Texts in Conversation
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.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.5 VI:17
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
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.
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.
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Notes and 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). ...”
* 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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