Nisaba

They told me everything and I am pleased beyond exaggeration. May the precious protective power of a lifetime; Lugal-šu , Nabi-Enlil and Enlil-alsag , the scholars who precede you; and Ninimma , your own goddess, and Nisaba , the lady of broad wisdom, give wisdom to you. You did not know what was written on the tablet or that the city would be unforthcoming. Lu-gena is sending you two shekels of silver, one garment and two sashes. Accept them. But your mother should not touch the remaining assets. It is urgent.

Letter from Inim-Inana to Enlil-massu (c.3.3.11) ·c.3.3.11 ·8 ·machine translation (etcsl)

You who speak as sweet as honey, whose name suits the mouth, longed-for husband of Inana , to whom Enki gave broad wisdom as a gift! Nisaba , the woman radiant with joy, the true woman, the scribe, the lady who knows everything, guides your fingers on the clay: she makes them put beautiful wedges on the tablets and adorns them with a golden stylus. Nisaba generously bestowed upon you the measuring rod, the surveyor's gleaming line, the yardstick, and the tablets which confer wisdom.

A praise poem of Lipit-Eštar (Lipit-Eštar B) (c.2.5.5.2) ·c.2.5.5.2 ·18 ·machine translation (etcsl)

I am a king, offspring begotten by a king and borne by a queen. I, Šulgi the noble, have been blessed with a favourable destiny right from the womb. When I was small, I was at the academy, where I learned the scribal art from the tablets of Sumer and Akkad . None of the nobles could write on clay as I could. There where people regularly went for tutelage in the scribal art, I qualified fully in subtraction, addition, reckoning and accounting. The fair Nanibgal , Nisaba , provided me amply with knowledge and comprehension. I am an experienced scribe who does not neglect a thing.

A praise poem of Šulgi (Šulgi B) (c.2.4.2.02) ·c.2.4.2.02 ·18 ·machine translation (etcsl)

I am a knowledgeable scribe of Nisaba ; I have perfected my wisdom just as my heroism and {my strength} {( 1 ms. has instead: ) my distinction}. Reliable words can reach (?) me. I cherish righteousness but do not tolerate wickedness. I hate anyone who speaks wickedly.

A praise poem of Šulgi (Šulgi A) (c.2.4.2.01) ·c.2.4.2.01 ·19 ·machine translation (etcsl)

You who speak as sweet as honey, whose name suits the mouth, longed-for husband of Inana , to whom Enki gave broad wisdom as a gift! Nisaba , the woman radiant with joy, the true woman, the scribe, the lady who knows everything, guides your fingers on the clay: she makes them put beautiful wedges on the tablets and adorns them with a golden stylus. Nisaba generously bestowed upon you the measuring rod, the surveyor's gleaming line, the yardstick, and the tablets which confer wisdom.

A praise poem of Lipit-Eštar (Lipit-Eštar B) (c.2.5.5.2) ·c.2.5.5.2 ·24 ·machine translation (etcsl)

He ( Enki (?) ) approaches the maiden Nisaba in prayer. He has organised pure food-offerings; he has opened up Nisaba's house of learning, and has placed the lapis-lazuli tablet on her knees, for her to consult the holy tablet of the heavenly stars. In Aratta he has placed E-zagin at her disposal. You have built up Ereš in abundance, founded from little …… bricks, you who are granted the most complex wisdom!

A hymn to Nisaba (Nisaba A) (c.4.16.1) ·c.4.16.1 ·27 ·machine translation (etcsl)

My king, I shall praise your eminence in song! Ḫaia , I will declare your greatness perpetually! Who among the gods is fitted like you for the holy divine powers? Your beloved spouse is the maiden Nisaba , the great queen of queens. Ninlil , who was born of her holy womb, the august wife of Nunamnir , sits with her on the dais of E-kur with head raised high, uniquely entitled to behave as queen of the gods, the peerless goddess. In the abzu shrine, Enki has bestowed his incantations of life on you, great breed-bull, who are recognised for your right understanding, who constantly care for the gods, Ḫaia , you who operate effectively the assigning of divine powers, who mark out the cult places.

A hymn to Ḫaia for Rīm-Sîn (Rīm-Sîn B) (c.2.6.9.2) ·c.2.6.9.2 ·32 ·machine translation (etcsl)

They give praise to the lord, singing paeans (?) as they move into the ĝipar shrines. Nisaba has taken their grand total; Nisaba has taken their count, and she is writing it on clay. The holy cows of Nanna , cherished by the youth Suen , be praised!

The herds of Nanna (Nanna F) (c.4.13.06) ·c.4.13.06 ·34 ·machine translation (etcsl)

The leader of heaven and earth, Lord Nunamnir , named the important persons and valued ( kal ) persons. He formed those persons into a row and recruited them to provide for the gods. Now Enki praised Enlil's hoe ( al ), and the maiden Nisaba was made responsible for keeping records of the decisions. And so people took ( ĝal ) the shining hoes ( al ), the holy hoes ( al ), into their hands.

The song of the hoe (c.5.5.4) ·c.5.5.4 ·33 ·machine translation (etcsl)

Uta-ulu imbued me, the man of his heart, with great awesomeness in E-šu-me-ša . I am he on whom Enki has bestowed wisdom: he gave me kingship in Eridug . As the beloved husband of Inana , I lift my head high in the place Unug . I am a proficient scribe of Nisaba . I am a young man whose word Utu confirms. I am the perfection of kingship. I am Lipit-Eštar , Enlil's son.

A praise poem of Lipit-Eštar (Lipit-Eštar A) (c.2.5.5.1) ·c.2.5.5.1 ·39 ·machine translation (etcsl)

In the Abzu , the great crown of Eridug , where sanctuaries are apportioned, where elevated …… are apportioned -- when Enki , the great princely farmer of the awe-inspiring temple, the carpenter of Eridug , the master of purification rites, the lord of the great en priest's precinct, occupies E-engura , and when he builds up the Abzu of Eridug ; when he takes counsel in Ḫal-an-kug , when he splits with an axe the house of boxwood; when the sage's hair is allowed to hang loose, when he opens the house of learning, when he stands in the street of the door of learning; when he finishes (?) the great dining hall of cedar, when he grasps the date-palm mace, when he strikes (?) the priestly garment with that mace, then he utters seven …… to Nisaba , the supreme nursemaid:

A hymn to Nisaba (Nisaba A) (c.4.16.1) ·c.4.16.1 ·50 ·machine translation (etcsl)

"O Nisaba , good woman, fair woman, woman born {in the mountains} {( 1 ms. has instead: ) by the mountains}! Nisaba , may you be the butter in the cattle-pen, may you be the cream in the sheepfold, may you be keeper of the seal in the treasury, may you be a good steward in the palace, may you be a heaper up of grain among the grain piles and in the grain stores!"

A hymn to Nisaba (Nisaba A) (c.4.16.1) ·c.4.16.1 ·51 ·machine translation (etcsl)

Because the Prince ( Enki ) cherished Nisaba , O Father Enki , it is sweet to praise you!

A hymn to Nisaba (Nisaba A) (c.4.16.1) ·c.4.16.1 ·56 ·machine translation (etcsl)

The lady with broad ( daĝal ) intelligence, Nisaba , ordered the measuring of the E-ana for a construction project ( altar ), and then designed her own E-ḫamun for construction ( altar ).

The song of the hoe (c.5.5.4) ·c.5.5.4 ·56 ·machine translation (etcsl)

Lady coloured like the stars of heaven, {holding} {( 3 mss. have instead: ) perfectly endowed with} a lapis-lazuli tablet! Nisaba , great wild cow born by Uraš , wild sheep nourished on good milk among holy alkaline plants, opening the mouth for seven …… reeds! Perfectly endowed with fifty great divine powers, my lady, most powerful in E-kur !

A hymn to Nisaba (Nisaba A) (c.4.16.1) ·c.4.16.1 ·3 ·machine translation (etcsl)

"May high flood-waters flow in the Tigris and Euphrates , may the grasses grow tall on their banks, and may the meadows be covered. May the holy lady Nisaba pile high the grain heaps and mounds. My lady, queen of heaven and earth, queen who encompasses heaven and earth, may he enjoy long days …… embrace."

A song of Inana and Dumuzid (Dumuzid-Inana D1) (c.4.08.30) ·c.4.08.30 ·62 ·machine translation (etcsl)

May your exceeding wisdom, given by the tablets of Nisaba , never cease on the clay in the tablet house. In this tablet house, like a shrine fashioning everything, may it never come to an end. May Nisaba , the shining …… lady, give wisdom to the junior scribe who puts his hand to the clay and writes this on it. May she show generosity. In the place of writing may she come forth like the sun for him.

A praise poem of Iddin-Dagan (Iddin-Dagan B) (c.2.5.3.2) ·c.2.5.3.2 ·64 ·machine translation (etcsl)

" Nisaba has placed in your hand the honour of being a teacher. {For her, the fate determined for you will be changed and so you will be generously blessed} {( 1 ms. has instead: ) You were created by Nisaba ! May you …… upwards}. May she bless you with a joyous heart and free you from all despondency. …… at whatever is in the school, the place of learning. The majesty of Nisaba …… silence. For your sweet songs even the cowherds will strive gloriously. For your sweet songs I too shall strive and shall ……. They should recognise that you are a practitioner (?) of wisdom. The little fellows should enjoy like beer the sweetness of decorous words: experts bring light to dark places, they bring it to culs-de-sac and streets."

The advice of a supervisor to a younger scribe (E-dub-ba-a C) (c.5.1.3) ·c.5.1.3 ·62 ·machine translation (etcsl)

" Nisaba has placed in your hand the honour of being a teacher. {For her, the fate determined for you will be changed and so you will be generously blessed} {( 1 ms. has instead: ) You were created by Nisaba ! May you …… upwards}. May she bless you with a joyous heart and free you from all despondency. …… at whatever is in the school, the place of learning. The majesty of Nisaba …… silence. For your sweet songs even the cowherds will strive gloriously. For your sweet songs I too shall strive and shall ……. They should recognise that you are a practitioner (?) of wisdom. The little fellows should enjoy like beer the sweetness of decorous words: experts bring light to dark places, they bring it to culs-de-sac and streets."

The advice of a supervisor to a younger scribe (E-dub-ba-a C) (c.5.1.3) ·c.5.1.3 ·63 ·machine translation (etcsl)

May your exceeding wisdom, given by the tablets of Nisaba , never cease on the clay in the tablet house. In this tablet house, like a shrine fashioning everything, may it never come to an end. May Nisaba , the shining …… lady, give wisdom to the junior scribe who puts his hand to the clay and writes this on it. May she show generosity. In the place of writing may she come forth like the sun for him.

A praise poem of Iddin-Dagan (Iddin-Dagan B) (c.2.5.3.2) ·c.2.5.3.2 ·68 ·machine translation (etcsl)

Praise Nisaba who has brought order to …… and fixed districts in their boundaries, the lady whose divine powers are divine powers that have no rival!

The advice of a supervisor to a younger scribe (E-dub-ba-a C) (c.5.1.3) ·c.5.1.3 ·74 ·machine translation (etcsl)

But if …… removes my name from my hymns, and …… his name, and does not call upon my name in brick-built E-kur , and if that man commits enmity and violence against the temple, then whether that man is a king or a governor, Enlil shall curse him ……. May enmity and violence come forth against him from the house of Enlil . Let him be given enmity as his companion. May an asag demon, as causer of the plague, deprive his city of contentment. Because of famine in years of hunger, may he find no favour in the eyes of the Land. May Ezina produce no grain in sheaves. May fair Nanibgal , Nisaba , make no clay covering for his grain piles. …… the troops ……. His chief merchant …… silver ……. May the hunger and the thirst of the gods …… the city during his reign …… grain.

A praise poem of Šulgi (Šulgi E) (c.2.4.2.05) ·c.2.4.2.05 ·86 ·machine translation (etcsl)

At new year, on the day of rites, the lady libates water on the holy ……. On the day when the bowls of rations are inspected, Nanše also inspects the servants during the appointments. Her chief scribe Nisaba places the precious tablets on her knees and takes a golden stylus in her hand. She arranges the servants in single file for Nanše and then it will be decided whether or not a leather-clad servant can enter before her in his leather, whether or not a linen-clad servant can pass before her in his linen. Any registered and …… hired (?) person about whom observers (?) and witnesses claim to witness his fleeing from the house will be terminated in his position ……. The king who always cares for the faithful servants, Haia , the man in charge of registration, registers on a tablet him who is said to be a faithful servant of his lady but deletes from the tablet her who is said not to be the maidservant of her lady.

A hymn to Nanše (Nanše A) (c.4.14.1) ·c.4.14.1 ·98 ·machine translation (etcsl)

{ Nisaba be praised!} {( 1 ms. has instead: ) Šulgi , be praised (?) by An's respected son!}

A praise poem of Šulgi (Šulgi A) (c.2.4.2.01) ·c.2.4.2.01 ·102 ·machine translation (etcsl)

"The young woman …… sheaves, who held a stylus of refined silver in her hand, who had placed it on a tablet with propitious stars and was consulting it, was in fact my sister Nisaba . She announced to you the holy stars auguring the building of the house."

The building of Ninĝirsu's temple (Gudea, cylinders A and B) (c.2.1.7) ·c.2.1.7 ·138 ·machine translation (etcsl)

Ur- Ninmarki , the scribe and scholar: ……, his personal gods were Ḫaya and Nisaba , he acted for X + 20 years. Ur- Ninĝirsu , the son of Ur- Ninmarki : he acted for X × 60 years. Ur- Bau , the scribe of Ur- Ninĝirsu , who …… in the assembly: he acted for X + 30 years. Gudea , the younger brother of Ur- Bau , ……, who was not the son of his mother nor the son of his father: he acted for …… years.

The rulers of Lagaš (c.2.1.2) ·c.2.1.2 ·193 ·machine translation (etcsl)

( Enlil speaks:) "From now on, a woman shall be the ……; a foreign woman shall be the mistress of the house. May my beautiful wife, who was born by holy Nisaba , be Ezina , the growing grain, the life of Sumer . When you appear in the furrows like a beautiful young girl, may Iškur , the canal inspector, be your provider, supplying you with water from the ground. The height of the year is marked with your new prime flax and your new prime grain; Enlil and Ninlil procreate them (?) as desired. 1 line unclear The harvest crop raises its head high for the great festival of Enlil . The scribal art, the tablets decorated with writing, the stylus, the tablet board, reckoning and calculating, adding and subtracting, the shining measuring rope, the ……, the head of the surveyor's peg, the measuring rod, the marking of the boundaries, and the …… are fittingly in your hands. The farmer (?) ……. Woman, the proudest among the Great Princes, ……, from now on, Sud …… Ninlil ……." unknown no. of lines missing

Enlil and Sud (c.1.2.2) ·c.1.2.2 ·157 ·machine translation (etcsl)

…… she was faithfully sitting (?) on ……, admirable and full of charms. ……, the noble son -- who like him can compare with An and Enlil ? Ḫaia , the ……, put the holy semen into her womb. Nun-bar-še-gunu ( a name of Nisaba ) faithfully gave birth to ……, she brought her up in her …… and suckled her at her breasts full of good milk. The …… of the young girl burgeoned, and she became full of flourishing beauty. In the …… of Nisaba , at the gate of the E-zagin , …… she stood, the object of admiration, like a tall, beautifully shaped cow.

Enlil and Sud (c.1.2.2) ·c.1.2.2 ·7 ·machine translation (etcsl)

The sorcerer, farmer of the best seeds, directed his steps towards Ereš , the city of Nisaba , and reached the animal pen, the house where the cows live. The cow trembled with fear at him in the animal pen. He made the cow speak so that it conversed with him as if it were a human being: "Cow, who will eat your butter? Who will drink your milk?" "My butter will be eaten by Nisaba , my milk will be drunk by Nisaba . My cheese, skilfully produced bright crown, was made fitting for the great dining hall, the dining hall of Nisaba . Until my butter is delivered from the holy animal pen, until my milk is delivered from the holy byre, the steadfast wild cow Nisaba , the first-born of Enlil , will not impose any levy on the people." "Cow, your butter to your shining horn; your milk to your back." So the cow's butter was …… to its shining horn; its milk was …… to its back …….

Enmerkar and En-suḫgir-ana (c.1.8.2.4) ·c.1.8.2.4 ·171 ·machine translation (etcsl)

The sorcerer, farmer of the best seeds, directed his steps towards Ereš , the city of Nisaba , and reached the animal pen, the house where the cows live. The cow trembled with fear at him in the animal pen. He made the cow speak so that it conversed with him as if it were a human being: "Cow, who will eat your butter? Who will drink your milk?" "My butter will be eaten by Nisaba , my milk will be drunk by Nisaba . My cheese, skilfully produced bright crown, was made fitting for the great dining hall, the dining hall of Nisaba . Until my butter is delivered from the holy animal pen, until my milk is delivered from the holy byre, the steadfast wild cow Nisaba , the first-born of Enlil , will not impose any levy on the people." "Cow, your butter to your shining horn; your milk to your back." So the cow's butter was …… to its shining horn; its milk was …… to its back …….

Enmerkar and En-suḫgir-ana (c.1.8.2.4) ·c.1.8.2.4 ·176 ·machine translation (etcsl)