Go to Related Reading
About this book

KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

About this book

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:6 and Habakkuk 3:6

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

Habakkuk 3 shares El's eternal character in the Ugaritic text KTU 1.10, using the collapse of ancient mountains to show that God's power outlasts even the oldest parts of the earth.

Passages

KTU 1.10 III:6

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
[…] 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.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Habakkuk 3:6

Hebrew Bible
3 God comes from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor has covered the skies, the earth is full of his glory. 4 His brightness will be as lightning; a two-pronged lightning bolt flashing from his hand. This is the outward display of his power. 5 Plague will go before him; pestilence will march right behind him. 6 He took his battle position and shook the earth; with a mere look he frightened the nations. The ancient mountains disintegrated; the primeval hills were flattened. His are ancient roads. 7 I saw the tents of Cushan overwhelmed by trouble; the tent curtains of the land of Midian were shaking. 8 Was the Lord mad at the rivers? Were you angry with the rivers? Were you enraged at the sea? Such that you would climb into your horse-drawn chariots, your victorious chariots?
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Habakkuk

References

“... In Israel the characteristics and epithets of El became part of the repertoire of descriptions of Yahweh. [...] In KTU 1.10 III 6 El is called drd⟨r⟩, “ageless one,” and in KTU 1.3 V and 1.4 V, Anat and Asherah both affirm the eternity of his wisdom. His eternity is also expressed in his epithet, ‘ab šnm, “father of years.” [...] Similarly, Yahweh is described as the aged patriarchal god (Ps. 102:28; Job 36:26; Isa. 40:28; cf. Ps. 90:10; Isa. 57:15; Hab. 3:6; Dan. 6:26; 2 Esdras 8:20; Tobit 13:6, 10; Ben Sira 18:30) ...”
Mark S. Smith, The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel, 2nd ed., The Biblical Resource Series (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002), PDF 68.

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

Your feedback

KTU 1.10 III:6 and Habakkuk 3:6

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library