Resheph

Resheph

Hiero|Ršp |r:S-p-w-A40 r:S-p-W-G7|align=right|era=egypt

Resheph or Reshef (Canaanite/Hebrew " _se. ršp" _he. רשף) was a Canaanite deity of plague and war. Resheph is associated with lightning, and hence also interpreted as a weather deity. In Ugarit, Resheph was identified with Nergal, in Idalion, Cyprus, with Apollo. [Javier Teixidor, The Phoenician Inscriptions of the Cesnola Collection. Metropolitan Museum Journal 11, 1976, 65] . The name appears as a word in Classical Hebrew with the meaning "flame, lightning" (Psalm 78:48) and the derived or figurative meanings of "arrow" (as "lightning of the bow", Job 5:7) and "a burning fever, a plague" (by which the body is "inflamed", Deuteronomy 32:24). [ [http://cf.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=H7565 Strong's Concordance] ] "Resheph" as a personal name, a grandson of Ephraim, occurs in 1 Chronicles 7:25. Resheph is mentioned in Ugaritic mythological texts such as the epic of Kirta [tablet 1/CAT 1.14, column 1, lines 18-20; tablet 2/CAT 1.15, column 2, line 6] and The Mare and Horon. [CAT 1.100, lines 30-31] In Phoenician inscriptions he is called "rshp gn" 'Resheph of the Garden' and "b`l chtz" 'lord of the arrow'. Phoenician-Hittite bilingualsFact|date=June 2008 refer to him as 'deer god' and 'gazelle god'.

In Kition, Cyprus, Resheph had the epithet of "ḥṣ", interpreted as "arrow" by Javier Teixidor, [Javier Teixidor, The Phoenician Inscriptions of the Cesnola Collection. Metropolitan Museum Journal 11, 1976, 65] who consequently interprets Resheph as a god of plague, comparable to Apollo whose arrows bring plague to the Danaans (Iliad I.42-55).

Resheph become popular in Egypt under Amenhotep II (18th dynasty), where he served as god of horses and chariots. Originally adopted into the royal cult, Resheph became a popular deity in the Ramesside Period, at the same time disappearing from royal inscriptions. In this later period, he is depicted with a ram's head, armed with shield, spear and axe, often together with Qetesh and Min.

ee also

*Canaanite religion
*Religion of the Ancient Near East

Notes

References

* Wolfgang Helck: "Die Beziehungen Ägyptens zu Vorderasien im 3. und 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr.", (Ägyptologische Abhandlungen, Band 5) 2. Auflage, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1971 ISBN 3-447-01298-6 "(Zu Reschef in Ägypten: S. 450-454)"


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