two medical texts from nimrud (continued)

Two Medical Texts from Nimrud (Continued)Author(s): J. V. Kinnier WilsonSource: Iraq, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Spring, 1957), pp. 40-49Published by: British Institute for the Study of IraqStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4199615 .

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40

TWO MEDICAL TEXTS FROM NIMRUD (Continued)

By j. v. KINNIER WILSON

II. ND 4368

THE text of this fragment consists of a number of medical prescriptions, and the six of these which are either complete or very nearly so, together with

the first line of a seventh (Obv. i,z6, given as the fourth in order) form the basis of this study. Details of the discovery of the fragment were given in Iraq, XVIII, Pt. 2, p. I30; for the copy see P1. XXV of the same issue. The system of transliteration which is adopted is that which conveys the text exactly as written, in the belief that, while this procedure inevitably makes for slow reading in a scientific work, only thus can it be safeguarded against possible transcriptional error. The translation wrestles with difficulties both of meaning and interpretation and the need for improvement should be recognised in many places.

Obverse, Column i (beginning lost)

(3)[DIg NA] rE1.SIR ina DU-su ana IGI-S1 S[UB]-ut IGIII -lI pal-ka (4) X X NU. TUK SU"-st GIRII-s' Nt-isi la xi-na-a's (5) NA.BI HUL DIB-su k7ma AN. TA.SUB.BA ir-te-ni-hi-sI (6) GANAM.BAR.SE SAG NAGA.SI HAD.DU SUD ina KU(==ZID?) GIS.BUR &7) *GA SAL.ZUG-ti id ma-[ru?] II.TU HE.HE (8) 1N ana libbi SID-nu rSES1.MES-su AN.BAR HU.LUH.HA () ina [GUi-zi9l GAR-ma HUL UGU-lu ZI-ah

(io) DIS NA si-mat IGI. MES-1h KIZUR.KUR-ir IGIII-ld it-ta-nap-ra-ra KAxX-i'4 ZU SU-su z-lap-pat u US ina KA/KIR4-ld DU-ku (I2) la i-kal-lu-u NA.BI HUL DIB-su (I3) (I)AN.KI.NU.TE (U)LAL SUD (I4) rX X X Xi HU HE.HE rlSl-su-ma TI-ut

(I5) [DIS NA ina GII]-sM SIG-is-ma e-li-a-at (i6) IGI"-s'u' rKU.MES1-AL US.BABBAR : US ina KIR4-su SUB.SUB (7) SU,'-1 G'IR"4-1 [ ] ? ? LAL-la (I 8) SUII-14 GIRII-14, [Nf-s4] la4 -na-ds (I 9) NA.BI HUL DIB[-su] ana KAR-ld (20) KI.DUR5.(d)ID (or kibri-(d)it) GIS [BAL].GI(KU6) (2I)

HAD.DU SOID KI ULAL(?) (NA4)Z[IU.G]I.NA.DIBA (22) HE.HE UZU. MES-1zi DU.A.BI-I4-nu TAG.TAG (23) *KIR4(?) UGA(MUSEN) MI TI-qi (24) ina KUS SA Pl.GIS.JIR.RA (25) GAG.GAG ina GU-' GAR-ma TI

(26) DIS *GAL, (or NA <GAL5>) kima AN.TA.SUB.BA ir-te-ni-hi-Id



4I J. V. KINNIER WILSON

Reverse, Column vi (i) DIS GIG-ma KA-s' BAD.BAD-te SUII-iz GIRI-i4u (z) i-par-r-ra

SU iii mu-u [n-ni]-Si' (d)ALAD (3) sa-ni-e (d)a-nim (4) ana ina SU i1i mu-un- ni-si KAR-[td] (5) SIG pdi-bat-ti SI DARA.BAR (6) (UJ)AN.KI.NU.TE i-nit SUD ) sun-ma NITAH 9-sd tum-ma SAL 7-54 (8) S12S.MES-su-ma TI

(9) DIS GIG-ma IZI.SUB. rX X XI x-ta-ni-u (io) FX (X) NU.TUKl SU

(d)Za-qi-qi'(d)ALAD (II) t-ni-e (d)[X] ana ma SU (d)Ma-qi-qi KAR-tu (i z) rx X XI NA KA.A.AB.BA AN.BAR NITAH u SAL (I3) ina GQ-td GAR u GIS GESTIN.KAs.A SES.MES-su-ma TI

(I4) DIS MIN-ma IR la-ba-si ma-at-tu TUK.TUKU-si (I 5) u hur-ba-tu SUB.SUB-su SU (d)*SAG(?) (i6) (d)ALAD td-ni-e (d)e-a ana ina SU (d)*SAG(?) KAR-td (I7) IA.UDU a-a-ar-ili DA-li-la td libbi NA4. SAxA (i8) TUR-dr GIS.SINIG ESIR HAD.A KI.DUR5.(d)ID (i9) rX(X)l (d)ID MUN.EME. SAL.LIM ina GU-t' GAR (zo) u (U?)AM.HA.RA S]ES.MES-su-ma TI

Translation Obv. i, 11.3-9: " If a man, while walking down a street, falls forwards, his

eyes remain wide open,. .. .. ., and he does not involuntarily jerk hands or feet (sC., as in the clonic phase of the major epileptic attack), a gall-demon has possessed him; in the manner of the epilepsy-demon he will continue to 'influence' him from time to time. Meat of a firstling. .. . -ewe and crystallised plant-alkali you shall dry, bray; mix with ...... and the breast-milk, taken during the period of her uncleanliness, of a woman who has given birth to a son; recite an incantation over it and anoint him regularly (with the mixture), keeping also a piece of 'washed' iron-ore placed round his neck, until the demon has been drawn out of him.

11.IO-14: " If the whole character of a man's face gradually alters, if his eyes...., his.. .. .. . and one of his hands...., and if blood issues from his nose and cannot be checked, a gall-demon has possessed him. Bray ankinfite and atquldlu, mix with . , and anoint him regularly therewith until he recovers.

11.I-25: " If a man has been wounded on the neck, the ...... of his eyes give him frequent pain, sarqu and blood issue periodically from his nose, and his hands and feet... are permanently 'bound ',2 a gall-demon has possessed him. To deliver him, dry and bray sulphur and the birku of a turtle, mix with the soot of afurnace (smelting) magnetic iron, and touch all his muscles (with the mixture). Take also the beak of a black raven, stitch it up in a leather purse with the gut of an arrabu, and keep placed round his neck until he recovers.

1 The necessary shading has been inadvertently omitted from the copy.

2 Omitting 1.i8, see end note.



TWO MEDICAL TEXTS FROM NIMRUD 42

1.26. "If a gal//-demon 'influences' him at intervals of time after the manner of an epilepsy-demon (end of column).

Rev. col. vi, 11. i-8: " If, although he is ill, he has an i.nsatiable appetite forfood, (and) his hands and feet. , the diagnosis is qdt i/i munnifi,. .. .. . of Anu. To deliver him of qdt i1i munnili bray together lamb's wool, a pointer (from the antlers) of a stag and ankinite, and 'anoint', 9 times in the case of a man and 7 times in the case of a woman, until the patient recovers.

11. 9-I3: " If. , the diagnosis is qdt taqzqi . To deliver him of qit Zaq7qi string. ., imbA tamtim and iron-ore, ' male' and 'female', around his neck and anoint regularly with solanum(-berries) until he recovers.

11.14-20: " If ditto, and he then experiences intermittent attacks of profuse feverish sweating, and shivering fits also recurrently assail him, the diagnosis is qat-. ., . . To deliver him of qdt-. . , the ' fat ' of an ajar-ili and . which you have (first) dried, (a piece of) tamarisk wood and (lumps of) dried bitumen, sulphur, ......, and eme-sal-lim-salt you shall string round his neck, and anoint him regularly with ambara until he recovers.

By way of commentary, some thoughts on this interesting piece may be presented here under three headings.

i. On some technical terms: It wiUl have already been noticed that the above prescriptions do not represent therapeutic medicine strictly so called. The dAipu who stands behind them was not, in any modern sense, curing diseases; he was " depossessing" the patient of disease-demons, an altogether different thing. Indeed there is perhaps an argument for suggesting that the " drugs" used in the remedies have in some part not advanced beyond the stage of

Kultmittel ". Several technical terms put their own very definite character on the text.

They include sabdtu, 'to seize', thought to be used of the ' possession' of a patient by a demon (Obv. i, 5, iz and I9); ana eteri-sd, 'to deliver (save, spare) him' from such possession (Obv. i, I9: Rev. vi, 4, 1 I and i 6), to be distinguished from treatments introduced as ana TI- z, ' to cure him' where no demon is present; nasdbu, 'to draw out' a demon from a patient (Obv.i,g written ZI-ab, passive), the subject of such action being not the priest but the materia medica which he uses; and rebhA essentially effundere, but a difficult word to translate and perhaps not too successfully translated 'to influence' (Obv.i,5 and z6). None of these words is new, and certainly the first three can be paralleled from Western Semitic thought and practice. Compare Josephus, Antiquities, VIII, ii., 5 :

" I have seen a certain Eleazar, a countryman of mine . free men possessed by demons (TOVS V7ro TC7V SatuoV'cov Xap/3avo1u.vovso a7roXivovTa) and

(20705) D



43 J. V. KINNIER WILSON

this was the manner of the cure: he put to the nose of the possessed man a ring which had under its seal one of the roots prescribed by Solomon, and then, as the man smelled it, drew out the demon through his nostrils (w7TEtTa

Ef'>eXKEP OcfOpO/teV(,) 3ta 7T04 1LVKTrpot)1 TO batyovtoV) and, when the man at once fell down, adjured the demon never to come back into him, speaking Solomon's name and reciting the incantations which he had composed."'

From this text it seems possible to make the equations sabdtu z a,u/aico,

'to seize' nasdhu = EXKW, 'to draw out' and ethru = 7ox, 'to deliver, free', although pasadru, 'to loose' (in various senses) would also have a claim on this word. Particular interest attaches to the part played by Solomon's root in this " drawing out" of the demon. In the first prescription of the Akkadian text (and others like it) the ' washed iron-ore' to be placed round the patient's neck ' until the demon has been drawn out of him' must have played a quite similar role, although in this case its action was clearly not thought to be immediate but merely effective over a period of time,-a kind of ' long- term' exorcism.

2. Diagnosis. Four conditions are recognised by the text, namely gal/ isbatsu, for which three variant syndromes are given, mentioned on the obverse, and qdt (d)>aqkqi, qdt i1i mzunnisi'i (if this is the correct reading), and qat(d)* SAG? of uncertain reading,2 mentioned on the reverse. The second and third of these, perhaps also the last, would appear new although z<aqZqu is otherwise well known (see now Oppenheim, The Interpretation of Dreams . . ., 234f.), and muenniiu, the II i participle of en-u, ' to be weak', occurs also in the recent correction to Ludlul II, 50: mursu mun!-ni-iS, ' a weakening disease '3. It will be noticed that the diagnosis of the conditions given on the reverse all follow a common pattern: qdt (d)X (d)>du s-a-ni-e (d)Y, contrast qdt etemmi sa-ni-e (d)illtar, T.D.P.32,10.

From a modern standpoint two observations seem called for. In the first prescription the patient is one who falls forwards while walking down a street and his eyes remain widely open. The fact that it is stated that the demon who so possesses him will continue his attacks at intervals kima AN.TA.SUB.BA, ' in the manner of the epilepsy-demon', would suggest that the condition described was not, in fact, one of epilepsy. Moreover, we have sought to interpret 1.4 of this prescription 'he does not jerk either hands or feet '4

as representing a point of differential diagnosis from the major epileptic attack. Since it must be taken as implicit that the patient is unconscious, it would be

1 The translation is that of Thackeray and Marcus in the Loeb Classical Library edition.

2 Copy AS DI. 3 Gurney, A.S. VI, I63. This reference I owe to

Dr. Gurney himself to whom I am also grateful for other assistance

4 This phrase appears to be commonly used where English would prefer ' arms and legs.'



TWO MEDICAL TEXTS FROM NIMRLTD 44

pointless to say what he " cannot " do1; and what he " does not " do only makes sense when considered against the background of a more commonly observed phenomenon. However, one authority whom I have consulted on this problem would argue that, if epilepsy is to be excluded, there would remain only the possibility of heat exhaustion. Collapse is symptomatic of the condition, and paralysis of the blinking mechanism might occur, keeping the eyes open. But this solution is unsatisfactory since the condition is not recurrent. There is every probability therefore that, in spite of appearances, epilepsy is still being described, and that we are in fact concerned with that variety ot the disease known as 'tonic epilepsy' in which the 'clonic' phase of the attack is not present2. In connection with the phrase under discussion, Old Testament scholars will have been reminded of Balaam, 'who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down but having his eyes uncovered'

(tra:? 41*m 5nn,)3. Psychical prodromata (' dreamy states', 'auras ') are well known in association with epilepsy, but for lack of clearer evidence the parallel is perhaps better left simply recorded rather than explained.

The second observation considers the symptoms provided by Rev. vi,I4-15. The rendering, ' If ditto, and he then experiences intermittent attacks of profuse feverish sweating, and shivering fits also recurrently assail him', supposes that 'feverish sweating' is a legitimate translation of IR la-ba-#i, literally ' sweat of the fever-demonl', and that 'shivering fits' correctly translates burbdiu for medical texts4. Granted the translation, the importance of the sentence then lies 'in the likelihood that the condition being referred to was malaria, apparently in the present instance occurring as a complicating factor of some other ailment, but in any case a quite elusive disease in Babylonian and Assyrian medicine.

3. The place of the fragment in the scheme of Akkadian medical texts. Under this heading may be discussed briefly an aspect of the text which may not hitherto have been apparent, namely the certainty that it belongs to a medical companion series to the series sa-gig5.

In point of fact the existence of such a companion series has always been likely. There is the obvious consideration that when the dJipu examined the sick man, " learnt his sa's " and discovered the agency responsible for his

1 Cf. Labat, T.D.P. 190, 17.

'Cf. S. A. Kinnier Wilson, Neurology, 2nd edition, Vol. 3, i636. 'Clonic' derives from clonus (Gk. klonos), the term used to denote a series of move- ments characterised by alternate contractions and relaxations.

3 Num. xxiv.4 and i6. A.V. 'falling inlo a trance' follows the LXX: eV V IYrtc1. The phrase has also occurred amonst the Dead Sea fragments in the

form 1V 15;1 5MJ3 (see Allegro, J.B.L. LXXV

(I95 6), I83, but the rendering there given, 'with eye skinned and uncovered ', even if meaningful, hardly translates the Hebrew.

4 Cf. Labat, 'frissons glacss', T.D.P. I64, 77, where the same phrase occurs, also C.A.D. VI, 248 and K. 10798, C.T. XVIII, 17, bur-ba-[IuJ after ifdtu, 'fever'.

6 On this term see Iraq, XVIII Pt. II, pp. 130 ff. and 145-6.

(20705) D 2




condition, his work had only begun, so that a connected treatise on the proper measures to be taken if the prognosis was favourable would have been a very definite requirement. Another point foreshadowing the existence of such a work is the fact that, for some reason, sa-gig itself actually contains a few specified treatments in scattered places (e.g. tablet XXVI, 37ff. and tablet XL, 42 if.). However, in the absence of any certain pieces from such a series, it is obviously now important to know that five of the symptom-groups occurring on ND 4368, and four consecutively, find their parallels in sa-gig. The table (following Labat's numbering) is as follows:

ND 4368 Obv. 3ff. sa-gig XXVI, i6f.' ,, Obv. ioff. = sa-gig XXVI, i4. ,, Obv. I5ff. sa-gig X, 2I.

,, Obv. 26 _ sa-gig XXVI, i8

,, Rev. if. sa-gig XXX, i (from catalogue).

There are, as might be expected, minor variations in the parallel texts (the Notes indicate the majority of these, but there is little of account), and it will be seen that the order is not quite consistent. But it is thought that the table definitely shows, and despite the difficulty of the third correspondence, a purposeful relationship which may be considered sufficient to justify the use of the term 'medical companion series '. On the basis of the table one might well suppose that the four missing columns of the fragment contained entries corresponding, in selection, to entries in sa-gig between tablets XXVII and XXX.

The discussion cannot, however, be left in quite this form. If one studies the Assyrian medical texts with a view to seeking correspondences with the symptom- groups, or ' syndromes ', of sa-gig, a situation rather difficult to analyse seems to appear. In the first place some extensive differences can be found; suman mubuhSu Tablet I, for example,-for texts and translation see Campbell Thompson A.J.S.L. LIII, 2I7 ff.,-has nothing in common with sa-gig tablet III (Labat, T.D.P., I8 ff.) although both treat of the same part of the body. On the other hand, comparison between A.M.T. 77,1,1-10 and sa-gig XXVI, I-13, reveals a fairly close indentity of text so far (cf. T.D.P., I, n.333), after which the tablets appear to go their different ways. Again, and at first seemingly in favour of close connection one can list the correspondences between A.M.T. I9,I and sa-gig tablet IV as follows (these have not previously been remarked):

A.M.T. 19 1,27 sa-gig IV, 15 , ,, 29 ,, ,, 12

, ,, 30 ,, ,, IO

,, ,, 3I ,, ,, II

, ,, 32-3 = ,, ,, 8 or 9 I Catalogue Tablet XXVII.




What is striking and obviously significant about this table, however, is that the line-numberings go in opposite directions, that is to say, in order to obtain the correspondences one has to read the first tablet downwards and the second upwards. The observation suggests that the two texts were never meant to be considered together, and that an original relationship with sa-gig has been purposefully disclaimed or disguised.

But where does this evidence lead ? One idea may perhaps be advanced. ND 4368 represents pure dsipitu. In A.M.T., in so far as it is permissible to treat these texts collectively, the element of dai/u is also clear. The incantations provide their own evidence, and the j1ipu's concern with prescriptions is witnessed by K.A.R. 44, Rev. iof.: bul-ti AN.TA.SUB.BA (d)LUGAL. O3R.RA SU.DINGIR.RA IU.(d)INANNA(iLtar) SU.GEDIM.MA. ' prescriptions' for epilepsy, etc'. But were A.M.T. all diipi{tu one would expect a much closer connection with the manual sa-gig than research can provide. Thus it may be argued that some other factor has complicated the situation, and it is proposed to name that factor as asdtu (thus against the definition of as4 given by Ungnad, A.J.O. XIV,z 252). On this explanation the bulk of A.M.T., and at least the big (unnamed) series which was trans- parently the last issued, will represent a combination of both sciences, a true textbook of medical treatment, and we would confine the dsipu's part in the whole largely to the type of disease illustrated by K.A.R. 44, Rev. iof. (see above), the type which most concerned him as priest. As to the division of work, padsMu and ina kifddi-sM ta.akkan are surely characteristic of the dlipu's responsibility, equ', ' to apply with a kohl-stick '2 and .samddu, 'to bandage '3

are suggestive for the ass. This analysis, offered as a platform for argument, must be corrected if it is wrong, but without some such explanation it seems difficult to account for the finding that the symptom-groups of sa-gig, and what we have sought to call the sa-gig companion series, did not have a commanding place in the milieu of Akkadian medical texts.

1 On bullu, 'prescription' cf. A.M. T. 99, 2, 26-7, also Gurney, A.S. VI, I6I, 1.127 ('cures ').

2 For this meaning cf. (i) gim-bi-zi-igi-gun-nu = e-gu-u la e-qf-e, II R 36, 57g; (2) the use of the verb khal in Syriac medicine for the application of drugs; and (3) the ideogram MAR for eq4, which probably reflects Sum. igi-mar, eme-sal of igi-gar,

' to apply make-up to the eyes ' (e.g. Inanna's Descent, 1.25).

s Note particularly ma-ak-ra-ku = fi-in-du 14 ast, C.T. XVIII I3, K. 275, 5 (a line discussed also by Oppenheim, On Beer and Brewing, 49, n.70), and cf. H.A.B.L. Io8, Rev.

Notes Obverse

3. [DIS NA] E. SfR ina DU-h4. To judge, for example, by C.H. xxxvii, 44-5, !-ga-am i-na a-la-ki-lu, or Reisner, Hyymnen, iz Obv.zo-ai: edin-na DU-ba (<DU-bi-a, not gub-ba, Witzel, Tammu!C-Lit. 278) = #i-ra-am ina a-la-ki-fu, no preposition is wanted for the oblique object in this construction. It is presumed that one could " walk the streets " in Akkadian as in English. The -a of edin-na seems best described as the " -a locative extension (verbs

(207051 D 3




of motion or spatial concept) ", indicating the extent ' over, across, along, down or through' which the action of the verb takes place or exists. Poebel clearly understood this use, but since an-na, for instance, is still commonly translated 'in heaven' where the sense requires ' across heaven ' the introduction of a grammatical term additional to ' -a locative ' would seem an advantage. Thus also e-sir-ra dib-bi-da-zu-de translates ' when you walk down the street' rather than 'in the street', Kramer, J.A.O.S. 69, 2o8, 1.31. With regard to the restoration of the Nimrud text the extent of the shading is perhaps deceptive, since the left- hand margin appears to curve inwards at this point, and has perhaps also been exaggerated.

pal-ka in the same line, ip-pal-ka provided by the parallel text T.D.P. I90,I6, and na-pal-ka-a

also of the eyes, T.D.P. 80,4, appear to be indistinguishable as regards sense. In the second of these passages, however, the translation '....... et que ses yeux soient dilates ' does not seem probable. Only the pupils, not the eyes themselves, can become dilated, and this condition is not present in epilepsy-if the diagnosis be upheld. The rendering of napalkd, 'sont largement ouverts' we would accept as correct.

4. X X NU TUK stands in the Nimrud text for twr-ra la i-da-a in T.D.P. I90,I6. No explanation is offered.

S. It would be uncertain whether X X in T.D.P. 190,I7 is to be restored kima on the authority of the present text since the end verb is different (uJ-tar-ri-Ju, misprinted w-tar-ri-Jh, for ir-te-ni-bi-J4).

6. GIS.BIUR perhaps represents Akkd. if pisri, see Meissner, A.S. I, 3 i, and Campbell Thompson, D.A.B. 242, s.v. giJgirru. The sign KU appears certain before this word.

7. On u'-zug = (m)usukku. fem. (m)usukkatu see Jacobsen, J.N.E.S. V, 13 3 n.9, Landsberger O.L.Z. 25, zioi and Z.A. 4I, 227. The transliteration has perhaps been too charitable in allowing SAL. ZUG to stand for SAL. I1.ZUG. The first sign of the line is certainly a scribal error for GA.

8-9. Comment on the translation 'until' employed in these lines and also in Obv. I4 and z5, and Rev. 8, I3 and io, is withheld pending further investigation.

IO-12. Cf. T.D.P. 190, I4-I5, the only apparent difference being la par-Ju for Id i-kal-lu-u (same meaning). The initial signs of 1. i I seem particularly difficult to construe in the sentence.

I3. (1I)LAL. On this plant cf. Campbell Thompson, D.A.B. 239-40; the reading aJquldlm is owed to Ebeling, M.A.O.G. X/2, 27, and for a study of this word in other contexts producing the three senses ' comet ', ' sword ' and an insect, " the hoverer " see Nougayrol, R.A. 44, i i. Although not hitherto identified, the possibility that the plant in question was the famous ' Dead Sea Apple' should be considered. Firstly one starts with the definition Clay, B.R.M. IV, 37, i8 (see also Campbell Thompson J.R.A.S. 1924, 456) which explains (IJ)LAL as ki-ma GIS HASHUR, 'like an apple'. Secondly, that it should grow near water (ibid.) and a-far Jam-mu u GIS.G1 Id ba-Ju-u, ' where there is neither grass/vegetation nor reeds ' would be so far suitable. Thirdly, Crowfoot and Baldensperger in their account of the Dead Sea Fruit in From Cedar to Hyssop speak of the seed follicles floating away ' like perfect little parachutes ', so that here could lie the association with the idea of something hanging or suspended in the air required by aJqlIdlu. Finally, the same source states that these seeds, the only part of the fruit of any value, are used to-day by the peasantry of Palestine for stuffing cushions and the like, and on this explanation one could provide Tiglath-pileser III with a reason for taking (IJ)LAL as tribute from Merodach-baladan (II R. 67, z8)1. For a description and the geographical distribution of the plant see D.A.B. 323. [cf. also Oppenheim, Interpretaton of Dreams, n. I34.]

I From D.A.B. 240.




(I)AN.KI.NU.TE (the word can seemingly be read either as Sumerian or Akkadian) has not previously been found associated with (I)LAL. That it is probably of a kind with (O)LAL, however, is suggested by its own definition, " the IJ approaching neither heaven nor earth ", i.e. something so light that it floats in the air.

15-I 8. e-li-a-at IGIII -Jh stands in the text as against e-lat IGIII -Ju of T.D.P. 8z, zi. In the Nimrud text at this point it will be seen that the line ends in a construct. Since there would have been room for IGIII -4 in the same line if the signs had been closer spaced, it seems preferable to describe the anomaly as an unthinking writing rather than an inelegance. Other departures from the sa-gig text are QS.BABBAR :iJS for simple VS, and ? ? LAL-la for es-la. Since LAL_ erslu (S.L. 48I/II) the first two signs are difficult to explain. Some textual confusion seems possible. It is also to be noted that 1.X8 is omitted altogether by T.D.P. 82, 2I, and since it appears foreign to the context it has been omitted also from our translation on this authority.

2o. GIS [BAL].GI(KUJ) has been restored from T.D.P. 194, 53, which, although not a parallel text, has close affinity with the Nimrud prescriptions as has much of T.D.P. I92,

37ff 24. For PIS.(GIS)QR.RA = arrabu see Landsberger, Fauna, 1.I93 and p. I07, and cf. T.D.P.

192, 39.

Reverse S. The use of the sign SIG for SfG. 'wool' has occurred elsewhere (reference not taken)

so that this writing is not thought remarkable. In the same line the supposed use of SI to indicate a ' pointer ' from the antlers of a stag is perhaps a little uncertain, but the Sumerian for ' antlers' probably now appears in the phrase tir-si-dara-bar mah-mah du7-du7, Ebeling, L.K.A. I45, Obv. 2.

Iz. KA.A.AB.BA (reading of the first sign uncertain,) Akkd. imbd tamfim, was classified in D.A.B. 238-9 among the 'Miscellaneous Uncertain Plants'. It is now, however, known to be mineral on the basis of Figulla, U.E.T. IV, iso, Obv. 8, where KA tam-gtm is included in a list of '4I NA4.MES' (1.io). The clue is nevertheless misleading if the latter word be taken as 'stones'', and the fact that, among numerous instances in A.M.T., KA.A.AB.BA never has the determinative NA4 suggests strongly that it is a mineral but not a stone. It seems difficult to advance beyond this finding at the present time. [Since this note was written it has been noticed that Oppenheim, Interpretation of Dreams: 305, translates "sea- tooth " thus Z0.A.AB.BA].

17. DA-li-la Id libbi NA4SAxA appears to occur here for only the second time, the first occasion being A.M.T. 8o, I, I7 (cf. Campbell Thompson, D.A.C.G. io6). The striking phrase of K.A.R. 204, I 5 (D.A.C.G. ibid.): mu.sa'(i)rdnu Id libbi NA4. AxA nari, 'a frog from the . of a river/canal' would suggest that NA4.SAxA is there the iiqillatu discussed by Laess0e, J.C.S. S, 28, apparently some kind of stone 'container' to be found at the bottom of rivers or irrigation ditches. The possibility therefore that d/;alilu is also a (water-)animal or creature of some kind should perhaps be considered, and the presence of ajar-ili and the following note may slightly increase the chances of this suggestion.

i8. TUR-dr, read tusabhar, has hitherto been translated ' thou shalt reduce',' tu feras reduire' or " sollst du zerkleinern ". Of these, Ebeling's translation (the last given) makes sense but does not suit all contexts, while the other two which convey a slightly different meaning, are suspect because of the word used. One can 'reduce' fat, which involves rendering down a solid piece into liquid form, but I doubt that in pharmacology one could legitimately ' reduce '

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anything else. Even if a different word is used the situation is still unsatisfactory,-for by what process does one ' make drugs small ' ? Or if one ' made them into small pieces ' how then, as the present text requires, could they be strung round the patient's neck ? What seems wanted is a meaning 'to dry'. Compare particularly A.M.T. 8, z, 2: SAG.DU EME.SID HAD.DU, and A.M.T. 74, I, zo: SAG.DU EME.DIR TUR-dr, both surely meaning ' you shall dry the head of a lizard' (on the identity of eme-SID and eme-DIR see Landsberger Fauna, i i4). The adoption of this sense (the semantic extension being perhaps defendable on the basis that to dry anything is often to shrink or make it smaller) would also introduce a pleasing consistency into the prescriptions, since it will then be found that all meat and animal drugs were subjected to a drying process before use. As to the scheme of the last four lines of the prescription: I, 2, tusabhar, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, ina ki!ddi-su ta!akkan, where numbers have been given in place of the individual drugs used, it will be clear that all seven are to be placed round the neck. The translation of tusahbhar as subjunctive, therefore, ' which vou have first dried', is required by the interpretation, whether or not it truly supplies an example of the " Schachtelsatz " construction, Poebel, Miscellaneous Studies, A.S. 4, 23 .

Additional Note to ND 4358 (Iraq XVIII Pt. 2, P1. XXIV). Rev. 3 (XXXVII1): This line is possibly to be restored 'DIS SAL [ina CJ.TU ufl-tap- rliq1, ' If a woman has difficulty in giving birth', on the basis of A.M.T. 67, i, iv, 6.



two medical texts from nimrud (continued)

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