ḫulû
6 Lexical
OB-LexOB-Lex: Old Babylonian lexical texts [kuš péš] sìla ⸢gaz⸣ = min ＜(mašak)＞ ḫu- [le-e] Ḫḫ XI 67 eBL.
OB-LexOB-Lex: Old Babylonian lexical texts [kuš pé]š ki ⸢ḫul⸣ = min ＜(mašak)＞ [min] ＜(ḫulê)＞ Ḫḫ XI 68 eBL.
SB-LexSB-Lex: Standard Babylonian lexical texts [péš] ⸢sìla⸣ gaz = ḫu- [lu-u] Ḫḫ XIV 197a DCCLT.
SB-LexSB-Lex: Standard Babylonian lexical texts péš ki ḫul = min ＜ ( ḫu-lu-u ) ＞ Ḫḫ XIV 197b DCCLT.
SB-LexSB-Lex: Standard Babylonian lexical texts [kuš] péš sìla gaz = min ＜ ( mašak ) ＞ ⸢ ḫu⸣ -le-e BM 54621 r. 3' eBL.
SB-LexSB-Lex: Standard Babylonian lexical texts [kuš] péš! ḫul = min ＜ ( mašak ) ＞ min ＜ ( ḫu-le-e ) ＞ BM 54621 r. 4' eBL.
31. Sense
SBSB: Standard Babylonian (ca. 1000–0 BCE) šumma izbu bišimti ḫu-le-e […] Šumma Izbu XVII 50 eBL “If a misbirth (has) the shape of a ḫulû ...”
SBSB: Standard Babylonian (ca. 1000–0 BCE) — new attestation (not in AHw/CAD) bišimti ḫu-le-e : binūt ḫu-le-e : bašāmu : banû : šanîš pani ḫu-le-e Šumma Izbu XVII comm. 16-18 eBL “'shape of a ḫulû ' (means) 'creature of a ḫulû ' (because) 'to shape' (means) 'to create'. Alternatively, (it means) the 'front of a ḫulû '”. new
NANA: Neo Assyrian (ca. 1000–600 BCE) šū ḫu-lu-ú mār ḫamaṣ[īri] Da Riva/Wasserman 2025, 158 iii' 9' eBL “He is a ḫulû , son of a mouse.” Excerpt from an Assyrian manuscript of the 'Divine Love Lyrics'. Here, rodents serve as a symbol for fertility and sexual intercourse (see Da Riva/Wasserman 2025 50–51 ).
32. As materia medica et magica
SBSB: Standard Babylonian (ca. 1000–0 BCE) péš.ḫul gišgi ša šārta laḫmu Sakikkû XXVIII 4 eBL “ḫulû of the reed(-bed) that is covered in hair”. Corresponds to 11–13 in Heeßel 2000. Used for a phylactery against epilepsy.
SBSB: Standard Babylonian (ca. 1000–0 BCE) — new attestation (not in AHw/CAD) PÉŠ.SÌLA.GA[Z ... ina maški ina šer]ʾān arrabi tašappi Sakikkû XXIX 12 “you wrap a ḫu [lû , ... in the hide] of a dormouse [with it's ten]don(s)”. Corresponds to 25–28 in Heeßel 2000 . new
SBSB: Standard Babylonian (ca. 1000–0 BCE) — new attestation (not in AHw/CAD) šumma sinništu lū arḫi lū 2 arḫī lū 3 arḫī ša ša libbiša ittaddâ ḫu-la-a tubbal Finkel 2000, 17 o. 1–2 eBL “If a woman has had several miscarriages (lit.: droped her fetus) in either the first, the second, or the third month: you dry a ḫulû”. Part of a recipe collection for preventing miscarriages and treating infertility. new
Discussion
Modern publications have taken to identify the ḫulû as a “shrew” (see e.g. AHw 1, 354; Heimpel 1990, 608; cf. Butz 1977, 286–287, who disagrees) – a claim that can be traced back to Landsberger 1934, 108–109, who based his identification chiefly on the conception of the ḫulû as “evil” (i.e. the association with péš ḫul), with the shrew being stylised as equally “evil” in behaviour. Aside from the etymological issues outlined above, the ascribed cruelty likely stems from the shrew’s foraging behaviour and territorial streak (Merten et al. 2020) but is still overstated for the sake of marrying the shrew to this presupposed evilness. The lexically attested association of ḫulû with adantu (Malku V 52), which Landsberger relates to adamatu “red” (AHw 1, 10) and uses to argue in favour of the shrew and its red colouring, does not hold up well either. Not only is the shrew’s fur not exclusively red, adamatu is also only sparsely attested and its meaning not entirely certain. Nonetheless, the sources enable us to identify some of the ḫulû’s features. Reading sìla gaz as “breaking litre vessel”, implying a threat to stored goods, is viable, but the vessel has also been identified as a measurement for meat cuts (Sallaberger 1996, 53). If the lexical association is to be taken seriously, mice and especially rats would have posed a more significant hazard to meat – and other edible goods – kept in storage, as a shrew’s diet consists of invertebrates. The ḫulû is also associated with fertility and sexual intercourse, as indicated by its use in rituals (Finkel 2000, 17 o. 1–2) and its mention in the ‘Divine Love Lyrics’ (Da Riva/Wasserman 2025, 158 iii' 9'), likely reflecting the animals’ general fertility and large litter sizes. The reference in Sakikkû XXVIII 12 places the ḫulû in the reed-beds and denotes it as hairy, but this does not definitively point towards a specific species either. Unfavourable omens cite misbirths shaped like a ḫulû or, notably, a cub born with the snout of a ḫulû (Šumma Izbu V o. 55'), insinuating a conspicuous and rather unappealing appearance that can imply the shrew but might as well refer to a mouse- or rat-like face in general.