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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

Compare KTU 1.3 V:30 and Psalm 19:7

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Psalm 19 describes the Torah as perfect and a source of wisdom for a good life. This follows Ugaritic texts where El’s word is called “everlastingly wise” and brings “a life of fortune.” In both, the deity’s words are the source of wisdom and well-being.

Passages

KTU 1.3 V:30

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

Psalm 19:7

Hebrew Bible
5 Like a bridegroom it emerges from its chamber; like a strong man it enjoys running its course. 6 It emerges from the distant horizon, and goes from one end of the sky to the other; nothing can escape its heat. 7 The law of the Lord is perfect and preserves one’s life. The rules set down by the Lord are reliable and impart wisdom to the inexperienced. 8 The Lord’s precepts are fair and make one joyful. The Lord’s commands are pure and give insight for life. 9 The commands to fear the Lord are right and endure forever. The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy and absolutely just.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... This text has long been recognized as a statement about the qualitative wisdom of El over all other divine wisdom. (The biblical texts also portray Yahweh as the source of all wisdom; Proverbs 2:6, 8:22-31, Job 28:23) Yet, the passage does not explain what is meant by hkm (wisdom). The narratives in which this line is reproduced in the mouths of the goddesses Anat and Asherah both deal with the procurement of permission for the construction of Baal’s house. The context shows only that El’s consent was mandatory for the construction of the temple; it does not clearly explain what was meant by the attribution of wisdom to the god. On the surface, the passage appears to suggest that whatever El declared was, in fact, wisdom. This would mean that El was the source of secure knowledge. The reliability of this source of knowledge is stressed by reference to eternity. Moreover, the good life seems to be tied to the declaration of El: if El decreed a “fortunate life,” it was so. Therefore, it appears that the deities in effect came to seek wisdom from El. Underlying the passage is the belief that El was the source of wisdom itself, which would imply that he had the knowledge with which to run the universe. It was El, then, who must be consulted by other gods when major decisions were to be made ..."
Lowell K. Handy, Among the Host of Heaven: The Syro-Palestinian Pantheon as Bureaucracy (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1994), 80.

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:30 and Psalm 19:7

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