Texts in Conversation
Habakkuk 3 uses Baal's battle with Sea and River in the Baal Cycle to picture Israel's God defeating enemies for his people and their ruler.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.2 IV:25
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
You, your name is 'All-Driver' All-Driver, drive Yamm away, drive Yamm from his throne, Nahar from the siege of his dominion! You must leap from the hand of Baal, like a falcon from his fingers. Strike the skull of Prince Yamm (Ocean), the brow of Ruler Nahar (River)! Let Yamm collapse in a heap, and let him fall to the ground!' Then the mace leapt from the hand of Baal, like a falcon from his fingers. It struck the skull of Prince Yamm, the brow of Ruler Nahar. Yamm collapsed in a heap; he fell to the ground. His joints trembled, and his visage was discomposed. Baal gathered Up and drank Prince Yamm to the dregs, he exterminated Ruler Nahar. By name Athtart chided him Dry him Up, O Valiant Baal! Dry him up, O Charioteer of the Clouds! For our captive is Prince [Yamm], [for]
Habakkuk 3:8
Hebrew Bible
8 Was the Lord mad at the rivers? Were you angry with the rivers? Were you enraged at the sea? Such that you would climb into your horse-drawn chariots, your victorious chariots? 9 Your bow is ready for action; you commission your arrows. Selah. You cause flash floods on the earth’s surface. 10 When the mountains see you, they shake. The torrential downpour sweeps through. The great deep shouts out; it lifts its hands high. 11 The sun and moon stand still in their courses; the flash of your arrows drives them away, the bright light of your lightning-quick spear. 12 You furiously stomp on the earth; you angrily trample down the nations. 13 You march out to deliver your people, to deliver your special servant. You strike the leader of the wicked nation, laying him open from the lower body to the neck. Selah.
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Notes and References
“... The
identification of human and divine kings in battle together represents a theme
running through a good deal of biblical texts surviving from the monarchy. [...] Habakkuk 3 employs the conflict-myth in defense of the king. The
poem tells how Yahweh has come in his storm-theophany (verses 4–11) to trample
the enemy-nations (verse 12) and to save the people and his “anointed” (verse
13), the king. The divine force is arrayed against Yamm and River (verse 8), and
his theophanic vanguard includes not only the theophanic light with the Sun and
Moon (verse 11) but also destructive divine forces including Resheph (verse 5). [...] As the
warrior-god battles the cosmic enemies, his earthly counterpart, the human king,
may fight enemies on the terrestrial level. ...”
Smith, Mark S.
The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel’s Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts
(p. 158) Oxford University Press, 2001
* 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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