G172 C iv 4 [DI]NGIR.MEŠ OV – The plural marker MEŠ is lacking in
J c 1 iv 2 DINGIR.MEŠ c.^608
2 iii 6’ DINGI]R?^
G173 J 1 iv 3 sur-qin-ni OV – The doubling of the final consonant in J
W 3 iii 4b’ sur-qí-ni is read as an orthographic variant.
G174 C iv 6 im-tal-ku-ma OV(l) – c has the durative form against the
J c 1 iv 4 im-tal-ku-ma preterite in the other sources.^609
2 iii 8’ im-tal-li-ku[
G175 C iv 7 u OV – The conjunction is written as U in C.
J 1 iv 5 ù
G176 J 1 iv 5 ana OV – The preposition ana is written syllabi-
W 3 iii 6’ ˹ a˺-na cally in W.
G177 C iv 10 J lib-ba-ti OV(l) – Possible difference in pronuncia-tion. (^610)
c^1 iv 7b lib-ba-ti
2 iv 3 b]a-a-te
G178 J 1 iv 7b im-ta-li OV(l) – J has the wrong stem vowel for final
c 2 iv 3 im-ta-la weak √malû, “to be filled.”^611
G179 J c 1 iv 7b DINGIR.DINGIR OV – The plural noun as a compound logogram in J.ilū, “gods,” is written (^612)
2 iv 3 ˹ DINGIR˺.MEŠ
(^608) The sign in c is broken but MEŠ can probably be discounted on account of the top of the vertical wedge
that can be seen at the right side of the sign in A.R. George, Gilgamesh, pl. 138. The singular form
DINGIR is the most obvious reading, but ultimately this is uncertain as the sign could be part of a com-
pound plural form DINGIR.DINGIR, such as is preserved in J, against c, in G179 below. 609
610 The variation is counted as a difference in tense in A.R. George, Gilgamesh, 427.
It is possible that c, a manuscript from Ashur, may reflect a variant pronunciation of the ultimate vowel.
See the suggestion in J. Hämeen-Anttila, Neo-Assyrian Grammar, 27, that in Neo-Assyrian the allophone
[e] is occasionally written for /i/. The writing of the long vowel /a/ in √libbātu, “anger, wrath,” is not
counted in the light of Rule 3. 611
The verb in J is counted among forms with the “wrong stem vowel in final weak verbs” in A.R. George,
Gilgamesh 612 , 441.
See also the possible reading of this form of the plural in c above, G172.