parašša/i-

The word is attested only in the duplicate texts the Apology of Ḫattušili (NH).

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Checked against the photographs in the Mainzer Fotoarchiv.

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The lexeme functions as the epithet of the goddess Ištar or as the designation of a quality of that deity, who having reassured king Ḫattušili and his wife Puduḫepa of her benevolence demands to be celebrated accordingly: zi-ik-ka₄-wa-mu-za ^Dištar pa-ra-aš-ši-in i-ya “You, too, celebrate (impv.) me, the (goddess) Ištar, (as) parašša/i-!” The preceding context mentions too many characteristic actions by Ištar to allow a specification of the meaning of parašša/i-: she helps, provides support by the country, guarantees safety in court, and installs Ḫattušili as priest. Every aspect of her support or an abstract hyperonymic notion could underlie the meaning of the lexeme, which, therefore, remains untranslated here (likewise CHD P:140; but see below).Early and somewhat arbitrary attempts at translating the word are ‘Verehrung(?)’ (by Götze 1925a:100), ‘Vertrauen’ or ‘Vertraute(r)’ (HW:159), and ‘patron deity’ (by Hoffner 1967a:65) while that by Starke 1987a:253 n. 38, ‘Verheißung’, depends on a connection with CLuw. par- with the alleged meaning ‘zusagen, verheißen, verwünschen’, now outdated. A connection with CLuw. paraššātta- ‘provisions (?)’ envisaged in DCL:s.v. seems morphologically impossible, see under lemma. Also, Neumann’s (apud HEG P:445, followed in HHw:121 and HED PA:115) idea to identify the base with the adverb parā ‘forth’, which results in a translation ‘situated in front’ is without morphological parallel. Semantically implausible is the link with parā- ‘air, breath (?)’ considered in CHD P:130. A combination of several of the above translations is found in Ünal 2007a:514.

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The stem ends in the suffix -ašša/i- used to build the genitival adjectives (CHD P:140). The nominal base *para- is not attested. Also, an identification of the latter with *para-, base of para-^(ti) ‘to carry (off)’, cannot be supported by contextual analysis.

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Luwian origin of parašša/i- is likely on account of the Luwian suffix -ašša/i- (CHD P:140, HED PA:115, Ünal 2007a:514).On proposals for identifying the ^Dištar paraššiš with deities attested in alphabetic tradition, see HEG P:445.

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