Smith divides the psalms into two categories: prayer (basic prayer, psalms of trust, and laments) and praise (mostly hymns but also psalms of thanksgiving and psalms of instruction). Although he gives many examples of their similarities with Ugaritic texts, I will mention just two of them.
1) We read the following:
When the mighty one attacks your gate,
the warrior, your walls,
you shall lift up your eyes to Ba’al.
O Ba’al:
If you drive the mighty one from our gate,
the warrior from our walls:
A bull, O Ba’al, we will consecrate;
a vow, Ba’al, we will fulfill;
a firstborn [1], Ba’al, we will consecrate;
a flesh sacrifice, Ba’al, we will fulfill.
A feast, Ba’al, we will prepare;
the sanctuary, Ba’al, we will ascend;
the path of Ba’al (’s temple), we will walk.
Then Ba’al will listen to your prayer.
He will drive the mighty one from your gate,
the warrior from your walls. (KTU 119.26-36)
[1] Because the first letter of the word is virtually missing, there is disagreement as to whether this should be translated as firstborn or male. If it’s firstborn, it has been suggested it might allude to child sacrifice, something practiced in Phoenician culture but not in Ugaritic.
Compare the above passage to Ps. 27:1-14, a psalm of trust, where Yahweh is seen as the source of confidence against enemies that surround the speaker. Note also the hymns that praise Yahweh for protecting Jerusalem against enemies (e.g. Ps. 46:5; 48:3).
2) The goddesses Anat and Athirat (biblical Asherah) offer praise to the god El for his wisdom and then to Baal for his kingship:
Your decree is wise, El,
Your wisdom is eternal,
A lucky life is your decree.
But Baal the Conqueror is our king,
Our judge higher than all. (KTU 1.3 V. 30-33; KTU 1.4 IV 41–44)
God’s wisdom is likewise praised in Psalm 104:24 and praise for Yahweh’s kingship is common (Psalms 29, 48, 93, 96, 97, 99).
Although the Psalms consist largely of prayer and praise, they also contain ** you do not have permission to see this link ** that are attested in the Ugaritic texts.
One of the most well-known examples is that of the ** you do not have permission to see this link **
Take a look at Psalm 82:1-6 and Psalm 89:5-7 and then the following from the Baal Cycle:
The Father of the Bright One (has) two wives… Yam sent messengers, Ruler Nahar an embassy. With great rejoicing they flew heavenwards their nostrils flaring. Depart, divine assistants, do not stay! Indeed, set your faces towards the convocation of the Council, towards the divine mountain. At the feet of El you shall fall you shall honour the convocation of the Council! Standing upright, you shall then speak, declaring your message. And you shall say to Bull your father El, declare to the convocation of the Council: Message of Yam, your master, of your lord, Ruler Nahar: Give up the god whom you obey, the one whom you obey, Tempest! Give up Baal and his retinue, the Son of Dagan, whose gold I shall seize! The divine assistants depart; they do not delay. Then they set their faces towards the divine mountain, towards the convocation of the Council. (KTU 1.2 I.14-36).
** you do not have permission to see this link ** Dan McClellan on the Divine Council.
Yesterday, I posted his video on ** you do not have permission to see this link ** However, the post has disappeared.
In this final post on Smith’s chapter, we will look at a Canaanite mythological template and the hints we see of it in the Psalms.
The story goes as follows: Baal, a warrior god battles cosmic enemies, the most notable of which is the Sea, who is battled by both Baal and Anat (Ps. 18:16; 68:22; 89:9-10), Anat’s enemy, the Dragon (Ps. 148:7), and Baal’s enemy, Litan (Ps. 74:13-14). Baal is sometimes envisioned as marching (Ps. 68:7-8), other times he rides his chariots on the clouds (Ps. 18:10; 104:3). After defeating them, he constructs a palace on his holy mountain (Ps. 48:2-3; 99:9; 68:16) constructed of gold, silver, and cedars of Lebanon (Ps 92:12-13) and enthroned as king serves as a divine host to his many divine siblings.
One can see not only Canaanite material in the Psalms, but developments as well. There is the change from the older motif of conflict with cosmic enemies to that with evil or evildoers, a chief concern of the Psalms. We also see a Yahweh who has no competitors and who has taken on a range of images associated with other deities. Baal is rejected. El is assimilated into Yahweh. There is nary a word about Asherah. In fact, one might say that one of the most important innovations in the Psalms is the very non-Canaanite idea that deities are nothing but idols.
BDEhrman
FreedomBen
evgendob
Robert
1 Guest(s)