V11 A:15 GÁL ub-bu-tu SV(2) – B has an expansive plus.^166
B:15 GÁL KI.MIN ub-bu-tu
J:14 GÁL ub-bu-tu
V12 A:16 uḫ-ḫa-ram-ma OV – A-D have syllabic spelling, against the
B:16 uḫ-ḫa-ram-ma logogram in J.
C:2 ]ram-ma
D:2 uḫ-ḫa-ram[
J:15 ZAL-ma
(^166) The addition in B of the signs KI.MIN are taken as an expansion on the apodosis of A and J. KI.MIN
signifies Wiederholungszeichen, a repetition of previous text. S. Langdon, J.K. Fotheringham, and C.
Schoch, Venus Tablets, 15, n. 4, and E. Reiner, BPO 1, 32, suggest that KI.MIN “probably refers to line 13,
ebur māti iššir.” It can therefore be categorised as an expansive plus to the apodosis that predicts “a short-
age of grain and straw in the land, the harvest of the land will prosper, famine will occur.” At this point B
predicts a shortage of grain and straw at the same time as it claims that the harvest will be successful. The
nature of the plus in B is therefore uncertain, and, according to Rule 4, is classed conservatively as a stylis-
tic rather than a hermeneutic variation.