Anthropology of Science

The Cuneiform World

Bibliographic Data

ID9067828
AuthorsFrancesca Rochberg (University of California, Berkeley, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume78
Issue2
Pages253-271
Publication date2019-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Near Eastern Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-2968 • E-ISSN: 1545-6978
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/705165
OpenAlexW2977742228
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited17

The substantive kalu similarly means "whole, entirety, all," and is sometimes constructed following a noun referring to things that can be counted, as in "signs, all of them" (ittātim kalašina), or "prediction from birds, all (kinds) of them" (purussû iṣṣūrū kalašunu). The extended meaning of the word napḫaru, "all, whole, totality," stems from its basic meaning "sum, total (of things counted or added)," which occurs in the context of a total tally of items in a list, or the sums of numbers.55 It is sometimes found in absolute use,56 e.g., "the totality of people, all of them" ([te]nēšetu ša napḫari kališunu), or to describe rulership over (ana malikūti) everything, or one who is appointed to be in charge (pāqid) of everything. More often it is found in construction with kullatu, as in "the totality of everything" (kullat napḫari), also preceding a genitive such as "all of Assyria" (naphar māt Aššur), "all of Chaldea" (napḫar māt Kaldi), or "the totality of gods" (napḫar ilī), and "all the black headed (people) as many as exist" (napḫar ṣalmat qaqqadi mala bašû). Finally, a poetic word nagbu means "totality" or "all," in the same way as its synonymns kullatu, napḫaru, and kiššatu.57 Just as in the case of its synonyms, nagbu refers to all "of something," constructed with what is being totaled in the genitive, such as "all the Aramaeans" (nagab Aḫlamê), "all his enemies" (nagab zāʾerīšu), "all the swamps" (nagab berāte), or "all living beings" (nagab napišti). Already mentioned is also "the whole of all wisdom" (kullat nagbi nēmeqi).58

Ancient history · Cuneiform · Geography · Sociology · Academic Research and Education Studies · Anthropology · Economic, financial, and policy analysis · Education, Psychology, and Complexity Research · History

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