UGARIT, CANAAN, AND ISRAEL.pdf - Tyndale House

148 TYNDALE BULLETIN 34 (1983)
be a degree of selectivity in the approach to the
problem. 6 I shall present first a variety of general
considerations pertaining to the topic, and then shall
focus in more detail on a number of specific topics
which may illuminate the difficulties and point
toward solutions.
I GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
At the outset, it must be noted that there are both
problems and possibilities in examining the
interrelationships between Ugarit and Canaan in the
late Bronze Age. 7 That there was a variety of kinds
of interrelationship of an historical nature between
Ugarit and Canaan is clear; the extent to which
Ugaritic culture was typical of, or representative
of, that of Canaan is far from clear.
The most obvious example of interrelationship between
Ugarit and Canaan is to be found in the matter of
trade. Ugarit, though a relatively small kingdom,
was nevertheless a major trading nation in the world
of the Eastern Mediterranean. 8 From the variety of
texts found in the archives of Ugarit, it is clear
that fairly extensive trade was undertaken with
6. Some of the literary problems pertaining to this
issue were examined in an earlier paper and will
not be elaborated in greater detail in this
context, P. C. Craigie, 'The Poetry of Ugarit
and Israel,' TB 22 (1971) 3-31. For a
treatment of other issues not covered here, see
W. Jobling, Canaan, Ugarit and the Old Testament:
A Study of Relationships (Ph.D., University of
Sydney, 1975).
7. For a survey of some of the issues, see P. C.
Craigie, 'Religious Interactions between Ugarit
(Ras Shamra) and Palestine during the Late
Bronze Age,' in P. D. Francis et al.(eds.),
Networks of the Past: Regional Interaction in
Archaeology (Calgary: Archaeological
Association of the University of Calgary, 1981)
201-06.
8. See, e.g. E. Linder, 'Ugarit: A Canaanite
Thalassocracy,' in G. D. Young (ed.), Ugarit in
Retrospect 31-42.