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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

About this book

Baal Cycle

KTU 1.3 II

[…]
Henna enough for seven girls,
scent of coriander and murex. Anat did close the gates of the mansion,
and she met the pages at the foot of the rock.
And behold! Anat fought in the vale,⁠
battled between the two cities,
struck the people,
silenced the men of the sun-rise.⁠
Heads were like balls beneath her,
palms above her like locusts,
palms of warriors like avenging grasshoppers.
She did stick the heads on her waist,
did bind the palms to her sash. She plunged her knees in the blood of the guards,
her skirts in the gore of the warriors.
With her shafts she drove forth the old men,
with her bowstring the townspeople.
Then behold! Anat proceeded to her house,
the goddess started for her palace;
but she was not sated with her fighting in the vale,
her battling between the two cities. She arranged chairs for the warriors,⁠
she did arrange tables for the soldiers,
stools for the heroes.
Anat fought hard and looked,⁠
she battled and surveyed the scene;
her liver swelled with laughter,⁠
her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph,
as she plunged her knees in the blood of the guards,⁠
her skirts in the gore of the warriors,
until she was sated with fighting in the house,
with battling between the tables. The blood of the guards was wiped from the house
and oil of a peace-offering was poured from a bowl.
The virgin Anat washed her hands,
the sister-in-law of peoples her fingers;
she washed her hands of the blood of the guards,
her fingers of the gore of the warriors.
She did put back chairs with chairs, tables with tables,
she put back stools with stools.
She scooped up water and washed herself,
dew of heaven and oil of earth, showers of the rider on the clouds,
dew that the heavens poured upon her,
showers that the stars did pour upon her.

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.3 II:23 and Psalm 30:12

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Psalm 30 follows Ugaritic tradition where the deity Anat rejoices after battle, her liver swelling with laughter and heart full of joy. The Psalm also describes the liver and heart as sources of emotion, showing how the idea influenced the Hebrew Bible.

Passages

KTU 1.3 II:23

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Then behold! Anat proceeded to her house, the goddess started for her palace; but she was not sated with her fighting in the vale, her battling between the two cities. She arranged chairs for the warriors, she did arrange tables for the soldiers, stools for the heroes. Anat fought hard and looked, she battled and surveyed the scene; her liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph, as she plunged her knees in the blood of the guards, her skirts in the gore of the warriors, until she was sated with fighting in the house, with battling between the tables. The blood of the guards was wiped from the house
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Psalm 30:12

Hebrew Bible
9 “What profit is there in taking my life, in my descending into the Pit? Can the dust of the grave praise you? Can it declare your loyalty? 10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me. O Lord, deliver me.” 11 Then you turned my lament into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy. 12 So now my liver24 will sing to you and not be silent; O Lord my God, I will always give thanks to you.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... Psalm 108:1 ... the Hebrew may also mean “my glory,” but this makes little sense in the context. Some view the term כָּבוֹד (kavod, “glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being, but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kvedi, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Psalm 16:9; 30:12; 57:9. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, compare “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph" ..."
W. Hall Harris, NET Bible (Biblical Studies, 2019), 561.

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 1.3 II:23 and Psalm 30:12

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