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Psalms

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Psalm 65

1 For the music director, a psalm of David, a song. Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion. Vows made to you are fulfilled. 2 You hear prayers; all people approach you. 3 Our record of sins overwhelms me, but you forgive our acts of rebellion. 4 How blessed is the one whom you choose and allow to live in your palace courts. May we be satisfied with the good things of your house—your holy palace. 5 You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance, O God, our savior. All the ends of the earth trust in you, as well as those living across the wide seas. 6 You created the mountains by your power and demonstrated your strength. 7 You calmed the raging seas and their roaring waves, as well as the commotion made by the nations.⁠ 8 Even those living in the remotest areas are awestruck by your acts; you cause those near the gates of the east and the west praise you.18⁠ 9 You visit the earth and give it rain; you make it rich and fertile. God’s streams are full of water; you provide grain for the people of the earth, for you have prepared the earth in this way. 10 You saturate its furrows, and soak its plowed ground. With rain showers you soften its soil, and make its crops grow. 11 You crown the year with your good blessings, and you leave abundance in your wake. 12 The pastures in the wilderness glisten with moisture, and the hills are clothed with joy. 13 The meadows are clothed with sheep, and the valleys are covered with grain. They shout joyfully, yes, they sing.

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.2 IV:25 and Psalm 65:7

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Psalm 65 shares Baal's control of Sea in the Baal Cycle, pairing the roar of waves with the uproar of nations to make peace among people part of God's rule over the world.

Passages

KTU 1.2 IV:25

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
You, your name is 'All-Driver' All-Driver, drive Yamm away, drive Yamm from his throne, Nahar from the siege of his dominion! You must leap from the hand of Baal, like a falcon from his fingers. Strike the skull of Prince Yamm (Ocean), the brow of Ruler Nahar (River)! Let Yamm collapse in a heap, and let him fall to the ground!' Then the mace leapt from the hand of Baal, like a falcon from his fingers. It struck the skull of Prince Yamm, the brow of Ruler Nahar. Yamm collapsed in a heap; he fell to the ground. His joints trembled, and his visage was discomposed. Baal gathered Up and drank Prince Yamm to the dregs, he exterminated Ruler Nahar. By name Athtart chided him Dry him Up, O Valiant Baal! Dry him up, O Charioteer of the Clouds! For our captive is Prince [Yamm], [for]
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Psalm 65:7

Hebrew Bible
5 You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance, O God, our savior. All the ends of the earth trust in you, as well as those living across the wide seas. 6 You created the mountains by your power and demonstrated your strength. 7 You calmed the raging seas and their roaring waves, as well as the commotion made by the nations. 8 Even those living in the remotest areas are awestruck by your acts; you cause those near the gates of the east and the west praise you.18 9 You visit the earth and give it rain; you make it rich and fertile. God’s streams are full of water; you provide grain for the people of the earth, for you have prepared the earth in this way. 10 You saturate its furrows, and soak its plowed ground. With rain showers you soften its soil, and make its crops grow.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

“... Common to both Yahweh and Baal was also a constellation of motifs surrounding their martial and meteorological natures. [...] This conflict corresponds at Ugarit with Baal’s struggle with Yamm in KTU 1.2 IV, although Yamm appears as Anat’s adversary in KTU 1.3 III 43. [...] Various biblical texts depict the divine defeat of Yamm with other images: the stilling (*sbhl *rg’) of Yamm (Pss. 65:8 [E 7]; 89:10 [E 9]; Job 26:11); the crushing (*prr) of Yamm (Ps. 74:13; cf. the crushing, *dk’, of Rahab in Ps. 89:11 [E 10]); the drying up (*hrb) of Yamm (Isa. 51:10); the establishment of a boundary (gĕbûl) for Yamm (Ps. 104:9; Jer. 5:22; cf. Prov. 8:29); the placement of a guard (mišmār) over Yamm (Job 7:12); and the closing of Yamm behind doors (Job 38:8, 10); compare the hacking of Rahab into pieces (*hsb; Isa. 51:9); and the scattering (*pzr) of cosmic enemies (Ps. 89:11 [E 10]). ...”
Mark S. Smith, The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel, 2nd ed., The Biblical Resource Series (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002), PDF 103.

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 1.2 IV:25 and Psalm 65:7

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