Cuneiform TI or TÌL (Borger 2003 nr. ; U+122FE 𒋾) has the main meaning of "life" when used ideographically. The written sign developed from the drawing of an arrow, since the words meaning "arrow" and "life" were pronounced similarly in the Sumerian language. With the determinative UZU 𒍜 "flesh, meat", ^UZUTI, it means "rib". This homophony is exploited in the myth of Ninti (𒊩𒌆𒋾 NIN.TI "lady of life" or "lady of the rib"), created by Ninhursag to cure the ailing

Enki , image = Enki(Ea).jpg , caption = Detail of Enki from the Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC , deity_of = God of creation, intelligence, crafts, water, seawater, lakewater, fertility, semen, magic, mischief ...

. Since Eve is called "mother of life" in

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...

, together with her being taken from Adam's ''tsela`'' "side, rib", the story of Adam and Eve has sometimes been considered to derive from that of Ninti. In Akkadian orthography, the sign has the syllabic values ''di'' or ''ṭi'', in Hittite ''ti'', ''di'' or ''te''.

Amarna letters and Epic of Gilgamesh usage

The twelve tablet (I-XII) Epic of Gilgamesh uses the ti sign as follows (Parpola): ti (387 times), and TI (the Sumerogram), (2 times). In the Epic, Sumerogram TI is used for the Akkadian language word "balāṭu", for "life; to live", as "TI.LA", in one location, Tablet XI 174, (and replacement in two locations, also as TI.LA in Tablets X, and XI). Amarna letter mp3h8878

For the mid 14th century BC

Amarna letters The Amarna letters (; sometimes referred to as the Amarna correspondence or Amarna tablets, and cited with the abbreviation EA, for "El Amarna") are an archive, written on clay tablets, primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence between t ...

, letter EA 365 authored by Biridiya, harvesting in ^URU Nuribta, ti is used for "ti", and "ṭi". For example, on the reverse of EA 365, subject of corvee labor, harvesting, lines 17 and 18 translate as follows: Rainey, 1970. ''El Amarna Tablets, 359-379,'' ''EA 365, Biridiya of Megiddo to the King,'' pp. 24-27. :(other city-governors): "(17) who, are with me (18) are not 'performing' (doing) (19) as I. They are not (20) harvesting..." :(the city rulers): "(17) ša it-ti-ia (18) la-a(=''NOT'') ti-pu-šu-na..."

References

* Parpola, 1971. ''The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh'', Parpola, Simo,

Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project is an international scholarly project aimed at collecting and publishing ancient Assyrian texts and studies based on them. Its headquarters are in Helsinki in Finland. State Archives of Assyria State Archives ...

, c 1997, Tablet I thru Tablet XII, Index of Names, Sign List, and Glossary-(pp. 119–145), 165 pages. * Rainey, 1970. ''El Amarna Tablets, 359-379,'' Anson F. Rainey, (AOAT 8, ''Alter Orient Altes Testament 8'', Kevelaer and Neukirchen -Vluyen), 1970, 107 pages. ---- File:Ayyab letter mp3h8880.jpg,

Amarna letter EA 364 Amarna letter EA 364, titled ''Justified War,'' is a clay tablet letter from Ayyab, ruler of Aštartu, to Pharaoh Akhenaten (1350s–1330s BC). It is one of the Amarna letters, 382 in total, dating from c. 1360 – c. 1332 BC. The initial corpu ...

, ti, 2nd line from bottom, 2nd character from left.
(approximated out-of-focus, curving bottom of clay tablet; most of tablet in focus; high resolution, expandible photo) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ti (Cuneiform) Sumerian words and phrases Cuneiform signs