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KAI

Canaanite and Aramaic Inscriptions

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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 Ezra 7:12

Ancient Near East, Northwest Semitic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Ezra uses the phrase “king of kings,” echoing a royal title used throughout the ancient Near East. In texts like the inscription KAI 26 and others from Ebla and Assyria, this title signals imperial authority, one king ruling over many lower kings.

Passages

KAI 26.iii

Ancient Near East, Northwest Semitic · Canaanite and Aramaic Inscriptions
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
1200 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KAI

Ezra 7:12

Hebrew Bible
11 What follows is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe. Ezra was a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and his statutes over Israel: 12 “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven: 13 I have now issued a decree that anyone in my kingdom from the people of Israel—even the priests and Levites—who wishes to do so may go up with you to Jerusalem.
400–301 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezra

References

"... an “empire” could quite literally mean the use of kingship on multiple levels simultaneously. This understanding sheds light on the title "King of Kings," which signifies not merely supreme rule but rule over a structure in which multiple kings operate under a higher king ... the title "King of Kings" signifies universal rule. It is first attested as a royal title at Ebla (mid-third millennium). It is also attested in Old Babylonian Mari (ARM 26/1 no. 22:10–18) and in Neo-Assyrian usage (SAA 3 no. 35:5; CAD Š/1 347–348). The recognition of several simultaneously reigning kings may be seen in Ugaritic mythology (AO 19938; see commentary for line 3). The recognition of several simultaneously reigning kings may also be the backdrop for inscription KAI 26 A iii 12 (= TSSI 3, 50) ..."
Lowell K. Handy, Among the Host of Heaven: The Syro-Palestinian Pantheon as Bureaucracy (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1994), 112.

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

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KAI 26.iii and Ezra 7:12

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