CDLI Literary 000635, ex. 001 & 000638, ex. 007 (P256630)

Literary tablet excavated in Nippur (mod. Nuffar), dated to the Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC) period and now kept in Penn Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Metadata / catalogue

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Text / annotations

Text data

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Chemical Data

Seal Chemistry

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Metadata history Transliteration history

Museum Collection(s)

Penn Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Museum Number

UM 29-16-008

Period

Old Babylonian (ca. 1900-1600 BC)

Provenience

Nippur (mod. Nuffar)

Artifact Type

Tablet

Material(s)

Clay

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Literary (ETCSL 4.08.04 Inanna and Dumuzi D (witness); ETCSL 4.08.07 Inanna and Dumuzi G ()

Language(s)

Sumerian

Measurements

-

Witness

tablet
obverse
  beginning broken
6'. di#-da#-gu10#-ne di-da-gu10-ne
 en: As I was going, as I was going,
7'. e2 x [di-da-gu10]-ne# di-da-gu10-ne
 en: As I was going to the house,
8'. ga-sza-an-[na-gu10] i-bi2 mu-szi-in-bar
 en: My lady, he looked at you!
9'. szesz#-e# ta#? [...] ma#-ra-an-tah
 en: The brother...what did he give to you again?
10'. sza3 ki#-ig-ga ag2 hi-li ag2 ku7-ku7-dam
 en: A beloved belly and sexual delights are the sweetest things,
reverse
1. ku3-ga-sza-an-na-gu10 ag2-sze3 ma-ra-an-ba
 en: My shiny Inanna, to you he gave them as a gift.
2. ki-bi? i-bi2-gu10 ma-ra-gu10-ne
 en: As I looked upon that place,
3. mu-lu ki-ig ag2-gu10 gaba im-ma-an-ri
 en: My beloved man came to meet (me) here.
4. hi-li mu-e-szi-in-te ASZ mu-e-da-hul2
 en: He was attracted to you, he rejoiced with you alone!
5. szesz-e e2-ni-a im-ma-ni-in-ku4-re-en
 en: The brother brought me into his house,
6. mu-nu2 lal3 hab2-ba bi2-in-nu2-e
 en:He laid me on the bed of dripping honey,
7. ze2-ba kal-la-gu10 sza3-ab-gu10 a-ba-nu2
 en: My precious sweet lay on my belly,
8. ASZ-ASZ-ta eme AK ASZ-ASZ-ta
 en: One by one doing tongues, one by one,
9. szesz i-bi2 sa6-sa6-gu10 ninnu-am3 mu-un-AK
 en: My brother of the beautiful eyes, he did it fifty times!
10. lu2 si-ga-gen7 mu-na-de3-gen
 en: Like a silent man he came to her with it (there),
11. ki-ta tuku4-e-da SI-A mu-na-ni-in-gar
 en: (And) as she trembles from below, he filled her,
12. szesz-gu10 ib2-ba-na szu gub-bu-de3
 en: My brother, (for) setting my hands on his hips,
13. ze2-ba kal-la-gu10 u4 mu-un-di-ni-ib-zal-e
 en: My precious sweet, I pass the time there with him.
14. szu ba-am3-mu-u8 nin9-gu10 szu ba-am3-mu-u8
 en: Release me, my sister, release me!
15. DU# nin9 ki ag2-gu10 e2-gal-la ga-gen
 en: Come, my beloved sister, let me go into the palace,
16. igi#-ad-da-gu10 dumu-tur he2-me-en
 en: In my father’s eyes, you are a small child!
17. {d}#ba-u2 lu2 ha-ba-zu szu ba-e-ri-szi-bar-re
 en: Bau truly knows the man, she will let you go to him!
18. bal-bal-e {d}inanna-kam#
 en: It is a bal-bal-e song of Inanna.
19. [x]-x giri3-ni-i3-sa6#
 en: [Written by?] Girini-isa
20. [x] x# giri3-ni-i3-[sa6]

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: ue. missing, obv. mostly broken, ruled
  • Join Information:
  • Seal no.:
  • Seal information:
  • Artifact comments:

  • Genre(s): Literary (ETCSL 4.08.04 Inanna and Dumuzi D (witness); ETCSL 4.08.07 Inanna and Dumuzi G ()
  • Language(s): Sumerian

  • history: PAPS 107 (pp. 485-527), 485, UM 29-16-008

    [Kramer1963PAPS107] Kramer, Samuel N. 1963. “Cuneiform Studies and the History of Literature: The Sumerian Sacred Marriage Texts.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 107 (6): 485–527.

  • citation: JNES 59 (pp. 23-30), 024

    [Tinney2000JNES59] Tinney, Stephen J. 2000. “Notes on Sumerian Sexual Lyric.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 59 (1): 23–30. https://www.jstor.org/stable/546210.

  • Composite No.:
  • Museum No.: UM 29-16-008
  • Accession No.:

  • Provenience: Nippur (mod. Nuffar)
  • Elevation:
  • Stratigraphic Level:
  • Excavation No:
  • Findspot Square:
  • Findspot Comments:

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2024-09-15 at 13:34:37 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2024-07-25 at 12:41:10 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2024-06-15 at 17:56:31 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2024-03-15 at 15:21:23 Carr, Christie Translation Carr, Christie Pagé-Perron, Émilie Approved View
2024-03-15 at 14:59:58 Carr, Christie Transliteration Carr, Christie Pagé-Perron, Émilie Approved View
2023-06-15 at 19:55:18 Rattenborg, Rune Artifact metadata Rattenborg, Rune Geomapping Landscapes of Writing Rattenborg, Rune Approved View
2023-01-19 at 10:20:17 Pagé-Perron, Émilie Artifact metadata Földi, Zsombor J.; Jiménez, Enrique; Pagé-Perron, Émilie Electronic Babylonian Library Pagé-Perron, Émilie Approved View
2014-02-28 at 09:07:25 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI Approved View
2011-10-10 at 03:57:22 Wagensonner, Klaus Transliteration Wagensonner, Klaus CDLI Approved View
2005-02-24 at 00:00:00 CDLI Artifact metadata Fitzgerald, Madeleine; Peterson, Jeremiah CDLI Approved View

Consult this artifact as presented on the website of collections and projects:

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

Composite Score
CDLI Literary 000635 (Inanna and Dumuzi D) composite (P473747) View the score

General Notes: -
CDLI Notes: -

Cite this Artifacts

“CDLI Literary 000635, Ex. 001 & 000638, Ex. 007 Artifact Entry.” (2005) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 15, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P256630.
CDLI Literary 000635, ex. 001 & 000638, ex. 007 artifact entry (No. P256630). (2024, September 15). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P256630 (Original work published 2005)
CDLI Literary 000635, ex. 001 & 000638, ex. 007 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P256630 (Accessed: March 12, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-03-12]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 15},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000635, ex. 001 & 000638, ex. 007 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P256630},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P256630},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/15/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P256630
LB  - CDLI:P256630
M1  - 2026/3/12/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000635, ex. 001 & 000638, ex. 007 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P256630
ER  -

Cite this Artifacts

“CDLI Literary 000635, Ex. 001 & 000638, Ex. 007 Artifact Entry.” (2005) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). September 15, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P256630.
CDLI Literary 000635, ex. 001 & 000638, ex. 007 artifact entry (No. P256630). (2024, September 15). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P256630 (Original work published 2005)
CDLI Literary 000635, ex. 001 & 000638, ex. 007 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P256630 (Accessed: March 12, 2026).
@misc{2024CDLI,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-03-12]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {sep 15},
	title = {CDLI {Literary} 000635, ex. 001 & 000638, ex. 007 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P256630},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P256630},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/9/15/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P256630
LB  - CDLI:P256630
M1  - 2026/3/12/
TI  - CDLI Literary 000635, ex. 001 & 000638, ex. 007 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P256630
ER  -
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