Position in chronology
An adab to Bau for Ishme-Dagan (Ishme-Dagan B)
Written in modern English
Bau is addressed as a lady filled with terror and majesty, her greatness acknowledged in heaven and on earth. She is mother, warrior, and powerful goddess who masters the divine powers perfectly — wise and knowledgeable from the moment of her birth. As a daughter of An, she is eloquent and holds everything in her hands; she is the great healer of humanity, keeping people alive and bringing them into the world. She is also Cuhalbi, incantation priestess of the multitudes, and the merciful, compassionate lady of justice. Several phrases in this passage are too damaged to read.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSLLady, imbued with fearsomeness, whose greatness is recognised in heaven and on earth, perfect in nobility! Mother Bau, foremost among ladies, warrior ......! Powerful goddess, who perfectly controls the august divine powers, proud one, ...... great intelligence! ......, true woman, wise lady who has been made knowledgeable from birth! Daughter of An, expert, eloquent, who holds everything in her hand! Lady, great doctor of the black-headed people, who keeps people alive, and brings them to birth. Cuhalbi, incantation priestess of the numerous people, ......! Merciful, compassionate one of the Land, lady of justice!
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.2.5.4.02 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.2.5.4.02: An adab to Bau for Ishme-Dagan (Ishme-Dagan B). 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.2.5.4.02.
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