Texts in Conversation
In 2 Kings 20, Hezekiah's recovery gives Israel's God the healing role held by El in Kirta's story, placing a king's return to health among the ways a god preserves royal rule.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.16 V:27
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
None among the gods a[nswers him]. He says a fifth time: "[Who among the gods] can remove the illness, dr[iving out the malady]?" None among the gods an[swers him]. He says a sixth, a seventh time: "[Who] among the gods can remove the illness, driving out the malady?" None among the gods answers him. Then spoke the Kindly One, El Benignant: "Remain seated, my sons, upon your seat[s], upon yo[ur] thrones of princeship. I will apply sorcery and will surely compass the removal of the illness, driving out the malady. With clay [his hand] he fills, with goodly clay [ ]. He moulds . . . . . . . [ ] . . . .
2 Kings 20:5
Hebrew Bible
4 Isaiah had not yet left the middle courtyard when the Lord’s message came to him, 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David has said: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. The day after tomorrow you will go up to the Lord’s temple. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’”
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Notes and References
“... Both El and Yahweh appear to humans in dream-visions and
function as their divine patron. Like El (CAT 1.16 V–VI), Yahweh is a healing
god (Genesis 20:17; Numbers 12:13; 2 Kings 20:5, 8; Psalm 107:20; cf. the personal
name, reˇpa¯’e¯l, in 1 Chronicles 26:7). ...”
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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