INTERPRETING THE CONCEPT OF 'PLAN' IN SUMERIAN AND AKKADIAN LITERARY AND RITUAL TEXTS (Moiste gis-hur tahendusest sumeri ja akkadi kirjanduslikes ja rituaaltekstides)

The aim of this article is to interpret the meaning and concept of the word 'plan' or 'drawing' in Sumerian and Akkadian written sources and to give a brief summary of this phenomenon in Mesopotamia in the 3rd-1st millennium BC. The Sumerian word 'gis-hur' (lit. 'wood scratch', meaning 'plan' or 'design'), and the Akkadian word 'eseru(m)' ('to draw', 'to design', 'drawing', 'design' or 'plan') are mostly mentioned in a substantive context which encompasses the divine sphere. Gods and kings establish the world order with various 'designs' and 'plans'. The Sumerian phenomenon of 'me' (the 'divine power' of gods) which describes god's essence and is a divine attribute, and the Akkadian term 'parsu(m)' ('cultic ordinance') which encompasses divine 'order' and 'cultic rites', are both closely connected with the phenomena of 'gis-hur' and 'eseru(m)'.