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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Baal Cycle

KTU 1.4 VII

[…] lapis lazuli […]
[…] Mightiest Baal
[…] the Beloved of El,
Yamm […] on the crown of his head
[…]
[…] the gods on Sapan.
He journeys from city to city
He traverses from town to town.
Sixty-six cities he seizes
Seventy-seven towns.
Eighty Baal ... Ninety Baal ...
Baal takes his throne within the house.
And Mightiest Baal declares:
I will install, O Kothar, Son of Sea
Kothar, Son of the Confluence:
Let a window be opened in the house
A vent in the midst of the palace.
So let a gap in the clouds be opened⁠
According to the word of Kothar-wa-Hasis.
Kothar-wa-Hasis chuckles
He raises his voice and proclaims:
I truly told you, O Mightiest Baal:
You will return to my word.
He opens a window in the house⁠
A vent in the midst of the palace.
Baal opens a gap in the clouds
Baal releases his sacred voice.
Baal pronounces the matter of his lips
His sacred voice, the earth quakes⁠
The high places of the Earth tremble.⁠
[…]
Baal's enemies retreat to the woods
The haters of Haddu to the mountain sides.
And Mightiest Baal declares:
O Foes of Haddu, why do you tremble?
Why tremble, O Arms-bearers of the Warrior?
Baal surveys the East; Indeed, his hand trembles
With a cedar in his right hand.
So Baal is seated in his house:
Will either king or commoner
Establish a dominion land?
So I will send an emissary to Divine Mot
A messenger to El's Beloved, the Hero
That he may summon Mot with his voice
Instruct the Beloved with his insides.
I myself am the one who rules over the gods
Indeed ordains for gods and men
Who satisfies the multitudes of the Earth.
Baal loudly tells his lads:
Look, Gupan and Ugar
Sons of the Maiden, Kin of the Sea
Sons of ... Exalted First-Born
[…]
[…] [in] the clouds
[…] beneath
[…]
[…]

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.4 VII:19 and Isaiah 64:1

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In Isaiah 64, the plea for God to tear open heaven uses the same verb as Baal opening a window in his cloud palace in the Baal Cycle, asking for a visible return of divine power.

Passages

KTU 1.4 VII:19

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Baal takes his throne within the house. And Mightiest Baal declares: I will install, O Kothar, Son of Sea Kothar, Son of the Confluence: Let a window be opened in the house A vent in the midst of the palace. So let a gap in the clouds be opened According to the word of Kothar-wa-Hasis. Kothar-wa-Hasis chuckles He raises his voice and proclaims: I truly told you, O Mightiest Baal: You will return to my word. He opens a window in the house A vent in the midst of the palace. Baal opens a gap in the clouds Baal releases his sacred voice.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Isaiah 64:1

Hebrew Bible
1 If only you would tear apart the sky and come down! The mountains would tremble before you! 2 As when fire ignites dry wood or fire makes water boil, let your adversaries know who you are, and may the nations shake at your presence! 3 When you performed awesome deeds that took us by surprise, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. 4 Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who intervenes for those who wait for him. 5 You assist those who delight in doing what is right, who observe your commandments. Look, you were angry because we violated them continually. How then can we be saved? 6 We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

References

“... Sinai in a thundercloud. Also the theophany description in Isaiah 64:1-3 starts in heaven, using the same root bdq ‘to tear open’ that is used in KTU 1.4:VII.19.90 ...”
Johannes C. de Moor, Historical Commentary on the Old Testament: Micah (Leuven: Peeters, 2020), 62.

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 VII:19 and Isaiah 64:1

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