Genesis has more than one God?

[Confused]

Genesis 3: 21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."

This has always bothered me. If there is only one God, and He is the one speaking in this passage, then two things pop out at me.

1) Who is he speaking to?

2) Why does God refer to Adam and Eve becoming one of US? In the plural sense.

[Confused]

Here we can clearly see that Christ is saying the He and the Father are one. The same.

Or Jesus isn't the Father but the son, a separte entitiy in which case there isn't only one God, but at least two and if we include the Holy Spririt, then three.

Jeeze, any wonder why I am confused.

God is one. Jesus is god, and the son of god, which means he is the father and the son to himself at the same time.

Couldn't be simpler.

I guess I am not smart enough to understand. Are we talking mutiple personality disorder type father and son at the same time? I am not meaning to make light of what you say, but what you say makes no logical sense. If God is one, then how is the the father and the son? That is two.

[CubicU]

Here we can clearly see that Christ is saying the He and the Father are one. The same.

Or Jesus isn't the Father but the son, a separte entitiy in which case there isn't only one God, but at least two and if we include the Holy Spririt, then three.

Jeeze, any wonder why I am confused.

God is one. Jesus is god, and the son of god, which means he is the father and the son to himself at the same time.

Couldn't be simpler.

I guess I am not smart enough to understand. Are we talking mutiple personality disorder type father and son at the same time? I am not meaning to make light of what you say, but what you say makes no logical sense. If God is one, then how is the the father and the son? That is two.

like i said before: God and Jesus are ONE in purpose, that purpose is the salvation of mankind. Imagine with me if you will a business. A business run by three people. They make up the head honchos or however you spell it. They are THREE speparate people BUT with the SAME idea in mind. The SAME common goal. They work together to make that goal happen. It's kinda the same, you got God, Jesus and the HG all working together to reach the same goal. And Jesus and the HG are giving the glory to the Father because there can't be a son without a father. Everything Jesus did, he attributed it to the will of God the Father. And when we give glory to the Son, we're giving glory to the Father who set the plan in the first place. We're giving the glory to God in general because they all worked together to make it happen. God set the plan in motion, Jesus fulfilled the center point in it and the Holy Ghost bears witness of the truthfullness of the plan. Sorry if it's confusing and confuses you some more!

[Melis]

God is one. Jesus is god, and the son of god, which means he is the father and the son to himself at the same time.

Couldn't be simpler.

I guess I am not smart enough to understand. Are we talking mutiple personality disorder type father and son at the same time? I am not meaning to make light of what you say, but what you say makes no logical sense. If God is one, then how is the the father and the son? That is two.

I was being sarcastic - but people actually believe this - which is nonsense in my opinion.
For instance:
a) why would god have a son, which is a human? Is god also a human?
b) how can three persons be one person?
c) how can those three persons be gods, if there is only one god?
d) etc., etc...

I guess The Holy Trinity is just a bad invention of NT writers. I mean, by using this type of thinking god can be one, but in millions of persons, which actually insults our intelligence. I can't believe anyone buys this.

[Cathar1950]

Here we can clearly see that Christ is saying the He and the Father are one. The same.

Or Jesus isn't the Father but the son, a separte entitiy in which case there isn't only one God, but at least two and if we include the Holy Spririt, then three.

Jeeze, any wonder why I am confused.

God is one. Jesus is god, and the son of god, which means he is the father and the son to himself at the same time.

Couldn't be simpler.

I guess I am not smart enough to understand. Are we talking mutiple personality disorder type father and son at the same time? I am not meaning to make light of what you say, but what you say makes no logical sense. If God is one, then how is the the father and the son? That is two.

I think Melis was being funny when he wrote " Counldn't be simpler" Confused.
I looked up some things for you that might help.
I can also give you a list of books that might be of interest if you like. Many can be found in the library. So you don't have to go buy them.

Elohim (gods) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThe Elohim are ruled by the El called Hadad the most high (elyon) who was ... of the primary and minor gods, with generous excerpts from the actual stories. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elohim_(gods)

How Hebrew thinking developed later is irrelevent to the passages because the stories were taken from older tales. It these older stories El is the main God while YHWH(Yaw) and Baal are his sons among others. Asherah was the consort of El and later as YHWH replaces El she becomes his consort. Those that worshiped Baal also saw he as his. The reforms of Josiah and Hezekiah and the prophets with the temple cult begin the process of replacing the pantheon with one God. Later much of the early stories are redacted and edited yet left traces. Much of this was done during and after the exile.

Here is some interesting stuff.

"In 1928 a group of French archaeologists journeyed with 7 camels, one donkey, and some burden bearers towards the tel known as Ras Shamra. After a week at the site they discovered a cemetery 150 meters from the Mediterranean Sea. In the graves they discovered Egyptian and Phoenician artwork and alabaster. They also found some Mycenean and Cypriot materials.

After the discovery of the cemetery they found a city and a royal palace about 1000 meters from the sea on a tel 18 meters high. The tel was called by the locals Ras Shamra which means “fennel hill”. There also Egyptian artifacts were discovered and dated to the 2nd millennium BCE.

The greatest discovery made at the site was a collection of tablets carved with (a then) unknown cuneiform script. In 1932 the identification of the site was made when some of the tablets were deciphered; the city was the ancient and famous site of Ugarit.

Ugarit experienced a very long history. A city was built on the site in the Neolithic period around 6000 BCE. The oldest written evidence of the city is found in some texts from the nearby city of Ebla written around 1800 BCE. At that time both Ebla and Ugarit were under Egyptian hegemony, which shows that the long arm of Egypt extended all along the west coast of the Mediterranean Sea (for Ugarit is located in modern day Syria roughly dead east of the NE coast of Cyprus on the coast of Syria). The population of Ugarit at that time was roughly 7635 people. The city of Ugarit continued to be dominated by the Egyptians through 1400 BCE.

All of the tablets found at Ugarit were written in the last period of its life (around 1300- 1200 BCE)...
The texts which were discovered at Ugarit aroused interest because of their international flavor. That is, the texts were written in one of four languages; Sumerian, Akkadian, Hurritic and Ugaritic. The tablets were found in the royal palace, the house of the High Priest, and some private houses of evidently leading citizens.

These texts, as mentioned above, are very important for Old Testament study. The Ugaritic literature demonstrates that Israel and Ugarit shared a common literary heritage and a common linguistic lineage. They are, in short, related languages and literatures. We can thus learn very much about the one from the other. Our knowledge of the religion of Ancient Syria-Palestine and Canaan has been greatly increased by the Ugaritic materials and their significance cannot be overlooked. We have here, as it were, an open window on the culture and religion of Israel in its earliest period.

Ugaritic poetry is very similar to Biblical poetry and is therefore very useful in interpreting difficult poetic texts. In fact, Ugaritic literature (besides lists and the like) is composed completely in poetic metre. Biblical poetry follows Ugaritc poetry in form and function. There is parallelism, qinah metre, bi and tri colas, and all of the poetic tools found in the Bible are found at Ugarit. In short the Ugaritic materials have a great deal to contribute to our understanding of the Biblical materials; especially since they predate any of the Biblical texts.

4. The Ugaritic Pantheon.

The prophets of the Old Testament rail against Baal, Asherah and various other gods on nearly every page. The reason for this is simple to understand; the people of Israel worshipped these gods along with, and sometimes instead of, Yahweh, the God of Israel. This Biblical denunciation of these Canaanite gods received a fresh face when the Ugaritic texts were discovered, for at Ugarit these were the very gods that were worshipped.

El was the chief god at Ugarit. Yet El is also the name of God used in many of the Psalms for Yahweh; or at least that has been the presupposition among pious Christians. Yet when one reads these Psalms and the Ugaritic texts one sees that the very attributes for which Yahweh is acclaimed are the same for which El is acclaimed. In fact, these Psalms were most likely originally Ugaritic or Canaanite hymns to El which were simply adopted by Israel, much like the American National Anthem was set to a beer hall tune by Francis Scott Key. El is called the “father of men”, “creator”, and “creator of the creation”. These attributes are also granted Yahweh by the Old Testament.

For instances, read KTU 1. 2 I 13-32 and compare it to many of the Psalms. Also, read Ps 82:1, 89:6-8mn!).

In 1 Kings 22:19-22 we read of Yahweh meeting with his heavenly council. This is the very description of heaven which one finds in the Ugaritic texts. For in those texts the “sons of god” are the sons of El.

Other deities worshipped at Ugarit were El Shaddai, El Elyon, and El Berith. All of these names are applied to Yahweh by the writers of the Old Testament. What this means is that the Hebrew theologians adopted the titles of the Canaanite gods and attributed them to Yahweh in an effort to eliminate them. If Yahweh is all of these there is no need for the Canaanite gods to exist! This process is known as assimilation.

Besides the chief god at Ugarit there were also lesser gods, demons, and goddesses. The most important of these lesser gods were Baal (familiar to all readers of the Bible), Asherah (also familiar to readers of the Bible), Yam (the god of the sea) and Mot (the god of death). What is of great interest here is that Yam is the Hebrew word for sea and Mot is the Hebrew word for death! Is this because the Hebrews also adopted these Canaanite ideas as well? Most likely they did.

One of the most interesting of these lesser deities, Asherah, plays a very important role in the Old Testament. There she is called the wife of Baal; but she is also known as the consort of Yahweh! That is, among some Yahwists, Ahserah is Yahweh’s female counterpart! Inscriptions found at Kuntillet ‘Ajrud (dated between 850 and 750 BCE) say:

I bless you through Yahweh of Samaria,

and through his Asherah!

And at ‘El Qom (from the same period) this inscription:

Uriyahu, the king, has written this.

Blessed be Uriyahu through Yahweh,

and his enemies have been conquered

through Yahweh’s Asherah.

That Yahwists worshipped Asherah until the 3rd century before Christ is well known from the Elephantine Papyri. Thus, for many in ancient Israel, Yahweh, like Baal, had a consort. Although condemned by the prophets, this aspect of the popular religion of Israel was difficult to overcome and indeed among many was never overcome.

As had already been mentioned, one of the more important lesser deities at Ugarit was Baal. Baal is described as the “rider on the clouds” in KTU 1.3 II 40. Interestingly enough, this description is also used of Yahweh in Psalm 68:5.

In the Old Testament Baal is named 58 times in the singular and 18 times in the plural. The prophets protested constantly against the love affair the Israelites had with Baal (cf. Hosea 2:19, for example). The reason Israel was so attracted to Baal was that, first of all, some Israelites viewed Yahweh as a God of the desert and so when they arrived in Canaan they thought it only proper to adopt Baal, the god of fertility. As the old saying goes, “whose land, his god”. For these Israelites Yahweh was useful in the desert but not much help in the land.

There is one Ugaritic text which seems to indicate that among the inhabitants of Ugarit, Yahweh was viewed as another son of El. KTU 1.1 IV 14 says:

sm . bny . yw . ilt

“The name of the son of god, Yahweh.”

This text seems to show that Yahweh was known at Ugarit, though not as the Lord but as one of the many sons of El.

Among the other gods worshipped at Ugarit there are Dagon, Tirosch, Horon, Nahar, Resheph, Kotar Hosis, Shachar (who is the equivalent of Satan), and Shalem. The folks at Ugarit were also plagued by a host of demons and lesser gods. The people at Ugarit saw the desert as the place which was most inhabited by demons (and they were like the Israelites in this belief). KTU 1.102:15-28 is a list of these demons.

One of the most famous of the lesser deities at Ugarit was a chap named Dan’il. There is little doubt that this figure corresponds to the Biblical Daniel; while predating him by several centuries. This has led many Old Testament scholars to suppose that the Canonical prophet was modeled on him. His story is found in KTU 1.17 - 1.19.

Another creature which has ties to the Old Testament is Leviathan. Isaiah 27:1 and KTU 1.5 I 1-2 describe this beast. Also see Ps 74:13-14 and 104:26.

In Ugarit, as in Israel, the cult played a central role in the lives of the people. One of the central Ugaritic myths was the story of Baal’s enthronement as king. In the story, Baal is killed by Mot (in the Fall of the year) and he remains dead until the Spring of the year. His victory over death was celebrated as his enthronement over the other gods (cf. KTU 1.2 IV 10)

The Old Testament also celebrates the enthronement of Yahweh (cf. Ps 47:9, 93:1, 96:10, 97:1 and 99:1). As in the Ugaritic myth, the purpose of Yahweh’s enthronement is to re-enact creation. That is, Yahweh overcomes death by his recurring creative acts.

The major difference between the Ugaritic myth and the Biblical hymns is that Yahweh’s kingship is eternal and uninterrupted while Baal’s is interrupted every year by his death (in the Fall). Since Baal is the god of fertility the meaning of this myth is quite easy to understand. As he dies, so the vegetation dies; and when he is reborn so is the world. Not so with Yahweh; for since he is always alive he is always powerful (Cf. Ps 29:10).

Another of the more interesting aspects of Ugaritic religion which has a parallel in Hebrew religion was the practice of “weeping for the dead”. KTU 1.116 I 2-5, and KTU 1.5 VI 11-22 describe the worshippers weeping over the departed in the hopes that their grief will move the gods to send them back and that they will therefore live again. The Israelites also participated in this activity; though the prophets condemned them for doing so (cf. Is 22:12, Eze 7:16, Mi 1:16, Jer 16:6, and Jer 41:5). Of particular interest in this connection is what Joel 1:8-13 has to say, so I quote it in full:

Lament like a virgin dressed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth. The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests mourn, the ministers of the Lord. The fields are devastated, the ground mourns; for the grain is destroyed, the wine dries up, the oil fails. Be dismayed, you farmers, wail, you vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley; for the crops of the field are ruined. The vine withers, the fig tree droops. Pomegranate, palm, and apple tree -- all the trees of the field are dried up; surely, joy withers away among the people.

Yet another interesting parallel between Israel and Ugarit is the yearly ritual known as the sending out of the “scapegoats”; one for god and one for a demon. The Biblical text which relates this procedure is Leviticus 16:1-34. In this text a goat is sent into the wilderness for Azazel (a demon) and one is sent into the wilderness for Yahweh. This rite is known as a “eliminatory” rite; that is, a contagion (in this case communal sin) is placed on the head of the goat and it is sent away. In this way it was believed that (magically) the sinful material was removed from the community.

KTU 1.127 relates the same procedure at Ugarit; with one notable difference -- at Ugarit a woman priest was involved in the rite as well.

The rituals performed in Ugaritic worship involved a great deal of alcohol and sexual promiscuity. Worship at Ugarit was essentially a drunken orgy in which priests and worshippers indulged in excessive drinking and excessive sexuality. This because the worshippers were attempting to convince Baal to send rain on their crops. Since rain and semen were seen in the ancient world as the same thing (as both produced fruit), it simply makes sense that participants in fertility religion behaved this way. Perhaps this is why in Hebrew religion the priests were forbidden to partake of wine while performing any rituals and also why females were barred from the precincts!! (cf. Hos 4:11-14, Is 28:7-8, and Lev 10:8-11).

One of the more interesting aspects of this ancestor worship at Ugarit was the “festive meal” that the worshipper shared with the depearted, called the “marzeach” (cf. Jer 16:5// with KTU 1.17 I 26-28 and KTU 1.20-22). This was, to the dwellers of Ugarit, what the Passover was to Israel and the Lord’s Supper to the Church."
http://www.theology.edu/ugarbib.htm

And here is some more ;
http://home.comcast.net/~chris.s/canaanite-faq.html

"II. What Deities did they worship?
As mentioned above, different cities had different concepts of not only which gods were ranked where in the pantheon, but also of which gods were included and what some of their basic attributes were. While El or Il, whose name means 'god', is commonly described as the creator of the earth, the Arameans ranked Hadad before him. Also, many city gods were named Baal, meaning 'lord'. Baal-Sidon, the city god of Sidon was thus an entirely different deity than Baal-Hadad, the storm god. Given the dearth of material from outside of Ugarit, if other cities or regions are not mentioned in the entry, the details can be assumed to be particular to Ugarit.

A. Primarily beneficent and non-hostile gods:
El - (also called Latipan, and possibly Dagon)
He is known as the Father of the gods, 'the father of mankind', the 'Bull', and 'the creator of creatures'. He is grey haired and bearded and lives at Mt. Lel. He is a heavy drinker and has gotten extremly drunk at his banquets.
As a young god, he went out to the sea and, spying two ladies, one of whom is presumably Athirat, becomes aroused, roasts a bird and asks the two to choose between being his daughters or his wives. They become his wives and in due course they give birth to Shachar, Shalim, and possibly other gracious gods, who could be Athirat's seventy children and/or much of the rest of the pantheon. The new family raises a sanctuary in the desert and lived there for eight years.


He orders that Yam be given kingship and sets Kothar-and-Khasis to build the new king a throne. The gods warn that Yam has been shamed and may wreck destruction, so El ameliorates him by renaming him mddil - 'beloved of El' and throws a feast for him. El warns though that this is contingent on his driving out of Baal, who may fight back. Following Yam's demise, he favors the god Mot.
While Baal is declared king and judge, he remains a resident of El and Athirat's palace as El refuses him permission to build an apropriate mansion, in spite of Shapash. When Baal-Hadad's monsters assail the handmaidens of Yarikh and Lady Athirat of the Sea, he advises them to give birth to beasts which will lure Baal-Hadad away on a hunt.

He favors King Keret, who may be his son, offering him riches upon the death of his many spouses and eventually promising him the princess Huray and many children, provided he make the proper sacrifices and follow his instructions. After Keret takes ill, El eventually convenes an assembly of the gods in order to ask one of them to rid Keret of his illness. Eventually, El dispatches the demoness Sha'taqat who cures Keret.

Anat brings her complaints of Aqhat before him and threatens to strike him in the head when he gives his response. He then replies that he knows how contemptuous she is and won't stand in her way.


Athirat (Asherah, Ashtartian - 'the Lady of the Sea', Elat - 'the goddess')
El's loving consort and is protective of her seventy children who may also be known as the gracious gods, to whom she is both mother and nursemaid. Her sons, unlike Baal initially, all have godly courts. She frequents the ocean shore. In the Syrian city of Qatra, she was considered Baal-Hadad's consort.
While washing clothing with a female companion by the sea, she is spied by El, who roasts a bird and invites the two to choose between being his daughters or his wives. They choose to become his wives and in due course give birth to the gracious gods, the cleavers of the sea, including Shachar and Shalim. The new family builds a sanctuary in the desert and lives there for eight years.


Baal and Anat hope to use her to influence El on the issue of Baal's palace. Intially suspicious and fearful of them on behalf of her children, but she warms up when she see that they have brought gifts. She and Anat successfully intercede with El on Baal's behalf for permission for Baal to build a more suitable court.
When Baal is found dead, she advocates her son Athtar be made king. Her sons, the "'pounders' of the sea", apparently colluded with Mot and were smited by Baal with sword and mace upon his return. Baal-Hadad's creatures devour her handmaidens, so she sends them to El. El tells them to go into the wilderness and there birth horned buffalo, which will distract Baal-Hadad.

She and Anat serve as nursemaids for Keret's son Yassib, but reminds Keret of his pledge of wealth for Huray, perhaps causing his decline in health because of its lack of fulfillment. (See also Gwen Saylor's commentary on ver. 0.3 - Asherah)


Qadshu
A Syrian goddess, who has occasionally been tentatively identified with nude fertility goddess statues. Also spelled Qodesh, meaning 'holy', and used as an epithet of Athirat. She had been identified with the Egyptian Qetesh

Qodesh-and-Amrur 'fisherman of Athirat'
Baal's messenger to Kothar-and-Khasis. He is also Athirat's servant and dredges up provisions to entertain her guests from the sea with a net. It is interesting to note that in Dan 4:13(10) similar words appear to refer to an angel and have been translated as 'holy messenger' or 'holy sentinel'.

Kothar-and-Khasis ('skillful and clever', also called Chousor and Heyan (Ea) and identified with Ptah)
He is the craftsman god and is identified with Memphis.
He is ordered by El to build Yam's throne. He upbraids Yam for rising against Baal and threatens him with a magic weapon. He gives Baal the magic weapons Yagrush (Chaser) and Aymur (Driver).

He crafts Baal's bribe for Athirat, a temple serving set of gold and silver. He build's Baal's second house and insists over Baal's objections on including a window.

He constructs a bow and arrows set for Aqhat, presenting them first to Daniel and staying for a feast.


Shachar 'Dawn'
Shalim's twin twin and one of the first, if not only, pair of gracious gods, the children and cleavers of the sea. They were born of El and Athirat or her female companion. The new family builds a sanctuary in the desert and lives there for eight years. According to Isaiah 14:12, he is the father of Helel or Lucifer, the 'light-bringer', usually taken to mean the morning-star.

Shalim 'Sunset/Dusk'
Shachar's twin and one of the first, if not only, pair of gracious gods, the children and cleavers of the sea. They were born of El and Athirat or her female companion. The new family builds a sanctuary in the desert and lives there for eight years.
Shamu (Baalshamem?)
Not found in the Ugarit texts, this sky god was the chief of the pantheon at the Syrian city of Alalakh.

Baal (also called Baal-Zephon(Saphon), Hadad, Pidar and Rapiu (Rapha?) - 'the shade')
The son of El, the god of fertility, 'rider of the clouds', and god of lightning and thunder. He is 'the Prince, the lord of earth', 'the mightiest of warriors', 'lord of the sky and the earth' (Alalakh). He has a palace on Mt. Zephon. He has a feud with Yam. His voice is thunder, his ship is a snow bearing cloud. He is known as Rapiu during his summer stay in the underworld.
He upbraids the gods for their cowardice when they intend to hand him over to Yam's messengers and attacks them but is restrained by Athtart and Anat. Kothar-and-Khasis gives him the magic weapons Yagrush (Chaser) and Aymur (Driver). He strikes Yam in chest and in the forehead, knocking him out. Athtart rebukes Baal and calls on him to 'scatter' his captive, which he does. In a alternate version of this episode, he slays Lotan (Leviathan), the seven-headed dragon. The battle may have been representative of rough winter sea-storms which calmed in the spring and which were preceded and accompanied by autumn rains which ended summer droughts and enabled crops to grow.

After his victory he holds a feast and remarks on his lack of a proper palace, instead retaining residence with El and Athirat. He sends messengers to Anat to ask her to perform a peace-offering that he might tell her the word which is the power of lightning and seek lightning on the holy Mt Zephon. She does so and he welcomes her. Hearing his complaints Anat leaves to petition El for a new palace for Baal. Rejected, Baal dispatches Qodesh-and-Amrur to Kothar-and-Khasis with a request to make a silver temple set with which to bribe Athirat. He and Anat view Athirat with trepidation keeping in mind past insults which he has suffered at the hands of the other gods. He and Anat ask Athirat to ask El for permission to build a more extravagant house and Athirat's request is granted. Gathering cedar, gold, silver, gems, and lapis at Mt. Zephon, he calls Kothar-and-Khasis, feeding him and instructing him on how to build the palace. He doesn't want a window, for fear of Yam breaking through or his daughters escaping, but Kothar-and-Khasis convinces him to allow its inclusion so that he might lightning, thunder, and rain through it.

At its completion he holds a feast, takes over scores of towns and allows the window to be built. He threatens to ask Mot to invite any of Baal's remaining enemies to come for a visit and at night, binds the lightning, snow and rains. He sends Gupn and Ugar to Mot to invite him to acknowledge his sovereignty at his new palace. He sends messengers to Mot to carry this message to him and they return with a message of such weight that Baal declares himself Mot's slave. He hopes to ameliorate Mot by having Sheger and Ithm supply live sheep and cattle for the god to feast upon. Fearing Mot he seeks Shapshu's advice and sires a substitute on a cow. He (or possibly his substitute) dies and remains in the underworld for seven years. El dreams that he is alive again but he is absent. Ashtar attempts to take Baal's place, but can not. Shapshu searches for him. Baal returns and fights Mot's allies, the sons of Athirat and the yellow ones. After seven years, Mot returns, demanding one of Baal's brothers lest he consume mankind. Baal rebuffs him and they fight tooth and nail. Shapshu separates the two declaring that Baal has El's favor and Baal resumes his throne.


As Baal-Hadad, he sends monstrous creatures to attack the handmaidens of Yarikh, and of Athirat of the Sea. He hunts the horned, buffalo-humped creatures which were birthed by the handmaidens at the advice of El. During the hunt he is stuck in a bog for seven years and things fall to pot. His kin recover him and there is much rejoicing.
Once when he was out hunting, Anat followed him. He spotted her, fell in love and copulated with her in the form of a cow. She gave birth to 'a wild ox' or a 'buffalo', telling him of the event on Mt. Zephon. This is probably not their only affair. (See also Theology 100 Online Glossary - Baal, Encyclopedia Mystica - Baal)


Gapn (vine)
Baal's page and messenger to both Anat and Mot.
Radmanu (Pradmanu)
a minor servitor of Baal.
Ugar (cultivated field?)
Baal's other page and messenger to both Anat and Mot. He is possibly the patron city-god of Ugarit.
Pidray 'daughter of the mist','daughter of light(ning)'
Baal's daughter. She is sometimes a love interest of Athtar.
Tallay ='she of dew', 'daughter of drizzle'
Baal's daughter.
Arsay = 'she of the earth', 'daughter of [ample flows]'
Baal's daughter.
Ybrdmy
Baal's daughter.
Athtart (Athtart-name-of-Baal, Astarte, Ashtoreth, Ashtart)
She is a consort of Baal, and lesser goddess of war and the chase. Outside of Ugarit, many nude goddess statues have been tenuously identified with her as a goddess of fertility and sex. In Sidon she merited royal priests and priestesses. There she served as a goddess of fertility, love, war and sexual vitality and to that end had sacred prostitutes. She was the Phoenecian great goddess and was identified with Aphrodite by the Greeks.
She restrains Baal when he intends to attack Yam's messengers. She rerebukes Baal for holding Yam captive and calls on him to 'scatter' Yam, which he does.

Apparently she, along with Anat, is willing to become Baal's cupbearer once he achieves a proper palace. (See also Theology 100 Online Glossary - Astarte


Anat (Anath, Rahmay - 'the merciful')
She Baal's sister and the daughter of El. Goddess of war, the hunt, and savagery. She is an archer. Virgin, sister-in-law (progenitor?) of peoples (Li'mites'?). She and Athirat are nursemaids to the gracious gods.
She restrains Baal when he intends to attack Yam's messengers. In missing texts, she killed Yam-Nahar, the dragon, the seven-headed serpent. She also destroyed Arsh, Atik, Ishat, and Zabib, all enemies of Baal.

She holds a feast at Baal's palace to celebrate his victory over Yam. After the guests arrive, she departs her abode and adorns herself in rouge and henna, closes the doors and slaughters the inhabitant of two nearby towns, possibly Baal's enemies. She makes a belt of their heads and hands and wades through the blood. She lures the towns' warriors inside to sit and joyfully massacres them. She then makes a ritual peace offering and cleans up. This is possibly related to a seasonal fertility ritual welcoming the autumn rains. Anat receives messengers from Baal thinking that some new foe has arisen, but they assure her that he only wishes that she make a peace offering that he might tell her the secret of lightning and seek it on Mt. Zephon. She does so, demanding first to see the lightning, and is welcomed by Baal from afar. Hearing him complain of lack of a proper mansion, she storms off to El, creating tremors. She threatens to mangle his face lest he heed her and have Baal's court constructed, yet her plea is rejected. She is assisted in her petition, possibly by Athtart. She accompanies Baal to Athirat with a bribe and assists Athirat in her successful petition to El for Baal's court.

After Baal dies, she searches for him and, finding his body goes into a violent fit of mourning. She has Shapash take his body to Mt. Zephon, where she buries it and holds a feast in his honor. After seven years of drought, she finds Mot, and cuts, winnows, and sows him like corn.

She attends the feast where Daniel presents Aqhat with a bow and arrows set made by Kothar-and-Khasis. Desiring the bow, she offers Aqhat riches and immortality, for it. He refuses and so she promises vengeance upon him should he transgress and leaves for Mt. Lel to denounce him to El. Upset with El's response, she threatens to strike his head, sarcasticly suggesting that Aqhat might save him. El remarks that he won't hinder her revenge, so she finds Aqhat, and taking the form of a kinswoman, lures him off to Qart-Abilim. Unsuccessful with her first attempt there, she calls her attendant warrior Yatpan to take the form of an eagle, and with a flock of similar birds pray strike Aqhat as he sits on the mountain. They do so and Aqhat is slain, unfortunately, the bow falls into the waters and is lost and Anat laments that her actions and Aqhat's death were in vain.

When Baal was out hunting, she followed after him and copulated with him in the form of a cow. She gave birth to 'a wild ox' or a 'buffalo', visiting Mt. Zephon to tell Baal of the good news. This is probably not their only affair.


Baalat
The 'mistress' of Gubla she was not found in Ugarit. This great fertility goddess was the foremost deity of that city. She served as protector of the city and of the royal dynasty. She was associated with Baal-Shamen and she assimilated the characteristics of the Egyptian goddesses Hathor and Ast (Isis).

Tanit
Known as the 'lady of Carthage' and the 'face of Baal', Tanit was the great goddess of the Carthaginians and, with Baal Hammon co-protector of that city. She is listed first of all deities in Carthage.

Shapshu (Shapash)
She is the sun-goddess (Akkadian Shamash, a male deity) and is known as the torch of the gods and pale Shapshu. She often acts as messenger or representative on El's behalf. She has some dominion over the shades and ghosts of the nether-world. Kothar-and-Khasis may be her companion and protector.
She tells Athtar that he will loose kingship to Yam under El's auspice and rebuffs his complaints by recalling his lack of wife and children.

She is said to be under Mot's influence when Baal is preoccupied with his lack of a palace and not raining. The weather then is particularly hot.

When Mot's messenger seeks Baal, she advises the thunder-god to procure a substitute, to satisfy Mot and then take his servants and daughters and venture into the underworld. At the direction of Anat, she carries Baal's body back to Mt. Zephon. She is told by El that he dreamed Baal was alive and she searches for him. When Baal returns and fights with Mot, she separates them, declaring that Baal has El's favor.


Yarikh
He is the moon god. 'The illuminator of myriads (of stars)', 'lamp of heaven', possibly also the crescent moon and 'lord of the sickle' and thereby the father of the Kotharat. He is patron of the city Qart-Abilim.
After sunset he embraces Nikkal-and-Ib and becomes determined to marry her. He seeks Khirkhib out to arbitrate the brideprice, but instead Khirkhib tries suggests other potential mates in the daughters of Baal. Undaunted, Yarikh presents a lavish brideprice to Nikkal-and-Ib's family and the two are wed.

Baal-Hadad's creatures devour his handmaidens, so he sends them to El. El tells them to go into the wilderness and there birth horned buffalo, which will distract Baal-Hadad.


Kotharat (was thought to be Kathirat) 'skillful'
They are a group of goddesses associated with conception and childbirth. '...The swallow-like daughters of the crescent moon.' (Gibson p. 106). They are also associated with the new moon. They attend Daniel for seven days to aid in the conception of Aqhat and receive his sacrifice.

Athtar (Ashtar, 'Athtar, Atra of the sky) 'the terrible'
He is a son of Athirat, possibly a god of the desert or of artificial irrigation. He is sometimes a suitor of Pidray. As the great god of the Sabeans and Himyar (both South Arabian states), he was identified with Venus and was sired by the moon on the sun. He looses his kingship to Yam at the behest of El and is warned off from an attack on Yam by Shapshu. He complains to her of his lack of status, palace and court.
He attempts to take Baal's place at his throne while Baal is dead, but he is too small for the seat and rejects it, becoming king of the earth instead.


Sheger ('offspring of cattle')
He is the god of cattle
Ithm
He is the god of sheep
Hirgab
He is the father of the eagles.
S,umul
She is the mother of the eagles. She ate the body of Aqhat.

Elsh
He is the steward (carpenter?) of El and of Baal's house. His wife is the stewardess (carpenter?) of the goddesses.

Sha'taqat 'drives away'
She is the flying demoness who drives away Keret's disease on behalf of El with a touch of her wand to his head.

'god(s) of the fathers'
They are ancestral or clan deities, commonly associated with one family or another, outside of the main pantheon.

Nikkal-and-Ib 'great lady and clear/bright/fruit' or 'Great goddess of fruit' (Ningal)
She is possibly the daughter of Dagon of Tuttul, or else of Khirkhib. She is romanced by Yarikh and marries him after Yarikh arranges a brideprice with Khirkhib and pays it to her parents.

Khirkhib (was thought to be Hiribi), king of summer, king of the raiding season (autumn)
He is probably a Hurrian deity. He acts as a matchmaker between Yarikh and Nikkal-and-Ib, initially trying to dissuade Yarikh from pursuing her suggesting Pidray and Ybrdmy as alternative choices.

Dagon of Tuttul
He is a Syrian version of Dagon, and the probable father of Nikkal-and-Ib. Ugarit's Dagon was the father of Baal and may have been identified with El. There were also temples to Dagon in Mari and Emar. To the Phoenicians, he was a god of wheat and the inventor of the plow. The Philistines adopted him as their own and depicted him with the upper torso of a man and the back half of a fish. (See also the Assyro-Babylonian Dagan and the Hittite Kumarbi)

Baal-Shamen (Baal-Shamain) 'lord of the skies'
Lord of the Assembly of the gods at Gubla. He was the great god of the Aramaean kingdoms of Hama and Laash and the protector of their rulers.

Milqart (Melqart, Baal Tsur, Milkashtart?) - 'king of the city', the hunter, 'fire of heaven'.
Patron god of Tyre, he was the god of the Metropolis and of the monarchy at Tyre and Carthage. His cult spread throughout the Mediterranean region, but has not been found at second millenium sites. As with the Babylonian Nergal/Erra, he has been identified with Heracles archetypes. Greek sources imply that he was a dying and rising vegetation god, and that he was associated with the sacred marriage like the Sumerian god, Dumuzi. He was ritually immolated in an annual festival. He was also a god of the sea and was pictured mounted on a hippocampus.

Eshmun 'the holy prince'
He was a god of healing and the great god in Sidon. He was known in Tyre, Cyprus, and Carthage, but not in Ugarit. In the 5th century AD, Damascius identified him with the Greek god Asclepius.

B. Chaos gods, death gods and baneful gods.
Yam (Nahar, Yaw, Lotan?, Leviathan?)
He is god of sea and rivers, he dwells in a palace under the sea. He carries a feud with Baal. He may have had in his following a dragon (tnn) which lives in the sea, a serpent (btn), and/or Lotan/Leviathan, or may have been all of those creatures.
He is given kingship by El. He threatens vast destruction until El names him 'beloved of El' and sends him on his way to oust Baal. Upbraided by Kothar-and-Khasis, he dispatches messengers to El to demand the delivery of Baal. Baal strikes him with Yagrush and Chaser in the chest and forehead, knocking him down. He is slain and scattered at the urging of Athtart. The battle may have been representative of rough winter sea-storms which calmed in the spring and which were preceded and accompanied by autumn rains which ended summer droughts and enabled crops to grow.


Arsh
The 'darling of the gods', a monstrous attendant of Yam, slain by Anat. Arsh lives in the sea.

Atik
The 'calf of El', an enemy of Baal. Slain by Anat.

Ishat (fire)
The 'bitch of the gods', an enemy of Baal, slain by Anat.

Zabib (flame? flies?)
The daughter of El, an enemy of Baal, slain by Anat.

Mot(-and-Shar) 'Death and Prince/Dissolution/Evil'
'the beloved one'- Mot is the god of sterility, death, and the underworld. In one hand he holds the scepter of bereavement, and in the other the scepter of widowhood. His jaws and throat are described in cosmic proportions and serve as a euphemism for death.
When he has influence over Shapshu, it is unusually hot and dry. He sits on a pit for a throne in the city of Miry in the underworld.

Prior to the conception of the gracious gods, he is pruned and felled like a vine by the vine dressers.

He is favored by El following Baal's defeat of Yam and Baal refuses him tribute. When Baal's messengers deliver him an invitation to feast at Baal's new palace, he is insulted that he is offered bread and wine and not the flesh he hungers for. In fact, he threatens to defeat Baal as Baal did Leviathan, causing the sky to wilt and then eat Baal himself. Baal would then visit his palace in the underworld. He is pleased that Baal submits to him. Baal goes to the underworld and either he or his substitute is eaten by Mot. Presumably the sons of Athirat had some part in his death. After seven years of famine, Anat seizes Mot, splits, winnows, sows and grinds him like corn. Baal eventually returns and defeats Mot's allies. After seven years Mot returns and demands Baal's brother, lest he wipe out humanity. Baal rebuffs him and the two have a mighty battle, but are separated by Shapshu who declares Baal to have El's favor.


'The yellow ones of Mot'
Mot's henchmen who are slain by Baal upon his return.

Horon
He is probably a cthonic deity.

Resheph
'prince Resheph' is the god of pestilence.

aklm - 'the devourers'
These are some creatures who fought Baal-Hadad in the desert, they remind some of grasshoppers.

Rephaim (Rpum) - 'shades'
These are deities of the underworld whom Daniel meets in his journey there. They may have been involved in negotiations with him for the return of his son Aqhat. Eight of them led by Repu-Baal (Rapiu? Baal?) arrive at a feast given by El in chariots, on horseback, and on wild asses.

Molech (Melech, Malik, Milcom?, Milqart?)
Not explicitly found in the Ugarit texts, Molech is a bit of an enigma. He shows up in the Old Testament in Leviticus 18 and 20, 1 Kings 11, 2 Kings 23, and Jeremiah 32. From that he appears to be a god of the Ammonites - a region west of the Jordon - whose worshipers sacrificed children in fires at temples, some of which were in the Valley of Hinnom, i.e. Gehenna, just south of Jerusalem. The Old Testament also names the similarly spelt "Milcom" as a god of the Ammonites leading to the suspicion that they are the same god. Molech is probably not the original name of the deity. There has been a good deal of argument as to whether Molech could be identified with another foreign deity and which deity that would be, or whether molech was simply a term which referred to child sacrifice of any sort. The Canaanite gods Mot and Milqart of Tyre, and the Mesopotamian god Nergal, whom I believe is somewhere referred to as Malik=king, are a couple of the prime candidates for being Molech. For some online commentary on this check out Gwen Saylor's correspondence. For more in depth off-line discussion see:
Day, John, Molech:A God of Human Sacrifice in the Old Testament, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1989.


C. Demi-gods and Heroes
Keret
Keret was a king (of Khubur?) and possibly the son of El (this may be an expression for a fortunate person) who lost his estate and his successive eight wives to death, disease, and accident before any one of them could produce an heir. Having fallen asleep in tears, he is visited by El in a dream and offered kingship and riches to assuage his sorrow. This is ineffective as Keret only desires sons and heirs. El directs him to make an animal and wine sacrifice to El and Baal on the tower and then muster an army to lay siege to the city of Udm. There, Keret is to refuse offers from the Udm's king Pabil and demand his daughter, the fair Huray. Keret does as instructed, vowing to himself to give Huray an enormous sum of wealth upon his success.
Returning to his estate with Huray, Keret is blessed by El at Baal's behest and is promised eight sons, the first of which, Yassib, shall have Athirat and Anat as nursemaids. In addition, Huray will bear eight daughters all of whom as blessed as a first-born child. Athirat calls attention to Keret's promise of wealth to Huray which he has yet to fulfill.

Later, Keret and Huray prepare a great feast for the lords of Khubur. Later still Keret has become deathly ill and Huray entreats guests at a feast to morn for him and make sacrifices on his behalf.

The household is tense and Keret's son Elhu, despondently visits his father. Keret tells him not to sorrow, but to send for his sympathetic sister, Keret's daughter Thitmanat ('the eighth one'). Her sympathy, heighted Keret expects from her surprise at his state will evoke the attention of the gods during a sacrifice he intends to perform. Indeed she weeps readily when the truth is revealed. Meanwhile, the rains have ceased with Keret's illness, but return after a ceremony on Mt. Zephon. El convenes an assembly of the gods and dispatches the demoness Sha'taqat who cures Keret. Keret's son and heir Yassib, unaware of his father's cure entreats him to surrender his throne as he has been remiss in his duties, but Yassib is rebuffed and cursed.


Daniel
'He of Harnan', a devotee of Rapiu (Baal) and a patriarchal king. Like Keret, Daniel is in mourning because unlike his brothers he had no sons. So, for several days he sacrificed food and drink to the gods. On the seventh day, Baal takes notice and successfully petitions El to allow Daniel and his wife, Danatay, to have a child, citing, among other reasons, that the child will be able to continue the contributions and sacrifices to their temples. El informs Daniel of his impending change of fortune. He rejoices and slaughters an ox for the Kotharat, pouring sacrifices to them for six days and watching them depart on the seventh. During some missing columns, Danatay gives birth to Aqhat. Later, Kothar-and-Khasis arrives with a specially crafted bow and arrows set for Aqhat. Daniel and Danatay hold a feast, inviting the god, and Daniel presents Aqhat with the bow reminding him to sacrifice the choices game to the gods. When Aqhat is slain, Daniel's daughter Pughat notices the eagles and the drought and becomes upset. Daniel prays that Baal might return the rains and travels among the fields coaxing the few living plants to grow and wishing that Aqhat were there to help harvest them. Pughat informs him of Aqhat's demise. Daniel then swears vengeance upon his son's slayer. In succession he spies some eagles, Hirgab, and Sumul. He calls upon Baal to break their wings and breast-bones, then he searches their insides for Aqhat's remains. Initially not finding them, he asks Baal to restore the eagles and Hirgab. Finding Aqhat's remains within Sumul, he buries him and calls upon Baal to break the bones of any eagle that my disturb them and curses the lands near which his son was slain. His court goes into mourning for seven years, at which time Daniel dismisses the mourners and burns incense in sacrifice to the gods. Pughat prays to the gods to bless her in her venture and disguises herself as Anat, intending to wreck vengeance upon those who slew Aqhat.

Aqhat
The much anticipated child of Daniel and Danatay, Aqhat is presented with a bow and arrows set made by Kothar-and-Khasis early in his life by his father at a feast. Daniel reminds him to take the best of his kills to the temple for the gods. At the feast Anat offers Aqhat riches and eternal life if he would give her the bow. When he refuses, she promises to deliver vengeance upon him should he ever transgress. Presumably he fails to offer his best kills to the gods. Later he follows a disguised Anat to Qart-Abilim but presumably thwarts her new scheme to acquire his bow and lives there for a time, possibly under the favor of Yarikh. He is left on a mountain and while sitting for a meal is attacked by Anat's attendant Yatpan in the form of an eagle, along with other birds of prey, and is slain. Following his death, the land is poisoned and there is a period of famine and drought. Daniel recovers his son's remains from the eagle S,umul.
Later, Daniel visits the underworld, probably in hopes of recovering Aqhat, and there encounters the Rephaim.


Pughat
She is one of Daniel and Danatay's daughters. When Aqhat is slain, She notices the eagles and the drought and becomes upset. Daniel prays that Baal might return the rains and travels among the fields coaxing the few living plants to grow and wishing that Aqhat were there to help harvest them. Pughat encounters Aqhat's servants and learns of his demise. After seven years of Daniel's court mourning, Daniel dismisses the mourners and burns incense in sacrifice to the gods. Pughat prays to the gods to bless her in her venture and disguises herself as Anat, intending to wreck vengeance upon those who slew Aqhat. She arrives and meets Yatpan, accepting his wine, and the rest is missing.

Men in general
from a side note (Gibson p. 68) men are considered made of 'clay'.

III. What about their cosmology? (Divine geography)
Little is certain about the cosmology of the Canaanites. While the Ugaritic texts tell us of El, Athirat, and Rahmay's creation of the gracious gods, for the creation of the universe we must rely on the Greek sources of Philo of Byblos, Athenaeus, and Damascius, which are thoroughly drenched in Greek cosmology. In general they relate that from gods like chaos, ether, air, wind and desire was produced the egg Mot, which was probably not the same Mot as found in Ugarit. The egg was populated with creatures who remained motionless until it was opened, whence the sky and heavenly bodies were formed. Later the waters were separated from the sky, and gods of El's generation were formed. Additional hints about the divine geography gathered from the Ugarit texts are included below:
Mt. Lel
Where the assembly of the gods meet. It is El's abode and the source of the rivers and two oceans, as well as where those waters meet those of the firmament. It lies 'two layers beneath the wells of the earth, three spans beneath its marshes.' It had been thought to be a field and not a mountain. The mansion there has eight entrances and seven chambers.

hmry 'Miry'
Mot's city in the underworld, "where a pit is the throne on which he sits, filth the land of his heritage." (Gibson p. 66)

the underworld
'the place of freedom'. The Aramaeans believed that the souls of the blessed dead ate with Baal-Hadad.

Targhizizi and Tharumagi
These are the twin mountains which hold the firmament up above the earth-circling ocean, thereby bounding the earth. The entrance to the underworld and Shapshu's 'grave'. It is entered by lifting up a rock to a wooded height. The entrance is bounded by a river-shore land of pasture and fields known ironicly as "Pleasure" or "Delight".

Ughar or Inbab
This is the location of Anat's mansion.

Mt. Zephon
Either the mountain is deified and holy, godlike in proportion, or El has a pavilion there. It has recesses within which Baal holds his feast. Baal had his first house of cedar and brick there, as well as his second house of gold, silver, and lapis-lazuli."

[Melis]

like i said before: God and Jesus are ONE in purpose, that purpose is the salvation of mankind.

Can you support this by the bible? Are people who have the purpose of salvation of mankind also gods?

Why would an almighty have problems with salvation or doing anything if he's omnipotent? How come he failed so much with his ostensible message?

It all doesn't seem to have any logic or common sense to me.

[CubicU]

like i said before: God and Jesus are ONE in purpose, that purpose is the salvation of mankind.

Can you support this by the bible? Are people who have the purpose of salvation of mankind also gods?

Why would an almighty have problems with salvation or doing anything if he's omnipotent? How come he failed so much with his ostensible message?

It all doesn't seem to have any logic or common sense to me.

it's written throughout the bible that their purposes are the same...take into consideration the great intercessory prayer found in john 17

as for those who also have the purpose of salvation of mankind being gods, i could say yes and no. yes because they are exemplifying the work that God wants us to do-help and love others-thus acting as a middle-man or and agent...and no because well, God is God and he's the only God and in essence there's a scripture in the NT...it's late, I'll find it tomorrow...where Paul states that there are many "gods" but we worship our god

The only reason God has a "problem" with salvation or anything like that is not because he's unomnipotent (haha is that a word?) it's because we ourselves choose to either go with it or contradict it, and he wants us to make our own decisions on matters. He presented us with the way back and it is up to us to choose it.

[Cogitoergosum]

Melis, save ur breath man, u r right, this whole trinity does not make sense. According to the bible, we were like a chemistry project that god flunked and now is trying to repair it and save it.
some people would have believed "the lord of the rings" series were it found 4000 years ago instead of the bible. When people were primitive and their understanding of their surroundings was archaic.
i watched an episode on the history channel yesterday about cults: like the davidian branch and "the temple of the people" lead by james jones and other cults. Watching it u would understand how gullible some people are and how they can be subdued by a charismatic leader. Are those people dummer than the average population? No they are not, some very educated people followed them. All that those gurus have to do is give u a msg that appeals to u.
Cults and religions (basically the same) rise and fall by the thousands each century, some of them have persisted for longer. Y? more organised, more appealing ideas... Natural selection, the religion that is fittest survives longer. But in no means is prolonged survival a testimony to its truth.

[Melis]

it's written throughout the bible that their purposes are the same...take into consideration the great intercessory prayer found in john 17

OK, if multiple people have the same purpose, it doesn't mean they are one person. Also, it doesn't say in the bible that they are the same person because of their purpose (which should by definition be the same, shouldn't it?).

Besides, your view is just one among others, and all are unconvincing.

I'll reiterate (at my own risk): god is one. God Father is the god, Jesus is the god, the holy spirit is the god - this is three gods to me and any sane person.

Why would Jesus pray to the god Father if they were the same person? He prays to himself? And this is supposed to be the ultimate truth of life and the universe?

It isn't even a good joke, let alone something more.

[Cathar1950]

Melis get it right. It is three persons(masks) made out of the same God stuff(substance).
Except Jeus emptied himself of his godstuff and was convinced he was human.
According to Paul you couldn't tell because had they known they were killing God they wouldn't have done it. Unfortunately only the Jews and Jesus' disciples were ignorant and dull while all those believing gentiles got it right.

The Trinity is not suppose to make sense because it is a mystery.

[Anti-guy]

Yahweh is God Almighty
Jesus is a god
Satan is a temporary god...
God is a title...
And when US was used it was applying God and the angle spirit creatures...