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age (TBR 72, 73, 75). In some cases, the adopter is a woman (ASJ
14:46; TBR 75). The resulting consanguinity of husband and wife
as maternal brother and sister did not seem to be a barrier. In ASJ
14:46, the adoptee was a brother, a husband, and the slave of a
third party at the same time. In Ekalte 66, a man, having adopted
his brother as his son, marries the latter’s slave, with the provision
that the offspring of the union are to be deemed the children of
both men.5.1.2 Formation
5.1.2.1 The preliminary to marriage was an agreement between the
bride’s guardian and the groom or his father. The former would
normally be her father, but could be anyone who was the head of
household at the time: her father and mother together (RE 67), her
mother alone (a widow: Emar 213; RE 61), her brother (Semitica
46, 9–10; 12–14; RE 76; TBR 41), uncle (ASJ 14:45), or owner if
a slave (RE 26; TBR 70). The power was sometimes delegated to
an adopted brother, but this may have applied only after the adopter’s
death (RE 26, 88). The power of obtaining a wife for the groom
could be delegated in the same way (RE 26).5.1.2.2 The groom is said to take the bride as a wife (ana a““ati/a““ùti)
or the guardian is said to give the bride to the house of a father-
in-law (ana bìt emi: Emar 216; TBR 23). In RE 76, two brothers
gave their sister to a man as his daughter-in-law (ana kallati, written
é.gi 4 .a; cf. RE 6: a-naé.gi 4 .a-ut-ti). In all these cases the bride was
the object of the transaction. A widow or divorcee, however, could
act on her own behalf. In Emar 30, a widow (or divorcee) made a
man her husband (ana mutia altakan“u).5.1.2.3 The bride’s guardian received a bridal payment (ter¢atu, writ-
ten ní.mí.ús.sá or an abbreviation thereof ) from the groom or his
father.^29 A perquisite of being a delegated guardian was the right to
receive her ter¢atu(RE 10, 88; Westenholz 3). Adoption of the groom(^29) Sometimes an outsider, a brother or patron, might pay the ter¢atuon the
groom’s behalf (see Emar 117; RE 10). It is not clear whether they also chose the
bride.
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