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I. Name Shalem (presumably the divine power symbolized by Venus as the Evening Star) occurs as a deity ( Šlm/Salim) in the texts from Ugarit and may well occur as a divine name Šalim/Salim in personal names among the earliest known Semites of Mesopotamia and the later Amorites. Shalem is interpreted as a divine name in the place names Jerusalem ( yĕrûšālaim) and Salem ( Šālēm), and is also interpreted as a theophoric element in some personal names, notably those of David’s sons Absalom ( ʾAbšālôm) and Solomon ( Šĕlōmōh). II. Identity The brief Ugaritic mythological text KTU …

I. Name Name ( Heb. šēm, representing a common Semitic noun) refers to a designation of a person, an animal, a plant or a thing. It also refers to reputation, progeny (as continuation, remembrance), and posthumous fame. The name of a person or deity is especially closely associated with that person or deity, so that knowledge of the name is connected with access to and influence with—even magical control of—the named. In particular, God’s name, which in some traditions is specifically revealed, can…

I. Name Heb. ʾāḥ, ‘brother’, represents a primitive Semitic noun, of unknown etymology. The term refers to a biological brother or half-brother, a male member of comparable standing in a kinship group, or a male member of a larger community, such as Israel. In the ancient Near East, ‘brother’ also occurs as a theophoric element in personal names (Fowler 1988:46–48, 280–281, 301–302). II. Identity Although the terms ‘father’ and ‘mother’ are common divine epithets in the biblical world with reference to the human community, the term ‘brother’ is not so used…

I. Name Heb. ʾāb, ‘father’ (a primitive Semitic noun, with idiosyncratic plurals), is of unknown etymology but is widely taken to represent a child’s early stammer. ʾĀb and its congeners refer to the biological or social father—ancestral figure, protector—and are used as an honorary title for men of importance, such as elders or the king, and for deities. In the Bible, ‘father’ occurs frequently as a divine epithet and as a theophoric element in personal names. II. Identity In religious conceptions worldwide, various divine powers, especially creator gods, are described…