23.1.7-8
The Birth of the Gracious Gods 23.1.7-8 · Mot-and-Shar with his staffs
A blessing on the royal house, then Death sits down with a staff in each hand.
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7𐎌𐎍𐎎𐎎𐎍𐎋𐎌𐎍𐎎𐎎𐎍𐎋𐎚𐎓𐎗𐎁𐎎𐎆𐎘𐎐𐎐𐎎
8𐎎𐎚𐎆𐎌𐎗𐎊𐎘𐎁𐎁𐎄𐎅𐎃𐎉𐎘𐎋𐎍𐎁𐎄𐎅
as the scribe pressed it into the clay, left to right, a small upright wedge between words
šlm1
𐎌š𐎍l𐎎m1
šalāmu
Peace,
, mlk2
𐎎m𐎍l𐎋k2
malki
O king
! šlm3
𐎌š𐎍l𐎎m3
šalāmu
Peace,
, mlkt4
𐎎m𐎍l𐎋k𐎚t4
malkati
O queen
! ʿrbm5
𐎓ʿ𐎗r𐎁b𐎎m5
ʿārribūma
O enterersthe ones entering
wṯnnm6
𐎆w𐎘ṯ𐎐n𐎐n𐎎m6
wa-ṯanānīma
and guardsand the ṯnn-men
! mt7
𐎎m𐎚t7
Môtu
MotDeath
wšr8
𐎆w𐎌š𐎗r8
wa-šarru
and Sharand ruler
yṯb9
𐎊y𐎘ṯ𐎁b9
yaṯibu
sitshe sits
; bdh10
𐎁b𐎄d𐎅h10
bi-yadihu
in his hand
ḫṭ11
𐎃ḫ𐎉ṭ11
ḫuṭṭu
the staff
ṯkl12
𐎘ṯ𐎋k𐎍l12
ṯuklu
of bereavementchildlessness
, bdh13
𐎁b𐎄d𐎅h13
bi-yadihu
in his hand
Peace, O king! Peace, O queen! O enterers and guards! Mot-and-Shar sits; in his hand the staff of bereavement, in his hand
Peace, O king! Peace, O queen! O enterers and guards! Mot-and-Shar sits; in his hand the staff of bereavement, in his hand
23.1.9-10
The Birth of the Gracious Gods 23.1.9-10 · Death pruned like a vine
The vine dressers turn on Death himself and cut him down like a vine.
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9𐎃𐎉𐎜𐎍𐎎𐎐𐎊𐎇𐎁𐎗𐎐𐎐𐎇𐎁𐎗𐎎𐎂𐎔𐎐
10𐎊𐎕𐎎𐎄𐎐𐎐𐎕𐎎𐎄𐎎𐎂𐎔𐎐𐎊𐎌𐎖𐎍𐎌𐎄𐎎𐎚𐎅
as the scribe pressed it into the clay, left to right, a small upright wedge between words
the staff of widowhood. The pruners of the vine prune him, the binders of the vine bind him; they fell him onto the terraces
A blessing on the king and queen and on the temple staff: the ʿrbm, “those who enter”, and the ṯnnm, a class of guards or soldiers. Then a figure sits down with a staff in each hand: Mot-and-Shar. Mot is Death; Shar may mean “ruler”. One god with a double name is the usual reading, but it is argued.
His two staffs are bereavement, the loss of children, and widowhood, the loss of a husband.