Cuneiform Sign Bahar2

It usually writes the Sumerian word baḫar₂, meaning “potter.” In administrative records it marks a potter or pottery work; a worker-and-ration list places it among occupations, and a literary passage pairs it with udun, the Sumerian word for “kiln.”

BAHAR₂’s early history appears in the Ebla Sign List, an ancient list of cuneiform signs, and in Early Dynastic sign lists from Mesopotamia. These records show scribes using it to track occupations, crafts, and related goods.

The potter reading continues in Old Akkadian, Ur III, Old Babylonian, Assyrian, and Babylonian texts. Later scribal word lists also give other readings: nunurra and muštaptin, each glossed “tool.” An Akkadian reading, pahāru, means “potter”; surrounding words and the type of list determine which value fits.

How do other BAHAR spellings relate to 𒁃?

They are separate signs in the same scribal tradition. The sign tradition uses several spellings for BAHAR: 𒂔 (EDIN), 𒌋𒂔 (BAHAR₃), and 𒁇𒂔 (BAHAR₄). Their readings connect them, but the signs are distinct.

Compound signs 𒒄, 𒒅, and 𒒆 combine BAHAR₂ with other sign elements. Their conventional names are BAHAR₂ TIMES AB₂, BAHAR₂ TIMES NI, and BAHAR₂ TIMES ZA. Here, “times” marks a compound made from sign elements; each full compound has its own sign entry.

Why does 𒁃 show as a box?

Fonts can draw the same sign differently or fail to display it. Cuneiform fonts may use forms from different historical periods, so the wedges can look different while the character stays the same. A font without coverage may show a box or blank instead.