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 Psalm 135:4

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

Summary

The praise of Israel as God's treasured possession in Psalm 135 draws on royal language for a valued subject in the Ugaritic letter KTU 2.39, linking God's choice of Israel with his rule over all nations.

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

Psalm 135:4

Hebrew Bible

4 Indeed, the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel to be his special possession. 5 Yes, I know the Lord is great, and our Lord is superior to all gods. 6 He does whatever he pleases in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the ocean depths. 7 He causes the clouds to arise from the end of the earth, makes lightning bolts accompany the rain, and brings the wind out of his storehouses. 8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, including both men and animals. 9 He performed awesome deeds and acts of judgment in your midst, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. 10 He defeated many nations, and killed mighty kings— 11 Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan. 12 He gave their land as an inheritance, as an inheritance to Israel his people.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

“... Yhwh has chosen Israel to be for Him a עם סגלה. The word סגלה occurs only eight times in the Old Testament, six of which refer to the people of Israel (Exod. 19:5; Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 26:18; Ps. 135:4; Mal. 3:17). The other two texts make clear that the word denotes possessions. [...] 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 words להיות לו (cf. Ps. 135:4, where לסגלתו and לו are paralleled). [...] The metaphorical meaning of סגלה also 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). The Hittite king, Suppiluliuma ii (1205–1175 b.c.), 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. [...] The lines that contain the word sglt, however, are fairly clear. 7 k . ʿ[bdm . ]sglth . hw 7 for he [the king of Ugarit] is a servant [of the Hittite king], his personal property 12 ʿb[d]m. sglth . at 12 a servant, his personal property you are ...”

Arie Versluis, The Command to Exterminate the Canaanites: Deuteronomy 7 (Leiden: Brill, 2017), 81–82.

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

Letter of the Hittite King to Ammurapi

KTU347 chapters

Compare KTU 2.39:7 and Psalm 135:4

Summary

Passages

KTU 2.39:7

Psalm 135:4

References

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