dimmer Babbar-ê-ta equals ideogram for “the sun”, plus verb ê = “coming out”, plus postposition “from”. dimmer Babbar is the ordinary ideogram for ilu Šamaš used of “the sun”, as well as of “the god Šamaš”. Babbar is a value of ḤISSU which means “to be white”.
ê: = two signs, UD and DU, equivalent to this value, meaning aṣû, “come out”, or “go out”. The sign UD is a picture of the sun, and represents the rising sun; hence = “come forth”.
ta is a postposition meaning in this case “from”, but often “in, into”. TA in our text is old Babylonian and much like the linear form in early tablets. Nearly the same form can be found in Ḥammurabi also. But on the whole, the old Babylonian, the Assyrian and the New-Babylonian all differ from each other much. TA has a close relation to DA and ID (see on [line 14]).
dimmer Babbar-šu-šù equals ideogram for “the sun”, plus šu = “going in”, plus postposition “to”.
šu equals erêbu, “enter in”. Ideographically, ŠU means “bent over”, or “depressed”.
šù is a value of KU, as a postposition, meaning “unto”. The sign is of rectangular form and has many values, consequently many meanings starting with the idea “enclosure”. The governing force of šù here reaches back over kur in the middle of the line, just as the governing force of ta goes back over kur at the beginning of the line.
The beautiful expression of this line occurs more than once in Sumerian and Babylonian literature. As early as Lugalziggisi it appears in royal writings. Lugalziggisi speaks of his kingdom as extending “from the rising sun to the setting sun”. Babbar-ê-ta (UD.UD.DU.TA) Babbar-šu-šù (UD.ŠU.KU) (OBI. No. 87, Col. II, 12 and 13). And Esarhaddon in Cylinder A says that “From the rising sun to the setting sun he marched without a rival”. ul-tu ṣi-it ilu Šam-ši a-di e-rib ilu Šam-ši it-tal-lak-u-ma ma-ḥi-ra la i-šu-u (I R. 45, Col. I, 7 and 8).
[16.] kur-ra ù-mu-un nu-um-ti za-e ù-mu-un ab-da-me-en
O mountain, the lord of life, thou the lord indeed art!
kur-ra (see on [line 3]).