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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Kirta

KTU 1.14 III

like grasshoppers on the borders of the desert.
March a day and a second; a third, a fourth day;
a fifth, a sixth day. Behold, at sunrise
on the seventh you will arrive at Udum
the Great, even at Udum the Grand.
And attack the villages, harass
the towns. Sweep from the fields
her woodcutters, from the threshing-floors the straw-pickers.
Sweep from the spring the women that draw, from the fountain
the women that fill. Wait a day and a second;
a third, a fourth day; a fifth,
a sixth day: do not shoot your arrows
into the city, (nor) your hand-stone
flung headlong. And behold, at sunrise
on the seventh, King Pabil will
sleep until the noise of the neighing of his stallion,
until the sound of the braying of his donkey,
until the lowing of the plough-ox, the howling
of the watch-dog. Then he will send
two messengers to you, to Kirta,
to the camp:—'Message of King Pabil:
Take silver and yellow-glittering gold;
. . . . . . . . . . and perpetual slaves;
a groom, horses, chariots
from the stable of the son of a handmaid.
Take, Kirta, make peace,
make peace. And flee, O king,
from my house; withdraw, O Kirta,
from my court. Do not harass
Udum the Great, even Udum the Grand.
Udum is a gift of El, even a present
of the Father of Man (Adam).' Then send
the two messengers back to him:—'What need have I
of silver and yellow-glittering gold;
. . . . . . . . . . and perpetual
slaves; a groom, horses, chariots,
from the stables of the son of a handmaid?
A possession that is not in my house you shall give!
Give me Lady Hurraya,⁠
the fairest of the offspring of your firstborn;
whose grace is like the grace of Anat,
[whose] beau[ty] like the beauty of Athtart;
whose eyeballs are the pureness of lapis, whose pup[ils]
the gleam of garnet . . . [ ] . .—
let me bask in the brightness of her eyes—
whom in my dream El bestowed,⁠
in my vision the Father of Man (Adam).
And let her bear offspring to Kirta,
and a lad to the Servant of El.'"—
Kirta looked, and (it was) a dream;
the Servant of El, and (it was) a fantasy.—
He washed and rouged himself;
he washed his hands to the elbow,
his fingers up to the shoulder.
He entered the shade of a pavilion. He took
a lamb of offering in his hand,
a kid in the other hand,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
He took a msrr, bird of sacrif[ice].

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.14 III:46 and Genesis 18:10

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

The Legend of Kirta and Genesis 18 both describe a deity promising that a hero's wife will bear a son. In Kirta, El promises Hurraya will bear a child for the childless Kirta; in Genesis, God tells Abraham that Sarah will have a son.

Passages

KTU 1.14 III:46

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
A possession that is not in my house you shall give! Give me Lady Hurraya, the fairest of the offspring of your firstborn; whose grace is like the grace of Anat, [whose] beau[ty] like the beauty of Athtart; whose eyeballs are the pureness of lapis, whose pup[ils] the gleam of garnet . . . [ ] . .— let me bask in the brightness of her eyes— whom in my dream El bestowed, in my vision the Father of Man (Adam). And let her bear offspring to Kirta, and a lad to the Servant of El.'"— Kirta looked, and (it was) a dream; the Servant of El, and (it was) a fantasy.—
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Genesis 18:10

Hebrew Bible
9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, in the tent.” 10 One of them said, “I will surely return to you when the season comes round again, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, especially when my husband is old too?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child when I am old?’ 14 Is anything impossible for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” 15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.”
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

References

"... the patriarchal tales in Genesis display a number of broad similarities with these Ugaritic father tales in terms of plot development. The biblical and Ugaritic stories concern a father, portrayed as pious or favored by the god(s), who lacks an heir or a wife. The deity or deities promise the father that he will have offspring to carry on the line, but this promise is compromised in some manner. The challenge is remedied, although in some cases the expected heir fails to qualify or does not survive to inherit, and a younger or socially liminal (female in the Ugaritic texts) family member either inherits or comes to the aid of the father’s interests ..."
Joel S. Baden and Jeffrey Stackert, eds., The Oxford Handbook of the Pentateuch (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021), 729.

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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KTU 1.14 III:46 and Genesis 18:10

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