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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Baal Cycle

KTU 1.4 I


[…]
In lament, he calls out to Bull El, his father.
He speaks to El, the King who gave him life.
He cries out to Athirat and her offspring
The goddess and her clan.
[and the brood of] her [kin]:
He laments that Baal has no home like the other gods
No court like the sons of Athirat.
The dwelling of El is the refuge of his children
The dwelling of Lady Athirat of the Sea.
The dwelling of the Noble Brides
The dwelling of Pidray, Daughter of Light
The refuge of Tallay, Daughter of Showers
The dwelling of Arsay, Daughter of the Wide World.
Now, I bring up a second matter
Please prepare a gift for Lady Athirat of the Sea
A present for the Creator of the Gods.
The Skilled One approaches the bellows⁠
With tongs held by Hasis.
He molds silver, he pours gold
He molds silver in the thousands
Gold he pours by the myriads.
by the myriads […]
He molds a grand canopy and couch
A grand dais two myriads in weight
A grand dais coated in silver
Covered with fluid gold.
A grand throne with a seat of gold
A grand footstool overlaid in electrum.
that is spread […]
Grand laced sandals
With gold poured over them.
A grand table adorned with figures
Creatures from the Earth's foundation.
of the foundations of the earth.
A grand bowl with flocks like Amurru's
Carved like the beasts of Yaman
With buffalo by the myriads.

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.4 I:23 and 1 Kings 7:14

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In the Baal Cycle the craftsman god Kothar works silver and gold to make the furnishings of the gods’ houses. 1 Kings gives that role to Hiram of Tyre, a bronze-worker with the skill and knowledge to make the Temple’s metal furnishings.

Passages

KTU 1.4 I:23

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
A present for the Creator of the Gods. The Skilled One approaches the bellows With tongs held by Hasis. He molds silver, he pours gold He molds silver in the thousands Gold he pours by the myriads. by the myriads […] He molds a grand canopy and couch A grand dais two myriads in weight A grand dais coated in silver Covered with fluid gold. A grand throne with a seat of gold A grand footstool overlaid in electrum. that is spread […] Grand laced sandals With gold poured over them. A grand table adorned with figures Creatures from the Earth's foundation.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

1 Kings 7:14

Hebrew Bible
13 King Solomon sent for Hiram of Tyre. 14 He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. He had the skill and knowledge to make all kinds of works of bronze. He reported to King Solomon and did all the work he was assigned. 15 He fashioned two bronze pillars; each pillar was 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Kings

References

... The Master Craftsman. The biblical building story mentions by name the Tyrian master artisan who forged the bronze furnishings for the Temple. The description of Hiram resembles that of Bezalel and of Oholiab son of Ahisamak who made the Tabernacle. It must be pointed out that, in all the Mesopotamian building accounts known to me, there is not a single example of an artisan mentioned by name. Admittedly, groups of artisans or experts of various sorts are mentioned, but never is there reference to any specific person who either worked individually or stood at the head of a guild of craftsmen. In distinction from what was encountered in the Mesopotamian building stories, we find in the Baal epic that the building of Baal’s (and other gods’) palace(s) is attributed to Kothar waHasis, called at times Hayin. ...
Victor Avigdor Hurowitz, I Have Built You an Exalted House: Temple Building in the Bible in Light of Mesopotamian and Northwest Semitic Writings, JSOTSup 115 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1992), 318–319.

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 1.4 I:23 and 1 Kings 7:14

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