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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Aqhat

KTU 1.18 I


[…] I will break […]
[…] [his father], also […]
And Virgin Anat replied:
“Do not let the sons of your house, O El, do not let the daughters of your house rejoice,
do not let the children of your palace rejoice!
I shall surely seize them in my right hand;
I shall smite them by the strength of my long arm!
I shall smite you on your skull; I shall make your gray hair run with blood,⁠
the gray hair of your beard with gore!
Then let Aqhat come to you, and let the son of Danel deliver you,
and let him save you from the hand of Virgin Anat!”
But the Wise One, El the perceptive, replied:
“I know you, daughter, that you are pitiless, and that among goddesses there is no contempt like yours!
Depart, daughter! Ruthless is your heart: You take what is in your liver,⁠
you take what is in your heart!
Let him be trampled who hinders you!”
Virgin Anat departed. Then indeed she set her face
towards Aqhat the hero, over a thousand miles,
ten thousand leagues, and Virgin Anat laughed.
She lifted up her voice and cried: “Listen, pray, O hero Aqhat! Come, brother, and I shall ...”
[…] seven of your kin […]
[…] my father […] I […]
[…] go, set out on the hunt […]
[…]
[…] I will teach you [the hunt] […]
[…] to the city of Abilum, A[bilum],
[the city of Prince] Yarih, with the tower […]
[…] leagues […]
[…]
[…]

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.18 I:17 and Job 2:6

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Job 2 shares Ugarit's picture of a god permitting another heavenly being to harm a person, as Anat must get El's consent before attacking Aqhat, making even divine threats subject to higher authority.

Passages

KTU 1.18 I:17

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
I shall smite you on your skull; I shall make your gray hair run with blood, the gray hair of your beard with gore! Then let Aqhat come to you, and let the son of Danel deliver you, and let him save you from the hand of Virgin Anat!” But the Wise One, El the perceptive, replied: “I know you, daughter, that you are pitiless, and that among goddesses there is no contempt like yours! Depart, daughter! Ruthless is your heart: You take what is in your liver, you take what is in your heart! Let him be trampled who hinders you!” Virgin Anat departed. Then indeed she set her face towards Aqhat the hero, over a thousand miles, ten thousand leagues, and Virgin Anat laughed. She lifted up her voice and cried: “Listen, pray, O hero Aqhat! Come, brother, and I shall ...”
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Job 2:6

Hebrew Bible
5 But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!” 6 So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, he is in your power; only preserve his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and he afflicted Job with a malignant ulcer from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Job took a shard of broken pottery to scrape himself with while he was sitting among the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Are you still holding firmly to your integrity? Curse God, and die!” 10 But he replied, “You’re talking like one of the godless women would do! Should we receive what is good from God, and not also receive what is evil?” In all this Job did not sin by what he said.
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Job

References

“... Apparently the authority of the secondary gods is restricted: according to KTU 1.18, Anat has to get per­ mission from El in advance to perform her plan against the mortal hero Aqhat. Cf. Job 2.6. ...”
Sang Youl Cho, Lesser Deities in the Ugaritic Texts and the Hebrew Bible: A Comparative Study of Their Nature and Roles, Deities and Angels of the Ancient World 2 (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias, 2007), 34.

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 1.18 I:17 and Job 2:6

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