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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Baal Cycle

KTU 1.4 IV

Bull El, Father And Lady Athirat of the Sea replies
Listen, Qudshu-wa-Amrur
Fisher of Lady Athirat of the Sea
Tie the donkey, bind the mule;
Set ropes of silver
Bridles of gold;
Prepare my ass.
Qudshu-wa-Amrur obliges.
He ties the donkey, binds the mule;
He arranges ropes of silver
Bridles of gold;
He prepares her ass.
Qudshu-wa-Amrur fastens
Positions Athirat on a donkey's back
On the beautiful back of a mule
Qudshu begins to glow
Amrur, like a star.
Ahead Young Anat leads
While Baal ascends Sapan's peak.
Now she travels
To El at the River's springs
Among the Deeps' streams.
She reaches El's mountain and enters
The tent of the King, the Father of Years.
At El's feet she bows and prostrates
She honors him.
There El notices her
He smiles and laughs.
He stamps his feet on the footstool
And twirls his fingers. He raises his voice and asks
Why has Lady Athirat of the Sea arrived?
Why has the Creatress of the Gods come?
Are you famished from your travels
Or are you parched from your journey?
Eat or drink:
Consume food from the tables
Sip wine from goblets From a golden cup, the blood of trees.⁠
Or does El the King's 'hand' excite you
The love of the Bull stir you?
And Lady Athirat of the Sea replies:
Your decree, El, is wise
You possess eternal wisdom Victory is your decree.
Our king is Mightiest Baal
Our ruler, with none above him.
All of us will gift him
All of us will offer him a cup.
In sorrow he calls to Bull El, his Father
To El, the King who created him. He cries to Athirat and her sons
The goddess and her brood:
For Baal lacks a house like the gods
A court like Athirat's sons.
El's dwelling is his children's shelter
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.
And Kind El the Benevolent replies:
So am I a slave, Athirat a servant?
Am I a laboring slave
Or Athirat a servant who molds bricks?
Let a house be built for Baal like the gods

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.4 IV:37 and Deuteronomy 32:14

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Deuteronomy uses Ugarit's image of wine as blood from plants to celebrate gifts from God, connecting Israel's prosperity with the rich food served at divine feasts.

Passages

KTU 1.4 IV:37

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Why has the Creatress of the Gods come? Are you famished from your travels Or are you parched from your journey? Eat or drink: Consume food from the tables Sip wine from goblets From a golden cup, the blood of trees. Or does El the King's 'hand' excite you The love of the Bull stir you? And Lady Athirat of the Sea replies: Your decree, El, is wise You possess eternal wisdom Victory is your decree. Our king is Mightiest Baal Our ruler, with none above him. All of us will gift him All of us will offer him a cup. In sorrow he calls to Bull El, his Father To El, the King who created him. He cries to Athirat and her sons The goddess and her brood: For Baal lacks a house like the gods A court like Athirat's sons.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Deuteronomy 32:14

Hebrew Bible
13 He enabled him to travel over the heights of the earth, and he ate of the produce of the fields. He provided honey for him from the cliffs, and olive oil from the hardest of rocks, 14 butter from the herd and milk from the flock, along with the fat of lambs, rams and goats of Bashan, along with the best of the kernels of wheat; and from the juice of grapes you drank wine. 15 But Jeshurun became fat and kicked; you got fat, thick, and stuffed! Then he deserted the God who made him, and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

References

“... 104 For the metaphorical analogy of of blood as wine, see Isaiah 49:26: "as with wine, with their (own) blood they shall be drunk." The analogy between wine and blood is also reflected in the well-attested characterization of wine as the "blood of the vine/grapes." For West Semitic examples, see KTU/CAT 1.4 III 43-44, IV 37-38; Genesis 49:11; Deu- teronomy 32:14 (mentioned by Sperling, "Blood," 761); and the Latin transliteration of Punic in Plautus, Poenulus, 1142: neste ien nested um et, "Let us drink wine; let us drink the blood of the vine," cited in: Charles R. Krahmalkov, Phoenician-Punic Dictionary (OLA 90; Studia Phoenicia XV, Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters en Departement Oosterse ...”
Mark S. Smith, God in Translation: Deities in Cross-Cultural Discourse in the Biblical World, FAT 57 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008), 60.

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 IV:37 and Deuteronomy 32:14

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