Yoram Cohen

The Oil Omens from Hattuša: An Investigation of the History and Transmission of a Babylonian Divination Compendium

This article offers a new edition of a tablet collecting oil omens which was found at Hattuša. The tablet consists of two fragments, KUB 37.198 and KUB 34.5 (see Figs. 1a–b), which were previously considered as two discrete pieces, but here for the first time joined, almost directly, to form a single composition. The discussion will focus on themes and structures encountered in this composition and those found in older Old Babylonian oil omen compendia, with emphasis on the crucial role of celestial imagery in oil omens. It will then examine the format, layout, and script of the tablet in question, in order to assess the manners of transmission and reception of oil omens within the larger context of the study of divination in the western parts of the cuneiform world. Omen compendia opening with the phrase šumma šamnu(m) (“If the oil”) collect omens concerned with the various formations oil made when poured onto water (and less often when water was poured onto the oil) contained within a small bowl. These compendia are our main evidence for the practice of lecanomancy in the ancient Near East. We know today of eight manuscripts which witness, at the very least, five different compendia. Hereby follows a list of the sources; note that Texts nos. 1–4 are all near-duplicates of one compendium.1

A Private Middle Assyrian Letter Sent by Pilta-ādur to Nabbānu (with an Aphorism drawn from the World of Medicine)

Abstract: This article presents a new private Middle Assyrian letter that was sent by a woman to her husband. The letter is concerned with a liability borne by the husband. Of particular interest is an aphorism or popular saying which was drawn from the world of medicine, delivered by the woman at the close of the letter.

Parallel Hurrian and Hittite šumma izbu Omens from Hattuša and Corresponding Akkadian Omens

Abstract This article discusses the remains of the šumma izbu omen series from Hattuša. It will identify two previously misidentified Hurrian fragments as belonging to the omen series and demonstrate that they are parallel to Hittite šumma izbu omens found at Hattuša and Akkadian šumma izbu omens from elsewhere.

Gary Beckman: The babilili-Ritual from Hattusa (CTH 718). (Mesopotamian Civilizations 19). Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2014. xiii, 97 S. 26 × 18,5 cm. ISBN 1575062801, 9781575062808. Preis:

The book under review is a text edition of CTH 718, commonly known as the babilili-Ritual (i.e., ‘Ritual in the Akkadian Language’). The author has already made a brief and preliminary study of CTH 718 in 2002, and now he has put at our disposal the complete reconstructed text. The book provides an introduction to the text: definition, manuscripts, archival provenance, dating, religious background, cultic traditions, and the nature of the Akkadian strewn along its passages. The introduction is followed by a transliteration and a translation of the main manuscripts and the unplaced fragments, a textual commentary, a chapter dedicated to the Akkadian and Hittite spoken phrases in the ritual, a bibliography, and indices (that include Hittite, Sumerian and Akkadian glossaries). The most remarkable feature of CTH 718 is that although it was composed in Hittite it contains extensive passages in Akkadian representing spoken speech or, as the author designates them, incantations, uttered throughout the ritual procedure. The incantations are explicitly introduced by the phrases lúšankunneš urubabilili kiššan memai, ‘thus the priest speaks in Akkadian’, and lúnar-ma urubabilili kiššan išḫamiškizzi, ‘thus the singer sings forth in Akkadian’. It is the priest who pronounces most incantations, exhorting the deity to wash, eat and drink, and be sated. However, the singer is the one who sings the longest preserved Akkadian passage—a hymnlike praise to the deity (pp. 10 f., § 10H; pp. 66 f. and 76 f.). The babilili-Ritual contains a total of 373 reconstructed lines. It consists of two main manuscripts (Text 1, A = KUB 39.71+, and B = KUB 39.85+), along with many more fragmentary manuscripts (sixteen, which sum up to at least five duplicates if not more). Another text (Text 2 with two manuscripts = KUB 39.78 and KUB 39.80) presents a different textual tradition, although it is largely fragmentary. Over twenty fragments that cannot be placed indicate that the reconstructed text is as yet incomplete and was probably longer than possibly can be completed for now.1 The purpose of the ritual was to eradicate sin. Although the client of the ritual was supposedly the ‘everyman’, the version in front of us was obviously written down for the use of the royal family. Different instructions were to

42.50

The lexical list ugu-mu supplies a list of some 250 human body parts as well as physical and physiological conditions. Starting from the head, the list gives the anatomical parts of the body down to the feet; it then continues to list general appearances of the body, its postmortem remains, and the growth stages of human beings. The study of the ugu-mu list is beneficial not only for the reconstruction of the literary history of lexical lists but also for revealing the Mesopotamian understanding of the human body and its physiognomy. The list has recently been under the spotlight, receiving the attention of J. Westenholz and M. Sigrist in a discussion devoted to its structure and contents—especially its opening lines.1 The authors have also discussed

The Ugu-mu Fragment from Ḫattuša/Boğazköy KBo 13.2*

Abstract This paper discusses the administration of the cult in Emar during the period of Hittite rule over the city. It will be demonstrated that Hittite officials, with the cooperation of Emar citizens, mainly members of the Zū-Baʿla family, were deeply involved in the management of the cult. It will assess the data relating to the distribution of material and human resources, the registration of valuables belonging to temples, duties regarding sacrificial procedures, the installation of cultic personnel and the celebration of festivals and rituals. In conclusion an evaluation of the Hittites’ interest and involvement in the cults of Emar and its satellite cities is offered.

The Administration of Cult in Hittite Emar

Abstract This article presents editions of KBo. 36, 47 and KBo. 42, 116, both fragments of Akkadian omens found in attuša. KBo. 42, 116 is identified as a fragment of šumma immeru omens. KBo. 36, 47 obverse is demonstrated to be an Akkadian šumma immeru omen text almost identical to the Emar šumma immeru recension. Its reverse is proven to be an Akkadian recension of šumma ālu omens that can be identified with Tablet 41 of the canonical šumma ālu series. This invites us to discuss the textual history of these omen genres and their transmission to the so-called Western Periphery.