Sumerian and Akkadian Incantations
Filters
Surpu II
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Leviticus 11:2
Surpu II
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Leviticus 19:3
Surpu II
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Leviticus 19:36
Surpu II
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Deuteronomy 19:14
Surpu II
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Leviticus 18:20
Surpu II
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Matthew 25:35
Surpu II
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Isaiah 29:13
Surpu II
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Psalm 78:35
Surpu II
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Psalm 15:4
Surpu II
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Deuteronomy 23:23
Surpu II
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Leviticus 5:4
Surpu II
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Leviticus 6:3
Surpu III
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Exodus 20:5
Surpu III
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Leviticus 5:17
Surpu III
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Psalm 19:12
Surpu IV
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Psalm 146:8
Surpu IV
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Isaiah 35:3
Surpu IV
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Isaiah 42:7
Surpu V
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2 Kings 6:6
Surpu IX
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Arakhin 15b
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Summary
Date: 1200 BCE
The Šurpu tablets are a collection of Mesopotamian ritual texts written primarily in Akkadian, using the cuneiform script, and preserved on clay tablets. The series reflects a learned scribal tradition, drawing on formal literary Akkadian while also echoing everyday speech through its long, repetitive lists. These texts guide a ritual meant to address hidden faults that were believed to bring illness, misfortune, or social strain. Instead of identifying a single cause, the spoken incantations move through many possible actions or words, allowing any unrecognized burden to be named and released. Fire plays a central role, symbolically removing the impurity attached to a person. For modern readers, the Surpu tablets show how language, ritual, and moral reflection were closely linked in ordinary life.
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