Texts in Conversation
Isaiah 22 and the Ugaritic text KTU describe ancient Near Eastern mourning traditions that are called for by a deity. Isaiah portrays God calling for weeping and sackcloth, while KTU depicts weeping for a dying king at Baal’s mountain.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.116
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
Like dogs shall we howl at your tomb, like whelps at the entrance to your burial chamber? Yet father, how can you possibly die, or will your burial chamber be given over to howling on the part of women, O my wretched father? They weep for you, father, the mountain of Baal, Saphon, the holy stronghold of Nan, the mighty stronghold, the citadel of vast expanse. Is Keret then the son of El, the offspring of the Wise and Holy One? He entered into the presence of his father: he wept and gnashed his teeth. He gave forth his voice in weeping:
Date: 2300 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Isaiah 22:12
Hebrew Bible
11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool—but you did not trust in the one who made it; you did not depend on the one who formed it long ago. 12 At that time the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies called for weeping and mourning, for shaved heads and sackcloth. 13 But look, there is outright celebration! You say, “Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep, eat meat and drink wine. Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
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Notes and References
“... For public lamentation, wailing women were engaged to mourn and cry aloud, sing the wailing song (qīnāh), and perform expressive body rites (Jeremiah 9:16, 19; Ezekiel 32:16; 2 Chronicles 35:25). The inclusion of wailing woman, most likely recruited from the larger family and neighborhoods, illustrates that mourning the dead crossed the realm of nuclear and joint families to include the broader community (such as the co-residential lineage [mišpāhāh], the village, or the neighbors) and to make public the hole that had been made by the death. ...”
Albertz, Rainer and Rüdiger Schmitt
Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant
(p. 434) Eisenbrauns, 2012
* 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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