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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Aqhat

KTU 1.17 I

Then let Danel, the man of healing, at once let the hero, the devotee of Hrnm,
[the gods], [Danel], enrobed, the gods he fed,
let him take up a couch and lie down. Let him take off his robe, go up and lie down.
take off his clothes and go to bed.
Lo, a day and a second,
enrobed, the gods Danel, enrobed, the gods he fed, enrobed, he gave the holy ones to drink.
A third, a fourth day,
enrobed, the gods Danel, enrobed, the gods he fed, enrobed, he gave the holy ones to drink.
A fifth, a sixth day, enrobed, the gods Danel, enrobed, the gods he fed, enrobed, he gave the holy ones to drink.
Danel took off his robe;
he took off his robe, went up and lay down, he took off his clothes and went to bed.
Behold, on the seventh day,⁠
Baal drew near in intercession for him, at the misery of Danel, the man of healing,
the groaning of the hero, the devotee of Hrnm,
who had no son like his brothers, nor scion like his kinsmen!
“Because having no son like his brothers, nor scion like his kinsmen,
enrobed, the gods he feeds, enrobed, he gives the holy ones to drink,
you must surely bless him, Bull El my father,⁠
you must surely give a blessing to him, O Creator-of-creatures,⁠
so that he may beget a son in his house, a scion in the midst of his palace.
He shall set up the stela of his ancestral god, in the sanctuary the cippus of his kinsman;⁠
into the earth sending forth his dying breath,
into the dust protecting his progress; he shall shut the mouths of his slanderers,
he shall drive away those who are ill-disposed towards him.
Taking his hand when he is drunk, supporting him when sated with wine;
he shall serve up his share in the house of Baal, and his portion in the house of El;
he shall plaster his roof on a muddy day,
he shall wash his clothes on a filthy day.
[…] takes […]; his servant he blesses,
[Dan]el, the man of healing; he gives a blessing to the hero,
[the devotee of] Hrnm: “May Danel live in soul,
[the man of healing], in breath the hero, the devotee of Hrnm.
[…] let him go up to his bed
[and lie down]. When he kisses his wife,
[…] in his embrace, conception;
[…] birth, conception
[for the man of healing], so that he may beget a son
[in his house], [a scion] in the midst of his palace.
[He shall set up the stela of] his [ancestral god], in the sanctuary
[the cippus of his kinsman]; [into the] earth sending forth
[his dying breath], [into the dust] protecting his progress;
[he shall shut the mouths of his slanderers], he shall drive away those who are ill-disposed

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.17 I:15 and Exodus 24:16

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Exodus 24 shares the Tale of Aqhat's pattern of divine help arriving on a seventh day, when Baal speaks up for Danel after six days of offerings, making Moses' wait a completed preparation for meeting God.

Passages

KTU 1.17 I:15

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Lo, a day and a second, enrobed, the gods Danel, enrobed, the gods he fed, enrobed, he gave the holy ones to drink. A third, a fourth day, enrobed, the gods Danel, enrobed, the gods he fed, enrobed, he gave the holy ones to drink. A fifth, a sixth day, enrobed, the gods Danel, enrobed, the gods he fed, enrobed, he gave the holy ones to drink. Danel took off his robe; he took off his robe, went up and lay down, he took off his clothes and went to bed. Behold, on the seventh day, Baal drew near in intercession for him, at the misery of Danel, the man of healing, the groaning of the hero, the devotee of Hrnm, who had no son like his brothers, nor scion like his kinsmen!
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Exodus 24:16

Hebrew Bible
13 So Moses set out with Joshua his attendant, and Moses went up the mountain of God. 14 He told the elders, “Wait for us in this place until we return to you. Here are Aaron and Hur with you. Whoever has any matters of dispute can approach them.” 15 Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the Lord resided on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in plain view of the people. 18 Moses went into the cloud when he went up the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Exodus

References

“... Seven-day units are common in biblical literature. For the scale of numbers up to ten, seven was the number used to mark completion or fulh1ess. Seven days is the length of the joumey in Genesis 31:23.6 It applies also to the time of the Samson's wedding feast in Judges 14:12-15 and to the period of Job's lamentation in Job 2:13. It is the number of times the psalmist praises God in Psalm 119:164 and the number of persons to whom the generous soul is to make donations in Ecclesiastes 11:2. Seven days was traditional for other religious pe1iods in both Ugaritic and biblical literature. It was on the seventh day of Danil's rite in the temple that Baal interceded for him and El blessed him (KTU 1.17 I 15-16),1 just as it was on the seventh day that God called to Moses on the cloud-covered mountain (Exodus 24:16).8 In what the biblical scholar Michael David Coogan cleverly calls a "final parade example," the fall of Jericho occurred on the seventh day after seven p1iests with seven trumpets marched seven times around the city (Joshua 6:15-16)0 Seven is also the well-known number of years of prosperity and scarcity in the Joseph story in Genesis 41:26-31;10 the best silver is refined seven times according to Psalm 12:6 (MT 7); and seven is the number of abominations harbored in the mind of the deceitful enemy in Proverbs 26:25. ...”
Mark S. Smith, The Priestly Vision of Genesis 1 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2010), PDF 151–152.

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 1.17 I:15 and Exodus 24:16

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