Position in chronology
An adab to Nininsina (Nininsina E)
Written in modern English
The speaker declares their intent to praise Nininsina, born vigorous by the great god An — though a name or title in the opening line is too damaged to read. Holy Nininsina carried the power of youthful strength out of the womb, was raised on the sacred knees of Uraš, and was lavished with the divine gifts of queenship; she is wrapped in terror and dazzling radiance. The passage then repeats, this time saying she carried ladyship itself out of the womb — the same epithets, the same cascade of honors, closing once more on her name.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSLI will praise the greatness of the ...... who was engendered vigorous by great An -- holy Nininsina, who brought youthful power from the womb, who was brought up sitting on the holy knees of Urac; who was copiously given divine powers of ladyship, and who is girded with fearsomeness and awesome radiance: Nininsina. I will praise the greatness of ...... my Nininsina, who was engendered vigorous -- holy Nininsina, who brought ladyship from the womb, who was brought up sitting on the holy knees of Urac; who was copiously given divine powers of ladyship, and who is girded with fearsomeness and awesome radiance: Nininsina.
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.4.22.5 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.4.22.5: An adab to Nininsina (Nininsina 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.4.22.5.
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