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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 Psalm 102:27

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Psalm 102 shares El's ageless character in the Ugaritic text KTU 1.10, making God's unending life the reason his servants can trust him with their children's future.

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

Psalm 102:27

Hebrew Bible
23 He has taken away my strength in the middle of life; he has cut short my days. 24 I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life. You endure through all generations. 25 In earlier times you established the earth; the skies are your handiwork. 26 They will perish, but you will endure. They will wear out like a garment; like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear. 27 But you remain; your years do not come to an end. 28 The children of your servants will settle down here, and their descendants will live securely in your presence.”
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

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 Psalm 102:27

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