Sumerian Addenda · Signs

weigh

Name	LAL
Reads	[la]
Means	to hang, to weigh out; the spelling la₂
Taught in	17 · The day destinies were decreed

Where it comes from

La₂ is “to hang, to weigh out” — the scales’ verb on the receipts, where silver hangs in the balance; in account notation it even means “minus.” As a spelling it is the glue inside grand names: {d}en-lil₂-la₂, “of Enlil,” as the refrains write it.

How to remember it

Weigh: two pans hanging from a beam — the sign suspends its wedges the same way. Whatever hangs is being measured; whatever is la₂ on a tablet has been put on the scale.

In the wild

𒊮 𒀭 𒂗 𒆤 𒇲 𒄘 𒁉 𒉆 𒄄šag₄ {d}en-lil₂-la₂ gu₂-bi nam-gi₄"the heart of Enlil overflowed its banks"

Gudea's temple hymn (Cylinder A), line 6, composite text. urn:nabu:etcsl:2.1.7:6 · license: ETCSL · non-commercial.

Piece by piece:

šag₄ — the heart
{d}en-lil₂-la₂ — of Enlil: this sign closing the god’s genitive
gu₂-bi nam-gi₄ — overflowed its banks

The scales-sign, spelling the possessive of the god who weighs all fates. The line is read in 102’s chapter 17.