The Old Hittite Version of Laws 164-166

Abstract

H. Otten and Chr. Riister copied as text number 5 in their recent volume of Hittite rituals and festival descriptions, KBo 25, a small fragment, which they regarded as similar to text 4, designated as Ritualtext in ilterer Schrift.' The small size of KBo 25 5, and the occurrence in it of words commonly occurring in rituals and festivals gives the impression that it is indeed such a text. In fact, however, it is a duplicate to Hittite Laws 164-65. More important, although it may not be in what is sometimes called typical old ductus (now Old Ductus, Type 1),2 its script is quite similar to that of the only older script copy of the second half of the Hittite law collection (Laws 101-200) known to date, that which is designated by the siglum q.3 Indeed, KBo 25 5 joins4 KUB 29 30 (q4) back to back, so that KBo 25 5:5' is continued on the right by KUB 29 30 (q4) iii 1'.5 Had the two pieces not joined, KBo 25 5 would have constituted the only evidence to date for the existence of a second Old Script copy of laws 101-200 in the thirteenth-century archives of Hattusa. KBo 25 5 shows a script which is in no way clearly different from q. In addition it follows q's practice of presenting within the confines of a single paragraph matter which in the New Script copies was subdivided into two separate paragraphs.6 Its spellings conform to the pattern which we observe elsewhere in texts which show older script. Old Hittite scribes more often employ a-ap-pa than EGIR-pa for the expression appa, as they do 9e-e-er rather than se-er for her.7