Are “The Cities of the Plain” Mentioned in the Ebla Tablets?

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About five years ago, Giovanni Pettinato, the original epigrapher to the Italian Mission to Ebla, announced to the world that the Biblical Cities of the Plain (Genesis 14) were mentioned in the fabulous third-millennium B.C. cuneiform tablets found at Ebla. At the time of his announcement, Pettinato did not tell us the way in which the cities were written, nor did he give us textual references. Only recently has he done this and only for three of the five cities of the plain: Sodom, Gomorrah and Zoar.^a Even now, however, he has not attempted to prove his proposed identifications. In fact, they are all wrong. Let us consider them one by one:

Sodom

According to Pettinato, Sodom corresponds to the Eblaite place name Si-da-mu^ki. This Eblaite city is mentioned in tablet TM.76.G.524.^b The text concerns 055the delivery of textiles. A series of towns, including Sidamu, is listed. The series is as follows: Ti-in^ki, ’A~-sûu^ki, Dur-URU^ki, Du-ma-na^ki, Si-da-mu^ki, A-hÉa-da-mu^ki, I~-ra-ar^ki.¹

Nothing in this list or otherwise in the tablet suggests that Sidamu is to be located on the shores of the Dead Sea.

Sidamu is also mentioned in two other tablets (TM.75.G.2377 obv. Iy 8 = 2379 rev. I 5^c). Again these two tablets have a list of places; this time, however, the list of places relates to the cult of ^dNI-dakul. Among the places mentioned is Lu-ba-an^ki. Lu-ba-an^ki should be in the area of Alalakh.² We must, therefore, look for Sidamu in northern Syria, perhaps between Ebla and the coast, but surely not on the shores of the Dead Sea.

Gomorrah

According to Pettinato, Gomorrah appears in the Ebla tablets as I~-ma-ar^ki. He gives two references. One reference is simply wrong. In TM.75.G.2233 (another tablet dealing with the delivery of textiles), the place mentioned is not, despite Pettinato, I~-ma-ar^ki, but I~-mar^ki. The series of place names is as follows: I~-mar^ki (I.3), A~-sûu-mu^ki (I.6), HÉa-ra-an^ki (I.II), Sa-nap-zu-lum^ki (I.16).³ The mention of HÉarran shows that the cities are to be placed in the northern and eastern regions, not on the shore of the Dead Sea.

Pettinato also refers us to TM.75.G.1570 obv. 111, which does mention Ì-ma-ar^ki. In this same tablet, however, we read as follows: 1 gu₄ / en / Ì-ma-ar^ki / 1 gu₄ / Zu-ba-LUM / 1 gu₄ / I-sûar / 6 gu₄ / en / (II 1) Kak-mi-um^ki, which means, “One ox: (delivery, mutum) of the king of Emar; one ox: (delivery) of ZubaLUM; one ox: (delivery) of Isûar; 6 oxen: (delivery) of the king of Kakmium.” Kakmium was probably in the region of the Tigris.⁴

Moreover, it is clear that Ì-ma-ar^ki is only a variant of Ì-mar^ki. That is the writing usually employed at Ebla for Emar,⁵ which is a city near Meskeneh, on the right bank of the Euphrates.⁶ At Mari, in the second millennium B.C., this name is written Ì-ma-(a-)ar^ki; at Alalakh E-ma-ar^ki (Lev. VII), E-mar^ki (Lev. IV).

The original writing for the Biblical place name Aãmoµraµh should be *imaµr-at.⁷ The place name Ì-mar/Ì-ma-ar^ki does not correspond, therefore, to the place name attested in the Bible from a linguistic viewpoint.

Zoar

According to Pettinato, Zoar should be written Za-é-ar^ki (that is Za-’à-ar^ki). Pettinato refers us to two texts, one concerning deliveries of textiles, and the other one deliveries, mu-túm, of silver.

In TM.75.G.1323 obv. V 15-VII 3, we find the following: Zizu of the city of Tuba; Gibar-Gubi of the city of I-NI-bu: (clothes that are) a tax of Armi to (in) Za-’à-ar^ki; the king of I-NI-bu; the king of Iritum. The mention of Tuba and Iritum (Irrite of the second millennium) points to a geographical area northeast of Ebla.⁸

In TM.75.G.1586 obv. IX 2–12, we find: “30 (shekels) silver: delivery of AHò-ra-Malik of the city of GuhÉatium; 20 (shekels) silver: delivery of the city of Za’ar; 35 (shekels) silver, a textile: delivery of the city of Absûu.” This place (also the writings Absu and Abzu are attested) may perhaps be identified with Abzu near Kinza (Qadesû) (KBo I 1 obv. 42 = 2 obv. 23f. (treaty between Suppiluliuma and Sðat_tiwaza).

Again the geographical location is nowhere near the Dead Sea.

In addition to the texts mentioned by Pettinato, there are two others. One (TM.75.G.1527 rev. IV 6–11) states: TAR bar₆:kù / mu-túm / Ì-na-ar / Za’a-ar^ki / in / Hòa-lam^ki, which means, “30 (shekels) silver: delivery of Inar of Za’ar for Hòalam.” The place names which follow Hòalam are Kakmium (IV 16) and Sanapzulum (V 3). These are certainly to be located northeast of Ebla. Hòalam appears several times preceded by GN + in, for example in TM.75.G.2070 rev. III 1–5; 1 ma-na bar₆:kù / mu-túm / Ir-i-tum^ki / in / Hòa-lam^ki, which means, “1 mine silver: delivery of Iritum for Hòalam.” Here Hòalam is related with Iritum, a city near Hòarran. Again the location precludes any identification with the Biblical cities of the plain.

One must also consider that the Hebrew writing for Zoar is s>r and sw>r, and in Ebla the sign É is normally used for /h/ and /h/, while // and />/ are expressed by the sign A.⁹

Accordingly, no place name referred to by Pettinato can be identified with the Biblical “Cities of the Plain.”

About five years ago, Giovanni Pettinato, the original epigrapher to the Italian Mission to Ebla, announced to the world that the Biblical Cities of the Plain (Genesis 14) were mentioned in the fabulous third-millennium B.C. cuneiform tablets found at Ebla. At the time of his announcement, Pettinato did not tell us the way in which the cities were written, nor did he give us textual references. Only recently has he done this and only for three of the five cities of the plain: Sodom, Gomorrah and Zoar.a Even now, however, he has not attempted to prove his proposed identifications. […]