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Psalm 73 gives arrogant people the vast mouth associated with Mot in the Baal Cycle, making their claims to power over heaven and earth as threatening as Death itself.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.5 II:2
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
[…] He extends a lip to the earth, a lip to the heavens, he extends a tongue to the stars. Baal must enter his belly, down into hs mouth he must go, since he scorched the olive, the produce of the earth, and the fruit of the trees. Valiant Baal was afraid of him; Valiant Warrior was in dread of him. Depart, say to divine Mot, declare to the Beloved of El, the hero: Message of Valiant Baal, word of Valiant Warrior: Greetings, O divine Mot, your servant am I, and forever. The gods departed and did not stay. Then they set their faces towards divine Mot (death), towards his city Muddy, a pit the seat of his enthronement, a crevice the land of his inheritance. They lifted lip their voices and cried: Message of Valiant Baal, word of Valiant Warrior: Greetings, O divine Mot, your servant am I, and forever so.
Psalm 73:9
Hebrew Bible
2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped; my feet almost slid out from under me. 3 For I envied those who are proud, as I observed the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For they suffer no pain; their bodies are strong and well fed. 5 They are immune to the trouble common to men; they do not suffer as other men do. 6 Arrogance is their necklace, and violence covers them like clothing. 7 Their prosperity causes them to do wrong; their thoughts are sinful. 8 They mock and say evil things; they proudly threaten violence. 9 They speak as if they rule in heaven, and lay claim to the earth. 10 Therefore they have more than enough food to eat and even suck up the water of the sea. 11 They say, “How does God know what we do? Is the Most High aware of what goes on?”
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Notes and References
“... Th ere is some mythology of Death in
the Psalms ( DDD 598–603), but unlike the Baal-Mot confl ict in the Baal Cycle, it is not
represented as a matter of confl ict between Yahweh and Death personifi ed. Still some
imagery for Death in the Psalms (141:7; cf. Isa. 5:14; Hab. 2:5; Prov. 1:12; 27:20; 30:15–16)
echoes the traditional language found in the Baal Cycle: “One lip to the earth, one lip
to the heavens; . . . his tongue to the stars. Baal must enter inside him; he must go down
into his mouth” (KTU 1.5 II 2–5, SAC 141; cf. KTU 1.23.61–63, SAC 165). Th is mythic
image of the cosmic enemy’s ravenous mouth is transferred to descriptions of human
enemies (Ps. 73:9; cf. Isa 9:19). Another image of Death represents him as a shepherd
leading people to the underworld (Ps. 49:15[14]); this metaphor has been read in light of
the warning not to get too close to Death so that he not take “like a lamb in his mouth”
(KTU 1.4 VIII 14–20, SAC 138). ...”
Smith, Mark S.
"Canaanite Backgrounds to the Psalms" in Brown, William P. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms
(p. 52) Oxford University Press, 2014
* 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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