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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:8 and 2 Kings 1:3

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

2 Kings presents a foreign patron god consulted for help, assuming the deity’s effectiveness for his own people. This resembles Ugaritic references to Baal, reflecting an early Israelite henotheistic view that acknowledged other gods exist.

Passages

KTU 1.2 IV:8

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

2 Kings 1:3

Hebrew Bible
1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, “Go, ask Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.” 3 But the angel of the Lord told Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up; go to meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Say this to them: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are on your way to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub the god of Ekron. 4 Therefore this is what the Lord has said, “You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!”’” So Elijah went on his way. 5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you returned?”
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Kings

References

"... One other biblical text may contain a reference to an artisan god. In 2 Kings 1:1–8 the god Baal-Zebub (בעל זבוב) does not actually appear, but the references to him in the pericope imply not only that the deity existed, but also that he was an effective deity. Since King Ahaziah was sending his messengers to seek an oracle from the god, it is not at all clear whether Baal-Zebub was worshiped as a deity of healing or as a god of oracles. Since he was considered a foreign deity, the passage implies that some local god would have sufficed for Ahaziah’s needs (2 Kings 1:3). Nothing is mentioned of Baal-Zebub that would explain his status in his own pantheon, so it is quite impossible to determine his relationship with other deities. It does seem, however, that Baal-Zebub dealt in a specialty, a skill so renowned in fact that rulers from beyond the god’s regional borders consulted him. This suggests that he may have been an artisan god ..."
Lowell K. Handy, Among the Host of Heaven: The Syro-Palestinian Pantheon as Bureaucracy (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1994), 140–141.

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:8 and 2 Kings 1:3

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