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Psalm 68 describes YHWH as the one who rides the clouds, language that echoes the Ugaritic title “Cloud-Rider” used for Baal in the Baal Cycle. This follows an ancient Near Eastern tradition where storm deities are depicted riding through the heavens.
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KTU I.3
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
She spoke up and cried out, “Why have Gupan and Ugar come here? What enemy rises up against Baal? What rival faces the Cloud-Rider? Didn’t I crush El’s beloved, Yam (Ocean)? Didn’t I annihilate Nahar (River), the great god? Didn’t I leash Dragon and bind him in a saddle? I crushed the Sinuous Serpent, Encircler, the seven-headed monster. I crushed the gods’ beloved, Arsha. I ravaged El’s young bull, Ataka. I crushed the gods’ she-wolf, Fire.
Date: 2300 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Psalm 68:4
Hebrew Bible
2 As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away. As wax melts before fire, so the wicked are destroyed before God. 3 But the godly are happy; they rejoice before God and are overcome with joy. 4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name. Exalt the one who rides on the clouds. For the Lord is his name. Rejoice before him. 5 He is a father to the fatherless and an advocate for widows. God rules from his holy dwelling place.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Several explicit parallels between the Baal Cycle's account of Baal's struggle against Yamm and Daniel 7:9-14 have led to the widespread endorsement of an Ugaritic provenance (KTU 1.2.IV:7-9) ... Baal’s stock epithet, 'Rider of the Clouds,' occurs in this passage and is considered to be the inspiration for the Hebrew phrasings in Daniel 7:13. This specific title is transparently used in the Hebrew Bible for Yahweh himself, as scholars have recognized for many years. Psalm 68 (Hebrew) exhorts the reader to 'Extol the Rider upon the clouds by his name, Yah' and to '(Sing praises) To Him who rides on the ancient high heavens'. Isaiah 19:1 reads: 'The oracle against Egypt: Behold, the LORD (YHWH) rides upon a swift cloud.' Yahweh 'makes the clouds his chariot' and 'walks on the wings of the wind' in Psalm 104:1-3. Finally, in Deuteronomy 33:26, we read, 'O Jeshurun, there is none like God, who rides the heavens to help you; (who rides) the clouds in His majesty.' ..."
Heiser, Michael S.
The Baal Cycle as Backdrop to Daniel 7: A Paradigm for Jewish Binitarianism and the New Testament’s High Christology
(pp. 1-16) Evangelical Theological Society, 2003
* 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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