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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:21 and Psalm 74:13

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Psalm 74 describes God dividing the sea and crushing sea monsters, imagery and language that is taken from Ugaritic literature where Baal hurls a mace to strike Yam and Nahar, gods of the sea and river.

Passages

KTU 1.2 IV:21

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
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,
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Psalm 74:13

Hebrew Bible
10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults? Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever? 11 Why do you remain inactive? Intervene and destroy him. 12 But God has been my king from ancient times, performing acts of deliverance on the earth. 13 You destroyed the sea by your strength; you shattered the heads of the sea monster in the water. 14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you fed him to the people who live along the coast. 15 You broke open the spring and the stream; you dried up perpetually flowing rivers. 16 You established the cycle of day and night; you put the moon and sun in place.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... The third part of this template in the Baal Cycle turns to Baal’s conflict with the god of Death (KTU 1.5–1.6). As this particular part of the template is less well attested apart from the Baal Cycle, it has been thought to represent an elaboration of the mythology of Death modeled on the template’s first part. Baal’s engagement with Death seems to mythologize the desiccating east wind (compare Hosea 13:14), just as Baal’s conflict with Sea mythologizes the rain-bearing west wind (compare Psalm 29) and the completion of Baal’s palace mythologizes the coming of the rains. These parts of the basic template presented in the Baal Cycle all evoke the meteorological transition during the late-summer / early fall when the east wind desists, replaced by the west wind and the arrival of the early autumn rains. An elaboration of this template involves the role of Anat as warrior goddess who battles against several of the cosmic enemies, including Sea, the Dragon, and the Twisty Serpent, also called the seven-headed monster (KTU 1.3 III 38–42, SAC 120). The goddess also comes to the aid of Baal when she decimates Death (KTU 1.6 II, SAC 147–48). While the Psalms lack the extensive mythological narrative that the Baal Cycle constitutes, they contain mythological allusions to Yahweh’s divine enemies. Sea, the dragons, and Leviathan are prominent in Psalm 74:13–14 ... The three enemies here correspond to Ugaritic Sea, battled by both Baal and Anat, Anat’s enemy, the Dragon, and Baal's enemy, Litan ..."
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), 43–56.

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:21 and Psalm 74:13

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