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Ancient Mysteries & Interpretations

Was Shamgar a Son of the Goddess Anat?

Anat was a fierce warrior goddess in the Ugaritic texts, sister of Baal. An Israelite deliverer called "son of Anath" is a puzzle. The phrase may name his father or mother, his town (Beth-anath), or a warrior title; it does not have to mean he worshiped the goddess. The library's Greek reads "son of Dinach."

Anat: documented · Shamgar: attested only in Judges · Meaning: disputed

The Mesha Stele
Authentic ancient artifactThe Mesha Stele, Louvre AO 5066, 9th century BC: the stone as reassembled after it was broken in 1869, with restored areas.Image credit

1 What Scripture says

"After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel" (3:31). "In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath… the highways were unoccupied" (5:6).

2 What evidence we might expect

  • Anat in Canaanite sources.
  • Names formed with Anat.

3 What ancient sources survive

Baal Cycle (KTU 1.1–1.6)

Language
Ugaritic
Composed
Before c. 1200 BC
Oldest surviving copy
Ugarit tablets, 13th century BC
Status
Not scripture

Anat wades in the blood of warriors.

4 What discoveries exist

Anat appears at Ugarit and in Egypt, where Ramesses II named a daughter Bint-Anat. Arrowheads from the region inscribed "son of Anat" (bn ʿnt) suggest a warrior title or family name among archers. Place names include Beth-anath in Galilee and Anathoth near Jerusalem. "Shamgar" may be a Hurrian name.

5 How interpretations compare

Traditional reading

His father or mother was named Anath

A personal name, as the Vulgate takes it.

Scholarly reconstruction

A warrior title

"Son of Anat" designated warriors, as the inscribed arrowheads may show.

Scholarly reconstruction

A place name

From Beth-anath.

Scholarly reconstruction

Devotion to the goddess

A non-Israelite or syncretistic hero claimed by the tradition.

6 The strongest supported reconstruction

Shamgar's patronymic links him to a name or title formed with Anat; which one is not known.

7 What remains possible or unknown

  • Whether Shamgar was an Israelite.
  • Why the Greek has Dinach.

8 How this material came to us

Hebrew: "son of Anath." Library's Greek (Giguet): "son of Dinach," with a plowshare. Vulgate: "son of Anath," with a plowshare (vomere). Greek A and B not checked separately.

What the evidence shows

  • Independently documentedAnat was a Canaanite warrior goddess.

    Source: Ugaritic Baal Cycle (KTU 1.1–1.6), on the goddess Anat

  • DisputedShamgar worshiped Anat.
  • Independently documentedThe library's Greek reads "son of Dinach."

Where this connects