Texts in Conversation
In the Legend of Keret, the ill king asks for food after his recovery, and his son Yassib demands he step down from the throne. In Genesis 27, the aging Isaac asks Esau to hunt game so he may bless him before death, triggering a succession crisis.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Legend of Keret
Epic of Kirta
Ancient Near East
“Death, be broken; Sha’taqat, prevail.” So Sha’taqat departs and enters Keret’s house. She goes straight into its innermost chamber. She flies over a hundred towns, over a multitude of villages. She lifts the invalid, the one suffering, onto her shoulders and washes him clean of sweat. She restores his desire for bread, his appetite for food. On one side, death is broken; on the other, Sha’taqat has prevailed. Then Keret the Noble raises his voice and says, “Listen, Lady Hurriya. Prepare a lamb so I may eat, a yearling so I may dine.” Lady Hurriya listens. She prepares a lamb and he eats, a yearling and he dines. After one day, and then another, Keret returns to his former place. He sits again on the throne of kingship, on the dais, the seat of authority. Yassib also sits in the palace, and his inward parts instruct him. He says to himself, “Go to your father, Yassib. Speak to him and say: Listen, Keret the Noble, and hear me. You’ve done wrong. You were supposed to judge the case of the widow, to defend the cause of the wretched. But now you’ve become like a brother to the sickbed, a companion of suffering. Step down from kingship. I will be king. With your authority, I will sit on the throne.”
Date: 1500 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Genesis 27:4
Hebrew Bible
1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau replied. 2 Isaac said, “Since I am so old, I could die at any time. 3 Therefore, take your weapons—your quiver and your bow—and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game for me. 4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then I will eat it so that I may bless you before I die.” 5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before I die.’
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Notes and References
"... a child’s acquiring hunted food for the father, a type of filial duty (Genesis 27:1–40; KTU 1.17 v 33–39); travel to another city or region to acquire a wife (Genesis 24:1–67; KTU 1.14 ii 30–iii 44; iv 8–1.15 i 8); the death or threat to the life of the heir or the father (Genesis 22:1–19; 32:4–13, 14–33; 33:1–15; in Kirta, see KTU 1.15 iii 26–30 followed thematically by v 11–23; 1.16 i 1–vi 14; in Aqhat see 1.17 vi–18 iv); trickery, including use of disguises (Genesis 25:21–33; 27:1–41; 29:24–30; 30:25–43; 31:19–35; KTU 1.19 iv 33–63); rebellion or impiety by the heir or child (Genesis 27:30–45; 35:22; 37:1–36; KTU 1.16 vi 25–59; 1.17 vi 11–47; compare Genesis 4:1–16); a father’s blessing or cursing his children (Genesis 27:25–29, 38–40; 48:8–20; 49:1–27, 28; KTU 1.16 vi 55–59; 1.19 iv 29–41; compare Genesis 9:20–27) ..."
Baden, Joel S., Jeffrey Stackert, and Christoph Berner (eds.)
The Oxford Handbook of the Pentateuch
(p. 730) Oxford University Press, 2021
* 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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