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January 18, 2008
Things That Gods Hate
Jim West thinks Malachi 1:2-3 is "the hardest verse in the whole Bible" to "assimilate or comprehend." I guess he means assimilate into his theology. He has problems with YHWH hating Esau. Well, perhaps Jim should turn to Ba'al who also hates things or to Proverbs 6:16-19 where YHWH's hates certain actions rather than people. By the way, this post is little more than an exercise in free association and shouldn't be taken too seriously. But then, that is likely true of all my posts.
In one Ugaritic text, Ba'al makes a speech complaining about how the other gods treat him. At least I think that is what he is complaining about. The immediate preceding context is largely lost. Part of that speech (KTU 1.4 III:17-22) reads as follows:
[If you see squares, rectangles or something else that doesn't look right, please install the Charis SIL font.]
dm . ṯn . dbḥm . šna . bʿl . ṯlṯ
rkb . ʿrpt . dbḥ
bṯt . w dbḥ {w dbḥ}
dnt . w dbḥ . tdmm
amht . k bh . bṯt . l tbṭ
w bh . tdmmt . amht
Which I translate:
Now there are two sacrifices that Ba'al hates,
three the Rider of the Clouds:
The sacrifice of shame,
The sacrifice of prostitution(?),
The sacrifice of lewdness(?) of handmaids.
Indeed, in it shame is apparent
and in it (is) lewdness of handmaids.
Your results may vary. This Ugaritic passage has more than a few problems.
But if you look at Proverbs 6:16-19 you'll find that YHWH hates six, yes, seven things himself. Out of laziness, I follow the NRSV's translation with a little formatting:
There are six things that the LORD hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that hurry to run to evil,
a lying witness who testifies falsely,
and one who sows discord in a family
Notice that Ba'al hates two and even three things and that the text lists three things and that YHWH hates six and even seven things, and seven things are listed. The fairly obvious parallel between KTU 1.4 III:17-22 and Proverbs 6:16-19 was first noted by Bauer back in 1938 and has been mentioned by dozens of commentators ever since. Bauer, 56, thought the parallel indicated the Canaanite origin of passages like Proverbs 6:16-19. In the light of what we now know about the place of Ugaritic in the family of Semitic languages, I think Bauer's view overstates the case. The best one can say is that both texts are witness to a common linguistic tradition.
Now, look very carefully at the use of the w ("and") in the Ugaritic passage and the two וs (ands) in the passage from Proverbs. I'm wondering if the Proverbs passage had a vorlage with only three things that YHWH hates to which the last four items were added and the numbers in Proverbs 6:16 were then "corrected." It might have read in translation:
There are two things that the LORD hates,
three that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood
Just a thought. I know that seven is an important number in the Hebrew Bible. But does that argue for or against my idea? Notice the repeat of שָׁקֶר, "lying," first in Proverbs 6:17 (the second item in the list) and 6:19 (the sixth item in the list). This type of repetition including an expanded phrase on the occasion of the second usage adds to my feeling that the last four lines may be secondary and the first two lines rewritten to accommodate them. Someone else must have noticed the "ands" and the repetition before. But the few older commentaries I have around here are silent on the issue and it's too late to go to the library.
If my idea turns out to be correct, does it make any difference? No, other than illustrating yet another place where a text has a prehistory, it doesn't make much difference at all. Perhaps, I'll take this up again in another post anyway.
Reference:
Posted by Duane Smith at January 18, 2008 7:59 PM | Read more on Hebrew Bible |
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Comments
This interests me because I'm reading Hosea right now. In that book, there is some implication that sexual acts were a part of the worship of Baal (Hosea 3:14). But the prayer you just posted says that Baal despises the sacrifices of prostitutes. What's your take on all of this?
Posted by: James Pate at January 19, 2008 9:37 AM
James
Interesting question. It is not certain that the Ugarit word I translated "prostitution" means "prostitution." It does likely mean some kind of inappropriate conduct, but what kind is unclear. My translation is based in large part on the next line which itself has problems. But assuming that the word dnt does mean prostitution or the like there are a couple of other things that need to be considered. First, in so far as can be determined, the context involves actions of the other gods toward Baal not (necessarily) human sacrifices made to Baal. Second, there is nothing in any of the Ugaritic texts that unambiguously points to cultic prostitution at Ugarit. In fact, I very much doubt that it was a part of their religious practice. Third, one must always remember that there were many Baals. A couple of texts in Akkadian and Ugaritic that seem to designate gods to whom some kind of sacrifice was required list seven distinct Baals. The bottom line is that the worship of the gods in the Levant (and elsewhere) was likely far more complex than we imagine. Practices differed at different places and different times.
As to Hosea: I think you meant Hosea 4:14. I make this kind of mistake all the time. It is not clear to me that Hosea is necessarily talking about the worship of Baal. In fact, and I say this without enough study to be certain, the larger context seems to indicate something like the worship of Asherah. Note 4:12 where "My people consult a piece of wood." And while it is not clear exactly how, it is very likely that Asherah and YHWH were worshiped together sometimes and in some places. See Khirbet El-Qôm 3 and Kuntillet Ajur 7, 10, 14, and 15. On the other hand, Kuntillet Ajur 8 seems to have (some) Baal as the main god. Hosea wouldn't have approved of any of this.
Posted by: Duane at January 19, 2008 10:40 AM
I'm guessing Ugaritic dnt = Hebrew znt - the d to z shift?
James - Alice Keefe provides a good refutation of the sudden literalization of the metaphor of 'fornication'/'prostitution' in Hosea 4.14 to mean 'temple prostitutes'. The 'temple prostitute' interpretation is largely based on a circular assumption that 'Canaanite' religion involved cultic prostitution; there's no compelling evidence of this in Syria-Palestine, as far as I know. (Woman's Body and the Social Body in Hosea, 2001.)
The qedesot are possibly merely female cultic personnel that the later Yahwistic religion disparaged and criticised. If the male qds is a Canaanite cult singer, the female qdsh is plausibly just a female cultic equivalent.
Posted by: Deane at January 19, 2008 10:26 PM
Deane,
Yes, proto-Semitic *D(h)NT would become znt in Hebrew and dnt in Ugaritic. In so far as my translation is based on etymology, that is how I understand it. Also, thank you for the discussion of Alice Keefe's work and your correct observations on the qedesot. I should have said in my post that there was little or no real evidence for cult prostitution anywhere in the Levant.
Posted by: Duane at January 20, 2008 8:47 AM
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