Part II: Ba’al Celebrates His Victory Over Yahm
For this part of the myth, i have compared the transliterations of de Moor and Driver with translations by Cassuto, Coogan, Gaster, Ginsberg, and Driver as edited by J. C. Gibson.
For bibliographic information, see Sources.
3 A - V AB
Gordon, ’nt, i-iii
Col. i
(ca. 25 lines missing)
- "Do not lower [your heads]."
- Then Radamin does [serve/service to] Mightiest
- Ba’al; he does [wait upon/honor] the Prince, Lord of
- the Earth. He does rise, he sets (the table)/prepares food
- and gives it to him to eat;
- he divides a breast before him,
- with a sharp blade
- he does cut up a fatling. He does get up,
- he makes ready a feast and gives him drink;
- he places a cup into his hand(s),
- a flagon into both his two hands,
- a large beaker, great to see, a jar
- of [men of heaven (D/G)/ sky folk (Ga)], a holy cup
- such as/which should never woman/women see/regard/behold, a goblet
- such as/which should never `Athirat set her eye on; a thousand
- pitchers he takes of (new autumn) wine,
- ten thousand he mixes in - his mixture (D/G)/the mixing bowl (C).
ALT: 16. barrels it holds, wine enough (Ga)
17. to be mixed in ten thousand portions. While he is mixing it, (Ga)
- One does rise, one chants and sings,
- cymbals in the hands of the minstrel;
- sings the youngster with a sweet voice
- over/of Ba’al in the Heights
- of Tsaphon, the North. Catches sight does Ba’al of
- his daughters, he sets his eye on Pidraya
- daughter of `Ar/mist/light; also on Talaya
- daughter of Rabb/showers/rain; Pidar knows
- [- - -]t. `im[-]lt
- [- - -? ]
- [ ]rt
. . . . . . . . . .
[Lacuna of about 20 lines according to Gaster;
ca. 12-14 lines say Driver/Gibson]
B
Col. ii
- There comes she, bathed in the scent
- of henna enough for seven maidens, in a scent
- of coriander/saffron and ambergris/murex. Closes the gates
- of the house does ’Anat and meets she the messengers
- at the base of the mountain. And lo, ’Anat
- gives battle in the valley; Mightily she cuts in pieces the people of
- the two cities; She slaughters the people of the Western Shore;
- She destroys the men of the Eastern Sunrise.
- Beneath her like balls roll heads,
- above her like locusts fly palms of hands; like avenging grasshoppers
- are the hands of the quick warriors. She hangs
- heads on her back; she binds
- hands to her belt. Up to her knees she wades
- in blood of the swift soldiers, to her thighs in the gore
- of quick warriors. With her shafts she drives out
- the enemies; with her bow-string the foes.
- And lo, ’Anat to her house proceeds;
- Betakes herself does the goddess to her palace.
- But not sated is she with the fighting in the valley,
- by her cutting down the sons of the (two) cities. She sets up
- chairs for swift soldiers; she sets up tables
- for troops; footstools for heroes.
- Greatly she battles and beholds;
- ’Anat hews & cleaves and observes;
- Swelled are her innards with laughter, filled
- is her heart with joy, the liver of ’Anat with
- triumph. Up to her knees she wades in blood
- of swift soldiers, to her thighs in the gore of quick warriors.
- until she is sated she fights in the house.
- she hews and cleaves amid the tables. Wiped
- from the house is the blood of swift soldiers; Poured (out) is oil
- of peace[-offering] (for peace & well-being) from a bowl. She washes her hands,
- Batalat ’Anat, the Maiden; her fingers,
Yabamat Li`imim: the Kindred of the Peoples (of Ugarit)/ Thousand (Deities);
- She washes her hands of the blood of swift soldiers,
- her fingers of the gore of quick warriors.
- Puts back chairs with chairs, tables
- with tables, footstools she puts back with footstools.
- She scoops up water and washes,
- in dew of the Heavens, oil of the Earth (i.e., fat of the land), rain
- from Rider of the Clouds/which pour the clouds; dew that the heavens pour out,
- rain the stars pour, spray the stars shed.
- She adorns herself with murex/ambergris, one thousand tracts away
- its source in the sea.
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KTU 1.3
Col. iii
C
- . . . . . .
- . . . . . .
- . . . . . .
- a. She takes her lyre in hand,
Walls
4b. She puts the r`imt-instrument
5a. to her breast, sings of love for
Cassuto
4b. [..... passion
5a. for his bosom, (Ca-Co) (rightly) for the affection/love of
Driver
4b. She puts corals
5a. on her breast, sings of (her) love for
Gaster
4b. hath been implanted
5a. (in his breast/ unto the bosom) a feeling of tenderness of
Mightiest (5b)
-
Ba’al, of affection of Pidraya bat `Ar, Flashing Brightningette daughter of Light/Mist
- of desire of Talaya bat Rab, Dewie daughter of Distillation/Rain, of love of `Aretsaya
- bat Ya’abdar, Earthie daughter of Wide/Broad [Flow/Flood/Expanse/Field]. Forthwith, O pages,
- and enter; at the feet of ’Anat bow
- and fall down; prostrate yourselves, do homage unto her,
- And bring word to Batalat ’Anat, the Maiden,
- repeat to Yabamat Li`imim, the Kindred of the Peoples (of Ugarit)/ Sister-in-law of the Thousand (Deities):
- "Message of Mighty `Aliyan Ba’al Puissant, word of the Mightiest of Warriors:
"Withdraw/Banish/Remove from//Put in/on the earth
- war(fare)//an offering of loaves, Set in the land/dust mandrakes of love,
- pour forth peace(-offerings) in the midst of the earth,
- rain honey from a pot like a libation of love in the heart of the fields.
- You hurry! Your hasten! You rush!
- to me thy feet let run; to me
- let hasten thy legs. Truly a tale
- I have that I would tell thee,
- a word that I would recount to thee, a tale
- of trees and a whisper/charm of stones
- the sighing/murmur of the Heavens to the Earth,
- of the Seeps to the Stars,
- I understand lightning not known to the Heavens,
- a tale not known to humankind, nor yet understood
- by the multitudes of the Earth. Come, pray, and I myself
- shall reveal it, in the midst of my mountain, the divine Tsaphon of the North,
- in the holy place, the mountain of my inheritance, in the pleasant place, the hill of my triumph."
- Behold, ’Anat espies the two gods, On her, her feet
- stumble/shake/start to tap, behind her/roundabout her loins/back/hips seems as if about to burst/ crack/ shatter/ break,
- above her face sweats, she convulses/trembles/shakes the joints
- of her hips/backside, the muscles of/become weak/ quivers - her back/spine. [Comment: the standard reaction of a female character to an unexpected visit]
She lifts up
- her voice and cries: Why have Gapen and `Ugar come?
- What foe does rise against Ba’al, enemy
- against the Rider on the Clouds? Did I not demolish the darling
- of `El, Yam the Sea? Did I not make an end of/finish off Nahar the River the great god divine Rabim (C)
- Did I not snare the Dragon, vanquish/envelope him?
- I did demolish the Wriggling/Twisting/Tortuous Serpent,
- the Tyrant with Seven Heads;
- I did demolish the Darling of the gods, `Arsh, Desire (C),
- I did silence/annihilate the Calf divine/of `El, ’Atik, the Quarrelsome, the Rebellious One
- I did destroy the Bitch of the gods, `Ishat, the Firey,
- I did make an end of/finish off the daughter of `El, Zabib/ Zebub, the Flame.
[ He did fight (D/G)/I battled] for the silver (C)/I will again do battle (Ga) and
- was dispossessed/I took possession/will possess me of gold
who banished/of him that would thrust (Ga)/Has driven been (C) - Ba’al
Col. iv
- from the Heights of Tsaphon, the North, who stops/pecks like a bird,
- his ear, [who drove/have they driven/that would drive] him from the throne of his kingdom,
- from (the cushion on/his dais, from) the seat of his dominion.
- What foe then rises against Ba’al, what enemy against the Rider on the Clouds?’
- And the servitors do answer and give reply: "No foe rises
- against Ba’al, enemy against the Rider on the Clouds.
- The message of Mighty Ba’al, the word of the Mightiest
- among Warriors: "Withdraw/Banish/Remove from the earth war//Put in/on the earth an offering of loaves
- Set in the land/dust mandrakes of love, pour forth peace(-offerings)
- in the midst of the earth, rain honey from a pot like a libation of love in the heart of the fields.
- Hurry; hasten; rush! to me thy feet
- let run; to me let hasten thy legs.
- Truly a tale I have that I would tell thee, a word
- that I would recount to thee, a tale of trees and a whisper/charm
- of stones; a tale not known by humankind, nor yet understood
- by the multitudes of the earth. The sighing/murmur of the Heavens to the Earth,
- of the Deeps to the Stars, I understand lightning
- not known to the Heavens. Come, pray, and I myself
- shall reveal it, in the midst of my mountain, the divine Tsaphon of the North,
- in the holy place, in the mountain of my inheritance."
- And answers Maiden ’Anat, replies
- Yabamat Li`imim: "Shall even I [(withdraw/banish/remove from)//(put in/on)]
- the earth [war//an offering of loaves], shall I set in the land
- mandrakes of love, shall I pour peace in the midst of the earth,
- rain honey from a pot like a libation of love on the heart of the fields? Let set
- in the heavens Ba’al his thunder-bolt,
- let him kindle/cause to shine forth [ name ] his (lightning-)flash! Then shall I
- withdraw/banish/remove from the earth war//put in the earth an offering of loaves
- I shall set in the land/dust mandrakes of love, I shall pour
- peace(-offerings) in the midst of the earth, rain honey from a pot like a libation of love
- in the heart of the fields. Also one more word
- I will say: Be off, be off/Go, go, servitors divine!
- You remain/delay/are slow while/but I do quit/depart
Driver/Gibson
78. `Ughar for the most distant of gods, `Inbab
79a. for the most distant of ghosts,
Coogan
78. Is not my mountain far from `El, My cave
79a. far from the gods?
Gaster
78. To the city, to the distant gods, off to H-n-b-b!
79a. Off to the distant netherworld gods,
Mark Smith
78. `Ughar is indeed far, O Gods, `inbvbi
79a. is indeed far, O Deities:
- b. two layers/lengths
- beneath the wells/springs of the earth, [three spans beneath its/ Three, the expanse/ stretches of] marshes/caves/hollows
- Then indeed she sets her face towards Ba’al in the Heights of Tsaphon, the North,
- across a thousand fields, ten thousand tracts.
- The coming of his sister Ba’al espies, the swift approach
- of the daughter-in-law of his father. He does remove the women from his presence
- and does set an ox before her, a fatling too
- in front of her. She scoops up water and washes,
- in dew of the Heavens, oil of the Earth [fat of the land], dew that the heavens pour out,
- rain the stars pour/spray the stars shed.
- She adorns herself with murex/ambergris, one thousand tracts away is its source in the sea.
- with dew [ ]
(ca. 15 lines)
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E
reverse of a small fragment which has the last few lines of N T I
X. But there is not
1*. a house for Ba’al like the gods, no court
- like the sons of `Athirat. The dwelling of `El the shelter
- of his son; the dwelling of Lady `Athirat of the sea
- the dwelling of Pidraya bat `Ar, Flashing Brightningette daughter Light/Mist, the shelter
- of Talaya bat Rabb, Dewie daughter of Rain, the dwelling of `Artsaya, Earthie,
- daughter of ya’abdar, the Broad/Wide Flow/Flood/Expanse/Field, the dwelling of the brides
- noble/perfect/beautiful/bewitching. And Maiden ’Anat answers:
- "Attend to me, will Bull `El my father;
- he will attend to me and I will tell him what I shall do.
Col. v
- I shall surely drag him like a lamb to the ground,
- I shall make his grey hairs run with blood, the grey hairs of his beard
- with gore, if he gives not Ba’al a house like the gods
- and a court like the sons of `Athirat." She plants/ stamps her feet
- and [quake does(D/G)/leaves (C)] the earth; then indeed she sets her face
- towards `El at the source of the two rivers, in the midst of the springs/pool of
- the two oceans double deeps; she [penetrates the mountains (D/G)/opens the pavillion (C)] of `El and enters
[Lilinah's Comment: Scholars vary in opinion whether this should be mountain or tent/pavillion. Bearing in mind the stature of `El, and the tendency in the literature of many Semitic cultures to employ plays-on-words, perhaps both meanings are implied]
- the massif/shrine of the king, Father of Years/Time mtsr
- she enters the mountains [ qn[-]`a[-]n[- -]lt ]
- The Bull `El her father hears her voice; . . . . . . . . . .
- from the seven chambers, through the eight entrances
- of the closed room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
- he does look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
- above . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
- at the feet of the pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
- much . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
- Shapash, the luminary/torch of the gods, [does glow hot/is obscured by dust];
- the heavens are wearied by the hand of divine Mot.
- And Maiden ’Anat speaks: "In the building of your mansion,
- O `El, in the building of your mansion do not rejoice,
- do not rejoice in the raising/height of your palace,
- lest I seize them with my right hand, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
- by the might of my long arm, lest I smash
- your head, make your grey hairs run with blood,
- the grey hairs of your beard with gore." Answers
- `El from the seven chambers, through the eight
- entrances of the closed room: "I know, daughter, that you are - like men/gentle -
- and that there exists not among goddesses - contempt (D/G)/ restraint (C) - like yours. What do you desire,
[Lilinah's Commentary: it is possible that the conflicting meanings are again implied as a play on words]
- O Maiden ’Anat?" And Maiden ’Anat answers:
- "Your decree, `El, is wise; your wisdom
- is everlasting eternal. A life of good fortune is your decree.
- our king is Mightiest Ba’al, our judge,
- there is none over him/higher. [We two/All of us] his chalice
- would/must bear, [we two/all of us] would/must bear his cup."
- Groaning he indeed cries out to (D/G)/Cries loudly does (C) Bull `El his/her father, to `El,
- the king who installed/created him/her, he cries out to (D/G)/Cries does (C) `Athirat
- and her sons, `Elat the goddess and the company of her kinsfolk:
- "But there is not a house for Ba’al like the gods
- no court like the sons of `Athirat. The dwelling of `El,
- the shelter of his son; the dwelling of Lady `Athirat
- of the sea, the dwelling of Pidraya bat `Ar, Flashing Brightnignette, daughter of Mist/Light,
- the shelter of Talaya bat Rabb, Dewie daughter of showers, the dwelling
- of `Artsaya bat ya’abdar, Earthie daughter of the broad/wide floods/expanse/field, the dwelling
- of the brides noble/perfect/beautiful/bewitching" . . .
(ca. 22 lines)
F
Col. vi
(ca. 10 lines)
- . . . . . . . . . . . b
- . . . . . . . . . . . `ishk
- . . . . . . . . . . . bn ’nkm
- . . . . . . . . . . . `alp
- . . . . . . . . . . . ym.rbt
- . . . . . . . . . . . bnhrm
- Cross Byblos, cross
- Qa’al/Qeilah, cross the islands
- of Noph [of the heavens/on the far horizon]. Start away,
- O Fisherman of `Athirat,
- advance, Qodesh and `Amrur, Holy and Most Blessed One;
- Then of a truth do thou set
- thy face towards heq.k.ptah (= Memphis in Egypt)
- all broad (D/G)/the god of it all (C), Kaphtor (= Crete)
- the throne on which he sits, heq.k.ptah (= Memphis in Egypt)
- the land of his inheritance.
- Traversing a thousand fields, ten thousand
- spaces/acres, at the feet of Kothar
- do homage and bow down, prostrate
- thyself and do honor to him;
- and tell to Kothar-
- and-Khasis, repeat to Hayani,
- skilled worker by hand, the Clever Craftsman:
- The message of Mightiest Ba’al,
- the word of the Mightiest of Warriors:
(ca. 20 lines)
(2) III AB A
d. Fragment b
Placed immediately before II AB
(the numbers were assigned by scholars as they examined the tablets and do not necessarily indicate the order in which they were originally read)
- "Homage to Lady `Athirat of the Sea,
- Obeisance to the Progenitress of the Gods,
- (So) she will give a house to Ba’al like the gods',
- And a court like `Athirat's sons'." To his lads/pages
- surely Ba’al loudly cries: "Look,
- [gpn. w`ugr. b’glmt]
- [’mm. ym. bn. zlmt]
- rmt. pr’t. `ibr [mnt ]
- ts-chrrm. chblm. b’rpt
- tcht. bshmm. ’tsrm. cht
- [ - - glt. `isr - - - ] m
- [brq - - - - ymtm - ] h
Ginsberg's translations for the damaged lines:
- Gapan and `Ugar, sons of ’Ghulumat,
- ’Amamis twain, sons of Zulumat
- The stately, wing-spreading, . . . ;
- Winged ones twain, flock of clouds,
- Beneath [ . . . ]; Birdlike ones twain,
- . . . snow . . . flock of
- . . . "
Driver & Gibson translate thus:
- Gupn and `Ugar, in obscurity
- is veiled the daylight; veiled in darkness
- is the princess exalted. The pinions of [-----------]
- blazing are veiled. Flocks in the clouds,
- are circling round. In the heavens birds are circling round
- . . . the snow I shall bind
- the lightning [....................]
Gaster interprets:
- Gupen and `Ugar, amid the darkness
- where daylight is obscured,
- Amid the tall shaggy ostriches,
- the sun-scorched places where rain clouds
- . . .
- . . .
- . . .
(obscure beginnings of 5 more lines)
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