bīt niṣirti

E₂ niṣirti
Akkadian · noun
variants E₂ ni-ṣir-tu₄ : bīt niṣirtu , E₂ ni-ṣir-ti₃ : bīt niṣirti , E₂ ni-ṣir-tu₂ : bīt niṣirtu
Edited by: Alessia Pilloni
Last edited: 2026-10-14
Meanings
Literal translation
house of secrecy/protection
Categories
astrological
astrological position
planetary position
astrological place
Related Lemmata 9 ›

1. house of secrecy/protection

1.a house of secrecy/protection astrological, astrological position, planetary position

said of planets, placed in a zodiacal constellation

šu-pul me-e mu-ú-tú [: š]u-pul «šá» AN-e šú-u : ⸢É⸣ ni-ṣir-tú šá d.Ṣal-bat-a-nu

‘The depth of the Waters of Death is the depth of the sky, which refers to the house of secrecy of Mars.’

— BM 47529 + 47685 17

Genre: commentary Provenance: Babylon or Borsippa Date: Neo-Babylonian

Wee, J. Z., 2016. A Late Babylonian Astral Commentary on Marduk's Address to the Demons, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 75. 136-137

2. planet assigned to the triplicity of the month of the solstice/equinox that is the closest to the date of birth

2.a planet assigned to the triplicity of the month of the solstice/equinox that is the closest to the date of birth astrological, astrological place

only in horoscopes (Pilloni 2024)

MU.BU ITI.AB 8 šamaš ina E2 ni-ṣir-tu4 šá dil-bat LU2.TUR a-lid

‘That year, the 8th of Ṭebētu (Month X) was the date of the (winter) solstice. The child is born in the house of secrecy of Venus.’

— BM 36943 (=BH 8) rev. 1-3

Genre: horoscope Provenance: Babylon Date: 3rd century BCE

Rochberg, F. 1998. Babylonian Horoscopes. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 88, 1–164. 76-78

Pilloni, A. (2024). The Astrological Schemes Behind bīt niṣirtu and KI in the Babylonian Horoscopes. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History, 11(1), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1515/janeh-2023-0014

3. planet assigned to the “Terms” of the month of birth.

3.a planet assigned to the “Terms” of the month of birth. astrological, astrological position, astrological place

only in horoscopes (Pilloni 2024)

[ina] E2 ni-ṣir-tú šá MUL2.BABBAR [LU2] ˻a˼-lid

‘The child is born in the house of secrecy of Jupiter’

— BM 47642 (BH 13) rev. 6-7

Genre: horoscope Provenance: Babylon Date: 3rd(-2nd?) century BCE (date of birth in horoscope: S.E. 88 V.4 = -223 July 29)

Rochberg, F. 1998. Babylonian Horoscopes. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 88. 89-91

Pilloni, A. (2024). The Astrological Schemes Behind bīt niṣirtu and KI in the Babylonian Horoscopes. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History, 11(1), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1515/janeh-2023-0014
Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Pilloni, A. (2026). E₂ niṣirti (Lemma #751). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/751/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Pilloni, A. (2026). E₂ niṣirti (Lemma #751). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/751/
MLA (9th)
Pilloni, A. (2026). E₂ niṣirti (Lemma #751). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/751/
Harvard
Pilloni, A. (2026) E₂ niṣirti (Lemma #751), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/751/ (Accessed: November 5, 2026).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac751,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-11-05]},
	author = {Pilloni, Alessia},
	year = {2026},
	title = {E₂ niṣirti ({Lemma} #751)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/751/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/751/},
}