Baal

Baal was a major Canaanite storm and fertility god whose name means “lord” and could also serve as a title for other deities or human rulers.

Canaanite religion: The religious traditions and practices of ancient Canaan and neighboring parts of the Levant. Baal was one of the most prominent gods within this regional religious world.
Baal Cycle: A set of Ugaritic myths recounting Baal’s conflicts, kingship, and palace among the gods. It is the primary narrative source for Baal’s defining myths.
Ugarit: A Bronze Age port city on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, destroyed around 1200 BCE. Its archives provide the richest evidence for Baal’s mythology and worship.
Baal worship in the Hebrew Bible: Biblical accounts that portray Israelite devotion to Baal as a rival to worship of Yahweh. These polemics became a major source for later understandings of Baal.
Ugaritic texts: Bronze Age texts from Ugarit, an ancient city on the Syrian coast, written largely in alphabetic cuneiform. They preserve the fullest surviving mythological accounts of Baal.
Yam (god): A Ugaritic sea god whose name means “Sea” and who contests Baal’s power. Baal defeats Yam in the mythic struggle for rule over the gods.
Baal cycle tablets: A group of Late Bronze Age tablets from Ugarit recording the Baal Cycle in alphabetic cuneiform. These tablets preserve the central myths that define Baal’s Ugaritic character.
Elijah: A Hebrew prophet portrayed in the Bible as opposing the worship of Baal in the northern kingdom of Israel. The contest on Mount Carmel presents a dramatic confrontation between Baal and Yahweh.
El (deity): A senior West Semitic god associated with authority, creation, and the divine assembly. Ugaritic myths portray Baal as a younger god who challenges El’s authority.
Mot (god): A Ugaritic god of death and sterility who opposes Baal. Baal’s conflict with Mot dramatizes the loss and return of life-giving rain.

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