The Literary Influence of the Ugaritic Fertility Myth On the Old Testament

Abstract

study of fertility myths and ritual 1) is of considerable importance, since, in the last few years, so much in the Old Testament has been interpreted in the light of such myths and rituals. The knowledge of the general pattern of Near-Eastern religion has placed in perspective the religion of the Hebrews. essence of this pattern is found in the fertility cult, which centred in the worship of the vegetation deity, who died in the autumn and was resurrected in the spring. religious services took the form of a dramatisation of the death of the god, his resurrection, and his marriage to the mothergoddess. popularity of this cult among the Hebrews has been abundantly evidenced by Old Testament scholars. It was the predominant cult among the Egyptians, Syrians, Babylonians, Assyrians and many other peoples of the Near East. 2) More and more have Old Testament scholars been led to find fertility cult symbolism in a considerable part of the Hebrew scriptures. Gradually it has been emphasised that the 'Canaanite' religion of Palestine was but a variation of the seasons cult ... the early religion of Israel in Palestine was little more than a syncretistic fertility cult with Yahweh predominant. 3) This tendency: to interpret much of the Old Testament in terms of fertility cult and ritual, has been strengthened by the discovery of the Ras Shamra tablets. main part of this literature, in alpha-