Sydyk (, in some manuscripts ''Sydek'' or ''Sedek'') was the name of a deity appearing in a

theogony The ''Theogony'' () is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogy, genealogies of the Greek gods, composed . It is written in the Homeric Greek, epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contains 1,022 lines. It is one ...

provided by Roman-era Phoenician writer Philo of Byblos in an account preserved by

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

in his '' Praeparatio evangelica'' and attributed to the still earlier Sanchuniathon.van der Toorn, K. et al., ''Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible''. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1996, entry ''Zedeq''

Etymology and role in the Phoenician theogeny

Philo of Byblos gave the Greek meaning of the name as '' Δίκαιον'' "Righteousness", thus indicating that the word corresponds to the Semitic root for "righteousness", ''√ṣdq''. A Phoenician god named ''ṣdq'' is well attested epigraphically; he is also mentioned by

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; ; ; ), also called , was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his representation of the Alexandrian J ...

as half of a pair of deities with Misor (). Sydyk and Misor are described as being born from Amunos and Magos, who were in turn born from the "Wanderers" or

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

. Sydyk is described as the father of the " Dioskouroi or

Kabeiroi In Greek mythology, the Cabeiri or Cabiri (, ''Kábeiroi''), also transliterated Kabeiri or Kabiri, were a group of enigmatic chthonic deities. They were worshipped in a mystery cult closely associated with that of Hephaestus, centered in the ...

or Korybants or Samothracians", who are credited with the invention of the ship. The Phoenician Sydyk was equated with Roman

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

, and hence it has been suggested that Sydyk was connected to the worship of the planet

as the manifestation of justice or righteousness. Some names, like the rare name ṣdqmlk (Phoenician king of Lapathus and a personal name from Carchemish Phoenician inscription), mlky ṣdq, ṣdqʾ (king of Ashkelon under

Sennacherib Sennacherib ( or , meaning "Sin (mythology), Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 705BC until his assassination in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynasty, Sennacherib is one of the most famous A ...

he">:he:צדקא">he/small> and a personal name from an inscription from Kition), might be theophories of the god Sydyk. Robert R. Cargill has also argued in favor of etymologizing

Melchizedek In the Hebrew Bible, Melchizedek was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as 'most high God'). He is first mentioned in Genesis 14:18–20, where he brings out bread and wine and then blesses Abraham, and El Elyon or "the Lord, Go ...

as "my king is Sedek", suggesting that the deity was worshipped in pre-Israelite Jerusalem.

Connection to other Middle Eastern deities

A connection between Sydyk and the Mesopotamian deity Kittum has been proposed. The latter was also referred to as ''Ṣidqu'' and additionally the West Semitic name ''Ammi-ṣaduqa'' is translated into Akkadian as ''Kimtum-kittum'' showing an equivalence of meaning between the West Semitic ''ṣ-d-q'' and the Akkadian ''kittum''. Kittu was similarly paired with the god Mīšaru, whose name is a cognate of ''Misor'' "Justice". In Mari, the equivalent deities of ''Išar'' and ''Mešar'' are found. An

Ugaritic Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeology, archaeologists in 1928 at Ugarit, including several major literary texts, notably the Baal cycl ...

reference to a god named Ṣaduq has also been found, a possible forerunner of Sydyk.Matthews, Kenneth. ''The New American Commentary''. B&H, 2005, p. 154. It has also been conjectured that a related deity named or titled "Tzedek" (i.e. "righteousness") was worshipped in pre-Israelite Jerusalem as the names of two kings of the city,

and

Adonizedek According to the Book of Joshua, Adonizedek ( ''ʾĂḏōnī-ṣeḏeq'', also transliterated Adoni-zedec) was king of Jerusalem at the time of the Israelite invasion of Canaan. According to Cheyne and Black, the name originally meant "Ṣedeḳ ...

contain the element ''tzedek''.'' Peake's Commentary on the Bible'' (1962), passim

References

{{Middle Eastern mythology West Semitic gods Justice gods Jovian deities

Etymology and role in the Phoenician theogeny

Connection to other Middle Eastern deities

See also

References