On the Present Edition

This volume is essentially a critical edition of the Neo-Assyrian prophecy corpus in the customary SAA style. Because of the exceptional importance of the texts, the introduction and critical apparatus have, however, been considerably expanded over what has been the norm in the previous volumes of the series. It must be stressed that while the introduction deals with questions of fundamental importance to the understanding of ANE prophecy and Assyrian religion, this volume is not a comprehensive study of Assyrian religion, nor is it presented as a "final word" on the matters treated.

The introduction deals partly with questions that are concretely related to the prophecy corpus, such as the identity of the prophets, the structure of the texts, or the date and historical context of the individual oracles, and partly with questions relating to the nature of Assyrian prophecy, which are approached holistically in the light of both contemporary Assyrian and diachronic comparative evidence. As noted above (p. XVI), the issues tackled are extremely complex and would actually require several volumes, not a brief introduction, to be properly treated. This made it necessary to refrain from lengthy discussion of specific issues in the introduction itself and to relegate all such discussion to the note apparatus instead.

The introduction and notes thus complement and support each other, and should ideally be read together. The general reader can, however, gladly ignore the notes, even though he will then miss the more detailed and nuanced argumentation and the documentary evidence presented in them. It should be noted that many of the notes contain extensive detailed discussions not only tied to the text but to other notes as well, thus making up a complex network of background information essential to the understanding of the overall discussion. Such interrelated notes are systematically cross-referenced throughout the note apparatus, and both the introduction and the notes are fully indexed.

The present volume contains all currently known Neo-Assyrian prophetic oracles included in the extant oracle collections and reports, as detailed above (p. LIIIff). Prophecies quoted in part, paraphrased or referred to in contemporary letters and royal inscriptions have not been included. Such quotations and references are collected and analyzed by Martti Nissinen in a separate study published in the SAAS series as a companion to the present volume. In addition to texts certainly identifiable as collections or reports, two fragments of uncertain classification (nos. 10 and 11) have also been included for the sake of completeness. No. 10 would by its content qualify for an oracle report but does not have the horizontal format of reports and hence probably is a letter quoting an oracle. No. 11 is almost certainly a letter reporting, besides an oracle, also a vision (diglu).

On the other hand, four texts included in an earlier version of this edition (ABL 1249, ABL 1369, CT 53 4 13 and ABRT I 5f) have been excluded as deemed impertinent for a variety of reasons.

ABL 1249 is a letter from the priest Aššur-hamatia reporting a theophany; although it shares some features with the oracles of the corpus, it cannot be regarded as oral prophecy (see above, pp. XXXV and XL Vlf) and accordingly does not belong in the present volume. ABL 1369 is a divine message to the king in the first person singular; although it would qualify as an oracle report due to its horizontal format, it is called a "dispatch" (šipirtu) in the text itself and therefore belongs to the category of divine letters edited in SAA 3. CT 53 4 13 is a fragmentary communication from a votary of Ištar of Arbela to the king; despite its affinities with no. 1. 7, it is also explicitly defined as a "dispatch" in the text and accordingly is not a prophetic oracle.

These three texts will be edited along with other letters of Assyrian and Babylonian priests in a forthcoming SAA volume by Steven Cole and Peter Machinist. ABRT I 5f, Aššurbanipal's dialogue with NabO, which shares many features with the oracles of the corpus but cannot be regarded as a specimen of oral prophecy, was edited by Alasdair Livingstone in SAA 3.

The texts are divided by their form and function into two major groups, oracle collections and reports. The collections, most of which predate the reports, are presented first. Within these two major groups, the individual texts are, as far as possible, arranged in chronological sequence. The order of the collections has been determined on the basis of the dates of the individual oracles and the mutual affinities of the texts, ignoring their actual dates of compilation, which cannot be determined with certainty. Thus Collection 1, which is the longest text in the corpus and contains the earliest oracles, is presented first; it is followed by Collection 2, which shares a number of features with it but is shorter and contains later oracles, and this again by Collection 3, which is of a different type and likewise contains oracles later than those in Collection 1. This order probably does not reflect the actual chronological order of the tablets themselves, according to which Collection 3 should have been presented first, followed by Collections 2 and 1 (see p. LXIXf).

The transliterations, addressed to the specialist, render the text of the originals in roman characters according to standard Assyriological conven- tions and the principles outlined in the Editorial Manual. Every effort has been taken to make them as accurate as possible. All the texts edited have been collated by the editor, most of them several times.

Results of collation are indicated with exclamation marks. Single exclamation marks indicate corrections to published copies, double exclamation marks, scribal errors. Question marks indicate uncertain or questionable readings. Broken portions of the text and all restorations are enclosed within square brackets. Parentheses enclose items omitted by the ancient scribes.

The translations seek to render the meaning and tenor of the texts as accurately as possible in readable, contemporary English. In the interest of clarity, the line structure of the originals has not been retained in the translation, but the text has been rearranged into logically coherent paragraphs where possible.

Uncertain or conjectural translations are indicated by italics. Interpretative additions to the translation are enclosed within parentheses. All restorations are enclosed within square brackets. Untranslatable passages are represented by dots.

Month names are rendered by their Hebrew equivalents, followed by a Roman numeral (in parentheses) indicating the place of the month within the lunar year. Personal, divine and geographical names are rendered by English or biblical equivalents if a well-established equivalent exists (e.g., Esarhaddon, Nineveh); otherwise, they are given in transcription with length marks deleted. The rendering of professions is a compromise between the use of accurate but impractical Assyrian terms and inaccurate but practical modern or classical equivalents.

The primary purpose of the critical apparatus is to support the readings and translations contained in the edition, and as in the previous volumes, it largely consists of references to collations, scribal mistakes corrected in the transliteration, alternative interpretations of ambiguous passages, and parallels available for restoring broken passages. Conjectural restorations are explained only if their conjectural nature is not apparent from italics in the translation. References to published photographs and copies are given at the beginning of each text, and different interpretations found in earlier editions and translations are commented upon whenever necessary. Collations given in copy at the end of the volume are referred to briefly as "see coll. "

In addition, the critical apparatus also contains information more directly relevant to the study and interpretation of the texts, such as discussions of difficult passages, grammatical or lexical problems, or references to discussions in the introduction and notes. Biblical parallels and parallels to individ- ual oracles found in the corpus itself are systematically noted.

The glossary and indices, electronically generated, follow the pattern of the previous volumes. The glossary contains all lexically identifiable words occurring in the texts with the exception of suffixless numbers 1-99. Not that in contrast to the two basic dictionaries, verbal adjectives are for technical reasons listed under the corresponding verbs, with appropriate cross-references.

Simo Parpola

Simo Parpola, 'On the Present Edition', Assyrian Prophecies, SAA 9. Original publication: Helsinki, Helsinki University Press, 1997; online contents: SAAo/SAA09 Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2021 [http://oracc.org/saao/saa09/onthepresentedition/]