KTU I.5

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East

Though you smote Litan the wriggling serpent, finished off the writhing serpent, Encircler-with-seven-heads, the skies will be hot, they will shine when I tear you in pieces: I shall devour you, elbows, blood and forearms; You will indeed go down into the throat of divine Mot (death), into the maw of the Beloved of EI, the hero. The gods departed and did not stay.

Isaiah 27:1

Hebrew Bible

1 At that time the Lord will punish with his destructive, great, and powerful sword Leviathan the fast-moving serpent, Leviathan the squirming serpent; he will kill the sea monster. 2 When that time comes, sing about a delightful vineyard! 3 “I, the Lord, protect it; I water it regularly. I guard it night and day, so no one can harm it. 4 I am not angry. I wish I could confront some thorns and briers! Then I would march against them for battle; I would set them all on fire, 5 unless they became my subjects and made peace with me; let them make peace with me.”

 Notes and References

"... One of the most famous instances showing the relationship between the common Northwest Semitic cultural milieu and the Hebrew Bible that grew out of it is Isaiah 27:1. This verse has even become a 'poster boy' of sorts for the comparative study of Ugaritic and Biblical Hebrew literature, and it is certainly not difficult to see why ... As noted for a long time and by many scholars, this verse contains etymological and poetic material identical with that found at the beginning of the Ugaritic tablet 1.5, a passage from the Baal Cycle, in which Mot (the god of death) is threatening Baal while referring to his earlier, heroic exploits, which were apparently presupposed to be well-known by the audience ..."

Wikander, Ola "From Indo-European Dragon Slaying to Isa 27.1: A Study in the Longue Durée" In T. Wasserman, G. Andersson, & D. Willgren (Eds.), Studies in Isaiah: History, Theology and Reception (pp. 116-135) T&T Clark, 2017

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