Abstract
Abstract Although scholars have generally treated Ugaritic ltn as a cognate of Hebrew liwyātān, the vocalization of this word and its relationship to the Hebrew form remain debated. In this article, we will argue that ltn should be vocalized /lītan-/ and that Ugaritic ltn and Hebrew liwyātān derive from Proto-Northwest Semitic *lawiy-(a)t-an- through a series of attested sound changes. We will also discuss the morphology of *lawiy-(a)t-an- and the syntax of the Northwest Semitic formula *lawiy(a)tanu baṯnu barīḥu … baṯnu ʕaqallatānu “Leviathan, the fleeing serpent … the twisting serpent” found in KTU 1.5 i 1–3 and Isa 27:1.
Highlights
Since the Ugaritic word ltn was first discovered, scholars have generally treated it as a cognate of Hebrew liwyātān.[1]
We will discuss the morphology of ltn/liwyātān and the syntax of the inherited Northwest Semitic formula *lawiy(a)tanu baṯnu barīḥu ... baṯnu ʕaqallatānu “Leviathan, the fleeing serpent ... the twisting serpent” found in KTU 1.5 i 1–3 and Isa 27:1
Wilson-Wright has argued that these two passages preserve reflexes of the same inherited Northwest Semitic formula: *lawiy(a)tanu baṯnu barīḥu ... baṯnu ʕaqallatānu “Leviathan, the fleeing serpent ... the twisting serpent.”[3]. They employ a series of cognate terms to describe a serpentine monster with only two minor differences: the Hebrew reflex uses nāḥāš in place of the semantically similar Ugaritic term bṯn and repeats the word liwyātān in the second half of the formula
Summary
Since the Ugaritic word ltn was first discovered, scholars have generally treated it as a cognate of Hebrew liwyātān.[1] But the vocalization of the Ugaritic word and its relationship to the Hebrew form remain debated. We will argue that ltn should be vocalized /lītan-/ and that Ugaritic ltn and Hebrew liwyātān derive from Proto-Northwest Semitic *lawiy-(a)t-an- “the great twisting one” through a series of attested sound changes. We will discuss the morphology of ltn/liwyātān and the syntax of the inherited Northwest Semitic formula *lawiy(a)tanu baṯnu barīḥu ... Baṯnu ʕaqallatānu “Leviathan, the fleeing serpent ... The twisting serpent” found in KTU 1.5 i 1–3 and Isa 27:1 We will discuss the morphology of ltn/liwyātān and the syntax of the inherited Northwest Semitic formula *lawiy(a)tanu baṯnu barīḥu ... baṯnu ʕaqallatānu “Leviathan, the fleeing serpent ... the twisting serpent” found in KTU 1.5 i 1–3 and Isa 27:1
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