Texts in Conversation
Numbers 23 shares the Baal Cycle's bull imagery for El to describe God's strength, making Israel's protection a matter of divine power that hostile curses cannot overcome.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.3 V:35
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
And Virgin Anat replied: “Your word, El, is wise; you are everlastingly wise; a life of good fortune is your word. Our king is Valiant, Baal is our ruler; there is none who is above him. We should all carry his chalice, we should all carry his cup.” Groaning, he cries to Bull El his father, to El the king who begot him. He cries to Athirat and her sons, to the goddess and the band of her kinsmen: “There is no house for Baal like the gods, nor dwelling like the sons of Athirat. El has a home, his sons have shelters, the Great Lady-who-tramples-Yamm has a home, Pidray daughter of Light has a home, Tallay daughter of Shower has a shelter; Arsay, daughter of Snatcher-for-ever has a home, the perfect brides have homes.”
Numbers 23:22
Hebrew Bible
20 Indeed, I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. 21 He has not looked on iniquity in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The Lord their God is with them; his acclamation as king is among them. 22 God brought them out of Egypt. They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull. 23 For there is no spell against Jacob, nor is there any divination against Israel. At this time it must be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘Look at what God has done!’ 24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness, and like a lion raises himself up; they will not lie down until they eat their prey, and drink the blood of the slain.” 25 Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”
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Notes and References
“... Early El traditions in Israel appear not only in Exod 6:3, but also in
Genesis 49 (El parallel to Shadday in Gen 49:25, plus Asherah under-
lying "Breasts and Womb" in the same verse?); in Numbers 23-24 ("El,
who brought them from Egypt,'' has (horns) like the horns of the wild
ox" [cf. Ugaritic title, "Bull El" in KTU 1.3 V 35-36, l.414-15, etc.] in
Num 23:22 = 24:8; and El parallel to Shadday in Num 24:4)12; and in
1 Samuel 1-3 (El names, e. g., Elqanah; tradition of the tent of meeting;
El's manner of dream-appearance at night).13 In addition, other fea-
tures of El showed through the biblical text: El's title "creator," *qny
(Gen 14:19, 22); El's tent-abode as consisting of qrs in Ugaritic (cf.
qercisim for the 'ohel mo'ed in Exodus 26-40; Num 3:36, 4:31). Even if
all of the biblical texts are not particularly early, they still bear the
imprint of older tra,iition about El. ...”
Smith, Mark S.
Biblical Narrative between Ugaritic and Akkadian Literature, Part I: Ugarit and the Hebrew Bible: Consideration of Comparative Research
(p. 10) Revue biblique, 2007
* 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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