I. Name
Three terms for ‘flame’ in Hebrew, lāhāb, lĕhābâ and šalhebet are all derivations from the same root, lhb. Another root is lhṭ, ‘to blaze up, flame’. ‘Flame’ has sometimes the traits of a deity in the Bible.
II. Identity
The only divine name for flame attested outside the Bible is dNa-ab-lum = sukkaldBIL.GI.kex(KID), ‘Flame’ = ‘vizier of the Fire-god’, in a Babylonian god-list (An = Anum II 342, cited CAD N/1, 26b). Less clear is the Babylonian god Erra (perhaps derived from *ḥrr, ‘to scorch, char’ [J…