFF
,,, -43t-r-f~n+-A~
--1=[>=;IQr--< Pi!-*~
~1--H-FJf:ff Tr- fm-
~J;~r---THfif\
I

. K 4875

~fJRTtt-rh-i{T~fi'ilJ(rFMr:
: -(
1
h>-f~;:;:mfw:r-
i i-i~3~ ~~rtrFTAf~-
!\,.,-. ~_,_'" ~ .~·,-1/~--'..~r -. _,.--~
. ._--i.
__ . ..{- ,I_..... ..--- r·
.~ -~~.r .
\ ____- -- - ____ · _______ ·__ ___ . - __/-
 PLATE 2

1\ 255 +(A) ~~A

~ K4875
Obv. Cot. I (cont 'd.)

25

30

I
35 ~'--
'

K 12943 ~ ·

Col. II (cont 'd.

40

~~>-ffitflAH- t=rr-t=~
11
'-+wmr~~~1ffirm~
45 FJ-!)fah(~ ~4=fJ-* ~ f::::(~ ~
~~-< ff!m~m-A=-*ltrf I;~ ~-r;r&f
fD Fft:Titt::ITFJ-.<-t--tr<~ Hf~·+.;i-JtJKt-4tfr.H}-
~fr.'1!rrn: ·L 1 L/..1 A·:· ~r it--r'-.t-rTJ·r-r .~ 1Trr~r0-~~~
_lt..~U n I I !::<::-_, -<\ '\ ~.:t: I i Y- -~ ni-'\ .. - i ,·. h i J', n·:f.{t. . [1~:r
,.._,.

· --------·-- -- - --· - -- -- -- -... --- -- -· I

 PLATE 3

itt~~~f=rf}-<}tpfr
. r.#F-$~F!lK ~
50 t{(~~t-HW~
: ~ .~>-:{r-:{ ~~
' ~ iiT K255

r=~ ·
.........__
K235+~)
Obv. Col. I (cont ,d.)
 .. . ~<!S

PLATE 4
 PLATE 5

K 14073

K 10260+ 10473
+ Sm 87(A)

Rev.
Col. Ill
 1\ 255 +(A) K 10260+(A) Col. IV
' • ,'·...
Rev. Col. V Rev.

."ff=JTFJ_&:J<F.
.·: .~~~--~· ~~-i _;-;_~ -~
· ':· : ·\ =.' Re5t
obliterated
Same tablet
-?F--. '~:
. but no jOin . .
L> ··
~· ;· 225
l•"
€,:
~ K14073
~

This cOJplet apparently

in O!"l<Z line

K4875

310

----- --· - -· - . . - ·- ··
 PLATE 7

K4875

. I

I
''
K 255 +(A}
: 2 lines missing Rev. Col. V (con t 'd.)
; 01 tablet
I
I

'I
'
'
I

I'

'I
I
I

'

~{Tf"~rff(rmf-. ·
~H=f»f~fRT 335
1i1==~R~~;___ ~
. M<j fiR\ 4_/.·~----l
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 PLATE 23

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K3442(0)

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10
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 PLATE 50

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Not.Mus. 662,6 (O)

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LIST 0? COLLATICNS
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237 (16) ,_,(>f- ki:1lng.ga
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52 dun-ni >.-Att-
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83 )...:~ MA~
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324 (36) dg~~{{ -num
90 (215 13) ~f ? KHHrJ
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114 (30) ~l e-a 361 (215 3) ;t:;- EN

121 (44)
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366 (8) tu].~
126 (50)
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368 (10) . :~mB:t;_; -[er
162 ( 2 15 13)
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195? (44) tus-tan- <~f
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212 (216 62) rrngment uli th .b[a
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374 (16) K MUL.t~UL
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78 ( 1 1 25)

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