Baal-zephon

 ( Torah Places ) 

Baʽal Zephon (; Akkadian: Bēl Ḫazi (^DingirIM ḪUR.SAG); Ugaritic: baʿlu ṣapāni; Hurrian language: Teshub Ḫalbağe; Egyptian: bꜥr ḏꜣpwnꜣ), also transliterated as Baal-zephon, was an epithet of the Canaanite storm god Baʿal ( "Lord") in his role as lord of Jebel Aqra, called "Mount Zaphon" in antiquity. He is identified in Ugaritic texts as Hadad.

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Because of the mountain's importance in the Biblical narrative and location, Zephon () came to metonymy signify "north" in Hebrew language. The name is, therefore, sometimes given in translation as .

Baʿal Zephon was equated with the Greek god and later with the Roman .

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

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God The name Baʿal Zaphon never appears in the mythological texts discovered at Ugarit. Instead, it occurs in guides to ritual and in letters, where it is used to differentiate this form of Baʿal from others such as Baʿal Ugarit. The iconography of a storm god standing on two mountains is associated with him. The earliest discovered depiction of the god – where he stands astride two mountains in a smiting posture (a posture associated with Baal in general) – dates to the 18th century BC. Other depictions show him crowned and bearing a scepter. As a protector of maritime trade, his temples also received votive stone . The treaty between Asarhaddon and King Baʿal of Ancient Tyre ranks Baʿal Zaphon third behind Baʿal Shamem and Baʿal Malage. In addition to his temple at Jebel Aqra and Ugarit, Baʿal Zaphon is known to have been worshipped at Tyre and Carthage and served as the chief god of the colony at Tahpanhes.

A 14th-century letter from the king of Ugarit to the Egyptian pharaoh (KTU2 2.23) places Baʿal Zaphon as equivalent to Amun. Temples to Zeus Kasios are attested in Egypt, Ancient Athens, Epidauros, Delos, Corfu, Greek Sicily, and Spain, with the last mention occurring on Roman Empire's German border in the 3rd century.

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Location 1st-millennium BC Assyrian Empire texts mention Baʿal Zaphon as the name of the mountain itself. Locally, this mountain was worshipped in its own right.

The books of Exodus and Numbers in the Hebrew Scriptures records that the Israelites were instructed by YHWH to camp across from a place named "Baʿal Zaphon" in order to appear trapped and thereby entice the Pharaoh to pursue them:..

Gmirkin identified this as Arsinoe on the Gulf of Suez. A Ptolemaic-era geographical text at the Cairo Museum lists four border fortresses, the third being "Midgol and Baʿal Zaphon". In context, it appears to have been located on a route to the Red Sea coast, perhaps on the canal from Pithom to a location near Arsinoe. On the other hand, David A. Falk has noted that Baal-zephon is mentioned in Papyrus Sallier IV as an ancient Egyptian place, which was probably located northeast of the Wadi Tumilat. Falk, D. A. (2018). "What We Know about the Egyptian Places Mentioned in Exodus". TheTorah.com.

According to Herodotus (who considered it to mark the boundary between Egypt and Syria), at Ras Kouroun, a small mountain near the marshy Lake Bardawil, the "Serbonian Bog" of Herodotus, where Zeus' ancient opponent Typhon was "said to be hidden".Lane Fox 2009:253-56. Here, Greeks knew, Baal Sephon was worshipped.

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Ba'al Zephon stele The only instance where the Canaanite god is depicted in both image and language is a wholly Egyptian work featuring Ba'al Zephon. Eythan Levy notes a parallel between Ba'al Zephon and the "Asiatic Seth." Seth's attributes are horns, an ankh in one hand, a was sceptre in the other, and a beard. He wears a conical hat resembling the white crown of Egypt with a long string ending in a tassel that looks like a lotus flower. Ba'al here seems to be depicted largely the same way.

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See also

• Baʿal
• Baʿal Hammon

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Notes and references

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Notes

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Bibliography

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External links

• Jewish Encyclopedia: Baal-zephon

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