MOT
Mot is the god of death at Ugarit. Like Yam, Mot also takes on Ba‘al and ultimately concedes defeat. In much the same manner as Yam, Mot is depersonified in Hebrew, and the name Mot () becomes the word for “death.” Although Mot does not appear as a deity in the Bible, Habakkuk 2:5 preserves the line, “They open their throats wide as Sheol; like Death (mot) they never have enough,” which, as we’ll see, is remarkably similar to the story of Mot and Ba‘al in the Ba‘al Cycle. Similarly, Job 18:13 preserves the expression, “the firstborn of Death (mot) consumes their limbs,” offering again a very personified view of death and perhaps providing evidence that, just like all of the above gods from Ugarit, Mot too was well known in ancient Israel.
Now that we’ve been introduced to the most important gods in the Ugaritic pantheon, let’s look at the texts from Ugarit that mention these deities and whether these gods and stories may have influenced the creation of the Hebrew Bible.
UGARITIC TEXTS
Many classic Mesopotamian texts were discovered within the six archives of tablets found at Ugarit, including copies of stories similar to those found in the Bible, for example, the Gilgamesh Epic22 and the Atraasis Flood Epic.23 Other tablets unique to Ugarit were also discovered. These texts are written in a language called Ugaritic, which employs an alphabetic cuneiform script that at first resembles typical Mesopotamian syllabic cuneiform, but is actually a version of the Phoenician consonantal alphabet written in cuneiform wedges.24
One humorous text from Ugarit is KTU 1.114, commonly called “’El’s Divine Feast.” In this story, the god ’El hosts a banquet for the other deities. ’Asherah and ‘Anat and Ba‘al are all there. The moon, Yariḥ, even sneaks in posing as a dog under the table looking for scraps. Eventually ’El drinks too much wine, gets sloppy drunk, falls down, wets himself, and ends up rolling around in his own poo. But here’s the funny part: the back side of the tablet reads like a recipe for a hangover cure. The fact that ’El presents this Ugaritic “hair o’ the dog that bit you” recipe essentially makes it the ultimate product endorsement: “Hi, I’m ’El, and when I’m sloppy drunk, I use the hairs of a dog, the top of a pqq-plant and its stem, and mix it with virgin olive oil to cure my hangover!” (And yes, that’s the actual remedy from the last few lines of KTU 1.114.)25
However, three important texts discovered at Ugarit have heavily informed our understanding of the origins of many biblical stories and provide backgrounds for many of the deities mentioned in the Bible. These three are the Ba‘al Cycle, the Legend of Kirta (Keret), and the Epic of ’Aqhat, which we’ll explore at length below.
THE BA‘AL CYCLE
Arguably the most important text from Ugarit is the Ba‘al Cycle, dating to somewhere between 1500 and 1200 BCE. The six tablets containing the story at Ugarit are part of a much larger myth that scholars estimate to contain 2,350 lines and 1,500 poetic verses. The story is essentially comprised of two major conflicts: one between Ba‘al Hadad and the sea god, Yam, and a second between Ba‘al Hadad and the god of death, Mot, separated by two poems about Ba‘al, ‘Anat, and Ba‘al’s palace. The Ba‘al Cycle introduces us to the father of the gods, ’El, the goddesses ’Asherah and ‘Anat, and other deities that form the supporting cast in an epic drama demonstrating how the god Ba‘al became the most powerful god of all.
The first conflict begins with the god of the sea and rivers, Yam, who with the backing of the chief god of the Ugaritic pantheon, ’El, sought to be the most powerful god of all—something we might expect from a city on the eastern Mediterranean shore with an economy and culture built on maritime trade. However, Ba‘al feels he is the greatest god of all. In preparation for the battle, the divine craftsman, Kothar wa-Ḥasis, constructs two maces for Ba‘al, which he names Yagrushu (“drive out”) and ’Ayyamurru (“expel”). Ba‘al uses the maces to defeat Yam and scatters him over the earth (explaining why oceans and rivers cover so much of the earth). This battle parallels remarkably the account of creation described in Psalm 74:12–17, which is perhaps the oldest preserved Hebrew creation story—even older than the accounts in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.26
Ba‘al Hadad defeats Yam, becomes the most powerful god of all, and seeks to build his own royal palace. So Ba‘al enlists ‘Anat to pressure ’El to agree to build Ba‘al a palace. ‘Anat goes so far as to threaten to bust ’El upside the head and make his “gray hair flow [with blood], the gray hairs of [his] beard with gore.”27 When this fails, Ba‘al bribes ’El’s consort, ’Asherah, with gifts in an effort to get her to support his bid for a palace. ’El then concedes to ’Asherah’s request, and the divine craftsman, Kothar wa-Ḥasis, builds Ba‘al a palace (after a contractor squabble about a window),28 which Ba‘al inaugurates by hosting a royal banquet for all the gods at which he humbly proclaims himself king of them all.
The second conflict of the cycle begins when Mot does not take kindly to Ba‘al Hadad’s self-appointment as king of the gods. So Mot, the god of death, invites Ba‘al to another feast at which he challenges Ba‘al to battle. Acknowledging defeat, Ba‘al makes preparations to descend into the underworld along with the clouds, wind, and the rain (explaining the drought that follows Ba‘al’s death) by having sex “seventy-seven—even eighty-eight times” with ‘Anat, who had transformed herself into a heifer and who eventually bears him a bull-calf, whom he loves and clothes in a manner reminiscent of Israel’s actions toward the birth of Joseph in Gen. 37:3, explaining how the bull became the symbol of Ba‘al.
After finding and burying her beloved Ba‘al, ‘Anat seeks to avenge him; she ruthlessly attacks Mot with a sword, kills him, burns him, pulverizes his body into powder, and scatters his remains to the birds. With Mot dead, Ba‘al Hadad reemerges and returns to Mt. Ṣafon, where many of the gods live. However, Mot is resurrected from the dead and fights Ba‘al Hadad in a rematch. This time, however, Mot realizes that, because ’El is siding with Ba‘al, the battle is futile; Mot submits to Ba‘al and declares him king of the gods. Thus, the Ba‘al Cycle tells the story of how Ba‘al became the most powerful of all the gods, which may explain his continued presence throughout the Hebrew Bible.29
THE LEGEND OF KIRTA (KERET)
The Legend of Kirta (commonly called “Keret”) is a Ugaritic epic poem written on three rectangular tablets dating somewhere between 1500 and 1200 BCE. The tablets can presently be found in the National Museum of Aleppo in Syria.
The poem recounts the story of King Kirta of Hubur, who despite being a king and a favorite son of the god ’El, saw his wife, all his brothers, and all his children die in a series of tragedies ranging from death during childbirth to disease and warfare. He petitions ’El for an heir, and ’El instructs him to attack a nearby kingdom and demand that the king give him a daughter as a wife to produce an heir. Kirta does as ’El suggests, and King Pubala of the nearby kingdom of Udum gives Kirta a daughter, Hariya, who bears him two sons and six daughters.
However, after Kirta witnesses the birth of his new children, he breaks his promise to the goddess ’Asherah that he would bring gifts of gold and silver, should his plan to procure a wife be successful. ’Asherah retaliates by striking Kirta with a disease once again, which ’El ultimately cures. But as Kirta reassumes his throne, his son, Yassub, challenges his integrity. Kirta responds by asking the god of the underworld to crush his son’s skull. Unfortunately for us (and fortunately for Yassub), the tablet breaks off at this point in the story, and we never learn the end of the tale.
Some clever readers may note some similarities between the Legend of Kirta and the biblical book of ’Iyov (Job) and are right to do so, as scholars have debated these similarities as well. Both Job and Kirta are called “good” or “righteous” individuals, both were said to be of high rank (Job 1:3 says Job was “the greatest of all the people of the east,” while Kirta was a king), both suffer horrible calamities including the deaths of their families to disease and the sword, both are stricken with illness, both are accused of neglecting the poor
by individuals close to them (Job by ’Eliphaz in 22:6–9, and Kirta by his son, Yassub),30 both petition their respective gods for help, and both ultimately experience the birth of new children.31
Thus, the Legend of Kirta may have been the inspiration, if not the template, for the book of Job, as Job is ultimately a contest between heavenly beings—God and “the satan”32—who debate the fate of a noble man who lost his family, was accused of improprieties by those close to him, and had his fortunes restored. It is yet another way that Ugarit may have helped to build the Bible.33
EPIC OF ’AQHAT
The Epic of ’Aqhat is also sometimes referred to as the Epic of Dan’el or Dan’il, after the father described in the story. Dan’el means “’El is Judge”, a name similar to the Hebrew name Dani’el (). He is said to be a “man of Rapa’u,” which University of Chicago professor Dennis Pardee suggests is a reference to the Repha’im, who are well known from the Bible.34 ’Aqhat the Youth is the name of Dan’el’s son, for whom he prayed and offered sacrifices to the gods when he had no heir. The god Ba‘al Hadad pleads with ’El on Dan’el’s behalf, reasoning that he deserves a son (and, kids, pay attention) “who takes him by the hand when he’s drunk, carries him when he’s drunk, carries him when he’s sated with wine”35—a line of reasoning with which Isaiah 51:17–18 is certainly familiar, as it echoes the fact that one of the expected duties of a son is to carry his father home when he’s drunk:
Rouse yourself, rouse yourself! Stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl of staggering. There is no one to guide her among all the children she has borne; there is no one to take her by the hand among all the children she has brought up.
Ultimately ’El grants Dan’el’s request, and ’Aqhat is born. As a gesture of thanks, Dan’el instructs his wife, Danatay, to prepare a meal for the divine craftsman, Kothar wa-Ḥasis, who in turn gives ’Aqhat a beautiful bow he had originally been making for the goddess ‘Anat. ‘Anat still wants her bow and offers silver and even eternal life to ’Aqhat in exchange for the bow. ’Aqhat taunts ‘Anat in response saying, “My bow is [a weapon for] warriors. Shall now women hunt with it?”36 ‘Anat is furious and plots with Yaṭpan the Drunken Soldier (yes, that’s his name) to kill ’Aqhat, which Yaṭpan the Drunken Soldier does.37 Unfortunately for ‘Anat, the bow appears to have been broken and lost during the attack (the text is broken at this point).
Dan’el is overcome with grief, and because of the violent death of his son ’Aqhat, a massive drought and death consume the land. The storm god Ba‘al (“he who rides upon the clouds”) stops sending rain. Dan’el utters a spell in an attempt to end the drought, but to no avail. He then hatches a plan to find ’Aqhat’s remains and give him a proper burial (to perhaps end the drought).38 After finding ’Aqhat’s remains and burying them properly, Dan’el returns home, curses the various elements of the environment for their complicity in ’Aqhat’s murder, and mourns his son’s death for seven years. Meanwhile, ’Aqhat’s sister, Pug´atu, plots to avenge her brother’s death, but the texts breaks off and we never learn whether she succeeded.39
What is noteworthy about the story is Dan’el’s constant devotion to the gods. He appeals to them for assistance even when he believes they have treated him unfairly. Readers of the biblical book of Job, of course, recognize this same characteristic in Job. Furthermore, it is Dan’el’s desire to give his son a proper burial—an important obligation in antiquity—that motivates him throughout the story. We see righteous individuals seeking proper burials for the dead—and well-deserved chastisements for failing to do so—in a number of literary characters: Dan’el (for ’Aqhat), Odysseus (for Elpenor),40 Abraham (for Sarah),41 and Joseph of Arimathea (for Jesus).42
The character of Dan’el may also be mentioned (or at least referenced) in the Bible. The prophet Ezekiel mentions a character named Dan’el (; 14:14, 20; 28:3) who is different from the character Dani’el (Daniel) featured in the canonical book of Daniel (despite the fact that medieval Masoretes tried to “correct” the three instances of Dan’el in Ezekiel to read as if they said Dani’el). But scholars realize that Ezekiel likely meant the character Dan’el mentioned in the texts from Ugarit, as he places the figure chronologically in between the patriarchs Noaḥ and Job, who lived long before the Babylonians exiled the people of Judah in the sixth century BCE, precluding the biblical character of Dani’el from consideration by Ezekiel.43 So the name Dan’el actually fits the lists in Ezekiel 14:14 and 20, as he was understood to be a pre-Israelite foreigner who exhibited righteousness and apparently wisdom.44
All of this means that the prophecy of Ezekiel may preserve references to the legendary figure of Dan’el from Ugarit, which would be direct evidence of Ugarit’s influence on the Bible.45
UGARITIC INFLUENCE ON THE BIBLE: MONOTHEISM VS. POLYTHEISM
Although you may had never heard of Ugarit prior to reading this chapter, you can now understand the significance of the site for the Bible. The texts discovered at Ugarit help paint the backdrop for many of the stories contained in the Bible, which were adopted and altered and retold over time until they were stories that told of a distinctly Hebrew deity.
We’ve seen how the stories from Ugarit may have inspired or outright shaped some of the stories we have in the Bible. However, we should close with how the Bible dealt with these stories, given the fact that, after all, Israelite religion and later Judaism are supposed to be monotheistic. So we must ask: How were the polytheistic Ugaritic legends and deities incorporated into a monotheistic religion?
The short answer is that various attributes, names of deities, and deities themselves from Ugarit (and elsewhere) were harmonized and incorporated into the Hebrew God, YHWH. Now I admit, when I first say this to my students, many of them balk at this conclusion (especially those from conservative religious traditions, both Christian and Jewish). But if we look at the evidence that has been discovered over the past hundred years, it becomes clear that the portrait of God and the traditions about him in the Bible are the result of prior foreign influences on early Israel.
The fact that ’El and ’Asherah are a couple at Ugarit contributes to the claim that ’El eventually morphed into the Hebrew deity YHWH. Archaeological evidence in the form of the discovery of two late ninth- to early eighth-century BCE pithoi (jars) in the 1970s at Kuntillet ‘Ajrud in the Sinai desert just south of Israel support this claim. Two inscriptions from the jars and a third from a pillar of a burial cave at Khirbet el-Qom read:
Utterance of ’Ashyaw the king: “Say to Yehallel and to Yaw‘asah and to [ . . . ]: ‘I bless by Yahweh of Samaria and his ’Asherah.’” 46
The burial inscription from the Judean hills site of Khirbet el-Qom, ten and a half miles west of Ḥebron in the modern West Bank. Discovered in 1967, this inscription dates to the mid-eighth century BCE and offers a blessing invoking the deities YHWH and ’Asherah together. Image courtesy Israel Museum.
Utterance of ’Amaryaw: “Say to my lord: ‘Is it well with you? I bless you by Yahweh of Teman and his ’Asherah. May he bless you and keep you and may he be with my lord.’”47
’Uriyahu the rich:48 (This is) his inscription. Blessed was ’Uriyahu to Yahweh, and from his enemies, by his ’Asherah, he saved him. (Written) by ‘Oniyahu.49
The fact that ’Asherah is said to be the consort of ’El in thirteenth-century BCE Ugarit and later the consort of YHWH in eighth-century BCE Israel suggests that the deity known as ’El in Phoenicia and Ugarit was incorporated into the deity YHWH, who became the God of the Hebrews and later the Israelites, Judeans, and Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
Now what about the fact that Judaism is a monotheistic religion? Although we often refer to Judaism as “monotheistic,” this term is somewhat misleading if understood as meaning belief in the existence of only one God. This is not the case with ancient Israel. Ancient Israel believed in multiple gods, and if we are to believe the Bible, appar
ently God did too! On any number of occasions the Bible warns Israel not to worship “other gods.” It’s one of the earliest commands. Exodus 20:3 says, “You shall have no other gods before me,” and 34:14 adds, “Because YHWH, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” YHWH didn’t want any of his followers worshipping any other gods, only him.
It wasn’t that ancient Israel didn’t believe in the existence of other gods—or else they wouldn’t have made a golden calf at the foot of Mt. Sinai and claimed it was a god (Exod. 32:4). Rather, they were allowed to worship only one god: YHWH. Scholars call the worship of one deity while acknowledging the existence of others “monolatry” to distinguish it from “monotheism.” (It should be noted that much later in Judaism, Jewish monotheism shifted to the belief in the existence of only one God [see 1 Cor. 8:4], but early in Israel’s history, there was a general acceptance of the existence of multiple gods.)
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