Line	Text original	Text translated
o.iii 13	ga-ara3[glossary=ga-ara3] di4-di4 sur-še3 mu-na-┌nu2┐ĝuruš-e	He laid down for her the small cheeses [glossary=ga-ara3](as) for the grain pile, the lad,
o.iii 14	ga-ara3 gal-gal ĝidru-še3 mu-na-nu2 ĝuruš-e edin-na	he laid down for her the large cheeses as if for the stick – the lad in the desert,
o.iii 15	ga im tuku4-gen7 šu im-ra-ra ĝuruš-e edin-na	he kneaded (whipped?) milk as a buffeting rainy wind – the lad in the desert.
o.iii 16	ĝuruš edin zi2-ba ne mu-da-ab-a5 ĝuruš-e edin-na	The lad in the pleasant desert, it became warm to him – the lad in the desert –
o.iii 17	ki-be2-a ĝuruš-e ama uugu6-ne-er kiĝ2 mu-un-da-ra-ši-in-ge4	and the lad sent a message from there to his birth mother;
o.iii 18	lu2 du ama-ĝu10-ur2 du11-ga-na-ab edin-še3 ḫe2-im-ma-du	„Messenger! Speak to my mother, may she come to the desert!
o.iv 1	i3[glossary=i3] mu-da-ĝal2 ga[glossary=ga] mu-da-ĝal2	There is butter [glossary=i3]with me, there is milk [glossary=ga]with me.
o.iv 2	ga-ĝu10 dugšakir[glossary=dugšakir3]-ra ma-dux-dux(tum3.tum3)[glossary=dun5]	She will be churning [glossary=dun5]my milk for me in the churn[glossary=dugšakir3],
o.iv 3	ga[glossary=ga] im tuku4-gen7 šu im-ra-ra	will be kneading (whipping) the milk [glossary=ga]like a buffeting rainy wind,
o.iv 4	ga i-te-er-da[glossary=ga i(3)-te-er-da] im-gen7 i3 in-taka4-e edin-še3 ḫe2-em-ma-du	making the buttermilk [glossary=ga i(3)-te-er-da]leave the butter as were it clay (sediment after the flood). May she come to the desert to me!”

Manuscripts:

A:            VS 10 123

B:            VS 2 30 Rev.

C:            N 100

D:           CT 58, 8

Edition and Translation: Jacobsen 1983.

A is the main manuscript. B, C and D are syllabic duplicates (Civil 1994: 108 fn. 131). The museum number of C is N 100 according to Civil’s indication. Nevertheless, this museum number corresponds to a Presargonic tablet with totally different content according to CDLI P342931. The transliteration always follows manuscript A. Variants from other manuscripts are added if available.

Commentary

iii 13 B+C+D: ga-ra de-de-el su-ur2-ši mu-na-nu; su7.r „grain pile“ is equated to the verb bul (imperfective form bu5-bu5) “to blow, to winnow” (Attinger 2021: 213).

iii 14 B+C+D: ga-ra gal-gal su-ur2-ši mu-na-nu.

iii 16 var. mu-di-ni-ĝar.

iv 1 Based on o. iv 4 i3[glossary=i3] “fat, oil” must be referring to butter.

iv 2 The reduplicated verbal form tum3.tum3 is explained as writing for du9-du9[glossary=dun5], the reduplicated imperfective form of the verb dun5[glossary=dun5] “to butter, to swing, to oscillate” (Attinger 2021: 312-313). This verb is so far only documented in literary compositions and not in administrative texts. The lemma ^dugšakir[glossary=^dugšakir3], ^dugšakir3[glossary=^dugšakir3] “butter churn” is likewise only attested in literary compositions (Attinger 2021: 967).

iv 3 After a private communication of Walther Sallaberger, see ga tuku5-a “wiggled milk” in UET 3 1043 o. 3. ga tuku5-a can either stem directly from tuku5 “to weave” expressing the oscillation of the churn when manufacturing butter, or it is a homophonous variant of ga tuku4-a “shaken milk”.

iv 4 „Sour buttermilk“ (ga i₍₃₎-te-er-da[glossary=ga i₍₃₎-te-er-da]) is the by-product of churned butter from fermented milk. Therefore, i3 “fat, oil” must be here referring to butter. Sour buttermilk is so far well documented in literary compositions but rarely in administrative texts (only in Ur III Ur: UET 3 1219, UET 9 0825).