Anatomy of a Letter

BPK BILDAGENTUR/VORDERASIATISCHES MUSEUM, NATIONAL MUSEUMS IN BERLIN/ART RESOURCE, NY

This two-sided tablet, EA 286, is a letter from Abdi-Heba, king of Jerusalem. The scribe who took down the king’s words was responsible for shaping the clay tablet and then writing the letter in accordance with conventional structures and patterns. Here, the various components of the letter are demarcated by yellow borders. The letter begins with a standard greeting formula and ends with a message directed to the scribe who will communicate its contents to the pharaoh.

SALUTATION
Say to the king, my lord: Message of Abdi-Heba, your servant. I fall at the feet of my lord, the king, seven times and seven times.

BODY
Abdi-Heba declares his loyalty, reports the extent of enemy incursions, and requests military aid from the pharaoh:

What have I done to the king, my lord? They are slandering me; I am being slandered before the king, my lord: “As for Abdi-Heba, he has deserted the king, his lord.” Look, as for me, neither my father nor my mother put me in this place. Rather, it was the strong arm of the king that caused me to enter to my father’s house. Why would I commit a crime against the king, my lord? …

So may the king, my lord, know that the king, my lord, placed a garrison (here), (but) Yanhmu took [a]ll of it. … [There are] no garrison troops. [So] may the king govern his land. …¹

All of the city rulers are lost. The king, <my> lord, has no city ruler. May the king turn his attention to the regular troops, and may the regular troops of the king, my lord, come forth. …

MESSAGE TO THE RECEIVING SCRIBE
To the scribe of the king, my lord, a message of Abdi-Heba, your servant: Present the eloquent words to the king, my lord! …