<abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The following study analyzes the usage of the name Baıal in ancient Phoenician
inscriptions. The analysis starts with the premise that the deity named Baıal played a major
role in Canaanite religion, including the religion of the people of Israel. First of all, in order to
understand correctly this phenomenon, our study sketches in broad lines the historical and
religious context of the ancient Near East. Second, the study takes into account a series of corollary
issues, like the concepts of “fertility” and the “Sacred Marriage”, in order to obtain as
clear a picture as possible of the identity and character of the god Baıal. Third, the study focuses
on a number of inscriptions from Phoenicia. A number of scholars have argued that these
inscriptions represent our best evidence from Phoenicia to reconstructing the identity of
Baıal.</p></abstract>

The following study analyzes the usage of the name Baıal in ancient Phoenician
inscriptions. The analysis starts with the premise that the deity named Baıal played a major
role in Canaanite religion, including the religion of the people of Israel. First of all, in order to
understand correctly this phenomenon, our study sketches in broad lines the historical and
religious context of the ancient Near East. Second, the study takes into account a series of corollary
issues, like the concepts of “fertility” and the “Sacred Marriage”, in order to obtain as
clear a picture as possible of the identity and character of the god Baıal. Third, the study focuses
on a number of inscriptions from Phoenicia. A number of scholars have argued that these
inscriptions represent our best evidence from Phoenicia to reconstructing the identity of
Baıal.

The Theophoric Element <italic>Ba'Al</italic> in Ancient Phoenician Inscriptions

Perichoresis

The Theophoric Element  in Ancient Phoenician Inscriptions

The following study analyzes the usage of the name Baıal in ancient Phoenician
inscriptions. The analysis starts with the premise that the deity named Baıal...

The Theophoric Element Ba'Al in Ancient Phoenician Inscriptions

Published Online: Sep 20, 2012

Page range: 67 - 93

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10297-012-0004-6

Keywords
Baıal, Phoenicia, Old Testament, religion, names

This content is open access.