Baal
/ˈbeɪ.əl/noun
A title meaning “lord” used for several ancient Northwest Semitic deities, especially a storm and fertility god worshiped in Canaan and Phoenicia.
Did you know?In the Hebrew Bible, Baal is portrayed as a rival deity to Yahweh, while historical inscriptions show that “Baal” was originally a title applied to multiple local gods.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Northwest Semitic
Semitic
baʿl
“Lord, master, owner”
2nd Millennium BCE
Ugaritic
𐎁𐎓𐎍 (baʿlu)
“Lord; the divine storm and fertility deity of Ugarit”
1st Millennium BCE
Phoenician
𐤁𐤏𐤋 (baʿl)
“Lord; a title and divine name used in Phoenician religion”
1st Millennium BCE
Biblical Hebrew
בַּעַל (baʿal)
“Master, husband, or the Canaanite deity Baal”
Ancient Greek
Greek
Βάαλ (Báal)
“Baal, the foreign deity named in biblical and historical texts”
16th Century
English
Baal
“The name of the ancient Canaanite deity, later also associated with a demon in Christian demonology”