I. Name

Hebrew bāšān I ‘fertile, stoneless piece of ground’ (HALAT, 158), should be distinguished from Heb. bāšān II ‘serpent’, which is etymologically cognate with Ug. bṯn ‘serpent’ (Akk. bašmu; Ar. baṯan; Day 1985:113–119; see also Heb. peten: cf. HALAT 930). A relation between bāšān I and II was proposed by Albright (BASOR 110 [1948] 17, n. 53; HUCA 23 [1950–1951] 27–28; cf. Fensham, JNES 19 [1960] 292–293; Dahood 1981:145–146). He interpreted Bashan, ‘Serpent’, as a nickname of the…