Part IV: Ba'al Battles Mot
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. L. Gibson.
For bibliographic information, see
Sources.
e. II AB
Col. vii
- So Ba'al does sit down and dwell in his palace,
- Neither king nor commoner
- on earth shall install himself on his throne!
- "I will (not) send a courier/message to the Divine Mot,
- a herald/dispatch to the Beloved of El, the youth, Ghazir, the Hero.
- Mot -may be/is- proclaiming//calls out in his soul, (to ask) that Mot invite (him) into his throat
(i.e., anyone that would dare to occupy Ba'al's throne),
- The Beloved one thinks in his heart:
- For I alone am king over the gods,
- give fattness to gods and men,
- satisfy the multitudes of the earth."
- Then surely calls Ba'al
- to his two pages:
- a. "Attend to me, Gapen and Ugar,
Gaster:
- b. amid the darkness,
- where daylight is obscured,
- Amid the tall shaggy ostriches,
- shall his portion be,
- the sun-scorched places shall be his province
- where rain clouds are withheld
Ginsberg:
- b. sons of Ghulumat,
- Amamis twain, Sons of Zulumat,
- The stately, wing spreading,
- Winged ones twain, flock of clouds
- Beneath . . . . .
- Birdlike ones twain, flock of . . . . . snow,
Driver:
- b. in obscurity
- [is veiled] the daylight in darkness [the exalted princess] (is veiled)
- the [blazing] pinions of . . . (are veiled).
(Driver believes this is a reference to Sun)
- [Flocks are circling round in] the clouds,
- [Birds] are circling round [in the heavens]
- [ I shall bind the snow ]
- [the lightning ]
Coogan just skips lines 55 on
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Col. viii
- Now truly you set your faces
- toward Mount Targhizizi/Targhuzizza
- toward Mount Tharumagi/Sharrumagi,
- toward the two hills which bound the earth and block the way to the underworld.
- Lift the rock with your hands,
- Raise the holt upon your palms,
- And descend to the depths of the earth,
- to be counted among those who
- go down into the earth.
- Then set your faces
- toward the Divine Mot
- in the midst of his city, the Swamp/Mire-y,
- to the pit where is the seat/low throne that he sits on
ALT: Muck, his royal house,
- To the filth of the earth, which is his estate.
ALT: Filth, the land of his inheritance.
- Yet beware/be on your guard, divine messengers of the gods/divine powers:
- Approach not close El's son, Mot, who is Death,
- Lest he make you
- like a lamb in his mouth,
- lest like a kid in his gullet!
- you both be crushed to pieces/carried away
- The torch of the gods, Shapash Goddess of the Sun,
- scorches/ burns/ is glowing hot,
- the heavens shimmer under/are wearied by - the hand of
- the Beloved of El, Mot.
- From a distance of/Traversing/At each step
a thousand tracts, ten thousand fields;
- At the feet of Mot
- bow/do homage - and - fall down/adore him,
- prostrate yourselves and
- pay him homage/do him honor.
- And say unto El's son, Mot, Death,
- Repeat to the Darling of El,
- that youngster/hero: 'Message
- of Ba'al, the Powerful,
- Word of the Mighty Warrior:
- My house I have built
- of silver,
- My palace, indeed, of gold, . . .
. . . . . . . lines 38 - 46 . . . . . . .
{Of the precious cedars of Lebanon,
Of most pure lapis lazuli.}
- [Then away speed Gapen of the Vine] and Ugar of the Field
{unto the Pit of Mot from whom they get his message}
ca. 16 lines lost
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g. I* AB
Col. i
- "When/for all that you smote/killed//If thou goest fighting
Lotan (=Leviathan), the Slippery/Fleeing/Evasive Serpent,
- made an end of/finished off//if now thou wouldst try to destroy
the Wriggling/Twisting/Tortuous/Slant Serpent,
- the tyrant/monster with/Shalyat of seven heads,
Driver:
- The heavens will burn up and droop helpless,
- for I myself will crush you in pieces,
- I will eat (you) . . . . . (and) forearms.
- a. Indeed you must come down
Coogan:
- The heavens withered and drooped,
- like the folds of your robe
- . . . . .
- a. Now surely you will descend
Gaster:
- thou wouldst but wear thyself out; the sky
- the girdle of thy robe, would become loosed.
- Here I am the one who's been swallowed up;
- a. thou hast escaped descent
- b. into the throat of El's son, Divine Mot, Death,
- into the watery depths, the gorge of the Beloved of El, the Youth, Ghazir, the Hero!"
- Depart and tarry not do the gods;
- Then indeed they set their faces towards
- Ba'al on the Heights of Tsaphon, mount of the North.
- Then say Gapen and Ugar:
- "Message of El's son, Divine Mot, Death,
- Word of the Beloved of El, the youth, Ghazir, the Hero:
- Then mine is the appetite of lions (in) the waste/like that of a lioness//
The appetites of lions naturally crave sheep;
- as the desire/longing of a dolphin is - in/for the sea;
- or a pool attracts/seizes wild oxen,
a spring does the like to hinds/deer;
- Driver: If in truth it is my desire to consume clay,
Coogan: When I have the appetite for an ass,
- Here then with both my hands I eat it,
- If my sevenfold portions are served unto me,
- or if the cup is mixed by Nahar, the River!
- Ba'al has invited me with my brothers,
ALT: Come, Ba'al, make merry along with my companions,
- Hadad has called me with my kinsfolk!
ALT: Tarry awhile, O Hadad, with my comrades!
- But it is to eat bread with my brothers
ALT: Let us have a banquet here, O Ba'al . . . . .
- and to drink wine with my kinsfolk
- Have you then forgotten, Ba'al, that I can surely transfix you.
- [ . . . . . ] you
- for all that/When/If now thou smotest/killed/goest fighting
Lotan (=Leviathan), the Slippery/Evasive/Fleeing Serpent,
- made an end of/finished off/to destroy
the Wriggling/Twisting/Tortuous/Slant Serpent,
- Shalyat the Tyrant of seven heads/ The seven-headed monster (of might),
- The heavens will burn up/wither and droop, (like the folds of your robes . . . .)
ALT: thou wouldst but wear thyself out;
ALT: the girdle of thy robe, the sky, would become loosed
ALT: Thou wouldst weaken, thy loins ungirded.
Driver:
- for I myself will crush you in pieces,
- I will eat (you) . . . . . (and) forearms.
Gaster:
- Here I am the one who's been swallowed up;
- As if a stopper has been placed upon me;
drained of strength as I am, I am the one that is dying,
- Now surely, indeed, you must descend
into the throat of Divine Mot, El's son, Death,
- into the watery depths/pit of the Beloved of El, Ghazir, the Hero!"
Col. ii
12 lines missing at the top
- One lip down to the earth, one lip to the heavens;
- Mot stretches tongue to the stars.
- Ba'al must enter his maw/innards; and must descend/ go down into his mouth,
- like an olive-stuffed bread, Like the produce of earth, the fruit of the trees.
- Afraid is Ba'al the Powerful;
- Terrified is the Rider on the Clouds:
- "Leave/ Depart/ Be gone!; Speak to El's son Mot/Death,
- repeat to the Beloved of El, the youth, Ghazir the Hero:
- 'Message of Ba'al the Powerful,
the word of the Mightiest of Warriors:
- Hail/Be gracious, Divine Mot, El's son Death!
- I am your slave, I am your bondsman forever.' "
- The gods leave and tarry not;
- Then indeed they set their faces toward the Divine Mot
- in (the midst of) his city, the Swamp/Mire-y/Hamriya,
to the pit where is/Muck - the low throne that he sits on,
Down unto the Pit of Mot he descends, to the throne that he sits on
Gaster: To the depth where is the seat of his abiding.
Driver: Where a pit is the throne on which he sits.
- (to the) filth of the earth, which is his estate.
His filthy land of inheritance.
ALT: Filth, the land of his heritage.
Phlegm, the land of inheritance.
- They lift their voices and cry:
The message of mightiest Ba'al,
- the word of the Mightiest of Warriors:
- 'Hail/Be gracious, El's son/Divine Mot/Death!
- I am your servant/slave, I am your bondman forever.'
Rejoice did the Divine Mot, El's son, Death.
- He lifted up his voice and cried:
- How Ba'al comes to make merry along with my companions,
- How Hadad, tarries awhile with my comrades!
Driver:
- How is it Ba'al invites me with my brothers,
- How is it Hadad calls me with my kinsfolk!
[ . . . . . ] my bread
- [ . . . . . ] he has cut up
- [ . . . . . ] ?I am rejoicing
- [ . . . . . ] depart
Gaster:
- "How shall Ba'al go on insulting me?
- Why, the Hadad Thunderer is scared out of his wits!
- Those that fight with me are [always la]id low (in the end);
- [as with] a butcher's [kni]fe
- [I smite them that] would smite me!"
Col. iii
ca. 10 lines destroyed
29 lines partially preserved
- [ . . . . . ] great is the seat [ . . . . . ]
- great is the seat [ . . . . . ]
- [ . . . . . ] the land [ . . . . . ]
- t`td.tkl.[ . . . . . ]
- it shall belong to your son [ . . . . . ]
- of your son [ . . . . . ]
- . . . . . like the stars [ . . . . . ]
- Driver: Truly I must call Mot [ . . . . . ]
Gaster: Be still, O Mot, I speak/invite thee [ . . . . . ]
- the beloved one within [ . . . . . ]
- (How of a truth) can I put [ . . . . . ]
- can I overturn you [ . . . . . ]
- . . . . . and go [ . . . . . ]
- and go, gods [ . . . . . ]
- the most gracious of the gods [ . . . . . ]
- Sheger (a deity of cattle, lit. off-spring of cattle), much [ . . . . . ]
- Sheger, much [ . . . . . ]
- Driver: Truly I must call Mot [ . . . . . ]
Gaster: Be still, O Mot, I speak/invite thee [ . . . . . ]
- the beloved one within [ . . . . . ]
- and go, gods [ . . . . . ]
- and tell to [ . . . . . ]
- with much sheep [ . . . . . ]
- much sheep [ . . . . . ]
- Ithm (a deity of cattle) [ . . . . . ]
- Driver: Truly I must call Mot [ . . . . . ]
Gaster: Be still, O Mot, I speak/invite thee [ . . . . . ]
- the beloved one within [ . . . . . ]
- . . . . . And go [ . . . . . ]
- [ . . . . . ] go [ . . . . . ]
Col. iv
26 lines partially preserved
- And to seek [ . . . . . ]
- a hundred [ . . . . . ]
- do you seek [ . . . . . ]
- He lifted up his voice and cried:
- "Where then is Ba'al [ . . . . . ]
- Where is Hadad [ . . . . . ]
- Ba'al arose with his seven pages
- with his eightserving maids
- he came near [ . . . . . ]
- food [ . . . . . ]
- while the gods did eat and drink
- and they were supplied with a suckling;
- with a salted knife they did carve a fatling;
- they did drink flagons of wine;
- from cups of gold the blood of trees;
- from cups of silver [ . . . . . ]
- flagons [ . . . . . ]
- . . . . . and the [ . . . . . ]
- they went up; new wine [ . . . . . ]
- the house of El [ . . . . . ]
- for a ruler [ . . . . . ]
- who has sent [ . . . . . ]
- has sent [ . . . . . ]
- do you recount [ . . . . . ]
- the reviler [ . . . . . ]
ca. 11 lines lost
Col. v
26 lines partially preserved
- mightiest
- Ba'al [ ? Take in the hand? ] your torch
- [ ?in ] your [right hand red ochre ?]
- [ . . . . . ] the life of a calf
- [ . . . . . ] I will put him in a hole of the earth-gods/numinous dead.
- And as for you, take your clouds,
- your winds, your thunder-bolts, your rains;
- with you, your seven servitors/pages,
- your eight noble serving maids;
- with you Pidraya, daughter of light,
- with you Talaya, daughter of rain/showers.
- Then truly, do you set your face
- towards Mount Kankaniya/the rocks/mountain (at the entrance) of my grave/the cavernous mountain;
Lift the mountain with your hands,
- Raise the holt upon your palms,
- And go down to the house of "freedom" in the depth of the earth,
and be counted among them those who
- go down into the earth, and you will know nothingness,
- like mortals/of mortality/ for thou wilt have become as one who has died!
Obeys does Mightiest Ba'al.
- He loves a heifer in Dabr, the desert pastures
- a cow in Shechelmamat field, by the shore of the realm of death;
- he did lie with her seven and seventy times,
- she allowed him to mount eight and eighty times;
- and she conceived and gave birth to a boy, Math, the twin-brother
- Mightiest Ba'al did clothe him with his robe
- [ . . . . . ] him as a gift
- for the Beloved One [ . . . . . ] to his breast . . .
ca. 11 lines lost
I have added for ease of tale-telling:
Then Ba'al does depart and tarry not;
He sets his face toward El's Beloved, Mot,
in the midst of his city, Hamriya, the Bog,
Down into the pit where is the low throne that he sits on,
to the filth of the earth, which is Mot's estate.
One lip to the earth, one lip to the heavens, Mot stretches tongue to the stars.
Ba'al enters his maw and descends into his mouth,
like olive stuffed bread, Like the produce of earth, the fruit of the trees.
Mot makes him like a lamb in his mouth,
like a kid in his gullet is Ba'al crushed and swallowed.
Then Ba'al returns not to his palace,
Mighty Rider of Clouds comes not back,
Col. vi
** The twain messangers depart and tarry not;
3* Straightway they set their faces
2* to El at the sources of the two rivers,
1* in the midst of/amid the springs/headwaters of the two double-deep oceans.
- They penetrate the mountain/pavillion of El,
- enter the massif/tent of the King, Father of Years,
- They lift their voices and they cry:
- "We two did go round to the edges of the earth,
- to the limits of the watery region.
- We arrived at - the pleasant place, the desert pasture
‘Pleasure,’ the land of pastures
the pleasance of Dabr-land,
- the lovely fields of the shore of Death
'Delight,' the fields on the shore by the realm of Death
the beauty of Shahalmamat-field.
- We came upon Ba'al: fallen on/sunk into the earth/ground.
- Dead is Ba'al the Powerful!
- Perished is the Prince, Master of the Earth!"
- Straightaway Kindly El the Compassionate
- Comes down from his throne, Sits sit on his footstool;
- Then coming down from his footstool, does sit on the ground.
- He pours/strews ashes/dust/earth of mourning on his head,
- dust of wallowing/in which he rolled (fig. of mortification) on his crown/pate;
- he covers his loins with sackcloth.
- He cuts himself/his skin with a stone (knife),
- with flint for a razor/he made incisions with a razor;
- Cheeks and chin he scrapes,
- He harrows/rakes his (upper) arm (with a reed).
- He plows his chest (lit. nose of heart=the breast bone) like a garden,
- Furrows his back/torso like a valley.
- He lifts his voice and cries: Ba'al is dead!
- What will become of the people? Dagon's Son gone! What of the multitudes?
ALT: What will become of the people of Dagon's Son! What of the multitudes?
- after Ba'al/in Ba'al's place I will go down into the earth."
- Then Anath too goes to and fro/ goes and wanders/ goes strolling and walking/ is walking and wandering
- on every mountain to the heart of the earth,
- over every hill to the heart of the fields.
- She arrives at/comes to the pleasant place, the desert pasture/ 'Pleasure,' the land of pastures/ the pleasance of Dabr-land;
the lovely fields of the shore of Death/ 'Delight,' the fields on the shore by the realm of Death/ the beauty of Shachalmamat-field..
- She comes upon Ba'al: fallen on /sunk to the earth.
- She covered her loins with sackcloth
For raiment she dons sackcloth and loincloth.
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h. I AB
Col. i
- She cuts/scrapes herself/her skin with a stone (knife),
- with flint for a razor;/she made incisions with a razor;
- Cheeks and chin she gashes,
- She plows her chest like a garden, Furrows/rakes her back/torso like a plain/valley.
- Ba'al is dead!
- What will become of/happen to the people? Dagan's Son gone! What of the multitudes/ masses?
ALT: What will become of/happen to the people of Dagan's Son? What of the multitudes/ masses?
- After Ba'al/in Ba'al's place - we will go down into the earth "
- Down with her comes the Luminary of the gods, the Torch of the Divine Ones, Lady Shapash the Sun:
- Then weeps she her fill of weeping; Deep she drinks tears, like wine.
ALT: When she had finished weeping, had drunk her tears like wine,
- Then loudly calls she to the Torch of the Divine Ones/ the Luminary of the Gods, Lady Shapash the Sun,
- "Lift, I pray you, onto me Mightiest Ba'al!"
- The Torch, Luminary of the Gods, Lady Shapash the Sun, obeys.
- She lifts up Aliyin Ba'al the Mightiest; on the shoulders
- of Anat surely she sets him; and she takes/brings him
- to the Heights of Tsaphon of the North. She bewails/weeps for him
- and buries him. She puts/lays him in the hollows
- of the numinous dead//gods/shades/ ghosts - of the earth.
- She slaughters seventy buffaloes/wild oxen/rumim
As kgmn/tribute/oblation/funeral offering to Mighty Ba'al;
- She slaughters seventy plow oxen/ alepim
- As kgmn/tribute/oblation/funeral offering to Mighty Ba'al;
- She slaughters seventy sheep (lit. small cattle)/ tsin
- As kgmn/tribute/oblation/funeral offering to Mighty Ba'al;
- She slaughters seventy deer/harts/ aylim (oryx?)
- As kgmn/tribute/oblation/funeral offering to Mighty Ba'al;
- She slaughters seventy mountain goats / y‘alim
- As kgmn/tribute/oblation/funeral offering to Mighty Ba'al;
- She slaughters seventy asses / chamrim
- As kgmn/tribute/oblation/funeral offering to Mighty Ba'al;
- She put his [ . . . . . ] in [ . . . . . ]
- [ . . . . . ] him as befitted a brother-in-law of the gods.
- Then straightway she turns her face
- toward ’El at the sources/convergence of the Two Rivers/ Streams,
- in the midst of the springs/pools of the double-deep/Two Oceans/Seas/Deeps.
- She penetrates the mountain/tent of ’El,
- Enters the massif/shrine of the King, Father of Years,
- At the feet of ’El she does homage and falls down/bows down and adores/bows and falls,
- She prostrates herself and does him honor/worships him.
- She lifts her voice and she cries:
- "Now let rejoice ’Athirat and her sons.
- ’Elat and the company of her kinsfolk/her pride of lions.
- For dead is Ba'al the Powerful!
- Perished is the Prince, the Master of the Earth!"
- ’El cries aloud to Lady ’Athirat of the Sea:
- "Hark/Hear/Listen, O Lady ’Athirat of the Sea,
- Give one of your sons that I may make him king."
- And answers Lady ’Athirat of the Sea:
- "Yes, let us make king who has knowledge and intelligence, Yadi‘-Yalhan."
- But answered Kindly ’El the Compassionate:
- "One feeble in strength cannot run
- like Ba'al; nor release the spear/javlin
- like Dagan's son Glory-Crown/when the time is right."
- But answered Lady ’Athirat of the Sea:
- "No! Let us make king ’Athtar the Awesome.
- Let the king be ’Athtar the Awesome!"
- Thereupon straightway ’Athtar the Awesome
- goes up into the Heights of Tsaphon in the North;
- He sits in the throne of Mightiest Ba'al.
- His feet do not reach the footstool;
- His head does not reach the headrest.
- And spoke ’Athtar the Awesome:
- "I cannot be king in the Heights of Tsaphon!"
- And down comes ’Athtar the Awesome;
- he descends from the seat of Mightiest Ba'al.
- and he becomes king over - all the broad earth/ ’El's earth, the whole of it
ALT: and reigns in ’El's earth, all of it.
- [ . . . . . ] they drew water from/into casks.
- [ . . . . . ] they drew water from/into barrels.
Col. ii
30 lines lost, 4 lines unreadable
- A day, days/ ALT: One day, then two,
- passed. Maiden Anat
- feels drawn to him; Like the heart of a cow
- for her calf, Like the heart of a ewe
- for her lamb, Is the heart of Anat
- for Ba'al. She grabs Mot
- by the fold/ hem/ edge of his garment/ clothes, She seizes/constrains him
- by the hem/ end/ edge of his robe/ garments. She lifts up her voice and she
- cries: "Come, Mot! Give up my brother!
- But responds/replies Divine Mot, El's son Death: "What
- do desire you, O Maiden Anat ?
- I went and wandered/ to and fro/was taking a walk and wandering. Every
- mountain to the heart of the earth; Every hill
- a. to the heart/in bowels of the fields.
Ginsberg-Gaster:
- b. Lifebreath is lacking
- among humankind; Lifebreath has quit the multitudes
- a. of the earth.
Driver/Gibson:
- b. My appetite did lack
- the sons of men; My appetite, the multitudes
- a. of the earth.
Coogan:
- b. I felt a desire
- for human beings; a desire for masses
- a. of the earth.
- b. I arrived at/came to/reached the pleasant place, the desert pasture/
'Pleasure,' the land of pastures/the pleasance of Dabr-land;
- the lovely fields on Death's shore/
'Delight,' the fields of the shore by the realm of Death/
the beauty of Shahalmamat-field.
- I it was who approached/confronted Mighty Ba'al
- I who put him like a lamb in my mouth;
- and like a kid he was carried away in my gullet."
- Lady Shapash the Sun, the torch, luminary of the gods did burn/glow hot,
- the heavens - are wearied by/ shimmer under - the hand of the Beloved of El, Mot.
- A day, days passed. From days to months.
- Maiden Anat feels drawn to him;
- Like the heart of a cow for her calf; Like the heart
- of a ewe for her lamb; Is the heart
- of Anat for Ba'al. She grabs/seizes
- divine/son of the El, Mot; with blade
- she does cleave/split him, with fan/sieve she does winnow
- him, with fire she does burn him,
- with hand-mill/mill-stone she grinds him, in the field
- she does sow/scatter him, his remnants/pieces indeed devoured
- by birds, his limbs/parts/portions indeed consumed
- a. by fowl.
Gaster: 37b. Screaming from remnant to remnant
Ginsberg: 37b. Flitting from remnant to remnant.
Driver: 37b. Flesh to flesh cries out.
Coogan:
- "his remains not eat may the birds,
- his parts not consume may the fowl:
- b. let flesh cry out to flesh!"
Col. iii
ca. 40 lines lost
COMMENTARY: Gaster: Anat has had the dream & reports it to El
Ginsberg: it is unknown who the speaker relating dream is
Driver & Coogan: El is speaking:
- For surely perished has he (Baal).
- But if Mighty Ba'al lives/is alive,
- if the Prince, the Master of the Earth, exists/has revived,
- Then in a dream of Kindly El the Compassionate,
- in a vision of the Creator of All Creatures,
- The heavens oil let rain,
- the wadis let run with honey.
- then I will know that alive is Mighty Ba'al,
- revived has/existent is the Prince, Master of the Earth."
- In a dream of Kindly El, the Compassionate,
- in a vision of the Creator of All,
- the heavens rain down oil,
- the wadis flow with honey.
- Rejoice does Kindly El, the Compassionate:
- his feet on the footstool he sets,
- he parts/opens his throat/mouth/jaws and laughs;
- he raises/lifts up his voice and shouted/cried:
- "Now I can/will sit and be at ease;
- take its ease/lie calm in my breast shall my heart/spirit/soul;
- For alive is Mighty Ba'al,
- Existent/Revived is the Prince, Master of Earth."
- El calls to the Virgin Anat:
- "Hearken/Hear/Listen, O Maiden/Virgin Anat!
- Speak/Say to the Luminary of the Deities/the gods' Torch Lady Shapash, the Sun:
Col. iv
- "Parched/Cracked/Dried are the furrows of the fields, O Shapash;
- Parched/Cracked/Dried are the furrows of El's fields;
- Ba'al has neglected the furrows of his plowland/ tillage.
- Where is Mighty Ba'al?
- where is the Prince, the Master of the Earth?"
- The Virgin Anat departed;
- indeed she set her face
- toward the Luminary of the Deities/gods' torch, Lady Shapash, the Sun;
- she raised/lifted up her voice and cried/shouted:
- "Message of the Bull, El your father,
- the word of the Kindly One, your sire/begetter:
- Parched/Cracked/Dried are the furrows of the fields, O Shapash;
- Parched/Cracked/Dried are the furrows of El's fields;
- Ba'al has neglected the furrows of his plowland/ tillage.
Alt.: Ba'al should be occupying the furrows in the plowlands.
- Where is Mighty Ba'al?
- where is the Prince, the Master of the Earth?’ "
- And replies the Luminary of the Deities/gods' torch, Lady Shapash, the Sun:
- "Pour sparkling wine from its container,
- bring a garland for your relative/sibling;
Alt.: let the children of your family wear wreaths
- and I will seek Mighty Ba'al."
- And replies the Virgin Anat:
- "Hence and thither you go, O Shapash,
- wherever and whither, may El protect you."
ca. 40 lines lost
Added by me for ease of telling:
Together, Anat, Ba'alat Shamim Rammim,
and Lady Shapash, the Sun,
search for Ba'al and return him to his Palace.
Yea, now Ba'al will make fertile with his rain,
with water he will indeed make fertile harrowed land.
and he will put his voice in the clouds
and he will flash lightning to the earth.
Col. v
- Seizes does Ba'al the sons of Athirat.
- Rabbim/The great ones he smites with the broad-sword/in the back/on the shoulder;
- Dokyamim/The pounders of the Sea (Waves?) he smites with the mace/bludgeon/club;
- Tsorim/The small ones he drags/fells to the ground/earth.
- Sits does Ba'al upon the throne of his kingship,
- on the cushion on the seat of his dominion.
- A day, days passed, from days to months, from months
- to years. Then in the seventh year
- [ Then spoke ] the Divine/Godly/son of El Mot
- to mightiest Ba'al;
- he lifts up his voice and cries:
- Because of you, Ba'al, I have experienced abasement/disgrace/ shame,
- Because of you I have experienced splitting with the sword,
- Because of you I have experienced burning with fire,
- Because of you I have experienced grinding with mill-stones,
- Because of you I have experienced winnowing/ sifting with the basket/sieve,
- Because of you I have experienced [sowing] in the fields,
- Because of you I have experienced scattering in the sea.
Ginsberg: 12-18. Upon thee may I see . . .
- Give one of your brothers
- so that I may be fed/ sit down and eat
- and the anger that I feel will turn back.
- if not one of your brothers,
- behold I shall [ . . . . ]
- I shall consume/make an end of [humankind]
- I shall consume/make an end of the multitudes [of earth].’
- And he [ . . . . ]
ca. 27 lines unreadable or lost
Col. vi
- [ . . . . . ] I will drive him forth,
- [ . . . . . ] I will banish him
- [ . . . . . ]
- [ . . . . . ]
- [ . . . . . ] divine Mot, son of El, Death
- [ . . . . . ] peoples.
- [ . . . . . ] divine Mot, son of El, Death
- [let him eat] his seven pages/servitors!’
- And answered divine Mot:
- "But look! Ba'al has given me my own brothers to eat,
- the sons of my mother to consume!"
- He returned to Ba'al in the Heights of Tsaphon
- he lifts up his voice and cries:
- "My own brothers you have given me, Ba'al, to eat,
- the sons of my mother to consume!"
- They butted each other like camels kgmrm/ antelopes kzmrm
- Mot is strong/firm, Ba'al is strong/firm. They gored
- like wild oxen; Mot is strong/firm, Ba'al
- is strong/firm. They bit like serpents
- Mot is strong/firm, Ba'al is strong/firm.
- They kicked/tugged like runners/chargers
- Mot fell down, Ba'al fell down (on top of him).
- Lady Shapash the Sun cried out from above to Mot:
- "Hear/Listen, I beseech you, o divine/El's son Mot.
- Why do/How can - you battle with Mighty Ba'al?
- Gaster: Beware lest thy father Bull El, hear thee;
Ginsberg: Should Bull El thy father hear thee,
Driver: How of a truth shall the bull El your father hear you?
Coogan: How can you keep the Bull, El your father, from hearing you?
- Indeed/Surely he will undermine/pull up the support/ foundations of your seat/throne,
- indeed/surely will overturn the throne of your kingship,
- indeed will break/smash the sceptre/staff of your rule/dominion/judgment.’
- Afraid is Divine Mot
- In dread/Terrified is the Beloved of El, the Youth, Ghazir, the Hero.
- Mot rouses himself at her call
ALT: arises from his prostration, he lifts up his voice and cries:
- Let them seat Ba'al on the throne of his kingdom,
- on the cushion on the seat of his dominion!
- [ . . . . . ]
- [ . . . . . ]
- [ . . . . . ]
- [ . . . . . ]
- [ . . . . . ]
- [ . . . . . ]
- [ . . . . . ]
- Do you indeed betake yourself to the fresh meat,
- Yes, do you indeed eat the bread of honor/contribution/ sacrificial meal,
- Yes, do you indeed drink the wine of favor/oblation/offering,
- Lady Shapash, - the shades are under you/judges the Healers/shall govern the gathered ones (rapha'im);
- Lady Shapash, - the ghosts are under you/judges the gods/shall hold sway over the upper gods ilnym;
- the gods come to you,
- behold! the Dead come to you/Gods, Death is yours.
Kothar is your companion/friend
- and your acquaintaince/intimate Khasis.
- In the sea are Arsh, Desire, and Tannin, the Dragon;
- Let Kothar-wa-Khasis banish them,
- Drive them away, let Kothar-wa-Khasis!
For bibliographic information, see Sources.
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