Hebrew word · H1189

בַּ֫עַל צְפוֹן

ba'al

Baal-zephon

Literally 'Lord of Zaphon', a title of the Canaanite storm-god Baal, whose mountain home was Mount Zaphon (Jebel al-Aqra, north of Ugarit). Because the mountain lay north, ṣāpôn became Hebrew for 'north'. As a place name it means a site of this god's cult.

Appears 6 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Baal Tsphon or Baal-zephon = "lord of the north"

a place in Egypt near the Red Sea where Pharaoh and his army were destroyed during the Exodus

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Exodus 14:2

Range of meaning

Literally 'Lord of Zaphon', a title of the Canaanite storm-god Baal, whose mountain home was Mount Zaphon (Jebel al-Aqra, north of Ugarit). Because the mountain lay north, ṣāpôn became Hebrew for 'north'. As a place name it means a site of this god's cult.

Against the English

English versions transliterate it, so a modern reader sees a place name and not a god. An ancient hearer would have known at once that it was a god's name.

How it drifted

Transliteration hides the divine name.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ugaritic texts honour Baal as lord of Zaphon. An Egyptian New Kingdom papyrus (Sallier IV) lists Baal-Zaphon among gods worshipped at Memphis. A 6th-century BCE Phoenician letter from Saqqara (KAI 50) invokes 'Baal-Zaphon and all the gods of Tahpanhes' (Daphnae, on the eastern Delta frontier). In the Greek period Baal-Zaphon was identified with Zeus Kasios, worshipped at Mount Kasios beside Lake Sirbonis (Bardawil). He was a patron of sailors and sea travel.

Where it appears

Exodus · 4

  1. Exodus 14:2 בַּ֣עַל צְפֹ֔ן Baal-, Zephon

    “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-zephon.

    Here: First element of the name 'Baal-zephon': 'baʿal' means 'lord, owner, master', and here it is the title of the Canaanite storm-god Baal.

  2. Exodus 14:9 בַּ֥עַל צְפֹֽן׃ Baal-, Zephon

    The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon.

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 33:7 בַּ֣עַל צְפ֑וֹן Baal-, Zephon

    They set out from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon, and they camped near Migdol.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.