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Baal was one of the most widely worshiped gods in ancient Canaanname given to Palestine and Syria in ancient times; Canaanites people of Canaan, where he was associated with fertility and rain. He was the son of El, the supreme god of the Canaanites, and the husband and brother of Anat, the ferocious goddess of war.

Fertility and Storm God. Baal is a common Semiticrelating to people of the ancient Near East, including Jews, Arabs, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Phoenicians 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,...