Psalms1 18

Essays and Thoughts on the Psalms as Compared to Ancient Near Eastern Texts
Psalms 1-18
Old Testament
Psalms 18: Smoke Went Up From His Nostrils.
Essay by Alford D. Wayman
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/wayman29
I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock in
whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is
worthy to be praised, so I shall be saved from my enemies. The cords of death encompassed me; the
torrents of perdition assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In
my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my
cry to him reached his ears. Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains
trembled and quaked, because he was angry. Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his
mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. He bowed the heavens, and came down; thick darkness was
under his feet. He rode on a cherub, and flew; he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind. He made
darkness his covering around him, his canopy thick clouds dark with water. Out of the brightness before him
there broke through his clouds hailstones and coals of fire. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the
Most High uttered his voice. And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings, and
routed them. Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at
your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. He reached down from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of mighty waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me;
for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity; but the Lord was my
support. He brought me out into a broad place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. The Lord
rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.
For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his ordinances
were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me. I was blameless before him, and I kept myself
from guilt. Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the
cleanness of my hands in his sight. With the loyal you show yourself loyal; with the blameless you show
yourself blameless; with the pure you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you show yourself perverse.
For you deliver a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down. It is you who light my lamp; the
Lord, my God, lights up my darkness. By you I can crush a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
This Godhis way is perfect; the promise of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
For who is God except the Lord? And who is a rock besides our God? the God who girded me with strength,
and made my way safe. He made my feet like the feet of a deer, and set me secure on the heights. He
trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your
salvation, and your right hand has supported me; your help has made me great. You gave me a wide place
for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip. I pursued my enemies and overtook them; and did not turn
back until they were consumed. I struck them down, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my
feet. For you girded me with strength for the battle; you made my assailants sink under me. You made my
enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed. They cried for help, but there was no
one to save them; they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them. I beat them fine, like dust before the
wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets. You delivered me from strife with the peoples; you made
me head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me. As soon as they heard of me they
obeyed me; foreigners came cringing to me. Foreigners lost heart, and came trembling out of their
strongholds. The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation, the God who gave
me vengeance and subdued peoples under me; who delivered me from my enemies; indeed, you exalted
me above my adversaries; you delivered me from the violent. For this I will extol you, O Lord, among the
nations, and sing praises to your name. Great triumphs he gives to his king, and shows steadfast love to his
anointed, to David and his descendants forever. (Psalms 18:1-50 NRSV)
Here is one of the best examples of how one who asked for help and vindication, was in fact vindicated by
Yahweh. We see here Yahweh the warrior coming down to help the devoted believer with battle. This could
possibly be the result of Psalm 17, when the lamenter asked for help. Here Yahweh delivers not only from
enemies, but from the depths of sheol its self.
There is no evidence that this was written by David but the above psalm is attributed to him. Psalm 18 is
divided into two parts and may be outlined as follows: verses 2-4 are praise to Yahweh, 5-7 the poet
describes his mortal issues, 8-10 the writer depicts Yahwehs intervention 21-31 Yahwehs justice is
acknowledged. The second part of Psalm 18 verses 32-51 may be broken down using verses 32-35, where
the writer praises Yahweh for training and a Bow, 36-44 victory over enemies, 44-46 victory over foreign
people, and finally the hymn of praise and thanksgiving in verses 47-51.
Within this text there is a treasure chest full of imagery and motifs that could be presented. The writers
boasting of the works of his god, the modes of warfare the god uses, the types of interments and devices of
war. Much within this Psalm recalls to memory the description in Canaanite mythology, angry gods
slaughtering the masses, rulers, gods using Nature and magical tools to wage war, and finally and ironically,
the boasting of the Egyptian king on how the god help him destroy Israel. Below we will discuss some of
these motifs and explore some comparisons in other works that may prove to be relevant.
One example that comes to mind is the account of the goddess Anat, in the Baal Epic, from Canaanite
Mythology. The text portrays vivid imagery of a gory battle between the goddess and men. Reading below
we get a glimpse of the battle:
The gates of Anat's house were shut,
and the lads met the lady of the mountain.
And then Anat went to battle in the valley,
she fought between the two cities:
she killed the people of the coast,
she annihilated the men of the east.
Heads rolled under her like balls,
hands flew over her like locusts,
the warriors' hands like swarms of grasshoppers.
She fastened the heads to her back,
she tied the hands to her belt.
She plunged knee-deep into the soldiers' blood,
up to her thighs in the warriors' gore;
with a staff she drove off her enemies,
with the string of her bow her opponents.
And then Anat arrived at her house,

the goddess reached her palace;
there, not satisfied with her battling in the valley,
her fighting between the two cities,
she made the chairs into warriors,( Coogan p. 90-91)
Anat is not satisfied with the gore and her rage was still not appeased. This can be compare to the above
text in Psalms 18:8-15:
Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. He
bowed the heavens, and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. He rode on a cherub, and flew; he
came swiftly upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering around him, his canopy thick
clouds dark with water. Out of the brightness before him there broke through his clouds hailstones and coals
of fire. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice. And he sent out his
arrows, and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them. Then the channels of the sea were
seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of
your nostrils.
Next we find that the writer gives thanks for being trained in war and it is implied that through Yahweh he
was granted superhuman powers. In verses 29-37we read:
By you I can crush a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This Godhis way is perfect; the promise of
the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God except the Lord? And who
is a rock besides our God? the God who girded me with strength, and made my way safe. He made my feet
like the feet of a deer, and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can
bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand has supported
me; your help has made me great. You gave me a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not
slip. I pursued my enemies and overtook them; and did not turn back until they were consumed.
In the Baal Epic we find that tools of war we created to help Baal fight the god of the Sea by the craftsmen
Kothar-wa-Hasis, and with these tools he was able to conquer the Sea:
And Kothar-wa-Hasis replied:"Let me tell you, Prince Baal,
let me repeat, Rider on the Clouds:
behold, your enemy, Baal,
behold, you will kill your enemy,
behold, you will annihilate your foes.
You will take your eternal kingship;
your dominion forever and ever."
Kothar brought down two clubs,
and he pronounced their names:

"As for you, your name is Driver;
Driver, drive Sea,
drive Sea from his throne,
River from the seat of his dominion.
Dance in Baal's hands,
like a vulture from his fingers.
Strike Prince Sea on the shoulder,
Judge River between the arms."
The club danced in Baal's hands,
It struck Prince Sea on the shoulder,
Judge River between the arms.
Sea was strong; he did not sink;
his joints did not shake;
his frame did not collapse.
Kothar brought down two clubs,
and he pronounced their names: (Coogan p.88)
Lastly is the text that was found on what is labeled the Israel Stela and relates the victory of Mer-ne Ptah
over the Libyans. The text is not a historical account as compare to other texts describing the same battle
but is an overview of the universally victorious pharaoh in the conquering of foreign peoples. Here the Hymn
brags to the god of his deeds. It is here that the only mention of the name Israel is found in Egyptian
literature.
The princes are prostrate, saying: "Mercy!"

Not one raises his head among the Nine Bows.
Desolation is for Tehenu; Hatti is pacified;
Plundered is the Canaan with every evil;
Carried off is Ashkelon; seized upon is Gezer;
Yanoam is made as that which does not exist;
Isiral is laid waste, his seed is not;
Hurru is become a widow for Egypt!

All lands together, they are pacified; (Pitchard p. 376-378)
These three texts are just a few examples of the topics and themes written in Psalm 18. Volumes more
could be written in grater detail comparing such literature styles and topics. Many times such themes are
overlooked because the text is taken at face value and applied to our current day situations. While the
Psalm above can be used in this way and any piece of biblical literature it is at time proper to also bring to
light the writing styles and historical backgrounds and environment in which the texts were written.
Coogan, Michael David. Stories from Ancient Canaan. The Westminster Press. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1978.
Dahood, Mitchell. The Anchor Bible: Psalms 1-50. Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York 1968.
Pritchard, James. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. Princeton University Press,
Princeton, New York 1950.
Quoted biblical texts are taken from the New Revised Standard Version
Psalms 17: Rise up, O Yahweh, Confront Them.
Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry; give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit. From you let my
vindication come; let your eyes see the right. If you try my heart, if you visit me by night, if you test me, you
will find no wickedness in me; my mouth does not transgress. As for what others do, by the word of your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent. My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped. I call
upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me, hear my words. Wondrously show your
steadfast love, O savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand. Guard me as
the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who despoil me, my deadly
enemies who surround me. They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly. They
track me down; now they surround me; they set their eyes to cast me to the ground. They are like a lion
eager to tear, like a young lion lurking in ambush. Rise up, O Lord, confront them, overthrow them! By your
sword deliver my life from the wicked, from mortalsby your hand, O Lord from mortals whose portion in life is
in this world. May their bellies be filled with what you have stored up for them; may their children have more
than enough; may they leave something over to their little ones. As for me, I shall behold your face in
righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness. (Psalms 17:1-15 NRSV)
Here, some scholars believe that the writer above was accused of idol worship, slander, wrongly accused by
the king, or under political pressure from a rebel army. The lamenter here would be possibly praying all night
in the temple. The person above asks Yahweh himself to investigate the accusations. The writer is sure of
his innocence and looks to be vindicated, if not in this life time, in the afterlife. Vindication for the above is
important, for if found guilty of idol worship the accused would be banned from the temple. This would be
most devastating spiritually, socially, and politically.
This lament is often called a Psalm of Vigil. The structure of the Psalm can be outlined as follows; verses 1-5
prays for Gods help, 6-12 asks for deliverance from enemies, and 13-15 a petition for the destruction of
enemies. Another Psalm in comparison could be Psalm 18 which has almost the same theme. Below we will
see the similarities between two pieces of literature from the Near East dealing with the wrongly accused
and vindication, and also the idea of destroying enemies and rebels.
The first text, and possibly one of the best comparisons, is the Egyptian prayer for help in court. In the text
properly called A Prayer for Help in the Court of Law This particular text comes from the Papyrus of Anastais
II from about 1230 B.C. We read the following:
O Amon, give thy ear to one who is alone in the law court, who is poor; he is not rich. The court
cheats him of silver and gold for the scribes of the mat and clothing for the attendants. May it be found that
Amon assumes his form as the vizier, in order to permit the poor man to get off. May it be found that the
poor man is vindicated. May the poor man surpass the rich. (Pritchard p.308)
In comparison to destroying rebels or those who disrespect, We find in the Ancient Near East the Myth of
Inanna and Ebih, a request for the permission to destroy rebels. We read,
65-69 (Inana announced:) "An, my father, I greet you! Lend your ear to my words. You
have made me terrifying among the deities in heaven. Owing to you my word has no rival
in heaven or on earth. You have given me the ...... and the cilig weapon, the antibal and
mansium emblems.
70-79 "To set the socle in position and make the throne and foundation firm, to carry the
might of the cita weapon which bends like a mubum tree, to hold the ground with the
sixfold yoke, to extend the thighs with the fourfold yoke, to pursue murderous raids and
widespread miltary campaigns, to appear to those kings in the ...... of heaven like
moonlight, to shoot the arrow from the arm and fall on fields, orchards and forests like the
tooth of the locust, to take the harrow to rebel lands, to remove the locks from their city
gates so the doors stand open -- King An, you have indeed given me all this, and .......
80-82 "You have placed me at the right hand of the king in order to destroy rebel lands:
may he, with my aid, smash heads like a falcon in the foothills of the mountain, King An,
and may I ...... your name throughout the land like a thread.
83-88 "May he destroy the lands as a snake in a crevice. May he make them slither
around like a sajkal snake coming down from a mountain. May he establish control over
the mountain, examine it and know its length. May he go out on the holy campaign of An
and know its depth. The gods ......, since the Anuna deities have .......
89-95 "How can it be that the mountain did not fear me in heaven and on earth, that the
mountain did not fear me, Inana, in heaven and on earth, that the mountain range of Ebih,
the mountain, did not fear me in heaven and on earth? Because it showed me no respect,
because it did not put its nose to the ground, because it did not rub its lips in the dust,
may I fill my hand with the soaring mountain range and hand it over to my terror.
96-99 "Against its magnificent sides let me place magnificent battering rams, against its
small sides let me place small battering rams. Let me storm it and start the 'game' of holy
Inana. In the mountain range let me set up battle and prepare conflicts.
100-103 "Let me prepare arrows in the quiver. Let me ...... slingstones with the rope. Let
me begin the polishing of my lance. Let me prepare the throwstick and the shield.
104-107 "Let me set fire to its thick forests. Let me take an axe to its evil-doing. Let me
make Gibil, the purifier, bare his holy teeth at its watercourses. Let me spread this terror
through the inaccessible mountain range Aratta.
108-111 "Like a city which An has cursed, may it never be restored. Like a city at which
Enlil has frowned, may it never again lift its neck up. May the mountain tremble when I
approach. May Ebih give me honour and praise me." ( Black)
Psalms 17 in some ways displays the anguish of being wrongly accuse and also gives us a view of the
ancient of reaction to the issue. It seems to be consistent that those cheated or wrongly accused, even in
modern times, would want to be vindicated and have their enemies destroyed. An appeal to the gods was in
order. It is interesting to think about this subject in light of the New Testament teachings. Today we would
turn the other cheek and at times appear meek. It seems in the texts above that it was handled differently.
Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Robson, E., and Zolyomi, G., Inanna and Ebih The Electronic Text Corpus of
Sumerian Literature, Oxford 1998
Brown, E. Raymond., Fitzmyer, Joseph. And Murphy, Ronalde. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary.
Prentice-Hall, Inc, New Jersey, 1990.
Quoted biblical texts are taken from the New Revised Standard Version.
Psalms 16: Protect Me, O EL
Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from
you." As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight. Those who choose
another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon
my lips. The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my
heart instructs me. I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. For you do not give me up to
Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit. You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of
joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalms 16:1-11 NRSV)
In the above text lies hidden something special that only one knowing Hebrew and the Canaanite religion
might be able to uncover. The above text is thought to be a profession of a believer who has just converted
from the Canaanite religion to Yahwehism. Verse 1 of the Psalm is the introduction, Verses 3-4 are the
rejection of the past religion and gods. Verses 5-11 talk of the benefits of following Yahweh. Finally, verses
10-11 are statements alluding to belief in the afterlife.
The writer in the above text renounces the old gods and wishes on the believers of his previous faith many
sorrows. The word here for sorrows makes us remember back to the conversation Yahweh had with Eve
concerning the curse. Below we will discuss this text and compare it to the Canaanite confession of faith
spoken by the goddesses Asherah and Anat concerning Baal while they were lobbying the supreme god of
the Canaanite pantheon, El, for a temple to be built in which Baal could be finally be validated as a god.
Along with the text from the Canaanite religion, comes a Sumerian text where the writer is saved from death
by execution, at the last second, and praises the goddess Nungal, in a writing called A Hymn to Nungal.
The above text outside of the praises for Yahweh has illusions to that of a warrior being kept from death or
Sheol because Yahweh is his protector. In the Ancient Near East the most trusted defender was put at the
kings right. Also, the sword was carried in the right hand and the shield in the left. Possibly the writer is not
only talking about the afterlife but perhaps he finds council in Yahweh and Yahweh is seen as his protector. It
is humors to speculate this conversion was made out of fear before a battle. It would be smart to have the
strongest god protecting you, while for good luck you denounce the old gods and use them only in extreme
measures or when convenient.
The Canaanite profession of faith reads:
But our king is Baal the Conqueror,

our judge, higher than all:
all of us must bear his chalice,
all of us must bear his cup."
Here is also a reference to the cup, with the same motif as in the Psalm above. This saying comes from the
mouth of Anat before El, when she asks permission for Baal to build a temple. The phrase is quite small but
it is enough to make the comparison.
Moving on we come to the hymn to Nungal in this particular part we see how the accused are snatched from
the jaws of death and praise is given to the goddess, the protector of the perhaps wrongly accused.
"When someone has been brought into the palace of the king and this man is accused of a capital offence,
my chief prosecutor, Nindimgul, stretches out his arm in accusation (?). He sentences that person to death,
but he will not be killed; he snatches the man from the jaws of destruction and brings him into my house of
life and keeps him under guard. No one wears clean clothes in my dusty (?) house. My house falls upon the
person like a drunken man. He will be listening for snakes and scorpions in the darkness of the house. My
house gives birth to a just person, but exterminates a false one. Since there are pity and tears within its
brick walls, and it is built with compassion, it soothes the heart of that person, and refreshes his spirits.
The writer then ends with the conclusion:
Because the lady has revealed her greatness; because she has provided the prison, the jail, her beloved
dwelling, with awesome radiance, praise to be Nungal, the powerful goddess, the neck-stock of the Anuna
gods, whose ...... no one knows, foremost one whose divine powers are untouchable!
So here in this one Psalm were able to see a conversion from the Canaanite religion to Yahwehism. At time
they headings concerning King David that were applied to the introduction to some of the Psalms can serve
as distraction. This text is possibly the only text in the Psalms where the writer has changed gods and has
denounced the old ways. It is also interesting how the same themes flowed through the ancient Near
East. The concept of the protector, the cup, the afterlife, and the praises written to their particular gods were
very much a part of the culture and writing style within the region. One would be mistaken that the biblical
texts were written within a vacuum of a pure culture.
"A hymn to Nungal" http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/index.html, The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian

Literature (ETCSL), Oriental Institute, University of Oxford.
Coogan, Michael David. Stories from Ancient Canaan. The Westminster Press Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1978
Walton, John H, Matthews, Victor H. and Chavalas, Mark W. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old
Testament. InterVarsity Press. Illinois 2000.
Psalm 15: Who May Abide In Your Tent?
O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? Those who walk blamelessly, and do
what is right, and speak the truth from their heart; who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to
their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors; in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but
who honor those who fear the Lord; who stand by their oath even to their hurt; who do not lend money at
interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent. Those who do these things shall never be moved.
(Psalms 15:1-5 NRSV)
In the ancient Near East there were qualifications one had to complete before entering a temple of a
god. We are familiar with the Old Testament texts and the long passages of legal information on the clean
and unclean in order to be unblemished before Yahweh and to gain his favor. The text above also brings to
mind the anger Jesus felt when he threw the money changers from the temple:
Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he
overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, "It is
written, "My house shall be called a house of prayer'; but you are making it a den of robbers." (Matthew
21:12-13 NRSV)
Although we may be going out on a limb, it is somewhat humors to think they may have broken the rule of
this simple Psalm and Jesus thought it proper to eject them, because they didnt meet the simple
qualifications of one of the simplest psalms of the Jewish texts.
The text is an entrance liturgy verse 1 is the question of the worshipers and 2-5a is the answer followed by
the assurance of Yahweh in verse 5b. The text above also has the theme of the tongue running through
it. As a piece of wisdom literature it may have been used to teach the young. In Psalms 39:1 and 73:9, we
find two examples of advice on how a young person might keep on the path of righteousness; control your
tongue and dont boast. Below we read:
I said, "I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth as long as
the wicked are in my presence." (Psalms 39:1 NRSV)
They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth. (Psalms 73:9 NRSV)
Some of the qualifications above were not only required for temple rights but were also required to enter the
very gates of heaven. We come to the Egyptian account of the judgment, where the words of the deceased
are weighed against the feather of truth. It is here that the two justices, Anubis and Thoth, find truthfulness or
lies in the following words. If truthful, sin will not add weight to the heart and will be lighter then the feather
resulting in the god Horus introducing the deceased to the presence of Osiris and everlasting
paradise. However, if the heart is found unjustified then it will be eaten by the Devourer of the Unjustified , a
hippo- crocodile-cheetah creature, who waits with hunger next to the scale. It is most interesting to note that
the believer needs to say I have not in this judgment hall rather then the traditional modern day concept of I
have done, below we read the text known as The Forty Confessions of Matt:
I have not committed sins against men.

I have not opposed my family and kinsfolk.
I have not acted fraudulently in the Seat of Truth.
I have not known men who were of no account.
I have not wrought evil.
I have not made it to be the first [consideration daily that unnecessary] work should be done for me.
I have not brought forward my name for dignities.
I have not [attempted] to direct servants
[I have not belittled God].
I have not defrauded the humble man of his property.
I have not done what the gods abominate.
I have not vilified a slave to his master.
I have not inflicted pain.
I have not caused anyone to go hungry.
I have not made any man to weep.
I have not committed murder.
I have not given the order for murder to be committed.
I have not caused calamities to befall men and women.
I have not plundered the offerings in the temples.
I have not defrauded the gods of their cake-offerings.
I have not carried off the fenkhu cakes [offered to] the Spirits.
I have not committed fornication.
I have not masturbated [in the sanctuaries of the god of my city].
I have not diminished from the bushel.
I have not filched [land from my neighbors estate and] added it to my own acre.
I have not encroached upon the fields [of others].
I have not added to the weights of the scales.
I have not depressed the pointer of the balance.
I have not carried away the milk from the mouths of children.
I have not driven the cattle away from their pastures.
I have not snared the geese in the goose-pens of the gods.
I have not caught fish with bait made of the bodies of the same kind of fish.
I have not stopped water when it should flow.
I have not made a cutting in a canal of running water.
I have not extinguished a fire when it should burn.
I have not violated the times [of offering] the chosen meat offerings.
I have not driven away the cattle on the estates of the gods.
I have not turned back the god at his appearances.
I am pure. I am pure. I am pure.
As seen above, in this case, the believer would want to be sure that what he was saying was the truth or risk
loosing his eternal reward. In these forty confessions, all the themes in Psalm 15 are covered. Being truthful,
not slandering, not being reproachful to your neighbor, using money and interest honestly, and not taking
bribes against the innocent are all present. Summing up both texts given, if one is truthful, deals honestly,
and hold his tongue, then the rewards are bestowed both in this life and in the world beyond.
Budge, E.A. Wallis. The Egyptian Book of the Dead. Dover Publications, Inc., Mineola, New York 1967.
Psalms 14: There They Shall Be In Great Terror..
Fools say in their hearts, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one
who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who
seek after God. They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no,
not one. Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call
upon the Lord? There they shall be in great terror, for God is with the company of the righteous. You would
confound the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge. O that deliverance for Israel would come from
Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad. (Psalms 14:1-
7 NRSV)
The above Psalm could be possibly classified in two categories, both Lament and Wisdom literature. There
are also striking similarities to Psalms 53. Some would like to say that possibly one borrowed from the other
but it may be that possibly there are two view points, one (Psalms 53) from Northern Israel, and the other,
(above) from the South. The Psalm above is to the person who fails to recognize the sovereignty of
Yahweh. The author tells of the moral break down and Yahweh brings the people back. Some scholars
believe that this text may refer to the exile and could be a later addition.
Below we will discuss a text in the ancient Near East where the author advises the remembrance of the
god. It comes from the Akkadian, The Creation Epic. This particular text comes from Babylon around 1901
B.C. The dates are disputed but the author of this essay would like to give some reference of a possible time
period. In this account the god Marduk defeats Tiamat, the large serpent, and throws her to the
underworld. In the epilogue of this beautiful creation story we may read this as if it were a piece of wisdom
literature:
Let them be kept in mind and let the leader explain them.
Let the wise and the knowing discuss them together.
Let the father recite them and impart to his son.
Let the ears of shepherd and herdsmen be opened.
Let him rejoice in Marduk, the Enlil of the gods,
That his land may be fertile and that he may prosper.
Firm in his order, his command unalterable,
The utterance of his mouth no god shall change.
When he looks he does not turn away his neck;
When he is angry no god can withstand his wrath.
Vast is his mind, broad is his sympathy;
Sinner and transgressor will be confounded before him.
The teaching which the leader has voiced in his presence...( Pritchard p.72)
Just as the Psalm above, this text from Babylon tell that the knowledge of the god should be passed on and
his sovereignty and works should not be forgotten. And the themes of the two texts run almost side by side.
In the end the works of the evil doers and transgressors and unwise will be foiled and confounded. The god
will come as a refuge; and through compassion and wisdom will restore fortune and the land will be glad.
Dally, Stephanie. Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood Gilgamesh, and Others. Oxford University
Press Inc., Oxford, New York 1989.
Psalms 13: The Battle Against Mot.
"How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I
bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over
me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God! Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, and
my enemy will say, "I have prevailed"; my foes will rejoice because I am shaken. But I trusted in your
steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt
bountifully with me." (Psalms 13:1-6 NRSV)
The text above is a lament by one who is near death. There is a parallel text from the Near East where
the writer asks his god; How Long? In "The Lament for Sumer and Urin." we find Suen, thinking he has
been forgotten by his god Enlil. Below we read:
In his grief Suen approached his father. He went down on his knee in front of Enlil, the father who begot him:
"O father who begot me, how long will the enemy eye be cast upon my account, how long ......? The lordship
and the kingship that you bestowed ......, father Enlil, the one who advises with just words, the wise words of
the Land ......, your inimical judgment ......, look into your darkened heart, terrifying like waves. O father Enlil,
the fate that you have decreed cannot be explained, the ...... of lordship, my ornament." ...... he put on a
garment of mourning.
However, there seems to be another important theme in Psalms 13, and that is the writers fight with
death. In the text the writer seems to be on the brink of death and feels that Yahweh has forgotten him. It is
not until the end that confidence is regained and trust is renewed through steadfast love. The Canaanite
god Mot may have some relevance here. With the words: "Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of
death, and my enemy will say, "I have prevailed"; my foes will rejoice because I am shaken." we are taken
back to the battle between Baal and Mot. Here, there are three players in the Psalm; the writer, Yahweh, and
Mot or death. Below we will discuss the god Mot and see him boast that he has prevailed and rejoice
because Baal is shaken.
The god Mot, in the Canaanite mythology, was a fierce god that ate everything. He was as ugly as he was
fierce. Mot was upset with Baal because Ball refused to pay tribute to him after Baal built his heavenly
temple and was enthroned. The Baal boasts:
"No other king or non-king

shall set his power over the earth.
I will send no tribute to Ers son Death,
no homage to El's Darling, the Hero.
Let Death cry to himself,
let the Darling grumble in his heart;
for I alone will rule over the gods;
I alone will fatten gods and men;
I alone will satisfy earth's masses."
Mot embodies all the characteristics that people perceive death to be if they were to put a face on him. In
part of the writing of Baal's battle with Mot we have a description.
'My appetite is like that of a lioness,

or the desire of a dolphin in the sea;
my pool seizes the wild oxen,
my well grabs the deer;
when I have the appetite for an ass,
then I eat with both my hands, , . ,"
"One lip to the earth, one lip to the heavens;
he will stretch his tongue to the stars,
So here we have death, always hungry, mouth wide open, from the earth to the heavens and his tongue to
the stars, ready to consume all that is in his path. Also, in the text below, we see that muck and phlegm is
added to the list. Baal is terrified and shaken, he submits to Mot. He tells death's messengers to leave and
give Mot the news of his submission.
"Baal the Conqueror became afraid;

the Rider on the Clouds was terrified:
"Leave me; speak to Ers son Death,
repeat to Ers Darling, the Hero:
'Message of Baal the Conqueror,
the word of the Conqueror of Warriors:
Hail, Ers son Death!
I am your servant, I am yours forever.' "
They left; they did not turn back;
then they headed toward Ers son Death,
to the midst of his city, the Swamp,
Muck, his royal house,
Phlegm, the land of his inheritance,…"
Baal descends into the underworld with all his children. The rain stops, famine takes hold on the earth, and
the gods lament. Anat, Baal's wife pleads for his release. We read Mot boasting of his victory while speaking
to the goddess.
"She seized Death by the edge of his clothes,

she grabbed him by the hem of his garments;
she raised her voice and shouted:
"Come, Death, give me my brother!"
And El's son Death replied:
"What do you want, Virgin Anat?
I was taking a walk and wandering
on every mountain in the heart of the earth,
on every hill in the heart of the fields;
I felt a desire for human beings,
a desire for earth's masses.
I arrived at my pleasant place, the desert pasture,
the lovely fields on Death's shore.
I approached Baal the Conqueror;
I put him in my mouth like a lamb,
he was crushed like a kid in my jaws."
Sun, the gods' torch, burned;
the heavens shimmered under the sway of Ers son
Death."
Baal later conquers death, returns with the rain, and ends the drought, and we can see the relevance of the
battle as compared to Psalms 13. Baal was shaken with fear, death boasted that he prevailed, and El, god of
the pantheon, did little to stop Mot from consuming Baal. This lament could be spoken by anyone dealing
with deaths open mouth, and wagging tongue. Psalms 13 could have been Baal's lament from death's grip,
and it would have fit the context. This battle from Canaanite mythology has the underlying thought that we all
must pay tribute to death at some point. Even Baal could not escape it.
Black, J. A., Cunningham, G., Robson, E. and Zólyomu, G. " Lament for Sumer and Urin." The Electronic
Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature , Oxford University, 1998.
Coogan, Michael David. Stories from Ancient Canaan. The Westminster Press. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1978.
Psalms 12: Ancient Near Eastern Comparisons on the Destruction of Humankind.
Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly; the faithful have disappeared from humankind.
They utter lies to each other; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. May the Lord cut off all
flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say, "With our tongues we will prevail; our lips
are our own—who is our master?" "Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now
rise up," says the Lord; "I will place them in the safety for which they long." The promises of the Lord are
promises that are pure, silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. You, O Lord, will
protect us; you will guard us from this generation forever. On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is
exalted among humankind. (Psalms 12:1-8 NRSV)
The above text is a community text lamenting the wickedness of mankind. The text has the same theme
as the account of the flood, Sodom and Gomorra, and Nineveh. The writer laments how no one on earth is
godly and how lies are spoken to one another. Later the instrument of the sins, in this case the boasting
tongues, are cut off. The needy groan and Yahweh rises up. The writer then remembers the promises,
protection, and refinement of Yahweh. There are many topics here; the idea of being refined seven times in
a furnace for purification, Yahweh's protection of the poor, and the lack of order that seems to be
prevailing. While it may be proper to talk of the idea of the use of silver smelting, or a god having pity on the
poor, or an Egyptian prophet complaining to the pharaoh about the political hardships in the land; we will
instead turn to the motif of the gods destroying mankind because of their displeasure with humanity they
created. We will explore two stories outside the biblical texts where this motif comes into play. We will
explore the accounts of Atrahasis, and also almost the same story in the account of the flood, relayed in the
Gilgamesh epic, and an Egyptian account.
In this particular motif there are a few important themes. First there are people who survive the destruction.
Those few who survive appear to be the only just people in the world, or the only person who is in good
favor with the god is spared. For example in the text of Atrahasis we read:
"Now there was one AtrahasisWhose ear was open to his god Enki.He would speak with his godAnd his god
would speak with him." (Dalley p.18)
The text above reads like the biblical Noah and Yahweh.
"But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord. These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous
man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and
Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw that
the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth." (Genesis 6:8-12 NRSV)
Next, the gods take council on how to handle the issue. As we will see, in a rather humorous way, the
methods of destruction are not always the most effective. Finally we will see the gods relenting about the
decision that was made. One may ask how such analogies can be related to Psalms 12. The following
relates, because from reading the text, it is thought that the only one righteous, according to the writer, is the
writer himself.
As relayed above, Atrahasis was told by his god Enki that the earth was to be flooded. The council of the
gods had decided that no one from humankind would be left. Enki told Atahasis about the plot and he built a
boat to with stand the great flood. The text comes from the clay tablets of the Old Babylonian era, which is
dated to around 1700 BC. Here the story deals with the god complaining of the people being noisy; and a
way to deal with noise and over population is needed. After disease and drought prove ineffectual, it is
decided that something else is needed to be done. After a fight between the gods Enki and Ellil, a flood is
planned by Ellil with out approval from the other gods. However Enki warns Atrahasis and tells him to tare
down his house and build a boat. Atrahasis in distress does as he is told:
"He invited his people.. to a feast.

…put his family on board.
They were eating, they were drinking.
But he went in and out, could not stay still or rest on his haunches,
His heart was breaking and he was vomiting bile.
The face of the weather changed.
Adad bellowed from the clouds.
When..he( Atrahasis) heard his noise,
Bitumen was brought and he sealed his door.
Adad kept bellowing from the clouds.
The wind was raging even as he went up
(And ) cut through the rope, he released the boat.
So in the story involving Atrahasis, the displeasure with humankind was over noise and
overpopulation. Although there are differences in the accounts between the story of Atrahasis and the
biblical texts, there are implications in the biblical flood account that deal with the same issues. Yahweh
limits the years of humans, and after the humans mate with the gods and become wicked he decides on the
flood. Below we read:
"When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, the sons of
God saw that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. Then the Lord said,
"My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years."
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the
daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of
renown. The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of
the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually." (Genesis 6:1-5 NRSV)
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, unlike Atrahasis, the story here has more detail. Names for the gods are
different. The acts once attributed to Atrahasis, later, are attributed to the one called Utanapishtim, but they
play the same roles. Here we see the god La lamenting mans destruction:
'Who else but Ea could devise such a thing?

It is Ea who knows every machination!'
La spoke to Valiant Enlil, saying:
'It is yours, O Valiant One, who is the Sage of the Gods.
How, how could you bring about a Flood without consideration
Charge the violation to the violator,
charge the offense to the offender,
but be compassionate lest (mankind) be cut off,
be patient lest they be killed.
Instead of your bringing on the Flood,
would that a lion had appeared to diminish the people!
would that a wolf had appeared to diminish the people!
would that famine had occurred to slay the land!
would that (Pestilent) Erra had appeared to ravage the land!
It was not I who revealed the secret of the Great Gods,
I (only) made a dream appear to Atrahasis, and (thus) he
heard the secret of the gods.
Now then! The deliberation should be about him!'
Enlil went up inside the boat
and, grasping my hand, made me go up.
He had my wife go up and kneel by my side.
He touched our forehead and, standing between us, he blessed us:
'Previously Utanapishtim was a human being.
But now let Utanapishtim and his wife become like us, the gods!"
(Carnahan, Tablet 11)
In the Egyptian account of the destruction of mankind it reads almost like the story of the Tower of Babel,
where the god feels that he is being conspired against. In this particular account, Ra first consults the gods
before he makes a decision on what he will do. We read :
"Then Re said to Nun: "O eldest god, in whom I came into being, O ancestor gods, behold mankind, which
came into being from my Eye-they have plotted things against me. Tell me what ye would do about it.
Behold, I am seeking; I would not slay them until I had heard what ye might say about it." (Pritchard p. 11)
In summery we can see that there are a few themes that evolve through the comparisons. When reading
these texts in full one will find that the themes discussed are there. The same motifs are found in the biblical
account of Sodom and Gomorra. Yahweh consults Abraham on the issue and Abraham tries to intercede for
the citizens of the doomed city. Although Yahweh never repented for the destruction the other themes are
prevalent. Psalms 12, in light of these themes, is seemingly a precursor to the destruction that will come
from Yahweh if the acts of the wicked are not reversed. And the author of the Psalm knows that if he is
righteous, even if being the only one, Yahweh will protect him from the coming destruction.
Carnahan, Wolf. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Electronic Edition, I998.
Dally, Stephanie. Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood Gilgamesh, and Others. Oxford University
Press Inc., Oxford, New York 1989.
Psalms 11: Coals of Fire and Sulfur.

In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to me, "Flee like a bird to the mountains; for look, the wicked
bend the bow, they have fitted their arrow to the string, to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart. If the
foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in
heaven. His eyes behold, his gaze examines humankind. The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and
his soul hates the lover of violence. On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and sulfur; a scorching wind shall
be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his
face. (Psalms 11:1-7 NRSV)
Psalms eleven could be labeled a psalm of trust. In verses 1-3 there are descriptions of hardship and
accounts of the wicked prevailing. The writer uses the divine warrior theme and relates how Yahweh will
destroy the wicked using coals of fire and sulfur. The theme of divine kingship of the temple and heavenly
throne is also used. Within this particular essay we will discuss two important elements. The first theme is
the use of fire and other elements raining on the enemies. One such text that bears this relevance is the
Akkadian text which scholars date to 2320 B.C. called the Hymnal Prayer of Enheduanna. Also, Ezekiel
38:17-23 may have some relevance here. Also, one could argue the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in
Genesis 19 may be also worth noting. Another theme is the turning of the deities face. In Mesopotamia it
was thought that if a god looked towards the believer then the god was pleased. If however; the deity turned
away, then it would represent displeasure. This theme is found throughout the biblical texts. One example of
this is found in Psalms 27:9 "Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you
who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!" Outside the Biblical
texts we find one, of many examples, in the Prayer of Lamentation to Ishtar.
In the Hymnal Prayer of Enheduanna, from Volume II of the book; The Ancient Near East, we find the writer
giving adoration to the goddess Inanna. We see written here, in the text to Inanna, the goddess using the
elements to take revenge on her enemies. Thunder, fire, drought, floods and winds, according to the writer
of this hymn, are at her disposal.
You have filled the land with venom, like a dragon.

Vegetation ceases, when You thunder like Ishkur,
You who bring down the Flood from the mountain,
Supreme One, who are the Inanna of Heaven (and) Earth,
Who rain flaming fire over the land,
Who have been given the me by An,
Queen Who Rides the Beasts,
Who at the holy command of An, utters the (divine) words,
Who can fathom Your great rites!
Destroyer of the Foreign Lands,
You have given wings to the storm,
Beloved of Enlil - You made it (the storm) blow over the land,
You carried out the instructions of An.
My Queen,
the foreign lands cower at Your cry,
In dread (and) fear of the South Wind, mankind
Brought You their anguished clamor,
Took before You their anguished outcry
Opened before You wailing and weeping,
Brought before You the "great" lamentations in the city streets.
In comparison to other places in the biblical texts, we also see the oracle of Yahweh prophesying the
harsh vengeance that will be dealt out on the land. Like the above we read almost the same themes used to
detail the impending destruction.
"Thus says the Lord God: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel,
who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? On that day, when Gog comes
against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, my wrath shall be aroused. For in my jealousy and in my
blazing wrath I declare: On that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; the fish of the sea,
and the birds of the air, and the animals of the field, and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all
human beings that are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence, and the mountains shall be
thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. I will summon the sword
against Gog in all my mountains, says the Lord God; the swords of all will be against their comrades. With
pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him; and I will pour down torrential rains and
hailstones, fire and sulfur, upon him and his troops and the many peoples that are with him. So I will display
my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know
that I am the Lord (Ezekiel 38:17-23 NRSV).
Lastly, we turn to the last topic; of the turning of the deities face. In the Prayer of Lamentation to Ishtar, we
come upon a writer in great distress. The prayer is also used in comparison to the Job complex. In the
passage the writer begs for repentance and relief from suffering. It is towards the end of the lamentation we
read the following:
Accept the abasement of my countenance; hear my prayers.

Faithfully look upon me and accept my supplication.
How long, O my Lady, wilt thou be angered so that thy face is turned away?
How long, O my Lady, wilt thou be infuriated so that thy spirit is enraged?
Turn thy neck which thou hast set against me; set thy face toward good favor.
Like the water of the opening of a canal, let thy emotions be released.
My foes like the ground let me trample;
Subdue my hater and cause them to crouch down under me.
Let my prayers and my supplications come to thee.
Let thy great mercy be upon me (Pritchard p.385)
The writer, in the text above, requests the goddess to turn her face so that he may be looked upon in favor
and that the evil and afflictions may pass. In passing, the use of the question "How long?" must be taken
note of. This phrase is also used in the following passages of the Old Testament: Psalms 4:2; 13:1; 89:46;
Proverbs 1:22; and Isaiah 6:11.
The lamentations written to the gods and goddesses can be compared to those to biblical texts other
than the Psalms. Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos and many others lamented over their land, people,
and spiritual conditions. It appears they were not alone, for others, long before the prophets mentioned
above, apparently had the same concerns and have written them down to be used in the time of stressful
situations.
-The Ancient Near East, Volume II, Princeton University Press, Chichester, USA. 1975
Psalms 9 and 10: Yahweh the Merciful.
"I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and
exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. When my enemies turned back, they stumbled
and perished before you. For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne giving
righteous judgment."
Psalms 9 and 10 were once one text; however, they were divided and put each in its own chapter. The two
chapters were thought to be, at one time, a full text due to the composition of the Psalm. Between every
second to fourth line, there exists a pattern, which each letter of the Hebrew alphabet is used. It was thought
by some scholars at first to be a magical recitation; however, at Ras Shamra, tablets were found using the
same technique and it is now thought that such a composition was use to aid memorization by adding a
certain structure to the text. In short the text is a song of thanksgiving followed by a lament. The two themes
that are predominantly present in the text are Yahweh's destruction of enemies and Yahweh as divine judge.
The text in full will not be given due to its length. While volumes could be written, there are three important
points that stand out. The first area of interest is in Psalms 9:5-6, where the names of the wicked are being
blotted out. We will observe one example of how this transpired in the ancient Near East when we inspect
the aftermath of the rule of the Egyptian queen Hatshepsut (c. 1479-1458 B.C.). The second point is the
theme of "Sheol" and the "gates of death". Using two examples outside the biblical texts, we will inspect the
Egyptian and the Akkadian perspective on the gates of the underworld. Lastly, we will compare the Egyptian
hymn "Gratitude for a God's Mercy" to Psalms 10 to demonstrate the theme of praising the deity for mercy;
from enemies and for the poor.
The concept of blotting out names of the wicked and their cities came when competition erupted between
the religious cults or political parties. Two examples would include Thutmose III removing Hatshepsut's
images and icons from Egyptian society. Later, and possibly most relevant, the religious reforms of the King
Josiah.
The queen Hatshepsut took the throne after her husband Thutmose II met an untimely death. Originally she
was to be the co-ruler until Thutmose III was old enough to take the throne. However, Hatshepsut
accumulated more and more power to herself. Hatshepsut was a queen of great ambitions. She not only
reestablished trade routs that had since deteriorated during the rule of the Hyksos, but she also took to
validating herself as queen. She had at her disposal a well oil propaganda machine. Hatshepsut took on
such titles as "God's Wife", "Lady of the Two Lands", and the name "Khnemtamun", which means, "One with
Amun". Hatshepsut used mythology in which she included herself as coming from the deity and called
herself "The queen from heaven". She also would dress as a male pharaoh wearing the symbolic garb of
the kings before her.
Hatshepsut also commissioned construction projects and religious icons of herself. In doing so she became
one of the most powerful queens of the Egyptian empire. In retaliation, after her death Thutmose III
destroyed and defaced many of her writings and religious icons. Some scholars believe that he did this in
order to take full control of the kingship. Here is an image of the chiseled out Hatshepsut being blessed by
the gods Horus and Thoth at the Temple of Karnack. At Medinet Habu, Ramesses III tried to prevent such
destruction by constructing the writings of his war expeditions so deep in the walls that even if the temple
was destroyed, and the blocks used elsewhere, they would still contain the hieroglyphs. Here is an image of
the described construction. As far as a religious reform, most of the works of Akhenaten, the heretic king,
were destroyed. Akhenaten was the king who, during his reign, changed the Egyptian religion to
monotheistic ideas and worshipped the god Aten.
Whether the above destruction of names and icons were political, religious or both, the same reformation
happened also by King Josiah. Returning to Yahwehism Josiah made sweeping reform and in the text below
he crushes the high places to dust in an attempt to stamp out the other cultic practices that previous kings
turned a blind eye to. Below we read:
"The king commanded the high priest Hilkiah, the priests of the second order, and the guardians of the
threshold, to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the
host of heaven; he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to
Bethel. He deposed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the
high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who made offerings to Baal, to the sun,
the moon, the constellations, and all the host of the heavens. He brought out the image of Asherah from the
house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the Wadi Kidron, burned it at the Wadi Kidron, beat it to dust and
threw the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. He broke down the houses of the male temple
prostitutes that were in the house of the Lord, where the women did weaving for Asherah. He brought all the
priests out of the towns of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from
Geba to Beer-sheba; he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of
Joshua the governor of the city, which were on the left at the gate of the city" (2 Kings 23:4-8 NRSV).
This reform, however, was not enough for Yahweh. In verses 26 and 27 of the same chapter a curse is put
on Judah. By the end of the chapter Josiah is killed by the Egyptian King at Megiddo after a fierce battle. So,
one can come to the conclusion that the removal of competing political systems or religious practices, were
at times broken down by periodic political and religious reform. Many times in the history this
happened. Not only was this happening in the early Israeli community, but as seen above, it also occurred
in other societies of the world for the same reasons.
"Be gracious to me, O Lord. See what I suffer from those who hate me; you are the one who lifts me up from
the gates of death,Concerning the gates of death and the underworld, we will view the Egyptian Book of
Gates and the Decent of Ishtar. It is out of interest to note that in both of these texts have gates that the
deities pass. These two texts may have some influence on Dante's Inferno, for in both texts the deities pass
through the underworld in a series of stages. The text of the Book of Gates is a rather long and complex
series of funeral texts that depict the god Ra and the dead king traveling through the underworld in a series
of sections representing the twelve hours of the night. The text is complex so we will only discuss certain
sections of this underworld that may be most relevant. One relevant example is gate one, or the first hour.
The Majesty of this god standeth up after he hath taken up his position in this Court, and he addresseth
words to the gods who are therein, saying, "Open ye to me your doors, and let me come into your Courts!
Give ye light unto me, and make ye yourselves guides to me, O ye who came into being, from my members,
my word hath gone forth to you. Ye are made of my bodies, I have made you, having fashioned you of my
soul, I have created you, I have made you by means of my enchantments, [and] I have come to avenge
myself the blood of my members which have risen up against me, and I will bring to destruction that which
hath been made for it."( Budge pp.18-19)
It is with these words that Ra enters the underworld by demanding the gates be opened and here the dead
were introduced. Moving on to the third hour we find one of the oldest themes connected to the underworld;
the lake of fire. Below we read of this fiery place of torment:
"Those who are in this picture [and those who are in] the house of TET praise this great god, and when this
great god hath sent forth words to them, they come to life, for when he hath called to them and hath sent
forth his words to them [they have] their water, and they receive their due (literally, heads) in addition to the
utterance of his mouth. The work which they have to do in Ament is to hew and to hack souls in pieces, and
set restraint upon shadows, and to destroy such doomed beings as have their being in their place of
destruction which blazeth with fire. They send forth flames and they cause fires to spring up, and the
enemies are as those who have their knives over (or, on) their heads. They wail and they lament when this
great god hath passed them by." (Budge pp.59-60)
The fifth hour, or gate, we read still of torture, from a Judgment Hall like scene.
"The Majesty of this great god saith unto them, Hail, ye who stand at the blocks of torture, and who keep
ward at the destruction of the dead, ye whose voices have come into being for you, who have received your
words of power, who are endowed with your souls, who sing hymns to the accompaniment of your sistra,
who take vengeance on the enemies, who annihilate the dead, who hack in pieces shades [of men and
women], who destroy and cut in pieces the dead, who avenge Osiris and hearken unto words near Unnefer,
provide ye yourselves with your slaughtering knives, fetter and bind with your hands [this] figure which is
with you, so that I may journey past you in peace. Whosoever knoweth this shall pass by the goddess in
peace." (Budge pp.110-115)
In the tenth hour and eleventh hour, the serpent Set-Heh or Apophis is bound and dismembered. With this
done he is rendered helpless and defeated.
"The Majesty of this god uttereth the decree, [saying]:--'Hack in pieces and cut asunder the bodies of the
enemies and the members of the dead who have been turned upside down, O my father Osiris . . . . . . . . .
and let me come forth from it. My father having [once] been helpless hath smitten you, he hath cut up your
bodies, he hath hacked in pieces your spirits and your souls, and hath scattered in pieces your shadows,
and hath cut in pieces your heads; ye shall never more exist, ye shall be overthrown, and ye shall be cast
down headlong into the pits of fire; and ye shall not escape there from, and ye shall not be able to flee from
the flames which are in the serpent SET-HEH." (Budge pp.254-255)
Finally we come to the sunrise or the assent form the underworld:
"Those who are in this picture sing praises unto this great god from dawn, when he taketh up his position in
the Hall of the east of the sky. They say unto Ra, 'O thou who art the producer of [thine own] birth, who dost
bring into being [thine own] being, [lord of] homage of every soul . . . . .. Heaven belongeth to thy soul, which
taketh up its place therein, and the earth belongeth to thy body, thou lord of homage. Thou sailest over the
Horizon, thou takest up thy place in thy shrine, the gods in their bodies praise thee; descend thou into the
sky and take thou thy two souls through thy magical protectors.' The work of these gods in the Tuat is to
praise this great god, and they stand in this City and they count up (or, verify) the gods of the country of
Mafket (i.e., Sinai). They descend (?) to earth [before] Ra after he hath taken up his position in the sky and
doth rise upon the eyes of mankind in their circles."( Budge p.270)
As we can see, from the passages above, many of the same themes that are common to a modern day,
mainstream worshiper, are used. The themes; lake of fire, torture, judgment, binding of the serpent, and the
accent from the underworld in triumph are all prevalent. As another example of the same theme, we look at
the text concerning the decent of Ishtar to the seven gates of the underworld.
That the palace of the Land of No Return may be glad at they presence."When the first gate he had made
her enter,He stripped and took away the great crown on her head."Why, o gatekeeper, didst thou take the
great crown on my head?""Enter, my lady, thus are the rules of the Mistress of the Underworld."When the
second gate he had made her enter,He stripped and took away the pendants on her ears."Why, O
gatekeeper, didst thou take the pendants on my ears?""Enter, my lady, thus are the rules of the Mistress of
the Underworld."When the third gate he had made her enter,He stripped and took away the chains round
her neck."Why, O gatekeeper, didst thou take the chains round my neck?""Enter, my lady, thus are the rules
of the Mistress of the Underworld."When the fourth gate he had made her enter,He stripped and took away
the ornaments on her breast."Why, O gatekeeper, didst thou take the ornaments on my breast?""Enter, my
lady, thus are the rules of the Mistress of the Underworld."When the fifth gate he had made her enter,He
stripped and took away the girdle of birthstones on her hips."Why, O gatekeeper, didst thou take the girdle of
birthstones on my hips?""Enter, my lady, thus are the rules of the Mistress of the Underworld."When the
sixth gate he had made her enter,He stripped and took away the clasps round her hands and feet."Why, O
gatekeeper, didst thou take the clasps round my hands and feet?""Enter, my lady, thus are the rules of the
Mistress of the Underworld."When the seventh gate he had made her enter,He stripped and took away the
breechcloth round her body."Why, O gatekeeper, didst thou take the breechcloth round my body?""Enter, my
lady, thus are the rules of the Mistress of the Underworld."As soon as Ishtar had descended to the Land of
No Return,Ereshkigal saw her and burst out at her presence.Ishtar, unreflecting, flew at her.Ereshkigal
opened her mouth to speak,"Go, Namtar, lock her up in my palace!Release against her the sixty
miseries:Misery of the eyes against her eyes,Misery of the sides against her sides,Misery of the heart
against her heart,Misery of the feet against her feet,Misery of the head against her head -Against every part
of her, against her whole body!"After Lady Ishtar had descended to the nether world, (Pritchard pp.107-108)
It becomes apparent that not only are their themes of conquering the sea, creation, and divine warriors, but,
also the passage of the deities through the underworld, conquer death and returning in triumph. Your dead
shall live, their corpses shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a radiant
dew, and the earth will give birth to those long dead. (Isaiah 26:19 NRSV)
The last topic discussed will be an example of another prayer where one praises the deity for standing up for
the helpless and defending the poor. Moving on to Psalms 10 we hear and important question that possibly
every human who worships some kind of deity might ask during in justice or in the time of trouble. "O Lord,
you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear to do justice for
the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more" (Psalms 10:17-18
NRSV).
The Prayer 'Gratitude for a God's Mercy' comes from the nineteenth dynasty. It shows the writers humble
gratitude for the recovery of his son from an illness. We read the memorial prayer below:
"Giving praises to Amon. I make him adorations in his name; I give him praises to the height of heaven and
to the width of earth; I relate his power to him who travels downstream and to him who travels upstream.
Beware ye of him! Repeat him to son and daughter, to great and small; relate him to generations of
generations who have not yet come into being; relate him to fishes in the deep, to birds in the heaven;
repeat him to him who knows him not and to him who knows him! Beware of him!
Thou art Amon, the lord of the silent man, who comes at the voice of the poor man. If I call to thee when I
am distressed, thou comest and thou rescuest me. Thou givest breath to him who is weak; thou rescuest
him who is imprisoned. Thou art Amon-Ra, Lord of Thebes, who rescues him who is in the underworld,
inasmuch as thou art he who is when one calls to thee; thou art he who comes from afar" (Pritchard p.380).
The texts are like a rope, and by looking at the rope, we at times forget we also see the small woven strings
that make the whole. By carefully unbraiding the strands, we can observe the themes that run through the
writing styles and actually see that outside the Old Testament, people dealt with the same issues. The
themes that flow through the texts that we have read over and over are also prevalent in those civilizations
surrounding the Israeli community. The themes are at times much older then the biblical scriptures. One
must not jump to conclusions that every piece of literature was copied, as some have in the past, but we
must consider the writing styles of the Near East, and that it was normal to write on common themes that
united enemy, friend, and cultures of the past.
Budge, E. A. Wallis. The Book of Am-Tuat. Kegan, Paul, Trench, Trbner & Co. London 1905.
Roehrig, Catharine "When a Woman ruled Egypt." Biblical Archaeology Review March/April 2006: p.64-70.
Psalms 8 and 9: Yahweh Establishes Legitimacy.
O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the
heavens. Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to
silence the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and
the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you
care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, all
sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever
passes along the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
(Psalms 8:1-9 NRSV)
The above text is thick with imagery and motifs that hearken back to the times of old. In Psalms 8 not
only do we find the writer praising Yahweh, but also praising the rank that Yahweh afforded allowed man. To
fully analyze this psalm we need to move slowly through the text because there are many things here that
need to be taken note of. The first topic of interest is of Yahweh establishing his kingdom after his enemies
are suppressed. Many will view this in New Testament themes, but for the time being we must put all such
thoughts on hold in order to view the text from a different angle and viewpoint. The next topic is the making
of man a little lower than the "gods". Some texts render this as angels; however, some examples will be
given on why it should be rendered as "gods" as we progress. Below we will take a look at who Yahweh's
enemies were and what type of adversaries he had to overcome in order to claim legitimacy in the heavens
and over the earth.
So who were the adversaries of Yahweh? We look in a few descriptive texts and find the seemingly mythical
enemies. In Psalms 89:9-11
You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them. You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you
scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours; the world and
all that is in it—you have founded them.
and again in Psalms 74:13-14:
You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters. You crushed the
heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
The enemies of Yahweh also can be found in two verses of Isaiah 5:9-10:
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord! Awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago!
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon? Was it not you who dried up the sea, the
waters of the great deep; who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to cross over?
From the above texts we can see that there is a pattern and the mythological aspect to the enemies of
Yahweh. They are (??????) Rahab, ?????))Tannin, (??)Yamm, and (????)Tehom. All three of these gods
were the associated with the sea. Rahab, can here be compared to Tiamat, Tannin was dragon or sea
monster that can also be compared to Tiamat, Yamm was the sea god who Baal defeated, and lastly Tehom
was often referenced to Tiamat, but it is also thought that it was the great waters that Elohiym divided. So
the Epic of Enuma Elish is a strong comparison here. After Yahweh slays the sea and divides the waters he
is free to build his heavenly kingdom, creation, and take his rightful kingship.
The same problem also happened to Baal. Baal had to defeat the god Yamm in order to gain legitimacy in
the heavenly council so that he would not be mocked by his enemies. It was not until he smashed Yamm in
the skull with the two clubs made by the craft god Korthar that he was able to have a temple built.
"The mighty will fall to the ground,

the powerful into the Slime."
These words had just come from her mouth,
this speech from her lips, she had just spoken,
when he groaned from under Prince Sea's throne.
And Kothar-wa-Hasis replied:
"Let me tell you, Prince Baal,
let me repeat , Rider on the Clouds:
You will take your eternal kingship,
your dominion forever and ever." (Coogan p.88)
Now we come to the point that seemed so long getting to. It is worthy to note here the big debate Yahweh
had with David concerning the building of the temple. Because David's enemies were not vanquished and
being labeled a "man of war" the building of the temple of Yahweh was passed on to his son Solomon. In I
Kings 5:3-6 we read:
"You know that my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the
warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. But now
the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune. So I intend to
build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to my father David, "Your son, whom I will
set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.' Therefore command that cedars from
the Lebanon be cut for me. My servants will join your servants, and I will give you whatever wages you set
for your servants; for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the
Sidonians."
After the building of the temple there came credibility to both Yahweh and Solomon; for all their adversaries
were put down. The temple structure became one of the highlights of the reign of Solomon. It is now that the
implications from the New Testament can be heaped on.
It is commonly believed the true kingdom of God cannot be here on earth until all of the enemies of Christ
are vanquished. It would also imply that the account of the Satan being thrown from heaven may have
possibly been done so in order to build the New Testament version of the Kingdom, with mansions and
streets of gold. Many times the Satan is referred to in the New Testament as the Serpent, with strong
imagery of the past being used in the present. So as the account of the end times goes some believe that all
the unbelievers will be put to the sword by the returning hosts of heaven with Christ as their leader. With
that done peace will be established and a reign of Christ for a period of time until the final battle. It is most
interesting how the themes of old shed light on the importance of how belief systems and their accounts are
constructed. Even cults and religions who are out of the main stream have use such imagery and motifs for
the credibility it affords.
Yet you have made them a little lower than God - Moving on to the topic of man being created a little lesser
then the gods. In the Hebrew the text is clearly rendered, ????? "Elohiym". The definition from the
Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament reads:
"lh is the assumed root of 'el, 'eloah, and 'elohim, which mean "god" or "God." The Ugaritic term for "god" or
the "chief god" is 'il, plural 'ilm, occasionally plural 'ilhm (cf. UT 19: no. 163). The Phoenician term is 'l "El";
the plural is 'lm which seems to be construed sometimes as a singular (cf. Z. Harris, Grammar of the
Phoenician Language, Jewish Publication Society, 1936, p. 77). The Aramaic is 'elah, plural 'elahin. The
Akkadian form is ilu"
With this in mind, the term that the writer of this essay suggests for Psalms 8:7 should read: "Yet you have
made them a little lower than gods." This makes scene for two reasons. One reason is that men who are
holy are allowed to stand and witness the judgment of the lord. The idea of the holy council was been
discussed in pervious essays and seems to fit this context. Another reason is, in light of Psalms 82 it seems
proper that Yahweh tells the unjust gods of the council to reform or be face with the punishment of
mortality. So the next step down would be mortal man.
We close with a text concerning the creation man to glorify the gods and to be in their service. Below we
read the account of Marduk coming to the same conclusion almost as Yahweh. The text here is proper
when discussing Psalms chapters 8, 82, and man being a little lesser then the gods. From The Seven
Tablets of Creation, we read:
When Marduk heard the word of the gods,

His heart prompted him and he devised [a cunning plan].
He opened his mouth and unto Ea [he spake],
[That which] he had conceived in his heart he imparted [unto him]:
"My blood will I take and bone will I [fashion],
"I will make man, that man may ... [...].
"I will create man who shall inhabit [the earth],"
"That the service of the gods may be established, and that [their] shrines[may be built].
"But I will alter the ways of the gods,
and I will change [their paths]; (King 88-89)
Archer. Gleason L. Jr. , Bruse K. Waltke. & R. Laird Harris, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament.
Electronic Edition, Moody Press. Chicago, Illinois 1980.
1978.
King, Leonard William. The Seven Tablets of Creation. Luzac and Co. London 1902.
Psalms 7: The Divine Warrior.
O Lord my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me, or like a lion they will
tear me apart; they will drag me away, with no one to rescue. O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is
wrong in my hands, if I have repaid my ally with harm or plundered my foe without cause, then let the enemy
pursue and overtake me, trample my life to the ground, and lay my soul in the dust. (Selah) Rise up, O Lord,
in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake, O my God; you have appointed a
judgment. Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you, and over it take your seat on high. The
Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity
that is in me. O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous, you who test the minds
and hearts, O righteous God. God is my shield, who saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge,
and a God who has indignation every day. If one does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and
strung his bow; he has prepared his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts. See how they
conceive evil, and are pregnant with mischief, and bring forth lies. They make a pit, digging it out, and fall
into the hole that they have made. Their mischief returns upon their own heads, and on their own heads
their violence descends. I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the
name of the Lord, the Most High. (Psalms 7:1-17 NRSV)
Here the psalmist is writing about his enemies and possibly is asking to be delivered from those who
betrayed him. Here the text is rich in language of Yahweh being the divine warrior. There are many images
of this in the biblical text and here we will discuss the aspects of the divine warrior and then look at some
other texts outside the Old Testament to understand this aspect of Yahweh more fully. We will look at some
holy war songs with in the Old Testament two are thought to be some of the oldest written pieces of literature
in the bible: the "Song of Miriam" in Deuteronomy 15, the "Yahweh the Warrior" in Psalms 24, and the
"Prayer of Habakkuk" in Habakkuk 3. Then we will compare these with the similarities of the "The Baal Epic",
The Sumerian Epic of Creation known better as "Enuma Elish" and the texts from the Epic of Babylon; Ishtar
and Izdubar. Here gods will slay dragons, shoot lightning from the sky, move mountains, divide the seas,
and cause storms against their enemies.
The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name. "Pharaoh's chariots and his army he cast into the sea; his picked
officers were sunk in the Red Sea. The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power— your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy. In the greatness
of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries; you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble. At
the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up, the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart
of the sea. The enemy said, "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of
them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.' You blew with your wind, the sea covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty waters. "Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you,
majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders? (Exodus 15:3-11NRSV)
Above is a well known holy war song found in Deuteronomy 15. The Song of Miriam is routinely compared
to the Baal Epic. The text is broken down into three themes. Yahweh defeats the sea, Yahweh defeats his
enemies, and Yahweh should be king. Below the text sounds more powerful if the word Lord is changed to
Yahweh. As we read the biblical texts we at times filter it through the New Testament. To appreciate the
Biblical texts as literature one must discard all the prophetic ideas and especially the perceived theology,
and come to understand the text from the view point as literature created for the gods. Although a whole
book could be written about this comparison with the Baal Epic we will discuss; the fight with the sea
combined with the exodus account, and the fight Baal had with the sea as a god.
Many would balk at the notion of the "Song of Miriam" being composed as the "battle of creation" account.
Dated between the late twelfth and early eleventh century, the text comes during the early tribal league. It is
hypothesized that the account was later combined with the account of the biblical exodus during the
monarchy period. There is evidence that the motif of Yahweh fighting the sea is much older. There are two
examples in the bible that speak of Yahweh's battle with the sea with hints of the battle of creation. The first
text is Psalms 114:1-8:
"When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became
God's [236] sanctuary, Israel his dominion. The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back. The mountains
skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. Why is it, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back? O
mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs? Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the
presence of the God of Jacob, who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water."
Another text with this combination is in the text of Isaiah 51:9-11:
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord! Awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago!
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon? Was it not you who dried up the sea, the
waters of the great deep; who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to cross over? So the
ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 51:9-11 NRSV)
Now we come to the Baal Epic and the fight between Yamm (god of the sea), and Baal. In the text we hear
the prophecy concerning Baal from Korthar, the craftsman of the gods, being proclaimed:
"The mighty will fall to the ground,
the powerful into the Slime."
These words had just come from her mouth,
this speech from her lips, she had just spoken,
when he groaned from under Prince Sea's throne.
And Kothar-wa-Hasis replied:
"Let me tell you, Prince Baal,
let me repeat , Rider on the Clouds:
You will take your eternal kingship,
your dominion forever and ever." (Coogan88)
The victory is proclaimed in the text when Baal over comes the Sea with the two clubs with magical
names, Yagarris (driver) and Ay-yamarri (chaser), Korthar has fashioned for him.
And the club danced in Baal's hands,

It struck Prince Sea on the skull,
judge river between the eyes.
Sea stumbled;
he fell to the ground;
his joints shook;
his frame collapsed.
Baal captured and drank Sea;
he finished off Judge river. (Coogan89)
Another text where the Sea is destroyed is in the Sumerian Epic of Creation, "Enuma Elish". Below we read
the detailed battle between them and of the weapons used. It is also interesting to note the use of the
elements of nature in the text below when comparing it to the biblical texts and that of the Baal Epic.
And unto Marduk their first-born they spake:

"May thy fate, O lord, be supreme among the gods,
"To destroy and to create; speak thou the word, and (thy command) shall be fulfilled.
"Command now and let the garment vanish;
"And speak the word again and let the garment reappear!"
Then he spake with his mouth, and the garment vanished;
Again he commanded it, and the garment reappeared.
When the gods, his fathers, beheld (the fulfilment of) his word,
They rejoiced, and they did homage (unto him, saying), " Marduk is king! "
They bestowed upon him the sceptre, and the throne, and the ring,
They give him an invincible weapon, which overwhelmeth the foe.
"Go, and cut off the life of Tiamat,
"And let the wind carry her blood into secret places."
After the gods his fathers had decreed for the lord his fate,
They caused him to set out on a path of prosperity and success.
He made ready the bow, he chose his weapon,
He slung a spear upon him and fastened it . . .
He raised the club, in his right hand he grasped (it),
The bow and the quiver he hung at his side.
He set the lightning in front of him,
With burning flame he filled his body.
He made a net to enclose the inward parts of Tiamat,
The four winds he stationed so that nothing of her might escape;
The South wind and the North wind and the East wind and the West wind
He brought near to the net, the gift of his father Anu.
He created the evil wind, and the tempest, and the hurricane,
And the fourfold wind, and the sevenfold wind, and the whirlwind, and the wind which had no equal; ( King
p.61-65)
Below the "sea-serpent-death" Tiamat, in great detail, is defeated:
Now after the hero Marduk had conquered and cast down his enemies,
And had made the arrogant foe even like ...,
And had fully established Anshar's triumph over the enemy,
And had attained the purpose of Nudimmud,
Over the captive gods he strengthened his durance,
And unto Tiamat, whom he had conquered, he returned.
And the lord stood upon Tiamat's hinder parts,
And with his merciless club he smashed her skull.
He cut through the channels of her blood,
And he made the North wind bear it away into secret places.
His fathers beheld, and they rejoiced and were glad;
Presents and gifts they brought unto him.
Then the lord rested, gazing upon her dead body,
While he divided the flesh of the ..., and devised a cunning plan.
He split her up like a flat fish into two halves;
One half of her he stablished as a covering for heaven.
He fixed a bolt, he stationed a watchman,
And bade them not to let her waters come forth.
He passed through the heavens, he surveyed the regions (thereof),
And over against the Deep he set the dwelling of Nudimmud.
And the lord measured the structure of the Deep,
And he founded E-shara, a mansion like unto it.
The mansion E-shara which he created as heaven,
He caused Anu, Bêl, and Ea in their districts to inhabit. (King p.71-77)
So clearly there are comparisons with in these texts that are important to take note of as holy war
theams. Both Yahweh and Baal and Marduk conquer the sea and the river all using the elements of
nature. It is also interesting to note that both texts have mention of both sea and river. Next we will move on
to explore the war hymn in Psalms 24. Both Deuteronomy 15 and Psalms 24 are among the oldest hymns
in the biblical texts.
The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for he has founded it on the
seas, and established it on the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy
place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do
not swear deceitfully. They will receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of their
salvation. Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. (Selah) Lift
up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is the
King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates! and be
lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory. (Selah) (Psalms 24:1-10 NRSV)
The above text Yahweh destroys his enemies also it is important to not references to the seas and rivers
above. This text plainly states Yahweh will have victory over his enemies and will personally establish
himself entering the heavenly holy temple and sitting on the throne as king. So also dose Baal and Marduk,
after defeating their enemies. Now we will turn to one last War hymn in Habakkuk
God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. (Selah) His glory covered the heavens, and the
earth was full of his praise. The brightness was like the sun; rays came forth from his hand, where his power
lay hidden. Before him went pestilence, and plague followed close behind. He stopped and shook the earth;
he looked and made the nations tremble. The eternal mountains were shattered; along his ancient pathways
the everlasting hills sank low. I saw the tents of Cushan under affliction; the tent-curtains of the land of
Midian trembled. Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord? Or your anger against the rivers, or your rage
against the sea, when you drove your horses, your chariots to victory? You brandished your naked bow,
sated were the arrows at your command. (Selah) You split the earth with rivers. The mountains saw you,
and writhed; a torrent of water swept by; the deep gave forth its voice. The sun raised high its hands; the
moon stood still in its exalted place, at the light of your arrows speeding by, at the gleam of your flashing
spear. In fury you trod the earth, in anger you trampled nations. You came forth to save your people, to save
your anointed. You crushed the head of the wicked house, laying it bare from foundation to roof. Selah) You
pierced with their own arrows the head of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter us, gloating as if
ready to devour the poor who were in hiding. You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the mighty
waters. I hear, and I tremble within; my lips quiver at the sound. Rottenness enters into my bones, and my
steps tremble beneath me. I wait quietly for the day of calamity to come upon the people who attack us.
(Habakkuk 3:3-16 NRSV)
Now we come to the text from the Epic of Babylon; Ishtar and Izdubar.
The text below can be compared more to the Psalms especially in chapters 6:3; 13:1, 2; 74:9; 80:4; 82:2;
89:46; 90:13; 94:3. Below we see the same words and themes used once again. The warrior Izdubar makes
a plea to the goddess Ishtar for help in defeating enemies. It reads:
"How long, O Ishtar, will thy face be turned,

While Erech desolate doth cry to thee?
Thy towers magnificent, oh, hast thou spurned?
Her blood like water in Ul-bar, oh, see!
The seat of thine own oracle behold!
The fire hath ravaged all thy cities grand,
And like the showers of Heaven them all doth fold.
O Ishtar! broken-hearted do I stand!
Oh, crush our enemies as yonder reed!
For hopeless, lifeless, kneels thy bard to thee,
And, oh! I would exalt thee in my need,
From thy resentment, anger, oh, us free! (Hamilton p.13-14)
The text above also has many of the themes we have discussed. In short, it appears through this analyst,
that the motif and mythological themes of the divine warrior had many similarities in the Ancient Near East.
The gods, conquering enemies with the elements of nature, disease, pestilence and weapons of war; taking
the throne in his divine temple, and being praised as lord of lords and as the god king, ran deep in the
stories of old. It is true that old gods never die but are just reformed and out done by the new; and their
heroic deeds retold by the writings and voices of their pious believers.
1978.
Cross, Frank. Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel. Harvard
University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts 1997.
Hamilton, Leonidas Le Cenci. Ishtar and Izdubar: The Epic of Babylon. W.H. Allen & Co. New York 1884.
King, Leonard William. The Seven Tablets of Creation. Luzac and Co. London 1902.
Psalms 6: "My bones are shaking with terror."
O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, or discipline me in your wrath. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am
languishing; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. My soul also is struck with terror, while
you, O Lord—how long? Turn, O Lord, save my life; deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love. For in
death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who can give you praise? I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eyes waste away because of
grief; they grow weak because of all my foes. Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard
the sound of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies
shall be ashamed and struck with terror; they shall turn back, and in a moment be put to shame. (Psalms
6:1-10 NRSV)
In Psalms six there are two aspects of the psalm that will be discussed within this essay. The first is the
theme of the Psalm itself. Then, a discussion of the use of the word "Sheol", found in verse six. In doing so
possibly we may have a better picture of what the Psalmist is going through and textual similarities of the
other nations at the time.
The text of this particular Psalm is a prayer of lamentation. The writer may have a terminal illness and is
asking Yahweh for deliverance. There are about seven of these Psalms. In the Catholic Church they are
called the Penitential Psalms. They consist of the present Psalm, plus Psalms 37, 38, 51, 102,130, and
143. These types of Psalms were quite common in the Ancient Near East. Most people off handily would
associate such a prayer with the writings contained in the book of Job. While this association is correct, they
are found elsewhere also. Below we will explore at least three of these examples.
The first is called "A Prayer of Lamentation to Ishtar" a section of this text reads:
"I have cried to thee, suffering, wearied, and distressed, as thy servant.
See me o my Lady; accept my prayers.
Faithfully look upon me and hear my supplication.
Promise my forgiveness and let thy spirit be appeased.
Pity! For my wretched body which is full of confusion and trouble.
Pity! For my sickened heart is full of tears and suffering.
Pity! For my wretched intestines which are full of confusion and trouble.
Pity! For my afflicted house which morns bitterly.
Pity! For my feelings which are satiated with tears and suffering." (Pritchard p.384)
The next text that deals with our theme is the text "I will Praise The Lord of Wisdom". In this Akkadian text
we find the writer in extreme torment.
"The Alu (disease demon) has clothed himself with

my body as with a garment.
Like a net sleep has covered me.
My eyes stare without seeing.
My ears are open without hearing
Faintness has seized my whole body.
A stroke has fallen upon my flesh.
Weakness has taken hold of my hand.
Weariness has Fallen upon my knees…" (Pritchard p.435)
The last example of the three, we come to the Ugaritic literature, and find the "Legend of King Keret". The
king here is in mourning over his wife that has died. We read:
"So he enters his cubical and weeps,

An inner chamber and cries.
His tears drop
Like shekels to the ground.
His bed is soaked by his weeping,
And he falls asleep as he cries." (Pritchard p.143)
The above texts were given to show their similarities to the Psalm we are discussing. Also it shows that the
writing style in the ancient Near East dealt with some of the same issues. Now we will discuss the word
Sheol, and how it pertains to the texts describing the underworld.
In the Old Testament the underworld was a place some what removed from the world above. Its population
was in a semi conscience sleep. It is supposedly devoid of any praise of God but not removed from his
justification. In Deuteronomy 32:22 we read:
"For a fire is kindled by my anger, and burns to the depths of Sheol; it devours the earth and its increase,
and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains."
And again in Psalms 139:8 we find the familiar text:
"If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there."
Although it was the land of the dead, there are examples of the dead being aroused from Sheol when called
upon. One well known example is the raising of the spirit of Samuel, in First Samuel 28:11-15. Another
example is Isaiah 14:9
"Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who
were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations."
The word Sheol is used about Fifty-eight times in the Old Testament. This is disputed by some due to the
different translations. Some translations use "Sheol" for grave, death, and pit. So the word usage of
translations is under much debate. It also appears that one could be delivered from Sheol by Yahweh after a
certain time. Although this may not be popular in some circles the example that best fits this hypothesis is in
the book of Job.
"But mortals die, and are laid low; humans expire, and where are they? As waters fail from a lake, and a
river wastes away and dries up, so mortals lie down and do not rise again; until the heavens are no more,
they will not awake or be roused out of their sleep. O that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would
conceal me until your wrath is past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If mortals die,
will they live again? All the days of my service I would wait until my release should come. You would call,
and I would answer you; you would long for the work of your hands. (Job 14:10-15 NRSV)
Possibly Sheol, for the Jewish community, became like a intermediate between the stage of death and
resurrection. It is interesting to note the similarities of purgatory and the writing of Dante's Inferno to this
concept. Many modern ideas about hell and the afterlife may have been influenced by these texts
concerning Sheol. A more detailed essay on the after life and the under world in relation to the ancient Near
Eastern Texts and the Old Testament is in the making and these similarities will be discussed farther.
In Psalms six, we have one of many painful prayers to Yahweh for deliverance from death, pain, suffering,
and enemies. We also had a chance to look at some parts of similar texts that corresponded with the Psalm.
We also took a short time to discuss a few topics concerning the Jewish underworld. The biblical texts are
full of symbolic, iconographical, and mythological symbols that at times need to be picked apart. The debate
of such topics only leads to more topics and more understanding.
Orr, James. "Sheol." International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., Grand Rapids,
Michigan 1939.
Psalms Five: Baal Verses Death
Give ear to my words, O Lord; give heed to my sighing. Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God,
for to you I pray. O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and
watch. For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil will not sojourn with you. The boastful will not
stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the
bloodthirsty and deceitful. But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house, I will
bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you. Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my
enemies; make your way straight before me. For there is no truth in their mouths; their hearts are
destruction; their throats are open graves; they flatter with their tongues. Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels; because of their many transgressions cast them out, for they have
rebelled against you. But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your
protection over them, so that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O
Lord; you cover them with favor as with a shield. (Psalms 5:1-12 NRSV)
In the above text, the Psalmist possibly is being accused of idolatry. If found accused, the guilty may not
be allowed in the temple. The enemies create lies and accusations. The Psalmist prays that the wicked will
have poor council and there by proving his innocents by their mistakes. However, one verse jumps out in
particular and that is the text, "their throats are open graves". Below we will discuss what this could possibly
mean and the Ugric mythology that may be behind this text so we can better understand just how terrible
these enemies mentioned in Psalms five are.
In the Ugaritic texts there is what some scholars call the "Baal Cycle". In short, it is the story of the
Canaanite god Baal and his fight with the Lord of the Underworld, Death. Baal dies for seven years while
doing Battle with the god Death. During that time there is no rain. After some battles as king, Baal refused to
pay due tribute to Death in a message that he sent in announcing his new temple. After Baal's defeat of the
Sea or the "serpent", which caused cosmic collapse, he is punished by being made to go down into the
throat of Death. Baal gets bad news from his messengers and becomes scared of death; he submits. After
he sleeps with the goddess Anat, he and his sons and daughters descend into the underworld. In doing so,
they bring the full fury of the storm with them, Rain, wind, lightning and clouds. It is while Baal is battling in
the underworld and dies that the earth receives no rain and drought is upon the land.
"Message of El's son, Death,

the word of El's Darling, the Hero:
'My appetite is like that of a lioness,
or the desire of a dolphin in the sea;
my pool seizes the wild oxen,
my well grabs the deer;
when I have the appetite for an ass,
then I eat with both my hands…"
"One lip to the earth , one lip to the heavens;
he will stretch forth his tongue to the stars.
Baal must enter inside him;
he must go down into his mouth,
like an olive cake,
the earth's produce,
the fruit of the trees."
Baal the conqueror became afraid;
the Rider of the Clouds was terrified:
" Leave me; speak to El's son Death,
repeat to El's Darling, the Hero:
'Message from Baal the Conqueror,
the word of the Conqueror of Warriors:
Hail, El's son Death!
I am your servant, I am your forever. (Coogan p. 106-107)
It is also interesting to note the mourning process that was carried out by El and Anat. It explains in detail
why the believers of Baal cut themselves while on Mount Carmel. The worshipers were grieving Baal's
death. Below we read the account of the believers cutting themselves:
Then they cried aloud and, as was their custom, they cut themselves with swords and lances until the blood
gushed out over them. As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but
there was no voice, no answer, and no response. (1 Kings 18:28-29 NRSV)
Now compare the story of El, Baal's grandfather, grieving the death of his grandson:
Then El the Kind, the Compassionate,

came down from his throne,
sat on his stool,
and coming down from his stool he sat on the ground.
he poured earth o his head as a sign of morning,
on his skull the dust in which he rolled;
he covered his loins with sackcloth.
He cut his skin with a knife,
he made incisions with a razor;
he cut his cheeks and chin,
he raked his arms with a reed,
he plowed his chest like a garden,
he raked his back like a valley.
He raised his voice and shouted:
"Baal is dead: what will happen to the peoples? (Coogan p.109)
The verse in Psalms 5:9 shows that the enemies of the writer are all consuming with their false accusations.
Their appetites are that of a lioness. They will consume the accused with lies at any cost and eat anything
in their path as they wish. The Psalmist asks Yahweh for protection from these terrible enemies. He asks
Yahweh to do battle; to guard with a shield. The points brought out from such a small text shows the severity
of the problem mention in the above Psalm. It also shows that with such fierce enemies making
accusations, ones faith in Yahweh's protection and guidance is almost demanded.
1978.
* All biblical references were quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible.
Psalms 4: Yahweh and the Temple of Baal.
Answer me when I call, O God of my right! You gave me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me,
and hear my prayer. How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain
words, and seek after lies? (Selah) But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself; the Lord
hears when I call to him. When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent. (Selah)
Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord. There are many who say, "O that we might see some
good! Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!" You have put gladness in my heart more than when
their grain and wine abound. I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie
down in safety. (Psalms 4:1-8 NRSV)
In short, this particular Psalm is a prayer for rain. In the above text, the people have forsaken Yahweh and
relied on other gods to produce results. The author tells them that through repentance and offering right
sacrifice that the rains will come; through Yahweh crops will once again abound. There are, however, some
important aspects within this small text that have greater relevance. The concept is that if a temple for the
God is built, then prosperity will come to the land; if the temple is not built or is in shambles, then prosperity
is withheld by the heavens, at time in the form of rain. The concept of the right sacrifice brings the blessings
of the gods. Yahweh had a rather elaborate and strict set of sacrificial rules; if one part of the ritual was not
followed to his liking, the sacrifice was invalid. Major similarities exist between the Canaanite religion and its
counterpart, the house of Yahweh; in each, a god demands a temple and withholds prosperity from the
people until he is granted his wish.
The ancient Phoenicians had a ritual for the express purpose of entreating the deity to provide regularity to
the seasons and food for the people. If the rain was too much or too little, the people filled vessels with fat or
corn and buried them in the earth to honor the god Aleyn. This particular ritual is not found in the Old
Testament, but other rituals of the Jewish feasts and festivals are similar to those found in the texts at the
Ras Shamra site. One example would be the Jewish Feasts of Unleavened Bread. However, these
similarities may be addressed in a later essay. The example above was given to provide some insight into
the kind of rituals that were performed in the hopes that the god would provide rain.
Ancient Canaanite mythology stresses the importance that a deity has his or her own temple erected in
order for him or her to claim legitimacy in the Council of El. One story relates that Baal sought permission
from El, and also from the goddess of the council, to have the people erect him a temple. Baal sends his
wife and sister, Anat to plead his case. Anat, a war goddess, threatens El with death; he relents. The
goddess Asherah, El's wife, who apparently has objections, is the last to be persuaded before permission is
granted. In the end she is won over by a bribe of gifts given to her by Baal. Asherah and Anat, together
promote the building of the house of Baal. Now Baal's power will be manifested as the storm god. We find
the account in a translation from the texts containing the stories of Baal:
"But El the Kind, the Compassionate, replied:

"Am I a servant, a power of Asherah?
am I a servant holding a trowel,
or Asherah's brick maker?
Let a house like the other gods' be built for Baal,
a court like Asherah's sons'."
And Lady Asherah-of –the –Sea replied:
"You are great, El, you are truly wise;
your gray beard truly instructs you…
Now Baal will begin the rainy season,
the season of wadis in flood;
and he will sound his voice in the clouds,
flash his lightning to the earth.
Let him complete his house of cedar!
Let him construct his house of bricks! (Coogan p. 101)
So now Baal has a temple, and now will begin the rainy season.
It is interesting to note the view of Yahweh. In stark retaliation and contrast to his counterpart Baal in
Canaan; Yahweh is repulsed at first by the idea of a temple. In II Samuel we read:
"Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have
not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been
moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I
ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel,
saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" (2 Samuel 7:5-7 NRSV)
Later in the same text Yahweh relents and tells David that his offspring, Solomon will build him a house;
which, when comparing the details of the construction, is patterned after the temple of Baal. A more powerful
example however, is given at a much later time period. The temple and sacrifice becomes one of the most
important aspects in Yahwehism. We travel forward in time to the rebuilding of the temple after the
Babylonian exile. It is here, now possibly more then ever, that the temple is most important to Yahweh. And
Yahweh requires a house and right sacrifice to bring bounty and blessing to the land. The job falls to the
prophet Haggai. Below we read the full account:
"Then the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying: Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your
paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how
you have fared. You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink,
but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and you that earn wages earn
wages to put them into a bag with holes. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared. Go up
to the hills and bring wood and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored, says the
Lord. You have looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away.
Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because my house lies in ruins, while all of you hurry off to your own houses.
Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have
called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the soil produces,
on human beings and animals, and on all their labors." (Haggai 1:3-11 NRSV)
Yahweh also explains that all the sacrifices in Babylon were void because they were sacrificed in an unclean
land among and unclean people and the house of Yahweh laid desolate and broken. Even though the
priests still remembered the laws after being in captivity; Yahweh chastises them. In Haggai chapter two,
Yahweh explains in the form of questions posed to the high priests. He also gives the reason why he with
held the rain:
Then Haggai said, "If one who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become
unclean?" The priests answered, "Yes, it becomes unclean." Haggai then said, So is it with this people, and
with this nation before me, says the Lord; and so with every work of their hands; and what they offer there is
unclean. But now, consider what will come to pass from this day on. Before a stone was placed upon a
stone in the Lord's temple, how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but
ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. I struck you and all the
products of your toil with blight and mildew and hail; yet you did not return to me, says the Lord. (Haggai
2:13-17 NRSV)
Yahweh then has the people recall, in verse 18, that when the foundations of the temple were laid, it was
then, and only then, that earth brought forth its bounty.
This essay was not meant to create disillusionment of some believers, nor was it to prove that the religion of
Yahweh was a carbon copy of the Canaanite. The examples discussed here were meant to take note of the
similarities between the two religions. The Jewish religion that sprang forth did so in stark retaliation to the
Baal cults. However hard they tried, they could not shake off some of the religious; rituals, sacrifices, and
mythology that were so entrenched within the culture they came to inhabit.
1978
Habel, Norman C. Yahweh verses Baal: A Conflict of Religious Cultures. Bookman Associates. New York,
New York 1964.
Jack, J.W. The Ras Shamra Tablets: Their Bearing on the Old Testament. T. T Clark. George Street,
Edinburgh 1935.
Myers, Carol L. and Eric M, Myers. The Anchor Bible: Haggai, Zachariah 1-8. Doubleday & Company, Inc.
Garden City, New York 1987.
Psalms 3:“O Lord, how many are my foes!”: Yahweh as Suzerain .
O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying to me, "There is no help for
you in God." (Selah) But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. I
cry aloud to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy hill. (Selah) I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for
the Lord sustains me. I am not afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all
around. Rise up, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the
teeth of the wicked. Deliverance belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your people! (Selah)
(Psalms 3:1-8 NRSV)
The above possibly is spoken by a king who is surrounded by his enemies. Some think that this text was
written by David while he was fleeing from Absalom. Such headings are under debate, even though some
aspects of the lament may possibly correspond in content to the events in David's life. Such introductions
also exist in Ugric poetry and laments, with headings that read "Concerning Baal", and the like. With the
opening verses we see that the many whom are rising and say, "There is no help for you in Yahweh.", pay
later by having their cheek struck and their teeth broken by Yahweh.
Another interesting point to elaborate on is the word "shield" in verse four. Some scholars such as Dahood
believe the word here should be "suzerain" or "overlord". It is defined by the Theological Wordbook of the
Old Testament, as:
"Shield, buckler, defense, ruler, armed, scales, now also suzerain is suggested. The noun magen refers to
an object which provides covering and protection to the body during warfare. Of the six Hebrew words
rendered in KJV as "shield" or "buckler" only magen, sinna, and possibly shelet refer to what may properly
be called shields. It is obvious that magen and sinna refer to different types of shields, but English versions
have not consistently maintained the distinction, rendering both words indiscriminately as "shield" or
"buckler."
In Luke 22:25 we find the definition: But he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and
those in authority over them are called benefactors. Another example is in Psalms 84:11 For the Lord God is
a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk
uprightly. So Yahweh is just that, he gives to his vassals.
Lastly, in contrast to the introduction, where the enemies of the lamenting King were saying there was no
help in Yahweh, we read in contrast "Deliverance belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your
people!" Or, Salvation belongs to Yahweh. In the end the jaws and teeth, or the instruments of the sin, were
marked and destroyed by Yahweh.
In the following Hittite prayer, called the Daily Prayer of the King, the writer also calls for help against sinful
enemies and asks the god acting as the "suzerain" for protection and blessings.
And as for the enemy countries that are in revolt and turmoil- some refuse the due respect to thee,
Telepinus, and to the Hattian gods; others are out to burn your temples; others seek to obtain the rhyta, the
cups and the utensils of silver and gold; others seek to lay waste your plowland and pasture, vineyards
,gardens, and groves; others seek to capture your plowmen, vinedressers, gardeners and millwomen- give
evil fever, plague, famine and misery to these country enemies.
But to the king and the queen, to the princesses and to the Hatti land grant life , health, strength, long and
enduring years of joy! Grant everlasting fertility to their crops, vines, fruit-bearing trees, cattle, sheep, goats
pigs, mules and asses together with the beasts of the fields, and to their people! Let them florish! Let the
rains come! Let the winds of prosperity pass over! Let all thrive and prosper in the Hatti land! And the
congregation shouts: "Let it be so!" (Pritchard p. 397)
Archer. Gleason L. Jr. , Bruse K. Waltke. & R. Laird Harris, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament.
Electronic Edition, Moody Press. Chicago, Illinois 1980.
Psalms 2: "I will tell of the decree of the Lord."
Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and his
anointed, saying,
"Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us."
He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
"I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill."
I will tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, "You are my son; today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear, with trembling
kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled. Happy are all
who take refuge in him.
Psalms Two can be divided into three sections one through three tells of the local kings plotting rebellion
against the new Overlord. In verses four to nine, describes God's reaction and thought on the matter. Finally,
verses ten through twelve explain the judgment of the matter. The good will be rewarded and the evil will
parish (Dahood 7-8).
The above text show just how seriously the office of the King was taken in the time of this texts composition.
In Hebrew culture and in the biblical texts, the King was chosen by Yahweh. Any issues you had with
Yahweh's anointed, you also offended Yahweh himself. One example of this would be the account of David
choosing not to kill Saul even though he was urged by some to do so at the time of opportunity.
The king in early Hebrew culture was the son of the deity only through the covenant and was not divine,
unlike their neighbors whom claimed to be the incarnate or "God on earth". In Ugaritic literature, King Kirta is
said to be the son of El, the ruler of the Canaanite pantheon (Walton pp. 518-519).
The Assembly of the gods arrived,

And Baal the Conqueror said:
"Come now El the Kind, the Compassionate: bless Kirta the Noble,
Show your favor to the Gracious One, The Lad of El:
El took a cup in his hand,
A goblet in his right hand;
He pronounced a blessing over his servant,
El blessed Kirta the Noble,
He showed his favor to the Gracious One, The Lad of El: (Coogan p. 66)
The idea of Yahweh laughing in response to his enemies is not a new one. Elsewhere in the biblical texts we
hear Yahweh laugh at his enemies: Psalms 52:6; 59:8; Proverbs 1:26, to name a few. It is interesting to note
that almost the same theme that is in verse 4 of Psalms 2 is used also in Psalms 59:8 But you laugh at
them, O Lord; you hold all the nations in derision.
In verses seven to nine the Psalmist prophesies that when Yahweh is asked, he will deal out vengeance on
the rebellious. He promises the chosen king their lands and the earth his procession. Yahweh has assured
the king victory.
The warning comes rather stern in verses ten through twelve, serve Yahweh or pay dearly. The rebellious
wicked are reminded that they are rulers of the earth. Also, in Psalms 82 Yahweh warns the gods that if they
continue to do evil they to will be mortals. To be rulers of heaven comes to those who are righteous and are
the chosen Sons of Yahweh.
1978.
Psalms One :The Wicked Will Not Stand in the Judgment
Answer me when I call, O God of my right! You gave me room when I was in distress. Be gracious to me,
and hear my prayer. How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain
words, and seek after lies? (Selah) But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself; the Lord
hears when I call to him. When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent. (Selah)
Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord. There are many who say, "O that we might see some
good! Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!" You have put gladness in my heart more than when
their grain and wine abound. I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie
down in safety. (Psalms 4:1-8 NRSV)
In short, this particular Psalm is a prayer for rain. In the above text, the people have forsaken Yahweh and
relied on other gods to produce results. The author tells them that through repentance and offering right
sacrifice that the rains will come; through Yahweh crops will once again abound. There are, however, some
important aspects within this small text that have greater relevance. The concept is that if a temple for the
God is built, then prosperity will come to the land; if the temple is not built or is in shambles, then prosperity
is withheld by the heavens, at time in the form of rain. The concept of the right sacrifice brings the blessings
of the gods. Yahweh had a rather elaborate and strict set of sacrificial rules; if one part of the ritual was not
followed to his liking, the sacrifice was invalid. Major similarities exist between the Canaanite religion and its
counterpart, the house of Yahweh; in each, a god demands a temple and withholds prosperity from the
people until he is granted his wish.
The ancient Phoenicians had a ritual for the express purpose of entreating the deity to provide regularity to
the seasons and food for the people. If the rain was too much or too little, the people filled vessels with fat or
corn and buried them in the earth to honor the god Aleyn. This particular ritual is not found in the Old
Testament, but other rituals of the Jewish feasts and festivals are similar to those found in the texts at the
Ras Shamra site. One example would be the Jewish Feasts of Unleavened Bread. However, these
similarities may be addressed in a later essay. The example above was given to provide some insight into
the kind of rituals that were performed in the hopes that the god would provide rain.
Ancient Canaanite mythology stresses the importance that a deity has his or her own temple erected in
order for him or her to claim legitimacy in the Council of El. One story relates that Baal sought permission
from El, and also from the goddess of the council, to have the people erect him a temple. Baal sends his
wife and sister, Anat to plead his case. Anat, a war goddess, threatens El with death; he relents. The
goddess Asherah, El's wife, who apparently has objections, is the last to be persuaded before permission is
granted. In the end she is won over by a bribe of gifts given to her by Baal. Asherah and Anat, together
promote the building of the house of Baal. Now Baal's power will be manifested as the storm god. We find
the account in a translation from the texts containing the stories of Baal:
"But El the Kind, the Compassionate, replied:

"Am I a servant, a power of Asherah?
am I a servant holding a trowel,
or Asherah's brick maker?
Let a house like the other gods' be built for Baal,
a court like Asherah's sons'."
And Lady Asherah-of –the –Sea replied:
"You are great, El, you are truly wise;
your gray beard truly instructs you…
Now Baal will begin the rainy season,
the season of wadis in flood;
and he will sound his voice in the clouds,
flash his lightning to the earth.
Let him complete his house of cedar!
Let him construct his house of bricks! (Coogan p. 101)
So now Baal has a temple, and now will begin the rainy season.
It is interesting to note the view of Yahweh. In stark retaliation and contrast to his counterpart Baal in
Canaan; Yahweh is repulsed at first by the idea of a temple. In II Samuel we read:
"Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have
not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been
moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I
ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel,
saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" (2 Samuel 7:5-7 NRSV)
Later in the same text Yahweh relents and tells David that his offspring, Solomon will build him a house;
which, when comparing the details of the construction, is patterned after the temple of Baal. A more powerful
example however, is given at a much later time period. The temple and sacrifice becomes one of the most
important aspects in Yahwehism. We travel forward in time to the rebuilding of the temple after the
Babylonian exile. It is here, now possibly more then ever, that the temple is most important to Yahweh. And
Yahweh requires a house and right sacrifice to bring bounty and blessing to the land. The job falls to the
prophet Haggai. Below we read the full account:
"Then the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying: Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your
paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how
you have fared. You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink,
but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and you that earn wages earn
wages to put them into a bag with holes. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared. Go up
to the hills and bring wood and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored, says the
Lord. You have looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away.
Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because my house lies in ruins, while all of you hurry off to your own houses.
Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have
called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the soil produces,
on human beings and animals, and on all their labors." (Haggai 1:3-11 NRSV)
Yahweh also explains that all the sacrifices in Babylon were void because they were sacrificed in an unclean
land among and unclean people and the house of Yahweh laid desolate and broken. Even though the
priests still remembered the laws after being in captivity; Yahweh chastises them. In Haggai chapter two,
Yahweh explains in the form of questions posed to the high priests. He also gives the reason why he with
held the rain:
Then Haggai said, "If one who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become
unclean?" The priests answered, "Yes, it becomes unclean." Haggai then said, So is it with this people, and
with this nation before me, says the Lord; and so with every work of their hands; and what they offer there is
unclean. But now, consider what will come to pass from this day on. Before a stone was placed upon a
stone in the Lord's temple, how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but
ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. I struck you and all the
products of your toil with blight and mildew and hail; yet you did not return to me, says the Lord. (Haggai
2:13-17 NRSV)
Yahweh then has the people recall, in verse 18, that when the foundations of the temple were laid, it was
then, and only then, that earth brought forth its bounty.
This essay was not meant to create disillusionment of some believers, nor was it to prove that the religion of
Yahweh was a carbon copy of the Canaanite. The examples discussed here were meant to take note of the
similarities between the two religions. The Jewish religion that sprang forth did so in stark retaliation to the
Baal cults. However hard they tried, they could not shake off some of the religious; rituals, sacrifices, and
mythology that were so entrenched within the culture they came to inhabit.
1978
Habel, Norman C. Yahweh verses Baal: A Conflict of Religious Cultures. Bookman Associates. New York,
New York 1964.
Myers, Carol L. and Eric M, Myers. The Anchor Bible: Haggai, Zachariah 1-8. Doubleday & Company, Inc.
Garden City, New York 1987.

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Essays and Thoughts on the Psalms as Compared to Ancient Near Eastern Texts

Psalms 18: Smoke Went Up From His Nostrils.

Essay by Alford D. Wayman

The gates of Anat's house were shut,

and the lads met the lady of the mountain.

And then Anat went to battle in the valley,

she fought between the two cities:

she killed the people of the coast,

she annihilated the men of the east.

Heads rolled under her like balls,

hands flew over her like locusts,

the warriors' hands like swarms of grasshoppers.

She fastened the heads to her back,

she tied the hands to her belt.

She plunged knee-deep into the soldiers' blood,

up to her thighs in the warriors' gore;

with a staff she drove off her enemies,

with the string of her bow her opponents.

And then Anat arrived at her house,

there, not satisfied with her battling in the valley,

her fighting between the two cities,

she made the chairs into warriors,( Coogan p. 90-91)

And Kothar-wa-Hasis replied:"Let me tell you, Prince Baal,

let me repeat, Rider on the Clouds:

behold, your enemy, Baal,

behold, you will kill your enemy,

behold, you will annihilate your foes.

You will take your eternal kingship;

your dominion forever and ever."

Kothar brought down two clubs,

and he pronounced their names:

Driver, drive Sea,

drive Sea from his throne,

River from the seat of his dominion.

Dance in Baal's hands,

like a vulture from his fingers.

Strike Prince Sea on the shoulder,

Judge River between the arms."

The club danced in Baal's hands,

like a vulture from his fingers.

It struck Prince Sea on the shoulder,

Judge River between the arms.

Sea was strong; he did not sink;

his joints did not shake;

his frame did not collapse.

Kothar brought down two clubs,

and he pronounced their names: (Coogan p.88)

The princes are prostrate, saying: "Mercy!"

Hurru is become a widow for Egypt!

Psalms 17: Rise up, O Yahweh, Confront Them.

Essay by Alford D. Wayman

Psalms 16: Protect Me, O EL

Essay by Alford D. Wayman

The Canaanite profession of faith reads:

But our king is Baal the Conqueror,

The writer then ends with the conclusion:

"A hymn to Nungal" http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/index.html, The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian

Psalm 15: Who May Abide In Your Tent?

Essay by Alford D. Wayman

I have not committed sins against men.

Psalms 14: There They Shall Be In Great Terror..

Essay by Alford D. Wayman

Psalms 13: The Battle Against Mot.