Kothar-wa-Khasis
Encyclopedia
Kothar-wa-Khasis is a Canaanite
god whose name means "Skillful-and-Wise" or "Adroit-and-Perceptive" or "Deft-and-Clever". Another of his names means "Deft-with-both-hands". Kothar is smith
, craftsman
, engineer
, architect
, and inventor. He is also soothsayer
and magician, creating sacred words and spells, in part because there is an association in many cultures of metalworking deities with magic
. The god-name Ka-sha-lu in texts from Ebla
suggests that he was known in Syria
as early as the late third millennium.
Kothar aids Baal
in his battles, as recounted in the Myth of Baal
, by creating and naming two magic weapons with which Baal
defeats Yam
. Kothar also creates beautiful furniture adorned with silver and gold as gifts for Athirat. And he builds Ba`al's palace of silver, gold, lapis lazuli, and fragrant cedar wood. One of his significant actions is as the Opener of the window through which Ba`al's rains can come and go to fertilize the earth and provide for the continuance of life.
Kothar's abode is Egypt, written in Ugaritic as h.k.p.t (read perhaps as "hikaptah") derived from the Egyptian for "the house of the ka
of Ptah
" used for Memphis
and parelleled in a poem with k.p.t.r - representing Caphtor
. Memphis is the site of the temple of Ptah, the Egyptian god responsible for crafts, whose name means "the Opener". The name is paralleled
In his book on the Myth of Baal, Mark Smith notes that there is a possible pun involved in Kothar's epithet "The Opener". According to the Phoenician mythology related by Mochos of Sidon, as cited in Damascius
's De principiis (Attridge
and Oden 1981:102-03), Chusor, Kothar's name in Phoenician Greek, was the first "opener." Assuming the West Semitic root *pt h, "to open," Albright argues that this title represents word-play on the name of the Egyptian god Ptah.
Smith further explains Kothar's double abodes as reflexes of metal or craft trade both from Egypt and from the Mediterranean Sea to Ugarit, as Kothar is imputed to be the divine patron of these skills.
Canaanite religion
Canaanite religion is the name for the group of Ancient Semitic religions practiced by the Canaanites living in the ancient Levant from at least the early Bronze Age through the first centuries of the Common Era....
god whose name means "Skillful-and-Wise" or "Adroit-and-Perceptive" or "Deft-and-Clever". Another of his names means "Deft-with-both-hands". Kothar is smith
Smith (metalwork)
A metalsmith, often shortened to smith, is a person involved in making metal objects. In contemporary use a metalsmith is a person who uses metal as a material, uses traditional metalsmithing techniques , whose work thematically relates to the practice or history of the practice, or who engages in...
, craftsman
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
, engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, and inventor. He is also soothsayer
Fortune-telling
Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. The scope of fortune-telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination...
and magician, creating sacred words and spells, in part because there is an association in many cultures of metalworking deities with magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
. The god-name Ka-sha-lu in texts from Ebla
Ebla
Ebla Idlib Governorate, Syria) was an ancient city about southwest of Aleppo. It was an important city-state in two periods, first in the late third millennium BC, then again between 1800 and 1650 BC....
suggests that he was known in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
as early as the late third millennium.
Kothar aids Baal
Baal
Baʿal is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant and Asia Minor, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu...
in his battles, as recounted in the Myth of Baal
Baal cycle
The Baal cycle is a Ugaritic cycle of stories about the Canaanite god Baal, also known as Hadad the god of storm and fertility. They are written in Ugaritic, a language written in a cuneiform alphabet, on a series of clay tablets found in the 1920s in the Tell of Ugarit , situated on the...
, by creating and naming two magic weapons with which Baal
Baal
Baʿal is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant and Asia Minor, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu...
defeats Yam
Yam (god)
Yam, from the Canaanite word Yam, meaning "Sea", also written "Yaw", is one name of the Ugaritic god of Rivers and Sea. Also titled Judge Nahar , he is also one of the 'ilhm or sons of El, the name given to the Levantine pantheon...
. Kothar also creates beautiful furniture adorned with silver and gold as gifts for Athirat. And he builds Ba`al's palace of silver, gold, lapis lazuli, and fragrant cedar wood. One of his significant actions is as the Opener of the window through which Ba`al's rains can come and go to fertilize the earth and provide for the continuance of life.
Kothar's abode is Egypt, written in Ugaritic as h.k.p.t (read perhaps as "hikaptah") derived from the Egyptian for "the house of the ka
Egyptian soul
The ancient Egyptians believed that a human soul was made up of five parts: the Ren, the Ba, the Ka, the Sheut, and the Ib. In addition to these components of the soul there was the human body...
of Ptah
Ptah
In Ancient Egyptian Religion, Ptah was the deification of the primordial mound in the Ennead cosmogony, which was more literally referred to as Ta-tenen , meaning risen land, or as Tanen, meaning submerged land, though Tatenen was a god in his...
" used for Memphis
Memphis, Egypt
Memphis was the ancient capital of Aneb-Hetch, the first nome of Lower Egypt. Its ruins are located near the town of Helwan, south of Cairo.According to legend related by Manetho, the city was founded by the pharaoh Menes around 3000 BC. Capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom, it remained an...
and parelleled in a poem with k.p.t.r - representing Caphtor
Caphtor
Caphtor is a locality mentioned in the Bible and related literature. The people of Caphtor are called Caphtorites and are named as a division of the ancient Egyptians. Caphtor is also mentioned in ancient inscriptions from Egypt, Mari and Ugarit. Traditional Hebrew sources place Caphtor in the...
. Memphis is the site of the temple of Ptah, the Egyptian god responsible for crafts, whose name means "the Opener". The name is paralleled
In his book on the Myth of Baal, Mark Smith notes that there is a possible pun involved in Kothar's epithet "The Opener". According to the Phoenician mythology related by Mochos of Sidon, as cited in Damascius
Damascius
Damascius , known as "the last of the Neoplatonists," was the last scholarch of the School of Athens. He was one of the pagan philosophers persecuted by Justinian in the early 6th century, and was forced for a time to seek refuge in the Persian court, before being allowed back into the empire...
's De principiis (Attridge
Harold W. Attridge
Harold W. Attridge has been the Dean of the Yale Divinity School since 2002. His educational background includes an A.B. from Boston College, a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Cambridge, and a Ph.D. from Harvard...
and Oden 1981:102-03), Chusor, Kothar's name in Phoenician Greek, was the first "opener." Assuming the West Semitic root *pt h, "to open," Albright argues that this title represents word-play on the name of the Egyptian god Ptah.
Smith further explains Kothar's double abodes as reflexes of metal or craft trade both from Egypt and from the Mediterranean Sea to Ugarit, as Kothar is imputed to be the divine patron of these skills.