Detail: Lyre inlay (also shown on the Home page) which depicts some rather fanciful scenes and characters. Note the bearded bulls in the top panel.
Notes:
1. Verification: Every sign and its definition has been verified through the ePSD, the ETCSL, the CDLI, the Sumerian Lexicon, and other resources (see the Links page for the meaning of these abbreviations). My criteria for using a sign definition was it had to appear at least once in the ePSD, ETCSL, or the SL (and in the proper context). These are well-attested, commonly accepted definitions, that are correct for the period when the tablet was written.
2. Sign recognition: The scribe uses a "compressed" writing style (the signs are simplified to make them easier to write, and some of them are shortened to save space on the line). Therefore many of the signs look different than the classic cuneiform script. Every sign on this tablet has been matched with multiple examples from other known tablets. I do not point out all of the compressed signs on this tablet, because there are 44 occurrences. Basically, if a sign doesn't look like the ePSD font, then it's compressed, and it can be found on the ePSD's UR III and Old Babylonian tablets. Click here to see some examples of the compressed signs.
3. Strings: For the sake of word separation, not all the word strings are connected.
4. Pronunciation: Š is pronounced "sh", as in shepherd. Ĝ is pronounced "ng", as in sing. The "H" sound in Sumerian ("ḫ") is pronounced as in the word, "loch". The numerical subscript of a sign (for example, ĝe26) is a modern convention used to delineate the different meanings of the sign. It is not pronounced when the word is said aloud.
For first time readers: Written Sumerian doesn't have a direct word-for-word correlation with verbal speech. For instance, where we would write, "I went to the store to buy some bread", in Sumerian it would probably be written as "store go bread buy". The reader is often left to infer such things as articles (a, an, the), verb tense (go, going, has gone), and personal pronouns (I, you, they go. . . ). All of this would depend on the context of the surrounding sentences. These details would be supplied by the reader when the sentence is read aloud. In a way, Sumerian writing "just hits the high spots", so it can sound somewhat telegraphic. Note, too, that written Sumerian has a "backwards" way of expressing things, in terms of word formation (bull fatted) and syntax (bull to food send). This artificial construction applied only to written Sumerian, in an atttempt to make it more readable. When the sentence was read aloud, it was converted to the natural patterns of verbal speech. The first time through, to get a feel for the actual writing on this tablet, you may want to skip the notes, which are rather voluminous, especially at the beginninng.
This is a "pre-final" translation. There may be some very minor changes to the details or wording of the text, but the story will remain essentially the same.
Transliteration of Tablet #36 in the Library of Congress Cuneiform Collection by: Jerald Jack Starr
The enigmatic mahX (AL, al, mah2, mah, etc.)
Obverse:
[x-x] = missing or damaged text {. . . } = prefix or suffix
(ES) = Emesal (Akkadian/Babylonian words)
[Unknown number of lines missing]
o1. za [x-x…]
You ...
o2. [na-aĝ2 (ES, nam)] [x-x…]
Fate ...
o3. lu2-maḫX ḫi-li-a gu4 me [x x...]
Man-great abundant bull be
mahX = AL = mah2 = mah: A pun, used throughout the text as “great” (see also:
o7, o8, o11, r7, r10, r11, r14). This one sign (mahX) is the lock, and the key,
to understanding this tablet. An explanation follows, and additional information
can be found in Appendix A, at the end of this page.
AL: When the sign-name is written in capital letters, it represents any and all of the possible meanings and pronunciations of the sign. In this way, AL can mean al: hoe, fence, etc.; and it can also mean mah2: cow. It can also be a CVNE, or it may be just a syllable that sounds like al in one of 24 Sumerian words listed on the ePSD. The capitalized sign-name is used when it's not known which of the meanings apply. So when this particular sign is first encountered in a line of untranslated text, it's initially called AL, because it's not yet known which of its various meanings (and pronunciations) is the one being used.
AL is one of the reasons why this was such a difficult translation. Tablet #36 could
almost be subtitled, "What about AL?" The scribe uses the sign a lot, it shows up
in the most unexpected places, and none of the definitions of AL make a bit of sense
within the context of the sentences (and AL isn't being used as a Compound Verb
Nominal Element, in case you were wondering). The sign is used frequently and
intrusively throughout the text, and it seems to be "nonsensical" in every sentence
where it appears. It's as if the scribe was deliberately over-using this sign, always
putting it "in the way", for some unknown reason. Although at first I didn't have the
slightest idea what any of the sentences said, I sensed that the sign was being used
in some unusual manner. And it seemed more than a coincidence that every time I
started to get a grasp on the meaning of the text, this sign just happened to pop up,
only to create confusion. I began to suspect that this mysterious sign was somehow
the "key" to translating this tablet.
To make a long story short, it took me a long, long time to figure it out. Then one day,
finally, it occurred to me. I realized that AL is really mah2, a pun for mah:
mah2: "cow".
One of the meanings of AL is mah2, an adjective for a dairy cow. I had briefly
considered it as a possible translation for the sign, but I had immediately discarded it
because it was bound to be completely nonsensical in any sentence where it appeared.
However, the important thing about this sign is that it's pronounced like mah:
mah: "great".
On this tablet, the sign mah2 (cow) is written to mean mah (great, supreme, large,
majestic, etc.). Because the numerical subscripts of a sign are "silent", mah and mah2
are pronounced the same. Throughout the text, in all eight sentences where it appears,
the sign mah2, "cow", is used exactly as if it were the sign mah, meaning "great". The
consistent use of the sign in this particular way requires a new designation for the sign.
It is called:
mahX: = AL = mah2 = mah = "great".
The "X" in mahX stands for an unknown subscript number. As a subscript number, it is unpronounced when the word is said aloud. MahX, mah, and mah2 are pronounced exactly the same.
This, at first, might not seem like a big deal. It may be clever enough as wordplay, but
it seemed that the scribe had gone through an awful lot of trouble, only to bring forth
this one little pun. There is, however, a method to his madness. This sign is used
to obscure the meaning of the text, to make the tablet difficult to read, because of the
volatile contents of the story. As soon will be shown, this sign (pun) is also used
as a hint to the hidden context of the story.
When I decoded mahX, the confusion in the sentences disappeared. At least now the
sentences no longer seemed so "nonsensical". Now, at least, they could be translated.
Which leads us to the crux of the problem: Even after this big breakthrough, I had not,
as yet, translated a single complete sentence. Various words and phrases hinted at
many possible meanings for the story, but I still couldn't read the tablet. The reason
I was having so much difficulty translating this tablet was the "missing context"
of the story.
In Sumerian, context is everything; because all of the signs have multiple meanings.
I therefore needed to know the context (subject) of the writing, in order to eliminate the
many alternative meanings of the signs, so I could concentrate only on the meanings
that might actually make some sense within the context of the story. In other words,
I needed to know what I was "reading to". Without a known context, it is difficult to read
even a simple Sumerian sentence (not even another Sumerian could easily read it).
Trying to read Tablet #36, without knowing the context of the story, was something of a
Catch-22: I had to know the context of the writing in order to read the signs, but I had to
read the signs in order to know the context (!) It is very difficult to read a tablet with an
unknown context (and Tablet #36 has two unknown contexts; more on that, later). The
missing context(s) of the story is one of the reasons why this tablet couldn't be
translated by the experts.
The context of a story is usually given in the first few opening lines of a tablet.
Unfortunately, the opening lines of Tablet #36 are missing, due to damage on the tablet.
It seemed that the context may never be known. Fortunately, as luck (or Fate)
would have it, the tablet had broken off at just the right place. Here, in the first
two signs of the first readable fragment of a line, is a hint to the "hidden context"
of the story: lu2-mahX. As per the "pun" meaning of mahX, the signs lu2-mahX
can be translated as "man-great". On this tablet, lu-mah (big man, great man) is
synonymous with the sign lu-gal (big man, great man) meaning "lord or king". This is
the secret, hidden context of the story: lu-mah = "man-great" = lu-gal = king.
gal-lu2
Lugal isthe Sumerian sign for "king". It is two signs joined together. It's written as gal-lu2, but it's pronounced "lu-gal" (man-great). It is one of the oldest and most recognizable of the Sumerian signs. Unlike most of the other signs, which have multiple meanings, this sign means little else besides its usual definition of "king, lord, master". The scribe doesn't use this symbol because it's too unmistakable, too unambiguous. If the sign lugal was on this tablet, then everyone would know what it's written about.
lu2 mah
Lu-mah, literally "man-great", like the above lugal. Mah and gal both mean "great".
lu2 mah2 (mahX)
Lu-mah2, as it appears on Tablet #36. It literally means "man-dairy cow"; which is nonsensical; but it's pronounced the same as the above lu-mah (man-great). This pun is a hint to the secret "hidden context" of the story: lu-mah = "man-great" = lu-gal = king. Lu-mah is the name of The Great Fatted Bull.
MahX is the main reason why I think the scribe deliberately disguised the meaning
of the text. This is not just clever wordplay. The sign is introduced early in the story,
creating some confusion: "Lu2 = man. Okay, that was easy enough. So far, so good.
Then, mahX = al; a hoe? fence? Surely it's not mah2; a cow??" Mah2 actually means
a "mature, milk producing" cow --- which is the opposite of a bull, in all regards. So
even if mah2 is initially considered as a possible translation for the sign, it would be
immediately discarded as nonsensical (man-milk cow?), so the pun would be lost,
and along with it, the hint to the secret context of the tablet. The sign is then used
many times throughout the text, in a manner for which it was never intended, creating
confusion in every sentence where it appears. If mahX is just a pun, why bother?
Why not use it once, and then use a simple, easily recognizable sign like gal (or mah!)
for all other occurrences of the word "great"? The scribe uses the same kind of pun
for Su-ba, "the shepherd" (see o18), but he doesn't alter the meaning of those signs
in other parts of the story, as he does with mahX --- and no writer would create
so much confusion in his own composition, just to pound on one single pun
eight different times. No, there's something different about mahX; it just keeps getting
"in the way". It seems that the sign pops up every time one starts to get a grasp on
the meaning of the text. Which begs the question: why does the scribe deliberately
use a sign that's nonsensical in every sentence where it appears? What's his purpose?
To put it simply, mahX is used to obscure the context of the story; and without a known
context, it is difficult, if not impossible, to read the other signs on this tablet. So,
in a way, mahX is both the lock, and the key, to this tablet. It obscures the true
meaning of the text (the lock), but once it's understood, it reveals the hidden context
of the story (the key), which makes it possible to read the other signs on the tablet.
The repeated use of mahX is like the tumblers of the lock. A key doesn't work until
all of the tumblers are in place. When one single word fits in all eight sentences, then
and only then, the tablet finally opens up, and it's true meaning is revealed.
With "Lu-mah", the scribe: 1) gives the bull a name, 2) names him for his character,
3) obscures his identity, and 4) gives a hint to the tablet's true context. It's also a
wry comment on the fatted bull's waistline (mah also means "to be or make large").
It has to be the greatest name ever given to a fictional character.
The pronunciation of the Sumerian "ḫ" not withstanding, in this translation, the
Anglicized pronunciation of Lu-mah is the preferred form. "Maḫ" is pronounced
the way it's spelled in English (it rhymes with "ah"). In this way, one isn't required
to pronounce the word with a Sumerian accent.
In the translation, I added the word "lord" because it's implied in "Lu-mah". For notes
on hi-li, see line o4.
An experienced Sumerologist might have already noticed that the sign for bull (gu4)
is "miswritten", here at the beginning of the tablet, where the reader would be looking
for the context of the story. Gu4 (bull) is the second hidden context of this tablet.
For notes on gu4, see line o6.
A summary of the other different ways the meaning of the text is obscured can be
found in Appendix A, at the end of this page.
o4. ba ḫi-li nam-a-a ḫe2 de6 nam-[x-x…]
Allotment abundant fatherhood may (he/it) bring
Because of the missing portion of this line, it's impossible to tell if the Great Fatted Bull
is the "gift of fatherhood" (as a son) or if the gift is bestowed upon him (as the father).
The line is translated as "May the fatted bull... " where it is written as "May (he/it)...".
This is justified by the fact that he is called a bull in the previous sentence, and
he's called "great fatted" in the next; and by the necessity of having to introduce
the Fatted Bull early in the story.
Hi-li can mean "beautiful" or "sexy" or "luxuriant" (abundant). Clearly, in this story,
the Great Fatted Bull isn't being called beautiful or sexy; he's being called abundant
A missing mark on a sign can mean everything --- or it may mean nothing. It can
actually change the meaning of the sign; or it may be just a scribal error, a "typo".
Here, and in lines o3 and r7, the sign for bull (gu4) is shown without the vertical stroke.
It is written correctly at the end of line o8. As written, the sign could be interpreted as
2(eše3) or as the OB version of bi. 2(eše3) is two of a particular unit of measure,
and is meaningless within the context of the sentences. The Babylonian version of bi
is a sign that has been stripped of most of its identifying structure, as part of the
process of simplifying the signs. It didn't appear until late in the Old Babylonian period,
(or, as I call it, Severe Babylonian) when lots of other signs were simplified almost
beyond recognition, which is not the case on this tablet. I doubt that it's a scribal error.
I believe it''s a deliberate effect to obscure the meaning of the text. I call the sign
"the half hidden bull", because it looks like a bull hiding in the writing of the text,
with just his horns showing, as a hint to the context of this tablet:
Gu4, "bull", normal: It looks like a bull's head.
compressed: The large triangle is replaced by two smaller triangles (reverse cunei) facing in the opposite direction, and the vertical line is moved into the horn area.
as written: In the crowded lettering of the tablet, this looks like a bull "hiding" in the writing of the text.
In any case, gu4 fits perfectfly within the context of the sentences. In this sentence
especially (voice + bull + repetitive processing = the bellowing of a bull) the meaning
of the sign is clear. Since the sign occurs twice in the sentence, in an obvious
bull context, it would be a natural place to obscure the appearance of the sign.
It's interesting to note that the one place where the sign is written correctly (line o8)
is where it is written the smallest, crowded into the margin on the side of the tablet,
and therefore inconspicuous and difficult to read. It cannot be seen when looking
directly at the front or the back of the tablet, and it can only be read when the tablet
In the Translation, I added the words "Lu-mah declares". The Sumerian language didn't
have a lot of conventions (such as commas, quotation marks, capital letters, etc.)
that separated the spoken word from the rest of the story. Nor does the scribe
often introduce dialogue with phrases such as "he said" or "she said" (which can be
quite disconcerting: you're reading along, and before you know it, someone's talking).
I therefore added to the story this kind of signal to the spoken word (e.g. line r11:
His mother says, ". . .") which is sometimes necessary when translating Sumerian.
The sign mu/ĝu10, "he/my", is written with only two pairs of reverse cunei, instead of
the usual three. I was able to find only one other example on the ePSD where the sign
was written in this way. The horizontal stroke of the sign is very short (to save space)
and any attempt to crowd all three pairs of reverse cunei onto such a short sign
would make it almost illegible.
Eš3-mahX may be a reference to the Great Shrine in the city of Nippur, or it may be a
generic term for a "great shrine". It is capitalized in the translation to convey some of
the obvious sarcasm in the sentence.
ĝa2-ĝa2-ĝa2 = ĝar-ĝar-ĝar = "to accumulate". A (non-numeric) Sumerian sign is
seldom written three times in a row. It happens, but it's relatively rare. It happens three
different times on this tablet. Here it is used as deliberate exaggeration (hyperbole).
The scribe could have witten the sign once, or even twice, and it would have meant
the same thing (to accumulate). Instead, he writes it three times; this from someone
who otherwise uses a great economy of language.
The strings of three signs in-a-row, and the fact that it seems like half of the other signs
are "doubled up" (usually to indicate plural) is another reason why this tablet is such
a difficult translation. The writing looks wild on the page. Visually, it looks out of control;
it looks like "gibberish". Like the next line:
o8. iri niĝin2 kar niĝin2 gur4-gur4-a kur9-kur9
Village make the rounds marketplace wander feel big/important(2x)-in enter (plural)
gana2-5(aš) zal {in}-kur9 maḫX-šu gu4 si
Field-5 pass enters. Great-hand bull fill
Here, and in lines o11 and r11, mahX (AL) is written in its compressed form. It is written
elsewhere in a "semi-compressed" form (you'll find it if you look for it). The above
sentence has an unusual syntax, and there is a lot of information packed into a
single line of text.
This is the one place on the tablet where gu4 (bull) is written correctly. Note how small
it is; and notice how inconspicuous it is on the orignal tablet (it's on the second line
just under the damaged area on the right edge).
Plural: On this tablet, plural is denoted by writing a sign twice; sometimes the noun,
sometimes the verb (the usual form). Writing the verb twice makes the noun plural.
For instance, in this sentence, "Village. . . enter enter", makes the noun "village" plural.
In the next sentence, the noun is pluralized; "wife wife" means "many wives". However,
just because a sign is written twice doesn't automatically make it plural. Sometimes
it's just the way a word is spelled; for instance, ga-ga means "cream". Sometimes
it's used for emphasis; an example of which can also be found in this sentence: gur4,
by itself, means "to feel important"; written twice it means "to feel very important".
There's also a "reduplication class" of words, where writing a sign twice can actually
change it's meaning. In line o16, du8-du8 (duh-duh) means "mash" (plural) but in
line r15, du8-du8 (reduplication class) means "to amass"; whereas in line o14
du8 by itself means "to yoke". (It's enough to make your head spin.)
Village(s): should be translated as plural because kur9 (enter) is written twice, and later
in the story the Fatted Lord returns to his village, indicating that there is more than one
village involved. And if village(s) is plural, then marketplace(s) should also be plural.
They are, however, translated as singular because in the English rendition too many
esses in the sentences made them sound too sibilant.
Number five: see note #4 in Appendix A.
Again, the same sign three times in-a-row (niĝin2 and gur4 are the same sign, LAGAB)
here used for multiple meanings (rounds, wander) and for emphasis (feel big (2 times)).
Two of the three same signs have different meanings (wander, feel big), even though
they are written side-by-side and visually they are exactly alike. Four of the first six
characters on this line are thesame sign. The scribe does something similar in line r15.
Despite the wild appearance of the writing on the tablet, this is a writer who has a
complete command of the language; a very difficult language, at that. The tablet may
look like it's gibberish, like it's a "tale told by an idiot", but it's written by a genius.
Sometimes it seems like he's just showing off.
o9. gana2 ba e-ne-eĝ3 (ES, inim) ne ḫenbur2 tuku dam-dam-da ni2-da-kur2
Field allotment decree this henbur to take wife (plural)-with self-with-virile
Here, and in o4 and o6, ba (allotment) is translated as "gift". It is written in its Emesal
form, aĝ2-ba (lemma=niĝ2-ba, label=gift) in r7. "Allotment" is more meaningful in the
Sumerian context, given the practice of allotting food rations and parcels of land, etc;
but it sounds very awkward in the English translation ("an abundant allotment"),
and it requires explanatory comment. "Gift" has a similar context in English,
it scans better, it ties in with line r7 ("Here's a gift... "), and it doesn't require additional
commentary. This translation is meant to have a "stand alone" quality, with a
minimum amount of explication, so that the story can be appreciated on its own merit,
with the least interruption to the narrative flow.
Inim: word, command, order, decree, etc. On this tablet, when inim is used in its
normal form (KA), it is a noun, as seen in line o11 (word-dispute = argument).
When used in its Emesal form, e-ne-eĝ3, it seems to be used as a verb (to command,
to decree, etc.) as seen in this line and (possibly) in line r17. "Decree" is translated
as "proclaim", because it sounds better; and in English, "decree" and "proclaim"
are synonymous. E-ne-eĝ3 is also used as a noun in line r9, "oath".
o10. [a2]-ĝu10 ama da-ni2 da-ri
[labor]-my mother with-self support
The damaged sign at the beginning of the line is probably a2, "arm, labor" or da, "arm".
For comparison purposes, da is seen two more times on this line, and a2 is seen twice
(as ed) in line r5. It is translated as "labor" because within the context of the sentence,
to support with one's arm, and to support with one's labor, mean the same thing.
o11. [x-x…]-a da bi iri maḫX inim- lu2-ne mu du3 {in}-kur9
Great word- dispute he all enters
In the Translation, mahX = great/big = "great big (argument)". An alternative translation
would be "a huge argument"
o12. [x-x…] [?] ĝen ne-en
[?] go this (or “this lord”)
The damaged sign, designated as [?] at the beginning of the readable portion of the line,
may be nimin, "envy". Ne is probably gir10, "anger". The remaining portion of the
sentence could be interpreted as ". . . [with] envy goes the angry lord". However,
I translated it as: "[x-x…] [?] do this” (?)" to indicate the damage on the tablet
and to convey the feel of a fight or argument, without speculating on its contents,
which cannot be know for certain, because of the missing portion of the line.
o13. [en?] [x-x]-a na ur ĝeš-ašte2 da na
[Lord] [x-x]-a man pride/servant? ĜEŠ-AŠTE2 with man
Multiple meanings for AŠTE2: chair/throne, trough, reed-bed, etc.
o14. niga-[en] iri-ni gi ĝe26 na-šu-ku6 da-{ba-an}-du8
Fatted-lord village-his return. I man-thief/bandit with-yoke
o15. mu bad3 geme2-geme2 šu-šeš-na-a gid2-a
He fortress slave woman (plural) hand-(brother-man)-in drag-into
Šu. . . a, "hand. . . in": This is a Sumerian convention that means the subject
wriiten between the two signs is "in hand", meaning "held" or "carried", or, in this case,
"captive".
Na=man: It is translated as "men" because it's assumed the father is also present.
In the next line it seems that Lu-mah is speaking in the presence of the father.
o16. gana2 ab-ba duḫ-duḫ ĝe26 dug4-{e} mu te-en-te-en = (ten-ten)
Field father mash (plural) I order he trample
o17. ĝe26 5(aš) lug ĝeš-bal-dim2 ĝa2 (ĝe26)-a gur11-gur11 ba
I 5 pasture sell-make. Me-to grain heap (plural) give
The ePSD shows one instance (without citation) where gur11 (GA) is used as an
alternative sign for guru7 (grain heap). I didn't use ga for (sheep's) milk, or ga-ga
(garX) for cream, because the bull has not heretofore expressed any interest in milk.
He is, however, interested in grain; and the grain heaps would add to the "mountain
of grain" mentioned in line r12.
o18. [x-x…]-da-am3 su-ba (ES, sipad) šeš
-like shepherd brother
su-ba = su8-ba. A pun like lu2-mahX, and also the name of the hero. One other
instance attested, "A Praise Poem for Shulgi" (ETCSL). Even if there were no other
instance, it would still be su-ba, "shepherd". I believe that Lu-mah and Su-ba are
the names of the protagonists, even though they are not so-named anywhere else
in the text. It's more than a coincidence that these are the only places on the tablet
where the scribe "puns" at the sign level.
Sipad, the usual sign for "shepherd".
Su8-ba, This is the lesser known Emesal form of sipad, "shepherd". It is one of the "stacked" Sumerian signs. The lines of a tablet usually had to be drawn wider than normal in order to accommodate it. To try to write this sign within the narrow lines of Tablet #36 would make it illegible. The scribe, who uses every square millimeter of this tablet, wouldn't draw an entire line wider just to fit a single word. Nor would he want to call attention to this very distinctive sign.
Su-ba, as written; it's pronounced like the above su8-ba, but it's unrecognizable as a "shepherd".
Cylinder seal impression. Note the "bull/man" on the left. The character is often ascribed to be Enkidu, the companion of Gilgamesh, the Sumerian warrior-king, seen on the right. I have my doubts, as Enkidu was a man who was raised by animals, and not a hybrid bull/man; although, perhaps, it was a Sumerian artistic convention to sometimes portray him as such. Gilgamesh and Enkidu (with Enkidu portrayed as a regular man) are seen elsewhere on these pages.
r1. [ki] ak kiri3 lu2 su-ub teš2 nu-zu dab5 mu lu2 nu-kal-la
[Ground] make nose man rub, pride not-wisdom seize. He man not-strong
Ki. . . su-ub: to prostrate oneself.
The first part of the sentence seems to be missing a negation (nu): "I will not bow. . . "
Perhaps it was on the damaged part of the tablet at the beginning of the line, or maybe
it was explained in the damaged portion of the previous line (o18).
Mother not-he-lordly-one fatted-lord. Me-to great to-not-he [know trust] place
r12. dam a-ni ḫenbur2-kur geme2-ni geme2-tab ba
Wife his henbur-mountain slave woman-his slave woman-companion(s) share
r13. li ne ḫenbur2-ni gur10
Twig this one henbur-his reap
Technically, lines 12 and 13 are parts of the same line. The indentation of the second
part means it is a continuation of the first. They are numbered separately for easy
reference.
r14. ta (ES, a-na, interrogative)-dili šag4 zu maḫX-lugud2
What?-one only. Stomach know great-tight/reduced
r15. munus-ĝal2 sar ru-ru še iku-iku gana2-limmu.
Woman-available garden offer(plural) grain field measurement (plural) field-four.
mu lug-a du8-du8
He pasture-in amasses (grows fat, see line r5)
Munus-ĝal2, “woman-available”, is translated as ““unmarried woman” because the grain
fields seem to be some kind of dowry. It may also be interpreted as "woman-at hand"
meaning "neighbor woman".
Three signs in-a-row (iku/gana2): denoting "acres" (plural), and designating Field #4.
Iku, translated as "acre" = 3600 sq. meters; approximately 90% of an acre.
I added the word "again" to the phrase "he grows fat again". In the above line,
"stomach know great-tight/reduced" is interpreted to mean "hunger" in much the same
way as "mouth" and "food" together means "to eat". But it also suggests a comical
reduction in the bull's waistline, to contrast with line r5, where he grows visibly fatter
(bloated) during the feast. By adding the word "again", both bases are covered.
r16. lu2 kiĝ2 du ak [lug] mu ĝen du7-lum [x]
Man work go do. Pasture he go complete-satisy
r17. mu usar e-ne-[eĝ3 (ES, inim) x-x… bal?]
He neighbor woman converse
Usar = neighbor woman/secondary wife. Because of the missing portion of this line,
it is impossible to tell which of the meanings apply. The sentence could be interpreted
as "He proclaims her as his secondary wife", or, perhaps, "He promises to make her
a secondary wife". In any case, there seems to be some doubt as to Lu-mah's
marital status. Note: the definition is secondary wife, not second wife. Technically,
Lu-mah is still married to his first wife.
r18. lu2 nu-kal-la munus nu-zid [x]
Man not-strong woman not-virtuous
In Sumerian literature, you never get to hear about a woman who is notvirtuous. The
ETCSL shows 47 entries for munus zid: woman right (and true). There are zero entries
for munus nu-zid, woman not-right (or true).
[Rest of the tablet missing]
Detail from the "Peace" side of the Standard of Ur. The king (left, drawn larger to signify his greater importance) drinks with his cronies while being attended by two servants.
Appendix A: Summary of the different ways the meaning of the text is obscured:
1) The mahX encoding of the tablet hides the main context of the story (lugal, king).
Technical Note: Of 3,271 citations, the ePSD gives one instance where mah2 is used as an alternative sign for mah; and the instance is archaic (500 - 1,000 years before this tablet was written) so it hardly counts. It may even be a scribal error, ancient or modern. The fact that mah2 is used as an alternative sign for mah only once in 2,000 years is somewhat surprising. The Sumerian language was syllabic, based on syllables, rather than individual sounds (letters), like English. If a scribe didn't know the sign for a particular word, he would "spell it out" using signs for the syllables that he already knew. In this way, signs with the same (or similar) pronunciations were often used interchangeably; so one would expect that mah would be used more often as an alternative sign for mah2, and vice versa (the PSD shows 1,000 citations for mah2 (cow), and none where mah is used as an alternative sign.) The reason these two signs were not used interchangeably is because they were both well-known signs with two very different definitions (mah=great, supreme, majestic; mah2=cow) that were not easily confused for each other. The numbers, 3,270 to 1, indicate just how unlikely it is that the sign mah2 would be given the meaning of mah, "great". To write mah2 for mah once could be a scribal error (a typo), but the sign is used consistently eight different times on this tablet. It was not done out of ignorance, by someone who didn't know any better, because the scribe is clearly a master of the language, and he would not make such a careless mistake. Nor is it just wordplay, like Su-ba (shepherd), because the scribe does not alter the meanings of su and ba in the rest of the story, as he does with mah(2), and he would not be so heavy-handed with one single pun. So, if it's not a scribal error, and it's not wordplay, then it must be "encoding", a deliberate attempt to obscure the meaning of the text. I would suggest that this one sign (mahX) is the main reason why this tablet couldn't be translated by the experts, even though a modern Sumerologist can translate anything written in the Sumerian language. I would further suggest that this one sign would also make the tablet difficult to read, even for another Sumerian, and for the same reasons. Even if the sign is initially given the pronuniciation of mah, it would be assumed that it's the usual mah2 (cow) and not mah (great). Since "cow" doesn't make any sense in any of the sentences, the pronunciation would be discarded, and along with it, the hint to the secret context of the tablet (i.e.; Lu-mah = man-great = lugal = king). It's a very clever bit of encoding, that allows the scribe to obscure the context of the story, which makes it difficult to read the other signs on the tablet, even though they are written in "plain Sumerian".
2) Both Lu-mah and Su-ba, the two main protagonists of the story, are written as puns at the sign level, concealing their identities.
3) The sign for bull, one half of the context, is "miswritten" four times out of five.
4) The setting of the story, Field #5, is written three different ways: field 5(aš), the usual form, with the number following after the noun; 5(aš) pasture, with the number written first; and, field 4(limmu), written as a different number form. The way the number five is written is also distinctive; with a horizontal 2 2 1 combination, rather than the usual 3 2 combination.
As can be seen from the above four notes: the two contexts, the two main protagonists, and the setting of the story --- all of these are obscured in some way. It is difficult to read a story when you don't know who or what it's about, or where it's taking place.
5) In addition to lugal (king) being obscured, two other important words, "fate" and "shepherd", are used in their in their lesser known Emesal forms, na-aĝ2 and su8-ba. The ePSD shows 532 instances for nam, the usual word for fate, and 20 for na-aĝ2. (The scribe only uses nam in it's prefix form (i.e., as part of the word "fatherhood", nam-a-a)). There are 2,415 cases of sipad for shepherd, and only 25 for su8-ba. Although the Emesal words are readable enough, they are not immediately recognizable like the signs nam and sipad. So why doesn't the scribe use the standard signs for nam, lugal, and sipad? Because once he uses the signs for fate, kings, and shepherds on a tablet, then people would be interested in reading it, and they'd be able to figure out the true meaning of the story. The tablet would no longer be so "inconspicuous". The same applies to modern times. I would suggest that had the scribe used these three signs, this tablet never would have been classified as "Administrative", rather than "Literature", and someone else would have translated it long before I ever saw it (translating it would have been easy enough to do, since the context would be known). This tablet has been hiding in plain sight since it was written; all because the scribe did not use those three signs.
6) The writing often has an unusual syntax. It is not always structured in the usual "Subject Object Verb" sequence of formal writing. This wasn't done to obscure the meaning of the text; it's the result of the scribe's effort to crowd as much information as possible into every line, but it nonetheless makes the tablet difficult to read. Another unusual aspect of this tablet is the fact that almost every sign is a word; not just part of a multi-sign word, or a syllable in a longer word, but a whole word by itself.
7) The strings of three signs in-a-row, and the doubling of many of the others, makes the writing look nonsensical. Some of this is inevitable in Sumerian, where a few signs represent many words, but this tablet seems to have it in excess.
8) There are very few clarifying "grammar particles" on this tablet. If the scribe wanted to make the tablet more readable, he could have easily done so by adding some identifying prefixes and suffixes.
Any one of these factors, by itself, does not make the tablet unreadable; but all of them together make the tablet difficult (if not impossible) to read, even for another Sumerian, until mahX is decoded.
Nisaba za3- mi2
Nisaba was the goddess who invented writing. She was the patron deity of the scribes. The scribes often signed their compositions with the words, "Nisaba zami": "Nisaba be praised!"
mah: "great".
Gu4, "bull", normal: It looks like a bull's head.
compressed: The large triangle is replaced by two smaller triangles (reverse cunei) facing in the opposite direction, and the vertical line is moved into the horn area.
as written: In the crowded lettering of the tablet, this looks like a bull "hiding" in the writing of the text.
Sipad, the usual sign for "shepherd".
Su-ba, as written; it's pronounced like the above su8-ba, but it's unrecognizable as a "shepherd".
Su-ba shesh, the shepherd brother.
dib2: To send over.
