啟示錄中「海」與「死亡」兩個意象的淵源

The Origin of the Imageries of the “Sea” and “Death” in the Book of Revelation

Craig Y.S. HO

This paper traces the origin of the imageries of the “Sea” in Rev. 21:1 and “Death” in Rev. 20:14. Although “Sea” appears in mythological stories of both the Old Testament and other non-canonical Jewish scriptures, these literary sources are not the ultimate origin of these imageries. A comparative study of some of the creation myths and prophecies in the Old Testament with pertinent texts of Ugaritic literature suggests that the ultimate origin of “Sea” as a god is to be found in the latter. “Death” as a god also appears in Ugaritic literature as Mot.