religion 151
the treaty between King ashur-nirari V and King Matiʾel of arpad con-
cludes with a list of assyrian oath deities (saa ii no. 2 Vi 6–17) and dei-
ties of arpad (saa ii no. 2 Vi 18–26). the oath deities of arpad include
hadad of aleppo, palil, the sebetti, Dagan and Muṣuruna, Melqart and
ešmun, Kubaba and Karhuha, and hadad and ramman of Damascus. this
list encompasses not only aramaean deities but also deities of anatolian,
assyrian, and phoenician origin.
the treaty texts from sefire list the oath deities of Kittika first104 and
then the oath deities of the kingdom of arpad: hadad of aleppo and the
sebetti, el and elyan, heaven and earth, seabed and springs, Day and
night (Kai 222: 10–12).
in both treaties hadad of aleppo leads the list of oath deities of Bit
agusi.105 the weather-god of the old cult center aleppo is mentioned by
his aramaic name, hadad. this corresponds to the invocation of hadad
in his aspect of weather-god in Kai 222: 25–26, since he would have let
maladies of all kinds and hail rain down upon arpad in case of a breach
of contract. in lines 38 and 39 of this text hadad appears as the god of war
and is supposed to break Matiʾel’s bow.
as in assyria, the aramaean deities of sefire are also arranged in pairs.
hadad of aleppo is joined by the sebetti, i.e., the seven or pleiades. how-
ever, it is notable that the preposition qdm (“before”), which introduces
each divine pair, also precedes the pleiades. hadad thus likely retained his
supremacy and the pleiades are associated with him as an astral power.
the next pair is el and elyan. of these, the god el is attested in the
pantheon of samʾal106 while elyan appears neither in the religion of
the aramaeans nor anywhere else and thus eludes detailed explanation. the
connection to the god el elyon from the old testament, however, is defi-
nite, as the two aramaean deities fused to become one divine name for the
god YhWh.107
the following divine pairs represent the cosmos (heaven and earth),
the waters (seabed and springs), and time (Day and night). this list of
104 see below.
105 cf. the esarhaddon treaty with its summary of assyrian deities (saa ii no. 5 iV
8–9) and the beginning of the new paragraph in line 10. contra to Voigt 1994: 65–67, who
assumes the sefire treaties were concluded on equal terms and thus assumes two lists of
seven oath deities each. also Fales 1990: 162. inapplicable also Koch 2008: 60–68, accord-
ing to whom the deities of Bit agusi are only tangible in the closing phrases.
106 see below.
107 gen 14: 18–20; cf. Zobel 1987–1989.