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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Baal, Anat and the Birth of a Bull

KTU 1.10 I

[…] the Maiden Anat
[…]
[…] that the sons of El do not know⁠
[…] the assembly of the stars⁠
[…] the circle of the heavens
[Mighty] Baal
[…] Rider on the Clouds
[…]
[…] sits on the ground
[…]
[…]
[…]
[…] he gives
[the Maiden] Anat
[the In-law of] the Peoples
[…]
[sits] on the ground
[…] flesh
[…]
[…]
[…]
[…]

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.10 I:4 and Isaiah 24:21

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Isaiah's judgment on heavenly powers recalls the stars treated as gods at Ugarit, extending God's authority over both powers in heaven and kings on earth.

Passages

KTU 1.10 I:4

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
[…] the Maiden Anat […] […] that the sons of El do not know […] the assembly of the stars […] the circle of the heavens [Mighty] Baal […] Rider on the Clouds […] […] sits on the ground […] […] […] […] he gives [the Maiden] Anat [the In-law of] the Peoples […] [sits] on the ground […] flesh
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Isaiah 24:21

Hebrew Bible
19 The earth is broken in pieces, the earth is ripped to shreds, the earth shakes violently. 20 The earth will stagger around like a drunk; it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm. Its sin will weigh it down, and it will fall and never get up again. 21 At that time the Lord will punish the heavenly forces in the heavens and the earthly kings on the earth. 22 They will be imprisoned in a pit, locked up in a prison, and after staying there for a long time, they will be punished. 23 The full moon will be covered up, the bright sun will be darkened; for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will rule on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

References

“... Ugaritic regularly refers to heavenly beings as pḫr kkbm (the “congregation of the stars”), language corresponding with ... (“morning stars”; in parallelism with the “sons of God” in Job 38:7) and ... (the “stars of God”; Isa. 14:13). Aside from the context of these references, each of which clearly points to personal beings, not astronomical phenomena, it is significant that in the entire ancient near eastern literary record, El is never identified with a heavenly body. Thus “the stars of El” points to created beings with divine status. The Hebrew Bible also uses ... (“holy ones”) and ... (“hosts”) for inhabitants of heaven, a term not utilized at Ugarit for the heavenly host. The “hosts” of Yahweh constitutes an umbrella term which includes the variety of categories of nonhuman beings who serve God. ... 75 KTU 1.10:I.4. ... 78 See Psalm 103:19-21; 148:1-5. However, several passages unambiguously include divine beings among the heavenly host. See also Isaiah 24:21 (“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth”) with other passages that describe divine beings that dwell in the “heights,” such as Isaiah 14:12–15. ...”
Michael S. Hesier, “Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God,” BSac 158 (2001): PDF 15.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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KTU 1.10 I:4 and Isaiah 24:21

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