The Non-Standard Ezib Formulas

The ezibs may be divided into two major groups: those which appear in standard form and follow a standard order in all the queries, and those which derive from specific situations and whose wording therefore depends on the contents of the particular query in which they appear. Those ezibs which appear in standard form can easily be restored where necessary. This is not true of the other group, which usually cannot be restored when in broken context, as is often the case. Because such ezibs refer to specific aspects of the query in which they are found, they are usually attested in that particular query only. The dependence of these ezibs on the contents of the queries in which they are embedded is illustrated by the following examples:

1. "Disregard that Mugallu the Melidean [...]," 12:10;
2. "[Disregard that in]side Bit-Hamban [...]," 40:3;
3. "[Disregard that in] their midst either the M[edes or the ......], ibid. 2;
4. "Disregard what (happens) in besieging the city, or [in ...]," 63:17;
5. "Disregard that talk of removing, a word of averting ...," 76:5;
6. "Disregard that [.....] to Trans-Euphrates, to the city Ashkelon ...," 81:14.

Many ezibs in this group are too fragmentary to be intelligible, e.g. 65:15, 87:14ff, 166:12, 226:2, 227:1.

Queries which have a stipulated term may begin with "Disregard what is (i.e. happens) after my stipulated term." This ezib as it stands is evidently incomplete, but seems to refer to the possibility that the occurrence exceeded the stipulated term.[[28]]

Intermediate between these and the standard ezibs are others which occur more than once (three to eight occurrences are attested), and should be considered a group in its own right. They differ from the standard ezibs in that they are attested much less frequently than the latter, and do not occur in a strict order. When they occur in a query, they usually precede the standard ezibs. Their subject-matter is not always easy to elucidate, because we are not familiar with the context to which they refer. Take, for example, 81:19, ezib ša ikrib ili mērešti šibsat il[i u ištari], "Disregard that a votive offering requested by the god, anger of go[d and goddess]." The query in question concerns Esarhaddon's expedition against Ashkelon. Does this ezib refer to a specific votive offering of some special significance made on this occasion, at a local shrine, perhaps, by the king? It brings to mind the episode in the Epic of Keret where that king made a vow to Ašera of Tyre and Sidon on his way to war, one he apparently failed to fulfill, with dire consequences for himself, in the form of a debilitating illness. This ezib occurs also in 199:6 and possibly in 104:4 as well as in an unpublished tamītu (IM 67692:317, cited in CAD M/2 p. 22). Somewhat differently phrased, it occurs also in nos. 196 and 197, although not among the ezib formulas: "Should he (viz. the crown prince Assurbanipal) frequent [the holy places of] his [gods, providing] them with votive gift(s) and the things requested by [gods and goddesses], (so that) [the wrath of god] and goddess [may not befall] him and his father?" (196:10ff). This parallel suggests that the ezib is given in an abbreviated form, and should be understood to read "Disregard what (ever errors are committed while making) the votive offering requested (to soothe) the anger of the gods."

Also in no. 81 there is another interesting ezib (line 15) which can be restored from 115:4 and 126:5 to read, "Disregard that an angry man, or one in distress spoke angrily the words of his report." This ezib is thematically related to ezib 7 (below), where the diviner refers to imperfections in the delivery of his recital.

A difficult ezib occurring in two fragmentary texts, 32:6 and 115:3, can be restored and interpreted with the help of an unpublished tamītu, cited by Aro, CRRAI 14 (1966) 111.[[29]]

The meaning of some other ezibs remains obscure, because we are not certain what they refer to; e.g., ezib ša ina pa-a-ti idabbubū ulū idabbubū, "Disregard what they (i.e., the people present at the site of the extispicy, the temple or palace courtyard?) speak 'with (their) mouths,' or what they think," 5:11, 7:8, 12:9, 45:10, 98:3, 116:8, 119:5, and possibly 107:10. Since we remain ignorant of the circumstances that gave rise to this ezib, the translation remains uncertain.[[30]]

"Disregard that they (may) think about it, and then return and go away (GUR-ma BAR.MEŠ)," 43:17.[[31]] While GUR is written syllabically in 1 8:14 (ú-ta-ru-u-ma), this is not the case with BAR.MEŠ, the reading of which remains uncertain. CAD D 11b reads umaššarū and translates "neglect (it)," but this is not sure. However, if the restoration of 120:4f is correct, it would support the CAD rendering: [ezib ša itti libbišun i-dab-b]u?-bu-ú [utarrūma ú-ma]š-šá-ru; note the identical order of the first ezib in 18:14. "Disregard that they (may) inf[lict a defeat] and plunder the(ir) open country," 43:18, similarly 51:12. This ezib evidently allows for some variation in the order of its parts, e.g. 44:18 and 54:5. All the attested examples of this ezib require restorations.

Other ezibs also appear to have occurred more than once, but not enough of them is preserved for certainty. For example, "Disregard that the messenger [...]," 36:4 and 37:8; "[Disregard that ...] behind the enemy [...]," 67:1 and 87:16; possibly also "Disregard that the heart of the troops [......]," 80:15 and 224:2. Because of their highly fragmentary nature, it is not clear whether these various pairs were truly identical in wording, or whether the identity of their preserved parts is merely accidental.



28 Cf. Klauber PRT, p. xvi.

29 "Disregard that enemies lie in ambush at his right and left and he will be passing through enemy ambushes." For a discussion, see Aro, loc. cit.

30 Cf. CAD D 5a; differently AHw 849a s.v. pātu. Since ina in this ezib is in the available examples regularly spelled with the sign AŠ, not once i-na, reading dil-pa-a-ti or dàl-pa-a-ti "sleepy words" (cf. CAD D s.v. dalpu and diliptu) remains a possibility.

30 On this ezib see also Knudtzon AGS, p. 26; Klauber PRT, p. xv.

Ivan Starr

Ivan Starr, 'The Non-Standard Ezib Formulas', Queries to the Sungod: Divination and Politics in Sargonid Assyria, SAA 4. Original publication: Helsinki, Helsinki University Press, 1990; online contents: SAAo/SAA04 Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2020 [http://oracc.org/saao/saa04/formularyandterminology/nonstandardezibformulas/]

 
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