šeḫḫātar/n-

This lexeme is found in the festival for the Palaic pantheon.

[D.S.]

gen. sg.	še-eḫ-ḫa-an[-na-aš]	KBo 19.153 iii 11’	(CTH 751, NS)
	[še-e]ḫ-ḫa-an-na-aš	KBo 19.154 5’	(CTH 751, MS?)
	[še-eḫ-ḫ]a-an-na-aš	KBo 19.154 14’	(CTH 751, MS?)

The grammatical assignment is uncertain, but the word šeḫḫannaš should be in the same case as mišgašaš (gen. adj. nom. sg. c.). Based on the possible identification of the suffix /-adar, -ann-/ (Melchert 1994a:219), a genitive singular is the best option, comparable to the genitival adjective posited for mišgašaš.

[D.S.]

Checked against the photographs in the Konkordanz.

[D.S.]

In the Palaic passage where the word šeḫḫannaš is attested, animals are offered in sacrifice to the god Zaparwa. After the speaker points out that the sacrificial body parts are warm, it is said that the king shows to the god two specific body parts, which must be for the king and queen (see Sasseville 2019a:26).

[a=a]nta tabarnaš ^DZaparwāi [takk]uwagati kuiša ḫueri šeḫḫan[naš] [t]abarni ^MUNUStawananni wati[la=kat w]ūzzani=kat ašendu (KBo 19.153 iii 11’-13’)

‘The tabarna shows to Zaparwa whichever of the šeḫḫātar ḫueri: “This watila here and this sheep fat here must be for the tabarna and tawananna.’

Considering the morphology of the substantive šeḫḫātar, it is expected to be an action noun derived from a verb *šeḫḫ-. Melchert 2016f:291 n. 12 suggests an etymological connection with Hitt. šāḫ- ‘to fill up’ and suggests the meaning ‘pleasing’. This is one possible interpretation, although it could be expected instead that šeḫḫannaš refers to the all the body parts lying in front of the king. Based on the current state of research, it is not possible to assign more definite semantics to šeḫḫannaš (thus Carruba 1970a:69 and Carruba 1972a:49). Cf. under mišga-.

[D.S.]

Due to the insecurity of the semantics and the etymology mentioned above, no reconstruction will be offered for this word.

[D.S.]