Ugaritic Studies

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The royal cult at Late Bronze Age Ugarit employed a remarkable variety of ritual strategies. The majority of Ugaritic ritual texts were written to promote the king as the primary ritual actor, regularly silencing those who actually performed cult. The treatment of the king’s body is at the center of ritual performance where the king undergoes a washing ritual that is linked to his sacralizing and purification. The textualization of the rituals describes the king as the only actor who performs sacrifice. Surprisingly, there is never a mention of the head priest or any other priest engaging in sacrifice. The propagandistic aspect of this primary ritual strategy is clear to see.

A closer look at a handful of other ritual texts reveals six additional ritual strategies that present a more nuanced picture of royal cult. A second strategy has the king not as a ritual actor but rather as the beneficiary of cult. KTU 1.40, our best example of this strategy, describes a sacrificial ritual by the public at large with a focus on social well-being—including even immigrant communities. A third ritual strategy (best represented by KTU 1.119) combines the two above approaches, with both the king and the public as ritual actors. KTU 1.23 reveals how a fourth ritual strategy—involving non-royal actors with the monarchy as beneficiaries—sought to entertain audiences by combining ritual performance with mythic storytelling about how God and king are alike in providing agricultural abundance. A fifth royal ritual strategy (e.g. KTU 1,148; KTU 1.43) focuses on public relations where abundant feasts and ritual processions drew attention to the king as provider par excellence.  Divinatory texts represent a sixth ritual strategy in which the gods were thought to provide predictive windows allowing the king to act in his own best interests as well as those of his constituents. A seventh ritual strategy (KTU 1.161) with both the king and public as beneficiaries involves an altogether different category of imagined actors: the shades of deceased kings who are summed to participate in a mortuary sacrificial ritual that facilitates a double transition—that of the recently deceased king to the netherworld and the transition of his successor to the throne. The ancestral shades then bring well-being to royalty and public alike.

This expanded view of multiple ritual strategies reveals a comprehensive, multifaceted, and even pragmatic royal cult that in effect acknowledges that propaganda alone is not enough.

A curious phenomenon that is attested in the Ugaritic texts, elsewhere in the ancient Near East, the Hebrew Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, medieval texts, and beyond is a scribal practice I call sans érasure, a case in which a scribe leaves an error uncorrected and proceeds to write or copy the correct letter, word, line, or verse following the error. In this article, a number of rather clear examples are adduced from the Ugaritic texts, and a number of examples from the Hebrew Bible are proposed. Several of these cases would seem to be recognized in the Masoretic tradition in instances of ‫ל‬ ‫א‬ ‫ק‬ ‫ר‬ ‫י‬ (written but not read). Some of the biblical examples resolve longstanding philological cruxes. Among the examples are several from the book of Job and the last verse in Lamentations. An explanation for the practice is suggested.

The Divine Nature of Daganziga: From Nippur to the Hittite Realm. Etymology and the Celestial Abode Daganziga helps the spread of the female Cybele, to become a dominant female main deity in Asia Minor, and, thus, to influence the ancient Roman empire by accepting a female way of thinking in a male dominant society. Who was daganziga: The name **Daganziga** appears in the Nippur god lists as a distinct entity. Linguistically, the term is analyzed through the Sumerian components **dag** (throne, dwelling, or chamber) and **an** (heaven/sky). Later, Daganziga appears in the Hittite Kmarbi-cycle as a helper to bear the new deities. ### 1Interpretation:** Scholars like **Jan van Dijk** and **Anton Deimel** have explored these early lexical lists. In this context, **Dag-an** signifies a "Heavenly Dwelling" or "Celestial Place." The suffix **-ziga** (to rise/stand up) suggests the "Rising of the Heavenly Dwelling." * **Clay Tablets:** This name is documented in the **An = Anum** lexical tablets (specifically Tablet V), which serve as the definitive "who's who" of the Mesopotamian pantheon. These tablets were used by scribes to categorize the functions of deities, linking Daganziga to the cosmic architecture of the heavens. ### 2. Dagan vs. Daganziga: A Distinction of Origins It is vital to distinguish between the West Semitic god **Dagan** and the deity **Daganziga**. * **Dagan:** A major Semitic deity of fertility and grain, widely worshipped in Mari and Ugarit. Ancient sources like the **Stele of Naram-Sin** and the **Mari Archives** mention Dagan as the "Lord of the Euphrates." * **Daganziga:** Despite the phonetic similarity, most Assyriologists argue there is no direct genealogical link. While Dagan is masculine and associated with the earth/grain, Daganziga appears in Hittite contexts with feminine attributes. * **Sources:** In the Nippur "List of Gods," Daganziga is listed among the attendants or specific manifestations within the Sumerian sphere, whereas Dagan enters the records via the Akkadian and Amorite migrations. ### 3. The Hittite Context: The Birth of Tesub In the **Kumarbi Cycle** (specifically the *Song of Emergence*), Daganziga plays a pivotal role. * **The Myth:** When Kumarbi swallows the "manhood" of Anu, he becomes pregnant with several deities, including the storm god **Tesub**. The Hittite clay tablets (KUB series, specifically **KUB 33.120**) describe the internal struggle of the gods waiting to be born. * **The Quote:** "Let Daganziga assist... let the birth-stool be prepared for the delivery of Tesub." (Approximate rendering from Hittite ritual fragments). * **Iconography:** Daganziga is depicted as a **female figure**, often associated with the protective "Genius" or birth-assisting deities (*Gulšeš*). She is shown wearing a long flounced robe, holding symbols of stability or celestial light, emphasizing her role as a midwife to the King of the Gods.

الملخص:
البحث يتناول مبحثا من مباحث مقاصد الشريعة الإسلامية، ويتمثل هذا المبحث في البحث عن مقاصد اهتمام الإسلام بالأم.
فرغم كون الإسلام جاء بتشريعات مختلفة كُلّف بها المكلفون، فإنه لم يُهمل البُعد المقاصدي من تشريعها، لذلك وقع التركيز في هذا البحث على بيان الحكمة من اهتمام الإسلام بالأم، وهذا ما اقتضى إبراز مكانة الأم في القرآن الكريم والسنة النبوية، وباستقراء نصوص الشريعة لاستنباط الغايات التي سعت الشريعة الإسلامية إلى تحصيلها في الواقع من خلال دور الأم.
الكلمات المفاتيح: مكانة الأم – الشريعة الإسلامية – اهتمام ـ الحكمة

This paper provides more details to support the idea of afterlife judgement at the equinox originally presented in the Pindar paper on this site. There is more emphasis here on Mesopotamian aspects. It centres on a possible solution to the issue of the Ugaritic divine place of assembly "Mount Lal" as LAL the equinox, developing the idea of the equivalent "river-mountain"; ᵈÍd ḫuršan, "Holy Hill", dated to the seventh month; that of the equinox. Also that astronomically ᵈLal, Procyon was in antiquity at the equator, the "equinoctial line". There is a conjectured relationship between Inana and the path of Anu, a venture into the protocuneiform corpus suggesting that it may have cosmological content, in particular nimgir, and there is a correction to "Entrails of a Baboon".

It is my pleasure to dedicate this contribution to Jörg Klinger. As a Hittitologist, I already knew of Prof. Klinger through his enormous and authoritative impact on many aspects of the field, especially the topics of administration and historiography, which lay close to my heart. I then came to know him personally during my stay as a Fellow at the KFG "Rethinking Governance in the Ancient Near East". I can attest that the intellectual atmosphere of the group, which was as stimulating and purposeful as it was welcoming, was shaped in no small part by his example. I thank him for our conversations during this time, where I learned much about the discipline of Hittitology and the role of a scholar. I wish him many more years of continued productivity, with as many of those as possible overlooking the Gulf of Cádiz. early history of the Hittite kingdom can be found in de Martino 2022: 219-222.

This study examines three lexical and exegetical problems in Hosea 4:12-13 that have received insufficient treatment in the commentary tradition: the semantic range of ʿēṣ (wood) and maqqēl (staff) as oracular instruments in verse 12, the significance of the verb yaggîd (declares/proclaims) as disqualifying the commonly proposed rhabdomantic water-finding interpretation, and the shadow-presence (ṣēl) of the sacred trees in verse 13 as a designation of inhabiting divine presence rather than mere shade. The study argues that each of these terms is best understood against the background of the Mesopotamian mouth-washing (mīs pî) and mouth-opening (pīt pî) cultic consecration rites, and that these rites were demonstrably known in northern Israel during the 8th century BC through Assyrian political domination, Phoenician cultural transmission, and internal biblical evidence. The prophetic polemic of Hosea 4 is thereby shown to address a functioning system of cultic object animation and oracular consultation rather than generic religious infidelity, strengthening the case for a specifically ritualistic reading of this passage.

Sometimes we forget to ask the most basic questions. For example, why are the letters of the alphabet in the order they are in? One possibility is that the alphabetic order is a subjective ranking of the stridency, or loudness, of each individual letter. If this is true, it gives us good data on the pronunciation of Ancient Hebrew. Some sounds can only be pronounced in specific ways, if we assume that they are more or less strident than other specific sounds. Given that information, it is trivial to calculate a detailed scheme of pronunciation for the language at the time, since sound units share equivalent features of articulation.

This study examines the polemical use of ancient Levantine literature in Psalm 82, specifically in light of the Keret Epic. By analyzing the cultural dynamics of adaptation and translation between Israelite and broader ancient Near Eastern societies, this paper argues that Psalm 82 does not reflect polytheistic Israelite theology, as some scholars claim, but serves as a deliberate critique of surrounding religious ideologies. Drawing on the Keret Epic, a mid-14th century B.C. Ugaritic text, the paper highlights thematic parallels that reinforce the polemical nature of Psalm 82. These include critiques of divine councils and justice systems and the mortal fallibility of so-called deities. By situating Psalm 82 within its cultural and literary context, the analysis demonstrates how Israelite authors utilized and reinterpreted external myths to reinforce Yahwistic monotheism, declaring Yahweh's absolute uniqueness as the sole divine being while demythologizing the supposed gods of neighboring religious traditions. This research contributes to ongoing discussions on cultural translation, syncretism, and the theological responses of ancient Israel to external influences.

A cylinder seal found during recent excavations at Tel Akko (ancient Akko, an important southern Phoenician city) provides intriguing insights into the site's history under Assyrian imperial rule. Discovered in the area of Iron Age II-III administrative quarters, the seal can be dated to the late eighth century BCE. It depicts an exceptionally complex scene of a ritual encounter, staging the Assyrian king and no less than three major deities: a goddess (most likely Ishtar), the storm-god (Adad) as the composition's central figure, and the moon-god (Sîn). This paper situates the cylinder seal within its archaeological context, examines its material characteristics and iconography, and discusses the find's implications against the religious and socio-political background of early Sargonid rule in the southern Levant.

Jeremiah 3 (LSB) Jeremiah 3:8 "The divorce is stated. And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel. I had sent her away and given her a certificate of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear. But she went and was a harlot also." Jeremiah prophesied during the Babylonian Captivity (605-597-586). He will flee to Egypt and will never be deported as Daniel was. By the time of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, the Assyrian captivity was already a 100-plus-year history. Assyria had already taken the northern 10 tribes captive, circa 605-720 B. C. As a divided nation, the North was called Israel 1 , which was always a negative example of what not to be like. Jeremiah teaches Judah with lessons that should have been learned by observing the North (Israel 1). But Judah, the Southern tribes learned nothing and were even worse. Jeremiah states that Israel 1 has been divorced.

Indus Saraswati script could be the first script developed by any civilisation that gave birth to numerous ones in use today. This evolution has given birth to numerous signs originally not in the classical collection but added later as a sign of living & flourishing script.

This contribution addresses the “earthly” character of most of the blessings and curses in the Hebrew Bible, in contrast to the belief that God’s blessings can be enjoyed in the life hereafter. The author substantiates his point with analyses of the concept of the lengthening of one’s days in the Hebrew Bible and in Phoenician, Aramaic, and Ugaritic texts.