The Assembly Of The Gods: The Divine Council In Canaanite And Early Hebrew Literature (harvard Semitic Monographs #24)

Scholars of Canaanite/Phoenician religion generally hold that the Canaanite deity 'El was deposed and probably emasculated by the young storm god Ba'l, the deity around whom most of the mythic cycle revolves, says Mulen. Contending that the literature completely contradicts this view, however, he argues that 'El remained the head of the Canaanite pantheon, ruling as king over the younger cosmogonic gods. The battle of these younger deities for kingship concerned the rule of the cosmos, he says, not supremacy over the gods, and 'El alone sat as king and judge over the younger gods, his children. The study is a slight revision of his doctoral dissertation at Harvard University. Annotation 2020 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com) xii, 327 pages ; 22 cm Spine title: "The assembly of the gods." Based on the author's thesis, Harvard Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-298) and index I. The kingship of the gods in the Ugaritic texts: The relationship between 'El and Ba'l in the Canaanite pantheon -- The roles of 'El and Ba'l in Canaanite mythology -- 'El as creator and father of the gods -- The kingship and ruling functions of 'El -- The cosmogonic conflicts: The kingship of Ba'l, Yamm, and Mot -- The kingships of 'El and Ba'l -- CTA 1.V: A conflict between 'El and Ba'l? -- The relationship between 'El and Ba'l: Summary II. The divine council in Canaanite and early Hebrew literature -- The concept of the council and council terminology in Canaanite and Hebrew literature -- CTA 2.1: The assembly of 'El -- The meeting place of the puhru mo'idu and the dwelling of 'El -- The tent of 'El and the 'ohel mo'ed in the earliest Hebrew traditions -- The members of the heavenly assembly -- The messenger of the council and the prophet -- The judgment of the council: Psalm 82 -- The divine council in the epics of Kirta and Dan'il -- The role of Ba'l in the assembly -- 'El in the Rephaim texts -- 'El and the council in the liturgical texts from Ugarit and the inscriptions from Phoenicia -- The development of the council-motif in late Hebrew and post-biblical writings -- The council of the gods: A summary -- Conclusions