Meni- Canaanite GodDeity"God of Destiny"
Also known as: מְנִי
Description
Isaiah condemned those who set a table for Fortune and filled cups of mixed wine for Destiny. Destiny was Meni, the god whose name meant 'to count' and 'to allot,' the power that measured out each person's portion in life and could not be bargained away.
Mythology & Lore
The Cup of Destiny
Meni appears by name only once in the surviving record: Isaiah's condemnation of Israelites who "set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny." Fortune was Gad. Destiny was Meni. The prophet paired them.
The worship was convivial: a table spread with food, cups filled with wine mixed with spices. Meni's name derives from the Semitic root m-n-y, to count, to allot. He measured each person's portion. The span of their years. The circumstances of their death. Every life received its measure, and Meni dispensed it.
No Ugaritic or Phoenician texts name him. No temples or priesthood are attested. What survives is a single angry verse and a name that says everything about what this god did. He counted, he allotted, and the portion he gave was final.
Relationships
- Enemy of