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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Baal, Anat and the Birth of a Bull

KTU 1.10 II


[The god Haddu within] his palace.
And the lads of Baal answer:
“Baal is not in his house,
the god Haddu within his palace.
He has taken his bow in his hand,
and his arrows in his right hand.
Then he set his face
toward Ah-Shamak, full of wild oxen.”
The Maiden Anat lifts her wing,
she lifts her wing and soars in flight
toward Ah-Shamak, full of wild oxen.
And Mighty Baal lifts his eyes,
he lifts his eyes and sees,
he sees the Maiden Anat,
the loveliest among the sisters of Baal.
Before her he […] and stands,
at her feet he bows and falls down.
And he lifts his voice and cries:
“Live, sister, and long life to us.
The horns of your strength, Maiden Anat,
the horns of your strength Baal will anoint,⁠
Baal will anoint them in flight.
We will thrust my enemies into the earth,
and into the dust those who rise against your brother.”
And the Maiden Anat lifts her eyes,
she lifts her eyes and sees,
she sees a cow, and it leaps as it walks,
leaps as it walks, and leaps […]
[among] the lovely, among the beautiful, the band of the Kotharat.
[Aloud] to Baal Anat proclaims:
[…]
[…] Haddu […]
[…] Mighty [Baal]
[the Maiden] Anat […]
[…]
[the band] of the Kotharat

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.10 II:22 and 1 Kings 22:11

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In 1 Kings 22, Zedekiah's iron horns use the same image of victory as Anat's horns in the Ugaritic text KTU 1.10, showing how a prophet could turn signs of divine strength into a claim about a king's war.

Passages

KTU 1.10 II:22

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
He has taken his bow in his hand, and his arrows in his right hand. Then he set his face toward Ah-Shamak, full of wild oxen.” The Maiden Anat lifts her wing, she lifts her wing and soars in flight toward Ah-Shamak, full of wild oxen. And Mighty Baal lifts his eyes, he lifts his eyes and sees, he sees the Maiden Anat, the loveliest among the sisters of Baal. Before her he […] and stands, at her feet he bows and falls down. And he lifts his voice and cries: “Live, sister, and long life to us. The horns of your strength, Maiden Anat, the horns of your strength Baal will anoint, Baal will anoint them in flight. We will thrust my enemies into the earth, and into the dust those who rise against your brother.”
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

1 Kings 22:11

Hebrew Bible
10 Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting on their respective thrones, dressed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were prophesying before them. 11 Zedekiah son of Kenaanah made iron horns and said, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘With these you will gore Syria until they are destroyed.’” 12 All the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “Attack Ramoth Gilead! You will succeed; the Lord will hand it over to the king.” 13 Now the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the prophets are in complete agreement that the king will succeed. Your words must agree with theirs; you must predict success.” 14 But Micaiah said, “As certainly as the Lord lives, I will say what the Lord tells me to say.”
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Kings

References

“... To judge from the comparable phrasing in Deut 33:17, the image denotes power in warfare in Num 23:22 and 24:8, more specifically El’s victory over the Egyp- tians in warfare. Victory over enemies also seems to be the force of Anat’s anointed horns (KTU 1.10 II 21–24, in UNP 183) noted above (for oil in con- nection with horns, see Ps 92:10). Note also that Baal and Mot “gore each other like wild oxen” (KTU 1.6 VI 17–18, in UNP 162). For horns for victory, see also 1 Kgs 22:11//2 Chr 18:10; Mic 4:13; Ps 89:17, 24; for the horns of the enemy in signaling defeat, see Ps 22:21. ...”
Mark S. Smith, Where the Gods Are: Spatial Dimensions of Anthropomorphism in the Biblical World (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2016), 150.

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 II:22 and 1 Kings 22:11

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