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In Isaiah 64, the plea for God to tear open heaven uses the same verb as Baal opening a window in his cloud palace in the Baal Cycle, asking for a visible return of divine power.
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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.
Isaiah 64:1
Hebrew Bible
1 If only you would tear apart the sky and come down! The mountains would tremble before you! 2 As when fire ignites dry wood or fire makes water boil, let your adversaries know who you are, and may the nations shake at your presence! 3 When you performed awesome deeds that took us by surprise, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. 4 Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who intervenes for those who wait for him. 5 You assist those who delight in doing what is right, who observe your commandments. Look, you were angry because we violated them continually. How then can we be saved? 6 We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind.
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Notes and References
“... Sinai in a thundercloud. Also the theophany description in Isaiah
64:1-3 starts in heaven, using the same root bdq ‘to tear open’ that
is used in KTU 1.4:VII.19.90 ...”
* 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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