- a Transcription of
its Translation[1] and of
the Comments of its Transliteration
plus Added Links and Footnotes
by Gunnar
Anders Smårs Jr©
Obv.
1.
Year 37 of Nebukadnezar, king of
Rev.
1.
[….]…. First part [of the night ….. the moon was]
2.
1 cubit [above/below] the middle star of the elbow of Sagittarius….[….]
3.
When 5° of daytime had passed, the sun was surrounded by a halo. The 19th.
Venus was 2 ½ cubits below β Capricorni. Night of the [….]
4.
That month, the equivalent (of 1 shekel of silver was): barley, 1 kur 2
sut: dates. 1 kur 1 pan ½ sut: mustard. 1 kur …. [….]
5.
Month XI, (the 1st of which was identical with) the 30th
(of the preceding month), the moon became visible in the Swallow; sunset to
moonset: 14° 30’; the north wind blew. At that time, Jupiter was 1 cubit behind
the elbow[24]
of Sagittarius [….]
6.
The 4th, the river level rose. The 4th, Venus was
balanced ½ cubit below (sic) Capricorn. Night of the 6th. first part
of the night. The moon was surrounded by a halo: Pleiades, the Bull of Heaven,
and the Chariot [stood in it….]
7.
the moon was surrounded by a halo: Leo and Cancer were inside the halo;
z Leonis was balanced 1 cubit below the moon. Last part of the night, 3° of
night remaining, [….]
8.
sunrise to moonset: 17°: I did not watch. The sun was surrounded by a
halo. From the 4th to the 15th. the river level rose 1 ½
cubits. On the 16th. it receded. Night of the 18th (and)
the 18th. rain PISAN DIB [….]
9.
when the {….] of Bel was cut off from its place two hosts…. Went away’.
The 22nd, overcast. Night of the 23rd. [….Mars’]
10. was balanced above(sic) the small
star which stands 3 ½ cubits behind Capricorn. Night of the 20th.
red glow flared up in the west: 2 double-[hours….]
11. barley. 1 kur’; dates. 1 kur 1 pan
4 sut: mustard. 1 kur 1 pan: sesame. 4 sut: cress [….]
12. Month XII. The 1st {of
which followed the 30th of the preceding month}. The moon became
visible behind Aries while the sun stood there: sunset to moonset: 25°
measured: earthshine: the north wind blew. At that time. Jupiter |…. Mercury
and Saturn. Which had set.]
13. were not visible. The 1st.
the river level rose. Night of the 2nd, the moon was balanced 4
cubits below η Tauri. Night of the 3rd, beginning of the night.
2 ½ cubits [….][25]
14. From the 1st to the 5th.
the river level rose 8 fingers: on the 6th it receded. Night of the
7th. the moon was surrounded by a halo: Praesepe and α Leonis
[stood] in [it….]
15. the halo surrounded Cancer and
Leo, it was split towards the south. Inside the halo. The moon stood 1 cubit in
of (α Leonis[26]).
The moon being 1 cubit high. Night of the 10th. first [part of the
night. ….]
16. Night of the 11th.
overcast. The 11th. rain DCL. Night of the 12th. a little
rain. …. The 12th. one god was seen with the other: sunrise to
moonset: 1° 30’: ….[…. Mercury][27]
17. was in front of the “band” of the
Swallow. ½ cubit below Venus, Mercury having passed 8 fingers to the east: when
it became visible it was bright and (already) high. 1° ‘ [….Saturn[28]]
18. was balanced 6 fingers above
Mercury and 3 fingers below Venus, and Mars was balanced 2/3 cubits below the
bright star of (….) towards [….]
19. …, …. The 21st.
overcast: the river level rose. Around the 20th. Venus and Mercury
entered the “band” of the Swallow. From […. Jupiter.] [29]
20. which had passed to the east.
Became stationary. At the end of the month. It went back to the west. Around
the 26th. Mercury and Venus [came out] from the “band” of Anunitu
[….]
21. the river level receded 8 fingers.
That month. On the 26th. a wolf entered Borsippa and killed two
dogs: it did not go out. It was killed [….]
Lower
edge
1.
Year 38 of Nebukadnezar, month 1, the 1st (of which followed
the 30th of the preceding month): dense clouds so that [I did not
see the moon ….]
2.
Year 37 [….]
Left
edge
1.
[Year 37 of Nebukad]nezar
1: The last sign visible can
be any number from 14 to 18.
5: UGU-ME occurs also in rev.
16’ and 19’. It cannot designate a part of the day (as suggested by
P.V.Neubebauer and E.Weidner) because in rev. 16 it appears during the night as
well as during daytime. It is rather another weather phenomenon. Mentioned side
by side with rain
10: ALLA is used here not for
the whole zodiacal constellation Cancer but only for Praesepe since Mars can
pass through it within two days. As was remarked by P.V.Neugebauer and
E.Weidner.
11: A translation “was
balanced” for LAL was proposed by A.Sachs. This expression seems to occur
mostly (but not only) in those cases where both celestial bodies compared have
the same longitude. It is restricted to the oldest diaries preserved so far. It
probably went out of use because it was redundant: if no difference in
longitude was mentioned one could conclude that there was none. – siv may be a mistake for the missing
sign KUR “moonrise to sunrise”.
13: One is inclined to regard åer+tam DIB as an equivalent of and NIM DIB. But this is rendered
uncertain by the occurrence of the latter expression in line 14 and elsewhere:
in addition, ana berti is expected.
5’: The “elbow of Sagittarius”
was identified as the cluster of stars around π Sagittarii by
P.V.Neugebauer. op.cit. 50f.
13’: in the broken part at the
end of the line. A reference to the moon being close to the Normal Star α
Tauri is expected.
15’: The broken star name must
have been α Leonis.
17’: According to computation.
Saturn has to be restored at the end of the line.
Calendar
Nebukadnezar II year 36 XII2 0 -567 Mar 23/24
year 37 I 0=XII2 29 Apr 21/22
II 0=I 30 May 21/22
III 0=II 29 Jun 19/20
X 0=IX 30 -566 Jan 13/14
XI 0=X 29 Feb
11/12
XII 0=XI 30 Mar
13/14
year 38 I 0=XII 29 Apr
11/12
[1] [All quotes are from the original translation, by, as
best I can tell, Neugebauer P V and Weidner E F,
of the cuneiform tablet unless otherwise indicated:]
"Remarks on Translation
“The
terminology used in the diaries is rigid and very condensed. The order of items
recorded is also to a large extent fixed. Because of the repetitive character
of these texts, the scribes apparently, tried to reduce as much as possible the
number of words they had to write.
“In
translating I have tried to imitate this style by using a similarly rigid
terminology. Unfortunately, the almost exclusively logographic writing of the
diaries frequently makes it impossible to determine whether the Akkadian text
consisted of sentences or asyndetic sequences of nouns. Where this can be
decided with the help of one of the rare sylabie writings. I have of course
translated accordingly. But more often I had to choose some fixed translation
which may not be syntactically equivalent to the Akkadian hidden by the
logograms. In addition, several statements which are very short in cuneiform
had to be translated by longer expressions to convey the meaning without
creating a new artificial terminology. The way in which the diaries indicate the length of a month
can serve as an example. This length can be 29 or 30 days. The diaries are
arranged in sections each of which deals with a single month. Each section
begins with the name of the month; after the name, a "1" indicates
that the preceding month had 30 days; a "30", that it had only 29
days, in which case the next month begins with a "1st" day: if a
month has only 29 days, its successor begins, so to speak, already on the
"30th" day which would have been theoretically possible for the
preceding month. In order to make this visible in the translation, I have
formulated sentences which contain the words "the 1st" or "the
30th" (which are all that is written in the text), and at the same time
clearly state the situation: Month X, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of
the preceding month), or: Month X, (the 1st of which was identical with) the
30th (of the preceding month)." (Astronomical Diaries and
Related Texts From Babylonia, p. 38)
[2] Cf. the italic blue font text in footnote #1.
[3] Nebuchadnezzar’s 37th year began at sunset
April 23, 568 BCE (-567:)
It becomes obvious from studying the details of “VAT 4956” in comparison
with Starry Night Backyard software, that the first observations of the
first New
Moon crescent
occurred one day later than I would
have
anticipated
from my studies of current comparable observations from the horizon of the Holy
Land. (Cf. e.g. footnotes #11, 12, and 19.) One of the most definite anchors for these dates is
the statement found in line
#10 of the
cuneiform tablet: “The
3rd, Mars entered Praesepe[3].
The
5th, it went out (of it).” These recorded observations were made
in the evenings after the sunsets defining the beginning of the corresponding
days, i.e. “The 3rd“ and “The 5th.” That the dates used
in the tablet began at sunset is confirmed by the order of the relative
statements in line 3 of the cuneiform tablet: “Night of the 9th…,
beginning of the night, the moon stood 1 cubit in front of β Virginia. The
9th. the sun in the west (was surrounded) by a halo.”
[4] ”1: The last sign visible can be any number from 14 to
18” (cf. “Comments .”)
[5] Measured along the path of the moon (cf. footnote #5 below) the Moon
was about 2 cubits, i.e. 14° 45’ 36”, in front of the constellation Leonis, on
the “Night of the 3rd,” i.e. after sunset on April 25, -567.
Notice also that that position, at the beginning of the constellation Leonis,
is the
location where the Moon would be located the following night.
[6] It seems that this comment, “(error for: 8th,)”
(I presume its the translator’s comment) is in error: As best I can determine, the
9th began at sunset May 1, -567, at which time the moon was about 1 cubit, not
in front of, but behind γ Virgo, i.e. unless the retrograde motion of
the moon is taken as the reference for movement, but such a convention does not
seem to be used elsewhere on this tablet. (Had
the 8th been the intended date then δ Virgo, i.e. Auva, is the
most likely reference star. The 1 cubit long ruler is placed in the direction
of the movement of the sky while showing also the distance from δ Virgo,
i.e. Auva.) On the
sky chart of the 7th I find no better correlation. If the
sixth day is intended then the distance is not 1, but 2 cubits.
[7] Cf. footnote #6 above. It appears as though the correct reference is not “in front of β
[8] Because an acronychal rising occurs at sunset, and
because sunset is the exact time when the date of the month changes from one to
the next, it is only natural that the observer records this
acronychal rising of Jupiter on May 3, -567 as occurring either on the 11th
or on the 12th, i.e. depending on how you count and in order to
prevent confusion of dates for this event.
[9] What is this May 6, -567 “sunrise to moonset”
referencing? Is it 1) that Jupiter
and the Moon were prominently visible next to each other from “sunrise to
moonset” (i.e. after most of the other celestial bodies had disappeared in
the light of the dawn,) or 2) that the
sky moved “4°” from “sunrise to moonset?” Obviously Jupiter and the Moon
were both well seen among the other stars long before dawn. For additional
considerations re “4°” etc. cf. also footnotes #18 & 21!
[10] “5: UGU-ME occurs also in rev. 16’ and 19’. It cannot
designate a part of the day (as suggested by P.V.Neubebauer and E.Weidner)
because in rev. 16 it appears during the night as well as during daytime. It is
rather another weather phenomenon. Mentioned side by side with rain” (cf. “Comments .”)
[11] What does “while the sun stood there” mean? Does it mean that the New Moon crescent
became visible before the sun was still visible above the horizon? This would
seem possible, especially considering the added comment “there was earthshine,”
which I interpret to mean that the dark part of the moon was visible due to the
reflected light from the earth. This would indicate also that the atmospheric
conditions for visualizing the moon were very good. The statement “it was
thick,” presumably referencing the New Moon crescent (cf. footnote #17 below!,) adds further weight to the above argument. The preceding lines
of the cuneiform tablet, lines 4 through 6, seems to indicate that the weather
was not the best, thus it is very possible that no observation was possible on
the preceding night, at the end of the 29th day of the moon. Thus,
this month seems to have begun one day later than it could have.
[12] I have not been able to identify anything named
“Berninorum,” nor have I been able to identify anything located “4 cubits
above” either the sun or the moon on May 22, -567. However, on the following
day, the day when the New Moon crescent was first actually observed (cf. the
statement “The
3rd, Mars entered Praesepe. The
5th, it went out (of it).,”) I notice that the
moon is located a little more than 4 cubits, i.e. a little more than 29.5
degrees, above the horizon. Could it be
that “β Berninorum” is the name of a mountain peak or some other
identifiable object on the ground? If so, I would find this reference very
valuable for establishing the exact location of the observer. (Notice that the
translator apparently has had some trouble getting the “above” and “below”
correlations correctly translated! E.g. in line 14 of the tablet: “The moon
passed towards the east 1 cubit (above:below)
the bright star of the end of the Lion’s foot.”)
[13] Cf. footnote #18 below!
[14] Cf. footnote #10 above!
[15] “10: ALLA is used here not for the whole zodiacal
constellation Cancer but only for Praesepe since Mars can pass through it
within two days. As was remarked by P.V.Neugebauer and E.Weidner” (cf. “Comments .”)
[16] Obvious translation error: Nothing rises in the west! Mercury
was only visible in the west and was setting. The first star visible before Mercury
was Pollux, one of the main stars in the Twins. Thus Mercury is referenced
as setting after the Twins constellation, Gemini, i.e. while actually located
in Cancer.
[17] “11: A translation “was balanced” for LAL was proposed
by A.Sachs. This expression seems to occur mostly (but not only) in those cases
where both celestial bodies compared have the same longitude. It is restricted
to the oldest diaries preserved so far. It probably went out of use because it
was redundant: if no difference in longitude was mentioned one could conclude
that there was none. – siv may be a
mistake for the missing sign KUR “moonrise to sunrise” ” (cf. “Comments .”)
[18] I do not understand, nor am I able to make sense of,
or correlate to my software star map, anything in the statement: “The 26th,
{moonrise to sunrise} 23°: I did not observe the moon. The 27th, 20
+ x [….]” E.g. How could any measurement pertaining to the moon, e.g. “23°,” be
made if the observer recorded for that day that “I did not observe the moon.” ?
[19] Here is an interesting event: Although the New Moon
crescent could potentially have been observed on June 20, -567, it appears as
though the 29th day of the preceding lunar month did not start until
the evening of that day, and since every lunar month is supposed to have either
29 or 30 days, perhaps the new moon was not even looked for that evening. Thus,
at the end of the 29th day, on June 21, -567, the New Moon crescent
was seen, and “it was thick.” Nonetheless, sunset at El Bab was at
[20] Cf. footnote # 17 above!
[21] I am unable to correlate the statement “sunset to moonset: 20°” to anything I know or understand. Perhaps it is some kind of clock, i.e. time measurement?
[22] “13: One is inclined to regard åer+tam DIB as an equivalent of and
NIM DIB. But this is rendered uncertain by the occurrence of the latter
expression in line 14 and elsewhere: in addition, ana berti is expected” (cf. “Comments .”)
[23] Cf. footnote #5.
[24] “5’: The “elbow of Sagittarius” was identified as the
cluster of stars around π Sagittarii by P.V.Neugebauer. op.cit. 50f.” (cf.
“Comments .”)
[25] “13’: in the broken part at the end of the line. A
reference to the moon being close to the Normal Star α Tauri is expected.”
(cf. “Comments .”)
[26] “15’: The broken star name must have been α
Leonis.” (cf. “Comments .”)
[27] Cf. footnote #2
[28] “17’: According to computation. Saturn has to be
restored at the end of the line.” (cf. “Comments .”)
[29] Cf. footnote #2
[30] Transcribed out of vat4956translit.htm.
![Night of the 3rd, the moon was 2 cubits in front of [….][5]](file:///F:\20040422BAK\$000gas\SDA%20related\Calendars\Files%20Published%20on%20the%20Internet\tol%20Digital-Pulse%20net\OTCh\VAT4956\-567%2004%2025%20Night%20of%20the%203rd,%20the%20moon%20was%202%20cubits%20in%20front%20of%20%20-%20Leonis.JPG){kind=link}
![the moon stood 1 cubit in front of β[7] Virginia](file:///F:\20040422BAK\$000gas\SDA%20related\Calendars\Files%20Published%20on%20the%20Internet\tol%20Digital-Pulse%20net\OTCh\VAT4956\-567%2004%2030%20Moon%20on%20the%208th%20night%20-%201%20cubit%20in%20front%20of%20Auva%20-%20delta%20Virgo.JPG){kind=link}
![the moon became visible while the sun stood there[11]](file:///F:\20040422BAK\$000gas\SDA%20related\Calendars\Files%20Published%20on%20the%20Internet\tol%20Digital-Pulse%20net\OTCh\VAT4956\-567%2005%2023%20The%20moon%204%20cubits%20-%20-%20-.JPG){kind=link}
![The 1st, all day [….]](file:///F:\20040422BAK\$000gas\SDA%20related\Calendars\Files%20Published%20on%20the%20Internet\tol%20Digital-Pulse%20net\OTCh\VAT4956\-567%2005%2023%20The%201st%20all%20day%20-%20-%20-%20stood%20-%20-%20-%20of%20Venus%20to%20the%20west.JPG){kind=link}
![stood […. In front] of Venus to the west](file:///F:\20040422BAK\$000gas\SDA%20related\Calendars\Files%20Published%20on%20the%20Internet\tol%20Digital-Pulse%20net\OTCh\VAT4956\-567%2005%2024%20The%201st%20all%20day%20-%20-%20-%20stood%20-%20-%20-%20of%20Venus%20to%20the%20west.JPG){kind=link}
![Mercury [rose[16]] in the west behind the [little] Twins](file:///F:\20040422BAK\$000gas\SDA%20related\Calendars\Files%20Published%20on%20the%20Internet\tol%20Digital-Pulse%20net\OTCh\VAT4956\-%20567%2006%2013%20Mercury%20set%20in%20the%20west%20behind%20the%20Twins.JPG){kind=link}
![At that time. Mars and Mercury were 4 cubits in front of α [Leonis ….]](file:///F:\20040422BAK\$000gas\SDA%20related\Calendars\Files%20Published%20on%20the%20Internet\tol%20Digital-Pulse%20net\OTCh\VAT4956\-567%2006%2021%20Mars%20&%20Mercury%204%20cubits%20in%20front%20of%20alpha%20Leonis%20ie%20Denebola.JPG){kind=link}
