Go to Related Reading
About this book

KAI

Canaanite and Aramaic Inscriptions

About this book
Chapter 26

The offering(s) of the daily sacrifice: one ox; and at the [time of ploughing], one sheep; and at the time of harvest, one sheep. And may Baʿal the Victorious Horn bless Azatiwada with life and peace and mighty strength over every king, So that Baʿal the Victorious Horn and all the gods of the city may give to Azatiwada length of days and multitude of years and pleasant old age and mighty strength over every king. And may this city possess fullness and wine, and may this people who dwell in it become owners of oxen and owners of sheep and owners of fullness and wine. And may they bear children in abundance, and may they grow mighty in abundance, and may they serve Azatiwada in abundance and the house of Mopsos, by the grace of Baʿal and the gods. But if any king of kings, or prince of princes,⁠ or any man who is a man of renown, should erase the name of Azatiwada from this gate and put (his own) name (on it), or even should he covet this city and tear out this gate which Azatiwada made, and make for it a different gate and put his name upon it whether he tears it out with covetousness or with hatred and evil he tears out this gate—then may Baʿal-Shamem and El Creator-of-Earth⁠ and the eternal Sun and the entire assembly of the sons of the gods blot out that kingdom and that king and that man!⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare KAI 26.iii and 1 Samuel 15:11

Ancient Near East, Northwest Semitic · Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

The Aramaic text designated KAI 26 and book of 1 Samuel reflect a shared ancient Near Eastern belief that the divine realm holds the power and right to remove any ruler who acts unjustly or disobediently, even after previously instating them.

Passages

KAI 26.iii

Ancient Near East, Northwest Semitic · Canaanite and Aramaic Inscriptions
But if any king of kings, or prince of princes, or any man who is a man of renown, should erase the name of Azatiwada from this gate and put (his own) name (on it), or even should he covet this city and tear out this gate which Azatiwada made, and make for it a different gate and put his name upon it whether he tears it out with covetousness or with hatred and evil he tears out this gate—then may Baʿal-Shamem and El Creator-of-Earth and the eternal Sun and the entire assembly of the sons of the gods blot out that kingdom and that king and that man!
1200 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KAI

1 Samuel 15:11

Hebrew Bible
10 Then the Lord’s message came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do.” Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night. 12 Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, “Saul has gone to Carmel where he is setting up a monument for himself.” Then Samuel left and went down to Gilgal.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Samuel

References

"... Though there is not a great deal of source material from Syro-Palestinian texts regarding the susceptibility of kings to divine removal, the threat of reprisal against kings for disturbing another ruler’s sarcophagus is recorded. (See KAI 26.A.III.12–IV.1; and 1:2; see 1 Samuel 15:11 as well) For better or worse, it appears that the highest authority for justice in the universe was thought to be El. Gods and humans alike could petition him for redress in moral issues ..."
Lowell K. Handy, Among the Host of Heaven: The Syro-Palestinian Pantheon as Bureaucracy (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1994), 90.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Tags

Your feedback

KAI 26.iii and 1 Samuel 15:11

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library