Texts in Conversation
Micah 1 shares the Baal Cycle's image of a heavenly palace, placing God's judgment of earthly wrongdoing under the authority of the divine ruler above.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.4 VII:19
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
Baal takes his throne within the house. And Mightiest Baal declares: I will install, O Kothar, Son of Sea Kothar, Son of the Confluence: Let a window be opened in the house A vent in the midst of the palace. So let a gap in the clouds be opened According to the word of Kothar-wa-Hasis. Kothar-wa-Hasis chuckles He raises his voice and proclaims: I truly told you, O Mightiest Baal: You will return to my word. He opens a window in the house A vent in the midst of the palace. Baal opens a gap in the clouds Baal releases his sacred voice.
Micah 1:2
Hebrew Bible
2 Listen, all you nations! Pay attention, all inhabitants of earth! The Sovereign Lord will act as a witness against you; the Lord will accuse you from his majestic palace. 3 Look, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling place! He will descend and march on the earth’s mountaintops! 4 The mountains will crumble beneath him, and the valleys will split apart like wax before a fire, like water dumped down a steep slope. 5 All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion and the sins of the nation of Israel. And just what is Jacob’s rebellion? Isn’t it Samaria’s doings? And what is Judah’s sin? Isn’t it Jerusalem’s doings? 6 “I will turn Samaria into a heap of ruins in an open field, into a place for planting vineyards. I will dump the rubble of her walls down into the valley and lay bare her foundations.
Search:
Notes and References
“... Because in the next verse God descends on the heights of the earth
it is safe to assume that his holy dwelling is thought to be situated
in heaven, like the palace of the Ugaritic god Baal which in reality
was nothing but a golden mass of clouds on Mt Zaphon which Baal
tears open to make a window (KTU 1.4:VII.19).89 According to the
theophany description in Exodus 19:16-20 God descended on Mt ...”
* 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
,