Texts in Conversation
Psalm 7 uses for human enemies the lion image used for a goddess at Ugarit, emphasizing how helpless the victim is without God's protection.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.180:2
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
Hear, Athtart, the singer's voice I will sing the name of the Lioness, the name […] […] of the mountain of El Leopard […] Athtart Leopard […] she leaps
Psalm 7:2
Hebrew Bible
1 A musical composition by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning a Benjaminite named Cush. O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter. Deliver me from all who chase me. Rescue me! 2 Otherwise they will rip me to shreds like a lion; they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me. 3 O Lord my God, if I have done what they say, or am guilty of unjust actions, 4 or have wronged my ally, or helped his lawless enemy, 5 may an enemy relentlessly chase me and catch me; may he trample me to death and leave me lying dishonored in the dust. (Selah) 6 Stand up angrily, Lord. Rise up with raging fury against my enemies. Wake up for my sake, and execute the judgment you have decreed for them.
Search:
Notes and References
“... Th e name of ‘Athtart let my voice sing,
may I praise the name of the lion.
O name, may you be victorious over . . .
may you (or, she) shut the jaw of El’s attackers.
A great panther is ‘Athtart,
a great panther that pounces.
Th is hymnic piece consists of three parallel bicola. Th e combination of the parallel verbs
to sing and praise in the fi rst bicolon is regular in biblical psalms (e.g., 101:1; 104:33; cf.
18:49; Pardee 2012: 82–83). Just as praise of ‘Athtart’s name marks the fi rst bicolon of
her hymn, so praise of Yahweh’s name serves in the opening of Psalm 29: “Ascribe to
the Lord the glory of his name.” Praise of the divine name is an important feature in
the frame of Psalm 8 (Ps. 8:2[1] = 8:10[9]) and for the closing of Psalm 18 (in v. 50[49]).
Similarly, blessing of the divine name opens Psalm 103. In the Ugaritic hymn, the god-
dess is compared to a lion and a panther. While such an image for Yahweh can be found
outside of the Psalter (Hos. 13:8), this biblical book uses lion imagery for enemies who
attack the speaker (e.g., Pss. 7:3[2], 10:9; 17:12; 22:14[13], 22[21]). ...”
Smith, Mark S.
"Canaanite Backgrounds to the Psalms" in Brown, William P. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms
(p. 47) 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
1 && show(index - 1)"
@keydown.right.window="open && comments.length > 1 && show(index + 1)">
User Comments
,