Dr. Moudhy Al-Rashid

One possible way to understand it is that because cuneiform was such an old writing system, it develops, of course, across time. It was initially developed to write the Sumerian language, which is not related to any known language. And then scribes and scholars expanded what signs stood for to make it possible to use the writing system to write the completely unrelated Akkadian language.

So as a result of this expansion and this extension of the writing system to write totally different languages, Each cuneiform sign takes on more than one meaning. So as a really basic example, the cuneiform sign for house is just a word. It's a sign that stands for a whole word. Not only does it stand for the word house, but it also stands for syllables that sound like the word for house.

So as a result of this expansion and this extension of the writing system to write totally different languages, Each cuneiform sign takes on more than one meaning. So as a really basic example, the cuneiform sign for house is just a word. It's a sign that stands for a whole word. Not only does it stand for the word house, but it also stands for syllables that sound like the word for house.

So as a result of this expansion and this extension of the writing system to write totally different languages, Each cuneiform sign takes on more than one meaning. So as a really basic example, the cuneiform sign for house is just a word. It's a sign that stands for a whole word. Not only does it stand for the word house, but it also stands for syllables that sound like the word for house.

So in Sumerian, that's ae. In Akkadian, that's bit, and so then it sounds like bet and pit and pet. So it takes on all these other values. And it's slightly technical and boring, but the reason I'm giving this backdrop is to say that in a way, the world starts to look like a cuneiform tablet. So scholarship interprets natural phenomena as signs, almost as cuneiform signs, with multiple meanings.

So in Sumerian, that's ae. In Akkadian, that's bit, and so then it sounds like bet and pit and pet. So it takes on all these other values. And it's slightly technical and boring, but the reason I'm giving this backdrop is to say that in a way, the world starts to look like a cuneiform tablet. So scholarship interprets natural phenomena as signs, almost as cuneiform signs, with multiple meanings.

So in Sumerian, that's ae. In Akkadian, that's bit, and so then it sounds like bet and pit and pet. So it takes on all these other values. And it's slightly technical and boring, but the reason I'm giving this backdrop is to say that in a way, the world starts to look like a cuneiform tablet. So scholarship interprets natural phenomena as signs, almost as cuneiform signs, with multiple meanings.

And so the kind of aim of scholarship becomes the interpretation of the world as signs. And I think it's really informed by the writing system itself. And that's where omens come in. And they wrote thousands and thousands of these omens down. And an omen is basically a statement in the cuneiform sources that is something like, if observation, then prediction. So if observation

And so the kind of aim of scholarship becomes the interpretation of the world as signs. And I think it's really informed by the writing system itself. And that's where omens come in. And they wrote thousands and thousands of these omens down. And an omen is basically a statement in the cuneiform sources that is something like, if observation, then prediction. So if observation

And so the kind of aim of scholarship becomes the interpretation of the world as signs. And I think it's really informed by the writing system itself. And that's where omens come in. And they wrote thousands and thousands of these omens down. And an omen is basically a statement in the cuneiform sources that is something like, if observation, then prediction. So if observation

A lunar eclipse takes place in the east, then the king will die, or something along those lines. So the observation is about something going on in the sky.

A lunar eclipse takes place in the east, then the king will die, or something along those lines. So the observation is about something going on in the sky.

A lunar eclipse takes place in the east, then the king will die, or something along those lines. So the observation is about something going on in the sky.

And they had these omens for all sorts of things, like stuff that happened on Earth, a fox being present in a city, somebody having a birthmark, I have a birthmark on my left cheek, what that might mean about a person's life or the success of the observer. But in terms of celestial omens, they were typically concerned with broader political trends.

And they had these omens for all sorts of things, like stuff that happened on Earth, a fox being present in a city, somebody having a birthmark, I have a birthmark on my left cheek, what that might mean about a person's life or the success of the observer. But in terms of celestial omens, they were typically concerned with broader political trends.

And they had these omens for all sorts of things, like stuff that happened on Earth, a fox being present in a city, somebody having a birthmark, I have a birthmark on my left cheek, what that might mean about a person's life or the success of the observer. But in terms of celestial omens, they were typically concerned with broader political trends.

So you have an observation paired with a prediction, and that observation is understood to be a sign from the gods, not a cause. The eclipse is not causing anything to happen. It's the gods saying, listen, we're sending this eclipse to warn you that the king is going to die. So if you want to do anything about that, here's a set of rituals that's available to you to prevent that from happening.

So you have an observation paired with a prediction, and that observation is understood to be a sign from the gods, not a cause. The eclipse is not causing anything to happen. It's the gods saying, listen, we're sending this eclipse to warn you that the king is going to die. So if you want to do anything about that, here's a set of rituals that's available to you to prevent that from happening.

So you have an observation paired with a prediction, and that observation is understood to be a sign from the gods, not a cause. The eclipse is not causing anything to happen. It's the gods saying, listen, we're sending this eclipse to warn you that the king is going to die. So if you want to do anything about that, here's a set of rituals that's available to you to prevent that from happening.

And this whole kind of scholarly culture builds up around these assumptions about what the world means and what messages it's sending. LSG