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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Baal Cycle

KTU 1.5 VI

Then they set their faces indeed towards El at the source of the rivers at the midst of the springs of the two deeps. They rolled back the tent of El
and came to the pavilion of the King, the Father of the Bright One.
They lifted up their voices and cried:
We travelled to the ends of the earth,
to the edge of the abyss;
we came to Paradise the land of pasture,
to Delight, the steppe by the shore of death.
We came upon Baal fallen to the earth:
dead was Valiant Baal,⁠
perished was the Prince, Lord of the earth!
Then the Wise One, the perceptive god,
went down from his throne:
he sat on his footstool. And from his footstool
he sat on the ground. He poured the ashes of affliction on his head,⁠
the dust of grovelling on his skull
For clothing he put on a loin-cloth
His skin with a stone he scored,⁠
his side-locks with a razor;
he gashed cheeks and chin.
He ploughed his collar-bones,
he turned over like a garden his chest, like a valley he ploughed his breast
He lifted up his voice and cried:
Baal is dead! What has become of the Powerful One?
The Son of Dagan! What has become of Tempest?
After Baal I shall go down into the underworld. Anat also went out,
and searched every mountain in the midst of the earth,
every hill in the midst of the steppe.
She came to Paradise, the land of pasture,
Delight, the steppe by the shore of death.
She found Baal,
fallen to the earth. For clothing she put on a loincloth.

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.5 VI:17 and 1 Kings 18:28

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

The prophets' cuts in 1 Kings 18 continue a ritual practice shown by El in the Baal Cycle, tying the contest on Carmel to older ways of seeking divine help.

Passages

KTU 1.5 VI:17

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Then the Wise One, the perceptive god, went down from his throne: he sat on his footstool. And from his footstool he sat on the ground. He poured the ashes of affliction on his head, the dust of grovelling on his skull For clothing he put on a loin-cloth His skin with a stone he scored, his side-locks with a razor; he gashed cheeks and chin. He ploughed his collar-bones, he turned over like a garden his chest, like a valley he ploughed his breast He lifted up his voice and cried: Baal is dead! What has become of the Powerful One? The Son of Dagan! What has become of Tempest? After Baal I shall go down into the underworld. Anat also went out, and searched every mountain in the midst of the earth, every hill in the midst of the steppe.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

1 Kings 18:28

Hebrew Bible
26 So they took a bull, as he had suggested, and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped around on the altar they had made. 27 At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.” 28 So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual, mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood. 29 Throughout the afternoon they were in an ecstatic frenzy, but there was no sound, no answer, and no response.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Kings

References

“... 37 The shaving of facial and head hair, the gashing of the body, and the don- ning of sackcloth are included among traditional mourning rites (cf. 4:8; 16:6; 41:5; Mic 1:16; Amos 8:10). Such activity was forbidden to Israel by laws in Leviticus (19:27; 21:5) and in Deuteronomy (14:1), apparently because of its as- sociation with foreign cults. Such rites were apotropaic (magic to avert evil) in origin. In the Baal cycle from Ugarit, El, upon receiving word that Baal was dead, put the dust of mourning on his head, girded himself in a loincloth, shaved off his beard, and ritually incised his arm, chest, and back (KTU 1.5.6.15-22). Ritual incision was a part of the rain dance by the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kgs 18:28). ...”
Gerald L. Keown, Word Biblical Commentary: Jeremiah 26-52 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), 319.

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 VI:17 and 1 Kings 18:28

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