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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 Ezekiel 37:12

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Ezekiel's picture of national recovery may develop older Ugaritic language for the dead returning to life, using renewed life to promise a future for a defeated people.

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

Ezekiel 37:12

Hebrew Bible
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to open your graves and will raise you from your graves, my people. I will bring you to the land of Israel. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. 14 I will place my breath in you and you will live; I will give you rest in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord—I have spoken and I will act, declares the Lord.’”
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

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 Ezekiel 37:12

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