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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:9 and Ezekiel 26:20

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In Ezekiel 26, Tyre's descent into death recalls Baal's fall in the Baal Cycle but removes the hope of return, making the city's judgment final.

Passages

KTU 1.5 VI:9

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

Ezekiel 26:20

Hebrew Bible
19 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I make you desolate like the uninhabited cities, when I bring up the deep over you and the surging waters overwhelm you, 20 then I will bring you down to bygone people, to be with those who descend to the Pit. I will make you live in the lower parts of the earth among the primeval ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will not be inhabited or stand in the land of the living. 21 I will bring terrors on you, and you will be no more! Though you are sought after, you will never be found again, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

References

“... rulers of the sea mourn and intone dirges over the island nation upon hear- ing of Tyre’s demise in Ezek 26:15–18. Such a motif constitutes a reversal of the normal course of events in the sea combat mythologies of the ancient Near Eastern world; normally, the protagonist wins the struggle, the victory is celebrated, and temples to the hero god are built. Here, quite the opposite takes place as Tyre sinks into the very sea that once formed the basis of her power. [...] At this point, a new mythological motif enters the mix, viz., the descent into the Netherworld, well-known from the mytho- logical patterns of the dying and rising gods, particularly Inanna’s or Ishtar’s Descent into the Netherworld, the Baal Cycle, and possibly the Legend of Aqhat. [...] Again, the usual mythological pattern of overcoming death – at least partially – is absent in Ezekiel 26. Tyre descends to the Pit to become a horror in the sight of the coastlands and the rulers of the sea, but no hope for Tyre’s return from the dead emerges. ...”
Marvin A. Sweeney, Reading Prophetic Books: Form, Intertextuality, and Reception in Prophetic and Post-Biblical Literature (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014), 212.

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:9 and Ezekiel 26:20

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