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In 2 Kings 16, Ahaz's claim to be a foreign king's servant shares the political language of Ugaritic letters, expressing submission to another ruler and dependence on his protection.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 2.23:3
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
And thus spoke the Sun, the Great King, my lord: […] […] the embassy of his servant he sends to your lord […] my embassy with him […] the embassy of your servant, when it arrives, the embassy of the Sun, the Great [King], my [lord] […] I know […] [the Sun], the Great King, my [lord] […] […] [the Sun], the Great [King], […] [my lord]. And I […] I ask [for life for the] Sun, the [Great] King, [my lord]. Indeed I [ask] for life of [soul] before Baal of Sapan, my lord, and length of days for my lord, before Amun and before the gods of Egypt, who guard the soul of the Sun, the Great King, my lord.
2 Kings 16:7
Hebrew Bible
4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree. 5 At that time King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel attacked Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz, but were unable to conquer him. 6 (At that time King Rezin of Syria recovered Elat for Syria; he drove the Judahites from there. Syrians arrived in Elat and live there to this very day.) 7 Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your dependent. March up and rescue me from the power of the king of Syria and the king of Israel, who have attacked me.” 8 Then Ahaz took the silver and gold that were in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as tribute to the king of Assyria.
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Notes and References
“... 312Ug. 'bd is used in Ugarit to denote the vassal of the Great King (KTU 2.23:3;
2.39:6), like the Akkadian word ardu, "slave" (PRU IV:49, line 12). The use of
עבדin this text is the typically political language for vassalage (cf. also 2 Kings
16:7; 17:3; 24:1; Ezra 9:10; 2 Chron. 12:8) and forms a parallel to the bringing
of tribute; ...”
* 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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