Texts in Conversation
In Genesis 14, Melchizedek's blessing shares El's title as creator in the Tale of Aqhat, expressing his connection with Abraham through a common claim about God's authority over the world.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.17 I:24
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
Behold, on the seventh day, Baal drew near in intercession for him, at the misery of Danel, the man of healing, the groaning of the hero, the devotee of Hrnm, who had no son like his brothers, nor scion like his kinsmen! “Because having no son like his brothers, nor scion like his kinsmen, enrobed, the gods he feeds, enrobed, he gives the holy ones to drink, you must surely bless him, Bull El my father, you must surely give a blessing to him, O Creator-of-creatures, so that he may beget a son in his house, a scion in the midst of his palace. He shall set up the stela of his ancestral god, in the sanctuary the cippus of his kinsman; into the earth sending forth his dying breath, into the dust protecting his progress; he shall shut the mouths of his slanderers, he shall drive away those who are ill-disposed towards him.
Genesis 14:19
Hebrew Bible
19 He blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 Worthy of praise is the Most High God, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything. 21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and take the possessions for yourself.” 22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I raise my hand to the Lord, the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and vow 23 that I will take nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal. That way you can never say, ‘It is I who made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing except compensation for what the young men have eaten. As for the share of the men who went with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre—let them take their share.”
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Notes and References
“... Early El traditions in Israel appear not only in Exod 6:3, but also in
Genesis 49 (El parallel to Shadday in Gen 49:25, plus Asherah under-
lying "Breasts and Womb" in the same verse?); in Numbers 23-24 ("El,
who brought them from Egypt,'' has (horns) like the horns of the wild
ox" [cf. Ugaritic title, "Bull El" in KTU 1.3 V 35-36, l.414-15, etc.] in
Num 23:22 = 24:8; and El parallel to Shadday in Num 24:4)12; and in
1 Samuel 1-3 (El names, e. g., Elqanah; tradition of the tent of meeting;
El's manner of dream-appearance at night).13 In addition, other fea-
tures of El showed through the biblical text: El's title "creator," *qny
(Gen 14:19, 22); El's tent-abode as consisting of qrs in Ugaritic (cf.
qercisim for the 'ohel mo'ed in Exodus 26-40; Num 3:36, 4:31). Even if
all of the biblical texts are not particularly early, they still bear the
imprint of older tra,iition about El. ...”
Smith, Mark S.
Biblical Narrative between Ugaritic and Akkadian Literature, Part I: Ugarit and the Hebrew Bible: Consideration of Comparative Research
(p. 10) Revue biblique, 2007
* 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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