erṣetum

erṣetum

Akkadian

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *ʔarṣ́- (“earth”). Cognate with Arabic أَرْض‎ (ʾarḍ) and Biblical Hebrew אֶרֶץ‎ (ʔɛ́rɛṣ).

Pronunciation

• (Old Babylonian) IPA^(key): /ˈer.sˤe.tum/

Noun

erṣetum f (plural erṣētum)

1. earth, land
   • 1755–1750 BCE, King Hammurabi of Babylon, CDLI, transl., Hammurabi Code‎, The Louvre, Prologue, lines 3–5:

     𒀭𒂗𒆤 𒁁𒂖 𒊭𒈨𒂊 𒅇 𒅕𒍢𒁴
     ^den-lil₂ be-el ša-me-e u₃ er-ṣe-tim

     Enlil bēl šamê u erṣetim

     Enlil, lord of heaven and earth

2. underworld
3. ground
4. territory

Alternative forms

• erṣetu (non-mimated)
• arṣatum (Old Akkadian)

Cuneiform spellings

Logograms	Phonetic	Mixed
𒆠 (KI)	𒅕𒍢𒌈 (er-ṣe-tum)	𒆠𒌈 (KI-tum)