Texts in Conversation
Psalm 86 uses the compassion associated with El in the Baal Cycle to appeal for God's help against enemies, making an older divine title a reason to trust in protection.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.6 I:49
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
At the feet of El she bowed and fell down, she paid him homage and honoured him. She lifted up her voice and cried: Let her rejoice now Athirat and her sons, the goddess and the band of her kinsmen! For dead is Valiant Baal, for perished is the Prince, Lord of the Earth! Aloud cried El to the Great Lady-who-tramples-Yamm Listen, O Great Lady-who-tramples-Yamm. Give the first of your sons; I shall make him king. And the Great Lady-who-tramples-Yamm replied Shall we not make king one who has knowledge and wit? And the Compassionate, El of mercy, replied LLet the finest of pigments be ground, let the people of Baal prepare unguents, the people of the the Son of Dagan crushed herbs. The Great Lady-who-tramples-Yamm replied: Indeed, let us make Athtar the Brilliant king Athtar the Brilliant shall rule!
Psalm 86:15
Hebrew Bible
11 O Lord, teach me how you want me to live. Then I will obey your commands. Make me wholeheartedly committed to you. 12 O Lord, my God, I will give you thanks with my whole heart. I will honor your name continually. 13 For you will extend your great loyal love to me and will deliver my life from the depths of Sheol. 14 O God, arrogant men attack me; a gang of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life. 15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God. You are patient and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness. 16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me. Give your servant your strength. Deliver this son of your female servant. 17 Show me evidence of your favor. Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed, for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me.
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Notes and References
“... El and Yahweh are rendered with a similar compassionate disposition toward
humanity. Like El, Yahweh is a father (Deuteronomy 32:6; Isaiah 63:16, 64:7;
Jeremiah 3:4, 19; 31:9; Malachi 1:6, 2:10; cf. Exodus 4:22; Hosea 11:1) with a
compassionate disposition, many times expressed as “merciful and gracious god,”
’e¯l-ra¯hfiuˆm weˇhfiannuˆn (Exodus 34:6; Jonah 4:2; Joel 2:13; Psalms 86:15; 103:8; 145:
8; Nehemiah 9:17). ...”
Smith, Mark S.
The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel’s Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts
(p. 142) 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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