Texts in conversation

Compare Kuntillet Ajrud Inscriptions and Judges 5:4

Ancient Near East, Northwest Semitic · Hebrew Bible

Summary

An early Israelite inscription from Kuntillet Ajrud describes the deity in a storm and earthquake as the mountains melt. The Song of Deborah in Judges 5 uses the same storm and earthquake imagery for God marching out from the south, from Seir and Edom.

Passages

Kuntillet Ajrud Inscriptions

Ancient Near East, Northwest Semitic · Horvat Teiman

in earthquake. And when God shines forth in the [heights ... YHWH ... the mountains will melt, the hills will crush [... the earth. The Holy one over gods [... prepare (yourself) to bless Baal on the day of war ... To bless the name of El on the day of war ...

800 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Kuntillet Ajrud Inscriptions

Judges 5:4

Hebrew Bible

3 Hear, O kings! Pay attention, O rulers! I will sing to the Lord! I will sing to the Lord God of Israel! 4 “O Lord, when you departed from Seir, when you marched from Edom’s plains, the earth shook, the heavens poured down, the clouds poured down rain. 5 The mountains trembled before the Lord, the God of Sinai; before the Lord God of Israel. 6 “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael caravans disappeared; travelers had to go on winding side roads.

600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Judges

References

... Most important to this study is the inscription of epiphany found on portion of a plaster wall. It is fragmented, lacking any concrete sign of a beginning and ending, but reads: "] in earthquake. And when God shines forth in the [heights...Y]HW[H... ] the mountains will melt, the hills will crush[... ] the earth. The Holy one over gods [... ] prepare (yourself) to bless Baal on the day of wa[r... To bless/praise] the name of El on the day of wa[r..." Elements of the archaic epiphanic motif can be found in this inscription: the same noun as employed verbally in Judges 5:4, the same verb for shining used in Deuteronomy 33:2, the traditional invocation of the name Yahweh, and reference to lesser deities as is done in Habakkuk 3:5 and possibly Deuteronomy 33:2. ...

Nathan H. Scherrer, “Yahweh of the Southlands” (MA diss., Denver Seminary, 2017), 58–59.

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

Kuntillet Ajrud Inscriptions3 chapters

Compare Kuntillet Ajrud Inscriptions and Judges 5:4

Summary

Passages

Kuntillet Ajrud Inscriptions

Judges 5:4

References

Your feedback

Leave a comment

Glossary

Search the Library