Stories from Ancient Canaan

by Michael D. Coogan, Mark S. Smith

Contained on fifteen of the cuneiform tables uncovered at the ancient Canaanite city of Ugarit are the four major oral Ugartic myths of Aqhat, The Healers, Kirta, and Baal. Stories from Ancient Canaan is the first to offer a one-volume translation of all four. This accessible book teaches the principal Canaanite religious literature, and will be useful to students of the history of religion, of the Bible, and of comparative literature.

Genres: History, Mythology, Religion, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Biblical Studies, Poetry

124 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1978

About the author

Michael David Coogan is Director of Publications for the Harvard Semitic Museum and Professor of Religious Studies at Stonehill College. For several decades, he has taught an introductory course on the Hebrew Scriptures at Harvard University, as well as at Wellesley College, Boston College, and Stonehill College. One of the leading biblical scholars in the United States, he is the author of The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures, and editor of the acclaimed third edition of The New Oxford Annotated Bible.

Reviews

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has 5 stories from Ugarit, an ancient city in what is now Syria. The stories were written on clay tablets about 1375 BCE and placed in a temple to Baal, one of the leading gods in ancient Canaan. This was about 400 years before the first stories in the bible were written down, c. 920BCE. Before the stories were written down they were passed from generation to generation orally.
The 5 stories tell about the exploits of men and gods. What is surprising about the stories is how closely they parallel stories that appear in the bible. There are many passages that tell about Baal or El, but if you change the names to Yahweh or Lord, they passages then easily match bible passages found in Psalms, Judges, and references to Canaanite stories appear in Job, Jonah, I and II Sam., Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.
As I read this book, the stories, and the author’s commentary, it became increasingly clear to me the authors of the bible were borrowing the mythology of their Canaanite neighbors and applying the stories, myths, and legends to their own history and to Yahweh. Much of the imagery used to describe Yahweh comes from the descriptions of Baal and El. For instance, El is variously described as: the bull, the father of time, the king, the creator of all, the kind, the compassionate, and the holy one. El is described as living on a holy mountain in a tent. El also presides over a divine assembly (see Ps. 82). El is also the personal god of Abraham and is variously called El Shaddai, El Elyon, El Roi. El Ohim and El Berith. Baal is called the rider on the clouds and is described in storm terminology. Other Canaanite gods that make an appearance in the bible include Sea and Death. Sea, obviously, is the Canaanite god of the sea and Death is the god of death. Anytime the words sea and death appear in the bible and are capitalized, it to the Canaanite gods that is being referenced. Sea is also described as Leviathan, Lotan, and Serpent; all of which make an appearance in the bible
This is a well written and easy to understand book. It is a good place to start if you are interested in how the bible came about and what the influences of the authors were. Once you know what to look for in the bible, you can easily see the Canaanite legends and myths that influenced the authors of the bible. After reading this book I want to further explore the Canaanite influences as well as the Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, and Assyrian influences on the bible. This book is a really good starting point for a further study of the stories in the bible.

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 5 out of 5]

When God revealed himself to man, he revealed himself using words and concepts that his target audience would have understood. This included the influence of nearby Ugarit. Ugaritic can shed light on several biblical words, like Lotan (Leviathan). It isn’t a crocodile. It is a cosmic serpent (Coogan 106). It lives in the watery depths, the apsu. (And below the Apsu are where the Rephaim dwell).

This book also illustrates perhaps why the Israelites were so tempted by Baalism. The language was often similar and while I believe that most of Torah was written down quite early, it’s doubtful that agrarian farmers would have had bound copies of Torah in their home libraries. And without constant reading, it’s easy to get confused.

Nota Bene: Coogan suggests that Anat has been compared to the Hindu goddess Kali (Coogan 13).

Ugaritic poetry sheds light on many biblical passages, as the biblical writers would have used conceptual currency already in play. Psalm 82 says that “Elohim has taken his place in the Assembly of El/In the midst of the elohim he holds judgment.” This is Divine Council language.

Isaiah 14:13 speaks of the “stars of El.”

Aqhat and Danel

While the text doesn’t actually mention “Sheol,” it uses similar concepts. It also notes that it is a world of “slime” (33, 34). This might partially explain why no one ever looked forward to going to Sheol.

Ba’al is a “son of El,” as Anat tells Aqhat, “You will be able to match your years with Ba’al/Your months with the sons of El” (37). If the Divine Council worldview is true, this means that Ba’al is a fallen ben’ ha-elohim.

The Healers

Coogan suggests the Healers are minor deities of the Underworld. Coogan offers as evidence that the biblical term Rephaim, the demon kings of the Underworld, is also the cognate for healers (rp’um). They live below the (cosmic) waters (Job 26.5).

The Ba’al Cycle

This conflict is worth noting in some detail, as it involves a god’s war against the sea (ym; Heb. yam). And in terms of parallelism, the sea (ym) is also the same as the river (nhr). The poetry in this poem is occasionally striking. Death speaks, “One lip to the earth, one lip to the heavens/He will stretch out his tongue to the stars” (107). Of course, any similarities between Yahweh and Ba’al vanish immediately, as it notes of Ba’al (who is also Zeus–JBA), “He fell in love with a heifer in the desert pasture/a young cow in the fields of Death’s shore: he slept with her 77 times/He mounted her 88 times” (108).

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is well written, fairly short and easy to read and comprehend. The subject material is somewhat sparse but it fills a certain niche in ancient mid eastern studies that is only touched upon through the studies of other civilizations through out the time period as it focuses on some of it's ancient texts that only remain in part. The book lacks any sort of chronology other than to say the Canaanites existed in 3rd and 2nd millennium BC but this seems more due to the fact that Ancient Canaan was a loose collection of Sematic city states that somewhat shared a common language and religion along the Mediterranean coast and never developed into any sort of power base given all their powerful neighbors. Thusly the focus of the book is on it's sparse literature from 17 tablets and the fascinating but narrow glimpse they provide into Canaanites founding gods and goddess's as told through the partial stories of a small handful of ruff cut deities as everything decipherable is brought to the reader in this book.

Given the books short length and unique but fragmented stories I'd recommend the book. There's enough here to form a good picture of their gods and their origins and have it be interesting.
Although you may learn more about the Canaanites in the periphery of studies of the other civilizations of the time, I've not noticed these stories related elsewhere. And where else are you going to hear about gods striding across the land as huge giants to confront other gods? Or see how Inanna/Ishtar is depicted as Astarte in the Canaanite mythos. Good stuff, worth the time even if it's not a one all for the Canaanites.

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collections of Canaanite myth found on clay tablets, Baal features heavily. Helpful for understanding the biblical context of the near east and how some of the language is appropriated by biblical authors.

[Monty Milne · Rating 5 out of 5]

J C L Gibson was the standard work on the Canaanite myths and legends revealed by the Ugarit tablets of Ras Shamra, and I have owned this work for many years and derived great pleasure from it. But I was very glad to get hold of this more up to date version. Although like Gibson this also dates from the 1970’s, unlike Gibson it was extensively revised for the second edition in 2012. There are excellent introductory essays on each tablet, and the translations have a more contemporary feel. There is also an additional tablet, “El’s Banquet”, which I had not read before.

These myths are of particular importance because they are key to understanding the development of the religion of the Hebrews, and hence the formation of that Judaeo-Christian culture in which we still exist and which influences everything we see, read or understand (whether we like it or not). Of course, the wear and tear of the centuries has left gaps in the tablets; be prepared for some frustration that not everything can be recovered. But these are texts which still exert an extraordinary power and fascination. It’s like being an archaeologist and getting the thrill of recognition when you dig below the floor of a church and find a pagan temple beneath, with some striking continuities between the two which might otherwise have remained entirely obscure.

The goddess Anat is terrifying, but she is on our side. El, the Sky God sitting in charge of the council of deities, is fascinating as the one who later became the god of the Hebrews and the Christians and the Muslims too – as we are continually reminded by his soubriquet “El the Compassionate” – almost identical to how a modern Muslim might refer to El/Allah. The god of the underworld is here just called Death, though I prefer Gibson’s retention of the Canaanite “Mot” (with a long o). Anat’s slaying of Mot has a wonderfully precise and obvious agricultural context: one is reminded again of Sir James Frazer and the myth of the dying and rising god…the Christian resurrection myth itself is foreshadowed here – “unless a grain dies it remains but a single grain….”

El’s Banquet is a pleasant bit of light relief after all the terrifying disembowelling and stamping and scattering indulged in by scary feminist warrior goddess Anat. The notion of God getting drunk is a pleasing one, especially when one recollects the teetotal intolerance of so many of His later followers. And how startling to find the hangover cure “hair of the dog” recorded here! Truly, these fascinating tales have had an extraordinarily long after life.

[Caleb Ausbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stories from Ancient Canaan contains stories found on clay tablets in the city of Ugarit (modern-day Syria) that are thought to be written before the texts of the Bible. As such, they are helpful for informing us about ancient Canaanite beliefs and culture. The gods present in these stories include Baal, a frequently depicted storm god in the Old Testament, and El, the father of the gods who becomes known as the same deity as Yahweh to the Israelites. This is apparent in the Bible itself, when Yahweh tells Moses:

“I am Yahweh. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but by my name ‘Yahweh’ I did not make myself known to them.” (Exodus 6.2-3)

El Shaddai is commonly translated as “God Almighty,” but the authors argue this is a mistranslation – a proper translation would be “El of the Mountain,” which fits with the Canaanite deity El, who lived on a sacred mountain.

Stories from Ancient Canaan offers readable translations, and acknowledges unreadable parts of the text due to wear on the tablets. While certain details of the stories are left unknown, the authors provide helpful commentary for readers to have an educated guess about what content was missing given textual clues. The introduction to the book as well as the introductions to individual chapters are incredibly helpful in understanding Canaanite literature style and culture, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in studying ancient Canaanite myths/religion.

As for the myths themselves which make up the majority of the content of the book, they (like the Bible) are incredibly repetitive, and given the missing lines on many of the tablets can be difficult to enjoy reading. However, I found the story titled Baal’s ascent to the head of the gods interesting, and enjoyed seeing the gods interacting together. Overall I would rate this 5/5 for the scholarly commentary, and 3/5 for entertainment value.

[Sean O'Hara · Rating 4 out of 5]

As entertainment this book has a lot to be desired. Unlike Mesopotamian literature, where there are enough sources that a near-complete story can be interpolated for Gilgamesh and Ut-napishtim, Ugarit was little more than a city state, anf so far not enough tablets have been found to reconstruct whole myths. None of the stories in here are complete, and some are so fragmentary that it's like finding only one page of Hansel and Gretel talking about the trail of breadcrumbs.

But as a source for pre-Judaic mythology, this is fascinating. One thing that quickly becomes clear is that for all the OT's admonitions against worshipping Baal and Dagon, the Jewish god is derived from the same pantheon as them (remember, in the Pentateuch Yahweh merely proclaims his preeminence over other gods rather than denying that they exist). There are clear parallels between the Canaanite gods Baal and El, and the Jewish God (and between the whole lot of them and the Mesopotamian god Marduk).

Now I really want to check out Smith's book on Judaism, but $25 for an ebook is mighty steep...

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ugaritic, the language of Ras Shamra (a settlement in what is now Lebanon), is a cuneiform language that I wanted to study in graduate school but could never fit into my schedule. Later, I thought I would try an autodidactic approach using a textbook, but I guess I wasn’t truly motivated or I would have worked on it in my leisure as I am now attempting Syriac Aramaic. Of course, my purpose in wanting to learn Ugaritic was to compare the Canaanite myths of the area near the Syrian-Lebanese borders of today with the narratives of the Old Testament. Much of that groundwork has been accomplished for me in Michael D. Coogan’s and Mark S. Smith’s Stories from Ancient Canaan: Second Edition, an expanded version of their first translation of these broken tablets which have proved so valuable in understanding the background of biblical symbolism and language. (Naturally, they are valuable for comparing with Babylonian/Mesopotamian mythology and ritual, as well.)

Stories from Ancient Canaan: Second Edition is extremely useful in providing perspective on biblical rhetoric and symbolism. For example, I have always consigned the use of consecutive numbers in parallel lines (as in Amos’ oracles to the foreign nations in Amos 1-2 and in Proverbs) such as three and then, four as an attribute of the so-called Wisdom School. Yet, Canaanite parallelism doesn’t merely use three and four. In these tablets, we see: “He struck him twice on the skull, three times over the ear…” (Aqhat Tablet 2, Column 4, Lines 23, 34, Tablet 3, Column 2, Line 27); “seven brothers, eight sons of one mother…” (Kirta, Tablet 1, Column 1, Lines 8-9); “let him bake enough bread for five months, enough provisions for six.” (Kirta Tablet 1, Column 2, Line 30,and I, 4, 11); “I will give her double the price in silver, triple the price in gold” (Tablet 1, Column 4, Lines 42-43); “…she will bear you seven sons and daughters, she will produce eight for you;” (Kirta, Tablet 2, Column 2, Lines 24-25); “Call my 70 noble bulls, my eighty noble gazelles,” (Kirta, Tablet 2, Column 4, Lines 6-7); “For three months he has been ill, for four Kirta has been sick.” (Kirta, Tablet 3, Column 2, Line 23); “Baal captured sixty-six cities, seventy-seven towns; Baal sacked eighty; he sacked ninety…” (Baal, Tablet 4, Column 7, Lines 9-12); or considering Baal’s reputation as a fertility god, there is even “He lay with her seventy-seven times, she made him erect eighty-eight times,…” (Baal, Tablet 5, Column 5, Lines 20-21). See also “For seven years complete, eight cycles duration…” (The Lovely Gods, back of tablet, Line 67) and “Two fathoms under the earth springs, three lengths under the caves…” (Baal, Tablet 3, Column 4, Lines 36-37).

A similar numerical pattern is found in how fast the gods and goddesses travel, “A thousand fields, ten thousand at each step” (Aqhat, Tablet 2, Column 1, Lines 21-22, Baal, Tablet 3, Column 4, Line 38 and Tablet 3, Column 6, Line 18). But, by far, the most significant pattern uses the number seven. In the first tablet of Aqhat, Baal approaches on the seventh day (Column 1, Lines 16-17), the Kotharat leave the house on the seventh day (Column 2, Lines 39-40), on the seventh day, Danel goes to the city gate (Column 5, Line 3-6), Aqhat was mourned for seven years (Tablet 3, Column 4, Line 15), and Baal the Conqueror seems to arrive on the seventh day in The Rephaim (Tablet 3, Line 26), as does the besieger of Kirta (Tablet 1, Column 3, Line 4) and King Pabil’s insomnia (Tablet 1, Column 3, Lines 15-16 and Column 5, Lines 6-7). By the seventh year, Kirta has the number of heirs promised (Kirta, Tablet 2, Column 3, Lines 22-24). In Tablet 3 of Kirta, the important question, “Who among the gods can expel the sickness, drive out the disease?” is repeated seven times in Column 5. In the Baal cycle, it takes seven days for the precious materials to be solidified by the tempering fire (Baal, Tablet 4, Column 6, Lines 32-33). It is in the seventh year, as told in Tablet 6, Column 5, Lines 9-10, that Death challenges Baal anew. In the ritual instructions of The Lovely Gods, the entrance liturgy is to be repeated seven times (Line 12).

Not only should such numerical patterns be helpful to, particularly, Old Testament students and interpreters, but the co-authors’ attention to symbolism echoed or ironically reversed in biblical texts is quite useful. I particularly liked the reversal noted in Isaiah 25:8 where God swallows Death over Death swallowing Baal in Tablet 6, Column 2, Lines 22-23 (pp. 106, 147). Also, if one needs to understand something of the masochism necessary in fertility worship, one can check out the mourning rituals of El on pages 143-144. The gory scene where Baal’s sister Anat winnows Death like wheat explains much about Near Eastern understanding of agriculture (pp. 107-108).

What caught me off-guard was the rather literal explanation of “hair of the dog” as a headache remedy. In the tablet Coogan and Smith entitled, “El’s Drinking Party,” we discover that one literally applies dog hair to the forehead to cure the hangover (El’s Drinking Party back of tablet, Line 29). Not being prone to hangovers, I hadn’t thought about the connection between ancient ritual and the old cliché. The short translation of the damaged tablet proves extremely worthwhile as a demonstration of how the gods of mythology misbehave as much as human beings.

The only thing that I can think of which would have made Stories from Ancient Canaan: Second Edition more useful would have been a transliteration of the Ugaritic text for those who don’t read cuneiform, but might want to examine the sounds and word counts. Of course, that would have doubled the size and probably the price of the book, so I still think Stories from Ancient Canaan is an incredibly valuable resource.

[Grady · Rating 4 out of 5]

The four myths in this collection were translated from clay tablets found in the ruins of the ancient city of Ugarit, razed during the regional collapse at the end of the Bronze Age. The critical apparatus consists of a long introductory essay, as well as essays on each myth; they are excellent, and serve as a road map to interesting formal and substantive details in each of the translated poems. It was first published in 1978, but since the originals were written down sometime in the mid-1300s BCE, that's comparatively yesterday. To a modern reader, one of the most striking features of these myths is the way specific lines or passages echo others from the Old Testament, especially the Psalms - some degree of cultural continuity between the ancient Canaanites and the ancient Israelites is apparent.

[Keith Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories is a collection of texts translated from cuneiform tablets recovered from the ruins of the ancient Canaanite city of Ugarit. None of the texts are complete as bits of the tablets were broken off or damaged. It is not an easy read as the text tends to be repetitive, like something intended for oral recitation, but there are moments of surprisingly beautiful poetry.

The most fascinating aspect of the texts for me are not the myths themselves, but rather the parallels to Biblical texts. In the Bible the Canaanites are depicted as the pagan enemies of the Hebrew people, but the Canaanite's stories suggest a deep connection. The Hebrew word for God is "El" and in the Ugarit tablets the chief god of the Canaanite pantheon is named "El." El is depicted as an elderly god, still honored as creator and father, but reliant on younger gods like Baal to rule the world. El has a wife named Asherah. In the Bible the Hebrew prophets are continually fighting the priests of Baal and condemning the erection of Asherah poles. My theory is that at some point the priests of El took over Israel and declared all the other gods to be false, but continually struggled with the people reverting to worshiping other gods they were familiar with like Baal and Asherah.

One of the stories follows the life Aqhat, the son of the Canaanite hero Danel, who may be connected to the Israelite hero Daniel. Another tells the story of a king named Kirta who looses his family, wealth, and health like Job in the Bible. Later Kirta is forced to fight against a rebellion led by his son Yassub, much like King David had to fight his beloved son Absalom in the Bible. The largest piece tells the story of Baal and how he became king of the gods and defeated Death with the help of his sister Anat.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Introductions and translations to a handful of Canaanite texts discovered at Ras Shamra/Ugarit related to Biblical themes: Aqhat, Rephaim, Kirta, Baal, Lovely Gods, El's Drinking Party.

The authors provide both an overall introduction, explaining the discovery of Ugarit and what is known about it, the gods of the Canaanite pantheon, the form of poetry used, and what associations may exist between Ugarit and ancient Israel. They also well introduce each particular text, providing a description of what is going on in the narrative, making reference to possible Biblical allusions and associations, and providing whatever color and background they can for the text; these introductions prove crucial since the texts are extremely fragmentary. Within the translation they will mention where the gaps are and whatever insight they may have into what might have been going on in them. The authors provide a great bibliography as well.

Sure, all of these texts are in ANET; but that presumes you have or have access to ANET. This is much more reasonably priced and thus more accessible to students and those interested in Canaanite mythology.

[bennett]

“For I have a word to tell you,
a story to recount to you:
the word of the tree and the charm of the stone,
the whisper of the heavens to the earth,
of the seas to the stars.
I understanding the lightning which the heavens do not know,
the word which men do not know,
and the earth’s masses cannot understand.
Come, and I will reveal it”

[Stacey]

Canaanite mythology is a cool link between Mycenaean, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Old Testament mythologies. They borrowed and stole from one another and hated on each other’s gods in a way that’s not at all like nineties hip hop.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I would like to express my gratitude to Westminster John Knox Press for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Additionally, because the first edition was published in 1978, I will primarily focus on the newest additions, rather than repeat any old critiques.

First published in 1978, Michael Coogan and Mark Smith’s Stories from Ancient Canaan was a hit. At that time it made Ugaritic literature accesible to non-professional readers. By presenting the principle Canaanite texts, Coogan and Smith open up the ancient world to student of history, the Bible, and literature. The first edition includes an introduction, Aqhat, The Rephaim, Kirta, and The Baal Cycle. The 1st edition expands improves translations and introductions to include developments in Ugaritic studies and language. Most notably, the 2nd edition includes The Lovely Gods and El’s Drinking Party. Beyond mere additional reading material, the two additional texts provide an improved and sharped snapshot of how Ugaritic peoples represented and understood their gods.

I find intriguing, for example, the differences between the first four myths and El’s Drinking Party. El’s Drinking Party provides a less dignified representation of El, such as when Habayu smears him with his crap and piss (paraphrase inspired from the translation on page 172). Such contrasts between El’s glorified representation in things like the Baal Cycle and Aqhat challenge the reader, especially the reader of the Hebrew Bible, to rethink how they conceptualize literature rooted in ancient Israelite society. Especially for non-professionals attempting to engage with ancient Israel’s context, the 2nd edition of Stories from Ancient Canaan is extremely beneficial.

Regarding resource, I also appreciate the updated bibliographies in the book. The bibliography includes works by Carl Ehrlich, W. G. E. Watson, N. Wyatt, and much more. In short, it provides a point by which passionate students and non-professionals can move forward in expanding their understanding of the ancient Ugarit.

Without a doubt, Stories from Ancient Canaan is an excellent choice for auto didactic study. The glossary in the back of the book, clarity of writing, and lack of ubiquitous style lets it be extremely approachable by any person. For undergraduate students in an ancient Near Eastern course or Hebrew Bible course, it is also an excellent addition to their personal libraries. The inexpensiveness of the book partnered with the long term value of easy access to understandable translations of major Ugaritic literature justifies the purchase. While graduate students will want to address more critical translations, it still may be of some value, such as simple weekend reading. All-in-all, I highly recommend Stories from Ancient Canaan for it’s clarity, ease in reading, and making accessible introduction to and translations of valuable literature of the ancient world and humanity.

Originally posted at The Biblical Review:
https://thebiblicalreview.wordpress.c...

[Andrew Pixton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was super fascinating, not just for the myths themselves but for the context they add to the Bible and other ancient religions. Discovered by a farmer in 1928 in the ruins of Ugarit of northern Syria. As a commercial port, there was Hittite, Akkadian, Mycenean, Assyrian, and Canaanite which was an ethnic umbrella spanning Syria down to Egypt.

The main pantheon here centers on Baal (means Lord, but was the thunder god) and his foes Yam (means Sea), and Mot (means Death), like the Greek Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. All three kill each other at different points here, then come back to life representing cycles of famine and prosperity. There's sea monsters and heroes and all in a kind of colophon poetry apparently also found in Psalms. Actually this made plenty of helpful parallels to Old Testament books. Apparently Death and Sea and their children appear frequently in the OT but you wouldn't know it unless pointed out.

Then there's the chief god El, the Kind, the Compassionate, Creator of Creatures (sounds like Allah in the Qur'an which has the same root), the Bull, the Father of Time. This last and most epic title must be due to his being the father of Dawn and Dusk, two "Lovely Gods" as ravenous as Mot and who I assume devour the world as they turn its time. Etymologically, El just means 'the god'. Elohim then refers to all his gods in assembly. All this majesty aside, his last two stories are rather embarrassing but in the others he's portrayed as reigning from atop a grand mountain that is the source of all rivers.

There's a naming convention taking place here that adds context to other ancient religions: Baal was originally a title until they passed through a period when only the high priest could say the name, everyone else said the title. This happened enough that the title became the name. So Baal Hadad in Israel/Palestine, Baal Haddu in Assyria, Baal Hammon in Tyrian Carthage, all became just Baal. Bel Marduk in Mesopotamia became just Bel. And Adonai Yahweh, just Adonai (LORD). Interestingly, in Phoenicia Baal came to refer to El instead. Then there's a mystery around Baal Berith and El Berith possibly being the same or separate evolutions. Baal Zebub was probably just an insult against foreign gods.

You'll recall El from several names in other scriptures: Immanuel, Gabriel, Azazel, Samael, Samuel, El Elyon, El Shaddai, etc. And Baal from when Elijah confronts his priests in 1 Kings 18 and his god Yahweh slaughters them to prove his superiority. This represents an old shift that was happening in the polytheism of ancient Judea when Queen Jezebel had wanted a return to worship focused on Baal Hadad from Adonai Yahweh in Israel but the Israelites resisted it so much they came to despise the name Baal, e.g. changing Jerubbaal to Jerubbosheth among others. After that pendulum swung back and forth for some time, it evidently settled in permanent victory for Yahweh (and El who'd begun to fuse with him, i.e. LORD is God = Adonai is El) as he's now the only deity worshipped in all descending religions while Baal and Jezebel are demonized.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay stories, though a bit too biblical in tone for me. Anat is definitely a fantastic goddess, and the Baal story I will definitely be reading and rereading. Kirta, however, did not interest me so much. The translation was okay, but I think it could have been a little better done. The sentence structure was quite choppy, as if directly translated, with no room for making it attractive in the new language.

Still, some fun little myths if you don't mind breaks where text was missing!

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to learn about parallels between ancient Canaanite culture and the biblical Old Testament. While there are starkly conflicting perspectives between the two, ancient Canaanite tablets seem to independently confirm the spiritual/angelic realm that is briefly referenced throughout the Old Testament.

[Caomhghain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not so much stories as slight summaries of poems and translations of what is legible. Poetry from Ugarit is an acquired taste I would think. Much of the poetic effect comes from duplication, not only echoing lines as in later Hebrew but large chunks of conversation or action are repeated word for word. I suspect it was rather chanted or sung when the effect would have been greater.

[Scott Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although not what I was looking for, which was more the rituals that the actual people were performed, this was a good look at the mythologies involved directly referencing the available texts from remaining tablets. Recommend if ancient mythology is of any interest.

[Darrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan" -Ezekiel 16:3

The city of Ugarit was destroyed around 1200 BC and rediscovered in 1928. It was a Canaanite city-state like Jerusalem. Until the Ugaritic texts were discovered, all we knew about the Canaanites was what was said of them in the Bible. The texts that survive are fragmentary, but at least give us a small window into what the Canaanites believed. The Ugaritic texts have similarities to both the Gilgamesh epic and passages in the Bible.

In the Canaanite pantheon, El is the father of the gods, but he isn't the only one (see Psalm 82:1, 1 Kings 22:19, and Job 1-2). The gods all live on a cosmic mountain where fresh water originates. (Mount Zion is said to be a source of water in Zechariah 14:8 among other places.)

The storm god/fertility god Baal later becomes head of the gods. He lives on Mount Zaphon and is often described in a similar way to Yahweh in the Bible. We know Baal worship happened in Israel due to repeated attacks upon it, as well as names that contain Baal. Yahweh and Baal are both called Rider on the Clouds (Psalm 68:4). Psalm 29 may even have originally been a hymn to Baal.

Asherah is El's consort. She appears in 2 Kings 23:4 among other places. The word asherah is also used in other places to refer to her sacred tree or pole which was associated with fertility (the worship of which is repeatedly forbidden in the Bible).

Anat is Baal's sister, a violent goddess who wears a necklace of human heads and a belt of human hands. She's a goddess of the hunt and war. Her name only appears in the Bible as part of a few place names.

Astarte is another goddess we don't learn much about. She appears frequently in the Bible. See 1 Kings 11:5 for one example.

The craftsman and prophetic god Kothar-wa-Hasis was thought to live far away in Crete or Egypt, reflecting Canaanite dependence on foreign artisans. Kotharat is the goddess of marriage and childbirth.

Death is Baal's main rival and represents sterility and drought. The desert is Death's domain. The underworld is reached by raising two mountains that block its entrance. The underworld is a damp, watery place called the Swamp, the Pit, Filth, or the isolation ward. Death is said to crawl in through windows in Jeremiah 9:21 and there's a reference to this in the Ugaritic texts. In Isaiah 25:8, Yahweh swallows Death, reversing the scene in which Death swallows Baal in the Ugaritic texts.

As in the Bible, Ugaritic poetry is based on repetition. The language is very Biblical, which is not surprising since the Hebrews originally descended from the Canaanites.

Aqhat

Danel (or Daniel), the father of Aqhat is mentioned in Ezekiel 28:3 as being a wise man. This tablet begins with him practicing the rite of incubation, communicating with the gods through dreams in order to get a son. After his son Aqhat is born, Kothar-wa-Hasis gives him a bow and arrows. Anat wants them, but Aqhat insults her, so she and her henchman Yatpan kill Aqhat. Danel splits open several vultures looking for his son's remains so he can give him a proper burial and mourns him using the same language David did in 2 Samuel 1:21. Aqhat's sister Pugat vows revenge. She hides a dagger under her robe and gets Yatpan drunk. Unfortunately, the tablet breaks off here, so we don't know what happened next.

Rephaim

The Rephaim are the divine dead in ancient Canaan. In Job 26:5 they're said to be inhabitants of the underworld, Isaiah 14:9 says they're dead kings of old, Deuteronomy 3:11 says one of them was a giant, and they're mentioned in other places in the Bible as well.

Kirta

In this tablet, Kirta has a dream instructing him to prepare for war and demand the king's daughter to marry him. He follows the instructions of the dream, but he doesn't fulfill his vow to Asherah and gets a disease as a result. El heals him, but then his son tries to take his throne and the tablet breaks off before we find out what happens next.

Baal

Baal becomes king of the gods by defeating Sea and Death. His fight with Sea is much like Marduk defeating Tiamat in the Enuma Elish. Like Marduk, Baal also builds a house after defeating his enemy. Another sea monster called Litan is similar to the Leviathan described in Job 41. Like Baal, Yahweh also beats Sea (Job 26:12-13) and is a storm god (Psalm 104:3-4). Baal dies, but then defeats Death.

The Lovely Gods

El obtains two wives and fathers Dawn, Dusk, and the Lovely Gods. "The Lovely Gods" is likely a euphemism since they are the opposite of lovely, devouring everything.

El's Drinking Party

In this tablet, El gets drunk at a party. Moon is described as a dog begging for scraps under the table. As El stumbles home, he sees Habayu, a god with horns and a tail (perhaps a precursor to the devil). Habayu smears El with urine and excrement. El then has a hangover. Anat and Astarte hunt to find ingredients to cure him. Interestingly, one of the ingredients is actually dog hair placed on the forehead, bringing to mind people today saying the best cure for a hangover is hair of the dog. Does this saying really go back three thousand years?

[Keegan Bucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The fragmentary nature of the stories detracts from enjoyment. Learning about the ancient Semitic city of Ugarit was nice though.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This accessible and entertaining book recounts several important mythic stories from ancient Ugarit. Ugarit was a Canaanite city state on the coast of the Mediterranean across from Crete in modern Syria. This book introduced me to several interesting concepts. The first was that Ugaritic was a Semetic language like Biblical Hebrew but written with a cuniaform alphabet. Second, the world did not know much about Ugarit until the 1920s when the tablets from this city were found. Third that the many quotes in the Old Testament reflect the competing religion of the Canaanites and cultural exchange backwards and forwards between the Canaanites and Israelites. In this collection you will read the story of Aqat, Kirta, and Baal. The introductions before the translations are especially helpful. The myths while using repetitive langue are helpful in getting a sense for how the stories may have sounded to people steeped in an oral culture. Worth your time if you are interested in the ancient Near East.

[Melissa Chalhoub · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s good to finally read about our people’s mythology when it’s all happening in our land and it’s part of our History. Main problem i got was the highfalutin translation, it felt too British and got me out of the Canaanite mood.

Second, the analysis is too jewish-centric, no mentions of the Christians and Arabs and the parallelisms there, even though these are the cultures that mainly stayed in the land. Barely any mention of the greeks and babylonians in the analysis too, it just felt (with the amount of isr3li professors and universities mentioned) like it’s part of a zi0nist plan to take Ugarit and every Phoenician city on their way, as “land of the israelites”, and here’s our proof.

Edit: Checked the author, apparently he teaches Biblical studies in Harvard. So it’s an interesting angle, when we know that judaism started from the land of Canaan, just a weird angle for a book of stories. I would’ve read that essay independently and preferred to enjoy the myths on their own, with a more general analysis.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most recent episode in my endeavor to trace the origins of Western thought and culture. An interesting collection of texts, translated plainly - but not without depth - that includes informative introductory segments prior to each. These segments give context and provide modern thoughts and analysis for the following work. The Baal Cycle is the lengthiest and perhaps most interesting of the five texts included, and provides an interesting window into the Canaanite view of their political, climatological, and cosmic situation. Absolutely worth a read; the three stars is awarded simply because, on an enjoyment level, I found the stories to be less interesting than the comparable Mesopotamian or Hebrew works - not because there was anything wrong with the scholarship or book itself (quite the contrary, actually).

[Niklas Heer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers a fascinating look into the mythology of the ancient Canaanites through translations of texts found at Ugarit.
It was eye-opening to see the parallels between these stories and the Hebrew Bible. Seeing the cultural context from which the biblical traditions emerged—specifically the descriptions of the storm god Baal and the high god El—adds a lot of depth to understanding ancient religious history.
However, because the original source materials are damaged clay tablets, the stories are often fragmented. There are frequent gaps where lines are missing, which can make the narrative flow difficult to follow at times. It is definitely more of a historical resource than a smooth story.

I recommend this book to everyone interested in ancient history, mythology, or anyone seeking to understand the cultural background of the Old Testament.

[Brett Folkman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a plethora of quotes in other works from the Ugaritic texts in other works and don't know why it took me so long to read these important texts beginning to end with the perfect amount of commentary and insights for me to follow. This has left me very hungry for a deeper scholarly dive into various interpretations. I especially love reading about Asherah, El's wife and mother of the other gods. Personally believing God is both a real Heavenly Father and Mother, who bore our spirits before we came to earth, these ancient texts are fascinating! It's a quick read and very enjoyable - highly recommend!!

Brett Folkman
Doctor of Ministry

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Smith gives us exactly what is contained in the title of the book: stories from ancient Canaan. Aqhat, the Rephaim, Kirta, Ilimilku's story of the Baal narrative (my favorite of the texts shared by Smith), the lovely gods (who maybe aren't so lovely), and El's Drinking Party.

Good stuff, if you are into the world that shaped the Hebrew Bible.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting sample of Canaanite mythology. It also adds critical perspective to The Hebrew Bible (A.K.A. The Old Testament, Tanakh) study because after all; Canaan preceded Israel/Judea, Palestine. A must read for all Bible study students. An important key to understanding the evolution of god(s) and religions in general.

[Lark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting stuff and I truly can’t imagine it in any other form
A great blend of history, interpretation, and commentary.
I came to the review wanting more of the the first and last things but the book gives a lot for being very concise and if it had laid more into any one thing I think it could have gotten bogged down

It’s a very good resource and fascinating read

Thanks, Ugarit!

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The summaries made more sense than the translations. If I just read the translations, there would have been no way to understand it. Lots of repetitions in the translations, much like passages in rite and song, but some interesting passages.