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to possess a remarkable degree of socioeconomic independence.
Gurney suggested that she may be the proprietor of a brothel,^100 and
Westbrook, drawing upon two pertinent Old Babylonian legal texts,
suggested that she is a prostitute.^101
What remains to be explained in the Middle Babylonian text is
the initial act by which this woman detained the wife of the man.
The meaning of “she detained her for nap†arùti” continues to elude
investigators. Nonetheless, much of the scenario can be reconstructed
as follows: a prostitute detained the wife of a man, causing the hus-
band to divorce her. When called into court to explain why she
caused the man to divorce his wife, the prostitute answers that the
man had been sleeping with her, but that from now on he will not
enter her bed again. Her response to the question of his divorce
suggests her position is one of some claim—perhaps even prior
claim—to the man, something along the lines of a common-law wife.
She had detained the wife to press the man to divorce, presumably
so that they could marry and she could assume wife status.5.2 Children
A number of Middle Babylonian texts from Ur record the sale of
children. Several persons act as the sellers of the child, and each
text concludes with severe penalties if anyone should come and later
claim the child as a family member. In one text, a girl is sold by
her parents, and her father’s brother and her mother’s brother are
also listed among the sellers.^102 In a very damaged text, a boy is sold
by his mother and maternal uncle.^103 In similar texts, a woman is
among the group of men selling the child and is identified as the
mother. None of the men is identified as the child’s father, and we
must assume that they are male relatives who might pose a claim
to the child in the future. In some texts recording the sale of a child,
none of the sellers is identified as a parent. Although the reason is
not stated, it is most likely that dire financial necessity lay behind
these sales, as in other periods.(^100) Gurney, Middle Babylonian.. ., 44.
(^101) Westbrook, “Morals.. .,” 756.
(^102) UET 7 25.
(^103) UET 7 2.
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