The Ugaritic Epithet “Rider on the Clouds”

The Ugaritic phrase “Rider on the clouds” (rkb ʿrpt) occurs 15 times in the Ugaritic corpus, mostly in mythological texts (Rahmouni, Divine Epithets in the Ugaritic Alphabetic Texts, 290). It directly refers to Baal’s role as the bringer of rain (Pardee, “Baʿlu,” 248; Kapelrud, Baal in the Ras Shamra Texts, 61–62). In the Aqhatu story, for instance, Danīʾîlu invokes Baal as “Rider on the clouds” in his prayer to end the drought that the premature death of Aqhatu has caused. Although the epithet is primarily associated with Baal as a storm deity, it often occurs in the context emphasizing Baal’s role as a warrior. For example, in the fourth column of the Baal tablet that describes the battle between Baal and Yam (KTU 1.2 IV), the craftsman deity Kothar-and-Hasis invokes the epithet “Rider on the clouds” (rkb ʿrpt) when he encourages Baal to destroy Yam. Loewenstamm argues that the Ugaritic phrase rkb ʿrpt may be rendered two ways (Loewenstamm, Grenzgebiete ugaritischer Sprach—und Stilvergleichung, 100):

1. “Gatherer of the clouds (Wolkensammler),” which underscores Baal’s role as the bringer of rain. This translation also recalls the Homeric epithet νεφεληγερέτης (nephelēgeretēs), which is given to Zeus.

2. “Rider of the clouds (Wolkenreiter),” which may refer to Baal as driving his chariot of clouds to fight. This translation recalls biblical modifications referring to Yahweh as divine warrior.