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

Compare KTU 1.3 V:30 and Psalm 104:24

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

Summary

Psalm 104 shares the Baal Cycle's praise of divine wisdom, where Anat and Athirat call El's wisdom eternal, applying this way of honoring El to the skill of Israel's God in making the world.

Passages

KTU 1.3 V:30

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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.”

1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Psalm 104:24

Hebrew Bible

22 When the sun rises, they withdraw and sleep in their dens. 23 People then go out to do their work, and they labor until evening. 24 How many living things you have made, O Lord! You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; the earth is full of the living things you have made. 25 Over here is the deep, wide sea, which teems with innumerable swimming creatures, living things both small and large. 26 The ships travel there, and over here swims Leviathan³⁵ you made to play in it. 27 All your creatures wait for you to provide them with food on a regular basis. 28 You give food to them and they receive it; you open your hand and they are filled with food. 29 When you ignore them, they panic. When you take away their life’s breath, they die and return to dust.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

“... Praise of the deity can be found in the Ugaritic texts, as in the Psalter, again in nar- rative contexts. As noted above, both Psalms 92 and 145 praise Yahweh much as Kothar wa-Hasis celebrates Baal. Similarly, in two other passages from the Baal Cycle (KTU 1.3 V 30–33, SAC 124; KTU 1.4 IV 41–44, SAC 131), the goddesses Anat and Athirat (biblical Asherah) off er praise to the god El for his wisdom and then to Baal for his kingship: Your decree is wise, El, Your wisdom is eternal, A lucky life is your decree. But Baal the Conqueror is our king, Our judge higher than all. God’s wisdom is likewise praised in Psalm 104:24, and praise for Yahweh’s kingship is common in the Psalter (e.g., Psalms 29, 48, 93, 96, 97, 99; Brettler 1989). ...”

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), 46.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Baal Cycle

KTU347 chapters

Compare KTU 1.3 V:30 and Psalm 104:24

Summary

Passages

KTU 1.3 V:30

Psalm 104:24

References

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