23.1.13-14
The Birth of the Gracious Gods 23.1.13-14 · A kid in milk
The chorus answers with a chant about the gods’ field, then a dish is cooked over the fire.
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13𐎆𐎌𐎄𐎌𐎄𐎛𐎍𐎎𐎌𐎄𐎀𐎘𐎗𐎚𐎆𐎗𐎈𐎎𐎊
14𐎓𐎍𐎛𐎌𐎚𐎌𐎁𐎓𐎄𐎙𐎇𐎗𐎎𐎉𐎁𐎂𐎉𐎁𐎂𐎄𐎁𐎈𐎍𐎁𐎀𐎐𐎐𐎃𐎁𐎃𐎎𐎀𐎚
as the scribe pressed it into the clay, left to right, a small upright wedge between words
w1
𐎆w1
wa
And
šd2
𐎌š𐎄d2
šadū
the field
šd3
𐎌š𐎄d3
šadū
the field
ilm4
𐎛i𐎍l𐎎m4
ʾilīma
of the gods
, šdaṯrt5
𐎌š𐎄d𐎀a𐎘ṯ𐎗r𐎚t5
šadū ʾaṯirati
the field of AthiratAsherah
wrḥmy6
𐎆w𐎗r𐎈ḥ𐎎m𐎊y6
wa-raḥmayu
and Rahmay
. ʿl7
𐎓ʿ𐎍l7
ʿalē
On
išt8
𐎛i𐎌š𐎚t8
ʾišti
the fire
, šbʿd9
𐎌š𐎁b𐎓ʿ𐎄d9
šabʿadi
seven times
, ġzrmṭbg10
𐎙ġ𐎇z𐎗r𐎎m𐎉ṭ𐎁b𐎂g10
ġāziru-ma…
the lads…
ṭb11
𐎉ṭ𐎁b11
ṭābu
good
gd12
𐎂g𐎄d12
ġadyu
a kid
bḥlb13
𐎁b𐎈ḥ𐎍l𐎁b13
bi-ḥalabi
in milk
, annḫbḫmat14
𐎀a𐎐n𐎐n𐎃ḫ𐎁b𐎃ḫ𐎎m𐎀a𐎚t14
ʾannaḫu bi-ḫimʾati
mint in buttermint in curds
. And the field [is] the field of the gods, the field of Athirat and Rahmay. Over the fire, seven times, the lads… a good kid in milk, mint in butter.
And the field [is] the field of the gods, the field of Athirat and Rahmay. Over the fire, seven times, the lads… a good kid in milk, mint in butter.
23.1.15-16
The Birth of the Gracious Gods 23.1.15-16 · Rahmay goes hunting
The rite repeats over a basin, and a goddess goes out to hunt.
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15𐎆𐎓𐎍𐎀𐎂𐎐𐎌𐎁𐎓𐎄𐎎𐎄𐎙𐎘𐎚𐎘𐎚
16𐎚𐎍𐎋𐎎𐎗𐎈𐎎𐎊𐎆𐎚𐎕𐎄
as the scribe pressed it into the clay, left to right, a small upright wedge between words
And over the basin seven times, incense… Rahmay goes off and hunts.
The chorus answers: the field belongs to the gods, to Athirat and to Rahmay. Then a recipe: over the fire, seven times, a kid in milk and mint in butter. The letters around “lads” are muddled on the clay, and some read gd as coriander, not a kid.
If it is a kid in milk, it recalls the Bible’s rule “you shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” (Exodus 23:19). The link is argued: the tablet does not say “its mother’s” milk.