142 herbert niehr
the moon-god of harran is mentioned multiple times as the recipient
of gold, which was paid as fines70 benefiting the temple treasury of harran.
Babylonian descriptions convey an impression of how the cult image of
the temple may have looked: the anthropomorphic figure of a man with
flowing hair and outstretched right hand.71
Much more popular and widespread in the ancient near east, how-
ever, was the symbolic representation of the moon-god of harran. this
was the image of a recumbent crescent moon lying on a standard. in
some cases the crescent moon encompassed a circular full moon. on
the link between the standard and the crescent moon two tassels are
suspended left and right. these tassels distinguish the representation
of the moon-god of harran from representations of other lunar deities.
U. seidl interpreted them as the pictorial representation of the word riksu
(“contract, treaty”); since this noun is derived from rakāsu “to bind” it is
an allusion to the role of the moon-god in swearing oaths and concluding
contracts.72
the cult of the god of light or fire, nusku, may have been conducted in
the temple of sin, with nusku appearing as a theos synnaos, though there
are sources that mention a separate temple to nusku.73
2.4 Prophecy and DivinationBoth the hieroglyphic luwian inscription tell ahMar 6 and the inscrip-
tion on another stele (tell ahMar 5) attest to the phenomenon of
prophecy in Bit adini. this suggests a comparison with prophecy from
hamath and tell Deir ‘alla.74 tell ahMar 5 refers to the message from
someone who was inspired by the gods telling the king that he should
establish the cult of the weather-god at the military camp (§§ 22–23).
2.5 Magicthe two amulet tablets from the 7th century B.c. found in hadattu (arslan
tash) are usually discussed within the context of the phoenician religion.
however, due to the locality of the find and the special circumstances of
70 cf. lemaire 2001b: 14f, 20.
71 cf. lee 1993.
72 cf. seidl 2000: 93f.
73 cf. streck 1998–2001d.
74 text and translation of tell ahMar 6 in Bunnens – hawkins – leirens 2006: 11–31
and of tell ahMar 5 in hawkins 2000: 231–234; cf. also the inscriptions from hamath
(see section 3.4) and from tell Deir ʿalla (see section 4.4).