The Canaanite God Šälaḥ
Author(s): Matitiahu Tsevat
Source: Vetus Testamentum , Jan., 1954, Vol. 4, Fasc. 1 (Jan., 1954), pp. 41-49
Published by: Brill
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1515993
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms
Brill is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Vetus Testamentum
This content downloaded from
83.130.72.148 on Fri, 20 Jan 2023 22:14:46 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
THE CANAANITE GOD SALAH
BY
MATITIAHU TSEVAT
Cincinnati, U.S.A.
The second element of the name of the patriarch Me
usually explained as a divine name. It also occurs alo
other lists of the patriarchs 2). In the tenth century B
Silhi "Belonging to Sdlah" is recorded as a name of an in
To be sure, this explanation of Sdlah as a divine name ha
been accepted. Even after GES.-BUHL in his 14th editio
made a very strong case for it by comparing the full
Amarna name 'mu-ut-ba-ah-lum 6), 'mu-ut-ba'lu 7) wh
viously a divine element, some scholars remained
contested 9) it.
Various considerations, however, make this explanati
sure. (a) Some Mari names among which we a prior
onomastic types similar to Canaanite ones show the
(or mut) "Man, Follower, Worshipper of" + divine n
ad-ki-im 10) or mu-tu-ha-ad-ki-im 11), 'mu-ut-as-di-im 12); m
(b) The above-mentioned Amarna name Mutba'lu "M
Worshipper of Baal" is only one example of the typ
1)
2)
3)
4)
Gen v 21 f., 25-27, 1 Ch i 3.
Gen x 24, xi 14, 1 Ch i 18.
1 Kings xxii 42, 2 Ch xx 31.
The list of Judaic towns in Josh. xv mentions a settlemen
but the correctness of that text is questionable.
5) p. 429.
6) EA 255: 3.
7) EA 256: 2, 5.
8) L. KOEHLER, as recently as 1951 in Lexicon in Vet. Test. Libros, p. 582.
9) E. G. H. KRAELING, ZAW, 40 (1922 f.), p. 154 f.
10) Archives royales de Mari, II, 1950, 122: 7.
11) II, 23 : 13, r. 6. For this divine element, a form of Adad, see K. TALLQVIST,
"Akkadische Goetterepitheta", Stud. Or., VII, 1938, p. 258.
12) II, 36 : 5. AAdu is another, Elamite, form of Adad; see TALLQVIST, p. 246.
13) II, 32: 9. For Salim see J. LEWY, RHR, 110 (1934), pp. 61-64; JBL, 59
(1940), pp. 519-22.
This content downloaded from
83.130.72.148 on Fri, 20 Jan 2023 22:14:46 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
42
MATITIAHU TSEVAT
God NN" on Palestinian soil. It is an older form of the Biblical
'isba'a/, the name of one of Saul's sons 1), where 's' stands for 's as
shown in the corresponding form 'ZsbosaO in the the Book of Samuel 2).
In my opinion, also Yissiyyd(h) 3) or Yisijyydhai 4) belongs to this group
of names. It is commonly derived from V/nsy "to forget", but this
rather unsatisfactory5). It seems preferable to see in yis anoth
(pronunciation and?) spelling of 'zs and to interpret the name "Ma
of YHWH" 6). For the change of yis and 'zI compare the two form
yisay and i'say 7) in the same text or (LXX Mss. IecepaaX, Iococ
which is) *yiJba'al 8) for *'Zsbaal 9). (c) The existence of the short
personal name Salah suggests that the same element in the full
form M,eOusailah is not an appellative noun, meaning a tangible obje
like "spear", but a name of a deity. Tribes or individuals sometime
bear names otherwise known as divine, but hardly, at least in t
Bible, designations of an implement. Examples from the Bible may
suffice: GaA 10), 'sfer 11), Na'amdn (with related names) 12), perh
'nadO 13) and mixal. (d) Finally the Phoenician name 'bslh may
listed here 14). Since 'b is a theophoric element 15), slh must be a div
name. But the force of this argument is impaired by the part
paleographic uncertainty of the text. Who, then, is the God Salah?
Some hints scattered over Semitic languages and religions ma
be put together to provide the answer.
1) 1 Ch viii 33, ix 39.
2) 2 Sam ii-iv. Another occurrence of this name see immediately.
3) Various persons 1 Ch vii 3, Ezra x 31, 1 Ch xxiv 21, xxiii 20, xxiv 25.
4) 1 Ch xii 6.
5) Cf. M. NOTH'S discussion in his "Die israelitischen Personennamen ...
BWIANT, 46, 1928, p. 211.
6) The fact that the combination *'ifyhwh does not occur in the Biblical tex
whereas 'adpt yhwh and Wi? (hd)'dlohim are frequent, may be either incident
or have its reason in the theology of the Biblical authors which need not
shared by the popular belief as reflected in personal names.
7) 1 Ch ii 12 f. - No connection with 'I/ "man" is intimated by the juxtapo
tion of the two forms.
8) 1 Ch xi 11; MT ydfdcrdm.
9) I hesitate to add as a further example yiisdXdr allegedly from *iJdEXtr, as this
etymology is questionable in view of the Minaic name yZkr'l (GES.-BUHL, 17th
ed., 1921, p. 322) and the name from the time of the Hammurapi dynasty ia-alku-ur-ilum, (PSBA, 33, (1911), P1. 43, No. 19 : 12).
10) NOTH, I.c., p. 126. 11) NOTH, p. 131.
12) Contrary to NOTH, p. 117, n. 7; p. 166, n. 2.
13) NOTH, p. 123, n. 1.
14) Z. S. HARRIS, A Grammar of the Phoenician Language (AOS 8), 1936, p. 73.
15) NOTH, I.c., pp. 66-75.
This content downloaded from
83.130.72.148 on Fri, 20 Jan 2023 22:14:46 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
THE CANAANITE GOD SALAH
43
1) Job xxxiii 18 reads: yahsox napso minni sdhaO we.h
bassdlah "He keepeth back his soul from the pit and h
passing the sa'lah". A similar expression occurs in
wd'im lo(') yisme'u beidlah ya'p3orz wgyiywe'u bipli 8ad
obey not they shall pass sdlah and shall die withou
From the parallel with sahaO in xxxiii 18 as well as fr
me'aor balssahaO ten verses later it is clear that sdlah i
for underworld. DHORME was on the right track i
with sdalah "canal, conduit, torrent", and comparing berex
hassiloha 2), seldhayiX 3), and Akk. si-li-ih-ti sad nbdn
(or: branch) of the Baniti canal" 4) 5). But he did
full implication of these verses because he saw in sabh
and in sdlah the vertical shaft leading from the grav
world. Yet it is extremely doubtful whether saha
"grave"; in passages plainly related to the dead it m
world". And as to sdlah, this word designates in the be
quotations (virtually) horizontal water currents. T
interpretation is born out by the topographical findin
who inspected and described what the Bible called
haisslah 6). Sdlah in our verses, therefore, can mean on
water current, the river of the netherworld, and t
bassalah "to pass the River of the netherworld", i.e. "
A striking Akkadian parallel to this figure is offere
') Neh iii 15.
2) Isa viii 6.
3) Cant iv 13. This word continues the parable of the spring of the preceding
verse.
4) HARPER, Letters, 327: r. 8 f., 12 f.
5) P. DHORME, Le livre deJob, 1926, pp. 452 f.- Verbal forms of the same
similar root confirm the basic meaning "to flow": hameSalleah ma¶ydnim bannehd
"He who makes flow springs in the valleys" (Ps civ 10); sdhw Elhh "His fie
flooded (or wet)" (Yer. B. Mes. 6 : 1 [p. 4d]); C. BEZOLD, Babylonisch assyris
Glossar, 1926, p. 213 notes s/Salahu III, "fluten lassen". - The name of the riv
ZepaZoq in Cyprus shall cautiously be noted here. Phonetically it may well
respond to Sdlah. For I interchanging with r in general see GES.-BUHL,
p. 370; for I in Semitic forms corresponding to r in Greek-Latin forms of
same word see Heb. beliyyaCal = BeXcxp (besides BEXlOC), Lat. Mercuriu
middle Heb. mrqwlys (cf. M. JASTROW, A Dictionary of the Targumim ..., 1
p. 847), Heb. MT tupal (Ez xxxix 1) = LXX ®op3X, but the Alexandrinus e
(see J. LEWY, HUCA 23, I, [1950-1951] p. 395, n. 28). We also may hold Egypt
influence on Cyprus responsible for > r. For other explanations of the sam
W. W. v. BAUDISSIN, Studien Zur semitischen Religionsgeschichte, II, 1878, p. 164,
OBERHUMMER in PAULY-WISSOWA, II, 2 (1923), col. 1663.
6) H. GUTHE, ZDPV, 5 (1882), p. 372.
This content downloaded from
83.130.72.148 on Fri, 20 Jan 2023 22:14:46 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
44
MATITIAHU TSEVAT
called Babylonian Qoheleth: na-a[d]-nu-ma ap-pu-nu
mu-i-te na-a-ri hu-bur teb-bi-ri qa-bu- ul-tu ul-la
given up (?), definitely (?) they go the way of
cross the (underworld) river Hubur', they have bee
immemorial." 1) A prayer to Tammuz describes
similar words 2), as does a conjuration text sending
to hell 3). "River" stands for "underworld" in the t
the god of the underworld, lugal-i d-da "King
and lugal-h u-bur "King of (the river) Hubur"
text the goddess of the hellish river is called n
Princess"6). She says of herself that she is a r a i "th
here, too, the name of the river (-goddess) is us
underworld, pars pro toto 8). A trend towards nami
and deifying of the underworld river, as well as the
concept until its name become a synonym for unde
recognizable. At the other end of the ancient S
Ugarit, the god of the (river of the) underworld ha
but is simply called (tpt) nhr "(Judge [or: Ruler]) R
by (zbl) ym "(Prince) Sea" 9). While the passages fro
with comparative mythological material strong
1) Text ZA, 10 (1895), pp. 17 f. Transliteration and tran
BERGER, ZA, 43 (1936), pp. 46 f., 11. 16 f.; introduction a
Latest English translation R. H. PFEIFFER in Ancient Near Ea
to the OT, 1950, p. 439.
2) K. TALLQVIST, Sumerisch Akkadische Namen der Totenw
1934, pp. 12 f.
3) K. TALQVIST, p. 34.
4) K. TALLQVIST, p. 33, n. 3.
5) K. TALLQVIST, p. 33, n. 3. - Hubur is a Hurrian wor
(see E. A. SPEISER, JAOS, 68 (1948), p. 12 with references
hence "underworld". It is possible that the late Assyrians
its original meaning when they called Humut-tabal, the Akka
lab erseti(tim) "Boatman of the netherworld" (see W. v. SO
p. 16, 1. 45) which looks like a translation of -welmalahb hu
Hubur (river)". In the Creation Epic, Hubur is a by-nam
2 :19; so according to A. HEIDEL, The Babylonian Genesis,
n. 41).
6) E. EBELING, Tod und Leben nach den Vorstellungen der Babylonier, 1931, p. 23,
1. 10.
7) L. r. 7.
8) With regard to the queen, this repeats what we have seen earlier with regard
to the king, Nergal, since Nungala is the consort of Birtum or Birdu (A. DEIMEL,
Pantheon Babylonicum, 1914, No. 2352; K. TALLQVIST, Akkadische Gdtterepitheta,
p. 431), a by-name of Nergal (DEIMEL, No. 400; TALLQVIST, p. 277).
9) C. H. GORDON, Ugaritic Handbook, 1947, text 68 (p. 150), 11. 14 ff.
This content downloaded from
83.130.72.148 on Fri, 20 Jan 2023 22:14:46 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
THE CANAANITE GOD SALAH
45
sdlah "canal, torrent" is the personification and deification
infernal river, and thus of the Inferno itself, this assumpt
supported by additional material.
2) It has long been recognized that the genealogies in Gen
17-22 and v 1-27 (ff.) are variants of one older tradition 1). Inst
MeOzsi/alah of the second list 2), the first list has MeOisda'el 3)
name is commonly explained as *mutu-sa-ili "Man of God (o
But this is neither Hebrew nor Akkadian. Among the circa
names in STAMM'S index 4) there is none, as far as I can see, of the
"Man (or any other noun instead) sza dNN". Against this, my te
Professor J. LEWY, reads the name 'MeOse'oPl' "Man of She
This most natural explanation establishes the same meaning fo
two corresponding names of both genealogies: "Man of the
of the) Netherworld" 6).
3) The Phoenician n.pr. 'srslh has been explained as *'srs
its first element ('ir) being the Egyptian god Osiris. And while
true that Osiris is usually spelled 'sr in Phoenician, it is likewi
more generally true that "' and s vary in transcriptions of for
names" 8). Accepting this explanation, the name means "Os
Sdlah". Syncretism in the making! The Phoenician believer
Cyprus accepts the foreign god and identifies him with the go
his fathers. Naturally, only gods who have at least one impo
feature in common are suitable for identification. And since Osiris
is the Egyptian god of the underworld par excellence, it is most
probable that this is also the characteristic of Sdclah.
4) In middle-Hebrew, a field which is irrigated by rain is commonly
called (sdh) byt hb'l; an artificially irrigated field (sdh) byt hsl.yn 9).
1) For details see the commentaries.
2) v 21 f., 25 ff. 3) iv 18.
4) J. J. STAMM, Die akkadische Namengebung (MVAeG 44), 1939, pp. 325-353
5) Oral communication.
6) The by-name of Danel mt rpi (UH, 1 Aqht: 36 f., passim) may have t
same meaning, rpi being the deities of the netherworld (UH, § 18, 1880). Ye
refrain from a definite interpretation of this name as long as we have obtaine
no certainty about his other by-name mt hrnmy. Both may provide the local
tribal background of the hero; cf. T. H. GASTER, Thespis, 1950, p. 272; H.
GINSBERG in Ancient New Eastern Texts ..., p. 149, nn. 2, 4. (Note howeve
that rpi has no gentilicy while hrmny has it!)
7) A. BLOCH, Phoenigisches Glossar, 1890, p. 17; HARRIS, l.c., p. 83 (doubting
8) HARRIS, p. 22, n. 11.
9) See the Talmudic dictionaries s.v. and, for sdh byt hslhyn, H. J. KASSOWSK
Concordantiae Totius Mischnae, vol. 1, 1927, p. 375 with many references.
This content downloaded from
83.130.72.148 on Fri, 20 Jan 2023 22:14:46 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
46
MATITIAHU TSEVAT
The original meaning of sdh byt hb'l, certainly forgot
times, is clear: the field which Baal, the god of the h
rain, waters; cf. Assyrian nemem sa-a dadad "water o
water (for irrigation) 1). It is not unlikely that its co
byt hslhyn, has a corresponding mythical background:
Sdlah, the god of the underworld river, waters. Th
shows only, as Biblical tehomoO, that the word was l
as an appellative noun.
5) A kind of indirect proof of the existence in
culture of a god of the Sdlah-type is found in Deut. xxi
has been committed, the murderer is unknown. The
for the crime rests upon the nearest community. Th
heifer as a sacrifice at a perennial torrent 2). To whom
The usual answer is: To the spirit of the slain pers
assuage him; the ceremony is located at the peren
because valleys were places of heathen cults 4). This in
is open to objections. It is hardly proper to speak of (
indiscriminately. If the object of worship in valley
was not a particular local numen whose precise ch
escapes our knowledge, valleys 5) and perhaps wat
were certainly dedicated to fertility cults which h
common with apotropaic ceremonies against the g
individual. These would probably have been locate
of the murder or nearby. A provision which places th
1) Middle Assyrian Laws, KAV, No. 2, r. 6 :21 (Tablet 2, § 1
lation T. J. MEEK, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 186.
2) That it was originally a sacrifice is brought out by compar
xv 19 (K. MARTIN in E. KAUTZSCH-A. BERTHOLET, Die Heilige
vol. 1, 1922, p. 297) and of vv. 4, 6 with Ex xiii 13, xxxiv 20, Is
proof is given later.
3) nahal Y'Odn (Deut. xxi 4).
4) A. BERTHOLET, Deuteronomium, 1899, p. 65; C. STEUERNAG
und Erklrung der Bicher Deuteronomium undJosua, 1900, p. 78;
SMITH, The Book of Deuteronomy, 1918, p. 252, explains the br
against the spirit of the slain man passing over to the town
(Demons cannot cross water). But where is it said that the torr
the place of the crime and the town? - S. R. DRIVER, A Criti
commentary on Deuteronomy, 1895 (1909, 1916), p. 242 and E. KOE
nomium, 1917, p. 150, see the reason for the location in a purif
water carries away the blood and with it the guilt. Yet this is h
the character of an offering. The material of an offering is to b
to be thrown away, particularly the blood which is always hand
care (cf. e.g. Lev i 5 and frequ. xvii 11).
5) Jer ii 23, Isa lvii 5 ff. 6) Isa i 30.
This content downloaded from
83.130.72.148 on Fri, 20 Jan 2023 22:14:46 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
THE CANAANITE GOD SALAI4
47
perennial torrent would, in most cases, remove it from
ed neighborhood where it is most needed since there
and widely scattered perennial torrents in Palestine
though less serious obstacle to that interpretation is of
words of the elders following the sacrifice: "Our ha
shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it" 2). A sp
the place is not likely to be set at peace by declarations
He has not come to establish justice on earth. He see
getting offerings or by taking a human life, as the belie
cular culture may require. For that purpose he wo
throughout the country, but remain in the environ
murder 3).
The following interpretation of the background of th
these difficulties. The sacrifice is not offered to the spi
man, but to the god of the infernal river whose earth
the perennial torrent is. As late as the second century A
of offering to the gods of the sea and the rivers was s
in Palestine that the Mishna prohibits even profane
by which the blood flows into lakes, rivers, and the lik
that such an act might be interpreted as offering to
"Prince of the Sea" 5), the Aramaic correspondent
mentioned Ug. blyjm who, in turn, is identical with tpt
of the netherworld river. In the ceremonies of Deut. xxi
upon by the offering to judge in this grievous and
rip "litigation, controversy" is the word used in th
Support from Biblical material for this concept is cont
old names of Kadesh Barnea: me mWrbd(h) 7) or me m
and 'en mispat 9); it is a spring, the upsurge of the deep
controversies are settled and judgment is executed 1
1) The valleys mentioned in note 5 on p. 46 are, in all prob
vicinity of Jerusalem and dry all year round except for a few day
2) Deut. xxi 7. 3) sf3io50 ha.hdlal (v. 2).
4) Hullin ii 9. 5) Bab. jullin 41 b.
6) v. 5. - My teacher, Prof. SHELDON H. BLANK, has kindly drawn m
tion to J. Z. LAUTERBACH'S study on Tashlik, HUCA, XI (1936), pp
There LAUTERBACH taking up Balhya b. Asher's commentary on D
(14th cent.), says, that the heifer was offered to the deity or demon of t
(Bahya: hCnyn lsr hnhl) in order to pacify him (pp. 218 ff.). But he le
plained why just that demon came into the picture. Why was he more
than any other deity?
7) Nu xx 13. 8) xxvii 14. 9) Gen xiv 7.
10) The connection of springs and rivers with mythological figur
This content downloaded from
83.130.72.148 on Fri, 20 Jan 2023 22:14:46 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
48
MATITIAHU TSEVAT
revealing are parallels drawn from the abundance o
literature. On the one hand, Akkadian laws 1) an
know the river ordeal. On the other hand, religiou
river of the underworld the judge of men: i-na i-tenisjmeg ib-bir-ru "On the river shore where the ju
manifested" 3); sd ina nari ub-ba-bu ki-e-nu u rag-gu
who purifies (i.e. judges) the righteous one and t
the river" 4), ki-[nam-]tar-ri i d-lu-sub-gi-
gi-es zi-gen erim-gen bar-an-kid-de "The
place of destiny, to the infernal river, it will sepa
one from the wicked one" 5). A synopsis of th
inscriptions makes it clear: When men, unable to f
an ordinary procedure of human judgment, go t
approach the god of the infernal river who manife
river on earth. - For various reasons there is no room for a full-
fledged ordeal in the Biblical law under discussion. What is still
preserved are traces of an invocation through sacrifice and a pro-
testation of innocence.
Once we have interpreted Deut. xxi 1-9 as an indication that
Canaanite mythology knew of the god of the infernal river endowed
with judicial functions, we may look again at some of the abovediscussed material. Ug. tpt nhr gives words to the idea that the god
of the river of hell is (ruler and) judge 6). The equation "Osiris is
Sdlah", stated in the Phoenician personal name 'srsl/, is of deep
concern to the ancient believer if Osiris is conceived not only as the
god of the underworld, but, mainly, as the judge of the dead. Finally,
it may be noted in passing, that, according to an anonymous Jewish
is brought out in the names of C'n hatfann "Spring of the Dragon" (Neh ii 13);
'diidn hazZohaildO 'Siir 'esdl 'en royel "Stone of the Serpent which is by the Rogel
Spring" (1 Kings i 9; this is contrary to G. R. DRIVER, ZA W, 52 [1934], p. 51 f.);
the by-names of the Orontes: Apocxov, Tucpov, 'Ocpi-rr (see BAUDISSIN, I.c., p. 163,
and J. SCHMIDT in PAULY-WISSOWA, 18 [1939], col. 1161).
1) Cod. Ham. §§ 2, 132; Middle Assyrian Laws, KAV, No. 1, 2: 67 ff. (tablet
1, § 17), 105 ff. (§ 22); 3: 41 ff. (§ 24), 82 ff. (§ 25); translation MEEK, I.c., 181 f.
2) KAR, No. 134, r. 6 ff. (EBELING, I.C., p. 99).
3) Ludlul bel nemeqi 3: r. 20, text VR 47 : r. 30; latest translation R. H. PFEIFFER, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 437. - An ancient commentary of the following line makes it clear the infernal river is meant: i-te-e dnar bur-sa-an (VR 47: r.
31); cf. again TALLQVIST, Namen, pp. 23-25.
4) Transliteration and translation EBELING, I.C., p. 25, 1. 14.
5) From the text referred to note 39: p. 22, 11. 6 f.
6) Cf. Count DU MESNIL DU BUISSON, apud C. H. GORDON, Ugaritic Literature,
1949, p. 11, n. 1.
This content downloaded from
83.130.72.148 on Fri, 20 Jan 2023 22:14:46 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
49
THE CANAANITE SALAH
legend quoted by Maimonides 1), the Biblical Me,OsWaah w
head of a court of justice and of an academy 2).
To sum up: The god Sdlah is the god of the infernal river of
Canaanite population of Palestine and Phoenicia. This is sh
1) by the Phoenician name(s) 'srslh (and 'bs/h); 2) by the fac
"man, worshipper" in the Biblical personal name with whic
have started our study is expressed by meOi rather than by 'Z
it is this change from Canaanite mut to Heb. 'zJ in the personal
both meaning "Man of Baal", which corresponds to the ch
from the Amarna to the early Israelite age in Palestine 3). But
is more than a mere personification of the river. He judges
who descend to the netherworld and his power reaches to the
above. Of all this only faint traces have been left in the Bible,
it needs hardly to be pointed out that the author of Deut. xxi 1
not know of the mythical background of the law any more th
sages of the Talmud knew of the original meaning of sdh byt b
sdh byt shlyn.
1) The Guide of the Perplexed, II, 39.
2) LAUTERBACH explains the custom of Tashlik (in later times a prayer,
at a river or a lake mainly around New Year's time, but in earlier days a ce
of throwing food into the water [cf. p. 287]) as an offering to Satan in or
pacify him (pp. 260 f., 288). This explanation is incontestable. But an
one discussed in the present article seems likewise possible and may
warded here as an alternative: The offering is brought not to Satan, in
to make him desist from his function as accuser, but to the judging d
the underworld to obtain a more lenient verdict. For neither explanat
uninterrupted sequence of customs and beliefs, going back to ancient tim
be shown; we have to assume survival of old superstitions which the
shunned so much that they made no mention of them in their literature o
centuries. It is true, LAUTERBACH claims to have found the missing link b
ancient times and the first reference of the Tashlik ceremony of the 14th ce
He quotes a passage from Rashi's commentary to gab. 81 b, who in tur
Gaonic authorities describing what LAUTERBACH takes as a forerunner of
(pp. 277 ff.). In reality that custom has nothing to do with Tashlik, but is an
classical description of an AwevLe^ xr0O. It is, therefore, no longer pos
decide between these two motives brought as possible explanation for T
may be both contributed to its rise.
3) Cf. above, p. 41. - Recently the name Ii-Si-dU has appeared in an Akkadian
written list of people in the neighborhood of Ugarit (Syria, 28 [1951], p. 49, 1. 25).
CH. VIROLLEAUD reads it: 'i-Si-dba'alu and compares Biblical 'dsbacal with it
(p. 52). In this case the change from meOu to 'iS would have taken place very
early, as the Amarna and the Ugaritic names are roughly contemporaneous;
consequently the form meOu in names would be indicative of a high age. But
VIROLLEAUD'S interpretation is not sure. 'Uiu "man" is not known as a Ugaritic
word. Should the name be an abbreviated Akkadian name with i-fi imperative
or perf. of nasi "to lift"? We would then read the divine name Adad.
Vetus
Testamentum
This content downloaded from
83.130.72.148 on Fri, 20 Jan 2023 22:14:46 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
IV
4