Psalms

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Psalm 24

1 A psalm of David. The Lord owns the earth and all it contains, the world and all who live in it. 2 For he set its foundation upon the seas, and established it upon the ocean currents.⁠ 3 Who is allowed to ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may go up to his holy dwelling place? 4 The one whose deeds are blameless who has clean hands and a pure heart^*, who does not lie,⁠ or make promises with no intention of keeping them.⁠ 5 Such godly people are rewarded by the Lord, and vindicated by the God who delivers them. 6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor, Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him. (Selah) 7 Look up, you gates. Rise up, you eternal doors.⁠ Then the majestic king will enter.⁠ 8 Who is this majestic king? The Lord who is strong and mighty. The Lord a mighty man in battle.⁠ 9 Look up, you gates. Rise up, you eternal doors. Then the majestic king will enter. 10 Who is this majestic king? The Lord of Heaven’s Armies. He is the majestic king. (Selah)

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.2 I:27 and Psalm 24:7

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

Summary

In the Baal epic, the gods drop their heads to their knees in terror at Yamm's messengers until Baal orders them to lift their heads again. Psalm 24 uses the same language for heavenly gates, which lower their heads while the divine warrior is away.

Passages

KTU 1.2 I:27

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

they saw the messengers of Yamm, the embassy of Ruler Nahar. The gods lowered their heads onto their knees, and onto the thrones of their princeships. Baal rebuked them: Why, O gods, have you lowered your heads onto your knees, and onto the thrones of your princeships? I see, gods, that the tablets of Yamm's messengers, of the embassy of Ruler Nahar, are humiliating (you). Lift up, O gods, your heads from on your knees, from the thrones of your princeships, and I shall answer the messengers of Yamm, the embassy of Ruler Nahar. The gods raise their heads from on their knees, from the thrones of their princeships.

1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Psalm 24:7

Hebrew Bible

6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor, Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him. (Selah) 7 Look up, you gates. Rise up, you eternal doors. Then the majestic king will enter. 8 Who is this majestic king? The Lord who is strong and mighty. The Lord a mighty man in battle. 9 Look up, you gates. Rise up, you eternal doors. Then the majestic king will enter. 10 Who is this majestic king? The Lord of Heaven’s Armies. He is the majestic king. (Selah)

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... Yhwh’s messenger addresses the gates as “eternal doors,” which hints at their mythic dimension: they participate in the sphere of the eternal gods. The call “Raise your heads!” indicates that the gates have lowered their heads in a gesture of mourning, since the city is threatened by enemies. The divine warrior has left his residency after having fought them off. A close parallel can be found in the Ugaritic Ba‘al epic that narrates the conflict between the storm-god Ba‘al and the sea-god Yamm (KTU/CAT 1.1–1.2). When the assembly of the gods receives messengers of Yamm, requesting to deliver Ba‘al into his power, the horrified gods lower their heads. But the fearless Ba‘al rebukes them—and the rhythm of his first words sounds strikingly similar to the call of Yhwh’s messenger (Psalm 24:7, 9: “Raise, O gates, your heads”): “Raise, O gods, your heads, from the tops of your knees, from your royal thrones!” ... In the ensuing combat, Ba‘al kills Yamm, and the gods acclaim Ba‘al’s kingship. Psalm 24* seems related to a similar tale. ..."

Reinhard Müller, “The Origins of YHWH in Light of the Earliest Psalms,” in The Origins of Yahwism, ed. Jürgen van Oorschot and Markus Witte (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2017), 219.

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

Psalms150 psalms

Compare KTU 1.2 I:27 and Psalm 24:7

Summary

Passages

KTU 1.2 I:27

Psalm 24:7

References

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