A study of its reflexes in Canaanite and Hebrew literature
Harvard University
1990
250
Ph.D.
Harvard University
1990
Among the more enigmatic passages in the Hebrew Bible are those which appear to describe a rebellion against Yahweh, god of Israel, by one or more members of his celestial court. These include Genesis 6:1-4, Isaiah 14:4b-20a, Ezekiel 28:1-10, 11-19, Psalm 82, and Daniel 11:21-45. It has been the belief of a number of scholars that behind this biblical material existed one or more prototypes, Canaanite in origin, which told of a revolt against the high god El. The mythological background of these passages has been documented by interpreters, but to date consensus has not been reached on the nature of the Israelite myth's supposed progenitor. One of the most compelling suggestions made as to the myth's origin is that 'Athtar mythology (as it is reflected in CTA 2.3.12-24; CTA 6.1.42-6; CTA 23.8-9, 57; CTA 24.24-30) might provide the background against which the biblical material should be understood. However, a synthetic treatment of the pertinent biblical texts which examines 'Athtar mythology and attempts a reconstruction of the myth, based primarily on Ugaritic and Hebrew data, has not yet been undertaken. This dissertation has attempted such a synthesis. Two specific objectives for this study have been established: first, to provide a close reading of the texts involved with attention being given to their function and meaning in context (i.e. the manner in which the revolt against Yahweh/El and the exploits of 'Athtar have been presented, and the agenda of the author(s)/redactor(s) in so doing), and as possible constituent parts of the revolt myth; second, to reconstruct the myth to the extent possible. The methodology employed is exegetical. Attention has been drawn to prosodic structure and important literary features when these have augmented the results of philological, historical, and comparative research.