ḫalta-^(ti)

The verb is used only once, in a birth ritual heavily interspersed with Luwianisms.

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Formally and semantically implausible, HW 2nd ed. H:110f.

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Checked against the photographs in the Mainzer Fotoarchiv.

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With the exception of HW 2nd ed. H:110f., the handbooks agree that ḫalta-^(ti) belongs to same word family as CLuw. ḫaltittari and Hitt. ḫalzai-/-i(ya)-^(ḫi), all meaning approximately ‘to call, appeal’ (since Pedersen 1938a:121, Friedrich 1954-1956a:148 on account of the phonological match, HW:329 and 384, DLL:39, Kronasser 1966a:521, HEG A-K:140, CLL:49, Jasanoff 2003a:93 and 11f., HED Ḫ:56 and 63, EDHIL:277, Sasseville 2021a:38 and 416; see also HHw:37: ‘nennen; rufen’). The context is part of a ritual instruction, which, taken by itself, does not help much to elucidate the meaning of the verb: ^(3’)[kēdani m]u^KAM-ti kēdani itu^KAM-mi kēdani ud[^KAM-ti] ^(4’)[kēd]ani ge₆^KAM-anti (dupl. adds: [k]ēdani) lamnī ḫaltatti “he appeals in [this y]ear, in this month, on this day, in [th]is night, in (dupl. adds: this) moment” (KUB 35.145 iii 3’f. with dupl. KUB 17.15 iii 14’f.; CHD L-N:36; contra Beckman 1983a:194 and Starke 1985b:231, there is not enough space for kuiš in the line-initial break). In addition, contra Friedrich 1954-1956a:148, lamnī cannot be the dat./loc. of lāman/lamn- ‘name’, since kēdani from the duplicate text indicates that lamnī is semantically parallel with the other time expressions. Also, his idea that ḫaltatti is part of the instruction has little to recommend itself in view of ḫukki[škezzi] ‘he conjures’ in iii 2’ introducing the incantation. Therefore, it is only the homophony of the roots of ḫaltittari and ḫaltatti that points to the accepted semantic interpretation.

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The form ḫaltatti identifies the verb unambiguously as a denominative stem in -a-^(ti) (Sasseville 2021a:38). However, the nominal basis *ḫalta- remains unattested (for the new reading of the ghost word †ḫalt(i)-, see CLuw. anti). On previous attempts to lump this stem together with that of ḫaltittari, see under Stem in CLuw. ḫalti-.

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1. ^DḪaldattašš(i)- (HW:424, DLL:39, CLL:49, HED Ḫ:63, Sasseville 2021a:38)

On account of the 3sg. pres. act. in -tti, the verb was correctly recognized as Luwian (for references, see under Meaning and, furthermore Kronasser 1966a:519, 589 and van den Hout 2006a:250. See under CLuw. ḫalti- for a potential Indo-European etymology.

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