A New Interpretation of Two Hittite Verbs with the Stem ark- and its Implications for the Miraculous Birth Legend in the Zalpa-Text

Abstract

Abstract Currently, two Hittite verbs with the stem ark- are distinguished; one which is taken to mean ‘to cut off’, ‘to divide’, and one which is usually translated as ‘to mount’ or ‘to climb’. In this article, two different interpretations will be proposed, which fit the available evidence better and elucidate some problematic or enigmatic attestations of these verbs, including a much-debated scene at the beginning of the Zalpa-text.