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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:31 and Isaiah 6:4

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

The shaking temple in Isaiah 6 echoes the earth trembling at Baal's voice in the Baal Cycle, using movement and sound to mark the overwhelming presence of a god.

Passages

KTU 1.4 VII:31

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

Isaiah 6:4

Hebrew Bible
3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” 4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 I said, “Woe to me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” 6 But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.” 8 I heard the voice of the Lord say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?” I answered, “Here I am, send me!”
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

References

“... By extension, deities’ sanctuaries and their dwellings on mountains partake of holiness. So Baal’s mountain, Mount Sapan, is called “holy” (KTU 1.3 III 30; 1.16 I 7) as well as “divine” (KTU 1.3 III 29). So, too, Yahweh’s dwelling-place is called the “holy mountain” (har qodesh; Psalm 48:2) and “the holy dwelling-place of the Most High” (qedosh mishkene ‘elyon; Psalm 46:5). Divine holiness, as experienced and expressed in cult, is associated with shaking, whether of places of theophany (KTU 1.4 VII; Psalm 114) or people who experience it (KTU 1.4 VII; Isaiah 6:4). ...”
Mark S. Smith, The Priestly Vision of Genesis 1 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2010), PDF 326.

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:31 and Isaiah 6:4

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