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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Baal Cycle

KTU 1.2 IV

[…]
If I see and with Yamm is the sieve of destruction.
By Yamm I shall be worm-eaten
and thanks to Nahar, devoured by maggots. There, with a sword I shall destroy. I shall knock down his houses.
Into the underworld will fall my strength, and into the dust my power.
From his mouth his speech barely went forth, from his lips his word, and he gave forth his voice in groaning
beneath the throne of Prince Yamm. And Kothar-wa-Hasis spoke:
Indeed I say to you, O Prince Baal, I repeat, O Charioteer of the Clouds,⁠ now your foe, Baal,⁠
now your foe you must smite; now you must destroy your adversary.⁠
Take your everlasting kingdom, your eternal dominion.⁠
Kothar fashioned two maces, and he pronounced their names: You, your name is “Expeller”.
Expeller, expel Yamm, expel Yamm from his throne,
Nahar from the siege of his dominion! You must leap from the hand of Baal, like a falcon from his fingers.
Strike the shoulders of Prince Yamm,⁠ the chest of Ruler Nahar!
The mace leapt from the hand of Baal, like a falcon from his fingers.
It struck the shoulders of Prince Yamm, the chest of Ruler Nahar.
But Yamm was strong, he did not flinch. His joints did not tremble; his visage was not discomposed.
Kothar fashioned two maces, and he pronounced their names.
You, your name is 'All-Driver' All-Driver, drive Yamm away, drive Yamm from his throne,
Nahar from the siege of his dominion! You must leap from the hand of Baal,
like a falcon from his fingers. Strike the skull of Prince Yamm (Ocean),⁠
the brow of Ruler Nahar (River)! Let Yamm collapse in a heap,
and let him fall to the ground!' Then the mace leapt from the hand of Baal,
like a falcon from his fingers. It struck the skull of Prince Yamm,⁠
the brow of Ruler Nahar. Yamm collapsed in a heap; he fell to the ground.⁠
His joints trembled, and his visage was discomposed.⁠
Baal gathered Up and drank Prince Yamm to the dregs, he exterminated Ruler Nahar.
By name Athtart chided him Dry him Up, O Valiant Baal!
Dry him up, O Charioteer of the Clouds! For our captive is Prince [Yamm], [for]
our captive is Ruler Nahar. And […] goes out […]
Valiant Baal dries him up, and […]⁠
Yamm is surely dead! Baal shall [reign]
[…] And [he answers]
he answers: Yamm is surely dead! […]
[…] And [she answers]
Baal […]
[…]
on his head […]
his enemy […]
between his eyes […]

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.2 IV:14 and Song of Solomon 8:7

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

The Song of Solomon says surging waters and floods cannot drown love. In the Baal Cycle those waters are the deities Prince Yam and Ruler Nahar, the sea and river gods Baal defeats to reign, comparing love with the forces of chaos.

Passages

KTU 1.2 IV:14

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Strike the shoulders of Prince Yamm, the chest of Ruler Nahar! The mace leapt from the hand of Baal, like a falcon from his fingers. It struck the shoulders of Prince Yamm, the chest of Ruler Nahar. But Yamm was strong, he did not flinch. His joints did not tremble; his visage was not discomposed.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Song of Solomon 8:7

Hebrew Bible · Song of Songs
6 The Beloved to Her Lover: Set me like a cylinder seal over your heart, like a signet on your arm. For love is as strong as death; passion is as unrelenting as Sheol. Its flames burst forth; it is a blazing flame. 7 Surging waters cannot quench love; floodwaters cannot overflow it. If someone were to offer all his possessions to buy love, the offer would be utterly despised. 8 The Beloved’s Brothers: We have a little sister, and as yet she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister on the day when she is spoken for?
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Song of Solomon

References

... The references to 'mighty waters' (mayim rabbim) and 'floods' (neharot) in Canticles 8:7 and their inability to quench love also have a mythical background, for elsewhere in the Old Testament it is Yahweh who overcomes the waters, and in Ugaritic mythology it is Baal. Possibly, the fact that resheph accompanies Yahweh in his battle against the 'mighty waters' or 'floods' in Habakkuk 3:5 (compare verses 8 and 15 for neharim and mayim rabbim) lies behind this imagery (and ultimately Resheph's accompaniment of Baal against the dragon at Ugarit, noted above). ...
John Day, Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, JSOTSup 265 (London: Sheffield Academic, 2002), 205.

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 1.2 IV:14 and Song of Solomon 8:7

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