The Corpus of Hittite Divinatory Texts (HDivT)

Digital Edition and Cultural Historical Analysis

Andrea Trameri (Hrsg.)

Citatio: Andrea Trameri (Hrsg.), hethiter.net/: CTH 186.1 (TRde 2024-08-07)


CTH 186.1

Letter from the King to Pulli, concerning enemies (with piggyback letter from Šanda to Uzzu)

translatio



Abschnitt 1ID=1: Address formula

1ID=1 --

Thus (says) His Majesty:

2ID=2 --

say to Pulli.

Abschnitt 2ID=2: Response: about the ‘troops’

3ID=3 --

Concerning the matter of the ‘troops’ about which you wrote me:1

4ID=4 --

one (group) has left,2

5ID=5 --

and the other one – those3 (men) – is up there.

6ID=6 --

The count4 (of) each (‘troop’)5 that you wrote me,

7ID=7 --

I have heard it.

Abschnitt 3ID=3: Response: about the enemy

8ID=8 --

Concerning the matter of the enemy about which you wrote me:

9ID=9 --

be very much on your guard towards that (particular) enemy

10ID=10 --

until I will complete further oracular inquiries6 here.7

Abschnitt 4ID=4: Additional orders

11ID=11 --

Harvest the crops immediately!

Abschnitt 5ID=5: Piggyback letter

12ID=12 --

Thus (says) Šanda:

13ID=13 --

Say to Uzzū, my dear brother.

14ID=14 --

it is all well with me,

15ID=15 --

may everything be well with my dear brother.

16ID=16 --

May the gods protect you.

17ID=17 --

Read out loud my greetings to Pulli.

18ID=18 --

Furthermore, I will tell8 you as follows:

19ID=19 --

“The tablets of yours which they will bring here,

20ID=20 --

I will read them out loud personally,

21ID=21 --

and I will be also of help to you in every possible way”.

end of tablet

Hoffner H.A. 2009a, 133 suggests ÉRINMEŠ is not to be intended in military sense, but rather to groups of field workers, primarily on the basis of the second part of the letter (obv. 14-15).
Based on the different reading [ku]-na-an, Alp S. 1991b, 153 “[get]ötet hat”; Marizza M. 2009a, 85 “ha ucciso”.
Problematic disagreement between apē (NOM.PL.C) and kuiš (NOM.SG.C). The usage can be best explained as an agreement ad sensum between kuiš … kuiš, with generalizing meaning (“one/some” … “one/some (other)”) and the plurality of people referred to (“those”). Differently, Hoffner H.A. 2009a, 133 takes the form apēya as a local adverb (“there”).
i.e. of the people in question. Verbal noun kappūwar, probably haplology of expected kappūwaūar. Hoffner H.A. – Melchert H.C. 2008a, 1.139; also Hoffner H.A. 2009a, 133 n. 84 and Hoffner H.A. 2010c, 110.
The enclitic =an necessarily refers back to kuiš, namely each of the two groups of people mentioned in the previous lines. In order to solve the problematic agreement, Hoffner suggests an emendation of ⸢na⸣-an as EGIR!-an (Hitt. appan).
With Hoffner H.A. 2009a, it is implied that the oracles concern “(whether and how to proceed against him)”. It should be noted that both katta ariye/a- and arḫa ariye/a- have specific meanings in oracular texts, respectively, along the lines of “to make further oracular inquiries” and “to complete oracular inquiries” (in telic sense).
For the translation of kāša with kuitman in this passage, see Steitler Ch. 2020b, 367.
The actual text on the tablet (me-mi, 2SG.IMP of memai-) would require a double emendation of the previous nam-ma-at-ta in nam-ma-aš!-ši! (as discussed in Hout Th.P.J. van den 2010b, 398-399; “Furthermore, tell him! as follows: …”). For this reason, emendation of the verb as te!-mi (1SG.PRS of te-) seems necessary.
Editio ultima: Traductionis 2024-08-07