The 'Middle Finger' (ubān hašî qablītu)

Certain parts of the lungs received special attention in omen texts and extispicy reports, notably the so-called "middle 'finger' of the lung," the accessory lobe of the right lung.^[[173]] In the Sargonid reports, this part is commonly, if not exclusively, said to be either "loose" or "bound."^[[174]] This predilection is attested already in the MB reports.^[[175]]

Aside from the characteristics of the "middle finger" noted in Starr Rituals page 74f, attention may also be drawn to omens referring to two "middle fingers" of the lung, one located normally in the lung, the other abnormally elsewhere, e.g.

"There are two 'middle fingers' of the lung, a normal one located normally, a second one reaching on the right/left," YOS 10 39:7ff;

"There are two 'middle fingers' of the lung, the one placed normally, the other stands on top of the 'cap' [of the lung?], its front facing its location," ibid. 14.

Another characteristic of the 'middle finger' of the lung is that it may leave its place and find itself located elsewhere, e.g.

"The 'middle finger' of the lung leaves its place and stands in the right/left fissure," ibid. 17f.^[[176]]

In the queries but not in the reports, appears also a part called the "middle" qablītu which shares with the "middle finger" of the lung the descriptions "loose" and "bound" as well as its position in the order of parts of the exta. It is therefore likely that the two are identical, the former being an abbreviation of the latter.

A part of the middle 'finger' of the lung attested both in omen texts and the Sargonid queries is NÍG.PI, whose Akkadian reading is evidently uzuntu/uzuttu^[[177]] This term could also refer to the 'finger' of the liver,^[[178]] and both kinds of NÍG.PI are, in fact, attested in the same protasis in an unpublished text.^[[179]] In other words, it is part of both the lobes of the lungs (the accessory lobe of the right lung) and the liver (caudate lobe).

173 For a discussion of the lobes of the lungs and the problems involved in their Identification see Starr, JNES 42 (1983) 109f, and Rituals, p. 70f. The 'middle finger' of the lung is attested already in an extispicy report from Mari (ARM 5 65:35) and is well represented in the omen texts from the OB period (e.g. YOS 10 38-40) onward.

174 For a discussion of the statives uššur/rakis, see Starr Rituals, p. 111.

175 See, for example, JCS 11 90 no.18:9; JCS 37 148:17, 23; 149:31; 150:49, 54 (uš-šu-ur), 58 (ra-ki-is). Note also ibid, 148:12, "the 'middle finger' of the lung: its top is pointed, its base is 'bound.'"

176 For omens derived from the 'middle finger' of the lung in NA texts, see, for example, KAR 423 r, i 39ff; 152 reverse; 159, and passim in omen texts.

177 See AHw 1448b. In the queries it is attested once or twice only, in 49 r.5 and possibly in 88 r.15, where the text actually has a-pi. For the omen texts see CT 31 22 Sm 916:5, KAR 151 r.22ff, and passim.

178 E.g. CT 30 42 r.11, CT 31 42 K 3968:10.

179 NÍG.PI 15 ŠU.SI DU₈-át (...) NÍG.PI ŠU.SI MUR MURUB₄ DU₈-át (...) NÍG.PI.MEŠ ki-lal-la-an DU₈.MEŠ, K 4072 r.2ff. This passage may be a duplicate of CT 30 47 K 3943 r.3-5.

Ivan Starr

Ivan Starr, 'The 'Middle Finger' (ubān hašî qablītu)', Queries to the Sungod: Divination and Politics in Sargonid Assyria, SAA 4. Original publication: Helsinki, Helsinki University Press, 1990; online contents: SAAo/SAA04 Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2025 [http://oracc.org/saao/saa04/TheLungsandTheirParts/The'MiddleFinger'/]