The letter is a reply to the pharaoh referring to a letter from the pharaoh's messenger
Tahmassi. In it, Ayyab, governing-man (often—("who/which"-(
ša))-"
man,
city")-
Aštartu, who is in control of one of the
city-states in Canaan, is stating his commitment to guarding the city (and the region), after three cities in the region were taken in attacks by
Habiru raiders.
The tablet measures about 4 in x 2.3 in and is in relatively pristine condition. Because of its narrowness, each line averages only between 4 and 7
cuneiform characters in the
Akkadian language.
(Lines 1-9)--"To the king, my lord: Message of
Ayyab, your servant. I fall at the feet of my lord 7 times and 7 times. I am the servant of the king, my lord,("and"-omitted)the dirt-: (–
gl–)(dirt)((i.e. dust & dust))at his feet.
(lines 10-16)--I have heard what the king, my lord, wrote to me through (='by the hand',qa-
ti)
Atahmaya. Truly, I have guarded1 very carefully(
ma-
galma-
gal)[thecitie]s2of the king, my lord.
EA 364, continued Bottom, Reverse:
(lines 17-28)--Moreover,(
ša-
ni-
tam)note that it is the ruler of Haṣura who has taken 3 cities from me. From the time I heard and verified this,3 there has been waging of war against him. Truly, may the king, my lord, take cognizance, and may the king, my lord, give thought to his servant."--(complete EA 364, with minor
lacunae, lines 1-28)
Selected cuneiform signs in EA 364
Sign "tah"
Often personal names (PN) contain special cuneiform characters, and
Tahmassi's name, spelled "Atahmaya"-(~
Ptah is Mine) is an example of such. Sign "tah" (based on the more common "qab"-"GABA"-) can be seen in line 13—IA-TaH-
Ma-
iYa. (In the photo of EA 364 (obverse), the cuneiform signs become out-of-focus below lines 9 and 10.) The "tah" sign has only one use, as tah, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, (12 times).[6]
Because the name Tahmassi's comes from the Egyptian god
Ptah (a creator god), the origion of the spelling and pronunciation of "ptah" can be guessed. "Ptah-mine", Ptah (is) mine, "Mine, My (God) is Ptah", with -iya the suffix for 'my' still used in the languages of present day.
Variants of EN, for "Lord"
The "
en" cuneiform sign, is used frequently in the Canaanite
city-state letters to the Pharaoh for "Lord", (as
EN (lord Sumerogram)), for Akkadian language bēlu.[7] It is often part of the phrase "King-Lord-mine", LUGAL-EN-ia; a variant often in the letters (because of the addendum of an
RI sign) contains an equivalent for LUGAL, "ŠÀR", for (LUGAL=king=Šarru), "ŠÀR-RI, EN-ia". Also, singly "Lord-mine" is used in some letter texts, and often with alphabeltic spellings of "bēlu" instead of using "EN": in EA 364, (above)–line (end l.3) and 4 state: "...at feet 'Lord(EN)-mine' ".
In letter EA 364, the common variety of many sub-varieties is used, . It shows distinctly in lines 364:1,4,7, and 11 the two verticals-right, with the angled wedges at their base. The lone vertical at center-left is equally tall (not on all Amarna letters), and strikingly visible, and without the angled wedge at the base. Some letters have an additional wedge at the base (making it the 3rd, 'vertical-with-wedge-base').