Skip to Content
intertextual.bible
Go to Related Reading
About this book

KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

About this book

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 Hosea 6:2

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

Hosea 6 may share Ugaritic language about the dead rising, using the same Hebrew verb that later describes resurrection in Isaiah 26, to voice hope that God can restore a wounded nation.

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

Hosea 6:2

Hebrew Bible
1 Come on! Let’s return to the Lord. He himself has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us! He has injured us, but he will bandage our wounds! 2 He will restore us in a very short time; he will heal us in a little while, so that we may live in his presence. 3 So let us search for him! Let us seek to know the Lord! He will come to our rescue as certainly as the appearance of the dawn, as certainly as the winter rain comes, as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land. 4 What am I going to do with you, O Ephraim? What am I going to do with you, O Judah? For your faithfulness is as fleeting as the morning mist; it disappears as quickly as dawn’s dew.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Hosea

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.

Your feedback

KTU 1.22 I:5 and Hosea 6:2

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library