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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 Jeremiah 16:6

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Jeremiah 16 describes mourning traditions that involve cutting the body and shaving hair for the dead. The Ugaritic text KTU describes El performing these rites, scoring his skin and gashing his cheeks in grief for Baal.

Passages

KTU 1.5 VI:17

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

Jeremiah 16:6

Hebrew Bible
5 “Moreover I, the Lord, tell you: ‘Do not go into a house where they are having a funeral meal. Do not go there to mourn and express your sorrow for them. For I have stopped showing them my good favor, my love, and my compassion. I, the Lord, so affirm it! 6 Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them. 7 No one will take any food to those who mourn for the dead to comfort them. No one will give them any wine to drink to console them for the loss of their father or mother.
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jeremiah

References

“... The strongest behavioral expressions of mourning were rites of self-laceration (Leviticus 19:28; Deuteronomy 14:1; Jeremiah 16:6; 41:5) and other forms of self-violation, such as beating oneself on the breast (Isaiah 32:12) or lumbar region (Jeremiah 31:19). ... Hair was also loosened and left uncombed (Leviticus 10:6; 21:10; Judges 10:3), cut off (Leviticus 21:5; Job 1:20; Jeremiah 16:6; Ezekiel 7:18), or shaved off the forehead (Leviticus 19:27; Deuteronomy 14:1). ...”
Rainer Albertz and Rüdiger Schmitt, Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2012), 434.

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 Jeremiah 16:6

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