Texts in Conversation
In 2 Kings 17, Hoshea's service shares the political language of Ugaritic letters, showing that tribute expresses a king's submission and the loss of his country's independence.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 2.23:3
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
And thus spoke the Sun, the Great King, my lord: […] […] the embassy of his servant he sends to your lord […] my embassy with him […] the embassy of your servant, when it arrives, the embassy of the Sun, the Great [King], my [lord] […] I know […] [the Sun], the Great King, my [lord] […] […] [the Sun], the Great [King], […] [my lord]. And I […] I ask [for life for the] Sun, the [Great] King, [my lord]. Indeed I [ask] for life of [soul] before Baal of Sapan, my lord, and length of days for my lord, before Amun and before the gods of Egypt, who guard the soul of the Sun, the Great King, my lord.
2 Kings 17:3
Hebrew Bible
2 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not to the same degree as the Israelite kings who preceded him. 3 King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched up to attack him; so Hoshea became his subject and paid him tribute. 4 The king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was planning a revolt. Hoshea had sent messengers to King So of Egypt and had not sent his annual tribute to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria arrested him and imprisoned him. 5 The king of Assyria marched through the whole land. He attacked Samaria and besieged it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea’s reign, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the people of Israel to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes.
Search:
Notes and References
“... 312Ug. 'bd is used in Ugarit to denote the vassal of the Great King (KTU 2.23:3;
2.39:6), like the Akkadian word ardu, "slave" (PRU IV:49, line 12). The use of
עבדin this text is the typically political language for vassalage (cf. also 2 Kings
16:7; 17:3; 24:1; Ezra 9:10; 2 Chron. 12:8) and forms a parallel to the bringing
of tribute; ...”
* 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.
User Comments
,