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The Perils of Omnisignificance: Language and Reason in Mesopotamian Hermeneutics

Abstract The article discusses the Mesopotamian commentary corpus, assesses its intellectual underpinnings, explores its place within Mesopotamia’s scholarly tradition, and addresses the question of whether Mesopotamian hermeneutics should be considered a “philosophical” pursuit. It is argued that the cuneiform commentaries are characterized, on one hand, by certain limitations and, on the other, by an overabundance of interpretational opportunities, and that the answer should therefore be negative; but it is admitted that, depending on what one considers the defining features of philosophy, other views are possible.