nikiptu II
2Attestations
LBLB: Late Babylonian (ca. 626 BCE – 100 CE) — new attestation (not in AHw/CAD) šimni-k[ip-tum] Jursa 2009, 151 BM 77429 15. new
LBLB: Late Babylonian (ca. 626 BCE – 100 CE) — new attestation (not in AHw/CAD) [x GÍ]N LIGIDBA Jursa 2009, 148 BM 54060 i 9 eBL. Listed among aromatics for incense. new
Discussion
The identification as “spurge (Euphorbia)” has been given in DAB 365ff. and is tentatively accepted in AHw 788, but it is far from certain. Note that nikiptu is rarely attested with any other determinatives than the ŠIM as part of the compound signs LIGIDBA and LÍGIDBA (syll. spellings usually show no determinatives at all). It is therefore unclear whether the term refers to a plant proper at all, or rather to a fragrance/aromatic of yet unknown origin.
The terms “male” and “female”, which are attributed frequently in therapeutic contexts, may refer, similar to the terminology in classical trade of incense, to the grade (based on shape and/or clarity) of the attributed product, supposedly a kind of aromatic substance (a resin, but rarely, sap or oil of nikiptu is meantioned as well).