A STUDY OF WOMEN'S THEOPHORIC PERSONAL NAMES IN THE OLD BABYLONIAN TEXTS FROM MART
Ichiro NAKATA*
An analysis of women's theophoric personal names in the Old Babylonian Mani texts shows that they favored a group of deities and name types different from those of men. Of course, they shared common features with those of men, but the differences are striking.
1. Preliminary Remarks
The scope of this study is limited to the theophoric personal names culled from the personal names indexed in Archives Royales de Magi (hereafter ARM) XVI/1 (1979), XXI (1983), XXII (1983), XXIII (1984), XXIV (1985), XXV (1986), XXVI/1-2 (1988) and XXVII (1993). For con- venience's sake, we call the collection of these personal names our "corpus" in this study. We acknowledge our great indebtedness to the respective editors of these volumes.(1) We assume that the popularity of a deity among the men or the women in an area was reflected in the frequency of the deity's appearance in personal names of men or of women in the area,(2) though we still do not know the exact mechanism of choosing a deity for a theophoric personal name. The best way to measure the popularity of a deity would thus be to count the number of the individuals in whose names that particular deity appears. However, since it is often difficult to differentiate among individuals of the same name, we have to be content with second best, namely counting the number of different name types in which that particular deity is invoked. The piety and concerns of men and women of the world of Mani texts are reflected, we believe, in their name types.(3) It would be ideal if the popularity of a particular name type could be based on the calculation that each name type is found in the names of so many different individuals, but, again, this is not always possible because of the reason given above. We
* Professor, Chuo University, Tokyo.
234 ORIENT A STUDY OF WOMEN'S THEOPHORIC PERSONAL NAMES IN THE OLD BABYLONIAN TEXTS...... therefore would like to take recourse to the concept of "productivity" of a name type.(4) The productivity of a name type is based on the number of the different deities that are invoked in that particular name type. In the following we would like to limit our discussions to the name types that appear with more than three different deities in the women's personal names of our corpus. Although this is a case study of women's theophoric personal names found in just the Old Babylonian Mani texts, it should be noted that some of the findings of this study will also hold true in the broader world of Mesopotamia during the Old Babylonian period. For the sake of brevity, only one textual reference will be given for each of the personal names mentioned in this study.
2. Deities Popularly Invoked in Women's Personal Names
The two most popular deities appearing in women's theophoric personal names are Annu (f[emale]) and Estar (f). Annu appears in forty-eight differ- ent name types,(5) while Estar appears in forty-one.(6) Etar is a well-known goddess of love and war(7) and, jointly with Ishara, seems to have been associated with marriage and midwifery in the Mesopotamian tradition.(8) However, Annu is still a deity of unknown nature, though there now seems to be a consensus among scholars about her sex.(9) Annu appears almost exclusively in women's names, while Estar is popularly invoked in men's names as well. The third most popular deity is the goddess Ishara, who is invoked in twenty-two different women's name types.(10) Ishara is known by various epithets,(11) but her popularity in the women's names of the Mani texts may be ascribed to her association with marriage and midwifery reflected in such literary texts as Atra-hasis I 301-304, an Old Babylonian version of Gilgamesh Epic(12) and an Old Akkadian incantation involving Ir'emum, "(personified) love-magic," which is to be recited in the names of manna/
Estar and Ishara.(13) Then come a group of three deities, namely Mamma (f), Admu (f) and Kakka (f). Mamma, who is spelled either dma-ma or dma-am-ma in the Mani personal names,(14) appears in sixteen different women's name types.(15) This Mamma should most probably be equated with the divine midwife, dma-mi/dma-
Vol. XXX-XXXI 1995 235 ma(16) in Atra-hasis, 1193 and 246. Admu appears in fifteen different name types for women.(17) However, Admu's appearance in the Mari texts is limited to personal names except in one offering list (T. 142)(18) dated to the sakkanakku period and is very rarely attested elsewhere. Not much can be said about the nature of the deity apart from her sex. Among the various suggestions regarding her nature,(19) we note with special interest W. G. Lambert's comment, based on the lexical text, AN=Anum vi 13, that Admu is a spouse of Nergal, a Netherworld god.(20) The view that Admu is a female deity can further be supported by her appearances in such personal names as Admu-ummi ("Admu is my mother"), Admu-halsa ("Admu is the fortress [feminine]") and Admu-isha ("Admu is the help [feminine]"). Kakka is invoked in fifteen different name types for women.(21) In the Old Babylonian period Kakka rarely appears outside the world of the Mari texts. Even in the Mani texts the deity's appearance is limited to personal names. We think that Kakka is also a female deity because of the deity's "equation" with such goddesses as Ninkarrak (CT 25, 3:55)(22) and Ninsubur
(CT 24, 20:21).(23) This is further strengthened by Kakka's appearances in such personal names as Kakka-asiya ("Kakka is the〔female〕physician") and Kakka-isha ("Kakka is the help [feminine]").(24) The use of himtu employed with Kakka to form a personal name sheds some light on another aspect of the deity, because himtu ("glowing of fire/fever") is used, in Mani personal names of our corpus, only with Irra, Malik, Samas and Addu, the first two of which are associated with the Netherworld.(25) Next to these six deities in popularity come another group of five, namely Aya (f), Dagan, Samas, Tabubu (f), and Ea. Tabubu aside, all the deities are well-known members of the Babylonian pantheon. Aya, spelled da-a, da-ia or a-ia, is the divine consort of Samas and appears in ten different women's name types.(26) It is quite possible that Aya may be hidden in some of the names in which Ea, which can be pronounced 'a-a, is in- voked.(27) Dagan, the supreme deity of the Middle Euphrates region, appears in ten different women's name types(28) Samas, the solar deity of justice, also appears in ten different name types for women.(29) About Tabubu not much is known, but names such as Tabubu-bahla ("Tabubu is the lady"), Tabubu-lamassi ("Tabubu is my female guardian angel"), Tabubu-sarra ("Tabubu is the queen") and Tabubu-ummi ("Tabubu is my mother") show
236 ORIENT A STUDY OF WOMEN'S THEOPHORIC PERSONAL NAMES IN THE OLD BABYLONIAN TEXTS......
that Tabubu is a female deity. Tabubu is invoked in nine different name types for women.(30) Ea, the god of wisdom, is invoked in eight different name types for women.(31) This group of five deities are in turn followed by three other deities, Nan(n)a (f), Nunu (f?) and Sin. Nan(n)a, variously spelled na-an-na (cf. Si- na-an-na in ARM 13, 1 i 19), na-na (cf. ma-at-qu-na-na in RA 65, p. 60, B iii
33), dn[a-a]n-ni (A. Parrot〔ed.〕, Studia Mariana, Leiden, 1950, p. 43) and dna-ni (ARM 7, 43, 2), probably appears in six different name types for women.(32) The exclusive appearance of this deity in the women's personal names including Nanni-sarra ("Nanni is the queen") shows that deity is feminine, as was suggested by J. J. M. Roberts.(33) Nunu, always spelled dnu-nu in the Mani texts, appears in six different women's name types.(34) This divine name is known in Mani and elsewhere but only through its appearances in personal names.(35) A view was expressed by J. J. M. Roberts that this deity is a deification of the power of the fish of the sweet-water lagoons, but this view still has to be confirmed.(36) Judging from the deity's popularity in women's names, though her popularity is not limited to women's names, and her appearance in,the name-type D[ivine]N[ame](f)-usri ("Watch〔me〕, O DN
〔f〕"),(37) Nunu is probably a female deity. Sin is also invoked in six different women's name types.(38) For the remaining deities, thirty-five in all, that appear in the women's personal names, see Chart 1.
3. Comparison of the Deities Popular in Women's Personal Names with Those Popular in Men's
First, women's theophoric personal names in the Mani texts show a clear preference for female deities. This confirms the earlier observations made by A. T. Clay(39) and J. J. Stamm on Akkadian personal names in general.(40) Of forty-nine deities appearing in women's personal names twenty-six (53.1%) are female deities, while of one hundred sixteen deities appearing in the men's personal names twenty-seven (23.3%) are female (See Chart 2). If we limit the comparison to the six to eight most popular deities appearing in the names of each sex, the contrast is even more striking. The six most popular deities in the women's names are all female in a sharp contrast to the dominance of male deities in the eight most popular deities in the men's names. Only Estar, the sixth in popularity in the men's names, is female.
Vol. XXX-XXXI 1995 237 Second, the types of the most popular deities in the women's personal names are naturally quite different from those of the most popular deities in the men's. Of the five most popular deities in the men's names, four are well-known members of the Mesopotamian pantheon. Addu (Adad) and Dagan were regional supreme deities and received due attention in the official cults in their respective regions of dominance.(41) Samas, a solar deity, and Sin, a lunar deity, are also attested in the cultic contexts in the Mani texts, though Sama is clearly the more important one in Mari.(42) Only El/Il, whose name is normally written AN, is known in Mesopotamia (Mani included, of course) only through his appearances in the names. Next in popularity are Estar, Lim and Ea. Estar is the exceptional goddess that enjoyed strong popularity both in women's names and men's names probably because of her dual personality as goddess of love and war. Ea is a well known deity of wisdom in Mesopotamia and, if put together with its Sumerian counterpart, Enki, represents one of the oldest members of the Mesopotamian pantheon. Lim, on the other hand, is a new Amorite deity of unknown nature and even in Mani known only through its appearance in men's personal names. Of the six female deities who top the popularity list of the deities appearing in the women's names, however, three (Annu, Admu and Kakka) are totally or almost totally unknown in Mani and elsewhere, except through their appearances in women's personal names. Of the other three, only Estar is well known, and the remaining two, namely, Ishara and Mamma, are not so well known. However, all three of them seem to be associated one way or other with marriage and child-birth. It should be noted here in advance that five of the most popular female deities appearing in women's names are said to have been "the (female) physician" in DN-asiya, a name type very popular among the women. However, there are deities that were very popular both in women's and men's personal names such as Dagan, Samas and Ea. Kakka (f), Mamma (f), Nunu (f) and Sin also appear fairly frequently both in women's names and men's names. In this respect the personal names of men and women shared something in common.(43)
4. Productive Name Types for Women
DN-ummi ("DN is my mother") is the most productive women's name
238 ORIENT A STUDY OF WOMEN'S THEOPHORIC PERSONAL NAMES IN THE OLD BABYLONIAN TEXTS...... type in our corpus and appears in combination with fifteen different deities, all female.(44) Its reversal, ummi-DN ("DN is my mother") is also known but much less productive as a name type.(45) This pair corresponds to another pair, Abi-DN ("My father is DN") and DN-abi ("DN is my father"), which are among the most productive men's name types in our corpus. Altogether, sixteen different divine names (if Diri is considered to be an abridged name of Diritum), naturally all female, appear in either ummi-DN or DN-ummi. The intimate sense of trust on a deity is expressed by this name type.(46) The next most productive female name type is an Amorite DN-neri ("DN is my light"). This name type is used exclusively by women. Twelve different deities, mostly female, are invoked in this name type.(47) DN-nuri/- numri, its Akkadian equivalent, is also found exclusively in the women's names of our corpus, but the deities appearing in DN-nuri are male.(48) Mention may also be made of another name type, which appears exclusively in the women's names, DN-samsi ("DN is my sun"). Two female and two male deities are invoked in this name type.(49) The strong yearning among the Mesopotamians for light seems to be reflected in these name types.(50) The third most productive women's name type is DN-lamassi ("DN is my guardian angel"). The name type is written either DN-dLAMMA or DN-la- ma-si and appears exclusively in the women's names. It appears in combination with seven female deities and two male deities.(51) The reversal, lamassi-DN ("My guardian angel is DN"), does exist, but appears only in the woman's name lamassi-Assur (ARM 10, 2, 3). Mention may also be made of a variant of DN-lamassi, namely, DN-lamassasa ("DN is her guardian angel").(52) Altoge- ther, ten deities, mostly female, appear in DN-lamassi including its reversal and variant. In a sharp contrast to the fact that the name type ili-DN ("My god is DN") is a highly productive one for men,(53) it does not appear at all in women's names.(54) Its reversal, DN-ili ("DN is my god"), does appear in women's names, but with only three different deities.(55) The name type, ili-DN, is formulated in such a way that every time a name of this type is pronounced, the identity of the personal deity of its bearer is made known. Unless we presuppose that the woman in Mesopotamia did not have or rarely had a personal deity, it is difficult to explain why the name type ili-DN or its reversal, which one would expect to be the choice for women
Vol. XXX-XXXI 1995 239 of the world of the Mani texts, was not productive.(56) One explanation might be that a highly productive feminine name type, DN-lamassi ("DN is my guardian angel"), served the same purpose of confessing the personal deity of the female name-bearer. Though trailing somewhat behind the three name types already discussed, DN-basti ("DN is my dignity")(57) is very productive and seems to appear only in women's names in our corpus, though this does not apply elsewhere. Seven deities, male and female, are invoked in this name type.(58) Though less productive than DN-basti, mention may be made of DN-napisti and its Amorite correspondant DN-napsi ("DN is my life"). Three deities appear in either of the two name types.(59) These name types are found in the women's names, but Samas-napisti can also be a man's name. DN-simhi ("DN is my joy") is just as productive as DN-basti and is exclusively a women's name type. Seven different deities, all female, appear in this name type.(60) There is an Amorite name type in the reversed order, namely simhi-DN, but this name type seems to be for men's names and is not very productive. Though slightly less productive than DN-simhi, DN-nahmi ("DN is my pleasure") may be mentioned here. Four deities appear in the women's names of this type.(61) On the other hand its reversal with a slight variation, nuhmi-DN is found mostly in the men's names. Firm trust in a deity is expressed through such name types as DN- tukulti ("DN is my turst") and DN-duri ("DN is my fortress"). Five deities, of which four are female, are invoked in the former,(62) While three, male and female, appear in the latter.(63) Although DN-duyi is a women's name type, DN-tukulti is found in men's as well as women's names. Deities were sought for their counsels and companionship. Three deities, all female, appear in DN-milki ("DN is my counsel"),(64) while four female deities are invoked in either DN-tappi ("DN is my companion") or tappi-DN ("My companion is DN").(65) However, DN-tappi and its reversal also served as men's name types, when the divine name was male. The productive name types so far taken up are all personal statements about specific deities put into the mouth of baby girls probably by their mothers.(66) However, there are another group of name types which make a general, as opposed to a personal, statement about a deity.(67) Of the two groups of name types, those that make a personal statement is the one favored in the women's names in our corpus, but we do find fairly
240 ORIENT A STUDY OF WOMEN'S THEOPHORIC PERSONAL NAMES IN THE OLD BABYLONIAN TEXTS...... productive name types in the other group as well.
DN-asiya ("DN is the〔female〕physician") is one such name type and is found, in our corpus, only in women's names. asiya is a feminine form of asu,(68) a term for a medical practitioner. Five specific female deities, who happen to be among the six most popular deities appearing in the women's personal names, are invoked in this name type.(69) Since the meaning of the term is rather specific and since the art of the physician in the divine world is associated only with a limited number of deities such as Gula, her son/daughter Damu and Marduk, it is difficult to explain why these five goddesses are invoked in this name type and why this particular name type is rather productive for women. Our scholarly guess is that the goddesses that are invoked in this name type may have had something to do not only with birth but also with child rearing and that the concerns of a mother or her female kin for the health of a baby girl might have found their expression in this particular name type. DN-sarra(t) ("DN is the queen") is another such name type and found only in women's names. Six female deities are invoked in this name type.(70) The musculine counterpart of this name type, DN-sar (written: DN-LUGAL) and its reversal, sarrum-DN (written: LUGAL-DN) are also known. Similar to DN-sarra(t) in meaning is the name type DN-bahla ("DN is the lady"). Four female deities appear in this name type.(71) The benevolent natures of deities are variously acknowledged in name types of a general statement. DN-isha ("DN is the help") appears with four female deities in the women's names in our corpus.(72) There is no reason, of course, why men should be slow to acknowledge the same divine help. In fact, the divine help of fourteen male deities is acknowledged in a personal way in the men's names of the type, ishi(ma)-DN ("DN is my help"),(73) Divine grace is acknowledged in two women's name types, DN-dumgi ("DN is my grace") and DN-damga ("DN is gracious"). Three deities, male and female, appear in the former,(74) while only female deities are invoked in the latter.(75) Both of these name types are found mostly in women's names. DN-gamilat ("DN is a savior") appears with three different female deities in the women's names of our corpus.(76) The brilliance of deities is the theme of DN-ipha/yapha ("DN is brilliant"), a name type for women, though this theme is not limited to the women's names.(77) Three female deities appear in this name type.(78)
Vol. XXX-XXXI 1995 241 Another very productive name type in women's names is DN-nada/nadi ("Praise DN!"). nada is an imperative plural of nadu ("to praise"), while nadi is a feminine imperative singular.(79) DN-nadi seems to be a women's name type, but DN-nada does not seem to be limited to women. Four deities appear in women's names of DN-nada type,(80) while two deities appear in women's names of DN-nadi type.(81) DN-nada/nadi is probably an exceptional name type in our corpus in that it exhorts the family or community members of the name-bearer (DN-nada) or the name-bearer herself (DN-nadi) to praise the deity invoked in the name. DN-hasni ("Embrace, O DN")(82) and DN-remenni ("Have mercy on me, O DN"), on the other hand, are pleas directed toward a female deity. Five female deities appear in DN-hasni,(83) while three female deities appear in DN-remenni.(84) Unlike the men of the Mani world, not many women seemed to confess their sense of belonging to a specific deity in a subservient manner. amat- DN ("Maid servant of DN") appears with only three deities, all male.(85) Before ending this paper, mention has to be made of the name types that are called Danknamen, some of which are among the most productive name types for men.(86) In the women's names of our corpus, however, Danknamen(87) are not very common. There are only three Danknamen that appear with more than three different deities: tabni-DN, tal'e-DN and taris-
DN. Of these three, only tabni-DN ("DN created 〔a daughter〕")and its reversal DN-tabni can be regarded without any doubt as a Dankname for a baby girl. Four deities are invoked in this name type.(88) If tal'e-DN ("DN prevailed") is connected in any way with an occasion of the birth of a baby girl, it may have been a reflection of the mother's thanksgiving for the safe delivery of a baby or for her vindication after a long period of barrenness. Three female deities appear in this name type.(89) taris-DN is difficult to translate. One translation would be: "DN rejoiced (possibly over the childbirth)" but the name type can also be translated as "DN caused (some one) to rejoice (possibly at the birth of a baby girl)." Three female deities appear in this name type.(90) If we can interpret the women's name type simat-DN ("Destiny of DN") and its Amorite equivalent simat-DN in the light of isim-DN ("DN destined"), as a Dankname for the divine destination of a baby birth, as Stamm suggests with some hesitation,(91) simat-DN may also be regarded as an expression of thanksgiving for the birth of a baby girl. Two male and one
242 ORIENT A STUDY OF WOMEN'S THEOPHORIC PERSONAL NAMES IN THE OLD BABYLONIAN TEXTS...... female deities appear in simat-DN,(92) while one female deity, Nunu, appears in simat-DN.(93)
5. Concluding Remarks
The difference between men's theophoric personal names and women's is most striking in their choice of deities. The women's theophoric personal names show a clear preference for female deities, most of whom are not well attested or not attested at all in the cultic context. Of course, there are well-known deities, such as Dagan, Estar, Samas and Ea, that appear frequently in women's names as well as in men's, but the difference is nevertheless impressive. The productiveness of certain name types, which are exclusively for women such as DN-ummi, DN-sarra(t), DN-bahla(t) and DN-lamassi, is a natural consequence of the popularity of female deities in the women's theophoric personal names and should not be overemphasized. In fact, the ideas expressed in these name types also find their expressions in the corresponding men's name types such as abi-DN ("DN is my father"), sar/ sarrum-DN (written: LUGAL-DN) ("DN is the king") and bahli-DN ("DN is my lord"). However, other productive name types for women such as DN-basti, DN-napisti/napsi, DN-asiya, DN-neri and DN-simhi among others may reflect some of the concerns of the name-givers, namely the mothers or female members of their kin. We have noted that DN-bahla(t) is fairly productive name type for women, but its collorary of a sort, amat-DN("Maid of DN"), is not productive in the women's personal names, in a sharp contrast with the productiveness of the men's name type abdi-/habdi-DN ("Servant of DN"). Is the poor showing of Danknamen for a baby girl in the women's personal names a reflection of the low estimate of girls in the society? Probably so. But, at the same time, I cannot refrain from thinking that when a baby girl was born, it was often left to the mother or female members of her kin to give a name to the baby girl and that the choice of name type and deity therefore reflected the tradition of the women and their prime concerns over the safe delivery of a baby and her welfare in future rather than for acquiring progeny for the continuation of the family.
Vol. XXX-XXXI 1995 243 Notes
(1) The editors of ARM XVI/1 and ARM XXI-XXVII are as follows. ARM XVI/ 1: M. Birot, J.-R. Kupper and O. Rouault; ARM XXI: J.-M. Durand; ARM XXII: J.-R. Kupper; ARM XXIII: G. Bardet, F. Joannes, B. Lafont, D. Soubeyran and P. Villard; ARM XXIV: Ph. Talon; ARM XXV: H. Limet; ARM XXVI/1 (=Archives epistolaires de Mani I/1): J. -M. Durand; ARM XXVI/2(=Archives epistolaires de Mani I/2): D. Charpin, F. Joannes, S. Lackenbacher and B. Lafont; ARM XXVII: M. Birot. It goes without saying that J. J. Stamm, Die akkadische Namengebung, MVaG 44, Leipzig, 1939 (hereafter ANG); I. J. Gelb, Glossary of Old Akkadian, MAD 3, Chicago, 1975; H. B. Huffmon, Amorite Personal Names in the Mani Texts: A Structural and Lexical Study, Baltimore, 1965 (hereafter APNMT) and I. J. Gelb, Computer-Aided Analysis of Amorite, AS 21, Chicago, 1980, among others, were utilized as the basic tools for our study. (2) See, for example, A. L. Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia, Chicago and London, 1977 (rev. ed.), p. 194. (3) This theme is a subject of another article by the present author, "Popular Concerns Reflected in Old Babylonian Mani Theophoric Personal Names," in E. Matsushima (ed.), Official Cult and Popular Religion in the Ancient Near East, Heidelberg, 1993 (hereafter, "Popular Concerns..."), pp. 114-125. (4) Regarding this concept of "productivity" see pp. 114f. of my article mentioned in note 3. It should be added here that J. J. Stamm already used this concept in his ANG, p. 31, for example. (5) Annu, occasionally spelled with a nunation, appears in the second position of 45 different name types and in the first position of three different name types. -amriya (A. 3151〔=RA 65, 56-67〕iv 47), -asra (ARM 21, 402 i 1), -asiya (ARM 13, 1 iv 41), -bahla (ARM 23, 550, 10'), -bahli (ARM 21, 407 iii 7), -basti (A. 3151 vii 27), -damqa (A. 3151 i 39), -dunni (A. 315 vii 15), -duri (ARM 21, 413, 1), -gamilti (A. 3151 vii 66), -hanni (ARM 13, 1 vii 38), -hasni (ARM 13, 1 vi 43), -hitlal (ARM 18, 27, 11), -ipha/-yapha (ARM 13, 1 viii 29), -ka-abi (ARM 23, p. 504, An. I i 30), -lamassi (ARM 21, 403 vii 1), -ma-na (ARM 9, 24 iv〔6〕), -milks (ARM 21, 413, 3), -nabiti (ARM 24, 225 ii' 10'), -nad〔i〕(ARM 22, 16, 24), -nabih? (A. 3151 v 24), -napiti (ARM 13, 1 vi 61), -neri (ARM 22, 17, 4), -nusri (ARM 23, 349, 8), -putri (A. 3151 i 19), -qudmi (ARM 13, 1 viii 77), -qum? (ARM 13, 1 vi 8), -rahmi (ARM 21, 376, 9), -remenni (ARM 23, 240, 26'), -rimsi (A. 3151 i 71), -sululi (ARM 7, 185 ii 7'), -simhi (ARM 22, 66, 12), -tabni (ARM 22, 326, 7), -tahnum (A. 3151 i 72), -tal'e (ARM 8, 67, 2), -tamur (ARM 22, 63, 9'), -tappi (ARM 23, 374, 9), -tar'am (TEM 4〔=RA 50, 68-72〕, ii 62), -tarpi (ARM 13, 1xi 47), -tasmah (ARM 14 ii 15), -tillati (ARM 13, 1 x 2), -ti-ri (ARM 22 14 iii 4), -tukulti (ARM 9, 25,〔40〕), -ummi (ARM 21403 v 4), -yatra (ARM 13, 1 vi 53), silli- (ARM 22, 10 iv 20), tasi- (ARM 22, 10 iv 20), tasim- (ARM 21, ii 19). (6) Estar appears in the first position of 31 different name types and in the second position of 10 different name types: -andulli (TEM 4, vi 12'), -asiya (ARM 21, 232, 6), -bahla (ARM 9, 291 ii 1), -basti (ARM 21, 403 x 20), -damqa (ARM 13, 1 v 50), -dunni (ARM 24, 225 i 6), -duri (ARM 21, 328 i 19), -hasni (ARM 22, 45 A i' 16'), -ili (A. 3151 i 3), -ipha (ARM 13, 1 vi 19), -isha/-yasha (ARM 23, 236, 55), -lamassi (ARM 13, 1 i 69), -milki (A. 3151 v 10), -nasirti (ARM 23, 109, 25'), -neri (ARM 21, 403 x 7), -nusri (ARM 23, 106, 29), -putri (TEM 4, iii 19), -rahmi (ARM 23, 245, 22), -silli (A. 3151 iv 8), -samsi (ARM 23, 622 iii 7), -sarra (ARM 23, p. 504, An. 1 i〔6〕),
244 ORIENT A STUDY OF WOMEN'S THEOPHORIC PERSONAL NAMES IN THE OLD BABYLONIAN TEXTS......
-simhi (ARM 13, 1 xii 2), -tal'e (ARM 13, 1 v 41), -tappi (ARM 21, 379 ii 9), -tasi (ARM 13, iv 80), -tayar (ARM 23, 543, 4), -tillati (ARM 21, 350 v18), -tukulti (ARM 9, 25, 43), -turiya (ARM 13, xiii 33), -ummi (ARM23, 610, 7), -usri-sarram (ARM 22, 45A i' 7'), anah- (ARM 23, 614, 8), h〔a-an〕-na- (ARM 22, 63, 13'), marat- (ARM 26, 253, 4'), NIN- (ARM 23, 606, 11), simat- (ARM 13, 1 v 75), tabni- (ARM 21, 382 i 20), taris- (A. 3151 vii 36), tasim- (ARM 13, 1 iv 28), tatur- (ARM 9, 27 v 27), tulid- (ARM 22, 58 ii 4'). (7) See D. O. Edzard in Worterbuch der Mythologie I edited by H. W. Haussig, Stuttgart, 1965 (hereafter, WdM I), pp. 84-86 and Th. Jacobsen, "Mesopotamian Gods and Pantheons" (originally published in Encyclopaedia Britannica (1963), II, 972-978), in Toward the Image of Tammuz and Other Essays on Mesopotamian History and Culture, ed. by W. L. Moran, HSS 21, Cambridge, Mass., 1970, pp. 27-28. (8) See the following paragraph. See also W. G. Lambert and A. R. Millard, Atra-hasis: the Babylonian Story of the Flood, Oxford, 1969, p. 23. (9) For an initial study on this deity, see I. Nakata, "Annu in Mani Texts: A God or Goddess?" JANES 5 (1973), pp. 299-307. (10) Ishara appears in combination with: -asiya (ARM 22, 15 iii 4'), -damqa (A. 3151 iii 31), -dannat (TEM 4, vi 32'), -dumqi (ARM 12, 265, 3), -gumli (ARM 13, 1 ix 23), -kabrat (ARM 23, 438, 15), -ki-Estar (ARM 21, 407 ii 7), -lamassi (ARM 22, 66, 37), -malaki (A. 3151 iv 61), -nahmi (A. 3151 vi 37), -neri (A. 3151 ii 22), -samrati
(ARM 9, 291 iii 27'), -samsi (ARM 21, 407 ii 16), -sarrat (ARM 9, 24 iv〔3〕), -semi'at (ARM 13, 1 iii 20), -simhi (ARM 22, 14 i 8), -sulumme? (ARM 13, 1 i 4), -tar'am (ARM 22, 14 117), -taskup (A. 3151 iv 36), -ummi (ARM 24, 225 ii 40), -yapha (ARM 23, 242, <7>), ummi- (ARM 13, 1 v 74). (11) She is known, for example, as Merciful Goddess (iltum remne〔tum〕) (L. W. King, BMS, 7 r. 2), Lady of Human Dwellings (belet dadme) (E. Reiner, Surpu, II 172), or Lady of Judgment and Divinations (belet dinim u biri) (Zimmern, BBR II, No. 87:6). (12) Pennsylvania Tablet v 28-29 in J. H. Tigay, The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic, Philadelphia, 1982, p. 279. See also W. G. Lambert's commentary on I 301-304 in Atra-hasis, p. 155. (13) I. J. Gelb, Sargonic Texts in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, MAD V, Chicago, 1970, pp.7-12.
(14) Cf. i-din-dma-〔m〕a (ARM 9, 263, 6)=i-din-dma-am-ma (ARM 8, 65, 1). (15) Namely in combination with -asiya (ARM 23, 438, 18), -bahla (ARM 21, 402 iv 9), -dunni (TEM 4 iii 25), -hasni (A. 3151 i 7), -lamassi (ARM 22, 10 ii 21), -numri (A. 3151 vii 30), -qudmi (A. 3151 ii 18), -sarrat (ARM 26, p. 236, n. 26), -tal'e (ARM 9, 291 ii 23), -tuhalli (ARM 9, 27 v 30), Mammatum (A. 3151 vi 9), sera- (ARM 10, 110, 3), tappi- (ARM 9, 24, iii 27), tasmah- (ARM 22, 14 iii 6) tulid- (ARM 9, 24 iii 32), yakun-pi- (A. 3151 vii 61).
(16) Note〔dma-m〕a of a variant to I 246 in P(=K7816+13863) given in W. G. Lambert, Atra-hasis, p. 60. (17) Admu appears with the following elements: -balati (ARM 9, 253 ii 9), -haliya (ARM 1 v 55), -halsa (ARM 23, 236, 51), -hasni (A. 3151 iv 21), -isha (ARM 21, 403 vii 17), -luwa (ARM 21, 376, 10), -neri (ARM 22, 55 ii 5'), -ni-ia (ARM 21, 403 vii 22), -qudmi (ARM 13, 1 ix 55),. -ruba/-ruma (ARM 13, vii 59), -simhi (A. 3151 v 28), -tahunan (A. 3153 iv 38), -ummi (ARM 21 382 i 15), tahsi(n)- (ARM 8, 48, 14), taris- (ARM 13, 1 i 16). (18) D. O. Edzard, "Pantheon und Kult in Mari," in J.-R. Kupper (ed.), CRRAI 15, 1967, p.70.
Vol. XXX-XXXI 1995 245 (19) These suggestions are conveniently summarized in J. J. M. Roberts, The Earliest Semitic Pantheon, Baltimore and London, 1972 (hereafter, ESP), p. 14. (20) W. G. Lambert, "The Pantheon of Mari," MARI 4, 1985, p. 530, n. 9. It may be added that Edzard stated as early as 1966 that Admu was a female deity (CRRAI 15, 1967, p.65). (21) Kakka (hypocoristic name?) (ARM 22, 55 iii 5'), -asri (ARM 13, 1 v 1,) -asiya (ARM 22, 10 ii 23), -haliya (ARM 22, 262 i 2), -isha (ARM 9, 291 iii 17'), -lamassi (ARM 22, 67, 2), 2), -lidi (ARM 26, 236, 6), -milki (ARM 22, 66, 15), -nahmi (ARM 22, 14 i 22), -neri (ARM 21, 403 ix 35), -nisua (A. 3151 vi 35), -rimsi (A. 3151 iii 5),-rusa (ARM 22, 63+M. 6825, 48), -tukulti (ARM 7, 120, 8'), -nuri (ARM 21, 403 ix 9), -sunittum (ARM 10, 168, 1), -yasha (ARM 13, 1 iv 43). (30) Tabubu appears in one hypocoristic name, Tabubu (ARM 13, 1 viii 35) and eight other name types: bahla (ARM 14, 224 iii 51), -haliya (ARM 13, 1 vi 13), -hasni (ARM 23, p. 504, An. I, ii〔12'〕), -lamassi (ARM 22, 67, 1), -neri (ARM 22, 66, 14), -sarra (ARM 24, 224 iv 1), -simhi (ARM 12, 265, 4), -ummi (ARM 23, 236, 18). (31) Ea is invoked in eight different women's name types: -simhi (ARM 13, 1 ii 44), -basti (ARM 23, p. 504, An. 1, i 25), -gamli (ARM 13, 1 v 18), -lamassi (ARM 21, 350 ii 1), -nada (TEM 4, ii 16), -neri (ARM 13, 1, vii 26), -nuri (ARM 21, 402 i 6), -samsi (ARM 22, 45B ii 5').
246 ORIENT A STUDY OF WOMEN'S THEOPHORIC PERSONAL NAMES IN THE OLD BABYLONIAN TEXTS......
(32) Namely, in such hypocoristic names as Nanna (ARM 21, 403 viii 69), Nanname (ARM 10, 129, 4), Nannatum (A. 3151 vi 57), Nanniya (ARM 13, 1 i 66) and in the name types, matqu- (A. 3151 iii 33) and si- (ARM 13, 1 i 19). The probable divine name Nanum that is invoked in yi-ti-ir-na-nu-um and its variants in a letter (ARM 2, 44) should probally be separated from Nan(n)a here (Cf. O. Rouault in ARMT 16/1, p. 265). It also goes without saying that Nan(n)a here should not be confused with Nanaya, who is associated with Neo-Babylonian Uruk, or with Sumerian lunar god Nanna. (33) Roberts, ESP, p. 46. See also I. Nakata, Deities..., pp. 371f. (34) Namely, -ahati (ARM 23, 109, 24'), -neri (A. 3153 vii 56), -tabni (ARM 12, 265, 1), -usri (ARM 25, 725, 2), silli- (ARM 13, 1 x 65), simat- (ARM 23, 622 iii 1). (35) See J. J. M. Roberts, ESP, p.47 and I. Nakata, Deities..., pp. 410 f. (36) J. J. M. Roberts, ESP, p. 47. For other suggestions on Nunu, see R. Borger, Einleitung in die assyrischen Konigsinschriften, Teil I, Leiden, 1964, p. 60 (related to Annunitum〔=Borger's Nunitum〕?) and D. O. Edzard as referred to in B. Kienast, Die altbabylonischen Briefe und Urkunden aus Kisurra, FADS 2/1, Wiesbaden, 1978, p. 44 and n. 169 (a short form of Annunitum to be used in personal names). (37) usri is a feminine imperative of nasaru (to watch, to guard.) (38) Sin is invoked in the following name types for women: amat- (ARM 23, 622 iii 2"), pirhi- (ARM 13, 1 xii 3), simat- (ARM 22, 63+M. 6825, 15=ARM 23, p. 487), -kibri (ARM 21, 382 i 14), -nada (ARM 23, 349, 3), -nuri (A. 3151 iii 65). (39) A. T. Clay, "Babylonian Names," in Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. 9 (1917), pp. 140-143. (40) J. J. Stamm, ANG, pp. 34f. and 67. (41) I. Nakata, Deities..., pp. 15 ff. and especially pp. 111ff. (42) I. Nakata, Deities..., pp. 417ff. and 433ff. (43) Cf. J. J. Stamm, ANG, p. 67. We hesitate to regard the women's names in which a male deity is invoked as exceptions just as we hesitate to regard the opposite cases as exceptional. (44) Admu (f) (ARM 21, 382 i 15), Annu (f) (ARM 21 403 v 4), Aya (f) (A. 3151 ii 27), Belet-Agade (f) (ARM 21 413, 7), Belet-ekallim (f) (ARM 13, 1 i 65), Diritum (f) (ARM 21, 403 vii 31), Estar (f) (ARM 23, 61, 7), Hanat (f) (ARM 22, 10 iii 10), Ishara (f) (ARM 24, 225 ii 40), Kisitum (f) (ARM 13 1 v 52), Mammitum (f) (ARM 10, 5), Narum (f) (ARM 26/1, p. 522, n. 84, M 12508 ii), Ningal (f) (ARM 21, 382 i 13), Ninhursagga (f) (ARM 9, 24 iii〔37〕) and Tabubu (f) (ARM 23, 236, 18). (45) Five specific female deities appear in the name type of ummi-DN: Diri (f) (ARM 22, 1 ii 16'), Hanat (f) (ARM 23, 159, 5), Hattum (f) (ARM 9, 291 iii 32'), Ishara (f) (ARM 13, 1 v 74) and Naru (f?) (ARM 22, 14 ii 19). The relative popularity of Hattum in women's names rather than in men's names and the deity's appearance in the name type ummi-DN indicates that the deity is a goddess. Akkadian Naru, the deified River, is female. However, because her Sumerian and West Semitic counterparts, namely ID2 and Nhr, are both male, there may have been some confusion regarding Naru's gender already in antiquity. (46) We do not find ka-ummi-DN or DN-ka-ummi which would probably correspond to the very productive men's name type ka-abi-DN and its reversal. (47) Addu (A. 3151 iv 17), Admu (f) (ARM 22, 55 ii 5'), Annu (f) (ARM 22, 17, 4), Aya (f) (A. 3153 ii 36), Belet-ekallim (f) (ARM 13, 1 xi 1), Dagan (ARM 21, 403 viii 79), Diritum (f) (ARM 23, 438, 19), Ea (ARM 23, 438, 19), Estar (f) (ARM 21, 403 x 7), Ishara (f) (A. 315 ii 22), Kakka (f) (ARM 21, 403 ix 35), Nunu (f) (A. 3151 vii 56). (48) Ea (ARM 21, 402 i 6), Numusda (ARM 9, 24 iii 25), Samas (ARM 21, 403 ix
Vol. XXX-XXXI 1995 247 9) and Sin appear in DN-nuri, while Mamma (f) (A. 3151 vii 30) appears in DN. numri. It may be noted here that the closely related name type nur-DN ("The light of DN"), which is fairly productive, seems to be reserved for men. Addu (ARM 22, 313, 2), Dagan (ARM 21, 403 ix 23), Ishara (f) (ARM 22, 33 iii 14), Mer (ARM 23, 476, 2) and Samas (ARM 26, 126, 17) are invoked in this name type. For the name types involving nerum/nurum See now J.-M. Durand's article in N. A. B. U. 1994 (No. 3), pp. 62f. (49) Dagan (A. 3151 i 23), Ea (ARM 22, 45B ii 5'), Estar (f) (ARM 23, 622 iii 7) and Ishara (f) (ARM 21, 407 ii 16). (50) The Amorite version in reversal, namely Samsi-DN, is a men's name type. (51) Annu (f) (ARM 21, 403 vii 1), Aya (f) (ARM 21, 402 ii 11), Ea (or to be read Aya? Cf. note 27) (ARM 21, 350 iii), Estar (f) (ARM 13, 1 i 69), Ishara (f) (ARM 22, 66, 37), Kakka (f) (ARM 22, 67, 2), Mamma (f) (ARM 22, 10 ii 21), Samas (written, dUTU) (ARM 9, 24 iii〔57〕) and Tabubu (f) (ARM 22, 67, 1). The possibility cannot be excluded that dUTU here stands for a female solar deity. (52) Kisitum-la-ma-
(62) Annu (f) (ARM 9, 25,〔40〕), Estar (f) (ARM 9, 25, 43), Humat (f) (ARM 8, 87, 7), Kakka (f) (ARM 22, 15 ii' 15') and Serum (ARM 12, 613, 3). It is possible that behind Serum a Syrian goddess of dawn, Shr, a hypostatization of an aspect of Estar, may be hidden (Cf. M. H. Pope in WdM I, pp. 306f.). (63) Addu (ARM 22, 53, 2), Annu (f) (ARM 21, 413, 1) and Estar (f) (ARM 31, 382 i 19). (64) Annu (f) (ARM 21, 413, 3), Estar (f) (A. 3151 v 10) and Kakka (f) (ARM22, 66, 15). (65) Annu (f) (ARM 23, 374, 9), Estar (f) (ARM 21, 379 ii 9) and Salas (ARM 13, 1 iii 26) in DN-tappi and Mamma (f) (ARM 9, 24 iii 27) in tappi-DN. (66) These name types belong to Stamm's Type K (K stands for Kind.) (ANG, p.23). Stamm is not specific about who put the statement in the mouth of the child.
248 ORIENT A STUDY OF WOMEN'S THEOPHORIC PERSONAL NAMES IN THE OLD BABYLONIAN TEXTS......
We are inclined to think that, in the case of a baby girl, it is the mother of the baby girl or a female member of her kin. (67) Namely Stamm's Type N. These names contain statements made by unidentified third persons or general statements. See J. J. Stamm, ANG, p. 23. Stamm is again not specific about who these unidentified third persons were. Our assumption is that women kept a tradition of their own, and that some of the women's concerns regarding baby girls could be reflected at least in some of these general names. (68) See I. J. Gelb, AS 21, p. 13. (69) Annu (f) (ARM 13, 1 iv 41), Estar (f) (ARM 21, 232, 6), Ishara (f) (ARM 22, 15 iii 4'), Kakka (f) (ARM 22, 10 ii 23) and Mamma (f) (ARM 23, 438, 18). (70) Diritum (f) (ARM 26, M. 11299, 5), Estar (f) (ARM 23, p. 504, An. I, i〔6〕), Ishara (f) (ARM 9, 24, iv〔3〕 〕), Mamma (f) (ARM 26, p. 236, n. 26), Nan(n)i(f) (ARM 13, 1 v 31) and Tabubu (f) (ARM 24, 224 iv 1). (71) Annu (f) (ARM 23, 550, 10'), Estar (f) (ARM 9, 291 ii 1), Mamma (f) (ARM 21, 402 iv 9) and Tabubu (f) (ARM 24, 224 iii 51). (72) Admu (f) (ARM 21, 403 vii 17), Annu (f) (ARM 22, 71, 2), Estar (f) (ARM 23, 236, 55) and Kakka (f) (ARM 9, 291 iii 17'). (73) Addu (ARM 23, 236, 16), Dagan (ARM 21, 218, 4), Ebal (ARM 21, 394, 4), Erah (ARM 21, 357, 3), Esuh (ARM 21, 231, 22), AN-ma (ARM 24, 264, 4), Ilaba (ARM 23, 432 iii 5), Laba (ARM 21, 405, 10), Laban (ARM 23, 596 ii 22'), Lama (ARM 8, 58, 10'), Lim (ARM 24, 221, 4), Nar (ARM 22, 8, 8), Samas (ARM 24, 6 i 6) and Tispak (ARM 4, 78,〔15〕). (74) Addu (ARM 22, 14 iii 1), Ishara (f) (ARM 12, 265, 3) and Samas (ARM 21, 407 ii 22). (75) Annu (f) (ARM 13, 1 x 51), Estar (f) (ARM 13, 1 v 50) and Ishara (f) (A. 3151 iii 31). (76) Humat (f) (ARM 9, 24 iii 50), Ninhursagga (f) (ARM 9, 26, 7') and Annu (f) (Annu-gamilti, A. 3151 vii 66). (77) Cf. yapah-DN as in yapah-Addu (ARM 21, 375, 10). (78) Annu (f) (ARM 13, 1 viii 29), Estar (f) (ARM 24, 225 iv 12) and Ishara (f) (ARM 23, 242, <7'>). (79) The men's name, ilak-nad ("Praise your god!"), is known (ARM 14, 47, 16), but appears only once in our corpus. The name type DN-nad does not appear in our corpus. (80) Abba (f) (ARM 21, 392, 6) Ea (TEM 4, ii 16), Kisitum (f) (ARM 9, 291 i 25) and Sin (ARM 23, 349, 3). (81) Annu (f) (ARM 22, 16,〔24〕) and Dagan (ARM 22, 10 i 6). (82) The meaning of this name type, however, is not certain. Cf. I. J. Gelb, AS 21, p.20. (83) Admu (f) (A. 3151 iv 21), Annu (f) (ARM 13, 1 vi 43), Estar (f) (ARM 22, 45 A i' 16'), Mamma (f) (A. 3151 i 7) and Tabubu (f) (ARM 21, 407 ii 35). (84) Annu (f) (ARM 21, 403 viii 30), Humat (f) (ARM 23, 240, 26') and Kisitum (f) (ARM 9, 25,〔25〕). (85) Kubi (ARM 21, 403 viii 30), Samas (ARM 23, 550, 7) and Sin (ARM 21, 403 ix 4). For the corresponding men's name types, mut(u/i)-DN and abdu/habdu-DN, see I. Nakata, "Popular Concerns...," pp. 118 ff. (86) See I. Nakata, "Popular Concerns...," pp. 115ff. (87) A group of name types expressing thanksgiving are called Danknamen by J. J. Stamm. See J. J. Stamm, ANG, pp. 36-147.
Vol. XXX-XXXI 1995 249 (88) Annu (f) (ARM 22, 326, 8), Nunu (f) (ARM 12, 265, 1), Estar (f) (ARM 21, 382, 1) and Aya (f) (A. 3151 vii 57). Cf. also such personal names as Tabnitum (ARM 21, 232, 12) and Tabniya (ARM 23, 3, 5). (89) Annu (f) (ARM 8, 67, 2), Estar (f) (ARM 13, 1 xii 2) and Mamma (f) (ARM 9, 291 ii 23). (90) Admu (f) (ARM 13, 1 i 16), Estar (f) (A. 3151 vii 36) and Hattu (f?) (ARM 24, 196, 7). (91) J. J. Stamm, ANG, p. 145. (92) Dagan (ARM 13, 1 viii 33), Estar (f) (ARM 13, v 75) and Sin (ARM 22, 63, 15). Cf, also Simatum (ARM 23, 607, 14). (93) ARM 23, 622 iii 1.
250 ORIENT A STUDY OF WOMEN'S THEOPHORIC PERSONAL NAMES IN THE OLD BABYLONIAN TEXTS......
Chart 1 POPULARITY OF THE DEITIES APPEARING IN THE WOMEN'S PERSONAL NAMES FROM MARL
Notes to Chart 1 & 2 (1) The figure indicates the number of the name types in which each deity appears. (2) A certain amount of errors has to be allowed especially in the cases of Nanna (f), Addu and El/Il (AN), and the theophorous elements such as Epuh and Hammu that are difficult to distinguish from the non- theophorous epuh/ipuh and hammu. (3) The deities are divided into six groups by a dotted line according to the popularity. However, the divinding line between Sin and Addu is rather arbitrarily placed. (4) The textual references of the name types in which each of the deities in Chart 2 appears are omitted for the sake of brevity.
Vol. XXX-XXXI 1995 251 Chart 2 POPULARITY OF THE DEITIES APPEARING IN THE MEN'S PERSONAL NAMES FROM MARI
252 ORIENT A STUDY OF WOMEN'S THEOPHORIC PERSONAL NAMES IN THE OLD BABYLONIAN TEXTS......
Vol. XXX-XXXI 1995 253