Texts in Conversation
Amos 1 gives Israel's God the storm voice associated with Baal's mountain home in the Baal Cycle, turning a source of rain and fertility into a warning of drought and judgment.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.4 VII:31
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
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.
Amos 1:2
Hebrew Bible
1 The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. He was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him during the time of King Uzziah of Judah and King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 2 Amos said: “The Lord comes roaring out of Zion; from Jerusalem he comes bellowing! The shepherds’ pastures wilt; the summit of Carmel withers.” 3 This is what the Lord says: “Because Damascus has committed three crimes—make that four!—I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth. 4 So I will set Hazael’s house on fire; fire will consume Ben Hadad’s fortresses. 5 I will break the bar on the gate of Damascus. I will remove the ruler from Wicked Valley, the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” The Lord has spoken!
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Notes and References
“... The mountainous temple home from which Baal utters his voice and rains
lavishly upon the earth (KTU 1.4 V-VII) appears not only in descriptions of
Yahweh roaring from Zion (Joel 3:16; Amos 1:2) or giving forth rains (Isa.
30:19; Jer. 3:3; 5:24; 10:13; 14:4; 51:16; Amos 4:7) but also in postexilic
discussions of the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. The tradition of the
temple home that guarantees the life-giving rains underlies the relationship
between tithe and temple in Malachi 3:10. This passage reflects the notion
that payment of the tithe to the temple would induce Yahweh to open the
windows of heaven and pour down crop-producing rains. Similarly, Haggai
1:7-11 attributes drought and scarcity to the failure to rebuild the temple.381
Yahweh’s role as the divine source of rain appears elsewhere in postexilic
prophecy (Zech. 10:1). Joel 4 (E 3) presents various aspects of the mountain
tradition. It is the divine home (4:17 [E 3:17]), the location of Yahweh’s roar
(4:16 [E 3:16]), the site of divine battle (4:9-15 [E 3:9-15]) with heavenly
hosts (4:11-13 [E 3:11-13]; cf. 2:1-11), and the origin of the divine rains
issuing in terrestrial fertility (4:18 [E 3:18]). ...”
Smith, Mark S.
The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel
(p. PDF 105–106) William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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