CENT VINGT ET UNIEME ANNEE — 2014 — TOME 121 REVUE BIBLIQUE L’ECOLE BIBLIQUE ET ARCHEOLOGIQUE FRANCAISE, EARLE AU COUVENT DDMINICAIN SAINT-ETIENNE DE FERESALEM FRANCE 2014RB, 2014, 12-4 (pp 506-515). BAALS OF BASHAN BY Dr. Robert D. MILLER II, O.FS. ‘The Catholic University of America ‘Washington, DC USA, Department of Old Testament Studie "Vaiversity of Pretoria ‘SOUTH ABCA SummaRy ‘This essay arues that the phrase “Rolls of Bashan” is not ahout famons ttle but about cultic practice. Although this has been suggested before, this essay uses archaeology and climatology to show ancient Golan was no place for raising cate, Sommaine fait valoir que Vexpression « Taureaux de Basan »» ne oi pas les célebres bovins mais des pratiques rtuelles, Bien que cela ait été sug- _géré auparavant, cet essai utilise archéologie et climatologie pour montrer que Je Golan antique n’ ait pas un endroit pour I’élevage du beta The phrase “Bulls of Bashan” occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible (Ps 22:12; Beek 39:18; ef, Jer 50:19), along with Amos 4:1°s mention of “Cows of Bashan.” ‘The vast majority of commentators have under~ stood this to refer to the “famous cattle” of Bashan, a region supposedly renowned for its beef or dairy production,’ I would like to challenge this, * Thus, intr alia, Mitchell Daniooo, Psaims AB (Caden City: Doubleday, 1979), 1.140, Klius Koon, The Prophess: The Assyrian Period Phladelpbia: Fortress, 1983), 46; Avraham NEGEV, ed, Archaeological Encyolopedia of the Holy Land (New York ‘Continaum, 2005), 5. "Basan," 68; Fontan Tush, The Canaanies (Tals: University (of Oklahoma Press, 1998), 91; Walter C. Kalen, History of loae! (Nast: Brondan AALS OF BASHAN 507 interpretation, arguing not only that the phrase Bulls of Basham refers not to the bovine but to the divine, but moreover that Iron Age Bashan ‘would have been a terrible land for grazing and the last place to be famous for beef or dairy cattle ‘Atongside the many scholars automatically commending Bashan beef have been a few who have suggested that there might be some idolatrous ‘overtones tothe phrase. This has particularly been the ease with Arrios 4s ‘denunciation of the powerful women of the Northern Kingdom as cows ‘of Bashan,? Most thorough here was Hans Barstad, who extensively illustrated the cultic nature of the denunciation in Amos 4 and the use ‘of “Bashan” and “cows” in the Hebrew Bible, to which we shall retum, and showed ‘cows of Bashan” must here refer to all of the inhabitants of Israel a8 Baal-worshippers.’ There are small hotes in his argument, as the link to Baal in particular is weak and! based in part on now-outdated ‘understandings of Ugaritic material! but aside from that, his exegesis is ireproachable. Paul Jacobs and Gregorio del Olmo Lete consider instead that the bovine fertility god in Amos 4 is, in fact, Yahweh, the bull of Kontillet Ajrud and del Olmo Lete extends the mythological reading to “bulls of Bashan” in other pericopes.° ‘These interpretations approach the question from the text itself and from the history of religions. I would like fo support these interpretations by showing that it is impossible for “bulls of Bashan” to refer to famed catile. The key to this argument is the reconstruction of the Iron Age environment of the Bashan, ‘The Bible considers all of the central and southem Golan Heights, as well as the modem Al-Lajat to the east along the Yarmouk, to be Bashan, The term applies as well to the increasingly ‘mountainous territory moving northwest toward Mount Hermon.” and Holman, 1998), 25; Pusl Naps Takacs, Prophetic Tadiions (Yonkers: St. Vig Imirs Seminary Press, 1994), 8, 2 MB, Das Buch Amos (Berlin: Evangelische Verglagsanstalt, 1969), 82-84; AJ. Wituiates, “A Funher Suggestion about Amos iv 13," VP 29 (1973) 206-211, Tere 206, 3 Hanis BarstaD, “Die Basanklhe in Am i 1," VI'25 (1975) 286-97; Banstap, The Religious Polemies af Amos (Leiden: Brill, 1984), 97-44 ‘Barta, Religious Polenics, 41-42. 4 aul Fsxcons, "Cows of Bashan’: A Note on the Interpretation of Amos 4:1," owynal of Biblia! Literature 104 (1985) 109-110; Gregorio bt: O1wt Ls, "Basan O BI "Taierno™ Cananen,” Stufé Epigrajc!e Linguict sul Vino Oriente anieg (1988) ‘5-60, ere 53 © Gel Olmo Lote, “Basan O Fl Infiemo” Cananeo,” 55 1 shan is distinguished from Hermon only in | Chron 5:23; Jon B, Coxns, “Hae- ‘Basan, the Mountain of God (Ps 68:16 15D," Proceedings of the Eastern Great Lakes Biblical Society 6 1.986) 85.96, here 86. “Jun” refers wo the areaeee es ee | 508 ROBERT D. MILLER I Faunal remains, unfortunately, are of no help. There are abundant animal bones from the Roman and Byzantine periods, at Qazrin and Kanaf, for example.* But for reasons to be outlined shortly, we cannot assume the same fauna for pre-Hellenistic periods. There are no bones from Middle Bronze Age Quzrin or Early Bronze I Qusr Bardawil. ‘There are animal remains from the Middle and Upper Paleolithie Golan, and these include large bovids, probably wild aurochs.? But these, too, ae inrelevant forthe biblical period, as the bovids had disappeared by Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, largely replaced by gavel.” ‘We will have to instead reconstruct the ancient environment and deter- mine what agriculture it would best support. The method of Webley's “Soils and Site Location in Prehistoric Palestine” (1972) was simply based on soil type." Webley calculated the percentage and total area ‘within the catchment of each ste that belonged to each soil zone.? Web ley's procedure, however, was much too simple, It failed to take into consideration adequately variations in preeipitation, slope, andl standing pre-cultivation vegetation. What is more important, soil depletion in the Golan since antiquity renders mapping of modern soil zones useless," Other scholars such as David Hopkins have attempted more elaborate reconstructions of the productivity potential of various regions in the Southern Levant, but because they rely on modem or 19th-century anal- ‘pies for soil yields, still run into the problem of the changes to soil due to the Yarmouic River, see Chayim Bey Davip, “The Presewvation of Roman and Byz- fantine Place Names. from the Golan Heighs,” Semi et Classi (2010) 265-271 here 265; “Hauran” includes the Jaulan as Wella lebel Druze to the east and the are {in herween, The Hula Valley does not belong to any of dese, but was included inthe {ate Roman administrative dist of Pancas; Ben David, “Preservation, 268 n.18 * Brian Hesse, "Pig Lovers and Pig Haters," Journal of Esimobiotogy 10 (1990) 195-225, here 218; Billy J. Ganwtane, "Qastin and the Dre,” Near Easter Archae- log 63 2000) 9-19, here 9. These resins show a predominance of chickens "simon J. M, Davis, Rebeces RARINOvICH an Na’ama Gein, “Quaternary Extinctions and Population Inrease in Westom Asia: The Animal Rereins from Bit ‘Quicta,” Paleortent 14 (1988) 95-105, hore 95-56. "© Davis, Rabinovich and Goren-Inbar, "Quatemary Extinetions,” Pateariea) 14 (198) 95, 10 'D, Wenury, “Soils und Site Location in Prehistoric Palestine," in Papers in Eco home Prelsiory, ed. FS. His (Cambridge: University Pres) 169-80. TY Webley, “Soll and Site Location,” 178 ® R. KARSCHON and Y. ZoHAR, The Arboreal Vegetation of Golan, Vol 3 (Mant Israel Forestry Associnton, 1968) 3, 89, 17-24; Prank Navman ef al, “Holocene ‘Vegetation and Climate History ofthe Northem Glan Heights." Veyetation History and Archacobotany 16 (2007) 329-346, hese 331, The flors are ako completely changed ‘since antiquity, secondary flora having replaced the Tabor Ose, Mt Atlas Masti [Piste ia Atlantica} elt, maple, and almond (ef. Bzek 27:5-6). i BAALS OF By 509 10 the last millennium of erosion and over-grazing."* Certainly, such ‘analogies can be quite useful for understanding the dynamics of peasant farming, in such regions or for consumption figures, but not for sols. ‘Work must begin somewhere else. Extensive studies have shown that ‘timate, atleast, has remained unchanged in Bashan since the Chalco lithie period.S This can enable the mapping of environmental zones, ‘which is the preface t0 reconstructing and mapping production schemes. Pollen samples from deep cores are also useful, and those taken from Birkat Ram show a dramatic change in the flora during the Hellenistic period, when the dense forest of decidnous oak disappeared.'® This skel- ton of data can enable a reconstruction of the environmental on based on other analogous regions of the world ‘The moder climate, rainfall, and so forth, can be applied tothe ancient period.” Elevation of various parts of the Golan is also obviously a ‘constant. Elevation can be combined with rainfall, along with some mi imal soil information: for example, basalt has always eroded to red and brown loam soil or heavy clay, and never did otherwise. The combina- tions of these factors define distinet environmental zones, and these ‘zones can be compared with analogous regions that exist today in the ‘world (many of them in Tasmania and New Zealand). Those analogies can fill in the rest of the information needed to decide what subsistence strategies would have been most profitable in the Golan. ‘Temperatures on the Golan range as low as 3.1 degrees Celsius and rarely above 19 degrees."* Rainfall is between 400 and 1200mm per year, the Tower rainfall the further sonth.”” There is more rain on the western slopes than the eastern flanks.” The rock of the Golan is Plio-Pleistocene Mfg. Forael FoKeusTEiy, “The Land of Ephraim Survey 1980-87, Preliminary Report," TA 15-16 (1988-89) 117-183, here 126; David C. Honwins, “Agsicultre,” Oxford Encyclopedia of the Ancient Near East 1 22-30, Even in the eatly modern Fd, however, the Golan war not beef county. Only Winter esops were sowa there {tho 199 century, with grazing done down inthe Huleh Valley, creating # form of transhumaace between the high country and the valley; Y. KARMN, “The Settlement {of the Noxthem Huleh Valley since T838," Israel Exploration Journal 3 (1953) 425, here 8,19. "! Neumann etal, “Holocene Vegetation,” 329, 342. 6 tod 33899, 342, 1 Thi, 341. "© Karsehon and Zohar, The Arboreal Vegeranion of Golan 6; A. Remextsc, “The Soils of Syria andthe Lebron,” Journal of Soil Science 3 (1952) 68-88, ere 8 '* Karschon and Zohar, The Arbareal Vegetation af Golan; Neumann e al, "Holo ‘ene Vegetation” 331 % Thi,510 ROBERT D, BILLER IL basalt# which erodes to red loam, brown Joam, and, when mixed with ‘quartz grains from Acolian dust, heavy clay of brown Mediterranean soil”? Such basaltic soils are poor in calcium carbonate and phosphorus.” Ferrous-iron content is low, and aluminum oxide greatly increased. Hydraulic conductivity is low, which leads to the formation of perched water tables, and low hydraulic conductivity means low infiltration rate Base saturation is relatively high. Heavy clay soils" lack of sufficient surface and under-drainage keeps them cool well into the spring? and results in poor herbage yields. ‘There are regions identical in rainfall, altitude, temperature, and soil in parts of ‘Tasmania (near Swansea snd Glamorgen) and the South Island of New Zealand (near Southland and Marlborough). These are caprovid zones, along with wheat and barley farming, not cattle ranches.” Rainfall tunder 900mm per year on this soil at this temperature is considered too low for effective dairy farming, which would eliminate all but the north- wwestem Shebaa Farms region of the Golan.”* Less than 10% of farming, on the South Island of New Zealand involves catle® The same situation obtains for this particular part of Tasmania ~ sheep grazing and barley farming, but no cattle." % Golan basalts higher in strontium than Galle basalts 0. Waninss-Tones and B.S. Thowe, "Geochemistry and Trade of East Mediterranean Millsiones (rom the Neolithic to Ronian Periods" Journal of Archaeological Science 20 (1998) 263-320, here 296, There is Jurassic limestone higher up on Moust Hermoa, but ths need nol concer us; Reienberg, Soils 7. "aval GOREN, Ifael FIKESTEN and Nadav Na ANAY scribed in Clay: Prove: rune Studies of the Amana Letere and Other Acien Near Basern Tests, 23 (Tel Avie Institue of Archeology, 2004); Reifenbers, Soils 74. The ciference hebwten the red and row looms isthe diftrences in color between feric oxide and ferogs oni silice-acld sols, ase on the mineralogical composition of the basalt; Reifenerg, Ses 7 2 Reifenberg Soult 79: A. R. WiTSOx and F. J. DELWCE, "The Management of Heavy Chay Soils.” University of Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 200 (February, 1911) 1-17. bee 3. 2% Reifenberg, Soul 82 2 Whitson and Delviche, “The Management of Heavy Clay Soll," 1.17 } L. SnaLioe et al, "Comparison of a Parte Based System of Milk Production on 4 High Rainfal, Heavy-Clay Soil with that on a Lower Rainfall, Proe-Drainin Sil {Grass and Forage Science 59 (2004) 157-168, bere 158. 7 iriscoe MOORE, Prom Forest 10 Farms (Condon: Pelharn Books, 1969) 85-86 New Zealand Agvculture (Auckland New Zealand Reval Press, 1990) 12,24, 85; Whit son, nd Delwiche, “The Management of Heavy Clay Soils.” 12. 1 Moore, From Forest fo Farm 85-8 ® New ZiaLanb Dainy BOARD, The New Zealand Davry Industry (Well ‘Zealand Dairy Board, 1971) 1; New Zealand Agriculture 40-8, 108 R. LAKIN Primary Indusres, 1967-68, and Meteorology, 1968 (obaet: Com= rmonweil Bureas of Census ad Statistics, 1969) 8, 12,25. ton; New BAALS OF BASHAN su ‘There are good reasons for this. Heavy clay soils are particularly bad {for eattle. Grazing on such soils, compounded in Bashan by soil water Togging caused by both the seasonal perched water tables and the mote ‘han 200 basalt springs known in the Golan,” results in compacted soils -with decreased porosity. This alters the microsite ‘the performance of pasture plants” roots, on which their persistence “depends.” The poor herbage yields result in milk production too low to be economically sustainable.** No one puts cows on heavy clay soil. Brown loam is no better. Where it has been used for grazing, the min- ‘eral and hydraulic deficiencies that obtain for any basaltic sol, outlined above, resulted, in 1969, in 2 loss of $69 per beef farmer per yea." Where herds were fess than fifty heed of cattle, losses grew to $102 per fermer pet year. Only by selective winter grazing crops and, in Now Zealand, ‘confining grazing (o small cells has beef production become sustainable ‘on brown loam.” And even then, the cows were selenium-deficient, a ‘condition that results in white muscle disease in calves, retained placentas, {ow fertility, abortions, poor weight gain, and lowered immune response."* ‘There are more problems than the soil. The relatively primitive Durum ‘wheat of the Iron Age Golan had a low sodium level.”” When cattle graze ‘on. pastures of i, the negative effect on lactating dairy cows could be ‘quite marked. 5 Bad Darw, Haim Guiruan, Avi BURG, and Lorian Pesca, “The hy ease logy of the Golan basalt aguie, Ise,” Lae! Journal of Barth Sctences 52 (2003) 138-153, bee 142 2, Vion, “Effect of Cattle Trampling om some Physieal Propenies of Heavy Clay Soll" Sodabno Kmetisvo 28, no. 12 (1998), 574-579 °% Shalloo tal, “Comparison,” 157, 165-66. St MC Ragusi and FF. Cuint, Farm Practices in she Weyburo Loam and Regina Heaxy Clay Soils of Saskatchewan (Okra: Candis Dopaineat of Agscultxe, 1953) S01 P.Box Jr, RJ. Maan and T. D. Punuis, “Costs and Retums from Beet Catlein the Brown Loam Area of Mississipi," Mississippi Stae University Ariculs ‘al Experimens Station Bualetin 776 (November, 1969) 3-27, here 7-10, 8 Uoid, 11-12 2 Troy Kis, “Brows Loam Branch Station: More Beet ithe Aim,” Misisspp Age ‘aural and Foveny Experimental Station Research Highlights S2, no 10 (Octahe, 1989) 5.x 4 Troy Kc," Walegtazing Reseach at Brown Loa," Mssrippt Agricultural ‘and Foret Experimental Station Research Highlshis 3, no. (uly 1990-2 here 2 % eff Lanccitn, "Selenium and Beef Cate,” University of Wisconsin tension Fact Sheer, Decernbet 3005 2 Gio BRADOTn, “Simpriso Salt Gone Find for Durum." Ground Cover 69 Gly August 2007) 19; Romola DavesPoRr ets, "Contol of Sodium Transport in Durum “Whe,” Plane Physiology 137. no. 3 (2005), 807 818, #01 J. W. Gain and G. M. Muna, “Evidenve of Low Sodium Status in Beef ttle Grazing Colonia Guines Grass Pasta,” Proceedings of the Ausraian Society for Aninal Production 10 (1974) 95:8, bere 95, 98.512 ROBERT D. MILLER Il Social voles (Microtus sociatis) have been present in Bashan since the Late Pleistocene.*! “During winter 1985 the vole population density in the Golan peaked and almost all grazing was eliminated. The damage to cattle ranchers was considerable, because additional fodder had to bbe provided for the cattle.’® The ancient Golan was full of predators, including jungle cats (Felis chaus) and Asiatic jackal (Canis aureus}. Predation from the latter even today is “claimed by some farmers to be a high as 10% of all calves born,”*" So if they are not bovids, what might the “Bulls of Bashan” be? We can begin an answer with a Took at Bashan, Bashan is often men- tioned with its ruler, King Og (Num 21:33; Deut 1:4; 3:1-3, 13; 4:47; Josh 9:10), Og isa giant (Deut. 3:11) the last of the Rephaim, and Bashan is called the Land of Rephaim (Deut 3:11, 13; Josh 12:4-5; 13:12). Og) Cities are listed as Edrei and Ashtaroth (Deut 1:4; Num 21:33; Josh 12:4; 13:12). ‘The Rephaim probably represent the spirits of the dead kings, both in the Bible (Ps 88:11 [10]; Prov 2:18; Isa 14:9-11; 26:14, 19; Job 26:5; LXX 2 Sam 5:18, 22) and at Ugasit (KTU 1.15 ii 2-4, 13-15; KTU 1.108 i 1; KTU 1.201 1-3; KTU 1.161 R 2-3, 8-12; KTU 1.6 vi 47-53) Remark- ably, the Rephaim at Ugatit ae linked 0 the exact same cities as Og is 4 Norges Hasna and Junshid Davis, “Rodents and Lagomorphs Remains from Late Pleistocene and Faly Holocene Caves and Rockshelter Sites inthe Zags Region, Iran,” franian Journal of Animal Biosyiamaties | (2008) ‘8 Yoram You-Tov, Shoshana Asus and Omer Vivek, “Cate Predation by the Golde, Jackal nthe Golan Heights, ls.” Bioloical Conservation 73 (1998) 19-2, ere 19. * DA Hogue, “The Fossil Vertebrates of Ksut"Aki, Paleolithic Rock Shelter tne Lebanon,” Zaoizeische Verhandelingen 49, no. 1 (1961) 1-88; Ninvod MBO ad Guy Bas-Oz, “Measure for Measure" A Taphonomic Reconsideration ofthe Kebata, Site Bin Gev I bral” Journal of Archaeologica Science 35, wo. 2 18), 214.227 "Yom-Tov, Ashkenazi and Vino, "Cattle Predation.” ‘Actus predation mumbers are closer to 1.5-1.98¢: Ii, 3 * if the translation is core, an carly 5#-centry BC tomb inscription from Byblos ‘summons “The Powetlul Og” against anyono who would distarb the desd_ pervs remains (Byblos 13:2), replacing the term Repham in sziasy formatted Phoenician {tomb inseptions Tabnith and Eshmunazzar (KATT3.8 and 4-8); Wolfgang Routine “Bine Nou Phoenizische inschilt Aus Byblos,” in Newe Ephemeris fir Semaische Epi araphik, Vol, 2, 1978) 1-13, here 2, * Nick Wyarr, “A la recherche des Rephain pers,” in The Archaeology of Myth «. Nick Warr (London: Equinox, 2010) 76; Piete Bosnaeat “Uigart and he Bile New Data from the House’ of Urtenu,” in Ugart at Seventy-Five, ed. K. Lawson ‘ound (Winona Lake: Fisenbrauns, 2007) 89.9, here 89.91; Sano Youi Cho, Lesser Deities in the Ugaritc Texts and the Hebrew Bible, Vol 2 (Piseataeay, NB: Gorgias, 20077) 20 AALS OF HASHAN 513 given in the Bible ~ Athtarat and Edrei (KTU 1.108). Both locations are on the castemn edge of the Bashan. Ashtaroth, Ugaritic Athtarat, is probably Tell el-Ashtereh (MAR. 175.096); Edrei is Daraa.®” And the Rephaim can be bulls: KTU 1.161 gives the “Ancient Rephaim... Rephaimi of the Underworld” (lines 8-9) the title “Bull Eternal” in lines 7 and 24. ‘The term “Bashan” itself can be equated with the Ugaritic bin (cf. Akk. atm, Aram. pin, Arab. bathan; KB 1.165), which is used to describe ‘Yamm/Leviathan in KTU 1.5 1.2." In Ps 68:23 [22], Bashan isin paral- Jel with Yamm. God himself lives on Mount Bashan in verse 15 [16]: Del Olmo Late perhaps pushes things too far in arguing that Bashan was the Canaanite “hell.” But a final link between the Bashan region and 4 shan nd Ec, wich Bible an Ugarit age are Raphi cig, blong 19 Cg inthe Bile ando Rap hing of cry saad of ie Reqtain in RYU 118, iene oi (TU. 100404 snd 07-12) since Mi vest Ash is HEU 1o0stl: Dens Paton, Pint and Clr ar Usa Vo 10 (hata: Sty a ile Ltrs, ma 20-208, Macs view that RFU 1308 gansta CE coed Aare, sine” so eet fx mall aon Joa is "Aigo," Anchor fie Ditonary, Dav Neel Frau en Yo 19 PosPMdt ire, Ancien Place Names nthe Hol Land Winona Lake: enous. 20s) 29 10; ore, ikesen and Re ama, sere n Clay 216 1 obs Patkats What do we Roow abut Csr?” Scandi Journal of he td Faament 24 blo 195-193. Foun al Thomas Weta, “Ata Dean) Romain st Byzantine in Hourdn V TOI (heir: Pesce te FIFPO, 201 172197 Te 83: Guar Loser, Bibioraphe Der archacloithe Funds nd Surseys nd Laren (en: Verng Mate Uso, 3002) 281 eal” baal, bo the fist InSyi Se tana ofthe socond word nn 3 ten, bull is lee 1A. Chasusswox, “Bashan, Symbois, Haploerphy, and Theology in Pak 8,” ‘paid and Zon eds Bs Bar V0 a KL, Rowen (Winona Lake Esebrans, 2009) SUIT, ete 385.56, 358 Masa Laisa Mayer Moves, Tabu Linguisco ¢ Alcae Denoinecon Sepente in Semiticn," deme 35 (1982) 173100, hee 185, Sty, Basho in pre “Yam ba with the eps," os; Nick West, "Wate, Water vey whee ‘Masings onthe Aqueous Myths ofthe Near ast” in De fo Tebwla fo Inciencia at (Mid: CSIC 2003) 199-297, he 394 ‘haslesvor, “Bashan, Symbolisn,” 362; JH. PATON The Pau (New York: TAT ha 395 26 fl ty evs ne of gor! aan mos ‘ny posby of ranting NA. Bosom ay “Serpent Mounsin” mig hat balay tales Hebrew as ane (eqs Pe S113: paral wih fan cf Arh, gon: Day igi Buen es ail wu hy ran cn a suage; Wyat, “Water” 222; Cus, “Har-Basn.” #9 nd there po reason th thar "Bashan Hetow in any can Wyat Wate” Monomer: Deu 33:2 which says Dan sing ot om Baan anes ah wily se-sexpentesque veo ps, what ‘expects ofthe “whip of Hon” while Gen 49-17 cally cal Dane serpent oth ‘oman joey: Wyat, "Water" 246) Cary, last 9 del Olmo Lae, "Hasan O El"lnficmno® Cana,” 31-0514 ROBERT D. MILLER tL Baal in particular is the probable mention of Lake Hula as tog in KTU 1.10 ii 6-12, a place “abounding in bulls” where Baal hunts (but not the tmk in KTU 1.22.1 178 So Bashan is an abode of the dead and other monsters in Ugaritic and biblical tradition, including probably the “Legion” of demons Jesus ‘encounters there in Mark 5 (pars. Matthew 8; Luke 8), There are a few Jinks to Baal, but Barstad perhaps makes too much of them. Itis, afterall, El who is bull at Ugart, not Baal, Nevertheless, as Michael Rice writes, “From late Upper Paleolithic times to the end of antiquity the ball is ‘alway’s honoured as a divine creature, as the manifestation of a god or as the witness of a god's presence." The connection Jacobs and del Olmo Lete draw fo Yahvich are not unreasonable, given both Jeroboam's bulls (1 Kings 12), one of whictt is at Dan not far from Bashan, and the golden bull calf of Exodus 32, and the semantic connections between the two many have noted.” Schaeffer, Wyatt, and others have argued that Jero- bboarn’s ball is EL ‘Not all is lost for Baal, however. KTU 1.12 i.54-56 likens Baal to a éor and an ‘abir. Anat and Baal give birth to an abir in KTU 1.10 iii.35-37. Baal of Ugaritis the Aramean Haddad the storm god, who is depicted as « bull on seals found throughout tle Aramaized Neo- Hittite kingdoms.” ‘And behind Aramean Haddad lies the Hittite storm god, Tashuna, repre- sented as or on a bull,” as was the Hurrian storm god Teshub.®! He 8 Wyatt, “Water,” 245 998: del Olmo Lee, “Basan O Fl Tfiemo" Caneneo,” 35, Aliquot combines the two ideotifications an diamiscs bt Julien ALiQUoT. "Sankt ares and Villages on Mt. Hermon,” in The Variety of Local Religions Life i the Near in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods, ed. Ted Kava, 164 (Leiden: Brill 2008) 73.86, here 85 0.45, % Michael Rict, The Power ofthe Bull (New Yark: Routledge, 1997) 5, ‘Nick Wearr, “OF Calves and Kings: The Canaanite Dimension inthe Religion of Ismael" in The Mythic Mind (Lonion: Equinox, 2005) 72.91. Yabwteh is also called & bull. P. Amherst 6 column 1 ‘Thi, noting the parallelism of El and Bull in Nom 23:22 and 24:8 » Dominik Bonar, “The Ieonography of Religion inthe Hite, Luwian, and Ara ‘moean Kingdoms,” in Feonography of Deties and Deron. (X07) HCl. alsa imseges from Asian Tosi (AIVEP 501) and Djelke (ANEP 500), Ta 189-16? centry Mesopotamia Adad is always depicted witha bull: Vax BURE, Symbols of the Gad in Mesopotamian Ani (Rome: Poniiium lestetum Biblcum, 1919) 35 "© Ph HJ. Hovwnae Tow Care, “Hite Stonn God: His Role and hi Rule Accord ing othe Hitite Cuneiform Sources," in Natural Phenomena: Their Meaning, Depiction, ‘and Description inthe Ancient Near East ed, By Dieser. W. Meir (Royal Nether lands Acsdemy of Arts and Sciences 1992) 108, Examples include a vase from Inandik 'epe; Mavie} Porko, Religions of Asta Minor (Warsaw: Academie Publishers Dislog, 1995) 78 © Bena, “Ieonography, A BAALS OF BASHAN sis ‘continues to be represented as a bull, as late as a Roman-period image ‘of the god ‘Termessus from Cappadocia.© The Rephaim stand in relation ship with Baal, KTU 1.22 i 8-9 calls them “Rephaim of Baal, Warriors fof Baal.” KTU 1.108 juxtaposes Baal with the Rephaim in the royal blessing for Ugarit.© Direct archacological support for theriomorphic gods in Bashan is Jacking, but there is an 8*-century basalt stele from Bethsaida, on the ‘western foot of Bashan, depicting a bull's head atop either a pole or a Jnumian figure. It scems likely that this image belongs to the West Semitic Som god AP century plague from Tel Dat Plage B, depicts bl ‘being ridden by a god and a worshipper adoring the pair.® . apt cng to say be iba thors ed alls of Bashan” ‘as a multivalent term that might include spirits of the dead, giants, Baal, Legion, or even manifestations of Fl or Yahweh. Finally, does chis understanding of the term work in the biblical pas- sages? Ezek 39:18 says, “You will eat the flesh of mighty men,” a loaded term from Genesis 6, “and drink the blood of the princes of the arets.” ‘which often means underworld® — “rams, lambs, male goats, and all the fattened bulls of Bashan.” Tt works quite well, even alongside the list of eaprovids (ef. Isa 13:21; 34:14, for demonic goats) In Psalm 22, the Psalmist laments “Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encir le me. Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against ime.” Patrick Miller identified all of these as “demonic powers who are perceived as the cause of sickness and suffering.”®” And, as Barstad has shown, it works very well for Amos's Cows of Bashan. ‘There were no famed bulls from the ranches of ancient Bashan, nei- ther for beef nor for milk. Ancient Bashan was one of the worst possible places in ancient Israel's environs for the raising of cattle. Inthe biblical tradition, as at Ugavit, Bashan is not the land of cattle but of spirits and ‘rolls. Not bulls, but Baals © tid 12, © Mark 8. Sur, Poetic Heroes: The Literary Commemoration of Warriors and Warton Cutie inthe Early Bibi! World, (Grd Raps, MI: Eerdmans, forbear) 211, % Talay Oana, “The Bul and its Two Masters," Israel Exploration Journal 51 (2001) 126, bere 1,23 © Avraham BIRAN, “Two Broaze Plaques and the Hussot of Dan,” Israel Explor Hom Journal 49 (1999) 43.54 hee 54 Nick Wyal, The Mythic Mind 92-101 : © Patrick D. Mauisn, Interpreting the Psalms (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986) 105