KAI 26.iii
Canaanite and Aramaic Inscriptions
Ancient Near East
And may this city possess fullness and wine, and may this people who dwell in it become owners of oxen and owners of sheep and owners of fullness and wine. And may they bear children in abundance, and may they grow mighty in abundance, and may they serve Azatiwada in abundance and the house of Mopsos, by the grace of Baʿal and the gods. But if any king of kings, or prince of princes, or any man who is a man of renown, should erase the name of Azatiwada from this gate and put (his own) name (on it), or even should he covet this city and tear out this gate which Azatiwada made, and make for it a different gate and put his name upon it
Date: 1200 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Ezra 7:12
Hebrew Bible
11 What follows is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe. Ezra was a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and his statutes over Israel: 12 “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven: 13 I have now issued a decree that anyone in my kingdom from the people of Israel—even the priests and Levites—who wishes to do so may go up with you to Jerusalem.
Date: 4th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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Notes and References
"... an “empire” could quite literally mean the use of kingship on multiple levels simultaneously. This understanding sheds light on the title "King of Kings," which signifies not merely supreme rule but rule over a structure in which multiple kings operate under a higher king ... the title "King of Kings" signifies universal rule. It is first attested as a royal title at Ebla (mid-third millennium). It is also attested in Old Babylonian Mari (ARM 26/1 no. 22:10–18) and in Neo-Assyrian usage (SAA 3 no. 35:5; CAD Š/1 347–348). The recognition of several simultaneously reigning kings may be seen in Ugaritic mythology (AO 19938; see commentary for line 3). The recognition of several simultaneously reigning kings may also be the backdrop for inscription KAI 26 A iii 12 (= TSSI 3, 50) ..."
Handy, Lowell K.
Among the Host of Heaven: The Syro-Palestinian Pantheon as Bureaucracy
(p. 112) Eisenbrauns, 1994
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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