CDLI Literary 000767, ex. 007 (P346240)

Literary tablet excavated in Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar), dated to the Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC) period and now kept in British Museum, London, UK

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Text / annotations

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Chemical Data

Seal Chemistry

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Museum Collection(s)

British Museum, London, UK

Museum Number

BM —

Period

Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)

Provenience

Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)

Artifact Type

Tablet

Material(s)

Clay

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Literary (ETCSL 5.04.01 Two Scribes (witness))

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

-

Witness

tablet
obverse
  beginning broken
1'. [...] x [...]
 en: ...
2'. [...] x x [...]
 en: ...
3'. [...] x [...] x x [...]
 en: ...
4'. [...] x [...]
 en: ...
5'. eme#-gir15-sze3! [...] eme#-[...]
 en: Your tongue does not function properly for the Sumerian language
6'. a-ra2 he2#-szid# x [...]
 en: If multiplication (tables) are (i.e., have to be manually) counted(?), you did not (actually) know them
7'. igi-diri he2#-duh# x [...]
 en: If you (manage to) solve(?) the reciprocals, but the foundation (i.e. basis) is not grasped for you
8'. sahar-gar#-ra# x [...]
 en: The problem involving the computation of river silt (volume?)(?) ... is not put in its place for you
9'. KA-inim#-ma# [...]
 en: The topics/vocabularies(?) of the art of the scribal student
10'. szu-zu# [...]
 en: By your hand they are produced(?)
11'. en3 u3-ra#?-tar# szu#? [...] x [...]
 en: (But) when ... asks after you, (they say(?)) “do not entrust(?) it (your tablet?) (to anyone?)”
12'. szu nu#-sa6#-[...] ki# nam#-dub#-[...]
 en: (Possessor) of a hand that is not good that is not read aloud in the school (lit. place of the scribal art)
13'. lu2-tu15# [...] x [...]
 en: Idiot who attempts(?) to remove(!?) parasites and is dying from hunger
14'. nig2-HAR-ra eh-eh#?-NE# [...]-zu#
 en: Going along with(?) parasites and ..., debt(?) is your appropriate thing (i.e., debt typifies you?)
15'. gaba-ri-gu10-me-en#
 en: You are (really) my opponent?
  double ruling
16'. a#-na#-asz-am3# ga2 x [...] nu#-me-en#
 en: Why would I not be your opponent?
17'. lu2-tu15# lul du11-du11# [...]
 en: Idiot, liar (who is like a) rider of a distant land
18'. gu4 szab ku5-ku5 [...]-x [...]
 en: Ox with crippled hips, lying down in the yoke
19'. gu4 gu3 ra-ah-ta zi-ir-ir#?-[...]
 en: Ox that is distressed by means of (its own) mooing(?)
20'. geme2 szu-ku6 {gesz}ba-an-e# u4# [...]
 en: Female laborer (of?) a fisherman(?) spending time near the ban measure (to alter it in her favor?)
21'. sag lu2-tu15 udun bahar2#-ka# [...]
 en: Slave(?), idiot lying next to the potter's kiln
22'. szagan-la2 ku3 dam#-[...]
 en: Merchant apprentice/purse bearer that exhausts the silver of the merchant
23'. lu2-kurun-na zi3#-[...]
 en: Brewer eating the zidmunu ration
24'. kiszi-a# ak [...]
 en: One who has half (his hair shaved), come, ...
25'. lil hu-ru#-[um ...]
 en: Childish fool, driveller/stammerer(?)
26'. a-na-gin7-nam# [...]
 en: How is it that you compare with me?
  double ruling
bottom
1. 4(u@v) 9(disz@v)
 en: Forty? nine? (entries, total of entire tablet?)
reverse
1. ni2-su-ub lu2-tu15 dim2-ma# [...]
 en: Lunatic, idiot, (possessing) the intellect of a monkey
2. e2 nu-tuku e-sir2-ra nu2#-[nu2]
 en: Homeless one lying in the street
3. {im}szu-rin-na nam-lu2-lux(URU)-ka titab2 i-ni-[...]
 en: Spreading out residue left from fermentation at the “oven of mankind” (a collective oven?)
4. {dug}utul2 ar-za-na {im}szu-rin-na-ta e11#-[...]
 en: When you bring out the bowl (filled with) groats up from the oven
5. ba-e-da-gaz utul2 al-bil2-la-x [...]
 en: It shatters to your detriment(?) due to the heat of the bowl(?)
6. ma-sila3 sa-sal-zu SU-a ab-sil2#?-[...]
 en: Your heel and you Achilles tendon tear away at (your) flesh/skin
7. gi-gur nisi-ga-ta zu2 e-da-ra-ah! gi-gur szu#-[...]
 en: You gnaw at (food from) the vegetable basket, and steal fish from the fisherman's basket
8. u4 didli {gesz}pu2 da-gum-ta igi-zu#? al#?-gu4#?-[...]
 en: Many days your face/eye jumps/twitches from/by crushing holds(?)
9. ga-ab-sa10 ganba lu2#-[...]
 en: Peddlar (who haggles over?) the market price(?), the grain roasters
  double ruling
10. lu2-ni2-su-ub-ba-gin7 igi-zu#-[...]
 en: They/we(?) fled from before you like lunatics
11. udun bahar2-ka x-[...]
 en: When you ... at the potter's kiln
12. gu2-mur7-zu-ta za3 gu#-[du-zu-sze3 ...]
 en: From your spine to the edge of your anus
13. zu2-kesz2 simx(GIG)-ma ab#?-[...]
 en: (Your) verterbrae are filled with “sores” (i.e., ruptured disks and hemorrhoids?)
14. {gi}pisan ninda kur6-ma# lukur-e-ne#-[...] u3#-mu-ni#-[...]
 en: When you(?) drop the basket (containing) the rations of the lukur priestesses
15. geme2 lukur-ra al-tur#-[...]
 en: (Even) the female laborer of the the lukur priestess are belittled(?)
16. igi-zu szah2-tur-gin7 am3-ur4-ur4-re#?-de3#-[...]
 en: Your face, like a piglet, they are to pluck (bald, in retaliation?)
17. e2 dingir esz3 didli-ka i3#?-du8#? gudug-bi# u3-[sa2 ...] x x x [...]
 en: At the temple of the god (and its) various shrines, its gatekeeper and gudug priest roam around for you (as if there was?) a deep sleep before them(?), they stand guard (i.e., are suspicious?) for you
  rest broken

Consult previous versions and their differences
Consult sign list of Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)
Consult word list of Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)

  • Artifact type: Tablet
  • Material: Clay
  • Measurements (mm):
  • Weight:
  • Artifact Preservation:
  • Condition Description:
  • Join Information:
  • Seal no.:
  • Seal information:
  • Artifact comments:

  • Genre(s): Literary (ETCSL 5.04.01 Two Scribes (witness))
  • Language(s): Sumerian


  • history: UET 6, 0155

    [Gadd1963] Gadd, Cyril J., and Aaron Shaffer. 1963, 1966.

  • citation: Class Reunion, CM 47 (2015) text P

    [Johnson2015CM47] Johnson, J. Cale, and Markham J. Geller. 2015. The Class Reunion : An Annotated Translation and Commentary on the Sumerian Dialogue Two Scribes. Vol. 47. Cuneiform Monographs.

  • Composite No.:
  • Museum No.: BM —
  • Accession No.:

  • Provenience: Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)
  • Elevation:
  • Stratigraphic Level:
  • Excavation No: U 17900d
  • Findspot Square:
  • Findspot Comments:

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2024-06-18 at 10:14:20 Firth, Richard Artifact, Other Entity Firth, Richard Firth, Richard approved View
2023-06-15 at 20:34:30 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact Rattenborg, Rune Geomapping Landscapes of Writing Rattenborg, Rune approved View
2019-06-12 at 09:07:43 Englund, Robert K. Atf Englund, Robert K. CDLI approved View
2019-05-29 at 21:01:58 Englund, Robert K. Atf Englund, Robert K. CDLI approved View
2006-11-02 at 00:00:00 CDLI Artifact Foxvog, Daniel A.; Guerra, Dylan; Peterson, Jeremiah; Veldhuis, Niek; Wolfe, Jared N. CDLI approved View

This artifact is a witness to the following composite(s):

Composite Score
CDLI Literary 000767 (Two Scribes) composite (P481441) View the score

General Notes: -
CDLI Notes: -
Cite this Artifact
“CDLI Literary 000767, Ex. 007 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 18, 2024. https://cdli.ucla.edu/P346240.
CDLI Literary 000767, ex. 007 artifact entry (No. P346240). (2024, June 18). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.ucla.edu/P346240 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000767, ex. 007 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.ucla.edu/P346240 (Accessed: February 7, 2025).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-02-07]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jun 18},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000767, ex. 007 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.ucla.edu/P346240},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.ucla.edu/P346240},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/6/18/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346240
LB  - CDLI:P346240
M1  - 2025/2/7/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000767, ex. 007 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.ucla.edu/P346240
ER  - 
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