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Genesis describes Tubal-Cain as the first person to work with metal, connected to his siblings who made music and tools. In Ugaritic tradition, the god Kothar-wa-Hasis is a skilled builder who also supports musicians, both highlighting how craftsmanship was seen as a gift from the divine.
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KTU 1.1
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
Then they indeed set their faces towards Kothar-wa-Hasis, towards Egypt, of all of which he is god. Create the throne of his dwelling, Egypt the land of his inheritance, over a thousand miles, ten thousand leagues. At the feet of Kothar they bowed and fell down, they paid him homage and honoured him. And they said to Kothar-wa-Hasis, they declared to Hayin, who is the ambidextrous craftsman: “Message of Bull El your father, word of the Wise One, your progenitor: Kothar, build, place in the foundry, prepare in the mountain a dwelling. Grasp your spear and your mace; let your feet hasten to me, let your legs hurry to me, towards the mountain, towards Mount Throne. For I have a word that I would say to you, a message that I would repeat to you: A word of tree and whisper of stone, the sighing of the heavens to the earth, of the deep to the stars. A word unknown to men, and which the multitudes of the earth do not understand. Come, and I shall reveal it in the midst of my divine mountain, Saphon.”
Date: 2300 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Genesis 4:22
Hebrew Bible
17 Cain was intimate with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. 19 Lamech took two wives for himself; the name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the first of those who live in tents and keep livestock. 21 The name of his brother was Jubal; he was the first of all who play the harp and the flute. 22 Now Zillah also gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who heated metal and shaped all kinds of tools made of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... smiths and griots perform similar rites for the dead, and myths ascribe their arts to a common origin, as do the myths of the Songhai. For the Hausa, sons of marriages of women from among the smiths and non-smith men are musicians, as are their own descendants. The Ugaritic text RS 24.252 calls musicians and singers the “friends” of the smith god Kothar-wa-Hasis, and the Canaanites ... Many of these elements appear in the biblical traditions associated with smiths, Kenites, and Midianites. The term “smiths” is not meant to limit the profession of the “Cain” group: among the Teda of Chad, the Congo Ekonda, the Kapsiki, the Shona, and the West African Bambara, Fula, Hausa, Mandinka, and Soninke, the same people are miners, smelters, blacksmiths, metalworkers, and tinkers—workers in gold, silver, iron, copper, or brass ... Cain’s offspring are all cultural heroes. Enoch is the creator of cities. Jabal is “the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.” Jubal is “the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe…Tubal-Cain, the forger of all implements of bronze and iron.” The biblical smiths are thus musicians, as well ..."
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