JEOL 47, 58a

SEAL no. 7222 · kt 91/k 502 · Incantations · Kaniš (mod. Kültepe) · 17 lines · 36 words · 113 signs · 3 Sumerograms

An incantation whose addressee is  diqārum , a pot which was probably used for brewing beer ( namzītum in OB), cf. Kouwenberg 2019, 61. The spell is meant to help the brewer control the brewing jar, namely that it will not stop fermenting until the beer is ready, nor that it will overflow.

Transliteration

Obv

1 | dí-qá-ru-mì dí-qá-ru-um

2 | ku-ub-ta-ki!(Text: DI) tí-lu-ma

3 | e-pá-ki ma-lá ga-ni-nem

4 | ma-ú-ki tí-am-tum

5 | pá-pá-sà-tù-ki

6 | ma-lá kà-sé-em

7 | ta-at?-tí-ki ku-⌈ru⌉-ma

8 | ta-mu-a-tí : AN ú AN-tám

9 | La-aḫ-ma-am ú Du-ra-/am

10 | er-ṣa-tám ú na-⌈i-le⌉-/ša

11 | ta-mu-a-tí : a-⌈dí⌉

Lo.E.

12 | kà-ku-sà-am

13 | ù pì-tí-il₅-tám

14 | a-na-⌈dí-ú-ke⌉-ni

Rev.

15 | la ta-pá-šé-ri

====

Translation

1 (Brewing) pot! O (brewing) pot!

2–3 Your heaviness is a tell, your density is a full storeroom,

4–7 Your water is a sea, your porridge is a full cup, your dripping is a choice beer.

8–10 You are sworn by the name of An and Antu, Laḫmum and Dūrum, the earth and its watercourses,

11–15 You are sworn until I impose on you a stopper (bound with) a string - you shall not calm!

Commentary

2: The tīlum, tell, (ruin) mound, is an image typical of OA incantations, cf. kalbum ṣalmum ittīlim rabiṣ " a black dog is lying on the tell" Fs. Hirsch 427: 2–4.

4–6: Regardless of Kouwenberg's (2019, 63) reservations, pappasātuki mala kāsem "your porridge(s) is a full cup" seems the better possibility. The pl. form pappasātu is not easily resolved, but it may be used here as a technical term, referring to the sediments gathered in the brewing pot.

7: We suggest the second sign in this line (ta-x-DÍ-ki on Kouwenberg 2019, 59 and ta-DU??-DÍ-ki on p. 63) is AT, resulting in ta-at?-tí-ki, namely tattīkki (tattīku "dribble, dripping", CAD T 299f., attested in Bogh. and in SB texts). The next word is understood as kurunma "choice beer / wine" (an option raised by Kouwenberg 2019, 63f.).

12: With Kouwenberg (2019, 66) kà-ku-sà-am "may refer to a kind of lid, plug, or stopper" (purussu in OB incantations, see CUSAS 32, 32a: 9, 12 (against gastrointestinal problem).

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. 7222; view on seal.huji.ac.il.