Translating OB Incantation texts

[us4-he2-gal2]

Hey guys:




I've decided to exercise a little Akkadian and to attempt a translation of part of an incantation. This is my first try at it, they say incantations are very hard to translate. I've got a transliteration from the SEAL project, used Hughnergard's book and the Concise Dictionary of Akkadian and spent an hour or two.

The text seems mostly interpretable, it is an Old Babylonian text invovling Lamashtu. I have been helped by my reading of these sort of texts and have an idea of what their going to say - some words I know from learning, alot of the tricky verbs I've had to look up. A couple I didn't find at all.


So the below is an attempt to exercise, bring the sort of content to enenuru that I sort of wished students would have brought voluntarily - and learn at the same time. Obviously my grasp of Akkadian is not perfect at this point, but then this is a learning forum.

BIN 02, 072

From SEAL 5.1.13.3
(5. Incantations -> 5.1 Old Babylonian -> 5.1.13 Lamaštu -> 5.1.13.3 BIN 02, 072)

I have broken down each line of the obverse as best I could - von Soden' original translation is given below or comparison.




Obv.
1 Anum (AN) ib-ni-ši dÉ-a ú-ra-bi-ši

dAN ibanši dEA urabbīši

An he-created-her (verb: banûm, g preterite 3MS, with dative ending ši 'her') EA he-caused to be raised-her (rabûm, d preterite 3MS, with dating ending ši 'her' )

An created her, Ea raised her





2 pa-ni lab-ba-tim i-ši-im-ši dEn-líl!

panī labbatim išimši Enlil.



face-of lioness he-fixed-her (šiâmum: g pret, 3MS, dative suffix ši "her") Enlil

Enlil assigned her the face of a lioness




3 i-ṣa-at ri-ti!-in -ra-ka-at

iṣat rittin arākat.

tree hands (dual) to-be(come) long (arākum, stative, 3MS)

(Her) hands are long (like) a tree.


4 ú-ba-na-tim ṣú-up-ra-tim

ubānātim suprātim.

fingers - claws (fem. pl)

(Her) fingers (are) claws


5 ar-ra-ka-at a-ma-ša bu-lu-la

arākat ammāša bulula


to be long (arākum, stative, 3FS -) elbows-her (from ammatum + 3FS possessive suffix) - bulula?

Her elbows are long (like) - ?



6 bāb(KÁ) bi-ti i-ru-u!

bāb bītī irub

gate of - houses - she entered (erēbum - she enters)


She entered the gate of the houses


7 i-ḫa-lu-up ṣé-ra-am

iḫallup ṣeram

she will slip/creep ((ḫalāpum - g durative, 3CS) the steppe

(If) she slips/creeps (from) the steppe


8 iḫ-lu-up ṣé-ra-am i-[t]a-mr ṣeḫram(LÚ.TUR)

iḫlup ṣeram itamar seḫram

she sliped/creeped - steppe- she has fattened - child

she slipped/creeped (from) the steppe; she fattened (herself) on the child.


9 i-na em-ši-šu a-di 7 iṣ-ba-sú

ina emšīšū adi 7 iṣbasū

in their wiping? (mašašum) - until - 7 - they ?




My Translation:


1. An created her, Ea raised her
2. Enlil assigned her the face of a lioness
3. (Her) hands are long (like) a tree.
4. (Her) fingers (are) claws
5. Her elbows are long (like) - ?
6. She entered the gate of the houses
7. (If) she slips/creeps (from) the steppe
8. she slipped/creeped (from) the steppe; she fattened (herself) on the child
9. in their wiping? (mašašum) - until - 7 - they ?





von Soden's translation:



1 Anum created her, Ea brought her up,
2 a face of a lioness Enlil fixed for her.
3 She is short of hands, very long
4 of fingers, as to her nails
5 she is very long, her two forearms are smeared(?).
6 She entered the door of the house,
7 slipping through the door socket.
8 Once slipped through the door socket, she saw the child.
9 She seized it seven times in his abdomen.





Some big mistakes/ errors in translation (when compared with von Soden):


line three: I misread iṣat (apparently "short") as iṣam (tree)

line five: could not find translation of bulula, von Soden also uncertain here and gives "smeared?"

line six: I read bītī as houses plural instead of singular - although the long ī at the end seems to indicate plural.

line 7: I translated ṣēram as "steppe" seeing it as accusative of ṣerum which Huehnegard says is "back (part, side), hinterland, back country, steppe". I'm not sure how the translation doorjamb comes about but its surely right anyway.


line 8: I confused the verb for fatten (mašāšum?) with what verb is being used there.


line 9: botched.