Shapash

Shapash, Shapsh, Shapshu or sometimes Shemesh was the Canaanite goddess of the sun,[1][2] daughter of El and Asherah. She is
known as "torch of the gods"[3] and is considered an important deity in the Canaanite pantheon[4] and among the Phoenicians. She is
not to be confused with theAkkadian sun god, Shamash.

Contents
Baal Myth
In the Tanakh
In the Bible
See also
Notes

Baal Myth
In the Epic of Baal, Shapash plays an important part in the plot, as she interacts with all of the main characters, and in the end she is
favourable to Baal's position as king.[5] She announces that El supports Yam.[6] By delivering her verdict in the final struggle of Baal
with Mot, she reveals her role as judge among the gods, and by her judgement against Mot, as saviour of humankind, two aspects,
Brian B. Schmidt observes,[7] that conform with what is known of Shamash's function in Mesopotamia. After Baal is killed, she helps
Anat bury and mourn him,[8] and then stops shining. Following El's dream about the resurrection of Baal,[9] El asks Anat to persuade
Shapash to shine again, which she agrees to, but declares that she will continue to search for him.[10] In the battle between Baal and
Mot, she threatens Mot that El will intervene in Baal's favour, a threat which ends the battle.[11]

In the Tanakh
In the Tanakh, worshiping Shemesh is forbidden and is punishable by stoning. Worshiping Shemesh was said to include bowing to
the east[12] , in the direction of the sun, as well as rituals related to horses and chariots, which were associated with her.[13] King
[14]
Josiah was also said to have abolished sun worship (among others).

In the Bible
The Bible in general attempts to portray the sun non-anthropomorphically or as representing Yahweh's power. Shapash/Shemesh is
usually substituted for euphemisms like "or" (light), and it appears that sun worship, even in anahwist
Y way, was avoided at all costs.
[15]
However, the Woman of the Apocalypse, may directly allude to ancient Near Eastern sun goddesses.

See also
Samson

Notes
1. Canaanite/Ugaritic Mythology FAQ, ver. 1.2 (http://home.comcast.net/~chris.s/canaanite-faq.html#Shapshu)
 2. K. L. Noll (2001). "The Religions of Canaan: A Short T
our". Canaan and Israel in Antiquity: An Introduction(https://bo
oks.google.co.il/books?id=2rnyjxLHy-QC&pg=P A326&lpg=PA326&dq=Shapash+Shemesh&source=bl&ots=bIv9b5O
axN&sig=-sD0hMaOE7r9XMKVcOAxJeW8ZfY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwirnMGz85zKAhUDPRoKHexlCS0Q6AE
IKzAD#v=onepage&q=Shapash%20Shemesh&f=false) . The Biblical Seminar. London: Sheffield Academic Press.
p. 245. ISBN 1-84127-258-2. Retrieved 9 January 2016. "... the sun was Shapash (written Shemesh in other ancient
texts)."
3. Keil-alphabetische Texte aus Ugarit 1.2.xv and xxii.
4. Entry at The Obscure Goddess Online Dictionary(http://www.thaliatook.com/OGOD/shapash.html); for example,
"Baal, Anat, Mot, and Shemesh/Shapshu, as well as lesser-known deities" are seen as "upper-level management" in
Lowell K. Handy's Among the Host of Heaven: The Syro-Palestinian Pantheon As Bureaucracy (Eisenbrauns, 1994;
ISBN 978-0-931464-84-3). That is, ranking below the "owners," El and Asherah, "they run day-to-day fairs
af and are,
in practical terms, sovereigns" (theSteve A. Wiggins, book review(http://www.asor.org/pubs/basor/297.html#Handy)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20080513025848/http://www .asor.org/pubs/basor/297.html)2008-05-13 at the
Wayback Machine. in ASOR Bulletin, No. 297, (February 1995); p. 94.
5. Smith, Mark S. The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and Ugariticexts
T (https://book
s.google.com/books?id=S1tQ5Larst0C&dq=Shapshu&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0) , Oxford University Press
(2001), p. 127; ISBN 0-19-513480-X
6. KTU. 1.2.III
7. Schmidt, Israel's Beneficent Dead: Ancestor Cult and Necromancy in Ancient Israelite Religion andradition
T
(Eisebrauns) 1994, pp 85f.
8. KTU. 1.6.I
9. Smith, Mark S. The Ugaritic Baal Cycle: Volume I. (https://books.google.com/books?id=jlfx4YwtaVkC&dq=Shapshu&
source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0), Brill Publishers (1994), p.257; ISBN 90-04-09995-6
10. KTU. 1.6.III
11. KTU. 1.6.VI
12. Ezekiel 8:16 (http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Ezekiel+8:16–8:16&version=nrsv)
13. Deuteronomy. 4-19 and 17-3
14. 2 Kings 23:4 (http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=2+Kings+23:4–23:4&version=nrsv)
15. http://www.friendsofsabbath.org/Further_Research/e-books/Dictionary-of-Deities-and-Demons-in-the-Bible.pdf

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