alt Hacker NewsFYI, "Baal" is a much later invention. In ancient Hebrew, the word "Ba'al" means lord/master/husband and is often used as a honorific.
Replies
tsimionescu • yesterday at 8:24 PM
The god Baal, or his more complete name Baal Hadad, Lord Hadad, is attested in one of the longest pieces of literature we have from the ancient middle east - the Baal cycle, written circa 1100-1300 BCE in Ugaritic, a different semitic language - which is in fact older than the oldest attestation we have of the Hebrew language; but you're right that Baal meant "Lord/Master/Owner" in various Canaanite languages. Calling gods "(The) Lord" is a very common tradition in many languages and cultures, certainly in that area (see Adonai as well). Elijah and king Ahab lived in ~830 BCE, for reference.
Baal was an Ugaritic god. Ugarit is one of the cities that was famously destroyed in the LBAC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugarit