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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:29 and Isaiah 45:9

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In Isaiah 45, the clay questioning its potter reverses the helpful role of El's clay-made healer in the Legend of Kirta, using a familiar image of created life to challenge resistance to God's plans.

Passages

KTU 1.16 V:29

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
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 ]
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Isaiah 45:9

Hebrew Bible
9 One who argues with his Creator is in grave danger, one who is like a mere shard among the other shards on the ground! The clay should not say to the potter, “What in the world are you doing? Your work lacks skill!” 10 Danger awaits one who says to his father, “What in the world are you fathering?” and to his mother, “What in the world are you bringing forth?” 11 This is what the Lord says, the Holy One of Israel, the one who formed him, concerning things to come: “How dare you question me about my children! How dare you tell me what to do with the work of my own hands! 12 I made the earth; I created the people who live on it. It was me—my hands stretched out the sky. I give orders to all the heavenly lights.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

References

“... The clay here stands for humans, themselves made out of clay (on which see note 217). The pottery imagery here suggests a clay figurine coming to life to speak out against its potter. Cf. the animated clay figure of Shatiqatu at Ugarit (who strives helpfully alongside ʾIlu, not against the deity, as we have here in our text; cf. Lewis 2013a, 2014b). That most clay figurines regularly had arms and hands while others were stylized without arms (cf. the Judean pillar figurines, on which see Kletter 1996; Darby 2014) makes the criticism in 45:9 “your work has no hands [yādayim]” very understandable. There is no need to translated yādayim as the “handles” on a pot (so NRSV). ...”
Theodore J. Lewis, The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020), 841.

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:29 and Isaiah 45:9

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