YOS 11, 2

SEAL no. 7171 · YBC 5090 · Incantations · scorpion · Larsa area (uncertain) · 10 lines · 22 words · 77 signs

CDLI P274693. First photo Klaus Wagensonner.

Transliteration

1 a-ra-aḫ-ḫi ra-ma-ni a-ra-⌈a?⌉-ḫi pa-ag-ri

2 ki-ma na-ru-um ir-ḫu-ú ki-ib-ri-ša

3 ki-ir-ba-an sú-qí-im

4 e-pe-er šu-li-im

5 še-er-ḫa-an ši-qí-im

6 ṣú-um ki-ri-im

7 ka-a-nu-ú-ma zú-qí-qí-pu-um

Lower Edge

8 i-la-ku-ú-ma

Rev.

9 i-na-du-ú-ma

10 la i-na-mu-šu-ú

Translation

1 I impregnate myself, I impregnate my body,

2 Just as the river has impregnated its own banks!

3–4 Clods of the street, the dirt of the alley,

5–6 A torrent of irrigation, the thirst of the garden.

7 The scorpion (stands there) steady;

8 When they (the water) come,

Rev.

9 when they will pour –

10 It (the scorpion) must not set in move!

Commentary

3–4: For similar expressions, perhaps courses, see YOS 11, 14: 8-9 and CUSAS 32, 32a: 2.

5: ši/erḫānum, “flooding” is attested hitherto only in lexical lists as a synonym of gipšum and agûm (CAD Š/3, 102^b, s.v.). One could also think of šerʾān šikkî "sinew of a mongoose", although l. 6 mentioning the thirst of the orchard, makes this possibility less likely.

8–10:Contra Cooper 1996, 49 the first two verbs illakū-ma inaddû-ma refer to the water torrents mentioned in ll. 5–6, while lā inammušu, sg. subj., refers to the scorpion denoting a negative promissory oath (GAG §185e). Thus, the initiator of the incantation envisages the coming water which will carry away the scorpion.

Michael P. Streck and Nathan Wasserman, Sources of Early Akkadian Literature (SEAL), seal.huji.ac.il. No commercial use is allowed. Published under CC BY-NC-ND (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives). Reproduced unmodified. Cite as SEAL no. 7171; view on seal.huji.ac.il.