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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Sacrifices for the Month of Ibaalat and Prayer for Ugarit

KTU 1.119

In the month of Ibaalat, on the seventh day,
a ram for Baal of Rkt, in […]
and the house of Baal of Ugarit […]
When the sun sets, the king is free. On the seven-
teenth day, the king washes himself clean:⁠
a cow, holy to El; a cow for the Baals;
a cow for the lad; two ewes and a cow
for the two maidens. In the house […], he sacrifices,
and […] behind the house of Baal
of Ugarit: a lamb and a city dove
as a gift offering. On the eighteenth day of Ibaalat,
a bull for the […] of Baal of Ugarit,
both a burnt offering and an elevation offering. There shall sacrifice
the king in the house of El: a neck for [Ushkhara],
a neck for Baal […]
and a donkey for […]
[…]
[…] two […]
[…]
On the fourth day, birds; on the fifth day, birds
and a liver, and a ram as a burnt offering for Baal
of Ugarit, in the house. On the seventh day […]
[…]. When the sun sets,
the king is free. Here is the oil of well-being
of Baal, […]
When the mighty one attacks your gate,⁠
the warrior, your walls, you shall lift up your eyes to Baal.
O Baal: If you drive the mighty one from our gate,⁠
the warrior from our walls: A bull, O Baal, we will consecrate;
a vow, Baal, we will fulfill;⁠
a firstborn, Baal, we will consecrate;
a flesh sacrifice, Baal, we will fulfill. A feast, Baal, we will prepare;
the sanctuary, Baal, we will ascend; the path of Baal’s temple, we will walk.
Then Baal will listen to your prayer.
He will drive the mighty one from your gate,
the warrior from your walls.

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.119:30 and Psalm 66:13

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Psalm 66 shares the Ugaritic link between promises made in danger and offerings after rescue, treating gratitude as the fulfillment of an earlier commitment.

Passages

KTU 1.119:30

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
When the mighty one attacks your gate, the warrior, your walls, you shall lift up your eyes to Baal. O Baal: If you drive the mighty one from our gate, the warrior from our walls: A bull, O Baal, we will consecrate; a vow, Baal, we will fulfill; a firstborn, Baal, we will consecrate; a flesh sacrifice, Baal, we will fulfill. A feast, Baal, we will prepare; the sanctuary, Baal, we will ascend; the path of Baal’s temple, we will walk. Then Baal will listen to your prayer. He will drive the mighty one from your gate, the warrior from your walls.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Psalm 66:13

Hebrew Bible
11 You led us into a trap; you caused us to suffer. 12 You allowed men to ride over our heads; we passed through fire and water, but you brought us out into a wide open place. 13 I will enter your temple with burnt sacrifices; I will fulfill the vows I made to you, 14 which my lips uttered and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble. 15 I will offer up to you fattened animals as burnt sacrifices, along with the smell of sacrificial rams. I will offer cattle and goats. (Selah) 16 Come! Listen, all you who are loyal to God. I will declare what he has done for me. 17 I cried out to him for help and praised him with my tongue. 18 If I had harbored sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 19 However, God heard; he listened to my prayer.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

“... a concern in laments in the Psalms. A genre of the Psalms related to prayer, namely psalms of trust, includes one example that envisions the sort of concern envisioned in KTU 1.119.26–36. Th e expression of confi dence in Psalm 27 describes Yahweh as a source of confi dence against enemies that encamp against the speaker (v. 3). Similarly, hymns focusing on the city of Jerusalem praise Yahweh for protection of the city against enemies (Pss. 46:6[5]; 48:4[3]). KTU 1.119.26–36 also vows an off er- ing to the god in the form of sacrifi ces (cf. vows sometimes expressed in con junction with off erings: Pss. 22:26[25]; 50:14; 56:13[12], 61:6[5]; 9[8], 65:2[1]; 66:13; 76:12[11]; 116:14 = 18; 132:2), to be made aft er “going up” to the temple of Baal (cf. Ps. 24:3; note also the procession in 48:13–15[12–14]). Th is one Ugaritic prayer evokes a traditional praxis of prayer, vows, and sacrifi ce that also lies at the heart of the Psalms and tem- ple worship. ...”
Mark S. Smith, “Canaanite Backgrounds to the Psalms,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms, ed. William P. Brown (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), 46.

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 1.119:30 and Psalm 66:13

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