Chapter 38
born digital
K 03726+
Sm 0472+
<p>Our Sm 0472+ 23' corresponds with <em>If a City</em> 2, 285, *38.54', Ex(4)22': the indented line after Sm 0472+ 21' is not counted in the previous edition.</p>
<p>As with the<em> lallaru </em>and <em>nappillu</em> insects, it is not yet possible to distinguish between the ancient terminology for orthoptera (see commentaries to <a href="https://tieromina.acdh-dev.oeaw.ac.at/omens/Omen-38-31-/tei">38.31'</a> and <a href="https://tieromina.acdh-dev.oeaw.ac.at/omens/Omen-38-37-/tei">38.37'</a>) and offer a more specific identification for <em>ṣāṣiru</em>. The word is attested lexically, in the present omens, and in a single omen from <em>Šumma ālu</em> 85 (l. b+ 58. See preliminary edition by Boddy at <a href="https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:151807">https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:151807</a>). That <em>ṣāṣiru </em>is a kind of orthopteran is clear from the lexical equations (see CAD Ṣ, 115a s.v. <em>ṣarṣaru</em> A). As with <em>lallaru</em>, a notable trait of this insect seems to be that it is noisy (see <a href="https://tieromina.acdh-dev.oeaw.ac.at/omens/Omen-38-51-/tei">38.51'</a>-<a href="https://tieromina.acdh-dev.oeaw.ac.at/omens/Omen-38-53-/tei">38.53'</a>, and CAD Ṣ, 115a s.v. <em>ṣarṣaru</em> A, discussion section), and it is worth considering whether the name <em>ṣāṣiru</em> could be onomatopoeic (cognates are found in several Semitic languages, see Militarev and Kogan 2005, Semitic Etymological Dictionary 2, no. 213). The only other known characteristics of the insect are that it can 'become numerous' (see <a href="https://tieromina.acdh-dev.oeaw.ac.at/omens/Omen-38-56-/tei">38.56'</a>-<a href="https://tieromina.acdh-dev.oeaw.ac.at/omens/Omen-38-60-/tei">38.60'</a>), and that it can be white (<a href="https://tieromina.acdh-dev.oeaw.ac.at/omens/Omen-38-56-/tei">38.56'</a>), black (see <a href="https://tieromina.acdh-dev.oeaw.ac.at/omens/Omen-38-57-/tei">38.57'</a>), or red (<a href="https://tieromina.acdh-dev.oeaw.ac.at/omens/Omen-38-58-/tei">38.58'</a>). Unfortunately, these are all common traits of orthopterans, and so are of no assistance in identifying the <em>ṣāṣiru</em> more closely. Note that orthoptera, though not generally white, are white immediately after moulting.</p>DIŠDIŠDIŠṣa-ṣi-ruṣa-ṣi-ruṣa-ṣi-ruinaina…URUURUx……DIŠṣa-ṣi-ruinaURUx…DIŠṣa-ṣi-ruinaURU…šummaṣāṣiruinaāli...…If a $ṣāṣiru/$-cricket … […] in a city […].If a cricket in a city […].