PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 



HELD AT PHILADELPHIA 

 FOR PROMOTING USEFUL KNOWLEDGE 



Vol. XLVII May-August, 1908. No. 189. 



THE SIGN AND NAME FOR PLANET IN BABYLONIAN. 



By morris JASTROW, Jr. 



(Read April 25, igo8.) 



Kngler begins his valuable work on Babylonian astronomy^ with 

 a discussion of the ordinary name for planet in Babylonian, namely, 

 bibbu, and for which the ideographic designation is Lu-Bat.- He 



^ " Sternkunde und Stemdienst in Babel" (Miinster, 1907), I., pp. 7-9. 



^ That this combination is used for planet in general follows from such 

 passages as (i) Thompson, "Reports of the Magicians and Astrologers," 

 No. 112 Rev. 7; 236 B Rev. 4. where Lu-Bat occurs with the plural sign to 

 designate the planets in general ; See also nos. 88 Obv. 4 and Rev. i ; 89 Rev. 6; 

 loi Obv. 5; 103 Obv. 6, Rev. 7; 163 Obv. 4; 167 Rev. i; 172 Rev. i and 3; 

 175 Obv. 4; 200 Rev. 5; 216 Rev. i; 218 Obv. i; 218 A Obv. 5; 219 Obv. i; 

 220 Obv. I ; 222 Obv. i ; 223 Obv. i ; 224 Obv. 3; 225 Obv. 4; 229 A Obv. i, 2, 

 4 ; 232 Rev. I ; 234 Obv. 3 ; 234 A Rev. i ; 235 Obv. 1 1 ; 244 C Obv. 6, where 

 Lu-Bat is used for planet in general. It is to be noted, however, that the 

 only planets which are regularly designated by means of Lu-Bat are 

 Mercurj^ (Lu-Bat Gu-Ud) and Saturn (Lu-Bat Sag-Us). So in the 

 famous list of planets IIR 48; 50-54 a-b and IIIR 57, No. 6, 65-67, and Thomp- 

 son, /. c, passim, though occasionally even in the case of these two planets the 

 element Lu-Bat is omitted, e. g.. Thompson, /. c, Nos. 105 Obv. 8; 215 Obv. i ; 

 217 Obv. i; 223 Obv. 4; 228 Obv. i; (Gu-Ud) and 167 Rev. 4 (Sag-Us). 

 Further references in Kugler, /. c, p. 12. Occasionally also Mars is desig- 

 nated as Lu-Bat Dm instead of (il) ZAL-BAT-(a-nu), so e. g., Thompson No. 

 146 Rev. 4-6, and 195 Rev. 1-2, where in both cases a gloss Lu-B at Dir= (il) 

 Zal-Bat (-a-nu) furnishes the proof for the identification. In the later 

 period (after c. 400 B. C.) Saturn is designated as GI and IMars as AN. 

 See Kugler /. c, p. 12, including the note on that page. 



PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC. XLVII. 1 89 J, PRINTED SEPTEMBER I9, I908. 



