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

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

Text

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

Text content

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

Chronology

Period Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)
Accounting Period

Composites

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

Record

LOD URI https://cdli.network/entity/P346240

Physical information

Artifact type Tablet
Dimensions
Weight
Material(s) Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar)
Written In
Archive
Excavation Number U 17900d
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

Collection(s) British Museum, London, UK
Museum Number BM —
Accession Number

References

  • history: UET 6, 0155

    [Gadd1963UET6] Gadd, Cyril John, and Aaron Shaffer. 1963, 1966, 2005. Ur Excavations Texts Vol. VI.

  • 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.

Revisions and credits

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

Cite this Artifact

“CDLI Literary 000767, Ex. 007 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 18, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346240.
CDLI Literary 000767, ex. 007 artifact entry (No. P346240). (2024, June 18). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346240 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000767, ex. 007 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346240 (Accessed: October 17, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-17]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jun 18},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000767, ex. 007 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346240},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346240},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/6/18/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346240
LB  - CDLI:P346240
M1  - 2026/10/17/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000767, ex. 007 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346240
ER  - 

Cite this Artifact

“CDLI Literary 000767, Ex. 007 Artifact Entry.” (2006) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 18, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P346240.
CDLI Literary 000767, ex. 007 artifact entry (No. P346240). (2024, June 18). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P346240 (Original work published 2006)
CDLI Literary 000767, ex. 007 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P346240 (Accessed: October 17, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-17]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jun 18},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000767, ex. 007 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P346240},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P346240},
}

TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/6/18/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P346240
LB  - CDLI:P346240
M1  - 2026/10/17/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000767, ex. 007 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P346240
ER  - 
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