‘Lord of the Rephaim’ and ‘King of Old’ alludes to the identification of the King of the Rephaim, enigmatic beings that to at the present time should not totally understood. In the biblical custom they’re equated with the infamous Nephilim. Could one truly hint the identification of this king? The Rephaim are talked about in biblical and Phoenician custom in addition to within the Ugarit texts, the place they’re known as the Rephaim texts. These texts present deeper insights into these a lot mentioned beings. Once studied, nevertheless, the texts truly generate extra questions than solutions, a lot of them new and fairly difficult.
Who is the King of Old of the Ugarit texts? ( Francis Valadj / Adobe Stock )
Scholars can to at the present time not agree on the character of those beings. Some interpret the phrase, ‘Rephaim’, as “Healers”, others as “Princes” and nonetheless others as “Hale/Vigorous Ones” or “Heroes”. In retaining with the biblical custom and the Amorite background of the texts, the present writer is inclined to take the phrase, ‘Rephaim’, as having been derived from the Akkadian phrase, raba’um, that means “to be large, great”, additionally the origin of the Amorite title, rabûm, that means “chief, leader”. It may have referred to each residing in addition to deceased heroes. This interpretation stands in distinction with the one explaining the phrase as having been derived from the basis rp, that means “to heal”.
Royal Ugarit Palaces Archives ( Dosseman/ CC BY-SA 4.0 )
Lord of the Rephaim
The chief of the Rephaim is known as MLK (King) or “MLK [King] of Old” within the Ugarit texts. He seems within the firm of the deities Baal and Anat, the Canaanite model of Adad and Ishtar. In the textual content CTA 22B one reads: “ There they register the name of the divine dead, Register in reverence the name of the divine heroes. There assemble Baal’s Rephaim, Baal’s Soldiers and Anat’s Soldiers. There comes the Mighty One Prince MLK the wise .”
Strikingly, MLK is portrayed right here because the chief of the Rephaim. If the title, Rephaim, has a that means much like rabûm, or “chief, leader”, these Rephaim might need been deceased Amorite heroes or kings, who had been led by MLK. This reminds of different lists of lifeless kings, headed by the good and well-known Akkadian kings, utilized in related funerary circumstances. Among these are the lists of sarrani from Mari and the Hurrian-Hittite šarrena (kings) from Hattuša.
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Dr Willem McLoud is an unbiased South African scholar whose primary pursuits are historic Middle Eastern research, Kantian philosophy and philosophy of science. Willem’s primary areas of research relating to the traditional Middle East are the Sumerian, Akkadian and early Egyptian civilizations, with particular give attention to the Uruk and Akkadian Periods in Mesopotamian historical past in addition to the Old Kingdom Period in Egyptian historical past. He is the writer of The Nephilim: Kings of an Epic Age: Secrets and Enigmas of the Sumerians and Akkadians and The Nephilim: An Unholy Brood: Secrets and Enigmas of an Ancient Mediterranean Ra ce
Top Image : Sumerian Man / god ( Francis Valadj / Adobe Stock )
By: Dr Willem McLoud
