F991 FORMACIÓ D'ESCOCELLS

There are some instances in which the phenomenon of light in the physical domain is ex- pressed in similar terms in Hittite literature as in the OT. One of the Hittite ritual texts de- scribes the beginning of the day with two sequential phrases "when it dawns" and "when it is light" (Goetze 1969g:355), which compares favorably with certain expressions in BH which describe light at the beginning of the day.9 _{A similar congruity is seen regarding the use of}

light terminology to express the shiny qualities of various kinds of objects such as skin (Psa 104:15), wool (Goetze 1969g:353), or votive images (Lipinksi 1978:244).

8. See Goetze 1961:323; Kühne 1978:146; Hoffner 1998:2; van den Hout 2011:1-3. 9. See Gen 44:3; Judg 19:26; 1 Sam 29:10; 2 Sam 2:32.

An especially striking similarity is seen regarding the conceptualization of lightning as a by-product of the divine activity of Baal in Ugaritic literature and a by-product of the di- vine activity of YHWH in the OT. In the Baal Cycle narratives, Baal claims to "understand the

lightning that the heavens do not know, the word that people do not know" (Coogan & Smith 2012:119,121).10 _{Later, the narrative affirms that Baal will "sound his voice in the clouds,}

flash his lightning to the earth" (Coogan & Smith 2012:132).11 _{Similarly, the OT appears to}

credit the active agency of lightning to YHWH when speaking of lightning bolts as the "ar-

rows" or "spear" of YHWH.12 The conceptualization of lightning as weapons wielded by the

hand also appears on two Hittite stela, both of which depict the same unnamed weather god wielding an axe in his upraised right hand and a triple-pronged lightning bolt in his left hand (Pritchard 1969:179,313). This is remarkably similar to a stela featuring an image of Baal from Ugaritic culture (Coogan & Smith 2012:7,96). In their respective groups of literature, Baal and YHWH are each generally described as a rider on the clouds, presumably meaning

storm-clouds.13 _{Thus, the underlying conceptualization of lightning as a physical phenome-}

non in relationship to divinity appears to be very similar, only credited to a different "god" (i.e., divine person).

However, the conceptualization of the sun in Ugaritic literature is quite another mat- ter, with the ontological lines between the sun (in the physical domain) and divine personage (in the metaphysical domain) being significantly blurred. The Ugaritic literature repeatedly refers to the sun as "the Gods' Torch," which is described as rising and setting and traversing the heavens, but also performing personal divine actions such as speaking and listening and acting in relationship with other gods.14 _{In ancient Ugaritic culture, the sun appears to be per-}

10. See also Gordon 1949:19; Ginsberg 1969a:136; Smith et al. 1997:110; Arnold & Beyer 2002:53.

11. See also Gordon 1949:32; Ginsberg 1969a:133; Smith et al. 1997:129; Arnold & Beyer 2002:56.

12. See Hab 3:4-11; Psa 77:18-19.

13. The appellative "Rider on the Clouds" is the prototypical title for the god Baal in the Baal Cycle epics, which seems conceptually similar to the "cloud theophany" of YHWH in the

Pentateuch. Other OT passages that describe YHWH as riding on the clouds include: Isa 19:1;

sonified in some sense, even being described as a judge of the gods.15 _{In light of this direct}

reference to the sun "traversing" the heavens, it must be mentioned that a full ten of the six- teen images of the sun disc from the Syro-Canaanite region depict a winged sun-disc.16 _Un-

fortunately, this fact does not help the modern scholar to determine the semiotic meaning of the wings on the winged sun-disc.

Another significant difference between the OT and ancient Syro-Canaanite literature is found in the Phoenician Karatepe Inscription, in which the figure Azitawadda (presumably a king) proclaims, "may the name of Azitawadda endure forever like the names of the sun and moon" (Lipinski 1978:243).17 _{Naturally, this sentiment appears to comment on the cycli-}

cal and unchanging movements of the sun and moon; the term "forever" appears to mean ac- tual eternal existence because this statement is grounded by an appeal to the "eternal sun god" (Lipinski 1978:243). Nevertheless, the claim regarding the sun and moon appears to extend further than the temporal claims made in the OT concerning the sun and moon, which are not said to endure eternally but merely as long the earth endures (Gen 8:22). Rather, it is YHWH

who is said to endure forever in an eternal sense.18 _{These distinctions are worth noting, al-}

though there is not sufficient contextual information regarding the statement in the Karatepe Inscription to determine the specific conceptual significance of these differences.

In Syro-Canaanite literature and culture, the locus of the divine connection to physical reality for specific deities appears to reside in the celestial luminaries (i.e., the physical ob-

Ginsberg 1969a:129,137,139,140,141,155; Smith et al. 1997:77,87-164; Arnold & Beyer 2002:58-62. In Hittite literature, see Hoffner 1998:14-28,37,44,50,59,82-87.

15. See Gordon 1949:48; Ginsberg 1969a:141; Smith et al. 1997:164; Arnold & Beyer 2002:62; Coogan & Smith 2012:152.

16. See Pritchard 1969:86,167,179,182,207,213,214,281,306,313,315,325,327,350,358,377, 381.

17. See also Rosenthal 1969:653-654; Arnold & Beyer 2002:163. A similar reference is also found in EA 155 of the Amarna letters, in which a person named Abi-Milku twice refers to the king as the "Eternal Sun," including within the following sentence: "The king is the Eter[n]al Sun, and I am the loyal servant of the king, [m]y lord" (Moran 1992:241). For further discussion, see section 4.2. below.

18. Gen 21:33; Deut 33:27; Isa 40:28, 63:16; Jer 10:10; Psa 9:8, 10:16, 29:10, 45:7, 72:17, 90:2, 93:2, 102:13, 106:48, 135:13, 146:10; Lam 5:19; Neh 9:5; 1 Chr 16:36.

jects themselves) and not the light from the those luminaries. Of the sixteen relevant images of the sun-disc, only two of them definitively include a depiction of the rays of the sun (Pritchard 1969:207,214,325,327); three others are inconclusive (Pritchard 1969:167,306, 350,365,377); and all the rest depict only the circular outline of the sun-disc, sometimes in a winged form or with an associated crescent moon.19 _{This is in contrast to the OT, where the}

conceptual use of light clearly foregrounds the phenomenon of light itself, with the luminar- ies being merely incidental objects. Of course, another contrast is found in the fact that the OT very carefully stipulates the ontological separation of YHWH as Creator from light (Gen

1:3-5) as well as from the celestial luminaries (Gen 1:14-19) as created things.

From this data, the metaphysics of the other ANE cultures appear to be more purely ontological in nature, whereas the metaphysics of the OT appear to be more analogical. It must be noted that these are not fully discrete categories; they overlap each other. This sug- gests that the various conceptualizations of the relationship between metaphysical reality and physical reality in ANE cultures appear discontinuous, but are not necessarily contradictory. The evidence suggests that the various cultures offered differing interpretations of one and the same physical reality in regard to the relationship between divinity and light; in other words, the nature of these differences are correctly regarded as philosophical and/or theologi- cal, and not merely conceptual or metaphorical.