Advances in late Babylonian

In Zahl und Zeit, Michael P. Streck applies the principles and methods of descriptive linguistics to the investigation of the grammar of numbers and verb tenses in the Late Babylonian dialect of Akkadian. His systematic collection of attested forms provides the basis for equally systematic analysis and explanation of how those forms function in Late Babylonian (which is here understood to have been a living language, not merely a written one). Strangely, in view of the increasing volume of recent work on Late Babylonian documents, Zahl und Zeit, published in 1995, seems to have attracted little attention from Assyriologists, other than the occasional bibliographic mention. Streck's investigation leads to conclusions that revise and improve our understanding of Late Babylonian grammar and texts, but perhaps more significant than his conclusions are the methods employed to reach them. This review article calls attention to the argumentation by means of which Streck advances the study of Late Babylonian.