Akkadian Archive
April 30, 2008
Sumerian, Akkadian, Hebrew, Oh, My!
Get over to MU-PÀD-DA and check out Jay Crisostomo's relatively new blog. He tells us that MU-PÀD-DA is Sumerian connoting "called by name." And his sub-heading reads, chosen . . . for something . . . thoughts on life and...Read all of "Sumerian, Akkadian, Hebrew, Oh, My!"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:47 PM
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April 29, 2008
The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary Online
Excepting Volume 20, U/W which is in preparation, the complete set of The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (aka The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary, CAD) is online, ready to download and free. I take this...Read all of "The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary Online"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:04 PM
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April 12, 2008
Could He Have Been All That Certain?
I've been working on RS 1975.2, the last of the "lost" Claremont Ras Shamra Tablets. Michael Astour had responsibility for the publication of this large fragment of a letter written in Akkadian. The way I normally work on such things...Read all of "Could He Have Been All That Certain?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:31 PM
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March 22, 2008
When Is a Pun Not Punny?
I'm still working my way through Scott Noegel's Nocturnal Ciphers: The Allusive Language of Dreams in the Ancient Near East and he has convinced me that puns played a major role in how the ancient Mesopotamians interpreted dreams. He calls...Read all of "When Is a Pun Not Punny?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:10 PM
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December 29, 2007
Please, Send One Scribe ASAP
Charles at Awilum has called our attention to several papers that relate to the general subject of ancient authorship and literacy. While each is abnormally interesting in its own way, I found Parpola's paper on the neo-Assyrian tablet K 652...Read all of "Please, Send One Scribe ASAP"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:36 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
December 21, 2007
To Jean Bottéro and Lawrence Toombs
Jean Bottéro died last Saturday, December 15, 2007. He was born in 1914. Bottéro was a leading Assyriologist who took unabashed delight in his craft. In his essay "In Defense of a Useless Science" Bottéro wrote, For a long time...Read all of "To Jean Bottéro and Lawrence Toombs "
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:41 PM
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September 3, 2007
Another Inscribed Liver Model from Hazor
Among the ancients cites in Canaan, only Taanach has produced more clay tablets than Hazor. And yet no large archive has be found anywhere in the area. If one is to be found, Hazor is among the very best candidate...Read all of "Another Inscribed Liver Model from Hazor"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:22 AM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
August 31, 2007
Playing Around With Akkadian, Sumerian and Egyptian
There is a new toy on the internet. It purports to translate English into Assyrian/Babylonian, Sumerian, or Egyptian. It's kind of fun but it is not a translator. It is a word looker upper. And even at that, it often...Read all of "Playing Around With Akkadian, Sumerian and Egyptian"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:08 PM
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July 27, 2007
More Tablets from Alalakh
Excavators have found a new cache of tablets at Alalakh, Tell Atchana, in southern Turkey. According to reports, these just discovered tablets come from the "Level VII Palace courtyard sounding." I think Level VII is Middle Bronze Age. Middle Bronze...Read all of "More Tablets from Alalakh"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:39 AM
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July 20, 2007
In Preparation for Something Unimportant
I've been working on something for much longer than it deserves. I'm still not quite ready to post on it or even disclose exactly what "it" is. So I thought I'd post a few random comments of various Akkadian words...Read all of "In Preparation for Something Unimportant"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:59 PM
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July 18, 2007
What's a ŠA Among Friends?
I've been watching the continuing discussion of the Nabu-sharrussu-ukin tablet. Chris Heard has another good post on it and, in the comments, Kevin Edgecomb of Biblicalia makes important points on the title rab ša rēsi. He correctly tells us to...Read all of "What's a ŠA Among Friends?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:46 PM
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July 13, 2007
Nabu-šarrussu-ukin on a Tablet
I'm a little late to the party. Many abnormally interesting things about a recently announced tablet with the name Nabu-šarrussu-ukin have already been said. Nabu-šarrussu-ukin is a name that may or may not be related to a possible Nebo-sarsekim who...Read all of "Nabu-šarrussu-ukin on a Tablet"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:45 PM
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July 5, 2007
Akkadian Is So Easy
One of the blogs I look at via my RSS feed everyday is Language Log. If you're not familiar with Language Log, it is certainly worth an extended visit. Yesterday, Bill Poser reported on a couple of remarks by Matthew...Read all of "Akkadian Is So Easy"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:48 PM
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June 20, 2007
Notes on the Taanach Letters
Some time ago, I posted a series of translations of the Taanach letters. At that time, I promised that I would post a few comments and my translation notes at some later time. Well, I forgot my promise. But yesterday...Read all of "Notes on the Taanach Letters"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:59 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
June 16, 2007
Translations of Akkadian Cuneiform Texts Online
And now there is eTACT, "electronic Translations of Akkadian Cuneiform Texts." Currently there are only sixteen texts available but because of eTACT's semi-open nature, that number will quickly grow. I plan to check back often. Among the most interesting translations...Read all of "Translations of Akkadian Cuneiform Texts Online"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:28 AM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
April 24, 2007
Taanach 6: A letter from Amanhatpa to Talwashur
This is the forth post in my series of translations and comments on the Taanach letters. As in the case of Taanch 5, don't worry about the number. It is the number of the tablet. The more or less complete...Read all of "Taanach 6: A letter from Amanhatpa to Talwashur "
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:48 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
April 23, 2007
Taanach 5: A letter from Amanhatpa to Talwashur
This is the third post in my series of translations and comments on the Taanach letters. Don't worry about the number. It is the number of the tablet. The more or less complete letters are Taanach 1, 2, 5 and...Read all of "Taanach 5: A letter from Amanhatpa to Talwashur "
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:38 PM
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April 22, 2007
Taanach 2: A letter from Ahiami to Talwashur
This is the second post in my series of translations and comments on the Taanach letters. The first post in the series has a few preliminary comments. I'm also building a link list to this series there. This post is...Read all of "Taanach 2: A letter from Ahiami to Talwashur"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:48 PM
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April 21, 2007
Taanach 1: A letter from Ehli-Tešub to Talwashur
Several months ago, I worked my way through the Taanach letters. The four, more or less, complete letters and several fragments of letters were written in the fifteenth century BCE. I've decided to post my translations and comments as a...Read all of "Taanach 1: A letter from Ehli-Tešub to Talwashur "
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:01 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
Titles Only From Here On