Baal (Canaanite deity)

LC control no.	no2020002712
Descriptive conventions	rda
Personal name heading	Baal (Canaanite deity) *Browse this term in* LC Authorities or the LC Catalog
Variant(s)	Baal Shamen (Canaanite deity) Baal Shemin (Canaanite deity) Bel (Canaanite deity)
Associated place	Canaan Middle East Ugarit (Extinct city) Syria
Found in	Kapelrud, Arvid S. Baal in the Ras Shamra texts, 1952. Cornelius, Izak. The iconography of the Canaanite gods Reshef and Baʻal, 1994. Oldenburg, Ulf. The conflict between El and Baʼal in Canaanite religion, 1969. Encyclopædia Britannica online, January 8, 2020 (Baal, god worshipped in many ancient Middle Eastern communities, especially among the Canaanites, who apparently considered him a fertility deity and one of the most important gods in the pantheon; alternative titles: Baal Shamen, Baal Shemin, Baalim; The worship of Baal was popular in Egypt from the later New Kingdom in about 1400 BCE to its end (1075 BCE). Through the influence of the Aramaeans, who borrowed the Babylonian pronunciation Bel, the god ultimately became known as the Greek Belos, identified with Zeus) <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Baal-ancient-deity> New world encyclopedia, via WWW, January 8, 2020 (In the Bible, Baal (also rendered Baʻal) was an important Canaanite god, often portrayed as the primary enemy of the Hebrew God Yahweh. The Semitic word "baal" (meaning "Lord") was also used to refer to various deities of the Levant. Many of the Biblical references to "baal" designate local deities identified with specific places, about whom little is known. However, the term "Baal" in the Bible was more frequently associated with a major deity in the Canaanite pantheon, being the son of the chief god El and his consort Ashera (In some sources Baal is the son of Dagon, with El being a more distant ancestor; and Ashera is not always portrayed as his mother.). He is thought by many scholars to be a Canaanite version of the Babylonian god Marduk and identical with the Assyrian deity Hadad. In Canaanite lore, he was the ruler of Heaven as well as a god of the sun, rain, thunder, fertility, and agriculture) <https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/baal> The worship of Baal, via Bible history online, January 8, 2020 (Baal (ba'al) was an ancient Canaanite and Mesopotamian deity associated with agriculture. He was believed to be the "giver of life" and mankind was dependant upon him for providing what was necessary to sustain the farms, flocks and herds. He was also called the "son of Dagon" (who was in control of the grain), and "Hadad" the storm god who would provide plentiful rains after hearing his voice (thunder)) <https://www.bible-history.com/resource/ff_baal.htm> Mythology.net, January 8, 2020 (Baal. Origin: Canaan, Phoenicia. Role: Fertility, sun and storms. Parents: El and Asherah; Baal was a fertility and earth god of the ancient cultures and was later exported to Egypt where he was worshipped as the storm god. The Semitic word Baal means lord or master, and the ancient people believed he was in charge of all of nature and humans. He was considered superior to his father, El, the chief of the deities) <https://mythology.net/others/gods/baal/> The Catholic encyclopedia, via WWW, January 8, 2020: Baal, Baalim (When applied to a deity, the word Baal retained its connotation of ownership, and was, therefore, usually qualified. The documents speak, for instance, of the Baal of Tyre, of Harran, of Tarsus, of Herman, of Lebanon of Tamar (a river south of Beirut), of heaven. Moreover, several Baals enjoyed special attributions: there was a Baal of the Covenant (Bá'ál Berîth (Judges 8:33; 9:4); cf. 'El Berîth (ibid., ix, 46); one of the flies (Bá'ál Zebub, 2 Kings 1:2, 3, 6, 16); there also probably was one of dance (Bá'ál Márqôd); perhaps one of medicine (Bá'ál Márphê), and so on. Among all the Semites, the word, under one form or another (Bá'ál in the West and South; Bel in Assyria; Bal, Bol, or Bel in Palmyra) constantly recurs to express the deity's lordship over the world or some part of it. Not were all the Baals--of different tribes, places, sanctuaries--necessarily conceived as identical; each one might have his own nature and his own name; the partly fish shaped Baal of Arvad was probably Dagon; the Baal of Lebanon, possible Cid "the hunter"; the Baal of Harran, the moon-god; whereas in several Sabean Minaean cities, and in many Chanaanite, Phoenician, or Palmyrene shrines, the sun was the Baal worshipped, although Hadad seems to have been the chief Baal among the Syrians. The diversity of the Old Testament intimates by speaking of Baalim, in the plural, and specifying the singular Baal either by the article or by the addition of another word) <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02175a.htm> Spar, Ira. The gods and goddesses of Canaan, via Metropolitan Museum of Art website, January 8, 2020 (Ugaritic mythological tablets describe the activities of the main gods and goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon. Although there existed no single state theology, the major gods reflect local geographical concerns about the fertility of the earth and the importance of water as well as relationships to the sky and the underworld. The universe was believed to be ruled in tandem by the older god El and a main warrior-god, Baal, surrounded by a council of deities and a lower level of attendant gods; Baal was both a warrior god and the storm god who brought fertility. Baal was enthroned on Mount Zaphon, identified with Jebel Aqra, the highest mountain in Syria located 25-30 miles north of Ugarit) <https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cana/hd_cana.htm>
Invalid LCCN	sh 85010714