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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Rephaim

KTU 1.22 I

[…]
[…] here is your son, here […]
your son's son in your place; here the [hero] […]
your hand; the little one will kiss your lips. There
shoulder by shoulder are the brothers whom El raised up⁠
[…]. There […] the name of El, the men
[…] the name of El, the heroes.
There Tmq, the Rephaite of Baal, the soldier of Baal⁠
and the soldier of Anat. There Yhpn the mighty,
the prince, the eternal king. When
Anat goes hunting, […] the birds of the sky.
Oxen are slaughtered, sheep as well; bulls are felled
and fatted rams, year-old calves,
lambs, […] kids. Like silver
[…] olives, gold […]
[…] the table […]
[…] kings. For a day he pours wine of Tmk,
must, wine of rulers, wine of […]
[…] wine […]
of Lebanon, […] must that El has cultivated.
For a day and a second the Rephaim eat,
they drink; a third, a fourth day, a fifth,
a sixth day the Rephaim eat,
they drink in the house of eating on the heights,
[…] in the heart of Lebanon. Then on the seventh
day, then Mighty Baal
[…] his companion […]
[…]

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.22 I:5 and Daniel 12:2

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Daniel's promise of life after death may draw on older Ugaritic images of the dead returning, adding a judgment that separates lasting life from lasting disgrace.

Passages

KTU 1.22 I:5

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
[…] […] here is your son, here […] your son's son in your place; here the [hero] […] your hand; the little one will kiss your lips. There shoulder by shoulder are the brothers whom El raised up […]. There […] the name of El, the men […] the name of El, the heroes. There Tmq, the Rephaite of Baal, the soldier of Baal and the soldier of Anat. There Yhpn the mighty, the prince, the eternal king. When Anat goes hunting, […] the birds of the sky. Oxen are slaughtered, sheep as well; bulls are felled and fatted rams, year-old calves, lambs, […] kids. Like silver […] olives, gold […] […] the table […] […] kings. For a day he pours wine of Tmk, must, wine of rulers, wine of […] […] wine […] of Lebanon, […] must that El has cultivated.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Daniel 12:2

Hebrew Bible
1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who watches over your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress unlike any other from the nation’s beginning up to that time. But at that time your own people, all those whose names are found written in the book, will escape. 2 Many of those who sleep in the dusty ground will awake—some to everlasting life, and others to shame and everlasting abhorrence. 3 But the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavenly expanse. And those bringing many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever. 4 “But you, Daniel, close up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will dash about, and knowledge will increase.” 5 I, Daniel, watched as two others stood there, one on each side of the river.
200–101 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Daniel

References

“... The language of Yahweh’s overcoming death (Hosea 13:14, 14:2; Isaiah 25:8; Song of Songs 8:6; 1 Corinthians 15:54-55; Revelation 12:4; see pp. 277-304) has a Northwest Semitic antecedent in Baal’s struggle against Death (Mot) in KTU 1.5-1.6. [...] Furthermore, the theme of Baal’s return to life and overcoming Death in 1.6 III and VI and 1.17 V 25-26, and perhaps the “rising(?)” (qym) of the dead in KTU 1.22 I 5 [...] These notions in part laid the basis for the motif of Yahweh’s “bringing back to life” as a metaphor for preventing the death of the living (pp. 270-79, 285-89), and for the specific use of *qwm for divine help in Hosea 6:2. The lan­ guage of the individual’s “rising to life from death” appears to have been applied to the nation in exile (Ezekiel 37:1-14; pp. 293-97). In turn, this metaphor laid the foundation for expressing individual resur­ rection in Daniel 12:2 (pp. 338-43 and Isaiah 26:19 (pp. 297-305). The development is especially clear in the case of the latter passage, as it uses the verb *qwm, “to rise,” to describe resurrection. ...”
Mark S. Smith and Elizabeth M. Bloch-Smith, “Death and Afterlife in Ugarit and Israel,” JAOS 108 (1988): 283.

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 1.22 I:5 and Daniel 12:2

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