Collations to ED Lu C and D

CDLB 2003:3

Cuneiform Digital Library Bulletin (ISSN: 1540-8760)

Published on 2003-02-25

© Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative

Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License except when noted otherwise and in the case of artifact images which follow the CDLI terms of use.

Jonathan Taylor

British Museum

Keywords
lexical list, Fara, Early Dynastic, profession, school tablet


§1. Each of the Early Dynastic lexical ‘professions’ lists ED Lu C and D has been known to Assyriology from a single source from Fara, published by A. Deimel in WVDOG 43 (= SF) as numbers 47 and 48 respectively. They were re-published in MSL 12 (1969), which contains editions of professions lists from earliest times to the first millennium B.C. The editions of these two lists there profited from updated and improved readings. However, the source tablets were not collated. During a visit to Berlin in February 2000, the present author was able to collate the tablets, the results of which are presented below. The text of ED Lu C in particular has changed significantly. Only limited notes will be given here; the detailed analysis will be left to M. Krebernik, who has begun a major work on all the Fara school tablets. Notes provided in MSL 12, 15-16, are not repeated here.

 

§2. The lists are an intriguing mix of familiar, well-attested professions and more enigmatic terms, some of which lend themselves to plausible interpretation, while others are more difficult to comprehend.

VAT 12619 (SF 47; ED Lu C)

§3. This list is now also known from a prism fragment from Nippur (6N-T 920). This fragment will be published by M. Civil in the official volume of 6N-T texts. Thanks are due to Civil for sending me information and a photo of the fragment. This Ur III(?) duplicate demonstrates that the identification of obverse and reverse by Deimel was incorrect and must be reversed. On account of this and some other problems with line division, the line numbering requires change; the numbering of MSL 12 is given in brackets following the new line number. Variants from the prism fragment are not given here (see text on-line).

 

§4.

1 (66) tu
2 (67) a-tu
3 (68) gu4-x-si-a
4 (69) max(SI)-DU
5 (70) max(SI)-lah4
6 (71) max(SI)-gin2
7 (72) igi-tum3-la2
8 (73) PA:x:(x:)x
9 (74) IGI.DUB-bar
10 (58) sipa-udu
11 (59) lu2-sag-udu-šid
12 (60) lu2-gišnig2-la2
13 (61) gu2-šu-du8
14 (62) lu2-maš2-šu-gid2
15 (63) lu2-udu-HAR
16 (64) dim2?-la2
17 (65) muhaldim
18 (48) mu-ti
19 (49) lu2-x-lah4
20 (50) sanga-gal
21 (51) sanga-gal:KAŠ
22 (52) sag:giš:gi
23 (53) ad-NE
24 (54) ŠU2.AD
25 (55) USAN3?-šu-gal2
26 (56) u2-a
27 (57) RI:KAŠ
28 (41) ˹lu2?-kuš?˺usan3-du3
29 (42) gu-la2
30 (43) DU6?:NITA(+KUR?)a
31 (44) lu2-EN-IL2
32 (45) lu2-gu4:DI:lah4
33 (46) lu2-anše(LAK 239):DI:lah4
34 (47) lu2-maš2-nitaa-HI
35 (34) DU:˹DI˺
36 (35) gab2-ra2
37 (36) sipa-anše(LAK 239)
38 (37) lu2-anše-HAR
39 (38) in-TAR
40 (39) lu2-e2-gigir2
41 (40) kuš7
42 (25) lu2-nesag-(˹a˺?)
43 (26) ša3-zu
44 (27) NIM-zu
45 (28) lu2-en-nu
46 (29) nagar:KI
47 (30) gidim?-igi-du8
48 (31) ensix(EN.LI)
49 (32) ara
50 (33) TAK4.ALAN
51 (34) kaskal-erim2
52 (35) unu3
53 (19) sipa-gu4
54 (19) gu4-lah4
55 (20) teš2-tuku
56 (21) lu2-nar(LAK 242)
57 (22) lu2-šir3
58 (23) lu2-bur2:balag
59 (24) lu2-RI:lagar
60 (9) lu2-gi-di
61 (10) lu2-ad-da
62 (11-12) lu2-KA×UD:gar3-gar3:LAK50
63 (13) ezen:APIN?
64 (14) lu2-NIG2-du-da
65 (15) gab2:ŠU
66 (16) ˹SAR˺:nagar
67 (1) AŠ-ti
68 (2) EN.URUDU?
69 (3) e2-du3
70 (4) lu2-E?-du-da
71 (5) e2-du8
72 (6) lu2-IB
73 (7) lu2-ninda2
74 (8) lu2-ku6-du-da

§5.

1-2: The text now begins with two terms for members of the cult in Kesh. For a discussion of these terms, see W. Moran, “The Keš Temple Hymn and the Canonical Temple List,” in B. Eichler, ed., Kramer Anniversary Volume: Cuneiform Studies in Honor of Samuel Noah Kramer (=AOAT 25; Neukirchen-Vluyn 1976) 335-342.
3: Cf. List of Sumerian Words E 54 (MEE 3, 181): gu4-si.
4-6: The apparent SI should be understood as a variant of ma2 in these lines. These terms refer to boatmen.
7: For the latest discussion of this term see H. Steible, Die neusumerischen Bau- und Weihinschriften (=FAOS 9/2; Stuttgart 1991) 63-64.
8: There are traces of extra signs not copied by Deimel.
9: Cf. Izi XV A ii 24' (MSL 13, 169): IGI.DUB-ba[r?]= [...].
10-15: These lines form a sequence of terms associated with animals in various ways.
11: This is perhaps someone who must count sheep, if šid here has its common meaning “to count” (= manû), well attested with reference to animals.
19: There is a damaged sign between lu2 and lah4.
25: The “NUNUZ+AB2” in MSL 12 seems closer to USAN3.
28: There are traces before usan3 which were not copied by Deimel.
32-38: These again are animal-related. 30, 34: The NITA-signs are transliterated according to the chart in I. J. Gelb, “Terms for Slaves in Ancient Mesopotamia,” in M.A. Dandamayev et al., eds., Societies and Languages of the Ancient Near East: Studies in Honour of I. M. Diakonoff (Warminster 1982) 96. In 30, the sign seems to have the remains of two Winkelhaken preserved.
47: The first sign does indeed seem to be gidim.
48-49: These are both members of the cult of Enki. 48, ensi is written EN.LI; there is no room available for a ME. This writing is also known from Ebla, e.g. ED Lu E source I1 (MEE 3, 39).
52-54: These once more are animal-related. 53 and 54 are given by Deimel as one line but a ruling between them is preserved on the tablet.
56-60: These lines seem to be music-related. 58: cf. Kagal section 9: 7' (MSL 13, 248): nundun-bur2-re-balag-ga2= na-sa3-a-sum “to lament”; also Enki‘s Journey to Nibru 64-65: ad-du10-ga nundun-bur2-re-balag-ga2 ša3 ni2-ba-ka ad ha-ba-ni-ib-ša4 “The ... resounded by themselves with a sweet sound”.
62: This is given by Deimel as two lines but no ruling is visible on the tablet. The gar3 are clear; Deimel‘s copy is inaccurate here.
63:

This is given in SF 47 as ezen-x-giš. The last sign is definitely not giš (being preceded by a column of at least 9 horizontals). The x may be a separate sign (perhaps LAGAR) or may be part of the last sign.

VAT 12553 (SF 48; ED Lu D)

§6. Many of the entries in this list are obscure. A few are found in other lists of this period e.g., l.1: i3-ra2-ra2 (ED Lu E 80), l. 14: lu2-sa-gaz (ED Lu E 153), or are familiar from contemporary administrative documents (see text on-line).

 

§7.

1 i3-ra2-ra2
2 NI:SUM:ir
3 gu4-GIR2-GIR2
4 lu2-ti-ru
5 lu2-AMA:GILIM:KEŠ2
6 lu2-UH3×SAL:DUN:DU:x
7 x:[...]
8 lu2-PI
9 sukkal-du8
10 lu2-IGI+LAGAB
11 lu2-kisal
12 nu-ak-ak
13 gu-RU
14 lu2-sa!-gaz2
15 kaš4-kaš4
16 tug2.ZI+ZI.A:[x]:A
17 lu2-še-ku4-ku4
18 lu2-SI.A:NIG2:x
19 lu2-nu2
20 lu2-DUG×A
21 ba-sar-ra
22 igi:˹zi?˺:ki:gal
23 lu2-ka-sig
24 lu2-u3-nu-gar
25 gu2-gal
26 bahar2
27 mu-TAG-TAG
  [two and a half columns empty]

§8.

3: GIR2 here is perhaps to be read šumx. Cf. ED Lu E 197 (MSL 12, 19): lu2-šah-GIR2
10: For this term see F. Pomponio and G. Visicato, Early Dynastic Administrative Tablets of Šuruppak (Naples 1994) 12, n. 13.
15: This line is given in MSL 12 as nigin (from Deimel‘s “rim-rim”). However, the entry is kaš4-kaš4(rim4-rim4).
16: The reading of ZI+ZI.A here is not clear but see M. Civil, “Feeding Dumuzi’s Sheep: the Lexicon as a Source of Literary Inspiration,“ in F. Rochberg-Halton, ed., Language, Literature, and History: Philological and Historical Studies Presented to Erica Reiner (=AOS 67; New Haven 1987) 49, n. 19.
17: See J. Krecher, “DU= kux(-r) ‘eintreten, hineinbringen’,” ZA 77 (1987) 7-21 for the sign transliterated here ku4.
24: The sign transliterated u3 might instead be igi-x or x(-x). For u3-nu-gar cf. ED Lu E 186 (MEE 3, 40), The Instructions of Shuruppag 42-43: u3 nu-gar-ra na-ab-be2-˹e˺ eger-bi-še3 giš-par3-gin7 ši-me-ši-ib2-la2-e “You should not speak improperly; later it will lay a trap for you.”, and see P. Attinger, Eléments de linguistique sumérienne: La construction de du11/e/di «dire» (=OBO Sonderband; Freiburg and Göttingen 1993) 734-735, §895.


Version: 25 February 2003

Cite this Article
Taylor, Jonathan. 2003. “Collations to ED Lu C and D.” Cuneiform Digital Library Bulletin 2003 (3). https://cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/articles/cdlb/2003-3.
Taylor, J. (2003). Collations to ED Lu C and D. Cuneiform Digital Library Bulletin, 2003(3). https://cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/articles/cdlb/2003-3
Taylor, J. (2003) “Collations to ED Lu C and D,” Cuneiform Digital Library Bulletin, 2003(3). Available at: https://cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/articles/cdlb/2003-3 (Accessed: March 19, 2024).
@article{Taylor2003Collations,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2024-03-19]},
	address = {Oxford; Berlin; Los Angeles},
	author = {Taylor, Jonathan},
	journal = {Cuneiform Digital Library Bulletin},
	number = {3},
	year = {2003},
	publisher = {Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative},
	title = {Collations to {ED} {Lu} {C} and {D}},
	volume = {2003},
}

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