G119 C iii 22 im-ḫul-lu OV – Probable spelling error in J.^579
J 1 iii 24 im-ù-lu
G120 C iii 22 J ˹ik˺-lu OV(l) – Wrong stem vowel in final weak √kalû, “abated, held back” in C. (^580)
1 iii 24 ik-la
G121 C iii 23 c ap-pal-sa-am-˹ma˺ OV – J has CV-VC against CVC in the other sources.
3 iii 2’ ˹ ap˺-[p]al[ ]
G122 C iii 23 ap-pal-sa-am-˹ma˺ OV(l) – J lacks the ventive suffix.^581
J T 1 iii 25 ap-pa-al-sa
1 iii 10 ap-pal-sa-am-ma
G123 C iii 23 J ap-pal-sa-am-˹ma˺ SV(1) – J lacks the enclitic particle ‘ma.’
T^11 iii 25 iii 10 ap-pa-al-sa ap-pal-sa-am-ma
G124 C iii 23 J u 4 -ma SV(2) – The interchange of lexemes amounts to a clarification in J. (^582)
T^1 iii 25 ta-ma-ta
1 iii 10 u 4 -ma
579
The most convincing explanation for this variant is that Ù (ⅇ) was erroneously written for ḪUL
(ⅆ⌨) in J. An alternative possibility is that the form in J represents some linguistic elision of the guttural
phoneme /ḫ/ in this lexeme. The latter is highly unlikely given the regular writing of /ḫ/ elsewhere in the
tablet and the lack of any known parallel linguistic phenomena in the Akkadian dialects. 580
The form in C is listed among those that display the “wrong stem vowel in final weak verbs” in A.R.
George, Gilgamesh, 441. J has the expected stem vowel /a/. The writing of incorrect stem vowels in Neo-
Assyrian letters is noted in M. Luukko, 581 Neo-Assyrian, 150-51.
The form in J varies from the other sources in orthography and grammatical form. The lack of ventive
suffix in J against C and T precludes counting the orthographic variant between these sources in line with
Rule 3. 582
The term in J is √tâmtu, “sea,” written as tâmatu due to a literary interpolation of an anaptyctic vowel,
cf. A.R. George, Gilgamesh, 432. In the context of the narrative J has Ūta-napištim gauging the state of the
weather by looking “at the sea,” rather than “at the day” as the other sources have it. A.R. George, Gil-
gamesh, 889, suggests that the variant in J is due to a misreading of the sign U 4 for TAM in a previous copy
from which the scribe of J took his Vorlage. However, in the light of Rule 1 the reading of a variation in J
stands.