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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Baal Cycle

KTU 1.3 III

She decorated herself with purple cloth, which takes a thousand fields
to harvest from the sea.
[…]
[You will see her] holding her lyre in her hands,
placing her lute to her breast: a song of the love of Exalted Baal,
of the passion of Pidray, daughter of Lightning,
of the affection of Tallay, daughter of Rain, of the love of Arsay, daughter of Netherworld.
Next, enter like a pair of acolytes,
and bow to the ground before Anat’s feet.
Prostrate yourselves; show her respect.
Then say to Maiden Anat —
repeat to the Kinswoman of the People:
“A message from Exalted Baal; words from the Exalted Warrior.
Come find battle in the land;
leave love in the dust.
Pour peace into the chasms of the land,
harmony into the chasms of the fields.
Hasten, hustle, hurry up!
“Let your feet run to me, let your legs race to me,
for I have thoughts to tell you,
and I have words to share:
a thought of trees and a murmur of stone,
a whisper between heaven and earth,
between the deep and the stars.
“I understand the lightning beyond the heavens’ ken,
the thoughts beyond human knowledge, that which the throngs below cannot understand.
Come, and I will show it:
deep inside my mountain, holy Sapan,
in the sacred space on my native peak,⁠
in the paradise upon the hill of victory.”⁠
Watch! Anat sees the gods. Below, her feet start shaking.
All around, her limbs are shivering.
Up above, her face sweats. Shudders wrack the bones of every limb;
the bones within her spine turn weak. She spoke up and cried out,
“Why have Gupan and Ugar come here?
What enemy rises up against Baal?⁠
What rival faces the Cloud-Rider?⁠ Didn’t I crush El’s beloved, Yamm (Ocean)?⁠
Didn’t I annihilate Nahar (River), the great god?⁠
Didn’t I leash Dragon and bind him in a saddle?⁠
I crushed the Sinuous Serpent, Encircler,⁠
the seven-headed monster.
I crushed the gods’ beloved, Arsha.
I ravaged El’s young bull, Ataka.
I crushed the gods’ she-wolf, Fire.
I annihilated El’s daughter, Zabiba. I’ve reaped silver from my fighting;
I’ve taken possession of gold of those who drove Baal from the heights of Sapan”

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.3 III:38 and Psalm 18:11

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Psalm 18 follows ancient Near Eastern traditions found in Ugaritic texts by describing God as a storm deity who uses storms, hail, rain, and the wind as weapons and rides in the clouds like a chariot.

Passages

KTU 1.3 III:38

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
the bones within her spine turn weak. She spoke up and cried out, “Why have Gupan and Ugar come here? What enemy rises up against Baal? What rival faces the Cloud-Rider? Didn’t I crush El’s beloved, Yamm (Ocean)? Didn’t I annihilate Nahar (River), the great god? Didn’t I leash Dragon and bind him in a saddle? I crushed the Sinuous Serpent, Encircler, the seven-headed monster. I crushed the gods’ beloved, Arsha.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Psalm 18:11

Hebrew Bible
8 Smoke ascended from his nose; fire devoured as it came from his mouth. He hurled down fiery coals. 9 He made the sky sink as he descended; a thick cloud was under his feet. 10 He mounted a winged angel and flew; he glided on the wings of the wind. 11 He shrouded himself in darkness, in thick rain clouds. 12 From the brightness in front of him came hail and fiery coals. 13 The Lord thundered in the sky; the Most High shouted.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... as de Moor has pointed out, the name 'Baal of the chariot', is known from Sam'al, and the Egyptian King Rameses III compared himself with Baal when he drove out in his chariot. Secondly, the rare occasions when rkb is found in Ugaritic apart from the expression rkb 'rpt show that 'ride' or 'mount' is the meaning, not 'gather'. Thus, in KTU 1.14.IV.2-4 there appears, 'he went up to the top of the tower, mounted the shoulder of the wall', and there are almost identical words in KTU 1.14.11.21-22. Thirdly, it is significant that in various Old Testament texts, including the one currently under consideration, the verb 'to ride', or related nouns meaning 'chariot', are associated with the clouds, whether explicitly or implicitly (Deuteronomy 33:26; Psalm 18.11 = 2 Samuel 22:11, 68:34; 104:3; Isaiah 19:11, 66:16). Since the Israelites were far more intimately related to the Canaanites than the Greeks, the Old Testament parallels involving rkb are far more relevant in elucidating the meaning of Ugaritic rkb 'rpt than an epithet of the Greek god Zeus. (Interestingly, where Canaanite and other Near Eastern traditions are appropriated to Zeus, in conflict with the dragon Typhon, he is represented as mounting a winged horse) ..."
John Day, Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, JSOTSup 265 (London: Sheffield Academic, 2002), 92.

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 III:38 and Psalm 18:11

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