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In Job 33, Elihu uses the same clay-shaping language as El's creation of a healer in the Legend of Kirta, making their common origin a reason Job need not fear him.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.16 V:29
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
None among the gods an[swers him]. He says a sixth, a seventh time: "[Who] among the gods can remove the illness, driving out the disease?" None among the gods answers him. Then spoke the Kindly One, El Benignant: "Remain seated, my sons, upon your seat[s], upon yo[ur] thrones of princeship. I will apply sorcery and will surely bring about the removal of the illness, driving out the disease. With clay [his hand] he fills, with good clay [ ]. He moulds . . . . . . . [ ] . . . . [ ] dragon [ ] dragon [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] . . . . [ ] . . . . [ ] a cup [he takes in his hand] a flagon [in both his hands]: "Do, Sha['taqat ]
Job 33:6
Hebrew Bible
1 “But now, O Job, listen to my words, and hear everything I have to say. 2 See now, I have opened my mouth; my tongue in my mouth has spoken. 3 My words come from the uprightness of my heart, and my lips will utter knowledge sincerely. 4 The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. 5 Reply to me, if you can; set your arguments in order before me and take your stand. 6 Look, I am just like you in relation to God; I too have been molded from clay. 7 Therefore no fear of me should terrify you, nor should my pressure be heavy on you. 8 “Indeed, you have said in my hearing (I heard the sound of the words!): 9 ‘I am pure, without transgression; I am clean and have no iniquity.
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Notes and References
“... One text (KTU 1.16.5.25–41) does mention how ʾIlu magically creates an
exorcist named Shaʿtiqatu by “pinching off clay” (rt + yqrṣ), an expression used
elsewhere of Enki’s and Yahweh’s creation of humanity.21 ...” “... The biblical references for this famous motif are Genesis 2:7 and Job 10:9; 33:6, with
Job 33:6 (qoraṣtî) using the same cognate verb as in KTU 1.16.5.29 (yqrṣ) and as in
the Akkadian phraseology of “pinching off” or “nipping” of the clay (karāṣu + ṭiddu/
ṭīdu) to make humans. For the numerous Akkadian texts, as well as how ʾIlu (like
Enki) also uses magic to create the exorcist Shaʿtiqatu, see Lewis 2013a, 2014a. ...”
Lewis, Theodore J.
The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity
(p. 77, 719) Oxford University Press, 2020
* 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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