Texts in Conversation
Habakkuk shares El's eternal character, using collapsing ancient mountains to show that God's power lasts beyond what seems permanent in nature.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.10 III:6
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
[…] the cows give birth […] a bull for the Maiden Anat, and […] for the In-law of the Peoples. And Mighty [Baal] answers: “[…] as our creator […] like the eternal one who formed […]” Baal strides […] the god Haddu […] the Maiden, yes the Maiden [Anat], and the loveliest of the sisters of [Baal]. Baal goes up on the [mountain], and the son of Dagan on […] Baal sits on the throne of [his kingship], the son of Dagan on the seat of [his dominion]. […] the bull […] […] the bull […] She goes and soars […] among the lovely, among the [beautiful]. A cow, a cow […] she bears a bull […] and a wild ox for […] She embraces the [cow], she embraces the cow […] and covers him with her breast.
Habakkuk 3:6
Hebrew Bible
3 God comes from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor has covered the skies, the earth is full of his glory. 4 His brightness will be as lightning; a two-pronged lightning bolt flashing from his hand. This is the outward display of his power. 5 Plague will go before him; pestilence will march right behind him. 6 He took his battle position and shook the earth; with a mere look he frightened the nations. The ancient mountains disintegrated; the primeval hills were flattened. His are ancient roads. 7 I saw the tents of Cushan overwhelmed by trouble; the tent curtains of the land of Midian were shaking. 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?
Search:
Notes and References
“... In Israel the characteristics and epithets of El became part of the repertoire
of descriptions of Yahweh. [...] In KTU 1.10 III
6 El is called drd, “ageless one,” and in KTU 1.3 V and 1.4 V, Anat and
Asherah both affirm the eternity of his wisdom.208 His eternity is also
expressed in his epithet, ‘ab šnm, “father of years.” [...] Similarly, Yahweh is
described as the aged patriarchal god (Ps. 102:28; Job 36:26; Isa. 40:28; cf.
Ps. 90:10; Isa. 57:15; Hab. 3:6; Dan. 6:26; 2 Esdras 8:20; Tobit 13:6, 10; Ben
Sira 18:30) ...”
Smith, Mark S.
The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel
(p. PDF 68) William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,