Shalim

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myth series
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Shalim (derived from the triconsonantal Semitic root S-L-M, and also romanized as Shalem, Salem, and Salim) was the name of a god in the Canaanite religion pantheon, mentioned in inscriptions found in Ugarit (Ras Shamra) in Syria.[1][2] William F. Albright identified Shalim as the god of dusk, and Shahar as god of the dawn.[3] In the Dictionary of deities and demons in the Bible, Shalim is also identified as the deity representing Venus or the "Evening Star," and Shahar, the "Morning Star".[1]

Contents

Ugaritic inscriptions

An Ugaritic myth known as The Gracious and Most Beautiful Gods, describes Shalim and his twin brother Shahar as offspring of El through two women he meets at the seashore. They are both nursed by "The Lady", likely Anat (Athirat or Asherah), and have appetites as large as "(one) lip to the earth and (one) lip to the heaven." In other Ugaritic texts, the two are associated with the sun goddess.[1]

Another inscription is a sentence repeated three times in a para-mythological text , "Let me invoke the gracious gods, the voracious gods of ym." Ym in most Semitic languages means "day," and Shalim and Shahar, twin deities of the dusk and dawn, were conceived of as its beginning and end.[4]

Shalim is also mentioned separately in the Ugaritic god lists and forms of his name also appear in personal names, perhaps as a divine name or epithet.[1]

Many scholars believe that the name of Shalim is preserved in the name of the city Jerusalem.[1][5][6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e van der Toorn et al., 1999, pp. 755-6
  2. ^ Golan, 2003, p. 82. "The name of the Canaanite deity of the setting sun Salim, or Salem, [...] The names [of Sahar and Salim] are rendered in modern scholarly texts as Shakhar and Shalim [...]"
  3. ^ Albright, 1990,p. 187; cf. the Akkadian word for sunset, šalām šamši.
  4. ^ van der Toorn et al., 1999, p. 222.
  5. ^ N. Na'aman, Canaanite Jerusalem and its central hill country neighbours in the second millennium B.C.E., Ugarit-Forschungen Vol. 24 (1992), pp275-291.
  6. ^ L. Grabbe, Ethnic groups in Jerusalem, in Jerusalem in Ancient History and Tradition (Clark International, 2003) pp145-163.
  7. ^ John Day, Yahweh and the gods and goddesses of Canaan, Sheffield Academic Press 2002, p180

Bibliography

  • Albright, William Foxwell (1968 / 1990). Yahweh and the gods of Canaan: a historical analysis of two contrasting faiths (Reprint ed.). Eisenbrauns. ISBN 0931464013, 9780931464010. 
  • Golan, Ariel (2003). Prehistoric religion: mythology, symbolism. Ariel Golan (Original from the University of Virginia. ISBN 9659055501, 9789659055500. 
  • van der Toorn, K.; Becking, Bob; van der Horst, Pieter Willem (1999). Dictionary of deities and demons in the Bible DDD (2nd, revised ed.). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 0802824919, 9780802824912. 

Other uses

Shalem is also the name of the 4-D cinematic presentation at the Jerusalem Time Elevator in Jerusalem, Israel.

See also