Texts in Conversation
In the Ugaritic Legend of Kirta and Isaiah, the failure to protect widows, orphans, and the poor is a failure to rule correctly. Both follow ancient Near Eastern tradition that a just ruler and a just society are defined by caring for the vulnerable.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.16 VI:45
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
and cries: "Listen, I pray you, O Kirta the Noble! Listen, and incline (your) ear. For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . You have let your hand fall into mischief. You used to judge the cause of the widow, to adjudicate the case of the wretched, to drive out them that prey upon the poor, to feed before you the orphan, behind your back the widow. Since you have become a brother of the bed of sickness, a companion of the bed of suffering, descend from the kingship— I will be king; in your authority I will sit."—And [K]irta the Noble makes answer:
Isaiah 1:17
Hebrew Bible
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I look the other way; when you offer your many prayers, I do not listen because your hands are covered with blood. 16 Wash! Cleanse yourselves! Remove your sinful deeds from my sight. Stop sinning. 17 Learn to do what is right. Promote justice. Give the oppressed reason to celebrate. Take up the cause of the orphan. Defend the rights of the widow. 18 “Come, let’s consider your options,” says the Lord. “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool.
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Notes and References
"... Inheritance rights were part of customary law. It is hardly conceivable that a widow would turn to an official of the town administration with the request to overturn a valid legal procedure. Since her husband died childless, his brother became according to customary law the legal heir of the estate. The woman could hardly object to this. She could only appeal to a higher authority, if customary law was violated in one way or the other. The widow turned to the official because she wanted justice to be done (compare Isaiah 1:17, 23; 10:1-2) ..."
Marsman, Hennie J.
Women in Ugarit and Israel: Their Social and Religious Position in the Context of the Ancient Near East
(p. 641) Brill, 2003
* 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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