KTU 1.3
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
I crushed the gods’ beloved, Arsha. I ravaged El’s young bull, Ataka. I crushed the gods’ she-wolf, Fire. I annihilated El’s daughter, Zabiba. I’ve reaped silver from my fighting; I’ve taken possession of gold of those who drove Baal from the heights of Saphon” knocking him like a bird from his perch and drove him from the throne of his kingship from the back-rest, from the siege of his dominion. Let not the sons of your house, O El, let not the daughters of your house rejoice,
Date: 2300 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Proverbs 27:8
Hebrew Bible
7 The one whose appetite is satisfied loathes honey, but to the hungry mouth every bitter thing is sweet. 8 Like a bird that wanders from its nest, so is a person who wanders from his home. 9 Ointment and incense make the heart rejoice, likewise the sweetness of one’s friend from sincere counsel.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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An Ugaritic battle poem in the text KTU 1.3 describes a defeated god being driven from his throne like a bird knocked from its perch. This unique, idiomatic image of displacement is echoed in Proverbs 27:8, which uses a similar metaphor to describe a person out of place.
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Notes and References
"... KTU 1.3 ... This idiom survives as a Hebrew variant in Proverbs 27:8, and is preserved more closely in 1QH 4:8 ..."
* 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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