Evidence of disease in ancient 



Near Eastern texts: Leprosy in the 



Epilogue to the Code of Hammurapi? 



Debra A. Chase 



A great deal of caution must be exercised in the discussion 

 of disease in ancient Mesopotamia. In part, this caution is 

 due to the nature of the available sources which, scattered 

 over many centuries, are often fragmentary and filled with 

 lexical difficulties. ' It is the duty of the philologist and stu- 

 dent of the culture to interpret texts using etymologies, and 

 literary and form critical analyses. This textual work is not 

 complete, however, without input from the physical and so- 

 cial sciences (Biggs 1969:103). Over a quarter of a century 

 ago Oppenheim (1962:107) noted that the study of Meso- 

 potamian medicine had been hampered by separation be- 

 tween departments: its interpreters were "either philologists 

 lacking knowledge of medicine, its history, or that of phar- 

 macology, or physicians without adequate linguistic train- 

 ing." It is in the spirit of long-needed interdisciplinary 

 cooperation that I off"er for discussion this text from the Epi- 

 logue to the Code of Hammurapi, which, I believe, presents a 

 more complete picture of the clinical manifestations of lep- 

 rosy than any other text from ancient Mesopotamia proposed 

 to date. 2 



Before examination of the passage let me give a brief 

 synopsis of the use of the term in the translations of textual 

 data from Mesopotamia. In my study I have encountered at 

 least four different words that have been translated by "lep- 

 rosy." There is a fairly straightforward philological explana- 

 tion for this: the Akkadian loanword saharsuppu may be 

 traced to Sumerian SAHAR.SUB.A.. literally, "covered with 

 dusf (i.e., dustlike, whitish scales) (Oppenheim 1956: 

 273n.54). Indifferent lexical series 5-4/M/?.5t/S./4. is equa- 

 ted with the terms epqu and gardbu. Thus, saharsuppu = 

 epqu = gardbu. Furthermore, .ra^wrv(//7^M occurs in contexts 

 in which the affliction covers the individual "like a garment" 

 and results in his wandering outside the city walls "like a wild 

 ass on the steppe." The combination of excommunication 

 and "whitish scaly skin" — which was not considered inap- 

 propriate for leprosy until Dr. S.G. Browne (1967:190) 

 pointed out its unsuitability in a reply to J. V. Kinnier Wilson 



(1966:47-58) — contributed to the translation of the Akka- 

 dian as "leprosy." The fourth term, busdnu, seems to have 

 been translated "leprosy" on the basis of association with 

 symptoms more appropriate to the disease (it atTects the 

 mouth, nose, skin); however, other references would militate 

 against such a diagnosis. 



It is necessary to underscore that the passage from the 

 Epilogue is not a medical text. It does not set forward symp- 

 toms for the sake of diagnosis or prescription of medication. 

 Rather, it is a single curse invoking the goddess Ninkarak, in 

 the context of a series of curses which Hammurapi enjoins 

 the gods to bring upon those who would in some way change 

 his laws. The form — (1) deity name (2) deity epithet (3) 

 curse — is typical of Near Eastern curses for a period of more 

 than a millennium. The diction and poetic devices apparent 

 in the curse reveal a subtle literary skill. I would suggest, 

 however, that behind the imagery lies a very specific disease 

 entity that Ninkarak is called upon to inflict. Such a supposi- 

 tion is supported by the fact that the basic nature of the curse 

 remains the same over time. Although the description of the 

 symptoms is general by modem standards and certainly not 

 pathognomonic, the presence of cutaneous lesions, testicular 

 damage, and suggestion of neuropathy point to a considera- 

 tion of leprosy as the disease. 



The text and translation follow:^ 



50. ^Ninkarak 



51. marat Anim 



52. qabiat 



53. dumqiya 



54. ina Ekur 



55. mursam kabtam 



56. asakkam lemnam 



57. simmam marsam 



58. Sa la ipaSSehu 



59. asO qerebSu 



60. la ilammadu 



200 



Zagreb Paleopathology Symp. 1 988 



