Ritual of Atonement for Ugarit

KTU 1.40

[…] and the well-being of […]
[…] [and] the well-being of [Ugarit] […]
[…], or by the word of […]
[…], or [by the word of]
[…]
[…] [This is the gift offering we offer.]
[This is the victim that is slaughtered. May it be lifted up to the father of the sons of El, may it be lifted up to the] circle of the sons of [El],
[to the assembly of the sons of El, to Thukamuna-wa-Shunama. Here is a ram.]
[And present the ram of uprightness of the sons of Ugarit, and the well-being of] […], and the well-being of
[…] [and the well-being] of Ugarit
[…] [whether you have sinned, or by the word of the Qatian, or by the word of the Dadmian,]
[or by the word of the Hurrian, or by the word of the Hittite, or by the word of the Alashian, or by the word of] […]
[or by the word of] […], [or by the word of] […], [or by the word of] […]
[whether you have sinned in your anger, or in your impatience, or in] […]
[…] [whether you have sinned regarding the sacrifices or regarding the gift offering, the sacrifice we make.]
[This is the gift offering we offer. This is the victim that is slaughtered.] May it be [lifted up to the father of the sons of El,]
[may it be lifted up to the circle of the sons of El, to the assembly of the sons of El, to Thukamuna-wa-Shunama.] Here is a ram.
[…] [and the well-being of the stranger within the walls of Ugarit, and the well-being of]⁠
[…], and the well-being of […]: whether you have sinned, [or by the word of the Qatian,]
or by the word of the Dadmian, or by the word of the [Hurrian], or by the word of the Hittite, or by the word of the [Alashian], [or by the word of] […],
or by the word of […], or by the word of […], or by the word of […],
whether you have sinned in your anger, or in your impatience, [or in] […]
[…], whether you have sinned regarding the sacrifices or regarding the gift offering, the sacrifice [we make].
This is the gift offering we offer. This is the victim that is slaughtered. May it be lifted up [to the father of the sons of El,]
may it be lifted up to the circle of the sons of El, to the assembly of the sons of [El, to Thukamuna-wa-Shunama]. Here is a ram.
And present the donkey of uprightness, the uprightness of the sons of Ugarit, and the well-being of Ugarit,
and the well-being of Yman, and the well-being of Rmt, and the well-being of […],
and the well-being of Niqmaddu: or […], or by the word of the [Qatian], [or by the word of the Dadmian],⁠
or by the word of the Hurrian, or by the word of the Hittite, or by the word of the Alashian, or [by the word of] […], or by the word of
[…], or by the word of […], or by the word of […], or […],
or in your anger, or in your impatience, or in […],
or […] regarding the sacrifices or regarding the gift offering, the sacrifice we make. This is the gift offering we offer.
This is the victim that is slaughtered. May it be lifted up to the father of the sons of El, may it be lifted up to the circle
of the sons of El, to the assembly of the sons of El, to Thukamuna-wa-Shunama. Here is a donkey.
And return to the recitation: [the uprightness], the uprightness of the daughters of Ugarit, and the well-being of the stranger⁠
within the walls of Ugarit, and the well-being of […], or […], or by the word of the Qatian,
or by the word of the Dadmian, or [by the word of] the Hurrian, or by the word of the Hittite, or by the word of the Alashian,
or by the word of […], or by the word of […], or by the word of […], or by the word of […],
[…], in your [anger], [or in] your impatience, or in […],
[…], or […] [regarding the sacrifices] or regarding the gift offering, the sacrifice
we make. This is the gift offering we [offer]. [This is the victim that is] slaughtered. May it be lifted up to the father of the sons of El,
may it be lifted up to the [circle of the sons of El, to] the assembly of the sons of El,
to Thukamuna-[wa-Shunama]. Here is a [donkey].

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.40:35 and Nehemiah 8:2

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

Summary

Nehemiah's public reading shares Ugarit's attention to both men and women in communal rituals, presenting commitment to God as the whole people's responsibility.

Passages

KTU 1.40:35

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

And return to the recitation: [the uprightness], the uprightness of the daughters of Ugarit, and the well-being of the stranger within the walls of Ugarit, and the well-being of […], or […], or by the word of the Qatian, or by the word of the Dadmian, or [by the word of] the Hurrian, or by the word of the Hittite, or by the word of the Alashian, or by the word of […], or by the word of […], or by the word of […], or by the word of […], […], in your [anger], [or in] your impatience, or in […], […], or […] [regarding the sacrifices] or regarding the gift offering, the sacrifice we make. This is the gift offering we [offer]. [This is the victim that is] slaughtered. May it be lifted up to the father of the sons of El,

1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Nehemiah 8:2

Hebrew Bible

2 So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly which included men and women and all those able to understand what they heard. (This happened on the first day of the seventh month.) 3 So he read it before the plaza in front of the Water Gate from dawn till noon before the men and women and those children who could understand. All the people were eager to hear the book of the law. 4 Ezra the scribe stood on a towering wooden platform constructed for this purpose. Standing near him on his right were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Masseiah. On his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5 Ezra opened the book in plain view of all the people, for he was elevated above all the people. When he opened the book, all the people stood up.

400–301 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Nehemiah

References

“... Sanders draws attention to KTU 1.40, a ritual for national atonement and unity that is the most important and broadly produced ritual known from Ugarit. [...] Among those atoned by the ritual are male and female members, even addressed directly with gender specific imperatives, as we see them listed in Josh 8:35 and Neh 8 numerous times. Like the Esarhaddon treaties, foreigners and natives are listed, as they are in Josh 8:33.57 The sovereign and the citizens are included, as in 2 Kgs 23. The lists are rounded out with other groups of leaders such as elders, officers, judges, prophets, levitical priests, inhabitants of the city and the region (Judah), young and great, and Neh 8’s catch-all “those who could understand.” [...] KTU 1.40 presents a model for this kind of addressee list in a unity ritual, demonstrating that a populace list may serve not merely to bind addressees to treaty obligations, but may also serve to unify and even benefit the whole society by atoning them. ...”

Lisa Joann Cleath, “Reading Ceremonies in the Hebrew Bible: Ideologies of Textual Authority in Joshua 8, 2 Kings 22–23, and Nehemiah 8” (diss., George Fox University, 2016), 33.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Ritual of Atonement for Ugarit

KTU347 chapters

Compare KTU 1.40:35 and Nehemiah 8:2

Summary

Passages

KTU 1.40:35

Nehemiah 8:2

References

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