Save a prayer for the king: Temple personnel with royal seals in the Old Babylonian period

This article re-examines an enigmatic Old Babylonian seal title attested from the reign of Samsuiluna onward. Against earlier readings (lu2 ka-kešda lugal; lu2 SAG.NE lugal), it proposes a new philological solution—lu2-šud3-de3 lugal(-la)—and argues that it is best understood as “the man who invokes blessings for the king before the divine image”. The proposal is supported by lexical equations, divinename parallels, and the later Akkadian counterpart kārib šarri, attested from the mid–second millennium onward in commemorative contexts (kudurrus, stelae, letters). Contextual analysis of sealings from Nippur and especially Dūr-Abiešuḫ shows that title holders are embedded in temple milieus (often high-profile clergy) rather than in overtly palace or military settings, and that the title does not imply executive responsibility. Instead, it represents an honorific, royally bestowed status linked to funding or patronage, mobilised particularly in times of crisis or restoration to anchor royal authority within local cultic power bases. A social-identity perspective highlights how such honours could also structure competition and prestige within priestly communities.