Go to Related Reading
About this book

KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

About this book

Kirta

KTU 1.16 VI

[D]eath, be broken; Sha'taqat,
prevail."—And so Sha'taqat departs;
into Kirta's house she goes.
Bkt she penetrates and enters,
Nṣrt she enters to its innermost recess.
Towns she flies over a hundred,
villages she flies over a multitude.
The invalid she⁠ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,
the suffering one upon his/her head,
and proceeds to wash him clean of sweat.
His desire for bread she opens,
his appetite for food.
Death, on the one hand, is broken; Sha'taqat,
on the other, has prevailed.—Then Kirta
the Noble commands, raising his voice
and calling: "Listen, O Lady
Hurraya. Prepare a lamb
that I may eat, a lamb that I may dine."
Lady Hurraya listens.
She prepares a lamb and he eats,
a lamb and he dines. Behold a day
and a second, Kirta returns to his former estate;
he sits upon the throne of kingship;
upon the dais, the seat of authority.
Yassib also sits in the palace,⁠
and his inward parts instruct him:⁠
"Go to your father, Yassib. Go
[to] your fa[ther] and speak, repeat
to Kir[ta the Noble]: Lis[ten]
and incline [(your) ear. For . . . . . . . . . ]
. . . . and . . . . . [ ]
You have let your hand fall into mischief.
You used to judge the cause of the widow,
to adjudicate the case of the wretched.
Since you have become a brother of the bed of sickness,
a companion of the bed of suffering,
descend from the kingship—I will be king;
in your authority I will sit."—
Yassib the Lad departs. Into his
father's presence he enters. He lifts up his voice
and cries: "Listen, please, O Kirta
the Noble! Listen, and incline (your) ear.
For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . You have let your
hand fall into mischief. You used to judge the⁠
cause of the widow, to adjudicate the⁠
case of the wretched, to drive out
those who prey upon the poor, to feed⁠
before you the orphan, behind
your back the widow. Since
you have become a brother of the bed of sickness, a companion
of the bed of suffering, descend from the kingship—
I will be king; in your authority I will
sit."—And [K]irta the Noble answers:
"May Horon break, O my son, may Horon break⁠
your head, Athtart Name of Baal your
skull. May you fall into . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(Colophon:) Written by Ilimilku; donated by

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.16 VI:48 and Exodus 22:22

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

Exodus shares Ugarit's expectation that widows and orphans must be protected, turning a duty demanded of kings into a rule backed by God's threat of punishment.

Passages

KTU 1.16 VI:48

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . You have let your hand fall into mischief. You used to judge the cause of the widow, to adjudicate the case of the wretched, to drive out those who prey upon the poor, to feed before you the orphan, behind your back the widow. Since you have become a brother of the bed of sickness, a companion of the bed of suffering, descend from the kingship— I will be king; in your authority I will sit."—And [K]irta the Noble answers: "May Horon break, O my son, may Horon break your head, Athtart Name of Baal your skull. May you fall into . . . . . . . . . . .
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Exodus 22:22

Hebrew Bible
22 “You must not afflict any widow or orphan. 23 If you afflict them in any way and they cry to me, I will surely hear their cry, 24 and my anger will burn and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children will be fatherless. 25 “If you lend money to any of my people who are needy among you, do not be like a moneylender to him; do not charge him interest. 26 If you do take the garment of your neighbor in pledge, you must return it to him by the time the sun goes down, 27 for it is his only covering—it is his garment for his body. What else can he sleep in? And when he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am gracious.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Exodus

References

“... long time his eldest son who was aspiring to succeed him reproached his father for not having fed the orphan (ytm, masc.; see also KTU 4.618:3) and widow (KTU 1.16:VI.48-50). ...” “... Care for the orphan is also part of the ethics of the Hebrew Bible. Exod. 22:21 [22] prohibits their affliction: 'You shall not abuse any widow or orphan'. Deuteronomy shows a special interest in the weak, i.e., the alien, the orphan and the widow, and stipulates several regu- lations regarding proper conduct towards them. ...”
Hennie J. Marsman, Women in Ugarit and Israel: Their Social and Religious Position in the Context of the Ancient Near East (Leiden: Brill, 2003), PDF 334.

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 VI:48 and Exodus 22:22

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library