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The Ugaritic expression "Baal, son of Dagan" has been the subject of several studies which attempt to resolve the contradiction between the depiction of Baal as El's son on the one hand and the expression "Baal, son of Dagan" (b'l bn dgn) on the other. Despite the paucity of literary evidence, the majority of scholars have identified Dagan with either El or Baal, consequently attributing a single "real" father to Baal. This paper suggests a new solution in light of the literary traditions preserved in the Hurro-Hittite texts-contemporary with those from Ugarit-and the development of these traditions in the writings of Philo of Byblos (first-second centuries C.E.). Both these texts describe the storm-god as having two fathers: the grain-god (Kumarbi / Dagon) and the veteran god of the pantheon, the god of Heaven (Anu / Ouranus). Given the close relationship among Ugarit, the Humans, and the Phoenicians, it is difficult to regard this parallelism as coincidental.
Like all the Ugaritic gods, Baal is customarily regarded as a son of El, the head of the Ugaritic pantheon.1 His close relationship to El is portrayed in several Ugaritic texts; the most convincing is found in the Baal Cycle-which otherwise actually describes the hostility between El and Baal. Here El's deep grief over Baal's death is depicted in a similar fashion to that of Jacob's mourning of his beloved son Joseph (Gen. 37:33-35): "Thereupon Beneficent El the Benign descends from the throne .. . sits on the earth. He pours dirt of mourning on his head ... He raises his voice and cries aloud: 'Baal is dead! What of the peoples? . . . After Baal I shall descend to Sheol ('air bH.'ard.b'ars).'"2 This account resumes a few columns later with El's dream of Baal's rejuvenation, his great joy at that idea, and his calling upon Anat to search for him.3
While Baal also appears as the son of Dagan in Ugaritic literature, this relationship is purely formulaic, being expressed solely in the fixed phrases "Baal, son of Dagan" (bcl bn dgn) and "Baal, offspring/lineage of Dagan (bcl htk dgn)."4 In contrast to El and despite his appearance in rituals and sacrificial lists, Dagan is a shadowy figure in Ugaritic epic.5 Likewise, only two Ugaritic personal names...