Baal-Hadad
/ˌbeɪəl həˈdɑːd/noun
A major ancient Northwest Semitic storm and fertility deity, combining the title Baal with the divine name Hadad.
Did you know?In Ugaritic texts, Baal-Hadad battles the sea and the god of death, embodying the ancient belief that seasonal storms restored fertility and defeated cosmic disorder.
Etymological Timeline
Early 2nd Millennium BCE
Northwest Semitic
baʿl
“Lord, master, or owner; a title later applied to several deities”
Late 2nd Millennium BCE
Ugaritic
Baal Haddu
“Baal, the storm god Haddu, associated with thunder, rain, and agricultural fertility”
Late 2nd Millennium BCE
Akkadian
Adad
“The Mesopotamian storm god, closely associated with the West Semitic Hadad”
Iron Age
Phoenician / Aramaic
Baal Hadad
“A divine title-name for the storm and fertility god worshiped across the Levant”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
בַּעַל הֲדַד (Baʿal Hadad)
“Lord Hadad; a designation connected with foreign or rival worship in biblical polemic”
Modern English
English
Baal-Hadad
“The conventional scholarly English name for the ancient Northwest Semitic storm deity”