Amarna letter EA 147


Amarna letter EA 147, titled A Hymn to the Pharaoh, is a moderate length clay tablet Amarna letter from Abimilku of Tyre-. The letter is a twin letter to EA 149, which is identical in length, and complexity, and EA 147 appears to precede EA 149.

General overview

The letter concerns the intrigues of neighboring city-states and their rulers; however the letter is a missive on the religious setting of Tyre, and the personal explanation of the view of the Pharaoh of Egypt, in a religious, and righteous 'way of life' of the people of Tyre towards Egypt, and the Pharaoh, as the Sun God.
The clay tablet letter is written on the Obverse, Bottom, Reverse, ''Top, and Left Side'', leaving no spaces, not inscribed. The British Museum website for the EA 147 letter, gives the approximated dimensions as: × in.
EA 147 is located at the British Museum, no 29812.
The Amarna letters, about 300, numbered up to EA 382, are mid-14th century BC, about 1360 BC and 35? years later, correspondence. The initial corpus of letters were found at Akhenaten's city Akhetaten, in the floor of the Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh; others were later found, adding to the body of letters.

Categorization and characteristics

Amarna letter EA 147 is a missive, but more accurately, a treatise or essay, on the Role of the Pharaoh as Sun-God, and "Protector", etc.
Letter 147 is in the category of Amarna letters, which has the following specifics:
  1. EA 147 is undamaged.
  2. It is of moderate length, a single clay tablet.
  3. It has clarity of cuneiform characters, probably for two reasons: A-The execution of the scribe; and B-The preparation of a clay mixture, which caused a hardened clay tablet.
  4. The Letter 147 story contains: Obverse:—Introduction & Clause 1;
Bottom—An ending to the Obverse, and transition to Reverse;
Reverse-, which begins, with the Akkadian word for "Help!", and with the Reverse ending with two glossenkeils, translated as ':gl "I am at rest"; and :gl "I am confident".
  1. The story of EA 147, is that it is a missive, on A Hymn to the Pharaoh. Clause 4 is the information to the Pharaoh, and the EA 147 ending., only begins after the Reverse Side, continuing from lines 57-60, and then continuing to the Left Side, for 8 lines, lines 64-71,. The very last line, the Scribe writes: Enūma idû, "Now, know!".
  2. The reverse, is separated by an Exclamation,, line 40: , "I carry, the Causes , King-LordLi-mine!". How he continued to the end of the letter would have to be speculation. And,.. remembering whether Abimilku played a part in the formation of this great story, letter 147.
  3. Because Letter 147 contains 3-duplicating clauses, Akkadian language words, and some phrases, are repeated. For example 3 times for the phrase day-by-day. It is used twice in Clause 1, Obverse & the Bottom transition to the Reverse. The third usage is in the letter's ending,.
Other repeated words are for example: "returns", "breath", "emerges/returns", and "now".
  1. Letter 147 uses 7 glossenkeils.

    Summary of glossenkeils used

Text (minus obverse and reverse (hymn omitted))

;Reverse: bottom to side:
;Side

Text: ''A Hymn to the Pharaoh''

EA 147, letter two of ten from Abimilku.
;Obverse
;-Bottom
;Reverse7-

Cuneiform score, Akkadian, English

Cuneiform score, and Akkadian, and English.

Obverse
1. A-na _lugal_lí-ia _dingir-meš_-ia _dingirutu_-ia
___Ana Šarrulí-ia, dingir-meš-ia, dingirutu-ia
___To King-mine, godspl.-mine, dSun-god-mine
2. um-ma A-Bi-_lugal ARAD2_-ka
___umma A-Bi-_lugal ARAD2_-ka
___message Abimilki-'-yours
3. u a-na _giri3meš Šarru EN_lí-ia
___ u ana GIRI3meš, Šarru ENlí-ia, — maqātu - !
___7-and-7 at feetpl., —King Lord-mine, — I bow - !
4. A-na-ku ip-ru iš-tu šu-pa-li
___Anāku, eperu ištu šupalû
___I, the dirt from "the feet"-)
5. ši-ní EN-lí-ia be-li
___šina, —EN-ia, bēlu, -
___, —Lord-mine, Lord, -
6. _dingirutu_ ša it-ta-ṣí i-na _UGU_-hi
___d-utu ša aṣû ina UGU-hi
___ Sun-God, Who Emerges "Upon"
7. _KUR_ ma-ta-ti i-na _u4_-mi ù _u4_-mi-ma
___mātu immatima? ina _u4_-mi ù _u4_-mi-ma
___ Land, for Day-by-Day-
8. ki-ma ši-ma-at _dutu_ a-bu-šu _SAGA_
___kīma Šīmtu dutu abu-šu SAGA
___"As-Like",-- "Way of Being",-- dSun-God,- Father-His, "Gracious" !
9. ša i-ba-li-it i-na še-hi-šu _du10-ga_
___ša abālu ina še-hi-šu du10-ga -!
___who brings, by Breath-His-Sweet -!
10.ù i-sà-hír i-na ṣa-pa-ni-šu
___u sahāru ina ṣa-pa-ni-šu - !
___and "Returns" by "North-wind"-His - !
segue
11. ša it-ta ṣa-ab
___ša itti ṣābu -
___who with troops -
11.5------------------gáb-bi _kur_-ti
___---------------------gabbu māti
___---------------------all land
12. i-na pa-ša-hi i-na du-ni-zà : :ha-ap-ši
___ina pašāhu ina dannu : :ha-ap-ši
___into "Submission",.. By "Strength" : : "arm" !!
13. ša id-din ri-ig-ma-šu i-na ša10-me
___ša idû, rigmu-šu ina ša10-me
___who "makes known", Voice-his, in "the Sky"
14. ki-ma diškur ù tar-gu5-ub gáb-bi
___kīma diškur u tar-gu5-ub gabbu - !
___Like godBaal - and "Finds and saves" All - !
Bottom:
26.še-hu _Ŝarru_ a-na _ugu_-hi#'-ia#
___še-hu Ŝarru ana _ugu_-hi#-ia#
___"breath" King "upon us"
27.ù ha-ad-ia-ti ma-gal
___u, - hadû — ma-gal—!
___and-, - "to be Happy" — great—!
28.ù : :a-ru-ú i-na _u4_-mi u _u4_--ma
___u, — : a-ru-ú, — ina _u4_-mi u _u4_--ma
___And, — : "He-is-satisfied, — for "Day-by-Day" —!
29.aš-šum ha-dì-ia-ti la-a ti--ir#
___aššum hadû, — lā
___"because of" "to-be-happy", — NOT sad
segue
Reverse
30.3 er-ṣé-tum
___rēṣūtu
___Help — !