First Person: Banning Ba’al - The BAS Library
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First Person: Banning Ba’al

By Hershel Shanks

Was the proper name Eshbaal—man of Ba’al—banned in Judah after King David’s time? A recent analysis suggests that it was.
Ba’al, meaning lord or master, was a common divine appellative in Canaan and neighboring areas during Biblical periods, most frequently referring to the storm god.

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Footnotes

1. Yosef Garfinkel, Michael Hasel and Martin Klingbeil, “An Ending and a Beginning,” BAR 39:06; Hershel Shanks, “Prize Find: Oldest Hebrew Inscription,” BAR 36:02; Christopher A. Rollston, “What’s the Oldest Hebrew Inscription?” BAR 38:03; Gerard Leval, “Ancient Inscription Refers to Birth of Israelite Monarchy,” BAR 38:03.

Endnotes

1. Y[ ] | ʾšbʿl | ⌜bn⌝ | bdʿ

2. “Ishbosheth” in the account in 2 Samuel 2–4.