Texts in Conversation
In 1 Kings 17, Elijah's drought announcement uses the same denial of dew and rain as Danel's curse, turning Baal's supposed power over fertility into a test of Israel's God.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.19 I:44
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
Over her father’s house some falcons hovered, a flock of hawks was watching. Pughat wept in her heart, she cried in her liver. She tore the garment of Danel the man of healing, the cloak of the hero, the devotee of Hrnm. Then Danel the man of healing cursed the clouds, which rain on the dreadful heat, the clouds which rain on the summer-fruit, the dew which settles on the grapes: “For seven years Baal shall fail, for eight, the Charioteer of the clouds! No dew, no rain, no welling up of the deeps, no goodness of Baal’s voice! no surging of the two deeps, no For she has torn the garment of Danel the man of healing, the cloak of the hero, the devotee of Hrnm!”
1 Kings 17:1
Hebrew Bible
1 Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve), there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.” 2 The Lord’s message came to him: 3 “Leave here and travel eastward. Hide out in the Kerith Valley near the Jordan. 4 Drink from the stream; I have already told the ravens to bring you food there.” 5 So he carried out the Lord’s message; he went and lived in the Kerith Valley near the Jordan. 6 The ravens would bring him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he would drink from the stream. 7 After a while, the stream dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
Search:
Notes and References
“... The descriptions of Baal and baals in 1 Kings 17-19, Hosea 2, and other
biblical texts raise a final issue concerning Baal’s character in ancient Israel.
In the Ugaritic sources Baal’s meteorological manifestations are expressions
of his martial power. In contrast, 1 Kings 17-19 and Hosea 2 deplore belief in
Baal’s ability to produce rains, but these and other biblical passages are silent
on the martial import of his manifestation. Indeed, no biblical text expresses
ideas about Baal’s status as a warrior. Yahweh had perhaps exhibited and
possibly usurped this role at such an early point for the tradents of Israel’s
religious literature. This conclusion might be inferred from the numerous
similarities between Baal and Yahweh that many scholars have long observed. ...” “... Various West Semitic descriptions emphasize either Baal’s theophany in the
storm (KTU 1.4 V 6-9, 1.6 III 6f., 12f., 1.19 I 42-46) or his role as warrior
(KTU 1.2 IV, 1.5 I 1-5, 1.119.26-29, 34-36; RS 16.144.9334). ...”
Smith, Mark S.
The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel
(pp. PDF 99-100) William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,