SUMERIAN PROVERB COLLECTION SEVEN

Author(s): Bendt Alster

Source: Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale, Vol. 72, No. 2 (1978), pp. 97-112
Published by: Presses Universitaires de France
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 REVUE D'ASSYRIOLOGIE
ET D'ARCHÉOLOGIE ORIENTALE
PUBLIÉE SOUS LA DIRECTION DE
ANDRÉ PARROT PAUL GARELLI
MEMBRE DE l'INSTITUT PROFESSEUR A l'UNIVERSITÉ DE PARIS I
DIRECTEUR HONORAIRE DU MUSÉE DU LOUVRE DIRECTEUR D'ÉTUDES A L'E.P.H.E. (iV® SECTION)

Secrétaire de rédaction : JEAN-PIERRE GRÉGOIRE

LXXII8 Volume 1978

SUMERIAN PROVERB COLLECTION SEVEN

by Bendt Alster

Edmund I. Gordon became a pioneer in the study of the Sumerian pr

collections, the oldest known in the world, when, in 1957-59, he published Colle
II, IV, and V1. Since then little systematic study has been devoted to these so
A proverb poem, The Instructions of Suruppak, was published by me in 1974
study of the text, I tried to point to compositional principles in the proverb co
other than such systems as the use of key-words already observed by Gordon3
times we fînd the same sequences reproduced both in the proverb collections
literary texts. This means that there may be a logical connection between the p

Abbreviations: AcOr — Acla Orientalia. Apost. = Apostolios, quoted from Leutsch et Schneidewin
paremiographorum Graecorum I-II (Gôttingen, 1839-1851). BiOr = Biblioteca Orientalis. BWL = W
bert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature (Oxford, 1960). CAD = The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental
oflhe University of Chicago (Chicago, 1956). DiXringsfeld = von Reinsberg-Duringsfeld, Ida, und von
Duringsfeld, Die Sprichwôrler der germanischen und romanischen Sprachen vergleichend zusammeng
(Leipzig, 1872-1875). JAOS = Journal of the American Oriental Society. JCS = Journal of Cuneiform
OrNs = Orientalia Nova Sériés. Otto — A. Otto, Die Sprichwôrler und sprichwôrllichen Redensarten der Rômer
(Leipzig, 1890). RSO = Rivisla degli Studi Orienlali (Roma). SP = Edmund I. Gordon, Sumerian Proverbs
(Philadelphia, 1959). Tille y = Morris P. Tilley, A Dictionary of the English Proverbs in England in the Sixteenlh
and Sevenleenth Centuries (Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1950). ZA = Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie und vorderasiatische
Archàologie.
1. For bibliographical détails see E. I. Gordon, BiOr 17 (1960), pp. 125-138 and 150-151.
2. For recent studies see Maurice Lambert, Recherches sur les proverbes sumériens de la collection 1,
RSO 42 (1967), pp. 75-99, and ditto de la collection 2, RSO 45 (1970), pp. 29-58 ; Abdul Hadi al-Fuadi, Sumerian
and Modem Iraqi Proverbs: A comparative Study. Sumer 29 (1973), pp. 83-106 (in Arabie) ; I. M. Diakonoff,
Social Relationships in Sumerian and Babylonian Folklore (120 Proverbs and Sayings); Vestnik Drevnii Istorii
(Moscow, 1966), pp. 9-21.
3. Bendt Alster, The Instructions of Suruppak (Copenhagen, 1974); Id., Studies in Sumerian Proverbs
(Copenhagen, 1975).
Revue d'Assyriologie, 2/1978 13

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98 BENDT ALSTER [RA 72

cited, as is the case in those sequences which can be found

Codes and the Lexical sériés. Therefore, the closer observat
which the proverbs occur may help us to understand them
comparative study which will yield the most to the under
This study is devoted to Sumerian Proverb Collection
edited with translitération, translation, comments, and an
parallels from sources other than the Sumerian. It goes
Sumerian sources are so difficult to understand that ail translations should be read

only as tentative suggestions.

For practical purposes I introduce this study by a revised list of the Sume
proverb collections4. In addition to those collections given numbers by Gordon, I
to the Ashmolean collection recently published by 0. R. Gurney and S. N. Kram
Oxford Editions of Cuneiform Texts, vol. V (Oxford, 1976), pp. 36-41.
Proverb Collection I. Edition: E. I. Gordon, SP. Additional sources: ISET I 124,
Ni 5300 (= 195-196), ISET I 205, Ni 9588 (= 155-156, 164-165), N 1757
( = 144-146, 167-169).
Proverb Collection II. Edition: E. I. Gordon, SP. Additional sources: N 3030 (joins
UM 29-16-523 + N 5306 = Gordon's text K), CBS 10323 + CBS 10319 (joins
CBS 10225 = Gordon's text D, and CBS 10213 = Gordon's text S), N 5306 = 69.
Ni 9528 (ISET I 172) = 1-5.
Proverb Collection III, unpublished. Sources:
3N-T 335 = 1-30, 32-47, 60-87, 90-102. N 5078 = 13-17.
CBS 14050 = 1-20, 54-86. Ni 9587 = 20-23.
Ni 10138 = 2-9, 11-24. 2N-T 549 = 43, 63, 77-81.
N 3524 = 3-7, 83-84. UM 29-15-513 = 58-62, 74-79, 153-160,
Ni 1878 = 3-6. 187-191.
Ni 4443 = 3-7, 31-35, 62-66, 83-85. 3N-T 322 = 80-191.
Ni 4457 = 5-13, 30-31, 148-153, 182-191. SLTNi 153 = 80-82.
N 4762 = 6-11. Ni 3857 83-85.
CBS 8863 = 6-10. Ni 4066 90-93, 110-115.
Ni 4319 = 8-11. Ni 9647 98-103.
UM 29-13-458 = 10-13, 36-40, 51-57. Ni 4306 127-128.
CBS 14025 = 10-23. Ni 9644 127-134.
Ni 1878 b = 13-15. Ni 9493 149-152.
N 4700 = 13-18. Ni 4210 = 152-158.
Schooltexts: UET VI 325 (= 35), UET VI 382 (= 76), PBS 1/2 136 (= 40), MDP
XXVII 89 (= 184), UM 55-21-63 ( = 10).

4. Unfortunately Gordon has not given ail the numbers of unpublished sources identified by him in his
publications. During my stay in the University Muséum in Philadelphia, in August 1974, I succeeded in
re-identifying most of these texts, as well as in making some corrections and additions, but my list remains
incomplète at least as regards collections III, XVII, and XVIII.

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1978] SUMERIAN PROVERB COLLECTION SEVEN 99

Proverb Collection IV. Edition: E. I. Gordon, JAOS 77 (1957), 67-79.

Proverb Collection V. Edition: E. I. Gordon, JCS 12 (1958), 1-21 and 43-75). For
additional sources see Gordon, BiOr 17, 151. In order to make it easier to refer
to sources published after Gordon's édition, a complété list of sources is pub
lished here:

Muséum number: Publication: Contents:

CBS 14104 JCS 12, pl. I-II

UM 29-15-574 JCS 12, pl. IV
N 3748 JCS 12, pl. IV
CBS 14017 JCS 12, pl. IV
CBS 3811 JCS 12, pl. IV No. 21
CBS 6551 PBS 1/2 139 and No. 22

JCS 12, pl. IV

U. 17207.47 UET VI 287 No. 38

CBS 6893 + CBS 7082 JCS 12, pl. III

+ N 5409 + N 5639
U. 17207.113 UET VI 236 No. 44

U. 17207.64 UET VI 234 No. 46

U. 17207.34 UET VI 233 No. 54

UET VI 212 No. 55

U. 17207.112 UET VI 211 No. 57

Ni 4025 SLTNi 114
U. 17207.82 UET VI 208 Nos. 59-60
HS 1435 TMHNF III 46
UM 29-15-565 JCS 12, p. 55
U "QQQ" No. 80
UET VI 228 No. 86

U. 17207.79 UET VI 270 No. 88

MDP XXVII No. 102

U. 17207.15 UET VI 223 No. 97

U. "CCC-1" No. 98

CBS 8314 STVC 123, photo

JCS 12, p. 56
3N-T 415 JCS 12, p. 61
U. 17207.49 UET VI 224 No. 106

U. 17207.6 UET VI 222 No. 107

UET VI 229 No. 113

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100 BENDT ALSTER [RA 72

Muséum number: Publication: Contents:

UET VI 230 Nos. 116 and 115?

U. 17207.66 UET VI 232 No. 120
YBC 4604
YBC 9886
U. 17207. .77 UET VI 225 No. 82
UET VI 231 Nos. 109-110?

u. 17207. 114 UET VI 309 No. 101

UET VI 313 No. 123

Proverb Collection VI, unpublished. Sources5:

SLTNi 145 = l'-3, 25-33.

CBS 13890 = 12-33.
3N-T 570 = 15-17.

UET VI/2 317 = 15

N 5156 = 15-20.
ISET II 81 unnumbered = 26-28.

Ni 4330 = 28-31, 33-35, 38-41.

CBS 19789 = 37-47 (rev. lexical text = SLT 188).
SLTNi 147 = 38-53.

SLT 189 = 43-46(?).

Ni 5098 = 47-50.
Ni 4422 = 48-51.

Schooltexts: UET VI 244 (= 33), MDP XXVII 206 (= 33-35), OLZ 17, 306,
P 376 ( = 48).

Proverb Collection VIII + XX, unpublished. Sources:

TMHNF III 45 (HS 1430) = 1-12.

CBS 2220 = 10-19.
YBC 71636.

CBS 13989 = 30-43, 50-54.

CBS 19758 + 3882 = 40-44.

5. Gordon, SP, pp. 279-280, considère the possibility that Collection VI actually is the continuation
Collection II. If this is correct, Collection VI, 4-5 would be identical with Collection II, 145-146, Collection
6-11 would be identical with Collection II, 147-152 (ail missing), and Collection II, 153-157 could be restor
accordance with Collection VI, 12-16, whereas Collection VI, 17-21 is identical with Collection II, 158-164.
6. For YBC 7163 see Gordon, BiOr 17, 151.

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1978] SUMERIAN PROVERB COLLECTION SEVEN 101

Schooltexts: UET VI 275 (== 4), UET VI 300 (= 5-6), UET VI 240 = 12-13,
UET VI 241 (— approximately 20), UET VI 217 (= approximately 29),
UET VI 220 (= 35).

Proverb Collection IX, unpublished. Sources:

TAD 8/2 (1958), Lev. XXXV, Ni 4077, joins SLTNi 149 = 1-13, etc.
ISET II 84, Ni 9797, joins UM 29-15-512 = 5-12 and unplaceable lines, including
the last four lines.

ISET II 80, Ni 9867 = 1-4.

Proverb Collection X. Only source PBS 1/2 117, see B. Alster, Sludies in Sumerian
Proverbs, pp. 96-97.

Proverb Collection XI -f XIX, unpublished. Collection XI consists of PBS XIII 50

(= CBS 14176) + PBS XII/1 29 (CBS 4567) + CBS 14222 + CBS 7831, which
is part of the same tablet as UM 29-15-394 (= Collection XIX), cf. B. Alster,
Sludies in Sumerian Proverbs, p. 141.

Proverb Collection XII, unpublished. Sources:

Ni 9630 + 9791 (TAD 8/2 Lev. XXV-XXVI), Ni 2525, CBS 14125 + CBS 14004
+ N 5913, CBS 7130, TMHNF III 51.

Proverb Collection XIII, unpublished. Sources:

3N-T 324 = 1-27, 33-60 (phot. in Archaeology 7, p. 147).
ISET II 85, Ni 9607 = 12-18, 48-59.
N 5919 + N 6162 = 42-47.

Proverb Collection XIV, unpublished. Sources7:

CBS 14139 + UM 29-13-363.
Ni 10162 (schooltext).

Proverb Collection XV, unpublished. Sources:

Ni 4210 + 4444A + 4444C (ISET II 77).
Ni 10159 (ISET I 125 = ISET II 85).

7. Gordon, BiOr 17, 127, states that Collection XIV is partially reconstructible from four tablets and
fragments. It is impossible to verify this since the numbers are unknown (cf. note 4 above), but in ail likeliho
he refers to UM 29-16-519 when speaking of "a group of proverbs each of which ends with the phrase nig-
dnin-urta-kam". This tablet, however, is a separate composition and does not belong to Collection XIV.

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102 BENDT ALSTER [RA 72

UM 29-16-192.

Ni 3480 (ISET II 89).

Proverb Collection XVI, unpublished. Sources:

Ni 9752 (ISET II 70).
CBS 7801.
N 5213.

Proverb Collection XVII, unpublished. Sources: CBS 139448.

Proverb Collection XVIII, unpublished. Sources: PBS XIII 38 (= CBS 14188)9.

Proverb Collection XXI, unpublished. Sources10:

Ni 3206 (ISET II 42), obv. I = Sec. A, II = Sec. C 2-3, 9, rev. uninscribed.
Ni 4360 (ISET II 73), obv. I = Sec. B, II = Sec. C.
UM 29-15-667, obv. I = Sec. C 1-3, 5, II = Sec. D., rev. Sec. E (illegible traces).
TMHNF III 49 = Sec. C 3, 11-14, 11.
UM 55-21-315, obv. Sec. C 4-14, 1, rev. Sec. F.
CBS 8850, obv. = Sec. C 1-3, 4, rev. = Sec. D.

Proverb Collection XXIII, unpublished. Only source Copenhagen, Nat. Mus. A 10062.

Proverb Collection XXIV, unpublished. Only source Copenhagen, Nat. Mus. A 10068.
As already stated by Gordon, BiOr 17, 128, our Proverb Collection VII seems
to have originally contained approximately 114 proverbs of which 82 are preserved
wholly or in part. Approximately 50 of these proverbs are also found in Proverb
Collections One, Two, Three, and Six. Furthermore, our collection is closely related
to three bilingual fragments which seem to belong to the same tablet, K 4327 + 4605
+ 4749, K 15227, and 80-7-19130, now edited by W. G. Lambert, BWL, pp. 235-238
and 257-258 (cf. ibid., p. 223).
There follows a complété translitération of Proverb Collection Seven. The sources
are the two fragments STVC 3 and 4 which join (cf. Gordon, BiOr 17, 128). No dupli
cates are known.

8. Gordon, BiOr 17, 129, mentions a single small duplicating fragment to CBS 13944, but I have
able to identify it.
9. Gordon, BiOr 17, 129, mentions two additional fragmentary sources for Collection XVIII, b
not been able to identify them.
10. Collection XXI includes the fable The Fowler and his Wife = Sec. C 3, 1-3, 13 (partial dupli
Mus. A 10068, rev. 7-13 = Collection XXIV), as well as the fable The Lazy Slave Girl = Sec. C 14,
The latter composition is completely preserved in SLTNi 131, obv. II, 3-16, from which the issue c
reconstructed. Ni 4210 + 4444A, frag. 6 (ISET II 78) further contains lines 2-6, and frag. d lines 7
an édition of both fables see my treatment in JCS 27 (1975), 214-216.

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1978] SUMERIAN PROVERB COLLECTION SEVEN 103

Proverb Collection YII

[ki gul-la-ba ki h]é-en-gul 33 [im-ma-an-ri-ri sah-ni ba]-an-sum

[ki nu-gul]-la-ba *im-[ma-an-ri-ri gis-ni ba-an-til]
[gû gir] hé-en-gâl 34 kaxnun(î) [•••]
[ki-ni ki lu.ûb]8ar kud-du hé-a [...] (indented line)
[garza-bi] ba-da-ha.lam 35 u im(?)-[...]
[ki.ir.ga-a ki] ba-e-gul gû mu-[...]
[me-bi . . ,]-ab-da gis il x [. . . ]
[ha.lam-,. .] ub-bal-àm [. ..]
36 nam [.. . ]
37 ma kar x [.. . ]
9 [...] x [...] 38
10
nig §u ti-a [li-bi-in-gur-re-en]
[...] a-a-bi nu-gur-x 39 im kud x [. . .]
11 [diS apin di§] ab.sin
umbin(?) [. . .]
[gâ.e 3 kam]-ma-bi-me-en
12 Lacuna
lag a-[a gurudx(L]û.Ki)-da bi.iz
[hé-gul-la 44 bi-in-dug4(?) ba-da-an-gur(?)
13 uh-sè pirig-gim du 45 sièmâ-gim a-a àm-zi-zi
kin ak-dè nig.gilim-gim du 46 na4ara5 sir-ra x
14 umbin. ku5 tûg. mu. durx-ra mu4-mu4 al-du7-du,-du7-x
15 kasbir(KAS.A.sù.A) ga-nag(!) 47 ka ba-an-lâ-a
[zag.gal-la ga-tu§ dam-a-ni gi4.in.nam
16 [nu-mu-n]a-kal ezem-ma ba-Du 48 ka-mu lû-[da]
17 [zib a-ra-an-gid]-nam lû se gis.ià [an-d]a-sâ-e-en
[bi-ib-il]-il-i ru6i.di un di-dè-en
18 [ ] SAR(?)-ba uru(?) na [...] uru-ni mu-un-è-e
49 al-di-di-dè-en
nu-kû§-ù-dè-en
ma ha-ba-su-su
i-di-di-dè-en
bara2 ga-ba-ra-ab-ùr ù nu-ku-ku-me-en
u4 mu-da-zal a.na mu-e-si-ti 50 ti-la lul-la
i-diri nu-su-su
24
hul na-an-gu.ul-Te1
u4 i-di-dè-en
gam ha.la-zu mu-un-g[âl]
51 tûg me.en.zé.er-ba ba-[da-ab
balag. ir-ra im-ma-gub-gub-bu-dè-en
25
[bir7-ra]
] ... ba-ni-ib-lâ
se sahar-ba im-ma-an-t[i-la]
ta su ba-ni-[in-ti]
] x-en 52 a dé-a-bi rxl
] Du-àm
26
se si-ga-bi rxi
] x-kam in-kû nu-un-kû
27 ]-kûr
53 ga.Sa.an tûg gal-g[al-la-mèn]
28 ] ga-sâm-bi
29
tûg nig.dara2-mu da-a[n-ku5]
sa]g.du m⧠gur-ra
54 ù.mu.un id-[da ma.al-la-mèn]
] x-da-kû-e
30
[x bu] i-[kû-e-en]
] x gid-i nu-gâl
31 Lacuna
uh-e gada] ba-lâ
num. sahar-ra] gi. kid . a§ . rin 70 nam.tar [ur]-àm [zû mu-un-da
[ba-e-si] [ab-ku5]
mus. da]. gur4-ra tûg.mu.durx-ra-gim [im-ma
§utum(É. GI.NA. AB. D]U,(?)) [tab-tab]
[ba-an-an-dù] 71 ga.sa.an.an.na e x [...]
32 [a.râ.bumuêen u4].â-ba-ka nu-kû e en ki ur5 [...]

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104 BENDT ALSTER
[RA 72

72 gi6 ri im ir gi6 [. . . ] [s'èn.bar ga]ba ud-da-ka

nig ga.sa.an.an x [... ] [è]-a
èm giri3-ba di [. . . ] 94 ]-ra
73 ur i-im-sâ m[i.ir im-sâ] ]-ra
lû-mu ba-ra-m[u-un-sâ] ]-AN
74 s^mâ.addir ]-AN
lu diri [ba-si(?)] ]-bi
lû-mu ba-ra-mu-[un-u5] 95 gig gù.nida-a làl-g[im i]b-ak
75 i-bi mu.durx-ra [...] mar.tu i-ku-e nig §à-bi nu-un-zu
se-bi sahar-ra [... ] 96 se sur-ra gû na-an-mar-mar-r[e]
76 e.li.lum-mu kur-re [ab(?)-kar(?) se-zu(?) És nim hûb lugal-zu(?)
[-re(?)] [ba(?)-an-ku
TÛG-mu ur5-re nu-um-si-[. .. kar(?) 97 sag5-ga-bi pà-da
[-re(? )] hul-bi û.gu dé-a
77 pa.a bi-in-dug4 ma ba-rdai-ran1-[su] 98 nam.sag6-ga kas-a nam.hul
a.la.la bi-in-dug4 [kaskal-la]
?8gi.mus ba-da-an-ku5 99 al-gâl-la tûg.nig.dara2-àm
gurus-e u8-a dingir-ra àm-di û.gu ba-an-dé tûg-ga-àm
s^mâ silim-bi ba-te 100 u4-da ga-ti-e
78 a.b[a-a] dingir-zu mu-un-zu gud-gim saman bi-in-lâ
a.ba-a dingir fxi [bP-in-lu Lacuna
79 sà(?)-mu ?%iri6 h[a-ra-diri-ga]
dutu nu-mu-un-t[a-è]
105 e^apin [. . . ]
80 agrig su.dim4-[ma-àm]
106 ui(!).bar [du8-a gemea min-àm]
sa.Ku kala-ga-me-en un.gùr rdu„i-a arad 3-àm
107 na4 nig ga. sa. an. mà-a-ke4
81 gud kûr-ra û kû-kû
gud ni-ba i.sim-ma(?) nâ-nâ gaz-za-àm
108 [. . . ] x gie-a-ka
nig û nu-kû am kur-ra-[àm]
Lacuna
[...] du7-[d]u7-du7-un
109 f...] lû(?)-e gâ-a-kam
86 s[ub ...] [...] lû(?) nig(?) zi-zi
87 ga-a[n ...] Lacuna
ga-ab-[...] 112 [ • ■ ■ ]-gâ
ga-[b]a-hul-hul [.. .]-ra(?)-àm
88 geme2 [x] iM-ra-kam 113 [uruki èn].du-bi
89 lui dug4-ga-ab zi dug4-ga-ab [mas su] gid-gid-bi
90 [g]û zu.hu.ul-a-ni-ta 114 [...] si(?)-en-dè-en
[d]ù-dù-àm [. . . ] x-en-dè-en
91 [g]û bala gû ki-ta al-ak-e [. .. ] kû-un-dè-en
92 [a].sà buru4(sm.BUR)muêen-gim [. . . na]g(?)-en-dè-en
[z]u e-da-an-ra. ah [... ] e mu(?)-e-dug4
93 [ad.d]a a ur5 nu-ri [.. . ]-a bi-dug4
[ama-a a ur6] nu-ri

1 Where destruction has been made, let destruction be made there!

Where no destruction has been made, let the neck be trampled under foot there!
Let his(?) place be like the place of eut beans!—
Its order disappeared.
The rules of the place were destroyed.—
Don't annihilate its order!

Lacuna

11 Of every plough, of every furrow,

I am their third!

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1978] SUMERIAN PROVERB COLLECTION SEVEN

12 Let him perish in (his own) tears like a clod thrown into water!
13 To move like a lion toward fleas,
to move like a mongoose to do a job.
14 A manicurist dressed in dirty rags.
15 Let me drink diluted beer, let med sit on the seat of honour.
16 It does not please him, he goes to the feast.
17 I am striding in front of you: The man carries barley and oil.
Lacuna

23 The boat has gone too deep.

Let me throw the crates overboard.
Time passes, what do you obtain?
It floats, and it does not sink.
24 (Every) day when I talk,
(every) evening when I talk,
I set up a harp of lament.
Lacuna

31 Linen is stretched out for the flea.

The meat-safe(?) is filled for the fly.
The store house is built for the lizard.

32 A duck which is not eaten at the right time.

33 He gathered (things) and slaughtered his pig.
He gathered (things) and used up his wood.
Lacuna

You do not return what you have borrowed.

Lacuna

44 He spoke(?), it came back(?).

45 He bobs up and down in the water like a boat.
46 The mill-stone ...
grinds(?) . . .
47 The man whose mouth is "diminished",
his wife is a female slave.

48 It is my mouth which makes me comparable with men.

For a spectacle to the land
he left his city.
49 I walk about,
I do not become tired.
I walk about,
I do not sleep.
50 To live is bad,
don't make it worse.

To die is your lot.

51 When rags are torn into pieces,
when barley is lying in dust,
what do you receive?

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106 BENDT ALSTER [RA 72

52 Water, when poured out .. .

barley, when filled .. .
he eat, he did not eat.
53 I am a lady with large garments.
Let me eut my girdle.
Lacuna

70 Fate is a dog—well able to bite,

it clings like dirty clothes.
71 Inanna ...

72 Night . . .
Something belonging to Inanna ...

73 He is like a dog, he is like a storm,

he is not like my man.
74 The boat is filled with too many men.
My man shall not board it.
75 That oil, in dirt . . .
that barley, in dust . . .
76 My cry (of joy), the Nether World ...
my reason does not ...
77 He said, alas!—The boat was sinking.
He said, hurrah!
His rudder broke.

The man said, Oh God.

The boat arrived safely.
78 Who are you who know your god?
Who are you whom your god has made rich?
79 My heart is bigger than a garden,
but the sun does not rise from there.

80 The stewards are suppressed.

I am brawny arms.
81 A foreign ox eats grass.
One's own ox sleeps on the meadows.
That which eats nothing is a bull of Kur.
Lacuna

89 Tell a lie, tell the truth.

90 Utterly despised.
91 He turns upside down.
92 The field was completely devoured like by locusts.
93 Not engendered by a father,
not conceived by a mother,
the rose came out from the breast of the storm.

Lacuna

95 They have prepared a cake with pease meal instead of honey.

The nomads eat it without knowing what is inside it.

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1978] SUMERIAN PROVERB COLLECTION SEVEN

96 Corn stacks are abundant.

The ..., your king ate your grain.
97 Its good qualities are apparent.
Its bad qualities are hidden.
98 Pleasure—it is beer.
Discomfort—it is an expédition.
99 When it was present, it was a dirty rag.
When it had disappeared, it was a (valuable) garment.
100 Today let me live!
Like an ox he is attached to a leash.

Lacuna

105 A plough ...

106 The relief of an usbar-weaver is two female slaves.
The relief of an ungur-worker is three slaves.
107 Crushed by a stone belonging to my mistress.
Lacuna

113 The songs of a city are its omens.

Lacuna

Notes on Proverb Collection VII

I. The meaning intended by this group of sayings is probably that it is too lat
the destruction of something which one has been too eager to destroy intentionally
contain an invitation to destroy a place whether or not this has been done before, lines
that this is effectuated, and the continuation, for which see Gordon's édition of SP, Coll. II, 1,
shows that the speaker regrets what he has done, when ironically he warns against destroying
the place, which of course is too late. Cf. "it's no use crying over spilt milk".
A différent interprétation is suggested by Th. Jacobsen, in Gordon, SP, pp. 473-474,
namely that our text is a mock-lament for a place named Kirgâ, "which may have been a term
for a place, platform, or similar, on which the dancers traditionally performed, or much more
likely, the name of a town from which they were supposed to hail".
Our sequence can be reconstructed from SP, Coll. II, 1, which has a somewhat longer text.
For lu.ûbsar kud-da see Hh XVII 352: lu.ub.kud-da8ar = ki-is-mu, cited in CAD, s.v. kismu
"weeding, cutting of green plants". For ki-ni "his place", where the reference in "his" is not
clear, M. Lambert, RSO 45, 30 suggests the reading ki.zâr "creux". For the word ki.ir.ga or
di.ir.ga, see À. Sjôberg, JCS 21 (1967), 276, and add to the references cited there UET VI/2
252, 6: di.ir.ga di nu-ub-du, with the variant UET VI/2 251, 5: di gal-gal-e di nu-ub-bé. The
evidence might point toward a meaning like "order, rules", or similar.
II. This proverb is identical with Coll. III, 154. It is there preceded by one reading:
ùz-dè nam.um.ma ba-dug4 nam.û.zugx ib-ak "the she goat spoke like a matron, but acted in a
dirty manner". The following proverb in Coll. III is identieal with our Coll. VII, 15. Unfortunately
it does not appear who the speaker is who says "I am their third", but the contexts, both in
Coll. III and in Coll. VII, suggest that the proverb is to be understood as a boasting statement
characterizing a braggart, or perhaps one who is, or thinks he is, indispensable in a given situation.
From the point of view of phraseology our proverb is similar to Lugalbanda in Hurrum
kurra 240: dutu lu min du 3-kam-ma-bi za.e-me-en "Utu, when two men walk together, you are
their third" (cf. Wilcke, Das Lugalbandaepos, p. 82). Since this comparison suggests a positive
attitude, the speaker may be a ploughman or an ox.

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 108 BENDT ALSTER [RA 72

12. This proverb is identical with C

which see Gordon, SP, p. 79 and 507. Th. Jacobsen, ibid., p. 461, translates "like a clod thrown
into the water, slowly disintegrating (lit. 'in his dribbling away') may he perish!", and refers
to the practice of dissolving lumps of earth in water as a symbolic action performed when taking
the oath. For bi-iz see Â. Sjôberg, JCS 25 (1973), p. 129. The translation given here follows that
of CAD, s.v. bissu. The sentence ridicules a person who has too much self-pity.
13. This proverb is identical with Coll. III, 81, for which see Gordon, Struve Festschrift,
p. 229. To move like a lion towards a flea implies much ado about nothing, and includes a proverbial
point in itself. So does the antithetical phrase, to move like a mongoose to do a job, whose impli
cation is obvious.

14. This proverb is identical with Coll. III, 124. A Greek proverb of similar im
Apostolios II, 26: aXXwv îaxpôç airrèç êXxsai pputov, "the doctor of others is himself
wounds". Many parallels can be found. Cf. Dùringsfeld I, 826, "Jeder kehre vor
and "andere kann er helfen, sich selbst aber nicht". Otto, p. 370: "Qui sibi semitam
alteri monstrant viam, "those who do not themselves know the path, show oth
Cf. also Otto, p. 307: "Sibi non cavere et aliis consilium dare stultum esse."
15. The same phrase occurs in Coll. III, 155, and in BWL 235, I, 1-3. The point rests on
the comical contrast between the seat of honour and diluted beer.
16. This line is identical with Coll. III, 156. It seems to be a proverbial phra
terizing a lazy person. Compare perhaps Coll. II, 161 ( = III, 165): é-sè ga-gin-na sa
which Gordon translates "I would rather go home" (SP, p. 282).
17. This line is identical with Coll. III, 74. I suggest that this expression is to be understood
as uttered by a man who is struggling to provide the most vital means of living, and who is
therefore unable to show others any amount of considération. Cf. the German "Des einen sterben,
des andere Leben. — Des einen Tod, des andern Brot" (Dùringsfeld I, 349), or a well-known
passage i Hesiod's Works and Days, 25-26: "Potter is angry with potter, and craftsman with
craftsman, and beggar is jealous of beggar, and minstrel of minstrel."
The idiom zib gid probably means "to strive". The reading appears from CT XV 14, 14-15:
i.bi zi-da-zu Z1_lbzib-ni ba-an-gid?'-"1, "(the démon) strove at your right side, he fîlled your left
with blood". Further references are Inanna and Ebih 72: imin lâ-e zib gid-gid-i, describing Ebih
(obscure), and Lugal-e 154: en-e zib mu-un-gid dur mu-dûr-ru-un, "the lord (Ninurta) strove,
riding on an ass". Cf. also J. Cooper, ZA 61 (1971), p. 15, lin. 24: anse.edin-na-gim zib
im-si-bad-[du],
23. This proverb occurs also as Coll. I, 91. Cf. also III, 157, where we find part of it quoted
separately: u4 mu-da-zal a.na su mu-da-ti.
The idea is close to that of Hesiod's Works and Days, lin. 689: "Do not put ail your goods in
hollow ships." Shak., Merchant of Venice, I i 42: "My ventures are not in one bottom trusted."
Cf. I Hen. VI iv VI 32, and Tilley, A 209: "Venture not ail in one bottom."
24. This proverb is identical with Coll. I, 167. Gordon, SP, p. 129, translates: "You are
played(?) by day, you are played(?) in the evening, O tearful lyre, must you constantly stand by?"
M. Lambert, RSO 42, 97, translates: "Il te rencontre le jour, il te rencontre le soir, (toujours)
il te tient sous son tambour des lamentations." Since balag gub almost certainly means "to set up
a (harp of) lament", the two first. lines are probably also in the first person, and the meaning
seems to be that a person's life is always accompanied by tears.
25. This proverb is perhaps identical with Coll. VI, 44, where SLTNi 147 obv. 6 has:
... n]a-an-dé-e-en su dili(?) du (x) Du-àm, and SLT 189, 5-6: .. . ]-an-dé-en [. . .] du-du-e an-Du
CBS 19789 omits the line.

29. This proverb is identical with Coll. VI, 42, where CBS 19789 obv. 6 has:
mâs.gur-ra [. . .]-da-ku-e, and SLTNi 147 obv. 4 has an expanded text: [... sag].du
sag.du mâs.gur-ra sEsku6 [...].
31. This sequence is identical with one in a bilingual collection, BWL 236, II
Akkadian text reads: ana par-Sâ-'-i ki-tu-u ta-ri-is-s[u] ana la-am-sa-ti i-as-rin-na

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1978] SUMERIAN PROVERB COLLECTION SEVEN

pi-sal-lu-ri su-tu-um-mu e-pu-us-si, "linen is stretched out for the f

store house is built for the lizard".
I suggest that gi.KiD. as.rin is a basket offering protection against flies, approxim
"meat-safe". The flrst two lines are quoted in Dialogue 1, 14-15, where the meaning is that
who does as described "throws pearls before swine".
32. This line is identical with Coll. VI, 39, SLTNi 147 obv. 2: [a. râ. b]umu§en-gim
u4(!) â(!) .... (with dupls. CBS 19789 and Ni 4330). The comparative particle -gim added shows
that this is a traditional proverbial comparison ("like a duck which"). A bilingual version is
BWL 236, II, 14-16, where the Akkadian text reads: a-a-bu-û sa ina si-ma-ni-sâ la in-nak-ka-lu
"a duck which is not eaten at the right time". The point is the futility of keeping goods so long
that they cannot anymore be used. Cf. "strike, while the iron is hot", "man muss das Eisen
schmieden, Solange es warm ist" (Duringsfeld I, 405).
33. This sequence is identical with the bilingual BWL 236, II, 17-20: ul-ta-aq-qi-tam-ma
it-ta-ba-ah sâ-ha-sû . . . ig-da-mar i-si-sû. The CAD s.v. laqâtu translates: "He has gathered
everything for himself, but had to slaughter his (own) pig, he has gathered everything for himself,
but has used up his (own) wood." This is the only occurrence given for the form lutaqqulu.
The point seems to be that it is futile to take care to provide goods so long as indispensable
means of living are wanting.
38. This line is identical with Coll. I, 31, which Gordon translates as follows: "You do not
return that which you have borrowed." E. Moll, Proverbium 6 (1966), 115, refers to Sirach 29, 6:
"Mancher... wenn er's soll wiedergeben, verzeucht er's", and "Borgen macht Sorgen".
44. This proverb can tentatively be understood as a parallel to "wie man in den Walde
ruft, so schallt es zuriick" (Duringsfeld II, 653).
45. This line is identical with Coll. I, 92. It is apparently a proverbial comparison.
46. This line is identical with the bilingual BWL 236, III, 1-2: na4ara4 sir-ra [x] al-ri-ri-e
= ta-x[. . .] ki-ma e-re-e, and Coll. III, 45. It is perhaps also a proverbial comparison, but the
implication is not clear to me.
47. This line is identical with BWL 236, III, 3-4: ka ba-lâ dam-bi gi-in-na = sa pi-su
ma-tu as-sa-as-su a-mal "the wife of a man who cannot talk well is a female slave". The infor
mation given in BWL, p. 238, about Coll. III, 174, is not correct.
48. The flrst half of No. 48 is identical with BWL 236, III, 5-6: ka-mu mu.lu-da an-da
ab-sâ-e = pi-ia it-ti amêlïmis-sâ-na-an-ni "my mouth makes me comparable with men". This
bilingual text adds a variant of the same proverb [III, 7-8): ka-mu mu.lu-da an-da-ab-sid-e
= pi-ia it-ti amëlïmeS im-ta-na-an-ni "my mouth gets me reckoned among men". The flrst half
of No. 48 is identical with Coll. III, 186: ka-mu lû mu-da-ab-sâ-e (3N-T 322).
I suggest that this is a statement characterizing a boaster. Cf. Shak., Much Ado about
Nothing, IV, i, 319, "Men are only turned into tongue".
The second half of No. 48 is identical with BWL 237 (IV), 9-10: [u6.di kalam-m]a-ra [...] è
= ana tab-rat ma-a-ti ina âli it-ta-si "for a spectacle to the land he left the city". I would suggest
that this line ridicules a man who is so eager to become famous that he is willing to do something
to his own disadvantage, similar to Herostratos who set fire to the Artemis Temple in Ephesos
to make himself famous.

49. This proverb is identical with BWL 238, IV, 11-14, where only part of
translation is preserved: a-tal-lak [«/] a-na-ah [a-da-a]l-ma [ul a-sa]l-lal, "I wal
become tired. I keep moving, but do not take rest". It also occurs as Coll. I, 1
nu-kûS-ù-dè-en i-di-di-dè-en ù nu-ku-ku-me-en. W. G. Lambert (p. 238) suggests
a riddle. I would rather suggest that it is a satire of a boaster, similar to th
50. This proverb is identical with BWL 237, V, 15, which is almost com
[ba-lat sar-r]a-ti . . ., with Coll. III, 54: ti-la lul-la hul na-an-gu-[la] gam ha.la-
(CBS 14050, UM 29-13-458), and Coll. XI (+ XIX), obv. I, 2-3: ti-la lul-la
ga.àm ha.la-zu mu-un-gâl ( = PBS XIII, 50, I, 2). It is an expression of pessim
one in No. 24.

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 110 BENDT ALSTER [RA 72

51. This proverb is identical with Coll. I, 175: tûg.me.zé.er-ra ba-da-ab-bir7-ra se sahar-ra
ba-da-an-ti-la ta-a su ba-ni-in-ti. I suggest that the implication is similar to Diïringsfeld II, 186:
Wo nichts ist, hat der Kaiser sein Recht verloren.
52. The détails of this proverb are not clear, but it is certainly related to Coll. I, 103:
in-kû nu-un-kû numun sag5-ga-àm "he eat, he did not eat, the seed was good". This refers to a
greedy and ignorant person who is unable to distinguish between good and bad food. Sol Cohen
translates this proverb as follows: "Whether he has eaten or not seed is pleasurable", and says
that it deals "with the unrefined eating habits of the rustic, niggard and greedy person" (Alter
Orient und Ailes Testament, 25, p. 101).
Typological parallels are found in Greek proverbs. Aposlolios XIII, 74: oûS' ûstou où8'
ïjXioÛTca "it does not rain, nor does the sun shine", for which see Paul Martin, Studien auf dem
Gebiete des griechischen Sprichwortes, p. 25, No. 34, with similar examples. P. Martin understands
it as "auf die Stumpfsinnigen zu beziehen".
53. This proverb is identical with Coll. I, 176. Various translations and interprétations have
been suggested. My translations follows that of Gordon, SP, p. 135. Th. Jacobsen, ibid., p. 471,
suggests that this is an address from a beggar to a rich person. Cf. also M. Lambert, RSO 42 (1967),
98: "Je suis Dame chaudement habillée: il m'en faut ouvrir ma ceinture." He comments as
follows: "Derrière le sens apparent 'je suis si chaudement vêtue que volontairement je laisse
perdre de ma chaleur', nous admettons la signification voilée: 'je suis si riche que je jette l'argent
par la fenêtre'."
54. This proverb is identical with Coll. I, 177. The implication is probably similar to that
of the preceding one.
70. These lines are identical with Coll. II, 11. They describe the unpredictability of fate.
Cf. The Instructions of Suruppak, 175-176.
73. This proverb is identical with Coll. III, 102, where we find a longer text: hu.ru.um
KA.tuku ur im-sâ mi.ir im-sâ mu.lu-mu [ba-ra-mu]-un-sâ "a boasting(?) Hurrian is like a dog,
is like the storm, he is not like my man". This is a proverbial comparison.
74. This proverb is identical with Coll. I, 187: ^mâ.addir lu dirig ba-[...] mu.lu-mu
ba-ra-mu-un-u5. The implication is similar to that of No. 23 above.
75. Note the somewhat similar phraseology in No. 52 above.
76. This proverb is identical with Coll. I, 183. The interprétation is most uncertain.
77. These lines are identical with Coll. III, 179: ù ua-àm bi-in-dug4 f®mà ba-da-an-su
a.la.la bi-in-dug4 s®mus ba-da-kud, quoted by À. Sjôberg, OrNs 39 (1970), 77. An Akkadian
version is preserved on a fragment of a small Babylonian school-tablet, BWL 274: et-lum û-ua(!)
iq-bi-ma e-li-pa-su it-tet-bu a-la-li iq-bi-ma si-ka-an-su it-te-es-bi-ir û-ua(!) ù a-a-ru iq-bi-ma
e-li-pa-su a-na ki-ib-ri it-te^hi, "a man said, "Alas!" His boat sank. He said, "Hurrah!" His
rudder broke. He said, "Alas!" and "Aiaru!" His boat came to the side". The implication is that
in danger it is better to do something reasonable than to cry in panic, or perhaps rather: "He
laughs best who laughs last."
78. This proverb is identical with BWL 257, V, 1-3, where only a few signs are preserved.
I understand it as a reminder of man's powerlessness in relation to the gods, but the translation
should be taken with great reserve.
79. This proverb is identical with Coll. III, 166: sà-mu s%iri6 ha-ra-diri-ga dutu nu-um-ta-è
(3N-T 322), and BWL 257, V, 4-7, where the Akkadian translation unfortunately is missing. The
implication is not clear to me.
80. This proverb is identical with Coll. III, 59 (CBS 14050, UM 29-15-513 +), and BWL 257,
V, 8-10, where the Akkadian translation reads: a-ba-rak-ku sa-an-qu is-ha-an dan-na-tu ana-ku
"the stewards are suppressed. I am brawny arms". W. G. Lambert compares this with "when
the cat is away, the mice will play" [BWL, p. 258).
81. Two proverbs seem to be involved here. I suggest that the implication of the two first
lines is similar to that of Diïringsfeld II, 526: Verbotene Frucht schmeckt am besten.

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1978] SUMERIAN PROVERB COLLECTION SEVEN

An Akkadian translation of these lines is found in BWL 257, V, 11-13: alap na-ka-ri sam-me
ik-k[al] alap r[a]-ma-ni-sû bi-ri-is ni-il, "a foreigner's ox eats plants; one's own lies in green
pastures". They are identical with Coll. II, 93.
The last line is identical with Coll. I, 30, from which the continuation may be restored:
nig û nu-ku am-kur-ra-ka a nu-nag mas. dà kur-ra-ka. The point probably rests on the ambiguity
of the word kur, which can mean "mountain, foreign land, and Nether World". Cf. Gordon's
interprétation in SP, p. 55 and 457 (cf. also p. 499).
89. This proverb is identical with Coll. II, 71, which has a fuller text: lui dug4-ga-ab zi
dug4-ga-ab lui ba-e-si-ke. The expression lui si-ke occurs in UET VI/1, 58, rev. 6 (Enkidu in the
Nether World) : lu dsumugan lui si-ke nam.erim2 ba-an-tar, and in Proto-Izi II, 286-297
(MSL XIII, 49): lui si-ke, lui si-si-ke.
En exact parallel is Diiringsfeld II, 65: "Einem Lugner traut man nicht, wenn er auch die
Wahrheit spricht." Cf. also Otto, p. 219: Mendaces etiam cum verum dicunt, fidem non inveniunt.
90. This line is identical with Coll. III, 180: [gû] zu.hu.ul-la-ni-ta du-du-a (3N-T 322).
The précisé meaning of zu.hu. ul is difïîcult to determine. It occurs in Dialogue III, 11 ( UET Vl/2.
150): su zu.hu.ul su gi.dub-ba-a nu-du7 "(your) clumsy hand is not suitable for a writing reed".
Therefore the literal translation of our line might be: "Despised because of his clumsiness." This
must be a proverbial phrase, and it may have a further implication which escapes us.
91. This line is identical with Coll. III, 181: gû.bala gû ki-ta al-ak-e "he makes the farther
side the near side". E. I. Gordon suggested that this means the same as the English "topsy
turvy" (cf. W. G. Lambert, BWL, p. 275). A close parallel is found in Arabie: zahran li-batnin,
"upside-down". Cf. also modem Greek fxaXXià xoupâpia ("hair-ball").
92. This is a proverbial comparison which also occurs in Coll. III, 182 (3N-T 322, Ni 4457):
a.sà sir4muêen-gim zû e-da-ra.ah. Its content is similar to that of No. 90.
93. This sequence occurs also in Coll. I, 155, cf. Gordon, SP, p. 123. The implication is
probably similar to that of a Sanskrit verse in Panchalantra, Ryder trans., p. 37: "Silk cornes
from worms, and gold from stone; from cow's hair sacred grass is grown; the water-lily springs
from mud; from cow-dung sprouts the lotus-bud."—For the translation of ur5 nu-, see J. van Dijk,
AcOr 28 (1965), 22, n. 48.
95. This proverb is identical with Coll. III, 140 (3N-T 322): gig gû.nida làl-gim ib-ak
mar.tu i-kû-a nig sà-bi nu-un-zu. It describes the barbarians as unable to distinguish raw and
reflned food, and is similar to No. 52 above. For the interprétation cf. also M. Lambert, RA 67
(1973), 173, n. 3, and E. I. Gordon, BiOr 17 (1960), 131.
96. This proverb may express the same idea as Hesiod, Theog. 599: àXXÔTpiov xâ^arov
açe-reprjv èç yaCT-cép' âjxûvTai, "(the drones) reap the toil of others into their own bellies".
Cf. Apost. II, 24: aXXoi jxèv arcsipoumv, SXXoi S' 'a;xï]GovTai, "some sow, others reap."
97. This proverb is identical with Coll. II, 121. The idea that bad qualities are less apparent
than good ones occurs frequently in proverbs. Cf. The Instructions of Suruppak, 200: sag5-ga
su-àm hul sa an-ga-àm "the good is a hand, the evil is also a heart". Cf. also Shak., Macbeth, I,
v. 64-65: "Look like th'innocent flower, but be the serpent under't", and Virgil, Ecl. iii, 93: Late
angus in herba.
98. This proverb is identical with Coll. II, 123: nam.sag5-ga kas-àm nam.hul kaskal-àm,
on which compare Gordon, SP, pp. 264, 485, and 540. The implication seems to be that it is better
to enjoy oneself at home than to undertake risky expéditions. It is important to note the pun
on kas "beer" and kaskal "road". Cf. "East or West, home is best".
99. This proverb is identical with Coll. III, 188 (3N-T 322). Cf. Shak., Much Ado about
Nothing, IV, i, 217-219: "What we have we prize not to the worth, whiles we enjoy it, but being
lacked and lost, why then we rack the value."
100. This proverb is identical with Coll. III, 32. J. van Dijk, La Sagesse suméro-accadienne,
p. 8, translates "si longtemps que je vive, comme un bœuf une corde m'est attachée". However,
the Akkadian translation contained in the bilingual fragment published by W. G. Lambert,
BWL, p. 257, reads: istën ut-ma lu-ub-lu-ut alpu su-um-ma-nam id-di, "let me live one

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 112 BENDT ALSTER [RA 72-1978]

day!—A lead-rope is attached to (him like) an

wish to survive in spite of ail hard conditions.
106. This proverb is identical with Coll. III, 183. The implication is that a female weaver
is as good as two female slaves, and an un.gùr- worker as good as three maie slaves. This is the
very common type of proverbs "A is better than B".
107. This line is spoken by a woman (emesal). The implication is that one's own relatives
are often one's worst critics. I owe this interprétation to Arne Munch.
113. This proverb is identical with Coll. I, 70: uruki èn.du-bi mâs su gid-gid-bi-im, for
which see Th. Jacobsen, in Gordon, SP, p. 460 f.: " 'The songs of a city are its fortune-tellers.'
That is, one can read a city's fortune out of the aspirations voiced in its songs." Cf. "The tree
is known by its fruit" (Duringsfeld I, 416).

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