The West-Semitic god Resheph arouses much controversy due to his supposed chthonic character and rule in the world of the dead. One of the key arguments used by the proponents of such a view of Resheph is his identification with the Mesopotamian Nergal. The earliest example of such identification may be found in the Ebla texts. It transpires, however, that until the Old Akkadian period Nergal did not have the features of a chthonic deity. It was not until the reign of Sargon the Great that Nergal came to be identified with the Sumerian deity Meslamtaea, which resulted in the attribution of rule over the land of the dead to Nergal (possibly for political reasons). This means that the equation of Nergal and Resheph in Ebla could not have been based on their chthonic character. Ascribing the rule of the underworld to Resheph should therefore raise justified doubt.
