'There's such Divinity doth Hedge a King'

Nicolas Wyatt is Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Religions at the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh, UK.

• Contents: Preface; 'Araunah the Jebusite' and the throne of David; 'Jedidiah' and cognate forms as a title of royal legitimization; Cain's wife; The hollow crown: ambivalent elements in west Semitic royal ideology; Echoes of the King and his Ka: an ideological motif in the story of Solomon's birth; When Adam delved: the meaning of Genesis 3:23; 'Supposing him to be the gardener' (John 20:15): a study of the paradise motif in John; The meaning of El Roi and the mythological dimension of Genesis 16; The theogony motif in Ugarit and the Bible; The liturgical context of Psalm 19 and its mythical and ritual origins; Ilimilku's ideological programme: Ugaritic royal propaganda, and a biblical postscript; Arms and the King: the earliest allusions to the Chaoskampf motif and their implications for the interpretation of the Ugaritic and biblical traditions; Degrees of divinity: some mythical and ritual aspects of west Semitic kingship; Ilimilku the theologian: the ideological roles of Athtar and Baal in KTU 1.1 and 1.6; Marriage, mayhem and murder: an everyday story of royal folk; Bibliography; Index.

'Over the years Professor Nicolas Wyatt, whose translation of the Ugaritic literary and religious documents is now a standard textbook, has been exploring the ancient near eastern mythological background to biblical traditions, particularly in respect of kingship. The present collection offers a sure guide through these ancient texts, often providing a new and refreshing slant while making them intelligible to the modern reader.' W.G.E. Watson, Department of Religious Studies, University of Newcastle upon Tyne 'The author, who often suggests - and risks - new interpretations, is to be congratulated on this useful and stimulating collection.' International Review of Biblical Studies