Yarikh (Ugaritic: 𐎊𐎗𐎃, YRḪ, "moon"), also known as Yaraḫum, was a moon god worshiped in the Ancient Near East. He is best attested in sources from the Amorite city of Ugarit in the north of modern Syria, where he was one of the principal deities. His primary cult center was most likely Larugadu, located further east in the proximity of Ebla. His mythic cult center is Abiluma. He is also attested in other areas inhabited by Amorites, such as Mari, and in Mesopotamia as far east as Eshnunna.
Name and Etymology
The name Yarikh is an ordinary Ugaritic word that can refer not only to the lunar god but also to the moon as a celestial body. A further meaning attested for it is "month." Earlier forms of the name, (Y)arakh and (Y)erakh, are attested as elements of Amorite theophoric names. The name is grammatically masculine, which is the norm for lunar deities across the Ancient Near East, in contrast with Greece, where the moon corresponded to a female deity (Selene).
Cognates of Yarikh's name are present in many Semitic languages, including Hebrew (ירח, yrḥ), Phoenician (𐤉𐤓𐤇, yrḥ), Old Aramaic (𐡉𐡓𐡇, yrḥ), and Akkadian (warḫum/warḫu, "month" or rarely "moon").
In Early Amorite Tradition
The moon god was one of the major deities of the early Amorite pantheon. According to Daniel Schwemer, next to Hadad he was the main deity of the entire area inhabited by the Amorites. He was commonly worshiped as a family deity. His presumed main cult center, Larugadu (lrgt), identified with Arugadu from earlier Eblaite sources, was located in central Syria near Ebla.
Yarikh (Erakh) is well attested in Amorite theophoric names. In Old Babylonian Mari, he appears in thirty-nine individual types of names, including Abdu-Erakh ("servant of Yarikh"), Uri-Erakh ("light of Yarikh"), Yantin-Erakh ("Yarikh has given"), and Zimri-Erakh ("protection of Yarikh").
In Ugarit
Yarikh was regarded as one of the primary deities of the Ugaritic pantheon. His role as a lunar deity was qualified by the epithet nyr šmm, "luminary of the heavens" or "lamp of the heavens," which has been compared to a similar Akkadian title of the Mesopotamian moon god Sin. He could also be referred to as a "prince" (zbl), signifying high status, and a single passage refers to him as "the most pleasant of the gods" (n'mn 'ilm), highlighting his physical attractiveness.
According to Dennis Pardee, it is possible he was believed to spend the day in the underworld. It has also been suggested that he could function as its gatekeeper. In the standard Ugaritic deity lists, Yarikh follows the Kotharat and precedes Mount Saphon.
Thirty individuals bearing theophoric names invoking Yarikh have been identified with certainty in the Ugaritic texts. A particularly common name, Abdi-Yarikh ('bdyrḫ), meant "servant of Yarikh."
Marriage of Nikkal and Yarikh
The Ugaritic narrative composition The Marriage of Nikkal and Yarikh (KTU 1.24) is the text most focused on the moon god. It describes the circumstances leading to the marriage of Yarikh and the goddess Nikkal. Yarikh bargains with the god Ḫiriḫibi to be granted permission to marry Nikkal, offering a high bride price including large amounts of gold, silver, and lapis lazuli. When Ḫiriḫibi suggests alternate brides (Pidray and ybrdmy), Yarikh rejects both, insisting he is only interested in Nikkal, and ultimately succeeds in marrying her.
The background of the myth is most likely Hurrian. Nikkal, presented as Yarikh's spouse, was a derivative of the Mesopotamian goddess Ningal, who was the wife of Sin/Nanna, the Mesopotamian moon god.
Other Ugaritic Narrative Texts
In the text KTU 1.114, Yarikh for unknown reasons acts as a dog and crawls under tables during a banquet organized by El. Deities familiar with him, including Ashtart and Anat, offer him choice cuts of meat, while those who do not know him poke him with a stick. The final lines of the composition relay how to prepare a remedy for hangover using dog hair, which might reference his role.
In KTU² 1.12, a minor goddess named Talish (tlš) is described as Yarikh's handmaiden ('amt).
In the First Millennium BCE
While Ugarit ceased to exist during the Late Bronze Age collapse, the worship of Yarikh continued elsewhere. In Phoenician and Punic sources, Yarikh is largely absent from inscriptions but appears in theophoric names such as 'bdyrḥ ("servant of Yarikh"). In Ammonite sources, one king bore the name yrḥ'zr (Jeraheazar), "Yarikh is my helper," attested in an inscription on a royal statue dated to around 700 BCE.
The worship of the moon was most likely practiced in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Evidence includes toponyms such as Jericho and Beth Yerach, which are presumed to be named after Yarikh. The Hebrew Bible contains multiple polemics against the worship of the moon, though it is uncertain whether these necessarily refer specifically to Yarikh or to the Mesopotamian moon god Sin of Harran.
Equivalents
Yarikh was equated with the Mesopotamian moon god Sin and the Hurrian moon god Kušuḫ.
