A letter in the collection of Sir Henry Peck, which has been translated by Mr. Pinches, is addressed to the landlord by his agent or factor, whose duty it was to look after his country estates. It runs as follows: “Letter from Daian-bel-ussur to Sirku my lord. I pray to-day to Bel and Nebo for the preservation of the life of my lord. As regards the oxen which my lord has sent, Bel and Nebo know that there is an ox [among them] for them from thee. I have made the irrigation-channel and wall. I have seen thy servant with the sheep, and thy servant with the oxen; order also that an ox may be brought up thence [as an offering?] unto Nebo, for I have not purchased a single ox for money. I saw fifty-six of them on the 20th day, when I offered sacrifice to Samas. I have caused twenty head to be sent from his hands to my lord. As for the garlic, which my lord bought from the governor, the owner of the field took possession of it when [the sellers] had gone away, and the governor of the district sold it for silver; so the plantations also I am guarding there [?], and my lord has asked: Why hast thou not sent my messenger and [why] hast thou measured the ground? about this also I send thee word. Let a messenger take and deliver [?] thy message.” Another letter of the same age is interesting as showing that the name of the national God of Israel, Yahum or Yahveh, was known in Babylonia at a much earlier date than has hitherto been suspected: “To Igas-Nin-sagh thus says Yahum-ilu: As thou knowest, Adâ-ilu has obtained for me the money … for the maid-servant Khisam-ezib. Mida [?] the merchant has settled the price with me [?]. Now let the notary of Babylon send Arad-Istar in …, the three shekels of silver which you have in hand and the two shekels which you have put out at interest, and I will straightway bring the money [and] Arad-Istar. Do not hinder Arad-Istar and I will straightway bring him to the government.” Yahum-ilu is the Joel of the Old Testament, with the final _m_ which distinguished the languages of early Babylonia and Southern Arabia, and the name probably belonged to one of those “Amorites” or natives of Syria and Palestine who were settled in Babylonia. Yahum-ilu, however, might also have been a native of Southern Arabia. The important fact is the occurrence of the name at so early a date.