We can find in the Ugaritic personnel lists šrm “singers” which derives from the verb šr “to sing”. We can identify several personal names of šrm in the KTU 4.35: 11-15, 4.183: II: 2-3 and 4.609: 17, 31, 37. Of those personal names we have bn. kdgdl in the KTU 4.183: II: 3. We can construe kdgdl as kdg-dl and kdg seems to be non-Semitic. It may be a word of Hurrian origin.
The duties of šrm is to sing in several scenes. We can see from the KTU 1.106 that one of their duties is to sing in the ritual of a fixed month. In the KTU 1.106: 15-17, after the sacrifices are offered to the various gods, a singer (šr) sings 10 times befor the king and the king opens his hand as an act of prayer.
The rations of šrm are identified in the KTU 4.168: 3-4 and 4.609. In the KTU 4.103: 41-43, we encounter the description of the land (šd) of bn. hrmin who is one of the šrm. Therefore some of the šrm are landowners (b'l šd).
Singers have to pay tribute in some cases. In the list of tribute for the emperor levied on cities and personnels (KTU 4.610), the term šrm occurs together with the figure of 20 (shekel). This figure 20 is about average and seems to be neither too large nor too small. We can also find šrm in the lists of bowmen supplied by towns and personnels (KTU 4.68).
Šrm is counted as a member of the bnš mlk “personnels of king” in the KTU 4.609 and 4.141. Therefor the rations of šrm is allocated by the king of Ugarit. Assuming that šrm would do their duties mainly in the temples of Ugarit together with the priests, we may count them among the “temple personnels”.
Our conclusions are as follows. The main duty of šrm was to sing in the rituals performed in the Ugaritic kingdom. They were under the control of the king of Ugarit in an administrative sense and under the partonage of the king in the economic sense.
