156 A.

Malamat, The Amorite Background of Psalm 29

wieder einmal, daß die messianischen Erwartungen der alttestament-

lichen Propheten je nach den Interessen dieser Männer verschiedener
Art waren. Daß so unterschiedliche messianische Vorstellungen zweier
Zeitgenossen in der biblischen Tradition nicht miteinander in Einklang
gebracht worden sind, dürfte für die Treue der alttestamentlichen Über-
lieferung sprechen.

Die These, laut welcher Serubbabel während des Tempelbaus von 520-515 v.Chr.
von der politischen Bühne Jerusalems verschwunden sei, ist unbeweisbar und sogar
unwahrscheinlich. Von einer Krise in den messianischen Erwartungen Sacharjas, die durch
>das Fiasko mit Serubbabel· hervorgerufen sei, sollte man nicht reden, weil der Prophet
dem Statthalter (anders als Haggai) niemals messianische Würde zuerkannt hat, sondern
von Anfang an seine Hoffnung auf die Dyarchie eines künftigen Fürsten und Hohenpriesters
gesetzt hat. Sach3,8 ist später als Sach6,llff. (wo von Serubbabel nicht die Rede ist!)
anzusetzen und beweist, daß zur Zeit der Fertigstellung des Tempels die Hoffnung auf
das Kommen des von Jeremia verheißenen Sprosses bei den Priestern noch vollauf lebte.
Sach4,14 bezieht sich nicht auf Josua und Serubbabel, sondern auf den erwarteten
Hohenpriester und Fürsten der kommenden Heilszeit.

The Amorite Background of Psalm 29

By A. Malamat
(The Hcbrew University of Jerusalem)

Since the decipherment of the major Ugaritic texts in the early

1930s, a rather voluminous literature has appeared on Psalm 29.! As far
back äs 1935, a Canaanite or Phoenician tenor or derivation was posited
for this psalm, 2 with the view that it was adopted and adapted into its

1
The two latest books on Psalm 29 are O. Loretz, Psalm 29, Altenberge 1984; and
C. Kloss, Yahwe's Combat with the Sea, Leiden 1986, pp. l -123. Both contain rieh
bibliography, including Commentaries. And cf. also J. Jeremias, Das Königtum Gottes
in den Psalmen, Göttingen 1987, pp. 29-45; and the comprehensive J. L. Cunchillos,
Estudio del Salmo 29, Valencia 1976 (completed in 1970).
2
The first scholar to relate Psalm 29 with Ugaritic epics was H. L. Ginsberg, in a brief
paper, »A Phoenician Hymn in the Psalter,« in Atti del 19 Congresso Intern, degli
Orientalisti 19 (1935), pp. 472-476 (and cf. its Modern Hebrew version, The Ugaritic
Texts, Jerusalem 1936, pp. 129- 131). Ginsberg once again treated this subject, in: »A
Strand in the Cord of Hebraic Hymnody,« El 9 (1969; W. F. Albright Volume), pp.45 f.
He was inclined to date the psalm to the United Monarchy, though he considered it
äs Phoenician in origin.

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 A. Malamat, The Amorite Background of Psalm 29 157

Israelite context in a forceful, Yahwistic dress.3 As the relevant Ugaritic

material has been treated exhaustively, we may circumvent it here and
turn directly to the impact of yet earlier material, from Old Babylonian
Mesopotamia.
In 1955, the Foundation Inscription of Yahdun-Lim, King of Mari,
was first published, 4 and two years later an Old Babylonian fragment
of the Gilgamesh Epic appeared, containing an account of GilgamesrTs
encounter, along with his boon companion Enkidu, with Huwawa, the
monster guardian of the cedar forest.5 Both these texts display features
seeming to parallel elements of Psalm 29. Few scholars, however, have
availed themselves of the Gilgamesh fragment, 6 while the Mari text has
remained unutilized altogether in this context.
A significant feature in the Psalm, äs in the Gilgamesh fragment, is
the pinpointing of the cedar forest in the Lebanon and Sirion (i. e. the
Anti-Lebanon) mountains. These paired mountains, appearing also in
the Ugaritic texts (and in a Hittite treaty), 7 are found in the lexical series
HAR-n? = hubullu, in the Lipsur Litanies 8 and in an unpublished Mari
text from the days of Shamshi-Adad. 9

See above, n. 1. Various scholars deny the Canaanite origin of this psalm, postulating
an original Yahwistic basis. Cf. Loretz, op. dt. (above, n. 1), p. 68. The name Yahwe
occurs here 18 times, prompting in later Judaism to relate this psalm to the Shmone
'Esre (»18«) prayer and to include it in the daily prayers (already Bab. Talmud, Berachot
28 f.).
See G.Dossin, »L'inscription de fondation de lahdun-Lim, roi de Mari,« Syria 32
(1955), pp. l —28; A.L.Oppenheim, apud AN£T3, pp.556f.; and a partial translation
in R. Borger, TUAT 1/4, p. 355. See also A. Malamat, »Campaigns to the Mediterranean
by lahdunlim and Other Mesopotamian Rulers«, ß. Landsberger FS (AS 16), Chicago
1965, pp. 365-373.
T. Bauer, »Ein viertes altbabylonisches Fragment des Gilgames Epos«, JNES 16 (1957),
pp. 254-262; A.K.Grayson, apud ANET, pp.504f.
I am aware of the following: E. Lipinski, »El's Abode - Mythological Traditions
Related to Mount Hermon ...«, OLP 2 (1971), pp. 18f.; F. Stolz, »Die Bäume des
Gottesgarten auf dem Libanon«, ZAW 84 (1972), pp. 149 f.; Cunchillos, op. dt. (above,
n. 1), pp.86ff.
For the Ugaritic sources, see Loretz, op. dt. (above, n. 1), pp. 111 - 126; for the pairing
of the two mountains, see L,. R. Fisher, ed., Ras Shamra Parallels I, Rome 1972, p. 248;
II, Rome 1975, pp.333f. For the 14th Century BC Hittite Treaty, see E. Weidner,
»Politische Dokumente aus Klein-Asien«, BoSt 8, 1923, p. 68.
' HAR-r* - hubullu, Tab. XXII: 6 1 -? 1 ; see MSL XI, Rome 1974, p. 23, //. 9-10; for
the so-called Lipsur Litanies, see E. Reiner, ;N£S 15 (1956), pp. 132 f. and 146.
' See the abstract of a lecture by D. Charpin at the AOS Meeting at Los Angeles in
March 1987. According to it, troops from Mari went to Qatna, reached the Mediter-
ranean coast and then proceeded from Mount Lebanon (Labnan) to Mount Sirion
(Sarian).

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158 A. Malamat, The Amorite Background of Psalm 29

In the Gügamesh Epic, the heroes were Gilgamesh and Enkidu, who
slew Huwawa and subsequently held sway over the Lebanon and Sirion
(here called Saria); in the Israelite rendition of the theme, it was Yahwe
who held sway over the cedar mountains (Ps.29:5-6): »The voice of
the Lord breaks cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon, He
makes Lebanon skip like a calf; Sirion,10 like a young wild ox.« 11 Not
only the specific mention of the names of the mountains, but also the
motifs of hewing the cedars and the shaking of the mountains are seen
to be parallel in the two accounts. The epic reads: »Enkidu killed [the
watchman] of the forest, at whose word Saria and Lebanon [trembled]
... he slew the ... cedars ... while Gilgamesh cut down the trees.« 12 And
in both sources the cedar forest is conceived of äs sacred, e. g.: »The trees
of the Lord ... the cedars of Lebanon which he planted.« (Ps. 104:16).
A further motif is to be found in the stripping of the forest bare of
trees - linking Psalm 29 not only with the Gilgamesh Epic but notably
with Yahdun-Lim's Foundation Inscription (ca. 1800 BCE). Psalm 29:9
reads: »The voice of the Lord makes the *ylwt whirl and Strips the
forests bare.« The crux here is, of course, the word ^ylwt, vowel pointed
in the MT äs ^ayyalöt, »hinds«. Such a reading, however, seems awkward
and ignores the internal parallelism of the verse. Thus, we would accept
emendations of the pointing, to read ' /öi, »oaks«, »mighty trees«. 13
During Yahdun-Lim's campaign to the Mediterranean coast, »he
entered into the Cedar- and Box-wood Mountains, the great mountains
... he felled the trees and stripped (the forest) bare,14 (thus) established

10
The rare and archaic Biblical toponym »Sirion« appears already in the 18th Century
BC Egyptian Execration Texts; see G. Posener, Princes et Pays d'Asie et de N übte,
Brüssels 1940, p. 80 (E 30). Note also the listing of various names for Hermon or the
Anti-Lebanon in Deuteronomy 3:9, according to which the toponym Sirion was used
by the Sidonians.
11
New Jewish Publication Society translation; older translations, such äs the RSV,
conform with the MT division of the text: »He makes them skip like a calf, Lebanon
and Sirion, etc.« The new translation is based on the seminal discovery of Ginsherg,
(op. dt., above, n. 2, p. 474) of the enclitic -m in Ugaritic, which also penetrated into
Biblical Hebrew. Thus, the -em in wayyarqidem (v. 6) would not designate the accusa-
tive suffix, but the emphatic verbal form.
12
ANET3, p.504, C, rev., 11.11-21; and op. dt. (above, nn.5-6).
13
The latter translation is by C. Kloos (op. dt., above, n. l, pp. 38, 41). The emendation
was suggested äs early äs the mid-18th Century; cf. R. Lowth, De sacra poesi Hebraeo-
rum, Oxford 1753, p. xxvii.
14
The enigmatic phrase hamüsam ihmus (//. 19) has been translated variously. We are
inclined to translate (acting upon a Suggestion by P. Artzi): »strip bare« the forest. For
other meanings, see Dossin, op. dt. (above, n. 4), p. 14: »II fit un grand carnage«;
Oppenheim, op. dt. (above, n.4), p.556a: »he made this razzia«; Borger, op. dt.
(above, n. 4), p. 355: »Er führte einen Beutezug durch.« If taken äs the G-stem, hamüsam

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 A. Malamat, The Amorite Background of Psalm 29 159

his fame and proclaimed his power« (Col.II, 11. 15-2l). 15 If our reading
here is accepted, this inscription represents another significant parallel
to Psalm 29; in the latter it is God (rather than a mortal king) vvho
achieved the deed.
Another theme common to Psalm 29 and Yahdun-Lim's inscription
concerns the »mighty waters«, apparently originally referring to the
stormy Mediterranean Sea. In the psalm, this theme is reflected in two
verses encompassing the cedar forest pericope: verse 3 reads: »The voice
of the Lord is over the waters (mayim) ... over the mighty waters (mayim
rabbim}«, while according to verse 10: »the Lord sät enthroned at the
Flood (mabbul)',16 the Lord sits enthroned, king forever.« Such motifs
are reminiscent of Yahdun-LinVs account just prior to his entering the
forest mountains, upon reaching the Mediterranean Sea: »But Yahdun-
Lim, son of Yaggid-Lim, the mighty king, a wild ox among kings,
marched to the shore of the sea (tämtarri) in irresistible strength. To the
Ocean (ayaba} he offered his great royal sacrifices and his troops cleansed
themselves with water in the Ocean (ayaba) ... he subjugated that land
on the shore of the Ocean (ayaba}« (col. II, 11. 3 ff.). 17 The sea here is
designated by two different terms: tämtum^ the ordinary word for »sea«,

ihmus is already indicative of the Canaanite shift a > o; it has been suggested, however,
that this is an Assyrianism of the D-stem; cf. H.Hirsch, WZKM 61 (1967), p. 19. The
regulär meaning of the G-stem of hamäsu, which we generally accept here, indicates
»to remove by force«, »to strip«; cf. CAD H, p. 68. Thus, we take it to refer to the
clearance of an area of trees within the forest (see n. 15, below). [Added in proofs:
For a new Interpretation of the above phrase, see now J. M. Durand, N.A.B.U. 3 (1987),
p. 45 (No. 85), based on unpublished Mari documents. Accordingly, the reference is
to a commemorative monument per se.]
Yahüun-Lim's activity in cstablishing his fame and powcr is not clear; by analogy, a
victory stele may have been intended, placed in the area of the clcared forest. Cf.
Malamat, op. dt. (above, n. 4), p. 369a.
Mabbul, here, is the only occurrence in the Bible outside the Flood Story and remains
problematic. It has been interpreted by J. N. Fpstein, Tarbiz 12 (1941), p. 82 (Hebrew),
äs »throne« while, e.g., B. Margulis, Biblica 51 (1970), pp. 344 f., emends it to read
"f?!?1? or VtPTp1?· But the lexcme most likcly refers to the flood or ocean; see recently,
Kloos, op. dt. (above, n. 1), pp.62ff., where the mabbul is believed to be the source
of the fructifying rains sent down by Yahwe (p. 93).
The word may also occur at Fbla, where the bilingual equation A-KUL (Sumerian,
»heavy water«) = ma-ba-lum. See C. H. Gordon, in C. H. Gordon, G.A.Rendsburg
and N.A.Winter, eds., Eblaitica l, Winona Lake (Ind.) 1987, p. 28. But Sumerian KUL
Stands rather for »much, mighty« water (see MSL XIII [1971], p. 191, 11.240a, b;
Courtesy A. Shaffer) and thus mabalum in addition would equal mayim rabbim of
our Psalm.
For the translation of this passage, and the grammatical problems involved, see
A. Malamat, »The Divine Nature of the Mediterranean«, Mari at Fifty (in press).

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160 A. Malamat, The Amorite Background of Psalm 29

used in a profane, empirical manner; and the Sumerogram A.AB.BA =

Akkadian ayaba, the sacred, mythical concept evoking the Greek concept
of okeanus.1* Thus, here too, the two sources make reference to the
primordial waters, significantly in association with the stripping of the
(sacred) forest.
A final element emphasised in all three sources — the Gilgamesh
Epic, Yahdun-Lim's Foundation Inscription and Psalm 29 - is the
perpetuation of the protagonist's name. It is this latter point which,
actually, is the raison d'etre of all such texts.19
Psalm 29 is indeed replete with motifs of great antiquity and,
regardless of the date of composition of the Hebrew psalm äs such, it
is derived from traditions harking back beyond Late Bronze Age Ugarit,
to Old Babylonian, or rather Amorite, times (i. e. the »Middle Bronze
Age«).20

PS29 besitzt für die V. 5-6 eine Motivparallele im Gilgamesch Epos C rev. 11.11-21,
zu V. 9 in der Gründungsinschrift des Königs Jahdun-Lim von Mari II, 11.15-21 und zu
V. 3 in derselben in II, 11.3 ff. Wann immer der hebr. PS zu datieren ist, so lassen sich die
in ihm verarbeiteten Traditionen jedenfalls bis in das spätbronzezeitliche Ugarit und
darüber hinaus bis in das mittelbronzezeitliche Mesopotamien zurückverfolgen.

18
On A.AB.BA-tfytfbtf, see CAD A/l, p. 221. Both Dossin and Oppenheim translate this
word here äs »Ocean«, in the sense of the Greek epics.
19
As we have shown elsewhere, the Yahdun-Lim passage anticipates the concept reflected
in the later references to the deity Yamm at Ugarit, äs well äs in the biblical mayim,
tnayim rabbim. See Malamat, op. cit. (above, n. 17); and Kloos, op. cit. (above, n. 1).
The Psalmist's »protagonist« is termed kbwd semö; for the kbwd motif, see ibid.,
pp.23ff. and 56 ff.; and cf. M. Weinfeld, ThWAT 4 (1982/84), pp.23ff., s.v. TO?.
20
On the commemoration of the hero's name, see Malamat, op. cit. (above, n. 4),
pp.369ff.

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