Babyloniaca, études de philologie assyro-babylonienne.

TWO BABYLONIAN SEALS

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owner in the act of saying his prayers although the ritual itself must
have been performed by the priest.
In this connection may be mentioned passages referring to the stool
of penance the kihullu or mourner's seat: BOISSIER, DA 31, Rm. 2
III 149,6 f.
If a scorpion sting the right hip of a man, he shall kneel on the
mourner's stooll. If a scorpion sting his left hip, his adversary will
kneel on the mourner's stool n.
Other references to kneeling on the mourner's stool in rituals of
private penance will be found in SCHRANK, Babylonische Siuhnriten
60 ff., cited above.
The seal published here cannot represent an ordinary scene of
penance for in these rituals the worshipper stood upright with raised
hand. Moreover the suppliant kneels before a human. We have, therefore, an unique scene representing the reconciliation of a man and his
superior after the former had said his prayers of penance to Samnas.
The second seal which I give here is one of rare beauty and altogether a remarkable work of art. The god Nin-sah sits upon an elevated
throne and extends to a worshipper the sacred patera. In the rear the
goddess Gula intercedes for the owner of the seal. Directly behind the
worshipper is the cartouche eri-zu or arad-zu, thy servant,.
The inscription reads:
d. nin-gah
[sukkal] zi an-na
mudur azag gu-ul
nu-dr-a-hi-gu
mar ili-gu-i-bi-gu
Nin-~ah in the early Sumerian period was distinct from Ninib. In
the inscriptions of Urukagina he appears as the patron deity of that
1. Real ina hihulli ippalasah. The passage can be restored after CRAIG RT,
K 2001 IV 18, and cf. ZIMMERN in LSS III 1, 61 note. HUNGER, MVAG, 1909, 3
p. 129 did not understand the passage.