Dogs understand 'take it', not 'put it down'
About the work
Imported from the workbook's Full reassessment sheet, revised 7 October 2026 (record ID 3). The assessment below is the workbook's comparative judgment under its stated criteria; source links and limits are retained.
Workbook assessment: Spread only
Date or witness: Old Babylonian proverb tradition, approximately 1900–1600 BCE
Region: Mesopotamia
Workbook date-sort bounds: 1900 BCE to 1600 BCE; these bounds are not automatically invention or disappearance dates.
Description
ETCSL Proverbs 5.81 makes a recognizable joke about dogs' selective obedience; the edition cross-references an additional tablet witness, UET 6/2 225.
Evidence of adoption or transmission
Textual parallels include an additional tablet witness.
What remains uncertain
Multiple school or scribal copies establish transmission, not spontaneous adoption among ordinary people.
Workbook revision note: Reassessed using grassroots criteria