Pabilsaĝ

Pabilsaĝ (𒀭𒉺𒉈𒊕 /pabilsaŋ/; also romanized as Pabilsag) was a Mesopotamian god. Not much is known about his role in Mesopotamian religion, though it is known that he could be regarded as a bow-armed warrior deity, as a divine cadastral officer or a judge. He might have also been linked to healing, though this remains disputed. In his astral aspect, first attested in the Old Babylonian period, he was a divine representation of the constellation Sagittarius. A spousal relationship between Pabilsaĝ and the medicine goddess Ninisina is well attested. It is presumed he was implicitly regarded as the father of her children, Damu, Gunura, Šumaḫ. Sometimes he is instead attested alongside other medicine goddesses, such as Gula or Ninkarrak, though not necessarily in the role of a spouse. He was also closely associated with Ninurta, and possibly through syncretism with him came to be viewed as a son of Enlil. Larak, a lost city possibly located near Isin, was the main cult center of Pabilsaĝ. He was also worshiped in Isin, Nippur and Lagash. Additional attestations come from Ur, Umma, Sippar, Babylon, Assur and Kurba'il. However, he was overall a minor deity, and was not venerated all across Mesopotamia. A number of different cuneiform writings of Pabilsaĝ's name are known. Two are already attested in the Early Dynastic period, dGIŠ.BIL.PAP-sag and dBIL.PAP-sag. Its etymology remains unclear, and past proposals, such as "arrow shooter" (from Sumerian sìg-gi9-sag), "the elder (is) the leader" (per analogy between /pabil/ and pa-bíl-ga, "paternal uncle" or "paternal grandfather") and "presbiter", found no widespread acceptance and generally are regarded as implausible. Due to Pabilsaĝ's role as the spouse of Ninisina it is presumed that he might have been designated by the similar masculine theonym Lugal-Isin. According to Wilfred G. Lambert, it is possible that in the Old Babylonian period Pabilsaĝ could be also referred to as Erimabinutuku.