BE 17/1, 042 (P266640)
Letter, Middle Babylonian, Nippur · c. 1400 BCE–1100 BCE
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| Designation | BE 17/1, 042 |
|---|---|
| ID | P266640 |
| Museum no. | CBS 11498 |
| Collection | Penn Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Middle Babylonian · c. 1400 BCE–1100 BCE |
| Genre | Letter |
| Find spot | Nippur (mod. Nuffar) |
| Coordinates | 32.1271, 45.2300 |
English translation
By Zimmermann, Lynn-Salammbô · Via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative · CDLI (reuse with citation)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| obverse 1 | Your servant ...: |
| obverse 2 | I shall go as my lord's substitute! |
| obverse 3 | The following (say) to my lord: |
| obverse 4 | The fields, which my lord had given (and which) |
| obverse 5 | Ubāru had spoken about the following to my lord: |
| obverse 6 | "He has abandoned the fields.” But I |
| obverse 7 | have not abandoned (them). Ubāru |
| obverse 8 | gave them to seeding with a seeder-plow and when the šutāpu workers |
| obverse 9 | ... and# the# men# |
| reverse 1 | ... my [lo]rd(?) ... return (?) ... |
| reverse 2 | “Make (them) be exposed to the wind!” Nabunn[i/u ?], |
| reverse 3 | your servant, after I had written to him for my second time, |
| reverse 4 | the following: “My lord gave the fields (to me?)." |
| reverse 5 | He has not addressed me with any questions. I am going to answer him with my (a) report (?) |
| reverse 6 | The following: My lord knows that after Bēlānu had seeded 3 sila3 of seeds |
| reverse 7 | with a seeder-plow, and after that I had |
| reverse 8 | overseen him, (and) that after I had come up (to him), |
| reverse 9 | that when he then (after that) did no[t d]o this for me, |
| reverse 10 | that as soon as he has repeatedly been receiving (perhaps seeds?), |
| reverse 11 | (and) that (only) after he had followed me (= my orders), that (only after all this) I came here. |
| top 1 | The harbour district of my lord and |
| top 2 | that of the oxen ... of the gate (?) |
| left 1 | ... where on earth ... ? |
| left 2 | ... as much as they can carry. I love (?) life (?). |
| left 3 | ... "Colle[ct the szibszu levy] of the field which (lies) upon me (= I owe ?)!" |
Transliteration (ATF)
From Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative · CDLI: reuse of catalogue/transliteration data with citation of CDLI; images restricted (not fetched)
| Line | ATF | Machine English (draft) |
|---|---|---|
| obverse | ||
| 1 | _ARAD_-ka# [...] | |
| 2 | a-na di-na-an be-li2-ia lul-lik | |
| 3 | um-ma-a a-na be-li2-ia-a-ma | |
| 4 | _a-sza3-mesz_ sza be-li2 id-di-na | |
| 5 | {disz}u-bar-ru a-na be-li2-ia iq-bu-u2 | |
| 6 | um-ma-a _a-sza3#-mesz_ un-de-szi-ir a-na-ku | |
| 7 | ul u2-masz-szi-ir {disz}u-bar-ru | |
| 8 | a#-na# er#-re#-szi# id-din u3 ki-i szu-ta-pe-e | |
| 9 | [...]-u2# a#-mi#-li | |
| 10 | [...] | |
| reverse | ||
| 1 | [... be?]-li2 [...] ta?#-ri# [...] | |
| 2 | sza-ra mu-uh-hi-ir _{disz}na#-bu#-un#-[ni?] | |
| 3 | _ARAD_-ka sza-nu-ti-ia ki-i asz2-pu-ra-asz2-szu | |
| 4 | um-ma-a be-li2 _a-sza3-mesz_ id-di-na | |
| 5 | sza2-a-lu u2-ul i-sza2-a-la-an-ni t,e!-mi a-pa-al-szu | |
| 6 | um-ma-a be-li2 i-[de?] ki-i 3(disz) _sila3 sze-numun_ | |
| 7 | {disz}be-la-nu i-ri-szu u3 a-na-ku | |
| 8 | ki er-da-asz2-szu ki-i asz2#-szu | |
| 9 | ki-i an-nu-ti ul#? [i]-te#-ep-sza2-an-ni | |
| 10 | ki-i in-da-na-ha#-ru# | |
| 11 | ki ir-da-a at-ta-at-la-ka | |
| top | ||
| 1 | ka-a-ri be-li2-ia-ma | |
| 2 | sza _gu4-[x]-mesz ka2_ [...] | |
| left | ||
| 1 | [...]-tu i-na qa-qa-ri a-a-i i-ka | |
| 2 | [...]-ia ma-la u2-ba-lu _ti_ a-ra?#-a#?-masz? | |
| 3 | [...] x-szu#-ur _a-sza3_ a#-na# _ugu_-ia sza?#-ba?#-[asz2?] | |
Sources & licences
- Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative · CDLI: reuse of catalogue/transliteration data with citation of CDLI; images restricted (not fetched) · Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI), https://cdli.earth/ ; cite CDLI and the P-number
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-11.