Texts in Conversation
In the Legend of Keret, El takes a cup in hand and blesses King Kirta with seven sons. Genesis 49 echoes this blessing language, calling on El the father who helps Joseph and Shaddai who blesses him with descendants.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Legend of Keret 5:4
Epic of Kirta
Ancient Near East
Afterwards there came the gods to the assembly, and Valiant Baal spoke: 'Come, O Wise One, perceptive god, bless indeed Keret the votary, give a blessing indeed to the gracious one, heir of El.' El took a cup in his hand, a goblet in his right hand; he did indeed bless his servant, he blessed Keret the votary, he gave a blessing to the gracious one, heir of El: 'Take a wife, O Keret, take a wife to your house, bring a sacred bride into your dwelling: she will bear you seven sons, and multiply them eightfold for you.
Date: 1500 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Genesis 49:25
Hebrew Bible
24 But his bow will remain steady, and his hands will be skillful; because of the hands of the Powerful One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25 because of the God of your father, who will help you, because of the Sovereign God, who will bless you with blessings from the sky above, blessings from the deep that lies below, and blessings of the breasts and womb. 26 The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the eternal mountains or the desirable things of the age-old hills. They will be on the head of Joseph and on the brow of the prince of his brothers.
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Notes and References
... The blessing god is quite clear in the Ugaritic texts. In the story of Kirta, the god El leads a party of deities to the home of Kirta. El is asked by Baal to provide a blessing. Baal says to El (1.15 II 14-16): ’Surely you will bless him, Bull El my Father, Strengthen him, Creator of Creatures.’ El takes a chalice in hand (1.15 II 16-18), and performs the blessing (1.15 II 18-20): He surely blessed... El blessed Kirta... [Strengthen]ed the Pleasant One, El’s lad. The content of the blessing follows (1.15 II 21-28). El’s blessing appears also in the following column (1.15 III 2-16). As the final first person verb is singular, the speech seems to belong to an individual. After the speech is finished, the narrative relates that the gods offer blessing and they depart (1.15 III 17-19). It would seem then that El blesses in the name of the deities present. ...
Smith, Mark S.
"The Blessing God and Goddess in Early Israel" in Eidevall, Göran; Scheuer, Blaženka (ed.) Enigmas and Images: Studies in Honor of Tryggve N. D. Mettinger
(p. 214) Eisenbrauns, 2011
* 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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