Editing Resheph (section)

==Eblaite sources==
Oldest known references to Resheph have been identified in texts from [[Ebla]].{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=261}} They are dated to the period between 2450 and 2200 BCE, and spans between 30 and 40 years.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=41}} Most of the available attestations of deities in it come from economic texts,{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=13}} which makes it impossible to fully study the character of Resheph in [[Eblaite religion]] as other types of sources, such as myths or descriptions of specific ceremonies, are lacking.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=42}} It is nonetheless possible to determine he was one of the main deities of the local pantheon.{{sfn|Streck|2008|p=252}} While not equally commonly attested as [[Hadabal]] and [[Kura (deity)|Kura]], he is one of the most frequently mentioned deities in the entire Eblaite text corpus.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=46}} His individual functions are difficult to clarify.{{sfn|Archi|2019|p=43}} While he was not directly invoked in association with combat,{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=44}} it is nonetheless presumed that he was regarded as a warlike deity due to a large number of weapons listed among offerings he received, including 15 daggers, 11 axes, 4 lances and 2 or more clubs.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=46}} Alfonso Archi states that the club offering, during which the god also received four bull horns, was an annual rite.{{sfn|Archi|2015|p=509}}

===Worship===
[[File:Ebla - DecArch - 2-126.jpg|thumb|The royal palace in Ebla.]]
In Ebla Resheph was venerated both by common citizens and the [[List of kings of Ebla|royal family]].{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=68}} Reference to two priests in his service, Re’i-Malik and Ennai, are also known.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=44}} Furthermore, foreign kings visiting Ebla also made offerings to him, as indicated by records of sacrificial sheep provided by the royal palace for such occasions.{{sfn|Archi|2015|p=532}}

One of the city gates of Ebla was named after Resheph.{{sfn|Feliu|2003|p=8}} His two main cult centers in its proximity were seemingly Adanni and [[Tunip]], both of which were relatively small settlements.{{sfn|Archi|2015|p=20}} Alfonso Archi notes that an association with an otherwise insignificant city or cities is a characteristic shared by him with a number of the other major deities of Ebla, namely [[Dagan (god)|Dagan]] (from [[Tuttul]]), [[Hadad|Hadda]] (from [[Halab]]) and [[Hadabal]] (from [[Hama |Hamadu]], Larugadu and Luban), and that it can be assumed in the third millennium BCE none of them owed their popularity to the political influence of their cult centers.{{sfn|Archi|2015|p=35}} However, despite its proximity to Ebla, Resheph is entirely absent from the text corpus from [[Tell Beydar]].{{sfn|Feliu|2003|p=40}}

Multiple [[Hypostasis (philosophy and religion)|hypostases]] of Resheph are attested in Ebla.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=48}} Most frequently mentioned is the form of this god linked to Adanni.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=49}} Resheph of ''gunum'' is the second most commonly referenced.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=53}} The precise meaning of this term is a matter of debate, complicated by the fact it is attested almost exclusively in association with Resheph and, much less frequently, with closely linked [[Adamma (goddess)|Adamma]].{{sfn|Archi|2015|pp=546-547}} It can be literally translated as “garden”,{{sfn|Streck|2008|p=252}}{{sfn|Archi|2015|p=673}} but it has been suggested it was used to refer to the royal cemetery.{{sfn|Archi|2015|p=546}} However, no texts from Ebla mention Resheph in a funerary context.{{sfn|Archi|2015|p=547}} Maciej M. Münnich suggests that ''gunum'' might have been a palatial enclosure for animals, as the associated hypostasis of Resheph received wool as offering particularly often, and references to a bull linked to his cult are known.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|pp=53-54}} Resheph of Tunip is also attested, chiefly as a recipient of silver.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=55}} This hypostasis seemingly had no chapel in the city of Ebla itself, and local dignitaries traveled to venerate him.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|pp=55-56}} The royal palace hill (''sa-za<sub>x</sub><sup>ki</sup>'') also had a form of Resheph associated with it, "Resheph of the palace", though it has been proposed this title referred to Resheph of Adanni worshiped in a chapel located there rather than to a fully separate hypostasis.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=56}} Further forms, associated with Daraum (an administrative center of the Eblaite state), Shi’amu, ‘Adatu, Shamutu, Muriku, [[Armi (Syria)|Armi]], Nei, Sarrap and Shaku, are also attested, but they are mentioned less frequently, with most only occurring once.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|pp=57-58}} The large number of hypostases is presumed to reflect Resheph's popularity.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=58}}

[[Theophoric names]] invoking Resheph are uncommon in the Eblaite text corpus, which Michael P. Streck explains as a result of his possibly negative characteristics.{{sfn|Streck|2008|p=252}} However, this assumption has been criticized by Maciej M. Münnich, as the attested examples, such as Yitin-Rasap ("Resheph gave") and ‘Ebdu-Rasap ("servant of Resheph"), do not appear to hint as such a perception.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|pp=66-67}}

===Associations with other deities===
Resheph typically received offerings either alongside other major members of the local pantheon, such as [[Hadabal]], or alongside the goddess [[Adamma (goddess)|Adamma]].{{sfn|Streck|2008|p=252}} The latter was regarded as his spouse, though the connection between them is seemingly limited to the early tradition of Ebla.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|pp=261-262}} They were also worshiped together in [[Tunip]].{{sfn|Archi|2010|p=38}} Resheph also appears commonly alongside the sun deity,{{sfn|Archi|2015|p=547}} represented by the [[Sumerogram]] <sup>d</sup>[[Utu|UTU]], though usually regarded as a goddess.{{sfn|Archi|2019|p=43}} He is also attested in association with the Eblaite form of [[Ea (god)|Ea]],{{sfn|Archi|2015|p=547}} [[Ea (god)|Hayya]].{{sfn|Archi|2015|p=656}} In one case, they occur as a dyad and receive a single jewel as an offering together.{{sfn|Archi|2015|p=673}} 

The text VE 806 indicates that Resheph and the [[Mesopotamian god]] [[Nergal]] were locally regarded as equivalents.{{sfn|Streck|2008|p=252}} This correspondence most likely depended on their shared warlike character.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=64}} Despite this connection, no writing of Nergal's name was used to represent Resheph in Ebla.{{sfn|Archi|2019|p=43}} [[Wilfred G. Lambert]] has noted that a name of Nergal found in a later Mesopotamian god list, ''<sup>d</sup>LUGAL-ra-sa-ap'' ({{cuneiform|𒀭𒈗𒊏𒊓𒀊}}; with the [[Sumerogram]] LUGAL possibly standing for an unidentified [[West Semitic languages|West Semitic]] noun rather than ''[[lugal]]'' or ''šarrum''), “lord Resheph”, uses the spelling of Resheph's name typical for [[Eblaite language|Eblaite]] and Old [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] texts from the third millennium BCE.{{sfn|Lambert|1987|p=150}}

===Other third millennium BCE attestations===
Sporadic instances of Resheph appearing as a [[Theophoric name|theophoric]] element in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] personal names have been identified, with one example being Iṣī-Raśap.{{sfn|Streck|2008|p=252}} As pointed out by Maciej M. Münnich, while found in a text from [[Susa]] in [[Elam]], this name most likely belonged to a person hailing from a part of Syria conquered by [[Sargon of Akkad]], rather than to a local inhabitant.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=69}} It is therefore not possible to speak of an active cult of Resheph in this area.{{sfn|Münnich|2013|p=262}} A single theophoric name invoking Resheph, Rašap-ilī, has also been identified in an [[Old Assyrian period|Old Assyrian]] text, and it is presumed he was the family deity of its bearer.{{sfn|Veenhof|2018|p=62}} However, Resheph is not otherwise attested in this role in known Old Assyrian sources and Rašap-ilī might have not been an [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] himself, as he is only mentioned a document describing business deals in Talhat, a city in [[Upper Mesopotamia]].{{sfn|Veenhof|2018|pp=62-63}} Klaas R. Veenhof in his discussion of this isolated attestation notes Resheph's well attested prominence in northern Syria.{{sfn|Veenhof|2018|p=63}}