Fertility and infertility are amongst the most important subjects in
curses and blessings in the Ancient Near East and in the· Old
Testament. Fertility was especially linked to three spheres: bumper
crops, thriving livestock and a growing family. This paper treats the
subject in treaty and covenant texts, in curses and blessings in
inscriptions and documents and in historical, mythological and
legendary texts to demonstrate to what extent the subject lived in the
heart and minds of the people of the Ancient Near East. This lies at the
background of much of the myth and ritual of the Ancient Near East
and of petition and sacrifice in Israel.peer-reviewe
