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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Baal Cycle

KTU 1.4 V

A court, like Athirat's sons.
And Lady Athirat of the Sea responds:
You are great, El, so very wise;
The gray hair of your beard instructs you
Your soft beard down to your chest.
So now may Baal enrich with his rain⁠
May he enrich with abundant water in a downpour.
And may he give his voice in the clouds
May he flash lightning to the earth.
Is it a cedar house that he would complete
Or a brick house that he would construct
Let it be told to Mightiest Baal:
Invite a caravan into your house,
commodities amid your palace.
The mountains will bring you ample silver,
the hills, the finest gold;
the top-tier ore will be brought to you.
So build a house of silver and gold,
a house of pure stones, of lapis lazuli.
Young Anat rejoices; she stamps
her feet and leaves the ground.
Now she travels
to Baal on the heights of Sapan,
across a thousand fields, ten thousand hectares.
Young Anat laughs; she raises
her voice and cries out: Hear good news, Baal!
I bring you good news. There will be given
to you a house like your brothers, and a court
like your kin. Invite a caravan
into your house, commodities amid
your palace. The mountains will bring you
ample silver, the hills the finest
gold. So build a house of silver
and gold, a house of pure stones,
Mightiest Baal exults;
He invites a caravan into his home
Commodities amid his palace.
The mountains contribute ample silver
The hills, the finest gold;
The top-tier ore is brought to him.
He summons Kothar-wa-Hasis.
And turns to the passage in the text:
When the boys are dispatched.
Then Kothar-wa-Hasis arrives;
He places an ox before him
A fatling right in front of him. A throne is arranged, and he takes a seat
At the right hand of Mightiest Baal
As the gods dine and drink.
Mightiest Baal declares:
[…] [Kothar-wa-Hasis]
Hurry, the house, Kothar⁠
Quickly construct the palace.
You must promptly build the house
You must swiftly construct the palace⁠
On the peak of Sapan.
Let the house span a thousand fields
The palace, ten thousand hectares.
And Kothar-wa-Hasis replies:
Listen, Mightiest Baal
Comprehend, Cloudrider:
Shall I not fix a window in the house⁠
A vent in the midst of the palace?
And Mightiest Baal retorts:
You shall not install a window in the house
A vent in the midst of the palace.

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.4 V:6 and Haggai 1:9

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Haggai 1 links rain and harvests to rebuilding God's temple, sharing the Baal Cycle's belief that a god's house sustains the land, as Baal sends rain from his new palace on the mountain.

Passages

KTU 1.4 V:6

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
And Lady Athirat of the Sea responds: You are great, El, so very wise; The gray hair of your beard instructs you Your soft beard down to your chest. So now may Baal enrich with his rain May he enrich with abundant water in a downpour. And may he give his voice in the clouds May he flash lightning to the earth. Is it a cedar house that he would complete Or a brick house that he would construct Let it be told to Mightiest Baal: Invite a caravan into your house, commodities amid your palace. The mountains will bring you ample silver, the hills, the finest gold; the top-tier ore will be brought to you. So build a house of silver and gold, a house of pure stones, of lapis lazuli.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Haggai 1:9

Hebrew Bible
7 Moreover, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said: “Pay close attention to these things also. 8 Go up to the hill country and bring back timber to build the temple. Then I will be pleased and honored,” says the Lord. 9 “You expected a large harvest, but instead there was little. And when you would bring it home, I would blow it right away. Why?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Because my temple remains in ruins, thanks to each of you favoring his own house! 10 This is why the sky has held back its dew and the earth its produce. 11 Moreover, I have called for a drought that will affect the fields, the hill country, the grain, new wine, fresh olive oil, and everything that grows from the ground; it also will harm people, animals, and everything they produce.”
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Haggai

References

“... The mountainous temple home from which Baal utters his voice and rains lavishly upon the earth (KTU 1.4 V-VII) appears not only in descriptions of Yahweh roaring from Zion (Joel 3:16; Amos 1:2) or giving forth rains (Isa. 30:19; Jer. 3:3; 5:24; 10:13; 14:4; 51:16; Amos 4:7) but also in postexilic discussions of the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. The tradition of the temple home that guarantees the life-giving rains underlies the relationship between tithe and temple in Malachi 3:10. This passage reflects the notion that payment of the tithe to the temple would induce Yahweh to open the windows of heaven and pour down crop-producing rains. Similarly, Haggai 1:7-11 attributes drought and scarcity to the failure to rebuild the temple. Yahweh’s role as the divine source of rain appears elsewhere in postexilic prophecy (Zech. 10:1). Joel 4 (E 3) presents various aspects of the mountain tradition. It is the divine home (4:17 [E 3:17]), the location of Yahweh’s roar (4:16 [E 3:16]), the site of divine battle (4:9-15 [E 3:9-15]) with heavenly hosts (4:11-13 [E 3:11-13]; cf. 2:1-11), and the origin of the divine rains issuing in terrestrial fertility (4:18 [E 3:18]). ...”
Mark S. Smith, The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel, 2nd ed., The Biblical Resource Series (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002), PDF 105–106.

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 V:6 and Haggai 1:9

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