BE 17/1, 042 (P266640)

Letter tablet excavated in Nippur (mod. Nuffar), dated to the Middle Babylonian (ca. 1400-1100 BC) period and now kept in Penn Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

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Text / annotations

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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

CBS 11498

Period

Middle Babylonian (ca. 1400-1100 BC)

Provenience

Nippur (mod. Nuffar)

Artifact Type

Tablet

Material(s)

Clay

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Letter (Letter; (Obv)9x(Rev)11x(UE)2x(LE)3 lines)

Language(s)

Akkadian

Measurements

-

tablet
obverse
1. _ARAD_-ka# [...]
 en: Your servant ...:
2. a-na di-na-an be-li2-ia lul-lik
 en: I shall go as my lord's substitute!
3. um-ma-a a-na be-li2-ia-a-ma
 en: The following (say) to my lord:
4. _a-sza3-mesz_ sza be-li2 id-di-na
 en: The fields, which my lord had given (and which)
5. {disz}u-bar-ru a-na be-li2-ia iq-bu-u2
 en: Ubāru had spoken about the following to my lord:
6. um-ma-a _a-sza3#-mesz_ un-de-szi-ir a-na-ku
 en: "He has abandoned the fields.” But I
7. ul u2-masz-szi-ir {disz}u-bar-ru
 en: have not abandoned (them). Ubāru
8. a#-na# er#-re#-szi# id-din u3 ki-i szu-ta-pe-e
 en: gave them to seeding with a seeder-plow and when the šutāpu workers
9. [...]-u2# a#-mi#-li
 en: ... and# the# men#
10. [...]
 en: ...
reverse
1. [... be?]-li2 [...] ta?#-ri# [...]
 en: ... my [lo]rd(?) ... return (?) ...
2. sza-ra mu-uh-hi-ir _{disz}na#-bu#-un#-[ni?]
 en: “Make (them) be exposed to the wind!” Nabunn[i/u ?],
3. _ARAD_-ka sza-nu-ti-ia ki-i asz2-pu-ra-asz2-szu
 en: your servant, after I had written to him for my second time,
4. um-ma-a be-li2 _a-sza3-mesz_ id-di-na
 en: the following: “My lord gave the fields (to me?)."
5. sza2-a-lu u2-ul i-sza2-a-la-an-ni t,e!-mi a-pa-al-szu
 en: He has not addressed me with any questions. I am going to answer him with my (a) report (?)
6. um-ma-a be-li2 i-[de?] ki-i 3(disz) _sila3 sze-numun_
 en: The following: My lord knows that after Bēlānu had seeded 3 sila3 of seeds
7. {disz}be-la-nu i-ri-szu u3 a-na-ku
 en: with a seeder-plow, and after that I had
8. ki er-da-asz2-szu ki-i asz2#-szu
 en: overseen him, (and) that after I had come up (to him),
9. ki-i an-nu-ti ul#? [i]-te#-ep-sza2-an-ni
 en: that when he then (after that) did no[t d]o this for me,
10. ki-i in-da-na-ha#-ru#
 en: that as soon as he has repeatedly been receiving (perhaps seeds?),
11. ki ir-da-a at-ta-at-la-ka
 en: (and) that (only) after he had followed me (= my orders), that (only after all this) I came here.
top
1. ka-a-ri be-li2-ia-ma
 en: The harbour district of my lord and
2. sza _gu4-[x]-mesz ka2_ [...]
 en: that of the oxen ... of the gate (?)
left
1. [...]-tu i-na qa-qa-ri a-a-i i-ka
 en: ... where on earth ... ?
2. [...]-ia ma-la u2-ba-lu _ti_ a-ra?#-a#?-masz?
 en: ... as much as they can carry. I love (?) life (?).
3. [...] x-szu#-ur _a-sza3_ a#-na# _ugu_-ia sza?#-ba?#-[asz2?]
 en: ... "Colle[ct the szibszu levy] of the field which (lies) upon me (= I owe ?)!"

Consult previous versions and their differences
Consult sign list of Middle Babylonian (ca. 1400-1100 BC)
Consult word list of Middle Babylonian (ca. 1400-1100 BC)

  • Artifact type: Tablet
  • Material: Clay
  • Measurements (mm):
  • Weight:
  • Artifact Preservation: fragment
  • Condition Description: u. half
  • Join Information:
  • Seal no.:
  • Seal information:
  • Artifact comments:

  • Genre(s): Letter (Letter; (Obv)9x(Rev)11x(UE)2x(LE)3 lines)
  • Language(s): Akkadian

  • primary: BE 17/1,, 042

    [Radau1908BE17/1] Radau, Hugo. 1908. Letters to the Cassite Kings from the Temple Archives of Nippur. Babylonian Expedition 17/1.

  • Composite No.:
  • Museum No.: CBS 11498
  • Accession No.:

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

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2023-01-21 at 07:48:15 Pagé-Perron, Émilie Artifact Földi, Zsombor J.; Jiménez, Enrique; Pagé-Perron, Émilie Electronic Babylonian Library Pagé-Perron, Émilie approved View
2019-04-02 at 03:40:31 Dahl, Jacob L. Atf Zimmermann, Lynn-Salammbô CDLI approved View
2017-12-19 at 02:43:28 Dahl, Jacob L. Atf Zimmermann, Lynn-Salammbô CDLI approved View
2017-11-08 at 22:57:32 Dahl, Jacob L. Atf Dahl, Jacob L. CDLI approved View
2005-04-25 at 00:00:00 CDLI Artifact Englund, Robert K.; Fitzgerald, Madeleine; Foxvog, Daniel A.; Frayne, Douglas R.; Peterson, Jeremiah; Veldhuis, Niek; Zimmermann, Lynn-Salammbô Penn Museum CDLI approved View

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

General Notes: -
CDLI Notes: -
Cite this Artifact
“BE 17/1, 042 Artifact Entry.” (2005) 2023. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). February 1, 2023. https://cdli.earth/P266640.
BE 17/1, 042 artifact entry (No. P266640). (2023, February 1). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P266640 (Original work published 2005)
BE 17/1, 042 artifact entry (2023) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P266640 (Accessed: May 17, 2025).
@misc{2023BE,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-05-17]},
	year = {2023},
	month = {feb 1},
	title = {BE 17/1, 042 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P266640},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P266640},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2023/2/1/
PY  - 2023
ID  - P266640
LB  - CDLI:P266640
M1  - 2025/5/17/
TI  - BE 17/1, 042 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P266640
ER  -
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