Texts in Conversation
Psalm 72 shares Kirta's standard of protecting the poor and helpless, making care for vulnerable people a test of a king's right to rule.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.16 VI:46
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
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: "May Horon break, O my son, may Horon break your head, Athtart Name of Baal your pate. May you fall into . . . . . . . . . . .
Psalm 72:4
Hebrew Bible
1 For Solomon. O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions. Grant the king’s son the ability to make fair decisions. 2 Then he will judge your people fairly and your oppressed ones equitably. 3 The mountains will bring news of peace to the people, and the hills will announce justice. 4 He will defend the oppressed among the people; he will deliver the children of the poor and crush the oppressor. 5 People will fear you as long as the sun and moon remain in the sky, for generation after generation. 6 He will descend like rain on the mown grass, like showers that drench the earth. 7 During his days the godly will flourish; peace will prevail as long as the moon remains in the sky. 8 May he rule from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
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Notes and References
“... Th e Psalms contain rather dramatic exam-
ples of a divine assembly scene in Psalms 82 and 89 (esp. vv. 5–7; cf. 1 Kgs. 22:19; Isa. 6;
Dan. 7; cf. “the seat of the gods” in Ezek. 28:2). Psalm 82 is a particularly notable case.
According to verse 1: “God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the
gods he holds judgment.” According to verses 2–7, God indicts the other gods 11 for failing
to maintain traditional standards of justice (commonly involving care for the poor and
needy as well as the orphan and the widow; see Pss. 33:5; 37:28; 68:6–7[5–6]; 74:21; 99:4;
89:16[15] = 97:2; 111:7). Th is is a standard of justice expected of human kings in Ugaritic
tradition (KTU 1.16 VI 45–50, SAC 95) and biblical thinking (Ps. 72:4). So, in Psalm
82:6–7, God declares these divine fi gures not as gods but as mortals. Th e psalm closes in
verse 8 with a request made to God to judge the earth, “for all the nations belong to you.” ...”
Smith, Mark S.
"Canaanite Backgrounds to the Psalms" in Brown, William P. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms
(p. 48) Oxford University Press, 2014
* 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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