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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Kirta

KTU 1.16 V

. . [ ]
. . [ ]
. . [ ]
. . . . [ ]
. . . . . . [ ]
. . . . . . [ ]
. . . . . . . . [ ]
a second time [ ]
a third time [ Then spoke]
the Kindly One [El Benignant: "Who]
among the gods can [remove the sickness],
driving out the disease?" [None among the gods]
answers him. [El] says [a fourth]
[time]: "Who among [the gods can remove]
the illness, driving o[ut the] disease?"
None among the gods a[nswers him].
He says a fifth time: "[Who among the gods]
can remove the illness, dr[iving out the] disease?"
None among the gods an[swers him]. He says a sixth,
a seventh time: "[Who] among the gods
can remove the illness, driving out the disease?"
None among the gods answers him.
Then spoke the Kindly One, El Benignant:⁠
"Remain seated, my sons, upon your seat[s],
upon yo[ur] thrones of princeship. I
will apply sorcery and will surely
bring about the removal of the illness, driving⁠
out the disease. With clay [his hand] he fills,
with good clay [ ]. He moulds⁠
. . . . . . . [ ] . . . .
[ ] dragon
[ ] dragon
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
. . . . [ ]
. . . . [ ]
a cup [he takes in his hand]
a flagon [in both his hands]:
"Do, Sha['taqat ]
. . . . . . . . [ ] Kir-
ta the Nob[le. ]
. . . . . [ ]
in the mouth of Sha[ta'qat ]
. . . . . . [ ]
Villages [fly over a hundred, towns]
fly over a m[ultitude . . . ]
sick[ness ]
the suf[fering one upon his/your head?]
. . . [ ]
. . . [ ]

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.16 V:27 and 2 Kings 20:5

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In 2 Kings 20, Hezekiah's recovery gives Israel's God the healing role held by El in Kirta's story, placing a king's return to health among the ways a god preserves royal rule.

Passages

KTU 1.16 V:27

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
None among the gods a[nswers him]. He says a fifth time: "[Who among the gods] can remove the illness, dr[iving out the] disease?" None among the gods an[swers him]. He says a sixth, a seventh time: "[Who] among the gods can remove the illness, driving out the disease?" None among the gods answers him. Then spoke the Kindly One, El Benignant: "Remain seated, my sons, upon your seat[s], upon yo[ur] thrones of princeship. I will apply sorcery and will surely bring about the removal of the illness, driving out the disease. With clay [his hand] he fills, with good clay [ ]. He moulds . . . . . . . [ ] . . . .
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

2 Kings 20:5

Hebrew Bible
4 Isaiah had not yet left the middle courtyard when the Lord’s message came to him, 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David has said: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. The day after tomorrow you will go up to the Lord’s temple. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’”
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Kings

References

“... Both El and Yahweh appear to humans in dream-visions and function as their divine patron. Like El (CAT 1.16 V–VI), Yahweh is a healing god (Genesis 20:17; Numbers 12:13; 2 Kings 20:5, 8; Psalm 107:20; cf. the personal name, reˇpa¯’e¯l, in 1 Chronicles 26:7). ...”
Mark S. Smith, The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 142.

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 1.16 V:27 and 2 Kings 20:5

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