Texts in Conversation
In the Legend of Keret, the king’s decline and death is described as reaching the sunset, a poetic image for the approaching end. Psalm 90 uses similar language, portraying human life as brief and fading like the evening sunset.
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Legend of Keret III
Epic of Kirta
Ancient Near East
Is Kirta, your father, then, ill? Valiant Ilha'u answers: No, the king's not direly sick; Kirta your father's not ill. Kirta is having a feast; The king is making a banquet. She approaches her brother and cries out: Why have you deceived me? He's been sick how many a month? How many has Kirta been ill? Valiant Ilha'u answers For three months has he been sick; For four has Kirta been ill. It seems Kirta's reaching the sunset, the grave. She bellows, she raises a wail; Like a cripple, she the door, Stripped down, without, without makeup.
Date: 1500 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Psalm 90:6
Hebrew Bible
3 You make mankind return to the dust, and say, “Return, O people.” 4 Yes, in your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday that quickly passes, or like one of the divisions of the nighttime. 5 You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.” In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up: 6 In the morning it glistens and sprouts up; at evening time it withers and dries up. 7 Yes, we are consumed by your anger; we are terrified by your wrath. 8 You are aware of our sins; you even know about our hidden sins.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... A figure for the end of life (compare, e.g., Psalm 90:6; Job 4:20) or, as in Egyptian thought, a portal to the netherworld ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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