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occasions, more than one seller is involved (six in AT 70 and three
in AT 72). As a rule, the completion clause follows. The text declares
that the payment is made (“ìm“u apil) and often that it is cleared
from claims (zaki). It is interesting that one text (AT 67) paradoxi-
cally mentions after the formula “the price is paid” that the buyer
makes sure “to have it paid within half a month” (iti 15.u 4 u“a“qal).
Finally, the sale contract stipulates the obligation undertaken by the
seller or sellers to clear the object sold “should an owner arise,” that
is, if the title were contested.7.2 Gift
AT 87 and AT 88 each record the grant of a vineyard and an olive
grove. The text is styled ex latere alienatoris: the donor gives (nadànu)
the property. In AT 87, the gift (in contemplation of death?) is from
husband to wife. In AT 88, both donor and donee are female. This
text includes a clause guaranteeing that no one will take the prop-
erty granted from the new owner’s hands.7.3 Loan
7.3.1 Loans are relatively well documented at Alalakh. The for-
mulation is simple: the borrower has received (leqû) some property
from the lender, which obviously implies the obligation of repay-
ment. The property consists of amounts of silver or copper. In some
cases, at least, it seems reasonable to assume that the loan was meant
for trade.^45 Out of the five loan documents, the maryannuIlimilimma
appears as lender in three and his father, Tutu, in another. The
king himself also lends silver in two other records without witnesses.
In one of them (AT 81), the loan is defined by the technical ex-
pression “to receive in exchange’ ” (ana pù¢i leqû). This same type of
loan is attested in other Late Bronze Age archives from northern
Mesopotamia and may be related to the later Neo-Assyrian loan
characterized by the phrase ina pù¢i na“û.^46 At Alalakh, it is further
attested in several administrative texts that list loans or debts of grain
(AT 300–308). The meaning is so far obscure. On the basis of the(^45) See Márquez Rowe, “A Number or a Measure?.. .,” 255f.
(^46) See the remarks of Durand in his “Compte rendu.. .,” 56f. (To his attesta-
tions from Emar and Middle Assyrian documents should be added one text from
Tell Brak (TB 8002) and the evidence from Alalakh.)
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