Dennis Pardee
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264928
- eISBN:
- 9780191754104
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264928.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
The discovery and decryption of Ugaritic cuneiform tablets in the 1920s has given scholars an insight into the development of alphabetic writing and the origins of biblical poetry. This book, based ...
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The discovery and decryption of Ugaritic cuneiform tablets in the 1920s has given scholars an insight into the development of alphabetic writing and the origins of biblical poetry. This book, based on the author's Schweich Lectures given in 2007, describes the origins of the cuneiform alphabetic writing system developed in Ugarit some time before 1250 bc, and the use of alphabetic writing at Ugarit, and gives a comparison of Ugaritic and Hebrew literatures.Less
The discovery and decryption of Ugaritic cuneiform tablets in the 1920s has given scholars an insight into the development of alphabetic writing and the origins of biblical poetry. This book, based on the author's Schweich Lectures given in 2007, describes the origins of the cuneiform alphabetic writing system developed in Ugarit some time before 1250 bc, and the use of alphabetic writing at Ugarit, and gives a comparison of Ugaritic and Hebrew literatures.
Joshua A. Berman
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195374704
- eISBN:
- 9780199871438
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195374704.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism, Biblical Studies
This chapter contains the argument that drives the rest of the book. The rejection of hierarchy is rooted in a major theological shift. Social and political hierarchy in the ancient Near East ...
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This chapter contains the argument that drives the rest of the book. The rejection of hierarchy is rooted in a major theological shift. Social and political hierarchy in the ancient Near East received metaphysical legitimation, as the heavenly order was construed as paralleling the terrestrial one. The common person in this scheme emerges as a servant, the lowest rung in the hierarchy, as evidenced in Mesopotamian creation epics Atrahasis, and echoed in Egypt and Ugarit well. The theology of covenant in the Pentateuch rejects this. In light of parallels with Late Bronze Age suzerainty treaties, the covenant narratives implicitly suggest that the whole of Israel—not its king, not his retinue, not the priests—bears the status of a vassal king entered into treaty with a sovereign king, God. While much of this material has been extant in the scholarship for some fifty years, the material is examined here in new light, and from two directions. The first borrows observations from the field of anthropology concerning the role and display of honor between superiors and subordinates that offers new insight into the suzerain‐vassal paradigm for the relationship between God and Israel. The second is a revisiting of the Hittite treaties whose form and language are paralleled in the covenantal material in the Pentateuch. This study concludes that not only does Israel as a collective whole attain the status of a subordinate king, but that, indeed, hierarchy is eschewed as every man in Israel becomes endowed with this status as well. Parallels are drawn between the Israel as vassal paradigm, and Israel as spouse paradigm.Less
This chapter contains the argument that drives the rest of the book. The rejection of hierarchy is rooted in a major theological shift. Social and political hierarchy in the ancient Near East received metaphysical legitimation, as the heavenly order was construed as paralleling the terrestrial one. The common person in this scheme emerges as a servant, the lowest rung in the hierarchy, as evidenced in Mesopotamian creation epics Atrahasis, and echoed in Egypt and Ugarit well. The theology of covenant in the Pentateuch rejects this. In light of parallels with Late Bronze Age suzerainty treaties, the covenant narratives implicitly suggest that the whole of Israel—not its king, not his retinue, not the priests—bears the status of a vassal king entered into treaty with a sovereign king, God. While much of this material has been extant in the scholarship for some fifty years, the material is examined here in new light, and from two directions. The first borrows observations from the field of anthropology concerning the role and display of honor between superiors and subordinates that offers new insight into the suzerain‐vassal paradigm for the relationship between God and Israel. The second is a revisiting of the Hittite treaties whose form and language are paralleled in the covenantal material in the Pentateuch. This study concludes that not only does Israel as a collective whole attain the status of a subordinate king, but that, indeed, hierarchy is eschewed as every man in Israel becomes endowed with this status as well. Parallels are drawn between the Israel as vassal paradigm, and Israel as spouse paradigm.
Dennis Pardee
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264928
- eISBN:
- 9780191754104
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264928.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
Chapter 1 attempted a rough sketch of the uses of writing at Ugarit and, particularly, of the types of texts that are attested in the alphabetic script and the Ugaritic language. It showed that of ...
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Chapter 1 attempted a rough sketch of the uses of writing at Ugarit and, particularly, of the types of texts that are attested in the alphabetic script and the Ugaritic language. It showed that of the roughly 175 religious texts, only about fifty may be qualified as belletristic; virtually all of these are couched in poetry and all deal with aspects of the divine. It would be impossible to cover all of these texts even superficially in the space allotted, and, instead of flitting from one to another in a selection of these texts, this chapter concentrates on the longest literary composition from Ugarit, the six tablets making up the so-called Baal Cycle.Less
Chapter 1 attempted a rough sketch of the uses of writing at Ugarit and, particularly, of the types of texts that are attested in the alphabetic script and the Ugaritic language. It showed that of the roughly 175 religious texts, only about fifty may be qualified as belletristic; virtually all of these are couched in poetry and all deal with aspects of the divine. It would be impossible to cover all of these texts even superficially in the space allotted, and, instead of flitting from one to another in a selection of these texts, this chapter concentrates on the longest literary composition from Ugarit, the six tablets making up the so-called Baal Cycle.
TREVOR BRYCE
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199281329
- eISBN:
- 9780191706752
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199281329.003.07
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
In spite of his close partnership with his father, and in spite of the role he had played in the restoration of the kingdom, Suppiluliuma was not intended for the mantle of kingship in Hatti after ...
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In spite of his close partnership with his father, and in spite of the role he had played in the restoration of the kingdom, Suppiluliuma was not intended for the mantle of kingship in Hatti after his father's death. But Suppiluliuma may well have felt aggrieved, after all he had done for the kingdom, at being relegated to a position of subordination to his brother. Tudhaliya's murder paved the way for Suppiluliuma to seize the throne. This chapter chronicles the reign of Suppiluliuma I as king of the Hittites, his opening moves in the conflict with Mitanni, Suppiluliuma's family, the war with Syria, alliance with the kingdom of Ugarit, the kingdom of Amurru, Suppiluliuma's consolidation of his Syrian conquests, his pressing problems regarding the eastern flank of his empire, the roles of the viceroys in Suppiluliuma's kingdom, and Suppiluliuma's legacy.Less
In spite of his close partnership with his father, and in spite of the role he had played in the restoration of the kingdom, Suppiluliuma was not intended for the mantle of kingship in Hatti after his father's death. But Suppiluliuma may well have felt aggrieved, after all he had done for the kingdom, at being relegated to a position of subordination to his brother. Tudhaliya's murder paved the way for Suppiluliuma to seize the throne. This chapter chronicles the reign of Suppiluliuma I as king of the Hittites, his opening moves in the conflict with Mitanni, Suppiluliuma's family, the war with Syria, alliance with the kingdom of Ugarit, the kingdom of Amurru, Suppiluliuma's consolidation of his Syrian conquests, his pressing problems regarding the eastern flank of his empire, the roles of the viceroys in Suppiluliuma's kingdom, and Suppiluliuma's legacy.
Debra Scoggins Ballentine
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- June 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199370252
- eISBN:
- 9780190226824
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199370252.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Religion in the Ancient World
This chapter offers analysis of the conflict topos in Anzu, the Babylonian and Assyrian recensions of Enuma Elish, and the Ugaritic Baʿlu Cycle. It argues that these narratives present specific and ...
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This chapter offers analysis of the conflict topos in Anzu, the Babylonian and Assyrian recensions of Enuma Elish, and the Ugaritic Baʿlu Cycle. It argues that these narratives present specific and socially contingent theological hierarchies, and explores how Mesopotamian authors used the conflict topos in political discourse. These narratives promote distinct arrangements of divine characters, elevate a particular deity within the divine hierarchy, and portray the political institution of kingship as a natural or given model of legitimate authority. Anzu and Enuma Elish also explicitly highlight specific cities and temples. Moreover, the characters and events of Anzu and both versions of Enuma Elish are referenced in Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian royal ideology. Additionally, the chapter develops comparative examination of the narrative taxonomies of these stories. Discussion of these texts provides the literary and cultural background for analyzing examples of the conflict motif in the subsequent two chapters.Less
This chapter offers analysis of the conflict topos in Anzu, the Babylonian and Assyrian recensions of Enuma Elish, and the Ugaritic Baʿlu Cycle. It argues that these narratives present specific and socially contingent theological hierarchies, and explores how Mesopotamian authors used the conflict topos in political discourse. These narratives promote distinct arrangements of divine characters, elevate a particular deity within the divine hierarchy, and portray the political institution of kingship as a natural or given model of legitimate authority. Anzu and Enuma Elish also explicitly highlight specific cities and temples. Moreover, the characters and events of Anzu and both versions of Enuma Elish are referenced in Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian royal ideology. Additionally, the chapter develops comparative examination of the narrative taxonomies of these stories. Discussion of these texts provides the literary and cultural background for analyzing examples of the conflict motif in the subsequent two chapters.
Joshua A. Berman
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190658809
- eISBN:
- 9780190675295
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190658809.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism, Religion in the Ancient World
As Hittite kings communicated with their vassals, they routinely recounted the history of their relationship between the two kingdoms. Strikingly, the record reveals that each communication brought ...
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As Hittite kings communicated with their vassals, they routinely recounted the history of their relationship between the two kingdoms. Strikingly, the record reveals that each communication brought with it a redrafted version of that history which was often at odds with the history recounted in the earlier communications. Most significantly, as Hittite monarchs redrafted earlier histories, these past versions were not erased from the record—rather, even as the Hittite kings redrafted their historical accounts in accord with the needs of the moment, both they and their vassals would read these accounts while retaining and recalling the earlier, conflicting versions of events. A series of pioneering studies of the El-Amarna letters from the field of international relations sheds light on why the Hittite kings composed such conflicting histories and how, in turn, these were read and interpreted by their vassals.Less
As Hittite kings communicated with their vassals, they routinely recounted the history of their relationship between the two kingdoms. Strikingly, the record reveals that each communication brought with it a redrafted version of that history which was often at odds with the history recounted in the earlier communications. Most significantly, as Hittite monarchs redrafted earlier histories, these past versions were not erased from the record—rather, even as the Hittite kings redrafted their historical accounts in accord with the needs of the moment, both they and their vassals would read these accounts while retaining and recalling the earlier, conflicting versions of events. A series of pioneering studies of the El-Amarna letters from the field of international relations sheds light on why the Hittite kings composed such conflicting histories and how, in turn, these were read and interpreted by their vassals.
Sara J. Milstein
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- December 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190205393
- eISBN:
- 9780190205416
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190205393.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter argues that the Gilgamesh Epic underwent several phases of revision through introduction. First, the old Huwawa narrative was taken up and supplemented with a large block at the front. ...
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This chapter argues that the Gilgamesh Epic underwent several phases of revision through introduction. First, the old Huwawa narrative was taken up and supplemented with a large block at the front. This is suggested by contrasts between Tablets II and III of the Old Babylonian Epic. A second act of revision through introduction pertains to the prologues. Typically, the first twenty-eight lines of the Standard Babylonian Epic have been seen as a secondary addition. This chapter argues that a school text from Ugarit may provide evidence of a prior phase in the development of the prologue. Finally, this chapter examines the addition of “Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld” to the end of the Standard Babylonian Epic, a move that involved the omission of the first 170 lines of the old Sumerian tale. It closes with reference to the oft-overlooked allusion to the Gilgamesh prologue in Psalm 48.Less
This chapter argues that the Gilgamesh Epic underwent several phases of revision through introduction. First, the old Huwawa narrative was taken up and supplemented with a large block at the front. This is suggested by contrasts between Tablets II and III of the Old Babylonian Epic. A second act of revision through introduction pertains to the prologues. Typically, the first twenty-eight lines of the Standard Babylonian Epic have been seen as a secondary addition. This chapter argues that a school text from Ugarit may provide evidence of a prior phase in the development of the prologue. Finally, this chapter examines the addition of “Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld” to the end of the Standard Babylonian Epic, a move that involved the omission of the first 170 lines of the old Sumerian tale. It closes with reference to the oft-overlooked allusion to the Gilgamesh prologue in Psalm 48.
