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 Job 38:7

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

Summary

Job's pairing of stars with God's sons in Job 38 shares Ugaritic language that calls the heavenly assembly a gathering of stars, presenting creation as an event celebrated by God's court.

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

Job 38:7

Hebrew Bible

3 Get ready for a difficult task like a man; I will question you, and you will inform me. 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you possess understanding. 5 Who set its measurements—if you know—or who stretched a measuring line across it? 6 On what were its bases set, or who laid its cornerstone— 7 when the morning stars sang in chorus, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 “Who shut up the sea with doors when it burst forth, coming out of the womb, 9 when I made the storm clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, 10 when I prescribed its limits and set in place its bolts and doors, 11 when I said, ‘To here you may come and no farther, here your proud waves will be confined’?

500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Job

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. ...”

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.

Baal, Anat and the Birth of a Bull

KTU347 chapters

Compare KTU 1.10 I:4 and Job 38:7

Summary

Passages

KTU 1.10 I:4

Job 38:7

References

Your feedback

Leave a comment

Glossary

Search the Library