Texts in Conversation
2 Kings presents a foreign patron god consulted for help, assuming the deity’s effectiveness for his own people. This resembles Ugaritic references to Baal, reflecting an early Israelite henotheistic view that acknowledged other gods exist.
Share:
KTU 1.2
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
If I see and with Yam is the sieve of destruction. By Yam I shall be worm-eaten and thanks to Nahar, devoured by maggots. There, with a sword I shall destroy. I shall knock down his houses. Into the underworld will fall my strength, and into the dust my power. From his mouth his speech barely went forth, from his lips his word, and he gave forth his voice in groaning beneath the throne of Prince Yam. And Kothar-and-Hasis spoke: Indeed I say to you, O Prince Baal, I repeat, O Charioteer of the Clouds, now your foe, Baal, now your foe you must smite; now you must destroy your adversary.
Date: 2300 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
2 Kings 1:3
Hebrew Bible
1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, “Go, ask Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.” 3 But the angel of the Lord told Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up; go to meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Say this to them: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are on your way to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub the god of Ekron. 4 Therefore this is what the Lord has said, “You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!”’” So Elijah went on his way. 5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you returned?”
Tags:
Search:
Notes and References
"... One other biblical text may contain a reference to an artisan god. In 2 Kings 1:1–8 the god Baal-Zebub (בעל זבוב) does not actually appear, but the references to him in the pericope imply not only that the deity existed, but also that he was an effective deity. Since King Ahaziah was sending his messengers to seek an oracle from the god, it is not at all clear whether Baal-Zebub was worshiped as a deity of healing or as a god of oracles. Since he was considered a foreign deity, the passage implies that some local god would have sufficed for Ahaziah’s needs (2 Kings 1:3). Nothing is mentioned of Baal-Zebub that would explain his status in his own pantheon, so it is quite impossible to determine his relationship with other deities. It does seem, however, that Baal-Zebub dealt in a specialty, a skill so renowned in fact that rulers from beyond the god’s regional borders consulted him. This suggests that he may have been an artisan god ..."
Handy, Lowell K.
Among the Host of Heaven: The Syro-Palestinian Pantheon as Bureaucracy
(pp. 140-141) Eisenbrauns, 1994
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.