The expression šādayim wārāḥam, ‘Breasts and Womb’, (Gen. 49.25) has been interpreted as an epithet echoing Ugaritic titles of the goddesses Anat and Asherah (Vawter 1955; M. O’ Connor, Hebrew Verse Structure [Winona Lake 1980] 178; Smith 1990:17).
II. Identity
In a para-mythological text from Ugarit, it is said that the deities Shahar and Shalim are to be seen as those ‘sucking the nipple (ap; lit. ‘nose’) of the breast (ḏd//zd) of Athiratu’ (KTU 1.23:24, 59, 61). In the epic of Keret, Ilu…
Cite this page
B. Becking,
“Breasts and Womb שׁדים ורחם”, in:
Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible Online, Edited by: Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter W. van der Horst.
Consulted online on 29 November 2021 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2589-7802_DDDO_DDDO_Breastsandwomb>