Baal

Baal (Semitic, “lord” or “owner”), ancient Middle East fertility god. Canaanite tablets dating from 2500 B.C. represent him combating Mot, god of drought and sterility. In Babylonia, Baal was known as Bel, and in Phoenicia as Melkart. In the Old Testament the name is used pejoratively, the cult of Baal having been denounced by the Hebrew prophets.