DOCSLIB.ORG

Drought, Death and the Sun in Ugarit and Ancient Israel a Philological and Comparative Study Wikander, Ola

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Drought, Death and the Sun in Ugarit and Ancient Israel a Philological and Comparative Study Wikander, Ola Drought, death and the sun in Ugarit and ancient Israel A philological and comparative study Wikander, Ola 2014 Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Wikander, O. (2014). Drought, death and the sun in Ugarit and ancient Israel: A philological and comparative study. (Coniectanea Biblica, Old Testament Series; Vol. 61). Eisenbrauns. Total number of authors: 1 General rights Unless other specific re-use rights are stated the following general rights apply: Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Read more about Creative commons licenses: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. LUND UNIVERSITY PO Box 117 221 00 Lund +46 46-222 00 00 OLA WIKANDER Drought, Death, and the Sun in Ugarit and Ancient Israel A Philological and Comparative Study CB CONIECTANEA BIBLICA OLD TESTAMENT SERIES 61 Drought, Death, and the Sun in Ugarit and Ancient Israel CB CONIECTANEA BIBLICA OLD TESTAMENT SERIES 61 ISSN 0069-8954 Editors: Fredrik Lindström and Göran Eidevall Drought, Death, and the Sun in Ugarit and Ancient Israel A Philological and Comparative Study Ola Wikander Winona Lake, Indiana EISENBRAUNS 2014 Copyright © 2014 by Eisenbrauns Winona Lake, Indiana All rights reserved. www.eisenbrauns.com Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wikander, Ola. Drought, death, and sun in Ugarit and ancient Israel : a philological and comparative study / by Ola Wikander. pages cm. — (Coniectanea biblica. Old Testament series, ISSN 0069-8954 ; 61) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-57506-827-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Ugaritic literature--Relation to the Old Testament. 2. Ugarit (Extinct city)— Religion. 3. Bible. Old Testament—Comparative studies. 4. Droughts. 5. Death—Religious aspects. 6. Sun—Religious aspects. I. Title. BS1184.W55 2014 221.6—dc23 2014008515 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.♾™ For Rebecca d ʿqh ib iqni ʿpʿph sp ṯrml (CAT 1.14 VI 29-30) Preface ........................................................................................................ xiii 1. Introduction ........................................................................................... 1 1.1 Overview: the questions, and why they need asking ............................ 1 1.2 Earlier scholarship at a glance ............................................................... 6 1.3 Aims and scope of the present study ...................................................... 9 1.4 Methodology ......................................................................................... 10 1.4.1 Basic methodological assumptions .................................................. 10 1.4.2 Methodological prerequisites of Ugaritic-Israelite religio-historical comparison ................................................................ 12 1.4.3 A note on “etymological poetics” .................................................... 14 1.5 The outline and structure of the study .................................................... 15 1.6 Nomenclature and protocols .................................................................. 17 2. Ugaritic focus ......................................................................................... 19 2.1 The roles of the Ugaritic solar deity: a preliminary survey .................... 19 2.1.1 The sun as giver of light ............................................................... 20 2.1.2 The sun as giver of drought .......................................................... 20 2.1.3 The sun as a symbol of kingship .................................................. 21 2.1.4 Shapshu as divine messenger ....................................................... 21 2.1.5 The chthonic sun .......................................................................... 22 2.1.6 A short note on the translation of Shapshu’s epithet nrt ilm ....................................................................................... 22 2.2 The Baal Cycle....................................................................................... 23 2.2.1 The Refrain of the Burning Sun ...................................................... 23 2.2.1.1 The poetic/stichometric structure and the word ṣḥrrt ................ 25 2.2.1.2 Other interpretations opposed to a “drought”-reading .............. 29 2.2.1.3 The location and intent of the Refrain ...................................... 36 2.2.1.4 The meaning of la šmm ............................................................. 39 2.2.1.5 Narrative sequence and temporal syntax ................................... 42 2.2.1.6 Conclusion: The Refrain as a narratological marker ................. 44 2.2.1.7 Addendum: The Refrain in the Third Edition of CAT/KTU ......................................................................................... 47 2.2.2 Special study: The root (ṣ)ḥr as a term for burning heat, desert and sickness in a wider comparative perspective ....................... 48 2.2.3 The threats of Death (CAT 1.5 I 1-8) and a parallel in Job 18:12-17 ..................................................................................... 52 2.2.4 Special study: The meaning of the verb ṯkḥ and its importance for Ps 102:5 and 137:5, etc. ................................................ 56 2.2.5 The “parched furrows” and the searching Sun: CAT 1.6 IV ............ 66 2.2.5.1 The verbal forms pl and yštk ..................................................... 67 2.2.5.2 The sun as “scorcher and searcher” ........................................... 69 2.2.5.3 Possible ritual and apotropaic connections ............................... 70 2.2.5.4 Conclusions ............................................................................... 71 viii 2.2.6 The final battle of the Baal Cycle and the concluding hymn to the Sun .................................................................................... 72 2.2.6.1 The curious role of the solar deity in the fight between Baal and Mot ......................................................................... 73 2.2.6.2 Shapshu’s relationship with Mot as a key to this passage ......... 75 2.2.6.3 The concluding lines of the Baal-Mot episode .......................... 76 2.2.6.4 Why a hymn to Shapshu as the ending of the Baal Cycle? ....... 79 2.2.6.5 Conclusions ............................................................................... 80 2.2.7 Drought and Death in the Baal Cycle: general conclusions ............. 81 2.3 Other Ugaritic texts ................................................................................ 82 2.3.1 The hot Sun in the Ugaritic funerary cult: CAT 1.161 and its relationship to the Baal-Mot episode .................................................... 82 2.3.1.1 The verbal form išḫn ................................................................. 83 2.3.1.2 Hotness and the underworld ...................................................... 85 2.3.1.3 Intertextual relationships and the problems addressed by the text .............................................................................................. 87 2.3.1.4 Conclusions ............................................................................... 90 2.3.2 The drying Devourers—CAT 1.12 .................................................. 91 2.3.2.1 The monsters, Baal and drought ................................................ 91 2.3.2.2 The motif of death in the text ................................................... 93 2.3.2.3 The role of El in the demise of Baal ......................................... 94 2.3.2.4 The battle and the mourning of nature, and the terminology of burning heat ................................................................. 95 2.3.2.5 The climax of the text ............................................................... 98 2.3.2.6 Biblical and rabbinical parallels ................................................ 102 2.3.2.7 Conclusions ............................................................................... 103 2.3.3 Drought, fertility and the Sun in Ugaritic ritual and para-ritual texts and the relationship between the Sun, Mot and Rashpu/Resheph ..................................................................... 105 2.3.3.1 CAT 1.41/1.87 and the role of Rashpu/Resheph........................ 105 2.3.3.2 Shapshu, Baal and Resheph in an “exorcizing” incantation—CAT 1.82 ........................................................................ 109 2.3.3.3 Shapshu and the “Gracious Gods”: CAT 1.23 ........................... 110 2.3.3.4 “Shapshu of the corpse” and “Anat the mutilated” ................... 114 2.3.3.5 Conclusions
Load more

Recommended publications
  • ב Bet ה Heh ו Vav ט Tet י Yod ך מ Mem ם
    Exercise 1A: Writing the Hebrew Square Script Using the examples at the right, practice writing out the Hebrew characters on the lines provided for you. Be sure to accurately reflect the position of the letter in relation to the base line. Boxes are used to indicate final forms. Letter Name aleph א aleph bet ב bet gimel ג gimel dalet ד dalet heh ה heh vav ו vav zayin ז zayin .het ח ḥet tet ט tet yod י kaph כ yod ך kaph final kaph lamed ל mem מ lamed ם mem 3 Exercise 1A: Writing tHe Hebrew SquAre Script final mem Letter Name nun נ ן nun final nun samek ס samek ayin ע pe פ ayin ף pe final pe tsade צ ץ tsade final tsade qoph ק qoph resh ר resh שׂ sin sin shin ׁש shin tav ת tav NAme: __________________________________________________ Exercise 1A: Writing tHe Hebrew SquAre Script 4 Exercise 1B: Reading Proper Names In this exercise you will practice identifying the Hebrew consonants by reading familiar proper names. Write the English name in the space to the left of the Hebrew name. Since the alphabet has no vowels, you will have to provide vowel sounds to recognize each word. Start by trying an “a” vowel between each con- sonant. The “a” vowel is the most common vowel in Hebrew and, while it will not always be the correct one, it should help you recognize these names. לבן Laban יעקב אסתר אברהם עבדיה יצחק יחזקאל יׂשראל דוד רבקה נחמיה נבכדנאזר ירבעם ירדן מרדכי מׁשה דברה גלית יׁשמעאל עׂשו 5 Exercise 1B: ReAding Proper NAmes Exercise 1C: Hebrew Cursive (Optional) Using the examples shown, practice writing out the cursive Hebrew characters on the lines provided for you.
    [Show full text]
  • From Indo-European Dragon Slaying to Isa 27.1 a Study in the Longue Durée Wikander, Ola
    From Indo-European Dragon Slaying to Isa 27.1 A Study in the Longue Durée Wikander, Ola Published in: Studies in Isaiah 2017 Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Wikander, O. (2017). From Indo-European Dragon Slaying to Isa 27.1: A Study in the Longue Durée. In T. Wasserman, G. Andersson, & D. Willgren (Eds.), Studies in Isaiah: History, Theology and Reception (pp. 116- 135). (Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament studies, 654 ; Vol. 654). Bloomsbury T&T Clark. Total number of authors: 1 General rights Unless other specific re-use rights are stated the following general rights apply: Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Read more about Creative commons licenses: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. LUND UNIVERSITY PO Box 117 221 00 Lund +46 46-222 00 00 LIBRARY OF HEBREW BIBLE/ OLD TESTAMENT STUDIES 654 Formerly Journal of the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series Editors Claudia V.
    [Show full text]
  • Baal, Son of Dagan: in Search of Baal's Double Paternity Author(S): Noga Ayali-Darshan Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol
    Baal, Son of Dagan: In Search of Baal's Double Paternity Author(s): Noga Ayali-Darshan Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 133, No. 4 (October-December 2013), pp. 651-657 Published by: American Oriental Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7817/jameroriesoci.133.4.0651 Accessed: 28-02-2017 21:36 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms American Oriental Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of the American Oriental Society This content downloaded from 132.174.255.49 on Tue, 28 Feb 2017 21:36:59 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Baal, Son of Dagan: In Search of Baal’s Double Paternity NOGA AYALI-DARSHAN THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY The Ugaritic expression “Baal, son of Dagan” has been the subject of several studies which attempt to resolve the contradiction between the depiction of Baal as El’s son on the one hand and the expression “Baal, son of Dagan” (bʿl bn dgn) on the other. Despite the paucity of literary evidence, the majority of scholars have identified Dagan with either El or Baal, consequently attributing a single “real” father to Baal.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew, Volume I
    Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures The Tiberian Pronunciation Khan Tradition of Biblical Hebrew (Vol. I) The Tiberian Pronunciation Geoffrey Khan Tradition of Biblical Hebrew The form of Biblical Hebrew that is presented in printed edi� ons, with vocaliza� on and Tradition of Biblical Hebrew Vol. I accent signs, has its origin in medieval manuscripts of the Bible. The vocaliza� on and Volume I accent signs are nota� on systems that were created in Tiberias in the early Islamic period The Tiberian Pronunciation The by scholars known as the Tiberian Masoretes, but the oral tradi� on they represent has roots in an� quity. The gramma� cal textbooks and reference grammars of Biblical Hebrew in use today are heirs to centuries of tradi� on of gramma� cal works on Biblical Hebrew in GEOFFREY KHAN Europe. The paradox is that this European tradi� on of Biblical Hebrew grammar did not have direct access to the way the Tiberian Masoretes were pronouncing Biblical Hebrew. In the last few decades, research of manuscript sources from the medieval Middle East has made it possible to reconstruct with considerable accuracy the pronuncia� on of the Tiberian Masoretes, which has come to be known as the ‘Tiberian pronuncia� on tradi� on’. This book presents the current state of knowledge of the Tiberian pronuncia� on tradi� on of Biblical Hebrew and a full edi� on of one of the key medieval sources, Hidāyat al-Qāriʾ ‘The Guide for the Reader’, by ʾAbū al-Faraj Hārūn. It is hoped that the book will help to break the mould of current gramma� cal descrip� ons of Biblical Hebrew and form a bridge between modern tradi� ons of grammar and the school of the Masoretes of Tiberias.
    [Show full text]
  • HEADS HEBREW Graml\Iar
    HEADS OF HEBREW GRAMl\iAR HE1tDS OF IIEilRE\V GRAJ\ilJ\lAR CONTAINING ALL THE PRINCIPLES NEEDED BY A LEARNER. BY S. PRIDEAUX TREGELLES, LL.D. TWENTY-THIRD IMPRESSION SAMUEL BAGSTER & SONS LTD. 80 WIGMORE STREET LONDON WI NEW YORK: HARPER AND BROTHERS ..?'RINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN PREFACE. - THE object of these Heads of Hebrew Grammar is to furnish the learner of that language with all that is noedful for him in his introductory studies, so that he may be thoroughly grounded in all that is elementary. In teaching, the present writer has been wont to give oral imtruction as to all the elements, commonly making use of some short Hebrew grammar ;--marking tl,e rules which re­ quire attent10n, and adding others which are not to be found in elementary grammars in general. In this way he has had a kind of oral Hebrew grammar for learners; and the same grammatical instruction which he has thus communicated to those whom he has thus taught, is here given w-ritten down for use or reference. He is well aware that the number of Hebrew grammars,­ both of those called elementary, and of those called critical, -is very great; this consideration made him long feel reluc­ tant to commit his oral grammatical instruction to writing; but, if the mass of He\Jrew grammars be examined, it will be found that very few of them possess any distinctive features; and he is not aware of one which he has been able to use as thoroughly adapted to the want,s of learners.
    [Show full text]
  • Hebrew Language
    A HISTOI'{Y OF TFIE HEBREW LANGUAGE ANGEL SAENZ-BADILLOS Translated by IOHN ELWOLDE Department of BtuIical Sludies' Uniaer s i t y of Shellizl d CavrnRrDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Acknozaledgements progressed and prepared a prelirninary version of the Index, and Chapter F{EBREW {I{ T E CCb{TEXT OF THE SEMITIC I-ANGT-TAGES '1.1 ASB Flehrezu, a Semitic language Madrid F{ebrew is a Semitic dialect or tranguage which developed in the northvsestern part of the Near East between the River jordan and the Mediterranean Sea during the latter half of tl'te second milienniurn tsCE. The country cornprising this area was known as Canaan, a nan'ne that is aiso associated witl'l the language in its earLiest written sources: Jllp nDq 6"p^! kena'an) 'the language of Canaan' (Xs 19:18). Eisewhere, the language is called n'Tln1 (ye-lru{i!) 'judaean, Judahite' (2Kn8:26,28, etc.). In the Hellenistic period, writers refer to it by the Greek terwv Hebraios, Hebrar'sti (Josephus, Antiquities tr, 1:2 etc.),1 and under the Rornan Ernpire it was known as fillJJ ('ibrr!) 'F{ebrew' or (f"l)'lJ$ litU! (la6on 'ibri[!l) 'Hebrew language' (Mishnah, Gittin 9:8, etc.), terms that recalled Eber (Gn 77:14), ancestor of the people that would become known,like Abraharn (Gn 74:73), by the narne'Flebrew'.2 Frorn a cultural perspective, this language was to ptray an extremely important r6le, not only in the history of the peoptre rvkro spoke it, but also wifhin Western culture in general. It was fo be 1 .l) How"u"r, C.H.
    [Show full text]
  • 59 Male Agency and Masculine Performance in the Baal Cycle
    Male Agency and Masculine Performance in the Baal Cycle Martti Nissinen 1. Male Agency and Masculine Performance aḫdy d ymlk ʿl ilm I myself am the one who reigns over the gods, l ymru ilm w nšm Indeed orders for gods and mankind, d yšb[ʿ] hmlt arṣ Who satis[fies] the multitudes of the Earth.1 These words are quoted from the Baal Cycle, the largest narrative composition from Ugarit. They are pronounced by Baal, one of the major deities featuring in the Ugaritic texts, 2 whose name bʿl means “lord” and who is called by epithets such as aliyn bʿl “the Mightiest Lord,” aliy qrdm “the Mightiest of Heroes,” dmrn “the Powerful One,” and even bʿl ugrt “the Lord of Ugarit.” Baal is portrayed as a 1 KTU 1.4 VII 49–52. Formatted: English (United States) 2 For Baal and the Baal Cycle, see the many works of Mark Smith, e.g., Smith 1986; 1994; 1997; 1998; 2001; 2003; 2014; Smith and Pitard 2009. 59 king enthroned on Mount Sapan, and he is known as a vigorous weather god, an abundant provider of rain and agricultural fertility with remarkable sexual performance. Moreover, he appears as a club-wielding hero and defeater of the powers of death, as a god who dies but returns to life. If this was his full portrait, Baal could be regarded as the paragon of masculinity, indeed a he-man among the gods. However, the Ugaritic myth does not let his high position among the gods emerge easily, quite to the contrary. Despite his self-assertive speech, his position in the divine realm is anything but stable and he finds himself in precarious positions.
    [Show full text]
  • Love Conquers All: Song of Songs 8:6B–7A As a Reflex of the Northwest Semitic Combat Myth
    JBL 134, no. 2 (2015): 333–345 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15699/jbl.1342.2015.2810 Love Conquers All: Song of Songs 8:6b–7a as a Reflex of the Northwest Semitic Combat Myth aren m. wilson-wright [email protected] Waggener 14a, 2210 Speedway C3400, Austin, TX 78712 Scholars have often noted YHWH’s apparent absence from the Song of Songs. At best, he appears under the name Yah in the difficult and morphologically frozen to suggest that שלהבתיה in Song 8:6. In this article, I go beyond שלהבתיה term love plays the role of YHWH in the Song. Using Calvert Watkins’s work on inher- ited formulae, I argue that Song 8:6b–7a draws on the Northwest Semitic combat myth to identify love with YHWH, the victorious divine warrior. As part of this argument, I identify three inherited formulae in the Hebrew Bible, the Baal Cycle, and later Christian and Jewish literature: “Leviathan, the fleeing serpent, the twisting serpent,” “rebuke Sea,” and “strong as Death.” Within the Song, the phrase “strong as Death” connects this passage with the Baal Cycle, while the evoke scenes of mythic combat from the rest נהרות and מים רבים references to of the Hebrew Bible. This interpretation, I argue, also has mythic resonances in the adjuration refrain in Song 2:7, 3:5, and 8:4 and the phrase “sick with love” in Song 2:5 and 5:8. כי־עזה כמות אהבה קשה כשאול קנאה רשפיה רשפי אש שלהבתיה מים רבים לא יוכלו לכבות את־האהבה For love is as strong as Death, jealousy harsh as Sheol.
    [Show full text]
  • Beginning Biblical Hebrew
    Beginning Biblical Hebrew Beginning Biblical Hebrew Mark D. Futato Winona Lake, Indiana Eisenbrauns 2003 ç Copyright 2003 by Mark D. Futato. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Futato, Mark David Beginning Biblical Hebrew / Mark D. Futato. p. cm. ISBN 1-57506-022-1 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Hebrew language—Grammar. I. Title. PJ4567.3.F88 2003 492.4u82421—dc21 2003054970 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. †‘ 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 To my wife, Adele Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all. (Proverbs 31:30 [29]) Wnl: alø hw;hy] Wnl: alø d/bK: ˆTE Úm}v¥l}AyKI ÚT<mIa“Al[" ÚD]s}j"Al[" (Psalm 115:1) CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . xi 1. THE ALPHABET . 1 2. THE VOWELS . 7 3. SYLLABLES, SHEVA, AND STRONG DAGESH . 13 4. THE NOUN: BASIC FORMS . 18 5. PRONOUNS AND THE DEFINITE ARTICLE . 24 6. THE VERB: QAL PERFECT . 29 7. SENTENCES WITH VERBS . 36 8. THE NOUN: VOWEL CHANGES . 42 9. PREPOSITIONS AND VAV CONJUNCTION . 49 10. THE ADJECTIVE . 56 11. THE VERB: QAL IMPERFECT . 63 12. CONSTRUCT RELATIONSHIP: SINGULAR . 68 13. CONSTRUCT RELATIONSHIP: PLURAL . 75 14. QAL PERFECT AND IMPERFECT: WEAK ROOTS . 81 15. QAL PERFECT AND IMPERFECT: I NUN AND III HEY .
    [Show full text]
  • Gods in Conflict: Reflections on the Baal Cycle and 1 Kings 17-18
    PROVIDENCE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY GODS IN CONFLICT: REFLECTIONS ON THE BAAL CYCLE AND 1 KINGS 17-18 SUBMITTED TO DR. AUGUST KONKEL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF BI 7149 GUIDED RESEARCH IN OLD TESTAMENT - UGARITIC BY RICK WADHOLM JR. MARCH 30, 2010 Introduction In what follows, a brief analysis of the Baal Cycle will be offered in order to better understand the various divine conflicts described within this text. There will then follow a brief analysis of the divine conflict in 1 Kings 17-18. The primary shared motif concerns not simply divine conflict, but specifically conflict between Baal and other deities. A brief comparison and contrast between these two accounts will provide a glimpse into both the wider culture of conflict in the ancient near east and the use of texts in preserving and proclaiming the victory of the national deity in conflict with other deities. Finally, an appendix will offer and interact with several interpretations of the connection between El and Dagan as this relates to the specific context of Ugarit. 1.0 Conflict In The Baal Cycle The Baal Cycle is filled with conflict (as are the other literary texts of Ugarit) between the gods themselves and even between people and the gods.1 The Cycle opens with Yamm (“sea”) demanding Baal be handed over to him by the assembly of the gods. El assents to this demand as Baal has apparently already sought kingship over all the gods (against El?). Baal, however, does not agree to go peacefully and instead engages Yamm in battle with two clubs fashioned by the craftsman god, Kothar-and-Hassis, where he emerges victorious over Yamm.
    [Show full text]
  • Abbreviations
    Abbreviations The following appear in this volume for publications and grammati- cal terms. Ancient sources not listed here have been abbreviated according to The SBL Handbook of Style (ed. Patrick H. Alexander et al.; Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1999). Publications ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary. Ed. David Noel Freed- man. 6 vols. New York, 1992 ABRT Assyrian and Babylonian Religious Texts. J. Craig. 2 vols. Leipzig, 1885, 1887 ADAJ Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan AHw Akkadisches Handerwörterbuch. Wolfram von Soden. 3 vols. Wiesbaden, 1965–1981 AIL Ancient Israel and Its Literature AJSR Association for Jewish Studies Review AnBib Analecta biblica ANEP The Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament. Ed. James B. Pritchard. 2nd ed. Princeton, 1994 ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. Ed. James B. Pritchard. Princeton, 1969 AOAT Alter Orient und Altes Testament ASOR American Schools of Oriental Research AYB Anchor Yale Bible BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research BDB Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford, 1907 xiii xiv Abbreviations BETL Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium BHS Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Ed. Karl Elliger and Wil- helm Rudolph. Stuttgart, 1983 Bib Biblica BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft CAD The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Chicago, 1956– CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly CBQMS Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series CEBT Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology CHANE Culture and History of the Ancient Near East CIS Corpus inscriptionum semiticarum. Paris, 1881– CMHE Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel.
    [Show full text]
  • Crises and Well-Being As Expressed in the Teratological Omens of Ugarit
    Crises and Well-Being as Expressed in the Teratological Omens of Ugarit Crises and Well-Being as Expressed in the Teratological Omens of Ugarit* Matahisa KOITABASHI** In this paper we deal with one births-omen text from Ugarit (RS 24.247+ [KTU2 1.103+1.145]) with respect to philology and socio-cultural history. From the protases of RS 24.247+, we can see that the absence of some body part is the major type of animal malformation in the Ugaritic births- omen text. The Mesopotamian auspicium and the Ugaritic Baal text might suggest that the right side is superior to the left side for divination in Ugarit. From the apodoses of RS 24.247+, we can see the matters of concern in the daily life of the Ugaritic people. The people of Ugarit perceived animal malformations as portending some critical event, whether for good or bad. Negative signs are in a majority among the malformed animal births listed. The Ugaritic people were deeply afraid of famine and war. It was an important duty for the Ugaritic kings to protect the city-state against enemies’ attacks. Ugaritic kings also had to keep control over their own guards or mercenaries who sometime might rebel. Long life and offspring for the king promoted the welfare of the people. Keywords: Ugarit, births-omen, divination, ritual, cult I. Introduction The Ugaritic discoveries are of signal importance for the history of religion in the ancient Near East.1 Ugaritic mythological and ritual texts, which have been excavated mainly from the so-called high priest residence and the house of Hurrian priest, have been studied by many scholars.2 Since 1980, several significant books on the ritual texts have been published, and hence the study of Ugaritic ritual has much advanced.3 Referring to recent results of studies on the Ugaritic ritual texts, I deal with divinatory texts related to “Conflict and Peace.” Divinatory texts deal with a limited range of events which evidently reflect politics, societies and cultures on a small scale.
    [Show full text]