Introduction to Akkadian - Lesson 2

This entry is taken from my old blog and was originally written in 2009.

This is a continuation of “Introduction to Akkadian”.


abum (אבום): father; Hebrew - av (אב)

achum (אחום): brother; Hebrew - ach (אח)

ashatum (אשתום): wife; Hebrew - isha (אישה)

Note that in the construct form the Hebrew is ishath (אישת).

awatum (אוותום): word

banium (בניום): builder, maker; Hebrew - livnoth (לבנות): to build

beltum (בעלתום): lady, mistress; Hebrew - ba3ala (בעלה)

I am assuming that there is an Ayin missing between the "b" and the "l" in the Akkadian. Cuneiform could not represent pharyngeal consonants and/or those consonants might not have been used in Akkadian.

belum (בעלום): lord, master, owner; Hebrew - ba3al (בעל)

bishum (בישום): possession

darium (דריום): everlasting

dinum (דינום): judgment, legal case; Hebrew - din (דין)

ekallum (אקלום): palace

The book notes that this as a loan fom Sumerian "egal".

eli (עלי): on, upon; Hebrew - 3al (על)

elishu (עלישו): on it; Hebrew - 3alo (עלו)

eqlum (עקלום): field

I am going with Ayin here because the book notes that the original root was Het Quf Lamed (חקל). Ayin and Het are both pharyngeal consonants that Cuneiform apparently didn't represent correctly.

erreshum (ערשום): tenant farmer

(Again the root is given with a Het.)

ertsetum (ארצתום): earth; Hebrew - erets (ארץ)

The Akkadian form of the word is feminine with a final Taw.

eshemtum (עשמתום): bone

chulqum (חולקום): lost object

idum (אידום or עידום): arm, side

inum (עינום): eye; Hebrew - 3ayin (עין)

itti (איתי): with; Hebrew iti (איתי) = with me

ittishu (איתישו): with him; Hebrew - ito (איתו)

kalum (כלום): totality, entirety; Hebrew - kol (כול)

kanukkum (כנוכום): cylinder seal

Must have been the rage back then...

libbum (ליבום): heart, centre, middle; Hebrew - lev (לב)

Marduk (מרדוך): Marduk, one of the local gods

In the Hebrew Bible he is known as Merodakh  (מרדך).

marum (מרום): son

matum (מתום): land

misharum (מישרום): justice

nidintum (נידינתום): gift

qatum (קתום): hand

qistum (קישתום): present, gift

re'utum (perhaps ראותום): shepherdship

ruba'um (רובאום): prince, noble

shechrum (שחרום): small

tsibtum (ציבתום): construct, interest (on capital)

shirum (שירום): exalted

I want to say that this is the same root as Hebrew "sarah" (שרה): "princess".

shaknum (שכנום): governor

shalshum (שלשום): one third; Hebrew - shlishi (שלישי)

shalushtum (שלושתום): one third (feminine)

shama'u (שמאו): sky, heavens; Hebrew - shamayim (שמים)

sharratum (שרתום): queen; Hebrew - sarah (שרה): princess

Note again that a He (ה) suffix denoted a Taw (ת) in the root. sharratum and sarah share the same root Sin/Shin Resh Taw (שרת) which is again a female version of the root Sin/Shin Resh (שר).

sharrutum (שרותום): kingship

shiprum (שיפרום): work

shabtum (שבתום): seat, dwelling

shulmum (שולמום): wholeness, health; Hebrew - shalam (שלם): complete

shumum (שומום): name, offspring; Hebrew - shem (שם)

shuqurum (שוקורום): very costly, previous

tuppum (טופום): clay tablet

Now I notice that emphatic t is marked with a dot in the book.

u (ו): and; Hebrew - w (ו)

zerum (זרום): seed

zittum (זיתום): share of property


 © Andrew Brehm 2016