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. In this paper I focus on one omen text from Ugarit with respect to philology and socio-cultural history. Because we need further investigations about the Ugaritic omen texts from socio-cultural views,4 I would like to discuss the following problem: what is the
** Teacher, Tokyo Metropolitan Kitazono High School
Vol. XLV 2010 41 socio-cultural significance in the Ugaritic omen text related to malformed animal births?
II. Matters of concern and malformed animal fetuses We have two Ugaritic omen texts related to abnormal births. One (RS 24.247+ [KTU2 1.103+1.145]) deals with malformed animal births; the other (RS 24.302 [KTU2 1.140]) deals with malformed human births. The later text is too broken to provide any useful information. Thus, here we deal with the first text in respect to its philology and what it can show us about socio-cultural history. The Ugaritic divinatory text which discusses malformed animal fetuses reflects the fears and desires of the Ugaritc people. What were the matters of concern in the daily life of the Ugaritic people? What kinds of difficulties did the people of Ugarit meet with?
1. The Ugaritic omen text related to malformed animal births The structure of Ugaritic omen texts is basically that of protasis and apodosis: if such-and-such a malformed birth is observed, such-and-such an event occurs. The genre is well known from Mesopotamian literature, where it conventionally goes by the name of the first two words of the protasis, umma izbu, ‘if (there is) a malformed birth’.5 The Ugaritic omen text related to malformed animal births documents translation into the local language of a type of divination text which is typically Mesopotamian.6
RS 24.247+ (KTU2 1.103+1.145; RSO 12 Ch.35; RCU 42)7 Text Obv. 8 9 1 −tatt ≠in - [--] - dat. abn. madtn tqln b ∆wt
10 2 ≠. hn - [--(-)] y atr− yld. bhmth t -- [...]
3 gm11 [ ]n ykn b ∆wt
4 w12 i [n ]∆wtn t◊lq
5 - [ ]13 rgbn′ ykn b ∆wt
6 [ ] - w ◊r apm. ∆wt n [----(-)] m −tn rgm
42 ORIENT Crises and Well-Being as Expressed in the Teratological Omens of Ugarit 7[w] in [ ] m lkn yi∆d ∆w[t ibh w?] mr∆y14 mlk t dlln
8[-]- h. m - [----] -m ◊t. bhmtn[------] -
9 w in q. [mal] b h. mlkn y [----(-)] i bh
10 w in q≠r[t m] a l mlk n [------(-)i] b h
11 w qrn i r 15 [.b] p ith. ma [l ]n
12 ª∆l. in bh[--] - dn. - [ ] m −t n [...] 13 mlkn. l ypq [p]∆
16 14 [w] in ukm b h. d− r [ ] -
15 w in. kr y d h - [ ] y ◊lq bhmt [--] -
16 [-] - [-] - [ ]. ibn y◊lq bhmt ∆w t
17 [ ] - . −tnn z yu◊d ib mlk
18 [ ]◊lq. mtn− rgm
19 [ ]rgb.′ w tp. msq t
20 [ ] y zzn
21 [ ]rn
22 [ ]bh
23 [ ] t p [. . .]
(Gap)
Rev. 24’ [ ] -. l [. . .]
25’ [ ] i r. lk - [. . .]
Vol. XLV 2010 43 26’ w in. q ymn. b h [. . .]
27’ w in. ◊r≠p17 . b k - [. . .]
28’ w in. kr . ydh [. . .] 29’ l ypq p∆
30’ w in. ◊r apm. kl[. . .]
31’ w in. ln bh. r[. . .]
32’ pth. t∆yt18 . k - [. . .]
33’ pnh. pn. irn19 . u - [ ] - tq≠rn[. . .] 34’ ymy20 . b l hn bhm[t . . .]
35’ w in. udn. ymn21 . b [h. ibn y]dd ∆wt 36’ [ w y]∆slnn
37’ w in. udn mal22 . b [h. ] mlkn [ y]dd ∆wt i b [h] 38’ w. y∆slnn
39’ w q≠rt. p nh. b ln ygt′ r 23 [. ◊]rd. w u◊r 40’ y. ykly r p
41’ w a ph . k ap. ≠r. ilm. tb rn 24 . ∆wt 42’ [ ] - t. w ydu
43’ [ ] - l rih. dr [.] m lk hwt 44’ [------] ∆
45’ [------] d rh. ysu. pn. tplt25 ∆ wt hyt
46’ [------]mlkn. yd. ◊rdh. yddll26
47’ [-----] l . urh. mr∆y. mlk tnan 48’ [-----] - b. ydh
44 ORIENT Crises and Well-Being as Expressed in the Teratological Omens of Ugarit 27 49’ [----] - atrt− . nh. w nh b l≠bh 50’ [ibn y]rps ∆wt
51’ [---]bh. b ph. y≠u. ibn. yspu ∆wt
52’ w [in] p nt. bh. ◊rdn. yhpk. l mlk
53’ w [---] lnh. ∆wtn. tpr
54’ b - [---]∆rh28 . b pith. mlkn. ylm l ibh
29 55’ w i[n] k bm . bh. dr− . ∆wt. hyt. y∆sl
U. E. 56’ w - [-]30 . ilm. tb rn ∆wt. hyt
31 57’ w nh [b] l ≠bh. mlkn y zz l ◊pth−
58’ w ∆r. w- r32 . bh. mlkn yb r ibh
59’ w in yd ma l bh. ∆wt ib t◊lq
Translation 1As for the ewes of the sheep, [when t]hey give birth(!) to a stone,33 many will fall in the land. 2If it is a piece of wood, behold [ ] ...... , its cattle will ...... 3If the fetus is smooth, without h[air(?)], there will be [ ] in the land. 4And if [it has no ], the land will be devastated. 5[ ] there will be famine in the land. 6[ ] nor nostrils, the land [ ;] ditto. 7[And] if it has no [ ], the king will seize the lan[d of his enemy and(?)] the lance of the king will subdue it. 8[ ] [ ] ...... cattle [ ]. 9And if it has no [left] thigh, the king will [ ] his enemy. 10 And if there is no lower left leg, the king [ ] his enemy. 11 And if there is a horn of flesh [in] its lef[t te]mple, [ ]. 12-13 If it has no spleen [ :] di[tto;] the king will not obtain offspring. 14 [And] if it has no testicles, the (seed-)gra[in ].
Vol. XLV 2010 45 15 And if it has no knuckle in its foreleg, he will destroy the cattle [ ]. 16 [ ] the enemy will destroy the cattle of the land. 17 [ ] the mighty archers will seize the enemy of the king. 18 [ ] destroy; ditto. 19 [ ] famine, the appearance of trouble. 20 [ ] will strengthen him. 21 [ ] ..... 22 [ ] ..... 23 [ ] ...... [ ]
(Gap)
24’ [ ] ...... [ ] 25’ [ ] ...... [ ]. 26’ And if it has no right thigh [ ]. 27’ And if it has no tendon in its ... [ ]. 28’-29’ And if it has no knuckle in its foreleg [ ] will not obtain offspring. 30’ And if [it has] no nostrils [ ]. 31’ And if it has no tongue [ ]. 32’ If its lo
46 ORIENT Crises and Well-Being as Expressed in the Teratological Omens of Ugarit land. 52’ And if it has [no] rear legs, the guard will turn against the king. 53’ And if [ ] its tongue, the land will be expanded. 54’ ...... its intestines are in the its temple, the king will make peace with his enemy. 55’ And if it has n[o] intestines, the seed of that land will be destroyed. 56’ And if ...... , the gods will destroy that land. 57’ And if its eye(s) is/are [in] the forehead, the king will have power over with his mercenaries. 58’ And if it has ...... , the king will destroy his enemy. 59’ And if it has no left foreleg, the land of the enemy will perish.
2. Animal malformation in the protases of RS 24.247+ We have several terms related to animal body parts in the protases of RS 24.247+, though the meanings for some of them remain problematic.34 We can classify the protases of RS 24.247+ according to the malformation: (1) the absence of some body part, characterized by the Ugaritic term “in,” which means “there is not,” (2) abnormal length of a body part, (3) abnormal position of a body part, and (4) abnormal appearance. Here is a list of malformations according to our classification. (P) or (N) refers to a positive or negative apodosis.
(1) The absence of some body parts i) Head [it] has no right ear (in. udn. ymn. b [h) (l. 35’) (N) [it] has no left ear (in. udn. mal. b [h) (l. 37’) (P) [it has] no nostrils (in. ◊r apm) (l. 30’) (?) it has no tongue (in. ln bh) (l. 31) (?) ii) Leg it has [no] rear legs ([in] p nt) (l. 52’) (N) it has no left foreleg (in yd mal) (l. 59’) (P) there is no low[er le]ft leg (in q≠r[t m] a l) (l. 10) (?) there is no tendon (in. ◊r≠p) (l. 27’) (?) it has no [left] thigh (in q. [mal] b h.) (l. 9) (?) it has no right thigh (in. q ymn b h) (l. 26’) (?) it has no knuckle in its foreleg (in. kr y d h) (l. 15) (N) it has no knuckle in its foreleg (in. kr . ydh) (l. 28’) (?)
Vol. XLV 2010 47 iii) Organs it has n[o] intestines (i[n] kbm bh) (l. 55’) (N) it has no spleen (ª∆l. in) (l. 12) (N) it has no testicles (in ukm) (l. 14) (?)
(2) Abnormal length of body parts its legs are short (q≠rt. p nh) (l. 39’) (N)
(3) Abnormal position of body parts its eye(s) is/are [in] the forehead ( nh [b] l≠ bh) (l. 57’) (P)
(4) Abnormal appearance its face is that of a puppy-dog (pnh. pn. irn) (l. 33’) (N) its nose is like the nose of a bird (a ph . kap. ≠r) (l. 41’) (N)
The absence of some body part is the major type of animal malformation in the Ugaritic births-omen text. The absence of a left side body part is positive (ll. 37, 59), whereas the absence of a right side body part is negative (l. 35).
And if [it] has no right ear, [the enemy will] devastate the land [and will] destroy it. (ll. 35’-36’) (N) And if [it] has no left ear, the king [will] devastate the land of [his] enemy and will destroy it. (ll. 37’-38’) (P) And if it has no left foreleg, the land of the enemy will perish. (l. 59’) (P)
We have the same parallels in the Akkadian texts. If an anomaly has no right ear, some disaster will occur, whereas if an anomaly has no left ear, there will be good fortune.35 Absence or abnormality of right side body parts is negative,36 whereas the absence of left side body parts is positive in abnormal human births.37 Throughout the Akkadian omen series an ominous feature on the right is negative, an ominous feature on the left side is positive.38 According to Tsukimoto, the right side is superior to the left side in the ancient Mesopotamia.39 In the ancient Mesopotamian auspicium, the existence of a falcon at the right side of a man divines a favourable future for him, while the same falcon at the left side indicates an evil one.40 One passage in the Ugaritic Baal cycle (KTU2 1.4 V 46-48) illustrates the social significance attached to the right hand. To sit at someone’s right hand was to take the place of honour, in this case to be the special guest in whose honour the feast is given.41
t db. ksu A chair is prepared 48 ORIENT Crises and Well-Being as Expressed in the Teratological Omens of Ugarit
wyttb.−− l ymn. aliyn. b l.and they seat (him) at the right hand of Mighty Baal, d. l∆m. ty [. ilm] while [the gods] eat and drink.
The Mesopotamian auspicium and the Ugaritic Baal text might suggest that the right side is superior to the left side for divination in Ugarit. The absence of a right side body part is negative because there is a lack of a superior part. The absence of a left side body part is positive because there is a lack of an inferior part. Thus it seems that the superiority of the right side over the left side is related to the divinatory outcomes in the Ugaritic births-omen text.
3. Matters of concern as seen in the apodoses of RS 24.247+ The word order of almost all the apodoses in the text can be analyzed as subject + object + verb.42 The verbs are important to define the divinatory outcome. However, the forms and meanings of some of the verbs remain uncertain.43
A. Negative omens We can classify negative omens in the apodoses of RS 24.247+ as follows: (1) famine or damage to crops and livestock, (2) sterility or loss of children, (3) king’s short life, (4) devastation of land by enemies, (5) military rebellion against the king, (6) death of a multitude, and (7) destruction of the country.
(1) Famine or damage to crops and livestock there will be famine in the land (rgbn′ ykn b ∆wt) (l. 5) [ ] will destroy the cattle [ ] ( y ◊lq bhmt) (l. 15) the enemy will destroy the cattle of the land (ibn y◊lq bhmt ∆w t) (l. 16)
the grain of that land will be consumed (dr− . ∆wt. hyt. y∆sl) (l. 55’) (2) Sterility or loss of children the king will not obtain offspring (mlkn l ypq [p]∆) (l. 13) he will not obtain offspring (l ypq p∆) (l. 29’) Raap will consume the progeny (uhry ykly r p) (ll. 39’-40’)
(3) King’s short life [ ] will shorten the days of lord (tq≠rn [---]ymy. b l) (l. 33’-34’)
(4) Devastation of land by enemies [the enemy will] devastate the land [and will] destroy it ([ibn y]dd ∆wt [w y]∆slnn) (ll. 35’-36’)
Vol. XLV 2010 49 [the enemy will] trample on the land ([ibn y]rps ∆wt) (l. 50’) the enemy will devour the land (ibn. yspu. ∆wt) (l. 51’)
(5) Military rebellion against the king the lord will confront the guard (b ln yg′ t r [. ◊]rd.) (l. 39’) the guard will turn against the king (◊rdn. yhpk. l mlk) (l. 52’)
(6) Death of a multitude many will fall in the land (madtn tqln b ∆wtn) (l. 1)
(7) Destruction of the country the land will perish (∆wtn t◊lq) (l. 4) the gods will destroy the land (ilm. tb rn . ∆wt) (l. 41’) the Sun/‰apu will be the oppression of that land (pn. tplt ∆wt hyt) (l. 45’) the gods will destroy that land (ilm. tb rn ∆wt. hyt) (l. 56’)
B. Positive omens We can classify positive omens in the apodoses of RS 24.247+ as follows: (1) destruction of enemies, (2) peace with enemies, (3) king’s control over army, and (4) expansion of the land.
(1) Destruction of enemies the lance of the king will subdue it (mr∆y mlk t dlln) (l. 7)
the mighty archers will seize the enemy of the king (−tnn z yu◊d ib mlk) (l. 17) the king [will] devastate the land of [his] enemy and will destroy it ( mlkn [y]dd ∆wt i b [h] w. y∆slnn) (ll. 37’-38’) the king will destroy his enemy (mlkn yb r ibh) (l. 58’) the land of the enemy will perish (∆wt ib t◊lq) (l. 59’)
(2) Peace with enemies the king will make peace with his enemy (mlkn. ylm l ibh) (l. 54’)
(3) King’s control over army the king will subdue the hand of his guard (mlkn. yd. ◊rdh. y{d}dll) (l. 46’)
the king will have power over his mercenaries (mlkn y zz l ◊pth− ) (l. 57’) (4) expansion of the land the king will seize the land of [his enemy] ( m lkn yi∆d ∆w[t ibh) (l. 7) the land will be expanded (∆wtn tpr) (l. 53’)
50 ORIENT Crises and Well-Being as Expressed in the Teratological Omens of Ugarit The people of Ugarit perceived positive or negative omens in animal malformations. We classify the divinatory outcomes in the teratological omens of Ugarit (RS 24.247+) as positive or negative in Figure 1 and 2. The negative rate (about 70%) is almost the same rate as that in the Akkadian omen series (Figure 3, 4).44 Thus we might say that negative signs are a majority among the malformed births listed.
Figure 1. Divinatory outcome in the teratological omens of Ugarit (derived from RS 24.247 +)
Omen Line Positive or Omen Line Positive or Omen Line Positive or Negative Negative Negative I1N XVII18? XXXIII37’-38’P II 2 ? XVIII 19 N XXXIV 39’-49’ N III 3 ? XIX 20 ? XXXV 41’-42’ N IV 4 N XX 21 Broken XXXVI 43’-44’ ? V5 N XXI22BrokenXXXVII45’N VI 6 ? XXII 23 Broken XXXVIII 46’ P VII 7 P XXIII 24’ Broken XXXIX 47’-48’ ? VIII 8 ? XXIV 25’ Broken XL 49’-50’ N IX 9 ? XXV 26’ ? XLI 51’ N X10? XXVI27’? XLII52’N XI 11 ? XXVII 28’-29’ N XLIII 53’ P XII 12-13 N XXVIII 30’ ? XLIV 54’ P XIII 14 ? XXIX 31’ ? XLV 55’ N XIV 15 N XXX 32’ ? XLVI 56’ N XV 16 N XXXI 33’-34’ N XLVII 57’ P XVI 17 P XXXII 35’-36’ N XLVIII 58’ P XLIX 59’ P
Figure 2. Total numbers of divinatory outcome in the teratological omens of Ugarit (derived from RS 24.247 +)
Positive Negative Positive or Negative Unknown Broken Lines The Actural Numbers 9 18 17 5 Rate 33% 67%
Vol. XLV 2010 51 Figure 3. Divinatory outcome in the teratological omens of Mesopotamia (derived from Leichty, The Omen Seiries ‰umma Izbu)
Tablet The Subject Matter Positive Negative Positive and Positive or Broken Lines Negative Negative Lines Remaining Both Unknown on Tablet IHuman23670 245 39 131 II Human 6 45 0 146 15 67 III Human 21 78 247 00101 IV Human 10 38 148 149 23 73 VSheep 3154250 551 30 122 VI Animal or Human 16 39 0 0 3 58 VII Animal or Human 21 48 0 552 96 170 VIII Animal or Human 12 72 0 353 21 108 IX Animal or Human 20 29 254 155 23 75 XAnimal or Human15530 156 31 100 XI Animal or Human 41 64 0 157 36 142 XII Animal or Human 8 37 0 358 77 125 XIII Animal or Human ------10 10 XIV Animal or Human 13 22 159 04783 XV Animal or Human ------31 31 XVI Animal or Human 6 25 0 0 81 112 XVII Animal or Human 11 41 0 0 67 119 XVIII Goats 3 16 0 0 22 41 XIX Cattle 0 6 0 0 45 51 XX Horses 12 20 160 01649 XXI Horses 7 24 161 03163 XXII Pigs 0 7 0 162 15 23 XXIII Dogs 3 17 0 0 14 34 XXIV Gazelles 0 0 0 0 14 14
Figure 4. Total numbers of divinatory outcome in the teratological omens of Mesopotamia (derived from Leichty, The Omen Seiries ‰umma Izbu)
The Subject Matter Positive Negative Positive or Positive or Broken Lines Negative Negative Both Unknown Animal 56 144 4 6 187 (Tablet V, XVIII~XXIV) Rate 28% 72%
52 ORIENT Crises and Well-Being as Expressed in the Teratological Omens of Ugarit
The Subject Matter Positive Negative Positive or Positive or Broken Lines Negative Negative Both Unknown Human and Animal 279 802 10 24 787 (Tablet I~XXIV) Rate 26% 74%
The people’s concerns were to secure provisions, to protect the city-state against enemies’ attack, and to keep peace in the land. It was also of concern for kings to keep control over their guards or mercenaries, who sometimes rebelled. Furthermore, long life and offspring for the king were of concern to the people. The people of Ugarit were deeply afraid of famine and war. Devastation of land by enemies, sterility or loss of children, military rebellion against kings, death of multitudes and destruction of the country were among their fears.
III. Conclusions 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 right side was considered superior to the left side for divination in Ugarit just as in Mesopotamia. 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.
Abbreviations AfO Archiv für Orientforschung ALASP Abhandlungen zur Literatur Alt-Syrien-Palästinas und Mesopotamiens AOAT Alter Orient und Altes Testament BZAW Beiheft zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft CML2 J. C. L. Gibson, Canaanite Myths and Legends, Second edition, Edinburgh, 1978. DUL G. del Olmo Lete, A Dictionary of the Ugaritic Language in the Alphabetic Tradition, Leiden, 2003. HISM Hirayama Ikuo Silkroad Museum (in Japan) HSM Harvard Semitic Monographs
Vol. XLV 2010 53 JSOTSup Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series JSS Journal of Semitic Studies KTU2 M. Dietrich, O. Loretz and J. Sanmartín, The Cuneiform Alphabetic Texts from Ugarit, Ras Ibn Hani and Other Places, Münster, 1995. LAPO Littéatures anciennes du Proche-Orient MU M. Dietrich, und O. Loretz, Mantik in Ugarit: Keilalphabetische Texte der Opferschau, Münster, 1990. OrAnt Oriens antiquus RCU D. Pardee, Ritual and Cult at Ugarit, Leiden 2002. RS Ras Shamra text RSO Ras Shamra-Ougarit SBL Society of Biblical Literature SDB Supplémente au Dictionnaire de la Bible TUAT R. Borger et al. (eds.), Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments, Gütersloh, 1982-2001. UBL Ugaritisch-Biblische Literatur UF Ugarit-Forschungen
Notes *I gratefully thank Professor David T. Tsumura for his valuable suggestions for this article. I thank also Mrs. Tsumura for her constructive criticism for this article and revising my English with care. 1 P. D. Miller, Jr., “Aspects of the Religion of Ugarit,” in P. D. Miller, Jr., P. D. Hanson and S. D. McBride (eds.), Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays in Honor of Frank Moore Cross, Philadelphia, 1987, 53. 2 For studies of mythological and ritual texts of Ugarit from the 1930s to the middle of the 1970s, see CML2, xiii-xx. Major studies on the mythological and para-mythological texts of Ugarit from latter half of the 1970s are the following: C. H. Gordon, “Poetic Legends and Myths from Ugarit,” Berytus 25 (1977), 5-133; M. D. Coogan, Stories from Ancient Canaan, Philadelphia, 1978; B. Margalit, A Matter of ‘Life’ and ‘Death’: A Study of the Baal-Mot Epic (CTA 4-5-6) (AOAT 206), Neukichen-Vluyn, 1980; G. del Olmo Lete, Mitos y Leyendas de Canaan, Madrid, 1981; J. C. de Moor, An Anthology of Religious Texts from Ugarit (NISABA 16), Leiden, 1987; D. Pardee, Les textes para-mythologiques de la 24e campagne (RSO 4), Paris, 1988; B. Margalit, The Ugaritic Poem of AQHT (BZAW 182), Berlin, 1989; S. B. Parker, The Pre- Biblical Narrative Tradition (SBL Resources for Biblical Study 24), Atlanta, 1989; K. T. Aitken, The Aqhat Narrative (JSS Monograph 13), Manchester, 1990; N. H. Walls, The Goddes Anat in Ugaritic Myth (SBL Dissertation Series 135), Atlanta, 1992; M. S. Smith, The Ugaritic Baal Cycle, Vol. 1, Leiden, 1994; D. Pardee, “Ugaritic Myths,” in W. W. Hallo (ed.), The Context of Scripture, Vol. 1, Leiden, 1997, 241-283; idem, “Epic,” in W. W. Hallo (ed.), The Context of Scripture, Vol. 1, 333-357; S. B. Parker (ed.), Ugaritic Narrative Poetry, Atlanta, 1997; N. Wyatt, Religious Texts from Ugarit: The Words of Ilimilku and his Colleagues (The Biblical Seminar 53), Sheffield, 1998; D. V. Wright, Ritual in Narrative, Winona Lake, 2001. 3 Major studies on the ritual texts of Ugarit since 1980 are the following: A. Caquot and M. Sznycer, Ugaritic Religion (Iconography of Religions XV/8), Leiden, 1980; J.-M. de Tarragon,
54 ORIENT Crises and Well-Being as Expressed in the Teratological Omens of Ugarit Le culte à Ugarit d’apré les textes de la pratique en cuneiformes alphabèiques, Paris, 1980; P. Xella, I Testi Rituali di Ugarit, Vol. 1: Testi, Roma, 1981; A. Caquot, J.-M. de Tarragon and J.- L. Cunchillos, Textes ougaritiques, Vol. 2 (LAPO 14), Paris, 1989; T. J. Lewis, Cults of the Dead in Ancient Israel and Ugarit (HSM 39), Atlanta, 1989; J. Tropper, Nekromantie: Totenbefragung im Alten Orient und im Alten Testament (AOAT 223), Neukirchen-Vlyun, 1989; M. Dietrich and O. Loretz, Mantik in Ugarit: Keilalphabetische Texte der Opfershchau- Omensammlungen-Nekromantie (ALASP 3), Münster, 1990; G. del Olomo Lete, La Religión Cananea según la Liturgia de Ugarit: Estudio Textual (Aura Orientalis-Supplementa 3), Barcelona, 1992; D. Pardee, “Prayers,” in William W. Hallo (ed.), The Context of Scripture, Vol. 1, 283-285; idem, “Divination,” in William W. Hallo (ed.), The Context of Scripture, Vol. 1, 287-294; D. Pardee, B. A. Levine, J.-M. de Tarragon, A. Robertson and D. Fleming, “Incantations and Rituals,” in William W. Hallo, (ed.), The Context of Scripture, Vol. 1, 295- 309, 327-328; G. del Olmo Lete, Canaanite Religion According to the Liturgical Texts of Ugarit, W. G. E. Watson (trans.), Bethesda, 1999; D. Pardee, Les Textes Rituels (RSO 12), Paris, 2000; idem, Ritual and Cult at Ugarit, Atlanta, 2002. 4 The following are studies about the Ugaritic omen texts related to malformed births: M. Dietrich, O. Loretz and J. Sanmartín, “Der keialphabetische umma izbu-Texte RS 24.247+265+ 268+328,” UF 7 (1975), 133-140; A. Herdner, “Nouveaux textes alphabétiques de Ras Shamra: XXIVe campagne, 1961,” Ugaritica VII (1978), 44-62; A. Caquot, “La littérature ugaritique,” SDB 9, Pairs, 1979, 1411-1412; P. Xella and A.-M. G. Capomacchia, “Tre testi ugaritici reativi a presagi di nascite,” OrAnt 18 (1979), 41-58; P. Xella, I Testi Rituali di Ugarit, Vo l . 1 : Testi, 191- 196; M. Dietrich and O. Loretz, “Ugaritische Rituale und Beschwörungen,” in C. Butterweck et al. (eds.), Rituale und Beschwörungen, Vol. 2 (TUAT II: Religiöse Texte 3), Gütersloher, 1986, 95-99; D. Pardee, “Ugaritic umma izbu Text,” AfO 33 (1986), 117-147; M. Dietrich and O. Loretz, “The Syntax of Omens in Ugaritic,” MAARAV 5-6 (1990), 89-109; MU, 87-158; G. del Olomo Lete, La Religión Cananea según la Liturgia de Ugarit, 237-241; idem, Cannanite Religion According to the Liturgical Texts of Ugarit, 353-359; P. Xella, “The Omen Texts,” in W. G. E. Watson and N. Wyatt (eds.), Handbook of Ugaritic Studies, Leiden, 1999, 353-355; D. Pardee, Les Textes Rituels, 532-564, 763-765; idem, “Ugaritic Science,” in P. M. Michèle Daviau, J. W. Wevers and M. Weigl (eds.), The World of the Aramaeans: Studies in Language and Literature in Honour of Paul-Eugène Dion (JSOTSup 326), Sheffield, 2001, 223-254; idem, Ritual and Cult at Ugarit, 135-142. 5 For the Akkadian omen series derived from malformed births, consult the following study; E. Leichty, The Omen Series ‰umma Izbu (Texts from Cuneiform Sources IV), Locust Valley, New York, 1970. 6 Xella, in Handbook of Ugaritic Studies, 353-354. 7 Editio princeps: Herdner, Ugaritica VII (1978), 44-60. Photograph: del Olmo Lete, La Religión Cananea según la Liturgia de Ugarit, pls. XVI-XVII; P. Bordreuil and D. Pardee, Manuel d’ougaritique, Paris, 2004, Texte 20 (Fac-Similés). For the full textual and philological notes, see the following studies: Pardee, AfO 33, 117-144; idem, Les Textes Rituels, 536-563; MU, 92- 158. 8 KTU2 reads the first part of the line as follows: att ≠in. [k t]ld. at abn. Dietrich, Loretz and del Olmo Lete take the term at to mean “omen, ominous sign” (MU, 92-3; DUL, 121). In the
photograph of RS 24.247+, before the a-sign, I can identify a small sign which is plausibly a −t- sign. I take the term −−tatt to be the plural form of tat “ewe” and read the first part of the line as ! follows: −−tatt ≠in. [kt]ldn . abn. But whether the term tatt is a plural form or not remains problematic. It may be a question of scribal error. Cf. Pardee, AfO 33, 126; idem, Les Textes Rituels, 553. 9 Hoftijzer was the first to suggest that the ending -n is not a pronominal suffix of the first person plural but a -n of apodosis (“Quodlibet Ugariticum,” in Th. J. H. Krispijn, M. Stol and K. R. Veenhof (eds.), Zikir ‰umim. Assyriological Studies Presented to F. R. Kraus on the Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday, Leiden, 1982, 121-127). Pardee strengthens Hoftijzer’s theory and
Vol. XLV 2010 55 indicates correctly that “whenever a singular noun in the absolute state begins the apodosis, it bears a final -n” in RS 24.247+ (AfO 33, 126). On the other hand, Dietrich and Loretz take the ending -n as having “eine deiktische Funktion” (MU, 104). 10 KTU2 reads the word at the end of the line as t tpn derived from / -t-p/ “to be weak.” Cf. DUL, 192. On the other hand, Pardee tries to read the end of line as t tbr derived from /b- -r/ “to ignite; to burn; scorch the earth” (AfO 33, 129; cf. DUL, 212). These restorations remain problematic. 11 KTU2 reads the beginning of the line as gm [xx. Pardee reads gm [ ] and connects the term gm with the Arabic gamaa “raser”, gamîun “nu” (AfO 33, 129). 12 In RS 24.302 (KTU2 1.140) the protasis is introduced by k “that; because, for; when; if”: RS 24.302 (KTU2 1.140): 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 14. However, RS 24.247+ does not use a conditional particle and introduces the protasis with the simple copula w “and,” for which we should infer a conditional force (“and [if]”) (Dietrich and Loretz, MAARAV 5-6, 100). 13 KTU2 reads and restores the first of line as follows: w [qrbh.] pt∆. However, I can’t identify pt∆ at all on the photograph of RS 24.247+ because of damage of the tablet. 14 I follow Pardee’s proposal that mr∆y may be analyzed as a singular construct form of the feminine noun mr∆ “spear” (AfO 33, 130-131). 15 Could the phrase qrn ir be parallel to the phrase SI.ME‰ a2 UZU in the Akkadian omen series? (Leichty, The Omen Series ‰umma Izbu 74 V 15.) 16 KTU2 reads the end of the line as y∆sl. I can’t identify y∆sl at all on the photograph of RS 24.247+ because of damage of the tablet. 17 The meaning of ◊r≠p is unclear. I take the term ◊r≠p as “tendon” based on the Biblical Hebrew ∆r≠b (cf. Caquot, SDB 9, 1412; DUL, 408). 18 The form t∆yt must be emended to t∆tyt, the proper adjectival form of t∆t, as Dietrich, Loretz, and Sanmart’n have observed (UF 7, 135, 138; see Pardee, AfO 33, 135). 19 The meaning of irn remains problematic. I take the term irn as “puppy, puppy-dog” based on the Arabic arana, mir±n or the Akkadian mµr±nu. Cf. DUL, 104. Caquot takes this term as “lézard” based on the Akkadian urnu (SDB 9, 1412). Pardee says that “on the basis of the Akkadian umma izbu text one would expect a mention of a dog and not of a lizard, but the Akkadian references are indeed to the dog (UR.GI7) and not to the puppy (UR.TUR)” (AfO 33, 135). 20 The term ymy is analyzed as ym “day,” plural construct, nominative or accusative depending on whether it is subject or object of tq≠rn, either with afformative particle -y (preferred) or with mater lectionis -y (Ibid., 136). 21 We can find the omen of a missing of right/left ear in the Akkadian omen series (Leichty, The Omen Series ‰umma Izbu 131 XI 1-2). 22 See above note 21. 23 The meaning of ygtr′ remains uncertain. The same form is known from KTU2 1.24:28. Some scholars take the root to be /g-t-r/,′′′ others /g-r-(y)/ or /g-y-r/ with infixed -t-. Del Olmo Lete takes it as /g-t-r/′ “to kill” (?), based on the Arabic atara (DUL, 327). Caquot-Sznycer- Herndner and Gibson take this verb as “be jealous” based on the Arabic gâra′ (Textes ougaritiques Vol. I [LAPO 7], Paris, 1974, 394 n. u.; CML2, 155). Based on the Arabic gâra′ , Pardee translates ygtr′ in this line as “he will confront” from context (AfO 33, 125, 138). 24 The interpretation of the Ugaritic verb /b- -r/ is still uncertain. The verb also appears in lines 56’, 58’. Del Olmo Lete classifies /b- -r/ into two types, comparing it to the Biblical Hebrew b r (I) qal “to burn” and b r (II) pi “to graze, devastate”. He takes yb r (l. 58’) as /b- -r/ (I) “to scorch the earth” and tb rn (l. 56’) as /b- -r/ (II) “to forsake” (DUL, 212; cf. L. Koehler and W. Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, Leiden, 1994, 145-146). Dietrich and Loretz take yb r (l. 58’) as /b- -r/ (II) (MU, 98-103). The notion of “destruction” seems to be preferable to one of “abandonment” in l. 58’ because the king does b r to his enemies. Cf. Pardee, AfO 33, 139. It is probable from the context that the verb /b- -r/ in this text has the notion of “destruction.”
56 ORIENT Crises and Well-Being as Expressed in the Teratological Omens of Ugarit 25 The term tplt must be part of the predicate, either nominal or verbal. In the first case, the noun is unknown, in the second case the form is anomalous. Herdner takes tplt as a noun compared with the Arabic fasila “être vil” (Ugaritica VII, 56). Dietrich and Loretz translates it as “Unterdrückung” (MU, 139-140), and del Olmo Lete translates it as “oppression” (DUL, 875), based on the Akkadian pa±lu “to crawl.” Based on the Arabic fasila, Pardee takes tplt as a verb and emends the form, either to tpl or to tpln “she will abase” (AfO 33, 125, 140). I take tplt as a noun, without emending the text. 26 The term yddll is problematic. It is probable that we should connect yddll in this line with t dlln in line 7 and take that both terms are derived from /d-l-l/ “to oppress, subdue, subjugate.” Given the occurrence of t dlln in line 7, it is plausible to emend y{d}dll, which is the form of D-stem prefix conjugation. On the other hand, because the word order of this line is aberrant, as most of the apodoses can be analyzed as subject + object + verb, one might consider taking yd ◊rdh as an adverbial phrase and yddll as a passive form. In that case, it may be the form of N-stem or Dt-stem. Cf. Pardee, AfO 33, 140; idem, Les Textes Rituels, 560; MU, 142; DUL, 270. 27 Some scholars take atrt− in this line as a verb: “geht vor” (Dietrich, Loretz and Sanamrtín, UF 7, 135, 139); “è sporgente” (Xella and Capomacchia, OrAnt 18, 47). Dietrich, Loretz and Del Olmo Lete take atrt− as a noun: “Hinterteil, Rückseit” (M. Dietrich and O. Loretz, “Ugaritisch −−−tr, atr, atryat und atrt −,” UF 16 [1984], 60); “back part (of the head), nape” (?) (DUL, 128). Pardee take atrt−− either as a noun (a feminine equivalent of atr “place” or the plural or dual of the later) used adverbially, “in the place(s) of”, or simply as an expanded form of the
preposition atr− (AfO 33, 141 n. 205). If we compare with the Akkadian omens related to ears, Pardee’s translation is attractive. Cf. BE iz-bu GE‰TU.ME‰-u2 a-ar IGI.ME‰ GAR-na “If an anomaly’s ears are where its eyes should be” (Leichty, The Omen Series ‰umma Izbu 135 XI 61’). 28 One Akkadian omen reads BE iz-bu AR÷U‰-su u TUN3-u2 ina SAG.KI-u2 E3-at “If an anomaly’s womb and its stomach protrude from its forehead...” (Leichty, The Omen Series ‰umma Izbu 170 XVII 73’). On the basis of this omen, Pardee suggests tentatively the following reconstruction: b ª [nh w]∆rh. bpith “(If) its stomach/womb and its vulva (are) in its temples” (AfO 33, 143). 29 Dietrich and Loretz translate kbm as “Därme” on basis of the Akkadian kippu “loop” (MU, 152 ff.). Pardee assumes that there is a sign before kbm (AfO 33, 143). I would follow the interpretation proposed by Dietrich and Loretz. 30 KTU2 reads the first four signs as w q[l]. Considering the available space and comparing the Akkadian omens, Pardee suggests tentatively reconstructing w n [l] or w n [h l] (AfO 33, 144). 31 Del Olmo Lete classifies ◊pt− into three meanings. 1) “fugitive, runaway” 2) a ‘legionary’ or ‘mercenary’ of some kind 3) “loose cattle, on the loose from the herd” (DUL, 401). In this line, “mercenary” fits the context. Like ◊ab/piru, they comprise refugees, fugitives or brigands living on the margins of settled life outside the control of the city-states and occasionally raiding settlements. They may sometimes be employed by the state as mercenaries. The movement of ◊upuu are also a matter of concern in several unpublished late Old Babylonian omen texts related to malformed births (HISM 102663:38, 39, 63; HISM 103492:37, 40; HISM 102607:32, 63’, 64’; HISM 103042: 15, 25, 28; HISM 103491:3, 12, 13, 25, 30, 40). The author read these unpublished texts by courtesy of Professor Ikuo Hirayama and Professor Akio Tsukimoto. 32 KTU2 reads and restores the first of line as follows: w. ∆r w r. bh. Considering the available space and comparing with the Akkadian omen U‰ u SAL.LA GAR “... has both a penis and a vulva” (Leichty, The Omen Series ‰umma Izbu 6 III 70), Pardee suggests tentatively the following reconstruction: w∆r. w [∆]r. bh “And (if) it has two vulvas” (AfO 33, 144). 33 ! This translation is based on the following reconstruction. −tatt ≠in. [kt]ldn . abn. See note 8. 34 ◊r≠p (l.27’), pn irn (l. 33’), k bm (l. 55’). 35 Leichty, The Omen Series ‰umma Izbu 131 XI 1-2. 36 Ibid., 47 II 12, 19, 77.
Vol. XLV 2010 57 37 Ibid., 62 II 78. 38 Ibid., 7. 39 A. Tsukimoto, “On the Divining by Birds in Ancient Mesopotamia,” Bulletin of the Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan 24 (1981), 40 (in Japanese with a English summary). 40 Ibid., 34. 41 N. Wyatt, “The vocabulary and neurology of orientation: the Ugaritic and Hebrew evidence,” in N. Wyatt, W. G. E. Watson and J. B. Lloyd (eds.), Ugarit, religion and culture: Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Ugarit, religion and culture Edinburgh, July 1994: Essays presented in honour of Professor John C. L. Gibson (UBL 12), Münster, 1996, 358. 42 See Pardee, AfO 33, 144-145. 43 ygt′ r (l. 39’), /b- -r/ (ll. 41’, 56’, 58’), tplt (l. 45’), yddll (l. 47’). 44 We have almost complete lines in Tablet III of the Akkadian omen series. The negative rate in the Tablet III is 78%. It is calculated that the negative rate in the Akkadian omen series is 80% at maximum, 70% at minimum. 45 SAL A‰.TE DIB-bat “a woman will seize the throne” (I 8); KUR a2 1 i-bi-lu-i 2 i-bi-lu-i “two will rule the land which one ruled” (I 91). 46 EGIR-u2 U‰ 3 U3.TU “after him, three boys will be born” (II 10). 47 E2 EN.KA-u2 BIR // E2 LU2 DAGAL-i “the house of his (the man’s) adversary will be scattered, (var.), the house of the man will expanded” (III 9); E2 EN.KA-u2 BIR EBUR KUR KUR2 KU2 “the house if his (the man’s) adversary will be scattered; enemy will enjoy the harvest of the land” (III 81). 48 E2.BI ana IGI-u2 GIN LUGAL ina URU-u2 UG6 “that house will prosper; the king will die in his own city” (IV 10). 49 LUGAL NUN.ME‰-u2 i-ze-er “the king will hate his nobles” (IV 11). 50 NUN GABA.RI NU TUK-i a2 la KUR-su A‰.TE DIB-bat-ma [...] “the prince will have no opponent; a person with no right to the throne will seize it, and [...]” (V 84); KUR NUN in-ni- ir LUGAL UGU KUR-u2 GIG-a≠ “the land of the prince will prosper; the king will behave badly toward his land” (V 91). 51 KUR EN MAN-na TUK-ma EGIR EN e-mu-qi2 GIN-ak “the land will have a different ruler, and will follow the strong(er) one” (V 9, 80); DUMU al-mat-ti A‰.TE DIB-bat “the son of a widow will seize the throne” (V 49, 50); KA KUR UGU LUGAL DUGUD-it “the word of the land will prevail over the king” (V 68). 52 NUN ina URU-u2 til-lu-tam GIN “the prince will serve on a work gang in his own city” (VII 3); NUN i-[dan-nin ...] GIG-a≠ “the prince will become s[trong]; [...] will become sick” (VII 10); ...] NUNUZ-u2 A‰.TE DIB-bat “[...] his offspring will seize the throne” (VII 76’); ...] GI‰.TUKUL LUGAL ip-pe-tu-u2 [...] “[...] the weapons of the king will be laid open(?) [...]” (VII 121’); KUR LUGAL [...] DUMU LUGAL GI.NA TUR3.BI [...] “the land of the king [...] the son of the king will be stable; that ox-fold [...]” (VII 140’). 53 DUMU al-mat-ti A‰.TE DIB-bat “the son of a widow will seize the throne” (VIII 27’, 28’); DUMU.SAL A‰.TE [DIB-bat] “the son of a daughter will [seize] the throne” (VIII 59’). 54 U‰4 KUR NI‰-ni LUGAL <
58 ORIENT Crises and Well-Being as Expressed in the Teratological Omens of Ugarit strong; the land will not be happy for six years; its (the mare’s) owner will die” (XX 19’). 61 LUGAL ZI-ma UGU KUR KUR2-u2 i-a2-as-si-ma KUR2-u2 KUR-ad EN-u2 BA.UG6 “the king will attack and threaten the land of his enemy and capture his enemy; its (the mare’s) owner will die” (XXI 10). 62 BE-ma ZI-ut GI‰.MAR [u IL2] “muster for marru-service and tupikku-service” (XXII 13’).
Vol. XLV 2010 59