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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Baal Cycle

KTU 1.5 I

Though you struck Litan the wriggling serpent,⁠
finished off the writhing serpent,⁠
Encircler-with-seven-heads,⁠
the skies will be hot, they will shine
when I tear you in pieces: I shall devour you,
elbows, blood and forearms;
You will indeed go down into the throat of divine Mot (death),⁠
into the maw of the Beloved of El, the hero.
The gods departed and did not stay. Then they set their faces
towards the lord of the heights of Sapan,
and Gupan and Ugar said:
Message of divine Mot (death),
word of the Beloved of El, the hero:
My appetite is the appetite of the lion in the wasteland⁠
as the desire of the shark is in the sea;
as wild bulls yearn for pools, or the hind longs for the spring.
Look, in truth does my throat devour clay
and with both my hands I devour them.
My seven portions are on the plate,
and Nahar has mixed my cup.
For Baal did not invite me with my brothers,
nor did Haddu summon me with my kinsmen,
but he ate food with my brothers,
and drank wine with my kinsmen!
But you forget, Baal, that I can indeed pierce you,
Though you struck Litan the wriggling serpent,
finished off the writhing serpent,
Encircler-with-seven-heads, the heavens will be hot, they will shine
when I tear you in pieces, I shall devour you, thighs, blood and forearms; you will indeed go down into the throat of divine Mot (death), into the maw of the Beloved of El, the hero.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.5 I:14 and Hosea 13:14

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Hosea 13 calls on Death, the power opposed to Baal in the Baal Cycle, to bring its plagues, making an older divine enemy an agent of God's judgment against Israel.

Passages

KTU 1.5 I:14

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
The gods departed and did not stay. Then they set their faces towards the lord of the heights of Sapan, and Gupan and Ugar said: Message of divine Mot (death), word of the Beloved of El, the hero: My appetite is the appetite of the lion in the wasteland as the desire of the shark is in the sea; as wild bulls yearn for pools, or the hind longs for the spring. Look, in truth does my throat devour clay and with both my hands I devour them. My seven portions are on the plate, and Nahar has mixed my cup. For Baal did not invite me with my brothers, nor did Haddu summon me with my kinsmen, but he ate food with my brothers, and drank wine with my kinsmen!
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Hosea 13:14

Hebrew Bible
12 The punishment of Ephraim has been decreed; his punishment is being stored up for the future. 13 The labor pains of a woman will overtake him, but the baby will lack wisdom; when the time arrives, he will not come out of the womb! 14 Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not! Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not! O Death, bring on your plagues! O Sheol, bring on your destruction! My eyes will not show any compassion! 15 Even though he flourishes like a reed plant, a scorching east wind will come, a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert. As a result, his spring will dry up; his well will become dry. That wind will spoil all his delightful foods in the containers in his storehouse.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Hosea

References

“... Finally, the figure of Mot, “Death,” is attested in KTU 1.4 VIII-1.6 and 2.10 and in several biblical passages, including Isaiah 25:8, 28:15 and 18, Jeremiah 9:20, Hosea 13:14, Habakkuk 2:5, Psalm 18(2 Sam. 22):5-6, Revelation 21:4 (cf. Odes of Solomon 15:9; 29:4).369 Biblical Mot is personified as a demon, in the manner of Ugaritic Mot in KTU 1.127 and Mesopotamian mütu. ...”
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 104.

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 1.5 I:14 and Hosea 13:14

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