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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Letter of the Hittite King to Ammurapi

KTU 2.39

Message of the Sun.
To Ammurapi say:
With the Sun everything is very
well.
To the f[eet] of the [l]ord, the Sun,
[his] lo[rd], his [ser]vant […]
for he is [a servant], his treasured possession,⁠
and [his master] […]
and […] my lord shall not lack.
And [you], you surely [k]now:
now […] to the Sun, your lord,
[a ser]vant, his treasured possession, are you.⁠
Now […] the Sun, your lord,
you surely know it.
To me, the Sun, your lord,
for a year, two years, why have you not come?
And as for the tablet about food that
you sent to the Sun,
your lord: that food
in your land there is none,
the Sun […]
If I go […]
I have given […]
two […]
and […]
[…]
[…]
[…]
with […]
food […]
[…]
And the letter […] [to] me
[…]
wherever there is any, seek it out
and give it to me.

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 2.39:7 and Deuteronomy 26:19

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

The promise in Deuteronomy 26 to raise Israel above other nations builds on the royal language of treasured possession in the Ugaritic letter KTU 2.39, treating national honor as a gift from the people's divine ruler.

Passages

KTU 2.39:7

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Message of the Sun. To Ammurapi say: With the Sun everything is very well. To the f[eet] of the [l]ord, the Sun, [his] lo[rd], his [ser]vant […] for he is [a servant], his treasured possession, and [his master] […] and […] my lord shall not lack. And [you], you surely [k]now: now […] to the Sun, your lord, [a ser]vant, his treasured possession, are you. Now […] the Sun, your lord, you surely know it. To me, the Sun, your lord, for a year, two years, why have you not come? And as for the tablet about food that you sent to the Sun, your lord: that food in your land there is none, the Sun […] If I go […] I have given […] two […] and […] […] […] […] with […] food […] […] And the letter […] [to] me […] wherever there is any, seek it out and give it to me.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Deuteronomy 26:19

Hebrew Bible
15 Look down from your holy dwelling place in heaven and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us, just as you promised our ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey.” 16 Today the Lord your God is commanding you to keep these statutes and ordinances, something you must do with all your heart and soul. 17 Today you have declared the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in his ways, keep his statutes, commandments, and ordinances, and obey him. 18 And today the Lord has declared you to be his special people (as he already promised you) so you may keep all his commandments. 19 Then he will elevate you above all the nations he has made and you will receive praise, fame, and honor. You will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he has said.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

References

“... In a metaphorical sense,סגלה “ ,personal, precious property”, is applied to the people of Israel. In Deut. 7:6, the element of personal property is evident from the wordsלהיות לו (cf. Ps. 135:4, whereלסגלתוandלוare paralleled). The element of preciousness is reflected in Deut. 26:19, where a formulation similar to Deut. 7:6 is continued by Yhwh’s promise that He will set Israel high above all nations, in praise, in fame, and in honour. The metaphorical meaning ofסגלהalso occurs in Ugarit and Mesopotamia. In Ugarit, the word sglt is used in a letter from the Hittite king to the king of Ugarit (ktu 2.39).273 The Hittite king, Suppiluliuma ii (1205–1175 b.c.),274 blames his vassal Ammurapi (1205–1175 b.c.) that he has not come to him for two years now, as was prescribed in earlier treaties, and that he has failed to fulfill certain obligations. Because the text has not been preserved in its entirety, several elements from the letter are debated. The lines that contain the word sglt, however, are fairly clear. ...”
Arie Versluis, The Command to Exterminate the Canaanites: Deuteronomy 7 (Leiden: Brill, 2017), 82.

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 2.39:7 and Deuteronomy 26:19

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