Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

MLK (LM

1.  In Ugaritic, the grand title of a king of Ugarit was:

MLK (LM

It meant “eternal king”.  [Literally, it means:  “king eternity”.  If a
preposition is implied, it would be MLK [L] (LM:  “king [for] eternity”.
(LM is often used in Ugaritic to mean “for ever”.]

2.  If the earliest version of chapter 14 of Genesis used defective
spelling (unlike the received text), then it is likely that Genesis 14: 1, 9, 
in
setting forth the title of nefarious invading ruler Chedorlaomer, originally
referred to:

MLK (LM

That is identical to the Ugaritic grand title of a king of Ugarit:  “king
eternity”.

3.  To see this grand kingly title in the Ugaritic language, go to the
fourth paragraph here:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0017_0_16648.html

“The existence of a god named Rpu has long been indicated by personal names
such as Abrpu (C.H. Gordon, Ugaritic Textbook (1965), 311, line 10;
Ditriech and Loretz, 2). This is now corroborated by the publication of a 
text (Ras
Shamra 24. 252) that mentions rpu mlkʿlm, "Rpu the eternal king" (Dietrich
and Loretz, 187)….”

After rpu, what is set forth in the last line there (in Ugaritic) is:

MLK (LM

That’s the Ugaritic way to set forth a grand kingly title.  MLK (LM is
authentic Ugaritic kingly nomenclature in the Late Bronze Age.

The Ugaritic dictionary I consulted said that a king of Ugarit addressed
Akhenaten’s father, Amenhotep III, as MLK (LM.  In religious texts, such as
Psalm 29: 10 below, and also the New Testament and the Talmud, we sometimes
see the phrase Eternal King applied to God.  But as far as I know, in terms of
a title for a this-worldly king, MLK (LM was uniquely the Ugaritic way. 
Accordingly, the title MLK (LM, when applied to an invading ruler in chapter
14 of Genesis, strongly suggests Late Bronze Age Ugarit.  The title MLK (LM
makes perfect historical sense for Ugaritic rulers, but for no one else.

4.  Psalm 29: 10 has almost this same nomenclature, perhaps influenced by
Ugarit, for YHWH.  YHWH is stated to be “King for Eternity”:

MLK L (WLM

That’s full spelling, with a vav/W having been added.  In Biblical Hebrew,
the preposition lamed/L [which may be implied in Ugaritic] has been added.
MLK L (WLM at Psalm 29: 10 is close to Ugaritic:

MLK (LM

It’s also close to what we see at Genesis 14: 1, 9 for a secular ruler
(Chedorlaomer):

MLK (YLM

5.  In the Patriarchal narratives, the full spelling of the Hebrew word for
“eternity” is always used:  (WLM.  But elsewhere in the Bible, one
occasionally sees the defective spelling:  (LM.  [The vav/W as the second 
letter in
the normal, full spelling is a matres lectionis.  The underlying verb in
Biblical Hebrew, which is the root, is simply (LM.  The Hebrew verb (LM means 
“
to be distant, concealed, hidden”, or “to dissemble”.]  Presumably, the
earliest text of the Patriarchal narratives used (LM to mean [or primarily to
mean] “eternity”, being identical to the Ugaritic word for “eternity”:
(LM.

If the yod/Y in (YLM at Genesis 14: 1, 9 is a matres lectionis, then the
defective, original spelling of Chedorlaomer’s title in the Patriarchal
narratives was:

MLK (LM

That is identical to the spelling of the Ugaritic grand title for a
Ugaritic king.

In Biblical Hebrew, unlike in Ugaritic, (LM/(YLM could possibly have a
second, negative meaning, based on the Biblical Hebrew verb (LM:  
“dissembling”
.  [As can be discussed later, Niqmaddu II was (i) a king of Ugarit/“King
Eternity”, who (ii) from an early Hebrew point of view, was also a “king of
dissembling”, as he traitorously sold out western Syria to the dreaded
Hittites while pretending in an Amarna Letter to be friendly to Egypt and 
Canaan,
and who (iii) joined with three other rulers, creating a force of 4
attacking rulers who destroyed a league of 5 rulers, being the historical 
basis for
the “four kings against the five” at Genesis 14: 9.]

6.  It is noteworthy that the name of the country of “Elam” is  n-e-v-e-r
spelled with a yod/Y in any Mesopotamian language, whether Sumerian,
Elamite, Babylonian/Akkadian, or Assyrian.  Rather, what one sees in those
languages of Mesopotamia for the name of the country east of Babylonia are 
NIM,
hatalmtu, hatamtu, atamtu, KUR elammatum, or Elamtu.  Thus the presence of the
yod/Y in (YLM in the received text of Genesis 14: 1, 9 militates against the
traditional view that (YLM at Genesis 14: 1, 9 is a non-west Semitic
loanword meaning the far-off, non-west Semitic-speaking country of “Elam”.  
(No
king of Elam ever came all the long way to Canaan and made a series of
conquests in the Northern Negev Desert (!!!), as 100% of the Hebrews well 
knew.
Why all scholars credit that incredible theory of the case is beyond me.
That theory of the case makes no sense on any level, including making no
linguistic sense.)  The name “Chedorlaomer” is not attested in the secular
history of Mesopotamia or Elam.  Many languages, including Ugaritic and 
Biblical
Hebrew and languages of Mesopotamia, have KDR, but there’s no historical name
“Chedorlaomer”.

7.  The name “Chedorlaomer”/KDRL(MR consists of three common Ugaritic
words:  KDR + L + (MR.  KDRL(MR MLK (YLM at Genesis 14: 1, 9 is an apt,
historical reference to a Late Bronze Age king of Ugarit.  The name 
“Chedorlaomer”
is a nickname, as with the names of all of the other eight rulers in the “
four kings against the five”.  But this king’s title has pinpoint historical
accuracy, in a Late Bronze Age northern greater Canaan context, for a ruler
of Ugarit.  MLK (LM is the Ugaritic rendering of the grand title of a
Ugaritic king, beautifully reflected in the received text of Genesis 14: 1, 9 
as
MLK (YLM, using full spelling.  The original, defective spelling in the
Patriarchal narratives very likely was identical, letter for letter, to the
Ugaritic spelling:

MLK (LM

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois

**************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy
steps!
(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1222585043x1201462775/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072&hmpgID=62&bcd=
JunestepsfooterNO62)