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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Baal, Anat and the Birth of a Bull

KTU 1.10 III

[…] the cows give birth […]
a bull for the Maiden Anat,
and […] for the In-law of the Peoples.
And Mighty [Baal] answers:
“[…] as our creator […]
like the eternal one who formed […]”⁠
Baal strides […]
the god Haddu […]
the Maiden, yes the Maiden [Anat],
and the loveliest of the sisters of [Baal].
Baal goes up on the [mountain],
and the son of Dagan on […]
Baal sits on the throne of [his kingship],
the son of Dagan on the seat of [his dominion].
[…] the bull […]
[…] the bull […]
She goes and soars […]
among the lovely, among the [beautiful].
A cow, a cow […]
she bears a bull […]
and a wild ox for […]
She embraces the [cow],
she embraces the cow […]
and covers him with her breast.
He goes up […]
[…]
[…] she goes up on the mountain,
[…] on the mountain of victory,
and she goes up […] to Arar,
into Arar and into Sapan,
into the pleasant place, on the mountain of victory.
Aloud to Baal she proclaims:
“Good news, El! Good news, Baal!
And good news, scion of Dagan:
a bull is born to Baal,⁠
and a wild ox to the Rider on the Clouds.”
Mighty Baal rejoices.

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.10 III:35 and Jeremiah 20:15

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Jeremiah 20 reverses the announcement of a son's birth from the Ugaritic text KTU 1.10, a formula also found in Isaiah 9 and Job 3, making a familiar celebration express rejection of his calling.

Passages

KTU 1.10 III:35

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
[…] the bull […] […] the bull […] She goes and soars […] among the lovely, among the [beautiful]. A cow, a cow […] she bears a bull […] and a wild ox for […] She embraces the [cow], she embraces the cow […] and covers him with her breast. He goes up […] […] […] she goes up on the mountain, […] on the mountain of victory, and she goes up […] to Arar, into Arar and into Sapan, into the pleasant place, on the mountain of victory. Aloud to Baal she proclaims: “Good news, El! Good news, Baal! And good news, scion of Dagan: a bull is born to Baal, and a wild ox to the Rider on the Clouds.” Mighty Baal rejoices.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Jeremiah 20:15

Hebrew Bible
14 Cursed be the day I was born! May that day not be blessed when my mother gave birth to me. 15 Cursed be the man who made my father very glad when he brought him the news that a baby boy had been born to him! 16 May that man be like the cities that the Lord destroyed without showing any mercy. May he hear a cry of distress in the morning and a battle cry at noon. 17 For he did not kill me before I came from the womb, making my pregnant mother’s womb my grave forever. 18 Why did I ever come forth from my mother’s womb? All I experience is trouble and grief, and I spend my days in shame.
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jeremiah

References

“... 57. Ug. kyld.bn.ly. This can be translated in one of two ways. 'For a son will be born to me', as future (thus, e.g., Gaster 1961: 338; Jirku 1962: 118; Aistleitner 1964: 69; Gibson 1978: 105; del Olmo 1981a: 372; de Moor 1987: 231; Margalit 1989a: 146; Aitken 1990: 35; Pardee 1997c: 345); or 'for a son is (or has been) born to me' as past (thus, e.g., Virolleaud 1936d: 198; Driver 1956: 51; Ginsberg 1969: 150; Caquot and Sznycer 1974: 425; Husser 1996: 90). As Husser points out, this is a well-known birth formula. He cites KTU 1.10 iii 36-37, Jer. 20.15, Isa. 9.5, and similar wording in KTU 1.23.52-53; Job 3.3; Lk. 2.10-11. Cf. Parker (1988). Husser notes (p. 91) that the 'love-scene' narrative would have occurred in the lacuna between cols. i and ii, and so would the event of the hirth. ...”
N. Wyatt, Religious Texts from Ugarit, 2nd ed. (London: Sheffield Academic, 2006), 264.

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 III:35 and Jeremiah 20:15

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