Abstract
In the present study the authors continue their previous work analyzing difficult lexemes attested in the so-called “chancery texts” from the Early Dynastic city-state of Ebla (in modern Syria). The newly suggested interpretations are important not only for one’s understanding of the earliest forms of East Semitic, but also for a proper comprehension of the exceedingly difficult texts in which they appear. For each lexeme, an exhaustive list of translated and annotated text attestations is provided. It is our hope that this and related studies scheduled for the future will lay robust foundations for an eventual dictionary of Eblaite.
Acknowledgements
This article is an output of the research project “Semitic lexicography in synchrony and diachrony”, conducted as part of the Fundamental Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University), Laboratory for Middle Eastern and North African Languages and Cultures. The database “Ebla Digital Archives” (www.ebda.cnr.it) was an indispensable tool of this research.
Abbreviations
BDB F. Brown/S.R. Driver/Ch.A. Briggs (1906): A Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, Oxford.
CDG W. Leslau (1987): Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez (Classical Ethiopic), Wiesbaden.
DRS D. Cohen (1976–): Dictionnaire des racines sémitiques, The Hague.
du. dual number
DUL G. Del Olmo Lete/J.A. Sanmartín (2015). A Dictionary of the Ugaritic Language in the Alphabetic Tradition. 3rd rev. ed., Leiden.
HALOT L. Koehler/W. Baumgartner/J.J. Stamm (1994–2000): The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, Leiden.
Lane E.W. Lane (1867): Arabic-English Lexicon, London.
SD A.F.L. Beeston/М.A. Ghul/W.W. Müller/J. Ryckmans (1982): Sabaic Dictionary (English‒French‒Arabic), Louvain-la-Neuve.
SED I A. Militarev/L. Kogan (2000): Semitic Etymological Dictionary. Vol. 1: Anatomy of Man and Animals, Münster.
SL M. Sokoloff (2009): A Syriac Lexicon, Winona Lake.
References
Alberti, A. (1984): (giš-)gal₂-takx nei testi lessicali e amministrativi di Ebla. In: L. Cagni (ed.), Il bilinguismo a Ebla. Atti del Convegno internazionale (Napoli, 19–22 aprile 1982) (IUO Ser. Minor 22), Naples, 65–74.Search in Google Scholar
Ambros, A. (2004): A Concise Dictionary of Koranic Arabic, Wiesbaden.Search in Google Scholar
Archi, A. (1990): Imâr au IIIème millénaire d’après les archives d’Ebla, MARI 6, 21–38.Search in Google Scholar
Archi, A. (1993): Five Tablets from the Southern Wing of Palace G – Ebla, Malibu.Search in Google Scholar
Archi, A. (2019): Minima Eblaitica 24: nig₂-gu₂-DU, nig₂-dug-DU, GIŠ-dug-DU, NABU 2019, No. 40.Search in Google Scholar
Archi, A. (2023): A Fragmentary Document of the Ebla Chancellery, NABU 2023, No. 86.Search in Google Scholar
Arkhipov, I. (2012): Le Vocabulaire de la métallurgie et la nomenclature des objets en métal dans les textes de Mari (ARM 32), Paris – Leuven – Walpole.Search in Google Scholar
Arkhipov, I. 2019: Ittum “signe” et ittum “moment” en paléobabylonien. In: G. Chambon/M. Guichard/A.-I. Langlois (ed.), De l’argile au numérique. Mélanges assyriologiques en l’honneur de Dominique Charpin (Publication de l’Institut du Proche-Orient Ancien du Collège de France 3), Paris – Leuven – Bristol, 47–78.10.2307/j.ctv1q26s9t.6Search in Google Scholar
Arkhipov, I./L. Kogan (2022): The Ebla Chancery Texts in the Light of Recent Linguistic Research, AoF 49, 183–196.10.1515/aofo-2022-0014Search in Google Scholar
Arkhipov, I./L. Kogan (in print a): Royal Ratification of Property Transfer in Early Dynastic Syria: Towards a New Interpretation of ARET 16, 27, Orientalia.Search in Google Scholar
Arkhipov, I./L. Kogan (in print b): The Offences of Ib’al against Ebla: A New Edition of ARET 13, 13, Studia Eblaitica.Search in Google Scholar
Arkhipov, I./L. Kogan/E. Markina (2023): Corruption and Violence in Early Dynastic Mari (As Seen from Ebla): A New Attempt at ARET 13, 15, JAOS 143, 537–553.10.7817/jaos.143.3.2023.ar021Search in Google Scholar
Attinger, P. (2021): Glossaire sumérien-français, Wiesbaden.Search in Google Scholar
Behnstedt, P./M. Woidich (2021): Wortatlas der arabischen Dialekte. Vol. 4: Funktionswörter, Adverbien, Phraseologisches: Eine Auswahl (HdOr. 100.4), Leiden – Boston, 2021.10.1163/9789004462656Search in Google Scholar
Black, J. (1995): Real and Unreal Conditional Sentences in Sumerian, ASJ 17, 15–39.Search in Google Scholar
Bonechi, M. (1997): Lexique et idéologie royale à l’époque proto-syrienne, MARI 8, 477–535.Search in Google Scholar
Bonechi, M. (2020): Data and Problems Concerning the Intercalary Month in the Ebla Palace G Texts (with Special Focus on MEE 2 39 and 40). In: W. Sommerfeld (ed.), Dealing with Antiquity: Past, Present & Future. RAI Marburg (AOAT 460), Münster, 101–164.Search in Google Scholar
Bonechi, M. (2021): Miscellaneous Ebla Notes, UF 52, 41–68.10.12871/97888333964082Search in Google Scholar
Bonechi, M. (2023): TM.75.G.5294 = ARET XII 858 + TM.75.G.2072 = ARET XIV 89, an Ebla téléjoint, NABU 2023, No. 4.Search in Google Scholar
Bonechi, M./A. Catagnoti (2019): Structure and Vocabulary of the Ebla List with Body Parts (MEE 3, 68, 70, 71). In: I. Arkhipov/L. Kogan/N. Koslova (ed.), The Third Millennium: Studies in Early Mesopotamia and Syria in Honor of Walter Sommerfeld and Manfred Krebernik (CunMon. 50), Leiden, 147–208.10.1163/9789004418080_007Search in Google Scholar
Catagnoti, A. (1989): I NE.DI nei testi amministrativi degli Archivi di Ebla. In: P. Fronzaroli (ed.), MiscEbl. 2, Florence, 149–201.Search in Google Scholar
Catagnoti, A. (2012): La grammatica della lingua di Ebla (QuadSem. 29), Florence.Search in Google Scholar
Catagnoti, A./P. Fronzaroli (2010): Testi di cancelleria: il re e i funzionari (ARET 16), Rome.Search in Google Scholar
Catagnoti, A./P. Fronzaroli (2020): Testi di сancelleria: il re e i funzionari, Vol. 2 (Archivio L.2875) (ARET 18), Rome.10.2307/j.ctv19dsxv7Search in Google Scholar
Civil, M. (1990): The Verb šu-tak₄ ‘to Send’, AulaOr. 8, 109–111.Search in Google Scholar
Civil, M. (2008): The Early Dynastic Practical Vocabulary A (Archaic HAR-ra A) (ARES 4), Rome.Search in Google Scholar
Cohen, E. (2012): Conditional Structures in Mesopotamian Old Babylonian, Winona Lake.10.1515/9781575066806Search in Google Scholar
Conti, G. (1990): Il sillabario della quarta fonte della lista lessicale bilingue eblaita (MiscEbl. 3 = QuadSem. 17), Florence.Search in Google Scholar
Conti, G. (1997): Carri ed equipaggi nei testi di Ebla. In: P. Fronzaroli (ed.), MiscEbl. 4, Florence, 23–71.Search in Google Scholar
Dietrich, M. (1993): ‘Besitz der Tiša-Lim’: Zuwendungen des Königs von Ebla an die Königin von Emar, UF 25, 93–98.Search in Google Scholar
Flückiger-Hawker, E. (1999): Urnamma of Ur in Sumerian Literary Tradition (OBO 166), Fribourg – Göttingen. Search in Google Scholar
Fronzaroli, P. (1991): Niveaux de langue dans les graphies éblaïtes. In: A.S. Kaye (ed.), Semitic Studies in Honor of Wolf Leslau on the Occasion of his Eighty-Fifth Birthday, Vol. 2, Wiesbaden, 462–476.Search in Google Scholar
Fronzaroli, P. (1993): Testi rituali della regalità (L.2769) (ARET 11), Rome. Search in Google Scholar
Fronzaroli, P. (1998): kam-mu₄ in Ebla Letters. In: M. Lebeau (ed.), About Subartu: Studies Devoted to Upper Mesopotamia, Vol. 2: Culture, Society, Image, Turnhout, 103–114.Search in Google Scholar
Fronzaroli, P. (2003): Testi di cancelleria: i rapporti con le città (Archivo L. 2769) (ARET 13), Rome.Search in Google Scholar
Gelb, I.J. (1981): Ebla and the Kish Civilization. In: L. Cagni (ed.), La lingua di Ebla: Atti del convegno internazionale (Napoli, 21–23 aprile 1980) (IUO Ser. Minor 14), Naples.Search in Google Scholar
Hasselbach, R. (2005): Sargonic Akkadian: A Historical and Comparative Study of the Syllabic Texts, Wiesbaden.Search in Google Scholar
Huehnergard, J. (2008): Ugaritic Vocabulary in Syllabic Transcription, revised edition, Winona Lake.Search in Google Scholar
Kogan, L. (2006): Old Assyrian vs. Old Babylonian: The Lexical Dimension. In: G. Deutscher/N.J.C. Kouwenberg (ed.), The Akkadian Language in its Semitic Context: Studies in the Akkadian of the Third and Second Millennium BC (PIHANS 106), Leiden, 177–214.Search in Google Scholar
Kogan, L. (2008): Accusative as Casus Pendens? A Hitherto Unrecognized Emphatic Construction in Early Akkadian Royal Inscriptions, RA 102, 17–26.10.3917/assy.102.0017Search in Google Scholar
Kogan, L. (2024): Some New Grammatical and Lexical Facts from Ebla. In: E. Cianfanelli/F. Gori (ed.), níĝ-ba dub-sar maḫ. Studies on Ebla and the Ancient Near East presented to Amalia Catagnoti, Rome, 225–231.Search in Google Scholar
Kogan, L./M. Krebernik (2021): Eblaite. In: J.-P. Vita (ed.), History of the Akkadian Language, Vol. 1: Linguistic Background and Early Periods (HdOr. 152.1), Leiden – Boston, 664–989.10.1163/9789004445215_013Search in Google Scholar
Kogan, L./E. Markina (2019): Language and Administration in a Recently Published Collection of Sargonic Documents, ZDMG 219, 281–312.10.13173/zeitdeutmorggese.169.2.0281Search in Google Scholar
Kogan, L./M. Worthington (2012): Accusative Casus Pendens: Some Further Examples, Babel und Bibel 6, 487–492.10.1515/9781575066653-019Search in Google Scholar
Kouwenberg, N.J.C. (2012): Spatial Deixis in Akkadian: Demonstrative Pronouns, Presentative Particles and Locational Adverbs, ZA 102, 17–75.10.1515/za-2012-0002Search in Google Scholar
Kouwenberg, N.J.C. (2017): A Grammar of Old Assyrian (HdOr. 118), Leiden.10.1163/9789004472846Search in Google Scholar
Krebernik, M. (1983): Zu Syllabar und Orthographie der lexikalischen Texte aus Ebla. Teil 2 (Glossar), ZA 73, 1–47.10.1515/zava.1983.73.1.1Search in Google Scholar
Krebernik, M. (2022): Typen lexikalischer Gleichungen in der zweisprachigen Liste Ešbarkiĝ aus Ebla. In: E. Cancik-Kirschbaum/I. Schrakamp (ed.), Transfer, Adaption und Neukonfiguration von Schrift- und Sprachwissen im Alten Orient, Wiesbaden, 115–175.10.13173/9783447117210.115Search in Google Scholar
Krebernik, M. (1984): Die Beschwörungen aus Fara und Ebla (TSO 2), Hildesheim.Search in Google Scholar
Maiocchi, M. (in print): Legal Regulations at Ebla – part I: Toward a New Understanding of ARET 16 1, Studia Eblaitica.Search in Google Scholar
Milano, L. (1990): Testi amministrativi: assegnazioni di prodotti alimentari (Archivio L.2712 – Parte I) (ARET 9), Rome.Search in Google Scholar
Naumkin, V./L. Kogan et al. (2021): Corpus of Soqotri Oral Literature. Volume One (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics 76), Leiden – Boston.Search in Google Scholar
Pagan, J. (1998): A Morphological and Lexical Study of Personal Names in the Ebla Texts (ARES 3), Rome.Search in Google Scholar
Pasquali, J. (2005): Il lessico dell’artigianato nei testi di Ebla (QuadSem. 23), Florence.Search in Google Scholar
Rainey, A.F. (1996): Canaanite in the Amarna Tablets: A Linguistic Analysis of the Mixed Dialect Used by Scribes from Canaan, Vol. 1–4 (HdOr. 1.25), Leiden – New York.10.1163/9789004293991_043Search in Google Scholar
Tropper, J. (2012): Ugaritische Grammatik. Zweite, stark überarbeitete und erweitete Auflage (AOAT 273), Münster.Search in Google Scholar
Veldhuis, N. (2004): Religion, Literature, and Scholarship: The Sumerian Composition Nanše and the Birds, with a Catalogue of Sumerian Bird Names (CunMon. 23), Leiden – Boston.10.1163/9789047405771Search in Google Scholar
Villard, P. (1987): Le déplacement des trésors royaux d’après les archives royales de Mari. In: D. Charpin/F. Joannès (ed.), La circulation des biens, des personnes et des idées dans le Proche-Orient ancien. Actes de la XXXVIIIe Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale (Paris, 8–10 juillet 1991), Paris, 195–205.Search in Google Scholar
© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Frontmatter
- More on the Lexicon and Grammar of the Ebla Chancery Texts
- A Song in Ištanuwa Luwian
- Hieroglyphic Inscriptions on Hittite Pottery from Late Bronze Kinet Höyük (Hatay, Turkey)
- Creditors and Private Loans in Presargonic Sumer
- To Sneer, Scoff, Scorn, and Cluck: An Onomatopoetic Verbal Complex in R1-n-ṣ?
- Kaskean: A New Recorded Language in the Archives of Ḫattuša?
- Reevaluating the So-called “Reforms of Urukagina” (2)
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Frontmatter
- More on the Lexicon and Grammar of the Ebla Chancery Texts
- A Song in Ištanuwa Luwian
- Hieroglyphic Inscriptions on Hittite Pottery from Late Bronze Kinet Höyük (Hatay, Turkey)
- Creditors and Private Loans in Presargonic Sumer
- To Sneer, Scoff, Scorn, and Cluck: An Onomatopoetic Verbal Complex in R1-n-ṣ?
- Kaskean: A New Recorded Language in the Archives of Ḫattuša?
- Reevaluating the So-called “Reforms of Urukagina” (2)