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March 21, 2006
The Correspondence of a Queen: A Message to Urtēnu
While I wait for the mail that carries an article by Ran Zadok to find its way from Cambridge MA to Claremont CA, I've been looking at the new Ugaritic tablets published in Bordreuil and Pardee's Manuel d'Ougaritique (MOu) and discussed by Josef Tropper, in the latest Ugarit Forschungen. Four of these are letters. Three are either to or from "The Queen." And the fourth is to one of her correspondents.
This post and the two that will follow will provide working translations of the letters that are specifically to or from the queen. I will post a working translation of the fourth letter in a day or so. By "working translation," I mean a translation that no doubt needs work but that provides a preliminary basis for further study. When I complete all the new tablets, I plan to publish my technical notes as a PDF file with a link to each translation. I also plan to look into the historic situation out of which these letters arose.
In general, my translations are closer to Tropper than to Bordreuil and Pardee. But they are not identical to either. The reasons for the differences will be in the notes when they are available. In each case, I offer a rather stilted line-by-line translation followed by an attempt at a smoother version.
RS 94.2406, MOu 31 (Page 92-94), Tropper, 511-512
1) A message of the Queen
2) to Urtēnu say:
──────────────────
3) Here I am today
4) as I give this letter
5) concerning you. And on this day
6) I, in MLWM,
7) am staying and tomorrow (I go to)
8) Adaniya, on the third (day I go)
9) to SNĠN, on the fourth (day I go)
10) (to) UBĠ. Now know (this):
──────────────────
11) As for you, all that is yours [
12) was established in your name[
13) and it was destroyed. (Your?) servant[
14) when(?) disaster came and [
15) his request ? [
──────────────────
16) and one house[
17) which ARD[
18) that there is ??
19) ??
20) the flood/washers(?) [
──────────────────
21) and, as for you, nothing out of your
22) mouth should came before (my) arrival. [
23) and (to) Ugarit I am sending a message[
24) and I am hearing that he would not give a pledge
25) to you. I am sending, even me, a message.
──────────────────
26) (If) PN1? and Eshparim
27) and Gapamu are prepared
28) not to give a pledge to you (and) not to give a pledge
29) with me, then the king will send a message
30) and your head will be lost.
──────────────────
31) A message of Ilimilku:
32) To Urtēnu my brother say,
33) Greetings to you. According to my envoy
34) "Quickly send a message."
35) and now, I am saying,
36) before of the queen, (I) send a message
37) and you, a servant in my house,
38) and know that the queen has also left.
39) And as for you, from your mouth nothing must go out
40) that concerns Ugarit.
A Smoother Rendering:
A message from the queen to Urtēnu as follows:As I send this letter about your predicament, today I am in MLWM. Tomorrow I will go to Adaniya, then on the third day I will go to SNĠN and on the fourth day I will go to UBĠ. Now, understanding this:
As for you and everything that is yours [ ] established in your name was destroyed. When (?) disaster came and [ ] his request(?).
And one house [ ] which ARD [ ] that there is [???] the flood(?).
And as for you, say nothing until I arrive. I am sending a message to Ugarit because I hear that he (the king?) would not give a pledge to you. Note: I am sending a message!
If PN? and Eshparim are prepared not to give a pledge to you and not to give one to me, then the king will follow their example and order that you will be ruined (dead?).
A (further) message from Ilimilku to Urtēnu my brother as follows:
Greetings to you. According to my envoy you said, "Quickly send a message." And now I am saying, with the queen as my witness, "I am sending a message to you by way of one of my household servants and know also that the queen has left (for Ugarit?). You should say nothing about anything that concerns Ugarit (until she arrives?).
It would sure be nice to know what is in the lacunae in lines 16-20. It appears that the first 30 lines are directly from the queen while lines 31-40 are Ilimilku's effort to reinforce the instructions of the queen, "Keep your mouth shut until help arrives!"
References:
Bordreuil, Pierre and Dennis Pardee, Manuel d'Ougaritique Volume II, Choix de textes, Glossaire, Paris: Geuthner, 2004
Tropper, Josef, "Zehn neue Texte aus Ugarit," Ugarit Forschungen 36, Münster: Verlag Butzon and Bercher Keverlaer, 2004, 511-522
Posted by DuaneSmith at March 21, 2006 07:30 PM | Read more on Ugarit |
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