What do glosses tell us

about the social background of

Meso potamian scribes?

Klaus Wagensonner(University of Oxford)

3000 2000 1000 0

Middle Assyrian period

Old Babylonian period

Early lexicaltradition

Middle Babylonian period

First bilingualtexts

Transmission ofstandardised (“canonical”)texts

Second ‘wave’ of lexicography

Standardisationof lexical (and literary)compositions

UrukDjemdet

Nasr

Ur

KishFara

Abu Salabikh

Ebla

Diachronic overview of bilingual texts

Types of Glosses

‣ Pronunciation glosses (partial and full)

‣ Variant / Semantic glosses

‣ Akkadian translations

CBS 13922 (+) CBS 14130OB Pots and Garments with pronunciation glosses

Pronunciation glosses‣ Partial

Šulgi B, 107nig2-ur2-limmu nim-gin7 gir2-re-da a2-sag3 bi2-ib-šubub-be2-en

sign RU > readings ru and šub

Šulgi D, 384-85lugal nam gi4-ri2-ib2-tarar nam-du10 gu2-mu-ri2-ib2-tarar

šul-gi nam gi4-ri2-ib2-tarar nam-du10 gu2-mu-ri2-ib2-tarar

sign TAR > readings tar and ku5

‣ Full

a-bar-ra┌ambar┐ (Inana G, 22)

vs. LL, Proto-Ea 42: ab-ba-ar, ab-bar, a-ba-ar, a-barother readings of this sign are sug, bunin, and gunin2

Pronunciation glosses

Choice of sign readings vs. Proto-Ea

Šulgi D, 384-85lugal nam gi4-ri2-ib2-tarar nam-du10 gu2-mu-ri2-ib2-tarar

šul-gi nam gi4-ri2-ib2-tarar nam-du10 gu2-mu-ri2-ib2-tarar

lugal namsim

bir5

gi4 ri2uru

ib2

tum

tar

ku5

sila

kud

haš

namsim

bir5

du10

ṭab6

šar2

hi

kugx

gu2

kux

gun2

...

nam ~ tar, “to decree fate”nam ~ kud/ku5, “to curse”

Variant glosses

‣ e.g., “Ninurta’s Journey to Eridu II” (ms. B)

e.g.,bad3-x-na-x(ms. A: bad3-ku3-šen-na)Gloss in B:pa5-sikil-nun-na

Variant glosses

‣ Dumuzi-Inana T, 24

HUB2.HUB2-be2 kuše-sir2 du7-a in-pa3-de3 giri3-si!-na mu-un-ga2-ga2

“She #nds the adorned shoes, put them on her toes.”

See also Inana E, 1-2nin dnin-gal-e ul-e hi-li-še3 sig7-ga / ušumgal-am3 hu-hub2 (line 4: hub2-hub2) ša-mu-ra-an-gal2“Lady whom Ningal has joyously made attractive with beauty, speed has been given to you as to a dragon.”

LL, Antagal III, 115: HUB2hu-ub.SAR [(lasāmu)], “to run”

LL, Emesal Voc. III, 15: hub2-ze2 hub-duSAR lasāmu, “to run”

see also kuššuhub, “shoes”LL, Ea I, 349: šu-hu-ub ŠU2.MUL šuhuppatu, “boot”...

Akkadian glossesDumuzi-Inana H (HS 1486)

1 ga-ša-an-gen ša-ga-ba-ta u4-zal-la-mu-ne iš-tu am-ša-li i-na šum-ṣu2-li-ia

“As I, the Lady, was passing the day yesterday.” (I) LL equations for ištu amšali, “since yesterday”:

OBGT I, 794 ša-du11-ba-ta Emesal Voc. III, 129 še-še-[ge]-ba-ta (ša-du11-ga-ta) (II) u4~zal : šumṣulum, “to spend the day”; šutebrûm, “to pass all the way through”

Compare line 4 u4-zal gi6-sa2-a-še3 i-na šum-ṣu2-lim u3 šum-ši-im en3-du du11-ga-mu-ne “As I was singing songs from morning till evening.” But line 18 hul2-hul2-e ze2-ba-am3 u4 mu-di-ni-ib-zal-e it-ti-ša uš-te-be2-er-re

“In rejoicing, sweetness, I passed the day there with her.” line 22 u4-du10 nam-he2-a hul2-la hu-mu-u3-di-ni-i[b-zal-e] li-ip-pu-uh2

“May you pass there a sweet day with me in abundance and joy.”

Akkadian glossesDumuzi-Inana H (HS 1486)

15 ma-la-mu sila-dagal-la e-ne mu-di-ni-ib-di-di i-na ri-bi-tim im-me-li-il

“My girlfriend was dancing with me in the square.”

LL equations for e-ne~du11/e/di : mēlulu, “to play”

Compare line 3 (without gloss) u4-zal-la-mu-ne e-ne-di-da-mu-ne “As I was passing the day, as I was dancing about.” But line 16 ub3 gišPA e-ne-di-da hub2 mu-di-ni-in-ša4 (...) i-na me-lu-ul-tim (...)

“She ran around with me, playing the tambourine and the recorder.” line 20 me-en-de3 iti6-še3 e-ne-su3-ud ga-da-e i-na ri-ša-tim i nim-me-li-il

“As for us, let me make love with you by the moonlight.”

UET 6, 175

Glosses “betray themselves as the work of inferior scribes, either students who needed a 'pony' to learn Sumerian, or scribes who never learned Sumerian well enough in the first place” (Cooper 1993:79)

UET 6, 175

UET 6, 175

UET 6, 175UET 6, 175

e.g.,mu-da-šub im-ta-qu2-uti-si-iš-zu ta-az-me-tu-kamah-zu kakkaka (GIŠ.TUKUL-ka)

glosses (Akkadian and pronunciation)

Translated Sumerian phrase

Sumerian lemma

Akkadian glossesUET 6/2, 175

6 a-la-ad dalad(KAL+BAD) dlama(KAL) digir-kal-la-gu10 ša i-de

“(Repeat it to) the alad, the lama, my precious god(s).”

Sb B (1st mill. BC)171 ka-la KAL aq-ru “precious”172 gu-ru-uš KAL eṭ-lu “man”173 a-la-ad dKAL+BAD še-e-du protective spirit

174 la-am-ma dKAL la-mas-su protective spirit

UET 6, 175

ša3-gu10 mu-da-šub im-ta-qu2-ut / KAxAša3-gar-gu10 ba-tur e-me-en

// UET 6, 176

ša3-gu10 mu-da-šub KAxGAR KAxA-gu10 ba-tur

KAxGAR = /šagar/KAxA = /enmen2/

UET 6, 175

i-si-iš-zu he2-si-ge ta-az-me-/tu-ka

mah-zu he2-sur-en GIŠ.TUKUL-ka

LL, Diri III, 159: e-se-eš ER2(A.IGI) tazzimtu, “complaint”But: Ea I, 10: i-siš ER2(AxIGI) ṣīhtu, “smile, laughter”LL, Izi V, 52: i-si-iš tazzi[mtu]Otherwise i-dutu : tazzimtu.

GIŠ.TUKUL, logogram for kakku, “stick, weapon”

Some conclusions‣ Glosses are comparatively rare; Akkadian glosses in the so-called

Decad:Lipit-Eštar A, 2 mss. of 72 mss.Enlil in the Ekur A, 2 mss. of 72 mss.Kesh Temple Hymn, 1 ms. of 84 mss. Bilgames and Huwawa A, 1 ms. of 84 mss.

‣ Glosses “betray themselves as the work of inferior scribes, either students who needed a 'pony' to learn Sumerian, or scribes who never learned Sumerian well enough in the first place” (Cooper 1993:79)

‣ Relation of (pronunciation and Akkadian) glosses to contemporary lexical lists (i.e., Sumerian lemmata within mostly de-contextualised framework)