R. Campbell Thompson · 272 pages · Devils And Demons · read the volume
48 marked gaps. Both readers refuse on 28, both offer something on 8, and they disagree on 12.
Nothing on this page is the text. These books are served exactly as their editors left them, holes and all. Every restoration below sits beside the passage and never inside it, because an invented line of a lost book, once loose, is quoted forever.
3 readers, asked separately. Each was given the same passages and the same instructions, and none saw another’s answers. All were told that refusing was a complete answer and that a confident wrong restoration was the worst possible outcome.
Reader C came later, and blind. It was put only the 20 gaps on which the first two readers disagreed, mixed with 6 gaps both had refused, and was told nothing of either. On the disputed gaps it sided with the reader who refused 17 times and with the reader who restored 3; of the 6 controls it refused 6. Its willingness to answer is therefore not the explanation of its answers.
Where they disagree, both are shown. There is no ground truth for a line that burned in 612 BC. This library is not in a position to settle these, and pretending otherwise would be the same mistake as filling the hole.
230-001 · page 76
…ody may they not come nigh, May they get hence from near me, May they not follow after me. By the Great Gods may they be exorcised ! a May he not be held in bondage, 125. May his fetters be loosened ! (PLATE IV.) PRAYER AGAINST THE EVIL SPIRITS. Incantation : I am the sorcerer-priest of [Ea], 130. I am the magician of Eridu,[Lines 131-138 much broken.]140. The threshold Unto the house on entering . . . Shamash (is) before me, Sin (is) behind [me], a 1 K. 224 omits. 47,852, 2 " 47,852, zu-mur-ia. depart ! 3 47,852, u. 4 47,852, I-RI-PA HA-BA-RA-DU-UN. 5…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Thompson notes lines 131-138 are almost completely broken away on K.224 and dupl. 47,852 (Utukku Lemnutu III); no unbroken duplicate preserves the eight lines.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Thompson: "Lines 131-138 much broken." No join in CT 16 / Geller Evil Demons (SAACT 5) recovers eight consecutive lines here.
Reader C none, n/a confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Eight lines (131-138) of an exorcist's incantation are lost. The genre of what stood there is recoverable, but not its wording. Before the break the text has the asipu's self-predication ("I am the sorcerer-priest of [Ea], I am the magician of Eridu"), a formula that in this series continues with further "I am ..." lines and a statement that Ea or Marduk has sent the priest and placed the spell in his mouth. After the break stands the equally stock protective formula ("Shamash is before me, Sin is behind me", which regularly continues with Nergal at the right and Ninurta at the left). Both formulae are stock, but neither is fixed in the number or order of its lines, and no witness quoted here overlaps 131-138. Identifying the class of text is not restoring it, and I decline to supply eight lines of a formula whose exact sequence varies from tablet to tablet.
230-002 · page 87the editor’s estimate: about four lines
…0 47.852, #. 26 DEVILS AND EVIL SPIRITS OF BABYLONIA. 245. GI - SIS GI NUN - KI - GA - GE 7(?) l alu Eridi IGI - MU - [KU] HE - EN - LAH - LAH - GI - ES ana pa - [ni - i}a lu - u - ka - a - a - an[Hiatus of about four lines.]DINGIR - NIN - A - HA - KUD - DU ilu a - hat tlu A - [mm] 255. DINGIR -ID NIN A-GUB-BA LAH-LAH-GA . . . . ilu Id be - lit agubbe - e el - \li\ .... DINGIR-SILIG-MULU-SAR DU NUN-KI-GA-GE GIG-BI . . . tlu Marduk mar alu Eridi mur-sa su-a-tum . . . INIM - INIM - MA [UTUG - HUL…
They disagree
Reader A published, medium confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Thompson notes a four-line gap in Tablet III between lines 245 and 254; M. J. Geller (Udug-hul, 2016, Tablet 3, lines 246-253) edits fragmentary duplicates showing an invocation of the protective deities of Eridu, but the bilingual text is too composite to retrovert without conjecture.
Reader B formula, low confidence
sense only: further divine names standing "continually before me," in the same series as Eridu / Nin-aha-kudu / Id / Marduk that resume at l. 254.
Four-line hiatus. The list-of-gods-who-stand-before-the-ašipu is formulaic in Utukku Lemnutu III, but the exact four lost names are not on the duplicates Thompson cites (K.224, 47,852).
Reader C none, n/a confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
About four lines are lost from inside the closing invocation of an incantation. What survives after the break is a list of deities with epithets — Ninahakuddu "sister of Anu", Id "lady of the pure holy-water vessel", Marduk "son of Eridu" — running down to the rubric "INIM-INIM-MA [UTUG-HUL...]" ("it is an incantation against the evil Utukku"). So the lost lines almost certainly continued a divine list of the same shape. But the membership and order of these closing lists differ from incantation to incantation in this very volume, and the line before the break ("ana pa-[ni-i]a lu-u-ka-a-a-an", "may it be constant before me") does not select any particular deity to come next. Nothing forces a name.
230-003 · page 88the editor’s estimate: about two lines
…pi - ia sul - Urn ME - MU E - NE DUG - GA - AB 275. par - si - ia ul - lu - lu 1 ki - bi UTUKKI LIMNUTI, TABLET III. 245. May the .... of Eridu Stand continually before me.[Hiatus of about two lines.](May) Nin-akha-kuddu, sister of Anu, . . 255. Id, Lady of pure waters, . . Marduk, son of Eridu, [remove] this sickness. PRAYER AGAINST THE EVIL SPIRITS. 260. incantation : .... O Ea, King of the Deep, to see I, the magician, am thy slave. 265. March thou on my right hand, Be present* on my left ; Add thy pure spell unto mine, Add thy pure voice…
Every reader offers something
Reader A published, medium confidence
"(May) Asalluhi, son of Eridu, stand continually before me; (May) Damgalnunna, great mother, stand continually before me"
Fills the two-line English hiatus corresponding to the deities of Eridu missing between line 245 and line 254, as identified in Geller's edition of Udug-hul Tablet 3 (2016).
Reader B formula, low confidence
sense: continuation of "May X of Eridu stand before me."
Two-line hiatus between the Eridu line and Nin-aha-kudu; same formula as 230-002. Exact wording not on the published joins.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-004 · page 91the editor’s estimate: several lines
…sa ta - ri - ti 5. UM - ME - GA - LA SIS - A sa mu - se - nik - ti It - \inut ti] - ARALI ina a - ra - al - li - e URUGAL - LA - AS IO. ina kab - rim KA - GAL DINGIR - BABBAR - SU - [A] ina a - bu - id ilu \erib Samsi\ TAK - DU - DU ab - na \sihirtd\ 15. TAK - GAL ab - [na rabta~\[Hiatus of several lines.]20 DINGIR-GIR BA-AN-DA(?)-TIG-IM-MI-[IN-GAR?] .... ilu u - kan - na - [su] Nergal . . . DUG-KURUN-NA GAZ-ZA-GIM HAR-SAG-GA .... sar (?) - ha (?) - su (?) - nu kima kar -pa ka- ra- ni hi-pi-ti . . . MA - DA - MA - DA - BI MU - UN - LAH - LAH - GI - [E] 25. ma - a - ta ana ma - a - ti it - ta - na - al- la - \ku\ =…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
A hiatus of several lines on K.2410 (Tablet IV, lines 15-19); no duplicate supplies the text between the stone comparisons and Nergal's subjugation.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
"Hiatus of several lines" between the stone-list and Nergal. Geller SAACT 5 Tablet IV does not close this gap.
Reader C none, n/a confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Several lines are lost between a bilingual list of items and persons (the nurse, the wet-nurse, Arallu, the grave, the gate of the setting sun, a small stone, a great stone) and a passage naming Nergal and comparing something to a broken wine jar. Neither side constrains the other: the surviving material before the break is an enumeration whose end is not marked, and the material after it begins mid-clause with its own lacunae ("....ilu u-kan-na-[su] Nergal"). There is no formula here rigid enough to force a supplement and no parallel quoted anywhere in this file.
230-005 · page 92the editor’s estimate: several lines
…the Creation of Anu, [Children of the Earth they were born]. They are that which a woman in travail [ . . . . hath brought forth],* 5. They are that which an evil foster-mother [hath suckled], In the Underworld [ are they], 10. In the tomb [ are they], In the Great Gate of Sunset [are they], A small stone 15. A large stone[Hiatus of several lines.]20 Nergal they have subdued, Their . . . like a shattered wine goblet . . . , 25. From land to land they roam, 1 K. 2,410 has i (instead of DU, which is apparently the better reading from the catchline of the preceding tablet). a I.e., probably abortions. 32 DEVILS AND EVIL SPIRIT…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Translation hiatus corresponding to missing cuneiform lines 15-19 in Tablet IV.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Same several-line hole as 230-004, English face.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-006 · page 93the editor’s estimate: several lines
…ti . KUR - RA DUG - SAR - GIM DINGIR-NIN-DU-U-NA DUP-SAR-MAH 5. ba - lum ilu Be - lit si - ri dup - sar - [ GIR KUR - RA - GE NU - MU - UN . . . . se - e - pu ana irsitim(tiin) ul . . . . E - SU KUR - RA - GE NU - MU - UN - DA . . . . su - li ir - si - ti ul[Hiatus of several lines.]UTUKKI LIMNUTI, TABLET IV. 33 Driving the maiden from her chamber, Sending the man forth from his home, 30. Expelling the son from the house of his father, Hunting the pigeons from their cotes, 35. Driving the bird from its nest, I Making the swallow fly forth from its hole, great Smiting b…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet IV col. ii breaks off after line 8 on K.4857 and dupl. BM 36,589.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Several lines gone after "foot to earth they cannot... paths of earth they cannot."
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-007 · page 94the editor’s estimate: several lines
…allow fly forth from its hole, great Smiting both oxen and sheep. 40. They are the evil spirits that chase the storms, Bringing a blight on the land. COL. II. In the enclosure The land like a bowl .... 5. Without Beltis, mighty scribe .... Foot to earth [they ?] cannot .... The paths of earth [they ?] cannot ....[Hiatus of several lines.]1 36,589, TI. 2 36,589, $u. 36,589, 3 TUM. 4 36,589 omits. 5 36,589, abi for a-bi. 6 36,589 inserts is. 7…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Translation hiatus corresponding to the break in Tablet IV col. ii lines 9-27.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Same column-II break.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-008 · page 95
…IMI-GIM MU-UN-ZA-LA-AH-HI-E-[NE] ina sir * ki - ma sa - a - ri i - \zik - kti\ DAM UR MULU KA - BA - RA - AN - [NAM (?) - NE] 25. as - sa - ta ina ut - li ameli i - tar - \ru - u] DU DU-UB MULU KA-BA-RA-AN-ZI-[ZI-E-NE] ma-a-ra ina b.r-ki ameli u-sat-\_bu-u~\[The whole of Col. Ill is wanting.]COL. IV. ZI DINGIR-PA-TE-SI-GAL-ZU-AB NU-[DU-DA] A-AB . . . . nis ilu la - bu - ut - te - e MULU - GISGAL - LU DU DINGIR - [RA - NA] (PLATE X.) sa ameli mar - su] 5. \ili KI GUB-BA-NA BA - RA - AN - DA - [GUB…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet IV col. iii is completely missing from K.4857 and contemporary Nineveh duplicates.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
"The whole of Col. III is wanting." A missing column cannot be restored from sense.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-009 · page 96
…e city like a snare a they are set, 20. Through the door like a snake they b glide, Through the hinge like the wind they blow, 25. Estranging the wife from the embrace of a husband, Snatching the child from the loins d of a man.[The whole of Col. Ill is wanting.]COL. IV. By the god e Chief of the Sea, Patesi-Gal-Zuab, [mayest thou be exorcised]. (PLATE X.) 5. (And) concerning the man, son of his god, 1 K. 2,578 adds rt. z K. 4,857, az. a Kulu (Tallqvist, Maqlit, p. 14.8). As there are two different groups in Sumerian which are both rendered by kulu i…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Translation equivalent of 230-008; the entirety of Tablet IV col. iii is wanting.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Same missing Col. III.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-010 · page 97the editor’s estimate: several lines
…- rabu(u) ilu E-a \irsitim(tim) [be lum~\ rapastim(tint}\[Hiatus of several lines.]UTUKKI LIMNUTI, TABLET IV. 37 Where he a there stand thou not ! standeth, Where he is seated, a there sit thou not ! 10. [Where] he a there go thou not! goeth, [Where] he a there enter thou not !…
Every reader offers something
Reader A formula, high confidence
[KI-GUB-BA-NA BA-RA-AN-DA-GUB-BU-NE-EN / a-šar iz-zi-zu la ta-za-az] [KI-TUŠ-A-NA BA-RA-AN-DA-TUŠ-U-NE-EN / a-šar u-ši-bu la ta-šab] [KI-DU-A-NA BA-RA-AN-DA-DU-NE-EN / a-šar il-li-ku la tal-lak] [KI-TU-TU-NA BA-RA-AN-DA-TU-TU-NE-EN / a-šar i-ru-bu la ter-ru-ub]
The standard four-part apotropaic prohibition preserved in Thompson's translation on p. 97 ("Where he standeth... where he is seated... where he goeth... where he entereth..."), identical to the formula attested throughout Utukku Lemnutu (Tablet IV col. iv lines 6-12; Geller 2016, Tablet 4, lines 170-178).
Reader B formula, medium confidence
sense: the prohibition series "Where he stands, stand thou not; where he sits, sit thou not..." which resumes immediately after the hiatus.
That prohibition is the stock ašipu-vs-demon formula of Utukku Lemnutu IV (and III 224-227 in Thompson). The several lost lines are the lead-in, not recoverable word-for-word.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-011 · page 98the editor’s estimate: several lines
…n the middle of the sea over him pass not ! 20. By the Great Gods I exorcise thee, That thou mayest depart ! PRAYER AGAINST THE EVIL SPIRITS. 25. Incantation : The lord from the broad heavens unto the wide earth [inclined his] ear, The great lord Ea from the broad heavens unto the wide earth[Hiatus of several lines.]1 K. 4,857, al. 2 K. 4,857, ra. a K. 4,857 uses the first person. b I.e., his boat. 38 DEVILS AND EVIL SPIRITS OF BABYLONIA. irsitini(tini] NU - GIG ana ka-dis-\ti\ U - BAD A 35. ka - ti mu -u- turn li(f}-pi-tum 1 DINGIR-NIN-UK DINGIR-NIN-ME DINGIR . . , DINGIR-NIN-KI-GAL : ilu…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Lines 29-34 of Tablet IV col. iv are broken on K.4857.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Several lines after Ea "inclined his ear."
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-012 · page 99the editor’s estimate: Some lines
…u at - ta MULU - EDIN - NA SUB - BA KAN - ME - EN \lu - u sa ina] si - e - ri na - du - u at-ta MULU-EDIN-NA BA . . NE IS NU-DUL-LA KAN-ME-EN [lu-u sa ina si-e-ri\ na-du-u e-pi-ri la kat-mu at-ta MULU-EDIN-NA KAN-ME-EN 50. lu-u sa \iiia si-e-ri\ MULU[Some lines wanting.]UTUKKI LIMNUTI, TABLET IV. 39 . . . earth Unto the harlot 35. The hand of death (?) Ninuk, Ninme, (and) .... Ninkigal, the wife of [Ninazu]. forth no utter no a .... They pour water, they s…
They disagree
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet IV col. v lines 51-53 break off in the catalogue of ghost types; the specific variants are lost.
Reader B formula, low confidence
sense: further items in the catalogue of the restless dead ("or one that died in the desert...").
The list is formulaic (cf. Thompson IV 45-50 and duplicates 45,744), but "some lines wanting" is too large for a unique reconstruction.
Reader C none, n/a confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Two separate points. First, the text printed after the break in this excerpt is not the continuation of the passage at all: it carries the running head "UTUKKI LIMNUTI, TABLET IV." and English at line 35, whereas the text before the break is transliteration at line 50. The excerpt has run from a transliteration page onto the facing translation page of an earlier part of the tablet, so the "text on the other side of the hole" is misleading and must not be used as evidence for what is missing. Second, the passage itself is the litany of the restless dead ("lu-u sa ina si-e-ri na-du-u atta ...", "or one that lieth dead in the desert ..."), which certainly continued through the break in the same "lu-u sa ..." form; but the individual members of that litany vary between manuscripts and the number lost is given only as "some lines". The form is certain, the wording is not. Note that gap 230-013 is the English translation of this same passage and marks the same break — it is a duplicate of this question, not an independent witness, and it supplies nothing.
230-013 · page 100the editor’s estimate: Some lines
…hantom of night that hath no couch, 45. Or a woman (that hath died) a b virgin, Or a man (that hath died) unmarried, Or one that lieth dead in the desert, Or one that lieth dead in the desert, uncovered with earth, .... 50. Or one that in the desert Or one that[Some lines wanting.]1 45,744 translates this line ilu ,, ilu u .... 2 45,744 inserts UN. 3 45,744 inserts LA. 4 45,744 for this has su-ba-a-tum rab-ba-a-tum. 5 6 45,744, MULU . . (?). 45 > 744, RA. 7 45,744 has ... LAL-E. a Usalli[su ?] ; saldsu = " to do something three times," probably for reciting incantations. Cf. the Legend of the Worm (vol. ii), r. 26, sipti III…
They disagree
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Translation equivalent of 230-012.
Reader B formula, low confidence
same catalogue of the dead.
English face of 230-012.
Reader C none, n/a confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
This is the translation side of the same break as gap 230-012 (transliteration, p.99; translation, p.100), broken at the same point — after line 50, "Or one that in the desert / Or one that". Because the hiatus is in the tablet, it appears in both the transliteration and the translation, so the two excerpts cannot fill each other. Note also that the material printed after the break here is not text but the page's footnote apparatus (variants from K. 45,744 and a note on salasu), so this gap in fact has surviving text on one side only. The lost lines continued the "Or one that ..." litany of the unburied and unquiet dead; the form is certain and the wording is not.
230-014 · page 105
…5,020, itti for it-ti. 3 K. 5,020 translates ,-ia sam-na it-ti su lu-up-pa-sis 44 DEVILS AND EVIL SPIRITS OF BABYLONIA. [A-SED-DE-TUK]-A-MU l -NE UR-RA-NA-KU GA-BA-DA- AN-KU KAN-ME-EN \lu-u ina ku-us\-si-ia ina ut-li-su su-ba-tu itti-su lul-ta-bis at-tu [SU] MULU - GISGAL - LU DU DINGIR - RA - NA 55.[ ]zu - mur ameli mar ili-su [EN - NA BA -RA -AN]-TA-RI-EN-NA- AS EN-NA BA-RA-AN-TA ZI - GA - EN - NA - AS \a-di la ta}-as-su-u a-di la ta-as-su-hu [u BA-RA-AN-DA]-AB-KU-E A BA-RA-AN-DA-AB-NAK-E 60. [a - ka - la e] ta - kul me - e e tal - ti…
They disagree
Reader A inference, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
There is no missing text; line 54 is the Sumerian line and line 55 its direct bilingual Akkadian counterpart, separated only by Thompson's line-numbering layout.
Reader B inference, medium confidence
sense: "the body of the man, son of his god" (already the next surviving words).
Grammar: the gap sits between the clothing/oil lines and zumur ameli mar ilišu; the idiom is forced by the bilingual that follows. Exact Sumerian of the lost half-line is not quoted in Thompson.
Reader C none, n/a confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Nothing is semantically missing here. The Sumerian line before the break, "[SU] MULU-GISGAL-LU DU(MU) DINGIR-RA-NA", and the Akkadian line after it, "zu-mur ameli mar ili-su", correspond word for word ("the body of the man, the son of his god") and together form a complete interlinear pair of the kind that runs through the whole excerpt. The bracket therefore marks either a lost line-initial element of the Akkadian line — a preposition such as ana or ina is the sort of thing that would stand there — or an artifact of the edition's layout at the line break. No estimate of width is recorded, the choice between those explanations cannot be made from the quoted text, and neither yields a restorable line.
230-015 · page 107
…SU - NA AH - TAG ina ka - /i - ka la ta- larp j - p-at - su TIC, ZU [ - BU - I ] ki - sad - ka [ la - ja - /wr - su td\ 15. IGI - ZU[ ]SU - DA - AB - IL - LA tff - ka [ la tas - sa -a ] EGIR - ZU [ ] gl - NA - AN - SI - IN - BAR - RI ana arki - ka la tap - pal - la - as MUH - NA GU - BA - RA - AN - DA - AB - [DE - E] 20. e- K- su la ta - sa - as - ji E - A - KU…
Every reader offers something
Reader A published, medium confidence
[BAR-RA-KU]
Thompson's transliteration of Tablet IV line 15 gives the Akkadian in-ka [la tas-sa-a]; the Sumerian equivalent for "lift not thine eye" is restored as IGI-ZU [BAR-RA-KU NAM-BA-E-IL-LA] (cf. Thompson's cuneiform copy Pl. XI and Geller 2016, Tablet 4, line 206).
Reader B formula, high confidence
sense: "thy eye [lift not against him]."
The surviving IGI-ZU [ ] ŠU-DA-AB-IL-LA / inka [la taššâ] is the standard "do not raise eye / hand / neck" prohibition series; the empty slot is the verb already restored by Thompson in the next line.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-016 · page 107
…TIC, ZU [ - BU - I ] ki - sad - ka [ la - ja - /wr - su td\ 15. IGI - ZU [ ] SU - DA - AB - IL - LA tff - ka [ la tas - sa -a ] EGIR - ZU[ ]gl - NA - AN - SI - IN - BAR - RI ana arki - ka la tap - pal - la - as MUH - NA GU - BA - RA - AN - DA - AB - [DE - E] 20. e- K- su la ta - sa - as - ji E - A - KU NAM - BA - TU - TU - N 1 a - na bi - /i [/</ te - ru - ub\ * UR - A - KU…
Every reader offers something
Reader A formula, high confidence
[NAM-BA-AN-SI-IN-BAR-RI]
Standard formula matching the parallel Akkadian on the same line: ana arki-ka la tap-pal-la-as ("look not behind thee"), regularly corresponding to Sumerian EGIR-ZU-ŠE NAM-BA-AN-SI-IN-BAR-RI (Tablet IV line 17; Geller 2016, Tablet 4, line 208).
Reader B formula, high confidence
sense: "behind thee look not."
Same prohibition series; EGIR-ZU [ ] ... ana arki-ka la tappallas is the published completion of the line.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-017 · page 133the editor’s estimate: about eight lines
…a snm-su ... - DIM - MA - BI A AN - NA - GE \i\ - na irsitim(tiiti) ri - hu - ut same(e} . . . . ANA - GIM SU NU - TE - MAL 45. ..... . ki ma same(e) ......... \la - hu - u it\ ........... , ..... BI[Hiatus of about eight lines.]DINGIR - KIN ............. HUL-DUB . . . . [ZI AN-NA KAN-PA ZI Kl]-A KAN-PA. INIM - INIM - MA UTUG - HUL - A - KAN 60. EN UR - SAG [ VII} - NA A - DU // - NA - MES kar - ra - \du si bitIt] a - di si - na su - nu COL. V. A-RI-A AS A-MES A-RI-A BA-AN-NA-GE TU-UD-DA-MES sa ri-hu-su-nu is-ta-at(J) ina ri-hu-ut ilu A-nim ib-ba-n…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
A hiatus of about eight lines in Tablet V col. iv lines 46-54 on BM 36,589.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
"Hiatus of about eight lines." Too large.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-018 · page 134the editor’s estimate: about four lines
…tu ul ak-zu ma-ru 3 ul al-du su-nu UTUKKI LIMNUTI, TABLET V. 73 PRAYER AGAINST THE EVIL SPIRITS. Incantation : 40. Uprooting everything, uprooting everything, Overthrowing everything, whatever its name ; On earth the spawn of heaven 45 like heaven ' . . . . . . they shall not draw nigh[Hiatus of about four lines.]Belt is (?), lady of By Earth] . . . [By Heaven be ye exorcised ! be ye exorcised ! PRAYER AGAINST THE EVIL SPIRITS. Incantation : 60. Warriors twice seven are they, COL. V. That in a single (?) spawning in the creation of Anu were spawned ; 5. They are the roaming windblast ; No wife have they, no son do they beget,…
They disagree
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Translation equivalent of 230-017.
Reader B formula, low confidence
sense: "By Heaven be ye exorcised, by Earth be ye exorcised," which is how the prayer resumes.
Four-line hiatus; the ZI AN-NA / ZI KI-A couplet is the series catch-formula (Thompson V 58-59 and passim), but it does not fill four lines by itself.
Reader C none, n/a confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
About four lines are lost immediately before the adjuration refrain, which survives after the break in scrambled order ("By Earth] ... [By Heaven be ye exorcised!") and is the standard doublet of this series. The refrain is therefore not what is missing. The one surviving fragment of the lost stretch's continuation, "Belt is (?), lady of ...", shows a divine name with epithet, so the break held part of a list of deities by whom the spirits are adjured. The pairing of Bel with Belit is conventional enough that a line naming Bel may well have preceded, but convention is not compulsion: these lists differ in length and membership across the volume, and the editor's own reading of the surviving name is queried. I decline to supply names.
230-019 · page 139the editor’s estimate: about four lines
…is-kun GIR-NI IN-RA GIR-A-NI-KU IM-ME-IN-GAR 10. se-ip-su iin-has-ma ana se-pi-su is-kun SAG-GA-NI IN-RA SAG-GA-A-NI-KU IM-ME-IN-GAR kak-ka-su im-has-ma ana kak-ka-di-su is-kun NAM-BI-KU GE-BARA-KI AZAG-GA-TA IM-MA-DA- [AN-TU-TU] gi-pa-a-ri el-li e-ru-ub-md\ ana sim-\ti-su ana[Hiatus of about four lines.]UTUKKI LIMN1JTI, TABLET V. 79 They stand in the highway to befoul the path, 55. Evil are they, evil are they! Seven are they, seven are they, Twice seven are they ! By Heaven be ye exorcised ! By Earth be ye exorcised ! (PLATE XVI.) PRAYER AGAINST THE EVIL SPIRITS. COL. VI. [Incantation] : An evil…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet V col. v lines 14-18 break off after the incantation on the sacred reed-bed.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Four lines after the spirit "entered a pure field for his fate."
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-020 · page 140the editor’s estimate: two lines
…e for the body hath seized upon him, His hand it hath smitten and, his hand it hath ,;. V^^b^lk) * _-- set upon, 10. His foot it hath smitten and his foot it hath set upon, His head it hath smitten and his head it hath set upon ; a Unto a pure field for his fate it hath entered and fc[Hiatus of two lines.]1 - K. 3,121, turn. 4 K. 3,121 inserts NA. Line omitted on K. 3,121. 3 K. 3,121, A. a Restored from the explanatory text S. 48. Apparently it means that the evil spirit has entered the " pure field " to seize upon the man. 80 DEVILS AND EVIL SPIRITS OF BABYLONIA. 20. UTUG U - tuk - ku ana bi - ti a - a i - ru - […
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Translation equivalent of 230-019.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Two-line hiatus; Thompson's own note only points to S.48 for the previous line, not these two.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-021 · page 149
…S U-SU-US-E GAR-HUL-DIB-BA SAG - GIS - RA - RA - E - NE 10. mu-kil kakkad 3 sa umi(ini}-sain-nia limuttim(tini) ana limutti . nir - tu ana na - a - ri [sunu] F//-BI-TA USU-A-AN IM-GISGAL-[LU] . . . ina si-bit-ti su-nu[ . . . ]su-u-tu //-KAM-MA USUMGAL KA-GAL KAB (?) MULU NA ME . . MU-UN . . . 15. sa-nu-u u-sum-gal-lum sa pi-i-su pi-tu-u ma - am 4 - ma [/a] ///-KAM-MA GIR-DU HUS KAR-RA BA (?) . . . sat-su 5 nim-ru* iz-zu sa pi-i-ri e (f)-\ki-mii\ . . . /F-KAM-MA SIR-AGA HU-LAH-HA 20. ri - bu - u sib - bu gal - ti F-KAM-M…
They disagree
Reader A parallel, high confidence
[išten-šu / I-KAM-MA IM-ULU3-LU]
Duplicated exactly in the bilingual tablet Seven Evil Spirits (Tablet V col. vi lines 12-13; duplicate K.4856 / CT 16 pl. 19: 11-12): VII-BI-TA I-KAM-MA IM-ULU3-LU / ina si-bit-ti-šu-nu iš-ten šu-u-tu ("Of the seven, the first is the South Wind").
Reader B inference, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
The list of the Seven is formulaic, but the broken [...] before šutu does not uniquely determine the first epithet; Geller's later recension still has variants here.
Reader C inference, high for the sense, low for the wording confidence
The break held the Sumerian line naming the first of the Seven and the opening of its Akkadian rendering, of which the last word, "su-u-tu", survives after the hole: "[I-KAM-MA IM-U18-LU (vel sim.) : is-te-nu-u / mah-ru-u] su-u-tu" — "The first is the south wind."
This is forced by the structure of the passage and by the word left standing on the far side of the hole. The line before the break ends "ina si-bit-ti su-nu" ("they are seven"), announcing an enumeration. What follows the break is an unbroken ordinal series, each item a Sumerian line followed by its Akkadian: "//-KAM-MA ... sa-nu-u u-sum-gal-lum" (the second, a dragon), "///-KAM-MA ... sat-su nim-ru izzu" (the third, a fierce leopard), "IV-KAM-MA ... ri-bu-u sib-bu gal-ti" (the fourth, a terrible serpent), "V-KAM-M[A]" (the fifth). An ordinal series that is preserved from "second" onward requires a "first", and the words "su-u-tu" standing immediately before "II-KAM-MA" are the tail of that first item's Akkadian line. Reading them as sutu, "the south wind", agrees with the well-known enumeration of the Seven in this series, in which the first of them is a wind and the rest are monsters. I therefore restore the sense with confidence and the wording only in outline: the Akkadian ordinal could be istenu or mahru, and the Sumerian line is beyond recovery beyond its numeral. I have not verified a printed page and line for this passage and do not cite one; this is inference from the surviving series, not a published reading.
230-022 · page 161the editor’s estimate: about fourteen lines
…il-ta-nam-mu-u ISO. SUL DINGIR-BABBAR DINGIR-NI UR-SAG A T - NI-KU-A BA-NI-IB-GE-GE-ES id-la a a kar-du a-na [ *]Satnstt [ "]Adadu i-di-su - n u u t- tir- ru . IM - MI - IN - DIB - BI - E - NE ra - a - ti i - tah - zu[Hiatus of about fourteen lines.](168) MI ... (169) . . . (170) si(?) . . . (171) : . (172) (1/3) (174) E(?) . . (JAR . . - 175. ina bit bal - ti u vies - ri i - su - u tap -pi me - lam - me GU // TAB KA E - GAL - LA - GE ina ba - ab e - kal - li ka - a KUl^U-LI-IN TAR -A SIG - RIK - KAR 1 80. SIG - SAL -…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet XVI lines 152-167 have a fourteen-line hiatus on K.5156.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
"Hiatus of about fourteen lines."
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-023 · page 161the editor’s estimate: about eleven lines
…U-ME-NI-KESDA-KESDA LUGAL-E DU-DINGIR-RA-NA UD-SIR-DINGIR-EN-ZU-NA- GIM ZI KALAM-MA SU-UL 185. sar-ru mar ili-su sa ki-ma na-an-na-ri ilu Sin na - pis - ti mati u - kal - lu UD - SIR - BIL - GIM SAG - BI SU - SI GUR - RU - A ki-ma na-an-na-ri id-di-si-i ina ri-si-su sa-lum- \ina-ti is-hi\[Hiatus of about eleven lines.]UTUKKI LIMNIJTI, TABLET XVI. IOI <k angrily round the Crescent of the Clustering Moon God, " Have won over to their aid Shamash the mighty and Adad the warrior. " Holding [Hiatus of about ten line…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet XVI lines 188-198 have an eleven-line hiatus.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
"About eleven lines."
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-024 · page 162the editor’s estimate: about ten lines
…s of about eleven lines.] UTUKKI LIMNIJTI, TABLET XVI. IOI <k angrily round the Crescent of the Clustering Moon God, " Have won over to their aid Shamash the mighty and Adad the warrior. " Holding[Hiatus of about ten lines.].... 175. In the Home of Plenteous Increase They have power In the palace-gate a cord 1 80. Weave thou a two-coloured cord a from the hair of a virgin kid and from the wool of a virgin lamb, Upon the limbs of the b son of his god, king, bind it, 185. Then shall the…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Translation equivalent of 230-022.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
"About ten lines." Thompson's own English already leaves the block blank.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-025 · page 162the editor’s estimate: about five lines
…the b son of his god, king, bind it, 185. Then shall the b the son of his god king, Who holdeth the life of the land like the Crescent of the Moon God, Placing it as a glory on his head, Like the new Crescent of the Moon,[Hiatus of about five lines.]1 K. 5,156, ID. a Ulinnu. Cf. Syriac heldnd, in keVtha d^heldnd, stola seu orarium (Brockelmann, Lexicon Syriacum, p. 83, b). b The use of the word sarru here instead of the common amelu is very similar to that in certain of the Prayers of the Raising of the Hand (King, Bab. Magic and Sorcery, xxiii), e.g.. No. 2, 1. 26, " dupl. D, I, thy ser…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Translation equivalent of 230-023.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
"About five lines" after the new-moon comparison.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-026 · page 163the editor’s estimate: about three lines
…- ni LUGAL - LA - RA NAM - BA - TE - MAL - NE ana sar - ri a-a it - hu - u - ni ERI - A NAM - BA - NIGIN - E - NE a - na a - li a-a is - sah - ru - u - ni 220 NAM - BA - TU - TU - NE a-a i - ru - bu - u - ni[Hiatus of about three lines.]225 RI - ES UTUKKI LIMNUTI, TABLET XVI. 103 200. Evil Place at his head the tamarisk, The mighty weapon of . . . , 205. Perform the Incantation of Eridu, Bring unto him a censer, a torch, With the purest water wash him, And cleanse and purify the…
Every reader offers something
Reader A formula, medium confidence
[E-GAL-LA-KU NAM-BA-TU-TU-NE / ana ekalli a-a i-ru-bu-u-ni] [ZI AN-NA KAN-PA ZI KI-A KAN-PA / niš šame lu-ta-ma-ta niš erṣeti lu-ta-ma-ta]
Formulaic concluding sequence of apotropaic injunctions in Tablet XVI, following the prohibitions against entering house and city (lines 219-220); cf. Tablet XVI lines 325-327.
Reader B formula, low confidence
sense: more "may they not approach / not enter / not circle" prohibitions, which resume at 225.
Three-line hiatus inside the standard ay ithu / ay issahru / ay irubu series of Tablet XVI.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-027 · page 164the editor’s estimate: about two lines
…of king, his god. 210. Evil Spirit, evil Demon, evil Ghost, evil Devil, Evil God, evil Fiend, Into the [house] may they not enter, 215. Unto the walls of the palace may they not draw nigh, Unto the king may they not draw nigh, Around the city may they not circle, 220 may they not enter.[Hiatus of about two lines.]a See note by p. 101. IO4 DEVILS AND EVIL SPIRITS OF BABYLONIA. INIM - INIM - MA [UTUG - HUL - A] - KAN EN . . UL MES MI(?)-RA-A MES su-nu .u…
Every reader offers something
Reader A formula, high confidence
"Into the palace may they not enter! By Heaven be ye exorcised! By Earth be ye exorcised!"
Translation of the formulaic three-line apotropaic ending paralleled in lines 325-327 of Tablet XVI.
Reader B formula, low confidence
same prohibition series.
Two-line hiatus at the same point.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-028 · page 165the editor’s estimate: several lines
…nu - um u ilu Bel im - bu - su - nu - ti DINGIR-EN-ZU-NA [ANAJ-SA-TA SU-MU-UG-GA-GI-ES ilu Sin ina [lib} same(e) u - sa - di - ru 240 . SIG - SIG - GI - ES . . . is - hu - tu ES[Hiatus of several lines.]. . . tU 245. . . . GAL . . MULU DU - DINGIR - RA - NA \ URUDU-GAR-LIG-GA UR-SAG AN-NA-[GE ZA-PA-RAMJ- ME-NE-[A-NI] HU-LUH-HA GAR-HUL BA-AB-SIR-RI SU-U-ME-TI GIS-MA-NU GIS-KU-LIG-GA-TA KA-KA U-ME-NI-IN-GAR 250. NAM - SUB NUN - KI - GA U - ME - NI - SUM '. L : UT…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet XVI lines 241-244 are broken away between the eclipse of the Moon God and the entrance of Marduk.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Several lines after "they have torn away."
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-029 · page 166the editor’s estimate: several lines
…VIL SPIRITS]. Incantation : [Raging storms ?] . . . . . are they, 230. Brilliant are they, (PLATE XXII.) They are the storm 235. Over that which is theirs in heaven No god hath been proclaimed, Anu and Bel proclaimed them. They have darkened the Moon God in the heavens, 240. They have torn away[Hiatus of several lines. ]. . The man, son of his god .... Take thou the potent meteorite a of heaven, Which by the roar of its awful might removeth all evil, Place the tamarisk, The mighty weapon ^of , 250. Perform the Incantation of Eridu, a URUDU-GAR-LIG-GA ; GAR-LiG-GA=-r#-# (Cun. Texts, part xii, pi. 36, cols, iii-iv, 45); URUDU-GAR-LIG-GA = e-ra-a dan-n…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Translation equivalent of 230-028.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
English face of the same hole.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-030 · page 167the editor’s estimate: several lines
…' 7 dmu(mu) rabtiti pl sa \iiltu same} us-su-ru-\ni ildni limnuti sumi\[Hiatus of several lines.].... 1 34, 1 06 translates: nis ilu A-nim .... 2 34, 1 06 translates : ina sir-ri .... 3 34, 1 06 translates : ana a-li a-a is- .... 4 34, 1 06 translates : is-tu lib biti li-su- :/.... 6 K. 2,406 translates 6 K. 2,406 omits. 7 ends here with (a) kima labiri-su satir-ma m 34,106 (b) . . . UTUKKI LIMNUTI, TABLET XVI.…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet XVI lines 256-263 are missing on K.2406 and 34,106.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Several lines in the "great storms directed from heaven" prayer.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-031 · page 168the editor’s estimate: several lines
…hey not circle ! 260. Go ye forth from the house, O raging storms, ye evil gods ! Evil Spirit, evil Demon, evil Ghost, Evil Devil, [evil] God, [evil Fiend], By Heaven be ye exorcised ! By Earth be ye exorcised ! 265. PRAYER AGAINST THE EVIL SPIRITS. Incantation : Great storms directed from heaven, They are the evil gods ![Hiatus of several lines,]a The Sumerian IM (Briinnow, No. 4,822) has the value salu, "to sink (into water), " and we must supply some such meaning here. Izikku is used of spirits blowing through the hinge elsewhere (Tablet V, i, 35). IOS DEVILS AND EVIL SPIRITS OF BABYLONIA. 270 id ki [DINGIR-SILIG-MULU-SAR : GAR-GA]-E : GIN-NA DU-MU RAM - ME - NE…
They disagree
Reader A formula, high confidence
"Marduk hath seen him: [Unto his father Ea into the house he entereth and speaketh: 'O my father, the evil storm-demons...'] Ea answereth his son Marduk: ['Go, my son Marduk!']"
The standard Marduk-Ea dialogue formula of Utukku Lemnutu, abbreviated by Thompson on p. 168/169 and found unabbreviated in Tablet "A" lines 17-25 and Tablet IV lines 25-32.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Same.
Reader C none, n/a confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Genuinely ambiguous, and I say so rather than choose. The break follows the couplet "Great storms directed from heaven, They are the evil gods!" and precedes line 270, the Marduk-Ea formula ("Marduk hath seen him ... 'Go, my son'"). Gap 230-033, two pages later in the same continuous translation, shows the identical couplet recurring at lines 275-276 and there followed by the exorcistic sequence "Unto heaven may they ascend, unto their abode may they return ...". That looks at first like a parallel that fills this hole. It does not, for a structural reason: in the Marduk-Ea pattern the exorcistic remedy follows Ea's instruction, so at 275ff it stands in its proper place, whereas the present break stands before Marduk sees the sufferer — the position where the description of the demons, not the remedy, belongs. Against that, the couplet is verbatim the same in both places, which leaves open that the same continuation followed it here too; and the space, only two or three lines before line 270, is far too short for the fourteen-odd lines of the sequence at 275-290. The two readings cannot be decided from the quoted text, and the line numbering in this excerpt is visibly corrupted by transcription errors.
230-032 · page 169the editor’s estimate: several lines
…DIM-HUL MULLA-HUL ERI-TA HA-BA-RA-E e-kim-mu lim-nu gal-lu-u lim-nu is-tu ali li-su-u ZI DINGIR-GAL-GAL- E- NE-GE U - MU - UN - NI - PA 285. E- A NAM- BA - TU - TU - NE *UR - RA NAM - MU - UN - DA - PAL - E DA - DA E - GAL - LA - GE NAM - BA - TE - MAL - E - NE BAD NA - AN ALAD E - GAL 290. E - SIR - RA ERI - A[Hiatus of several lines.]UTUKKI LIMNOTI, TABLET XVI. ICQ 270. Marduk hath seen him : (etc.) ''What I : (etc.) " Go, my son : (etc.) a [Hiatus of several lines.] 275 Great storms directed from heaven, 280. They are the evil gods ! Unto heaven may they ascend, Unto their abode may they return ! May the evil Spirit, the evil Demon, Into t…
Standard Marduk-Ea ritual dialogue formula completing the catchline GIN-NA DU-MU RAM-ME-NE on Tablet XVI line 270 (cf. Tablet "A" line 25).
Reader B formula, medium confidence
sense: the stock Marduk-Ea dialogue tag "Marduk hath seen him / What I (know) / Go, my son..." which Thompson already prints as "(etc.)" immediately after the gap.
That three-line tag is the most repeated formula in the whole series (Tablets III, V, XVI). It does not fill "several lines" by itself.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-033 · page 170the editor’s estimate: several lines
…*UR - RA NAM - MU - UN - DA - PAL - E DA - DA E - GAL - LA - GE NAM - BA - TE - MAL - E - NE BAD NA - AN ALAD E - GAL 290. E - SIR - RA ERI - A [Hiatus of several lines.] UTUKKI LIMNOTI, TABLET XVI. ICQ 270. Marduk hath seen him : (etc.) ''What I : (etc.) " Go, my son : (etc.) a[Hiatus of several lines.]275 Great storms directed from heaven, 280. They are the evil gods ! Unto heaven may they ascend, Unto their abode may they return ! May the evil Spirit, the evil Demon, Into the earth descend ! 285. May the evil Ghost, the evil Devil, 290. Go forth from the city ! By the great Gods may ye be exorcised ! Into the house may they not enter, The fence may they n…
They disagree
Reader A formula, high confidence
"Ea answereth his son Marduk: 'Go, my son Marduk, take the sick man...'"
English translation of the standard Marduk-Ea expansion formula indicated by the catchwords (cf. Tablet "A" line 25).
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Duplicate marking of the same several-line hole.
Reader C none, n/a confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
The break falls between the abbreviated Marduk-Ea formula at line 270, which the editor has himself compressed with "(etc.)" because it is stock, and line 275. What is lost is the remainder of Ea's instruction to Marduk. In this pattern the instruction opens with a fixed frame ("Go, my son ...") that is already preserved before the break, and then specifies the remedy — and the remedy is what varies from incantation to incantation throughout this volume. The fixed part survives; the variable part is what is gone. No other excerpt in this file overlaps lines 271-274.
230-034 · page 170the editor’s estimate: several lines
…Into the earth descend ! 285. May the evil Ghost, the evil Devil, 290. Go forth from the city ! By the great Gods may ye be exorcised ! Into the house may they not enter, The fence may they not break through, Unto the neighbourhood of the palace may they not draw nigh, The wall The guardian spirit of the palace .... The street The city[Hiatus of several lines.]a See Tablet "A," 1. 17. Cf. 1. 247. I 10 DEVILS AND EVIL SPIRITS OF BABYLONIA. . . . UH(?)-ZU HUL GAR-SA-A GAR-HUL-A . . ZI AN - NA UH(?)-RI-A ZI KI - A KAN - PA KAN - PA 295. INIM-INIM - MA DINGIR-Hw UL TAR- RU -DA- KAN 1 EN GI - AZAG GI - GAL - GAL - LA GI-SUK-AZAG-GA CIS - BANSUR - EL - LA…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet XVI lines 291-294 break off in the protective invocation of the city gates.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Several lines after "the street / the city."
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-035 · page 173the editor’s estimate: several lines
…LS AND EVIL SPIRITS OF BABYLONIA. 310. MULLA - HUL DINGIR - HUL MASKIM - HUL LUGAL - RA NAM - BA - TE - MAL - E - NE ZI AN - NA KAN - PA ZI KI - A KAN - PA INIM - INIM - MA GI - DUR - GIL - MA - KAN EN SIG - UZ . . 315 sa - rat en - \zi\ DINGIR - NIN - Nl(?) 320. AMAS . . . . ina \supuri~\[Hiatus of several lines.]325. E - GAL - LA - KU NAM - BA - TU - TU - NE LUGAL - LA - RA NAM - BA - TE - MAL - E - NE ZI AN - NA KAN - PA ZI KI - A KAN - PA INIM-INIM-MA SIG-UZ-SIG-GA RIK-KAR-KAN EN MULU-HUL MULU-HUL MULU-BI MULU-HUL 330. lim - nu li - mun a - me - lu su - u li - mun MULU - BI NAM - MULU - GISGAL - LU MULU - HUL MULU - BI MU…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet XVI lines 321-324 break off in the incantation of the sheepfold and goat's hair.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Several lines in the "Prayer of the Reed / goat's hair" section.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-036 · page 174the editor’s estimate: several lines
…74 ===== UTUKKI LIMNUTI, TABLET XVI. 113 310. Or evil Ghost or evil Devil, Or evil God or evil Fiend, Draw nigh unto the King. By Earth be ye By Heaven be ye exorcised ! exorcised ! PRAYER OF THE REED (?). Incantation : 315. Goat's hair The goddess 320. In the cattle-pen[Hiatus of several lines.]325. Into the house may they not enter, Unto the King may they not draw nigh. By Heaven be ye exorcised ! By Earth be ye exorcised ! PRAYER OF THE HAIR OF THE YELLOW GOAT (AND) THE KID. Incantation : ;o. He that is evil is evil, That man is evil : That man among men is evil, That man is evil. 114 DEVILS AND EV…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Translation equivalent of 230-035.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
English face of 230-035.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-037 · page 199
…- ru par - su A - RI - A [Kl] - TUS" - A - ZU E - SUB - BA su - bat - ka bitu na - du - u har - bu TOO. [?-LA] IGI-MU-TA [ZI AN-NA KAN]-PA ZI KI-[A KAN]-PA \dup-pir ultu pani-ia ms same(e] lu-ta-md\-ta ms \irsitim(twri)\ lu-ta-ma-ta [INIM - INIM - MA UTUG] - HUL - A - KAN[ ]NA - A - AN ZI - GA mllu Assur-bani-apli sarru rabu sarru \Ekal dan-nu~\ sar kissati sar matuilu Assuri KI (Etc.) UTUKKI LIMNUTI, TABLET " B." 139 O evil Spirit, get thee forth to distant places, 95. O evil Demon, hie thee unto the ruins, Where thou standest is forbidden gwround, A ruined, d…
Every reader offers something
Reader A published, medium confidence
[KID-KID-BI / ep-še-et-su]
In Neo-Assyrian tablets of Utukku Lemnutu (e.g. BM K.3518+), between the incantation rubric and the Ashurbanipal colophon stands either the ritual-direction rubric (KID-KID-BI / epšetsu) or the series catchline.
Reader B published, high confidence
Ashurbanipal colophon (already begun in the next line)
The signs after the gap are the standard Nineveh library colophon, which Thompson prints. Nothing of the incantation itself is missing beyond the rubric.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-038 · page 205
…su hi] [KI - EL - UD - DA - KAR - RA NAM - BA - TE - MAL] - NE \ar - da - at li - li - i e ta - at - hi\ - su 90. [NAM - BA - TE - MAL] - NE \e ta - at\ - hi - su [NAM - BA - TE - MAL] - NE[Hiatus.]mur - su COL. II (PLATE XXXI). SAG - GIG KA - GIG SA - GIG LIKIR - GIG 95. mu-ru-us kak-ka-di sin-ni libbi ki-is lib-bi IGI-GIG AZAG : mu-ru-us i-ni a-sak-ku sa-ma-nu : SA-MA-NA UTUG-HUL A-LA-HUL GIDIM-HUL MULLA-HUL DINGIR-HUL MASKIM-HUL DINGIR - RAB J - KAN - ME DINGIR - RA…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet "C" col. i breaks off after line 91.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Unmeasured "Hiatus" before the sickness-list of Col. II.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-039 · page 206
…me 3 - di-lu UTUKKI LIMNUTI, TABLET " H5 C." [O Night Wraith], approach him not, [O Handmaiden of the Phantom], approach him not, 90 approach him not, approach him not,[Hiatus.]Sickness, COL. II (PLATE XXXI). 95. Sickness of the head, of the teeth, of the heart, heartache, Devil, a Sickness of the eye, fever, poison (?), Evil Spirit, evil Demo…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Translation equivalent of 230-038.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Same hiatus, English face.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-040 · page 209the editor’s estimate: Several lines
…sip - tu id - di 145 - - HI il - pu - turn HUL *00 REVERSE.[Several lines wanting.]a. [pi - ti - ik - ti a - a ib bal~\ - - ki - tu - [u - ni] . . b. [UTUG-HUL-IK : u-tuk-ku livi-mi] a-na si-ri-ka : 150. [EDIN-NA-ZU-KU] 151. [A-LA-HUL-IK : a-lu-u lim-nu] a-na si-ri-ka : c. [MU [EDIN-NA-ZU-KU] AN] - ZAK - [KU] ana pa-at \same\e]…
They disagree
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet "C" reverse lines 146-149 are completely broken on K.8446.
Reader B formula, medium confidence
sense: "O evil Spirit, to thy desert! O evil Demon, to thy desert!" - the lines Thompson already restores as a-c on the reverse from the series formula.
Published by Thompson himself from the bilingual EDIN-NA-ZU-KU refrain (cf. Tablet C and Geller SAACT 5). The "several lines wanting" above those three remain empty.
Reader C none, n/a confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
The break spans the end of the obverse and the beginning of the reverse — the word "REVERSE." stands immediately before it — which is where tablets of this kind are most often worn away entirely, and the editor gives no closer estimate than "several lines". The material resuming after the break is already so damaged that the editor has bracketed almost all of it as his own supplement ("[pi-ti-ik-ti a-a ib-bal]-ki-tu-[u-ni]", "[UTUG-HUL-IK : u-tuk-ku lim-nu]"), so it cannot anchor a restoration of what precedes it. Note that gap 230-041 is the English translation of this identical break, one page later; the two are the same question and neither supplies the other.
230-041 · page 210the editor’s estimate: Several lines
…BLET " 149 C." Slaughtering (PLATE XXXII.) 1 30. Seizing upon Rending in pieces 135. . . . like fish from the water they draw forth a Knowing neither prayer nor supplication. 140. They cover his . . . and darken his eyes, not known. He performs the incantation[Several lines broken or wanting.]REVERSE. a. May they not break through [the mud wall]. b. [O evil Spirit], to thy desert ! 1 50. [O evil Demon], to thy desert ! c. [O they that have no name (their name)], unto the breadth [of heaven b !] a Isahhalu: cf. the Chald. s' hat (Levy, Chald. Worterb., p. 468, a] which is the word used in Exod. ii, 10, for drawing Moses…
They disagree
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Translation equivalent of 230-040.
Reader B formula, medium confidence
same ana ṣeri-ka desert-dismissal.
English face of 230-040.
Reader C none, n/a confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
This is the translation side of the break at gap 230-040 (transliteration, p.209; translation, p.210). The correspondence is exact: "sip-tu id-di" before the break there is "He performs the incantation" before the break here, and the lettered lines a, b, c after the break there are "May they not break through [the mud wall]", "[O evil Spirit], to thy desert!", "[O they that have no name], unto the breadth [of heaven]" after the break here. Because the loss is in the tablet, it is reproduced in both columns and neither can fill the other. Nothing else quoted here overlaps the lost lines.
230-042 · page 215
…TU-DUG-GA i DINGIR-EN-KI-GA-[GE :] . . . [DU NUN-KI-GA-GE] TU-TU ZU-AB NUN-KI-GA [NAM-MU-UN-DA-AN-BUR-RA] INIM - INIM - MA [UTUG - HUL - A - KAN] EN UTUG-HUL-IK EDIN-NA ID BA-AN 195. u-tuk-ku limnuti pl sa ma si-ri is-su-nu tar . . . . UR-SAG DU DAGAL AS-A-MES F//-NA . . . . kar - ra - du . . . is - ta - \at\[Hiatus.](PLATE XXXIV.) GURUS E - UR - A - NI - TA BA - RA - [E - NE] 1 NI-BI-A SIR-GIM MU-UN-SUR-SUR-RI-E-[NE] ina ra-rna-ni-su-nu ki-ina si-ir^ it-ta-na-as-lal-lu 215. AN-NIN-KIS-GIM UR-E-GAR-RA-GE IR-SI-NI-IN-NA- AG-E-NE ki-ma sik-ki-e a-sur-ra-a us-sa-nu su-nu UR-KU-GIM NIGIN-E SI-MU-UN-SI-IN-BAR-RI-E-NE ki-…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet "C" lines 198-212 have a hiatus of about fifteen lines.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Unmeasured hiatus after "seven [are they]."
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-043 · page 216
…c." 190. Ishum .... [men] By the magic of the word of Ea, . . . the son of Eridu Let the Incantation of the Deep of Eridu [never be unloosed] ! PRAYER AGAINST THE [EviL SPIRITS]. Incantation : 195. The evil Spirits whose hands in the desert . . . Warriors, sons of one mother, seven [are they].[Hiatus.](PLATE XXXIV.) They drive forth the man from his home. Upon themselves like a snake they glide, 215. Like mice they make the chamber stink, Like hunting dogs they give a tongue. Be thou evil Spirit or evil Demon, Or evil Ghost or evil Devil, Or evil God or evil Fiend, 220. By Heaven be thou exorcised ! By Earth be…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Translation equivalent of 230-042.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Same, English face.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-044 · page 267the editor’s estimate: about nine lines
…(239) . . . \rik-sa l\a-ti sak-nu, (240) . . . GIS- BANSUR-GE, (241) . . . pa-as-sn-ri, (242) . . . NAM- LUGAL-LA-GE, (243) . . . -mat sar-ru-ti, (244) . . Zl(?) UR-SAG-GA-GE, (245) . . . kar-da-a-ti, (246) . . . GUB-BA, (247) . . . iz-za-az, (248) . . . US-SA, (249) . . . en-da, (250) . . . NA-GE, (251) . . . -te.[Hiatus of about nine lines.]kis SAG - GA - NA BA - NI - IN - GAR . . . . sa ilu A-nim ina ri-si-su is-ku-un-ma 255. [UTUG-*SIG-GA] ALAD-*SIG-GA DINGIR-SAG-GAG^A-GIM [SAG]-GA-NA HE-EN-LAH-LAH-GI-ES ,, kima Hi ba-ni-su ina ri-si-su lu-u-ka-a-a-an SAG GAR-* SIG-GA-A-NI HE-EN-TUK-T…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet "K" lines 252-254 contain a nine-line hiatus on K.3169+.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
"Hiatus of about nine lines" between the broken ends 238-251 and the Anu-at-his-head ritual.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-045 · page 268the editor’s estimate: about five lines
…ght ! [O Marduk, eldest son of the Ocean Deep !] a Thine is the power [to brighten] and bless. (PLATE XLVIII.) [Incantation] [Ends of 11. 238-251 remaining.][Hiatus of about five lines.]He hath put the [potent meteorite ?] of heaven at his head, 255. That a kindly Spirit (and) a kindly Guardian, Like the God that created him, May stand at his head continually, To exalt his head to favour, 260. Whether it be an evil Spirit or an evil Demon, Or an evil Ghost or an evil Devil, Or an evil God or an evil Fiend, Or a Hag-demon, Or…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Translation equivalent of 230-044.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
"About five lines" on the English face of the same stretch.
Reader C
Not put to this reader.
230-046 · page 269
…- ' - tu sa ilu Is - tar [ana im - m~\ \li - ir - ku - u]s - ma ana su - me - li . . . . BI ID - SU - GIR - BI U - ME - [NI - KESDA] 275. [NAM - SUB] NUN - KI - GA u - ME - [NI - SUM] BI - A u - ME - [NI] . . . (PLATE XLIX.) - tu me - e [GAR - NA GI] - BIL - LA [GI] - BIL - LA[Small hiatus.]280. . UTUG - HUL SIG (?) ZU MULU - TUR - RA ID . . . . GIG - GA KI - A ru-ru-tu mur - sa ana ma-a-ti id-ku . . INCANTATION OF A SIMILAR SERIES, TABLET " K." 209 265. Or a Robber-sprite, Or a Phantom of Night, Or a Wraith of Night, Or the Handmaid of the Phantom, Or evil spell, witchcraft, sorcery,…
They disagree
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet "K" lines 277-279 have a small break in the purification ritual.
Reader B formula, low confidence
sense: "bring a censer and a torch / perform the Incantation of Eridu / wash with pure water."
Small hiatus inside the standard purification kit which Thompson restores in the surrounding lines from Tablets III and XVI. Exact signs of the small hole are not given.
Reader C none, n/a confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
A "small hiatus" in a ritual instruction. The lines before it prescribe the paraphernalia — the holy-water vessel, the censer and the torch ("[GAR-NA GI]-BIL-LA [GI]-BIL-LA") — and the lines after it resume with a new incantation about disease sent upon the land ("mur-sa ana ma-a-ti id-ku"). Ritual instructions of this type are lists of acts whose order and number are not fixed by any formula, so even a short break is unrecoverable. Note that gap 230-047 is the English translation of this same passage on the facing page and marks the same hiatus at the same point — the two excerpts are one question, and the translation confirms the extent of the loss without reducing it.
230-047 · page 270
…present. Incantation the sick man Incantation 270. Let a woman pure and aged spittle of Ishtar, Bind on his right the . . . And on his left 275. [Of that man] do thou [bind] his limbs, [Perform the Incantation] of Eridu, water (PLATE XLIX.) [Bring unto him a censer] and a torch, a censer[Small hiatus.][Incantation] : . . . [casteth ?] disease upon the land, 14 2IO DEVILS AND EVIL SPIRITS OF BABYLONIA. 285 [G]l - NA NAM - MULU - GISGAL - LU - GE sa a…
They disagree
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Translation equivalent of 230-046.
Reader B formula, low confidence
same purification kit.
English face of 230-046.
Reader C none, n/a confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
The translation side of the hiatus at gap 230-046 (transliteration, p.269; translation, p.270). The pairing is secure: "[GAR-NA GI]-BIL-LA [GI]-BIL-LA" there is "[Bring unto him a censer] and a torch, a censer" here, and "mur-sa ana ma-a-ti id-ku" there is "[casteth?] disease upon the land" here — with the plate reference "(PLATE XLIX.)" falling at the same point in both. The break is in the tablet and appears in both columns, so one cannot supply the other. The lost material continued the ritual instructions; their sequence is not formulaic enough to reconstruct.
230-048 · page 271
…sa ilu sar kak-ki im-tum amelu is-sa-an DINGIR-LUGAL DINGIR SILA-A-* SIG-GA-GE UH (?) MULU-RA-SU-SU sa ilu il su-ki sa-ku-um-me im-tum amelu is-\sa-an\ DINGIR-PA-SAG-GA LIGIR GIG U NA 305. tlu [sa l\sum na-gir mu-si[Hiatus.]U-ZAG-HI-LI-SAR lil-lu-U . ' . . . . EL , . . . el . . 310 INCANTATION OF A SIMILAR SERIES, TABLET " K." 211 285 ......... of mankind, . . . that burneth [like] fire . . sick . . hath settled on the man, 290. . . . at the head of the man standeth continually,…
Every reader refuses
Reader A none, low confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Tablet "K" lines 306-308 break off after the mention of the night-herald.
Reader B none, high confidence
Nothing can honestly be restored here.
Unmeasured hiatus after the street-god / night-watchman lines.