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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

About this book

Baal Cycle

KTU 1.3 V

“I shall trample him like a lamb to the ground;
I shall make his gray hair run with blood, the gray hair of his beard with gore,⁠
if he does not give a house to Baal like the gods,
and a dwelling like the sons of Athirat!” She stamped her feet, and the earth shook.
Then she set her face towards El at the source of the rivers,⁠
amidst the springs of the two deeps.
She rolled back the tent of El, and came to the pavilion of the King, the Father of the Bright One.⁠
She came to the territory, the tent of the creator.
Bull El her father heard her voice. El replied from within the seven chambers,
through the eight façades of the closed rooms:
[…]
Above […]
“At the feet of the divine assistants I fall: I am much afraid!
Much […]
Will the Luminary of the gods, Shapshu, carry me off,
the Burning One, strength of the heavens, into the hands of divine Mot?”
Then Virgin Anat replied: “Do not let the sons of your house, O El, do not let the daughters of your house rejoice,
do not let the children of your palace rejoice!
I shall surely seize them in my right hand,
and smite them by the strength of my long arm! I shall strike the top of your skull,
and make your gray hair run with blood, the gray hair of your beard with gore!”
El replied from within the seven chambers,⁠ through the eight façades of the closed rooms:
“I know you, daughter, that you are pitiless,
and that among goddesses there is no contempt like yours! What do you desire of me, O Virgin Anat?”
And Virgin Anat replied:
“Your word, El, is wise; you are everlastingly wise;⁠
a life of good fortune is your word.
Our king is Valiant, Baal is our ruler; there is none who is above him.
We should all carry his chalice, we should all carry his cup.”
Groaning, he cries to Bull El his father, to El the king who begot him.⁠
He cries to Athirat and her sons, to the goddess and the band of her kinsmen:
“There is no house for Baal like the gods, nor dwelling like the sons of Athirat.
El has a home, his sons have shelters,
the Great Lady-who-tramples-Yamm has a home,
Pidray daughter of Light has a home, Tallay daughter of Shower has a shelter;
Arsay, daughter of Snatcher-for-ever has a home, the perfect brides have homes.”
[…]
[…] earth

Texts in conversation

Daniel's Ancient of Days Echoes Aged El in a Ugaritic Text

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

A Ugaritic text from around 1400 BCE pictures El, the head god, with gray hair, aged and presiding over the gods. Daniel 7 pictures the Ancient of Days with hair white as wool on a fiery throne, applying that same image to Israel’s God.

Passages

KTU 1.3 V:2

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
“I shall trample him like a lamb to the ground; I shall make his gray hair run with blood, the gray hair of his beard with gore, if he does not give a house to Baal like the gods, and a dwelling like the sons of Athirat!” She stamped her feet, and the earth shook.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Daniel 7:9

Hebrew Bible
8 “As I was contemplating the horns, another horn—a small one—came up between them, and three of the former horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it. This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant things. 9 “While I was watching, thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His attire was white like snow; the hair of his head was like lamb’s wool. His throne was ablaze with fire, and its wheels were all aflame. 10 A river of fire was streaming forth and proceeding from his presence. Many thousands were ministering to him; many tens of thousands stood ready to serve him. The court convened, and the books were opened.
200–101 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Daniel

References

... In the Ugaritic texts El is frequently given the epithet ʼab šnm, “Father of Years” (e.g. KTU 1.4.IV.24), a concept reinforced by the references to his grey hair (e.g. KTU 1.3.V.2, 24-25; 1.4.V.4). In the Old Testament there are just three places where Yahweh's “years” are alluded to, and it is therefore particularly striking that in two of these he is referred to by the name El. ... But these specific references to Yahweh's years are not the only places where he is depicted as an aged God. As J.A. Emerton was the first to note, Daniel 7:9 also has this concept and has appropriated it from El. In Daniel's apocalyptic vision God is there entitled the “Ancient of Days,” a term reminiscent of “Father of Years,” and we read that “the hair of his head was like pure wool,” which likewise reminds one of El. In keeping with this, the one like a son of man who comes with the clouds of heaven and reigns for ever after being enthroned by the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:13-14) derives ultimately from Baal, “the rider of the clouds” ...
John Day, Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, JSOTSup 265 (London: Sheffield Academic, 2002), 18–19.

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 V:2 and Daniel 7:9

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