Texts in Conversation
Deuteronomy 32 turns the eagle movement used for Anat's deadly attack in the Tale of Aqhat into a picture of God's care, making the same bird imagery express protection rather than danger.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.18 IV:21
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
I will place you like an eagle in my belt, like a hawk in my quiver. Aqhat, [as he sits] to eat, the son of Danel to dine, [over him] eagles will soar, will watch, a [flock of] hawks. Among the eagles I myself will soar; over Aqhat I will place you. Strike him twice on the head, three times above the ear. Pour out, like a slaughterer, his blood, as one slaughtering, onto his knees. Let go out, like a wind, his breath, like spittle, his spirit, like smoke from his nostrils. […] I will not let live.” She took Yatpan, the warrior of the Lady; she placed him like an eagle in her belt, like a hawk in her quiver. Aqhat, as he sat down to e[at], the son of Danel to dine, over him eagles soared, a flock of haw[ks] watched. [Among] the eagles Anat soared. Over [Aqhat] she placed him. He struck him twice [on the head],
Deuteronomy 32:11
Hebrew Bible
7 Remember the ancient days; bear in mind the years of past generations. Ask your father and he will inform you, your elders, and they will tell you. 8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided up humankind, he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the heavenly assembly. 9 For the Lord’s allotment is his people, Jacob is his special possession. 10 The Lord found him in a desolate land, in an empty wasteland where animals howl. He continually guarded him and taught him; he continually protected him like the pupil of his eye. 11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, so the Lord spread out his wings and took him, he lifted him up on his pinions. 12 The Lord alone was guiding him, no foreign god was with him.
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Notes and References
“... Deuteronomy 32:11; and KTU 1.18 IV 21, 31 and 32; see Parker, “Aqhat,” 66, 68. See also the root applied to Anat in KTU 1.108.8 (noted in the discussion in HALOT 1219–1220). The verb in the Ugaritic passages is often translated as “hover,” but it is unclear that birds hover as such; flying, soaring, gliding, and swooping are more proper characterizations of how birds move. ... Following citation of the biblical evidence, Brown (Seven Pillars) suggests: “The sense in Gen. 1:2 is that of God’s breath suspended over the waters, like a vulture riding the updraft of a warm current of air, gently moving back and forth or fluctuating, but poised to act (cf. Gen. 1:9; 8:1).” Noting the root in Ugaritic, Cross (Canaanite Myth, 323) regards its use in Gen. 1:2 to be an “archaism.” ...”
* 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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