Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In 1929 a farmer in French-occupied Syria caught his plow on a rock and accidentally uncovered Ugarit, a lost city whose clay tablets have been quietly reshaping Hebrew Bible scholarship ever since.
This week we dig into the Baal Cycle: the elderly patriarch El, the storm god Baal, the sea god Yam, and a goddess named Anat who is genuinely terrifying. If you've ever wondered where the divine council, the rider of the clouds, and the waters above and below actually come from, this one's for you.
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Get your Data Over Dogma merch at our online store:
data-over-dogma-shop.fourthwall.com
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Support Data Over Dogma and get every episode early and ad-free, plus exclusive bonus content — become a patron:
patreon.com/DataOverDogma
_______________________________________________
Listen to the podcast on every app:
pod.link/1681418502
_______________________________________________
Follow us:
Instagram — instagram.com/dataoverdogmapod
TikTok — tiktok.com/@data.over.dogma.pod
Threads — threads.com/@dataoverdogmapod
X — https://x.com/data_over_dogma
Facebook — facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod
_______________________________________________
Get Dan McClellan's New York Times bestselling book, The Bible Says So:
static.macmillan.com/static/smp/bible-says-so-9781250347466
_______________________________________________
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:04 What's the Baal Cycle?
2:48 A Farmer Finds Ugarit
3:39 Cracking an Unknown Alphabet
5:34 Why Ugaritic Matters
6:56 El, Head of the Pantheon
8:17 When El and Yahweh Merged
8:52 Yahweh as Storm God
9:33 Athirat, Anat, and Kin
10:46 Yam, Nahar, and Mot
11:43 Kothar-wa-Hasis, Divine Craftsman
12:57 Yam Claims the Throne
14:04 Rivers Versus Rainfall
16:20 The Two Magic Maces
20:07 Marduk, Tiamat, and Genesis
21:31 Baal Needs a Palace
23:01 Anat-Yahu at Elephantine
23:38 The Windows of Heaven
24:37 Death Sends an Invitation
26:20 Anat Destroys Death
27:35 Dying and Returning Gods
29:11 Psalm 82 and Mortal Gods
31:16 Ugaritic in Bible Studies
32:06 The Late Bronze Age Collapse
33:13 Wrap-Up
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#DataOverDogma #BibleScholarship #Ugarit #BaalCycle #HebrewBible
In 1929 a farmer in French-occupied Syria caught his plow on a rock and accidentally uncovered Ugarit, a lost city whose clay tablets have been quietly reshaping Hebrew Bible scholarship ever since.
This week we dig into the Baal Cycle: the elderly patriarch El, the storm god Baal, the sea god Yam, and a goddess named Anat who is genuinely terrifying. If you've ever wondered where the divine council, the rider of the clouds, and the waters above and below actually come from, this one's for you.
_______________________________________________
Get your Data Over Dogma merch at our online store:
data-over-dogma-shop.fourthwall.com
_______________________________________________
Support Data Over Dogma and get every episode early and ad-free, plus exclusive bonus content — become a patron:
patreon.com/DataOverDogma
_______________________________________________
Listen to the podcast on every app:
pod.link/1681418502
_______________________________________________
Follow us:
Instagram — instagram.com/dataoverdogmapod
TikTok — tiktok.com/@data.over.dogma.pod
Threads — threads.com/@dataoverdogmapod
X — https://x.com/data_over_dogma
Facebook — facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod
_______________________________________________
Get Dan McClellan's New York Times bestselling book, The Bible Says So:
static.macmillan.com/static/smp/bible-says-so-9781250347466
_______________________________________________
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:04 What's the Baal Cycle?
2:48 A Farmer Finds Ugarit
3:39 Cracking an Unknown Alphabet
5:34 Why Ugaritic Matters
6:56 El, Head of the Pantheon
8:17 When El and Yahweh Merged
8:52 Yahweh as Storm God
9:33 Athirat, Anat, and Kin
10:46 Yam, Nahar, and Mot
11:43 Kothar-wa-Hasis, Divine Craftsman
12:57 Yam Claims the Throne
14:04 Rivers Versus Rainfall
16:20 The Two Magic Maces
20:07 Marduk, Tiamat, and Genesis
21:31 Baal Needs a Palace
23:01 Anat-Yahu at Elephantine
23:38 The Windows of Heaven
24:37 Death Sends an Invitation
26:20 Anat Destroys Death
27:35 Dying and Returning Gods
29:11 Psalm 82 and Mortal Gods
31:16 Ugaritic in Bible Studies
32:06 The Late Bronze Age Collapse
33:13 Wrap-Up
_______________________________________________
#DataOverDogma #BibleScholarship #Ugarit #BaalCycle #HebrewBible
