Ritual and Cult at Ugarit (Writings from the Ancient World)

314 Pages·2002·1.08 MB·English

by  Dennis Pardee

Ritual and Cult at Ugarit
Writings from the Ancient World
Society of Biblical Literature
Simon B. Parker, General Editor
Associate Editors
Jerrold S. Cooper
Richard Jasnow
Anne D. Kilmer
Ronald J. Leprohon
Theodore J. Lewis
Peter Machinist
Gregory McMahon
C. L. Seow
Volume 10
Ritual and Cult at Ugarit
by Dennis Pardee
Edited by Theodore J. Lewis
Ritual and Cult
at Ugarit
by
Dennis Pardee
Edited by
Theodore J. Lewis
Society of Biblical Literature
Atlanta
RITUAL AND CULT AT UGARIT
Copyright © 2002
Society of Biblical Literature
No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by
means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly
permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests
for permission should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions
Office, Society of Biblical Literature, 825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta, GA
30329 USA.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pardee, Dennis.
Ritual and cult at Ugarit / by Dennis Pardee ; edited by
Theodore J. Lewis.
p. cm. — (Writings from the ancient world ; no. 10)
Contains Ugaritic texts and Eng. translations.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-58983-026-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Ugarit (Extinct city)—Religious life and customs.
2. Sacrifice—Syria—Ugarit (Extinct city) 3. Rites and
ceremonies—Syria—Ugarit (Extinct city) I. Lewis, Theodore J.
II. Title. III. Series.
BL1640 .P37 2002
299'.26—dc21
2002004828
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
Contents
Series Editor’s Foreword ix
Abbreviations xi
Explanation of Signs xiii
INTRODUCTION 1
THE TEXTS 9
Part One: The Sacrificial Cult
I. DEITYLISTS 11
1. RS 1.017/RS 24.264+/RS 20.024/RS 24.643:1–9 12
2. RS 6.138 16
3. RS 92.2004/RS 24.643 17
4. RS 24.246 19
5. RS 4.474 21
II. PRESCRIPTIVESACRIFICIALRITUALS 25
Rituals for a Single Month 26
6. RS 1.009/RS 24.253/RS 24.284 (month name lost
or never indicated) 26
7. RS 24.248 (month name lost or never indicated) 34
8. RS 24.256 (month name lost) 36
9. RS 24.276 (month name lost or never indicated) 39
10. RS 24.298 (month name lost) 40
Rituals for Two Months 40
11.RS 24.249 (<Iba>latu?–HÚiyyaµru) 41
v
vi Ritual and Cult at Ugarit
12.RS 24.643 (<Iba>latu?–HÚiyyaµru?) 44
13.RS 24.266 (<Iba>latu–HÚiyyaµru?) 50
14.RS 24.250+(H\allatu?–Gannu) 53
15.RS 1.003 (Ra<šu-yêni–nql?)/RS 18.056
(Ra<šu-yêni– š[…]) 56
Ritual for a Single Day: A Royal Ritual
16.RS 24.260 66
Ritual for a Day and a Night
17.RS 1.001 67
An Entry Ritual Extending Over Two Days
18.RS 1.005 69
Contemplation Rituals 72
19.RS 19.013 73
20.RIH 77/2B+ 74
21.RIH 77/10B+ 76
Texts with No Stated Time Frame 77
Ritual for National Unity
22. RS 1.002 77
A Ritual for the Gods of the Land
23. RS [Varia 20] 84
A Funerary Ritual in Poetic Form
24.RS 34.126 85
Hurro-Ugaritic Bilinguals 88
25.RS 24.254: Sacrifices 89
26.RS 24.255: A Three-Day Sacrificial Rite
Followed by a Divine Betrothal Rite 90
27.RS 24.261: Sacrificial Ritual of >Attartu 93
28.RS 24.291: Three-Day Sacrificial Ritual
for the Bed of Pidray 96
III. DESCRIPTIONSOFSACRIFICIALRITUALS 117
29.RS 1.019: A Ritual Characterized by Bird-Offerings 117
30.RS 13.006: Rural Sacrifices 119
31.RS 15.072: Ritual Slaughter of Animals in a
Rural Context 120
IV. MEMORIALSOFASACRIFICIALRITE 123
32.RS 6.021: The Mortuary Offering of Tarriyelli 124
33.RS 6.028: The Mortuary Offering of >UzzÈnµ u 124
Contents vii
V. ANEXVOTOINSCRIPTION
34.RS 25.318 126
VI. DIVINATION 127
A.Practice 127
Liver Models 128
35.RS 24.312 128
36.RS 24.323 128
37.RS 24.326 128
38.RS 24.327 129
39.RS 24.654 129
A Lung Model
40.RS 24.277 129
An Astrological Report
41.RS 12.061 131
B.Manuals 134
42.RS 24.247+: Malformed Animal Fetuses 135
43.RS 24.302: Malformed Human Fetuses 141
44.RIH 78/14: Lunar Omens 142
45.RS 18.041: Dream Omens 144
VII. PRAYERS 149
46.RS 24.266:26'-36': A Prayer Appended
to a Sacrificial Ritual 149
47.RS 24.271: A Prayer for Well-Being 150
Part Two: Ritual Activity Outside the Sacrificial Cult 155
VIII. INCANTATIONS 157
48.RS 92.2014: An Incantation against Snakes
and Scorpions 158
49.RIH 78/20: An Incantation against Male
Sexual Dysfunction 159
50.RS 22.225: The Attack of the Evil Eye and a
Counterattack 161
IX. HISTORIOLAE 167
51.RS 24.258: <Ilu’s Marzih\uand a Recipe for Hangover 167
52.RS 24.272: Consultation of Ditaµnuwith a View
to Healing 170
viii Ritual and Cult at Ugarit
53.RS 24.244: H\ôraµnuand the Mare: Ridding the Land
of Serpents 172
54.RS 24.251: Šapšu, with H\ôraµnu’s Help, Rids
the Land of Serpents 179
X.RITESINCLUDINGDIVINEPARTICIPATION 192
55.RS 24.252: A Divine Drinking Rite and a Blessing 192
56.RS 24.257/RS 94.2518: Rites Involving the
Royal Shades of the Dead 195
XI.A MYTHTHATEXPLAINSARITUALPRACTICE 211
57.RS 24.293 212
XII.ADMINISTRATIVETEXTS 214
58.RS 19.015: Wine for Royal Sacrificial Rites 214
59.RS 24.292: An Oil-Tax for Ba>luof Aleppo 216
60.RS [Varia 14]: A Contract for a Marzih\uMeeting
Place 217
Summary and Conclusions 221
Concordance of Text Numbers 244
Bibliography 252
Glossary 267
1. Cultic Terms 267
2. Deities 273
Indexes 286
1. Deities and Other Extraordinary Beings 286
2. Personal Names 290
3. Place Names, Including Gentilics 291
4. Subjects 291
5. References to the Hebrew Bible 299
Series Editor’s Foreword
Writings from the Ancient World is designed to provide up-to-date,
readable English translations of writings recovered from the ancient Near
East.
The series is intended to serve the interests of general readers, stu-
dents, and educators who wish to explore the ancient Near Eastern roots
of Western civilization, or compare these earliest written expressions of
human thought and activity with writings from other parts of the world. It
should also be useful to scholars in the humanities or social sciences who
need clear, reliable translations of ancient Near Eastern materials for
comparative purposes. Specialists in particular areas of the ancient Near
East who need access to texts in the scripts and languages of other areas
will also find these translations helpful. Given the wide range of materials
translated in the series, different volumes will appeal to different inter-
ests. But these translations make available to all readers of English the
world’s earliest traditions as well as valuable sources of information on
daily life, history, religion, etc. in the preclassical world.
The translators of the various volumes in this series are specialists in
the particular languages and have based their work on the original
sources and the most recent research. In their translations they attempt
to convey as much as possible of the original texts in a fluent, current
English. In the introductions, notes, glossaries, maps, and chronological
tables, they aim to provide the essential information for an appreciation
of these ancient documents.
Covering the period from the invention of writing (by 3000 B.C.E.)
down to the conquests of Alexander the Great (ca. 330 B.C.E.). the
ancient Near East comprised northeast Africa and southwest Asia. The
ix
x Ritual and Cult at Ugarit
cultures represented within these limits include especially Egyptian,
Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Hittite, Ugaritic, Aramean, Phoenician,
and Israelite. It is hoped that Writings from the Ancient World will even-
tually produce translations of most of the many different genres attested
in these cultures:letters—official and private—myths, diplomatic docu-
ments, hymns, law collections, monumental inscriptions, tales, and
administrative records, to mention but a few.
The preparation of this volume was supported in part by a generous
grant from the Division of Research Programs of the National Endow-
ment for the Humanities. Significant funding has also been made avail-
able by the Society of Biblical Literature. In addition, those involved in
preparing this volume have received financial and clerical assistance from
their respective institutions. Were it not for these expressions of confi-
dence in our work, the arduous tasks of preparation, translation, editing,
and publication could not have been accomplished or even undertaken. It
is the hope of all who have worked on these texts or supported this work
that Writings from the Ancient World will open up new horizons and
deepen the humanity of all who read these volumes.
Simon B. Parker
Boston University School of Theology
[Special Note: The texts included in this volume of the series pose par-
ticularly difficult problems of interpretation, both of their language and
of their institutional context. For this reason the apparatus provided,
both in the form of introductions to the texts and notes on them, is con-
siderably more extensive and detailed than has been customary in the
series. It is hoped that this will be appreciated by those who wish to
understand something of the problems the texts raise, while not discour-
aging those whose intitial interest is more immediate.—S.B.P.]