This hymn is one of many addressed to a deity on behalf of a king, in this instance to An, the sky-god and supreme, albeit somewhat remote, deity in the pantheon, for Lipit-Estar, a ruler of the city of Isin. Some of these hymns were divided into various genres, this example being referred to as an adab, perhaps indicating that it was accompanied by the musical instrument of the same name (see An adab to Bau for Isme-Dagan, Group H). The hymn consists of nine sections of varying lengths. Two Sagbatuku sections are framed by two-line barsud sections, which are contained in a sa-gida. They are followed by a brief gisgigal and a sa-gara with a further brief giSgigal. The final section of the hymn is a three-line uru. The significance of many of these terms remains uncertain.
In the opening barsud, An is referred to indirectly by a series of epithets, praising him, for example, as the ‘almighty grandfather of all the lords’. Such epithets continue in the following sagbatuku, culminating in a direct reference to the god only in the final line of the section. The second sag-batuku decribes how he has blessed Lipit-Estar while the following barsud again stresses his pre-eminence in relation to the other deities.
An’s status and his blessing of Lipit-Estar, now referred to as the son of the god Enlil, are also the subject of the paired sa-gida and gisgigal. The following sa-gara, the longest section in the hymn, develops these themes but in terms of a speech An addresses to Lipit-Estar. The god proclaims his endorsement of the king, and extends this support to include the other senior deities, Enlil, Enki, Inana, and the moon-god Suen, thus incorporating within Lipit-EStar’s dominion the cities of which those deities were the patrons. The gisgigal to the sa-gara repeats the blessing upon the king, while the concluding uru reaffirms An’s status.
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