Psalms

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Psalm 6

1 For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments, according to the sheminith style; a psalm of David. Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger. Do not discipline me in your raging fury. 2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am frail. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking. 3 I am absolutely terrified, and you, Lord—how long will this continue? 4 Relent, Lord, rescue me! Deliver me because of your faithfulness. 5 For no one remembers you in the realm of death. In Sheol who gives you thanks?⁠ 6 I am exhausted as I groan. All night long I drench my bed in tears; my tears saturate the cushion beneath me.⁠ 7 My eyes grow dim from suffering; they grow weak because of all my enemies. 8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy;⁠ the Lord has accepted my prayer.⁠ 10 They will be humiliated and absolutely terrified. All my enemies will turn back and be suddenly humiliated.

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.22 I:8 and Psalm 6:5

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

Summary

The plea in Psalm 6 treats death as separation from worship of God, contrasting with Baal's ties to dead ancestors in the Ugaritic Rephaim texts and giving urgency to the request for healing.

Passages

KTU 1.22 I:8

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

[…] here is your son, here […] your son's son in your place; here the [hero] […] your hand; the little one will kiss your lips. There shoulder by shoulder are the brothers whom El raised up […]. There […] the name of El, the men […] the name of El, the heroes. There Tmq, the Rephaite of Baal, the soldier of Baal and the soldier of Anat. There Yhpn the mighty, the prince, the eternal king. When Anat goes hunting, […] the birds of the sky. Oxen are slaughtered, sheep as well; bulls are felled and fatted rams, year-old calves,

1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Psalm 6:5

Hebrew Bible

2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am frail. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking. 3 I am absolutely terrified, and you, Lord—how long will this continue? 4 Relent, Lord, rescue me! Deliver me because of your faithfulness. 5 For no one remembers you in the realm of death. In Sheol who gives you thanks? 6 I am exhausted as I groan. All night long I drench my bed in tears; my tears saturate the cushion beneath me. 7 My eyes grow dim from suffering; they grow weak because of all my enemies. 8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy; the Lord has accepted my prayer. 10 They will be humiliated and absolutely terrified. All my enemies will turn back and be suddenly humiliated.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

“... Second, the Psalms express an inner-Israelite religious innovation that constructed the separation of Yahweh from Death and his underworld realm (Pss. 6:7[6] ; 88:13[12]; 115:17; Lewis 1989: 170), in contrast to Baal’s association with revered ancestral spirits (cf. “the Rephaim of Baal” in KTU 1.22 I 8, SAC 62). As a corollary, the Psalms show a rejection of devotion to the dead as traditionally practiced in ancient Israel (see Psalm 16 discussed above), also seen in the Ugaritic texts (e.g., a royal version of such devotion in KTU 1.161). Th e Psalms represent the Israelite deity as the God of the living and as the living God (Feldmeier and Spieckermann 2011). ...”

Mark S. Smith, “Canaanite Backgrounds to the Psalms,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms, ed. William P. Brown (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 53.

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 1.22 I:8 and Psalm 6:5

Summary

Passages

KTU 1.22 I:8

Psalm 6:5

References

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