A New English Translation of the Amarna Letters

Author(s): A. F. Rainey
Source: Archiv für Orientforschung , 1995/1996, Bd. 42/43 (1995/1996), pp. 109-121
Published by: Archiv für Orientforschung (AfO)/Institut für Orientalistik

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41668234

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 A New English Translation of the Amarna Letters*
By A. F. Rainey (Tel Aviv)

Introduction

The 100th anniversary of the discovery of the Amarna tablets was marked by the appearance of the French version of
Moran's new translation (Moran 1987). Five years later, Moran's original English version was published by the Johns
Hopkins Press. This present review is in effect a continuation of our review of the French edition (Rainey 1989-90). The
ensuing notes were compiled during the writing of two volumes on the grammar of the Amarna texts from Canaan, one
volume on the verb and the other on writing and the noun. They are part of a trilogy of monographs on the West Semitized
dialect used by the scribes in the land of Canaan (Rainey 1996). Other notes were added while Zipora Cochavi-Rainey
worked on a Hebrew translation of all the Amarna letters. None of these observations are meant to detract from Professor
Moran's achievement in producing this new English translation. It may not be amiss to repeat some of the introductory
remarks from the previous review.
Moran had been working on this project for about a precious addition to the limited corpus of Middle
twenty years but his own first publication on an Amarna Babylonian letters, while one text (EA 15) is in the
letter appeared forty years ago, a joint article with W. F. Assyrian dialect. All the other letters are, broadly speak-
Albright (Albright and Moran 1948). ing, in the provincial dialects known as "Peripheral
The late Edmund Gordon had started collating the Akkadian." More specifically, some scholars, including
Amarna texts back in the 1960's but never published any Moran, use the term "Western Peripheral Akkadian"
of his results. Moran's own efforts began in the 1970's (WPA); it is not clear to this reviewer whether WPA is
and took him to the various museums to which the meant to be distinguished from Nuzi Akkadian and per-
scattered letters had made their way, especially London,
haps also from Mitanni Akkadian. Most of the significant
Berlin, Paris and Cairo. During the intervening years, features
he of the Mitanni and Nuzi texts find their counter-
has shared the results of those personal collations with theat Alalakh. Such a situation derives, no doubt, from
parts
small circle of Amarna devotees, this reviewer included.
the fact that the Mitannian empire extended from Nuzi to
Meanwhile, the collations by E. I. Gordon were also Alalakh, i.e. from the east to the west. Is there really a
made available to Moran and they are frequently referred
distinct "Eastern Peripheral Akkadian?" Within the gen-
to in the notes of this present work. Gordon's notes eral "peripheral" sphere, which encompasses most of the
Fertile Crescent from the Tigris to Anatolia and down
consist mainly of notations which he made in his personal
copy of Knudtzon's edition (Knudtzon 1915) which is the Levant to Egypt (plus Alashia = Cyprus), two
across
now on file in the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeo-language traditions are distinguishable. Some letters were
logical Research in Jerusalem. written from the capital of the Mitannian empire; a number
of others were written in cities of North Syria that were
Language and Script vassal states within that empire. All these "Mitannian"
epistles share the linguistic affinities of the archives from
The brief introduction of 27 pages (xiii-xxxix) con-
Nuzi and Alalakh IV (both of which date to the late
denses the main information needed by the interested
fifteenth or the early fourteenth century B.C.E.). There is
reader, both the experienced scholar and the newcomer.
a strong Hurrian influence throughout, especially in the
The customary philological and historical aspects of orthography,
the phonetics and syntax. Since the Mitannian
discovery and publication are given, followed by a dis- encompassed Assyria, one is not surprised to find
empire
cussion of the language and the writing (palaeographya modicum of Assyrian linguistic influence, but much less
and orthography). The script and the dialects ofthan themight have been surmised on historical grounds. The
various letters are analyzed as only Moran could do it.is, however, that this "Humanized" Akkadian is
fact
Basic bibliographical references will be found in Moran's
clearly a branch-off from Babylonian, even down to some
copious but not exaggerated footnotes (in the introduction
of the principal characteristics of Middle Babylonian.
When
and throughout the translations). One text (EA 24) is in we remember that Mitanni arose in Southern Tur-
Hurrian and is translated by G. Wilhelm while V.key Haas
and Northern Syria, just where the Middle Bronze
has translated the two which are in Hittite (EA 31-32).
Age "Amurrite" kingdoms had flourished, it is surprising
that
A few letters hail from Cassite Babylonia itself, and arethe Mitannian scribes did not reflect more of the
Northern Old Babylonian dialect used so extensively by
*) A Review of: William L. Moran, The Amarna Letters . all the city states in the area, such as Mari and Aleppo
XLVII, 393 pp. Baltimore and London, The Johns Hopkins (Yamkhad).
University Press, 1992. However, it is the other, southern dialect (or pidgin as

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 110 A. F. Rainey

Moran prefers tosivecall it)

historical chapter toAge,which
on the Amarna based on all Mo
much of his research efforts.
the texts, has yet to be written. To be su
very beginning, scholars had observed
the area of the biblical Canaan contained features much Textual Observations
more reminiscent of Hebrew and Phoenician. Their ef-
forts at sorting out all these elements were hindered by One may confidently say that W. L. Moran's transla-
the then current stage of Assyriological knowledge; the tions represent the latest, state of the art renderings of the
classic outlines of Akkadian grammar had not been firmlyAmarna tablets. This is not to say that they are the last
established. Furthermore, the precise linguistic definitionword on Amarna interpretation. The broken, sometimes
of the Northwest Semitic dialects (to which Hebrew, fragmentary, nature of the tablets leaves much room for
Aramaic and Phoenician belong) had not yet beenalternate suggestions. Such is especially the case with
achieved, especially with regard to the historical develop-those lines of text near the top or bottom edge. And
ment of ancient Hebrew. Then came W. L. Moran. although no living scholar has a better grasp of the
Moran's doctoral dissertation (Moran 1950a) was the Amarna corpus as a whole than does Moran, a great deal
real twentieth century breakthrough in our understandingcan still be done by comparing the use of idioms,
of the fiindamental language in which these southernsyntagmas and verb forms as they appear in all their
Amarna letters were written. This "pidgin" dialect wasAmarna contexts. The meaning of an idiomatic phrase or
made up largely of Akkadian words, to be sure, but the verbal usage may be obvious in some passages and
verbal inflection and syntax were "Canaanite." Thereobscure in others. As in our previous review, the notes
were similarities with classical Arabic and with biblical will be related to individual letters.
Hebrew. It is now clear that there were also numerous
isoglosses with the native language of Ugarit (which itselfEA 1 - This is one of the most difficult texts in the
was never a Canaanite city). There is no similar mixed entire corpus. Although the scribe was trying to write a
dialect parallel anywhere in the cuneiform world. passable MB, there are many passages which do not seem
Two cities in particular, and an occasional letter fromto run smoothly. In line 17 there is a precative that
elsewhere, reflect a conscious departure from the "norms"apparently stands in a purpose or result clause:
of that "Canaanized" pidgin. Jerusalem and Tyre (alsoù im-ma-ti ta-aš-pu-ra L Ú-ka DUGUD / ša i-deA a-fya-at-ka ša
i-dáb-bu-ub it-ti-šix(ŠE ) / ù ú-ma-an-di-šiK(Š E) à li-id-bu-ub it-
partially Sidon) have produced letters the scribes of which
ř/-i7x(ŠE) "But when did you ever send here a dignitary of yours
employed a different writing tradition. They did use some
who knows your sister, who can speak with her and can identify
Canaanite expressions, but they have more Assyrianisms
her, that he should speak with her?" (EA 1: 15-17).
and other points of contact with the Syrian dialect of the
There is one passage where Moran (1973: 52-53) had
north (Moran 1975). Both scribes show some acquaint-
some difficulty. The problem was not with the dual suffix
ance with Egyptian literary and religious traditions.
pronoun but rather with another vocable which, at least
The scribes from Egypt generally wrote a better form of
since Knudtzon, had been taken for the 3rd f.pl. suffix
Middle Babylonian, with only an occasional Egyptianism
pronoun. Even though this letter is from Egypt and not
or West Semitism (cf. Cochavi -Rainey 1988, 1990). On
from Canaan, it is important to deal with its reference to
the other hand, the scribes of Amurru seem to have their
the 3rd c.du. Here is the passage:
own, unique tradition. The earlier letters, from 'Abdi-
e la te-še-me ši-na / LÚ.DUMU.KIN-Aa ša pi-šu-ni sà-a-ru
Ashirta (written to Amenhotep III), have some "Cana-
"Doni listen to your two messengers whose mouths are deceit-
anite" affinities, but the letters of his sons (sent to Amen-
ful" (EA 1: 85-86)
hotep IV) reflect the new Hittite presence in the area -
The ši-na is not a feminine plural suffix; it is the
the scribes had adopted a style much closer to that of the
numeral "two." This also applies to an earlier passage in
North Syrian "Humanized" Akkadian (cf. Izre'el 1985,
the same letter:
1991). The few EA texts from Ugarit are too broken to ù i-la-ak l-en lib-bi ši-na / [m la] ils-te-qé KÚ.BABBAR.MEŠ
permit analysis (Huehnergard 1989: 7-8). (etc.) "and one of the two goes [without] his taking silver (etc.)"
(EA 1: 69-70).
History The usual custom was to send diplomatic messengers
two by two. Of the various missions sent to Egypt from
Biblical scholars may be primarily interested in the Babylon, a certain pair of diplomats had aroused the
Amarna Tablets as historical documents. Moran has now anger of Pharaoh.
placed at their disposal a set of lucid renderings of all the EA 9 - The verb in line 14 has the theme vowel of the
texts and some of the notes are historical in nature as well present so perhaps we should render:
as linguistic. It is possible to make a reappraisal of the am-mi-ni 2 ma-na GUŠKIN tu-še-bé-e-la "Why do you send
historical events and the sociological pattern reflected in only two minas of gold?" (EA 9: 14).
this most significant archive (cf. this reviewer's remarks EA 14 - In col. 11, line 52, 1 fra-nu-ú-nu ša-fru-ú,
in a more popular review, Rainey 1989). A comprehen- perhaps "one boar's head rhyton."

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 A New English Translation of the Amarna Letters 111

EA 19 - Since the Mitanni and other Hurro-Akkadian [ša]-ni-tam ù iš-te-mé a-na-ku ! [i-n]u-ma aš-ba-ta UGU -li /
[GIšG]U.ZA È a-bi-ka "Furthermore, I have heard [th]at you are
texts often use PA for bá, the following passage can best
be rendered: seated (have sat) on the [th]rone of your father's house" (EA 33:
ul ul-te-em-ri-if ŠA-ím / ša ŠEŠk i-na bá-na-tim-ma a-a-an9-11).
-
ni-ma-[a-k]u aq-ta-bi "I did not distress (my) brother, but withThat the archive should preserve two such similar let-
cordiality I said "Yes!"" (EA 19: 19-20). ters that were sent to different kings seems unlikely. Of
course, one might have been sent to Semenekhkare< while
The particle kïmê must add a temporal nuance in the
following: the second could have been sent to Tut'ankhaten/
ki-me-e ša ŠEŠ-íú šul-m[a-a]n-šu e-še-em-me ma-a-di-iš dan- Tuťankhamon. But this seems to me quite unlikely. I
ni š lu-fte-ed-dil2 "As soon as I hear my brother's greeting, I will suspect that both texts were sent to Amenhotep/Akhnaten.
rejoice exceedingly" (EA 19: 73). Moran confirms that line 33 ends with MAŠK[IM] but
EA 26 - With Adler's completion of the verb on line 44, has no suggestion for the meaning. The general tenor of
a fair account can be rendered from the following: the clause is probably something like: "The goods are
[Ù i-na KUR ša DUMU -ka] / GUŠKIN.MEŠ e-pé-ru šu- ú (the property) of the commissioner] of the people of
[am-]mi-i-ni i-na ŠÁ[-iu] / ša DUMU-for im-tar-$ú-ma [t]a id-di - Alashia."
na ù an-ni-t[a ] / ap-pu-na a-na [í]!-ra1[-ji a-n]a na-dá-ni i-te[ -
EA 36 - There is one lonely passage in a letter from
pu-uš] "[In the land of your son] gold, it is dirt; [w]hy did they
grieve his heart (so that) he did not give (pure gold) but rather
Alashia which seems to contain the expression ipp-lja-ti
he made this to send to me" (EA 29: 41-44). ša ki-na-ì "the province of Canaan" (EA 36: 15). Moran
Like so much of Hurro-Akkadian, the syntax is garbled (p. 110 n. 1 from p. 109) questions the validity of this
from our point of view. reading on the grounds of syllabary and cites Na'aman
EA 28 - The following difficult passage may be inter- (1975: 2* n. 19) for historical arguments against the use
preted by using suggestions of Knudtzon, Adler, Gordon of pï'}àtu "province" in this period. The writing with the
and Moran; our eclectic suggestion is: WA sign for the value /pi/ is indeed rare in peripheral
[lMa-né-e l]u-meš-< šér^-šu ù LÜDUMU.KIN-[*a a-na ] / [ŠEŠ- Akkadian but precisely in a similar Alashia letter one
ia ] ki-i ba-ni-i-ti lu-uš-pur u [< a-na-ku ] / [a-ma]-ta ba-ni-i-ta ša finds the expression: i-na tup-pi su-ku-un-ma "put in a
ŠE Š-ia lu-[uš-me-ma ] / aì-nal ŠEŠ-ia da-mi-iq ù ŠE Š-ia ša [lib- letter" (EA 37: 17). There is no doubt, therefore, that the
bi-ia] / gáb-ba-šu-nu-ma [li]-pu-uš ù lìb-bi lu la-a ú-š[e-em-ra- value /pi/ was known in Alashia for the WA sign. Fur-
a$' "[(As for) Mane, let] me release him and my messenger let thermore, Moran admits that the reading is admissible and
me send [to my brother] as is proper so that [I] may hear the my own collation of the tablet on 27.1.80 confirmed that
good [wor]d of my brother that it is well with my brother and
it is the most reasonable one. Moran (loc. cit) has noted
that my brother [will] do absolutely all that is in my heart so that
other affinities in the writing of numerals between EA 36
he may not grifeve] my heart" (EA 28: 37-41).
and EA 37. As for "historical" considerations, the use of
EA 29 - In line three Moran has skipped DAM -ka' the
pïjjâtu is not typical of peripheral texts but it is used in
full rendering would be "[F]or Tadu-IJeba, [in] y daugh-
Middle Babylonian (cf. Aro 1957: 77 for references) and
ter, your wife, may all go we[ll]." The form in line 60,
the Alashia letters are in many ways independent of the
[Ú] lu-ú nu-ú-ur-ri-ik , is most likely the Mitannian 1st c.pl.
usual peripheral traditions. Furthermore, the reference to
precative, thus "[and] we should prolong (it)."
ŠE.BAR = uftetu "grain" in the line above (EA 36: 14) is
EA 34 - Line 19, the verb yu-ba-al is preterite here in
a typical Middle Babylonian ideographic spelling (Aro
spite of the thematic vowel. The scribes from Canaan
1957: 115) although it is absent from all the other EA
always use the Akkadian present theme for all tenses; so
also this Alashia scribe. Thus: letters. The spelling ki-na-i matches that in the Egyptian
list of gifts (EA 14: II 26); the scribe evidently saw no
ú a-nu-ma / ú-nu-tiME s yu-ba-al LÜDUMU ši-ip-ri-ka4 "And
need to append a predeterminative KUR = mãt "land of'
now your messenger has brought some goods" (EA 34: 18-19).
because
The anomalous a-na-ku[-t'e in line 48 is most likely a he had written "the [p]rovince of . . . ." In spite
of the broken context, the reference may very well be to
ghost word and not the 1st c.s. independent pronoun plus
some rare - te suffix. It is simpler to read a-na TÚG [-t'e [ . . . from ]the [p]rovince of Canaan" in exchange
"grain
"for garments" (ana çubãtè). for the copper which is the subject of several of the
broken lines in the text. Therefore, the skepticism of
ša-ni-tam / Í.MEŠ ù GADA.MEŠ a-na tni-ni1 la-a / tu-wa-ši-
ru-ni a-na TÚG[-í]e "Furthermore, as for oil and linen, Na'aman,
why Moran, Redford (1990: 35) and Lemche (1991:
haven't you sent to me for garments?" (EA 34: 46-48). 29-30) is unjustified. The Alashian scribe knows of a
"province of Canaan."
In line 52, Moran takes tu-sa-ab as preterite and prob-
EA 38 - Some variations on certain passages are pos-
ably he is correct. This is commensurate with the preterite
yu-ba-al discussed above. Here in the English version sible:
(p.
107 n. 11) he doubts that two letters such as EA 33 and am-mi-ni ŠEŠ-ía a-wa-ta an-ni-ta / a-na ia-ši ta-qáb-bi šu- ú
EA 34 should be sent to the same king of Egypt. He hadŠEŠ-ia / la-a i-deA-šu a-wa-<ta>-ma an-ni-ta la-a i-pu-uš f a-na-
ku e-nu-ma LÚ.MEŠ ša KUR Lu-uk-ki I ša-at-ta ša-ta-ma i-na
still entertained that possibility in the French edition
KUR -ia UR[U $'é-e}}-ra / i-le-qè "Why do you, my brother, say
(Moran 1987: 200 n. 11). His former hunch is the most
this thing to me, "As for that, does my brother not know it?" I
likely. The first letter says

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 112 A. F. Rainey

have not done this appears in the followingbecause

thing passages (with some other slight
the men
are village corrections
taking in of myMoran's rendering):
a country year by
In spite of the lapse in
[a]-n[u-m]a i-na-an-na agreement
pu-fri-ir / vka}-li LÚ.MEŠ GAZ UGU bet
ject (LÚ.MEŠ) and URU Ši-ga-ta
the/ [m] URU Am-bi verb,
ù la-qa-ma / [š]u-ut 2 URU an-ileqqe i
nida ù / [URU A]m-[b]i ia-nu a-šarto
does not seem necessary ir-ru-bu / assume
[URU Ar-da-]tu4 the
19-20. a-na ša-a-šu $a-bat / RJUR.S]AG ' ša yi-zi'(BAR)-za "[N]ow he
has assembled all the * apîrû men against the town of Shigata
at-ta-ma la-a ti-de4-e LÚ.MEŠ ša KUR-/ [a
[and] the [town of A]mbi; if he should take these two towns,
ma-ta an-ni-ta šum-ma / i-pu-šu LÚ.MEŠ
even Ambi, there is no place where I can enter (= find asylum);
i lib-bi-ka / e-pu-uš "You do not know men
[The town of Arda]tu belongs to him; he has seized [the mountain
I did not do this thing; if men of my cou
on which he is situated" (EA 76: 17-23).
whatever you want" (EA 38: 19-22).
EA 77 - This text is replete with problems. Moran
EA 51 - Some of the North Syrian
objected to the reference to ivory since that commodity is
Akkadian are written in what appea
so abundant in Egypt. However, there were elephants in
grammar. However, one should alwa
the Orontes Valley and as we will suggest below, it was
the benefit
the doubt. In the follow of
crafted ivory that was being requested by Pharaoh.
an apparent Akkadian present form d
i-nu-ma / ta-aš-pu-ra a[-na ] URUDU.MEŠ ù a-na / ši-in4-ni
event. Is it possible that the scribe re
TuP [ti-]T0-de dNIN / ša URU Gub-l[a ] šum-ma r0<-ba->šu /
express intentionURUDU.MEŠ
and not
ù š[i-i]n4-ni just
[AM.S]I / a-na ia-ši W [a-na U]RU- erroneo
past event? /z'-$7x(ŠE) / Mil-ka-yu 1 N[Á] ma-ha-a$ / "m1 na-ad-n[a-]TtP ši-
e-nu-ma xMa-na-ah-pi-ia
HnJ-na-šu / [a-n]a ba-la-fi-[i]a a-na / šár KUR
[š]ár URU1 r$ur1-r[i a]t- Mi-i
l[T'a[-ku a]-b[i a]-b[i-]ia i-na
ta / [ú-ul] ti-i-de [pu-uš-]x KUR
qa^-ia / [qa-l]a-ta Nu-fra-a
a-n[a ia-]ši / [ a-nu -
i-ip-p[u-š]a-aš-šu ù ma]Í.GIŠ
a-na mi[-ni7 qa-]la-ta a-na SAG.DU-iw
/ [a-na] up-ri [GÌR-fo] ša / [yi]- /
Manafepiya, the king of/ [ú?]-ul
na-mu-ša [iš-t]u KUR.KI.MEŠ Egypt,
ta-aq[-bu a-n]a EN-ka ù your a
[T]a[ku], my
ancestor, a i-na
I yu-wa-ši-ru-n[a-k]a king inù / the
! pa-ni ERÍN.MEŠ pí[-fá-]ti tu-ša- land o
on his head ..." (EA 51: 4-6). am-ri-ru LÚ.MEŠ GAZ / iš-tu LÚ.MEŠ [ff]a-za-nu-ti "Inasmuch
EA 53 - Perhaps one can make a stab at a difficult as you have written f[or] copper and for ivory, doesn't the Lady
passage: of By bios know if I or her city have copper or [eleph]ant ivory.
be-lí a-m[ur lA-i-(]u-g[a-ma il-li-kám' / [a-n]a <LUGAL> Milkayu
ša overlaid one ""bed1 but I gave his ivory to the [ki]ng of
KUR IRa-at-te ù i-na-na ] Lünu-kúr-tu4 / ša be-li-ia "My lord,the city of Tyre for [m]y sustenance. Do you not know my
[distress? You have [ig]nored me! [Now,] wh[y] have you
lo[ok, Aiî]ug[ama went t]o <the king of> the land of H[atte and
now he is the enemy] of my lord" (EA 53: 24-26). [ig]nored the dust of [your] two f[eet] that [is] departing from
Knudtzon had provided an autograph (No. 65) of whatthe lands? Will you not spe[ak t]o your lord that he send [yo]u
at the head of the regular army so that you may expel the 1 apîrû
he saw at the ends of lines 23 and 24. The preposition
men from among the city rulers?" (EA 77: 6-25).
aššum also seems to be used here in a unique manner
(CAD A/2: 470). The resulting text may be rendered: Lies 6-11 - This is a complex sentence with an inüma
clause in first position (Rainey 1992: 186-191).
šum-ma ERÍN.MEŠ ru^1-r9p-rmi1 l aš-šum KAM.6 u4-mi i-zi-
Line 8 - SI for ši is not common but not unknown in
iz-mi i-na rKUR1 rMAR1.rTU1 lA-zi-ra / ù lu-ú il-te-qé-šu-nu "If
the army comes forth, for six days Aziru has been positioned EA,
in cf. the spelling with i[i] in line 10. As mentioned
above, there should be nothing strange about a request for
the land of Amurru, so they would surely take, him" (EA 55: 23-
24). ivory even though it was available in Egypt. Here the
Moran (p. 128 n. 4) had noted that the final verb in this ivory is apparently that produced as inlays by a renowned
passage was evidently a Humanism, i.e. the 3rd m.pl. craftsman, viz, the Milkayu in line 12 (a reading dis-
subject was written as an accusative suffix while the real cerned by Moran, p. 148 n. 5; the PN should be added to
3rd m.s. object was expressed by the 3rd m.s. verbal form. Hess 1993). As for my suggested reading fuP (Rainey
EA 74 - Youngblood (1961: 122, 133) had long ago 1973: 243), Moran (p. 148, n. 3) objected that this
suggested that in Une 16 the anomalous qa-d[u'-nu should negative particle is always written ú-ul but on this same
be read GIŠ! Ě'-nu "the wood (furnishings) of our houses." tablet in line 37 (albeit on the left side) there is another
This would conform to the identical passages in other example of the simple ul (there does not seem to be
letters (EA 75: 12; 81: 39; 85: 12; 90: 37). Note the use enough space for the [w] before the ul sign). Actually, I
of the verb izuzzu in line 61, where it appears in the would prefer to read -m[i' but would also have suggested
Canaanite secondary jussive (not as a stative, the usual NÁ = "bed" as in line 12. If the ul was intended, then the
Akkadian usage). question is rhetorical, "does she not know?", otherwise, it
li-it-ri-[$a] / i-na pa-ni LU[GAL E]N-ia yu-wa-ši-ra / [L]Ú-£h is an asseveration, "she must know."
ù yi-zi-iz i-na-an-na ù ak-šu-u[ď] / a-na[-k]u a-na ma-bar šár-ri Line 9 - Elsewhere (Rainey 1973: 243) I have ex-
EN-<ifl> "May it seem good to the king, my lord, that he send
pressed doubt about the reading i-su because expressions
his [ma]n and that he should take up a post now (error for
"here") and so that I myself may come before the king, <my>
of possession like this uniformly have ibašši with a
lord" (EA 74: 59-62). compliment such as ana yâsi (Rainey 1990: 173-174).
Still, this could be the Akkadian transitive išu being used
EA 76 - A corrupted orthography from the same verb

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 A New English Translation of the Amarna Letters 113

The averb
intransitively (after all the preterite functioned as in line 65 is most likely passive 3rd m.s., either
stative
in Akkadian and the Canaanite scribes knew about
'yu]-qa-bu pre-
for Gp, or [yi]-qa-bu for N:
formative statives) like the existential particle
mi-ia-mi /yès in
llR -A -si[-ir-]t[a] ÌR UR.GI7 ù / >ù< 'yu/yi]-qa-bu
Hebrew. šum-šu i-na / [pa-n]i LUGAL dUTU "Who is ^bdi-Ashirta, the
Line 12 - The NÁ sign fits the traces and would be slave, the dog, that his name is mentioned in the [presjence of

appropriate with the verb mafjãçu "to overlay" (CAD the king, the sun god?" (EA 85: 63-66).
M/1: 79a; cf. EA 26: 43; 27: 51) as seen by Moran. The absolute form of the deictic pronoun in the follow-
Line 13 - But Rib-Haddi was forced to use Milkayu's ing passage is for emphasis on a time designation:
ša-ni-tam iš-tu / ta -ri a-bi-ka iš-tu / URU $í-du-na iš-tu UD.MEŠ
supply of ivory as payment for food supplies from the
/ šu-wa-at in4-né-ep-ša-at / KUR.MEŠ a-na LÚ.MEŠ GAZ.MEŠ
king of Tyre.
"Furthermore, since your father's return from Sidon, from that
Line 16 - A rhetorical question with [ú-ul] seems more very time, the lands have joined the ( apîrû men" (EA 85: 69-73).
appropriate than an asseveration with [lu-ú]. EA 86 - Both verbs in lines 9 and 10 must be 3rd f.s.
Lines 17-20 - The reconstructions we propose are with Amurru as the subject; Moran's interpretation of the
hypothetical but suit the traces and make perfect sense.
first verb is certainly the most sensible:
The "dust which departs from the lands" is suggested ur-ra m[u-ša ] / [tu/ta-š]a-sil7 a-na ka-tas [ii] / [ti-i]q-ta-bu ma-
here as an expression of humility. An alternative at the ad ma[-gal ] / [mi-i]m-mu ša yu-ul-qú ì[s-tu ] / [ša-]šu-nu a-na
beginning of line 19 would be [ki-ma]9 "like the dust . . ." KUR Mi-ta-na "Day and night [it cjries to you [and] says, Very
It would then mean that Amanappa had behaved like the gre[at is the pro]perty that was taken f[rom th]em to the land of
dust that blows away; he, too, has flitted away and left the Mitanni'" (EA 86: 8-12).
lands (of Canaan) to their destruction. Youngblood (1961: 288-289) was surely correct in see-
Lines 21-25 - This is a question, "Will you not speak ing the aberrant Sumerogram in line 16, HI.ŠE.£II.A as an
. . .?" The use of the negative ul in the first clause and the error for ŠE-/MHI.A {contra Moran's remarks on p. 159
energie on the verb in the second clause both point to the n. 4).
interrogative nature of the syntagma. The two verbs in the The verb in line 24 is probably singular (Izre'el 1987).
second and third clauses are indicative imperfect which ù i-še2Q-me e-nu'-ú ia-nu-um rERÍNn.MES / it-ti-šu ù te'-né-
means that the same mode and tense should be assumed pu-[u]š / VRUBat-ru-na a-na ša-šu / ù ERÍN.MEŠ SA.GAZ.MEŠ
ù gišGIGIR.MEŠ / ša-ki-in4 i-na lìb-bi-<si> / ù la' i-nam-mu-su-
in the first clause, thus ta-aq[-bu'.
ni7 / [i]š-tu pí KÁ.GAL mvGub<-la>Kl "And he ((Abdi-Ashirta)
EA 82 - In line 50, ta-ša-aš may also be 2nd m.s., with
heard that there were no troops with him; then Bajrôna went over
the negative ú-ul used in a negative jussive "don't be
to him and he placed * apîrû troops and chariotry in <its> midst
angry!" and he does not depart from the entrance of the city gate of
EA 83 - In line 38 al-la-mi could perhaps be the deictic Byblos" (EA 87: 18-24; contrast Rainey 1975: 424-425; Young-
pronoun in the dual, thus: blood 1961: 299-300; Moran 1950a: 159; 1960: 17 n. 2; 1987:
2 LÚ URU I-birs-ta al-la-mi i-na / É lIa"<an>-vha?-mi "These 273 nn. 1-3).
two men of the town of ^birta are from the house of Ya<n>hamu" This letter and EA 88 were evidently sent by the same
(EA 83: 38-39). scribe at the same time, one to Amanappa and the other
EA 84 - In line 33 there is no LU GAL, so: "to take the to Pharaoh. In EA 88:
possessions of my Adonis to my lord." Note in lines 38- [šá-ni-t]am aš-tap-pár LÜDUMU.KIN-/tf i-nu-ma / [il-q]é
41 that amur introduces an extraposition; the title of one URU.KI.HÁ-ítf ù i-te9-la'-a[m ] / [a-n]a $e-ri-ia ù a-nu-um-ma /
of the parties can also be read: [i-n]a-an-na il-qé mi3Ba(-ru-na / "m1 i-te-la-am a-na $e-ri-ia /
šá-ni-tam / [a]-mur !ÌR- NIN .URTA LÚ ša uš-šir4-ti / [i]t-ti [maiybar URU UGU! pi KÁ.GAL / [VRU]Gub-la ma-ni
lPu-Jje-ya ^KIRÍ/DIB1 / ù uš-ši-ra-šu a-na ÌR-£[a] "Moreover, UD.KÁM.MEŠ-íz la yi-na-mu-uš / iš-tu KÁ.GAL ù ú-ul ni-le-ú
look, as for (Abdi-NINURTA, the man whom I sent [w]ith / a-$a-am a-na EDIN "[Furthermore I have sent my emissary
Pufceya the groom(!), then send him to your servant" (EA 84: 38- when he took my cities and came [aga]inst me and even now he
41). has taken Batrôna and he has come against me, [be]fore(?) the
city, at the entrance of the city gate of Byblos. How long has he
EA 85 - In line 6, ki-a-ma-am is written for ki-a-am-
not withdrawn from the gate so that we are unable to go forth
ma ; here it may be interrogative in force:
to the countryside?" (EA 88: 13-21; cf. Rainey 1975: 425 and
[a-n]u-ma kí-a-ma-am iš-tap-ru a-na sàr-ri EN-ia / [m] la-a yi-
nn. 253-258; Youngblood 1961: 312-313; Moran 1950a: 159-
iš-mu-na a-wa-te-ia / a-nu-ma 3-ta-an i-zi-iz UGU-íô "[N]ow,
160; 1987: 274, 275 nn. 2-4).
how it is that I keep writing to the king, my lord, but he does not
heed my words? Now, three times he has attacked me" (EA 85: EA 88 - The mi-nu-um-mi in line 9 is most likely being
6-8). used as the personal interrogative, not the impersonal,
The energie yi-iš-niu-na strengthens the case for an thus "Who is [he], (Abdi-Ashirta, the slave, the dog ..."
EA 89 - The construction with an absolute infinitive in
interrogative. The adverb adi probably has its West Se-
mitic value (= Hebrew cod) in line 40 ( contra Moran's the first clause can express the nuance "as soon as,"
ù ma-ti-ma šu-ut a-nu-<ki> ? / i-de-šu "And as soon as he died,
appeal to a Mari usage [p. 158 n. 7]).
I learned of it" (EA 89: 38-39; Moran 1950b: 170a; 1987: 277;
sa-ni-tam li-i[b-lu-uf] / [sàr-r]u EN a-TdO rLÚ1.[M]EŠ-/ú ra-
[i-mu-ni] "Furthermore, [as the kin]g, (my) lord, li[ves], my men
Youngblood 1961: 333-334).
still are lofyal to me]" (EA 85: 39-40). A number of corrections can be suggested for the

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 114 A. F. Rainey
following passage:
the meaning of Hebrew *ôd9 thus:
[u]š-ši-ra-mi LÚ.MEŠ ti-[na-$a-ru]
LÚ ša ti-iš-ta-'pár-šu] / UGU-ww a-di ni-na-$a-ru-š[u' "As for
wa-tu[-ia ] / [ú]-u[l] t[u]-uš-mu-na
the man
whom you have sent to us, we are still guarding him"
nu-ma / [yi-il]-q[ú](EAURU.MEŠ-ia
100: 29-30; Rainey 1975: 408 n. 11).
KUR Mi-ta-na
[URUG«]ò-/a "'Send men that they may gu[
probably personal and not impersonal in this context (and
[My] words are not heeded [and] they wer
generally in Byblos):
he is taking my towns. Furthermore, he be
[ša-n]i-tam mi-nu nu-kúr-tuA / [UGU!] LUGAL ú-ul lffa-ya-a
is a [do]g and his face is on [the city of B
"[Furthermore, who is hostile [to] the king? Is it not JJaya ?"
22).
Byblos was still in Rib-Haddi's hands; there was no
need to send troops to take it. ^bdi-Ashirta had hardly
made a trip to Mitanni, but he had made overtures to
them, i.e. he was joining their camp. It was he who had
been taking Rib-Haddi's towns, not a 3rd m.pl. anonymous
subject.
EA 91 - The following passage was clarified consider-
ably by Youngblood (1961: 351, 356-358). As Moran had
observed, the first verb is evidently influenced by the
ensuing N stem forms.
[ù a]m-[m]a-qú~ut UGU-ia KIRI6 / [m A.ŠÁ.]MEŠ-ia in4-na-
ka-aš / [ŠE./A/.y]Á-řfl am-ma-ša-ď ù / [ú-ul t]a~di-in4 li-im
KÚ.BABBAR.MEŠ / [ù] 1 me GUŠKIN.MEŠ ù ip-ta-fú-ur /
[iš-]tu mu-fri-ia "[And I have] been attacked, against me; my
orchards [and] my [field]s have been smitten. I have been
plundered of my [grain]. [Will you not] pay one thousand
(shekels) of silver [and] one hundred (shekels) of gold so he will
go away [fr]om me?" (EA 91: 14-19).
EA 92 - The mimmâ in line 21 is probably not the
indefinite pronoun but rather the noun derived from it,
meaning "possessions," "supplies," thus:
ù i-še.Q-mé ù ia-nu-um ^mO^inO-ma / ù i-nu-ma ia-nu^um1
LÚ.MEŠ ti-Ha^ta^ ša a-^a^aO / rà}-rna1 ia-a-ši "But he
heard that there were no supplies and that there were no auxil-
iary troops that came forth to me" (EA 92: 21-23; Rainey 1975:
421).
In line 44 the numeral was evidently intended for
"four" (cf. Moran's remarks, p. 167, n. 11).
EA 93 - The expression ù ni-[d]a-gal / URU means "so
that we can take care of the city" (EA 93:12-13). There
is an unrecognized hybrid infinitive, i-zi-za , in line 12;
read:
mi-ia-mi yi-ma-lik i-zi-za [i]-na pa-ni / ERÍN.MEŠ pí-fá-at
LUGAL be-li-ia "Who would advise to resist the regular troops
of the king, my lord" (EA 94: 12-13).
The adverb adi in line 21 most probably has the mean-
ing of Hebrew cod, so the following rendering:
ANŠE.MEŠ šár-ri / ù ú-ul la-a f}al-qu mi-im-mé / LUGAL a-
di ú-ba-aA-šu-nu / be-lu-šu-nu "Do the asses belong to the king
or not? The king's property may not be lost; their owner may still
search for them" (EA 96:19-21; contra Youngblood 1961: 401;
1962: 26).
The subordinating conjunction inüma should have tem-
poral meaning in the following:
am-mi-ni-mi qa-la-ta / is-tu mu$u-mu-ra i-nu-ma / na-ak-ra -
at-mi l gáb-bi KUR.MEŠ ar-Ja / lA-zi-ri iš-tu / URU Gu-ub-liKl
/ a-di URU Ú-ga-ri-ti "Why is it that you ignore $umur while
the entire land from Byblos as far as Ugarit became hostile
following Aziru?" (EA 98: 3-4).
EA 100 - Again, in line 30, there is a case of adi with
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/ [U
[m] / [ú
ša-ni-tam
i-ba-aš-ši / [UR.G]I7
EA 101 - The interrogative pronoun in line 1 is most íw-w
(EA 101: 1-2; Youngblood 1961: 88-89).
It is often difficult to distinguish between mimma "all,
everything," and forms of its derivative, mimmu (<
mimma^u). The latter is the most likely interpretation in
the following:
ù ka-li mi-im-mi lÌR -A-ši-ir-ta / na-[a]d-nu a-na rDUMU1.MEŠ
ù i-na-na / Tda^-an-nu ù GIŠ.MÁ.MEŠ LÚ.MEŠ mi-ši / la-qú
qa-du mi-im-mi-šu-nu "And they have given all the property of
(Abdi-Ashirta to (his) sons so that now they are strong and they
have even taken over the military ships with their supplies" (EA
105: 25-28).
At the end of line 37 the same term should be supplied:
ni-te9-pu[-u]s / di-[n]a a-na pa-ni ^-[m^-an^ma^ša1 / ù
¡DUMU Pi-jja-a ù a-[n'a p[a-n]i / lIa-an-J}a-mi ù ti-du / [š]u-nu
ki-ti-ia UGU [i mi-im-mi-ia ] "Let us put the case before Amanmašša
and the son of Pihâ and before Yanljamu for they are the ones
who know my due concerning [my property]" (EA 105: 33-37).
EA 106 - The infinitive of purpose dependent on aššum
may also be a component in a non-verbal clause. Here the
whole context is cited to place the example in proper
perspective:
šá-ni-tam li-it-<ri>-i$ a-na be-EN-ia / ù lu-wa-ši-ra 20 ta-pal
ša SIG5-#ií / ANŠE.KUR.RA a-na ÌR-iiw ma-du LÚ.MEŠ / it-ti-
ia aš-šum-ma a-la-ki-ia / a-na nu-kúr-tiME^ LUGAL BE-ia "Fur-
thermore, may it please my lord that he may send twenty teams
of the best horses to his servant; many are the men with me for
my participation in the king's, my lord's, wars" (EA 106: 41-45).
The addition of enclitic -ma to the preposition suggests
that its phrase is the logical predicate (Rainey 1976). The
writer may have wanted to stress that it was to fulfill his
military obligations to the king that he had to, or would
have to, assemble so many men: "It is for fighting the
king's battles that so many men are needed."
EA 108 - Note the fronting of a direct object to make
it the comment of the clause:
a-na-ku ÌR ki-ti-ka / ù a-wa-ta ša-a i-de / ù ša-a eš-te-me aš-
pu-r[u ] / a-na šár-ri "I am your faithful servant and it is the
thing which I have learned and the thing which I have heard that
I write to the king" (EA 108: 22-25).
The nominative adjective must determine the subject in
the following question:
a-na mi-ni ti-lš-mu-na / LÚ.MEŠ ša-nu-tu "Why should other
men hear?" (EA 108: 51-52)
For lines 12-13 we suggest the following rendering:
[URU] A[r-da-]ta a-na ša-šu-nu / [la-qú] šu-nu "[The town of]
A[rda]ta is theirs; they [took] (it)" (EA 109: 12-13).
And for lines 35-37 it is possible to reconstruct:
ù [an-nu-ú] / [š]u-nu ša-ra-qú-ma ù [an-nu-ú] i-de lIa-an-fra-
mu LÚ [uš-šir4] / šár-ru ša-ak-nu i-na . . . "And [behold,] they
are thieves and [behold] Yanliamu knows. As for the man that
the king [sent], they put him in ..." (EA 109: 35-38).
 A New English Translation of the Amarna Letters 115

Lines 44-55 can also be considerably improved: an-nu-ú Lü mešMAŠKÍM šár-ri / yu-wa-ši-ru-na ršár'i-ru ù / ia-
aq-bi šár-ru a-na /
pa-na-nu / da-ga-li-ma / rLLP KXJRMi-i$-ri ù inA-<na>-ab-tu ša-šu-nu / ù tu-pa-ri-šu be-ri-ku-ni "Behold, it
LU[GAL].MEŠ KUR Ki-na-afy-ni iš-tu pa-TnO-šu / is thean-nu-ú
[«] king who actually sends the royal commissioners, so may
the kingKURM-
DUMU.MEŠ !ÌR -A-ši-i[r-ta' / [ti]-da-<ga>-lu-na LÚ.MEŠ speak to them that they should adjudicate between the
two of/you"
i$-ri [ ki-ma ] / [UR.]GIrMEŠ da-mi-iq mu-tu a[-na ia]-ši [ti](EA is-116: 30-33; with Moran 1973: 52).
mu lum-<na> a-na EN -ia ù / [TI.LA] rZ V-Ua1 ka-li DINGIR.MEŠ-
This is clear from the very next statement:
nu / W [dNIN š]a mi3Gub-laKl TI.LA š[um'-ma ] LÚ šum-ma
ša-a yu-ba-
ia-di-nu šár-ru a-na ÍR-šu / ù id-di-in4 ù šum-ma ap-
ú / lum-na a-na [EN-i]w šum-ma du-na du-na-ma / rw1-Z>tf-rM1 a-
pu-rna1-ma / yi-ìl-qe LUGAL gáb-ba a-na ša^šu1 "If the king
na-ku a-na EN-ia "Previously, just seeing an Egyptian,
wouldthe
awardkings
(it) to his servant, then give! Or else, let the king
of Canaan would flee from him, [but] behold, the sons
take of 'Abdi-
(it) all for himself!" (EA 116: 34-36).
Ashifrta] loo<k o>n men of the land of Egypt [as d]ogs. Better
Because of the following passage in EA 113, viz
death for me (than) [that] I should hear ev<il> concerning my
i-nu-ma yu-l[a-mi-nu] / lum-na lum-na-ma a-na ia-[ši] "that he
lord. But as my soul [lives], as all the gods and [the lady o]f
is committing grievous evil against me" (EA 113: 12-13).
Byblos live, i[f] (I am) a man who seeks evil for h[is lord] or if
This passage
only strength do I seek for my lord" (EA 109: 44-55; Moran in EA 116 should evidently be recon-
structed:
1950b: 170b; CAD D: 21b).
lum-na lum-na-ma 'yu-la-mi-nu ] / UGU-ta "[he is committing]
Moran rejects the reconstruction [ti]-da-<ga>-lu-na (p.
grievous evil against me" (EA 116: 41-42).
184 n. 11) and instead he opts for dâlu "to prowl, make
EA 117 - The verb form yuwaššara can be construed as
to prowl." But this is to ignore the infinitive da-ga-li-ma
preterite plus ventive and not necessarily yaqtula volitive
being used finitely in line 44. Unless [ti'-da-<ga>-lu-na
(cf. Rainey 1991-93: 109):
be accepted, the entire contrast being expressed looses all
[ti] aš-ta-pár / a-na É.GAL ù yu-w[a-ša-]ra I >ù yu-wa-ša-ra<
its meaning. The readings in lines 51 and 53 are Moran's
všár*-ru ERÍN.MEŠ / ra-ba ú-ul la-qí lÌR -A-ši-ir-ta / qa-du mi -
(p. 184 n. 14). im-mi-šu ki-ma qa-bi-ia "[and] I wrote to the palace and the king
EA 113 - In line 18 be-ri-ku-[n'i still does refer to "the se[n]t >and he sent< a large army. Was not (Abdi-Ashirta
two of you." Rib-Haddi wants a decision as to whom the captured along with his property, just as I had said?" (EA 117:
property should be given, to Pharaoh or to Yapa(-Haddi. 24-28).
He is disclaiming his own right to get the disputed Once again, mi-im-mi-šu must mean "his property," not
property. In line 27 mi-im-ma-šu refers to "his property," just "everything belonging to him," and the same holds
i.e. the derived noun, not the indefinite pronoun (which for mi-im-me in line 68. In the next passage, the key word
would probably not take a suffix). is sãri "breath, wind," not "treachery" as in Moran's
EA 114 - A correction can be suggested for the follow- translation.
ing lines: ša-ni-tam ú-ul aš-ta-pár a-na šár-ri / a-nu-ma 2 LÚ KURM-/>
GIŠ.MÁ.MEŠ LÚ.MEŠ / URXJ$ur-ri muBe-ru-ta miJ$i-du-na / ri šu-nu / tu-$a-na ša-ri a-na ia-ši / ù la-a a-$a "Furthermore,
gáb-bu i-na Kl3RA-mur-ri šal-mu šu-nu / a-na-ku-mi ""NU"1. KÚR did I not write to the king: 'Now, as for those two Egyptians, my
"As for the ships of the rulers of Tyre, Beirut and Sidon, all are breath will come forth to me? But it did not come" (EA 1 17: 53-
in Amurru, they are safe; I am the one at war" (EA 114: 9-15). 56).
The first sentence has a lengthy extraposition as is often One may suggest a reconstruction of the following:
the case when Rib-Haddi wants to make a contrast: "They ù.la-a / [na-ad-n]a-ta I rš av.-na "But you didn't [giv]e another
(with their ships) are at peace while I am at war." one" (EA 117: 91-92).
A problem in verbal congruence can be solved thus: EA 118 - In line 19, mi-im-mi-ia means "my property."
m a-nu-<ma> i-te9-zi-ib-ši ù / [LÚ.MAŠKÍM ù LÚ.MEŠ] UN- The reference is to the previously discussed legal dispute.
tù / [pa-af-]ru "And no<w> I have abandoned it and [the In line 34, perhaps we should read URU-// "my city." In
commissioner and the men of] the garrison [have de]parted" (EA line 45, the a-na is a simple error for a-mur' which often
114: 30-32). introduces an extraposition. The translation, "As for the
Likewise, some corrections can also be made in the city rulers," derives from the extraposition, not from the
following: particle (cf. Moran's note 5 on p. 196).
a-nu-ma / [PN] DUMU ši-ip-ri-[ia] / [uš]-ši-ir-ti-šu ù aš-ta-ni EA 119 - The following asseveration or oath has the
/ [m]a-ni / UD.KÁM.MEŠ ú-wa-ši-ru-šu / ù la-a yi-le-ú / i-re-ba
stative rather than the precative:
a-na mx}$u-mu-ra ša-ab-tu / ka-li KASKAL.MEŠ a-na ša-a-šu /
i-nu-ma ba-al-tú / LtJMEŠMAŠKÍM ù / a-da-bu-bu ka-li ip-ši-
a-na ««-KÚR ša-a UGU-/a ù UGU / l3RV$u-mu-ra šu-ut i-da-gal
šu-nu "As the commissioners live, I will report all their deeds"
/ 2 ITU a-ši-ib it-ti-ia "Now, as for [PN], [my] emissary, I [s]ent
(EA 119: 21-23).
him repeatedly - how many times did I send him and he was
unable to enter Çumur? All the routes to it have been seized A certain nuancing and modification of clausal relation-
through the hostilities against me and against §umur. He has ships may be suggested for the following:
seen two months while sitting with me" (EA 114: 32-41) [ia-]nu rLÚ1 ša yi-iq-b[i ] / ki-ti-ia a-na pa-ni šár-ri / EN- za ki-
Contrast Moran's remarks on p. 190 n. 6. ti-iayi-du <LUGAL> / yi-du LUGAL ma-ni UD.KÁM.MEŠ f yi-
pu-šu du-um-qa / a-na ia-ši i-nu-ma / ia-nu lib-bi ša-na a-^na1
EA 116 - Once again, the pronominal suffix -kuni
ia-ši / pa-nu-ia-ma a-na a-ra-ad / šár-ri EN-ta "There was [n]o
really should be taken as 2nd m.du. Rib-Haddi is offering
man who had to repo[rt] my loyalty to the king, my lord; he (the
a relinquish claim to the disputed property on behalf of king) knows my loyalty! The king knows how long a time he has
either Pharaoh himself or of his vassal, Yapa^Haddi. done good to me because I have no other intention; it is my

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 116 A. F. Rainey
purpose to serve the king,
of the
tablet does not
In line 47, mi-im-mi surely
posed in the
restoration. Perhaps
position: line by turning upwards along the edge, a not uncommon
ka-li mi-im-mi-<ia> yi-il-qé-šu / sàr-ru EN-/[í] ¡gáb-ba] / a-na
ša^ď-šu "m1 / [ú-nu-te $]í-1)e-ru-ta / ia-di-nu EN-// a-na ÌR-
dI[ŠKUR] "As for all of <my> poperty, may the king, [my] lord
take it [all] for himse[lf], but the [s]mall [objects] my lord may
want to give to ^bdi-Hfaddi]" (EA 119:46-51; Rainey 1975:
400 n. 5).
For line 52, ù an-nu la-a la-qi "But this was not
accepted," we did not take la-qi as an infinitive as Moran
apparently thought (p. 198 n. 7). On the contrary, we took
la-qi as a simple G passive of the suffix conjugation.
EA 120 - In line 34, ti-da-ga-lu pa-na "May they
attend (to her)." My previous suggestion regarding the
reconstruction of line 1 (Rainey 1989-90: 61a) was based
on comparison with lines 40-42 at the end of the text;
other improvements may also be suggested for lines 43-
45:
[ka-li] ú-nu-te ša i[t-ti ] / [lIa-pa]-úlŠY3JR "[All] the moveable
property that is w[ith Yapa^-Haddi" (EA 120:1-2);
a-nu-ma ka-li ú-nu-[t]e / a-na ma-Jja[r] šár-[ri uš]-ši[-ir-]ti /
[i-n]a [lì]b-bi Tfup1-pí [yi-di-in ] / [sàr]-ru a-na ša-a-šu [m] / a-na
EN -ia ú-da-mi-i[q w] / a-na Lütap-pí-ia "Now all the moveable
property [have] I se[nt] to the ki[ng wi]thin a tablet1. [May the
ki]ng [give] (them) to him (Yapa(-Haddi) [and] to my lord I have
behaved wel[l and] to my colleague" (EA 120: 40-45).
EA 129 - Moran has solved most of the problems in
lines 4-10 (on p. 210 nn. 1-5). Only one minor correction
might be suggested, viz tkPl-am-ma at the beginning of
line 9, thus:
ryP'-<ša>-al LUGAL be-[l]i *a'-na DUMU.MEŠ] / iR-^-tf-
ir-t[i i]-nu[-m]a / ki-i lib-bi-^šu^-nu [ti]-rpuv.'[su-na] / [mi]-ia su-
nu UR.MEŠ-1" ka^-b[u ...] / [ i-n]u-[ma ] ti-pu-šu-Tna} a-n[a š a- su-
nu / [k]i'-am-ma ku-mi-ru mi-a[m-ma / KUR.MEŠ LUGAL a-na
UZ[U.M]EŠ qa-[ti-šu-nu ] "May the king, my lord, inq<ui>re
abo[ut the s]on[s] of ^bdi-Ashirtfa, f]or they are do[ing] as they
please. Who are they, the dogs [. ..] that they should do(!) f[or
themselves] thus? They have amassed profperty of] the lands of
the king in [their own] rhand1" (EA 129: 4-10).
The scribe of this letter used some unusual formations
with the infinitive. They are correctly rendered by Moran
but are cited here because they will be of interest to
students of syntax and grammar. Once the object of the
infinitive appears as an accusative pronoun attached to
the governing verb!
[... ù] / muKiBaf-ru-na ir-ti-1j.[a-at a-na ia-si ] / ù ti-ba-ú-na-
ši la-q[a-aÇ?)] "[And] Bafrôna rema[ins to me] and they are
seeking to ta[ke] it" (EA 129: 17-19).
In the next passage, the object of a finitely used infini-
tive is the accusative independent pronoun:
[la]-qé-mi ši-a-ti [ù ^^Gub^-la] / [ti-]il-q[ú]-na "If they
capture it (Bajrôna), [then] they will take [Byblos]" (EA 129: 20-
21).
The infinitive is transcribed here as if it derives from
*laqa*i > *laqê. The direct object is expressed by the
independent 3rd f.s. accusative pronoun, a true rarity in
these texts. The restoration at the end of line 20 is
problematic as Moran has noted (p. 210 n. 11); the width KUR.KUR.MEŠ sàr-ri "May you not ignore Aziru, the slave,
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my
lord"
seem to permit (EA
all the signs pro- 11
is
"property
the scribe finished his
custom.
EA 132 - The verbal form in the following passage is
surely 3rd m.s. G passive of the suffix conjugation:
ú-ti[l] / la-qi lÏR -A - ši-ir-t[a ] / qa-du mi-am-mi-šu "Was not
^bdi-Ashirta taken with his possessions?" (EA 132: 16-18;
Rainey 1975: 400 n. 56).
Moran has made considerable improvements on the
obverse of this text. However, we would suggest one
change in the understanding of line 10 that might clarify
the overall intention:
[uš-ši-ra-]mi [ERÍN.MEŠ] / [a-na URU Gu]b-la ú-u[t] / [yi -
ìl-]qé-si lA-z[i-ru] / a-mur is-tu da-r[i-ti' / la-a i~te9-li-Tyu* / i-na
URU Gub-la DINGIR.M[EŠ] / [i]-na-an-na uš-ši[-ir ] / [l]A-zi-ru
ERÍN.MEŠ a-n[a] / [$a-]ba-ti-iš i-nu-m[a] / [n]a-ad-nu DINGIR-
nu [«] / [a-$]a-ú ù ia-nu [ERÍN.MEŠ] / [i-]na URU a-na da-k[i ]
/ [ÌR] rLÚ1.UR.RI lim-n[i] / [ú-u'l ti-tu-ru-na / [mi-]na i-pu-su-
na [a-na-ku] / [i-]na i-de-ni-ia "[Sen]d [troops to the city of
By]blos les[t] Aziru [sei]ze it. Behold, from time im[memorial]
the go[ds] have not gone away from Byblos. Now Aziru has
sen[t] troops to [se]ize i(t) because the gods have granted [that]
they [should go] out and there are no [troops] [i]n the city to
smit[e the slave,] the evi[l] dog(!). Will they [n]ot return? [Wh]at
can I do [b]y myself?" (EA 134: 1-16).
The verb in line 10, [n]a-ad-nu is taken here as 3rd m.pl.
A number of improvements may be suggested for lines
65-75, mainly in the division of clauses.
a-nu-ma a-na ma-i}ar / lffa-mu-ni-ri i-ba-ša-ti i-nu-ma /
NA.KAR s-ra-at URU.KI.DIDLI URU Bu-ru-zi-lim / NA.KÚR-™
pal-ffa-tu DUMU.MEŠ ÌR -Aš-ra-ti / i-nu-ma al-ka-ti a-na ma-
bar lffa-mu-ni-ri / aš-šum DUMU.MEŠ ÍR-i4-¿wr-tf i-nu-ma I
da-nu UGU-/tf ù i-ia-nu ša-ri / KApí LUGAL a-na ia-si ù qi-bi4 -
ti / a-na be-li-ia a-mur URU Gub-li URU-/«10 ši-na / ma-ad mi-
im-<ma> LUGAL a-na lib-bi-si mar-ši-te LÚ.MEŠ ab-<bu>-
ti-nu "Now, I am with ^mmunlru because the cities are hostile;
against the city of Buruzilim they are hostile, those who fear the
soils of ^bdi-Ashirta. When I went to ^mmunïru, it was
because of the sons of (Abdi- Ashirta, because they were stronger
than I and I don't have the breath of the king. And I said to my
lord, 'Behold, as for the city of Byblos, the city (of those) two,
there is much property of the king in it, property of our
forefathers.'" (EA 137: 65-75).
In line 73, we take the problematic ši-na as a numeral.
EA 138 - In line 131 (also in line 136 as seen by
Moran), mi-nu-um is adverbial, not accusative.
ù mi-nu-um yi-i[q-ta-b]u / lffa-mu-ni-ri / a-di ma-ti i-zi[-za-]ti7
it-ti-šu "And why is ^mmunïra [sa]ying, 'how long have I been
with himr" (EA 138: 131-133).
Another minor change can be proposed for the follow-
ing passage:
ša-ni-tam a-<na> i[a-š]i yu-pa-šu ki-šu-ma ša-a / yi-de-ni
LUGAL be-li "Furthermore, to [m]e has been done thus, whom
the king knows well" (EA 138: 135-136).
EA 139 - A graphic error in line 10 needs to be
corrected. The ME and the BA seen by Knudtzon (and
Bezold) must be an error for ZI; thus
la-a ta-qú-ul a-na A-zi'-ri rÌR1 / ù yi-pu-iš ki-ma ŠA-šu i-na /
 A New English Translation of the Amarna Letters 117

that he has acted as he pleased in the lands of the king"Ú-súKl / a-na

(EA 139:ÍR-šu DUG ' a-ku-ni ' mi-ma / a-na ši-te-šu "The
10-12). king, my lord, wrote concerning the raw glass that is with me; I
EA 140 - The verb in line 5 is imperfect for continued have given (herewith) to the king, my lord, one hundred shekels
worth, so may the king, my lord, give his attention to his servant
action in the past as indicated by the adverbial compli-
and may the city of Usu give to his servant a jug of water for him
ment. This text has iš-ši-ir instead of uš-ši-ir (lines 8, 24,
to drink" (EA 148: 4-13).
28) and occasionally i-na instead of a-na (lines 6, 9, 29).
la-a yi-qú-lu LUGAL EN-i'ö / i-na URU Gub-la GÈME-iw / The LÚ.GÍR found in lines 15, 26, 38 and 44 is surely
the equivalent of ERÍN.MEŠ.GÍR(.MEŠ) of EA 149: 62
URU šár-ri iš-tu da-ri-ti / ša-ni-tam a-na mi-ni iš-ši-ir šár-ru /
i-na lA-zi-ri ù yi-pu-šu / ki-ma Šk-šu "The king, my lord, has (« contra Moran's remarks, p. 235 n. 1). The issue was
not neglected the city of Byblos, his handmaiden, city of the always the furnishing of soldiers. In hne 43, the plural is
king from most ancient times. Furthermore, why did the king intended as demonstrated by the adjective and the demon-
send to Aziru that he should do as he pleases?" (EA 140: 5-10). strative:
EA 141 - In lines 24-30 read li-i-de4 / LUGAL a-na LÚ.GÍR sa-ru-ti [š]u-nu-tas w(!) / i-pu-
ù a->na<-nu-um-ma šu-ši-ra-ku / qa-du ANŠE.KUR.RA.HÁ-
uš KUR LUGAL a-na LÚ.SA.GAZ "May the king be apprised
ia ù / qa-du GIŠ.GIGIR.HÁ-tá ù qa-du f gáb-bi mi-im-mi-iaPk / those evil soldiers since he has handed over the land
concerning
ša i-ba-aš-ša it-ti / ÌR ša LUGAL EN-ia a-na / pa-ni ERÍN.HÁ
of the king to the * apîrû " (EA 148: 43-45).
pí-fá-at ša LUGAL rEN1-<ř'a> "And now I am prepared with EA
my151 - Even Moran seems to misunderstand the
horses and with my chariots and with all my possessionsrequest
which formula in lines 49-51. This is a request for
are at the disposal of a servant of the king, my lord, in antici-
information from Canaan, not on Canaan. That passage
pation of the arrival of the army of the king <my> lord" (EA
has been the kingpin for most arguments on behalf of a
141: 24-30; also EA 142: 25-31).
"greater Canaan" in the Amarna period.
These renderings of mimmîya and ana pânï are typical
LUGAL be-li-ia iš-ta-pár a-na ia[-š]i / ša ta-aš-me iš-tu KUR
usages of these texts from Canaan. Ki-na-cč-na / ù šu-pur a-na ia-ši "The king, my lord has written
EA 142 - Compare lines 28-29 with EA 141: 27toand
me: 'That which you have heard from within Canaan, send to
with 29 discussed above: me'" (EA 151: 49-51)
gáb-bi mi-im-mflk / ša il5-ba-aš-ša it-ti-ia "all the property
The information that follows concerns the land of
that is available to me."
Danuna, the city of Ugarit and the city of Kedesh. Else-
EA 144 - Read tú-ta-ar'(Rl)-ši-na in line 31. where we will demonstrate that neither Danuna nor Ugarit
EA 145 - Moran (p. 231 n. 2) takes the verb in linecan
5 be reckoned as part of Canaan. But the main issue
as a jussive but evidently did not realize that the verbhere
in is the meaning of ištu Kinacna in this passage. There
line 10 is also jussive. This is a version of the standard
could be no doubt that Pharaoh's intention was that
expression concerning the exchange of greetings. Abimilki was located in Canaan and that he was able to
[lu-ú] ti-TP-de i-nu-ma / šal-[m]a-ku it at-ta iš-tu / šul-mi-k[a
obtain many items of news from his Canaanite listening
i]š-tu / ma-bar šár-rí [E]N-z'a / ša-a-ri UZU[K]A ' pi -ka / tú-ti-ra -
post on the island of Tyre. The proof for our contention
an-ni "[May] you be apprised that I am safe and sound, and may
you reply to me concerning your welfare from the presence of
is that the passage in question is an example of a standard
stock expression used by the scribes when requesting or
the king my [lo]rd, the breath of your mouth" (EA 145: 5-10).
EA 147 - The verb in the following passage is not demanding information. The stock expression used in
Pharaoh's
transitive; the clause seems to be a translation of an letters is cited by the local ruler and then the
Egyptian passive relative form: detailed reply is given, e.g.
ša it-ta-$a-ab gáb-bi KUR -ti / i-na pa-ša-iji i-na du-ni ZAG LUGAL
' be-li-ia / i-na fup-pí iš-ta-pár a-na ia-ši / mi-nu-um-
lja-ap-ši "He of whom all the land has become stable being at tni ta-aš-te-me ù šu-pur / a-na LUGAL "The king, my lord,
wrote to me in a letter, 'Whatever you have heard, then write to
peace by the might of (his) arm" (EA 147: 11-12).
the king" (EA 149: 54-57).
Abimilki had received an order to "be in the vanguard"
This is the simplest form. The earliest attested example,
of the Egyptian army which Pharaoh was evidently about
which happens to include an adverbial complement, is
to send forth. Many texts have to do with orders from
from a Taanach letter:
Pharaoh to the city-state rulers to be prepared to march in
ù a-wa-tas rmO-rim1-rma1 / ša ti-iš-mé / iš-tu aš-ra-nu-um / šu-
the vanguard {ana pânï) of the Egyptian army:
up'-ra-am it-<ti>-i[a] "and whatever word that you have heard
i[S-nu-ma / iq-bi LUGAL be-li-ia '' ku-na / a-na pa-nifrom there, send (in writing) to me" (TT 1: 15-18; Rainey 1977:
ERÍN.GAL ù iq-bi / ÍR-¿fa ana be-li-šu ' ' ia-a-ia-ia "When the
41, 43-44).
king, my lord, said, 'Be at the head of the great army!' then the
The expression ištu asrãnum "from there" confirms that
servant said to his lord, 'Yea, yea, yea!'" (EA 147: 35-38; CAD
K: 171b; also EA 202: 9-11). the inquirer is expecting the recipient to report whatever
EA 148 - The N A*me-ku in line 5 is in the nominative information that has come to him there where he is. No

through the influence of i-bá-aš-ši of which it is the outside, specific source of information from some other
subject. The clauses should be divided thus: place is designated. In the following passage from
LUGAL be-li-ia iš-ta-pár / aš-šum ^k*me-ku ša i-bá-aš-ši / it- Zimredda, ruler of Sidon (and rival of Abimilki of Tyre),
ti-ia at-ta-din / a-na LUGAL be-l[i]-ia / 1 me-at KI.LÁ ù / li-it- the expression ištu asrãnum certainly pertains to Sidon as
ta-din LUGAL be-li-ia / pa-ni-šu a-na ÍR-šu / ù li-id-din URU the place where the information has been gathered:
ù i-nu-ma taq-bu / a-na KUR.HÁ A-mur-ri a-wa-at-mi / ti-iš-

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 118 A. F. Rainey

te9-mé iš-tu aš-ra-rnut-rum'<

of actually working for / tú-te-ra-am
the enemy: a-
you saythe concerning
lands
à a-li-ik'{ UK) [E-ta-ka4-ma /ofLÚ URUAmurru,
KUR Qí-in-sà / a-na 'T
have been hearing pa-ni
from there, send
ERÍN.MEŠ KUR Ha-at-ta "and Etakkama, the ruler of the to m
Mangano 1990: 176-177).
city state of Kedesh, went at the head of the Hittite army" (EA
The marker of direct
363: 9-11; also speech,
174: 11-14; 175: 9-11; 176: enclitic
9-11). -
awãtmi, shows that the
There actual
is no reason quote
why the vassal should not offer tofrom
lead the vanas
begins there, the -mi of thea Egyptian
marker army. Other usages of are di
commented
tions in these letters upon herein with regard toto
according EA 141the
(cf. r
Akkadian (though itabove). has other functions
ištu aSrãnum , refersEA 179 - The
to pejorative term sú-ú-ru in line 16
Sidon, notmay be to Am
with the previous
cognatepassage from
to surru "lying" (CAD S: 413a) and also sarru / Taana
same direction. Thesãru / šarru / Sãru (CAD S: 182b-183a; Š: 132b-133a).
widespread use of t
The context, is
sion under discussion with some corrections in addition to those
further of
confirm
Moran, can be rendered thus:
ance in Ugaritic garb:
w . mnm / rgm d ù. tšm(
a-mur-mi . / pní
ŠEŠ-ťa / ša ia-ba-aš-šix(ŠE) . w
a-na URU Tú-bi-fp / . št /
whatever word that
you
Lü sú-ú-ru ù hear there,
yi-la-ku / [a]-na iirpé-šu then put
URU.DIDLI.ÇÁ / LUGAL
(KTU 2, 10: 16-19; Rainey
EN-/Û DINGIR-ía dUTU[-/a ki-ma]1971:
/ [nu]-kùr KUR.MEŠ160-161).
A-mur-
The adverb, ri ■u1 / [ú]-ga-mi-ir LÚ.MEŠ
"there" pníisí[a] a / [i i]-na URU.DIDLI.HÁ
translation
and serves the same function LÚ.MEŠ.
LUGAL EN-for DINGIR-[w] ™UTU-[ia] / a-na inGAZthe Ug
"And behold, my associate who is in (charge of) Tôbi^i is a
the latter in the Akkadian texts. In view
traitor and he is going about to take over the cities of the king,
cited here, my original rendering of
my lord, my god, [my] sun [just as] the territory of Amurru
Kincřna / u šupur[became
ana h]ostile [andiáši
he] has turned really
over the men in the cities is the
Abimilki at Tyre is in Canaan and
of the king, my lord, [m]y god, [my] sun, to the ' apîrû" (EA 179: from
there, he is commanded
14-22). to report what
has come to him.
EA 198 - In line 7 read ka^-bá-fsP-kaA in accordance
EA 152 - The verb i-deA in line 53 is more likely stative with my collation on 27 Jan., 1980.
rather than jussive: EA 207 - According to the traces of the gloss Knudtzon
i-de4 / LUGAL "UTU EN-r/P ša ÌR / [É.GAL]-« ¿-¿»«-LUGAL saw (Knudtzon 1915: 50 n. 1), in line 21, the line can be
"The king, the Sun, my lord, knows that Abimilki is a servant [of read
the palace]" (EA 152: 53-55). [al-na L]Ú.GAZ.MEŠ ' ffa-rpi>-rrfl "[to the] ^apîrû* (EA 207:
EA 162 - Lines 30-33 can best be rendered: 21).
a[-m'u[r' an-nu-ut-ti ša [ů'-la-am-ma-du-ka a-na ša-šu-nu / a- EA 209 - Note that in line 7, the verb fra-di is 3rd m.s.
na lib-bi i-ša-ti a-na na-sà[-fc]í ú-ba-ú-ka ù qa-lu / ù at-tá mi-im-
while the subject is plural, URU.MEŠ a-la-nu-ka.
ma tá-ra-am dan-niš "■"Behold,1 as for those about whom I am
EA 223 - In line 7 read: gáb-bi mi-im-mi "all the goods
informing you, they sought to cast you into the fire but they
were burned; and (still) you love property so very much!" (EA / supplies" since these letters are replies to specific
162: 30-33; Cochavi-Rainey 1988: *25). requests for the assembling of foodstuffs and other sup-
Lines 40-41 can best be rendered as suggested byplies and equipment; mimmi here stands for the noun
derived from mimma.
Na'aman, cited by Moran on p. 251, n. 10, viz
u ti7-i-de9 at-tá fd-i LUGAL la-a ffa-ši-if} / a-na KUR Ki-na- Moran's alternate reading for line 9 (p. 289 n. 2), viz
á'-'i gáb-bá-ša ki-i i-ra-ú-ub "And you know that the king does a-sé TI "the coming forth of the life of ..." is more
not want (to come) to the entire land of Canaan when he isattractive than my former suggestion to read a-fi-ti (Rainey
angry" (EA 162: 40-41; Na'aman 1990: 405). 1975: 422 n. 35). We would update our proposal for this
EA 169 - Note the extraposition in lines 12-15, thus: passage as follows:
lA-zi-ri LÚ.ÍR-fci / i-na aš-ra-nu la tú-wa-aff-fri-ir-šu / ar-ffi- u iiS-nu-ma iš-te-me a-wa-ti7m&-ka / an-nu-tai u a-$í TI dUTU
iš uš-še-ra-aš-šu t ù KUR.MEŠ ša LUGAL EN-nť li-na-a$-$urána(AN) ia-ši / u ki yi-ša-ma afr'-dì-am r/[-w-to5!] / u il5-la-ti-
"As for Aziru, your servant, don't delay him there, send/releaseya ia-sa-at ša-li-rmu'7) "And when I heard these words of yours
him quickly so that he may protect the lands of the king, ourand the coming forth of the life force of the sun god to me and
lord" (EA 169: 12-15). when they were heard, I rejoiced joy[fully(?)] and my exultation
EA 174 - The locution ana páni has more than one sprang forth altogether" (EA 227: 8-13; cf. Rainey 1975: 421-
nuance. My own rendering for the usage in lines 10-14, 422; Na'aman 1990: 403).
viz "at the head of," "in the forefront of' is supported by EA 242 - On the reverse, the signs in Knudtzon's
a statement by Etakkama, the same ruler of Kedesh being autograph suggest that in fact two lines might be squeezed
accused in this text. Etakkama justified his own success together, i.e.
in a recent military action by claiming to Pharaoh that [ . . . ] raP-lu-ú-mi / [URU.DIDLI.ME]Š.KI / [LUGAL E]N-
ilçla-ak / DINGIR.MEŠ-nn-foj ù dUTU-fa/ / a-na pa-ni-ia <ia> / šal-mu u a-na-ku / nu-kúr-tu4 "Behold, [the citie]s [of the
"Your Deity and your Sun went before me" (EA 189: rev. 13-15; king] <my> [lor]d are at peace but I am at war" (EA 242: 14-16).
Greenberg 1955: 43; CAD A/1: 318b). EA 246 - The verb in rev. 6, which Moran's personal
This same Etakkama is accused by neighboring rulers collation confirmed (p. 300 n. 2), is ti7-id-[di]n-na and its

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 A New English Translation of the Amarna Letters 119

subject is the two sons of LabVyu. Is it possible that the

expressed:
verb form is meant to be 3rd m.du.? a-mur lMil-ki-lì ù lTa-gi / ip-šu ša e-pu-šu an-ni-yu / e-nu-ma
EA 248 - The locution gáb-bi mi-im-me is best ren- la-qí-ši URU Ru-bu-rtálK^] "Behold, as for Milkili and Tagu, the
dered "all the property." deed which they did is this: they(!) took it, viz Rubbutu" (EA
289: 11-13).
EA 250 - The energie in line 26 suggests an interroga-
tive clause: The apposition of accusative Rubbuta to the accusative
UiP-la^hP-na-mì a-na mu-ìyi 2 DUMU La-ab-a-ya / ù Lüar-ni suffix is also a syntactical detail worthy of note.
šár-ri a[t]-ta "Will you go out against the two sons of Lab*ayu Lines 21-24 are a key passage for the history of Lab'ayu,
or are you a rebel against the king?" (EA 250: 26-27). the infamous leader who is assumed to be the ruler of
My collation on 28 Jan., 1980 showed that lines 28-29 Shechem. However, there has been a recent suggestion
can be rendered: that Lab*ayu was located at Pehel (Adamthwaite 1992)
ù EGIR -šu a-di' ia-a[š~]p[u-r]a šár-ru EN-ia "and afterwards, and that this Jerusalem passage does not place him at
may the king, my lord, write again!" (EA 250: 28). Shechem. The text is:
At the beginning of hne 55, UD -ma a[ri'-nu-um "This ù lu ni-pu-uš-mi e-nu-ma / xLa-ab-a-ya / ù KUR Ša-ak-mi i-
day," probably adverbial accusative with indeclinable din-nu / a-na LÚ.MEŠ Ha-pi-ri w "Or should we do like Lab'ayu
demonstrative (unless it is adverbial with -wm?) is ren- when he was giving the land of Shakmu to the capîrû men?" (EA
dered by Moran, "Now," but by Campbell (1965: 204) by 289: 21-24).
"These days." The obvious meaning is "At this time." First, it may be objected that KUR Ša-ak-mi does not
EA 251 - Perhaps our previous rendering of lines 7-1 1 correspond to the name Shechem (Hebrew Sakem) which
(Rainey 1989-90: 68b) should be modified: a-nu-ma ki-i-ia- is built on the qitl not the qatl pattern. The point is worth
am / qa-la-ta a-di-mi / yi-il-ma-du šár-ru / be-li-ia a-wa-tas an - considering except that the variation in pattern between
ni-tas "Now, thus you are keeping silent, (saying) The king, my Semitic dialects is well known. For example, there is
lord, is still looking into this matter'" (EA 251: 7-11; contra malk "king" (Sivan 1984: 243) but also milk (Sivan 1984:
CAD A/1: 112b and A/2: 33a). 247) not to mention malik- (Sivan 1984: 243). Therefore,
EA 254 - Note two examples of the noun, mimmû it is not necessarily unusual to find Šakmu rather than
"property" that was derived from the indefinite pronoun, tikmu. The sibilant in the Jerusalem form is what we
mimma.
expect for Semitic /t/ (Moran 1975: 152, 163 n. 51). That
ù aq-ta-bu / pu-ufy-ri-iš-mi / yi-il-te-qú šár-ru / mim-mi-ia ù we have KUR Ša-ak-mi "the land of Shechem" and not
mim-me / lMil-ki-li-lì a-ia-ka-am "And I was saying, The king is
URU Ša-ak-mi "the city of Shechem" is also understand-
taking my property entirely, but where is the property of Milkili?* "
able in this context. The idea is that Lab*ayu gave lands
(EA 254: 24-27; contrast Albright, Mendenhall and Moran 1955:
(estates, farms) to < apîrû who were landless outlaws. That
486a; Campbell 1965: 197).
was his inducement to them; it was obviously his inten-
EA 270 - The particle at the beginning of hne 14 was
tion when he depopulated the towns in the Dothan Valley
most likely [i'-nu-ma, the subordinating conjunction, rather
and the Valley of Jezre'el (EA 250: 42-47). There is no
than the presentation particle [a]-nu-ma as implied by
Moran's "indeed." reason to expect that he would give them the city of
Shechem
yi-de LUGAL be-li / ip-ši ša yi-pu-šu-ni / lIa-an- ha-mu / iš-tu (cf. Adamthwaite 1992: 8-12).
a-$è-ia / [i]š-tu mu-lji LUGAL EN-ta / [i]-nu-ma yu-ba- [ú] / 2 More
li- difficult is the problem of the verb in line 23, i -
din-nu
im KÙ.BABBAR / iš-tu qa-ti-ia "May the king, my lord, be , which everyone except Adamthwaite has taken as
apprised of the things which Yanhamu is doing to me since 3rd
my m.s. Adamthwaite is correct that an identical form in
leaving the presence of the king, my lord, viz [t]hat he
EAis287: 15 is definitely 3rd m.pl. Moran has evidently
demanding two thousand (shekels of) silver from me" (EA taken
270: it as 3rd m.s. imperfect, "when he was giving."
9-16).
There is much in favor of this interpretation. The form ni-
EA 281 - Some corrections are possible, such as the pu-uš-mi, with enclitic -mi9 suggests that 'Abdi-^eba is
reconstruction of line 9, viz
giving a citation, and in direct quotes, the Jerusalem
[i]-n[u-m]a [gáb-Yba^ / UR[U].DIDLI.MEŠ-*a ww-KÚR.MEŠ /
scribe resorts to the West Semitic verbal system of moods
a-na ia-ši "[t]h[a]t [al]l my cities are hostile to me" (EA 28 1 : 9-
and tenses. So i-din-nu could be 3rd m.s. On the other
11).
hand, Adamthwaite's translation of the passage is worthy
And in lines 18-21, thus
of serious consideration:
ù ti-ils'(HE)-qú [URU.MEŠ]-m / ^šár^-ri EN[-iû] / ù p[a]-na-
ia HO-tP / 1 šár-ri EN-ta "and they have taken(!) the [cities] of " 'But (they say) let us act like Lacaya!' So the land of
the king, my lord, and my face is towards the king, my lord" (EA Šakmi they have given to the ( apîrû" (Adamthwaite 1992:
281: 18-21). 4).
EA 287 - In lines 4-5 one may render: The subject of the verb is thus Tagu and Milkilu, who
[a-mur g]áb-<bi> a-wa-ta 5M[EŠ ša šár-ri EN-ia] / [ú-še-]ru-bu- were being discussed in the preceding lines.
ni a-na [ia-ši] "[Behold, as for [a]ll the words [of the king, my This is all well and good, but it does not eliminate the
lord], they have [brou]ght] in to [me]" (EA 287: 4-5). possibility that LabJayu was based at Shechem. Milkilu
EA 289 - Although Moran's rendering is better English and Tagu were by now in league with the sons of Laďayu
style, the extraposition in line 1 1 could be more literally (EA 250: 35-40). It stands to reason that their activities

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 120 A. F. Rainey

Albright, W.
were bound to mean F. and Moran, W. L.
trouble for the Eg
1948 A Re-interpretation
They were involved in a renewal of an Amarna Letter from Byblos
of th
(EA 82). JCS 2: 239-248.
Lab*ayu to form a territorial state or
would dominate the main highways
Aro, J.
(Rainey 1968). 1957 Glossar zu den mittelbabylonischen Briefen. Stör 22.
The chance find of Helsinki:a clay
Suomalaisen cylinder
Kirjallisuuden Kirjapaino Oy.
which bears a cuneiform inscription
partial excerpt from
Artzi, P. a letter sent b
1968 Some
(Horowitz in press) unrecognized Syrian Amarna
might Letters (EA 260,
strengthen A
317, 318). JNES
tention that Lab*ayu was based at Pefce 27: 163-171.
more likely to me that Mut-BaMu, wh
Campbell, E. F.
father (EA 255: 14-21), was the rule
1965 Shechem in the Amarna Archive. Pp. 191-213 in
after Lab*ayu had acquired that town f
Wright, G. E. Shechem : The Biography of a Biblical
after all, two sons of
City. New York. Laďayu. One
Lab^yu's place at Shechem while the ot
Pehel. The evidence from
Cochavi-Rainey, Z. the Amarna
to answer these 1988 The Akkadian Dialect of the Egyptian
questions but ScribesAdam
in the
vote of thanks for 14th-13th Centuries B.C.the
raising E. - Linguisticissues.
Analysis. Doc- H
of EA 289: 21-24 is toral dissertation, Tel Aviv
most Univ. (Hebrew).
likely the c
1990 Egyptian Influence in the Akkadian Texts Written by
EA 292 - The verb in line 50, ip-pa-tá
Egyptian Scribes in the Fourteenth and Thirteenth
to represent a suffix conjugation
Centuries B.C.E. JNES 49: 57-65. N fo
West Semitic form), thus: "People w
Lines 33-35 can be rendered
Greenberg, M. (with Bezo
ù a-na-ku it-ti / ERÍN.MEŠ pí-fá-at
1955 The Hab/pim. AOS 39. New Haven. LUGA
ti-la-ku a-na-ku it[-ti-šu-nu ] "And I am with
the king, [my] lord, where
Hess, R. S. they go I am w
33-36). 1993 Amarna Personal Names. ASOR, Dissertation Series,
EA 318 - For lines 18-22 the following alternative suits 9. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
the context better:
ù atJta} LUGAL GAL / be-li-ia / tu-še-zi-ba-an-ni / ù i-na-ba- Horowitz, W.
a-a[t](?) / a-na LUGAL GAL be-li-[ia] "So may you, great king, In press An Inscribed Clay Cylinder from Amarna Age Beth
my lord, deliver me that I may escape to the great king, my lord" Shean. IEJ.

(EA 318: 18-22; Artzi 1968: 170).

EA 324 - The form [b]e-it-ti in line 15 is surely meant Huehnergard, J.
1989 The Akkadian of Ugarit. Harvard Semitic Monographs
for bufiti "I have searched out" as Moran suggests (p. 34. Atlanta: Scholars Press.
352 n. 2).
EA 325 - Line 15 should be rendered:
Izreèl, Sh.
a-nu-ma šu- ši -ir -ti gàb-bi m[i-i]m-mi "Now I have prepared1985
all The Akkadian Dialect of the Scribes of Amurru in the
the goods" (EA 325: 15). 14th- 13th Centuries B.C. - Linguistic Analysis. Doc-
Moran has a penchant for translating anumma as "in- toral dissertation, Tel Aviv Univ. (Hebrew).
1987 Early Northwest Semitic 3rd pi m Prefix: The Evi-
deed." But it appears over and over in contexts like this
dence of the Amarna Letters. UF 19: 79-90.
present passage where it signifies what is being or has
been done in compliance with a command from the king 1991 Amurru Akkadian: A Linguistic Study. 2 vols. HSS
41. Atlanta, GA.
that had been delivered to the respective vassal. The
emphasis is temporal, "now." The mimmi is surely Knudtzon,
the J. A.
derived noun.
1915 Die El-Amarna-Tafeln. VAB 2. 2 vols. Leipzig: J.C.
Hinrichs.
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