Bi (cuneiform)

Cuneiform sign for bi, pí; also in the Epic of Gilgamesh, bé, gaš, kaš, and sumerogram, KAŠ, for "beer".

Amarna letter EA 9-(Reverse), Burra-Buriyaš to Pharaoh, "Ancient Loyalties, New Requests".
Last line: 'a series of gifts' "...I send (to) you." ("...ul-te-bi-la..x-x.") (Akkadian language, "abālu", to bring, carry)
(photo, out-of-focus)

The cuneiform bi sign, also pí, and used for other syllabic forms, as well as a sumerogram, is a common use syllabic and alphabetic cuneiform sign used in both the mid-14th century BC Amarna letters and the Epic of Gilgamesh. In the Amarna letters, it is sometimes used for the spelling of the archers (Egyptian pitati), 'pí-t(x)-t(x)', an often requested need from the Pharaoh in the vassal state sub-corpus of the letters.

As a sumerogram, (capital letter (majuscule)), sign bi is used for KAŠ, Akkadian language for "šikāru", beer.

The following linguistic elements for bi are used in the Epic:

bé

bi

gaš

kaš

pí

KAŠ, sumerogram: "beer"

The bi sign's usage numbers in the Epic of Gilgamesh are as follows: bé-(25 times), bi-(190), gaš-(1), kaš-(12), pí-(2), KAŠ-(1).

Amarna letters usage

Use of pí, Egyptian archers

The archers were part of the Egyptian army, and often requested by the Canaanite vassal city-states, when writing to the Pharaoh in the Amarna letters. They were named the pitati, Akkadian language "piṭātu", "troops of soldiers", and spelled in a variety of ways, often starting with the bi sign as pí.

A partial listing of spellings of "ERIM.MEŠ-pitati", by Amarna letter:

• EA 86, 86:7--pí-ṭa-ti
• EA 282, 282:11--pí-ṭa-ti
• EA 290, 290:20--pí-ṭa-ti
• EA 296, 296:34--pí-ṭa-ti

References

• Moran, William L. 1987, 1992. The Amarna Letters. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. 393 pages. (softcover, ISBN 0-8018-6715-0)
• Parpola, 1971. The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Parpola, Simo, Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, c 1997, Tablet I thru Tablet XII, Index of Names, Sign List, and Glossary (pp. 119–145), 165 pages.
• Rainey, 1970. El Amarna Tablets, 359–379, Anson F. Rainey, (AOAT 8, Alter Orient, Altes Testament 8, Kevelaer and Neukirchen -Vluyen), 1970, 107 pages.

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• 
  Line drawing using bi sign, line 2.

• 
  Photo taken at British Museum. (bi, 2nd line from bottom)
  Note: the 2nd from last character, 1st line is based on the "bi" cuneiform sign (wedge-stroke added at beginning, but often between the two horizontals), the sign for ṣur (AMAR (cuneiform)), etc. (also sumerogram AMAR, for: "See!", or "Look!..." (Akkadian language amāru).