PHILOLOGICAL COMMENTARY

This omen is apparently attested only by the excerpt text K 08048+, preceded by omen 38.8 and followed by omens 38.13 and 38.10. It is not found in the standard tablet MLC  01867, and the content of the omen does not fit well with the surrounding omens which describe blister beetles being seen within the house on large surfaces (walls, bricks, bed). K 08048+ diverges further from MLC 01867 in that it has omen 38.13 before omen 38.10, though omen 38.13 is marked by rulings before and after, presumably indicating that it has been moved from its standard order. Omen 8a is not marked by such rulings. It is possible that it is to be associated with one of the broken UR.ME omens 38.21'-25' (see the comment to 38.23'). As this cannot be proven, however, we retain the numbering of the previous edition and include it in the omen sequence as 38.8a.