The text KUB 8.3 is the only witness for the word
ašpuzza. From similar texts such as KUB 4.64+ it is likely that its meaning is “eclipse” or “darkening”.
Riemschneider K.K. 2004a: 197 linked it to the word
puš- “to diminish, to darken”, which is contextually correct, but there is no Hittite or Luwian word formation that convincingly explains the way from
puš- to
ašpuzza. It could in theory be a Hurrian word (
Weitenberg J.J.S. 1972a: n. 633), but that idea mainly goes back to groundless phonetic associations with Hurrian
wúú-zu-e and
pu-ú-zu-e (
Kammenhuber A. 1976c: 101), and there is to date no Hurrian root
ašp- that could help explain the word (S. Fischer, personal communication, cf. also the critique by
Koch-Westenholz U. 1993a: 233-234 n. 14). Note also that clearly identifiable Hurrian words are virtually absent from the astrological corpus from Ḫattuša.
Tischler J. 1999a: 699-700, assumes it is a scribal error for
BEpu-uš-za =
mān puszi, admitting, however, that this leaves us with incorrect syntax. If we assume a scribal mistake, I’d rather propose that the frequent repetition of
ḫa-li-ia-aš pu-uš-za or
DUTU-aš pu-uš-za lead to a dittography or misattribution of
aš in the text’s Vorlage or during the copying process. This would also explain why the word is limited to this text.
LÚ-aš with the meaning ‘prince, lord, city ruler’ as opposed to LUGAL appears also in the Akkadian-Hittite liver models (e. g. KBo 25.1 a. 2; KUB 37.223 d. 2). Whether this is due to Assyrian influence that often uses rubû instead of šarru in omen texts is difficult to determine, however.
The term pár-ki-i is attested only here and obscure. CHD/p 160a and EDHIL 636 offer a possible connection to park-, ‘to raise, lift’, but CHD/p 160a rightly concedes: ‘Without context we simply cannot be sure of case (…) or meaning.’ I have unfortunately been unable to find a parallel for the fragmentary context.
Polvani A.M. 1988d: 11-12 assumes this is a stone or mineral named
NA₄aš-ša-a-ra-ia, but the spacing on the tablet clearly implies that
a-ra-i is a separate word. In any case, the context is fragmentary so it is difficult to surmise what this is supposed to mean. The most tempting solution is to assume this is a translation of
ŠÈG NA₄DU or
abnu izannun or an equivalent, “Rain of stones (=hail) will come”. The reading
NA₄-ašš=a also implies that this is part of the protasis, unless the protasis only consisted of
KI.MIN, for which we have no Hittite example. This further complicates things, since hail in lunar omen protases is rare, cf. e. g. Rm.124, eBL edition (https://www.ebl.lmu.de/fragmentarium/Rm.124), accessed 18.05.2024, and the indices in the editions of
Rochberg-Halton F. 1988a and
Verderame 2002a. If it is about hail, the closest parallels are likely the weather omens from Enūma Anu Enlil 46-48, in which hail is amply attested but which do not feature eclipses.
