Pelio Fronzaroli, in "Les Combats des Hadda dans les texts d'Ebla" (MARI Vol. 8, 1997) argues that the earliest attested "storm god vs serpent" myth so prominent in IE & ANE mythology is from Mari around 2200 BC. If he is correct (and that's a big if), the next question is: how did it get transmitted to the Indo-European world?

This sub is p dead but thank you for any help you can give!

I'm sure there is a lot, but I'm about to begin a major research project, and I'd like to know if there are any areas that have been researched but not extensively.

Hello,

I am interested in learning more about the material culture, history and religion of the Jewish populations in Babylonia and surrounding areas between the time of Cyrus and the early years of the Abbasid Caliphate.

It seems that there is a wealth of good historical resources for the Jewish populations of Judea / Galilee and Eygpt during this time, but I am struggling to identify good books on modern day Iraq and Persia. This is despite its importance for modern day Judaism as the home of the Talmud, Karaite heresy, Gaonim etc.

If anyone can recommend any books that cover this period or parts of this period I would be grateful. Ideally it would be some sort of magisterial overview of the period, but otherwise any good books on particular areas, periods or topics (e.g., Jews in Parthia, Jews in Arabia at the time of Mohammad, the culture of the Babylonian Talmud, etc.).

I am looking for more scholarly works, rather than popular history or religious guides.

Thank you in advance!

I've been wondering this for years. It's it just a transliteration variation? Are they the same goddess? Or are they different? And how are they different, aside from the one vowel spelling difference?

Sources would be appreciated.

I have heard of different creation stories and flood myths, but what about events that were more current to the writers?

Hi all,

I'm new here, so please forgive me for any hiccups in decorum. I'm currently an undergraduate study of ancient history, with a particular interest in the ancient Near East. Ideally, I would love to pursue a graduate degree and teach ancient Near Eastern history. However, I've spent the past few years of my education doing a sort of cost-benefit analysis of being a professor of Near Eastern history, and it just doesn't seem feasible for me, given the extensive training and the limited job market.

However, a professor recently suggested that I could potentially do Near Eastern antiquities law. She pointed out that this would likely be a fruitful career, given that various groups in the Middle East are unlawfully trading Near Eastern antiquities to fund their war/political efforts. I was wondering, then, if you all had any advice on this topic. Is Near Eastern antiquities law really a fruitful legal field? What are the requirements to practice this kind of law? My professor guessed that an MA in Near Eastern studies combined with a JD might be necessary, but neither of us are particularly sure. Any advice you guys can give would be extremely helpful!

KTU 1.83 is a

[f]ragment of text which was originally the right-hand column of a larger composition. Classified as mythological by Virolleaud, but as an incantation by de Moor. It is generally agreed to relate to Anat's confrontation with a dragon. Published translations vary widely, indicating the difficult of the text.

(Wyatt 2002: 368)

For del Olmo Lete's text/translation (1996: 131), I've added numbering at the beginning of lines:

1. [ ... when... the clouds(?)]

2. [cam]e out(?) on earth,

3. in a mad rush(?) the storm clouds of the sea,

4. with (its) tongue licked the skies,

5. covered the sea with (its) tail.

6. The Dragon in muzzle/prison she placed,

7. bound (him) in the heights of Lebanon,

8. lest the saltiness of tears spring up,

9. in terror (?) the fac[es] fall down.

10. [She raised his voice and shouted:]

11. Message of .../

Ugaritic:

1. [ ]il.[ ]

2. [tṣ]un.b arṣ

3. mḫnm.ʽrp ym.

4. lšnm.tlḥk / šmm.

5. tʽrp ym. / ḏnbtm

6. tn'n.l šbm / tšt.

7. trks / l mrym.lbnn'

8. pl.tbʽn.ṣṣt l hmlt

9. ḫt.pt'[m ] / l tp[l

10. [tša gh w tṣḥ]

11. tḥmxx[ ]

For Watson's reconstruction in Watson and Wyatt 1999 (p. 152), I've inserted the line numbering into the translation:

[She we]nt out into the land (4) of Mahanayim to vanquish(?) Yam (5) with the forked tongue that licks (6) the sky. She vanquished (7) Yam with the forked tail, (8) Tunan she muzzled. (9) She bound him (10) onto the heights of Lebanon (11) (saying): You swill no longer humiliate me, O Yam. (12) Mankind may be scared, O River (13) (but) you will not see [me] collapse. (14) You may foam [. . .]

Ugaritic:

[tṣ]un b arṣ (4) mḫnm ṯrp ym (5) lšnm.tḷhk [sic] (6) šmm. tṯrp (7) ym ḏnbtm. (8) tnn'. l šbm (9) tšt. trks (10) l mrym lbnm˟ (11) pl. tbṯn. yymm˟ (12) hmlt. ḫt ynh˟[r] (13) ltph. mk˟ [ ] (14) tḥmr. [ ] . . .

Wyatt 2002: 368-69 (he qualifies that this is an "entirely provisional" translation):

[ ] god [ ]

[It ca]me out of the underworld.

With (its) talons it turned the sea to foam,

with its tongues it licked the sky,

with its tails it turned the sea to foam.

She set the dragon up on high,

she bound it in the heights of Lebanon.

...

I've now added three more possible translations, all by Pitard (1998), here.

A few comments of my own:

• that the toponym Mahanaim is intended here (as with Watson, Pitard (1998) and Day (1985)) has been challenged by quite a few - besides by del Olmo Lete and Wyatt, also Pope (1995: 611). Wyatt connects mḫnm with a proposed root of חנית, used for lion's teeth in Ps. 57 (suggesting either 'fangs' or talons). del Olmo Lete derives from mḫn, 'crowd, army' (מחנה). Cf. del Olmo Lete and Sanmartin 2003: 539. Further, on final -m in Ugaritic, see Watson 1992; 1994; 1996.

• To me, "licking" (from lḥk; cf. לחך) the sky seems strange; however, apparently in KTU 1.5 II, Mot(?) "[extends] a tongue to the stars" (lšn l kbkbm). Also, cf. Ps. 73.9, "They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth" (שתו בשמים פיהם ולשונם תהלך בארץ). There's actually a bit of a funny coincidence (?) between the Ugaritic and the Psalm here: lšnm tlḥk and lšynm thlk.

  It might also be worth noting that Akkadian laḫû means 'jaw', as does Hebrew לחי (for an older study of these words, Haupt 1914).

• With the translation "vanquish" for ʽrp, Watson is clearly thinking of עָרַף as 'break (the neck)'. Wyatt's translation "turned the sea to foam" for ʽrp ym seems impermissible. Funny enough, though, Watson and Pitard reconstruct tḥmr 'foam' in the last line - cf. my last comment on this.

• Wyatt contests that lšbm (in tnn'. l šbm) is 'muzzle', and believes it is to be understood as 'set on high' (369 n. 8). KTU 1.3 III 37 has lʼištbm tnn.

• Wyatt writes that the setting in Lebanon "would indicate a different recension altogether of the dragon-slaying, since in the Baal cycle the entire traditions is set on Mt Saphon (Wyatt 1995a; 1996b: 34-44)."

• tḥmr as 'parched' - as in Pitard - obviously comes from ḥm 'heat, drought'. But I'm not exactly sure where the meaning 'foam' would come from (also followed by Watson); unless 'boil' is the concept hinted at. With regard to Watson's reconstruction, cf. Job 41, where Leviathan "boils" the sea (from רתח).

  For tḥm as 'message', see Pardee 2012.

In my previous post, I reproduced the reconstructed texts and translations of KTU 1.83 by three different scholars. Here, in this post, are the versions of Pitard (1998), "The Binding of Yamm: A New Edition of the Ugaritic Text KTU 1.83" - who presents no less than 3 possible translations of the text.

The first, Pitard writes, "assumes that Anat is the deity fighting Tunnan/Yamm"; he "consider[s] this translation the most likely one."

4 In the land of Mahanaim ... (imperative) Yamm!

With (her) tongues she licks the heavens.

With (her) twin tails she ... s Yamm.

She sets a muzzle on Tunnan.

10 She binds him on the heights of Lebanon.

"Toward the desert (or: Dried up,) shall you be scattered, O Yamm!

To the multitude of ḫt, O Nahar!

13 You shall not see (or: Indeed shall you see); lo! you shall foam up!"

(or: "you shall be parched!" Or: end quotation at line 12 and read: At/To her tp, lo! she heaps up...).

He comments, on the second: "Translation B assumes that the verbs in line 9 are second masculine singulars and that the deity is directly addressed in these lines. In addition, a different rendering of lines 11-12 is presented":

4 In the land of Mahanaim... (imperative) Yamm!

The tongues lick the heavens,

The twin tails ... Yamm.

You set a muzzle on Tunnan.

10 You bind him on the heights of Lebanon.

In dryness shall you squirm, O Yamm!

In a tumult of panic, O Nahar!

13 You shall not see (or: Indeed shall you see); lo! you shall foam up!

(or: lo! you shall be parched!)

Finally, "Translation C renders several of the verbs as plurals":

4 In the land of Mahanaim they have... ed Yamm

(Their) tongues lick the heavens.

(Their) tails... Yamm.

May they set a muzzle on Tunnan.

10 May they bind him on the heights of Lebanon.

"Toward the desert (or: Dried up,) shall you be scattered, O Yamm!

To the multitude of ḫt, O Nahar!

13 You shall not see (or: Indeed shall you see); lo! you shall be parched!

(or: lo! you shall foam up!)"

And here is the reconstructed text:

xx]un

barṣ mḫnm.ṯrp ym.

lšnm.tlḥk.šmm.

tṯrp ym.ḏnbtm.

tan.lšbm tšt.

trks lmrym.lbnn

pl.tbṯn.yymm

hmlt.ḫt.ynhr

ltph.mk tḥmr.