Baal was outranked only by El in Canaanite religion. However, Baal ran all of El’s affairs, which explains why Baal was called “king of the gods” and “most high” at Ugarit and other places.6 In Ugaritic texts, Baal is “lord of Zaphon” (baʿal tsapanu).7 He is also called a “prince” (zbl in Ugaritic). Another of Baal’s titles is “prince, lord of the underworld” (zbl baʿal ʾarts).8 This connection to the realm of the dead of course dovetails with our discussion of the themes associated with the serpent figure from Genesis 3. It is no surprise that zbl baʿal becomes Baal Zebul (Beelzebul) and Baal
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