2018
Cairn
Henry Stadhouders, « The Unfortunate Frog: On Animal and Human Bondage in K 2581 and Related Fragments With Excursuses on BM 64526 and YOS XI, 3 », Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale, ID : 10670/1.ky2mmq
This article presents a fresh edition with annotations of the medico-magical Sammeltafel K 2581 and several as yet unpublished duplicates and parallels, the most prominent of which (BM 65426) is dealt with in an excursus of its own. These texts are an important source for our understanding of the li’bu disease, and the present editions provide an opportunity for a discussion of some of the ancient methods of treating the ailment, notably the practice of quarantine. The edition of a newly identified duplicate to the reverse (N 909+) helps us to better understand what this part of the tablet is about. In a final excursus the author expounds his musings over text and purport of an Old Babylonian incantation against tūltum “tooth worm” ( YOS XI, 3), deviating in crucial details from previous attempts to decode the meaning of this elusive spell.