zappantal(l)ā(i)-^(di)

The verb is found exclusively in Hittite NS oracle texts.

[E.R.]

Checked against the photographs in the Konkordanz.

[E.R.]

No meaning is given in DLL:113 and CLL:279. It is van den Hout 1998b:227f. who first tries to narrow down the semantics, pointing out that “it must be sought in the sphere of retribution and remuneration.” This is drawn from the context of oracular inquiries about how to make up for the neglect of the cult of certain deceased members of the royal family and how to perform it in future, especially with regard to the images of the deceased. However, van den Hout is puzzled by the fact that the direct object is the object withheld (i.e. the cult) in KUB 50.6, but not the human beings or their images in KUB 14.77.

Furthermore, Tischler (HEG W-Z:662) observes that the contexts seem to demand both ‘to compensate, do penance’ for the omitted festivals and ‘to furnish, equip’ the statues. For the former, cf. KUB 50.6 iii 13-15 (following van den Hout 1998b:184f.): ⁽¹³⁾nu-uš-ši ma-a-an kar-ša-an ku-it-ki ⁽¹⁴⁾na-at za-ap-pa-an-ta-la-an-zi GAM-a[n] ⁽¹⁵⁾za-an-ki-la-tar SUM-an-zi “If something has been withheld from her, will they … it (and) additionally^? will they give compensation?” For the latter, cf. KUB 16.77 iii 38f. (following van den Hout 1998b:250f.): ⁽³⁸⁾[GIDIM^ḪI.A š]a-ra-a a-še-ša-nu-wa-an-zi na-aš za-ap-pa-an-tal-la-en-ti ⁽³⁹⁾[na-aš dam-me-l]i pé-di KASKAL-ši-aḫ-ḫa-an-zi “they will set up [(images of) the deceased^?] and they will remunerate^? them [and] ‘put [them] on the road’ [at a sacr]ed spot.” Contrary to van den Hout, Tischler favors ‘to equip’ over ‘to remunerate’ here.

However, starting from the stem formation yields a different picture. The lexicalized participle *zappant- of zappa-^(ti) ‘to make a flow (of liquid); to drain, let flow; to let bleed (?)’ should mean ‘flowing, made flow, bleeding, bled’, which would be an adequate term for ‘sacrificial animal’. The substantivized adjective *zappant-alla/i-, then, is expected to denote the sacrifice or the person performing the sacrifice and, finally, the denominative verb zappantallā(i)-^(di) derived from *zappant-alla/i- would probably mean ‘to perform a sacrifice, offer as sacrifice’ or ‘to act as a sacrificing one’ respectively (for the formal side of the process, see Starke 1990a:518). In either case, this amounts to the semantics of ‘to sacrifice’. If, however, *zappant- is a possessive -(a)nt- formation based on *zappa- *‘draining, flowing, bleeding (?)’ (later lexicalized as ‘drain, canal, sewer (?)’), *zappant- denotes the ‘person who has, or is in charge of, draining, flowing, bleeding’, i.e. the ‘the sacrificing one’. In this case, the substantivized adjective *zappant-alla/i- is the word for ‘sacrifice’ and the denominative verb comes to mean ‘to perform a sacrifice, offer as sacrifice’, as per above.

These rather theoretical considerations find support by their semantic suitability for the passages just cited: “If something has been withheld from her, will they offer it as a sacrifice (and) additionally^? will they give compensation?” and “they will set up [(images of) the deceased^?] and they will offer a sacrifice (to) them [and] ‘put [them] on the road’ [at a sacr]ed spot.” The secondary switch to transitive use with the celebrated deity as direct object is trivial (cf. Hitt. eku-/aku- (DN) ‘to “drink” a deity’).

[E.R.]

The verb features the Luw. denominative suffix -ā(i)-^(di) and is transferred into the Hittite class of -ā(i)-^(mi) verbs (Starke 1990a:518 and CLL:279). Perhaps, the spelling with a singleton -l- in both attestations is yet another result of the adaptation process replacing Luw. -alla/i- with Hitt. -ala-.

[E.R.]

That the word is of Luwian origin is proved by the use of gloss wedges, the Luwian inflectional form zappalaenti and the fact that the word belongs to the large specifically Luwian word family around zappa-^(ti) ‘to perform a sacrifice, offer as sacrifice’ or ‘to act as the one performing the sacrifice’.

[E.R.]

For the lemma head see CLuw. *zapp-.