Letter to the Sun, the Great King

KTU 2.23

And thus spoke the Sun,
the Great King, my lord: […]
[…] the embassy of his servant⁠
he sends to your lord […]
my embassy with him […]
the embassy of your servant, when it arrives,
the embassy of the Sun, the Great [King],
my [lord] […]
I know […] [the Sun], the Great King,
my [lord] […]
[…] [the Sun], the Great [King],
[…] [my lord].
And I […]
I ask [for life for the] Sun,
the [Great] King, [my lord]. Indeed
I [ask] for life of [soul]
before Baal of Sapan, my lord,
and length of days for my lord,
before Amun and before
the gods of Egypt, who guard
the soul of the Sun, the Great King,
my lord.
[…]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[…]
Also […]
the king […]
[…]
[…]

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 2.23:3 and 2 Kings 24:1

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

Summary

In 2 Kings 24, Jehoiakim's service uses the political language found in Ugaritic letters, making his rebellion a rejection of Babylon's claim to rule Judah.

Passages

KTU 2.23:3

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

And thus spoke the Sun, the Great King, my lord: […] […] the embassy of his servant he sends to your lord […] my embassy with him […] the embassy of your servant, when it arrives, the embassy of the Sun, the Great [King], my [lord] […] I know […] [the Sun], the Great King, my [lord] […] […] [the Sun], the Great [King], […] [my lord]. And I […] I ask [for life for the] Sun, the [Great] King, [my lord]. Indeed I [ask] for life of [soul] before Baal of Sapan, my lord, and length of days for my lord, before Amun and before the gods of Egypt, who guard the soul of the Sun, the Great King, my lord.

1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

2 Kings 24:1

Hebrew Bible

1 During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him. 2 The Lord sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, just as in the Lord’s message that he had announced through his servants the prophets. 3 Just as the Lord had announced, he rejected Judah because of all the sins that Manasseh had committed. 4 Because he killed innocent people and stained Jerusalem with their blood, the Lord was unwilling to forgive them. 5 The rest of the events of Jehoiakim’s reign and all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 6 He passed away and his son Jehoiachin replaced him as king.

600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Kings

References

“... 312Ug. 'bd is used in Ugarit to denote the vassal of the Great King (KTU 2.23:3; 2.39:6), like the Akkadian word ardu, "slave" (PRU IV:49, line 12). The use of עבדin this text is the typically political language for vassalage (cf. also 2 Kings 16:7; 17:3; 24:1; Ezra 9:10; 2 Chron. 12:8) and forms a parallel to the bringing of tribute; ...”

Raymond de Hoop, Genesis 49 in Its Literary and Historical Context, OtSt 39 (Leiden: Brill, 1999), 134.

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

Letter to the Sun, the Great King

KTU347 chapters

Compare KTU 2.23:3 and 2 Kings 24:1

Summary

Passages

KTU 2.23:3

2 Kings 24:1

References

Your feedback

Leave a comment

Glossary

Search the Library