Stealing the Property of the Gods: Observations on a Top-Middle-Base Omen Sequence from an Old Babylonian Liver Model

This paper analyses a passage from an Old Babylonian liver model, which includes a sequence of three omens dealing with a particular section of the liver, the ‘View’. The omen protases observe the same ominous sign in the Top, Middle, and Base of this section, and the corresponding sequence of predictions in the apodoses interpret this scheme according to a coherent system. To show that, I consider first the analogical principles of association that build the horizontal connection between sign and prediction in a single omen. Secondly, I examine the vertical connections between the three omens, and I argue that repetition plays a fundamental role in establishing such links, thus building the structure of this sequence in a coherent passage.