Anzu and Ziz: Traces of a Mythological Bird in the Ancient Near East, the Bible and Rabbinical Traditions / אנזו וזיז: לגלגוליה של ציפור מיתולוגית במזרח הקדום, במקרא ובמסורות חז"ל

• Published in: שנתון לחקר המקרא והמזרח הקדום 2004-01, Vol.יד, p.161-191
• Main Authors: ואזנה, נילי, Wazana, Nili
• Format: Article
• Language: Hebrew
• Subjects: The Bible in Relation to the Ancient Near East / המקרא בזיקתו למזרח הקדום
• ISSN: 0334-2891

This article proposes to identify another, as yet unnoticed, link between ancient Near Eastern Chaoskampf myths, the Bible, and rabbinical sources. It connects the Mesopotamian myth of Anzu, the mountain-dwelling bird that stole the heavenly tablet of fates, and 'Ziz of the field', mentioned twice in the book of Psalms (50:11; 80:14). Ziz features in several rabbinical sources as a cosmic bird, its legs embedded in the foundations of earth, its head reaching heaven. In those traditions it plays a role similar to that of Leviathan, the water monster, and Behemoth, the bovine earthly creature, personifying the third realm — the sky, and like them its mythological figure is rooted in ancient Near Eastern myths. Tracing the talon prints of the mythical rebel bird sheds light on the process of transmission of mythical elements in Israelite circles, leading to the conclusion that a portion of this type of rabbinic mythological traditions did not arise from later interpretation, nor from a horizontal link to the Mesopotamian world, but evoked a tacit biblical tradition.