Position in chronology
A prayer for Hammu-rabi (Hammu-rabi E)
Written in modern English
The opening thirty-seven lines are missing, and one further line is only partially legible. What survives describes someone lifting his head high, a figure rejoicing before him and embracing him, and a destiny being fixed. The text then turns to direct address: may Hammu-rabi exercise lordship over his people unchallenged, may the gifts bestowed on him never cease, and may the time granted to him be long. His destiny has been set and his name has been called — may he have no rival.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSL37 lines missing 1 line fragmentary ...... raised his head high. ...... before him ...... rejoiced at him. ...... embraced him. Your ...... has determined the destiny. May you be their ......, exercising lordship over them. May ...... which has been bestowed on you never cease. You are well-suited for ......, and may its time be prolonged for you. A destiny has been determined for you and you have been called by name; may you have no rival!
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.2.8.2.5 in the ETCSL catalogue. Sumerian literary text reconstructed from multiple cuneiform manuscripts, the great majority Old Babylonian (c. 1900–1600 BCE). Translation reproduced from the ETCSL edition.
Attribution
Image: .
Translation excerpted from ETCSL c.2.8.2.5: A prayer for Hammu-rabi (Hammu-rabi E). Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Robson, E. & Zólyomi, G. (eds.), The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.2.8.2.5.
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