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Ancient Near East World

The document discusses divinity and religious concepts in the Ancient Near East, including orientations based on cardinal directions and the flow of time as experienced through oral tradition. It also summarizes who the god Baal was in Ugarit, noting he was a warrior storm god who struggled for kingship but received only a limited domain. Finally, it outlines some common rituals in the Ancient Near East like prophecy, vows, and mortuary rites.

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CharlesRix
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249 views15 pages

Ancient Near East World

The document discusses divinity and religious concepts in the Ancient Near East, including orientations based on cardinal directions and the flow of time as experienced through oral tradition. It also summarizes who the god Baal was in Ugarit, noting he was a warrior storm god who struggled for kingship but received only a limited domain. Finally, it outlines some common rituals in the Ancient Near East like prophecy, vows, and mortuary rites.

Uploaded by

CharlesRix
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Ancient Near East

Context
Understanding “divinity” in the
Ancient Context
Beyond Periphery

Periphery: Foreign

Home

Temple: joins heaven and earth

Mountain

Unknown /
monsters
Less valuable
Ancient Near East
Orientations / Contexts
NORTH – what is to our “left”
What is sinister, dangerous and associated
with the enemies

WEST – what is behind EAST – what is known


Us, what we don’t know We “face” East
The future

SOUTH – what is to our “right”


What is secure and associated with well being
The Flow of Time
• Every moment “experienced” already
becomes “past”
• We remember experiences of the
community as well as the individual
• Tradition becomes part of forming one’s
identity
• Community tradition transcends death
because stories can be told and passed
down, “oral tradition”
• Words have a power of their own:
Names are an essential part of one’s
identity
Who was Baal (in
Ugarit)?

• Struggled for
kingship over the
universe
• Was the “warrior
storm god” whose
name means Lord.
• Rivals:
– Yamm: god of the
Sea
Who was Baal (in Ugarit)?

• Receives a limited
kingship, not one who
vanquishes all enemies
for all times
• Was a relatively weak
deity aided in his
victories by other
deities.
• Baal’s rule is in three
areas: Cosmic, Human,
Nature
• Baal’s struggles mirror
humanities struggle
Transformations
Psalm 104: a wise design w/out in
enemies
The Biblical Text
Genesis 1: No conflict-creation
but “goodness”

What “lies beyond”, the


Tanninim is transformed
nto part of creation

Sun, moon, etc. are not


presented as deities, but
rather as part of creation—

Genesis 1 shows a displacement


of the traditional conflict
between monsters and the
Divine Being
Divine Construction
• Reflects political
power/powerlessness
• Encodes human fear / foibles /
problems
• Expresses visions of hope
• Represents the social order and
relationship of human beings to
both the known world and the
unknown “beyond”
Rituals in the ANE
• Prophecy: a response to political
unrest and usually addressed to the
king. Early prophecies date back to
18th century BCE, and also found in
Egypt, Assyria, Babylon
• Vows: bargaining with deity, “if you
will give me this, I will do this or
that…”
• Blessing and Cursing
• Omens and Signs from nature
• Mortuary Rites

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