Texts in Conversation
Psalm 141 uses the swallowing mouth of Death known from the Baal Cycle for the grave, treating burial as capture by a power that consumes life.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.5 II:4
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 141:7
Hebrew Bible
2 May you accept my prayer like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering. 3 O Lord, place a guard on my mouth. Protect the opening of my lips. 4 Do not let me have evil desires or participate in sinful activities with men who behave wickedly. I will not eat their delicacies. 5 May the godly strike me in love and correct me. May my head not refuse choice oil. Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds. 6 They will be thrown over the side of a cliff by their judges. They will listen to my words, for they are pleasant. 7 As when one plows and breaks up the soil, so our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol. 8 Surely I am looking to you, O Sovereign Lord. In you I take shelter. Do not expose me to danger.
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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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