Go to Related Reading
About this book

KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

About this book

Hymn to Athtart

KTU 1.180

Hear, Athtart, the singer's voice
I will sing the name of the Lioness, the name […]⁠
[…] of the mountain of El
Leopard […] Athtart
Leopard […] she leaps

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.180:2 and Psalm 7:2

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

An Ugaritic hymn praises the goddess Athtart as a lion and a pouncing panther, but Psalm 7 gives the lion image to human enemies, emphasizing how helpless the victim is without God's protection.

Passages

KTU 1.180:2

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Hear, Athtart, the singer's voice I will sing the name of the Lioness, the name […] […] of the mountain of El Leopard […] Athtart Leopard […] she leaps
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Psalm 7:2

Hebrew Bible
1 A musical composition by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning a Benjaminite named Cush. O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter. Deliver me from all who chase me. Rescue me! 2 Otherwise they will rip me to shreds like a lion; they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me. 3 O Lord my God, if I have done what they say, or am guilty of unjust actions, 4 or have wronged my ally, or helped his lawless enemy, 5 may an enemy relentlessly chase me and catch me; may he trample me to death and leave me lying dishonored in the dust. (Selah) 6 Stand up angrily, Lord. Rise up with raging fury against my enemies. Wake up for my sake, and execute the judgment you have decreed for them.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

“... Th e name of ‘Athtart let my voice sing, may I praise the name of the lion. O name, may you be victorious over . . . may you (or, she) shut the jaw of El’s attackers. A great panther is ‘Athtart, a great panther that pounces. Th is hymnic piece consists of three parallel bicola. Th e combination of the parallel verbs to sing and praise in the fi rst bicolon is regular in biblical psalms (e.g., 101:1; 104:33; cf. 18:49; Pardee 2012: 82–83). Just as praise of ‘Athtart’s name marks the fi rst bicolon of her hymn, so praise of Yahweh’s name serves in the opening of Psalm 29: “Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name.” Praise of the divine name is an important feature in the frame of Psalm 8 (Ps. 8:2[1]  = 8:10[9]) and for the closing of Psalm 18 (in v. 50[49]). Similarly, blessing of the divine name opens Psalm 103. In the Ugaritic hymn, the god- dess is compared to a lion and a panther. While such an image for Yahweh can be found outside of the Psalter (Hos. 13:8), this biblical book uses lion imagery for enemies who attack the speaker (e.g., Pss. 7:3[2], 10:9; 17:12; 22:14[13], 22[21]). ...”
Mark S. Smith, “Canaanite Backgrounds to the Psalms,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms, ed. William P. Brown (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 47.

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 1.180:2 and Psalm 7:2

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library