Texts in Conversation
Joel 3 shares Baal's battle at his mountain home in the Baal Cycle, turning the nations' gathering for war into God's judgment of them near Jerusalem.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
KTU 1.6 VI:12
Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
Divine Mot ate his seven divine assistants. Divine Mot cried: “Look! It is my brothers whom Baal has given me for my meal, my mother’s sons for my consumption!” He returned to Baal in the recesses of Sapan. He lifted up his voice and cried: “It is my brothers you have given me, Baal, for my meal, my mother’s sons for my consumption!” They glowered at each other like burning coals. Mot was strong; Baal was strong. They gored like wild bulls. Mot was strong; Baal was strong. They bit like serpents. Mot was strong; Baal was strong. They tugged like hunting-dogs. Mot fell. Baal fell on top of him. Shapshu cried to Mot: “Listen, pray, O divine Mot! How can you fight with Valiant Baal?
Joel 3:12
Hebrew Bible
9 Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for a holy war! Call out the warriors! Let all these fighting men approach and attack! 10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!’ 11 Lend your aid and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves to that place.” Bring down, O Lord, your warriors! 12 “Let the nations be roused and let them go up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit in judgment on all the surrounding nations. 13 Rush forth with the sickle, for the harvest is ripe! Come, stomp the grapes, for the winepress is full! The vats overflow. Indeed, their evil is great!” 14 Crowds, great crowds are in the Valley of Decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the Valley of Decision!
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Notes and References
“... There are many parallels between this Ugaritic passage and a variety of
biblical texts.425 First, the divine battle takes place at the mountain of the
deity, a motif found in Psalms 2:1-2; 48:5-8; 110; Joel 4:9-14; Zechariah
12:3-4; 14:2; and elsewhere. In Ugaritic, this motif is not restricted to Anat.
Baal also fights his enemies on his mountain (KTU 1.6 VI 12-13; cf. 1.1 V 5,
18). Second, the battle is universal in scope; “peoples” are collectively the
enemies of the deity. Many of the biblical passages just cited likewise contain
this motif. ...”
Smith, Mark S.
The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel
(p. PDF 115) 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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