I. Name
Boaz is the name given to one of the pillars flanking the entrance to the temple of Solomon (1 Kgs. 7.21). The name has been interpreted as a corruption of the name Baal (H. Greßmann, Dolmen, Masseben und Napflöcher, ZAW 29 [1909] 122; for other examples see Scott 1939:145–146) or, alternatively, as an epithet of Baal (Bruston 1924).
II. Identity
The only proposal that takes Boaz as an independent surname or epithet of a deity has been made by Bruston (1924). He based himself on a Neo-Punic inscription…