Sumerian·Book

Position in chronology

SAA 08 498. New Moon on 1st Day (RMA 047) [lunar]

~670 BCE·Neo-Assyrian·P237309

Translation · reference

High confidence
(1) [If] the moon becomes visible on the 1st day: reliable speech; the land will become happy. (3) If the moon [......]. (6) If (the moon) [stands] in a stable position: waiting for [rain]. (8) If its horns look at the ground: the flood will come. (r 1) Bel and Nabû [will revive] the heart of the king my lord; the king [my] lord can be [glad]. In month [...] it will rain in torrents. (r 6) From Šumaya.

Source: Hunger, H. 1992. Astrological Reports to Assyrian Kings. SAA 8. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa08/P237309/

Why it matters

Transliteration

[1] 30 UD 01-KÁM IGI.LAL / KA GI.NA [ŠÀ] KUR DÙG-ab / 1 30 [x x x x x] / 1 KI.GUB ki-[i-nu GUB-iz] / uq-qú-u šá [A.AN] / 1 SI-MEŠ-šú KI IGI-MEŠ / A.KAL DU-kam / dEN u dAG ŠÀ-bi šá LUGAL be-lí-[ia] / [ú-bal-la-ṭu ŠÀ]-bi ⸢šá?⸣ LUGAL be-lí-⸢ia⸣ / lu-ú [ṭa-a-bi] / ina ŠÀ ITI.[x x A].AN ra-aḫ?-⸢ṣu?⸣ / i-za-an-⸢nun⸣ / šá mšu-ma-a [o]

Scholarly note

Astrological report from a court scholar to an Assyrian king, edited by Hermann Hunger (SAA 8, 1992). Celestial and meteorological observation correlated with omens. ORACC text P237309.

Attribution

Image: BM — (British Museum, London, UK) — from Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts, P237309). source
Translation excerpted from Hunger, H. 1992. Astrological Reports to Assyrian Kings. SAA 8. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/saa08/P237309/.

Related tablets

Related sources