Baal-zephon

Mount Ṣapōn
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Baʽal Zephon (Hebrew: בעל צפון‎, romanized: Baʿal Ṣəp̄on, lit. 'Lord of Ṣafon'; Akkadian: Bēl Ḫazi (dIM ḪUR.SAG); Ugaritic: baʿlu ṣapāni; Hurrian: Tešub Ḫalbağe;[1] Egyptian: bꜥr ḏꜣpwnꜣ[2]), also transliterated as Baal-zephon, was an epithet of the Canaanite storm god Baʿal (lit. "Lord") in his role as lord of Jebel Aqra, called "Mount Zaphon" in antiquity.[1][n 1] He is identified in Ugaritic texts as Hadad.[7][8]

Because of the mountain's importance and location, Hebrew: צפון, romanized: ṣap̄on came to metonymously signify "north" in Hebrew;[9] the name is therefore sometimes given in translation as Lord of the North.[n 2]

Baʿal Zaphon was equated with the Greek god Zeus Kasios and later with the Roman Jupiter Casius.

Because Baʿal Zaphon was considered a protector of maritime trade, sanctuaries were constructed in his honor around the Mediterranean by his Canaanite and Phoenician devotees.[1] "Baal-zephon" thereby also became a placename, most notably a location mentioned in the Book of Exodus as the location where the miraculous Passage of the Red Sea happened during the Exodus.

  1. ^ a b c Niehr (1999), p. 152.
  2. ^ Cornelius, Izak (1994). The Iconography of the Canaanite Gods Reshef and Baʻal: Late Bronze and Iron Age I Periods (C 1500-1000 BCE). Orbis biblicus et orientalis. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. pp. 151–152. doi:10.5167/uzh-142977. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
  3. ^ Fox (2009), pp. 243–258.
  4. ^ Liverani (1998).
  5. ^ Albright (1943).
  6. ^ Vita (2005).
  7. ^ Spencer L. Allen (2015). The Splintered Divine: A Study of Istar, Baal, and Yahweh Divine Names and Divine Multiplicity in the Ancient Near East. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 216. ISBN 9781614512363.
  8. ^ Chung, Youn Ho (2010). The Sin of the Calf: The Rise of the Bible's Negative Attitude Toward the Golden Calf. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 168. ISBN 9780567212313.
  9. ^ DDD, "Zaphon".
  10. ^ ISBE (1996), p. 381.


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