Babyloniaca, études de philologie assyro-babylonienne.

SUMERIAN GLOSSES IN ASTROLOGICAL LETTERS

strong,) does not furnish a satisfactory sense in any of the passages
named, whereas even in HARPER Nr. 866 obv. 7-8 where it is said
that Ardi-Nana through whom a document has been brought ana eli
di-ri garri beli-a, we at least obtain a reasonable interpretation by
assuming that it means," regarding the disfavor of the king my lord X
though it is of course possible as BEHRENS 1. c. p. 72 suggests that we
have a different word here.
Howere this may be, and whatever the reason for the gloss di-ri may
be, it seems certain that this is another instance of a,, sumerian,
gloss. Such glosses are not without importance for certain aspects of
the still vexing sumerian problem. If a scribe adds the sumerian
reading of a technical term like 4 the morning watch,, it would go to
show that instead of massartu gaturri, or, perhaps by the side of the
phonetic reading, the " sumerian,, form was actually in use1.
Finally, attention should be called to the fact that while interlinear
glosses in these astrological reports represent the additions of the later
scribes, explanatory remarks in the lext, such as Dir = halapu and the
explanation of the entire phrase about the observation of the right
horn of the moon form part of the quotation from the collection of
astrological omens. So. e. g. the notes
ttr 1Gi - ta-ra-ku
n -= ssa-la mu,,, — = kca-a-nu
in THoMPSON Nrr. 25, 27 and 87 A are part of the quotation from VIROLLEAUD, L'Astrologie Chaldeenne, Sin Nr. III, 71. This latter text -
prepared as so many others in Asurbanapal's library for school
purposes - is full of just such explanations added after the omens
with their interpretation2. In the same way VIROLLEAUD, Ishtar
1. In the case of technical terms it may have been considered more convenient
to designate them by their ideographic form. The employment of Enun
usalla for the ' morning watch' would not necessarily prove that 'sumerian'
was actually spoken, but it would show that the scr.bes regarded the ' ideographic ' pronunciation as interchangeable with the phonetic value and as representing an actual word and not merely a picture.
2. A translation of this text with the necessary explanation will be found in
the forthcoming 15th part of the author's 'ReligionBabyloniens und Assyriens'.