Texts in Conversation
The Song of Solomon says surging waters and floods cannot drown love. In the Baal Cycle those waters are the deities Prince Yam and Ruler Nahar, the sea and river gods Baal defeats to reign, comparing love with the forces of chaos.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.2
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
Strike the shoulders of Prince Yam, the chest of Ruler Nahar! The mace leapt from the hand of Baal, like a falcon from his fingers. It struck the shoulders of Prince Yam, the chest of Ruler Nahar. But Yam was strong, he did not flinch.
Date: 2300 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Song of Solomon 8:7
Song of Songs
Hebrew Bible
6 The Beloved to Her Lover: Set me like a cylinder seal over your heart, like a signet on your arm. For love is as strong as death; passion is as unrelenting as Sheol. Its flames burst forth; it is a blazing flame. 7 Surging waters cannot quench love; floodwaters cannot overflow it. If someone were to offer all his possessions to buy love, the offer would be utterly despised. 8 The Beloved’s Brothers: We have a little sister, and as yet she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sisteron the day when she is spoken for?
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Notes and References
... The references to 'mighty waters' (mayim rabbim) and 'floods' (neharot) in Canticles 8:7 and their inability to quench love also have a mythical background, for elsewhere in the Old Testament it is Yahweh who overcomes the waters, and in Ugaritic mythology it is Baal. Possibly, the fact that resheph accompanies Yahweh in his battle against the 'mighty waters' or 'floods' in Habakkuk 3:5 (compare verses 8 and 15 for neharim and mayim rabbim) lies behind this imagery (and ultimately Resheph's accompaniment of Baal against the dragon at Ugarit, noted above). ...
* 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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