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Material Type: | Thesis/dissertation |
---|---|
Document Type: | Book |
All Authors / Contributors: |
Ola Wikander |
ISBN: | 9781575068275 1575068273 |
OCLC Number: | 1040922417 |
Description: | 318 p. |
Series Title: | Coniectanea Biblica., Old Testament series, 61. |
Responsibility: | Ola Wikander. |
Abstract:
The sun and its heat are two of the most universal symbols known to humanity, yet their supposed meanings vary greatly. The sun can be thought of as a giver of life, but its hot and scorching rays can also be associated with drought and the powers of destruction. The present study concerns the latter view of the sun and related ideas as reflected in the Hebrew Bible and the cuneiform alphabetic texts from Ugarit. The Ugaritic texts (especially the so-called Baal Cycle) appear to portray the sun goddess, Shapshu, as the sender of terrible drought ; she manifests the temporary rule of the god of death, Mot, through her burning rays. The author discusses the philology of these passages in detail and then attempts to follow the motif of solar drought and its connections with the netherworld into the literature of ancient Israel, noting the transformations of the motif when it is influenced by the rising prominence of YHWH. The study traces specific pieces of terminology that appear to involve references to the ancient motifs of drought, death and the sun, using both comparative linguistic and religio-historical analyses. Biblical texts such as 1 Kings 17-18, Jeremiah 14, Hosea 13, Joel 1 and Malachi 3, as well as various passages from the Psalms and Job, come into focus in the study of the Israelite reception of ideas and terminology concerning the land of the dead, the heat of the sun and the power of drought.
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