An Old Babylonian Version of the Gilgamesh EpicJastrow, Morris
General
An Old Babylonian Version of the Gilgamesh Epic
Jastrow, Morris
Epic poetry, Assyro-Babylonian
Line 62. For the restoration, see Jensen, p. 146 (Tablet III, 2a,9.)
Lines 64-66. Restored on the basis of the Assyrian version,
_ib_. line 10.
Line 72. Cf. Assyrian version, Tablet IV, 4, 10, and restore at the
end of this line _di-im-tam_ as in our text, instead of Jensen's
conjecture.
Lines 74, 77 and 83. The restoration _zar-bis_, suggested by the
Assyrian version, Tablet IV, 4, 4.
Lines 76 and 82. Cf. Assyrian version, Tablet VIII, 3, 18.
Line 78. _(ú-ta-ab-bil_ from _abâlu_, "grieve" or
"darkened." Cf. _us-ta-kal_ (Assyrian version, _ib_. line 9), where,
perhaps, we are to restore _it-ta-[bil pa-ni-sú]_.
Line 87. _us-ta-li-pa_ from _elêpu_, "exhaust." See Muss-Arnolt,
_Assyrian Dictionary_, p. 49a.
Line 89. Cf. Assyrian version, _ib_. line 11, and restore the end of
the line there to _i-ni-is_, as in our text.
Line 96. For _dapinu_ as an epithet of Huwawa, see Assyrian version,
Tablet III, 2a, 17, and 3a, 12. _Dapinu_ occurs also as a description
of an ox (Rm 618, Bezold, _Catalogue of the Kouyunjik Tablets_, etc.,
p. 1627).
Line 98. The restoration on the basis of _ib._ III, 2a, 18.
Lines 96-98 may possibly form a parallel to _ib_. lines 17-18,
which would then read about as follows: "Until I overcome Huwawa,
the terrible, and all the evil in the land I shall have destroyed." At
the same time, it is possible that we are to restore _[lu-ul]-li-ik_
at the end of line 98.
Line 101. _lilissu_ occurs in the Assyrian version, Tablet IV, 6, 36.
Line 100. For _halbu_, "jungle," see Assyrian version, Tablet V, 3,
39 (p. 160).
Lines 109-111. These lines enable us properly to restore Assyrian
version, Tablet IV, 5, 3 = Haupt's edition, p. 83 (col. 5, 3). No
doubt the text read as ours _mu-tum_ (or _mu-u-tum_) _na-pis-su_.
Line 115. _supatu_, which occurs again in line 199 and also line
275._sú-pa-as-su_ (= _supat-su_) must have some such meaning as
"dwelling," demanded by the context. [Dhorme refers me to _OLZ_ 1916,
p. 145].
Line 129. Restored on the basis of the Assyrian version, Tablet IV,
6, 38.
Line 131. The restoration _muktablu_, tentatively suggested on the
basis of CT XVIII, 30, 7b, where _muktablu_, "warrior," appears as
one of the designations of Gilgamesh, followed by _a-lik pa-na_,
"the one who goes in advance," or "leader"--the phrase so constantly
used in the Huwawa episode.
Line 132. Cf. Assyrian version, Tablet I, 5, 18-19.
Lines 136-137. These two lines restored on the basis of Jensen IV, 5,
2 and 5. The variant in the Assyrian version, _sá nise_ (written Ukumes
in one case and Lumes in the other), for the numeral 7 in our text
to designate a terror of the largest and most widespread character,
is interesting. The number 7 is similarly used as a designation of
Gilgamesh, who is called _Esigga imin_, "seven-fold strong," i.e.,
supremely strong (CT XVIII, 30, 6-8). Similarly, Enkidu, _ib._ line
10, is designated _a-rá imina_, "seven-fold."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account