mešḫu

Akkadian · noun

variant meš-ḫi : mešḫu

Edited by: Mathieu Ossendrijver
Last edited: 2026-08-30

Meanings

1. prediction

Literal translation

measurement

1. prediction

1.a prediction astronomical term, astronomical genre

Meaning attested in Almanacs and Normal Star Almanacs; for a discussion see Hunger ADRT VII, pp. X-XIsee

meš-ḫi ša₂ KUR-ad₂.MEŠ ša₂ ᵈUDU.IDIM.MEŠ ša₂ MU.1-me.29 m.Se-lu-ku LUGAL

‘Predictions of the reachings of the planets of year 1 hundred 29, king Seleucus.’

— BM 33873 (ADRT VII No. 158) rev. 7'

Genre: astronomical diaries and related texts: normal star almanac Provenance: Babylon Date: 183 BCE

Hunger, H. 2014. Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia, Vol. VII: Almanacs and Normal Star Almanacs. Vienna, Austria: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. 302-303

For a discussion see Hunger ADRT VII, pp. X-XI

(1) meš-ḫi ša₂ MU.55 m.An-ti-'u-uk-[su] (2) LUG[AL]

‘(1) Predictions of year 55, (2) king Antiochus.’

— BM 32847 (ADRT VII No. 12) upper edge 1-2

Genre: astronomical diaries and related texts: almanac Provenance: Babylon Date: 257 BCE

Hunger, H. 2014. Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia, Vol. VII: Almanacs and Normal Star Almanacs. Vienna, Austria: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. 20-21

Cite this entry

APA (7th)

Ossendrijver, M. (2026). meš-ḫu (Lemma #1307). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1307/

Chicago (Author-Date)

Ossendrijver, M. (2026). meš-ḫu (Lemma #1307). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1307/

MLA (9th)

Ossendrijver, M. (2026). meš-ḫu (Lemma #1307). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1307/

Harvard

Ossendrijver, M. (2026) meš-ḫu (Lemma #1307), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1307/ (Accessed: November 5, 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{zodiac1307,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-11-05]},
	author = {Ossendrijver, Mathieu},
	year = {2026},
	title = {meš-ḫu ({Lemma} #1307)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1307/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1307/},
}