Texts in Conversation
Joel and the Ugaritic text KTU use common ancient Near Eastern language to describe intense grief. Joel calls for wailing in sackcloth over agricultural devastation, while the Ugaritic text describes howling at a king’s tomb like dogs.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.116
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
Like dogs shall we howl at your tomb, like whelps at the entrance to your burial chamber? Yet father, how can you possibly die, or will your burial chamber be given over to howling on the part of women, O my wretched father? They weep for you, father, the mountain of Baal, Saphon, the holy stronghold of Nan, the mighty stronghold, the citadel of vast expanse. Is Keret then the son of El, the offspring of the Wise and Holy One? He entered into the presence of his father: he wept and gnashed his teeth. He gave forth his voice in weeping:
Date: 2300 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Joel 1:8
Hebrew Bible
7 They have destroyed my vines; they have turned my fig trees into mere splinters. They have completely stripped off the bark and thrown it aside; the twigs are stripped bare. 8 Wail like a young virgin clothed in sackcloth, lamenting the death of her husband to be. 9 No one brings grain offerings or drink offerings to the temple of the Lord anymore. So the priests, those who serve the Lord, are in mourning.
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Notes and References
“... Rites of abasement and altered appearance communicated that mourners no longer held their usual social status but had assumed a liminal status somewhere between the dead and the living and were temporarily suspended from participating in various social activities. The separation of the mourner generally lasted 7 days, according to Genesis 50:10; 1 Samuel 31:13; and Sirach 22:12, but a mourning period of 30 days is also attested (Numbers 20:29; Deuteronomy 34:8). For non-relatives, a mourning period of 1 day was sufficient (2 Samuel 1:11–12; 3:35). ...”
Albertz, Rainer and Rüdiger Schmitt
Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant
(pp. 434-435) Eisenbrauns, 2012
* 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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