RIME 3/1.01.07.CylB iii 18-24


LineText originalText translated
o.iii 18lal3 i3-nun[glossary=i3-nun] ĝeštin ga-še-a[glossary=ga-še-a]Honey, butter[glossary=i3-nun], grapes, fermented milk[glossary=ga-še-a]
o.iii 19 ĝešĝepar ĝešpeš3 inda3 du-na the ĝepar-fruit, figs, common? bread?
o.iii 20 ga[glossary=ga-ara3] saĝ-ba dim2-ma made (with) cheese[glossary=ga-ara3] on its top
o.iii 21 zu2-lum ĝeš.an ĝeštin tur-tur dates, , small grapes ‒ 
o.iii 22 niĝ2 izi nu-ta3-ga (all) things untouched by fire ‒ 
o.iii 23 niĝ2-gu7 diĝir-re-ne-kam it is the food of the gods:
o.iii 24 lal3 i3-nun-na kiĝ2 ba-ni-a5 he carried out the task with honey and butter.
Commentary

o. iii 20 ĝešĝepar is a fruit tree that was exploited both for its fruits and the wood. Its identification remains still uncertain (Focke 2015: 208-209 and further literature). The bread sort called inda3 du is identified as „common bread“ by Brunke (2011: 120-121). However, looking at the ingredients for its manufacturing ((o. iii 20 „made“ dim2-ma) indicated in the previous lines o. iii 18-19 and the fact that cheese was added on top of it (o. iii 20), the dish described here seems more likely to be a kind of dessert very similar to the so-called pad saĝ si3-ga, which was made from almost the same ingredients, but without the bread (Brunke 2011: 207-209). Edzard (1997: 90) translates as „fig cakes“. For ga as the abbreviation of ga-ara3 „sour milk cheese“, see the Sumerian glossary under ga-ara3[glossary=ga-ara3] and Dossier A.2.1.01.

o. iii 21 The term ĝeš.an is an hapax and has not been identified yet, but occurring between dates and small grapes, it could indicate a kind of fruit. Edzard (1997: 90) translates the term connected to the aforementioned dates: „dates in clusters (?)“ zu2-lum ĝeš.an.

Bibliography

  • Brunke 2011 = Brunke, Hagan (2011): Essen in Sumer. Metrologie, Herstellung und Terminologie nach Zeugnis der Ur III-zeitlichen Wirtschaftsurkunden. München: Utz.
  • Edzard 1997 = Edzard, Dietz Otto (1997): Gudea and His Dynasty. The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia 3/1. Toronto/Buffalo/London: University of Toronto.
  • Focke 2015 = Focke, Karen (2015): Der Garten in neusumerischer Zeit. Alter Orient und Altes Testament 53. Münster: Ugarit.