c. 1st Millennium B.C.

A standing, plank type pottery idol with stubby arms outstretched at shoulders, wearing an applied, incised decorated necklace. Relief facial features, incised hairdo with applied ringlets. In good condition. Repair and restoration to lower half of the figure.

6.4 inches (15.5 cms) high

Custom lucite stand, worldwide shipping and Certificate of Authenticity included in price.

Export Approval from Israel Antiquities Authority

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Baal
(bay' uhl) Lord of Canaanite religion and seen in the thunderstorms, Baal was worshiped as the god who provided fertility. He proved a great temptation for Israel. “Baal” occurs in the Old Testament as a noun meaning, “lord, owner, possessor, or husband,” and as a proper noun referring to the supreme god of the Canaanites, and often to the name of a man. According to 1 Chronicles 5:5, Baal was a descendant of Reuben, Jacob's firstborn son, and the father of Beerah. Baal was sent into exile by Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria. The genealogical accounts of Saul's family listed in 1 Chronicles 9:35-36 indicates that the fourth son of Jehiel was named Baal.
As a fertility and storm God, Baal is a common Semitic * word that means "lord" or "owner." The title was given to the local god of nearly every city in Canaan. Because of the importance of rain to life in the dry lands of the Near East, these local gods were usually associated with fertility and the cycle of wet and dry seasons. Baal developed into a single, widely known god, called Lord of the Earth and Lord of the Rain and Dew.

Antiquities
Ancient Near East