This book has had a long history: it started as a concise German manuscript many years ago, which was eventually published under the title Altbabylonisches Lehrbuch (4th edition Wiesbaden 2021). But the need for a more comprehensive book has always been clear. Therefore, the original manuscript was considerably expanded, translated into English and revised several times. The result is the first volume of a comprehensive Old Babylonian grammar. Given the extraordinary size of the Old Babylonian cuneiform text corpus, even a book of this length cannot be exhaustive. But it seems better to publish it now than to strive for perfection and delay its publication for an indefinite time. The next volume will contain the chapters verb, particles, syntax, and a summary with remarks on dialects and sociolects within Old Babylonian.
R. Winters translated an earlier draft of the manuscript into English. V. Minaeva A. Pohl, M.T. Renzi Sepe, J. Stein and C. Tang helped me in compiling the indices and the list of abbreviations. The two anonymous reviewers of the manuscript saved me from several errors and made helpful remarks. Eugene P. McGarry corrected my English mistakes. Sincere thanks are given to all.
I dedicate the book to my three children Ester Hadassa, Tabita Theresa, Saphira Josepha, and, last but not least, my wife Eva-Maria.
Leipzig, April 2022,
Michael P. Streck