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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 2

1 Why do the nations rebel? Why are the countries devising plots that will fail? 2 The kings of the earth form a united front; the rulers collaborate against the Lord and his anointed king.⁠ 3 They say, “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us. Let’s free ourselves from their ropes.” 4 The one enthroned in heaven laughs in disgust; the Lord taunts them.⁠ 5 Then he angrily speaks to them and terrifies them in his rage, saying, 6 “I myself have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill.”⁠ 7 The king says, “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me: ‘You are my son. This very day I have become your father.⁠ 8 Ask me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your personal property.⁠ 9 You will break them with an iron scepter; you will smash them like a potter’s jar.’”⁠ 10 So now, you kings, do what is wise; you rulers of the earth, submit to correction. 11 Serve the Lord in fear. Repent in terror. 12 Give sincere homage. Otherwise he will be angry, and you will die because of your behavior, when his anger quickly ignites. How blessed are all who take shelter in him!

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.14 II:7 and Psalm 2:7

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In the Ugaritic text KTU, the mortal king Kirta is called “son of El,” treated as the divine son of the chief god El. Psalm 2 echoes this, portraying the Israelite king as a “son” of God. In both, royal status is confirmed through divine adoption.

Passages

KTU 1.14 II:7

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
And Bull, his father El, [replied]: Stop weeping, Kirta, stop crying, gracious one, heir of El. Wash yourself and rouge yourself; Wash your [h]and to the elbow, [your] fing[ers] up to the shoulder. Enter the shade of a pavilion. Take a lam[b in your hand], a lamb of sac[rifice in (your)] right hand, a kid in th[e other han]d, . . . . . . . . . [ ] . . . . . . Take a msrr, bird of sacrifice. Pour wine [into a bo]wl of silver, honey into a bowl of [g]old. {Mount to the top of a [to]wer.} And mount to the top of a [to]wer; mount up to the summit of the wall. Lift up your hands to heaven, sacrifice to Bull your father, El. Serve Baal
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Psalm 2:7

Hebrew Bible
5 Then he angrily speaks to them and terrifies them in his rage, saying, 6 “I myself have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 The king says, “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me: ‘You are my son. This very day I have become your father. 8 Ask me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your personal property. 9 You will break them with an iron scepter; you will smash them like a potter’s jar.’”
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... The fatherhood of El was not restricted to the divine realm. El was also called “father of humanity”. In the Kirta Epic, the protagonist (King Keret), even though he is a mortal, is addressed as though he were the son of El. Indeed, human rulers appear to have been treated as children of the god El in much the same way that the gods of the pantheon were considered his children. A monarch became a child of El when it was clear that he was the person who had been chosen to rule. In Psalms 2:7 and 89:26 the new ruler is described as being accepted as a son by Yahweh; at the same time, heirs apparent in Syria-Palestine were presumed to be nurtured by suckling at goddesses’ breasts. One of these goddesses who is specifically mentioned as breast-feeding the prince is, as might be expected, Asherah ..."
Lowell K. Handy, Among the Host of Heaven: The Syro-Palestinian Pantheon as Bureaucracy (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1994), 78–79.

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 1.14 II:7 and Psalm 2:7

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