tafa-

This lexeme is found in a metrical inscription from Sardis that cannot be dated accurately, as well as in a decree from the Artemision at Sardis that has been recently dated to 542-41 BCE (Euler & Sasseville 2019a:136).

[D.S.]

nom sg.	tafaas	LW 23.16 (Sardis)
dat. sg.	tafaaλ	LW 11.4 (Sardis)

Based on the passage of LW 23.16, Gusmani 1961a:200 n. 76 recognizes  that tafaas refers to an official, like the padafu- and the šerl(i)- (misspelled še<r>lλ ?) mentioned in the same context. He suggests the translation ‘magistrate (?)’, which is not cogent (cf. Gusmani 1964a:208, Gusmani 1980a:98), but is followed by Dusinberre 2003a:230 and Bouzid-Adler 2014a:14. The function of the tafa- in this case is to perform something on the movable goods of the Persian priest Mitridaštas, who becomes an official member of the cult by handing over all his belongings (Euler & Sasseville 2019a:131-133). In LW 11.4, the tafa- belongs to the astrko- (misspelled as a<s>trgolλ ?), referring either to Ares (mentioned in the first sentence) or to Artemis (mentioned later), and that same person is in charge of announcing a decree. Therefore, the tafa- can be interpreted as an official of a religious cult.

[D.S.]

The suggestion of Gusmani 1980a:98 that the word may be related to the root verb Luw. tapar-^(ti) ‘to guide, rule’ is not likely on morphological grounds (see Sasseville 2021a:271-273). No reconstruction is offered here.

[D.S.]