- - , Algemeen, , David Steinberg (david@adath-shalom.ca), Ugarit and the Bible: Ugaritic Literature as an Aid to Understanding the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament);
Baal is a son of El. His name (meaning - lord, owner, husband) is the normal Ugaritic-Canaanite epithet for the Canaanite rain god Haddu or Haddad (probably meaning "thunderer") and hence, is the god of rain and fertility as well as being a war god.
Baal is not a creator, like El, but is the preserver and giver of fertility (cf. Vishnu in Hinduism);
Baal is almost El's prime minister. He is the executive of the divine assembly. Baal is the champion of divine order against chaos. Lightening is his weapon, and he can be found in storms and thunder;
When Baal falls into the hands of Mot, the god of death, there is drought and sterility, growth ceases. With his rescue, by his consort, rains return and vegetation is returned to the earth;
In the beginning of all things, Baal-Haddad warred with and conquered Yamm (Sea), and so brought the unruly waters of Chaos under divine authority and control.
Baal was the main god worshiped at Ugarit and, apparently, in many areas of Canaan;
Baal is always paired with a female sister-wife whose name varied with place and time - Anat (at Ugarit), Ashtart (paired with the vowels of boshet=shame to make the artificial name Ashtoreth in the Bible) or Asherah (in the Bible the Asherah is either the consort of Baal or a cult pole which may stand for the goddess or fertility).
Baal's consort, whatever her name, had 3 characteristics:
Sexual lust;
Fecundity; and,
Being a bloody goddess of war e.g. Anat, at Ugarit, wading up to her thighs in the blood of her enemies.
Baal's epithets include Mighty and Rider of the Clouds.
'Baal's land', that is to say, land where cultivation depends on the activity of the god manifests in the autumn and winter rains. The term Baal-land as distinct from irrigated land was used in Mishnaic Hebrew (2nd century CE) and has survived down to the present day in Muslim.