Sárospataki Füzetek 17. (2013)

2013 / 1-2. szám - TANULMÁNYOK - Doedens, Jacob J. T.:Ókori izraelita politeista feliratok: Aséra mint JHVH felesége?

Dor.nF.NS. Ja<:ob J. T

3.1 The Interpretation o/Tsrth as Referring to a Sanctuary

Initially, the word Tsrth was interpreted as referring to a shrine or sanctuary. This use has been compared to Ugaritic, KTU 1.14.IV:34-35, l qds artsrm, ‘at the shrine of Athirat of the Tyrians’, but here it is most likely the word qds which refers to a holy place.57 Moreover, this meaning of ÍTTŰK has been found nowhere in Hebrew, therefore this interpretation should be rejected.58

3.2 The Interpretation o/Tsrth as Referring to the Consort ofYHWH

Margalit interprets Tsrth from a presumed etymology of the Ugarit word art. His thesis is that Ugaritic art and Hebrew 1T11ŰN originally were common nouns, meaning ‘wife, consort’, literally “she-who-follows-in-the-footsteps (of her husband)”.59 In his view, this would explain the fact that Ugaritic literature not explicitly refers to Asherah’s consortship because this status was already present in her name.60 Margalit mentions KTU 1.3.1:13—15 where the word art is found without epithet in parallel to at, ‘woman, wife. The passage relates about Baal who takes a cup, ks qds l tphnh at krpn l t'n art, “a holy cup women may not see, a goblet Athirat may not eye”.61 The sentence might express a kind of superlative parallelism: ‘women, not even Athirat may see it’. Margalit renders art here as ‘wife, consort’,62 meaning, in his view, that the 'Ajrud inscriptions may refer to ‘Yhwh and his consort’.63

3.3 The Interpretation o/Tsrth as Referring to the Goddess Asherah

Obviously, the expression Tsrth might refer to the goddess Asherah.64 According to Margalit, the expression b “|“Q admits only a deity following the preposition.65 However, interpreting Tsrth as referring to a proper name makes the presence of a

57 As in KTU 1.17.1:26.44; 1.17.11:16. Although the word qds, ‘holy place’, might be interpreted as cemetery’ here. See Baruch Margalit, “The Meaning and Significance of Asherah,” VT 40 no. 3 (1990): 292.

58 Cf. John Day, “Asherah in the Hebrew Bible and Northwest Semitic Literature,” JBL 105 no. 3 (1986): 392; see also J. A. Emerton, ‘“Yahweh and His Asherah’: The Goddess or Her Symbol?” VT49 no. 3 (1999): 315.

59 Margalit, “The Meaning and Significance of Asherah,” 269.

60 The argument is e silentio.

Translation Mark S. Smith, in Ugaritic Narrative Poetry (Simon B. Parker, ed.):106.

62 Cf. Margalit, “The Meaning and Significance of Asherah,” 272-274.

63 Cf. Margalit, “The Meaning and Significance of Asherah,” 274-277.

64 For an overview of earlier research on Asherah, see Margalit, “The Meaning and Significance of Asherah,” 264-268. “The general consensus is that the goddess Asherah in the Old Testament is to be equated with the goddess Athirat known from the second-millenium Ugaritic texts,” John Day, Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan (JSOTSup 265; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000), 47. For a detailed discussion on Asherah, see Judith M. Hadley, The Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah: Evidence for a Hebrew Goddess (UCOP 57; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000).

65 Cf. Margalit, “The Meaning and Significance of Asherah,” 276. He compares the expression to other Northwest Semitic inscriptions.

50 Sárospataki Füzetek 2013/1-2