Go to Related Reading
About this book

KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

About this book

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 Job 10:9

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

Job 10 uses the clay-shaping image known from El's creation of a healer in the Legend of Kirta to challenge his creator, asking why the one who made him would now destroy him.

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

Job 10:9

Hebrew Bible
4 “Do you have eyes of flesh, or do you see as a human being sees? 5 Are your days like the days of a mortal, or your years like the years of a mortal, 6 that you must search out my iniquity and inquire about my sin, 7 although you know that I am not guilty, and that there is no one who can deliver out of your hand? 8 “Your hands have shaped me and made me, but now you destroy me completely. 9 Remember that you have made me as with the clay; will you return me to dust? 10 Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? 11 You clothed me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews. 12 You gave me life and favor, and your intervention watched over my spirit.
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Job

References

“... One text (KTU 1.16.5.25–​41) does mention how ʾIlu magically creates an exorcist named Shaʿtiqatu by “pinching off clay” (rt + yqrṣ), an expression used elsewhere of Enki’s and Yahweh’s creation of humanity. ...” “... The biblical references for this famous motif are Genesis 2:7 and Job 10:9; 33:6, with Job 33:6 (qoraṣtî) using the same cognate verb as in KTU 1.16.5.29 (yqrṣ) and as in the Akkadian phraseology of “pinching off” or “nipping” of the clay (karāṣu + ṭiddu/​ ṭīdu) to make humans. For the numerous Akkadian texts, as well as how ʾIlu (like Enki) also uses magic to create the exorcist Shaʿtiqatu, see Lewis 2013a, 2014a. ...”
Theodore J. Lewis, The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020), 77, 719.

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

Your feedback

KTU 1.16 V:29 and Job 10:9

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library