13 LABOR PAINS, DIFFICULT BIRTH, SICK CHILD 14 LABOR PAINS, DIFFICULT BIRTH, SICK CHILD: THREE OLD BABYLONIAN INCANTATIONS FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION Nathan WASSERMAN, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Abstract In this paper, three unpublished Old Babylonian incantations from a private collection are presented for the first time in edition, translation and commentary. Two of the texts aim at helping a woman in labor (IncPriv 1, IncPriv 2), the third focus on a sick child, suffering from a severe throat inflammation, trying to save him from the brink of death (IncPriv 3). The incantations have no direct parallels, but one of them contain the well-known Cow motif (IncPriv 2). Three short incantations in a private collection are pub- lished here with the kind permission of their owner. Their original provenance is unknown. Script and language point to the Old Babylonian period. Incidentally (or not?), the texts are thematically related, dealing with different stages of a