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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:6 and Isaiah 40:28

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Isaiah 40 shares El's ageless character in the Ugaritic text KTU 1.10, making God's lasting wisdom and strength the reason weary people can trust him to restore them.

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

Isaiah 40:28

Hebrew Bible
27 Why do you say, Jacob, Why do you say, Israel, “The Lord is not aware of what is happening to me; my God is not concerned with my vindication”? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is an eternal God, the Creator of the whole earth. He does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to his wisdom. 29 He gives strength to those who are tired; to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy. 30 Even youths get tired and weary; even strong young men clumsily stumble. 31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

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.

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KTU 1.10 III:6 and Isaiah 40:28

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