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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Nikkal and Yarih

KTU 1.24

I sing of Nikkal-and-Ib,⁠
Hirhibi, king of summer, Hirhibi, king
[…]
Yarih […], he embraces her who
will bear […]
[…] to the daughters of Hilal, [the swallows].
Look, a young woman will bear a son […]⁠
[…]
[…]
[…] like a bride […]
Listen, goddesses, Kotharat, […]
[…]
to his lord […]
Dagan […]
[…] to the Kotharat, to the daughters of Hilal, [the swallows].
Yarih, lamp of heaven, sends to
Hirhibi, king of summer: "Give Nikkal; Yarih
will pay the bride-price for Ib. Let her enter his house,
and I will give her bride-price to her father:⁠
a thousand of silver and ten thousand of gold;
I will send gleaming lapis lazuli;
I will make her fields into vineyards,
the field of her love […]."
Then Hirhibi, king of summer, answered: "O
most gracious of the gods, become a son-in-law
to Baal; marry Pidray, [his] daughter.
I will bring you near to her father Baal.
[…] Athtar. Marry
for yourself Ybrdmy, the daughter of [her] father
the Lion […]." Then
Yarih, lamp of heaven, answered: "Now
with Nikkal is my marriage." Afterward
Yarih paid the bride-price for Nikkal. Her father
set up the stand of the scales; her mother
the pans of the scales; her brothers arranged
[…]; her sisters the
stones of the scales. Of Nikkal-and-Ib
I sing: may Yarih give light, and may
Yarih shine on you.
I sing of the goddesses, the Kotharat, [daughters]
of Hilal, the swallows, daughters of
Hilal, lord of the sickle, who went down
[…]
[…] with the Kindly One, El
the Compassionate. Look, in my mouth is
their number, on my lips their count:
her dowry and her bridal gift […]
[…]
[…]
the Good One, the youngest of the Kotharat.

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.24:1 and Psalm 45:1

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Psalm 45 shares the wedding praise found in Ugarit's song for Nikkal, giving a human king's marriage the kind of celebration used for divine marriages.

Passages

KTU 1.24:1

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
I sing of Nikkal-and-Ib, Hirhibi, king of summer, Hirhibi, king […] Yarih […], he embraces her who will bear […] […] to the daughters of Hilal, [the swallows]. Look, a young woman will bear a son […] […] […] […] like a bride […] Listen, goddesses, Kotharat, […] […] to his lord […] Dagan […] […] to the Kotharat, to the daughters of Hilal, [the swallows]. Yarih, lamp of heaven, sends to Hirhibi, king of summer: "Give Nikkal; Yarih will pay the bride-price for Ib. Let her enter his house, and I will give her bride-price to her father: a thousand of silver and ten thousand of gold; I will send gleaming lapis lazuli; I will make her fields into vineyards, the field of her love […]." Then Hirhibi, king of summer, answered: "O most gracious of the gods, become a son-in-law to Baal; marry Pidray, [his] daughter.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Psalm 45:1

Hebrew Bible
1 For the music director, according to the tune of “Lilies”; by the Korahites, a well-written poem, a love song. My heart is stirred by a beautiful song. I say, “I have composed this special song for the king; my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.” 2 You are the most handsome of all men. You speak in an impressive and fitting manner. For this reason God grants you continual blessings. 3 Strap your sword to your thigh, O warrior. Appear in your majestic splendor. 4 Appear in your majesty and be victorious. Ride forth for the sake of what is right, on behalf of justice. Then your right hand will accomplish mighty acts. 5 Your arrows are sharp and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies. Nations fall at your feet.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

“... We should note that the idea of myths as songs appears quite widely in ancient Near Eastern literature. Several Hurrian myths are called “songs,” such as “the Song of Ullikumi.” Closer to ancient Israel, the opening of the Ugaritic text often called Nikkal wa-Ib (KTU 1.24), opens as a song: “let me [si]ng of Nikkal wa-Ib.” The text then turns to a narrative of the marriage of Nikkal to Yarikh. The last line of the text at line 39 closes with a hymnic note: “O Nikkal wa-Ib, of whom I sing, May Yarikh shine, May Yarikh shine on you!” The text follows with an epilogue (lines 40–50), the first line of which is regularly reconstructed: “[Let me sing of the Kotharat. . . .].” The model for this line may be a wedding-song (compare Ps. 45:1–2). ...”
Mark S. Smith, The Priestly Vision of Genesis 1 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2010), PDF 242.

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 1.24:1 and Psalm 45:1

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