Basic Metadata
- NaBuCCo ID
- 3883
- Museum No.
- EAH 216
- Primary Publication
- BE 8/1 106
- CDLI P-Identifier
- P453430
- Place of issue
- Borsippa region
- Regional setting
- Borsippa region
- Places mentioned on Tablet
- Rabija
- Archive
- Rē'i-alpi
- Period
- Early Achaemenid
- Babylonian Date (year-month-day):
- Cyr. 05-IX-02
- Date BCE
- 17/11/517
Digeanna
- Text Form
- Contract (various verbs)
- Legal Purpose
- Sale (ana ... nadānu; šâmu, sometimes ina muḫḫi)
- Transaction Type
- not applicable
- Format of the tablet
- landscape
Navico
- Oblate/Slave Role
- Is dedicated (oblate) (passive)
- Oblate/Slave Descriptor
- oblate
Content
- Paraphrase
(Concerning) the tablet of the prebends that Nabû-mukīn-zēri/Aplāya//Rē’i-alpi (NMZ) sealed (kanāku) and gave (nadānu) to Nabû-šumu-ukīn/Mušēzib-Marduk//Rē’i-alpi (NŠU):
NŠU had voluntarily (ina ḫūd libbi) paid (nadānu) 6 minas of silver as a gift in exchange for (kūm) these prebends to NMZ. Additionally, NŠU will give yearly 6;0 of barley (and) 0;1.4 of sesame, (and) monthly 5 thigh cuts to NMZ, as long as NMZ lives.
(Concerning) Amāt-Mār-bīti-uṣur (AMBU), slave (ardum) of NMZ, on whose hands NMZ placed (nadû) a spade and a stylus (i.e. branded him with the symbols of Marduk and Nabû) and whom he dedicated (zakû D) with regard to the cattle: NMZ gave (him) voluntarily to NŠU for the shepherding of the cattle. NŠU will provide AMBU with food (kusāpu) and clothing (muṣiptu).
Both men have taken (leqû) a copy of the contract.
5 witnesses are listed. The scribe is Šamaš-iddin/Nabû-mušētiq-uddî//Rē’i-alpi, in Borsippa.
After the date: AMBU will serve (palāḫu) NMZ for as long as he (mng. NMZ) lives.
Note 1: The “placing of the spade and stylus” on the hand of Amat-Mār-bīti-uṣur, meaning the brandishing with the symbols of Marduk and Nabû, indicates that Nabû-mukīn-zēri had dedicated him as an oblate (širku) to the temple after his death.
Note 2: cf. BM 28872 (Waerzeggers 2010 no. 179), which was written on the same day and is connected to this text.
- Legacy Paraphrase
Sale of a prebend.
Sale of a prebend from one member of the ox-herd (Rēˀi-alpi) clan to another. A seals the prebend tablet (ṭuppu ša isqi) and gives (i.e. sales) it to B. In return, B voluntarily (ina hūd libbi) gives 6 mina of silver to A as gift (qištu) for these prebends. Additionally (elat), B will provide A, as long as A lives, with yearly 6 kor of barley, 0;1.4 kor of sesame, and monthly 5 thighs.
A also gives to B his slave, C, for herding the cows. C, the slave, was dedicated (zakû) by A (to Nabû) with regard to the cows, and his hand is inscribed with the shovel (marru) and stylus (qan ṭuppi) (marking the dedication to Nabû). The dedication, however, will take into effect only after A’s death. B will provide C with food and clothes.
Each party took a copy of the agreement.
Names of 5 witnesses and the scribe.
A= Nabû-mukīn-zēri/Aplāya/Rēˀi-alpi, seller of the prebend; B= Nabû-šumu-ukīn/Mušēzib-Marduk/Rē’i-alpi, buyer of the prebend; C= Amat-Mār-bīti-uṣur
Further Information
- Type and Content
- Purchases
- last updated by
- Dylan Schimek, Oct. 6, 2026, 10:20 a.m.
- Imported (Person, Date)
- Yuval Levavi, Kathleen Abraham (08/09/2023)
- Mentioned in the following publication(s)
- Ragen 2006
- Waerzeggers 2010